All Aurora wishes for in life, is the comfort of her thrice refined phoenix pillow.
Unfortunately for her, despite being the fifth born of the Protus family, much is expected from her.
Joining the Iron Oath school, Aurora has taken the first steps as an Oath bearer and must navigate family and school politics, annoying rivels and dangers at every turn.
All so she could someday return to her peace filled life and spend her days in the comfort of her bed.
Thankfully she is not alone and to help her on her journey she is joined by her retainers.
Gallus, the rough brute with the soul of a big nerd.
And Octavia, a former peasant girl in possession of the Truth-Seeking Eyes legacy.
Will they manage to find a way for Aurora to spend her time doing nothing? No, probably not.
Would it be funny tough? Maybe, If I ever manage to get this comedic writing style down (so no promises).
Should I be starting another quest? Probably not but I'm sleep deprived and cranky so I'm doing it anyways, this quest is mostly going to play second fiddle to my main one but the idea wouldn't leave my head.
Anyhow I hope you enjoy and do please vote in plan format (it would be such a pain otherwise).
It was a bright and sunny day that shined upon the selection trails.
You have been awake since dawn, not wishing to have even the slightest chance to miss it and even still you barley made it in time.
You only reached the compound by noon, a handful of minutes before it started.
Cursing the fact you could I'll afford a carriage ride like most of the other candidates here, you hurried to join the gathered crowd -it numbered at least a thousand- being in the back was annoying but you're just happy you didn't miss the whole thing, would be pretty embarrassing to fail because you hadn't shown up on time.
Why is it that you couldn't hire a carriage again?
[] You were poor.
There was no other way to cut it, your family was broke. How could you have coin for a carriage when some days you didn't have enough coin to eat?
+start with a high will attribute.
+start with a high mind attribute.
+start with many low-level skills.
-your family can't support you.
-start with a low body attribute
[] You were a criminal.
A former member of some minor gang in the city, you left the gang after crossing the son of the leader. Your likeness is known to the authorities and so you couldn't hire an official carriage.
+start with high combat skills.
+start with a high body and mind attribute.
+start with some cash and a T1 treasure stolen from your former gang.
-start with a low heart score.
-your past will come back to haunt you.
[] You were forbidden.
It will build character he said, it will be good for you he said, and now you're stuck huffing and puffing all the way to the school, you would much rather just laze about in your family fancy carriage. Like what's so wrong about enjoying your life? You're the fifth born for gods sake, your brothers and sisters can bring honor to the family while you much on all the sweets.
+Start with a high heart score.
+start with high social skills and above average combat skills.
+your family will support you with many resources and treasures.
+start with two retainers which would obey your order's.
-your family expects much.
-other families will try to knock you down.
-start with a lower will attribute.
-less weekly AP as you laze about.
Regardless, you have made it in time.
Unfraternally, you had little time to socialize with your fellow hopefuls before an old man dressed in gray robes stepped onto a podium and drew the crowed attention with a mighty clap.
"Welcome aspirants to the Iron Oath school, I am Octavian, master of this school and it gladdens my heart to see our ranks swell despite recent events" you scowl at the mention of the war -while you aren't overly proud of your nation getting trampled still doesn't sit right with you- "Yet while truly glad that so many youths are ready to pick up the sword for their fellow man, only two hundred will remain here by day end."
With a clap of his hand a few dozen man and women who wear the same gray robes as him appear, and whose skin resembles the school namesake "The Iron Oath school is an old and storied school an we accept only the best, under the watch of our inner disciples you will undergo tests to ensure you meet our standards but worry not if you fail for you may always try next year"
Yeah right, even you know that the Iron Oath rarely -if ever- accept a student over eighteen, if you don't pass here, you won't have another chance.
But you're ready, in fact you're more than ready the requirements for entering the school arnt secret after all and you already know you passed them.
The ones you could measure at least.
And when its time for your own test you prove it.
Physical tests, knowledge tests an actual written exam, a few machines and treasures that you are told measure the strength of your soul and many, many more.
And like you thought you passed them all.
In fact, you did more then pass one of them you've excelled.
[] After your physical they took small blood sample from you to test and what the result cam back they marked you as possessing a refined existence… whatever that is. (Start with all of your attributes in the second tier and make them easier to raise).
[] one of their strange machine's bopped and apparently that means you possess a powerful legacy, who knew? (Start with a powerful legacy -that will be chosen by you-, legacies are unique powers that either greatly empower the one who posse them or change some rule of realty to their benefit).
[] one large disciple handed you a rock when that rock glowed yellow he exclaimed that your soul must be very strong… not that you feel that way (gain another soul contract slot which doesn't count towards the difficulty unlocking new ones).
By the time testing is done the sun is long set and less then a fifth of the initial crowed remains.
And you're swiftly herded into an auditorium set in the entrance of the school compound with well over a hundred people in it, the auditorium is crowded but your -and everyone else's- attention is drawn by master Octavian and the iron staff he's holding.
You've never seen one before but deep down you know that the iron staff which is covered by thousands of runes, is a Screlium a priceless artifact meant to bind the first soul oath.
While you were distracted by the Screlium Octavian began to speak "long ago, the first man was noting but a livestock for the great tyrants, an animal waiting to be slaughtered to feed their masters" you knew the story he was telling, you doubted that there was anyone that didn't know the story of humanity revolt "nothing more then cows that what we once were until Monica the great mother has given her life so her child may live and that in her blood and soul the child has sworn revenge and so was the first oath bearer was born and the age of tyrant came to an end and the age of man begun"
"Many ages have passed since then and many oath bearers have risen and fallen and now you take your first step in joining their storied halls, this " he points to the staff in his hand " Is a Screlium forged from the body of our founder the great Augustus and imbued with a portion of his soul over three millennia ago and now like the first oath so long ago you will swear your oath in it".
With that he moved towards the closest aspirant and extended that staff to him "The first oath has been optimized over the centuries, the stuff will guide you in its making" and so one by one has Octavian passed the staff to make their oath and soon it was your turn.
Grasping the staff with both hands you instinctively know what you must do.
But curiously there seems to be a choice.
The oath the staff will make you swear is one of exercise, far from the oaths of loyalty or vengeance all the stories wax about your first oath will be to exercise.
And its up to you to specify how much and in what time frame.
How intense do you want your exercises to be?
[] Light (+1 oath rank, -2 AP).
[] Medium (+2 oath rank, -4 AP).
[] Heavy (+3 oath rank, -6 AP).
And how frequently do you want to do it?
[] Every month (+1 oath rank, AP cost must be paid over 4 turns).
[] Every two weeks (+2 oath rank, AP cost paid over 2 turns).
[] every week (+3 oath rank, AP cost must be paid every turn).
Evry oath carries a price and the greater it is the more you gain form the oath but what do you wish to gain?
[] strength.
[] power.
[] wisdom.
[] knowledge.
[] time.
[] life.
[] friends.
[] wealth.
[] write in.
And just because I couldn't find a place to put it, I also need
The four attributes represent the four pillars of one's existence and they represent the number of dice rolled (d10) when facing a challenge.
Attributes range from 1-10 (although they can go over 10 in some cases) and when they reach 10 you can attempt a breakthrough to refine your attribute and rise up a tier while resetting the attribute to 1 (although there are ways to prevent that). The attribute score is then multiplied by its tier and that is the final score used.
Body is used for physical challenges.
Mind is used for mantal ones.
Heart is used for social ones.
And will is used both for challenges of the soul and may for time to time add itself to other challenges in addition to their governing attribute.
HP is the number of health you've got, if this hits zero you're likely dead (unless someone can swiftly save you or you some treasure or technique) the formula for HP is (body x2 + will) there is also a wound mechanic but we'll get to how that works when you actually get injured.
Armor reduces the damage received from each attack; it can come form many forms but the base is physical armor which reduces the damage from physical attacks, it can come from many things either treasures, oaths, refinements or even actual armor but you get a base of (attribute tier -1) so with all of your attributes being in the second tier you passively have 1 armor in everything.
Then we have Horkos (which is Greek for oath -if you have a better name do tell-) this is the energy you're going to use to both strength yourself and use techniques, the base amount you receive is equal to your total oath rank (between all of your oaths) and whatever you manage to cultivate.
Skills.
Negotiation- adept 4 -Go high- as a noble, you are rich, richer than ninety percent of the empire so what if it cost you twice as much to get what you want you still go it, you may choose to double your rolled successes in a negotiation challenge in exchange of doubling the base and minimum "price".
Equitique- adept 5. -Customs of the sun- your home, the empire of the sun, is host to a diverse range of cultures and subcultures, each one boasting of centuries of traditions and customs and you have learned many of them, when rolling an equitique check against someone whose culturally form the empire of the sun roll with advantage (roll twice and keep the higher result)
Sense motive- adept 5.
Fellowship- adept 4.
-Comradery- there is nothing quite like the bonds you crate between friends and it is of upmost importance to maintain them, how good is it that the knowledge gained form those bonds can be used to do so. when performing a fallow ship challenge against a target your already possess a positive relationship with add dice deepening on how positive your bond Is.
Composure- adept 3.
Stewardship- adept 2
Foot work- adept 1.
-Closing distance- you cannot win if you cannot hit, and you cannot hit if you cant reach your opponent, your foot work has been extensively trained to help you in closing with your enemy and ensuring you do not leave your grasp. When attempting to close the distance with an enemy or in pursuit, roll with advantage.
Great Axe - novice 5.
Strategy- adept 2.
Athleticism- novice 5 (5/45 to adapt 1).
Awareness- novice 3.
Meditation- novice 1 (6/8 to next level).
Skills possesses five ranks, novice-adept-expert-master-grandmaster in addition every rank possess five sub ranks going form 1-5.
Skills represent the things you know to do and how good you are at them, for every rank in a skill you have your successes threshold is lowered by 1 so a novice would gain a success when rolling a 8 or above (in a d10) while a grand master would gain one if he rolled a 4 or above, and if you don't have the skill, you only gain a success at an 8 or above.
Additionally, every rank also gives a talent which can give various benefits (your own talents are going to be voted on in the first few updates).
A sub rank will only give a reroll for a single failed dice (although there are things that can change that) improving consistency.
Oaths (1/1).
Total Oath rank: 5.
The First Oath (Oath rank 5).
You have sworn to perform a heavy exercise session for the current you (Body 5-tier 2) (Mind 5-tier 2) every two weeks and in return you may tap into the power of this oath (oath rank/2) times a month to multiply your mind attribute by oath rank for a single challenge.
Equipment"
Bracelets of heavy thoughts (T2)- The wearer of this treasure will feel as if they are heavier, they have been enchanted to only work when the wearer intends to train their body. Effect: 20% of body XP gained by training is also gained by will.
Earrings of unseen conversation (T3)- the wearer of this erring may send and receive small telepathic messages from and to other wearers of the set, the user may only send 3 massages every hour but may receive an unlimited amount. The cooldown may be negated with the use of 1 Horkos.
Minor dryad parts (low quality)- can be sold or used for alchemy.
Five elemental retribution talisman (T5)- should your HP reach 0 or upon activation this talisman would heal you to half of your Max HP, as well as strike the aggressor with an elemental attack equivalent to will 60 with a master skill. If the aggressor posses a weakness to one of the five basic elements (wood, fire, earth, metal or water) this blow will be equivalent to will 80 with a skill of grandmaster. This talisman will burn itself upon use.
Thrice refined phoenix feather pillow(T9999+)(T3) - using this pillow grants a good night sleep in all circumstances, additionally its very, very comfortable.
A great axe- damage- 3x body+ 1/2 successes. Traits: sharp, two handed, unwieldy (-3 dice), reach.
Okey, with your character chosen we have a few backgrounds votes we need to do.
The first is what treasure do you posses your family is rich and it both gives you a generous allowance and makes sure you have some "basic" necessities met.
As a start you have the following two treasures.
Five elemental retribution talisman (T5)- should your HP reach 0 or upon activation this talisman would heal you to half of your Max HP, as well as strike the aggressor with an elemental attack equivalent to will 60 with a master skill. If the aggressor posses a weakness to one of the five basic elements (wood, fire, earth, metal or water) this blow will be equivalent to will 80 with a skill of grand master. This talisman will burn itself upon use.
Thrice refined phoenix feather pillow(T9999+)(T3) - using this pillow grants a good night sleep in all circumstances, additionally its very, very comfortable.
Aside from the above treasures you also posses 5 points to distribute between treasures you want. I won't be listing out all of the possibilities so tell me what you want (in general terms) and how many point you spend on it.
Any treasure you wish to write in should have the following informetion.
[] name. (or if you can't think of something generic treasure X would be fine)
-[] is it active or passive.
-[] a general effect/purpose.
- [] and how many points you assign to it.
As an example.
[] Earring of the ice spirit.
-[] passive.
-[] fire resistance.
-[] 2 points.
Would give.
Earring of the ice spirit (T2)- this pair of earring blees by the power of the ice spirit and forged of heavenly ice grants the wearer 3 points worth of fire and ice damage reduction.
Our next vote is about your retainers, you start with two and they are completely loyal (the loyalty stat is where their loyalty is placed between you and your family). Please choose 2 of the following.
[] Pinelope Validi.
Masters of stealth the Validi are perhaps the most loyal of the servant families and the most trusted as well, there is no members of the family who doesn't have a validi shadow to defends against assassination attempts.
Of course, they far more then just body gourd and many of your family enemies found their end at the tip of their dagger.
Ponelope is one of their best -is the best out of those your age- and is completely loyal, she will sacrifice herself to save you without a second thought. Of course, the validi trin their young in secret and you have only met her a scant few weeks ago and you can already tell that she will report you every move to the family if asked -and they most certainly will- until you win her over that is.
Loyalty: to the family.
Attributes:
Body (T1)- 8.
Mind (T1)- 6.
Heart (T1)- 5
Will (T1) – 5.
Notable skills.
Stealth- expert 2.
Dager- adept 5.
Initial contract. (oath rank 4).
You have sworn to perform a heavy exercise session for the current you (Body 8-tier 1) (Mind 6-tier 1) every month and in return you may tap into the power of this oath (oath rank/4) times a month to multiply the damage dealt by you for oath rank for a single strike.
[] Tatiana Caleli.
Tatiana Caleli is your best friend, you practically grew up together.
Like you she is also a social butterfly and together you have wrought havoc upon your family manor and got away with it too, as no one could stand to the cuteness of two young girl coordinated in their pursuit for mayhem.
She's not the best with a blade and rather average in her other pursuits but she makes up for it with the motivation to push forward.
Loyalty: to you.
Attributes:
Body (T1)- 4.
Mind (T1)- 5.
Heart (T1)- 9
Will (T1) – 7.
Notable skills.
Sense motive- adapt 5.
Fellowship- adept 4.
Initial contract. (oath rank 4).
You have sworn to perform a light exercise session for the current you (Body 4-tier 1) (Mind 5-tier 1) every two weeks and in return you gain (oath rank/2) automatic successes on fellowship rolls.
[] Markos Vasseas.
Markos is a branch family member and while the Vasseas were shamed by the debacle a decade ago they have won the right for your retainer slot and they have sent their best in an attempt to regain their honor.
Being a of a branch family, you do know Markos and find him agreeable enough, most importantly your confidant that you can stop him from reporting your every move to your family.
Although if he's put under enough pressure your sure hell cave so best not to do anything to crazy.
Loyalty: torn.
Attributes:
Body (T1)- 10.
Mind (T1)- 7.
Heart (T1)- 5
Will (T1) – 8.
Notable skills.
Sword and shield- adapt 5.
Footwork- adept 5.
Initial contract. (oath rank 6).
You have sworn to perform a heavy exercise session for the current you (Body 10-tier 1) (Mind 7-tier 1) every week and in return you may nullify oath rank instances of damage per day.
[] Octavia Opimia.
From all of your potential retainers Octaia is the only one who isn't from a branch or a vassal family.
Rather she is of peasant roots and was picked up form one of the villages your family oversees when she awakened a powerful legacy.
Despite having met her only a few days ago Octavia is an open book and you have become fast friends and your sure that she will take your side no matter what.
Of course, having been picked up only a year or so ago her actual training and ability is lacking but her mind is a sharp thing indeed despite her apparent naivety.
Loyalty: to you.
Attributes:
Body (T1)- 4.
Mind (T1)- 9.
Heart (T1)- 5
Will (T1) – 4.
Notable skills.
Fellowship- adept 2.
Investigation- adept 3.
Legacy.
Truth seeking eye's- no lie or falsehood may be exist in the gaze of the bearer of this legacy.
Initial contract. (oath rank 2).
You have sworn to perform a light exercise session for the current you (Body 4-tier 1) (Mind 9-tier 1) every month and in return all of your skills count as (oath rank/2) sub ranks higher. (this can break the cap and give you an adept 6 skill).
[] Gallus Protus.
There is no easy way to say this but Gallus is a bastard both of birth and of personality.
Born to your uncle and a prostitute and shunned by the family for it, Gallus has become a bitter ,callus thing that is prone to anger and to insult.
He is a thug plain and simple, a brute who can only destroy and rage.
On the surface at least.
Peer a little deeper and you'll find the bigest nerd imaginable.
He reads about everything and anything, he's probably the most read out of the entire family, and some of them read for a living.
If you go further and ear down his walls, his sarcastic wit and cautious optimism will be plain to all.
He do's somewhat dislike the family which works to your benefit.
And your uncle dos have a soft spot for him, its how he got this post.
Loyalty: to you.
Attributes:
Body (T1)- 10.
Mind (T1)- 10.
Heart (T1)- 5
Will (T1) – 8.
Notable skills.
Mace- adapt 4.
Nothing else that is notable but he is a treasure trove of knowledge.
Initial contract. (oath rank 4).
You have sworn to perform a medium exercise session for the current you (Body 10-tier 1) (Mind 10-tier 1) every two weeks and in return you may instantly and perfectly recall any memory created in the past oath rank years.
when I wake up (in like 8 hours or so) I will both answer any question you asked in the meantime (so do ask) and gather up the various treasures proposals as well as outline their effects.
'What have I done' this was the only thought going through Aurora Protus mind.
Over and over -as she was being led by her loyal retainers to their assigned residence- has this thought flashed through her mind.
A never-ending cycle of horror and panic regarding the oath she has sworn mere moments before.
She knows why she has sworn it.
She knows the reason she forsook all common knowledge and her own desires for a lazy life to swear an oath so demanding.
But with oath sworn and the shackles gripping her soul, it all become so real and her reasons were swept away in the wind.
What does it matter that her family wont pressure her to work harder, if she already works harder than they would have ever pressured her.
What does it matter if she can spend hours lazing about with no one pressuring her to work if she works more then she has ever done before.
She doesn't know what kind of demon has overtaken her during the oath swearing ceremony but knows for a fact that it couldn't have been her that swore this oath.
Yet deep inside, in her blazing soul, she could find irrefutable evidence.
She doesn't know how long she spent in this haze but at some point, she could feel her head being laid doesn't on something soft.
So soft it was heavenly.
Unconsciously she recognized the feeling as belonging to her thrice refined phoenix feather pillow.
Slowly -with the help of her expensive pillow- Aurora pulled herself back together.
Looking around, she found herself in a tastefully decorated bedroom, seeing as some of the items she sent to the sect ahead of her arrival were present here, it wasn't hard to deduce that this was her room.
After a few more minutes of rest on her pillow -she really should look for the matching mattress- she finally felt ready and stepped beyond her room.
She stepped into a balcony overlooking a specious living hall, a small chandelier illuminating it and below it stood a medium table with five chairs surrounding it.
Both Gallus and Octavia set around the table and seem to have paused some kind of conversation when she left her room.
"Finally awake princess? Good of you to join us" Gallus was the first to speak, his voice deep and rough like always but there was something different about him. Probably related to the oath he swore.
Octavia on the other hand was satisfied with a small "my lady" rather than a sarcastic comment.
Ignoring Gallus and nodding in appreciation to Octavia Aurora start descending the stairs to the side of the small balcony.
Reaching the bottom, she noticed a plush couch next to a small table and dragged it to the larger table, it seemed far more comfortable then the -admittedly nice- wooden chairs.
Letting her body sink into the cushions of the couch and take pleasure at the softens of it, she drinks in the silence and enjoys the moment of reprieve she has.
Alas all good things come to an end and this time by her hand as she focuses on her two friends and loyal retainers and breaks the silence "what did I miss?"
"Not much, we were just discussing what we're having for dinner" it was Gallus who answered, his grin spreading as he knows that he didn't answer what Aurora asked.
Seeing that he didn't mean to correct himself, Octavia sighed and answered in his steed "You've missed the initiation ceremony, they outlined the rules and expectations".
"See, you haven't missed anything important" Gallus interrupted.
And despite Octavia glare Aurora couldn't help but agree with him, she have been thoroughly briefed on the iron oath school rules and traditions -the ones that weren't deliberately kept form her at least- and didn't feel like sitting through that lecture again.
Seeing the expression on her face, Gallus grin just became even more smug, while Octavia glare switched to glare at Aurora, her golden eyes peering into Aurora very soul before sighing again "they also listed the requirements to become a true member which must be completed in the next three months".
And now Aurora was also glaring at Gallus, who responded to the pressure by the two women by saying "allright, allright there may have been some important information there but we'll fill you in"
At least some of the smugness left his smile.
Body at the second tier.
Two oaths.
Horkos at 20.
One skill at expert.
3 layers of the iron body cultivation. (which you'll get by going to the library)
A third order oath (this concept will be explained soonish but isn't something you currently know).
Three skills at expert or one at master.
Horkos at 50.
Will at the second tier.
5 layers of the iron body cultivation.
Passing the final test or placing high in one of the main tournaments.
"hmmm…. Are you sure its all?" Aurora ask's once Gallus finished reciting the initiation speech word for word.
In response Gallus rolled his eyes "Of course I'm sure"
"And there was nothing about jumping straight into the inner school?"
"There wasn't...although I might have something" Gallus replied before closing his eyes, his tense face told you he was focusing on something "Yeah three years ago someone in the verdant growth school jumped straight to inner my father and yours talked about it as it was fairly impressive said he got his fourth oath by that time but I didn't hear anything else"
"Well, it's not like I was planning to pursue such an ambition so nothing is lost" is Aurora last words that night before she returns to the luxury of her bed and phoenix pillow.
Four oaths???
???
The next day aurora woke bright and early -more like was dragged out of bed by Octavia and a laughing Gallus- made herself presentable -by that she means she tire not to interrupt Octavia as she did her swift work- and with both Gallus and Octavia at her side, existed her new residence.
Now outside she could see that the house she was provided was just to the side of the court center with something like a hundred or so other houses ringing around it -of far lesser quality.
Just outside of her door there was a large cornered that traveled in all four direction and in the middle of it there was a large wooden board with various pieces of paper attached to it.
Seeing as aroura and her retainers were pretty much alone -because apparently, they woke up really early- they had no trouble approaching it and readding the contents of the notes.
There were only two important subjects relayed on the board.
The first was the times and locations for lessons given by the sect elder's (along with a note that they would repeat the same lesson a week later).
The second is directions to the contribution center and the directive to collect their stipends.
Now waking up this early dos bring up an opportunity, from what you were told in initiations -that was later relayed to you by Gallus- everything in this courtyard is up to the disciples to manage.
In fact, they worded it such, that aurora is pretty sure that pulling down one of the notes is totally within the rules and the chance for a semi private lesson with an elder is just to tantalizing to pass up.
Especially when no one will see you pull it down.
Do you want to pull one of the lessons time and location off the board?
[] no.
[] yes.
-[] which one? (choose one of the three last options in the lesson category).
The start of week 1. You have 7 AP to spend (unless otherwise specified every action costs 1 ap) between the following options
Lessons (will be available for the first 2 turns).
[X] Physical work by elder Artus (you must spend 6 AP over the next 2 turn's on this action) (this is for your oath).
[] The three fundamentals alchemy, enchanting and combat by elder Zerveas.
[] Oaths and their understanding by elder Septima.
[] meditation upon the self by elder Valla
Cultivating/training.
Will be updated as new information and training sites are unlocked.
Social.
[] Apparently while Gallus oath gives him perfect memory he still needs to actively seek those memories, of course the first thing the bastard deigned to remember was Cispia birthday party, you know the one you made a fool of yourself in, and is content to laugh at you once more.
[] Octavia is around if you wish to talk, especially if it's to complain about how Gallus is annoying.
[] you could also just laze about with your retainers, resting and having small talk.
[] You saw Areti Vlahili and as a Protus its practically your duty to push her down.
[] You know Alex Condakis is around, go introduce yourself you could always use a contact with one of the five, even if its only with a branch member.
[] You could also start building your faction gods know you need some minions to order around.
[] almost two hundred disciples have been granted entrance to the school at least some must be worth something, keep an eye for hidden gems and see if you can befriend/recruit them.
Exploration.
[] Explore the school- the school sits on a huge amount of land go explore and see if you can find something interesting.
[] Find the library- apparently you need to get the iron body method from the library and to do that you must find it.
[] Find the contribution center- follow the directions given to you and go claim your weekly stipend and while you're at it go see what missions are available to you.
[] Explore the market- you've got money and your all but certain that there is some kind of market somewhere around here, find it and burn a hole through your pocket.
Additionally, you may give your retainers a directive to do something , wether that be gathering information/ doing jobs or whatever, this is pretty free form but you can only have one directive for each of them in a turn.
[] what do you want (if you want) Gallus to pursue?
[] what do you want (if you want) Octavia to pursue?
Okey I'm somewhat sleep deprived so I really hope I didn't forget anything; I'll be available for questions for the next 2-3 hours but after that I'm going to need to go to sleep.
AN: Well, this took me a bit but I did say it would be slower then my other quest, I do hope you enjoy and I'm of course available for questions.
Deciding that pulling down one of the notices was too risky, Aurora memorized the locations and times of the lessons in the case someone else decided to pull one down -not that there was much of reason for it with Gallus right there- and decided that if she's already awake in this god forsaken hour she might as well go to the physical training now.
She could have stayed and scouted out her fellow disciples but she didn't want to and shell see most of them there.
And really if they didn't show up for a lesson with an elder did, she really care about them?
Her mind decided and knowing the general location of her destination, Aurora began to walk.
She only took a few steps before her body shivered as she felt a predatory gaze upon her.
Looking back at her retainers, Aurora could see Gallus smirk.
She knew that smirk, it was the one he always had when he was going to have fun at someone expense.
And this time it was going to be at Her's.
"My lady, aren't you forgetting something?" another shiver rocked her body as he spoke, his tone filed with glee.
"N-No, I'm not forgetting anything".
"Are you sure? Maybe something your family gave you?" his tone was teasing and the smirk on his face has grown wider, wide enough to completely spilt his face.
"Yes! I'm sure!" saying so Aurora turns to swiftly march away but freezes when Gallus pulls out a pair of golden bracelets from his bag but quickly pulls herself together "I-I didn't forget them I just chose not to use them, yes that is exactly what happened" and this is the complete truth -and she will glare at Octavia until she comes to her senses-
"Is that so? do I need to remind you what your father said will happen if you didn't use them?" the traitor says while dangling the bracelets in front of her face.
"You wouldn't!" Aurora exclaims horrified.
"I wouldn't but you know that someone is keeping watch for your father and they would" at least the bastard had the decency to wipe that smirk form his face.
She still remembers the conversation she had with her father about them.
"Aurora, dear I know you don't want them but it's important for your and our family future that you do, as such if I get word that you aren't using them, I'll take away your phoenix pillow."
Not wanting her comfortable pillow taken away, Aroura snatched the bracelets form Gallus hands and put them on.
Instantly her arms felt heavier, before lightening again as the bracelets detected her intent.
Gain:
Bracelets of heavy thoughts (T2)- The wearer of this treasure will feel as if they are heavier, they have been enchanted to only work when the wearer intends to train their body. Effect: 20% of body XP gained by training is also gained by will.
With that argument out of the way Aurora marched away to find the training field her retainers following closely behind.
Finding the training grounds wasn't hard not with the signs literally pointing them to the place.
The training grounds themselves were on a dirt field with a few exercises equipment like weights and jumping rope. It was surrounded by a running track of packed dirt.
Ignoring all of it Aurora set down in the shade of one of singular trees that were present in the field and closed her eyes, enjoying the touch of the wind in her hair.
It wasn't long before more people started arriving in the training grounds.
But whether it was Gallus hideous face or no one wanting to bother the clearly rich and important girl nap, no one approached Auroras group.
Even napping Aurora couldn't have missed the arrival of elder Artus as he his wight Shaked the earth when he fell from the sky.
Opening her eyes and quickly rising to her feet Aurora searched for the elder and it didn't take her long to find him.
Wrinkled dark gray skin greeted her sight, like his skin the elder also wore a robe made of what she could only conclude be metal.
And despite his apparent old age, corded muscles were bare for all to see.
His earth-shaking appearance has given him the attention of all of the disciples in the training ground and he took advantage of it, moving to speak without pause.
"Your body is your foundation, it is the base upon all other is built, swear a thousand oaths and you'll fall to the men who cultivated his body to perfection, I elder Artus will bear the responsibility of setting you upon this path of perfection" his voice sounded like steel striking steel, yet it didn't hurt there was some otherworldly quality to it that put aroura at ease "we will begin with a run to warm up, then follow up with push ups and other exercises, some of which I will teach you today and when your finished you'll do it all again but better and you'll continue to do so until you fall from exhaustion".
The elder fell silent to let the disciples gathered before him digest his words before he proclaimed in a tone that brooked no disagreements.
"begin"
Learning skills is simple, you spend AP to go to a lesson or to learn on your own you then roll the average of the training attributes (most things are just pure mind but some also have the other attributes) with the teacher teaching skill taking the place of your skill in the roll.
You then need to get a certain amount of succusses and then you go up a rank.
The XP formula goes like this (X is the sub rank you wish to achieve):
Novice: 4*X.
Adapt: 9*X.
Expert: 20*X.
Master: 50*X.
Grandmaster: 200*X.
Going up a rank inflict an additional 5X cost (so going form novice 5 to adapt 1 costs 45 XP).
Of course, things aren't straight forward, while going from novice to adapt is juts a matter of XP expert and up require some challenge that pushes your limits to rank up even when they got the necessary XP.
Attributes on the other hand are trained with a set XP to AP ratio, this ratio is determined by your training grounds and equipment.
The formula for training attributes is 5*X*Y2 where X is the score you wish to achieve (1-10) and Y is the attribute current tier.
Now thanks to your initial pick training attributes for you is actually 4*X*Y2 XP.
This means that a normal person going form body 5 to body 6 would need 30 XP, you going form body 5 to body 6 (with your body being in the second tier) would require 96 XP (which is a 24 point reduction from the 120 XP it would require someone normal).
Now let's see how it goes in practice.
Artus is teaching you athleticism, which is a mind/body training skill so you roll 10 dice, Artus is also a really good teacher, in fact he's the best in the school with his grandmaster 3 teaching so your success threshold is 3 so every dice above this number is considered a success.
So, you end up with 10 dice S>3 but this isn't the end, you've got to consider situational modifiers.
In this case, teaching a large crowed imposes a +2 penalty for your success's threshold bringing it to S>5 but the penalty is reduced by half by the "crowd teacher" talent which lowers all penalties and difficulties in teaching a large number of students at once by half.
Further the "physical teacher" talent lowers the success threshold by 1 so long as you're teaching a body skill.
So, with both of those talents he brings the success threshold back down to S>3.
But we aren't done yet.
Your teachers do more than just give you their teaching skills, they have a few actions they could do to improve your learning speed.
In this case Artus is using "motivate" which is a heart+ fellowship challenge, he rolls and gets 57 successes, now when directed at a crowd "motivates" allows success number of students to add half their willpower to their dice pool for training the skill.
But the "crowd teacher" changes the number of students motivated to success*2, this means that 114 disciples out of the 167 attending are motivated.
But Artus has a fellowship talent called "overflowing positivity" which allow him to fully motivate a crowd so long as 2/3 of them are already motivated, so all of the disciple's attending are motivated and get to add half their will power to their dice pool.
Your willpower score is 6, half of that is 3 so you roll 13 dice S>3.
For a total of 73S (the benefit of having a grandmaster teacher) 4/4 to novice 1 69s remain, 8/8 novice 2 61s remain, 12/12 to novice 3, 16/16, 20/20, 5/45 to adapt 1.
There was a slight moment of hesitancy before a few of the disciples started to run and drugged the rest of the disciples with them.
Then the torture started and Aurora ran exerted herself like she has never done before.
Laps, pushups, sit ups, weights, jumping ropes and a hundred other exercises all designed to push and abuse every thread of muscle in her body.
At some point, elder Artus came around and slapped a talisman on her back that everything harder as he said that with her body she could push more without injury.
Speaking of elder Artus, he was everywhere, beside doing the exercises beside them, the elder was a whirlwind, correcting postures and offering words of encouragement.
The elder seemed to have the time for every single one of the hundred and fifty or so disciples present.
There was something about him and the way he helped you that made you want to push harder and even Aurora wasn't immune to it, as something deep inside urged her to push on despite her wish for the softness of her bed.
By the time the lesson came to an end Aurora was heaving for breath and collapsed on the soft dirt at the earliest opportunity, Octavia collapsed beside her, while Gallus seemed unaffected by the workout.
The bastard! He should at least feign his suffering so she could feel better about herself.
Aurora only realized that elder Artus was calling out for some of the disciples to stay behind because her name was one of the first out of his lips and it gave her an excuse to stay in the soft dirt.
By the time Aurora caught her breath only two dozen disciples stayed in the training ground, although a matching number of older disciples soon arrived.
All of them possessing some gray sheen in their skin.
At their arrival the steely voice of elder Artus spread throughout the training grounds "Here at the Iron Oath school we value dedication above all else be you a scion of the five great families or the poorest of the poor it is in hard work and consistency that you become greater then you were" taking a pause elder Artus took the time to lock eyes with all the disciples in the clearing -aside for Gallus and Octavia- "And for those willing to put the work in the sect is willing to expend much. I will now call your names, when I do so step forward and go with the disciple, I point out for you they will explain the rest"
Aurora was the third name called and elder Artus pointed her toward a young woman with long black hair, when Gallus and Octavia went to follow her the women shacked her head so Aurora released them to their own tasks as she followed the young -but still older then her- woman out of the training ground.
When they were far enough away the women turn around and Arura could finally get a good enough look at her face, she was beautiful in the kind of way Arura family was, the kind of way that spoke of cultivation, her blue eyes seemed to shine as she spoke "Greeting junior sister, this one is Aspa Kalloti and outer member of the medical pavilion" saying so she bowed her head very slightly in greeting.
'Ah she's form the lowerfamilies', the slight head tilt even though she is Aurora superior and the subtle sign she made with her fingers, signals her respect for the Protus family and would only be done by a noble of lower stature.
Clasping her hands together Aurora bowed back, deeper then Aspa did but not as dip as would normally be expected from a junior to her senior, for doing so would dishonor the Kalloti family "Gretting senior sister, this one is Aurora Protus a disciple aspirant".
Both women held their pose for a few moments before Aspa snorted in amusement "I see you've been taught well"
"Of course, one of my first lessons"
And it was, since Aurora could speak, she has been taught on how to not shame her family in social gathering and her skill has been refined since then.
Choose a talent for the equitique skill.
[] Equitique 101- many cultures share the same basic rules regarding Equitique and so long as you stick to them you can be sure not to offend, lower the penalty for equitique checks when interacting with different cultures additionally decrease the bound for major failure.
[] Customs of the sun- your home the empire of the sun is host to a diverse range of cultures and subcultures, each one boasting of centuries of traditions and customs and you have learned many of them, when rolling an equitique check against someone whose culturally form the empire of the sun roll with advantage (roll twice and keep the higher result)
[] Refind presence- through countless lessons the refinement of the high class has become second nature to you, it is in how you speak, in how you walk and in how you interact with others, when such a refined presence is advantageous, roll all heart challenges as if your heart was 1 higher conversely when such a refined presence is disadvantages roll all great challenges as if your heart was 1 lower unless you've succeeded in an acting/deception challenge (be advised that attempting such a check and failing may incur additional penalties/effects).
[] Shell of formality- formality is often a bland tedious processes meant to allow to parties to interact without hostility or fear, you have learned to use it to your advantage, you may roll an Equitique challenge to aid in other social challenges (things like intimidation, haggling concealing information and so on).
"With the dispense of formalities, I think it's about time to speak about why I'm here" Aspa says.
"My regard" Aroura replies "yet I'm not sure what I have done to merit such".
Aspa tilts her head slightly "is it not obvious? The school recognizes the burden of the oath you swore and rewards you for it"
'For her oath?' Aurora thought wondering why she was never told about this before swearing the oath either by her family or the school.
"For the dedication you have shown and the willingness to go above, you receive two rewards" Aspa begins "the first is the favor of the school, this isn't something that can be quantified but the elder and school administration will look upon you more favorably opening doors and giving you priority in your requests and purchases through the contribution hall"
"I am honored to have it" even with the realization that having the favor and attention of the elders probably meant more work for her Aurora couldn't not deny the benefits of it.
"The second is my services"
"Your services?" Aroura asks intrigued.
"Yes, for the next two months we will meet every day after you've done your exercises and I'll massage your muscles to both help prevent injury and stimulate muscle growth"
"Where will we meet?" Arura asked.
"I'll show you to the medical pavilion today and we'll meet there for the next two months" saying so Aspa began leisurely walking.
"Oh, and you have a choice to make" she suddenly said.
"A choice" aroura replied.
"Yes, while I will be using Horkos to increase the effectiveness of my technique, there are a few things a could add but they are only partly covered by the school"
"How much would they cost?" if there was one thing Aurora didn't lack it was money.
"Not much but it's in contribution point"
'Contribution points?' "But I don't have any yet" Aurora said.
"True but one of the benefits of being in the school favor is being allowed to go into the negatives for a time" Aspa said and then stopped in the middle of the road they walked down and added in a flat "needless to say, abusing this fact will lead to a revocation of your favored status".
After this they continued walking through the sect until they reached a large structure with a large sign proudly declaring this to be the medical pavilion.
It was then that Aspa turn to Aurora and asked "well have you raced a decision?"
Choose 1. (note: you would be able to change this later).
[] None- aurora will not buy any additional consumable and only receive the benefit that Aspa technique would provide, she would also not go into debt. (1.2 Xp modifier for body).
[] Refined olive oil (2 contributing points)- refined olive oil is oil made of spiritual olives and as such is cheep for the effect it provides. (1.5 XP modifier for body).
[] Spiritual herbs bath (10 contribution points)- far more expensive is paying for a relaxing bath of medical and spital herbs, of course the effect Is much greater as well (2.0 XP modifier for body)
Your efforts have borne fruit for spending 3 AP on training your body you receive 5 10 (training ground rate upgraded du to second tier of body) XP per AP for a total of 30 (before the modifier you get to choose above) bringing you to 30/96 to body 6, additionally you receive 6 XP toward will from your treasure, bringing you to 6/64 to will 4.
Additionally you may ask a question of your senior sister wich she will answer to the best of her ability.
Okey I'm about 50% done with the update but I'm probably not going to finish it in the next few days, in the meantime have this.
Character sheet.
Name: Gallus Protus.
Age: 17
HP: 28/28.
Wounds: none.
Armor: 0 (3).
Mental armor: 0.
Social armor: 0.
Soul armor: 0.
Horkos: 4/4
Attributes.
Body (first tier)- 10.
Mind (first tier)- 10.
Will (first tier)- 8.
Heart (first tier)- 5
Skills.
Mace- adapt 4.
A bunch of novice skills I won't bother to mention.
Oaths (1/1).
Total Oath rank: 4.
The First Oath (Oath rank 4).
You have sworn to perform a medium exercise session for the current you (Body 10-tier 1) (Mind 10-tier 1) every two weeks and in return you may instantly and perfectly recall any memory created in the past oath rank years.
Techniques:
Iron scales.
Tyap: defensive.
Mastery: none.
Cost: 1 Horkos.
Duration: 1 round.
Effect: add +1 physical armor to a specific body part.
Special: add additional armor equal to your iron body layers.
Equipment:
Twice refined Leather vest- +3 armor, may absorb a singile attack that deals less then armor granted*3 once a day.
AN: Took me a little time but it's out, I hope you will enjoy (and I very much hope it isn't too much of an infodump) feel free to ping me for questions we'll be having a 4 hour mortarium so don't vote yet.
Divine fingers danced upon Aurora shoulders expertly finding knots and overstretched muscles.
Aspa was good, really good.
And her work has almost made the harsh exercises worth it.
As another knot broke down under the maticus work of Aspa, Aurora involuntary let out a moan of pleasure.
Normally she would be mortified from doing such in public but she was just too comfortable to care.
She could hear Aspa snort and feel her shake her head but her expert fingers never once stopped in their work so Aurora let it slide.
"So, you wish t know how to make good impressions on the elders, yes?" Aspa asked.
"mmhhh" Aurora mumbled in confirmation.
"Hmmmm" Aspa hummed taking a moment to think over her reply "it's a good question, unfortunately there isn't a lot I can tell you"
"Elder Artus likes hard work, invest more time than your oath requires and he'll look favorably upon you but he very rarely takes the time to give personal lessons and tends to look at hard work as its own reward"
"The others are a little harder as they rotate every year and I'm not as familiar with the three who were assigned"
During this one-sided conversation Aspa fingers never left Aurora back and Aurora was all the more grateful for it.
"I gauss I'll start with the easy" Aspa said "I wouldn't bother with Elder Septima as she wouldn't be teaching you in two weeks"
"Elder Valla is a little harder but I can tell you what not to do, don't use learning enhancements in her presence, pill, treasure or oath, she absolutely hates them"
"Other than that show dedication and she'll at least offer you some advice"
"I know nothing of Elder Zerveas, but I can look into it if you want"
"Now let's get you to that medicinal bath"
Information gained, you may aske his question again and more information will be available. –10 contribution points, +30 body XP which is now at 60/96 to body 6.
It only took Aurora an hour and a half to be satisfied with the bath she took, it took her neither fifteen minutes to mender her way back to her assigned residence.
Gallus was already there striking a wooden mannequin in the small fenced in backyard the house had.
He noticed Aurora the second she returned but was content to let her go at her own pace, continued striking the mannequin.
Looking at his hands Aurora noticed that just before they struck the wooden mannequin a slight metallic tilt has covered them.
Siting on the small bench just aside the door leading back into the house and started speaking softly "I see that you manage in your task".
Beside sending her a single glance Gallus didn't stop in his practice as he answered her "yeah I did, wasn't that hard to find the library, the jade should be on the bench" sure enough it was just next to her "I would recommend going to the library sometime soon, apparently they also let you claim a basic technique if you go there in the first three weeks, something ,something about showing incitive and effort"
"I'll think about it, though who knows how many techniques I would actually need form there"
With a grunt of affirmation both teenagers returned to their tasks, Gallus to his training and Aurora to the jade slip.
While this has not been the first time she has seen such jade slips, her family library has many of them, it is the first time she could actually accesses one as they required a slight amount of Horkos to function.
As Aurora fed the needed Horkos to the jade slip, knowledge sprang into her mind, anything from diagrams and philosophy to training exercises.
Stopping the flow of Horkos and parsing the information dumped into her brain Aurora cam int a few conclusions about the iron body method.
The first was that as was in its name, the iron body method was a physical cultivation technique meant to transform one skin and muscles into iron or to at least possess its properties.
The second was that many of the exercises and methods of refining seem to fall completely under the preview of her oath.
The iron body method.
Type: body.
Difficulty: easy ((11- body tier)*layer XP needed to complete a layer) evry 10 layers tripple the cost.
Quality: high.
Effects: upon refining a single layer of the iron body, physical armor go's up by 1, upon refining five layers of the iron body +1 body (this breaks the mortal cap).
She would need to set time aside to practice it later.
But for now, Aurora was content to watch Gallus train, maybe she could figure out his new technique?
The next morning the group awoke at a reasonable hour -Aurora spent a few minutes the night before barricading the door to her room, which kept her retainers at bay for her to get more sleep- and proceeded to their exercise with elder Artus.
It has gone about the same as yesterday.
Afterwards the group split up again with Aurora meeting Aspa once again.
They later reconvinced at their residence before setting out for the lesson with elder Septima.
The lesson was conducted in an auditorium much like the one where they underwent initiation.
They found sits in the front and settled in to wait for the elder to show up.
By the time the Auditorium was about three forth full, elder Septima arrived.
She took a single glance at the gathered disciples and clapped her hands, in response the doors to the auditorium shut close with a mighty bang, Aurora could hear banging from disciples wanting be let in but the elder seemed content to ignore it and dove straight into her lecture.
"Oaths, the means by which we ascend ever higher" she began "they are the most important part of our civilization yet before setting foot into this school you were restricted form any piece of information on them, can anyone tell me why?".
Aurora didn't know the answer to the question, she has found it weird no one in her family bothered to teach her about oaths but elder Septima didn't seem to want an answer as she continued her lecture without missing a breath.
"This is done because the power of an oath is drawn both form how objectively difficult and risky it is, as well as how subjectively difficult and risky it is, I would recommend seeking an outer school member to tech you the mental gymnastics used to increase the power of an oath before swearing your second"
"To return to my previous question, a path walked in the dark is far more dangerous than one walked in the light, this is reflected in the power derived from your oath, should you have known what I will speak off today when you have sworn your first you'll have been lucky to derive half the power you received form it, for those of you whose sized this opportunity I commend you and for those of you who didn't" the eldar seemed to scowl while saying her next words "I would recommend steeping away from the life of an oath bearer for you clearly do not have the resolve to walk this road".
"Now, let's switch to… yes?" elder Septima pointed at Gallus who raised his hand to signal a he had a question, she didn't seem happy at the interruption.
"Honorable elder, if the disparity in power and benefit is so large as you have claimed why dos the sect not dictates our next oaths?"
"Oh, a good question, a good question indeed" whatever annoyance at being interrupted the elder had seemed to be replaced with glee "it has a simple answer to, is walking in the footsteps of your ancestors risky? Is it dangerous? Is following the advice of your brothers and sisters any of those things? When you have sworn your oath you only of the sect through its reputation, now you are a part of it and whatever power could be drawn from ignorance's pales in comparison to the protentional of promising disciples crippling themselves"
Almost as an afterthought she also added "it would also be wrong for the school to force an oath upon a disciple beyond the first, one contribution point for the excellent question"
When elder Septima gaze left gallus, Aurora drove an elbow into his stomach, unfortunately it didn't wipe the smirk form his face and Aurora gave up so she could focus on the lecture.
"Now that you know why you were kept ignorant, let me ask you what is an oath? Where does the power you gain comes from? How dos the oath know when it is broken? How dos the oath know anything at all?"
"I could stand here for a thousand years and well still won't have covered even a tenth of the theories and speculations about this matter, if you are curious seek the library and research the topic yourself, and so we will talk not of what an oath is but what it has become"
Ignoring several raised hands -one of which once again belonged to Gallus- the elder continued at full speed "we classify oaths into three categories, restriction, condition and task"
"Restriction is an oath much like your own, it restricts your actions, either by forcing you toward certain actions or forbidding them, oaths of restriction are powerful yet also dangerous for they stand the greatest danger of being broken" Aurora could see how they could be broken, her oath demands a great deal of time form her, what if she is occupied for a long time? what if she is in a place where she cannot practice the exercises or where doing it would place her at risk.
"Oaths of condition, are the most powerful of the three, in return for only working under certain conditions they receive far more power, the oath of revelation is a particular favorite, in return for reviling one of your oaths to an enemy you may empower it" Aurora thought back to her oath, it being reveled doesn't seem like such a big problem -even discounting the fact that the entire sect knows it- and depending on how much her oath is empowered it could be worth more than an additional oath for the same benefit.
"The third and last type of oath, is that of the task, swear to complete some task and upon completion gain the benefit of the oath in perpetuality" the elder then sent a withering gaze at all the disciples in the auditorium "Stay away for this type of oath before you achieve your seventh oath, there is no task you may complete now that would be worth the prize and task oaths are more often then not dead ends and can not be sworn into a higher order"
"Which neatly bridges the gap into our next topic, higher order oaths, at its most basic higher order oaths are oaths swore upon an existence oath, doing so is limited by the number of oaths you have sworn and your will alone"
"You will not be able to swear a second order oath until you have either refined your will or swore your second oath so this will be all that I say upon this topic, you'll be taught about in more in depth in a month or two".
"No, what we'll be doing in the next hour is going over historical oaths known to the sect and analyzing the benefits and downsides to them"
It was a disciple form the backrows that interrupted then "you still haven't told us how to swear a second oath"
The look the elder sent the offending disciple screamed 'are you stupid' "how else can you grow your soul but by living?" shaking her head she continued "to return to our topic of discussion, emperor Servius of the fifth dynasty has sworn seventeen known oaths, his third was a restriction oath that…."
In contrast to all of the other methods of cultivation in this quest (and most others) there is not one way to unlock your oath slots, there is also not a specific action for it.
In essence you must gather experience by doing actions that challenge you or doing something new and undergoing exotic experiences.
You require 10 such experiences for the second oath, 50 for the third, a 100 for the fourth, 500 for the fifth, 1000 for the sixth and so on.
Practically challenging tasks or really new stuff can give more than a single experience.
Higer order oaths.
Thers not a lot to say here (mostly because you don't know enough) but higher order oaths are oaths sworn upon other oaths and represent a continuation of a certain oath line, they have specific rules but either ask Apsa about it or wait until the school gives you a lesson about it (should be around 4-6 turns form now).
What you should know is how its restricted, basically your max oath order on a particular oath is (will tier+ total number of oaths- the number of the oath itself) to explain it better here's an example, assuming we have someone with T2 will and 3 oaths unlocked, his first oath can go to order 4 (2+3-1) which means it can support 3 paths sworn upon it (order 1 oath is just the normal oath) but his second oath can only go order 3 (2+3-2) while his third oath can only do order 2 (2+3-3)
The next day Aurora awoke far to early -Octevia climbed through the window to her room to avoided the blocked door- and was dragged into the exercise session.
By the time they ended Aurora was dead on her feet and needed some help to reach the medical pavilion.
Under the expert hands of Aspa she has been revived and feeling a lot better and with nothing else to do Octavia and Gallus managed to cajole Aurora into checking out the contribution center.
The contribution center was a small building situated at the entrance to the sect proper -where the actual members resided- its entrance was composed of a large arch way in which stood two large plain red doors.
At the time of its operation the doors stood open but aurora knew spirit wood when she saw it, and if ever closed those doors could stand to a great deal of punishment.
At the back of the building there was a long Woodend counter with several receptionists sitting behind it.
On the right wall there was a large board filed with mission notices.
Aurora did the sensible thing and approached the secretaries first.
Approaching the first one that wasn't occupied, a young women adorning blue robes with gray eyes, aurora waved her hand to catch her attention "hey, I'm here to pick the stipend"
The receptionist looked at her for a moment before recognition flared in her eyes and a smile adorned her face "oh good you've come, this makes two of the noble in this batch that possess common sense"
"Excuse me?" Aurora exclaimed, totally surprised by the familrty in the tone of the secretly.
The receptionist either not noticing Aurora interruption or -far more likely- ignoring her continued without pause "you would not believe how many noble pass through the sect who don't bother picking up their stipend" sometime during her speech she started rummaging tough the cabinets on her side of the counter "I swear, sometime too much gold just rots the mind, who gives up free stuff?"
The question hung in the air and Aurora found herself agreeing, free stuff was the best stuff after all -Aurora could hear Gallus snickering in the background.
Before long the receptionist pulled two small colored packets -one red and yellow- and presented them for Aurora "okey choose, effort or result?"
"I'm sorry? But I don't understand what I'm I choosing?" Aurora asked.
"that's fine dear" the receptionist said smiling all the while "the school offers two different stipends, effort and result, chose effort and you'll given a pill that will improve your efforts in Horkos cultivation, choose result and you'll be given a pill that will stuff your body so full of energy your reserves will naturally expend"
"Now chose".
Okey originally, I was planning to also put the third lesson in this update but by the time I got to it this update already seemed too much infodumpy for my liking, so I decided to do it later but it did revel information that is important for the following vote, so I've decided to put it here.
Mainly Horkos cultivation is a meditation (will) check, which requires X+1 successes to expend to the next point, where X is the current max number of your reserves. Another relevant piece of information is that for every AP used for Horkos cultivation you gain 2 rolls.
Choose 1. (this cant be changed later, so choose wisely).
[] Effort- gain the strengthened meridians pill (2X modifier for all Horkos cultivation in a turn, -0.2 to the modifier for every AP spent over the first).
[] Result- gain the Horkos gathering pill (+20 successes worth for Horkos cultivation upon consumption).
"Good, good" the receptionist began "if you wish to take a job feel free to pursue the offerings"
Auora -whose already been on her way out- stopped and thought about it, she didn't want to take a job but she was already in debt to the school and she was already here "I might just, gallus if you would please"
Rolling his eyes he nevertheless complied with her commend, with his memory it didn't take him long to come back with a few options.
The first job he pitched was… Aurora grimaced, the first job was to help in the greenhouses, a job that was as beneath her as the low pay it gave, only three contribution points although according to Gallus the job also promised the tutelage of an inner disciple in herbalism, which might be valuable if she cared about growing plants.
The second job was about "a dryad?"
"A neophyte one" Gallus corrected.
"Can we even beat that?" Aurora asked.
In response Gallus shrugged "they are fairly fragile creatures that like to hide in trees, so long as it is in fact a neophyte" pausing Glaaus looked to Octevia who nodded to him in accent "then we should have no problem if we can find it, although we might not come out unscathed".
Tempting, tempting, even with the condition of not keeping the core this mission is the best paying of the lot, for a total of fifteen contribution points.
The third mission was some combination of the first two, apparently some spiritual fertilizer was needed to be placed in the eastern forest to help the spiritual regents there grow, the mission pays 8 contributing points because some beasts are apparently drawn to the smell of the fertilizer but the chance to draw anything threatening is low.
In the end Aurora choose the---
[] Gardening mission (3 contribution points +inner disciple tutelage on herbalism, no risk).
[] The dryad subjugating mission (15 contribution points, medium risk).
With the mission slip given over to the receptionist to register them taking it.
Aurora and her retainers returned to their residence to pick up Aurora weapon.
While Gallus and Octavia had their weapons on them at all times, it would be a small faux pas to carry her great axe everywhere, especially toward her retainers as it implies, they wouldn't be able to keep her safe.
And while her retainers might not care she dos, as aurora is a refined young lady.
It didn't take long to return to their house from the contribution hall, not with them now knowing the way.
Aurora easily picked up her steel great axe – the weapon both taller than her and wider- and laid it on her shoulder before setting out once more in search of the eastern forest, where the dryad was rumored to be.
Along the way, Aurora attracted many looks but she ignored them all.
Asking for direction from one the outer members they met along the way, it didn't take them long to get to the eastern forest.
Apparently, the school used this forest to grow some of the wilder herbs, so the group couldn't harvest anything in there.
Not that any of them knew how to.
Just before they passed the small gate signaling the boundary between the school and the forest Gallus turn to the group and spoke "remember, dryads like to hide in trees, so keep an eye out"
"How would we know if what were looking at is the dryad?" Octavia asked.
"The coaler, tree's that inhabit a dryad would be far greener then natural"
"Green trees, got it" Aurora joked, happy she get to needle Gallus for a change.
Shaking his head and muttering a small you'll see Gallus crossed the boundary with Aurora and Octavia just behind.
Octevia: 9 dice s>7 R2. Advantage (from truth seeking eyes).
[4, 3, 4, 4, 9, 2, 1, 8, 4]= 2s+ [9, 7]= 3s.
[3, 2, 8, 5, 3, 1, 3, 3, 10!, 8]= 3s+ [8, 4]=4s.
Everyone spots the drayed before it can ambush them.
It was two hours of searching through the forest that the group finely found the dryad.
Which was good because Aurora was just about done with the place.
She was an indoor girl through and through and all think hike was incredibly annoying.
Even if it wasn't really a challenge for her body.
Sending a glance to Gallus and Octivia and seeing that they also saw the green tree -which was indeed far different form all the other- a small pulse of thought passed through them through the small earring they all wore.
And as one they readied their weapons and charged.
Earrings of unseen conversation (T3)- the wearer of this erring may send and receive small telepathic messages from and to other wearers of the set, the user may only send 3 massages every hour but may receive an unlimited amount. The cooldown may be negated with the use of 1 Horkos.
When combat is first initiated, we check for initiative to see who go's first (initiative is your mind+ will score).
A character can do a few things in their turn, they can attack, try to find weaknesses in their opponent, devise a plan for bonus dice or activate a technique (which is almost always to attack) they then roll the required dice and depending on their successes certain effects are applied.
Its important to note that reflexive actions break the initiative order and can be used whenever although if there is a clash between two reflexive actions (IE: if they can happen at the same time) the one who has higher initiative happens first.
I could try to explain more but I think that seeing it in action would be better.
Combat start.
Initiative:
Gallus: 18
Dryad: 16 (wins ties).
Aurora: 16.
Octevia: 13.
First round:
Dryad activates reflexive ability "Field of thorns" spending 1 ??? to do so.
Field of thorns- 1d3 damage to all hostiles in range every round, every turn it draws blood increase the damage delt by +1, additionally anyone with less then body 5 suffers -2 dice penalty to all body checks and any one with less then body 10 suffers a -1 dice pnelty to all body checks.
Filed of thorns damage.
Gallus: ignores (he has armor 3).
Aurora: 3- 1 = 2 Hp damage, 24/26 Hp left.
Octevia: 1 hp damage. 11/12 Hp left.
Gallus goes after. Gallus smash. Body (mace) check, unopposed (the dryad is inhabiting a tree currently so can't dodge), 10 dice, S>6 R4.
Dryad activates reflexive ability "Abandon vessel" letting her jump out of tree she is inhabiting and avoid all damage doing so.
Dryad suffers 0 damage, tree suffer 12- 5= 7 HP damage tree at 83/90. Gallus mace talent activates and lowers the tree armor by 1.
The dryad activates reflexive ability "jump into vessel" promoting an opposed mobility check for Aurora or Octavia to do their turn before the dryad gets into a different tree.
Tie, glancing hit (1/3 of damage) aurora dos 30 HP damage with her great axe, a glancing hit reduces that to 10.
Dryad suffers 10 damage, -2/8 Hp left.
Dryad is dead (the folly of dodge tanks).
Combat ends.
The group wasn't stubble in their approach, so it was no surprise the dryad noticed them.
And soon they were pushing through a field of thorns as small (and spiky) branches harried them all the way.
Gallus was the first to reach the tree, his armor allowing him to completely ignore the dryad attack.
His mace crashed into the tree trunk with a mighty boom, shattering the bark and gouging a decent chunk out of the tree.
Not that the dryad seemed to notice as the small wooden spirit darted out of her tree and towards another.
Before aurora great axe crashed upon her.
The dryad was fast but even with her dodging most of the hit, the great axe almost fully bisected her and she soon fell the branches and thorns dying with her.
"Well, this was easy" Gallus began "how are you holding up ladies?".
"We're fine, just a few scratches, the blood is already clotting" Aurora replied.
"Good, lets get whatever we can and get out before something else comes investigation".
Medium inspect challenge Gallus bypass as he can perfectly recall all the valuable bits in a dryad. +2 dice to the butchery challenge.
Medium butchery challenge (gallus), 12 dice, S>7, R2.
Gain minor dryad parts (low quality), they can either be sold or used for alchemy (when you find someone with the skill or unlock it yourself).
2/10 relvent experiences for unlocking your second oath (one added for exercise lessons retroactively now that the mechanic as been explained).
No vote today, I wanted to get out the combat part as a separate thing.
I do have a few questions though, hos dos the combat feel? Good? Bad? in-between? I'm not expecting a lot of feedback (you did see only a single round after all) but some would be nice to know if I need to make changes.
AN: I will say that I'm not entirely satisfied by this update, it still seems to me to just be a giant information dump but I'm done and its finished.
I also decided to not go straight to turn 2 but to implement weekend turns (basically instead of going turn 1, turn 2, turn 3 we're going to go turn 1, weekend 1, turn 2, weekend 2 and so on) a full explanation is below.
I hope you'll enjoy.
And feel free to ask question and offer advice, I welcome everything. By the time Aurora and the group returned to the contribution center with their spoils the sun was already setting.
Reporting the success of their mission has gone smoothly with the attendants not even bothering to ask for any proof of completion.
'Not like anyone would dare cheat the school by lying' Aurora mused after all any such deception would be eventually found and the consequences would be severe.
+15 contribution points. (current points: 6).
With the mission complete Aurora was done with the day, a few hours of trekking through the forest were more physeal activity then she really wanted in her day… especially with all the exercises she needs to do every day.
And she was content to pass her evening watching Gallus train his new technique, some kind of hardening technique from her observation.
He seemed to be trying to improve his timing with it but Aurora couldn't tell how much he improved as she spent most of that time napping.
By the time she wok up Octavia returned from her scouting, they eat dinner and gone to bed.
The feeling of being shacked awake informed Aurora that she lost this particular round of blocking Octavia form her room and knowing how things would go, she decided to save herself the inconvenience and wake up.
After a quick breakfast -consisting of eggs and cheese- the group participated in elder Artus lessons.
After the torture session and with the intense heat of the afternoon sun baring down upon Aurora delicate skin, she decided to go for a small nap at their home.
When the sun set down the group split up once again, with Gallus going to train his new technique, Octavia looking for more information and Aurora once again subjecting herself to the mercy of elder Artus.
The next day instead of going to laze around or nap aster Elder Artus lessons the group met convened next to one of the lecture halls in the compound to hear elder Valla lesson.
This hall was different form the others, for one there were no chairs to sit upon only a few large mattresses strewn on the floor.
There was also energy in the air, so thick that it could be felt, like a blanket trying to suffocate you, thankfully Aurora managed to push past it with relative ease which is more than can be said for some of the other hopefuls.
Eldar Valla was already present when Aurora and her retainers arrived, she set on a small raised platform and seemed to be mediating, she looked fairly young but with oaths and body cultivation, that could still mean she was more then a hundred years old.
Finding a specious place on the mattresses to sit, the group waited for the lesson to start, exchanging some small talk in quit whispers.
When all of the disciples entered the hall and no more seemed to be coming the door closed and elder Valla opened her eyes.
"Welcome, to meditation upon the self" she began "in this lecture I will teach you not only how to meditate to achieve the wanted result but why you must meditate, pay attention because this is the most important subject you'll learn while in our school" Aurora was convinced that oaths would be more important but she wisely did not voice those thoughts.
"We will begin with the most basic reason of why you must mediate, dos any one care to venture a guess?"
In response to the elder question many hands shot up -Gallus among them- and many answer were thrown, some silly like centering ones emotions to more practical ones like achieving greater control of the energy inside of you.
It was a red-haired boy which got the right answer "To expand our Horkos reserves" he said when the elder pointed at his hand.
"Correct, we mediate to expand our Horkos reserves but how dos that happen? How dos meditation helps with such a task? To answer that we must first discuss the nature of Hrokos and of Qi"
"As oath bearers you already possess some innate understanding of Horkos, the power of oaths but where does it come from? After all, when you swear an oath the power generated form the act is diverted toward the wanted benefit, so is Horkos part of that power given free form in your body? Would your oaths be stronger if you could ensure no Horkos was created when you swore them?"
"The answer to both is no, Horkos isn't a part of the power of the oath that wasn't consumed but rather a byproduct of what an oath represents, an oath is a tie between your soul and your physical presence, a link form your body to your soul, by applying the soul infinite power and flexibility many effects may be achieved"
"But this tie also leaks the energy of the soul into your body, this Horkos gathers at your Dantian for you to commend"
"There are three ways to increase the amount of Horkos you have, increase the number of ties to your soul you possess, increase the potency of your soul or expend you dantian"
"The first is done by oaths, the second can be done with soul cultivation but progress on that is best measured in decade's and the third is done by purring energy into the dantian walls so it may grow."
"Now I want you to pull a bit of Horkos and send it into the walls of your dantian, it should be an instinctual act"
Following Eldar Valla directive Aurora turns her attention inward to the mass of energy above her heart, now that she knew what to look for it did seem to be contained in a small organ, drawing a single strand of Horkos Aurora sent it toward the wall constraining her energy and to her surprise it was rejected, the energy bouncing off the membrane.
Looking around and seeing the looks of confusion on the faces of her peers clued her to the fact that this isn't just problem with her.
Shooting a look at elder Valla, Aurora could see her smiling she seemed content to let people try and fail and its only after a few minutes have passed -enough time for everyone to try and for a murmur of question to begin- that she addressed the room once more.
"As you have all found out, Horkos cannot be used to expand your dantian as the body cannot grow by consuming the power of your soul. This brings us to our next topic Qi" the elder words were enough to quiet down the hall.
"Qi is the energy of life, the energy of the universe it is everywhere from the smallest of plants to the terrifying dragons in ages past aspirants would consume this power to purify themselves and advance toward a more refined state of being the use of oath has replaced this practice but it has not been whole discarded and it is Qi that is used to expand one Dantian" the elder had a slight scowl upon her unmarred face when she talked about Qi but Aurora could not come up with a reason why she might not like this subject, especially as she was teaching it.
"And this is why you must know to meditate as to be able to gather Qi without a core requires one to attune to the aspect of the Qi in the area, for your ease this area has been stuffed full of Qi to suffocate you" so that is the energy Aurora felt upon her skin "and it has transformed to be in as natural state as could be done so you only need to focus on achieving tranquility for now, I will be going around and offering advice as you meditate do not waste this opportunity"
A clear signal to begin Aurora sent a nod to Gallus and Octavia before closing her eyes -she was already sitting in a comfortable position- and attempting to attune to the Qi in her surroundings.
Eldar Valla is teaching you meditation which is a pure mind skill (to train) so you roll 10 dice, she has master 4 teaching, which means you roll 10 dice S>4 R4.
But this is penalized by needing to teaching a large crowd but the penalty is reduced by the "crowd teacher" talent to inly +1 ST.
Valla dos not put in any extra effort nor use any other talents she may have.
You also gain another 20s from consuming the pill.
To a total of 26s, 6/6 to horkos 6, 20s remain, 7/7 to horkos 7, 13s remains, 8/8 to horkos 8, 5s remain 5/9 to horokos 9.
Your horkos reserves rise to 8.
Its hard, a lot harder than she thought considering half of the work is sitting around.
But slowly she feels something, slowly Aurora pulls something in and sands it into the membrane of her dantian.
And slowly it begins to expand.
"Good" opening her eyes Aurora finds elder Valla standing over her "but you're too focused, the Qi here is neutral, it is one of calm and tranquility not of focus, relax and let it come to you" taking the elder advice aurora once again closed her eyes but this time she return to happy days lazing under the sun where else had no work to do and no obligations.
And slowly -yet faster than before- more Qi was drawn into her body.
"Good, good, now breath slowly" the elder said "in and out, in and out in an orderly pattern, in and out".
As Aurora berthed more and more Qi began to enter her body and she entered a sort of trance, only broken by eldar Valla words.
"It is to your credit that you haven't used your oath for this" Aurora heart skipped a bit, no one was supposed to know about what she got form her oath, only she and her retainers knew and even Octavia and Gallus knew it only in the barest of terms.
"My oath elder?" aroura asked looking around in slight panic.
"Don't worry none may hear us right now, you'll learn to hide your oaths in time" the elder words calmed aurora down but just opened our a lot of other questions but the elder didn't seem to give her time to ask them "normally I wouldn't offer this to you, your will is not good enough but you hold promise and are favored by the school so this time I will, next week on the second day, hall seventeen in the evening be there" and with her words said the elder made to move to another student "oh and bring that boy with you" she said pointing toward Gallus.
And so Aurora was left with her thoughts with only the opportunity to continue cultivating, so she closed her eyes and made her best effort to quiet her mind.
By the need of the lesson and with Aurora consuming the pill she's gotten form the contribution hall, aurora could feel that her reserves of Horkos have increased by more than half.
Returning to their residence Aurora wished for noting more than another nap but there still had some business to conduct, so she set don at the central table and spoke "Octavia, it's the end of the week what did you find"
Both Octavia and Gallus set around the table not long after Aurora but it was Octavia who answer her "well, more than enough I think"
Octavia report.
The first disciple scouted by Octavia Ermis the giant blood, dos indeed seem to possess some amount of giant blood, apparently his whole family dos to some extant even if he himself is an extreme example of it. as such he possesses incredible physical strength (T2, 8-12 base) but this is his only noteworthy attribute at least it cannot be said that he is truly lacking in other ways (all other attributes T1, min 4 base).
Personality wise he seems kind enough but underneath it lies lesson learned in the brutally of the north, where food is scarce and sickness rampant, he is also the kind to be truly loyal should one be truthful with him.
Oath wise, his doesn't seem to be to relaxed nor to taxing (Oath rank 3-4) and seem to grant some benefit to hitting things although its precise nature could not be identified.
I also noticed a few others keeping an eye on him, so if you wish to recruit him swiftness may be in order.
Vasilios posses a severe face deformity, it is severe enough that he takes to wearing a mask over the lower half of his face (heart 2-4), this deformity is derived form a legacy, a legacy which spread beyond his face but that apparently deformed his face lower half.
The legacy goes by the name adamantium skin, it grants him an unbreakable skin (physical armor 200-400~) and apparently gives him some resistance against more exotic means of attack (a portion of physical armor counts as all the other types of armor), aside from his legacy there is not a lot noteworthy about him although he has trained his body quite well (mind, will T1, min 4 base, body T1, 7-8 body).
It seems Vasilios deformity has made him develop some self-esteem issues as well as made him prone to anger, he hates being looked down upon or looked upon with pity real or perceived. There might be issues with requiring him but so long as someone keeps an eye on him it should escalate and there may be ways to improve his disposition.
Oath wise Vasilios seems to be on the same insanity as Gallus (oath rank 4) but I could not determine the effect of his oath.
With his deformity and standoffish attitude Vasilios will probably not be the first pick of many, which means he could wait if other more time sensitive matters arise on the other hand approaching him so soon after the start would be taken as a compliment and a appreciation of his abilities and make requiting him easier.
Gallus note 1: there are a few potions and elixirs which could help with physical deformity but soothing that could overpower his legacy would be expensive, 20 gold at least probably more for the reliable stuff, offering such an elixir would guarantee recruitment but would require asking the family to supply such an elixir which would come in place of other requests)
Another legacy recipient, this time one who possess the mind over matter legacy, which allow him to apply his mind in place of his body (mind now counts as body too, body attribute becomes obsolete) as such his mind is well trained (t1, 10 base) but it seemed he's lacking in other departments (heart T1, 3-4 base, will T1, 3-5 base).
He's nice enough in casual conversation but he is deeply arrogant and has a deep need to prove himself the smarts in the room (Gallus note: we'll not stand one another).
His oath is the weakest it could be (oath rank 2) as he assumed it would only apply to training his body and he claimed to have gotten a benefit to the mind from it, although he didn't specify.
Also, while he doesn't have natural charisma, he is political savvy and easily identified why I was speaking with him and implied he is checking his options, if you want this one assume you're getting into a bidding war as he tries to maximizes his benefits.
Gallus note: we could approach him with an intent to just drive the price higher for one of our rivals, as an added benefit we could very much maneuver it as us doing him a favor which may in time be repaid.
A member of the Cicero lower family as such she has been trained to be minimally competent in all area (all attributes T1, min 5 base) she has followed in her family footsteps and has become an alchemist, she already has some of the basic tools given by her family and would likely already possess some skill in the matter.
She is a perky and excitable girl, quick to chatter and befriend.
Oath wise she seems to be on the more relaxed side (oath rank 2-3) and its most likely that she receives something to benefit in her crafting.
As an apprentice alchemist her skills are going to be in great demand and it'll likely be costly to recruit her.
Gallus note: but having a crafter in our faction would make it a lot more attractive for others to join.
A member of the Rodilis lower family, the only thing noteworthy about Alexis is his social clout and silver tongue (heart T1, 8-10 base).
He is well liked and posses' connection to a lot of the pretty families around, recruiting him will undoubtably push a could chunk of his connection to also join and those who won't could still be utilized as connection.
Oath wise he is somewhere in the middle in term of effort (oath rank 3-4) and I could not find what his oath has given him.
As a noble and someone who is trained for political maneuvering assume it will be hard to recruit him barring unexpected circumstances.
If there is one thing that could be said about Markos is that he is motivated, his oath is the most intense (oath rank 6) and the benefit is -presumably- likewise great but I haven't managed to found what it is.
Yet motivation is about all that can be said about him his actual aptitude seem stop be in question (all attributes T1, 4-7 base) that's likely to change swiftly in the physical department but it is still must be taken into account.
He is very intense personality wise, seems to be completely focused on his advancement to the detriment of social pursuits, he is well mannered when you do actually catch him in a conversation but there is a very obvious undertone of impatience.
Recruiting may be difficult for the simple reason that he doesn't seem to see any benefit in doing so, the best avenue would be to offer advancement resources but that runs into a second issue, the guy would be very annoyed when we would call upon his services as he only seems to care about his advancement.
And with her report done, the last business of the week has been complete and Aurora may now rest for all of the weekend.
I've been looking over my time table and came to the conclusion that with the needed effort to get places social pursuits will suffer and as a major social character I thought this was a shame.
I was hesitant at first to offer "weekend" turns because I know that someone will aske about doing mission or training during them but then I remembered that Aurora is a very lazy girl and she will absolutely refuse to do any work during her weekend.
Now that's not to say that there can be way to benefit in no social way during this turn but this is mostly about letting your social character have more opportunities to pull out her social chops.
And incedently to let me practice more social scenes (which are my weakest subject).
Weekend 1: (choose 3).
[] Gallus has picked up a new technique and could use a second pair of eyes to help him train and despite your best effort he'll teach you'll likely pick up the technique form doing so.
[] Octavia eyes represent a big advantage, spend some time with her questioning a few topics in her presence and discussion the ramifications of the answers.
-[] What questions are you going to ask? Max 3. (you'll get the best value out of yes/no questions).
[] Drag Octavia and Gallus with you to laze about in the morning shade, discuss your experiences in the school so far and most importantly ensure they don't lift a single finger for work.
[] Currently you only meet Aspa when it comes the time for your massage and medical bath but you could agree to meet some other times just to hang out, you'll likely get your ear talked off about her job but having a link with an older outer member is valuable by itself.
[] go and introduce yourself to one of the disciples Octavia scouted.
-[] who?
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Temporary threadmark: fellowship and negotiation talents.
Okey, I figured while we're waiting for me to write, that I might as well put another talent (or two) up for a vote, especially since both of those might come in useful for the next update.
Now before anyone asks every time you do a negotiation challenge, I determine three perimeters: the base price (which is the starting value of the service/item/whatever), the minimum price (the price the seller won't go under for one reason or another) and the maximum price (the price you won't go over).
I then roll both pools and every success over the opponents shits the base price 10% toward either the maximum or the minimum.
As a sidenote I've also updated the character sheet with all the things you've gotten this turn.
Negotiation talents. (choose 1).
[] Go high- as a noble, you are rich, richer than ninety percent of the empire so what if it cost you twice as much to get what you want you still go it, you may choose to double your rolled successes in a negotiation challenge in exchange of doubling the base and minimum "price".
[] Go low- from a young age you've been taught to manage your finances and you know that it is in the margin that profit is made, use your influence and knowledge to browbeat your opponents to lower the price. Whenever you are rolling negotiation challenge against someone of a lower standing or power of you may halve the base and minimum "price", doing so will increase the challenge difficulty depending on how close they are to your standing (with using it on peasants adding a single dice to their dice pool and on nobles that are just below you straight up doubling their dice pools) and damage your relationship succussed or fail.
[] Poker face- you have learnt the ways of smiling without meaning, of saying without saying and most importantly you've learned to shield your true words behind an impassive face. Your base resistance against sense motive checks made against you is now heart/2 rather than heart/4
[] Amicable voice- Your voice has a distinct and nice tone to it, halve relationship damage from negotiation challenges.
Fellowship talents. (choose 1).
[] Magnanimous host- let them all see your generosity, let them all see your splendor, let the wine flow and let none forget who is paying for it all. when you are hosting a party (or are the primary financer of one) you may add the cost as dice (at the rate of 20 silver per dice) to all Heart based skills used for the duration of the party.
[] Approachable- it may be something in your face, it may be in how you talk or how you walk but people find it easier to approach you for good and ill. +1 dice for first impressions challenges, higher likelihood of people approaching you on their own initiative.
[] Women of the people- the difference between a noble and a peasant are many and it is important that you will learn of them If you wish to ever be taken as "one of them". Halve the penalty form difference in social standing in all heart based challenges.
[] Comradery- there is nothing quite like the bonds you crate between friends and it is of upmost importance to maintain them, how good is it that the knowledge gained form those bonds can be used to do so. when performing a fallow ship challenge against a target your already possess a positive relationship with add dice deepening on how positive your bond Is.
