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Salted Sands (A Caves of Qud-Inspired Cultivation Quest)

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I.F. Ister said:
Specifically, what makes a plan full or not is in how well it is narratively structured. If a plan's actions are all related to each other, it becomes significantly easier for me to work it all into a cohesive narrative, which, in turn, makes it a more enjoyable read for all of you.

Furthermore, I am prepared to give out bonus xp for good plans.
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Noted for future reference. I think we do need to do all the things in the current plan without letting them fester...maybe except for the guard work...and I dunno how to get a better narrative flow for that set of actions.
 
I think the current plan flows together pretty well. There's three main things and a couple of modifiers/conversations that are related to them. Not too dissimilar to the prior plan
 
I.F. Ister said:
So, how was the update?
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It was very intense.

The descriptions of the snapjaws were hard to read, honestly. All of the humanizing details made it gut wrenching, knowing that they're not just faceless monsters but actual people. People trying to kill us and take our stuff, sure, but still people. It was rough.

I think it went a ways towards showing how muted Kell is, that he took in all these details? Someone else might try to vilify or ignore that sort of thing but it just passes by Kell, observed dispassionately. At least on the surface?

I've already made my thoughts on Giden/Kell clear, I think.

All in all, good update! A lot to contemplate.
 
I'm happy you folks seem to have taken the fight scene well. I thought about putting a content warning at the beginning, but wasn't sure.

I also intend to continue this going forward for future fight scenes, as it directly relates to one of the core themes of this story; that *everyone* is a person. I might catch some flak for this, but I think that Qud does not go nearly far enough with how everything is sapient. That is something I intend to address in Salted Sands.

Note; the formatting of the fight scene, with how it is laid out matter-of-fact, will likely not be repeated. That was a deliberate choice to enhance the impact of the humanization. The humanization aspect, however, will remain.

Something to remember for the future; Kell, though his emotions are muted, is *not* desensitized to violence or to the results of it. That is, though the act of killing is easy for Kell, the aftermath is anything but.
 
I.F. Ister said:
I might catch some flak for this, but I think that Qud does not go nearly far enough with how everything is sapient. That is something I intend to address in Salted Sands.
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I actually concur. I really wish that there was a similar game mechanic to the 'danger' level that the player sees when they inspect people for everyone. It always feels bad when I'm in the late game and get lost in the canyons and can't move without hitting the snapjaws that still swarm me even when they have no hope of doing any damage. If it weren't a game they would be running away.
 
I reckon I'll call the vote here in a bit.

But, before I do, what would you like me to talk about in a supplemental post?
 
Well, I suppose voting is now closed.

Also, would you folks like me to make a separate thread for supplemental material? I think that it's cluttering up the thread a bit and it certainly is making it a fair bit harder to actually navigate to character sheets and the like.
Scheduled vote count started by I.F. Ister on Apr 25, 2024 at 4:20 PM, finished with 47 posts and 7 votes.
  • [X] Plan Do The Obvious
    -[X] Try and figure out why Kell responded to Giden the way he did, then discuss that with Karter and apologize for it.
    --[X] If it seems viable maybe try and make friends with Giden
    -[X] See what the Eldermost has for us in the way of Ka-related help, and attempt to become a cultivator
    -[X] Prepare to tell our siblings the truth about what happened and help them to cope as best we can...we'll try and use our new empathy skills to break the news as gently as we can
    -[X] Likewise prepare for their physical needs, setting up to have them stay with us if needed and so on.
    -[X] Continue working as a guard for Melka
    --[X] Try and make friends with our fellow guards
    -[X] XP Purchases
    --[X] +1 Movement Stat, +1 Perception Stat, +1 Unarmed Stat, +1 Stealth Skill, +1 Empathy Skill (8 xp)
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I.F. Ister said:
Well, I suppose voting is now closed.

Also, would you folks like me to make a separate thread for supplemental material? I think that it's cluttering up the thread a bit and it certainly is making it a fair bit harder to actually navigate to character sheets and the like.
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Reshuffling them to another sub-list like Apocrypha or something would make sense to me. It's not absolutely required, but it'd make things a bit easier, maybe?
 
I'm going to need a Social (3d100 + 10(Empathy)) check for befriending Giden as well as another social roll for befriending your fellow guards.
 
I.F. Ister said:
I'm going to need a Social (3d100 + 10(Empathy)) check for befriending Giden as well as another social roll for befriending your fellow guards.
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My luck on dice rolls in this Quest is such that I should definitely not be rolling these.

I.F. Ister said:
Movement (XX): +2d100 to moving
-Riding (X): +10 when riding

Perception (XX): +2d100 to perceiving
-Scouting (X): +10 when scouting/spotting hidden enemies
-Tracking (X): +10 when following tracks
-Scavenging (X): +10 when scavenging
-Sneaking (X): +10 when sneaking
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Huh. Sneaking is Perception rather than Movement? It was listed as Movement in the original mechanics summary, but either potentially makes sense. Not that it matters much at this point since the stats are tied, I'm just curious.
 
I'm fine with how things are? Though maybe consolidating into one main lore post would be nice. Otherwise, making the character sheet the pinned post could help?

I'll roll for one of the checks
Eater threw 3 100-faced dice. Reason: 3d100 social check Total: 176
83 83 54 54 39 39
 
I think it would be helpful to consolidate the informational stuff somehow. Catching all the stray rulings and bits of lore and mechanics from non thread marked posts/the discord was one of the major hurdles of keeping up with NorseQuest
 
Nice, I'll roll +59

Edit: darn
Eater threw 1 100-faced dice. Reason: 1d100+59 Total: 37
37 37
 
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