- Location
- Rochester, NY
[X] Stay the night. Rise to the bait.
The College of Jewels (Magical Academy Quest)
- Thread starter Lexica
- Start date
- Original
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
To an extent there's merit in this I suppose, but my reasoning here is two fold.
1. As @Nevill surmises, this kind of vote helps me better pin down Saphira as a character, rather than a blank slate audience surrogate.
2. More importantly, as I mentioned, people very often make dumb or irrational choices when family is involved. If I tell you guys exactly what's going on, you'll be able to pick a 'best' choice. I don't want best here. I want messy family problems that let me further define Saphira's character.
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Sure. I even gave you an option explicitly for doing that, because that also tells me something about what direction you guys are taking Saphira in.
Aoinfinity
Unlimited Blue Works
- Location
- a blue Infinity
[X] Leave before your father gets home. You always have your books with you. You can just find some well lit public area and study whatever you're not understanding about the diagram all night and then sleep in late at the college tomorrow after the gates reopen at dawn.
Sorry Mom, but I'm more curious about the diagram than about elephants in library rooms.
Sorry Mom, but I'm more curious about the diagram than about elephants in library rooms.
Is the "her" and "she" in these sentences referring to Saphira, or someone else? I can't tell.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
That hit me as strange too, but I figured it must refer to her Mom.
Wait, do we...? We do!! Huh, I totally forgot. Looking at how they run things, I was not aware scholarship was actually a thing in Diadem/Jewels.
The chargen option implied that Dishevel Vino might not have had the authority to authorize a scholarship like he did. Who normally handles things like that? The Archmage himself? I wonder just how many things TA does behind the scenes to keep us...
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Ah, no that's my bad. I slipped into the third person out of habit when I was doing the scene setting and apparently didn't get all of it on my editing pass through.
The implication was that the TA probably didn't technically have that much authority actually. The head of the Dimensional Science part of the college definitely would.
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Vote Tally : Original - The College of Jewels (Magical Academy Quest) | Page 38 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.7.5
[X] Stay the night. Avoid the elephant in the room.
No. of Votes: 10
veekie
Deathbybunnies
Dirk93
Malaquez
Nevill
PayKey
Prent
SystemicHatter
Tew
Varano
[X] Stay the night. Rise to the bait.
No. of Votes: 3
zup
Kelirapc
TurtleDucks
[X] Leave before your father gets home. You always have your books with you. You can just find some well lit public area and study whatever you're not understanding about the diagram all night and then sleep in late at the college tomorrow after the gates reopen at dawn.
No. of Votes: 3
ChildishChimera
Aoinfinity
tricholysis
Total No. of Voters: 16
Vote closed in an hour.
...Not that I expect the outcome to change, but I'm just giving notice on principle.
##### NetTally 1.7.5
[X] Stay the night. Avoid the elephant in the room.
No. of Votes: 10
veekie
Deathbybunnies
Dirk93
Malaquez
Nevill
PayKey
Prent
SystemicHatter
Tew
Varano
[X] Stay the night. Rise to the bait.
No. of Votes: 3
zup
Kelirapc
TurtleDucks
[X] Leave before your father gets home. You always have your books with you. You can just find some well lit public area and study whatever you're not understanding about the diagram all night and then sleep in late at the college tomorrow after the gates reopen at dawn.
No. of Votes: 3
ChildishChimera
Aoinfinity
tricholysis
Total No. of Voters: 16
Vote closed in an hour.
...Not that I expect the outcome to change, but I'm just giving notice on principle.
Then I'll vote on principle. I don't expect to change anything either, but it's always worth trying.
[X] Stay the night. Rise to the bait.
- Location
- Who Knows
[X] Stay the night. Avoid the elephant in the room.
Votes! Not that it'll make a difference.
Votes! Not that it'll make a difference.
Paradigm Shift
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Stay the night. Avoid the elephant in the room.
Your mother talks you into making dinner. She goes on about how terrible she is at cooking of course, and then when you mildly point out that you barely knew what you were doing either, makes noises about how ink-stained her hands were and how that just couldn't possibly be healthy when it came to food preparation. So you roll your eyes and dig through the ice box, idly studying the enchantment that keeps it cool now that you have the context to understand such things. You were still by no means an expert on enchantment, but now you could at least appreciate that Diadem's central library had certainly spared little expense when it came to the living quarters of it's scribes. It was an elegant thing, simplicity itself really. You only spend a few minutes staring at it before your mother starts complaining at the lack of food preparation, but you think even with that amount of time you could probably replicate the effect. You're unsure exactly what's powering it however...
Regardless, dinner had to be made. You eventually settle on some sort of fish. You don't really know what it is, but it was already cut up and soaking in some kind of marinade, so you figure you can just toss it on the stove and then watch it to make sure it doesn't burn. You give your mother a raised eyebrow as you intentionally somewhat carelessly throw the fish on the stove top. She just smiles at you guilelessly. You roll your eyes and turn to the activation rune for the heating array, sliding your finger across it to activate it. You tilt your head and bend closer to examine this rune in action as well. Also simple, also a confusing lack of magic supply. Something to ask the TA about later. She could probably explain it to you.
The fish sizzles. Your mother asks if you've been making friends. You answer that you have. Your mother asks if you've made any 'friends'. You give her the blankest stare you can manage. She laughs. You ask her if Carol ended up getting that promotion to Senior Scribe. She glares at you and you maintain your expression while smirking internally.
You flip the fish over on the stove and settle back against the nearest wall, waiting for your mother's inevitable response. It was good to be home.
+Cooling Enchantment Design
+Cooking Enchantment Design
Sorry the update took a while. My muse grabbed me and I wanted to refine my ideas for the climax, so I ended up writing a bit of that ahead of time from the point of view of someone else. Well, one potential climax anyways. Things are going to converge around a particular central conflict at one point or another, but when that happens, who makes the first move, and what sides the individual players are on are all somewhat up in the air right now, and could actually change a great deal depending on where Saphira's character goes.
I'm actually really curious where Saphira will end up by the time the climax rolls around.
Also, we've reached the part of the quest where The World Anew gets to start offing important characters. So that should be fun.
Quick write-ups on Wrath and the Pact, so you aren't voting blind on that front.
Wrath, fifth lord of the Abyss: An incredibly powerful demon, he is empowered by the Chairman to take total command of the city's forces and lead the city council in the event of a military assault on the city. A brash and confident personality, his willingness to take risks is tempered by an incredible tactical mind. It was his machinations that led to the Listener's defeat at the hands of the Archmage during her invasion, and his careful direction of the city's lawkeepers, hired mercenaries, and the rest of the council that prevented the city from being razed to the ground by her vast army even as she was killed. Permanently missing an arm after his brief engagement with the Listener during the battle.
The Pact: A whispered rumor to the common citizens of Diadem. Like most nasty rumors about the city, it also happens to be true. An otherworldly entity, little is known about it, even among the city council. What is known is that it answers to the Chairman, and devours all thought of rebellion before it can begin.
Your mother talks you into making dinner. She goes on about how terrible she is at cooking of course, and then when you mildly point out that you barely knew what you were doing either, makes noises about how ink-stained her hands were and how that just couldn't possibly be healthy when it came to food preparation. So you roll your eyes and dig through the ice box, idly studying the enchantment that keeps it cool now that you have the context to understand such things. You were still by no means an expert on enchantment, but now you could at least appreciate that Diadem's central library had certainly spared little expense when it came to the living quarters of it's scribes. It was an elegant thing, simplicity itself really. You only spend a few minutes staring at it before your mother starts complaining at the lack of food preparation, but you think even with that amount of time you could probably replicate the effect. You're unsure exactly what's powering it however...
Regardless, dinner had to be made. You eventually settle on some sort of fish. You don't really know what it is, but it was already cut up and soaking in some kind of marinade, so you figure you can just toss it on the stove and then watch it to make sure it doesn't burn. You give your mother a raised eyebrow as you intentionally somewhat carelessly throw the fish on the stove top. She just smiles at you guilelessly. You roll your eyes and turn to the activation rune for the heating array, sliding your finger across it to activate it. You tilt your head and bend closer to examine this rune in action as well. Also simple, also a confusing lack of magic supply. Something to ask the TA about later. She could probably explain it to you.
The fish sizzles. Your mother asks if you've been making friends. You answer that you have. Your mother asks if you've made any 'friends'. You give her the blankest stare you can manage. She laughs. You ask her if Carol ended up getting that promotion to Senior Scribe. She glares at you and you maintain your expression while smirking internally.
You flip the fish over on the stove and settle back against the nearest wall, waiting for your mother's inevitable response. It was good to be home.
---
Halfway through dinner (the fish was over cooked) the door opens, and your father enters the apartment. He doesn't acknowledge you. You continue eating fish. Your mother glares at both of you. It's a real glare this time. Your father comments that the food at the college must be terrible if you were willing to eat garbage like this. You clench your fork tightly and don't respond. If you do, the yelling won't stop for hours. He opens his mouth to say something else. You stand up quickly and loudly excuse yourself, talking over him. You quickly retreat into your room, thumbnails biting into your fingers as you go. The walls are too thin for you to not hear whatever he says, so you quickly get out your books. If you lose yourself in them fast enough, you won't register it.
---
You turn page after page, leafing through the books with the sort of mindless intensity that drowned out all other thought. Something fundamental you were missing. Something that should be obvious. Something basic- All of a sudden it comes to you. The TA's diagram was efficient yes, but it wasn't efficient because of some high level trick. It was more efficient because the basic assumptions about dimensional magic it made were different. Radically so. The realization startles you out of your mindless page turning, and you abruptly find your self on your feet, unable to sit down after the sudden understanding. You pace back and forth as you consider it. It shouldn't be possible, but... All the math had checked out. The TA's diagram had made sense, every last bit of it. You weren't sure where this would lead, but you had to talk to the TA about this as soon as possible.
[] A flash of brilliance- gain +100 points in dimensional science
[] A glimpse of truth- gain the trait Witness to Genius: You gain access to all dimensional science spells you know of with a rank less than or equal to the rank of your highest ranked dimensional science spell, and treat them as though they were that rank for all purposes except casting speed. Costs for non dimensional science magic are doubled.
[] A flash of brilliance- gain +100 points in dimensional science
[] A glimpse of truth- gain the trait Witness to Genius: You gain access to all dimensional science spells you know of with a rank less than or equal to the rank of your highest ranked dimensional science spell, and treat them as though they were that rank for all purposes except casting speed. Costs for non dimensional science magic are doubled.
+Cooling Enchantment Design
+Cooking Enchantment Design
---
(Elsewhere, Diadem)
(Elsewhere, Diadem)
"...Beauty, I am Light, I am all things shining. I am Mercy, I am..."
A figure kneels in the muck and filth of Diadem's sewers. She wears a patchwork of clothes, all dyed in a rainbow of colors and hues. The overall effect approximates a tunic with sleeves that extend well past her hands and trousers that become almost a dress as the bottoms flare out widely, leaving a large volume of cloth in contact with the dirty ground. Despite this, and despite the mismatched nature of her clothing, with parts of it seeming to have come from fine silk dresses and others from rough farmer's garb, not a single scrap of it is contaminated by it's unclean surroundings.
"...am Joy, I am Wonder, I am Love, I..."
She waits, as she always does, for a decision to be made. She does not know how long that takes. She does not mind. The right decision is always made for her eventually.
"...I am Savagery, I am Vengeance, I-"
A decision has been made. The world must be changed in accordance to what is right.
"I am The World Anew."
[] Kill Wrath, fifth lord of the Abyss, leader of Diadem's military might.
[] Banish the Pact from this plane of existence. It will return, but while it is gone, the City Council's control over the hearts and minds of Diadem will be dangerously weakened.
[] Kill Morgan Blackreach.
[] Kill Astrea.
A figure kneels in the muck and filth of Diadem's sewers. She wears a patchwork of clothes, all dyed in a rainbow of colors and hues. The overall effect approximates a tunic with sleeves that extend well past her hands and trousers that become almost a dress as the bottoms flare out widely, leaving a large volume of cloth in contact with the dirty ground. Despite this, and despite the mismatched nature of her clothing, with parts of it seeming to have come from fine silk dresses and others from rough farmer's garb, not a single scrap of it is contaminated by it's unclean surroundings.
"...am Joy, I am Wonder, I am Love, I..."
She waits, as she always does, for a decision to be made. She does not know how long that takes. She does not mind. The right decision is always made for her eventually.
"...I am Savagery, I am Vengeance, I-"
A decision has been made. The world must be changed in accordance to what is right.
"I am The World Anew."
[] Kill Wrath, fifth lord of the Abyss, leader of Diadem's military might.
[] Banish the Pact from this plane of existence. It will return, but while it is gone, the City Council's control over the hearts and minds of Diadem will be dangerously weakened.
[] Kill Morgan Blackreach.
[] Kill Astrea.
Sorry the update took a while. My muse grabbed me and I wanted to refine my ideas for the climax, so I ended up writing a bit of that ahead of time from the point of view of someone else. Well, one potential climax anyways. Things are going to converge around a particular central conflict at one point or another, but when that happens, who makes the first move, and what sides the individual players are on are all somewhat up in the air right now, and could actually change a great deal depending on where Saphira's character goes.
I'm actually really curious where Saphira will end up by the time the climax rolls around.
Also, we've reached the part of the quest where The World Anew gets to start offing important characters. So that should be fun.
Quick write-ups on Wrath and the Pact, so you aren't voting blind on that front.
Wrath, fifth lord of the Abyss: An incredibly powerful demon, he is empowered by the Chairman to take total command of the city's forces and lead the city council in the event of a military assault on the city. A brash and confident personality, his willingness to take risks is tempered by an incredible tactical mind. It was his machinations that led to the Listener's defeat at the hands of the Archmage during her invasion, and his careful direction of the city's lawkeepers, hired mercenaries, and the rest of the council that prevented the city from being razed to the ground by her vast army even as she was killed. Permanently missing an arm after his brief engagement with the Listener during the battle.
The Pact: A whispered rumor to the common citizens of Diadem. Like most nasty rumors about the city, it also happens to be true. An otherworldly entity, little is known about it, even among the city council. What is known is that it answers to the Chairman, and devours all thought of rebellion before it can begin.
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[X] A glimpse of truth- gain the trait Witness to Genius: You gain access to all dimensional science spells you know of with a rank less than or equal to the rank of your highest ranked dimensional science spell, and treat them as though they were that rank for all purposes except casting speed. Costs for non dimensional science magic are doubled.
[X] Banish the Pact from this plane of existence. It will return, but while it is gone, the City Council's control over the hearts and minds of Diadem will be dangerously weakened.
Holy shit that's a great bonus, though the cost raise for nonspecialty magic would suck.
[X] Banish the Pact from this plane of existence. It will return, but while it is gone, the City Council's control over the hearts and minds of Diadem will be dangerously weakened.
Holy shit that's a great bonus, though the cost raise for nonspecialty magic would suck.
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Lemme, just quote my little write-up:Updateeeeee
Ooo, we got to off important characters
Edit: Who are Morgan and Astrea again? I forgot.
[X] A flash of brilliance- gain +100 points in dimensional science
I do not want mana cost penalties. And casting speed is a major factor that the other option would not give us. Having played around with casting time reduction and improved alacrity (no delay between casting spells) in Baldur's Gate 2, I can understand why.
I do not want mana cost penalties. And casting speed is a major factor that the other option would not give us. Having played around with casting time reduction and improved alacrity (no delay between casting spells) in Baldur's Gate 2, I can understand why.
I don't want to off any of them. Isn't there anyone nice we can take out instead?
The problem with the second option (the trait) is that it really cripples us in the other disciples, so its important to know how much of all the other disciplines we need to know ti graduate. If it's expected to focus heavily into one area then, the trait makes sense because it will allow us to pick up dimensional science spells incredebly fast, especially since the cost of advancements seems to grow exponentially rather than linearly.
Maragas
Nothing to see here.
- Location
- Tree House
[X] A glimpse of truth- gain the trait Witness to Genius: You gain access to all dimensional science spells you know of with a rank less than or equal to the rank of your highest ranked dimensional science spell, and treat them as though they were that rank for all purposes except casting speed. Costs for non dimensional science magic are doubled.
[X] Banish the Pact from this plane of existence. It will return, but while it is gone, the City Council's control over the hearts and minds of Diadem will be dangerously weakened.
This is awesome !
[X] Banish the Pact from this plane of existence. It will return, but while it is gone, the City Council's control over the hearts and minds of Diadem will be dangerously weakened.
This is awesome !
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Basically, that bit of the trait mostly means that all your dimensional science spells are harder to countermagic. That's the primary use for getting to treat a spell as though it's a higher rank than it actually is. It will occasionally come up elsewhere, but not particularly often.
Alas, The World Anew is impossible to dissuade once a decision has been made.
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yes. Witness to genius definitely encourages saving up for a single large improvement rather than small incremental ones that way.
As a side note, much like elemental pacts, the archmage would think anyone who takes witness to genius is a scrub.
