Renascence: A Homura Quest
- Thread starter Higure
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy Mystery
- Location
- Somewhere
It's an honor seeing someone that's been part of this quest so long, and if I'm correctly recalling created some good plan votes, endorsing my own plan vote.
I don't know about better, but part of the idea was to do a little of everything to see how the system works. Getting a little less sleep is this vote to see if we can comfortably take it was part of the plan.
- Location
- USA
[X] Training Basics
Macros
omnisciently vague councilman
- Location
- Dirac Sea
We should probably start brainstorming ideas for developpment and spell research, though. I guess it's fine for this turn - we might as well raise our skills a little first - but that's probably going to be one of our best tools going forward.
I seem to recall our number one priority was to fix Homura's heart? Can't remember how far we were on that road.
I seem to recall our number one priority was to fix Homura's heart? Can't remember how far we were on that road.
- Location
- Somewhere
Even if we did remember, with the redesign of skills that progress may not even be the same anymore. I'm not even sure what stats we have that fixing Homura's heart would run off of now. I remember there was a medical knowledge stat before, but I do not recall Higure mentioning something like that with the new system. So would we be looking at Research? Or at Magic Theory?
I'm hoping that in the near future, after a turn or two, we'll have some ideas on what tasks require what skills to be able to actually focus our research into Homura's heart. But for now...
EDIT: Okay, went and found we still have a medical skill stat.
I'm hoping that in the near future, after a turn or two, we'll have some ideas on what tasks require what skills to be able to actually focus our research into Homura's heart. But for now...
EDIT: Okay, went and found we still have a medical skill stat.
I also found we have a very low Magical Development skill, which may hinder our ability to create a new spell for healing Homura's heart once our Medical Expertise is high enough to know what sort of spell we even need. I'm thinking we spend some form of action next turn training Spell Development with Mami.
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- Pronouns
- They/Them/Their
Our low Magical Theory and Development Skills are part of why my current plan has Homura training Research. As listed under the Research actions tab in the Turn Rules post, doing a Research action can develop a Theoretical Spell, which can be developed into a full one. One of the advantages of spending the action to develop a Theoretical Spell first is that we get to see the DC of a Theoretical Spell, whereas we don't if we just go straight to development.
- Location
- Somewhere
Makes sense. I had her training Magical Theory mostly because I didn't know/forgot about Development and wanted to round most of our skill training out a bit. Also because it's harder to do training on developing a spell if we don't have a spell we want to do in mind. But training a bit in how to think when we're developing will also be needed.
Realistically, we need all three, the medical expertise to know what we want the spell to do, the magical theory to know what magic is actually capable of and what's going to drain our magic more, and the spell development skills to be able to actually invent the spell when we go at it.
Realistically, we need all three, the medical expertise to know what we want the spell to do, the magical theory to know what magic is actually capable of and what's going to drain our magic more, and the spell development skills to be able to actually invent the spell when we go at it.
- Pronouns
- They/Them/Their
They do have some overlap, but with a little bit of digging in the Turn Actions informational post, it's possible to determine what each one specializes in that the others don't.
tldr: Development and Theory on their own don't know how hard something is, and research only knows how hard things are.
I am first going to preface this with the fact that each is probably involved in separate Missions and/or Grand Undertakings.
Development Magic Actions are the domain of, well, Development. They roll Development publicly, and while we get to see what the result is, we don't know the DC. It's something of a mystery as to how close Homura is to completion on a Magic Development Action without other input.
- The lack of knowledge on the DC can be removed by taking an action to Research a Theoretical Spell, which makes a Research roll and generates a Theoretical Spell for usage in future Development Magic Actions. Theoretical Spells have the notable benefit of always having a visible DC, meaning that we can make educated guesses and plan around how many rolls it will take Homura to finish the development process.
Workings are primarily the domain of Magical Theory, as they will always roll it. However, they can roll other skills as part of the process, which can be predicted through use of logic but are not stated up front.
- The lack of knowledge on which skills other than Magical Theory must be rolled can be fixed with a Research Action. Doing so produces a Theory for the Working. Theory's have the benefit of not only showing the Magical Theory DC for their Working, but also by revealing all skills involved in the Working as well as their DCs.
In this way, we can see the practical differences between Research, Development, Theory. Development and Theory are each the 'doing' of something, but on their own, do not reveal the complexity of their respective tasks. Research on it's own does not 'do' anything, but it reveals the complexity of another task, which can make the 'doing' of that other task much easier in the long term.
- The lack of knowledge on the DC can be removed by taking an action to Research a Theoretical Spell, which makes a Research roll and generates a Theoretical Spell for usage in future Development Magic Actions. Theoretical Spells have the notable benefit of always having a visible DC, meaning that we can make educated guesses and plan around how many rolls it will take Homura to finish the development process.
Workings are primarily the domain of Magical Theory, as they will always roll it. However, they can roll other skills as part of the process, which can be predicted through use of logic but are not stated up front.
- The lack of knowledge on which skills other than Magical Theory must be rolled can be fixed with a Research Action. Doing so produces a Theory for the Working. Theory's have the benefit of not only showing the Magical Theory DC for their Working, but also by revealing all skills involved in the Working as well as their DCs.
In this way, we can see the practical differences between Research, Development, Theory. Development and Theory are each the 'doing' of something, but on their own, do not reveal the complexity of their respective tasks. Research on it's own does not 'do' anything, but it reveals the complexity of another task, which can make the 'doing' of that other task much easier in the long term.
Monday, March 21st
Higure
Witch of Faith
- Location
- The Golden Land
Event: Kyubey Meeting
"I see you arrived on time, Homura Akemi."The Incubator looks at you from the balcony outside of the Mikis' apartment, tail swishing in the morning air as its dead red eyes meet your own.
"You wanted to discuss the anomalies, and a possible collaboration." You state, rather than question, leaning on the wall next to the door.
"I do." It pauses, "I believe that these anomalies may represent an opportunity to address the Entropy problem. You are familiar with it."
You nod, "I am. What does this have to do with me?" You have your suspicions, but you want to force an answer if possible.
"I am watching for signs of anomalies. I would like you to occasionally follow up on those signs for me, performing an investigation. In return, I am willing to lend you assets that you might find useful in Witch Hunting, or share other information with you." It leads with an offer, but doesn't truly answer your question, so you try again.
"Why me specifically?" You ask, as emotionless as possible.
There is a long pause before it answers, "You are the Magical Girl in the region I believe most suitable for collaboration. Others are either ignorant of matters, or irrational and hostile. You are generally neither. In addition, you yourself are clearly anomalous in some manner, and I am curious as to the impact of interaction between anomalies. Satisfactory?"
You slowly nod. You suspect there's more to it, but Kyubey is unlikely to reveal much more, you think, "Acceptable. Inform me of these anomalies, and I will investigate them at my discretion."
"Acceptable." It says in return, "Expect to receive your first tip in the next one to two days."
With those words, the Incubator leaps from the building and out of sight.
Investigation Actions
Sitting down at your table with a notebook, you consider one of this loop's more concerning revelations; the fact that your memories are not only blurred by time, but now intermixed with those of this timeline's Homura.
Moreso, it is concerning that her memories have proven quite different than your own in some cases. Yet, this does present some opportunity; if you can identify what has changed, you can seek out any resources these changes might provide to you. After all, you've already gained multiple allies from this timeline's strangeness.
Thus, you put pencil to paper, and work backwards through your early life, as foggy as it is, to the best of your ability.
"Let's see…the day before I was released…"
False Memories (0/100) > Rolled (45) +30 > False Memories (75/100)
---
You set foot in the Akemi Clockshop, smiling slightly as you breathe in the lingering scents of grease, polish, and invar. Your blood demands you cast yourself into the family's art, but you turn from it for the moment, reminding yourself you have time for that already set aside.
This is not the time for that, however. In this moment, you are here for books, not clocks.
Making your way deeper into the shop, you proceed up a flight of stairs, into your Grandfather's chambers--now yours, you suppose. They are clean and crisp, already prepared for your use.
Yet, you hesitate at the door to the magnificent office, flinching as you take in the beautiful mahogany furniture, including the clocks left behind by each family Head since the beginning. It's perfect. It suits you perfectly, and it should certainly be your home.
Yet there are ghosts here--potentially literal ones, but certainly figurative ones.
"Someday, maybe." You speak into the emptiness, "But I'm not ready yet, Grandfather." It is likely your imagination, but you think perhaps you feel some notion of understanding in return, as you step in, skirting along the wall, you slip past the master bedroom, and press upon a hidden panel to open the way into a small, secret library your Grandfather showed to you when you were a child.
This room, at least, is one you have only entered once before, and does not fill your heart with nostalgia and melancholy. It is a far cry from the magnificence of the rest of these chambers--no, it is dark, and spartan save for a simple clock, a small table with a lamp, a chair, and a few shelves.
Those shelves, however, contain the written journals of the Akemi Heads. If anything might contain the secrets of your family's madness, then it will be these journals.
You reach for the first of your grandfather's, then hesitate, and instead make your way to the most distant shelf, opening the sealed glass case within.
There, you find the oldest of them. Ancient and fragile. The journal of the first Akemi.
You dare not risk reading it as it is, however, for fear of destroying it by accident.
The sounds of clocks fills your mind, and brilliant purple light fills the room as you transform and carefully lay a hand upon the book, hoping you will not need to try this again in your next loop.
-- Development Roll: [62] - 5 = 57. "Tome Restoration" Spell Created --
Slowly, beneath your touch, the weathered book regresses, the touch of the ages lifting from it, leaving it whole and safe to the touch.
You make your way to the desk, turn on the lamp, and begin reading.
Akemi Madness (0/500) > Rolled (44) + 30 > (74/500)
Social Actions
"Please, have a seat, let me get you a character sheet!" You father says, smiling ear to ear as the two of you sit down next to the GM's seat, Kayaba smiling slightly as he looks on.Your father takes that very seat--not a surprise, really--and hands you're the rulebook and a character sheet.
"Alright, so, how much do you know about the system, Homura?" He asks, smiling in almost boyish excitement--not something you've ever seen on his face before.
"I did some reading while I was in the hospital, but there's still a lot of details I'm not certain about. Could you explain--"
You spend the next hour discussing the system--apparently Pathfinder, not D&D--with your father, and with Kayaba, who chirps in with corrections every time your father gets something wrong. You recall mentions of "rules lawyers" from the internet, and you suspect you've found this group's.
By the time the door opens to the office, you've got a character ready--Kortoth the Barbarian, who doesn't need to micromanage anything or carefully plan out every action he takes for fear of damaging an important relationship or dying or getting someone else killed or--
Yes, Kortoth does not do those things. He Rages, and attacks. Simple. Coming in at Level 15 is a bit much for your first campaign, but you suppose that's what happens when you're jumping into something that's been going for years already.
"Ah, I see the others are late again." Says the man who opens the door, smiling tiredly as he hefts a suitcase, which you can only assume contains his dice and character sheet.
"I don't know why I bother showing up on time, consider--" His eyes land upon you, and sparkle slightly, as his smile broadens, "And who is this? Are you the much-storied Homura?"
He places his suitcase on the table and takes the seat to your right, leaning over the table a bit to look closely at you--a tad closer than you'd like, although you expect more personal space than most. "Yes, you must be. You have your father's eyes." He seems to remember himself, straightening and offering a handshake, "It's nice to meet you, Homura-chan. Soichirou Mikuni."
You take his hand, shaking it--it's calloused, worker or soldier's, you notice--but freeze as you process his words. "Any relation to Oriko Mikuni?" You ask, deeming it harmless enough to inquire.
His eyes widen, and he gives a light laugh, "Not the connection I expected you to make! Yes, she's a third cousin. Has she been doing alright, since her father…?"
You grimace, shaking your head, "My impression is that she went through quite the rough period, but she seems to be in a better place now. Admittedly, I do not know her well, we've merely spoken a few times."
He sighs at that, speaking with a tone of regret, "I see. I wonder if…no, there's no point. I will check in on her soon. I should have done it before, but I assumed those closer to her would help the girl."
You don't know quite what to say to that, and so change the topic, "So, you're one of the players? Father's been very evasive about who's in this."
He chuckles, "Oh, so he's pulling that one again? You should have--"
"Now, now, no revealing anything ahead of time. It's important new players form their own impressions." Your father chides, eliciting a light sigh from Soichirou.
"Oh, very well. Well, don't worry, I'm sure you'll like them, once you get to know them." He ruffles your hair, something sad in his eyes as he looks at you, "I'm glad you're out of the hospital. You're going to love the game."
Before you can even wonder what broke his heart, a loud bang echoes from down the hall, and you hear a man's voice, "Are you sure you should play tonight? You--"
And then the shockingly familiar voice of a woman interrupts, "I am certain! I only had two--" She pauses, "Three drinks! Or was it four? Not like it's the first time I've shown up less than sober. C'mon, let's get--oh."
The door swings open, revealing the extremely drunk form of Junko Kaname, "Uhh…I did not realize there was gonna be a kid here. Takeshi? Why is there--"
Your father heaves a sigh, "Because my daughter is joining us tonight. Like I told you on the phone last night. But you still--"
Junko does look ashamed, in her defense, "Oh. Sorry. I--there was a nomikai, and--I'm really sorry, I forgot your daughter was gonna be playing."
Your father locks a glare upon her, but It's Soichirou who speaks up, "Junko, I know how important such meetings are--I'd imagine we all do--but please try to be more considerate."
She sighs, "I'm sorry, alright? I'll go home, no need to bother the kid."
You shake your head, "Sit. I've seen worse, I assure you." 'Besides,' You think, 'At least Madoka won't have to carry you to bed if you sober up here.'
Your father looks to you, raising an eyebrow, "I may need to speak to the staff at that hospital, if they've let you be exposed to such things. Regardless, are you sure?"
You nod, "Of course." It would be terribly rude to throw Junko out, especially considering she's Madoka's mother.
Junko staggers over to her chair, taking her seat, "Thanks, kid. Ah, Homura-chan, right?"
You nod, a little bemused.. You've seen Junko drunk many times, and this is nothing new.
Although, it occurs to you, you've never played D&D with her while she was drunk.
It should be fine.
"Mmm…I've got a daughter your age! I should introduce you, she'd--" She yawns, "She'd probably like you a lot. She's been making lots of new friends lately. I should try to meet them sometime…"
You decide to surprise her when she's sober, rather than now.
The man you heard follows in after Junko, drawing your attention. He smiles goofily--not in the manner of a drunk, but merely in that of a man having a good time.
"Hello! Nice to meet you, Miss Akemi!" He says, in English, for some unknown reason. His accent is horrible, too.
"Nice to meet you, Mr…?"
The full grown adult man in front of you proceeds to strike a pose, in a show of silliness that would make Mami blush, as he declares, "I! Am! Hououin Kyouma!"
You would love to say this man is an idiot.
Sadly, you can tell that this man is lying about everything except his name. His movements are a bit too stiff, his silliness a bit too exaggerated to be a normal, garden-variety idiot.
It all seems weirdly rehearsed, and vaguely familiar, for some reason. Perhaps you've met this man before in this timeline? No, you would remember him more clearly, you think.
"Oi! Knock it off, Rintaro!"
Hououin drops his pose with a sigh, smiling slightly, "Please, Kaname-san, call me by my proper name! Hou--"
"Sit, Okabe. We've got a game to play, and my daughter does not seem impressed by your dramatics." Your father snaps, clearly well past exasperated from the collection of strange people who are currently destroying any attempt of his to make this game seem like a serious endeavor.
"I am impressed, actually." You say. Houoin perks up, smiling in spite of himself, until you follow up your sentence, "You're very good at acting, Kyouma-san."
He blinks slowly at that, holding my gaze for a long, heavy moment, before laughing it off, "Ahahaha! Well, of course! My talents are boundless and manifold, as any good Mad Scientist's!" He says the last bit in English again, but you turn your attention away for the moment. No need to hold him in the spotlight.
"So, shall we begin?" You ask, ready to bash a goblin to death with a hammer, rather than trying to figure out the source of each person in the room's crippling trauma. Save your Father, whose trauma is entirely caused by his inability to make a half-decent clock to save his life.
Two hours later…
"Standing atop its horde, the ancient green dragon roars at Kortoth, its teeth dripping with venom as it lunges for him! Roll Initiative!"
You cast the die across the table. Seventeen.
A glance at the other players reveals quickly that the dice have not been kind to everyone. Kyouma's Alchemist, Anton, is tied for last with Soichirou's Paladin, with an Initiative of 5. Kelpis the Vigilante--Junko's character--is only slightly ahead with a 7. Fortunately, Kayaba's Wizard, Lockwood, is going just after you. Hopefully before the dragon.
"Your turn, Kortoth. What do you do?" Your father asks, a gleam in his eyes as he looks across the table at you. He's ready for you, you're sure--the dragon has reach, and your character does not have spells or Acrobatics to avoid provoking an Attack of Opportunity.
From what you've seen today, he'll go for the trip, ending your movement so the dragon--Taveroth the Envious--can land a Full Attack on its turn….or catch you and your entire party in the breath attack, now that you look at everyone's positioning.
You have Evasion, though, and a solid reflex save. If he--
"Wait for my turn, Kortoth, and I can get you close!" Kayaba says, speaking as Lockwood, but you realize his error immediately.
"No!" You say, voice as low as you can reasonably pitch it, "The dragon is clever, and seeks to make us overextend! Cast one of your Quickened Spells, but be ready with a Wall of Force to intercept whatever it does!"
Kayaba pauses, looking across the table at you, then back at the board, "…Oh, prepared action. Wow, that's cheap. Ehem. I mean--Yes, you're right! I will safeguard us against the beast!"
"Good! I will move into a flanking position for Kelpis, if I can!" You make clear as you move up towards the dragon's right side.
Your father doesn't hesitate, "Taveroth takes an Attack of Opportunity, and attempts to trip!"
As expected.
"I'll use the Opportune Parry and Riposte I got from my Swashbuckler level." You declare, rolling an attack in response to the dragon's drawing an exasperated sigh from the elder Akemi.
"Of course you do. I blame you for this, Akihiko." Your father gives Kayaba a glare, but it's a friendly one--the kind reserved for an incorrigible friend, "Alright, let's see how this rolls…and yeah, you parry. You don't have the reach to riposte, though."
"That's acceptable. I just needed to get flanking. Oh, and I'll go for an Attack Action now that I'm adjacent."
You roll, producing a natural four, but shrug, "You're up, Lockwood."
Kayaba glances up, "Right. Swift Action, Quickened Haste. No Move Action. Standard Action to Prepare Action to cast Wall of Force if the dragon attacks. End turn."
"Taveroth uses his breath weapon on the party, and…"
"Wall of Force here." Kayaba draws a line that not only blocks the breath weapon, but also prevents the dragon from moving out of melee with you.
Your father sighs, "I guess that's its turn, then. You're up, Junko."
"I move here," She places herself in position to flank the dragon with you, "And I guess I'll go for Perfect Vulnerability. So I'm attacking Flat-Footed Touch." She rolls her attack, resulting in a natural two.
Your father, growing ever more frustrated, just shakes his head, "Still hits flat-footed touch. Roll damage."
Junko rolls her pool of Hidden Strike Dice…and proceeds to falls asleep at the table.
"…I guess we're calling it here." Your father declares, clearly at his limit, "We'll pick up here next week. Can you get her home, Okabe?"
Hououin nods, "Of course I can! For I am--!" He begins to strike another of his poses, but your father's voice interrupts him.
"Take her home."
The self-proclaimed mad scientist flinches, "Yeah, sure thing."
"Good."
One by one, the group filters out, leaving you alone with your father, who looks at you with tired eyes, "Did you have fun, Homura-chan?"
You consider it for a moment, looking around at the mess the group left behind, and recalling the unceasing silliness that permeated the session.
"It was great." You answer honestly, "Even if things didn't go like I expected."
He chuckles, leaning back in his chair, "You're telling me. I was expecting to be trying to work around Akihiko's tricks, but I did not see the tactics barbarian coming."
Your cheeks warm slightly, at that, "I did break character, didn't I?" You lean back in your seat, idling looking over Kortoth's character sheet with a kind of melancholy, wishing you'd just played him as you intended.
He nods, "You did, but so does everyone. It's a game, and the point's to have fun, not be perfectly in-character all the time." He pauses slightly, "You've learned how to exploit the system very quickly."
You gesture towards the empty seats, once occupied by the rest of your party, "I had good teachers. Mostly Kayaba, admittedly."
He sighs, "Yeah, I'd hoped we could just have a normal adventure for the next few weeks, ease you into it. Instead…" He waves a hand to indicate the battle map.
"We skipped half of it by finding the boss with divination magic, since the party's currently on a timer to stop the main antagonist and couldn't waste time." You finish, a little amused.
"Precisely. I'm glad you had fun anyway, though." He smiles at you, those familiar purple eyes soft.
"I did. Thank you for having me. I'll be back next week, schedule permitting." You really would like to come back, and maybe actually take it easy this time, but you may be fighting for your life next Monday, for all you know.
It occurs to you that he said he had something to tell you, last time you spoke, "You said you had some information on our family's madness, last time I was here. I've been doing some research on it at the Workshop, but it's taking some time to get through everything."
He nods, "As I'd imagine. That being said, it's very late, and this could be quite a lot to discuss. Would you be willing to come back one evening, and we can discuss it at length then?"
You notice that it is almost ten, and recall you still have reading to do tonight, and agree, "Reasonable. I'll visit soon, then. Thanks again, Dad."
He smiles at that, and the two of you spend a few minutes chatting before you make your departure.
Takeshi Akemi (0/300) > Rolled (6) > (6/300)
Junko Kaname (0/100) > Rolled (18)/2 > (9/100)
Kayaba Akihiko (0/100) > Rolled (61)/2 > (31/100)
Soichirou Mikuni (0/100) > Rolled (87)/2 > (44/100)
Hououin Kyouma (0/100) > Rolled (45)/2 > (23/100)
Training Actions
The overhead strike is fast--almost too fast, untransformed as you are--but you bring your wooden sword up to meet it, and push it aside, swiping in towards Sayaka's side, only for her to step back out of reach, then step back in as the blade passes and catch you firmly on the shoulder with her counter."Yeah, be careful, you don't have the reach for that kind of commitment. When someone's at the limit of your reach, you need to close that gap, not overextend and leave yourself open."
You nod, taking her advice to heart. She's not that much better than you, in terms of essentials, but you're not used to dealing with conventional combat of this sort, and she knows the sword itself far better than you.
This time, you dash forward, leading with an easily blocked attack to keep her sword busy while you get in close. You even think you have her, for a moment, until she uses the block as an opportunity to shove you backwards with her greater strength, then quickly thrusts while you're off balance.
You groan, pushing yourself up off the dojo's floor, and resume your stance.
"Again."
Rolled (28) + 100
(0/180) > (28) + 100 > (128/180)
Melee 36
Socialize Roll
Sayaka (0/100) > Rolled (85)/2 > (42/100)
---
"Again." Sayaka says, sitting back up as you finish healing her. This is the third time she's nearly fried her brain today.
You nod, "Be careful. My healing isn't the best--damage yourself too badly, and your soul may leave before I can get your back up."
She blinks, "Oh, wow, that's a thing, isn't it? Well, don't worry, this shouldn't be immediately lethal, even if I mess up badly."
You're trusting that she's right about that. It's not a comfortable thing, for certain.
She settles back into a meditative position--something you never would have imagined to see Sayaka in, in the past--and incants, "Trace On."
You can feel the pulse of Magic that fills her body, as she throws herself towards death again.
Hopefully she doesn't fry her medulla this time.
Sayaka Rolled (68) + 100
Progress: (0/50) > (168/50) > Level up! > (68/55) > Level up! > (13/60)
Magecraft 10 > 12
Socialize Roll
Sayaka (42/500) > Rolled (49)/2 > (66/500)
Mission Actions
"Oh, how I've missed you!" You croon as you make your way into the Workshop, blood boiling rapturously. Stopping by one of the many grandfather clocks that line the walls, you caress it gently, recalling the scent of oil and invar, and the feeling of gears beneath your fingertips, it seems like an old friend."Don't worry, you'll have new companions sooner or later, but for today I am here to right something that's been made wrong." You explain, regarding its face for a moment before nodding satisfaction strolling your way through the labyrinthian halls, ascending to the Clock Tower as the floorboards creak beneath you.
Your beloved cat, Lea, regards you from where she curls atop her life support mech, meowing slightly in greeting. You meow back in acknowledgement, and make your way up the stairs into the chamber of gears and mechanisms.
Your cheeks hurt from smiling, you realize, and the expression only broadens, and you laugh aloud at the notion that pain would quench your fervor, in this rapturous, ticking paradise.
No, if anything might quell your excitement, it's the discordant notes of the tower's song, off pace with its brethren.
Taking out your tools from somewhere--you can't quite recall where you left them, but they're here in your hands now--you approach your quarry, the scent of oil thick in your nostrils as you march to battle.
Two hours, thirty-seven minutes and fifty-eight seconds later, you lean back against the wall, defeated. Every tweak you made, every gear switched, every chain adjusted, only worsens the matter. The disease that infects this clock is profound--the kind of cruel curse that only a master of your art, like your Grandfather, could place upon a Clock.
"I'm sorry, child. I am not yet sufficient. Perhaps soon. For now, you must be patient. Though time may be hidden from you now, the True Clock's ticking is not silenced, and it will lead me to a solution, eventually."
The clockwork that surrounds you ticks on in despondency, and all you can do is hope that you can overcome this soon, for its sake.
"I have neglected my studies too long, Grandfather. I'm sorry." You'd like to imagine he understands and forgives you, though you can't imagine why he would.
Rolled (28) + 23 = 51. Failure.
Creative Actions
"Hey Senpai! Can you pass me that screwdriver?"Ruki regards you with a smile as you enter, and you pick up the screwdriver she's pointing at from a table nearby, handing it to her.
"How's the work going so far?" You ask, leaning down to inspect her work on a turbine.
"Brace that, if you wouldn't mind." She requests, and you hold the cold steel of the panel in place for her. "It's going pretty badly, to be honest. I'm trying, but I can't seem to get my head in it today. Still, Yamato needs me, so I'll at least get something done today!"
Bolting the panel back on, she pulls herself up and stretches before moving further down the turbine to remove a different panel. Setting it aside, she lets out a tsk as she takes in what's revealed, "Great. Well, there's no adjusting this one."
With that, orange light envelops the room before fading to reveal Ruki in full regalia, pointing her oversized wrench into the turbine. You can hear metal straining and a strange whining sound as, presumably, it repairs itself.
"Well, that's a start, at least." Your student says, seemingly talking to herself. "It's a good thing I'm a Magical Girl. Otherwise, this wouldn't be doable." She pauses, glancing over at you, "Ah, sorry, Senpai. Anyway, give me a hand? I know you're not an expert on this kind of thing, but you know more than most people, so…"
You nod, "Of course. It's not a clock, but I'll do my best."
Homura rolled (25) + 18 = 43
Ruki rolled (12) + 40 = 52
The Restoration of the Yamato (200/500) > (295/500)
Ruki (0/400) > Rolled (56)/2 > (28/400)
Training Actions
"I still can't believe you actually called me for this. It was a possibility, of course, but not one I thought likely." Oriko says, giving you a smug look as she looks at you from the plush armchair in her family's library.You sigh, "Look, I don't exactly know many experts, and you have no trouble getting a hold of information, do you?"
She shrugs, "Not as long as it's knowledge I could readily obtain by the end of the world…or, well, knowledge that isn't obscured by this damnable fog. I can, indeed, teach you something of magic, at least for now. You will likely surpass me in good time, if you intend to invest yourself."
"Even though I'm more than happy to tell you what I learn? Surely you could simply teach me what I would teach you."
She chuckles, "That would be lovely, but most of those timelines become very foggy indeed. I suspect that you will acquire information from sources that are hidden from my sight. Perhaps we can use such tricks in your next loop, when you are the primary source."
You frown, "Wait, are you implying my actions are somehow separated from my past, when I loop?"
She nods, "As far as I can tell. I believe the Looping process detaches you from causality. That would explain how my vision seems to interact with it, at least." She sips her tea--an action you mirror, realizing you've been allowing yours to grow cold.
"Very well, we can begin. As long as you're willing to deliver that letter in return?" She indicates the sealed envelope that sits before you.
"Yes, I can drop it off. Why does it need to be me, though?" You ask, inspecting the letter before tucking it into your shield.
"The timing is very important. Tomorrow at 7:23:11, precisely, and you may not be seen. You are the only person who can do that." She gives you a firm look, and you nod your understanding.
Satisfied, she begins to explain, "Alright, let's open with some foundational theory.
"Magic, as I understand it, is about using the power of the Soul, Emotion, to bridge the gap between the internal landscape, the Mind, and the external World.
"For example, one may take a powerful symbol from within one's Mind--that Shield of yours, for example--and use Emotion to extrude that object into the World as a weapon. We can refer to this as Realization. Likewise, the casting of a Spell is a matter of conceiving a force or law within the Mind and then Realizing that idea in the world, where it exerts itself using the Emotion you feed into it."
You take notes as she speaks, determined to remember all of this for later.
"This is also why symbols of personal significance tend to be of greater power than those of little--your Mind has already deeply invested in that symbol, and your Emotion is, for a lack of a better term, eager to realize that symbol."
"So how does that interact with existing laws of physics, when a Spell is used? It would be more costly to change more, instead of working with reality where possible, I assume?" You hold her gaze, not daring to miss anything.
She shakes her head, in response, "No, actually. Ultimately, the cost is not related to what you're displacing, but to the scale of what you're Realizing. Which means that magnitude and complexity are what matters. Take flight, for example. Using a Spell to generate lift along particular vectors in order to fly against gravity would be very complicated, for example, and thus expensive. Simply creating a spell to move in accordance to your will, without worrying over details, would be cheaper. Cheaper still would be to simply suppress gravity, although that wouldn't help you with actually moving once you were in the air."
You note it down, grimacing, "That seems backwards somehow. Normally, one would expect doing less to cost less, after all."
She sighs, "You're thinking like a human, Homura. We're working with a different paradigm here…and we're already moving towards concepts which you don't have the foundation for yet. Let's move on to…"
What follows is a long, detailed lecture on the details of the Soul-World bridging process, which is largely academic for you for now, but Oriko assures you it will be important for understanding later concepts.
Rolled (64) + 100
(0/70) > (164/70) > Level Up! > (94/75) > Level Up! > (19/80)
Magical Theory 14 > 16
Socialize Roll
Oriko (0/300) > Rolled (17)/2 > (8/300)
Sleep Actions
It's past midnight, and you're already feeling the fatigue, but you still want to get a bit more studying in. Your research skills have proven very limited, and you're realizing you're going to have great use for them, if you intend to put effort in Spell Development, not to mention taking up Clocksmithing again.Thus, you take out A Guide to Basic Research and Information Analysis, by Honya. It's proven very informative so far, and you've still got plenty to learn from it, after all.
Remember, readers, you can't neglect basic survival equipment when doing research! Also, consider using a Bullet Journal for your note-taking if you've got any attention issues, or find yourself working on many topics at the same time. See the next page for an outline of how to make one!
Now, in regards to efficient note taking, with a mind for efficiently finding reference material for future review, I recommend…
Now, in regards to efficient note taking, with a mind for efficiently finding reference material for future review, I recommend…
What follows is highly informative, although it continues to be speckled with random information on surviving in what you are growing increasingly sure are highly treacherous libraries. You also find more notes on protection against supernatural threats.
It occurs to you that it might be a wise idea to investigate this "Honya." Miyazaki books may be a good place to start.
Rolled (17) + 50
(0/35) > (67/35) > Level Up! > (32/40)
Research 7 > 8
--------
Turn Menu for Tuesday, March 22nd
Homura
Grief: 230/1000
Sanity: 396/1000
Bloodheat: 0/100
Kyouko
Grief: 405/1000
Sanity: 600/1000
[Daily Events]
- You have a Favor to carry out for Oriko today.
[Texts and Emails]
[Madoka]
Madoka: "Going to give Mami some space today, and spend some time at home. Mom's apparently taking the day off, so it'll be good to spend some time together with her. Feel free to stop by, if you want! I managed to speak to Azumi online, but only briefly--going to try again today."
Homura: "Thank you for letting me know. I'll send a text if I'm going to visit!
[Kyouko]
Kyouko: "Hey, I'm going to be hitting up new bookstore in Kasei--the Miyazaki place. I've heard some odd things about it, think there might be a Magical Girl or Witch involved or something. You mind tagging along, just in case?"
[Ruki]
Ruki: "Same deal as yesterday. Seriously, though, let me know if you want help with anything."
[Arcana Magi, Requests, and Akemi Madness]
If you wish to perform an Action as a different Arcana Magi (Kyouko, for now), simply add the following subvote to the action:
-[ ] Arcana - Kyouko
If you wish to Request help from another character(s) for an action, add the following subvote to the action:
-[ ] Request - (Character Names)
If you wish to use Akemi Madness for an action, add the following subvote to the action:
-[ ] Akemi Madness
[Available Characters]
The following characters you can contact for Requests. Keep in mind that Alllies will expect a Favor in return, while Friends will help as long as they have time and are willing. You do not get information on willingness and availability prior to the vote, due to the amount of complexity this would add to the process. Social Links values are listed here--multiply these by 10 to determine the size of the die they will roll when assisting with an Action.
Keep in mind some characters may not be suitable for some Actions--Homura will simply not involve a mundane individual in magical combat, for example, unless there are extraordinary circumstances. If you really feel the need to involve someone in something they normally should not be (like involving Miho Miki in a Witch Hunt, or anything Magical), please include a justification as a subvote, for mine and Homura's consideration.
- Friends
- Madoka Kaname : 10
- Sayaka Miki : 5
- Kyouko Sakura : 4
- Mami Tomoe : 2
- Ruki Shironome : 4
- Mrs. Miki : 2
- Allies
- Nanoha Takamachi : 2
- Rose : 1
- Freya : 1
- Akane : 1
- Oriko : 3
- Kirika : 2
- Snow : 1
Mysteries
[ ] Friends? (546/2000) [Madoka]
"Igor claims there are 14 special friends I need to find. I should try to find more of them…and maybe find out how they're my friends if I don't know them."
"I did experience a strange connection to Nagisa when I met her, and she's apparently "The Death."
"I have a strange memory of Matoko, which led me to her Barrier. She was clearly older--in her late teens, I'd say--and I'd swear I was the same age, in that moment. It's impossible, but the memory remains."
[ ] Black Cats (Progress 0/500)
"There have been a tremendous number of black cats seen throughout the city. That's never been the case before."
"One appeared in the road where Amy would normally be run over. It seemed hostile, and its presence forced me to reveal magic to Madoka."
[ ] Igor's Contract (Progress 0/1000)
"I don't remember signing any Contract with Igor, but he insists I did."
[ ] Attack on Mami's Apartment (Progress 0/1000)
"A massive dog monster and an immortal titan attacked us at Mami's home while we were asleep and Mami was unconscious. Their strength was absurd, and the timing suspicious. The dog is missing and the titan is trapped inside a Witch's Barrier."
"We found a tuft of short black hair where the dog monster was last seen. I thought it was white, but maybe it had some black on it or could change its color."
[ ] False Memories (75/100)
"I have doubled memories of my first meeting with Weiss. I'm sure there are probably others I haven't noticed yet, too. Maybe if I can recognize them, I can figure out more about this strange timeline?"
[ ] A Missing Memory (0/1000)
"When I was talking to Igor, there was a memory that I couldn't find. It was something about selfishness? The Devil? What could have happened?"
[ ] Akemi Madness (74/500)
"There's a strange inherited insanity in our family. It's always been a fact of life before, but others seem scared by it. Maybe I should try to find out more? Looking into our family's history should be a good place to start."
"My Father apparently knows something about this. Meeting with him might help me make some headway, too." (You can spend a Social Action with Takeshi Akemi for additional Progress.)
[ ] Unknown Caller (0/100)
Voicemail Message: "I'd like to discuss a potential business arrangement. You can find us in Pluto's heart. I'll be in town for a while. Witches are not invited."
"Who sent this, and how did they find me? What do they want? They apparently know about Magi, at least. Pluto's Heart might be somewhere in the Meiosei District."
Districts
[ ] Mokusei, The Business District
[ ] Suisei, The Shopping District
[ ] Tennousei, The Upper End District
[ ] Meiosei, The Underworld District
[ ] Kaiousei, The Docks District
[ ] Ansoku, The Suburbs
[ ] Kasei, The Historic District
[ ] Iriguchi, The Hanging Gardens District
[ ] Dosei, The Technology District
Known Locations
-Mokusei-
No Known Locations
-Suisei-
[ ] Yuuko's Shop
[ ] The Hydra Theater
[ ] Mercury's Ice Cream
[ ] Quicksilver Shopping Center
[ ] Swiftfoot Arcade
[ ] Hermes' Furniture
-Tennousei-
[ ] Oriko's House
[ ] Kirika's Apartment
-Meiousei-
[ ] Yakuza Hideout
-Kaiousei-
[ ] Mitakihara Maritime Museum (Ruki's Home)
[ ] Yamato's Cavern [Ruki]
-Ansoku-
[ ] Madoka's House
[ ] Sayaka's Apartment (Home)
[ ] Ruins of Mami's Apartment
[ ] Matoko's House
[ ] Mitakihara Middle School
[ ] Mitakihara High School
-Kasei-
[ ] Homura's Apartment (Residents: Kyouko and Mami)
[ ] The Akemi Workshop
[ ] Miyazaki Books [Kyouko]
-Iriguchi-
-Dosei-
[ ] Cronus' Electronics
People
[ ] The Military Magi
- "I've met some of them, but only some, and I know little of their abilities."
- "I have some idea of how she got here, but there may be information she's not sharing, or is not aware of."
- "I know where she lives."
[Social Actions: 1]
[ ] Madoka (Maxed)
[ ] Sayaka (66/500)
[ ] Kyouko
[ ] Mami
[ ] Nagisa
[ ] Oriko (8/300)
[ ] Kirika
[ ] Nanoha
[ ] Ruki (48/400)
[ ] Miho Miki
[ ] Takeshi Akemi (6/300)
[ ] Junko Kaname (9/100) [Madoka]
[ ] Tomohisa Kaname (0/100) [Madoka]
[ ] Kayaba Akihiko (31/100)
[ ] Soichirou Mikuni (44/100)
[ ] Hououin Kyouma (23/100)
[ ] Write-In Character
[Home Actions: 2]
[ ] Social: Sayaka
[ ] Social: Mrs. Miki
[ ] Special: Play SAO [Sayaka] [Mrs. Miki]
[ ] Training: Help Sayaka Train
[ ] Training: Melee
-[ ] With Sayaka
-[ ] With Mrs. Miki
[ ] Training: Swordsmanship
-[ ] With Sayaka
-[ ] With Mrs. Miki
[Mission Actions: 1]
[ ] Go Shopping
-[ ] Shopping List
[ ] Go Thieving
-[ ] Thieving List
-[ ] Target Location
[ ] Witch Hunt (Roll 1d10. On a 1, no Witch is found. On a 10, it's a strong Witch and a Miniturn begins.)
[ ] Attempt to repair the Akemi Workshop Clocktower. (Roll Engineering or (Clocksmithing + 20))
[ ] Deliver Oriko's Letter. (URGENT: Today)
[ ] Write-In (Subject to QM Approval, Cannot Overlap with other Action Types.)
[Creative Actions: 1]
Applicable available resources will be used automatically.
Craft Actions
[ ] Craft Something (Appropriate Craft Roll Required)
-[ ] Product Type (Clock, Gun, Etcetera)
--[ ] Ambition (1-20; Higher Ambition produces a better product, but sets a higher DC.)
--[ ] Rough Description
-[ ] Special Product
--[ ] Exact Product Description. (Ambition will be decided by QM. Some products may fail automatically.)
Magic Actions
[ ] Spell Development (Development Roll Required)
-[ ] Spell Description (Broader descriptions are more likely to produce easily developed Spells.)
[ ] Spell Usage
-[ ] Spell(s)
-[ ] Action.
-[ ] Reason for action.
[ ] Attempt to perform a Magical Working. (Magical Theory Roll Required)
-[ ] Working Objective. (Ambition will be decided by QM. Some workings may fail automatically.)
Research Actions
[ ] Research a Theoretical Crafting Product
-[ ] Product Type (Clock, Gun, Etcetera)
--[ ] Ambition (1-20; Higher Ambition produces a better product, but sets a higher DC.)
--[ ] Rough Description.
-[ ] Special Product
--[ ] Exact Product Description.
[ ] Research a Theoretical Spell
-[ ] Spell Purpose
-[ ] Ambition (1-20; Higher Ambition produces a better product, but sets a higher DC.)
[ ] Research a Theoretical Magical Working
-[ ] Working Objective.
Grand Undertakings
[ ] The Restoration of the Yamato (295/500) [Ruki]
[Training Actions: 1]
Applicable available resources will be used automatically. Students may refuse lessons if they are busy, or don't know you well.
[ ] Train a Skill
-[ ] Skill
[ ] Train someone else in a Skill.
-[ ] Skill
-[ ] Student
[Sleep Actions: 4]
[ ] Sleep (Gain 20 + Modifiers Sanity)
[ ] Write-In Action of another Type (Cost: 20 Sanity)
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Macros
omnisciently vague councilman
- Location
- Dirac Sea
Well, that's some D&D casting. Didn't expect to see Okabe here. Too bad the omake trait has been streamlined out of the remake, but this should be pretty interesting!
Hmm, and the Clocktower repair mission isn't a progress bar, but each unsuccessful attempt would make the next roll easier, it would seem. Good to know.
FInally, Oriko did help a lot for skill training, from +50 to +100. Not sure if our initial +50 is tied to a stat, or if it's just a flat training bonus.
Let's see, right now, I'm tempted to stay on course for the Investigative actions, not sure about Social (well, I'm biased toward the one and only Houhouin Kyouma, but...). As for the home actions... my instinct would be to keep training with Sayaka, but perhaps we should have a little variety - maybe only take one action for that, and play SAO as a second option (could mean a social action for Sayaka and her mother, with possible hidden benefits given the nature of the game)?
Mission... Tempted to keep trying to repair, but even with a +20 bonus (and keeping in mind we didn't roll very well), we don't know the threshold to reach. For research actions, maybe start researching a spell for our cardiac issues (which might possibly double as general healing).
And finally, this round made me realize how much we need more skill points in basically everything. that 0 in Socialize means we'll take forever to improve social links (and 0 in Persuasion and Deception won't help), we probably need more Clocksmithing for future personal projects, Magical Theory, Research & Development can't be too high, and Investigation is really important too.
Well, I'll try to have a coherent plan later today - assuming someone doesn't make one that would hit all the main things I'd want us to do in the meantime.
Hmm, and the Clocktower repair mission isn't a progress bar, but each unsuccessful attempt would make the next roll easier, it would seem. Good to know.
FInally, Oriko did help a lot for skill training, from +50 to +100. Not sure if our initial +50 is tied to a stat, or if it's just a flat training bonus.
Let's see, right now, I'm tempted to stay on course for the Investigative actions, not sure about Social (well, I'm biased toward the one and only Houhouin Kyouma, but...). As for the home actions... my instinct would be to keep training with Sayaka, but perhaps we should have a little variety - maybe only take one action for that, and play SAO as a second option (could mean a social action for Sayaka and her mother, with possible hidden benefits given the nature of the game)?
Mission... Tempted to keep trying to repair, but even with a +20 bonus (and keeping in mind we didn't roll very well), we don't know the threshold to reach. For research actions, maybe start researching a spell for our cardiac issues (which might possibly double as general healing).
And finally, this round made me realize how much we need more skill points in basically everything. that 0 in Socialize means we'll take forever to improve social links (and 0 in Persuasion and Deception won't help), we probably need more Clocksmithing for future personal projects, Magical Theory, Research & Development can't be too high, and Investigation is really important too.
Well, I'll try to have a coherent plan later today - assuming someone doesn't make one that would hit all the main things I'd want us to do in the meantime.
Higure
Witch of Faith
- Location
- The Golden Land
It wasn't actually a trait, and is still in effect.
It will actually not be made easier, no. Homura needs to train or get lucky.
Base is +0. Books and training buddies usually give around +50, while teachers usually give +100.
Well thought out.
Crow
Falling is a Pleasure. Regardless of its Fate
A treat of an update.
I'll have to consider a good plan. We need to train a lot...and for that its probably good to explore as much as we can to unlock teachers and resources to power level properly.
Will the Oriko mission be done automatically?
I'll have to consider a good plan. We need to train a lot...and for that its probably good to explore as much as we can to unlock teachers and resources to power level properly.
Will the Oriko mission be done automatically?
Higure
Witch of Faith
- Location
- The Golden Land
Good catch. Forgot to include that on the turn menu. It's a Mission Action. Adding now.
Macros
omnisciently vague councilman
- Location
- Dirac Sea
Ah, so I guess we know which mission we need to take. The clocktower will have to wait.
Macros
omnisciently vague councilman
- Location
- Dirac Sea
[X] Plan Baby Steps
[Investigative Actions: 2]
-[ ] False Memories (75/100)
-[ ] Miyazaki Books [Kyouko]
[Social Actions: 1]
-[ ] Hououin Kyouma (23/100)
--[ ] Akemi Madness
[Home Actions: 2]
-[ ] Training: Melee
--[ ] With Sayaka
-[ ] Special: Play SAO [Sayaka] [Mrs. Miki]
[Mission Actions: 1]
-[ ] Deliver Oriko's Letter. (URGENT: Today)
[Creative Actions: 1]
-[ ] Research a Theoretical Spell
--[ ] Internal Healing spell
--[ ] Ambition 5
[Training Actions: 1]
-[ ] Train a Skill
--[ ] Social
---[ ] Mami Tomoe
[Sleep Actions: 4]
-[ ] Sleep (Gain 20 + Modifiers Sanity)
-[ ] Sleep (Gain 20 + Modifiers Sanity)
-[ ] Sleep (Gain 20 + Modifiers Sanity)
-[ ] Train a Skill
--[ ] Research
Ok, so, here's a first draft.
Investigative actions: finish what we started, or at least its first step,while continuing Akemi Madness seem like the best option for now. Once we're done with False Memories though, I kind of want to start exploring places at random. We've been told the key to success is to get out of the well-travelled roads sometimes, and it could net us some good opportunities.
EDIT: switched Akemi Madness for going book hunting with Kyoko.
Social action: ok, so hear me out, it's not just to feed my Stein's;Gate appreciation. The guy is probably one of the best-suited help for most science-related projects we might have, might give us some insight on time-travel, and is probably the one who'd respond the best to Akemi Madness. I swear it's not self-indulgence! Well, not just self-indulgence. Also we might have a social bonus with him, maybe.
Home actions: keep the melee training up, and see what else we can squeeze from SAO. Also double as half-social actions, so not bad.
Mission action: seems like the obvious choice, if only to keep a good teacher/ally happy with us.
Creative action: ok, so yeah, our bonuses are kind of pathetic right now, but I think we should at least try it, if only to see how it works and what needs to be improved before making another attempt. Kind of chose the ambition at random - though toward lower values given Homura's just starting on this path.
EDIT: changed Research Spell to Research Magical Working, as we're probably more interested in a long-term fix.
EDIT EDIT: never mind
Training action: so, my reasoning for social is that as we've just seen, that's the skill we'll use multiple times every turns, and as such, having it at 0 really hurts. Even a +3 or +4 would add-up a lot even short-term. I kind of wanted to pick Madoka as the support character (which, I know, would not grant us bond with her on account of being maxxed, but it kind of feels wrong to start ignoring characters once you reach max bonds with them), but I realized she might not be best-suited for a teaching role - she's just naturally nice. Mami, on the other hand...
Sleep actions: and finally, might as well continue research. I think the sleep action spent training should probably be geared toward low skills, the ones that are easier to raise with no outside help.
By the way @Higure,question EDIT: wait, I probably should try it like this, shouldn't I?
It is possible to improve upon an existing spell using a creative action - whether improving its strength, its range, or making it more cost-efficient.
[Investigative Actions: 2]
-[ ] False Memories (75/100)
-[ ] Miyazaki Books [Kyouko]
[Social Actions: 1]
-[ ] Hououin Kyouma (23/100)
--[ ] Akemi Madness
[Home Actions: 2]
-[ ] Training: Melee
--[ ] With Sayaka
-[ ] Special: Play SAO [Sayaka] [Mrs. Miki]
[Mission Actions: 1]
-[ ] Deliver Oriko's Letter. (URGENT: Today)
[Creative Actions: 1]
-[ ] Research a Theoretical Spell
--[ ] Internal Healing spell
--[ ] Ambition 5
[Training Actions: 1]
-[ ] Train a Skill
--[ ] Social
---[ ] Mami Tomoe
[Sleep Actions: 4]
-[ ] Sleep (Gain 20 + Modifiers Sanity)
-[ ] Sleep (Gain 20 + Modifiers Sanity)
-[ ] Sleep (Gain 20 + Modifiers Sanity)
-[ ] Train a Skill
--[ ] Research
Ok, so, here's a first draft.
Investigative actions: finish what we started, or at least its first step,
EDIT: switched Akemi Madness for going book hunting with Kyoko.
Social action: ok, so hear me out, it's not just to feed my Stein's;Gate appreciation. The guy is probably one of the best-suited help for most science-related projects we might have, might give us some insight on time-travel, and is probably the one who'd respond the best to Akemi Madness. I swear it's not self-indulgence! Well, not just self-indulgence. Also we might have a social bonus with him, maybe.
Home actions: keep the melee training up, and see what else we can squeeze from SAO. Also double as half-social actions, so not bad.
Mission action: seems like the obvious choice, if only to keep a good teacher/ally happy with us.
Creative action: ok, so yeah, our bonuses are kind of pathetic right now, but I think we should at least try it, if only to see how it works and what needs to be improved before making another attempt. Kind of chose the ambition at random - though toward lower values given Homura's just starting on this path.
EDIT EDIT: never mind
Training action: so, my reasoning for social is that as we've just seen, that's the skill we'll use multiple times every turns, and as such, having it at 0 really hurts. Even a +3 or +4 would add-up a lot even short-term. I kind of wanted to pick Madoka as the support character (which, I know, would not grant us bond with her on account of being maxxed, but it kind of feels wrong to start ignoring characters once you reach max bonds with them), but I realized she might not be best-suited for a teaching role - she's just naturally nice. Mami, on the other hand...
Sleep actions: and finally, might as well continue research. I think the sleep action spent training should probably be geared toward low skills, the ones that are easier to raise with no outside help.
By the way @Higure,
It is possible to improve upon an existing spell using a creative action - whether improving its strength, its range, or making it more cost-efficient.
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Higure
Witch of Faith
- Location
- The Golden Land
It is possible to improve upon an existing spell using a creative action - whether improving its strength, its range, or making it more cost-efficient.
Works like making a new spell. Will have a higher development DC than the original did/would have.
- Location
- Somewhere
I did not see this one coming. Actually didn't see many of the characters that showed up to DnD coming, but Junko especially took me by surprise. I cannot wait for when we meet her as one of Madoka's friends.
So...trying to decide on votes. I'm with Macros in that we have to do Oriko's letter delivery this turn for our Mission Action.
For Investigative Actions, I'm kinda torn between three different ideas at the moment. Those three being False Memories, Fiends? and investigating Miyazaki Books. False Memories we almost maxed out this level, and maybe the entire subquest, in just one action, so continuing that just makes sense. Friends? is something of a big game thing that so far appears to tie heavily into our Golden Ending. And finally, I have kind of wanted to go back to Miyazaki Books for the Negima crossover, and with that mail from Kyouko we can double it as a half-social event since she appears to be investigating it .
I'm not sure I'm convinced on spending our social action with Kyouma. My natural tendency would be to try increasing our social with our various Momento/Arcana Magi, so we can unlock whatever bonuses they give to our Soul Gem/magic faster. That or getting to see that face Junko will have when she realizes she played DnD with one of her daughter's new friends. The latter of which can be put off for now, but I want to make it a point of having Madoka introduce us to Junko before we loop.
For Home Actions...I suppose we could venture into SAO some more. SAO really only can be explored while at home anyways and while I don't see what it can give us, for the sake of completely exploring our possibilities we really should return there at least once. The question is what do we do with the other action? I'm more inclined to try to social the Blueberry some more or train our Melee.
I'm unsure what to do with our Creative Action. Best I can think up right now is to put in a spell for our heart. We know we cannot get it right now, we do not have the appropriate Medical or Magical knowledge to do so, but the hope would be that it gives us some parameters to aim for on the training side. Also @Higure , would that be considered Spell Development or Magical Working
Lastly, the training action. Macros is right that we need social for a lot of our activities. But at the same time, I'm more inclined to want to get our heart working. The sooner we get a spell for that the better off we'll be, especially in future loops where we'll be able to use it right off the bat. I suppose we could do training with Mami for our day hours training and skip some sleep for reading up on Medical to put towards our heart problem.
So...here's my base of a plan right now. It's far from an actual plan as it shows all options I'm interested in at the moment even with the number of options exceeds the number of available actions. More just putting this out to get some discussion going and see what options more people are interested in or if someone has a really good argument for something I dismissed.
[Investigative Actions: 2]
Mysteries
[ ] Friends? (546/2000) [Madoka]
"Igor claims there are 14 special friends I need to find. I should try to find more of them…and maybe find out how they're my friends if I don't know them."
"I did experience a strange connection to Nagisa when I met her, and she's apparently "The Death."
"I have a strange memory of Matoko, which led me to her Barrier. She was clearly older--in her late teens, I'd say--and I'd swear I was the same age, in that moment. It's impossible, but the memory remains."
[ ] False Memories (75/100)
"I have doubled memories of my first meeting with Weiss. I'm sure there are probably others I haven't noticed yet, too. Maybe if I can recognize them, I can figure out more about this strange timeline?"
[ ] Miyazaki Books [Kyouko]
[Social Actions: 1]
[ ] Madoka (Maxed)
[ ] Kyouko
[ ] Mami [Madoka]
[ ] Nagisa
[ ] Oriko (8/300)
[ ] Kirika
[ ] Nanoha
[ ] Ruki (28/400)
[ ] Junko Kaname (9/100) [Madoka]
[ ] Hououin Kyouma (23/100)
[Home Actions: 2]
[ ] Social: Sayaka
[ ] Special: Play SAO [Sayaka] [Mrs. Miki]
[ ] Training: Melee
-[ ] With Sayaka
-[ ] With Mrs. Miki
[Mission Actions: 1]
[ ] Deliver Oriko's Letter. (URGENT: Today)
[Creative Actions: 1]
Applicable available resources will be used automatically.
Craft Actions
[ ] Craft Something (Appropriate Craft Roll Required)
-[ ] Product Type (Clock, Gun, Etcetera)
--[ ] Ambition (1-20; Higher Ambition produces a better product, but sets a higher DC.)
--[ ] Rough Description
-[ ] Special Product
--[ ] Exact Product Description. (Ambition will be decided by QM. Some products may fail automatically.)
Magic Actions
[ ] Spell Development (Development Roll Required)
-[ ] Spell Description (Broader descriptions are more likely to produce easily developed Spells.)
[ ] Spell Usage
-[ ] Spell(s)
-[ ] Action.
-[ ] Reason for action.
[ ] Attempt to perform a Magical Working. (Magical Theory Roll Required)
-[ ] Working Objective. (Ambition will be decided by QM. Some workings may fail automatically.)
Research Actions
[ ] Research a Theoretical Crafting Product
-[ ] Product Type (Clock, Gun, Etcetera)
--[ ] Ambition (1-20; Higher Ambition produces a better product, but sets a higher DC.)
--[ ] Rough Description.
-[ ] Special Product
--[ ] Exact Product Description.
[ ] Research a Theoretical Spell
-[ ] Spell Purpose
-[ ] Ambition (1-20; Higher Ambition produces a better product, but sets a higher DC.)
[ ] Research a Theoretical Magical Working
-[ ] Working Objective.
Grand Undertakings
[ ] The Restoration of the Yamato (295/500) [Ruki]
[Training Actions: 1]
Applicable available resources will be used automatically. Students may refuse lessons if they are busy, or don't know you well.
[ ] Train a Skill
-[ ] Social
--[ ] Mami
[Sleep Actions: 4]
[ ] Train a Skill
-[ ] Medical
[ ] Sleep
[ ] Sleep
[ ] Sleep
Macros
omnisciently vague councilman
- Location
- Dirac Sea
Now that you mention it, that's a pretty good point. I suppose Akemi Madness can wait a little.
- Location
- Somewhere
And upon rereading the quest I feel the need to give props to TheEyes here. It may have been meant as a joke at the time but he so called it.
Crow
Falling is a Pleasure. Regardless of its Fate
I get what you're saying. we can put off the madness while finishing off false memories. Though not sure about the Kyouma social action-I'd like to keep hitting up Oriko and see what happens. But maybe he can be a decent instructor for the sciences...hmm.
The healing theoretical...well we're a bit lacking in the skills but I suppose its worth a try. Too bad we dont have a medical and healing magic specialist to hit up yet.
Higure
Witch of Faith
- Location
- The Golden Land
Spell Development creates a Spell Homura can use freely, like the ones you already know. If you made a Spell to correct your heart problem, you could cast it at a moment's notice in the future.
Magical Workings are more like, well, surgery. You slowly work through something with magic over the course of hours. It's a new Magical Theory roll and a new Action every time it's performed.
The advantage is that you can do things with Workings much more easily than you can develop a Spell you can use at will.
The disadvantage, besides having to spend a full Action to perform a working, is that you risk failing the roll and potentially suffering consequences every time you perform the working.
Research allows you to get a feel for the requirements of either before you take risks, and theorycrafting both over a few turns is viable.
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Macros
omnisciently vague councilman
- Location
- Dirac Sea
I'm actually curious about that part. Are there specific risks involved by botching a spell development, beside wasting an action? And does Research also help future development rolls, or is it a purely informative action ("you'll need this much to succeed")?