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The God Diversion

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TheBigB said:
could we just leave and let him face the consequences by killing the ox?
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If he kills the Ox, it goes badly for everyone due to the destiny that follows. Like, say, a destiny of 'ruin the world through combat, then die to the educator mournfully turning it off' or something? I dunno, but Solomon wasn't primarily in this to save Abe, he was in this to save everyone else from Abe.
 
TheBigB said:
could we just leave and let him face the consequences by killing the ox?
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If Abraham kills the Ox, he loses what little reason he retains and will "snowball into an avatar of warfare that could destroy the world of Fortuna without the Educator's intervention." Presumably that's why Solomon predicted retreating to the Academy wouldn't work and attending Court was folly.

[X] Write In: Concord Through Concord

I'm not enthused about spending more wordcount on Abraham, but presumably we're seeing him at his worst. Charitably, he could be a competent vanguard for our exploration efforts if juiced on potions to patch his metaphysical weaknesses and grant foresight.

Regarding the write-in, I'd suggest using a Symbiote tendril to wield the Athame or approaching while covering him with the Revolver (fully intending to fire) rather than throwing the dagger, which it isn't designed for.
 
Abe's desire is "save the world through my strength of arms" - the Ox dooms you to an ironic fate, which for him twists that desire into "destroy the world through strength of arms".
 
I hope whoever created that bull with the ironic curse was ironically trampled by that very bull.

[X] Write In: Concord Through Concord
 
Orm Embar said:
Regarding the write-in, I'd suggest using a Symbiote tendril to wield the Athame or approaching while covering him with the Revolver (fully intending to fire) rather than throwing the dagger, which it isn't designed for.
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This probably improves the odds of saving Abraham, but I'd expect that to cost us odds of survival. Unless Solomon is as confident he can succeed in a tendril-slash in time as he is he can kill using the Revolver or the stun window is more generous than expected, the slash plan probably costs him the option to replan the gunshot on a missed throw/cut, since (unlike a predictable parabola+rotation) a cut hasn't missed, or necessarily hit, until it reaches the target.
 
[X] Death of Battle

This is our first real excursion, and it is evident that the world is dangerous. We are playing the kind of quest that can really actually end if we make poor decisions. Getting greedy while directly opposing Fate is the kind of thing that will get Solomon killed. I think the swordsman would be a neat ally but he is not going to scale indefinitely like another Enrolled. We should spend our wordcount on Penny and the after-action autopsy instead of risking it all for a moderate gain.
 
Zampano said:
This is our first real excursion, and it is evident that the world is dangerous. We are playing the kind of quest that can really actually end if we make poor decisions. Getting greedy while directly opposing Fate is the kind of thing that will get Solomon killed. I think the swordsman would be a neat ally but he is not going to scale indefinitely like another Enrolled. We should spend our wordcount on Penny and the after-action autopsy instead of risking it all for a moderate gain.
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Which part of Concord Through Concord is more risky than Death Of Battle, and why?
 
TheBigB said:
Could we attempt to steal his sword or clothes taunt him and then just have him chase us far away from the cow
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Not enough magic to do it by force. If we can steal anything from him, we can stab him and he loses to the Edicts. For that matter, if we can run from him we're already in a much better position than we actually are.
 
JOEbob said:
Not enough magic to do it by force. If we can steal anything from him, we can stab him and he loses to the Edicts. For that matter, if we can run from him we're already in a much better position than we actually are.
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This is a medieval world, is he able to swim? could we just flood the place and he has a lot of water slowing him down not to mention if he's wearing armor how much tougher it'll be for him to swim.
 
I'm a bit worried, seeing we're in a Architecture heavy zone. The write in is a clever workaround.. but what might be the consequences of Sol declaring to deliver retribution in Steel.. while intending not to? Going against his word could trigger his Fate weakness.

There is also the risk of Abraham sensing immediate death might pull out finishers as the stun time pushes to its zenith. A race between the dagger connecting in time and his Will. This of course gives Penny the time to push ahead and she might make a breakthrough with the ceasefire Edict. Granting us time for dialogue afterwards.
 
[X] Write In: Concord Through Concord

There is zero reason not to use this over the baseline death of battle. We attempt to use the Athame, and if that fails we pivot onto killing him. Birdsie confirmed WOG we can pivot to aiming correctly if the dagger is off course. This plan is just strictly better if you care at all about not going for a lethal maneuver.
 
_brightwing said:
I'm a bit worried, seeing we're in a Architecture heavy zone. The write in is a clever workaround.. but what might be the consequences of Sol declaring to deliver retribution in Steel.. while intending not to? Going against his word could trigger his Fate weakness.

There is also the risk of Abraham sensing immediate death might pull out finishers as the stun time pushes to its zenith. A race between the dagger connecting in time and his Will. This of course gives Penny the time to push ahead and she might make a breakthrough with the ceasefire Edict. Granting us time for dialogue afterwards.
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In my experience midground between measures balances things out with consequences that pop up. So in this instance I'm going to have to go with..

[X] Death of Battle
 
Birdsie said:
As Penelope cleared them out, Solomon created a concoction of mercurial alchemy, spilling a stream of silver liquid from his palm onto the floor, its flow circulating into a programmed arrangement, forming a sixsome magic circle, hexagrams within hexagons within binding circles, glowing with silver radiance. After a couple of invocations supported by the rite, he called forth a spirit of elemental water, a shapeless Marid, its surface roiling with instinctive abeyance to assemble into the form of an otherwise genderless humanoid. Solomon then shaped the spirit's countenance into that of a woman's, roughly attractive and trustworthy.
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Seeing Sol do magic with his new Cups Devotion is really neat.

Birdsie said:
With a thumb, he drew the mark of Mercury and the mark of Venus on its forehead and chest respectively, conferring the blessings of travel and tenderness. Then, he thrust a hand into its stomach and filled its fluid interior with an enhancing aureate cordial, one so potent its toxicity would've slain a man if injected into their circulation. The Marid, as a spirit rather than a living being, didn't care and nodded in obedience as Solomon whispered its mission into the left ear. It departed, leaving behind pale streamers of mist, and flowed through the cracks within the floor to enter the basement itself.
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Finally summoning something is really awesome.

Birdsie said:
As it sent confirmation of sighting the target and making an approach with diplomatic intent, Solomon felt the sympathetic link abruptly shatter as it was destroyed in a single attack, a brutal feedback slamming into Solomon's mind and causing him to grimace, leaving behind impressions of an impassionate, red-tinted eye. Across their rapport, Penelope felt the aftershocks of the shattering as well and frowned inquiringly. Solomon nodded, face uncrumpling. It was time to attempt the secondary plan.
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Dude didn't accept the envoy, which I can't blame him for since it's a summon.

Birdsie said:
"Sol," Penelope said, urgently, "Connect me with your Sanctum Aspect."

He hesitated for a second. The Architecture was in a state of flux, the future unclear, a muddied gray fog fallen over what he once considered a clear and familiar path. In that moment, he chose to trust.

He did.
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Connections is coming in clutch.

Birdsie said:
She declared a miracle of the temporal continuum - among the costliest of her repertoire, from what he remembered - and instantly completed a set of intricate actions that would've consumed an hour's work otherwise, establishing a barebones Sanctum within the area. Within, she didn't have to clear her mind or focus on its contents to declare an Edict, as anything that Justice proclaimed within its Sanctum was simply the Truth. Therefore, she created an Edict of absolute armistice, forbidding any form ofbattle.
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Penny was 100% worth the investment of empowering.

[X] Write In: Concord Through Concord
 
[X] Death of Battle

Even if Concord through Concord only drops the chances of survival by something like 5-10% compared to Death… well we only need to roll badly once.
 
If Birdsie confirms that Concord^2 is literally no riskier than Death of Battle mechanically and in all other ways, if it would not shave off even the minutest sliver of Sol's survival odds, I will strongly consider switching.

But short that assurance I don't want to gamble any of Sol's safety for a mediocre ally whose reliability and even loyalty may be questionable. How's Abe supposed to know for certain that Sol isn't gaslighting him about the entire "I saved you from Doom Via Ox" story? Abe couldn't even perceive the yoke of the Doom laid upon the Ox and yet will take Sol's word at face value? The dude is predisposed to view Sol as an enemy already, and waking up to captivity at Sol's hands after suffering ego-tearing agony from Sol's actions isn't likely to put him in a trusting mindset.

If Birdsie confirms that Abe will be both loyal and reliable and Concord^2 is no riskier, mechanically or otherwise, than Death of Battle - then it does make total sense to switch.
 
Rihaku said:
If Birdsie confirms that Concord^2 is literally no riskier than Death of Battle mechanically and in all other ways, if it would not shave off even the minutest sliver of Sol's survival odds, I will strongly consider switching.
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It's maybe a single percent riskier, although mechanically I wouldn't count the difference. As for Abraham's loyalty, you can't see the future as the Architecture is obscured, but from what you've gleaned based on his actions, he appears to be in some kind of semi-berserk flow state, and once he's disengaged from battle, might potentially be a calmer person to converse with. Whether or not that translates to gratitude for being saved depends on his personality, of which you can't tell much, aside from the fact that he's a combat veteran potentially with mild PTSD.
 
[X] Write In: Concord Through Concord

Well if there's little to no mechanical difference then there's really no point in going all in on the kill.

Don't know how I feel about the guy as a potential ally. Really depends when and how much our next exp bomb is. He could be effective for as long as an entire school year to as short as next month.

Maybe we can just give him a stack of promotional flyers for Sols eventual alchemy business and send him on his way.
 
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