iirc, IF said that he gets a bonus against anything that fits the category of "bear".
Just like we are going against something thats in the category of "wolf", even though only a quick glance was taken.
And dont forget a bear themed helmet!
On animal hugreida.... i imagine either the animal lover trait would help, if you breed/care for said animals enough or, as Forkmar got it, a good fight that leaves a memory.
And there i am still waiting for Flekkr to help us gain a Dog Hugareida becasue he is the best dog.
But if nothing else works, i suppose we could ask our local mad scientist/shapecrafter to create some monsters for us to kill/tame. That i am sure would make him happy.
I just got inspired by the new tricks and some of the research topics, so I spent a fair bit more time on those then I normally do. Also there was a lot of research topics that required some thought.
I think that there's somewhere around 1.6k words in total for the training and research? It says 2k, but there's a lot of other stuff like bb code and (author note) stuff in there so I dunno
I don't know if @Skippy was joking or not but @Imperial Fister is it possible to get animal based Hugareida?
If so does it synergize if your Fylgja is of the same animal (or in some cases base animal)?
In this vein are there tamer-style cultivators in the Norse System not just live-stock farmers but horse-breeders, dog breeders, or maybe monster tamers?
I ask because it seems that being able to not only provide but breed great animals is something that can gain Orthstirr, for example Stronghoof and his studding service.
In that case: Hey Blackhand
1. Does getting an animal Hugareida based on your Fylgja have noteable benefits or drawbacks?
2. How feasable is it to gain Orthstirr as a live-stock farmers, horse-breeders, or dog breeders?
3. Is it possible to gain Orthstirr as a monster tamer?
[X] Plan Armored Bear
-[X] Go on a visit...
--[X] Asvir!
--[X] Shopping for bling, look into additional livestock (specifically, a horse), stock up on food, maybe see if we can talk to Gary Tuskpuncher about a trade idea
-[X] (Personal) Spend time with...
--[X] Audrikr Fishfighter
--[X] Play Taafl, discuss the nature of being a berserk and ask him a few questions about the whole thing. Is there a Style associated with berserks? How much Frenzy is typical for a berserk (this should be quantifiable in-universe due to number of Fasts needed)? Does he know how much shapecrafting most berserks have done?
-[X] (Crafting) Try to make something
--[X] Mail for Abjorn (+15 successes from Tools/Workshop)
--[X] Add runes "May this garment of the spear's downpour draw its strength from the hard walls of the ship of thought." - Hopefully allow it to share in the wearer's damage reduction
--[X] Using the shadow-bear's bone ash to enhance its capabilities (using one of its three uses)
--[X] Adding sufficient bling to be Realized, specifics for that to be determined based on our shopping trip. This will include the pelt of the shadow-bear, but _not_ for magical effect or as one of its three uses (and thus that's probably not mechanically relevant, just cool).
--[X] Make sure Abjorn is present and involved in the process
--[X] Potentially quenching it in Abjorn's blood or hearthroot oil depending on whether either is helpful and what they seem to do
--[X] Switch Forgefire Slots to Dice before starting and back afterwards
--[X] Spending ****13 Odr**** on the crafting, and burning Frami, Virthing, and Saemd (for +3 successes total) to enhance the crafting process
-[X] (Wolf-Monsters) Agree to join the Headsman's felag and go deal with the wolf-monsters (This Turn Only)
-[X] (Exploration) Go on a walk through...
--[X] The hills!
---[X] Look for evidence of any other Underhouses nearby, not as the only thing we're looking for but keeping an eye out.
---[X] (Optional) Send your fylgja in your place (Does not cost an action)
-[X] (Seeress) Learn seidr with the Seeress (Only available during Summer)
--[X] Ask about opening and closing the gates of others, when that's useful, how it works and so on
--[X] Learn seidr spell for resurrecting the bodily dead
--[X] Learn Identify Concept
-[X] (Rolled)
--[X] Train Kindle-Spinner 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Firebomb-Strike 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Ember-Winged Cloak 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Tenderize Roast 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Hamr Itself 2d6 (1d6)
--[X] Train Hugr itself 2d6 (1d6)
--[X] Train Fylgja itself 60d6 (30d6)
--[X] Train Glima 6d6
--[X] Train Fang 9d6
--[X] Train Clearwater Trick for conjuring pure water, usable for drinking, bathing, putting out fires, and so on 1d6
--[X] Train Clearwater Trick for cleaning things 1d6
--[X] Train a Gale Trick for a guiding wind, suitable for speeding up Sparkbomb or providing wind to a ship's sails 1d6
--[X] Train a Glima or Fang Trick for initiating and holding a grapple 1d6
--[X] Train a Glima Trick for escaping or gaining advantage in an ongoing grapple 1d6
--[X] Train the wrestling-based counter that Abjorn used on us while sparring or something similar 1d6
-[X] (Research)
--[X] Put up to **9 Odr** into the Sealwood Tree in our soulscape and see what happens
--[X] Starting doing a test of your fields in the Farm, see if you can get an idea of how much Odr would be required to improve on them, since they're not magical like some of your other discoveries, you don't think they'll need as much, but there's a lot more of them too. (Budget up to **3 Odr** for this, see if we can get an idea of how much we need for them) 1d6
--[X] Test out quenching a forged weapon in our blood and see if there's any special results - Can our children wield it, would Abjorn or our friends have trouble wielding it, etc. 1d6
--[X] Test out quenching equipment in the fire-resistant oil after forging, see if that would make the product give inherent fire resistance 1d6
--[X] Begin work on the house in our soulscape 1d6
---[X] Stoking Frami, Virthing, and Saemd (for +1 Success each, +3 successes total) to enhance any involved rolls
---[X] Our Tools probably help with some stage of this (+9 successes)
--[X] Try planting one of the seeds from the Meteor in the real world, somewhere away from the rest of our crops 1d6
---[X] Check the seeds with Identify Concept and consult with Steinarr on what it might be and what should be done with it both before planting (and listen to Steinarr's advice), make sure to plant it somewhere isolated where it can't, like, infect or otherwise interact with other crops
--[X] Try and teach Sagaseeker how to stoke its Aspects 1d6
--[X] If one berry isn't enough, try three Hearthberries in your Brewery Pocket along with honey and water and see if that's enough to start some fermentation! 1d6
--[X] Continue trying to figure out how to use Recall's string-effects to guide and possibly speed the progress of other Tricks, with soem examples of what to try listed following 1d6
---[X] Have a volunteer throw stones and tricks at us, catch them with Standstill and then try to use the Orth thread to throw them at some target (using enemy projectiles against them)
---[X] Try to make the Orth thread extend from the projectile we are manipulating to some volunteer and attach it to the volunteer (automatic target tracking)
--[X] We've got an idea of what we need to write on, now start to experiment with the actual writing, try a few test projects to determine how to prepare the hides to better match what's in the sample book, and what would be a solid thing to do the writing with--you've got that weird stick you found, that's an example, but maybe something similar to it that you could actually produce in house? 1d6
-[X] (Drifa) Teach Drifa some of your tricks
--[X] Continue our basic combat curriculum 1d6
-[X] (Training) Solo Seidr Training
--[X] Quickest Stitch 1d6
--[X] Draw Poison 1d6
--[X] Sear Diseased Flesh 1d6
-[X] (Blackhand's Training) Try to develop old/train new hugareida tricks
--[X] Train Clearwater 1d6
--[X] Train Halting Vortex 1d6
--[X] Train Slipstream 1d6
--[X] Train Sword Guard 1d6
--[X] Train Atgeir Counter Stab 1d6
--[X] Train Atgeir Bodyguard 1d6
--[X] Train Forceful Lever 1d6
--[X] Train Dead Air 1d6
-[X] (Training) Tricks
--[X] Talk to Sten about how to make a Gambeson and Shield
--[X] Train Focus Guard 1d6
--[X] Train Backstep 1d6
--[X] Train Long-Lunge 1d6
--[X] Train Facial Schooling 1d6
--[X] Train Talent Tell 1d6
--[X] Train 'Gambeson' Armorcraft Skill-Trick 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten)
--[X] Train 'Shield' Armorcraft Skill-Trick 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten)
-[X] (Training) Martial Style
--[X] Train Stoker State 1d6 (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Fire Poker 1d6 (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Devouring Blaze 1d6 (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Stoking Strike 1d6 (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Stoking Guard 1d6 (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Flame Tending Blade 1d6 (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
-[X] (Training) Hamr (75 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Overland 1d6
-[X] (Training) Hugr (54 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Barb-Tongue 1d6
--[X] Train Silver-Tongue 1d6
New Tricks (Spring Source: 6) 2 Successes. (Scouring Cleanse: 4) 1 Success. (Sailwind: 2) 1 Failure. (Double-Leg Takedown: 3) 1 Success. (Momentum-Reversal: 6) 2 Successes. (Weapon-Grapple-Reversal: 4) 1 Success
You squint at Abjorn as he stares back. "You sure you want me to come at you with as much speed as I can muster?"
He nods, dead-set and serious. "Yes, yes I do."
You shrug. "Alright, then."
Crouching low to the ground, the wind picks up as pale streaks of power fall off your limbs. A snap-hiss accompanies the spreading of your flaming wings as crimson orthstirr winds its way across your body. Meeting Abjorn's eyes, you grin as all your shapeshifting turns to speed.
Bursting into motion, you zip across the field as Abjorn bends at the knees and lifts his hands—empty palms at the ready. By the time he finishes those little preparations, you're already inches away from his face.
You grin and pucker your lips—your face aiming straight for his. But as you draw closer, pain blossoms in your chest. You yelp and stumble back as bone strikes bone—your collar bone having met the solid wall that is Abjorn's readied shoulder.
Abjorn isn't idle as the pain forces you to stumble away—far from it. He leaps into motion with arms snapping out. His hands cup the back of both your knees and he pulls. Your eyes snap wide as you land in an all too familiar position—on your back with Abjorn between your legs.
"This is called the Double-Leg Takedown," he calmly explains while helping you to your feet. "It's good for finding vulnerable openings to take advantage of."
A beat of silence passes before Blackhand bellows with laughter.
"A-anyways," Abjorn coughs as the tips of his ears turn red—normally they'd be covered by his blonde curls, but he's recently taken to braiding some of his hair so his ears are out and proud, "The move I used to set up the Double-Leg Takedown is called Momentum-Reversal. The faster someone is, the harder they'll be hurt if you do it right." He scratches at the beard struggling on his face—a ring around his mouth and chin the only places he's had any real luck, poor guy. "Probably isn't all that useful to you, but if we ever run into those Foemen again it might be a good thing to have."
"Was that the move you used on me, back during the spar?" You ask as you brush some grass from your clothes. "Where you grabbed Sagaseeker"—who is currently leaning up against a tree out of the way and napping in the sunlight—"and stole him off me?"
"That was the Weapon-Grapple-Reversal, which I can show you if you want?"
You nod as, with a flick of the wrist, you wake Sagaseeker from his nap. The drowsy atgeir quickly gets with the program as he throws himself into your hands—no Recall required. With a shared nod, you and Abjorn start practicing the trick.
(+2 to Spring Source)
(+1 to Scouring Cleanse)
(+1 to Double-Leg Takedown)
(+2 to Momentum-Reversal)
(+1 to Weapon-Grapple-Reversal)
0~0~0
Rolled (Kindle Spinner: 6, 3) 4 Successes. (Firebomb Strike: 4, 6) 4 Successes. (EWC: 2, 4) 1 Success. (Tenderize-Roast: 5, 2) 2 Successes. (Hamr: 2, 4) 1 Success. (Hugr: 3, 1) 1 Success. (Fylgja: 6x12, 5x13, 4x12, 3x7, 2x8, 1x8) 53 Successes. (Glima: 4x2, 3x2, 1x2) 2 Successes. (Fang: 6x2, 5x3, 4x1, 3x2, 2x1) 12 Successes
You laugh as Abjorn flings you into the air. Sure, you haven't won against him yet, but he's taking a little bit longer each and every time!
Besides, who knew that wrestling was so much fun!
(+4 to Kindle Spinner)
(+4 to Firebomb Strike)
(+1 to EWC)
(+2 to Tenderize Roast)
(+1 to Hamr)
(+1 to Hugr)
(+53 to Fylgja. Fylgja is now Rank 6, 27 Successes left to Rank 7)
(+2 to Glima)
(+12 to Fang. Fang is now Mastery 3, 3 Successes left to Mastery 4)
Putting 9 odr into the sealwood tree
As the last drop of odr flows into the young sealwood tree, it glows with red light as it surges and grows. Where once stood a young, willowy tree now stands a towering, steadfast full-grown adult. More of those waxy-leaf-bearing branches sprout out from the trunk. They now number seven in total, which is a mighty fine bounty if you do say so yourself.
But that's not the only change! From between plates of bark seeps a familiar, sticky sap. If you so desired, you could collect the leaking sap. You wouldn't get all that much from it, no more than a potful every few months, but you wouldn't have to chop down the tree either.
Of course, if you did that, then you'd get a much larger supply of sap for your purposes.
Either way, a single seed now hangs from the branches. Looks like you can plant more of this one too!
(From now on, you'll be gaining 1 Sealwood Sap Pot a turn starting next turn)
0~0~0 Testing the fields
Something you've started to notice about your soulscape is that, unlike in real life, time doesn't seem to pass. That's not entirely accurate, but it's the best way you have to describe it.
Sure, waves of grass shift to and fro as the wind brushes past it. Sure, the sealwood tree sways and the few flowers you have smell of sweet things. But all the same, time doesn't pass.
Your soulscape has never known night. Snowflakes have never painted the ground white. Rain has never come to wet the world with water.
Nothing grows on its own here, not if it's worth anything. The flow of odr sustains it, but does nothing more.
As such, despite having sown the fields so many months ago, they remain the same. No shoots sprout, no crops to harvest.
Which is why—after the success of the sealwood tree—you've turned your attention to them. A trio of odr motes spiral around your hand as you eye your fields. Odr made the sealwood and hearthroot plants grow, so what will it do to or for these empty plots?
You'll start with a single plot for now, as a test.
Slowly, you add the first drop to the soil. Not even a moment after you do that do changes occur. Green shoots burst through the dirt, digging towards the every lit sky as they grow and grow and grow.
A second mote of odr takes this growth to new heights. The shoots spring up higher and higher, reaching an adolescent stage in mere moments.
A third drop of odr finishes the job and leaves you with a plot of rye ready for harvest. There's enough rye here to feed a grown man for a couple months!
...When, not if, times next go lean in the Hading Valley, this will make certain your family survives to see the next summer.
(+1 Food)
0~0~0 Testing out quenching in different liquids
After quenching a pair of hammered iron lengths—one in your blood and the other in hearthroot oil—you find yourself with a pair of new insights.
The first is that the oil actually absorbs heat quite well and, likewise, it retains it just as effectively. So when you take glowing iron to it, you're left with a jug of extremely hot oil. Steam doesn't escape it nor does it show any outward signs of being hot—which is why you stuck your finger in it, like a fool.
Turns out, your fire resistance doesn't protect you from having your finger's flesh burnt off by a pot of stupidly hot oil. As a side-note, Time Heals All Wounds is a good spell.
Anyways, the second thing you learned is that while the blood-quenched length of iron was simply a bit more responsive in your hand, in your children's hands it was like they were swinging a sword underwater.
Hmm...
0~0~0 Laboring to build the house in your soulscape (6x1, 5x3, 4x2, 3x2, 2x1, 1x3)8+3+9=20 Successes
After finishing work on the foundations—which is a collection of stones taken from the hills—you step back to observe the progress made and to contemplate the next step.
There are two kinds of houses that you could build here. The first is the house of a new arrival, a new farmer looking to make a new life for himself. This house is made from sod and is built into a hillside. It is simple, it is easy, and it is quick to build. Of course, it isn't all that prestigious.
The other kind of house is one of wood. It is the house of the established man, who has been here for years and may have even fathered a new generation. However, you don't exactly have very much in the way of wood here in your soulscape. All you've got is your sealwood tree.
Because you lack wood in your soulscape, you'll have to get it from the real world. While that's no real issue thanks to you and your fylgja being strong, people are going to wonder where you're putting all that wood.
Well, either way, that's a decision for another time.
0~0~0 Messing around with the seeds from the meteor
Steinarr squints at the seeds as he rolls them around in his palm—his brows shooting high on his head. "I've never seen these particular seeds before, but I've seen more than my fair share of evil plants while I was stationed in Cyprus. You say you got them from that fireball from a few years back?"
"I did, yeah." You nod as you point at the seeds, "Any idea what they do?"
"Probably steals the life from other living things, if I had to make a guess. That's a pretty common theme with evil plants." He pauses as a thought occurs to him. He fixes you with a side-eye. "You're... not planning on planting these, are you? Because if you are, you should do it somewhere far, far away from here. Just in case I need crack open the ol' Botanical Society of Constantinople Special."
0~0~0 Teaching Sagaseeker how to stoke his Aspects
You stare at the cat ears twitching on the end of Sagaseeker's head—his saemd in action.
Sagaseeker stares back as his virthing-tail twitches behind him.
You sigh. "I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't that."
"A lesson learned then, meowther-mine." Sagaseeker snickers as you groan, his frami-fur rippling with every laugh.
0~0~0 Fermenting
After adding two more hearthberries and some water and honey to the Brewery Pocket, you seal it off and...
Well, you're not sure what you were expecting, but it wasn't this. The Pocket happily bubbles away, but it's clear that this isn't going to be a quick process. You're not exactly sure when to crack the Pocket open, but it seems like that could have effects on the over-all strength of it?
Regardless, there's nothing left to do now but wait.
0~0~0 Messing around with orthstring
Tryggr laughs as he ducks under a rock guided by your will. He snatches another off the ground and sends it hurtling back your way. Flicking out a hand, you let the rock bounce off harmlessly against Halting Vortex.
Flicking it to your hand, you toss it back at him as you try to tag him with the orthstirr string. Unfortunately, you're unable to catch him. It seems that that target tracking idea you had will require some more work or greater refinement. It is a pretty vague idea right now, after all.
(While the string stuff is clever, it isn't the be-all end-all)
0~0~0 experimenting with writing supplies
You grin as the weird stylus leaves such finely detailed letters. This thing is great! You could probably replicate something similar with charcoal and wood, though it wouldn't be quite the same...
(You'll need to be more specific in the test projects ;P)
(I'll refund this dice to you, though)
+9 Food, +16 Goods, +10 oz. Silver.
0~0~0 Talking Seidr with the Seeress
The Seeress' tent is oddly quiet without Kolla doing Kolla things nearby. Regardless, you have lessons to learn. After you finished up a lesson on brewing potions—which mainly consists of finding things that resonate well, or, as Blackhand puts it, 'vibes' together—you turn to the Seeress with questions on the mind.
"How does one open and close someone else's Gate?"
The Seeress pauses as you ask that question, which leaves you to finish cleaning up on your own. After a moment spent considering, she begins a new lesson. "The Gate naturally wants to remain closed"—you frown as her voice gains an odd undertone as she says 'closed'. Something's not right here...—"so it's more a matter of opening their Gate rather than closing it." Her voice didn't repeat that trick when she said 'opening' or 'closing', so what's going on here?
The Seeress closes her eyes as she takes a deep breath and Blackhand arrives to the same conclusion you do.
'The Enemy.'
"The best time to open someone's Gate is when they are unconscious, as their natural defenses will be somewhat subdued in that state, though you do need to be extra careful of not letting any odr slip through the orthstirr shell, or else they will likely die a horrible death."
"And when is it useful to open someone else's Gate rather than your own?"
"Good question," you glow with pride as the Seeress nods, "and, to answer it, it is best done when you have a friendly spirit on hand to handle casting spells when you're too busy with other things to do it yourself. It is mostly helpful during times of crisis where many people are injured and need to be healed."
"Speaking of that, how do you bring someone back from bodily death?"
She sits down and picks up a fresh cup of tea, "It is a surprisingly simple task, all things considered. First you heal the body of what killed it, then you let the tiniest possible droplet of odr through their Gate. The shock kickstarts the soul and volition to the mind. I'll teach you the proper orthstirr construct for it."
(Odr Soul-Shock Learned)
(Identify Concept Learned)
0~0~0 Visiting Asvir
After thanking the Seeress for her time, you step from her tent into the light of Asvir in the summer. The warmth on your skin is pleasant, though you could do without the smell of fresh fish.
Glancing around the village, you spy the market and Gary Tuskpuncher with it. Wait, no, not just one Gary Tuskpuncher, but also an identical-if-slightly-smaller Gary standing right next to the bigger Tuskpuncher. You'll want to talk to one of them as you've got something brewing in your mind, but that might wait for later.
Audrikr is standing guard next to the Headsman's hall. His mail gleams in the sun and he leans on his spear as a twelve-year-old boy imitates him. Their hair is the same shade of black and they've both got that friendly air to them—you're looking at father and son right here, there's no doubt about it.
You did bring that tafl set with you, so you could play a match with Audrikr if he were up with it.
Across from the Headsman's hall is a new, grander building. By the looks of things, it's just finished construction and decorations are being painted on the siding. To your slight surprise, Eric emerges from the doorway only to stop and wave as he sees you. This must be the Kyrsvikingar's new outpost.
In the outskirts of Asvir is where the Headsman is gathering men for his felag. There's only a few men over there right now, but you could certainly socialize with those that are. After all, you're not overly familiar with the other people that qualify for 'best warriors' in the Valley—not yet, anyways.
What do you wish to do first?
[ ] Go shopping!
-[ ] Write in
[ ] Talk to Audrikr and play a game of tafl while you're at it
[ ] Go talk to Eric and see what's going on with the Kyrsvikingar
[ ] Socialize with the Headsman's felag
0~0~0
AN: Got some interesting things going on in this one ; )
No moratorium, but this is going to be the only update for today
'Taming monsters isn't the easiest of things to do, given the presence of Frenzy. Some dogs I've encountered in my travels reminded me a lot of wolves, though, so maybe it's possible to take a monster and turn it into a loyal beast?'
I'm not sure I understand the question? Muna are important memories that have an actual effect...including providing access to Hugareida. Meanwhile, Hugareida are thematic areas of magical power. An animal related Muna could grant an Animal Hugareida, but wouldn't necessarily do so any more than a sword fight granting Sword Hugareida.
Anyway, looks like a Brewery Pocket is one of those "The longer you wait to crack it open, the better it'll be", like any good liquor. How many Hearthberries went into that anyway? 3?
Also, just as a ballpark, about how many tree's worth does Halla think would need to go into building a Proper House?
