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Scaling Up

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Sheylenna said:
And in Arizona
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Some years back when instant messaging networks were still a big thing I would occasionally mention that in a group chat that included some folks in Southeast Asia, followed by, "Feel free to laugh, the idea that we have monsoons here in Arizona feels weird to me too." Apparently the meteorological definition has to do with seasonal shifts in wind patterns and doesn't require heavy rainfall. But it feels just as WTF as when you learn the polar ice caps are deserts. Because that's defined meteorologically by having limited precipitation not by sand and a lack of water.
 
So for those who were telling me to edit my comment, I have 489 tabs open on my phone on safari so when people want to talk to me be aware that it will most likely take a bit.
 
Did you mean to skip from "𝕯 & 𝕯 29 - Life of Slices III" to "𝕯 & 𝕯 29 - Life of Slices VI" without stopping at IV and V?
 
JimmXinu said:
Did you mean to skip from "𝕯 & 𝕯 29 - Life of Slices III" to "𝕯 & 𝕯 29 - Life of Slices VI" without stopping at IV and V?
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<waves hand> There is no incorrect threadmark. <waves hand> These are not the droids you are looking for...
<waves hand> Carry on....

(It's fixed, thank you. I'll be done using Unicode tricks in the threadmarks here in another post...)
 
Kryslin said:
Rule of funny applies. Sabri did more damage than the intruders did.

For a Wand of Magic Missiles, I'd say the usual "it always hits" applies. With this, it's a device that casts the spell, shooting it straight out until it hits something or max range. And it does it in volume.

All while Sabri is going "Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" with an unholy grin on her face (inside the helmet).
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Back when I ran tabletop the house rule was that magic missiles always did maximum damage --to something. When you rolled damage it was that amount that hit your target, while the rest hit somewhere beyond. There were occasions when deliberate attempts to interpose (parry check in the Homebrew mess we used) allowed said target to gather more of the damage to their person to protect something else beyond. Mind you, there were Jedi, Deryni and Paladins wielding holy shotguns about. The magic system was a list of words with cost and methods of delivering spells that could go shadow (roll x1d10 effect) or critical fumble (table of rolls that included reverse target/origin, swap word with another starting with same letter, or summon creature that can cast a similar spell instead of the spell itself). In that setting if you failed your save and died from a spell, all your magic items had to make saves or cook off as well. Resurrection was common, but would incur the loss of a point of CON unless a wish was used to restore it. There was one (Gold magic specific) caster that was creating a Golem version of himself and fumbled the spell such that he became the Gold Golem and his original body became a Flesh Golem. His name lives on, AU (Hey You!).

In some ways this story would fit right in.
 
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𝕯 & 𝕯 30 - Journey's End
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    • "So what's your world like?" Amelia asked as she and others relaxed during an impromptu picnic in the shade of a large tree.

    Amy thought for a moment. "Well, that all depends. What's the largest city you've been to?" she asked.

    "That would be Sairaag," Gracia answered. "Lina would remember better, but perhaps a hundred thousand people?"

    "Brockton Bay is nearly four times larger," Amy stated, "and isn't even the largest city in our region, let alone our world. Three hundred thousand people at least. More if you include the metropolitan area."

    "That's… quite large," Gracia said after a moment of quiet. "I can scarcely imagine what it would be like."

    "It helps that our farmers are very productive, and modern transportation and sanitation help a lot," Amy explained. "I think the single biggest thing after sanitation is the ability to keep food unspoiled for a long time, either by canning or refrigeration, which means our transportation can move it to where it's wanted." At the sisters' somewhat confused expressions, she clarified. "Do you know what an icebox is?"

    "Of course," Gracia said, while Amelia nodded. "It keeps things like butter, milk and cream from quickly going bad in warm weather."

    "Refrigeration takes the place of the block of ice in an icebox," Amy continued. "Think of it as an enchantment that keeps things cold without the ice."

    "Oh wow," Amelia said. "Instead of warm water to drink, cold water in the summertime."

    "It can get things so cold they freeze, so you could have ice cubes to keep your drink cold," Amy added. "Also some foods preserve better or longer if frozen."

    "Is there anything else we should know about?" Gracia asked, curious.

    Amy began ticking off a mental list. "Well, there's hot and cold running water, indoor plumbing, electricity and all the things that it allows us to do like lights and communication, motor vehicles, but I think the biggest shock you'll have is the distinct lack of magic."

    "No magic?" Gracia said. "What a horrible, horrible thing! How do you poor souls manage when someone gets hurt?"

    "Powers notwithstanding, our physicians and doctors are pretty good at what they do," Amy explained. "And they've had lots of practice." She shrugged. "There are a few like me, people who have a Power that lets them heal, and a few others have started to discover they have what it takes to use magic. But Powers and magic only handle a small fraction of what's needed, even for the most extreme cases. The rest is education and technology, and it's usually quite reliable if not as fast."

    "Mommy!" With that exclamation, Amy found herself bowled over by Fountain.

    "Oh, she's cute!" Gracia stated. "So, who's the father? One of the rather handsome men you have along with you?"

    "Fountain's adopted," Amy tried to explain as the wyrmling was trying to clean real and imagined bits of food off her mother's face. "We found her and her friend Bochs while we were retrieving something for Taylor's project. And I still don't know how my adoptive mother will take it."

    "Gee, Ames," Vicky added from where she was sitting with Dean, "Fountain will just make the dragon equivalent of puppy or kitten eyes at her until she folds."

    "Who, or what, is Bochs?" Gracia asked, then reached for a sandwich out of the picnic basket. Her surprise when the picnic basket started chewing on her hand was epic. "Gaaaaah!"

    "Bochs is a mimic," Amy explained, a smile on her face as the creature released Gracia's hand without leaving more than a little saliva. "He mimics various inanimate objects, like picnic baskets, in the hope of someone or something getting close and then eating them."

    "Hewwo," the picnic basket said, opening his eyes and waving a pseudopod at Gracia. The real picnic basket was sitting next to it.

    "That's Bochs, in case you didn't already guess."

    - - - - - - - - - - - -​

    "So you guys are going back to your world when you're done?" Gourry asked. He'd been busy doing maintenance on his sword, namely cleaning, polishing and sharpening.

    Colin nodded. "That is the plan, yes."

    "Can we come with?"

    "That might be a problem," Colin admitted. "However, perhaps we can prevail on the goodwill of Vista's patron here to send you directly to where your companions are. And what I do not see, I cannot report."

    Zelgadis, also working on his weapon, chuckled. "I take it you find paperwork annoying and inefficient?"

    Colin nodded. "Yes. Also, if it came to me trying to arrest you, and you decided to resist, I do not think any of my people could take you." It was a simple statement of fact. "Not without using underhanded tactics. Possibly Assault might give you some trouble, but he has more experience than half my team combined."

    "Yeah, that sounds like a plan," Zelgadis answered. "I hate paperwork. We usually leave that to Amelia and Gracia. They're used to it. Part of their duties as Royal princesses of Saillune."

    "That's not to say that either of us like it!" Amelia interjected from where she was talking with Amy and Gracia.

    "And if there is one sure way to drive a demon crazy," Gourry added, "give them paperwork to fill out."

    "Must you remind me of that?" Xellos whined. "I tried to forget that, now I've remembered it again, and I ran out of brain bleach to get rid of those memories a long time ago."

    "We will figure something out," Colin admitted. "And when we do, I hope it happens away from my jurisdiction."

    - - - - - - - - - - - -​

    "OK, it's been two days now," Taylor said. "More than 48 hours since I put it on."

    "Take it off, and see what happens," Ed instructed.

    "Here goes nothing," Taylor grumbled.

    "Have faith in your work," Ed chided her. "You followed the instructions to the letter, made no mistakes, and the instructions you had were correct. It will work."

    Nodding in agreement, Taylor took a deep breath, closed her eyes, did her best to believe it would work (because magic could respond to things like that), and removed the ring from her finger. She placed it in her right hand, and then opened her eyes. "Huh," she stated as she looked at the ring in her hand and it did – absolutely nothing.

    "Now, for the real test," Ed stated. "And for that, we need…"

    "A sacrificial victim?" Sabri interjected.

    "I was going to say 'a volunteer'," Ed groused.

    "I'll do it," Chris said. "The whole process of simply being here has given me ideas. What's a few more? How does it work?"

    "It should function three times a day," Taylor instructed. "Turning back to your base form doesn't count. There aren't any command words or phrases. You simply hold the image of what you want to change into in your mind, and will the change." Taylor stopped a moment and thought. "Also, you're limited in size to your sized and smaller forms. No fully grown dragons, but normal animals are fine, like cats, dogs, birds. Other humanoids, and some of the smaller monsters if you know enough about them; exact duplication of individuals is supposed to depend on familiarity. Knowledge of basic locomotion and using your new limbs normally is included in the new form, but not any special powers."

    "There's a story about someone using similar magic to become a griffon," said Ed. "They could run and jump just fine, but had to figure out how to fly on their own."

    Chris carefully took the ring and placed it on a finger. It resized itself automatically. "The precious, it burns us!" Chris suddenly exclaimed, holding the hand away from him, as if the ring was trying to pull his finger off.

    Dennis immediately began laughing his ass off, rolling around on the ground.

    Ed looked confused. "I don't get it," he stated.

    Taylor sighed. "I'll explain it later. Melissa, if you would please?"

    "Right, on it!" Melissa called back, and slapped both of them from where she sat.

    "OK," Chris said, quietly chuckling. "You have to admit it was a good one."

    "Knowing you two," Taylor admitted, "I should have expected it. Anyway, back to the test program."

    "Right. Fix the image of what I want to become in my mind, check. Will the change…" And with that Chris was surrounded by purplish-green sparkles. When they cleared, there was a large gray wolf standing there. "Wurf?"

    He then noticed his tail. In turning his head to look at it, it moved out of his field of vision. In continuing to try and see his tail, he kept turning his head, and it soon escalated into Chris chasing his tail.

    Dennis began laughing his ass off again.

    "Chris!"

    "Woof?" He skidded to a stop, sat down and looked at Taylor.

    "That obviously worked. Now, will your return to your normal form."

    "Wurf." Again, the cloud of octarine sparkles, and Chris was sitting there in front of her. "Whoa, freaky. I will never again wonder why a dog does that."

    "I'd say that was a good test of whether or not it worked," Ed admitted to Taylor. "Congratulations."

    "Thank you," Taylor said.

    Chris took the ring off and gave it back to Taylor. "That was an interesting experience," he said. "But it's not for me. However, it has given me some ideas for new projects."

    - - - - - - - - - - - -​

    "So, why Melissa instead of Missy?" Vicky asked Melissa.

    "I wanted to show that I had grown up," Melissa admitted. "That I was no longer a child."

    "Silly girl," Vicky chided. "When you grow up, you put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."

    Dean nodded. "Maturity isn't about how old you are, or how you look. It's how you act and behave," he explained. "And you, Melissa Biron, are one of the most mature individuals I know. You always have been."

    "I think that's the nicest thing you've said to me, Dean," Melissa said quietly. "Thank you."

    "Just keep in mind that you are still a thirteen year old girl," Vicky advised. "You will be blindsided by a few things in the very near future. Don't be afraid of acting like a girl your age occasionally. You don't have to act like Director Piggot all the time. Lord knows I don't."

    "It's hard," Melissa admitted with a grin. "but I guess I can try."

    "So does this mean Missy's back?" Takara asked from where she sat.

    "Yeah, I guess it does," Missy admitted. "Melissa or Missy, I don't care which name you use. At least among friends."

    Vicky got a mischievous grin. "How about 'Little V'?"

    "Jury's still out on that one, Ms. Dallon. Or are you asking to be 'Big V'?"

    "If you want to learn how to catch and keep your own boyfriend while making the rest jealous of him, I'll gladly mentor you in the secret way of young women."

    - - - - - - - - - - - -​

    Thus it was that the group managed to finish their business in Amestris, getting the postal addresses of their new friends on the Ring, because yes, someone was arranging for that to happen without going through Hlal's services. The trip back to the city of Sigil was very quick, and loaned items were returned with gratitude for having been loaned them.

    Their remaining funds were removed from the Lady's Exchequer and were placed in Taylor's larger portable hole. The group then exited the room to head out to the arrival / departure circle, and found themselves in the Wards common room.

    A quick look at the clock told them that roughly three hours had passed here for the month they'd been on the Ring of Sigil.

    "Wow, time flies," Dennis mentioned.

    Then one of them turned their PRT phone back on and it went off with alerts from the last three hours.

    = = = = = = = = = = = =​

    Eclavdra Eilservs did not like surprises. Unless she was springing them on someone else. She did not like surprises sprung on her, even by her divine mistress, the Demon Queen of Spiders. Such as the wretched creature that had appeared in her private chambers.

    It had once been her great-granddaughter Faevras, who had been sent far away from the Byzantine politics of the Drow of Oerth, to the small enclave of Drow on the ring of Sigil. She'd been coldly beautiful and deliciously cruel, and had ambition in equal measure to her abilities.

    She must have done something ass achingly stupid that angered Lolth to have this particular punishment inflicted on her. In front of Eclavdra was a drider that wore the face of her great-granddaughter. Gone was the cold beauty, in its place was a pale, bloated imitation of it. No rich clothes, no enchanted items, just the rags worn by those tormented by the Demon Queen of Spiders.

    And the girl wouldn't stop muttering. "I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't know..."

    "Slave," she told one of the house's wretches, "fetch Baltana."

    "As the mistress commands," the slave whimpered as they backed out of the room.

    - - - - - - - - - - - -​

    Baltana looked at the drider sniveling on the floor when she arrived. "Pitiful," she sneered. "What do you want me to do?"

    "I shall give her as a gift to the one of Lolth's chosen she attempted to kill," Eclavdra stated. "Let this Dinah Al'Cott decide her fate. Give her something better to wear than rags, some food, and then turn her loose. Lolth will see to sending her to the remainder of her punishment."

    Baltana bowed. "As you command."

    Baltana's servants hauled the sniveling drider to her feet and then out of the room, the door closing behind them.

    "You presume much, Eclavdra," a whispery voice said.

    "Your pardon, my Queen. I had thought it just cruel enough for the girl. After all, do you not wish this Dinah to also be tormented, just a little?"

    "Of course," the whispery voice of Lolth answered. "and this is just cruel enough for Dinah. Faevras' torments have just begun, though, because both Charinida and her party have a history with her. And the other mortals there will be – curious."

    The laughter that soon filled the room was cruel and malevolent.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • And here's today's chapter.

    Edits by McClaw, Comments by you, Wordz™ used under license from BBFO, LLC (all rights reserved).

    Enjoy responsibly.
     
    Well, Before I forget, death to the Spider Queen.

    The thing about Loth is she ultimately self-defeating and to be honest seems about be about as much her own entertainment as anything relating to her actual goals.

    Which means I guess House Baenre really entertains her given her efforts to keep them around though in spite of their failures and well one of the most promising upcoming members running off to the surface.
     
    Have Dinah hand the new Drider over to Panacea. Get her physically back into the 'proper' half-humanoid/half-spider shape and not a jumbled up mess of muscles & exoskeleton that's life is nothing but pain.

    Considering things, the sheer freedom from the insanity of perpetual torment might be enough to shock her into a complete Stockholm Syndrome case where she worships the very ground Dinah, heh, skitters, heh, on and follows her every command.

    Lady Tia might find that a truly deliciously appropriate punishment - in that the old Drow is more or less crushed from existence, leaving behind an individual that has total loyalty to whom she previously tried to maim/kidnap/kill. AND it forces some responsibility on Dinah. AND....it's an epic slap to Lolth's face in turning the driver's intended fate, right on its side and instead of Dinah getting scarred from the event, the young girl comes out stronger plus with a minion...

    ...whom is very likely never going to listen to Lolth again, and instead either drop to the ground whimpering, or run to the hills.
     
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    Sakuya's Butler said:
    Have Dinah hand the new Drider over to Panacea. Get her physically back into the 'proper' half-humanoid/half-spidet shape and not a jumbled up mess of muscles & exoskeleton that's life is nothing but pain.

    Considering things, the sheer freedom from the insanity of perpetual torment might be enough to shock her into a complete Stockholm Syndrome case where she worships the very ground Dinah, heh, skitters, heh, on and follows her every command.

    Lady Tia might find that a truly deliciously appropriate punishment - in that the old Drow is more or less crushed from existence, leaving behind an individual that has total loyalty to whom she previously tried to maim/kidnap/kill. AND it forces some responsibility on Dinah. AND....it's an epic slap to Lolth's face in turning the driver's intended fate, right on its side and instead of Dinah getting scarred from the event, the young girl comes out stronger plus with a minion...

    ...whom is very likely never going to listen to Lolth again, and instead either drop to the ground whimpering, or run to the hills.
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    I'll just make a small note here about D&D... "Hero Deities" are a thing and have been going far back. Being how they're directly empowered by the various gods, I would not be too surprised if Dinah, Taylor, Amy, and the like were what was known as "Quasi-Deities", which are one step below Hero Deities, and who themselves are below Demi-deities.
     
    Sakuya's Butler said:
    Have Dinah hand the new Drider over to Panacea. Get her physically back into the 'proper' half-humanoid/half-spidet shape and not a jumbled up mess of muscles & exoskeleton that's life is nothing but pain.
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    That's not going to work. Driders are a Godly Curse, The only ones who can overcome something like that are Deities of Equal or Greater Power.

    Which is why Tamara can heal Lalmaril's broken body and mind, but can't prevent the corruptive transformation Falazure did from killing Emma in a few years.
     
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    Magic, Change, and You: Part the first.
  • Informational
    • When a human caster uses magic to change something or someone, the changes are usually temporary in nature, in the fact that they can be reversed at any time, if certain conditions are met.

    For instance, if a random witch hits you with a Polymorph spell (the 4th level version) and turns you into a frog, when the spell's duration ends, you snap back to you original form. Even if the duration of the spell is for years, if it can be dispelled, you snap back to being you.

    And never wanting to see another fly again.

    The reversion is possible because the change cannot effect the target's essential nature. Despite having the form of a frog, if someone would use True Seeing on you, it would show human you trying to wash the taste of flies out of your mouth. Mortal arcane (and most Fae) magic cannot affect something's essential nature, not without some high level shenanigans (Wish, mainly).

    Now, we have Divine / Infernal magic. Through mortal agents, these spells are usually under the same limits as arcane magic, though there are some notable differences (permanent healing, can indirectly affect souls, etc).

    Now, we move up to the divine casters themselves. All bets are off for any mortal limits for spells they cast; if they are using them, it's because it either amuses them, or their boss has decreed such. Divine casters, however, can directly change something's essential nature. Random of god of mischief turns you into a frog? If they wanted to, you'd now be a frog forever. Your mind and memories would be that of a frog. And if a human caster would try to change you back? You'd be a frog in a human body.

    So, when Lolth curses a drow with driderhood, its as if the elf never existed, and they'd always been a drider. Which is why mortal spellcasters can't permanently change one back to its original form, even if the drider remembers it clearly. And doing so usually gets that caster noticed by Lolth, who might express her displeasure about messing with those she's cursed / blessed.

    The only beings who could reverse that are gods of equal or greater power; In matters of magic, Mystra trumps all but the few Overdeities. However, how much she can do depends solely on what she wants to do. She could, if desired, undo a drider's curse completely. And this would get Lolth upset, and another purge of Mystran Drow followers will happen. Again.

    Now, where does [Shaper] fit in this mess?

    Shards work solely on the physical; Shaper reads the biology of a subject, works out what needs to be done to make the changes that the host wants to make, and then supercharges parts of the organism to generate those changes (or supplies the energy to make those changes; See Family and Onions). So, Panacea could make physical changes that could heal and slightly alter the physical characteristics of a drider, she couldn;t restore the original form (because Lolth's curse is reinforcing the drider shape / biology), much like she can't restore a Case 53.

    Clear as mud, now?

    Basically : OverGod > Greater Gods > Lesser Gods / Arch Fae > Demigods > Mortals & Fae. You basically have to be in the top 4 brackets to affect something's essential nature, which makes changes permanent and undispellable. And only a god of the same power level can undo it.

    We'll revisit this in a couple of weeks.
     
  • Informational
    • One option that Shaper can probably do without much issue (unless Llolth is particularly sadistic which, well, fair enough) is tone down/disable the Drider's pain receptors, at least when it comes to those that are specifically tortured by their current condition, and maybe tweak the brain into lessening body dysmorphia they'd suffer from as a Drider.
     
    Who said anything about UNDOING the effect? I certainly didn't.

    Get her physically back into the 'proper' half-humanoid/half-spider shape and not a jumbled up mess of muscles & exoskeleton that's life is nothing but pain.
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    As in, looking like a dark elf from the waist up, and a black widow for the rest.

    What I'm referring to is how several driders of more recent editions have made the transformation into a Drider be more equivalent to The Thing or The Fly, and various body parts 'melting' into each other.

    Panacea keeps the curse the way it is - the Drow is STUCK as a Drider, tough shit - but more that instead of things being in the wrong places, realigns them. TMK, someone with a bone that healed bad, she's perfectly capable of rearranging things until its fixed. Or even a birth defect spinal deformity, she can fix. Since the 'Drider' form is now hardlocked, she can only mess with it. Which I totally get and understand is the rules. Still means she could shift around things so that its easier to move, breathe, chitin isn't forever digging into flesh/cutting into flesh, etc, and that either numb the nerve endings, or shift things enough that there's no need to numb them.
     
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