Umi-san
Procrastinating.
- Location
- ꙮ
what is the 75th percentile of life expectancy for both of the modes of longevity?
The Lighthouses and the Pit (Fantasy Mage Quest)
- Thread starter occipitallobe
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
- Location
- Canada
[X] Untouched by Desire, Detached From Greed
- Location
- USA
So I'm curious those voting Fleshcrafter, what do you want to do as a new Fleshcrafter?
Go around and try to heal the poor people in the outer ring?
I agree wholeheartedly that Fleshcrafter is going to be the rarest of the 3 choices, but I'm just not sure what we're going to do with it. We're not greedy starting off so we won't heal for profit. We're compassionate and hopeful so are unlikely to start experimenting with the human body. I guess I'm just afraid that are path is going to lead us into a Defender like group, with us in the role of the nurse.
Go around and try to heal the poor people in the outer ring?
I agree wholeheartedly that Fleshcrafter is going to be the rarest of the 3 choices, but I'm just not sure what we're going to do with it. We're not greedy starting off so we won't heal for profit. We're compassionate and hopeful so are unlikely to start experimenting with the human body. I guess I'm just afraid that are path is going to lead us into a Defender like group, with us in the role of the nurse.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
Wait, extropolating this quest to DC rings..
Great Lighthouse = White
Darklings = Black
Green + Blue = Hilarious OPness?
Great Lighthouse = White
Darklings = Black
Green + Blue = Hilarious OPness?
Reputation buildup, and learning more about Fleshcrafting so we can work on the evil little side we have.
First one would be finding other fleshcrafters, so you can learn skills from them at a faster rate than improvising and so you can see how they operate. Getting to know another fleshcrafter (ideally multiple given it's likely they learned to apply their skills differently) is also valuable in other ways, given fleshcrafters can't use their skills on them self. So it should be possible to get around this by having the fleshcrafter modify the other fleshcrafter instead and vice versa, which would obviously be valuable.
- Location
- USA
@occipitallobe
You mentioned apprentices earlier. Is apprenticeship common for Fleshcrafters? Is there some kind of centralized school for them? Or does our character just not know?
You mentioned apprentices earlier. Is apprenticeship common for Fleshcrafters? Is there some kind of centralized school for them? Or does our character just not know?
- Location
- Straya
Speaking plainly, everything you know comes from people travelling through your part of the city. You can't even go see a skilled blacksmith if you want to, let alone a mage.
- Location
- Straya
It looks like the Fleshcrafter is winning handily. As is tradition, I will argue for the losing side of the vote (I don't expect to see the Tremorfoot have a chance, so we'll leave that for now).
Bladebound are firstly cooler. Sword wizardry looks amazing, Fleshcrafting is really just having better versions of regular people do a lot of things for you. You're a manager, not a superhero, and you're more worried about resource allocation than you are about blade flourishing. Sure, cool things happen, but your job in combat is to get in the back row and cast some heal spells.
Secondly, the risk/reward profile for Fleshcrafters is a lot more variable. Being a successful Fleshcrafter takes a lot of work and (especially) foresight. Forgot to augment one of your retinue to be a solid wall of muscle to slow down a bigger Darkling? Better run away, because you just lost a year's worth of work. Made a bunch of peerless archers and ran through a forest at night without scouting? Better hope your personal bodyguard is good, because your men are dead, and unless you're lucky, so are you. Minor screwups can come back to bite you hard. A good Bladebound, though, can murder his way through many enemies and then go have a nap. Unless you die (which to be fair is more likely), you're probably fine. A Fleshcrafter can spend two or three years perfecting one of their retinue's abilities and power and lose them the very next day.
Lastly, low greed stabs you right where it hurts - in the wallet and/or artifact hoard. Selflessness is cool and all, but if you find a top-tier Artifact capable of enhancing just one person's magical powers massively, you may have a tough time justifying keeping it if you discover someone else needs it more or could use it more effectively, and likewise you'll find it tough to accumulate favors and money to enhance your own powers.
My contrarian argument aside, I'll close off the voting tomorrow night (about ~20 hours from now), and we'll get into the real meat of the quest.
Bladebound are firstly cooler. Sword wizardry looks amazing, Fleshcrafting is really just having better versions of regular people do a lot of things for you. You're a manager, not a superhero, and you're more worried about resource allocation than you are about blade flourishing. Sure, cool things happen, but your job in combat is to get in the back row and cast some heal spells.
Secondly, the risk/reward profile for Fleshcrafters is a lot more variable. Being a successful Fleshcrafter takes a lot of work and (especially) foresight. Forgot to augment one of your retinue to be a solid wall of muscle to slow down a bigger Darkling? Better run away, because you just lost a year's worth of work. Made a bunch of peerless archers and ran through a forest at night without scouting? Better hope your personal bodyguard is good, because your men are dead, and unless you're lucky, so are you. Minor screwups can come back to bite you hard. A good Bladebound, though, can murder his way through many enemies and then go have a nap. Unless you die (which to be fair is more likely), you're probably fine. A Fleshcrafter can spend two or three years perfecting one of their retinue's abilities and power and lose them the very next day.
Lastly, low greed stabs you right where it hurts - in the wallet and/or artifact hoard. Selflessness is cool and all, but if you find a top-tier Artifact capable of enhancing just one person's magical powers massively, you may have a tough time justifying keeping it if you discover someone else needs it more or could use it more effectively, and likewise you'll find it tough to accumulate favors and money to enhance your own powers.
My contrarian argument aside, I'll close off the voting tomorrow night (about ~20 hours from now), and we'll get into the real meat of the quest.
- Location
- Lasha Tumbai
I mean, yeah. It's kind of assumed that we're going to be visiting other lighthouses at some point. I'm curious if we'd be able to visit the same one twice though, as as far as we know that's never actually happened in recorded history.
- Location
- USA
Well I'll make one last push for Bladebound.
As a Bladebound we can see and explore the world, by ourselves if needed, but they are often employed by others. This is a good way to meet other mages, travel to other towers, and visit the other cities.
Bladebound also hits the sweet spot greed wise. Not Greedy enough to take everything for themselves but willing to collect useful stuff.
One argument is that SV doesn't play healers a lot. It looks like at high skill a Fleshcrafter is less a healer and more a mad scientist experimenting with the human body. I think SV does go for the scientist characters when available.
Come everyone switch to Bladebound and let's explore the world and the Pit!
As a Bladebound we can see and explore the world, by ourselves if needed, but they are often employed by others. This is a good way to meet other mages, travel to other towers, and visit the other cities.
Bladebound also hits the sweet spot greed wise. Not Greedy enough to take everything for themselves but willing to collect useful stuff.
One argument is that SV doesn't play healers a lot. It looks like at high skill a Fleshcrafter is less a healer and more a mad scientist experimenting with the human body. I think SV does go for the scientist characters when available.
Come everyone switch to Bladebound and let's explore the world and the Pit!
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Looks pretty even to me. I'm for Bladebound because Actually Getting To See The World + Not Needing To Think Six Moves Ahead.
- Location
- Illinois
Honestly, Fleshcrafter appeals to me more because it isn't pure shonen 'Stabing Everything Is A Valid Solution'. Exploring can be fun, but it doesn't give that same satisfaction of watching something we built grow and become truly great.
chocolote12
A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.
Either's fine. Actually, SV has a thing for choosing people who aren't shounen, so going for the fun bits is a valid idea.
- Location
- Straya
Inserted tally
- Location
- Straya
Bladebound has won by an absolute sliver.
Binding the Blade
- Location
- Straya
The first thing you remember as you wake up is Father Matthias's face smiling at you. You take a second, and suddenly feel rough hands grasping you, running down your limbs and up your back. Your eyes spring open, and you see a tall woman standing in front of you, checking each finger on each hand. You feel weak, weaker than you ever remember feeling. Your limbs struggle vainly to move, and she grunts.
"No deformities. How do you feel?"
You open your mouth, and speak.
"I feel-"
"Weaker than a newborn kitten?"
You nod painfully.
She smiles.
"It happens. If I'd had to guess, I'd say you're Bladebound. Fleshcrafters wake up angry, Tremorfeet tend to use their powers unconsciously right away. Not always, of course, but that's the usual. Name?"
You open your mouth to reply, and-
You can't remember. Where your name was, your mind grasps at threads of memory simply cut, and you realise in a moment of sudden horror, far, far more than your name alone is gone. Your father's name. You know you lived at the orphanage, but you can't remember what it looked like. Who was there, who your friends were, what you did there. You start to breath quickly, panic overtaking you.
She shakes her head, and places a calming hand on your shoulder.
"Losing your name is tough. Better than life or limb, though. I'm Dancing Dagger, Bladebound. Don't worry about the name. We'll get you a new name soon enough."
She hauls you upright, and places you on your feet. You waver for a moment, almost falling over, and then steady yourself. Your legs are still weak, but you can stand.
She looks you up and down.
"Scrawny, but that's true for most orphans. We'll feed you up. Come on, we'll get you onto the horses."
The mages who had come out had ridden on horses, taking extras to serve as spare mounts, allowing them to move faster and scout more effectively around the twenty who had come to the Orange Lighthouse. You look around you, and see corpses being piled up a few hundred metres away, alongside a few people, missing arms and legs, sitting next to the pile.
"Are they...?"
Dagger frowns. You focus enough to see she has sharp black eyes, though looking at her, you realise her hair is shaved off entirely, with only a little stubble atop it.
"Better you don't watch. I've done enough of these to not worry myself, but for you? No, you're the only survivor today. Be grateful for that - it's only chance that you're here and not there."
As you walk with her, you see the mages already atop their horses, prepared to go. One speaks, a shorter man with a thin-lipped smile.
"Dagger? He's a mage?"
She speaks, suddenly polished and poised.
"Yes. Shows all the signs, no maiming. Want to be sure?"
His smile widens.
"Yes, why not?"
His arm whips up, and a dagger is hurled towards you. Weakened as you are, you don't have time to dodge or move, and yet your arm moves up of its own accord, snatching it out of the air. You look at it in disbelief.
"Satisfied, Slysmoker?"
He nods.
"He's got the gift. Let's move out."
The long journey back is a blur, and you do not recover from the weakness for days. You eat little and the mages there decline to speak to you for some reason, only Dancing Dagger bringing you food and water on occasion. Nothing all that interesting happens, and no Darklings show up - the excitement and apprehension you felt coming towards the Lighthouse is gone entirely, and only a sense of extraordinary tiredness remains, making it difficult to care about what is coming, despite your newfound magic.
Soon enough you are beneath the outer wall of Madalgia, and the gates open up easily. You pass through the Dead Ring, hungry, dirty faces staring at you from ruined buildings and from windows, but you pass through on the wide, central road where orphans would not tread in daylight for fear of a beating. The guards nod respectfully to your party, and the gates open.
You have never been in the Trade Ring before, and you're somewhat impressed. Houses in the Dead Ring are old rundown barriers raised by Tremorfeet, or shacks built up by those who live there. Houses aren't really permanent, as they're torn down to support fortifications if necessary, or destroyed by the Darklings. The Trade Ring has houses. You're not entirely sure what else to call them, but they're buildings made of stone and wood, windows fitted with glass or with curtains, lanterns hanging above the front doors. They are small, but they look like works of art to your eyes. Rather than the fearful silence of the Dead Ring punctuated by the occasional bout of violence or drunkenness, the Trade Ring has noise, stalls down the main streets where people stop to haggle for goods, the ringing of hammer on anvil where a blacksmith works on shoes for horses.
Before too long has passed, though, you reach the third set of gates. These guards do not merely bow, but stare down the mages, and it is not until Dagger opens her bag and shows them some identification they show any deference.
The gates open, and you enter the High Ring.
If the Trade Ring sat at the edge of your imagination, the High Ring is beyond it. Rather than houses dotting the area, the High Ring is divided into massive, squat buildings that sit barely below the high walls, each built in a distinctly different style. Painted different colours, in front of the first building you see are painted the words "GOVERNANCE", and the second merely states "TREASURY". You continue riding down, and reach a building labelled "GUILD OF BLADES". It is much smaller than the other buildings, and the doors swing open on your arrival, nobody bothering to touch them.
Here, the remainder of your party leaves you, only two mages remaining. They swing down off their horses, and Dagger helps you down from yours. You feel weak, but stronger than you did leaving the Lighthouse. She smiles at you, and runs her hand over her shaven head.
"So. Don't worry too much. Bladebound stick together, you know. We're not Tremorfeet who are all too damn greedy to work together, or Glimpses who are so scared they hide from everyone and everything. You'll be introduced to the Guild, and we'll give you the rundown on how everything works."
Another woman is next to her, and she nods, but doesn't speak.
You walk in. The halls are cold, and seem to be carved from one piece of seamless stone, though you suspect it is the work of a Tremorfoot. You notice little, as they are quite dark, and at the end of the first hall, Dagger pushes open a door. Inside sit five people, two women, two men, and one person cowled from head to foot.
"The Aspirant has Ascended. From nothing to everything, from everything to nothing.", one speaks.
Another speaks.
"The Name has been taken. The life that has gone before has been taken. The price has been paid."
A third speaks.
"For price freely paid, much is given and more. For these losses, your life shall be bound to the blade."
A fourth.
"Your mind shall be bound to the blade. Your body shall be bound to the blade. Your soul shall be bound to the blade."
Finally, the cowled figure speaks.
"You are bound to the blade, through your own choices and own losses. Welcome, Bladebound."
Moments later, the cowl is thrown off, revealing a one-eyed woman with a massive mass of scar tissue on the right side of her face.
She speaks.
"You must have questions. Let them wait for the moment. Dagger, how much sickness are we seeing?"
She frowns.
"Still not recovered after a week. Much worse than usual."
"Ah. Well, seat our young new mage down, and we shall begin the explanation."
This is, strictly speaking, halfway through the chapter, but I thought I'd open the vote for this now.
Are we a:
[ ] Man
Or
[ ] Woman
This is a cosmetic choice that does not impact gameplay unless you feel a driving need to establish a biological family.
If you vote for one gender or another, feel free to write in a physical description for the person - if there's a vague consensus around both gender and description I'll use both. Keep in mind the Three Cities have a lot of people from various backgrounds - there are no restrictions on skin, eye & hair colour (as long as they appear on Earth), likewise with height/weight/etc. If someone on Earth looks like that (naturally), it can be written in.
The remainder of the chapter will follow after with another vote, which will run concurrently with this one.
"No deformities. How do you feel?"
You open your mouth, and speak.
"I feel-"
"Weaker than a newborn kitten?"
You nod painfully.
She smiles.
"It happens. If I'd had to guess, I'd say you're Bladebound. Fleshcrafters wake up angry, Tremorfeet tend to use their powers unconsciously right away. Not always, of course, but that's the usual. Name?"
You open your mouth to reply, and-
You can't remember. Where your name was, your mind grasps at threads of memory simply cut, and you realise in a moment of sudden horror, far, far more than your name alone is gone. Your father's name. You know you lived at the orphanage, but you can't remember what it looked like. Who was there, who your friends were, what you did there. You start to breath quickly, panic overtaking you.
She shakes her head, and places a calming hand on your shoulder.
"Losing your name is tough. Better than life or limb, though. I'm Dancing Dagger, Bladebound. Don't worry about the name. We'll get you a new name soon enough."
She hauls you upright, and places you on your feet. You waver for a moment, almost falling over, and then steady yourself. Your legs are still weak, but you can stand.
She looks you up and down.
"Scrawny, but that's true for most orphans. We'll feed you up. Come on, we'll get you onto the horses."
The mages who had come out had ridden on horses, taking extras to serve as spare mounts, allowing them to move faster and scout more effectively around the twenty who had come to the Orange Lighthouse. You look around you, and see corpses being piled up a few hundred metres away, alongside a few people, missing arms and legs, sitting next to the pile.
"Are they...?"
Dagger frowns. You focus enough to see she has sharp black eyes, though looking at her, you realise her hair is shaved off entirely, with only a little stubble atop it.
"Better you don't watch. I've done enough of these to not worry myself, but for you? No, you're the only survivor today. Be grateful for that - it's only chance that you're here and not there."
As you walk with her, you see the mages already atop their horses, prepared to go. One speaks, a shorter man with a thin-lipped smile.
"Dagger? He's a mage?"
She speaks, suddenly polished and poised.
"Yes. Shows all the signs, no maiming. Want to be sure?"
His smile widens.
"Yes, why not?"
His arm whips up, and a dagger is hurled towards you. Weakened as you are, you don't have time to dodge or move, and yet your arm moves up of its own accord, snatching it out of the air. You look at it in disbelief.
"Satisfied, Slysmoker?"
He nods.
"He's got the gift. Let's move out."
The long journey back is a blur, and you do not recover from the weakness for days. You eat little and the mages there decline to speak to you for some reason, only Dancing Dagger bringing you food and water on occasion. Nothing all that interesting happens, and no Darklings show up - the excitement and apprehension you felt coming towards the Lighthouse is gone entirely, and only a sense of extraordinary tiredness remains, making it difficult to care about what is coming, despite your newfound magic.
Soon enough you are beneath the outer wall of Madalgia, and the gates open up easily. You pass through the Dead Ring, hungry, dirty faces staring at you from ruined buildings and from windows, but you pass through on the wide, central road where orphans would not tread in daylight for fear of a beating. The guards nod respectfully to your party, and the gates open.
You have never been in the Trade Ring before, and you're somewhat impressed. Houses in the Dead Ring are old rundown barriers raised by Tremorfeet, or shacks built up by those who live there. Houses aren't really permanent, as they're torn down to support fortifications if necessary, or destroyed by the Darklings. The Trade Ring has houses. You're not entirely sure what else to call them, but they're buildings made of stone and wood, windows fitted with glass or with curtains, lanterns hanging above the front doors. They are small, but they look like works of art to your eyes. Rather than the fearful silence of the Dead Ring punctuated by the occasional bout of violence or drunkenness, the Trade Ring has noise, stalls down the main streets where people stop to haggle for goods, the ringing of hammer on anvil where a blacksmith works on shoes for horses.
Before too long has passed, though, you reach the third set of gates. These guards do not merely bow, but stare down the mages, and it is not until Dagger opens her bag and shows them some identification they show any deference.
The gates open, and you enter the High Ring.
If the Trade Ring sat at the edge of your imagination, the High Ring is beyond it. Rather than houses dotting the area, the High Ring is divided into massive, squat buildings that sit barely below the high walls, each built in a distinctly different style. Painted different colours, in front of the first building you see are painted the words "GOVERNANCE", and the second merely states "TREASURY". You continue riding down, and reach a building labelled "GUILD OF BLADES". It is much smaller than the other buildings, and the doors swing open on your arrival, nobody bothering to touch them.
Here, the remainder of your party leaves you, only two mages remaining. They swing down off their horses, and Dagger helps you down from yours. You feel weak, but stronger than you did leaving the Lighthouse. She smiles at you, and runs her hand over her shaven head.
"So. Don't worry too much. Bladebound stick together, you know. We're not Tremorfeet who are all too damn greedy to work together, or Glimpses who are so scared they hide from everyone and everything. You'll be introduced to the Guild, and we'll give you the rundown on how everything works."
Another woman is next to her, and she nods, but doesn't speak.
You walk in. The halls are cold, and seem to be carved from one piece of seamless stone, though you suspect it is the work of a Tremorfoot. You notice little, as they are quite dark, and at the end of the first hall, Dagger pushes open a door. Inside sit five people, two women, two men, and one person cowled from head to foot.
"The Aspirant has Ascended. From nothing to everything, from everything to nothing.", one speaks.
Another speaks.
"The Name has been taken. The life that has gone before has been taken. The price has been paid."
A third speaks.
"For price freely paid, much is given and more. For these losses, your life shall be bound to the blade."
A fourth.
"Your mind shall be bound to the blade. Your body shall be bound to the blade. Your soul shall be bound to the blade."
Finally, the cowled figure speaks.
"You are bound to the blade, through your own choices and own losses. Welcome, Bladebound."
Moments later, the cowl is thrown off, revealing a one-eyed woman with a massive mass of scar tissue on the right side of her face.
She speaks.
"You must have questions. Let them wait for the moment. Dagger, how much sickness are we seeing?"
She frowns.
"Still not recovered after a week. Much worse than usual."
"Ah. Well, seat our young new mage down, and we shall begin the explanation."
This is, strictly speaking, halfway through the chapter, but I thought I'd open the vote for this now.
Are we a:
[ ] Man
Or
[ ] Woman
This is a cosmetic choice that does not impact gameplay unless you feel a driving need to establish a biological family.
If you vote for one gender or another, feel free to write in a physical description for the person - if there's a vague consensus around both gender and description I'll use both. Keep in mind the Three Cities have a lot of people from various backgrounds - there are no restrictions on skin, eye & hair colour (as long as they appear on Earth), likewise with height/weight/etc. If someone on Earth looks like that (naturally), it can be written in.
The remainder of the chapter will follow after with another vote, which will run concurrently with this one.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
Gonna say:
Yellow
MaxFear - Glimpse
NormalFear - Shaderunner
Fearless - Spellthief
- Location
- USA
[X] Man
Very tall but always told that 'one day you'll grow into your height'. You're not sure when people usually stop growing but you're starting to doubt you ever will. Ink black hair that tends to get greasy if you don't wash it for a couple days. Pale skin with green eyes.
Interesting that losing your name and past gives you magic. I thought the weird names was an affect of the Shaderunners, but it's starting to look like it's something that defines all mages.
Very tall but always told that 'one day you'll grow into your height'. You're not sure when people usually stop growing but you're starting to doubt you ever will. Ink black hair that tends to get greasy if you don't wash it for a couple days. Pale skin with green eyes.
Interesting that losing your name and past gives you magic. I thought the weird names was an affect of the Shaderunners, but it's starting to look like it's something that defines all mages.
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