I Walk in Dreams -- An Esoteric Journey Quest
- Thread starter picklepikkl
- Start date
- Original Fantasy Modern
Oh, that is a gorgeous tarot set. I'm very tempted to add it to my own collection of tarot decks.
Anyway, no idea on the vote, not sure I've quite wrapped my head around the mechanics, but it's been really interesting so far.
- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Yep! That's mentioned in the Mechanics threadmark, under Informational.
Exactly correct.
Yeah, the correspondence between what you see in the Ascent and the Tarot is occasionally quite loose. Some scholars will argue that this means that the traditional meanings of the Tarot are wrong and should be updated to better fit the Ascent; some scholars will argue that this means that the relevant station of the Ascent actually corresponds to some other card; some scholars will argue that this means that the Ascent changes over time and what it reflected in the past and will reflect in the future has no reason to correspond to a mundane cultural artifact; some scholars will argue that this means that the Ascent will change to match the meanings humans give the cards.
While "I don't want to be the sort of person who challenges strangers to fights" is an extremely valid take (and this is part of why I put this up to a vote), I feel the need to point out that in no way are you taking Idra's resources in the "challenge her" option. First of all, there is zero guarantee that you will win if you do challenge her; second of all, you metaphysically can't steal insights from other people, it's just flat-out impossible. The only reasons to fight other occultists in the dreaming-world are "for fun/pride/a learning experience" and "to actually try to seriously spiritually hurt them." You can spar with people, and you can try to kneecap people, but you can't mug people, if that makes sense. The Supernal Power you get from that option comes from what you, personally, learn from the fight, entirely separate from what Idra gets out of it herself; it's not, like, the stakes of the match.
Apologies if that was unclear; I wrote the end of the post in a hurry at a rest stop so that I could publish it and then take over the remainder of the drive from my wife, who is very tolerant of my bullshit.
Thanks! I'm glad to finally be into the meat of the quest instead of just getting everything prepared; as Ash points out, ducks have the tendency to multiply when you're getting them in a row. Regarding the mechanics, feel free to post or DM if something is unclear, but "I just want to read along and vibe" is of course valid.
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That's one heck of a working culture though, this isn't normal, I presume?
As far as saving resources goes fighting would be better, but I think I like the other option more in the end (we'll cut out at 1 more WP spent after this though)
We can lose cards from our Pneuma, and I would also rather have cards to lose instead of our Aces, thanks
[X] Spend one Willpower, teaching her a secret of light and air, one that cannot be found in these books: Add this card to your Pneuma. Gain one Supernal Insight.
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- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
From a purely mechanistic perspective - right now, we have no deep reason to favor any specific suit over another. As such, for now we can largely treat the different categories of Supernal Resource and the different categories of various Auras as interchangeable. Later on, as we tailor our build to a particular suit, that might change. Auras are time-limited resources, while willpower is a persistent resource.
As such:
As such:
- If there's an opportunity to trade an Aura for a Supernal Resource (as with the duel), then that's a net gain of permanent resources.
- If there's an opportunity to trade a Supernal Resource for an Aura (as with the vulture), then that's a net loss of permanent resources.
- We don't yet know what a "good" conversion rate of Willpower to resources is, nor of ways to replenish Willpower. If nothing else, it seems reasonable to not trade Willpower for temporary resources.
Wiadi
Uncompromising Radical Leftist
- Location
- Something Clever
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Spend one Supernal Force or Aura of the suit of Swords, challenging her to a friendly (?) wizards' duel: Add this card to your Pneuma. Gain one Supernal Force.
Mechanically, this is the obviously correct option - Willpower (basically) doesn't come back, while there's no guarantee we'll even find another use for a Swords Aura before this one expires on its own. Supernal resources are of seemingly equivalent value for all we know so far, and we get a card in our Pneuma either way (if we don't just move on).
Narratively...honestly, we're not a people person. Historically, we're used to a deeply cutthroat interpersonal environment, and currently, we're isolated in large part due to our inability to interact with others in a healthy and productive way. We may want to work on fixing that eventually, but that should be a process that takes time - I think having some sharp edges left over to deal with is honestly more interesting than just jumping straight to a friendly and cooperative attitude.
(also again seriously please I cannot stress enough how much this is the mechanically correct choice)
Mechanically, this is the obviously correct option - Willpower (basically) doesn't come back, while there's no guarantee we'll even find another use for a Swords Aura before this one expires on its own. Supernal resources are of seemingly equivalent value for all we know so far, and we get a card in our Pneuma either way (if we don't just move on).
Narratively...honestly, we're not a people person. Historically, we're used to a deeply cutthroat interpersonal environment, and currently, we're isolated in large part due to our inability to interact with others in a healthy and productive way. We may want to work on fixing that eventually, but that should be a process that takes time - I think having some sharp edges left over to deal with is honestly more interesting than just jumping straight to a friendly and cooperative attitude.
(also again seriously please I cannot stress enough how much this is the mechanically correct choice)
[X] Spend one Supernal Force or Aura of the suit of Swords, challenging her to a friendly (?) wizards' duel: Add this card to your Pneuma. Gain one Supernal Force.
[X] Spend one Supernal Force or Aura of the suit of Swords, challenging her to a friendly (?) wizards' duel: Add this card to your Pneuma. Gain one Supernal Force.
There are companies like that. I worked at one for a little while. It was awful. People who work in them for long enough almost all think it is perfectly normal and the rest of us who want to have lives outside of work or want adequate training before trying something novel are the weirdos.
I would guess that at least half of the companies in the US of (North) America have some of this. In my industry mandatory overtime is very common. It took me years to find a place without and I still work a few hours of unpaid overtime every week because I am still learning how to let go of a problem at the end of the day. I try really hard not to pass that same attitude down to the engineers I support, but I have to stop and remind myself that most people aren't interested in taking on risky, unknown work sometimes or staying all night to run down one last detail; and my (much healthier) current corporate culture doesn't expect them to.
I'm (luckily) not Ash, but I certainly recognize him.
[X] Spend one Supernal Force or Aura of the suit of Swords, challenging her to a friendly (?) wizards' duel: Add this card to your Pneuma. Gain one Supernal Force.
- Location
- Outside the Box
- Pronouns
- She/Her
This is some really evocative stuff. It's seriously great.
[X] Spend one Supernal Force or Aura of the suit of Swords, challenging her to a friendly (?) wizards' duel: Add this card to your Pneuma. Gain one Supernal Force.
I can't help but think of a few quests where people keep finding more "necessary" preparations to spend time on for something they could've done a long time ago.
[X] Spend one Supernal Force or Aura of the suit of Swords, challenging her to a friendly (?) wizards' duel: Add this card to your Pneuma. Gain one Supernal Force.
- Location
- New York
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Spend one Willpower, teaching her a secret of light and air, one that cannot be found in these books: Add this card to your Pneuma. Gain one Supernal Insight.
Welp, the two options to engage with this are exactly tied. I have to say that I'm fine with the one I'm not voting for winning, as mechanically it does seem better to spend an aura rather than willpower and apparently Idra won't suffer from this even if she loses, but I don't love the symbolism of this, and symbolism might be important here. Actually, speaking of symbolism: what would it say that Ash got an omen of dashed signifiance, wondered whether this was drawn to their future failures or to the failures of others that they would caused, and then upon meeting someone ambitious they immediately invite them to a fight?
- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
All right, well, it's been 24 hours and there haven't been any votes in four of those, so I'm locking up.
Incidentally, I am surprised by how few votes were cast this time around. The lack of votes on Day 0 made sense to me, because that was a plan vote that was kind of complicated (and I'm thinking about whether I want to handle Night 2 differently and see if people like it better), but this vote was pretty straightforward, very close, and still only barely cracked double digits. Is it just the mechanics that are the stumbling block? If so, uh, that's unfortunate because "vote on how to handle a thing you run into in the dream" is going to be the vast majority of votes.
Incidentally, I am surprised by how few votes were cast this time around. The lack of votes on Day 0 made sense to me, because that was a plan vote that was kind of complicated (and I'm thinking about whether I want to handle Night 2 differently and see if people like it better), but this vote was pretty straightforward, very close, and still only barely cracked double digits. Is it just the mechanics that are the stumbling block? If so, uh, that's unfortunate because "vote on how to handle a thing you run into in the dream" is going to be the vast majority of votes.
- Location
- Actually pretty lost
...I forgot to vote!
That aside, this honestly seems more or less in line with what I'd expect from the early days of an Original Content (and not alt-history) quest in terms of voter numbers. That's almost everyone who left a reaction on the update, so I don't think it's down to lurkers not voting either.
That aside, this honestly seems more or less in line with what I'd expect from the early days of an Original Content (and not alt-history) quest in terms of voter numbers. That's almost everyone who left a reaction on the update, so I don't think it's down to lurkers not voting either.
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I also forgot to vote. I read the update on my phone and then forgot to make my vote when I next got to my computer.
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I just haven't had time to finish reading the update yet 😅
- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
You make a good point about people who left reactions on the update; like I mentioned on Discord, the thing that's throwing me isn't the small audience, that's to be expected from an original content quest. The thing that's throwing me is going from 25-30 voters on the character creation votes, including the one that was all write-ins, down to 13 for the first vote engaging with the quest's core mechanic. But I am a known overly anxious person who jumps at trivialities, like a cheetah without an emotional support dog.
Phonevoting is the worst, it is agreed.
Er, whoops. Sorry! I've been trying to maintain a near-daily update pace (i.e. "pulling a Boney") both because it's psychologically good for me to maintain momentum and because hopefully "hey, this is being updated regularly" is a charm point that can balance out the "this is original content" issue Deathbybunnies brought up. But I guess that creates issues for people who aren't as terminally online as I am. I don't want you to get left behind, especially since you contributed a bunch of key ideas during the character creation votes!
Anyway, update imminent.
The First Night -- Part Two
- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
[*] Spend one Supernal Force or Aura of the suit of Swords, challenging her to a friendly (?) wizards' duel: Add this card to your Pneuma. Gain one Supernal Force.
Tally
Tally
You size Idra up with a critical eye. The memory of the vast solemn lichyard you passed through tonight is weighing on you. The people there -- you think it is a memory of the real person, that the ones those markers represent had existences of such weight, souls of such greatness, to have left an imprint on the dreaming-realm. You, Idra, the dead: those aspiring to greatness, and those who have achieved it. Part of you is reflexively condescending toward Idra: she's barely an adult, she knows nothing of what she's doing, how can she possibly be ready for what lies ahead? But another part of you, the part that sits back and analyzes and speaks up when something is wrong, that noticed when your job was slowly pulling you apart, points out that, given how similar the two of you are, the same can absolutely be said of you.
That gives you an idea.
"I have a proposal," you say to her. She regards you with caution and no small measure of defiance -- apparently she did not appreciate being eyeballed. "We're at similar stages of our Ascent. I think we would both find a test of our abilities useful. What do you say we step outside and have a spar? To the first clean hit or surrender."
"Stakes?" she says, her expression giving nothing away.
"The dearest," you reply. "Pride."
That gets a genuine-looking smile out of her, knife-edged though it is. "You're speaking my language. I accept."
The two of you go outside, keeping the books of the library-chapel out of harm's way, though you privately doubt that there's much the two of you could do to seriously endanger them. You discuss starting positions and whether to have some sort of ring; you settle on a rule that if there's been no active fighting for ten seconds, then whoever is closer to the chapel is the winner, to prevent endless stalling and evasion.
(Not that you have any mind to do so, or suspect she does either. But you know you would abuse poorly-defined rules if it meant winning, and so far treating Idra as another you has been accurate to a first approximation.)
You face off against one another, and the fight begins.
"You punched me," Idra complains again, leaning back on her hands as the two of you catch your breaths on a hillock. "What the hell sort of wizard punches people?"
"The hell sort of wizard that found themself in punching range," you reply, lying on the too-vivid grass while you nurse some tender ribs. You had managed to block the rock she projected at you with one of your own, but it turns out that rocks break when they smash together instead of just canceling out and the fragments got you. It wasn't technically a clean hit, but you threw in the towel after that. "And it's not like it worked. You're absurdly fast with that air shield."
"Almost gave me a black eye, though."
"And if this were horseshoes or hand-grenades, that would matter."
She snorts. "True enough." She's quiet for a moment, taking her chestnut hair out of the ponytail she'd put it into for the spar, then speaks again. "Why'd you call it, at the end? The air shield takes a lot out of me, I couldn't have done it twice, there was still a fight to be had." There's a hint of challenge in her voice, and with the ease of spotting yourself in a photograph you pick out her real question: did you let me win?
You shrug, as best you can while still flat on your back. "I wasn't injured, but I was hurting, and you were running on fumes. Keeping the fight going was too risky to both of us. Yeah, it sucks to get taken down by a punk kid," there's the smirk you were expecting, "but it would suck more to hurt my shot at the Ascent, or for that matter to hurt yours." Fuck it, you think you've built up enough credit with her at this point that you can afford to lay it on a bit thick. "Take it from me, sometimes seeking the victory that actually matters means accepting a loss here and there." You lever yourself to a sitting position with a wince. "I should probably keep moving. But I'd like to keep in touch. You American?"
"Canadian."
"Really."
"The hell is that supposed to mean? Yes really."
"Nothing." National stereotypes are a load of crap, it turns out. "Okay. Not phones, then, I don't have an international plan anymore. Email address? Pretty sure I can remember that in the morning."
"Sure," she says, smiling again.
You exchange details and part, you headed on your way and she back to her books. Idra had a facility with the elemental magic of the dreaming-realm that was really impressive, and you fully intend to pick her brain for tips. But it turned out you are much more of a fighter than she is. Years of experience, you suppose. It didn't give you the win this time, but it easily might have, and might yet.
You think you both probably learned something.
FOUR OF CUPS
Once more, you encounter a structure on your travel. This time, it's one you've read about, and you recognize it as it comes into view: not gradually coming up from under the horizon, but a blurriness sharpening into detail. Another reminder of how this realm is different.
The Gallery of Hearts is a museum, of sorts, built by nobody-knows-who but maintained by some lesser dream-entities. It is the sort of place a psychologist back in mundane reality would cheerfully give their arm to visit (though, granted, that's probably true of this entire realm, given what it is). It contains hundreds of replicas and recordings of human hearts, with all their psychic-spiritual anatomy intact: the metaphor made literal and legible. There is no better place to see the workings of love up close, and to learn about the many ways in which it can grow. But few dreamers dare to enter the gallery, despite how valuable and fascinating it is.
For the price of admission is this: you must consent to have your own heart replicated and made into an exhibit. It will be shown to you before you leave, with the truth of your love, or its absence, on full display to you and the world forever.
Could you bear that? How much would it destroy you, to learn what you hide from yourself? You can feel it beat faster in your chest as you pause outside the entrance to make up your mind.
[] Take a breath, and move on: Gain this card as an Aura.
[] Spend 1 Willpower: Add this card to your Pneuma and reveal the top card of the Ascent Deck. If it is a Two, Three, Four, or Five, Lose the winner of the [ANTE] vote from your Pneuma, or gain a Supernal Connection if it is anything else. Then shuffle the revealed card into the Ascent Deck.
[][ANTE] Write-in a card from your Pneuma
Your options are the four Aces, the Three of Swords, the Page of Wands, the Fool, and the Four of Cups, since the [ANTE] vote will only be relevant if adding the Four of Cups to your Pneuma wins.
Decks and Resources: Character Sheet
Night-specific information: 4/max 6 Explorations, 1/max 3 Willpower spent
- I've structured the voting this way to try to make it clear that [ANTE] is only relevant if entering the gallery wins. You can vote to move on and still cast a vote for [ANTE] without making your dispreferred option likelier to win. Let me know if you have ideas for how I could have structured it more clearly.
- I've linked the Character Sheet above, which has the contents of the various decks (and, in fact, I update it while writing the updates, meaning eagle-eyed viewers can get a sneak peek of what's getting drawn), but just to make it easy for you: there are twenty-four cards left in your Ascent Deck and thirteen of them are Twos, Threes, Fours, or Fives, giving you a 54% chance of "losing" the bet, slightly worse than coinflip odds.
- This Tarot deck is a dick, wow. I swear there are cards in here that aren't personal attacks on the character you made, honest.
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- Location
- Seattle
I get major Alice in Wonderland meets Peter Pan by way of Magic the Gathering vibes from this post.
[X] Spend 1 Willpower: Add this card to your Pneuma and reveal the top card of the Ascent Deck. If it is a Two, Three, Four, or Five, Lose the winner of the [ANTE] vote from your Pneuma, or gain a Supernal Connection if it is anything else. Then shuffle the revealed card into the Ascent Deck.
[X][ANTE] Four of Cups
11/24 of the draw is good, decent odds.
[X][ANTE] Four of Cups
11/24 of the draw is good, decent odds.
Nope, I don't think Ash is ready for this quite yet.
[X] Take a breath, and move on: Gain this card as an Aura.
Edit: also, I love the interaction with Idra. Especially the bit about the stakes, and also "what kind of wizard punches people?"
[X] Take a breath, and move on: Gain this card as an Aura.
Edit: also, I love the interaction with Idra. Especially the bit about the stakes, and also "what kind of wizard punches people?"
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- Location
- Actually pretty lost
[X] Spend 1 Willpower: Add this card to your Pneuma and reveal the top card of the Ascent Deck. If it is a Two, Three, Four, or Five, Lose the winner of the [ANTE] vote from your Pneuma, or gain a Supernal Connection if it is anything else. Then shuffle the revealed card into the Ascent Deck.
[X][ANTE] Three of Swords
Tarot works on poker rules, right? Lower numbers are less valuable?
[X][ANTE] Three of Swords
Tarot works on poker rules, right? Lower numbers are less valuable?