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The God Diversion

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[X] He's Right, Abandon Gluttony
-[X]Consume All Remaining Coffee Jello to remove the Temptation and give you the will to commit to this.
[X] Ancient Ruins
[X] Introduction At Court
 
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[ ] The Shattering Jello [-100 Will] - "When I was a child, I ate as a child, I slacked off as a child, I napped as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

By alchemy and reciprocal Connection, brew one Final Jello, to be preserved for a time of uttermost exigency. That you are reliant is true, but truer still is that there are things more important than comfort, or the discarding thereof. Sometimes, you must do what must be done, regardless of the means you must employ. Anything less... would be true sloth.

*Resisting the temptation to consume this supreme product of his cunning and craft costs 5 Will per turn.
*Upon resolving to consume it, Solomon becomes motivated to a degree comparable to a baseline human being, with an effectively limitless stockpile of Will for the turn.
*After consumption, never again will he know the joys of indolence. Refund 50% of the XP of Comfort's Embrace, and dissolve the technique. Solomon may not regenerate Will through hedonics.
*Solomon grows up, and walks the path towards the man he was meant to be. After consumption, unlock [The Philosopher-King] tech tree.

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a.n: a little something i wrote for fun. don't take it seriously.
 
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[X] A Deeper Lesson -
-[X] He's right, of course, a human is more than an animal and requires different methods of control. But an Enrolled is more than a human, too. Dispense with this feeble pawing, this wilful aping at conviction. It's time for mind control.

Look into your heart, you know it to be true. The coward allows his will falter, the resolute remove that option entirely.
 
EDDIE MY BELOVED! I cackled so hard at that - hit me like a fucking train and kept pulling me along. That and Teach - I assume the Educator is so chill with Solomon during remedials that he feels fine with Sol calling him more casual things.

Anyhow there are a few things of note this chapter - chiefly Metaman's name, David. Which is thematically relevant to Sol, for King David's son was Solomon (King of Magi). You can see how the two are linked - one could even say that the Olympian (named Gabriel) was Metaman's Goliath.

Harrison just got pranked: we ARE going a traveling! The options presented there are nice, but I do think we could do without the ball - and I think Penny would understand, she did say that Sol would hate the politicking. Ancient Ruins is exciting, has the most XP per punch, and we can flex that magic babey. Visit Market has LOOT! to supplement our Athame, Necronomicon, and Power Word: Gun. Also, I hesitate to pick two actions that may require further investment to get a real bang for our buck - and honestly just being a spooky wizard man the other Enrolled talk about in hushed tones but never see is to me pretty resonant with the Role.

I am also interested in hearing about how Damien's situation was solved, and also what he thinks about Sol Summoning an Angel to solve the problem.

No plans or votes for now, though Goable's idea for Abandon Gluttony holds a great deal of merit imo.
 
Let the Jelly be, but make all of it insufferably bitter to wash away good connotations with Jelly from Sol brain. 😈
 
[X] He's Right, Abandon Gluttony

Ill have to think on the rest, but when the educator goes "if you want to reach your full potential do this", I think you have to follow through. This is the first step in character development for fixing sols willpower problem. A harsh but necessary first step.
 
[X] He's Right, Abandon Gluttony
-[X]Consume All Remaining Coffee Jello to remove the Temptation and give you the will to commit to this.
[X] Ancient Ruins

Those losses in comforts embrace suck but at least we still have Cups to fall back on.

As long as we regenerate around 50 Will a turn things should turn out alright.
 
Well if we're on the topic of Philosopher Kings, why not drop something in that vibe @_brightwing and I have been working on for the past week or so? I present to you the first draft of Ars Regis | The Art of the King | The Aspect of Solomon who was, is, and will be King of Magi!

Ars Regis | So Saith the King: As Above, So Below
Stars. Skies. Heaven. Beyond. Ever out of reach are things greater than any one man - but the Magus understands that our realm is but a reflection of the Above. And the Magician? He is the conduit by which the Above changes the Below. And in the hierarchy of things, does that not mean that the Magician is the King amongst Magi on Earth - among the supernatural in the Below? By leveraging this, the Magician can help uplift the Below to the Ideal Above and yet never overstep - for to force the change would be a great crime, and the open hand can lift many more than the closed fist.

* Delegate, delegate, delegate. Why do such inane things as fight street level crime or make basic elixirs when there's some poor mook ready to do it for you? The true leaders understand when it is time to trust their subordinates - and give themselves five more minutes in bed, of course. Eventually, learn to align the Structure to your aims when you empower your allies - and to spot intrinsic strengths that would allow them to be best used in any situation.

* As Above, So Below - make a kingdom on Earth to reflect the Above. Impose on it your own authority, and reap the benefits of doing good deeds for the many. Let others handle lesser threats, and prepare yourself to meet the greatest among them with devastating force. And while heavy is the head that wears the crown, with that weight comes the knowledge that your works are defending the defenseless - as your realm, and its prosperity, grows so too shall the power you draw from it.

Example Techniques

The Silver Throne [Combo Sanctum]: Takht e Suleiman | "..and the king made a great throne of ivory, sides of which were aligned with twelve sculptured lions and eagles of gold, claw and wing intertwined. Twin fishes of the sea whispered by his ears. At the very top of Solomon's throne afixed with twenty-four golden wings. There was not the like made in any kingdom."

The Sanctum becomes the beating heart of the realm. And the center of it all is the throne, which equally is the seat of a King's Authority. While seated on the Throne your awareness is expanded and scales with Technique level until it grows to encompass all your realm with perfect clarity. Combine this with the casting of Edicts to impose the Above on your small slice of the Below - such as compelling Truth or twisting the spokes of the Structure for deeds in service to realm - so long as you remain on your Throne

The Great Game [Combo Aspectless]: Narrow the Architectural presence of yourself and an opposing force like a lens onto a chessboard and gain real, active, data on their intentions and that of your allies - to Rule and Plan. As you progress in skill, this also extends the other way - use the pieces to bring your force forward and to corner your foe with nothing but quiet strategy AND BY SACRIFICING THE ROOOOOOOOOK. Additionally allows you to create a spectral playing board in combat to use your strategic and social genius to secure victory in a battle of ideas - taking apart your opponent piece by piece. When using the Great Game in this way, threatening a piece allows you to surmise the reaction of the target should the thing the piece represents be threatened in a similar way. Data gained by all methods, and the damage dealt by certain ones, scales with Technique level.

Seal of Solomon: "Take, O Solomon, King of kings. The gift which the Most High has sent thee, the highest Sabaoth. With it thou shalt seal all djinns of the earth and with their aid thou shalt build up thine Kingdom."

Hey, if you had a name as cool as Solomon Lancaster I bet you'd be this unoriginal as well. Gain increased skill at sealing away all manner of ephemeral spirits; such as mountain-monstrosities, ghosts, and even certain conceptual entities.

But as the gravity of your seat of power in the realm grows, bind parts of your Eldritch symbiote with Higher concepts from the Ars Goetia and bring them into being as temporary familiars. Ask Flauros one question, have Sabnock build a single tower, etc.... all as per the mandate of their Seal.

Eldritch and Realm leveling, compounded by technique level. Eldritch + (Realm * Technique level)

Concerto di Magi [Combo Arcanum]: "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they shall have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.."

The Tarot is a gateway to the Above. Humanity, as the Below, can easily be molded by its power as your understanding grows of the mysteries. You may grant onto your Subjects the power of the Minor Arcana, scaling with a maximum level equal to that in this Technique.

Additionally just as the Tarot works in concert, as one thread joins many in the tapestry, so too shall working with your subjects swell your art. Inductees and Summoned Familiars aiding you on rituals and similar grant a boost to your spellcasting. Magnitude increases with level.

This Too Shall Pass: Gam Zeh Yaavor. "And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun."

The memento vitae of prosperity. Remember that all human experience is ephemeral. No matter how many times it is torn down the Spires rise from the ashes, the fate of mankind's sovereignty on earth - inevitable. Grants the Kingdom and the King a degree of resistance towards entropy that scales with the growth of the realm. The monarch may also later through concentration briefly narrow the focus on a single point, reversing all manner of short-lived effects on His subjects or Himself to start
with.

Comments from Blade

Ars Regis seeks to fill two mechanical niches. First, tie together all the more disparate parts of Sol's skill trees and second minimize Will expenditure through the power of delegation. Narratively, it turns Sol into Meta's explicit foil - where one imposes the other guides, where one consumes the skills of others the second organizes all into a whole stronger than its part. In terms of mathematics for the Aspect-stackers, Ars Regis augments effective Arcanum primarily when casting effects that aid allies directly, and gives a smaller general bonus through conceptual authority over your magecraft. Outside the synergy with Arcanum it can be used like any Aspect for effects within its purview, including socials and kingdom-management.

The example techniques are by no means the only ones - they exist to paint a picture of what we imagine this idealized version of Ars Regis to represent: Authority and the Organization of People. While I am still somewhat concerned about current power levels, this remains a draft - and is liable to change as _brightwing and I revise it for any number of reasons, be it finding a new Kaballastic concept to use a flavor text or Birdsie descending from on high and telling us to tone it TF down.
 
qwolfs said:
[X] A Deeper Lesson -
-[X] He's right, of course, a human is more than an animal and requires different methods of control. But an Enrolled is more than a human, too. Dispense with this feeble pawing, this wilful aping at conviction. It's time for mind control.

Look into your heart, you know it to be true. The coward allows his will falter, the resolute remove that option entirely.
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Based and valid. Just mind control yourself into doing the right things.
 
Actually I just changed my mind. The blurb for Deeper Lesson says that Sol has a gut feeling that the Educator is trying to subtly push him in that direction.

Sol is a genius capable of seeing the underlying workings of reality. His gut feelings should be treated seriously.

[X] A Deeper Lesson
 
[X] He's Right, Abandon Gluttony
-[X] Consume all remaining Coffee Jello.
Birdsie confirmed the Comfort's Embrace diminishment is less than 50%, so we should be able to weather this. That said, reading their dialogue, I don't actually think the Educator's argument supports 'don't eat Coffee Jelly'; just, 'don't eat Coffee Jelly for motivation purposes'. If there comes a time wherein Solomon can self-sufficiently indulge in coffee jelly as freely as he wishes, he has no reason to restrain himself, and I don't think that time is even all that far away. So I wouldn't oppose something like...
[X] A Deeper Lesson
-[X] Consider whether that deeper lesson is that, for instance, gluttony is only a valid motivator for itself, so gluttony is permitted but not for motivation.

[X] Ancient Ruins
 
[X] He's Right, Abandon Gluttony
-[X] Consume all remaining Coffee Jello.
Birdsie confirmed the Comfort's Embrace diminishment is less than 50%, so we should be able to weather this. That said, reading their dialogue, I don't actually think the Educator's argument supports 'don't eat Coffee Jelly'; just, 'don't eat Coffee Jelly for motivation purposes'. If there comes a time wherein Solomon can self-sufficiently indulge in coffee jelly as freely as he wishes, he has no reason to restrain himself, and I don't think that time is even all that far away. So I wouldn't oppose something like...
[X] A Deeper Lesson
-[X] Consider whether that deeper lesson is that, for instance, gluttony is only a valid motivator for itself, so gluttony is permitted but not for motivation.

[X] Ancient Ruins

I'm likely to quickly abandon this vote if an effortpost is made similar to this.
 
What does Solomon want in the long term right now? What is his final goal?
 
This is a defining character decision. Sol discarding all his coffee jello, entering burnout, living life without his crutch by his own choice, is a defining moment. I think more than anything, that has the potential to give us some progress on getting Sol out of his funk. I don't really like the character development of either of the third road options. I might try to think of one later, there are hints that there is a path we could unlock that is not readily available. Until that is discovered, I think it's imperative we do as much as we can to direct sols mindset in the direction we want. This character defining moment is cheapened if he devours all of his coffee jello, rather than purposefully rejecting it.
 
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[X] Plan Crossroads
[X] A Deeper Lesson
-[X] Focusing on the coffee jello is missing the point. The issue isn't just gluttony, it's that you're deriving the will to act from fucking *jello*. It's time you consider the connections and motivations that truly make you want to push on.

The Educator said we've already touched on other, deeper sources of motivation. Time to dig into that a bit.

[X] Ancient Ruins
 
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Andre Chaos said:
Well, and what he can do to become closer to these goals, people? What smaller steps he must take, what do you think?


I don't like 'no-Jello' thing being just imposed on him. Like, it is not realy his choice, but inevitability. So third option may be the best. He needs therapy, badly.
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I wouldn't really consider it imposed. It's the educator going "if this is truly what you want, you need to not rely on a crutch." Sol then decides whether that ambition blossoming within him is worth that cost. It is purely his own decision.
 
GenericName said:
"if this is truly what you want, you need to not rely on a crutch."
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Feels like cheap manipulation for my taste. But I am just paranoid about Educator in general. 🤷‍♂️

GenericName said:
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I know, I know, but this is why I feel paranoia. Like, its too good to be true, something sketchy, other shoe will drop any moment now... However, this is just my paranoia, its meaningless. Still need to be said. Just to not forget always look for things and do not relax too much.​
 
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The only reason this man ever told us any of this is because we showed intrestest in being powerful or at least talked about power in a general way.

If Sol had not spoken about becoming equal or surpassing the meta then he wouldn't have mentioned Sol's flawls like that at all.
 
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Im sorry but I don't really understand your point in concern to what I said

Also:

[X] He's Right, Abandon Gluttony

[X] Plan Archmage
 
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