They all stack, yes. As long as you have a weapon equipped that utilizes it, that is. If you have a knife in one hand, nothing in the other, and your pistols on your waist, then you get all those dice.
For the sake of simplicity, you have two hands and then a quick swap slot—which is where your ranged weapons typically lie.
Consumables are freely accessible and do not have to be in the quick swap slot.
They all stack, yes. As long as you have a weapon equipped that utilizes it, that is. If you have a knife in one hand, nothing in the other, and your pistols on your waist, then you get all those dice.
For the sake of simplicity, you have two hands and then a quick swap slot—which is where your ranged weapons typically lie.
Consumables are freely accessible and do not have to be in the quick swap slot.
Check. In practice, that means we can benefit from 3 skills at most, I think (Gunplay, One-Handed, and Unarmed) but we should grab at least level 1 in One-Handed and Unarmed in order to do that (eventually at least level 2, level 2 is still cheap).
There are no uniform names for the stages of cultivation. Some even profess that stages don't exist at all while others claim that there are more stages than there are stars in the sky.
Regardless, I, Singing Scribe Gid, am writing this article in an attempt to standardize to some degree. The date of writing is M3C0Y2, let us begin.
As stated, there are no uniform names for any perceived stages. However, as this article is not on whether or not stages exist, I will be attempting to categorize according to a newly developed grading scale of my own. Rather than following a vague scale of internal development, I will be assigning classifications based on clearly observible feats. Likewise, I will also not be following the purple prose naming traditions of the past.
The scale I will be using is comprised of three categories. The first category is a numerical scale depending on how many individual ka patterns the cultivator can use at the same time. The second category is on the color of their ka while the third is on the shape it takes. Using myself as an example, I, Singing Scribe Gid, am a 9-Gold-Spark. That means that I am capable of using nine disparate patterns at once, my ka is gold in color, and its shape is sparks.
"We're being followed," Karter's words split the spilling silence as his eyes lock to the mists in his wake. A hand drifts to the rifle across his lap, bandaged fingers playing across the silk-bound surface. Nero adjusts the reins about her head, moving them to a more comfortable fighting position.
"The monster?" Kell asks as his own hand falls to his pistols. They'd left the monsterhive as soon as Karter was capable, which wasn't long at all, but was it long enough for the monster to catch up?
"Without a doubt," Karter tilts his head forward in a motion Kell now recognizes as a 'frown'. "I don't reckon it'll attack, though."
"Why not?"
Karter shrugs, "I dunno, just don't think it will."
The trip after that is done in silence. By the time they return to Melka, the sun has just about finished its long journey across the sky and now paints the world in reds, pinks, and yellows.
0~0~0
Smoke trickles from Karo's pipe as Kell and Karter enter her house. A low hum leaves her chapped lips as she regards them with her sharpened, calculating gaze. She's sitting on a blanket spread across the ground, Kell's siblings sleeping side-by-side before her. A spark of hope rises in Kell's chest as nothing seems obviously wrong with them, at least not in the time it's been since last he saw.
"The monsterhive is dead, mama," Karter says as he steps forward, breaking the silence before it has a chance to form, "Kell did most of the work," he chuckles as he lies, his voice not slipping for an instant. If Kell hadn't been there himself, he would never have suspected Karter's words! "Honestly, his talent for explosives is something to behold!"
"I'm sure it is," Karo says dryly, her eyes falling to a half-lid as she chews on her pipestem, "Still," her eyes flick to Kell as she speaks, "you, Kell Nakesh of Surran, have fulfilled your end of the bargain and so I shall fulfill mine." Waving a hand at Rattle and Itta, Karo continues, "I took the liberty of examining your siblings while you were away and, as ill-fate would have it, the magic afflicting them is far more severe than previously thought."
"Can you fix them?" Kell says, his worry undercut by the odd monotone of his voice.
"Did I say I couldn't?" Karo tilts her head to the side, eyes shining as she peers at Kell, "All this will mean is that it will take me time to wake your siblings, about two months or so—give or take a week depending on tide-strength."
"Why will it take that long?"
"Because magic is complex, nothing like the patterns the young are so obsessed with these days," she snorts with derision as she flicks long, knobby fingers at Kell and Karter. "A proper magic spell has dozens of layers of interwoven ka, which each must be unraveled with care and precision. Skipping a step or otherwise making a mistake," a puff of smoke spills free of her mouth, "can have disastrous results. Of course," she shrugs as she waves a hand Kell's siblings' way, "it could also speed things up dramatically, but the benefits are rarely worth the risk."
"I see," Kell says, his eyes lingering on Rattle and Itta. Perhaps it is a good thing it will take so long to cure them? At least then he'll be able to get his words straight on how to tell them about, well, about Father and Mother and... And Surran.
"I'm sure you do," Karo snorts and waves Kell away. "Now, away with you! I have work to be done and distractions are not part of it."
"But mama!" Karter nearly shouts as he steps forward, shock and surprise playing across his body language, "Where is Kell to go?"
Kell blinks, "I do not understand."
Karo ignores him, instead fixing Karter with a glare, "I will brook no arguments on this, son of my flesh. One night was enough. My sister's spawn has no place under my roof.
Karter scowls, his fingers twisting into balled fists, "Kell is family! It was bad enough you charged him to heal kin, now you deny him shelter?"
"Kell never should have been named," Karo retorts, her eyes flashing with thunder as the lights dim, "Salt-touched are meant for the Sands!"
"So why am I alive?" Karter scoffs as Kell shuffles on the spot, his eyes drifting towards the exit, "Your hypocrisy is showing, mama."
The oil lamps snuff out as the room seems to lengthen. Karo's eyes darken as black, oily ka leaks from her mouth, "You will not speak to me like that, not in my own home."
Karter stares and Karo meets his gaze with one of steel. Mother and son lock eyes for what seems like an eternity until, eventually, Karter breaks the stare with a sigh. "Kell," his words are quiet, his voice subdued, "Nero will give you shelter. In the morning, we'll figure something out. I promise."
"I will hold you to that," Kell says as he backs away, his eyes lingering on his siblings until the swaying entrance-sheet steals them from view.
0~0~0
"Kell!" Karter's shout wakes Kell from slumber, his dreams escaping like water through fingers. "I've decided to move out from mama's, you can come live with me if you want!"
A chuckle and a snort leave Nero as she too wakes to the noise. Laying her chin on a pile of straw, she turns her reptilian gaze Kell's way, "Karter is a good man. I recommend taking the offer."
Kell blinks, "Why would I refuse?"
(Karter is now part of the team. You can now assign his XP)
(+200 Reputation with Melka for destroying the monsterhive)
0~0~0
How would you like to spend the next two months? You have 9 XP and Karter has 4.
[ ] Write in a plan
Hunting Spawnlings (Reward: $25, 2 XP, 100 Rep) (Combat 3)
-Some monsters have been probing the outer fields. Go kill them.
Standing Guard (Reward: $15, 1 XP, 50 Rep)
-Stand guard in a watchtower. Boring, sure, but it's easy! Unless, of course, anything were to happen...
Outrider Rifle, Low Caliber (+13 to Combat) ($25)
-This rifle is patterned in the traditional style of Melka. The stock is wrapped in Melkan silk and contains enough room for seven shots, loaded with the working of an underslung lever. This rifle is chambered in a lower caliber than usual.
Combat Knife (+8 to Combat) ($7)
-A long, thick-bladed knife that's seen more combat than most people have years.
Rider's Light Cuirass (2 Defense) ($40)
-Made of boiled leather stacked in layers, this armor provides enough protection for a short combat patrol.
Rider's Spear, Forked (+12 to Combat) ($10)
-A cavalry spear with a forked head.
Saddlebags ($3)
-These leather saddlebags allow for easier access of one's possessions.
Racing Saddle (+30 to Movement) ($15)
-This saddle is constructed in such a manner to allow for quicker acceleration of one's mount.
Sturdy Boots (+3 to Movement) ($2)
-These boots are quite sturdy, allowing one to walk further, for longer.
Bronze Gauntlets (1 Defense) ($28)
-These gauntlets are made of bronze and are decorated with a winding serpent.
Short-Term Steroid Injector (+100 to Combat) ($22)
-When used, greatly enhances the muscles for a short period of time, allowing one to perform otherwise impossible feats.
Defoliant Grenade ($20)
-This grenade releases a gas that atomizes plants and foliage on contact. WARNING: This gas will also affect worn items if made of plant matter.
Armor-Piercing Rounds ($12)
-This box of ammunition will allow one's firearm-based attacks to pierce through thick skin and armor plating. There are only enough rounds for a single combat encounter.
0~0~0
You may also sell items, should you so desire. However, as you lack a valid merchant's license and are not a native of Melka, you will only get a maximum of $5 per item.
0~0~0
AN: Planning is pretty freeform. Do what you want.
(M)illennia, (C)entury, (Y)ear. That format is almost always used exclusively in archives. Otherwise, people tend to go by seasons and dates are kind of wobbly as a result. Also the fact that timeflow can be weird in the Sands doesn't help things either
The founding of the Tonal Archive. Everything before then is written in negatives, like BC and AD.
Unfortunately, the Archive has been attacked on more than one occasion and, as a result, a great deal of information has either been destroyed or stolen.
Would unlocking our Ka be a viable plan or require XP spent on it or what?
Other possible options: get a merchant license and make some guns or ammo to sell, get to know Karter
Tentative training plan
+1 movement (1 xp)
- +1 ride (1 xp)
+1 gunplay (3 xp)
+1 one handed (1 xp)
+1 unarmed (1 xp)
Leaves 2 unspent that I don't have ideas for.
Can you have a skill higher than it's governing stat?
I'm honestly and sincerely unsure what we should actually do for the time in question...of the listed quests, I lean towards hunting spawnlings, but if someone has a good idea for, like, gaining Ka, then that's obviously better. I doubt 'Try and gain Ka' is a super good write-in without a plan, though? Is it?
I have a better thought out selection for what we should spend xp on...Karter should definitely pick up unarmed combat stat, and we should pick up both those, movement, and one-handed. From there, I'm not sure if we should pick up more non-combat skills and stats, or focus on combat a bit more...both are arguable, though I will note that we should at least consider buying up One-Handed and Unarmed to 2 before buying Gunplay to 3 given the respective costs and bonuses.
Some skills I think we could probably use: Empathy (reading people and acting sympathetic is useful even with muted emotions), Scouting, Stealth, maybe Knives?
So yeah, I think there are a lot of versions we could go with, though we should probably spend most of our xp, but this stuff should be in all xp plans:
-[ ] Spend 4 XP
--[ ] +1 Movement Stat, +1 Ride Skill (2 xp)
--[ ] +1 One-Handed Stat (1 xp)
--[ ] +1 Unarmed Stat (1 xp)
-[ ] Suggest Karter spend 1 xp
--[ ] Unarmed Stat 1 (1 xp)
I'd then probably up One Handed to 2 and one non-combat stat to 2, probably Perception or Social, and grab one of the skills I list above (Empathy?), but I'm a lot less sure on that. Upping two non-combat stats instead (because 5d100+40 is already pretty solid) is also fairly defensible. One Handed and Unarmed to 1 are must-haves, but grabbing more combat than that right now is debatable...
Meanwhile, in terms of monetary purchases, these seem like must-haves, a combat knife is a cheap, excellent, combat boost, while the boots are an even cheaper boost to movement.
-[ ] Purchases
--[ ] Combat Knife (+8 to Combat) ($7)
--[ ] Sturdy Boots (+3 to Movement) ($2)
Personally, I'd also favor buying these things as well, though they are more arguable:
The saddlebags are cheap and while we need a mount to use them, those seem...persuadable around here. And the AP rounds may not be needed...but if they ever are, we'll sure be glad we have them, y'know?
how much are materials? if we want to craft i mean. Getting some grenades ready for the next fight, building something to gift someone as a less open bribe to gain favours, selling to get the means to do an expedition( or whatever going into the sands for a while is called) ,and honoring the family are all good reasons to spend some time crafting. we also should look into ka-shortcuts , once we know where to ask.
edit: i think favor is the way to go. with the community,but also with people. Theres a couple thousand here,and our rep is not bad...i guess we could try
.
[x] Ask Karter who is a person that knows a lot about most people here( aside from his mom), meet that person,and ask him if someone he knows, knows alot about ka. or, if that doesnt work, someone who knows a lot of weird and obscure stuff. Worst case, ask old people about storys about people gaining ka very fast.
how much are materials? if we want to craft i mean. Getting some grenades ready for the next fight, building something to gift someone as a less open bribe to gain favours, selling to get the means to do an expedition( or whatever going into the sands for a while is called) ,and honoring the family are all good reasons to spend some time crafting. we also should look into ka-shortcuts , once we know where to ask.
-Handguns 1
Crafing 3
Social (X): 2so i was working on a plan, but first, how does zhe team work? do we roll the best dice between us? if its a social roll, does only one need to roll? if its a fight, how do we combine our strengths? i would really like a mechanis post for teamwork in the quest.
also i am leaning towards specialisation. this early that should give us an advantage.
-Handguns 1
Crafing 3
Social (X): 2so i was working on a plan, but first, how does zhe team work? do we roll the best dice between us? if its a social roll, does only one need to roll? if its a fight, how do we combine our strengths? i would really like a mechanis post for teamwork in the quest.
also i am leaning towards specialisation. this early that should give us an advantage.
We already have Handguns 1, and specializing is not really encouraged by the system until we have all relevant stats at least to 2...at that point, we're generally competent and it becomes more of a thing, but until then we flatly lack the ability to succeed at or even attempt many relevant rolls, which is bad.
Teamwork mechanics would be nice to know, though, I agree.
Geez, this setting just seems more and more unpleasant as time goes on. Though I guess Karter seems like a decent enough guy so maybe Kell's aunt is the odd one out? Gotta say, a lot less Qud inspired than I'd been hoping vibe wise. The seemingly rigid gender role that Kell is trying to conform to seems pretty awful, and actively detrimental to his interests a lot of the time, and now the hints of anti mutant sentiment/infanticide that the aunt just hinted at, both pretty not good.
I am curious about this sleeping spell. Presumably the fact that it's so hard to undo is because it was never intended to be lifted in the first place? They were intended as hostages, so them being alive was purely for that purpose I imagine. Unless there was some sort of key/antidote that wakes them easily? It just seems odd that such a powerful effect was put in place and we didn't see any enemies with powerful ka in the opening questline. Though i suppose the hypothetical powerful enemy cultivator might have put the cousins to sleep, then stayed near the village to enact the genocide while the warriors went chasing the hostages.
We already have Handguns 1, and specializing is not really encouraged by the system until we have all relevant stats at least to 2...at that point, we're generally competent and it becomes more of a thing, but until then we flatly lack the ability to succeed at or even attempt many relevant rolls, which is bad.
Teamwork mechanics would be nice to know, though, I agree.
i didnt want to get to handguns 1, i was writing down some notes, to plan out a xp plan,prioritizing stuff, but then i thoght about the teamwork,which changes things.
and i disagree on the specialisation part. yes,the first level is cheap, but high -level stuff gets more xp,more loot, more favour. we have close to zero ressources, no ka, one ally, two siblings to protect,and know NOTHING about the wider setting. if this is like caves of quod,even a little,knowledge is everything. Also we are in high danger,at all times. we can prepare all we want, but we dont know what to prepare against. So we need to 1. get info 2. get more safety 3. get ressources. and reputation makes info easier to gain,and makes us safer where we are, protection works best by using our SCALING HANDGUNS ,and loot is important. I would say, focus on social and fighting,gather info, and then plan further. in this setting,if you want to harvest some fruit, you can be the one gettkng harvested by the fruit.
Everyone in your group rolls for themselves. As long as one of you meets or beats the DC, you're good. However, you do still take 'damage' if you fail individually.
And we haven't even gotten to the really fucked up parts—which almost all have to do with the Sands—though I will say that Nareeve is not a good representation of the rest of the world. Heck, Surran and Melka aren't good representations of Nareeve at large either!
