basically, yeah
it should be noted that our companions can use all our revelation based prayers without issues, so laser eyes and invisibility will just be available for them once we have them
Knight of Wessex (A Written World Quest)
- Thread starter Alectai
- Start date
- Original Fantasy Alt. History
it should be noted that our companions can use all our revelation based prayers without issues, so laser eyes and invisibility will just be available for them once we have them
Yeah, but we wanna play with the new shiny thing
- Location
- England, unfortunately.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Yeah sure, nothing wrong with that. And we do need to exploit it for all it's worth.Yeah, but we wanna play with the new shiny thing
I think it's just easy to assume that revelations are more... special, than martial styles? When in truth it's been basically stated that Martial Styles are our way of doing Magic.
In universe this seems to be the case - People overdeveloping their Psyche is common.
I am pretty interested in seeing what the lightning develops into. Hard to tell what exactly we can make it do though. I can presume there's some amount of "find weaknesses" "go around strengths" "do the big Unga Bunga" at least, but I'm interested in what else is showing up in Hard Fall.
Presence means it exists and is present, so does that mean it dips into creation as well? if so can we can use it with web sense to create a flank or making it seems as if we outnumber them in a 1v1 , does flanking even matter in this system? Maybe it even goes into clone territory, like using it to create another body or another attack? Use the clone for more training .
Can we use it capture a person's presence like our mentor for training bonus or other people to give boost to skills like a council of sorts?
I thinking I'm reaching a bit too far with these ideas but one can hope.
Dulling the presence of GKB to make it seems like a basic attack fits thematically with Christianity as Christ was said to look like an average person while being the son of god.
Can we use it capture a person's presence like our mentor for training bonus or other people to give boost to skills like a council of sorts?
I thinking I'm reaching a bit too far with these ideas but one can hope.
Dulling the presence of GKB to make it seems like a basic attack fits thematically with Christianity as Christ was said to look like an average person while being the son of god.
Tournament at Winchester - Duels 4
New
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
0~0~0
Audrey Eotenslaga was a paragon of her kin. She was trained in the reformed practices of Chivalric Combat, blending the greatest legacies of old with one of the mightiest battle styles that Christendom had ever seen. Objectively speaking, she was several cuts above most of her peers.
Yet that didn't mean the old Thanes could be counted out yet–Audrey's thoughts were as clear as the open sky as the two Hama Fields began to clash, seeking out vulnerabilities in one another in the battle's preamble. In a contest like this, the victor would be whoever struck the first three blows–no more, no less.
This would not be a battle she would win by patiently waiting for her foe to tire. For better or worse, this clash would end quickly. The sooner she understood that the sooner she could determine how to find the needle's eye path to victory.
Step one: His shield had to go.
Audrey's Hama quivered, as though she was tensing it for something–and her off-hand reached for the Francisca hanging off her belt. To his credit, Grenwald's reaction was immediate–his Hama condensed to absorb the blow with one layer, while another began to condense at the head of his spear. She didn't sense the pulsing tension of gathering Maegen–so it seemed like he was willing to yield this strike, trusting in the thickness of his Hama to keep the throwing axe from anything important.
This was his first mistake.
The Francisca spun through the air between the two combatants, his Hama tensed to absorb the blow long enough to cast the axe away with the rim of his shield. The moment before impact, he struck, a deflection of impressive skill, even absent the full pressure of his Maegen.
He had miscalculated, Audrey's Francisca was not an attempt to grind away at his Hama as Grenwald had speculated–but a tool meant for the express purpose of shattering shields!
And to his dismay, he fell right for the trap–the Francisca sinking in deeply, hanging off his shield and weighing it down, leather split and wood cracked–a telling strike! Not enough to qualify as a point in the Tournament's format, but that shield was in little condition to survive a similar blow, even with all the might it carried.
A click of his tongue as Grenwald glanced at his shield, then a nod of recognition at Audrey's play–the touch recognized by her foe even if it didn't qualify in the eyes of the judge. His shield lowered, and the Ground flexed with the tension of corded muscle in strain.
Hama condensed at the tip of his spear, and in the blink of an eye, he was flung towards Audrey, with Maegen and compressed Hama spilling off of the tip of his weapon as he plunged it deep into Audrey's barrier. She was confident in its strength–sure enough to block at least a single blow.
In this, she was correct–despite her reaction being far too slow to even dream of deflecting his spear, it expended itself upon her Hama, leaving not a single mark on her plate.
And yet…
"POINT FOR GRENWALD DUNBEORG!"
He did something she had never experienced before, the Hama overlaying his speartip interacted with her field and unraveled it. No mere strain, her Hama was distinctly outright dispersed by that terrible spear of his!
No wonder that counted as a point! That single strike did more damage to her Hama than her own Giant-Killing Blow would have done!
Audrey was quick to react though, her Focus unbroken and untouched despite the surprise of Dunbeorg's strike–and he was in her favored range now. The gambit to bluff him into closing the distance had paid off–and that clever little trick with the Ground had given him the ability to choose the range freely. Not something she had seen back home, she'd have to take note of that.
Gained "Bouncing Leap" Feat in the Ground Shape at the Vague level, it won't appear on your sheet unless you train it, but you can do so now
Step Two then.
Unflinching from his spear even as he withdrew it from Audrey's Hama, she stepped into his reach, counting on her Rebuke to guard her from any ham-fisted flailing or reactive deterrents from Grenwald to move in. Frustratingly, she felt the pressure of his Maegen surging again though, bouncing back and out of reach before she could get a proper grip on him, his spear gathering power a second time in the same motion.
It was a well-balanced technique–she could see this now–the power of tactics refined over centuries–even millennia–of warfare against all comers. To control distance, to grind one's foe down while evading their counterstrokes, and to always seize the initiative no matter how daunting the opponent might be. This was the battle style of an orthodox Thane–not something that could easily be solved, no matter how brilliant one's tactics were.
Because the strength of the Orthodox technique is that virtually all problems have had their solutions discovered by your predecessors, and handed down to reach your hands.
A second Hama-shrouded spear struck force–another third of Audrey's Hama unwoven, leaving her with little more than a picket line–let alone a coherent defense line–to protect her from further harm.
"POINT FOR GRENWALD DUNBEORG!"
He had struck her twice without being struck in turn!
That was… Highly improbable!
But improbable or not, Audrey needed to turn the tables–and she was pretty sure she knew what she needed to do to pull it off too!
Her own Hama had largely retreated from the Ground at this point–trusting in the gossamer-thin strands of her remaining Web to cover her back, and charged head first–while Grenwald's speed was surprisingly high when he chose to move–his jumping technique seemed to take a few moments to reset before he could use it again–and while it allowed him to open distance while staying on the offensive, it couldn't stop her from closing it again! Especially if she didn't care to defend herself on the way in!
He raised his shield, no contempt in his eyes, but Audrey did not feel the pressure of Maegen gathering behind his defense either. She savagely grinned beneath her visor–her Web slowly turning the ring hidden beneath her gauntlet into its active state. His shield turned out to be stickier than she had expected–a layer of Hama wrapped around it intending to trap a careless fighter's weapon in place, but it wasn't able to stop her from slithering past the barricade, grasping his spear-arm in both hands and yanking the limb violently out of position!
It resisted far more than it should have–and a talisman she had previously missed around his neck glowed hot for a moment–but the strength of her ring was enough to compensate for the added strain, soon letting her feel the oh-so-satisfying thunk of an arm violently shoved out of alignment with the rest of the body!
"POINT FOR AUDREY EOTENSLAGA!" Cried the judge–as the cheers of the Crowd as a fight that was thought to be a mere formality suddenly became a competition against all odds. If she were anyone other than what she was–she would lower her guard at this point.
But she remembered her Master's words well–to keep her head on a swivel at all times! Or in this case, to have her threads scattered throughout the battlefield. So when she felt Hama gathering behind her, she didn't think, she reacted, pivoting Grenwald between herself and the attack in question.
The sensation of danger dispersed as the Thane dispelled the spear he had conjured from his own Hama before it could strike him instead. Audrey had to let go of her grip to force him around the way she did after all–and this gave him a chance to react in turn. He dropped his spear, whirling around and raising his shield in defense–showing the same degree of supernatural awareness that Audrey had exhibited in several battles before.
Though she understood how he was doing it in this case–he could feel her centering her stance and reaching for her sword–he had lost track of her with his eyes. Anyone who had made a cursory study of the battle techniques of the Eotenslaga would understand what was coming next–and he wasted no time defending himself–his marvelous shield flaring with pressurized Hama.
Gained "Tremorsense" Feat in the Ground Shape at the Vague Level--this won't appear on your sheet unless you train it, but you can do so now
It was not enough.
Black-Red Lightning cracked through the air, as Audrey finally drew her sword for the first time in this battle. Zeal wreathed its blade, enhanced beyond all reason as she pierced first through Hama, then leather, bronze, ancient wood–and finally scoring a deep groove in the chest of his mail!
"POINT FOR AUDREY EOTENSLAGA!"
The crowd went wild, witnessing such a peerless exchange of tactics–allowing a Squire of Wessex to challenge a veteran Thane head-on and not finding themselves overrun! To show respect for the old and fight in the old ways! Setting all thoughts of the inevitable grind of battle aside and simply throwing oneself into battle with wild abandon!
It was a strategy to create victory even in the face of impossible odds!
And as Grenwald Dunbeorg was flung back from the force of suffering the Giant-Killing Blow at such close range, Audrey took a moment to bask in that adulation.
Two strikes to two Strikes.
The next one would decide the match.
Grenwald steadied his footing, arm dislocated, mail scored, and his Hama strained. He met Audrey's gaze and gave a deep nod of respect, acknowledgment–and a small degree of regret.
Then three powers surged,Maegen of the Mind, Maegen of the Hama, and the Ealdor of his Household woven into a single strand of power beyond anything Audrey had faced to date–eclipsing even Margh Grouse's mightiest blows. A spear of purest Effort given physical form–forged by the willing sacrifice of the better part of a day's labor, and tempered in the Wyrd of his family and predecessors.
The core and most fundamental strength of the Thane was the ability to transcend one's limits, burning the candle all the fiercer to create miracles. This too was part of the Orthodox Style–the willingness to immolate the self for the sake of the community.
Audrey Eotenslaga's grin was radiant, as the Black-Red Lightning gathered in her blade. She could not surge her strength in the same fashion–but her courage and the warnings of her Blood were enough to bring her to her peak form and beyond.
Black-Red Lightning and Crystal Spear clashed–and the crowd roared in rapturous applause.
The battle had ended.
0~0~0
In the end, the outcome wasn't a great surprise. The moment that Grenwald Dunbeorg had accepted his victory in the Duels proper was impossible, all of that energy he could have spent in the final matches could be expended instead to claim one more prize for himself.
Which isn't to say Audrey wasn't a little put out about the whole thing, but she did place higher than any other Squire–and tied with Margh Grouse for the highest ranking non-Thane in the duels. Combined with her brilliant performance in the Duels, she had clearly established that the trust placed in her by God and King was well placed indeed! No mere slip of a girl playing with swords, she was nothing short of the Junior Champion of Wessex!
Which, you know, the "Junior" part does a lot of heavy lifting here, and there were several caveats here and there, but she had made her name! It would be hard work indeed, to continue building on this faultless foundation–to be worthy of more than just the potential for greatness. But she had taken the first steps towards being a splendid Knight of Wessex! That was what was important here–and it wasn't like she was lacking options. The secret stories from the Archive would guide her in her growth ahead–and the Revelation she had been gifted would allow her true potential to flower!
And Master Vieux of course would be with her all along, even as he took a step back from actively holding her hand and trusting her to begin carrying her share of the load in earnest. The Junior Champion of Wessex after all had every right to start making themselves seen and known! So what if she was still a Squire? She had seen battle! She had tested herself against some of the best of her generation and found herself no worse than a peer to the best! She had shown might in joint operations and single combat alike!
And she would be stronger still in the days to come! The great arm-ring of silver and gold tucked into her baggage came with a prize she hadn't even dared to hope for!
Not only was the King to sponsor her acquisition of a proper charger but he would personally see one hand-picked from his stables! The breeding program of Wessex was still in its relative infancy–but she would be blessed with one of the first few Squires with worthy steeds born and trained in the Kingdom!
Oh, there was also a pouch of coin there too, which was nice to have, but it was a bit of a secondary thing when you got down to it. More money is always better to have after all.
Gained +5 Wealth!
Her time in Winchester had been well spent indeed!
But ever greater glory awaited her on the horizon ahead–and Audrey Eotenslaga would not be found wanting!
0~0~0
Knight of Wessex: Part One: Foundations
FIN
0~0~0
AN: And there we have it, that's the end of the Tournament at Winchester Arc, and the end of the first part of the tutorial!
There'll be a summary post of your gains going up soon, and some proper commentary, but this is the end of my part of the writing part of this arc. We'll be picking up with your first Yearly Turn on Friday, to establish what the flow of the game will look like now that you have a bit more freedom of action.
As for the results of the battle… Don't feel bad about it, your plan was perfect–but even a perfect plan needed a fair amount of luck to work out. As things stood, you made the guy work for it despite him holding every advantage–you straight up outplayed his ass in several places, and he had to relinquish all hopes of advancing past the next round to take you out before you got another hit in. Thanes are just really fucking beastly, and even more so when they decide to go full Direstar on you. I hope this gives you a healthy respect for what a skilled Thane is capable of though!
Thank you all for following so far! Your approval gives me life, and Knight of Wessex has been a wonderful revival for my creative energies, I've never felt this good writing something since the high days of Mysteries of the Silk Road, and I intend to continue this project well into the future! Me and the rest of the team have plans going well into the future, and I think you'll like what you have in store as Audrey starts transitioning from being a young Squire into the proper tactical superweapon a trained Knight and their Companions are expected to be.
Look forward to the future!
[X] Plan Rock n' Roll
-[X] Stance: Perfect Footing, Strandsense, Stunning Blow, Vanguard's Prayer, Francesca Toss, Giant Killing Blow, Clever Deflection, Limb Breaking Hold
-[X] Expenditures: 6 Fervour on Meditations, 37 Fervour on Attacks, 1 Fervour on Defenses, 3 Fervour on Utility, 1 Zeal on Giant Killing Blow
-[X] Tactics: Hard-Fall Style. Extend Perfect Footing to counter any ground shapings and forewarning of any attempts to shape the environment to Dunbeorg's advantage. Use Francesca Toss to bait out his shield, and then close in to CQC range. Attempt to use Limb Breaking Hold to disable the arm holding the spear. If that fails, employ the Ring of Stone Strength as necessary. Otherwise bait out additional shield uses with GKB. Stunning Blow whenever an opening presents itself in order to interrupt an attempt by Dunbeorg to retake control of the fight.
-[X] Stance: Perfect Footing, Strandsense, Stunning Blow, Vanguard's Prayer, Francesca Toss, Giant Killing Blow, Clever Deflection, Limb Breaking Hold
-[X] Expenditures: 6 Fervour on Meditations, 37 Fervour on Attacks, 1 Fervour on Defenses, 3 Fervour on Utility, 1 Zeal on Giant Killing Blow
-[X] Tactics: Hard-Fall Style. Extend Perfect Footing to counter any ground shapings and forewarning of any attempts to shape the environment to Dunbeorg's advantage. Use Francesca Toss to bait out his shield, and then close in to CQC range. Attempt to use Limb Breaking Hold to disable the arm holding the spear. If that fails, employ the Ring of Stone Strength as necessary. Otherwise bait out additional shield uses with GKB. Stunning Blow whenever an opening presents itself in order to interrupt an attempt by Dunbeorg to retake control of the fight.
Audrey Eotenslaga was a paragon of her kin. She was trained in the reformed practices of Chivalric Combat, blending the greatest legacies of old with one of the mightiest battle styles that Christendom had ever seen. Objectively speaking, she was several cuts above most of her peers.
Yet that didn't mean the old Thanes could be counted out yet–Audrey's thoughts were as clear as the open sky as the two Hama Fields began to clash, seeking out vulnerabilities in one another in the battle's preamble. In a contest like this, the victor would be whoever struck the first three blows–no more, no less.
This would not be a battle she would win by patiently waiting for her foe to tire. For better or worse, this clash would end quickly. The sooner she understood that the sooner she could determine how to find the needle's eye path to victory.
Step one: His shield had to go.
Audrey's Hama quivered, as though she was tensing it for something–and her off-hand reached for the Francisca hanging off her belt. To his credit, Grenwald's reaction was immediate–his Hama condensed to absorb the blow with one layer, while another began to condense at the head of his spear. She didn't sense the pulsing tension of gathering Maegen–so it seemed like he was willing to yield this strike, trusting in the thickness of his Hama to keep the throwing axe from anything important.
This was his first mistake.
The Francisca spun through the air between the two combatants, his Hama tensed to absorb the blow long enough to cast the axe away with the rim of his shield. The moment before impact, he struck, a deflection of impressive skill, even absent the full pressure of his Maegen.
He had miscalculated, Audrey's Francisca was not an attempt to grind away at his Hama as Grenwald had speculated–but a tool meant for the express purpose of shattering shields!
And to his dismay, he fell right for the trap–the Francisca sinking in deeply, hanging off his shield and weighing it down, leather split and wood cracked–a telling strike! Not enough to qualify as a point in the Tournament's format, but that shield was in little condition to survive a similar blow, even with all the might it carried.
A click of his tongue as Grenwald glanced at his shield, then a nod of recognition at Audrey's play–the touch recognized by her foe even if it didn't qualify in the eyes of the judge. His shield lowered, and the Ground flexed with the tension of corded muscle in strain.
Hama condensed at the tip of his spear, and in the blink of an eye, he was flung towards Audrey, with Maegen and compressed Hama spilling off of the tip of his weapon as he plunged it deep into Audrey's barrier. She was confident in its strength–sure enough to block at least a single blow.
In this, she was correct–despite her reaction being far too slow to even dream of deflecting his spear, it expended itself upon her Hama, leaving not a single mark on her plate.
And yet…
"POINT FOR GRENWALD DUNBEORG!"
He did something she had never experienced before, the Hama overlaying his speartip interacted with her field and unraveled it. No mere strain, her Hama was distinctly outright dispersed by that terrible spear of his!
No wonder that counted as a point! That single strike did more damage to her Hama than her own Giant-Killing Blow would have done!
Audrey was quick to react though, her Focus unbroken and untouched despite the surprise of Dunbeorg's strike–and he was in her favored range now. The gambit to bluff him into closing the distance had paid off–and that clever little trick with the Ground had given him the ability to choose the range freely. Not something she had seen back home, she'd have to take note of that.
Gained "Bouncing Leap" Feat in the Ground Shape at the Vague level, it won't appear on your sheet unless you train it, but you can do so now
Step Two then.
Unflinching from his spear even as he withdrew it from Audrey's Hama, she stepped into his reach, counting on her Rebuke to guard her from any ham-fisted flailing or reactive deterrents from Grenwald to move in. Frustratingly, she felt the pressure of his Maegen surging again though, bouncing back and out of reach before she could get a proper grip on him, his spear gathering power a second time in the same motion.
It was a well-balanced technique–she could see this now–the power of tactics refined over centuries–even millennia–of warfare against all comers. To control distance, to grind one's foe down while evading their counterstrokes, and to always seize the initiative no matter how daunting the opponent might be. This was the battle style of an orthodox Thane–not something that could easily be solved, no matter how brilliant one's tactics were.
Because the strength of the Orthodox technique is that virtually all problems have had their solutions discovered by your predecessors, and handed down to reach your hands.
A second Hama-shrouded spear struck force–another third of Audrey's Hama unwoven, leaving her with little more than a picket line–let alone a coherent defense line–to protect her from further harm.
"POINT FOR GRENWALD DUNBEORG!"
He had struck her twice without being struck in turn!
That was… Highly improbable!
But improbable or not, Audrey needed to turn the tables–and she was pretty sure she knew what she needed to do to pull it off too!
Her own Hama had largely retreated from the Ground at this point–trusting in the gossamer-thin strands of her remaining Web to cover her back, and charged head first–while Grenwald's speed was surprisingly high when he chose to move–his jumping technique seemed to take a few moments to reset before he could use it again–and while it allowed him to open distance while staying on the offensive, it couldn't stop her from closing it again! Especially if she didn't care to defend herself on the way in!
He raised his shield, no contempt in his eyes, but Audrey did not feel the pressure of Maegen gathering behind his defense either. She savagely grinned beneath her visor–her Web slowly turning the ring hidden beneath her gauntlet into its active state. His shield turned out to be stickier than she had expected–a layer of Hama wrapped around it intending to trap a careless fighter's weapon in place, but it wasn't able to stop her from slithering past the barricade, grasping his spear-arm in both hands and yanking the limb violently out of position!
It resisted far more than it should have–and a talisman she had previously missed around his neck glowed hot for a moment–but the strength of her ring was enough to compensate for the added strain, soon letting her feel the oh-so-satisfying thunk of an arm violently shoved out of alignment with the rest of the body!
"POINT FOR AUDREY EOTENSLAGA!" Cried the judge–as the cheers of the Crowd as a fight that was thought to be a mere formality suddenly became a competition against all odds. If she were anyone other than what she was–she would lower her guard at this point.
But she remembered her Master's words well–to keep her head on a swivel at all times! Or in this case, to have her threads scattered throughout the battlefield. So when she felt Hama gathering behind her, she didn't think, she reacted, pivoting Grenwald between herself and the attack in question.
The sensation of danger dispersed as the Thane dispelled the spear he had conjured from his own Hama before it could strike him instead. Audrey had to let go of her grip to force him around the way she did after all–and this gave him a chance to react in turn. He dropped his spear, whirling around and raising his shield in defense–showing the same degree of supernatural awareness that Audrey had exhibited in several battles before.
Though she understood how he was doing it in this case–he could feel her centering her stance and reaching for her sword–he had lost track of her with his eyes. Anyone who had made a cursory study of the battle techniques of the Eotenslaga would understand what was coming next–and he wasted no time defending himself–his marvelous shield flaring with pressurized Hama.
Gained "Tremorsense" Feat in the Ground Shape at the Vague Level--this won't appear on your sheet unless you train it, but you can do so now
It was not enough.
Black-Red Lightning cracked through the air, as Audrey finally drew her sword for the first time in this battle. Zeal wreathed its blade, enhanced beyond all reason as she pierced first through Hama, then leather, bronze, ancient wood–and finally scoring a deep groove in the chest of his mail!
"POINT FOR AUDREY EOTENSLAGA!"
The crowd went wild, witnessing such a peerless exchange of tactics–allowing a Squire of Wessex to challenge a veteran Thane head-on and not finding themselves overrun! To show respect for the old and fight in the old ways! Setting all thoughts of the inevitable grind of battle aside and simply throwing oneself into battle with wild abandon!
It was a strategy to create victory even in the face of impossible odds!
And as Grenwald Dunbeorg was flung back from the force of suffering the Giant-Killing Blow at such close range, Audrey took a moment to bask in that adulation.
Two strikes to two Strikes.
The next one would decide the match.
Grenwald steadied his footing, arm dislocated, mail scored, and his Hama strained. He met Audrey's gaze and gave a deep nod of respect, acknowledgment–and a small degree of regret.
Then three powers surged,Maegen of the Mind, Maegen of the Hama, and the Ealdor of his Household woven into a single strand of power beyond anything Audrey had faced to date–eclipsing even Margh Grouse's mightiest blows. A spear of purest Effort given physical form–forged by the willing sacrifice of the better part of a day's labor, and tempered in the Wyrd of his family and predecessors.
The core and most fundamental strength of the Thane was the ability to transcend one's limits, burning the candle all the fiercer to create miracles. This too was part of the Orthodox Style–the willingness to immolate the self for the sake of the community.
Audrey Eotenslaga's grin was radiant, as the Black-Red Lightning gathered in her blade. She could not surge her strength in the same fashion–but her courage and the warnings of her Blood were enough to bring her to her peak form and beyond.
Black-Red Lightning and Crystal Spear clashed–and the crowd roared in rapturous applause.
The battle had ended.
0~0~0
In the end, the outcome wasn't a great surprise. The moment that Grenwald Dunbeorg had accepted his victory in the Duels proper was impossible, all of that energy he could have spent in the final matches could be expended instead to claim one more prize for himself.
Which isn't to say Audrey wasn't a little put out about the whole thing, but she did place higher than any other Squire–and tied with Margh Grouse for the highest ranking non-Thane in the duels. Combined with her brilliant performance in the Duels, she had clearly established that the trust placed in her by God and King was well placed indeed! No mere slip of a girl playing with swords, she was nothing short of the Junior Champion of Wessex!
Which, you know, the "Junior" part does a lot of heavy lifting here, and there were several caveats here and there, but she had made her name! It would be hard work indeed, to continue building on this faultless foundation–to be worthy of more than just the potential for greatness. But she had taken the first steps towards being a splendid Knight of Wessex! That was what was important here–and it wasn't like she was lacking options. The secret stories from the Archive would guide her in her growth ahead–and the Revelation she had been gifted would allow her true potential to flower!
And Master Vieux of course would be with her all along, even as he took a step back from actively holding her hand and trusting her to begin carrying her share of the load in earnest. The Junior Champion of Wessex after all had every right to start making themselves seen and known! So what if she was still a Squire? She had seen battle! She had tested herself against some of the best of her generation and found herself no worse than a peer to the best! She had shown might in joint operations and single combat alike!
And she would be stronger still in the days to come! The great arm-ring of silver and gold tucked into her baggage came with a prize she hadn't even dared to hope for!
Not only was the King to sponsor her acquisition of a proper charger but he would personally see one hand-picked from his stables! The breeding program of Wessex was still in its relative infancy–but she would be blessed with one of the first few Squires with worthy steeds born and trained in the Kingdom!
Oh, there was also a pouch of coin there too, which was nice to have, but it was a bit of a secondary thing when you got down to it. More money is always better to have after all.
Gained +5 Wealth!
Her time in Winchester had been well spent indeed!
But ever greater glory awaited her on the horizon ahead–and Audrey Eotenslaga would not be found wanting!
0~0~0
Knight of Wessex: Part One: Foundations
FIN
0~0~0
AN: And there we have it, that's the end of the Tournament at Winchester Arc, and the end of the first part of the tutorial!
There'll be a summary post of your gains going up soon, and some proper commentary, but this is the end of my part of the writing part of this arc. We'll be picking up with your first Yearly Turn on Friday, to establish what the flow of the game will look like now that you have a bit more freedom of action.
As for the results of the battle… Don't feel bad about it, your plan was perfect–but even a perfect plan needed a fair amount of luck to work out. As things stood, you made the guy work for it despite him holding every advantage–you straight up outplayed his ass in several places, and he had to relinquish all hopes of advancing past the next round to take you out before you got another hit in. Thanes are just really fucking beastly, and even more so when they decide to go full Direstar on you. I hope this gives you a healthy respect for what a skilled Thane is capable of though!
Thank you all for following so far! Your approval gives me life, and Knight of Wessex has been a wonderful revival for my creative energies, I've never felt this good writing something since the high days of Mysteries of the Silk Road, and I intend to continue this project well into the future! Me and the rest of the team have plans going well into the future, and I think you'll like what you have in store as Audrey starts transitioning from being a young Squire into the proper tactical superweapon a trained Knight and their Companions are expected to be.
Look forward to the future!
Round 1:
Audrey attacks with Francisca Toss for a 52
Grenwald defends with a 39
Grenwald loses 3 Shield Uses
Grenwald leaps forward and attacks with a javelin of Hama 63
Audrey uses Clever Deflection for a 56
Audrey loses 20 Hama Field as his attack targets the weakest parts of it, this is considered a Solid Blow.
Audrey attempts to use Limb-Breaking hold with a 57
Grenwald parries her away with his spear for a 62
Grenwald leaps backwards and attempts another Hama Javelin attack with a 63
Audrey uses Clever Deflection for a 57
Audrey loses another 20 Hama Field, and this too is considered a Solid Blow.
Audrey closes and attempts Limb-Breaking Hold again for 56
Grenwald defends with a 39
Grenwald has defenses, but Audrey's Ring overcomes them, he takes 20 Fortitude loss and his spear arm is dislocated. This is a Solid Blow.
Grenwald conjures a spear of Hama directly behind Audrey and stabs her with it for a 37
Audrey uses Clever Deflection with a 58
Audrey attacks with Giant-Killing Blow for a 63
Grenwald defends with a 43
Grenwald uses his one remaining Shield use to halve the damage, but Audrey spends 1 Zeal to increase it. This combination results in him taking -10 Hama and -5 Armour. This is a Solid Blow.
Grenwald attacks with another conjured spear of Hama for a 72
Audrey uses Clever Deflection for a 64
Grenwald's attack hits, inflciting -10 Hama and -20 Armour. This is a Solid Blow. Grenwald wins 3 Solid Blows to 2.
Audrey attacks with Francisca Toss for a 52
Grenwald defends with a 39
Grenwald loses 3 Shield Uses
Grenwald leaps forward and attacks with a javelin of Hama 63
Audrey uses Clever Deflection for a 56
Audrey loses 20 Hama Field as his attack targets the weakest parts of it, this is considered a Solid Blow.
Audrey attempts to use Limb-Breaking hold with a 57
Grenwald parries her away with his spear for a 62
Grenwald leaps backwards and attempts another Hama Javelin attack with a 63
Audrey uses Clever Deflection for a 57
Audrey loses another 20 Hama Field, and this too is considered a Solid Blow.
Audrey closes and attempts Limb-Breaking Hold again for 56
Grenwald defends with a 39
Grenwald has defenses, but Audrey's Ring overcomes them, he takes 20 Fortitude loss and his spear arm is dislocated. This is a Solid Blow.
Grenwald conjures a spear of Hama directly behind Audrey and stabs her with it for a 37
Audrey uses Clever Deflection with a 58
Audrey attacks with Giant-Killing Blow for a 63
Grenwald defends with a 43
Grenwald uses his one remaining Shield use to halve the damage, but Audrey spends 1 Zeal to increase it. This combination results in him taking -10 Hama and -5 Armour. This is a Solid Blow.
Grenwald attacks with another conjured spear of Hama for a 72
Audrey uses Clever Deflection for a 64
Grenwald's attack hits, inflciting -10 Hama and -20 Armour. This is a Solid Blow. Grenwald wins 3 Solid Blows to 2.
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- Location
- England, unfortunately.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Yeah, it sucks, but this was a setup that we weren't expecting to win, and at the very least we made him sweat for it.
Ah well. There is a part of me saying that if we'd had the lodestone, We might have had a shot, but honestly, his defences might have been enough to overcome it, and we've already basically won back it's cost, so hopefully...eh idk.
Edit: We also got a couple of feats from this battle, so honestly, this battle was pretty profitable, even though we lost.
Ah well. There is a part of me saying that if we'd had the lodestone, We might have had a shot, but honestly, his defences might have been enough to overcome it, and we've already basically won back it's cost, so hopefully...eh idk.
Edit: We also got a couple of feats from this battle, so honestly, this battle was pretty profitable, even though we lost.
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Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
He'd have actually novaed a defense if you whipped out a talisman to attack him with, and then you'd have probably wasted it.
This wasn't a problem that could have been solved with a cheap expendable. This is why I'm saying "Your plan was ideal, you just needed to get lucky to win, and you didn't"
- Location
- England, unfortunately.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Yeah fair. Not going to linger on that too much, that way lies being bitter.
And honestly, with those two feats, I can honestly take losing pretty well. Those seem like they're crazy helpful.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
It's free action reposition on your turn and is compatible with Rotes (Due to being a Feat) and a specialist perception that works against tunnelers. The latter was pretty easy to learn because it's in the Eotenslaga wheelhouse, the former would have been very hard to come up with on your own.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Priests have some extra stuff they can do with Revelations that make Revelations more flexible for them than they are for a Knight, so they likely are better...for a Priest.
For a Knight, Revelations are still broader than a Martial Style by a fair bit...you can use Light for stealth, social stuff, various combat things, and so on, while Hard-Fall is useful solely for fighting, and that tends to hold true more generally...even a very combat-focused Revelation is broader than most Martial Styles. But that's breadth rather than depth...they are not more powerful, just broader in their possible applications.
It can't usually create a Presence out of nothing. It enhances or reduces existing presences, for the most part. It also can't really capture Presences like that long term, I don't believe.
IMO, you can use Presence to enhance real traits not just the perception thereof, but only at very low levels that wouldn't be useful in combat (like the Light-based healing I mentioned previously...basically a suped up placebo effect for jacking up natural healing and disease resistance).
Tremorsense is fairly redundant with Strandsense, except against tunnelers. It's fairly niche to pursue at this point, IMO, you'd very rarely use it. Bouncing Leap, however, is a very different matter.
Gained "Tremorsense" Feat in the Ground Shape at the Vague Level--this won't appear on your sheet unless you train it, but you can do so now
Gained "Bouncing Leap" Feat in the Ground Shape at the Vague level, it won't appear on your sheet unless you train it, but you can do so now
nice some new feats
Gained "Bouncing Leap" Feat in the Ground Shape at the Vague level, it won't appear on your sheet unless you train it, but you can do so now
nice some new feats
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Always fairly likely. He didn't want to get grappled and had the Maegen to burn on defending against that at least once. So he did. The second one, he decided to economize because he thought his surprise spear from behind would win it all and he was at 2-0 at the time...trading hits is worth it in that instance.
As nice as getting to the next round would have been at least we got 2 hits in before loosing. Shows how close we were which makes the loss better for our reputation too. It's damn a squire made it that far and had a solid chance of getting into the top 4 opposed to man that squire really squeezed into the top 8 slot off of luck huh.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yeah, getting two hits in and forcing him to go all out to win mattered significantly in terms of Audrey's reputation.
Omegahugger
Inattentive Idiot
How rude. Our enemies aren't supposed to win, they're supposed to give just enough of a fight to make us look cool before falling to our blade.
What's next, Audrey comes across the sword in the anvil and isn't able to pull it?
What's next, Audrey comes across the sword in the anvil and isn't able to pull it?
The near lost stings but at least it was cool
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Seeing him use his Spear Shape to sneak attack Audrey, could Audrey still use her Black Scratch on a Hama Shaped Sword, because that could be really useful. Course she then need to get Sword Shape, but that doesn't seem that difficult compared to other shapes.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
If she had a Sword Feat specifically designed for channeling other attacks, then yes. That's fairly specific but not impossible...but yes, that would involve getting Sword Shape which isn't casual.
- Location
- United States
Ah ... to get so close stings, but sometimes the dice just don't play ball. It would've been cool to keep moving forward in the duels, but we accomplished everything we reasonably could've expected.
- Location
- England, unfortunately.
- Pronouns
- She/They
I'm personally looking forwards to Bouncing Leap. Tremorsense seemed cool, but... yeah I keep forgetting how Bustedly useful strandsense is, even after it let us get in a chance to shine this update. Might put some training in to get Tremorsense at rough just to that we have it if we're up against something where we need it... though I'm loathe to, thinking about it. 3 training in the right place could do a lot.
Bouncing leap, however, means we now have a way to Get In that isn't Darting Strike. And unlike DS, it being a feat means that we can combine it with our actually heavy hitting moves. GKB may or may not be on the table with its windup, but BS is an old reliable. Also, probably more importantly means we have a way to Get Out if a situation is bad, which could combine nicely with Slip free if we get into another Grapple with a Norseman.
That being said... this all kinda shows why Thanes are so fearsome. This was a guy who lost pretty badly on his Tactics Roll, and he still managed to reasonably control distance, shred our primary defense, almost sniped us in the back with a sneak attack, and in the end counted for Audreys first Real, Unambiguous loss. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, having that Pride stung every now and then can help keep it in check, especially since she did so well.
But still, Thanes are pretty awesome, even if the fact that his Nova even after all that Hama damage felt like it did the equivalent of a Squeaky Mallet - though I'm guessing he didn't buff the Damage since he didn't need to?
Bouncing leap, however, means we now have a way to Get In that isn't Darting Strike. And unlike DS, it being a feat means that we can combine it with our actually heavy hitting moves. GKB may or may not be on the table with its windup, but BS is an old reliable. Also, probably more importantly means we have a way to Get Out if a situation is bad, which could combine nicely with Slip free if we get into another Grapple with a Norseman.
That being said... this all kinda shows why Thanes are so fearsome. This was a guy who lost pretty badly on his Tactics Roll, and he still managed to reasonably control distance, shred our primary defense, almost sniped us in the back with a sneak attack, and in the end counted for Audreys first Real, Unambiguous loss. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, having that Pride stung every now and then can help keep it in check, especially since she did so well.
But still, Thanes are pretty awesome, even if the fact that his Nova even after all that Hama damage felt like it did the equivalent of a Squeaky Mallet - though I'm guessing he didn't buff the Damage since he didn't need to?
Clearly we do the Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow thing and just use the Anvil as well!
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- Location
- his hidden lair
On the other hand, there are few things supposed to be more terrifying than a heavy cavalry charge, and breaking ranks in fear of the impending shock is a really easy way to make a cavalry charge even worse to receive- so a rote or meditation all about signaling as hard as possible 'this cavalry charge is a nightmare you won't survive' is probably a pretty direct way of making that particular Unga hit harder.
Your core premise that we're a Soma main not a Psyche is completely valid, but there might be circumstantial tools that are really good at the Unga Bunga in the right scenario.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
His whole loadout was set up to get three Solid Blows as economically as possible. He would have assigned his Capacity and fought a real fight differently and yeah, had options for more damage in that scenario in all likelihood.
Though that said, even with what he did, Audrey's stuff looked like this by the end of the fight:
Fortitude 120/120, Focus 50/50, Armour 70/100, Hama 10/60
That's actually a pretty worrying amount of accumulated damage. She's at the point where a single GKB level hit would break her Focus, which tends to be an insta-loss. Now, a lot of people lack hits of that magnitude, but two more reasonable 'big hits' would be likewise very bad. He, meanwhile, was probably healthier physically, but running pretty low on juice.