NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)

[Shard]

Anything that doesn't need a roll is a Perfect Defense. That is how they are defined. Puncture goes through any such effect. If someone is using Puncture, either you beat their roll (or force another type of roll like Contested Movement does) or you get hit.

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Mire-Ward allowed us (in combination with Sagaseeker) to automatically counter the ranged attack by the Threaded Man (because it was coming in too slow) - The idea here would be similar. A burst of standstill to slow down incoming attacks, effectively meaning they won't hit us (if we're on the move).

I don't think so. We've tried using Orthstirr from exclusively one Aspect and we've used them on skills, but not full Aspects all shoved into a single Trick I don't think.

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We've also seen Abjorn do it before against Lars Forkbeard.
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Hey Blackhand! I've got a lot of questions.

1) Is my Saemd being made of Iron Spikes related to my being descended from Odin?
2) Can I restore my Frenzy with a Calm Charge? Something was stopping you from figuring out earlier.
3) Do you have any idea what my children's Fylgjur do? Sigurdr's Albatross and Hallbjorn's Beaver, respectively.
4) Are Outlaws, like.. conceptually aligned, or under greater influence of The Enemy than normal?

Also..
5) If someone stole Sagaseeker from me, then tried to wield it, how poor of an idea would that be? Would Sagaseeker 'merely' be a poor Atgeir, or would he try to gouge out the thief's eyes or something?
6) Is Sagaseeker's looking so young reflective of him not quite being sapient, or Sagaseeker having been owned by me for such a short time?
7) Could Sagaseeker learn to do tricks?
8) Do you know if Sagaseeker has Aspects it could stoke?

 

[Omeganian]

@Imperial Fister, I decided to write down our latest battle in Kalevala style.

Halla youthful, Steinarr's daughter,

Stood before a foe unbending,

Forging spears with flicks of fingers,

Spears to shatter stone and iron.

Five times three were dwarves around her,

Lying beaten by their beer mugs,

And the foe could all them slaughter,

None of them a spear could carry.

Stronger was the foe than Halla,

But she knew the skill of weaving,

Nets she wove while singing loudly,

Dodging spears the foe was flinging.

At the iron foe she cast them,

Holding him for moments dozen.

Different nets she spun those moments,

Nets like sponges, sponges draining.

At the dwarves she cast them quickly,

Draining them of beer and weakness.

When the iron foe came for her,

Nets defeated and in tatters,

Fifteen Dwarves he found with Halla,

Spears and swords held firm against him.

Four times four were foes against him,

Led by Halla, Steinarr's daughter.

- Would you fight today against us? -

Halla spoke, the weaver flaming,

- Would you seek another battle,

Fighting men and women fewer? -

Never spoke the foe of iron,

Left without a curse or blessing,

Leaving Halla as the winner,

And the fifteen dwarves around her.

 

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

Mire-Ward allowed us (in combination with Sagaseeker) to automatically counter the ranged attack by the Threaded Man (because it was coming in too slow) - The idea here would be similar. A burst of standstill to slow down incoming attacks, effectively meaning they won't hit us (if we're on the move).

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Right, but the Threaded Man did not have Puncture.

I'm not saying this wouldn't work, I'm saying it's a Perfect Defense. Which means Puncture gets through it. Which means it's a bit redundant with our existing tool kit. Like, I agree with you entirely that we can make this Trick, but it doesn't help us at all against Puncture...which was the stated reason for making it.

Like, the Trick could exist, but it doesn't work for the purpose you were suggesting it for.

 

[Bass11]

So that's another ironbrother we'll have to face. We still have to fight swordfury.

 

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

So that's another ironbrother we'll have to face. We still have to fight swordfury.

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Yup. Luckily, neither are duels, so we can bring backup if we can arrange it, and the two don't even live in the same country so we probably won't have to do them in immediate sequence. Which are both very important options to keep in mind.

The Hooknails one also isn't necessarily a fight to the death, though Swordfury is.

 

[Shard]

I don't think Swordfury is Ironbrother tier. Low Ironbrother maybe, but he struck me as substantially below either Lars Forkbeard or Hookfingers given he had to enrage Halfdan to have a shot at killing him.

He should be between Sten and Gary Tuskpuncher in powerlevel. I would suggest probably about as dangerous as Audikr, but he's definitely going to come with a Felag.

 

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

I don't think Swordfury is Ironbrother tier. Low Ironbrother maybe, but he struck me as substantially below either Lars Forkbeard or Hookfingers given he had to enrage Halfdan to have a shot at killing him.

He should be between Sten and Gary Tuskpuncher in powerlevel. I would suggest probably about as dangerous as Audikr, but he's definitely going to come with a Felag.

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Halfdan once fought Steinarr to a standstill. Steinarr is indisputably the more badass of the two, but I'd say it's pretty likely that neither Lars nor Hooknails could take Halfdan in a fight without the kind of cheating Reidar was trying. We also know that Reidar literally is an Ironbrother, as in the rank, so he's definitely 'Ironbrother tier' though where in that tier he falls is more ambiguous.

But yes, he will 100% have backup.

 

[wrecksalot]

I don't think Swordfury is Ironbrother tier. Low Ironbrother maybe, but he struck me as substantially below either Lars Forkbeard or Hookfingers given he had to enrage Halfdan to have a shot at killing him.

He should be between Sten and Gary Tuskpuncher in powerlevel. I would suggest probably about as dangerous as Audikr, but he's definitely going to come with a Felag.

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Halfdan is a Varangian, like Stienarr or Torsten, so Reidar is probably solidly Ironbrother if he thinks he can take Halfdan on at all.

 

[Constenanto]

yo @Imperial Fister can i use my reward dice to get a hint towards what's going on with Flame-Tending Blade?

 

[Bass11]

I wonder what's the autopass qualifications for the varangian guard? And how close Halla is to reaching it.

 

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

I wonder what's the autopass qualifications for the varangian guard? And how close Halla is to reaching it.

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We were told the only person of our generation who'd auto-pass was Sten. We've improved since then, but not to that degree.

 

[Alectai]

We were told the only person of our generation who'd auto-pass was Sten. We've improved since then, but not to that degree.

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I thought we were told that Halla and Abjorn and what-not would get in though? Maybe not an auto-pass, but we'd pass

 

[Bass11]

I thought we were told that Halla and Abjorn and what-not would get in though? Maybe not an auto-pass, but we'd pass

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We were told we would have to get through the trials.

We were told the only person of our generation who'd auto-pass was Sten. We've improved since then, but not to that degree.

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I know, that. I was just wondering what we would need to use it as a benchmark.

 

[wrecksalot]

I mean, Varangian trials seem like a great way to earn Orthstirr and feats, so I don't know why we would want to pass on them.

 

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

I thought we were told that Halla and Abjorn and what-not would get in though? Maybe not an auto-pass, but we'd pass

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Yeah, we were told that we could potentially get in, but only with trials, and the question was on auto-passing.

I know, that. I was just wondering what we would need to use it as a benchmark.

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Fair enough. I actually don't know for sure...if it's basically just 'Expert' from Alectai's combat tier list, then we might actually be really close, though it might be more like 'Expert not including your fancy gear you pansy' in which case we're potentially a lot further off (we'll hit 74 Combat Pool in a few turns, but 23 of that is our gear...a more normally equipped Norseman would be getting maybe 16 from gear, and often less).

I mean, Varangian trials seem like a great way to earn Orthstirr and feats, so I don't know why we would want to pass on them.

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I mean, we wouldn't, it's just a good barometer for power to speculate on.

 

[Shard]

The big issue was that we would have to split up from our family to be in Miklagard for an extended period of time.

Charred Soul also strongly incentivizes having at least one child so that if you die you don't game over, so the journey to join the VG would be pretty dangerous..

 

[wrecksalot]

The big issue was that we would have to split up from our family to be in Miklagard for an extended period of time.

Charred Soul also strongly incentivizes having at least one child so that if you die you don't game over, so the journey to join the VG would be pretty dangerous..

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I mean, grandpa blackhand had a solution to that, and it didn't even preclude him having a more proper family later, or earlier, or both.

 

[Alectai]

The big issue was that we would have to split up from our family to be in Miklagard for an extended period of time.

Charred Soul also strongly incentivizes having at least one child so that if you die you don't game over, so the journey to join the VG would be pretty dangerous..

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Yeah, it's why going to the Guard is more of a Sigurdr plot rather than a Halla one--Halla seems best to secure the foundation that future characters build on.

 

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

The big issue was that we would have to split up from our family to be in Miklagard for an extended period of time.

Charred Soul also strongly incentivizes having at least one child so that if you die you don't game over, so the journey to join the VG would be pretty dangerous..

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Oh, we're definitely not having Halla actually join. The speculation is purely a power level barometer, at least for me. Like, knowing whether she could skip the trials is relevant to how powerful she is, even if she never actually does it.

Our next character, on the other hand, is a different matter and we'll see whether we want to take the risks then. Personally, I think it's probably worth it, especially if we go with Sigurdr and he does the ladies man thing, but even if not.

 

[Shard]

I mean, grandpa blackhand had a solution to that, and it didn't even preclude him having a more proper family later, or earlier, or both.

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Grandpa Blackhand died a whole lotta times..

Oh, we're definitely not having Halla actually join. The speculation is purely a power level barometer, at least for me. Like, knowing whether she could skip the trials is relevant to how powerful she is, even if she never actually does it.

Our next character, on the other hand, is a different matter and we'll see whether we want to take the risks then. Personally, I think it's probably worth it, especially if we go with Sigurdr and he does the ladies man thing, but even if not.

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Well, it would be more workable if we can die Bodily Deaths instead of immediately jumping to the next generation.

 

[I.F. Ister]

1) Is my Saemd being made of Iron Spikes related to my being descended from Odin?

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'As far as I am aware, yes.'

2) Can I restore my Frenzy with a Calm Charge? Something was stopping you from figuring out earlier.

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'I don't believe you can. Frenzy is hot, calm is cool. Oxymoron.'

3) Do you have any idea what my children's Fylgjur do? Sigurdr's Albatross and Hallbjorn's Beaver, respectively.

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'Albatross makes travelling much easier. Beavers are industrious, helps with building things and doing work.'

4) Are Outlaws, like.. conceptually aligned, or under greater influence of The Enemy than normal?

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'I don't know.'

5) If someone stole Sagaseeker from me, then tried to wield it, how poor of an idea would that be? Would Sagaseeker 'merely' be a poor Atgeir, or would he try to gouge out the thief's eyes or something?

Click to shrink...

'The more aware an item, the worse it is for the thief who stole it.'

6) Is Sagaseeker's looking so young reflective of him not quite being sapient, or Sagaseeker having been owned by me for such a short time?

Click to shrink...

'Both, likely enough.'

7) Could Sagaseeker learn to do tricks?

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'I don't see why not.'

8) Do you know if Sagaseeker has Aspects it could stoke?

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'I do not.'

@Imperial Fister, I decided to write down our latest battle in Kalevala style.

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Cool! A Reward Dice to you! Though it's not Skaldic, I'll also give out an orthstirr. Do you have a name for this poem?

Well, it would be more workable if we can die Bodily Deaths instead of immediately jumping to the next generation.

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I'm intentionally being vague on if you will or if you won't die a True Death upon running out of Endurance. My advice? Be bold because you'll die either way.

yo @Imperial Fister can i use my reward dice to get a hint towards what's going on with Flame-Tending Blade?

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Sure!

It, by definition, is close to glima.

 

[Alectai]

... So it's a trick of channelling Orthstirr through the body.

...

No, I get it, it's about using a Hugareida with bodily control instead of just willing it into being, isn't it? It's a martial arts technique in the sense that you're translating a more advanced concept into something you can largely automate with skill, isn't it?

That's why it's not tracked in Hugr, it's a Martial Arts Style. It's a special Trick that uses our understanding of Fire and our latent Shapeshifting ability to effectively optimize the body towards a specific form of combat, isn't it?

That's what's missing, isn't it? We need to actually commit a Shapeshift Slot to fully empower this style, don't we? In effect, we're changing our body so that it can produce Fire on command. And that lets us transfer stuff from our intellectual understanding down into a muscle memory, and that requires Hamr to remember, is that right?

 

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

No, I get it, it's about using a Hugareida with bodily control instead of just willing it into being, isn't it? It's a martial arts technique in the sense that you're translating a more advanced concept into something you can largely automate with skill, isn't it?

That's why it's not tracked in Hugr, it's a Martial Arts Style. It's a special Trick that uses our understanding of Fire and our latent Shapeshifting ability to effectively optimize the body towards a specific form of combat, isn't it?

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Yeah, this sounds right to me for the most part.

That's what's missing, isn't it? We need to actually commit a Shapeshift Slot to fully empower this style, don't we? In effect, we're changing our body so that it can produce Fire on command. And that lets us transfer stuff from our intellectual understanding down into a muscle memory, and that requires Hamr to remember, is that right?

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This I'm a lot more skeptical on. We can test it out easily enough once we have it Refined, though.

 

[Alectai]

I did find it a little weird that for all that Norsemen were historically known for being robust fighters, that a lot of their high end stuff in NorseQuest boiled down to battle wizardry. Finding out that "No, actually, Battle Wizardry is the elementary form of Super Martial Arts" is fun though.

It means that the meta doesn't require exceptionally high Hugr or some way of expanding your slots, because if you can transfer your understanding of Hugareida over to your Hamr, you only need the Hugareida equipped without any subsidiary Tricks, and can learn the techniques as a ritualized set of combat arts instead, letting Warriors be just as quadratic as Wizards.

Of course, the flipside I imagine is that Hugr based Hugareida Tricks are probably more flexible in nature, given that it's derived from quickness of thought, but Hamr based Hugareida Tricks can likely do shit like we see with the Flame Tending Blade, where it just stacks up and up the more risk you're willing to take. (And it also explains the nature of the Norse Meta frequently favoring conventional attacks and defenses, if it's backed by stuff like Charged Techniques that benefit from the longer you can drag out a round without needing full access to your weapons)

 

[Bass11]

I wonder if we can do the opposite?