Heimurn Chronicles (No, SV, you're a young valkyrie in the middle of a bizarre and dangerous journey)

Teloch · Aug 16, 2017

your team of lunatics so far

Lucifina (aka you, aka Lu, aka Lucy, aka Sparkling, aka Gosling)

Race: the new nameless humanoid species
Gender: Female
Age: biological - around 21 in human years; actual(?) - almost half a year (?).
Background: protege of a natural science scholar, unknown origins
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"Follow the white cat" - you have a moody guiding spirit at your side who can boost your spirit aspect advancement should you get on its better side (+1 spirit arcane charge point after passing hard charisma attribute check (18)), expect its occasional interference.

"No one is an island" - you get 1 + n bonus to all social influence skills and CHA rolls when applied to teammates, where n is the number of steps of the target's affection tier beyond neutral (applies to both positive and negative affection dimensions). Additionally, get +3 to the mentioned bonuses if Amalia is around and can provide quick advice. Passive effect: unearth more insights on followers.

"It's in my blood" - you get a permanent +1 bonus to Intelligence and +1 to arcane skill. Actions that train arcane aspects have a 1/6 chance to double the yields unless the base earning equals or exceeds one full level. You are more prone to magic-related actions and thoughts. You might find it harder to resist the allure of magic in some situations.

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	9		9	4
Constitution	16		16	11
Mobility	10	(+2 cond.)	10 (12 cond.)	5 (7 cond.)
Perception	11		11	6
Coordination	14		14	9
Micromotorics	13		13	8
Intellect	18(+1/3)		18	13
Wisdom	17		17	12
Charisma	20		20	15
Luck	4		4	4
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Dice bonus
Melee combat	1	4		5
Ranged combat	2			2
Arcane skill	7	7	(+1 cnd.day)	14 (15 cnd.day)
Defense	3	4	1 (+2 cnd.w.)	8 (10 cnd.w.)
Objects usage	2			2
Mounted combat	3			3
Willpower	7	1		8
Balance	2		(+2 cnd.w.)	2 (4 cnd.w.)
Sneaking	3			3
Reconnaissance	5	1		6
Persuasion	10	2		12
Intimidation	6			6
Haggle	7			7
Performance	8			8
Seduction	8			8
Geography lore	7	2		9
Nature lore	7	1		8
Arcane lore	7	5		12
Social and cultural lore	9	2		11
Craft lore	7	2		9
Lingual lore	9			9
Daily craft	6	2		8
Pharma and treatment	7	3		10
Weaponsmithing	4			4
Armorsmithing	6			6
Tailoring	7	2		9
Art	7			7
Artificery	6	1		7
Burglary	5			5
Huntsmanship	4			4
Alchemy	7			7
Sorcery	7			7

Flight and wing-related traits

Wings skill level	13
Flight mastery level	advanced
Normal speed	above average, can forcefully accelerate to considerably fast
Maximum range	considerably far, anywhere up to twenty-eight kilometers.
Maximum height	considerably high (up to 250 meters)
Maximum extra lifting weight	low (10 kg)
Balance	above average, withstands weather and can try to regain without landing
Launching surfaces	solid grounds
Air feats	diving, gliding, hovering, thrusting, basic aerial spellcasting
Land feats	dodge extra propulsion, posing, enhanced balance, enhanced surface acceleration, shielding with wings

#1) Thaumaturgy level 7 (6/7 to level 8):

You can sense the activity of the entropic aspects within ~1000 meters radius, and unusual concentration/malfunction of other aspects within ~200 meters radius.
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to constitution
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to wisdom
You regain mental strengths a little bit faster during the daytime.
Using thaumaturgy during the daytime requires less mental and physical effort.,
You can allegedly see prophetic dreams
You can temporarily nullify magic in ~30 meters radius or in a 45 meters-long 30' cone a few times a day, or emit an anti-magic field up to ~15 meters radius a few times a day.
you can temporarily amplify the aspects power around you once a day
you can temporarily amplify or suppress the aspects power of a target up to two times a day
You can try to scan surrounding areas for traces of planar breaching with very high odds to succeed and sense the short residue of extraplanar entities.
You can conjure light on the basic level (sparks, flashes, rays)
You can shape light on the basic level (flash explosions, molding into orbs, luminal barriers, luminal domes, wedges of solidified light, sparks strike)
You passively gain +1 to arcane skill when exposed to the sun but also get -1 to arcane skill at night AND in dark places.

#2) Spirit level 7:

You are able of an advanced Nether-realm vision
You can assess the memory traces of objects and entities via nether-realm vision and tactile contact
You can sense soul sparks in ~75 meters radius
You can sense the sparks of the living, undead, minor spiritual beings, bound spirits, phantasms, genius loci, and some other spirits
You can sense concentrations of the Limbus energies, the thickness of the barrier, and traces of spirits from the material plane
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to perception
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to wisdom
You can scan the target's soul characteristics and receive advanced-depth results
You can try to smite a spirit
You can try to disperse a spirit
You can try to temporarily bind or scare off a singular lesser spiritual being
You can communicate with discovered spiritual beings

#3) ~Open affinity slot~

Your journal, a comfortable set of clothes, a plain dress, a custom-made set of lightened composite armor, an arming sword ("Holly"), a high-quality rondel ("Mercy"), a decorative blue ribbon, a silver necktie with a bounded spirit, superb leather harness.

Capable of crudely repairing clothes, making basic tailoring items like belts and patches, and producing low-effort/cost items like stuffed toys. Capable of applying first aid to prevent bleeding. Knows how to make and disinfect bandageware.

Ulren Kyres (aka Ren, aka Mountain boy)

Race: Bhiroth
Gender: Male
Age: 68
Background: mercenary, former soldier, outcast
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"Not on my watch, not again" - shields Lucy from considerable harm in combat situations at own expense.

"I promise you that" - when in the same group as Lucifina, will make the second set of saving rolls to avoid critical health conditions.

"Odd kind of friendship" - when Ulren and Sephorah are fighting crowd-controllable enemies (not giants, flying creatures, etc.) in the same team, the one who makes the lowest total offensive or defensive score out of two can reroll that offensive or defensive roll set (only the highest score counts).

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	21	+1	22	17
Constitution	21	+1	22	17
Mobility	14	-1	13	8
Perception	12		12	7
Coordination	15		15	10
Micromotorics	13		13	8
Intellect	14		14	9
Wisdom	18		18	13
Charisma	9		9	4
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	9	9		18
Ranged combat	5	5		10
Arcane skill	6			6
Defense	10	10		20
Objects usage	6	3		9
Mounted combat	8			8
Willpower	6		-3	3
Balance	7			7
Sneaking	4		-5	-1
Reconnaissance	5	4		9
Persuasion	4			4
Intimidation	9			9
Haggle	3			3
Performance	3			3
Seduction	5			5
Geography lore	6	5		11
Nature lore	6	3		9
Arcane lore	6			6
Social and cultural lore	5			5
Craft lore	6	6		12
Lingual lore	5			5
Daily craft	6	4		10
Pharma and treatment	5	2		7
Weaponsmithing	6	6		12
Armorsmithing	6	6		12
Tailoring	3			3
Art	4			4
Artificery	5	7		12
Burglary	4			4
Huntsmanship	5	2		7
Alchemy	6			6
Sorcery	6			6

Unknown, but he demonstrated feats of great balance, stability, and hardiness. Perhaps, he might have an undiscovered arcane aspect bound.

A very worn half-plate armor set, worn set of clothes, a glaive, mechanical mace with spare heads, heater shield, hand crossbow, one quiver of bolts, enchanted amulet (+1 STR +1 CON - MOB)

Semi-proficient in the daily craft. Adept in smithing (martial-level weapons and armor). Proficient in artificiery (lesser contraptions). Expert in picking/maintaining war gear, and capable of minor mechanical upgrades of such. Knows the basics of hunting and skinning.

Sephorah of house Terphor (aka Seph, aka Sephie, aka Princess)

Race: Daeva
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Background: Rosaline's agent, former slave, voluntary expatriate.
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):

"Odd kind of friendship" - when Ulren and Sephorah are fighting crowd-controllable enemies (not giants, flying creatures, etc.) in the same team, the one who makes the lowest total offensive or defensive score out of two can reroll that offensive or defensive roll set (only the highest score counts).

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	15		15	10
Constitution	15		15	10
Mobility	16		16	11
Perception	14		14	9
Coordination	18		18	13
Micromotorics	12		12	7
Intellect	14		14	9
Wisdom	12		12	7
Charisma	18		18	13
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	7	6	1	14
Ranged combat	4			4
Arcane skill	4			4
Defense	6	5	2	13
Objects usage	4	5		9
Mounted combat	7			7
Willpower	4			4
Balance	8	8		16
Sneaking	7	8		15
Reconnaissance	4	4		8
Persuasion	6	5		11
Intimidation	7			7
Haggle	6	2		8
Performance	6	7		13
Seduction	8	7		15
Geography lore	4			4
Nature lore	4			4
Arcane lore	4			4
Social and cultural lore	5	6		11
Craft lore	3			3
Lingual lore	5			5
Daily craft	3	2		5
Pharma and treatment	4			4
Weaponsmithing	4			4
Armorsmithing	4			4
Tailoring	5			5
Art	5			5
Artificery	3			3
Burglary	4	6		10
Huntsmanship	6			6
Alchemy	4			4
Sorcery	4			4

Unknown if any. No signs of her having seeds of arcane aspects bound so far.

A set of clothes and undergarments, a superb set of compositive medium armor (manticore materials), a superb leather harness for bags and tools, a qualitative longsword "Ember", a parrying dagger, a quiver of tossing knives, a kit with burglar's tools.

You suspect she's incapable of legal manual labor aside from the bare basics of daily routines.

Karl Norskov (aka Mage, aka 'that' mage)

Race: Human (unknown heritage)
Gender: Male
Age: appears to be in the late thirties to early forties
Background: elementalist mage, major arcane enthusiast, disowned son of a noble family.
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):

"Old habits die hard" - when making an offensive arcane skill roll in combat and getting less or equal to four, reroll it (only the highest score counts). This perk also applies to combat rounds where Karl makes an arcane skill roll only for the defensive score.

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	11		11	6
Constitution	11		11	6
Mobility	11		11	6
Perception	13		13	8
Coordination	10		10	5
Micromotorics	16		16	11
Intellect	20		20	15
Wisdom	16		16	11
Charisma	14		14	9
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	1			1
Ranged combat	4			4
Arcane skill	8	9		17
Defense	1	2		3
Objects usage	5	5		10
Mounted combat	2			2
Willpower	7	6	-2	11
Balance	1			1
Sneaking	2			2
Reconnaissance	6			6
Persuation	7			7
Intimidation	2			2
Haggle	5	1		6
Performance	6			6
Seduction	3			3
Geography lore	7			7
Nature lore	7			7
Arcane lore	7	9		16
Social and cultural lore	8	5		13
Craft lore	8			8
Lingual lore	8	7		15
Daily craft	8			8
Pharma and treatment	9			9
Weaponsmithing	7			7
Armorsmithing	7			7
Tailorng	8			8
Art	6			6
Artificery	8			8
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	3			3
Alchemy	9			9
Sorcery	8	3		11

#1) Conflagration and radiation level 7:

You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to strength.
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to intellect.
Your casting in dry weather or nearby fire sources amplifies pyromancy.
You can regain mental strengths faster near the heat sources.
You can sense and read the heat sources in a vast area.
You can channel the arcane powers to temporarily amplify own physical strength.
Your spellcasting uses both mental and physical strengths or the varying proportions of such.
You can temporarily infuse objects (including tools and weapons) with pyromancy powers.
You can conjure heat on the intermediate level (sufficient to melt iron)
You can suppress and channel heat on the intermediate level (rays, waves, charges, orbs, tactile)
You passively gain +1 to arcane skill for every 3 points of STR above 10. This trait also applies -1 penalty to arcane skill for every 2 points of STR below 10. Does not apply in the case of arcane self-empowerment.

A worn set of travel clothes, a backpack, a grimoire (or a diary), an old pocket chornometer with a chain, an intricate smoking pipe

None you know about

Amalia Brant (aka Lia)

Race: Human (Eastlander)
Gender: Female
Age: Young adult
Background: Former maidservant
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"Shipper on deck" - +3 To all social skill rolls against the companions with positive affection levels (neutrality affection level excluded). If previously gossiped with about other characters that she knows, can provide a one-time boost of +3 to all types of social interaction skill rolls to the requester.

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	12		12	7
Constitution	15		15	10
Mobility	11		11	6
Perception	16		16	11
Coordination	12		12	7
Micromotorics	18		18	13
Intellect	12		12	7
Wisdom	20		20	15
Charisma	11		11	6
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	2			2
Ranged combat	7	3		10
Arcane skill	5			5
Defense	4	1		5
Objects usage	7	3		10
Mounted combat	4			4
Willpower	8	3		11
Balance	2			2
Sneaking	4			4
Reconnaissance	7			7
Persuasion	5			5
Intimidation	4			4
Haggle	5	4		9
Performance	6			6
Seduction	3			3
Geography lore	8	2		10
Nature lore	8			8
Arcane lore	8			8
Social and cultural lore	6	2		8
Craft lore	8	3		11
Lingual lore	6			6
Daily craft	8	10		18
Pharma and treatment	7			7
Weaponsmithing	6			6
Armorsmithing	6			6
Tailoring	5	9		14
Art	7	3		10
Artificery	8			8
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	7			7
Alchemy	7			7
Sorcery	6			6

Uknown if any

Leather camisole of fair quality, compositive crossbow, a quiver of bolts, a bag of small tools, a rucksack, a set of road clothes, a plain cloak, a knife, a belt water bag.

Master of daily craft and inventory management. Fairly good cook (specializes in fried snacks) and knows how to correctly ration different foods. Good tailor, capable of qualitative repair of clothes and production of professional effort/materials goods like suits and dresses. Her designs lean towards practicality rather than fanciness.

Isaac

Race: Human (unknown heritage)
Gender: Male
Age: Young adult
Background: Healer apprentice
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"We are of one blood" - Any non-hostile actions towards animals or beast folk have +4 bonus to attributes or skill rolls. Can use WIS instead of CHA for interactions with animals and beast folk (aka empathetic approach).

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	13		13	8
Constitution	15		15	10
Mobility	12		12	7
Perception	14		14	9
Coordination	10		10	5
Micromotorics	17		17	12
Intellect	15		15	10
Wisdom	14		14	9
Charisma	7		7	2
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	2		-5	-3
Ranged combat	5		-5	0
Arcane skill	6	6		12
Defense	4	1		5
Objects usage	6		-5	1
Mounted combat	3		-7	-4
Willpower	5	7		12
Balance	2			2
Sneaking	2			2
Reconnaissance	5			5
Persuasion	1			1
Intimidation	3			3
Haggle	1			1
Performance	2			2
Seduction	1			1
Geography lore	5			5
Nature lore	5	2		7
Arcane lore	5	5		10
Social and cultural lore	3			3
Craft lore	6			6
Lingual lore	3			3
Daily craft	6	3		9
Pharma and treatment	6	7		13
Weaponsmithing	6			6
Armorsmithing	7			7
Tailoring	5			5
Art	4			4
Artificery	7			7
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	3			3
Alchemy	6			6
Sorcery	5			5

#1) Body level 5:

You can sense breathing and blood pulse of living entities in ~100 meters radius.
You gain the permanent +1 bonus to constitution.
You gain the permanent +1 bonus to charisma
You can scan the detailed physiological state of a target in many details including sicknesses, inflammations, as well as the state of physical integrity.
You can make an attempt for a minuscule boost of the physical performance of oneself or a target at the cost of own mental strengths.
You can accelerate the metabolism (and so, often times, the recovery from ailments or traumas) of living creatures at the cost of own mental and physical strengths.
You can try to numb the minor pain of a target living creature at the cost of both mental and physical strengths or share it with yourself with the low transference loss ratio

A robe with a hood, a bag with bandages and medications, an old iron amulet, a belt with tincures

Good at applying and synthesizing remedies. Capable of providing first and complex medical aid. Has some skills in inventory management.

Jorgen Ostgard (aka Jory, aka Craven)

Race: Human (Lyflander?)
Gender: Male
Age: Young adult
Background: Alchemist assistant
Status: Healthy


Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	11		11	6
Constitution	11		11	6
Mobility	12		12	7
Perception	18		18	13
Coordination	12		12	7
Micromotorics	15		15	10
Intellect	16		16	11
Wisdom	13		13	8
Charisma	9		9	4
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	2			2
Ranged combat	6	1		7
Arcane skill	5			5
Defense	2			2
Objects usage	6	4		10
Mounted combat	3			3
Willpower	6			6
Balance	2			2
Sneaking	5	4		9
Reconnaissance	7	5		12
Persuation	2			2
Intimidation	1			1
Haggle	3			3
Performance	2			2
Seduction	1			1
Geography lore	6			6
Nature lore	6	4		10
Arcane lore	6	3		9
Social and cultural lore	4			4
Craft lore	5	6		11
Lingual lore	4			4
Daily craft	5	3		8
Pharma and treatment	6			6
Weaponsmithing	5			5
Armorsmithing	5			5
Tailoring	5			5
Art	3			3
Artificery	6			6
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	6			6
Alchemy	6	6		12
Sorcery	6			6

Unknown if any

A robe with a hood, a traveling cane, a bag with small instruments, a belt with glasses, a rucksack

Good at synthesizing remedies or other compounds from both organic and inorganic ingredients. Fairly good at understanding how chemistry works and has an eye for experimentation. Capable of locating and recognizing substances. Has basic skills in inventory management and knows a thing or two about craftworks.

General condition: High morale, everyone's healthy, two weeks worth of food supplies, sufficiently-budgeted, low on alchemic reagents.
Money: 1081 Talers
Food: 82 food units (9 full days of sustenance on Bloom 28)
Food consumption: 8.5 food units per day

Lucifina - 1
Ulren - 2
Sephorah - 1.5
Karl - 1
Amalia - 1
Isaac -1
Jory - 1
Mount(s) - n/a (pasturing season)

Medication: 5 medicine units
Alchemy stash: 4 reagent units, 5 blank alchemical basis compounds (crafting boosters & subsidizes)

Free stash space: up to 130 kg

1 Incindiary bomb (great)
1 Regeneration potion (superb)
1 Regeneration potion (weak)
1 Stimulator/painkiller potion (weak)
1 Potion of momentum (Temp: +3 STR +3 SPD +3 COOR - 1 INT - 1 WIS - 1 CHA) (standard)

A bundle of books from Dalgaard's library, Yvie's ulchaar (Morinth's parcel)

Mounts: 1 workhorse (Softie)
Team's reputation:
Kheree hunters (Tevon-Talab militia) - CELEBRATED
The Lyf Kingdom (Lyflanders) - WELCOMED
Eastern Freelanders (Baathorians) - CELEBRATED
Central Freelanders (Tevons) - UNKNOWN
Western Freelanders (Ertanghalians) - UNKNOWN
Nyth-Rhathon (Bhiroths) - UNKNOWN?
Olfadir (Westlanders) - UNKNOWN?

Ship-o-meter

Lucifina

Ulren

Sephorah

Karl

Amalia

Isaac

Jorgen

Lucifina

X

Devotion (96)

Comradery (82)

Amiability (12)

Friendship (70)

Sympathy (44)

Neutrality (10)

Ulren

Devotion (96)

X

Friendship (58)

Amiability (13)

Sympathy (38)

Amiability (20)

Neutrality (4)

Sephorah

Comradery (82)

Friendship (58)

X

Suspicion (-11)

Sympathy (34)

Amiability (16)

Neutrality (0)

Karl

Amiability (12)

Amiability (13)

Suspicion (-11)

X

Neutrality (9)

Amiability (13)

Amiability (14)

Amalia

Friendship (70)

Sympathy (38)

Sympathy (34)

Neutrality (9)

X

Sympathy (47)

Sympathy (32)

Isaac

Sympathy (44)

Amiability (20)

Amiability (16)

Amiability (13)

Sympathy (47)

X

Friendship (51)

Jorgen

Neutrality (10)

Neutrality (4)

Neutrality (0)

Amiability (14)

Sympathy (32)

Friendship (51)

X

Tier	Relative numeric scale	Description
Devotion	91 to 100	You would likely self-sacrifice for each other if necessary
Comradery	71 to 90	You are deeply loyal to each other
Friendship	51 to 70	You have each other's trust
Sympathy	31 to 50	You have common interests, views, or simply find each other nice
Amiability	11 to 30	You are polite and good-willing toward each other
Neutrality	-10 to 10	You are strangers or largely indifferent towards each other
Suspicion	-11 to -30	You question each other's views and values
Distaste	-31 to -50	You avoid and distrust each other, but remain rational
Intolerance	-51 to -70	You dislike and disrespect each other
Scorn	-71 to -90	You avert and loathe each other, even if irrationally
Hatred	-91 to -100	You are at each other's throats

Teloch · Oct 1, 2019

OK. Characters/party sheets and ship-o-meter were updated (there were some changes to the party status since the last two updates, just in case you didn't notice)

If you're reading this, I invite you to roll six d20 for perception and one d20 for wisdom. Otherwise, I'll roll em next morning myself.

uiopion · Oct 1, 2019

dicetime

Got 1 20 at least. Next round will be -3 on checks unless explosions happen.

Teloch · Oct 2, 2019

uiopion said:
dicetime

So, 21 WIS requirement after one clue harvested from the aerial surveillance plus some clues on themselves. I guess it's an improvement compared to the previous rolling bout.

PS: added a lil' poll regarding some extra content

Teloch · Oct 12, 2019

Increasingly concerned by the lack of progress, you stood there, brushing the clouds with your gaze for hints of the creature (spirit?) that disturbed them just a few moments. Your heartbeat was fastening as the pressure of the situation mounted, and so, despite the anxiety, you decided to use the advantage of the swift aerial swoop. As you retrained your eyes on the spot where Mia was just a moment ago, all you saw was a thin trail of gray mist making its way through the air to your pocket like a snake through high grass; in a moment, you could feel the presence in its silver bound. You smirked weakly, making a note to oneself that the cat is better at reading you than vice-versa.

And then, you took off, speedily gaining altitude but only for a few moments: you did not want to lose the sight of the play that was taking place on the ground. As you did so, you weighted your decision yet again, convincing oneself that the speed of their hoarding would still compensate the heightened difficulty at gathering clues. This afterthought did not torment you for too long as the height offered you a better view if the event a few - if any - would ever be able to see. Beneath you, the residents of the settlements reproduced their activities of the times long gone but still somehow caught like an insect in an amber drop. Some men figures were chopping logs for later - the colder seasons, pausing briefly to exchange with a phrase or to ditch away a particularly obstinate log. At some distance, between the huts, a trio of women was hanging clothes on the ropes tied between the roofs of the one-story homes, somehow managing to gesture and mimick actively, oblivious that far in the future, there would be a soaring stalker observing their gossiping spree. Some tiny figures - apparently children - were playing at the edge of the settlement, in the circular area with the standing carved stones and what looked like cairns, at some moment bolting away in separate directions, chased away by a crooked silhouette that appeared from the neighboring hut. And somewhat further, there was a shimmering mirage of a lass carrying a rocker on her shoulders with two buckets at each end, watching back at a more masculine figure attempting a hasty climb on a ghostly tree to pluck an indistinguishable fruit and to follow her in a just few moments.

As it happened, you found the experience cathartic and novel - the feeling of being so close to what once were others' lives, to see these little stories played by their main actors without any risk of them being scared by your unwelcome presence. It also was the first time you had the luxury of openly soaring above a settlement (even if not a physically real one) - a distinctly novel and mesmerizing experience if only not for your mind being occupied with the more urgent task of digging up the truth on the real implications of this entire spectacle. Maybe, considering how you failed to harvest the clues which would explain why did this slice of time has been perpetuated in Limbus, you were mesmerized by the sightseeing. Nevertheless, your aerial recognition attempt wasn't a failure: as you swooped nearby the mirage of the settlement's arguably the largest (two stories - no less!) building, your arcane senses returned a somewhat familiar yet sudden and sensation of overload. The cramp was brief but intense, almost threatening to ruin your in-air balance and orientation. Mustering the remains of your courage, you flew back into the radius in which the sensation stuck you, suspending in the air and making you lower your jaw: the sense of void was inbound — a strong one.

As you hang in the air, all the focus went to identify the reading. The source of the entropic energies was below both you and the spectral building you were passing, in the ground at a significant depth of about twenty meters below the surface. It was pulsing, beating like a vast subterranean heart whose hammering was reverberating in your flesh and bones, throwing you in the sickening state of worry when its tempo occasionally synchronized with your own. Most likely, this unholy root sprawled from the physical bound that was buried there. Despite not daring to focus all your senses on it directly, the tones and the contours of the anomaly gave you the impression that it might have contorted souls in its core, just like it was with the Merigold's case, albeit this one felt like an entire cluster of souls and not just a shackle for a single unfortunate spirit. Another realization reached in a different manner, spreading like an illusory sense of heat after scooping snow with one's hands: you could not identify the range of the anomaly sooner because the coverage of the void traces was vast - fully submerging the ghost of the settlement and gradually intensifying closer to its core, which explains the sourceless uneasiness you felt. By a tiny fracture, the beat of the root hastened up, showing the first signs of volatility.

The processions of the phantoms (which now appeared less numerous) were now approaching the specter of the building above the anomaly's core. Despite having the feeling that you saw something like this before, you could not put your finger on it, and your heartbeat was also accelerating as your mind considered the possible scenarios to unfold shortly, of which you had not the slightest doubt. Considering the time spent beyond the borders of the camp, Sephorah either went on to search for you or was about to do so. You bit your lip in contemplation of the next move.

[] Continue with the inspection of the anomaly (gain clues to put the pieces together easier)
-[] Follow the column on foot (Slow, repeatable, three normal perception checks (15) for -3 to INT and WIS awareness requirements per each one beaten)
[] Return to the camp and...
-[] Try to have some rest.
-[] Don't disturb others but remain vigilant.
-[] Wake everyone up and (persuasion roll)
--[] Argue for everyone to urgently pack up
--[] Urge everyone to be on their guard

[] Figure out the circumstances (repeatable, failure is not directly detrimental)
-[] Using erudition and wits (Legendary intelligence check (24))
-[] Using intuition and experience (Epic wisdom check (21))

[] Write-in

Genesys · Oct 13, 2019

[X] Continue with the inspection of the anomaly (gain clues to put the pieces together easier)
-[X] Follow the column on foot (Slow, repeatable, three normal perception checks (15) for -3 to INT and WIS awareness requirements per each one beaten)
[X] Figure out the circumstances (repeatable, failure is not directly detrimental)
-[X] Using intuition and experience (Epic wisdom check (21))
Starting to spam wis checks now at 30% is an expected value of 3.333 actions to finish, inspecting on foot is an expected value of 3.186 actions to finish, inspecting on foot twice is an expected value of 3.630 actions to finish.
So if we assume inspecting on foot is roughly the same time as figure out, inspect once is probably the best bet.
E: So thinking is a free action, just think all the time then? Alright.

Teloch · Oct 13, 2019

Genesys said:
So if we assume inspecting on foot is roughly the same time as figure out, inspect once is probably the best bet.

Figuring out is repeatable and has no time costs - you can do so on each turn regardless of what else you do on this turn.

Teloch · Oct 13, 2019

Just reminding: there is a new poll above

Teloch · Oct 13, 2019

From the conversation with Ulren Kyres, South-East from Tevon-Talab, Bloom 5 of the year 1469

The precursors? Didn't imagine you would remember that talk from the Baitszun bridge, but aye - I may know a thing or two about them. Note, however, that I'm not a scholar studying this topic - just a guy who has only heard on this matter or saw a thing or two. Still, want me to continue? Alright, then.

As you have seen from before, there are still some structures left in the realm, made out of the material which looks like polished obsidian and features immense sturdiness. The baitszun is only one example of this legacy and arguably one of the least prominent. Not sure if I told it before or if you read about it from Rosie's books, but Karadan - the mountain fortress and the capital of my people - is at least half a city built by these precursors, especially if we account for the underground part of it. That's right: when my people arrived Eldheitaed and purged the nests of local Jotuns, soon-to-be Karadan already towered over the mountain valleys. We aren't the only race who established a capital on the ruins of these civilizations: Daevas are told to live in a gigantic precursor's city, which they call Bael. Scholars say that it's the largest city in the world whose capacities are enhanced by the complex waterworks system, dungeons, and impenetrable walls. Westlander's capital was also erected around the Obsidian Tower - a precursor piece of architecture.

But back to the precursors. I've been to the deep mines once and saw the derelicts myself: gargantuan box-ish cells made of the dark rock deep under Karadan. The prospectors shared stories about the findings in those storages: sophisticated devices, slabs of unknown metals, tools one and a half times bigger than what we use. Some miners reported of even finding massive skeletons with the three-eyed skulls inside some of those vaults. Whoever were those creatures, they were huge even compared to us, and in possession of the craftsmanships, we can barely comprehend. These findings and stories were recurring, even despite the non-disclosure rule imposed by the council of primes. Some say that there is even an underground route stretching from Karadan to Hermsdir and that it operates with the self-propelling wagons. Can you imagine that?

In any case, whoever built all these marvels, they still vanished. I sometimes ponder on this matter: what struck these civilizations down? And if they were so advanced compared to us, then what exactly did they face? During the early years of my initiations decade, I knew a lad who was pursuing the mentorum path and was absolutely consumed by this topic. He told me - and anyone who bothered to listen - that these civilizations existed even before the earliest records of Orn-Rhathon - the far Eastern lost empire of Rhoths from which we all hail. He tried to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of these folks - even made a considerable effort in deciphering their carvings. The last time I saw him, he was absolutely exhilarated, mumbling about the precursor's carvings and how what he managed to translate suggested that the precursors were wiped out after a sequence of disasters, unrests, and an invasion of so-called Genie folk and that their fall took place about thirty thousand cycles ago. Never saw him after that; maybe he died in an expedition to the depths, or, perhaps, he finally lost his mind, and the mentors sent him to the Gulljarr Island to live the rest of his days there.

Truth to be told, I now regret my decision to push forward: who knows what we would've found in that ruin from a few days back.

Teloch · Oct 13, 2019

Alrighty, lads and lasses, I'm waiting for your votes on whether Lucy gonna offer everyone to GTFO, just wait, or go deeper to solve the mystery. Additionally, you can now add votes for the topics of interest from the codex list

uiopion · Oct 13, 2019

[X] Continue with the inspection of the anomaly (gain clues to put the pieces together easier)
-[X] Follow the column on foot (Slow, repeatable, three normal perception checks (15) for -3 to INT and WIS awareness requirements per each one beaten)
[X] Figure out the circumstances (repeatable, failure is not directly detrimental)
-[X] Using intuition and experience (Epic wisdom check (21))

One more round before we btfo

Teloch · Oct 15, 2019

Alright then.

Teloch · Oct 20, 2019

Tension. You were caught in a peculiar position when your rationality and emotions came into conflict. And if that wasn't bad, a particular part of you whispered that you still have time to figure things out - disregard the clue about the anomaly's core. Even worse: somewhere out there in the dark, Sephorah was almost certainly looking for you because of your apparent failure to convince her in the urgency of the situation and the prolonged absence that followed. All these thoughts were put on your inner scales, and you decided to have one more go and hope for the better. With that, you hesitated for a moment, gulped, fastened, and began to reapproach the longhouse above the anomaly's heart.

For a minute or two, you were floating around the fortified structure, observing how the remains of the armed people's column approached it and were, from what it appeared, greeted by the comparably armed but somewhat fewer hosts. The arrived formation was expected and, how it looked like from the gestures and body language, anticipated. The ghostly horses were secluded in the adjusted pens, and one of the receiving figures - the one with adorned in a mantle of sorts and with a silly hat featuring an oversized feather - led the new arrivals inside the longhouse. Struggling with the disorienting influence of the void-infused anomaly, you threw a glance back at the town - you knew that more than half of the caravan dispersed in it, but you failed to pinpoint a single one of them in this shimmering mirage. Thus, there was little else for you to do but to descend to the surface and to follow the proceeding to its presumable final stop. And so you did, gliding down with all the grace which you managed to preserve during the ongoing struggle against the maddening pulsation of the phenomena's subterranean core; it's beating became faster, more arrhythmic, and more threatening. Aside from these problems, your eyes began to hurt from the prolonged staring into the Nether.

When your feet touched the ground, you sensed that the earth was chilly - even through the soles of your still decent boots. The chill was so sharp that it brought back the recollections from when you nearly drowned in Beilford's moat - the memories you struggled to forget. But still, you proceeded.

Curiosity kills, you know. A sudden phrase was put into your mind by the ghostly cat that re-materialized nearby some seconds after you landed.

Are you talking from experience? The atmosphere was growing so tense that you were even glad to hear your unlikely companion's flippancy. It is not like you enjoyed what she said but the fact you weren't totally alone in this.

From observations. Your mind decyphered the reply, getting the second part a moment after: If you want to die so badly, do find a better place to rot with my bond.

You are not helping. You shipped a thought to the cynical feline, to which the furry menace decided not to reply. The cat's manifestation disappeared once again, and the spark of a haughty critter returned to its silver prison. If you could take back your initial opinion on Mia being unknowingly supporting, you would have probably done so.

With the short-lived relief curbed, you followed the mirages into the half-transparent shapes of a longhouse. Due to the high groundwork of the building, you found yourself passing through the incorporeal shaft, ending up staring at the glowing figures from under the floor, struggling against the distressing influences of the power concealed right beneath the earth you were walking.

The beating of the anomaly's "heart" was growing faster and more erratic with every minute, pulsing with the entropic energies. In a matter of moments, not only the cold began to creep up your legs, but your breathing became disrupted as well, obstructed by the concentrating malignant magic. It felt like the core was reaching up to you, threatening to drag you underground from where you stood. But despite all these influences, you persisted, managing to resist the afflictions. In these minutes of struggle, you managed to capture some details from the ghostly play that seemed to approach its culmination: the fracture of the armed people who made it to the long hall arrived at a banquet or a celebration of sorts. They were seemingly expected, judging by the number of dinner tables and the headcount of the receiving party. One figure from the head of the column - also the manteled one - appeared to almost exclusively interact with the shape under the feathered hat. From their body language, you could say that the latter - presumably the local lord or whatever was the title of authorities back in the day in these lands - seemed to operate majorly with the open and friendly gestures, almost to the degree of trying too hard, while the presumable leader of the arrivals tried to respond in kind but did so with much less... sincerity? Regardless, both the hosts and the arrival parties shortly found their ways to the tables and engaged in what appeared as a junket. Even though you could no longer single out the parties except their leaders, it did not escape you that some of the figures, contrary to their chiefs, did not even try to demonstrate openness or comradery, exhibiting the body gestures which could only mean defensiveness or detachment. Despite the celebratory decorations, the atmosphere on that feast was rather tense.

By the time you've harvested the latest insight, both the anomaly and its effect on you deteriorated even further: the void-poisoned core was now pulsing in rhythm surpassing that of an overly-stressed heartbeat. It felt like the power that lodged underneath was trying to make its way to the surface. The goosebumps were marching like army formations through the entirety of your back, and your head began to feel light, with the needle-thin but intense headache kicking in. The cold, which you felt in your feet just a few minutes ago, was now occupying almost all of your body, giving the unnatural chill in your bones and besieging your warm and accelerating heart that struggled to warm your frame. The sum of the sensations was entrancing in an odd way, messing your thoughts and paralyzing your actions. It was at this moment when the fear kicked in, bringing in the sudden clarity: whatever is about to happen, it will take place very shortly, and you will be at the eye of this storm. Your thoughts darted back to your companions and Sephorah in particular - the prior, as far as you could model Sephorah's actions or the absence of such, were likely still fast asleep, oblivious to the gathering calamity, while the latter one was all alone somewhere in the valley, attempting to recover you and bring back to the campsite before anything wrong could happen. Even your kind-of-a-pet secluded herself in her silver bound, unwilling to show up until the surroundings settle down. It wasn't the first time you found yourself forced to carry out a vital decision, but you could not remember the last time when you had to do it while somehow feeling so alone...

[] You decided to
-[] stay and watch (willpower skill roll against normal/easy/very easy checks (20 / 17 / 14), free arcane skill roll, free MOB roll, free CON roll, Luck roll)
-[] flee
--[] to find Sephorah first (your arcane skill roll against trivial check (11), Sephorah's MOB roll against normal check (15))
--[] to alert the camp first (persuasion skill roll against normal/very easy/elementary checks (20 / 14 / 8)

veekie · Oct 21, 2019

[x] You decided to
-[x] flee
--[x] to find Sephorah first (your arcane skill roll against trivial check (11), Sephorah's MOB roll against normal check (15))

Teloch · Oct 23, 2019

Ok then, engaging the GTFO plan of actions.

Edit: that's... gonna be fun
Edit2: Does anyone have a snickers bar to share with Lucy? She's not herself when hungry.

Teloch · Feb 26, 2020

A moment of confusion has led to a minute of indecision as you struggled to produce a meaningful response to the rapidly developing situation. Despite your rational side's growing conviction of getting you anywhere from the place you currently were, the other - the shady side of your mind - whispered that it would be stupid to do all that you did tonight without getting to the bottom of the mystery. And if this inner turmoil wasn't bad enough, the calamity itself simultaneously filled you with the morbid curiosity of what would happen in a moment of culmination which, judging by all of your senses, was approaching increasingly swift. And so, conflicted and slightly entranced, you let the moments pass, observing the growing intensity of the ghostly figure's shimmer, the rising distortion of their lines and shapes, and feeling the waves of goosebumps marching across your back.

This enchanted state ended abruptly when the scene tilted for a second like a broken pendulum of grandfather's clocks and the now-vague silhouette of the arriving party's leader turned around towards the receiving party's head, raised their hands sideways in an exaggeratingly friendly manner, and the chaotic drumbeat of the anomaly abruptly changed its pace to what you would characterize as heavy beats of a heart swallowed by trepidation. Momentarily, your rationale, further empowered by the ancient fear of the unknown, ram-opened your mental gates to the instinct of self-preservation. Instantly, the situation lost its unnatural grip over your mind, leaving it to a single directive: to get out right this instant. The execution of this internal command was delayed by a couple of second by a choice of whether to seek out Sephorah who, you were almost sure, went out to seek you out, or to head back to the rest of the group whom, you also were almost sure, Seph left in their bedrolls without alerting. Calculus, Sympathy, or the feeling of responsibility, but you chose to collect her first the same moment you lept and swung your wings.

As you gained speed and altitude, you dared not to look back, which didn't spare you from the ques of the calamity, still. Even though you acceleratingly established some distance, the waves of force coming from the anomaly weren't fading away. The "heartbeat" it emitted speeded up somewhat and mightily gained in the strength of the strokes. And then, the second tilt happened. During this moment of calm before the storm, the glowing ethereal decorations cracked like a mirror shattered by a high-speed impact, fracturing on countless shards diverging in all the sides in slow motion and depicting the same scenes in different circumstances. Much grimmer circumstances. Nearby the now-floating scene in which you saw a figure of a crone chasing miniature shapes of children away from what appeared as a cemetery now was its "sibling" depicting the same silhouette of the crone prostrated among the stones, arrows-studded. Close to the scene which stole your attention with two neighboring ladies hanging laundry in between houses was now the new shard reflecting the barely-recognizable ruins of the said houses. And the scene where a lad walked a lass with a buckets rocker to the village now was shadowed by its gruesome twin with numerous human shapes - most lying motionless and remaining manipulating with them in motions, among which were some you would struggle to forget.

As surrealistically terrifying was the ethereal scene as abruptly it was swiped clean: still flying, you managed to make out only the ungodly-loud roar that heralded a shockwave - the arcane shockwave that nearly blackened you out. In the ensued disarray and shock, you would not remember whether it was your flight mastery, endurance, or banal luck that kept you in the air, but it won't change the fact that the thread of consciousness has barely left you only for a fleeting moment. The palette of sensation that rocked you eerily reminded you of the Gaian storms, albeit you soon found out that this one has had new implications. As your cognitive processes rebooted, you registered sharp pain in the eyes caused by the arcane shockwave ejecting you out of the Nether-vision state, with your eyes welling with tears in response. Your nostrils were besieged by the stench which you only describe as a mix of ancient mildew, iron, and a tint of rotten eggs. As for your supernatural senses and capacity for arcane projection, they were snuffed out and numbed. All you could hear back in that uncertain moment was the pulse in your veins echoing in your ears and a muffled sound reminding you either a distant rockfall or equally distant river rapids. This alien sound seemed to envelop you from all of the directions and creating the feeling of being submerged. The worst part, however, was that you found yourself soaring in absolute darkness. No stars, no lights, no supernatural visions from the times' long gone, not even your body parts were visible now. Multiplied by the feedback from all other senses, you found yourself to be a tiny particle in an unfamiliar void.

As this hypothesis struck your mind, the panic arose, pushing you to at least try to look around to confirm that you did not go blind and were still in the skies above a haunted glade that scattered among Blugd-Tur plains. You were desperate for at least a sign of normality, but the sole cue that you harvested was a faint outline of Baudur - the greater of two moons - barely seeping through the veil of darkness. You attempted to conjure light, which resulted only in you slightly recoiling from a numb pain reaction in your palms; it felt like this shroud prevented you from calling onto your inner light. Nearly desperate but not yet broken, you put yourself back to the task that was on your mind before the cataclysm: to find Sephorah. With some fortune, you might find her, and maybe she wasn't afflicted as much as you were.

The minutes stretched painfully long as you called out for your companion with no avail. Each cry returned with no feedback as if being consumed in the depths of the void. But still, you persisted, calling again and again in hopes to hear the familiar voice. You did not count your attempts, but it was by the time when you were almost sure that your course of action is nothing but futile when a barely audible sound carrying that familiar warm vibe reached back to you. Still wary but now optimistic, you took the course on the sound's source, crying out yet another time. Your inner tension elevated a great deal when the new response carried the distinguishable "Sparkling" word, prompting you to pick up the pace.

By the third time of you crying out "Where are you, Seph?!", you felt a sudden and a rather painful impact, only barely diminishing the degree of hurt thanks to the reactional motions at the time of collision against the surface and an object that stood on it. The nature of that object became clear when it exuded a tiny yelp, few exotic swears, and then brushed your wings while attempting to stand up from the ground. Your eyes welled up some more but now for a different reason.

"Goodness, Seph! I was so scared I would not find you. Have... have you just seen what did occur?"

"Drumkad smite me! Haven't you just scared me?!" a familiar voice replied while a friendly force pulled you up on your feet, "I don't quite know how to put it: after you took your sweet time away, I just went out from the camp to drag you by the ear, but instead of you I found everything sunk under this wave or a cloud of pitch-black smoke, so I can't even see further than three steps away. And, gods, this stench! It makes me nauseous".

"You say you can see something through this dark?"

"But of course I can, just like any Daeva! Although, not more than two to three steps away right now... Anyway, what were you doing so far off, and what all of this is supposed to mean?!"

You did not reply immediately due to feeling the slow thawing of whatever blocked your arcane powers and a mildly painful yet arguably successful attempt to finally conjure a light sphere. Whatever this dark smoky substance was, it parted slightly from the newly-summoned ball of dim light. Even though the darkness retreated not much further than Sephorah's mentioned three steps distance, it was enough for you to see your glowy-eyed companion for yourself, discarding the version of you going blind. The slowly reemerging arcane sense, however, was already giving you shivers. Everything around you reeked with the void corruption. Both figuratively and literally.

"I am not entirely sure myself, but from what I have gathered, this place harbored a settlement long ago and then something happened that resulted in a massacre and the memory of it stuck to some sort of object beneath the ground just like those odd bugs trapped in lady Roisaline's ambers collection. Maybe it was due to our presence, but the memory was reenacted and... And then the void broke out."

As you prepared to answer her questions to what is this "void" that you mentioned, you caught an out-of-place reflection in Sephorah's eyes along with her nigh-mesmerized facial expression and total unresponsiveness to what you just said. Then, you turned around and saw it for yourself: relatively far away, presumably where you located the root of the anomaly, the tendrils of a ghastly cyan fire were spreading in the dark but also refusing to illuminate the surroundings as if in defiance to the laws of physics. Even more - the way the "fire" spread reminded you not the normal dance of your routine campsite bonfires but drops of blood dispersing inside a glass of water. Though slightly enchanted, you did not fail to register the gradual thawing of your supernatural senses and the message they desperately tried to deliver: underneath you, like tens or even hundreds of worms, the anti-sparks made their way to all the sides away from the spot of the blazing rupture, seeking for something to stumble at under the ground.

"Seph... how about we drop the curiosity and run back like there is no tomorrow?" You mumbled dryly, "Because... we are not quite alone in here."

"Can't be any more on board about that," Seph responded as dryly, "Do you remember where the camp is?"

"I think I do but..." You looked back into the darkness, then at the fissure, and then into your memory of the valley before the black-out, "Yes. I'll try to fly back and flash you the way from above. Just, please, be nimble."

You heard her grunting ironically, lightly patting your shoulder in approval, and then bolting out without hesitation. You had to add some pace lifting yourself to the blackness of the skies before Seph could disappear from the range of your spirits sense, so hasty she was. To your even greater surprise, you struggled to keep up with her even while having the advantage of the flight. This outstanding speed of hers, however, coupled with the pressure from the void aethers and the plain difficulty of spellcasting while airborne resulted in you failing to conjure the guiding light orbs even remotely reliably. Distracted and increasingly stressed, the old feeling of the inadequacy-caused anguish struck you when your companion disappeared beyond the range of your senses. Barely managing to suppress tears, you continued forth, desperately attempting to cast even sporadic light to capture the faintest chance of her seeing it.

Despite what would've been expected in your state, the sight of your camp's faint, unattended bonfire and the sparks of the groupmates sleeping there did not reassure you: Seph was beyond your senses but the voidlings were already making their way up to the surface, including the space between the tents. With the teary eyes and the nigh-hysterical sense of urgency, you nearly crashed down, narrowly avoiding breaking legs. Immediately after landing, you sensed the faint tremor under your feet, but it did not distract you from the main goal: loudly raising the alarm and shaking Ren up.

"Ren? Ren! Wake up!" you shook his foot violently after nearly blowing out the tent he was lying in. A sound akin to a rockfall thundered behind you, followed by Amalia's shrill yelp. Ren began to regain senses, albeit slowly and with an unintelligible bearish grumble.

"We are under attack!" you screamed at him and nearly punched out of desperation. Blood chilling shrill of Jory rang, mixed with the sounds of Karl attempting at tossing blazing charges. Ren froze for a bare second, momentarily grabbed his trusty mace, and stormed out, unintentionally pushing you back on your bum in the process.

With quite some anger, he slammed his weapon at what appeared as an odd moving construct made out of skeletal humanoid remains, damp chunks of rocky soil, and ancient debris partially set ablaze by the dirtily-cursing and fire-tossing Karl. The construct shattered under the assault without ever getting an opportunity to cause much trouble but not without somehow emitting a haunting wail. It sounded like a far and heavily distorted echo of a being in great fury, agony, or both states simultaneously. This sight and reverberation sent the chills down your spine and immediately brought you back the recollection of the encounter in an abandoned fort north of Beilford as well as the dream about the cursed heart that you saw that night.

But, despite the momentous recognition of similarities between these events, you were brought back to the present moment by the whizzing sound of Karl's two fire charges flying into the darkness. Ren kicked off one of the few apparitions approaching the party from beyond the tiny range of bonfire light. Amalia scampered to shoe herself up as a start. Softie the packhorse awoke to this mad scene and, contrary to his phlegmatic temper, snorted nervously, possibly thinking about finally calling it quits. Somewhere from the depths of the impassible dark, you could swear you heard a shred of Sephorah's distorted but still distinguishably scared yelp. Her perpetually troubled soul spark appeared at the edge of your sensing range, considerably aside from the shortest route to the anomaly's epicenter, from which scores of voidlings were spreading. Your group ended up scattered, in a disarray, and right in the path of a brewing hell storm. About time for you to act.

Your party is disorganized and each team member will act according to their own will. They will, however, react to your action(s).
The longer you stay, the harder it would get.
Evacuation might take a few rounds. Mind the state of the party and the risks you are willing to take in salvaging possessions and/or team members.
Lucifina's arcane skill is penalized by 1 due to the environment.

[] Fight to push away the assault! (35 offense team effort, 40 defense team effort)
-[] fully magical
--[] onslaught (full arcane skill roll for offense, 1/2 arcane skill roll defense, luck roll)
--[] warding (1/2 of arcane skill roll for offense, full arcane skill for defense, luck roll)
--[] supporting (1/2 or arcane skill roll for offense, 1/2 arcane skill roll for defense, luck roll, Karl gets his offense roll doubled)
-[] combined (1/2 arcane skill roll + 1/2 melee skill roll, 1/2 arcane skill roll + 1/2 defense skill roll, luck roll, per -4 to total offense and defense requirements for the target you are engaging)
-[] physical (melee skill roll, defense skill roll, luck roll)
[] Rescue Sephorah! (15 offense check, 20 defense check)
-[] fully magical
--[] onslaught (full arcane skill roll for offense, 1/2 arcane skill roll defense, luck roll)
--[] warding (1/2 of arcane skill roll for offense, full arcane skill for defense, luck roll)
-[] combined (1/2 arcane skill roll + 1/2 melee skill roll, 1/2 arcane skill roll + 1/2 defense skill roll, luck roll, per -4 to total offense and defense requirements for the target you are engaging)
-[] physical (melee skill roll, defense skill roll, luck roll)
[] Conjure a sanctuary dome to cover the party's regroup! (15 arcane skill check, 10 CON check, luck roll)
[] Salvage the gear! (progress accumulates, 1 pt progress = 1 pt of roll + modifiers)
-[] individual inventories (0/10 progress, Daily craft skill roll, luck roll)
-[] money and food (0/20 progress, Daily craft skill roll, luck roll)
-[] party's inventory stash (0/20 progress, Daily craft skill roll, luck roll)
-[] camping equipment (0/30 progress, Daily craft skill roll, luck roll)
[] Hold to the packhorse!
-[] Force him down (13 STR check, 11 CON check if STR < 8, luck roll)
-[] Calm him down (17 CHA check, 11 CON check if CHA < 11, luck roll)
[] Abandon your group!

[locked] Ulren: ???
[locked] Karl: ???
[locked] Amalia: ???
[locked] Isaac: ???

Sorry for leaving you for over a season - the end of 2019 was hard on me as a single data guy servicing 200 people (and if you don't know how the reporting season feels, then imagine a 24/7 Verdi's Dies Irae loop). Also, having some issues with health, but ain't that critical ~~i hope~~. Even though I did not update for a long time, I wasn't exactly idle and indulged in some worldbuilding. So, this little thread and its universe are certainly not abandoned by their author. Speaking about the worldbuilding...

Some people asked me for a council-type strategy roleplay run in this universe. As you can see, I'm inclining to oblige and already produced some materials. This means that a) a certain character got quite an expansion to their backstory (I guess you can easily find out which one) b) there may very well be a an actual roleplay run soon-ish.

In any case, I beg your pardon for a hiatus. The journey continues.
PS: had some time to reevaluate the stats system, so expect minor changes starting from the next chapter

uiopion · Feb 26, 2020

Cool we're back.

To note - status page has most of the party running -1/-2 in many stats due to various things, so that's a lingering concern. Our arcane is at 10 (11 - 1 and we don't get our bonus).

As to whatever we're up to now...seems that multiple things will be going on at the same time.

[] Fight to push away the assault! (35 offense team effort, 40 defense team effort)
-[] combined (1/2 arcane skill roll + 1/2 melee skill roll, 1/2 arcane skill roll + 1/2 defense skill roll, luck roll, per -4 to total offense and defense requirements for the target you are engaging)

Combined is the usual best bet with the -4/-4 to target. So depending on who participates...
If Lucy/Karl/Ulren all go pew pew, we're at 99.98%
Karl/Ulren is 48.75%
L/K 13.60% (defense sucks here)
L/U 87.69%

[] Rescue Sephorah! (15 offense check, 20 defense check)
-[] combined (1/2 arcane skill roll + 1/2 melee skill roll, 1/2 arcane skill roll + 1/2 defense skill roll, luck roll, per -4 to total offense and defense requirements for the target you are engaging)

Again, running combined as the best bet results in 67.27% success here

[] Conjure a sanctuary dome to cover the party's regroup! (15 arcane skill check, 10 CON check, luck roll)

+10 Arcane, +5 CON = 64% success here

[] Salvage the gear! (progress accumulates, 1 pt progress = 1 pt of roll + modifiers)

I presume the non combatants will be on this (maybe Jory sits out in a corner?) - definitely not the best use of our action.

[] Hold to the packhorse!
-[] Force him down (13 STR check, 11 CON check if STR < 8, luck roll)
-[] Calm him down (17 CHA check, 11 CON check if CHA < 11, luck roll)

We have ≥11 CON, so just the check.
35% & 70% respectively

So, assuming that multiple things happen, we can join in the pew pew and guarantee success there (to what outcome?), or we can go do one of the things unique to us and let UK at their 50% of complete success. I feel like success at the Dome off probably results in the best overall outcome (maybe saves the gear & horse, allows for sorties from a fortified position)?

veekie · Feb 26, 2020

[X] Conjure a sanctuary dome to cover the party's regroup! (15 arcane skill check, 10 CON check, luck roll)

With this situation, priority to clearing debuffs.

Emanyzal · Feb 27, 2020

[X] Conjure a sanctuary dome to cover the party's regroup! (15 arcane skill check, 10 CON check, luck roll)

x0Nothing0x · Feb 27, 2020

[X] Conjure a sanctuary dome to cover the party's regroup! (15 arcane skill check, 10 CON check, luck roll)

Varder · Feb 27, 2020

[X] Conjure a sanctuary dome to cover the party's regroup! (15 arcane skill check, 10 CON check, luck roll)

VagueZ · Feb 27, 2020

[X] Conjure a sanctuary dome to cover the party's regroup! (15 arcane skill check, 10 CON check, luck roll)

It's back!

Teloch · Feb 28, 2020

A consensus, huh? Rollin' time, then.

Hm... gonna keep the detailed analysis of the rolling series down to not spoil the escalation. Will just say that the overall "successfulness" of these rolls can be rated as B- (with A+ as the best grade possible)
Gonna draft today and, hopefully, finish the update this weekend.

PS: Jory, WTF?!

Varder · Feb 28, 2020

Goddam, only Isaac didn't roll like shit. C'mon people, you're a DnD party of a kindergarden group? Get your shit together!

Teloch · Feb 28, 2020

Varder said:
Goddam, only Isaac didn't roll like shit. C'mon people, you're a DnD party of a kindergarden group? Get your shit together!

A little spoiler: should've you go for another action, you would've been way worse off with the equal rolls.

veekie · Mar 3, 2020

Teloch said:
A little spoiler: should've you go for another action, you would've been way worse off with the equal rolls.

Figured as much, we're in a situation where the group is mass debuffed, the highest priority in this type of scenario is almost always to clear the debuffs, because it amplifies bad luck and goads cascade failures.

Heimurn Chronicles (No, SV, you're a young valkyrie in the middle of a bizarre and dangerous journey)

Who is the bae? (Yes, we know that it's Lucy, but still - who's your favorite character)

Ulren, because he's a big bro I never had

Sephorah, because of the floor-chair-face dance

Karl, because smug

Amalia, because a cinnamon roll determinator

Isaac, because kuudere

Jory, becuase...

Rosaline, because I miss her

Mia (the ghost cat), because smug^2

Dunno - I need more party members

Dunno - I want more character interactions

Dunno - Where are the shipping battles, QM?

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Tired Cultist

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