- Location
- some computer lab
If nothing else, having access to one of the Christians' wierdly long sagas should let us make our runes basically indecipherable to the average Norseman.
NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)
- Thread starter I.F. Ister
- Start date
- Original Fantasy Action
-
- Tags
- norse mythology (mythology) original xianxia cultivation western cultivation ask sirihand did your mother tell you anything? discussion pleases yggdrasil farming gloating gets people killed granary management hubris is a coward's word you will die norsemen do not die when they are killed the qm has a bad memory the qm is bad at math viking courtroom drama (legal drama) vikings
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
I wanna know what landmines we've avoided so far. And the landmines that we are at the 'edge' of.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
You have a Reward Die so you could probably spend it on a hint in that direction, though a full accounting is probably not available.
We need a more extensive explanation of how Seidr is used and viewed in Norse society, because until now is not really clear.
The Seidr users we have personaly met until now are: The Seeress, Horra, Horra daughter (maybe?), Aki and his father (maybe?) and the Witch of the Hading.
We know that Seidr and its practiniores are both respected and feared by the rest of Norse society. Seidr seem to be viewed differently from other types of magical powers.
We know that Seidr is considered a practice reserved to women and that men who use it openly (i think Horra keeps his Seidr powers a secret) are viewed as unmanly and discriminated against (for exemple Aki and his father). The only exception seems to be Shapecrafting, who is considered too useful for men to not practice.
We know that using Seidr needs an high Hugr and Hugr related skills.
We know that Seidr is related to Fylgja in some way, since Seidr can be used to unveil a person Fylgja.
We also know that Hallr learned Seidr from the Seeress when he was still alive. And that he may have teached something to his children. Stabilizing Palm is Seidr, but we don't know how common its use is outside Halla family. Maybe everyone uses it and is not considered unmanly like Shapecrafting, or maybe most people who are not women or healers don't know Stabilizing Palm.
The Seidr users we have personaly met until now are: The Seeress, Horra, Horra daughter (maybe?), Aki and his father (maybe?) and the Witch of the Hading.
We know that Seidr and its practiniores are both respected and feared by the rest of Norse society. Seidr seem to be viewed differently from other types of magical powers.
We know that Seidr is considered a practice reserved to women and that men who use it openly (i think Horra keeps his Seidr powers a secret) are viewed as unmanly and discriminated against (for exemple Aki and his father). The only exception seems to be Shapecrafting, who is considered too useful for men to not practice.
We know that using Seidr needs an high Hugr and Hugr related skills.
We know that Seidr is related to Fylgja in some way, since Seidr can be used to unveil a person Fylgja.
We also know that Hallr learned Seidr from the Seeress when he was still alive. And that he may have teached something to his children. Stabilizing Palm is Seidr, but we don't know how common its use is outside Halla family. Maybe everyone uses it and is not considered unmanly like Shapecrafting, or maybe most people who are not women or healers don't know Stabilizing Palm.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
I would be willing to throw a reward dice into that direction.
"What landmines are we at the edge of?"
(and optionally what Landmines have we inadvertently dodged?)
Learning Seidr honestly becomes increasingly critical every passing research action into Odr. Like, Blackhand's gate closing technique, if we had something like that we could start bringing our friends into Saga Establishment.
Although it raises the issue of whether telling our friends the secret and proccing a mega attack is a one time thing, every time we tell them, and whether the attack is of fixed power or scaled perhaps.
"What landmines are we at the edge of?"
(and optionally what Landmines have we inadvertently dodged?)
Stabilising palm might be considered Shapecrafting.
Learning Seidr honestly becomes increasingly critical every passing research action into Odr. Like, Blackhand's gate closing technique, if we had something like that we could start bringing our friends into Saga Establishment.
Although it raises the issue of whether telling our friends the secret and proccing a mega attack is a one time thing, every time we tell them, and whether the attack is of fixed power or scaled perhaps.
honestly, it was just a funny "what if", what with maddaned creativity being put into the thing that's all about "keep calm and dont lose yourself".
oh, also if we are talking about stuff, Aks Hallr about berserkers too, he surely had some on call, right? perhaps he also has something to help us against the killing urge.
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Maybe Seidr is vital for Norse Cultivation similar in how Fylgja can be used to transfer things inside a Soulscape? and the Enemy manipulated Norse society in despising Seidr to limit their cultivation methods.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Neither Horra, his daughter, Aki, or his father have ever used Seidr that we've seen. Horra has magic, but the magics we've seen him use are either standard runecraft (like the scorn-pole) or weird things that don't quite fall into seidr like corrupting the nisse. The other three, meanwhile, have demonstrated or maybe-demonstrated seersight, which while associated with seidr does not appear to be quite the same thing.
Any of them could have seidr, but saying they do? I think that's incorrect. Indeed, I'm almost positive Aki doesn't since his advice for seidr realted stuff was 'go talk to someone who knows that'. He's a bit of a seer and a fylgja specialist and that's not actually the same thing. But the only actual seidr users we've seen for sure are the Seeress and the Witch.
More generally, seidr has been stated to do most non-elemental subtle magics, from healing to curses, so it's a pretty broad category.
Imperial Fister specifically said he'd be talking with us about that this update no matter what so it didn't seem necessary to write in.
Wich is why i put the "maybe?" close to their names, because i was not 100% sure.
I mean, if he learned more exotic types of magic he probably also learned a bit of Seidr. If nothing else, he must have learned Seidr so he can counter it if it is used against him.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I mean, true, but for Aki and his father in particular I think they legitimately just don't have seidr.
Horra having seidr is fairly likely, but it isn't proven by any means. We know he has some sort of weird foreign-y magic and that might in and of itself provide defenses against seidr, in which case he wouldn't have needed to learn seidr to defend against it.
Whether his daughter has it likely depends on whether he does, as the Witch is the only other possible tutor, I think, and seemed the sort to avoid entanglements with someone like Horra if she could.
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Then why are they outcasts for the rest of the Valley? because of the Seersight? i trought it was because they used Seidr and Fylgja.
We should check on the Witch when we can, we know basicaly nothing abaout her and who she could ally with. And if she is a potential enemy we should deal with her. Plus she probably has some pretty good loot in her lair if we need to kill her.
A note on the possibly putting chickens in Halla's soul, chickens are used in some agricultural cultivation systems IRL, fertilising soil and adding nitrogen to it and more to the point eating pest insects and the like in cultivated fields, and in other settings like a vineyard or orchards again more specifically eating pests and keeping down undergrowth. I have seen ducks and things used for the same purpose, maybe soul chickens would act like an immune system for the soul if soul weeds or parasites became a thing?
Probably wouldn't matter for quite sometime though.
One more thought, on Hallr and how he got so strong, it read to me like he spent long, long periods of time away from norse lands, could be he stumbled across odr by accident but being in foreign lands with foreign systems meant things like the first opening of the gate and the odr flood that almost killed Halla worked more like being inside the fence this last turn and was blunted, along with the Enemy's ability to respond also being blunted, maybe he got through some stages without the Enemy even being aware. He was only killed after coming back to Norse lands after all. Maybe it was more the being home and reachable than it was searching for the weapon.
Edit: Should also vote.
[X] Plan Berserker Life Advice
-[X] (Personal) Spend time with...
--[X] Toki Thunsson
--[X] Buy 200 oz. Forged Iron and maybe other things if they've got them (we could use a Helm)
--[X] Stigulf Snowbeard
--[X] Ask for training in how to control your rage as a berserker (and how that works and so on)
--[X] Tryggr and Trausti
--[X] Invite them to spar with the rest of us and generally hang out
-[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 Campfire 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Hugr itself 6d6
-[X] (Research)
--[X] Cultivation Note: Do so outside the fence again.
--[X] Cultivation Note: Put 9 Odr into our new Sealwood Sapling
--[X] Try to bring additional useful mundane plants into our soulscape with our Fylgja, as well as a ferilized chicken egg 1d6
--[X] Commune with Sagaseeker's weapon spirit, once we get to know each other better see how it would feel about being reforged to be more powerful 1d6
--[X] Do more bible reading with Jerasmus 1d6
-[X] (Blackhand's Training) Try to develop old/train new hugareida tricks
--[X] Train Halting Vortex 1d6
--[X] Train Mire Ward 1d6
-[X] (Training) Tricks
--[X] Talk to Sten about how to make an atgeir
--[X] Train Goal-Tell 1d6
--[X] Train Cool-Off 1d6
--[X] Train Skewer-Flick 1d6
--[X] Train Chuck 1d6
--[X] Train Sway 1d6
--[X] Train Slice-Aside 1d6
--[X] Train 'Rare Weapon' Weaponcraft Skill-Trick 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten)
-[X] (Training) Hamr (59 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hamr itself 1d6
--[X] Train Chop 1d6
-[X] (Training) Hugr (25 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Artcraft 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten)
--[X] Train Housecraft 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten)
--[X] Train Weaponcraft 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten)
-[X] (Training) Fylgja (8 success to rank up)
--[X] Train Fylgja Itself 1d6
-[X] (Orthstirr Usage)
--[X] 4 Odr and 3 Orthstirr to Hamr
---[X] 3 Chop, 4 Defend, 4 Dodge, 4 Glima, 3 Bash, 3 Pierce, 3 Throw, 3 Cut, 3 Farmwork, 3 Labor, 3 Overland (36 total)
--[X] 5 Orthstirr to Hugr
---[X] 4 Artcraft, 5 Armorcraft, 3 Barb-Tongue, 4 Composure, 5 Housecraft, 3 Management, 4 Scouting, 4 Silver-Tongue, 3 Strategy, 3 Tactics, 5 Weaponcraft, 4 Wordplay, 5 Wildcraft (52 total)
--[X] 2 Orthstirr to Fylgja
---[X] 3 Command
--[X] 1 First Impression
--[X] 222 free for tricks
Probably wouldn't matter for quite sometime though.
One more thought, on Hallr and how he got so strong, it read to me like he spent long, long periods of time away from norse lands, could be he stumbled across odr by accident but being in foreign lands with foreign systems meant things like the first opening of the gate and the odr flood that almost killed Halla worked more like being inside the fence this last turn and was blunted, along with the Enemy's ability to respond also being blunted, maybe he got through some stages without the Enemy even being aware. He was only killed after coming back to Norse lands after all. Maybe it was more the being home and reachable than it was searching for the weapon.
Edit: Should also vote.
[X] Plan Berserker Life Advice
-[X] (Personal) Spend time with...
--[X] Toki Thunsson
--[X] Buy 200 oz. Forged Iron and maybe other things if they've got them (we could use a Helm)
--[X] Stigulf Snowbeard
--[X] Ask for training in how to control your rage as a berserker (and how that works and so on)
--[X] Tryggr and Trausti
--[X] Invite them to spar with the rest of us and generally hang out
-[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 Campfire 2d6 (1d6) (+1 Success from Born of Fire)
--[X] Train Hugr itself 6d6
-[X] (Research)
--[X] Cultivation Note: Do so outside the fence again.
--[X] Cultivation Note: Put 9 Odr into our new Sealwood Sapling
--[X] Try to bring additional useful mundane plants into our soulscape with our Fylgja, as well as a ferilized chicken egg 1d6
--[X] Commune with Sagaseeker's weapon spirit, once we get to know each other better see how it would feel about being reforged to be more powerful 1d6
--[X] Do more bible reading with Jerasmus 1d6
-[X] (Blackhand's Training) Try to develop old/train new hugareida tricks
--[X] Train Halting Vortex 1d6
--[X] Train Mire Ward 1d6
-[X] (Training) Tricks
--[X] Talk to Sten about how to make an atgeir
--[X] Train Goal-Tell 1d6
--[X] Train Cool-Off 1d6
--[X] Train Skewer-Flick 1d6
--[X] Train Chuck 1d6
--[X] Train Sway 1d6
--[X] Train Slice-Aside 1d6
--[X] Train 'Rare Weapon' Weaponcraft Skill-Trick 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten)
-[X] (Training) Hamr (59 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Hamr itself 1d6
--[X] Train Chop 1d6
-[X] (Training) Hugr (25 successes to rank up)
--[X] Train Artcraft 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten)
--[X] Train Housecraft 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten)
--[X] Train Weaponcraft 1d6 (+1 Success from Sten)
-[X] (Training) Fylgja (8 success to rank up)
--[X] Train Fylgja Itself 1d6
-[X] (Orthstirr Usage)
--[X] 4 Odr and 3 Orthstirr to Hamr
---[X] 3 Chop, 4 Defend, 4 Dodge, 4 Glima, 3 Bash, 3 Pierce, 3 Throw, 3 Cut, 3 Farmwork, 3 Labor, 3 Overland (36 total)
--[X] 5 Orthstirr to Hugr
---[X] 4 Artcraft, 5 Armorcraft, 3 Barb-Tongue, 4 Composure, 5 Housecraft, 3 Management, 4 Scouting, 4 Silver-Tongue, 3 Strategy, 3 Tactics, 5 Weaponcraft, 4 Wordplay, 5 Wildcraft (52 total)
--[X] 2 Orthstirr to Fylgja
---[X] 3 Command
--[X] 1 First Impression
--[X] 222 free for tricks
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Next turn we should try to focus on training our Fylgja, it appears to be important for our cultivation and it is our weakest skill.
Having at least Fylgja 6 would make things much easier for us. Maybe investing some training dice on Fylgja instead of using it to train Tricks.
Having at least Fylgja 6 would make things much easier for us. Maybe investing some training dice on Fylgja instead of using it to train Tricks.
Given their somewhat extreme enthusiasm for surface food, I wonder if we'd be better off bartering with food instead of silver?
That really makes me wonder if Focus has its own mental effects on the users. Like, making them more single minded and *focused* on a single thing. Would fit with them spending literally all their time training if it had that sort of positive feedback loop making them more intent on training the deeper they got into it.
Could I get a reference on when this is stated? Because the only slavery related comment I remember him making was that jerasmus shouldn't be left unchained.
- Location
- San Ramon, CA
[X] Plan Berserker Life Advice
[X] (Fourth Born) Commanding Presence
[X] Name it "Ashen Kiss"
[X] (Fourth Born) Commanding Presence
[X] Name it "Ashen Kiss"
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My suspicion is that Orthstirr is a quick-and-dirty patch intended to draw the Norse away from the dangers of True Cultivation. However, at this stage I'm not sure whether it's a plot by the Enemy to lower the power level of the civilization as a whole or a plot by the Gods to prevent the majority of Norse people from being destroyed and devoured by The Enemy on True Death. Maybe both, as some sort of compromise.
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- Location
- San Ramon, CA
The Orthstirr vs Odr debate has me thinking of the trope of "Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards." Odr might make you stronger in the long run, but Odr generation is based off of your aspects, and your aspects only grow as a function of your Fame, Worth, and Prestige. If you don't have a source of power that can help you stand out (or if you're not born into a rich and famous family), then you're essentially stuck as a powerless peasant, like the Christians.
Orthstirr might be training wheels, but they are NECESSARY training wheels.
Orthstirr might be training wheels, but they are NECESSARY training wheels.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The implications are that there are rumors of various sorts and possibly Aki being considered unlucky for being born blind. They're certainly viewed as odd and uncanny, likely among other issues, but that doesn't mean they actually practice seidr.
I'm very against trying to beard the witch in her den before we have any way to defend against curses and other seidr attacks. I'm also very against it until we've paid our debt to her...honestly, I'm against messing with her at all. She's not our enemy per se, and making a powerful witch our enemy is dicey. Plus, while it may only be because Blackhand kept her from doing so, she's never actually wronged us.
Okay, looking back it's a bit less clear cut than I was remembering, technically he just says that nobody is meant to be a slave, not that he disapproves of the practice.
Of course that statement is counter to the whole ethical/logical justification for Norse slavery, so I feel like it amounts to the same thing in the long term. He's not going around freeing slaves (well, he sort of is in a very specific way, as this statement implies he thinks all the Norse are enslaved by the Enemy), but he believes they don't deserve their fate.
It's during Winter 5, Turn 2.1's Training when he discusses why he won't teach us anything mind control adjacent.
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Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Hrm, no sign of Dreider yet. I'mma do a quick vibe check to see if we can rally up some more Reward Dice holders.
@Omegahugger , @mastigos, @Dromuthra , we're trying to rig for a really badass kid here, would any of you be willing to donate any of your Reward Dice to this cause?
We still need 2 on locking in Friendly, and 1 to lock out Wrathful. We can be fine without it, but this is mostly just rigging.
@Omegahugger , @mastigos, @Dromuthra , we're trying to rig for a really badass kid here, would any of you be willing to donate any of your Reward Dice to this cause?
We still need 2 on locking in Friendly, and 1 to lock out Wrathful. We can be fine without it, but this is mostly just rigging.
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Omegahugger
Inattentive Idiot
Pfft, locking in Traits is the cowards way.
A real Quester would put their faith in the hands of the Dice Gods and accept the fate they're given!
… Plus, I would rather have us continue with one of our younger children. Gives us a longer lifespan to work with.
A real Quester would put their faith in the hands of the Dice Gods and accept the fate they're given!
… Plus, I would rather have us continue with one of our younger children. Gives us a longer lifespan to work with.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Fair enough, just reminding anyone who might not have noticed.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'm not actually sure Fylgja helps drastically with any of the stuff we're currently doing? Well, it helps bring things into our soul but, like, it's powerful enough for that already, and we're likely gonna boost it once more with Odr...I'm not against increasing it, I'm just not sure we need to spend a lot of dice on doing so when it will rise to 5 fairly soon (in a bit over a year) at 1 a turn.
What makes you think raising it is more urgent than that?
As Silverking says, I don't think that's quite right. Orthstirr seems integral to the process of proper Norse cultivation. Like, you need a fair amount of orthstirr to do it at all and are better at it the more orthstirr you possess. I think it was always a part of things...now whether it was quite as much of one as it is now is another question, but I think it was always there.
- Location
- Norway
I will use 1 Reward Die to lock out Wrathful.