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Style of the Gods: A Xianxia Style's Celestial Bureaucrat

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A training martial art can be (with our help) be turned into something all students earn early on before changing to more serious styles.

Turning Grey Rat into the Lv 1 martial art is actually ideal for our purpose, since everybody passes by Lv 1.

We could potentially make grey rat into an style everybody knows, even if it's only used in actual combat by talentless chaff.
 
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J.I.M.S said:
The goal isn't make the best style, the most powerful style, or even the easiest style. Can see why OP style modification is appealing but seems like a trick choice when it comes to expanding Grey Rat style territory. Making an OP protagonist is a trap!
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Our goal isn't to "expand territory", it's this:
Evenstar said:
"Your appointment, Kaname, is to shepherd the Grey Rat style into something worthy of the name!"
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I do not exaggerate when I say that in Xianxia, a style used by a few high-level practitioners is likely to be considered more successful than one used by hordes of mooks. Xianxia's... kind of unpleasant in that way.

The OP but dangerous style is basically protagonist bait, in a setting where all of the top dogs are people who took the big risks that paid off. We want to be one of those.
 
Deathbybunnies said:
Our goal isn't to "expand territory", it's this:

I do not exaggerate when I say that in Xianxia, a style used by a few high-level practitioners is likely to be considered more successful than one used by hordes of mooks. Xianxia's... kind of unpleasant in that way.

The OP but dangerous style is basically protagonist bait, in a setting where all of the top dogs are people who took the big risks that paid off. We want to be one of those.
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By territory I see it as either Grey Rat being practiced by many people or many people wanting to practice Grey Rat.

Also it's Grey Rat not Blue Dragon Against the Heavens. OP bait doesn't exactly scream Grey Rat unless it's a death world -which most Xianxia admittedly are- rat.

If the style kills the user more than it doesn't, it's a bad style. A powerful, insanely picky not rat style. Efficient 'waste nothing or nature unalives you' rats I can see, reliable 'oh my God there are so friggin many' rat flood I can see, tricky 'I don't know what they're going to do next' rats I can see.

Rats are survivers, many, and sly. Not few, strong, and god like.

Also a super strong style isn't all it's cracked up to be when the practitioners start a battle royale with each other and suppress any mention of Grey Rat to keep others from reaching their height of power. Because Xianxia can be unpleasant, I agree. Worst case scenario (Hooray pessimism).

Also my impression from the synopsis is that we're going to have some influence on the practitioners to get some treasure. How much influence will we have when they're god like?

What'll happen if they decide they don't like listening to that little nudge that tells them to do something, or voice in their head, or that dream that they had.

We aren't even sure how powerful we are and if we practice OP Style it could potentially kill us just like it did to all the other smuckes who thought they'd be that 1 in a 100000 to not die.
 
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J.I.M.S said:
By territory I see it as either Grey Rat being practiced by many people or many people wanting to practice Grey Rat.

Also it's Grey Rat not Blue Dragon Against the Heavens. OP bait doesn't exactly scream Grey Rat unless it's a death world -which most Xianxia admittedly are- rat.

If the style kills the user more than it doesn't, it's a bad style. A powerful, insanely picky not rat style. Efficient 'waste nothing or nature unalives you' rats I can see, reliable 'oh my God there are so friggin many' rat flood I can see, tricky 'I don't know what they're going to do next' rats I can see.

Rats are survivers, many, and sly. Not few, strong, and god like.

Also a super strong style isn't all it's cracked up to be when the practitioners start a battle royale with each other and suppress any mention of Grey Rat to keep others from reaching their height of power. Because Xianxia can be unpleasant, I agree. Worst case scenario (Hooray pessimism).

Also my impression from the synopsis is that we're going to have some influence on the practitioners to get some treasure. How much influence will we have when they're god like?

What'll happen if they decide they don't like listening to that little nudge that tells them to do something, or voice in their head, or that dream that they had.

We aren't even sure how powerful we are and if we practice OP Style it could potentially kill us just like it did to all the other smuckes who thought they'd be that 1 in a 100000 to not die.
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I think you're reading far too much into the name - if it wasn't a valid pick for our style, even named as it is, it wouldn't be an option.

No one is going to suppress a style that kills most would-be practitioners. It's not an OP threat before it's learned, it's a risk that will probably kill the rival that Angry Xianxia Antagonist #2323 is worried about.

The influence of being the god of the style practised by someone powerful is going to be more than the influence of a mediocre style practised by mooks. That's just how Xianxia operates. A small nudge well-applied to a rolling boulder is better than being able to throw a pebble wherever we want. Any effect the latter has is just affecting something larger at the right time, which is the same as the former but removed via proxy.

I'm pretty sure we'll have an advantage for learning the style as the literal god of that style, to say nothing of being an immortal kami who can afford to take things slowly and carefully, as opposed to a mortal practitioner who has to learn it and make use of it before they die.
 
This quest mysteriously has a Nobilis tag, so I'm immediately interested! Let's see the plans in contention...

I could tie the vote in a couple different ways, but since I'm fine with the winning plan let me solidify its lead.

[X] Plan Sublime Grey Rat Style
- [X] [Style] The style has incredible potential and could make its users godlike… if they survived the cultivation of it. So far, no-one has.
- [X] [Domain] A young cultivator with tremendous potential has become interested in Grey Rat style over the cries of her mentors.
- [X] [Personal] You have a small discretionary budget to spend on your style. Small by Celestial standards, anyway.

A personal relationship with our man disciple seems more narratively interesting to me anyway. We'd essentially play as the Xianxia cheat quest, which is pretty cool for me.
 
BrainInAJar said:
This quest mysteriously has a Nobilis tag, so I'm immediately interested!
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So it does!

It seems somewhat unlikely, but I am holding out hope for something akin to Nobilis Persona (Grey Rat Style) - or possibly even Deceiver/Zu Persona (The Underdog Martial Arts Style of Adare Kaname)

Like -

That would be all manner of ridiculousness.
 
Man, if this is a stealth Zu quest it would immediately become one of my favorite things on this site. That document is the funniest Xianxia parody I have read, it's just incredible silliness.

But anyway, if this is indeed using Nobilis' system it could be many different editions; there's still some people who prefer 2E even though I think 3E is much more mechanically elegant. It could also be a backport of Chuubo's Arcs, which is the approach Jenna took with Glitch. If so, we might get a choice between a number of Miraculous Attributes. Would be cool to see, but given it's harder than just using the built systems I'm not holding my breath for it. But still, very excited!
 
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BrainInAJar said:
But anyway, if this is indeed using Nobilis' system it could be many different editions; there's still some people who prefer 2E even though I think 3E is much more mechanically elegant. It could also be a backport of Chuubo's Arcs, which is the approach Jenna took with Glitch. If so, we might get a choice between a number of Miraculous Attributes. Would be cool to see, but given it's harder than just using the built systems. But still, very excited!
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Chuubo is the best rpg system i will never play, so that would certainly be nice.

[X] Plan: Grey War Rat Kami
 
[X] Plan: Accept Nothing But The Best
-[X][Style] The style has incredible potential and could make its users godlike… if they survived the cultivation of it. So far, no-one has.
-[X][Domain] A young cultivator with tremendous potential has become interested in Grey Rat style over the cries of her mentors.
-[X][Personal] You personally have some skill at cultivation; you could take up the style and experiment with it.

[X] Plan Sublime Grey Rat Style

I think Sublime won by the cutoff time, but posting this in case that got extended.
 
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1400 - Year of the Rat
  • Threadmarks
    • Reading the records, your Style is inefficient and infamous for killing its students. It has all the power it needs, but none of the control… and as a result, it's all but died out. Only old books remain, detailing the style and its extinction.

    Old books, and one young woman. Asuka Veran, a junior of the Green Dragon sect, in her eighteenth year and just beginning to cultivate. Her skill is considerable, the power of a good seed aligned with a Heavenly destiny for greatness. She is your last, best hope for the style.

    The style itself suits you perfectly, right down to your vices. That's simply your nature as its Kami. And despite yourself, deep in your heart you're already cheering for it to win.

    So! You'll use what you have available; no sense in stalling.

    Adare Kaname, Bureaucrat of Grey Rat Style
    Fisher King:     You take on the properties of the Style you're responsible for reflexively. Your personality feeds the style, and vice versa.
    Legendary 1
    Rich 1
    Disreputable 1
    Impolite 1
    Vicious 2
    Lazy 1

    Style: Grey Rat Cheats The Heavens
    Style of Legend 1
    Varied Techniques 1
    Disreputable 1
    Difficult 1
    Dangerous 2
    Inefficient 1

    Techniques:
    Consuming Cultivation Focus
    Grey Rat Stance
    Grey Rat Striking Method
    Grey Rat Kicking Method

    Hero: Asuka Veran
    Grey Rat Cheats The Heavens 1
    Good Seed: +20 to Cultivation rolls.
    Protagonist: +20 to Cultivation rolls.

    [ ][Asuka] Have Asuka focus on developing her personal skill at the style. Automatic success against DC 20; upgrades her rank in Grey Rat Cheats The Heavens.
    [ ][Asuka] Have Asuka encourage her fellow students to take up the style.
    [ ][Asuka] Have Asuka demonstrate her skill to her teachers and try to get them to change their minds on the style.
    [ ][Asuka] Have Asuka focus on developing the style. Automatic success against DC 20; grants an additional Technique for the Style.

    [-][Domain] Your style has no Domain yet, so there's nothing to be done with it.

    [ ][Style] One Thousand Rat Bites
    Develop the style towards killing its opponents through exhaustion and many small wounds, a brutal and uncompromising style. Build Path: Warlord
    [ ][Style] Grey Rat Persists On Corruption
    Embrace Heaven-defying and taboo-breaking practices in the pursuit of power at any cost. Your practitioners will be reviled, but your style will be stronger. Build Path: Style of Legends.
    [ ][Style] Grey Rat Bites The Cat
    Develop techniques specifically specialized to fighting stronger opponents, making the style a desperation weapon. Build Path: Hero-Killer
    [ ][Style] Grey Rat Embraces Shady Drugs
    Develop methods to artificially break cultivation blocks with chemical help. Makes the style more dangerous but increases its potential. Build Path: Alchemy

    [ ][Personal] Train to remove one of your personality faults and thereby improve the style you're responsible for.
    [ ][Personal] Use your wealth and fame to acquire a minor Treasure for Asuka to use.
    [ ][Personal] Use your influence over Grey Rat style to encourage its discovery by a larger group of practitioners.
    [ ][Personal] Use your connection to Grey Rat style to begin practicing cultivation yourself.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Plan Protag Power
    -[X][Asuka] Have Asuka focus on developing her personal skill at the style. Automatic success against DC 20; upgrades her rank in Grey Rat Cheats The Heavens.
    -[X][Style] Grey Rat Persists On Corruption
    -[X][Personal] Train to remove one of your personality faults and thereby improve the style you're responsible for.
    -[X] Lazy
     
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    [X][Asuka] Have Asuka focus on developing the style. Automatic success against DC 20; grants an additional Technique for the Style.
    [X][Style] Grey Rat Embraces Shady Drugs
    [X][Personal] Use your connection to Grey Rat style to begin practicing cultivation yourself.
     
    [X] Plan Consolidated Mastery
    - [X][Asuka] Have Asuka focus on developing her personal skill at the style. Automatic success against DC 20; upgrades her rank in Grey Rat Cheats The Heavens.
    - [X][Style] One Thousand Rat Bites
    - [X][Personal] Train to remove one of your personality faults and thereby improve the style you're responsible for. (Vicious/Dangerous)
    I like the idea of focusing on making the style more stable and enduring is a good idea for a dangerous cultivation method.
     
    Looks like we can practice this style pretty well ourself, if it "suits [us] perfectly".

    [X][Asuka] Have Asuka focus on developing her personal skill at the style. Automatic success against DC 20; upgrades her rank in Grey Rat Cheats The Heavens.
    We probably want our practitioner to achieve some level of success in the style before leveraging that.

    [X][Style] One Thousand Rat Bites
    I kind of want to go all in on "style of legends", but I don't want to be reaching for taboo methods already when we aren't well-established, so I'll default to baseline effectiveness without such drawbacks for now.

    [X][Personal] Train to remove one of your personality faults and thereby improve the style you're responsible for.
    As for our personal action, vices are bad, but the worst here is certainly laziness, on a personal level. Hard work pays off here - I don't think we can pick what gets removed, but I'd probably keep picking this until that goes away.
     
    Wow, and I was just about to post a detailed argument about the winning vote too; oh well, onto the next thing!

    [X] Plan Protag Power
    -[X][Asuka] Have Asuka focus on developing her personal skill at the style. Automatic success against DC 20; upgrades her rank in Grey Rat Cheats The Heavens.
    -[X][Style] Grey Rat Persists On Corruption
    -[X][Personal] Train to remove one of your personality faults and thereby improve the style you're responsible for.
    -[X] Lazy

    No point in trying to show off how cool our Style is if Asuka is unskilled at it herself! So let's level her a bit so she can back up the power of our Style!

    Given the one-to-one correspondence between our own traits and those of our Style, I'm pretty sure removing Lazy would correspondingly remove the Inefficient trait, something good to do before we actually train it. I also imagine having a less lazy protagonist would also be beneficial in and of itself, especially when it comes to Cultivation!

    Finally, I'm actually kind of torn between the Hero-Killer and the Style of Legend paths; but since our Style already has the Disreputable trait anyway getting the latter really doesn't seem that bad; we'd still be reviled anyway, but Gray Rat Persists on Corruption will actually give them a reason for that reputation! Incredible for building a legend, really.
     
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    [X] Plan Grey Rat Hoards The World's Treasures
    - [X][Asuka] Have Asuka focus on developing the style. Automatic success against DC 20; grants an additional Technique for the Style.
    - [X][Style] Grey Rat Embraces Shady Drugs
    Develop methods to artificially break cultivation blocks with chemical help. Makes the style more dangerous but increases its potential. Build Path: Alchemy
    - [X][Personal] Use your wealth and fame to acquire a minor Treasure for Asuka to use.

    If I understand the trait correspondences correctly, the Grey Rat Style's versatility directly reflects Kaname's personal wealth.

    So, I propose that we a) expand said wealth by having Asuka make techniques; b) use said wealth to reward Asuka in reciprocity; and c) make the Grey Rat Style into one that benefits from having lots of money for weird alchemical tinctures and such - as above, so below; let its practitioners echo and enhance Kaname's own (eventual) vast wealth
     
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    Hmm, I hadn't cottoned on to the fact that Asuka developing the style herself would have a corresponding effect on our traits; that's a good catch. And to advocate against my own previous position, if this style is going to restricted to a few elite practitioners rather than diffused widely, it's inefficiency isn't very important; it's simply not built for scale. And taking the Alchemical focus along with the Treasure is a pretty obvious synergy too.

    [X] Plan Grey Rat Hoards The World's Treasures

    This plan is pretty good.

    EDIT: Guess I'll approval vote my own original plan as well, didn't realize someone already had switched their vote towards it!
    [X] Plan Protag Power
     
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    [X] Plan Protag Power

    Go all in on being a vile but deadly rat.

    Edit: I do find drugs awesome too, though.
    Quality and danger over quantity and safety.
    [X] Plan Grey Rat Hoards The World's Treasures
     
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