The Path Unending (A Cultivation Quest)

[me.me.here]

we need better woodworking or the box crafting will take forever so we need to take that risk really

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Taking tutoring to increase our skills is not the question though - the question is why we don't, for example, shift the tutoring to first thing next week when we know for a fact whether we can afford 6 talents and replace it with stuff that doesn't need woodworking, like the design work to set the initial BT or another social action or two. The amount of crafting/tutoring actions and their order remains virtually identical, only there's much less of a risk of losing out on actions because we didn't succeed a critical roll. As far as I am aware we should have at least 3 additional non-crafting actions left between this week and the duel, so it wouldn't actually change how much time we invest or how effectively we do so.

In the event of a failure in finding a spirit beast, the tutoring swaps to first tier. So instead of losing three actions if we fail, we only lose one.

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This sounds kinda reasonable, but I don't remember seeing a statement of this. Is this from discord (lying) Ves?

 

[TotallyNotEvil]

-[X] You have begun work on the charm for Xu Yun's commission. All it needs now is for you to finish infusing it.
--[X] Cloud's Breath

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... Why? That doesn't cover half of it. Do it at the second to appease Time-chan, we might even get lucky and do it in one go. As long as we do it by the end of the week, it should have recharged.

--[X] You are close to completing your glove of bone and wood. All that it requires is a few finishing touches. Time to get to work (2)
--[X] The Lost Armory

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???

Like, straight up crafting at the Lost Armory? Or so do you mean to infuse it? Because I don't see why not DD.

Or are you going to DD and aim to fish for an early finish and then infuse next week, instead of overflowing halfway to TD with a third action?

 

[Rockeye]

Nokai is a skilled hunter, and her dogs have a keen sense of smell and were very likely to be trained for tracking too. That ought to help out quite a bit.

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If Nokai joins us.

[X] Plan: THE BOX BECKONS Alternative

... Why? That doesn't cover half of it. Do it at the second to appease Time-chan, we might even get lucky and do it in one go. As long as we do it by the end of the week, it should have recharged.

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There's only 3 BT of charge remaining on Xu Yun's charm.

 

[ReaderOfFate]

This sounds kinda reasonable, but I don't remember seeing a statement of this. Is this from discord (lying) Ves?

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Discord Ves doesn't always lie, especially since in this instance it was first floated by Cteatus and the confirmed by Ves.

That being said, for the sake of definitively concluding this, can you give a ruling in thread @Vesvius on swapping to first tier if we don't have enough money for second tier?

 

[Vesvius]

Hey @Vesvius

Just had a question about Beauty Anam. Say we craft a charm with Beauty Anam, does it make the charm look more appealing/increase value solely through it's looks/aura? Or is there a deeper aspect to it? Also all good if you don't want to answer since we haven't experimented with it.

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Anam desires perfection, and beauty anam desires physical perfection more than most. Any charm crafted with beauty anam will, by default, look more physically appealing than other, similar products.

Discord Ves doesn't always lie, especially since in this instance it was first floated by Cteatus and the confirmed by Ves.

That being said, for the sake of definitively concluding this, can you give a ruling in thread @Vesvius on swapping to first tier if we don't have enough money for second tier?

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Yeah, that'll happen. If you don't have enough cash for the 5th Circle Tutor, you'll switch to the 7th Circle Tutor. The only loss will be the extra actions that you would've spent on the 5th Circle Tutor.

 

[ReaderOfFate]

... Why? That doesn't cover half of it. Do it at the second to appease Time-chan, we might even get lucky and do it in one go. As long as we do it by the end of the week, it should have recharged.

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TNE, what? There's only like 3 or 4 successes left to go, since we started the infusion last week.

This is the Blood Defender, remember?

 

[Knight-Radiant]

... Why? That doesn't cover half of it. Do it at the second to appease Time-chan, we might even get lucky and do it in one go. As long as we do it by the end of the week, it should have recharged.

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?

Build Target Remaining: 3!

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We only need 3 anam to finish Xu Yun's charm my dude. I just put the cloud's breath in because it doesn't really matter what anam type we use for it, and this saves us a trip to the tunnels.

Like, straight up crafting at the Lost Armory? Or so do you mean to infuse it? Because tI don't see why not DD.

Or are you going to DD and aim to fish for an early finish and then infuse next week, instead of overflowing halfway to TD with a third action?

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That was a mistake, I forgot to take out the line about the Lost Armory from an earlier draft of the plan.

The idea is to hopefully finish DD the Archer charm this week then start infusing it next week.

 

[Chronobreak]

Not play nice but do mo hanying strat of offering a hand of piece so that any further agression from him makes him the obvious agressor/sore loser and us a gracious winner and honorable individual. Im all down for showing him up for the bitch he is. However i do wanna try mo hanyings strat of dealing with enemies.

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Mo Hanying is a girl, and an army princess. What works for her will not work for Kong Zhi, who isn't a noble. He can flex wealth, but he can't flex his guanxi cuz it doesn't apply to him.

Plus, Jin Yazhu has already gone to far, and has triggered the 'destroy completely' phase of Kong Zhi's threat management strategy. Unless what we said to Mo back then means nothing.

Zhi's also not composed and chill enough to be a gracious winner. This is the same guy who wanted to beat Yahzu's face into a pulp because of what's been done to him. On the sliding scale of arrogance and humility, Zhi falls squarely on arrogance.

Point is, Yahzu's going down violently. That's all there is to it.

 

[Rockeye]

If beauty anam desires physical perfection, it might make a nice Monk charm in cooperation with Earth, maybe. Purity and sanctity of form. Would you say the butterfly's hummingbird's dance is beautiful?

...I wonder where we could find a Time anam technique to learn...

 

[Raydom]

Not play nice but do mo hanying strat of offering a hand of piece so that any further agression from him makes him the obvious agressor/sore loser and us a gracious winner and honorable individual. Im all down for showing him up for the bitch he is. However i do wanna try mo hanyings strat of dealing with enemies.

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I'd prefer destroying him but your words do have merit. Their is something i would like to point out however is Kong Zhi's pride as well as his hatred to Jin.

The most important point however is that we aren't a social person so i don't think we ca copy Mo and expect the same results. Jin after failing his charm for Mo is already under immense social stress and now being called the "moth" which isn't flattering to say the least.

All im saying is that it would be easier to nuke him into oblivion with well timed insults after the duel rather then reconcile with him.

 

[Rockeye]

There is also no limit for the number of different effects a charm can have. Some charms give an Artist additional skill when it comes to specific elements. Others can function as storage compartments, opening up to allow their Artist to hide treasures within. Still others can make an Artist stronger, or allow them to store additional Anam. Each charm is it's own animal; no two are alike.

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Focusing only on combat charms can only hurt us in the long run. We already have the Rainbow Eyes and they are pretty helpful, for example. For the immediate upcoming charm competition, we need fighty stuff, but maybe we could make something for utility or just for fun... Kong Zhi did say that he hasn't gotten to make a charm just for the joy of making a charm, didn't he? To prove he could, as a commission, for a charm-duel... Something for the utility would be nice to have.

Vestige's Teeth would seem to lend themselves to some kind of weapon, but maybe the Vestige's Teeth can turn into a small set of tools that hungers for errant anam and can help us refine by consuming what we will it to. Or that will help us efficiently and quickly butcher animals or harvest plants and the like?

Say, with the Vestige's Ice, perhaps we could make the Freezing Sheathe, a small box or pouch that will keep whatever's inside frozen and thus preserved. Add in some Time anam if we find a material for that, and we can make the Timeless Freezer, which doubles down on the metaphorical nature of freezing with Time anam to actually freeze time and help preserve things that wouldn't normally react well to cold.

 

[TheBiggerFish]

I wonder if unusual-anam techniques cost more or less at the library.

 

[RookDeSuit]

[X] Plan Not That Attached to the Box
-[X] You have discovered some talent in the physical arts, but talent is useless if not honed. You will find an empty training field and work on your martial skills.
-[X] You may now take assignments at the Delving Heart Assignment Hall. You will go, take one, and carry it out to the best of your ability.
-[X] You have begun work on the charm for Xu Yun's commission. All it needs now is for you to finish infusing it.
--[X] Your Core
-[X] You are close to completing your glove of bone and wood. All that it requires is a few finishing touches. Time to get to work
-[X] A true charmcrafter always has a ready supply of materials ready to go. You will go out and add to your collection.
--[X] You will go scavenging for new materials.
-[X] There are other disciples you have yet to meet, and you would like to change that. You'll mingle with your fellows.
-[X] Jin Yazhu has likely already selected his champion. You will attempt to follow him and glean who it will be.
--[X] You have some measure of stealth. Observe where he frequently goes and who he talks to.
-[X] Jai Shouxi has moved on from pills and is trying his hand at medicinal teas. He would welcome your assistance as a test subject once more.
--[X] Mention to Jai Fa we will be occupying her brother's time, and that she should swing by to talk with Xu Yun during his break. He does miss his spars.
-[X] Xu Yun will be working at the docks once again, and you found the process relaxing and not unenjoyable. You shall join him once more.

I feel like there are some minor issues with the current plans. They are made with the intention that actions will, for lack of a better term, flow into each other. Like there is the belief our hunting will 1. provide the means to pay for 2. our tutor(s) and 3. that the resulting lessons will aid us with 4. our hypothetical wooden box of anam monster. That's 4 actions in the pursuit of item, and if anything happens in this chain of actions then we're out of luck. It's too many pieces, and we really should not assume Vesvius will keep letting us pivot when actions don't work out. We've also been heavily tapping into our core, but have not kept up with our physical training. Training we might need if we plan to explore the Caverns with Jai Twins

So making an entirely different plan. We restart our physical conditioning after weeks of inaction, and take another job. We could use the sect points for later, and if we're fortunate we may get a beast hunting bounty. That allows us a way to get sect points, and potential sell the best parts of the carcass topside( or keep it ourselves). We complete the charm with our time flavored anam, and we finish the last 2-build targets our own charm. After that, we can be out and about. We can socialize with whoever is free, and we may be able to spy on Jin's activities at the same time. Or tap into whatever gossip is flying around. We can continue to build a ramport with Jai Shouxi, and we can get around to asking if Fa still talks with Xu Yun. Finally, we end with delivering the charm, and more socialization.

 

[Knight-Radiant]

I feel like there are some minor issues with the current plans. They are made with the intention that actions will, for lack of a better term, flow into each other. Like there is the belief our hunting will 1. provide the means to pay for 2. our tutor(s) and 3. that the resulting lessons will aid us with 4. our hypothetical wooden box of anam monster. That's 4 actions in the pursuit of item, and if anything happens in this chain of actions then we're out of luck. It's too many pieces, and we really should not assume Vesvius will keep letting us pivot when actions don't work out. We've also been heavily tapping into our core, but have not kept up with our physical training.

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I'm not sure where the issue is?

The hunt is so we can afford the better tutoring, but if it fails then we can do the base level and still complete the charm in time for the duel with no problems. We just wont be able to push in into the 30+ range.

We complete the charm with our time flavored anam, and we finish the last 2-build targets our own charm. After that, we can be out and about. We can socialize with whoever is free, and we may be able to spy on Jin's activities at the same time. Or tap into whatever gossip is flying around. We can continue to build a ramport with Jai Shouxi, and we can get around to asking if Fa still talks with Xu Yun. Finally, we end with delivering the charm, and more socialization.

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Couple of things here.

One, Ves has already told us that we don't need to spend an action to deliver the charm to Xu Yun. Just like with Shouxi's commission, we'll go and give it to him as soon as we finish it.

Two, I don't see the logic in ignoring crafting when we have a crafting duel coming up. Jin specifically said this was a charm duel, the point is to make as many charms as we can in this month then have our champs use them against eachother. Xu Yun's charm doesn't count because it isn't ours to use. So stopping to play social butterfly with a single unfinished archer charm makes no sense in this context.

Hell, even Mo Hanying, the most socially competent person we know asked us why we were hanging around when we have a duel coming up.

Losing a public duel is not a good thing my dude. Especially not to our family's rival.

Lastly, What's wrong with our idea for a Combat Construct? Ves confirmed in Thread that it was a viable thing for a Traveller Charm/Tech. 😕

 

[Wistways]

[X] Plan: THE BOX BECKONS Alternative

 

[Kai Merah]

Since we're not completing the Archer charm this week, may I suggest we go looking for Jin's champion before choosing our own? It means we'll have more info to make a decision about who should be our champion, and more info to share with our chosen champion.

Vote for THE BOX BECKONS Alternative!

 

[DangerKitty]

[X] Plan: THE BOX BECKONS

The alternative i like but its bot formatted properly (in tally box its all split up, and i want to choose our champion this week.)

 

[Kai Merah]

[X] Plan: THE BOX BECKONS

The alternative i like but its bot formatted properly (in tally box its all split up, and i want to choose our champion this week.)

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Oops. Any suggestion for how I can format it properly? Also, why choose our champion this week? I hate operating from too little info, so I wanna gather as much info as possible before choosing our champion. More info might make a difference in who we choose and how we approach our champion, but as far as I can tell, choosing our champion this week or next week won't make any difference.

 

[RookDeSuit]

Lastly, What's wrong with our idea for a Combat Construct? Ves confirmed in Thread that it was a viable thing for a Traveller Charm/Tech

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Rereading the past couple of pages, it seems like we hyper focused on woodworking a summon unit, but it feels like multiple actions are being put to this effort. Not just for crafting, which I would understand, but all these supplementary actions. More than anything else, and I don't want that. Like we have not even practiced Hummingbird's dance in some time, or meet any of the people Shouxi or Hui recommended.

 

[Knight-Radiant]

Oops. Any suggestion for how I can format it properly? Also, why choose our champion this week? I hate operating from too little info, so I wanna gather as much info as possible before choosing our champion. More info might make a difference in who we choose and how we approach our champion, but as far as I can tell, choosing our champion this week or next week won't make any difference.

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Choosing our champion this week mainly so they have plenty of time to prepare.

The longer we wait, the shorter notice we're giving people and the less likely they will be free. Like how Mo went into a week long cycling session suddenly.

Rereading the past couple of pages, it seems like we hyper focused on woodworking a summon unit, but it feels like multiple actions are being put to this effort. Not just for crafting, which I would understand, but all these supplementary actions. More than anything else, and I don't want that. Like we have not even practiced Hummingbird's dance in some time, or meet any of the people Shouxi or Hui recommended.

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Because we accepted a challenge and have to prepare for it?

That's more important then making new friends at the moment.

As for improving the Dance, we COULD do that, but it's not really gonna help us in the duel unless we are our own champion. It's definitely something I want to do later, just not a high priority now ya'know?

 

[DangerKitty]

Oops. Any suggestion for how I can format it properly? Also, why choose our champion this week? I hate operating from too little info, so I wanna gather as much info as possible before choosing our champion. More info might make a difference in who we choose and how we approach our champion, but as far as I can tell, choosing our champion this week or next week won't make any difference.

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You didnt put a - in front of two of the [ ] boxes. The dash makes it a branch of whatever does not have a dash. If there is no dash then it gets counted as a seperate vote like what has happened to your vote in the tally system, so you need to add a dash in the proper places to fix that.

 

[Edkose]

[X] Plan The Box Waits
-[X] You have begun work on the charm for Xu Yun's commission. All it needs now is for you to finish infusing it.
-[X] Cloud's Breath
--[X] Do not use Rainbow Eyes
-[X] You are close to completing your glove of bone and wood. All that it requires is a few finishing touches. Time to get to work (4)
-[X] You have been challenged to a duel of champions by the fiend Jin Yazhu. For that to happen, you must secure a champion. You will attempt to decide on who that shall be.
-[X] Jai Shouxi has moved on from pills and is trying his hand at medicinal teas. He would welcome your assistance as a test subject once more.
-[X] You will go hunting for a beast whose parts can be sold for Talents.
--[X] Invite Nokai
-[X] You've been tasked with impressing an Elder if you wish to rise to the Eighth Circle. You have recently met Elder Siani, an Elder who seems to handle problems and rare situations around the sect. Elder Siani seems very interested in the Armory Map you fixed, and completing its tasks will likely draw further attention.
-[X] You will seek out the point on the map closest to the surface (Counts as One Action).
--[X] Invite Jai Fa

So my reasoning behind this plan is that I want to make sure we get enough money. So x2 hunting for cash. It'll make it more likely to get a better tutor and we can possibly have a spare Talent for a letter home. There is a lot to say. We've made progress with Zhuan and Mo, so we might even get more Talents from Zhi's mother. Possibly some money for the duel as well. I think we'll get our allowance the same week as the duel takes place, so it won't change the outcome much. Still, more money is useful.

Social with Jai Shouxi to strike when the iron is hot. Finishing Xu's charm and trying to get the archer charm one step into the infusion. I'm sure we can get the charm filled without our cycling aid, so I don't want to spend any of the remaining charges.

I believe @Vesvius has said that when a charm gets its build targe filled and we still have craft action left we can decide if we want to begin infusing or continue. So the same would be true after reaching the build target twice. Is that correct?

Edit
Swapped cash hunting for Lost Armoury quest.

 

[DangerKitty]

[X] Plan The Box Waits
-[X] You have begun work on the charm for Xu Yun's commission. All it needs now is for you to finish infusing it.
-[X] Cloud's Breath
--[X] Do not use Rainbow Eyes
-[X] You are close to completing your glove of bone and wood. All that it requires is a few finishing touches. Time to get to work (4)
-[X] You have been challenged to a duel of champions by the fiend Jin Yazhu. For that to happen, you must secure a champion. You will attempt to decide on who that shall be.
-[X] Jai Shouxi has moved on from pills and is trying his hand at medicinal teas. He would welcome your assistance as a test subject once more.
-[X] You will go hunting for a beast whose parts can be sold for Talents. ×2
--[X] Invite Nokai

So my reasoning behind this plan is that I want to make sure we get enough money. So x2 hunting for cash. It'll make it more likely to get a better tutor and we can possibly have a spare Talent for a letter home. There is a lot to say. We've made progress with Zhuan and Mo, so we might even get more Talents from Zhi's mother. Possibly some money for the duel as well. I think we'll get our allowance the same week as the duel takes place, so it won't change the outcome much. Still, more money is useful.

Social with Jai Shouxi to strike when the iron is hot. Finishing Xu's charm and trying to get the archer charm one step into the infusion. I'm sure we can get the charm filled without our cycling aid, so I don't want to spend any of the remaining charges.

I believe @Vesvius has said that when a charm gets its build targe filled and we still have craft action left we can decide if we want to begin infusing or continue. So the same would be true after reaching the build target twice. Is that correct?

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Why not replace one hunt with the armory, the shallows?

 

[Knight-Radiant]

Why not replace one hunt with the armory, the shallows?

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Oh that's an easy one.

Because the Armory sites have all had vestiges. We can harvest Crafting mats from vestiges, but everything else dissolves. On the other hand, Beasts have stuff like Meat, Hide, etc, that we can sell for talents.

Like with the Earthroot Ox, one of our choices was meat that we could sell to the butcher for 3 talents.

Vestiges have great crafting mats, but if you want easy money, beasts are a better option.

 

[DangerKitty]

Oh that's an easy one.

Because the Armory sites have all had vestiges. We can harvest Crafting mats from vestiges, but everything else dissolves. On the other hand, Beasts have stuff like Meat, Hide, etc, that we can sell for talents.

Like with the Earthroot Ox, one of our choices was meat that we could sell to the butcher for 3 talents.

Vestiges have great crafting mats, but if you want easy money, beasts are a better option.

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I was more interested in siani prog.

[X] Plan The Box Waits

Still on board tho.