I've been lurking since the start of MfD almost a decade ago, and when I saw not one, but TWO posts about gemstones in MfD I figured this was the time to make an account and post.
@eaglejarl@Velorien@Paperclipped what domesticated animals exist in the EN? Not beasts that have been tamed, that are caught wild and raised around humans, but that have been bred for human use. IIRC it's just dogs, but are there others?
Pretty much every niche filled by domesticated animals in an ordinary medieval society is filled by something in Marked for Death as well. However, translating from Elemental Nationese sometimes loses a few subtleties, such as the fact that the creatures referred to as goats have bone plating to protect them from vampiric cabbage. In other cases, it's things like giant boars being used as beasts of burden by the nobility, as has always been the case and ignore Kagome looking bewildered over in the corner.
Yes. At a certain skill level, you are eligible to induct others into the basics of the art. Obviously, if your apprentice wants to surpass you, they may need additional sources (such as a teacher who knows things you don't, scrolls written by experts past, or the opportunity to experiment). @faflec, do you know what the specific threshold was, and whether it was stated before or after the Great Rebalancing?
Yes. At a certain skill level, you are eligible to induct others into the basics of the art. Obviously, if your apprentice wants to surpass you, they may need additional sources (such as a teacher who knows things you don't, scrolls written by experts past, or the opportunity to experiment). @faflec, do you know what the specific threshold was, and whether it was stated before or after the Great Rebalancing?
It can matter! I don't agree with this. If we built the most ridiculously ostentatious estate in Leaf with our diamond money. It will be cool as fuck. We can hire out even more Till'n'Fills, we can buy more koi. Money is genuinely useful stuff
I personally get the impression that these and most of our various charitable projects are more constrained by the number of ninja Leaf is willing to dedicate to doing them, not how much money we have to throw at the problem.
Also while I support doing them in principle... are they like, working? I'm curious how many lives these missions save in an abstract sense. If a 5 year old kid with chakra reserves who would've starved instead survives another year for Leaf to find them, I wonder if we could see that reflected in larger-than-usual academy classroom sizes. But I know the authors also don't feel like having to math it all out, hence why I'm more curious on an abstract level if e.g. Kei or Shikamaru think they are a strongly effective use of resources
Pretty much every niche filled by domesticated animals in an ordinary medieval society is filled by something in Marked for Death as well. However, translating from Elemental Nationese sometimes loses a few subtleties, such as the fact that the creatures referred to as goats have bone plating to protect them from vampiric cabbage. In other cases, it's things like giant boars being used as beasts of burden by the nobility, as has always been the case and ignore Kagome looking bewildered over in the corner
Sorry for following up on this. But just to check. There are lots of these animals, they are bred by humans in captivity, and they live in close proximity to people their whole lives?
Is there a horse analog? Something that can increase travel speed of civilians?
I personally get the impression that these and most of our various charitable projects are more constrained by the number of ninja Leaf is willing to dedicate to doing them, not how much money we have to throw at the problem
I absolutely agree with this, but I think increasing the payout by 10x would increase the willingness of Leaf nin to do Till'n'Fills and so on and so forth
Also while I support doing them in principle... are they like, working? I'm curious how many lives these missions save in an abstract sense. If a 5 year old kid with chakra reserves who would've starved instead survives another year for Leaf to find them, I wonder if we could see that reflected in larger-than-usual academy classroom sizes. But I know the authors also don't feel like having to math it all out, hence why I'm more curious on an abstract level if e.g. Kei or Shikamaru think they are a strongly effective use of resources
Since this is ultimately a game the easiest way to make Till n Fills matter would be to introduce an 'End of Civilization' progress bar (literally or metaphorically, depending on how much the QMs want our characters to be able to peek behind their simulated selves) that steadily fills up over time. Till n Fills can act as mitigating influences on that progress bar or even reverse its progress if we organize enough of them.
Is it as simulationist as possible? No, but it would save a ton of spoons while still making sponsoring Till N Fills matter for in game reasons.
Chakra beasts sense the Chakra of their targets. Using ninshu, they gravitate towards and eventually prey upon those who harbor hatred in their hearts. It's only natural that civilians are attacked; building walls subverts the natural order and the Will of Fire.
Sorry for following up on this. But just to check. There are lots of these animals, they are bred by humans in captivity, and they live in close proximity to people their whole lives?
Is there a horse analog? Something that can increase travel speed of civilians?
There aren't lots. The MfDverse has far more predators capable of preying on livestock and similar than the real world. However, some animals are bred in captivity and spend their whole lives in proximity to humans. There is a great deal of regional variation in what animals and on what scale.
Horses and functional equivalents exist, but are a luxury beyond the reach of the typical civilian.
Soooo since we just got a big pile of money we should probably figure out what we want to do with it. I personally would want to try and hire a top tier jutsu hacker to make custom top tier stuff for us
There aren't lots. The MfDverse has far more predators capable of preying on livestock and similar than the real world. However, some animals are bred in captivity and spend their whole lives in proximity to humans. There is a great deal of regional variation in what animals and on what scale
Okay, this is very interesting stuff. It's very different from IRL.
There are only 14 domesticated species in the entire world. (Not counting honeybees and silkworms).
There is almost no regional variation. As soon as anyone can get cattle they raise cattle instead of alpacas. Since cattle are much more profitable.
Based on the greater regional variation I would expect many fewer plagues in the EN. Because the difficulty of a plague jumping from animal to human is the same, but there are far fewer humans and domesticated animals around.
Unless there's some behind-the-scenes chakra influencing mutation rates I'm not aware of, that is.
Okay, this is very interesting stuff. It's very different from IRL.
There are only 14 domesticated species in the entire world. (Not counting honeybees and silkworms).
There is almost no regional variation. As soon as anyone can get cattle they raise cattle instead of alpacas. Since cattle are much more profitable.
Based on the greater regional variation I would expect many fewer plagues in the EN. Because the difficulty of a plague jumping from animal to human is the same, but there are far fewer humans and domesticated animals around.
Unless there's some behind-the-scenes chakra influencing mutation rates I'm not aware of, that is.
Paneihei glanced at Hazō, then back to the pair of burly pangolins guarding the grand gates to the heart of the Conclave. The pangolins had erected the megastructure just outside of the Pangolin city of Higata in the same style as the rest of their buildings. The central mass was a dome, with the upper half sawed off to expose a central courtyard deep within, studded by thick, conical guard towers in key points around the dome's perimeter. The open-top design almost reminded Hazō of a Chūnin Exams arena.
"This is the Dog Summoner," Paneihei said, "a representative of a powerful clan of the Seventh Path who has traveled long to get here. The Pangolin and Toad Summoners accompany him."
"The two of them are welcome beyond these gates," the nameless pangolin guard said. "The Dog Summoner is forbidden entry."
Team Uplift had selected their arrival location so that their escorts would have to take them through the Conclave's massive main gate, built to accommodate creatures like Pantsā or Gamabunta (who Kei and Noburi claimed were even bigger than even the largest normal pangolins). While they could easily have landed in the central courtyard, storming in through the gates let them quickly capture the attention of the traders that spent their time outside the Conclave's walls to escape Pangolin's oppressive architecture.
Hazō looked at Kei. She shook her head minutely. While the team could have forced their way past the two guards, disrespecting Pangolin law so blatantly would at best alienate them.
"I come here with the weight of three clans' leaders at my back," Hazō said. "I know I haven't been explicitly invited. I come bearing gifts for the hosts, in thanks for your graciousness, but I will not be refused."
"Taxiarchos Pankratos has affirmed that you may not pass," the guard said. "He is coming to address you."
Hazō hadn't memorized the ranks used by the Pangolin military, but Kei and Ruri had both warned him about the Taxiarchos. He was a high-ranking officer with a decorated field career, yet also politically adept enough for Pantsā to trust him with managing Conclave attendants from around the continent. The whispering of the crowd of mixed summons behind them intensified. Hazō straightened up slightly. He'd drawn everyone's attention for a reason, now he needed to command it.
"I expect he will not waste my time for long, then," Hazō said.
Hazō, Kei, and Noburi waited barely a minute outside the grand gates before they heard the sound of scales clacking on stone behind it. The gates started to swing open, pushed from within by giant pangolin attendants. Of course the Taxiarchos would rob them of their dramatic entrance.
The Taxiarchos rolled out through the entry gate, spraying dust behind himself as his scales churned through the dirt. He crossed the distance between them in seconds, unfurling from his roll at barely five meters away and crossing the rest of the distance with a pangolin's slow, meticulous walk.
Taxiarchos Pankratos was not one of the giant pangolins that easily towered over two stories high. Head-to-tail, he may have been barely half that, but pangolins walked so hunched over that he was barely any taller than Hazō. He unfurled more as he reached a comfortable distance from Team Uplift. White, vertical rectangles of paint marked scores of scales around his body, and he had replaced many more scales with steel plates. The Taxiarchos wore two steel bracers around either forearm. Each bracer had dozens of stiff, maroon feathers hanging from it. Condor feathers, Hazō realized. Soaked in dried blood.
"Thank you for your presence, Taxiarchos," Hazō said, lacing his fingers together for a moment as Kei had instructed. "I have brought gifts for you and for the pangolins that have worked so hard to host this Conclave." He unlaced his fingers, then pulled a pair of storage disks from his belt and unsealed two small crates. He and Noburi quickly opened each of them to reveal a half-dozen driver ants, carefully preserved at the moment of their deaths.
The Taxiarchos didn't react at all, though the contingent of guards behind him flared their nostrils as they spread out to flank their leader.
"We do not accept bribes," Taxiarchos Pankratos said. "The Dog Clan is not a part of the Conclave, and you are not an authorized representative. You do not even have leave to set foot on Pangolin land, far less this place. You will leave. Now."
Hazō looked up at the Taxiarchos, firmly, projecting his voice so everyone in the crowd could hear him. "I called for the Conclave's creation. I invented the trade network that sustains it, even now that everyone has forgotten its original purpose. Of course, I am immensely grateful for the Pangolin Clan's graciousness in hosting all the members of the Conclave, and with the Conclave's new purpose as the nexus of my trade network, you know that Dog is as much a part of the Conclave as any other clan, even if our trades used to happen through third parties."
The Taxiarchos flexed his hands, clicking his claws against one another. "Because of the importance of the Conclave, I have been assigned to keep this place's security. As a part of my duty, I cannot let you within here. Begone from this place, immediately."
The whispering of the summon crowd behind them grew louder as some of them pressed forwards to see the confrontation between the Dog Summoner and the Pangolin general. Hazō didn't look himself, but he saw Noburi glancing to where the Toad Sages were crunching on fried horseflies as they watched.
"If the issue is the security of the Conclave, I assure you that I mean no harm to anyone within. I only intend to speak with people and engage in trade, the same thing as any other representative of a Seventh Path clan. As Dog already trades in the network, there's nothing new. Still, you can't keep me from the Conclave. I come here with the blessing of three Bosses of various clans. That overrides your mandate in an international place like this. This is my place to enter, not yours to forbid me from."
The Taxiarchos interlaced his claws together, making the peace sign. "You are forbidden. Try to enter at your own risk."
"Has Pantsā forbidden me entry?" Hazō asked.
"No," the Taxiarchos said, "but nor has he allowed it. This is not a place for any citizen of Pangolin to enter, much less any foreigner."
Hazō glanced between Kei and Noburi.
This isn't working, Noburi seemed to say with his eyes.
Hazō raised an eyebrow at them, hoping they'd understand his message. Switch tactics?
They nodded.
"You can't keep me from it," Hazō said. "You know my reputation. When I was barely inducted into the ranks of human sealmasters, I revolutionized your people's warfare. It's been years since then, and I've had plenty of time to invent even more powerful tools. You can't realistically stop me from doing whatever I want, unless you go begging to Pantsā to save you."
"Then go ahead," the Taxiarchos said, spreading his claws slightly to gesture to the giant gate behind him, blocked by six pangolin guards with their claws still lowered.
"You don't think I can't easily get past you all?" Hazō said, trying to seem bemused.
"I think you're a coward and a weakling," the Taxiarchos said. "You profited from our generosity, then turned around and sold our techniques on the Human Path, barely staying within the letter of the law. You can't even say that you care about the law, when you personally violated your agreements and refused to fulfill your end of the deal you made with us while still reaping the benefits of it. You are an oathbreaker of the highest order, one who not only breaks his word, but one who backstabs his erstwhile allies on his way out."
The Taxiarchos took a step closer, and Hazō barely kept himself from lashing out at the implied threat between the pangolin's unambiguous anger and his unsheathed claws.
"Personally," the Taxiarchos said, in a stage whisper that, frustratingly, was no doubt still telepathically transmitted to every member of the crowd behind Hazō, "I think no real warrior would have done what you did. Friends of mine died on the border with Hyena because you withdrew the support that you promised us, and hundreds or thousands more of our people have died because of threats we could long have subdued. This isn't the mark of a warrior whose scales are marred by the grooves of enemy talons. Your actions reveal you as an honorless weakling."
The Taxiarchos stepped back, letting his booming voice resume its normal tenor. "I cannot let an oathbreaker beyond these gates, not especially one so remorseless as you. I haven't heard a whisper of an apology for the wrongs you did unto the Pangolin Clan when you unilaterally broke your vows with us. If you wish to test the hardness of our scales and the sharpness of our claws, I will freely invite you to discover the difference between those that cheat and betray their way to power, and those that have earned their marks on the battlefield."
Hazō grit his teeth. In front of a crowd of Seventh Path denizens that believed contracts to be sacred, the Taxiarchos had pulled up exactly what Hazō most needed forgotten: the fact that Hazō had broken a contract with the Pangolin Clan. Still, Hazō could see that the Taxiarchos had made a mistake. He had anchored his objection against Hazō's personal strength for some reason, so Hazō could still salvage this by beating the Taxiarchos into the dirt.
But… Mari had vetoed the use of MARS at the Conclave with so many summons and summoners around, and Enma had insisted that Hazō fight nonlethally. There were six Pangolins flanking Taxiarchos Pankratos. Could the three of them beat a group of Pangolin elites two-to-one without so many of their tools?
"I don't want to fight you, Taxiarchos," Hazō said. " I don't want to hurt you, or anyone else in the Conclave."
"Then leave," the Taxiarchos said. "There is nothing more to say."
With that, the senior Pangolin turned away, exposing his back to the ninja for barely a second as his retinue closed ranks around him and continued to glare at Hazō.
Was that it? Had Hazō traveled all this distance, sacrificed the lives of his Horizon Chaser allies, just to be turned away at the door? No, he couldn't let that be. Even without MARS, he could still use a Banshee seal to distract them, and the guard pangolins would be too large to dodge Kei's Goo Bombs. Noburi could use Hōzuki's Mantle to provide front-line cover while Hazō and Kei-
"Ah, for the lov'a-"
The Taxiarchos suddenly stooped as a small, green lump landed on top of his head.
The Toad Sage Fukasaku peered down from his perch and used the side of his stick to whack the Taxiarchos on the side of the head.
"You got a grudge. Great, good for you for getting your tongue twisted up over not bein' able to kill those mangy Hyenas as efficiently as you could have. Your boss hasn't officially forbidden Hazō from coming because Pantsā knows that he needs him."
The Taxiarchos swung a claw up. "You pesky thing-"
The Taxiarchos was suddenly yanked off balance by an invisible force, and Fukasaku jumped off.
"Always messing with my perches," Fukasaku said. "Always nagging. Never letting me sit around and relax and enjoy the sun."
"Idiot, you know better than to sun yourself on some pompous pangolin ponce," Shima said from her perch on the Taxiarchos' arm. "Anyway, you heard him. Pantsā can't give the order himself because of the reasons you said, but I sure can. You're going to let the Dog Summoner into the Conclave, and you're going to tell your people to do the same. And you'll either do it now, or in an unknown number of minutes, after I've plucked off an unknown number of your scales."
Two of the Pangolin guards lunged in towards Shima, and Fukasaku turned into a blur. A moment later, both guards had collapsed and Fukasaku held his stick against the back of one of the Pangolin's necks.
"Oh, don't threaten him with that, you forgetful old bint. Don't you remember that they see it as a sign of honor to lose their scales?"
"I know well enough that they think being mutilated is a mark of pride, you geriatric fool," Shima shot back. "But it's one thing to lose a scale, and another to be stripped naked because you were too stupid to read between the lines. Which, well, maybe he is. So, Taxiarchos, what's it going to be?"
The Taxiarchos had stiffened up when Fukasaku had taken down two of his people, and stayed stiff as Shima fixed him with a vicious stare. The seconds stretched out. Finally, he nodded. "Very well. I won't cause my people further harm by forcing them to stand against you. I will send a message to Pantsā immediately, and we shall see how he feels about you overriding his authority in his own domain."
Shima scoffed as she jumped off of the Taxiarchos's arm and started to slowly hop through the grand gates. "Go ahead. Maybe when the big guy answers your humiliation with silence, you'll finally figure out what's going on here. C'mon, kids."
Hazō looked hesitantly for a moment between the pangolin guards still flanking the Toad Sages, but at a gesture from the Taxiarchos, the guards forcibly laced their claws together and stood still. Slowly, Hazō and his team followed the Toad Sages into the Conclave hall.
To gain access to the Conclave, Hazō is going to have to beat Taxiarchos Pankratos!
Hazō starts with a simple bribery, trying to convince the Taxiarchos to let him through. The Taxiarchos defends Hazō's Rapport attack with Presence.
Ah, unfortunate. Close, but the Taxiarchos won't be swayed by Hazō's bribery. He answers back with a Presence attack, demanding that Hazō leave. Hazō will attempt to argue back, using his own Presence:
Taxiarchos (Presence): ?? - 3 = ??
Hazō (Presence): 20 + 3 (tag "Planned It All Out" – he prepared his justifications for why he's coming here ahead of time) + 6 = 29
Hazō takes 3 social stress! Unfortunately, the Taxiarchos isn't going to be swayed by cajoling or sheer assertiveness, not at least with Hazō's current force of personality. Instead, Hazō switches track again. While the stats don't quite back it up, narratively, this is the place for Hazō to try intimidation.
Hazō (Intimidation): I don't know why I'm rolling this + 6 = 11
Taxiarchos (Resolve): His Resolve isn't as good as yours, but it doesn't really matter at all - 6 = ??
Not even the slightest chance of working. Not only is the Taxiarchos not scared at all by Hazō's veiled threats, but he's going to turn it around on Hazō – invite Hazō to attack him, and force Hazō to back down and look weak. The mechanics don't officially support it, but as I envision this, the Taxiarchos is going to invite Hazō to attack as a performance to the crowd (Presence), which Hazō will defend against by defusing the situation (Rapport).
Taxiarchos Pankratos (Presence): ?? - 3 = ??
Hazō (Rapport) 20 + 11 (FiF) + 4 (tag "I Made Your Weapons") + 3 = 38
Hazō barely squeaks out a defense. Unfortunately, this is not going well for Hazō, and he's surviving on the margins. The Toad Sages will step in at this point and bail Hazō out. This isn't a catastrophic failure, but let's hope that Hazō can carry himself a bit better if the Toad Sages aren't right there during another confrontation.
o-o-o
With their… greetings made to the Pangolin leaders, the team's next target was the condors. Conjura's ninjutsu and martial might was legendary beyond even other clan bosses, though Kei had been quick to point out that very few other bosses had fought as extensively as Conjura had in the past century. Regardless, with their current plans, the Dragon Crusade would need Conjura's assistance.
"That wretched creature is no Condor! If the Pantokrator stayed her execution long enough for her to still survive, she will be remembered only for her flaws, and for the failings of the era she ruled over."
Of course, Conjura and the Wings of Liberty wouldn't be welcome at the Conclave. The Pangolins would never let any Condor freedom fighter in their territory live, since that would imply that the condors weren't already as free as possible. And, of course, only the most loyal and reliable of Condors would be allowed at the Conclave. Not only would the condors refuse to acknowledge Conjura and company, but Conjura would never accept those condors as representing her will.
Murderer.
"Conjura is a villain, who drove the condors under her to hatred and rebellion. It's only-" Hazō barely caught the hitch where the condor trade representative realized who Hazō was. "It's only because of the Pangolin Empire's benevolent rule that my people are now truly free!"
Of course, Hazō even acknowledging that the condors were a species worthy of specific tribute would earn the Pangolins' ire. Still, Constarainu the lumber merchant was among the so-called "Elite", condors that had "earned" the right to have their wings unbound by the Bonds of Civilization, and so was one of the best choices for Hazō's political plays. Most of the other condors representing the former Condor Clan were likewise wearing their wings freely by their side, though none of them would dare to stretch them for the fear that a Pangolin might see them getting ready to take flight without proper authorization.
A few of the condors still had rope binding their wings across their chests. Hazō resisted the urge to point out how just how free Constarainu's people were.
Slaver.
"Ah, I had no contact with the Eastern side of the continent except through the Pangolins, until recently," Hazō said. "I merely wished to mention that in my travels to the far, far western clans, I found that even their rulers had been impressed by Conjura's martial feats. I don't mean to dredge up old wounds."
"There are no old wounds to dredge up," Constarainu said haughtily. "You…"
Internally, Hazō winced. He could only navigate the situation so delicately. Constarainu was already visibly struggling with cognitive dissonance at realizing who Hazō was. According to the narrative Constarainu had to push, Hazō was the person responsible for Constarainu's "liberation". Followed through fully, Constarainu should have been thanking Hazō for enabling the slaughter of Constarainu's friends and family, or admonishing Hazō for not helping the Pangolins perpetrate another genocide.
Egg smasher.
"Here," Hazō said, bowing quickly and offering a small Earthshaped statue of a jade nest, studded with amethyst around its rim. With the clan's finances stretched thin for the winter, he'd had to buy scraps of jade from sculptors and gem dust from jewelers to combine with Earthshaping to make an adequate tribute. While the jade had joined together nicely, the gems hadn't, leaving them cloudy and opaque.
"A gift for your time and attention, and an apology for getting off on the wrong foot," Hazō said.
Constarainu looked down at the nest in incredulity, then started to raise his wing to strike it out of Hazō's hand. After a second thought, he kept his wings close to his side.
"I don't need to be bribed," he said calmly, though his ruffled neck feathers revealed his anger . "Do you have business with me?"
Of course, Hazō knew the condors would only see it as a taunt, with Hazō mocking them for what he'd taken away from them, with wealth that he earned by their blood. These condors were a lost cause. He couldn't sway them to do anything but follow Pantsā's orders. Instead, he hoped the message came through to the other members of the Conclave that were watching Hazō's arrival. They would get the message: I want to give the condors their home back.
War profiteer.
The Rat Clan's ambassador, Nezesari, seemed particularly important. For some reason, she was more diplomat than merchant, and the other summoners had affirmed that many of their summons respected the tiny brown rat. She'd already seen that the pangolins hated Hazō. Hopefully, seeing Hazō make a public signal like this would open her up to the possibility that Hazō wanted to fix the condors' situation. She was watching the byplay on all fours with her back hunched up. Hazō wished he could understand Rat body language.
The condors had refused everything that Hazō had tried to give. Sympathy for their oppression, support of their leaders, even outright gifts. Could he do anything more here, or should he back off and let word of his attempted apology spread?
He glanced at Noburi, who nodded.
Hazō bowed to Constarainu. "Apologies for any insult I accidentally gave. I look forward to seeing you and your people around the Conclave more in the coming weeks."
Hazō had barely started to turn away when he heard the sound of talons scratching against the floor, and wings fluttering rapidly.
Die!
He looked back to see one of the condors, Confute, rushing him, leaving slipped off Bonds of Civilization in a spool of rope on the ground. Hazō leaped away, raising his arms to get a barrier between himself and the birds' razor sharp talons, only for one of the pangolin guards to tackle the condor to the ground.
The pangolin straightened up, roughly yanking the Condor to her feet by one wing.
"Come now," the pangolin said. "Taxiarchos Pankratos said no more mistakes from you. Fighting in a public space is a three point offense, and removing the Bonds of Civilization is a twelve point offence. To the pole."
The pangolin started to lead the aggressive condor away. Kei inhaled slightly. "The pole is where condors are executed," she said.
The implications snapped into place in Hazō's mind. To the rest of the Conclave, he had just goaded the condors into attacking him. The Pangolins would execute the condor if only to punish Hazō for defying their leader, and it would look like Hazō's fault. No one would believe that Hazō wanted peace and freedom for the condors after this. He had accidentally set a perfect trap for the condors, and the pangolins had gleefully snapped it shut for him.
And another condor would die because of his actions.
The pangolin was still leading the condor away, and Constarainu spat at the ground as they left. "Pathetic creature," he said, addressing Confute's back as another Pangolin came in to firmly grasp her other wing. "The Bonds of Civilization have a purpose. Removing them means you also deserve the punishments for abandoning civilization."
Dozens of Seventh Path denizens were in the room, watching the immediate aftermath of Team Uplift's entrance. Monkeys, Turtles, Porcupines, Otters, Rats, Leopards… they would all see what happened next.
"Uh, Hazō?" Noburi whispered. "Do the thing, please?"
Hazō is trying to carefully flatter the condors, walking the line between pointing out their past so that he can make an apology for everyone else to see, while also not aggravating the Pangolins too much by saying what they want to hide, or aggravating the condors by pointing out what he took away from them. In order, that's going to be a Presence check to sway the Conclave, a Deceit check to hide Hazō's condor sympathies sufficiently from the Pangolin onlookers that they don't feel an immediate need to act and condemn the heretics, and a Rapport check to keep the condors from getting their feathers ruffled in the process. TNs: 30/40/30 checks, not actively opposed.
So, Hazō convinces the other delegates that he may mean well to the condors, but they're on the fence about it, but the Pangolins also clearly see his sympathies as well. And…
Initiative!
Hazō's Alertness: 33 (he's not wearing chakdar since he doesn't want the buzzing to give away any capabilities to the dozens of bystanders around).
Condor's Alertness: (rolls) higher than that.
Nearest Pangolin guard's Alertness: (rolls) higher than both. Fascinating.
Pangolin guardswoman (Claws): ?? - 3 = ??
Condor captive (Athletics – get to Hazou to kill him quickly): ?? - ? (Consequence penalty) - 6 = ??
That's about it, I think.
I've been out the past two weeks, but I'm back now! Somewhat…
We jumped over a lot of the Conclave when our simulations spat out the Akane encounter and we decided to get that done ASAP for various reasons, but I still wanted some parts of the Conclave to get written out. So, here's the first part of a small series of chapters in-filling the Conclave, which will last until Hazō returns to the Conclave again in the quest's main timeline.
Voting is open for @eaglejarl's Sunday chapter. Additionally, for next Thursday, please write a plan with the [Conclave] tag. For example:
[][Conclave] Let It Be
Intervening is too much trouble. Just let the condor get executed and buy some extra gifts to win people over.
This may be in replacement for the plan for the Thursday chapter, or in addition to the plan for the Thursday chapter. Basically, @Velorien will write the Conclave plan if he wants to, or I will if he wants to take the week off. Otherwise, if he wants to write something else, I'll write the Conclave chapter and you'll get two on Thursday.
To anticipate a question, the Toad Sages have historically shown no particular interest in intervening in the Pangolin-Condor situation in general.
Arguing for exile seems like our best option at first glance. Sure the Condor broke the bonds of Civilization, so they might as well be forced to leave civilization altogether. If we can manage to slip them some info via say... Noburi or some 7th path deniable ally we might even be able to get the Condor to head to the other Condor outcasts.
"I think you're a coward and a weakling," the Taxiarchos said. "You profited from our generosity, then turned around and sold our techniques on the Human Path, barely staying within the letter of the law. You can't even say that you care about the law, when you personally violated your agreements and refused to fulfill your end of the deal you made with us while still reaping the benefits of it. You are an oathbreaker of the highest order, one who not only breaks his word, but one who backstabs his erstwhile allies on his way out."
So, what do we want to do for the Sunday update, other than the Ino conversation from the last plan? I want to do the thing with getting Canvass some spices to smell and compare.
So, what do we want to do for the Sunday update, other than the Ino conversation from the last plan? I want to do the thing with getting Canvass some spices to smell and compare.
Trade deals with Aburame Clan for lenses, most likely.
Talk with Hinata about gemstones, maybe? If we're getting the sapphires cut there's no way the Hyuga aren't going to hear about it; they control the jewellery market.
So, what do we want to do for the Sunday update, other than the Ino conversation from the last plan? I want to do the thing with getting Canvass some spices to smell and compare.
