I think they probably could under the right circumstances, yes.
I think it might depend on your Path. If you're a Knight, well, do you really believe your oaths if you're not guarding someone? Can someone really believe in being a priest without a flock to guide? That said, ascetics, monks and hermits were all very common in medieval Christianity, so there's support for "live in a cave for 20 years without bathing or interacting with people" as a route to getting closer to God.
 
On this note, one thing I was thinking about whilst nursing a migraine today is what our "maximum sustainable" combat output would look like, I.E. the best defence we could put up without spending Orthstirr like water. I think it would look something like using only our Combat Pool to power our Sword/Atgeir Bodyguard plus some Perfect Defences where situationally viable, and then mostly using Basic Attacks to refill our our Stoked Pool which powers one Contested Movement/turn, or is added onto the dice pool for the one attack a turn we're spending Orthstirr on.
If we Perfect Halting Vortex, we can stomp over arbitrary numbers of low-level cultivators who don't have anti-Perfects.
If we Perfect Contested Movement, which works amazingly well with Stoker Dice, we can probably steamroll Cultivators of 'Warmain' or below by creating a Stoker-Contested Loop for all incoming attacks, and squash 'Adept' tier cultivators.
 
I imagine any Christian who has even 1 Grace is already a Cultivator. 1 Grace apparently equals 3 Zeal, which is kind of a lot.
 
I assume Psyche 7 for 14d4, and probably Tactics 5 for 10d4. I also figure successes is probably [0,0,1,1], average 1 success per rank in either Psyche/Tactics.

It's not impossible, but I think 1d4 per stat is significantly more likely. It's simpler and you can just fiddle with the dice probabilities if you want them to be better. Like, [-1, 1, 1, 2] is just as easy as the dice probability you propose and would make them slightly better than Norse stats in terms of successes point for point...I'm really skeptical they're a full 1/3 better per point in a stat. Feudal Cultivators are not better as jack of all trades than Norse ones...they're significantly worse if anything.

I think the most likely probability is that they're at 1d4 per point in a stat or skill with probabilities something like [-1, 0, 1, 2] outside of combat, and then combat skills just work somewhat differently.

It could also be a mix, with stats giving 1d4 per level and skills giving 2d4, or even the reverse.

I think it might depend on your Path. If you're a Knight, well, do you really believe your oaths if you're not guarding someone? Can someone really believe in being a priest without a flock to guide? That said, ascetics, monks and hermits were all very common in medieval Christianity, so there's support for "live in a cave for 20 years without bathing or interacting with people" as a route to getting closer to God.

Generally agreed, yeah.

I would actually say that they do have grace 1-2 but their generation is mostly absorbed by the head priest/priest of the church they go to prey at.

I find this pretty unlikely as that would rapidly mean a priest with a flock of 50 was gaining 150 Zeal per turn which does not match the reality we have observed. They may be giving some of their paltry Zeal accumulation to the church, but it can't be as much as even 1 Grace provides.
 
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Well, the Gate is seemingly universal to all cultivation, under different names, so, uh, they know this already and can do this already. Or at least as well now as they could even knowing about Odr. How do you think they get Zeal, after all?
And knowing our intro would teach them:
How the Norse reach their Gate.
That for most Norse there is no Zeal, that opening their Gate is a deadly trap.

Things that can be abused for socials.
Reverse psychology is gonna be hard to get people to do something hideously dangerous and borderline suicidal like this "Christians agree with our own wise men, do not jump off cliffs." is, uh, not the sort of thing that's gonna get a lot of people jumping off cliffs.
Unless people don't know it is hideously dangerous and borderline sucidal.
Like opening the gate.
Sure, but once everyone knows this the Christians will learn it rapidly. Like, if all Norsemen know a 'secret' then it's not gonna be much of a secret for long, is it? As I've said before, anything taught to large numbers of kids is not gonna be a secret for long.
Then keeping it secret gives the Norse a headstart.
"Christianity only learns of it when it starts hitting them in the face, hard enough that most who experience it don't live to tell the tale" sounds like a good thing if If you think forced conversion is a threat.
I would generally assume that they are unlikely to think he has any deep insights into cultivation since anyone in a 'nest of vipers' style court is very likely not to have a high opinion of him as a scholar.
They can have their own opinions on the meaning of what he saw and what he was told without having any respect for his logic, conclusion or advice.
And without crediting him.
And people wanting to spread Christianity peacefully aren't gonna care about in-depth cultivation stuff. You don't need to be a Feudal Cultivator to become Christian. They'll care about cultural stuff, but he already knows that, or could learn it without us.
And for battle focussed people like the Norse you don't think that their cultivation and lack of deeper cultivation* is something cultural?
* Also: confirmation of the lack, rather than it just being a secret
 
It's not impossible, but I think 1d4 per stat is significantly more likely. It's simpler and you can just fiddle with the dice probabilities if you want them to be better. Like, [-1, 1, 1, 2] is just as easy as the dice probability you propose and would make them better than Norse stats in terms of successes point for point...I'm really skeptical they're a full 1/3 better per point in a stat. Feudal Cultivators are not better as jack of all trades than Norse ones...they're worse if anything.
Hmm

GabrielQuest Halla Spar 2.1

Quest: "The hell, how did we even roll 12 Failures on our Tactics roll?"
Democratic Footer: "I think for this roll I'll make an exception to the usual and just say that whatever plan you make Halla will read through it or something? I dunno."
Quest: "Well it's a 1 in a 16 million odds of happening, fair enough."
 
And knowing our intro would teach them:
How the Norse reach their Gate.
That for most Norse there is no Zeal, that opening their Gate is a deadly trap.

Things that can be abused for socials.

Can they? How?

Unless people don't know it is hideously dangerous and borderline sucidal.
Like opening the gate.

Uh. People do know that's hideously dangerous...at least anyone who knows about it. Seidhonna and everyone else familiar will rush to agree with anyone who says that's dangerous. Makes the 'reverse psychology' bit not works so good.

Then keeping it secret gives the Norse a headstart.
"Christianity only learns of it when it starts hitting them in the face, hard enough that most who experience it don't live to tell the tale" sounds like a good thing if If you think forced conversion is a threat.

Forced conversion in the military sense is a potential threat, yes. What military advantage does knowing this provide again? I'm still really unclear. Just knowing to take their land? They were gonna do that anyway. Occupying land has been part of all warfare forever.

They can have their own opinions on the meaning of what he saw and what he was told without having any respect for his logic, conclusion or advice.
And without crediting him.

Right, but if he vowed to keep it a secret, they definitely need to think he has worthwhile information to put effort into prying it out of him.

And for battle focussed people like the Norse you don't think that their cultivation and lack of deeper cultivation* is something cultural?
* Also: confirmation of the lack, rather than it just being a secret

It is once you know it, sure, but again we're talking about what people will actually be trying to get out of him. If he knew how to make Norsemen's heads explode with his brain that has potential cultural relevance, but people seeking to convert them aren't gonna ask him questions about that.
 
Appeal to desire for strength?
Offer Christ and Zeal as alternative?
Uh. People do know that's hideously dangerous...at least anyone who knows about it. Seidhonna and everyone else familiar will rush to agree with anyone who says that's dangerous. Makes the 'reverse psychology' bit not works so good.
Eh, true, If Seidkonna are present to dispute they'd have to change their tactics (and if the Gate is universal they could swear any oath that they can open it safely if they do in Christian cultivation).

Forced conversion in the military sense is a potential threat, yes. What military advantage does knowing this provide again? I'm still really unclear. Just knowing to take their land? They were gonna do that anyway. Occupying land has been part of all warfare forever.
My bad, used the wrong word.
I meant organized attempts at conversion, not forced conversion.
Right, but if he vowed to keep it a secret, they definitely need to think he has worthwhile information to put effort into prying it out of him.
There is a good chance that him having information about "the heathens" that he doesn't want to talk about makes it more interesting to the court.
It is once you know it, sure, but again we're talking about what people will actually be trying to get out of him. If he knew how to make Norsemen's heads explode with his brain that has potential cultural relevance, but people seeking to convert them aren't gonna ask him questions about that.
So you are saying that people interested in Norse culture for conversion attempts wouldn't hear about it, because they wouldn't be trying to get it out of him because they don't know to dig for that specific info?

Uh, If I got that right I think we have reached the end of usefull debate and would now enter into "going in circles, wondering how the other side doesn't get it" territory.
 
Appeal to desire for strength?
Offer Christ and Zeal as alternative?

As noted, if this were scalable they'd have a lot more Christian cultivators. Also, the odds of them doing this in some select cases are already pretty much 100%.

Eh, true, If Seidkonna are present to dispute they'd have to change their tactics (and if the Gate is universal they could swear any oath that they can open it safely if they do in Christian cultivation).

My bad, used the wrong word.
I meant organized attempts at conversion, not forced conversion.

Grace and Zeal are limited resources, or they'd be treated very differently. I think the odds of them being used in mass conversion are 0% because if they could do that, all Christians would be cultivators, and that the odds of them using it on specific important targets are 100% because even ignoring any promises of power, they can promise a lifespan in the centuries with Zeal.

Knowledge of Odr changes none of that at all

There is a good chance that him having information about "the heathens" that he doesn't want to talk about makes it more interesting to the court.

So you are saying that people interested in Norse culture for conversion attempts wouldn't hear about it, because they wouldn't be trying to get it out of him because they don't know to dig for that specific info?

Uh, If I got that right I think we have reached the end of usefull debate and would now enter into "going in circles, wondering how the other side doesn't get it" territory.

My point about all of this subtopic is that, if sworn to secrecy, Gabriel isn't gonna be talking about the stuff he was sworn to secrecy about...so how in the world would anyone know to ask him anything about it? They can ask about Norse culture and tactics and Orthstirr cultivation and he can talk about those...why would they think for a minute there's some secret there to pry at? Are they reading his mind? Because we've seen no evidence Feudal Cultivation can do that.
 
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Are they reading his mind? Because we've seen no evidence Feudal Cultivation can do that.
Actually, this specific bit. The Priest at the raid could mind control people to commit suicidal attacks while fighting us. And Fister mentioned deciding to make the Priest more brute force instead of being more mindmagic because it was our first fight. So Priests being able to do mindfuckery and read minds isn't out of the question. They can mind control people already after all.
 
Actually, this specific bit. The Priest at the raid could mind control people to commit suicidal attacks while fighting us. And Fister mentioned deciding to make the Priest more brute force instead of being more mindmagic because it was our first fight. So Priests being able to do mindfuckery and read minds isn't out of the question. They can mind control people already after all.

Mind control and mind reading are pretty different, especially if the mind control is more like 'enforced fanaticism'. It's not impossible, but we have little evidence of it. I also suspect that, if abilities like that do exist, Knights are pretty resistant to them, given that they are not in fact subordinate to Priests.
 
Mind-controlling/mind-reading a newly returned Knight thought dead - something that would probably an occasion for celebration - seems very unlikely. Probably illegal, even.
 
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How many slices of the salami are we gonna make before we stop and ask If what we are doing is a good idea? Or will we just continue slice after slice, because we will always say about the slice in discussion "Where is the harm in telling him that? That is such a tiny piece of information!"?
I was literally just eating salami lmao

Anyways, voting will be called in an hour
 
Guys, did we save the Shadowbear's Heart? Did we give it to Abjorn to eat it for cool Shadow Powers????

Or is the Bear just not magic enough.
i think its one of the 3 resources the bear offers....
we did stick a meatstick into it, right?
.......I wonder if eating that Blessed Bread would have given us Grace, which would have been !!!FUN!!! stuff.
....Blessed bear? I... i guess the shadow one would count? The Wheel Spirit did call it a bear of nilfheim or something?
i mean, Seidr has ways to open the gate for moments empowering the body's natural channels to guide it for healing and other stuff as we saw with the tracking spirit.

I am sure the christians have their own version for manipulating other's gates, what with healing touch and similar miracles/blessings. (Jesus could do it, and healing seems very possible even without opening the gate if we go by the bible)
Mind control and mind reading are pretty different, especially if the mind control is more like 'enforced fanaticism'. It's not impossible, but we have little evidence of it. I also suspect that, if abilities like that do exist, Knights are pretty resistant to them, given that they are not in fact subordinate to Priests.
The difference is pretty little when they have all the time they need.
"Tell us about all that happened with you since your knight was killed and you were captured and enslaved by the Northern Barbarians."
Cue Gabriel, by some miracle, being able to be maliciously compliant until he is asked about secrets he was told about.

The two can be interchangeable quite well if you don't mind spending the time for it.
 
I've actually got an idea for one of our Bear Material Uses.

The cover for our upcoming Book

Because putting a cover made from a bear known for having power over shadows seems really handy as something you want to conceal from Remote Viewing nonsense. Because I suspect that while we can probably set things up that deciphering the Book is something he loses power over, he might start going to start to destroy the Book afterwards to set everything back to square one.

But that's a lot harder if actually finding the damn thing isn't something he can do without having an agent on the ground for.
 
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I've actually got an idea for one of our Bear Material Uses.

The cover for our upcoming Book

Because putting a cover made from a bear known for having power over shadows seems really handy as something you want to conceal from Remote Viewing nonsense.
question is, will we have enough? One goes for Abjorn's armor as bone ash, one to make a cloack for him (unless i am forgetting something...) and the last one... well, we could give Abjorn the heart so he can get shadow powers if its magic enough?
because i like that idea from shard more than the book cover, however nice it is.
 
The heartblood I think is off the table, that's something you need to do at the time of killing I think.

But yeah, Bone Ash to forge his Armor with, the Cloak when we Realize his Armor, to massively cut down on the expense, and we've got one more for the book to help give it some nice scrying protection.
 
I think there is probably some sort of initiation thing is required to unlock Zeal in Christian cultivation. Raising Grace in part probably relies on social roles and infrastructure so a Priest cultivates Grace by tending to their flock. And you can probably have a small amount of Fervour without unlocking Zeal but it would be capped by your Grace.
 
Alright, voting is now closed
Amazing story thus far. Cant wait for more. Inspired me to write a spell.
Thank you very much! Do you have a name for it?

1 Reward Dice has been sent your way
Oh, uhh, if I overflow my reward dice cap, just, idk, put the excess into improving the Runework interpretation/outcome for Aki's horn I guess?
Thank you! I'll hold on to the 1 overflow reward dice until you've spent the rest.

The cover for our upcoming Book
You know, if NorseQuest were an actual published book that would be an amazing thing to style the cover after.

Scheduled vote count started by Imperial Fister on Jul 13, 2023 at 6:40 PM, finished with 170 posts and 9 votes.

  • [X] Offer to tell him what you meant if he tells you why he freaked out like that.
    -[X] You had questions, and things to compare, at least about the names of what they train, that's a good way to break the ice, he can tell you when he feels ready.
    --[X] But while you're saying that, you're holding another conversation. In English, using Eye-Talking. "Norse cultivation is all about building a story. I meant something more meaningful than that, but one of the fundamental principles of our cultivation is also that Power Requires Sacrifice and neither you nor I can afford the price that would be demanded if I gave you details right now. I'm working on a way to tell others, and I'll work hard to make sure you're there when I do. I suspect I'll need your aid then."
    [X] Offer to tell him what you meant if he tells you why he freaked out like that.
    -[X] I want to grow into a strong warrior, not just like my father, but like my grandfather. The kind that does grand heroic deeds that my people will remember forever.
 
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