Also, no update tonight. When I try to write, everything's feeling far too mechanical. Hopefully there'll be something tomorrow, Wednesday at the latest.
Would it be possible to make an extra set of arms for crafting and combat as artifacts, also I was wondering how rare is a artifact that grows with the user or bonded?
Would it be possible to make an extra set of arms for crafting and combat as artifacts, also I was wondering how rare is a artifact that grows with the user or bonded?
Would it be possible to make an extra set of arms for crafting and combat as artifacts, also I was wondering how rare is a artifact that grows with the user or bonded?
An extra set of charm arms would surely influence whatever project it's used on. It should be possible for combat. A kind of construct with a small amount of Mind aspected material.
An artifact that grows with the user sounds pretty rare, but Ves has said that charms that interlock can be made.
Say for example that we make an Archer Fire Staff made of burnt wood. We could probably specify that we make 5 slots on the staff where we can place other small pieces of fire charms. We would then be able to replace those pieces as we find more powerful material that fits the theme., but we'd be pretty reliant on the Market to provide those materials.
That is probably the closest we'll get for a long while.
An extra set of charm arms would surely influence whatever project it's used on. It should be possible for combat. A kind of construct with a small amount of Mind aspected material.
An artifact that grows with the user sounds pretty rare, but Ves has said that charms that interlock can be made.
Say for example that we make an Archer Fire Staff made of burnt wood. We could probably specify that we make 5 slots on the staff where we can place other small pieces of fire charms. We would then be able to replace those pieces as we find more powerful material that fits the theme., but we'd be pretty reliant on the Market to provide those materials.
That is probably the closest we'll get for a long while.
If you want a charm that grows the easiest way would be to make it out of something still alive right?
Now, I'm not suggesting that we try to grab Elder Sela's arm or something (Although....) But if we could find some anam-rich still-living wood, we could probably make a really cool quarterstaff or something.
The problem with items that grow, is that if they can always use it they will never buy something new.
Also, it won't be worth it as I see it. I doubt we can make an item that can scale much higher than our current level, and due to that for it to scale the item needs to start at a really low level.
A/N: A big thanks to the 22 people who have pledged to me on Patreon! If you'd like to join them, you can do so here. If you'd like to check out the Royal Road crosspost, head on over and check it out! Leave a rating while you're there. It really does help me out.
[] Plan: THE BOX BECKONS
-[] You have begun work on the charm for Xu Yun's commission. All it needs now is for you to finish infusing it.
--[] Cloud's Breath
-[] You will go hunting for a beast whose parts can quickly be sold for Talents.
--[] Invite Nokai
-[] The Archives of the Delving Heart also offer to connect disciples with tutors in their discipline for a moderate cost. You will take advantage of the wisdom of your seniors.
--[] 5th Circle (6 talents, Counts as 3 Actions, 1d8+3 training roll)
---[] Craft (Woodworking) (DEX): 2
-[] 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 (1)
--[] 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)
-[] 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.
-[] 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.
-------------------------
Mo Hanying was correct. Her technique, 'the Visitor Deprived', was not a simple defense. Even now, days after your impromptu spar, your hand is covered in small burns that remind you of the time that your Auntie Shufen allowed you to, as a learning experience, dip your finger in the unguent used to reshape metals without a forge. As if that isn't bad enough, the skin beneath the scars looks gray and sickly, and your fingers twitch whenever you let your guard down.
But at least there is a silver lining. To be more precise, there are three silver linings. First, your hand is recovering. It may look like that of a corpse, but even that is an improvement over how it looked in the moments after taking the technique. Second, Mo Hanying is suffering similarly. You may have underestimated the Visitor Deprived, but she underestimated the Blooming Spear of the Auroch. While your damage is limited to your hand, hers is spread across her entire back as it remembers the collision with the crater wall she suffered.
And third? It is your right hand that is damaged.
You are left-handed. You can still work without worry.
The moment you are able you return your focus to your glove, sliding the still throbbing charm over your injured hand. You're so close to finishing it's construction. All it needs is a few final touches around the cuff. You lay your arm on the table, pick up a bead of aquamarine, and get to work.
Craft (Jewelry) Check: 7d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target 2 (24-4-4-1-4-1-3-4). Dice Rolled: 9, 9, 3, 10, 10, 10, 6, 10, 8, 2, 5. 9.1, rounded down to 9 Successes!
Craft (Jewelry) Check: 7d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target -7 (24-4-4-1-4-1-3-4-9). Dice Rolled: 9, 1, 6, 3, 9, 4, 6.) 1.3, rounded down to 1 Success!
Craft (Jewelry) Check: 7d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target -8 (24-4-4-1-4-1-3-4-9-1). Dice Rolled: 8, 10, 1, 2, 9, 6, 4, 10, 10, 1. 3.9, rounded up to 4 Successes!
Craft (Jewelry) Check: 7d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target -12 (24-4-4-1-4-1-3-4-9-1-4). Dice Rolled: 7, 6, 3, 5, 3, 3, 3. 1.3, rounded down to 1 Success!
Craft (Jewelry) Check: 7d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target -13 (24-4-4-1-4-1-3-4-9-1-4-1). Dice Rolled: 1, 3, 7, 3, 5, 5, 9. 1.3, rounded down to 1 Success!
Craft (Jewelry) Check: 7d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target -14 (24-4-4-1-4-1-3-4-9-1-4-1-1). Dice Rolled: 5, 7, 8, 8, 10, 3, 2, 10, 10, 8. 9.1, rounded down to 9 Successes!
Craft (Jewelry) Check: 7d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target -23 (24-4-4-1-4-1-3-4-9-1-4-1-1-9). Dice Rolled: 4, 1, 4, 8, 2, 8, 9. 2.6, rounded up to 3 Successes!
Craft (Jewelry) Check: 7d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target -26 (24-4-4-1-4-1-3-4-9-1-4-1-1-9-3). Dice Rolled: 6, 9, 2, 6, 6, 9, 4. 2.6, rounded up to 3 Successes!
The cuff itself comes together well. Now that your hand is slightly numb, you are no longer distracted by the constant waves of force emanating from your creation and are able to give it your full focus. The twine is pulled together and slowly tied into a cuff. Where each strand of woven oak meets another, you connect them with a bead of wood or bone. A few more quick motions tie each of those individual strands with another, longer, piece of twine. Then all that's left is adornment. A quick pattern of bone, wood, and aquamarine puts the finishing touches on the glove.
You pull it off with some slight resistance. Good; if it takes a small effort to remove, it won't slide off in times of stress. Once it's fully off your hand, you give it another look. It certainly looks serviceable now. All you need to do is infuse it.
...but is serviceable all you want?
There are a dozen small things on the glove that could be straightened out. Some of the beads are a hair larger than others. The twine is rough in several places; you could smoothe it. A few runes on the medallions look unevenly etched. They won't harm the final charm, but they won't do anything good for it either. There is space on the rings for another rune, or perhaps two. Another focusing glyph could help add direction and increase the velocity of the anam the charm projects, and a quick focusing rune could help gather the power much more quickly.
No, you're not done yet. There is plenty more here you can work on. You produce a small scrap of woven miststeel and dive back in, focusing on the beads.
You work for hours polishing out the many small errors in your charm's construction. Irregularities are smoothed out, holes are patched, runes are redone until they meet your satisfaction. It isn't until your shoulders are sore and your mind is groping for another problem to fix that you straighten up and step away from your project.
Now that is a handsome charm. You could likely find something else to improve on it- no work is ever perfect- but you will really have to think on what it could be. It may be better just to pick it up and start the infusion process.
Later. You will make that decision later. For now, you have another charm to infuse. The anam from A Second of Eternity has settled and merged with your necklace for Xu Yun, and it is ready to be finished off. You place your nearly-completed glove in a safe location and remove the faintly glowing necklace from it's hiding place. Then you return to your workshop and take a seat in the middle of the courtyard.
Slowly, you exhale, and you reach out towards an empty spot on the floor. Sure enough, the small bottle of Cloud's Breath finds it's way into your fingers. You grin down at the tiny treasure, focus your will, and bring it to your mouth.
And you breathe.
Cycling Check: 6d10s6(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target 3(19(0.9(The Kong Family Cycling Technique)-4-5-1). Dice Rolled: 7, 1, 10, 3, 7, 1, 2. 1.3, rounded down to 1 Success!
Cycling Check: 6d10s6(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target 2(19(0.9(The Kong Family Cycling Technique)-4-5-1-1). Dice Rolled: 8, 6, 4, 6, 2, 9. 5.2, rounded down to 5 Successes!
Build Target Met!
Cloud's Breasth: 1/7 Anam Remianing
The smoke flows from Cloud's Breath and into your flaring nostrils. Anam floods your system, but before it can settle in you have grabbed it in an iron vice of your will. As quickly as it enters you, it rushes out, pouring from your palm and layering into the necklace. The runes on the beads glow brighter and brighter. The scab-red becomes hot and bright, bathing the room in crimson. A sob seems to cry out from the woven cord, a sound of grief that pierces your heart.
But once that grief subsides, you only feel elation. It's finished. Your… Xu Yun's necklace is finally finished.
Item Gained: Unnamed Blood/Sorrow Defender Charm!
Unnamed Blood/Sorrow Defender Charm (Necklace)
Defender Charm 2 (Blood 13, Sorrow 6)
Trigger Cost: 2 Anam
This Charm projects anam in the form of hardened armor in a place of the user's choosing. This counts as a 15d10s8 Defender Technique. Furthermore, the turn it is used and the turn following, it grants the user Hardness 3.
Skill Up! Craft (Charm) +1, Craft (Clothwork) +1!
With your work done, you rise and tuck Cloud's Breath back into your pocket. This charm… it was more troublesome than you anticipated. But still, it turned out well. It may have slightly more sorrow in it than Xu Yun wished for, but it's effectiveness is unquestioned. He wanted a charm to keep him safe in the dark tunnels. You have no doubt that the necklace in your hands will help fulfill that desire.
Now all that's left is to give it to him. You pocket the now-dull charm and make your way from the Spire, searching for Xu Yun. The sooner you hand over the fruits of your labor, the sooner you get the rest of your fee. And as much as creating charms for a payment strikes a wrong note for you, you cannot deny that receiving the payment will be very useful.
Xu Yun proves very easy to find. He is in the second place you look for him. He is not at the docks, for once, but you do find him at the training grounds. As you arrive, he is throwing one of his perfectly accurate strikes directly into another Servant's face. The other disciple goes down like a bag of bricks when your former training partner's fist collides with his chin.
You pause as the other disciple falls. You don't recognize Xu Yun's opponent, but there's something about the way he falls to the ground that strikes a familiar chord. You've seen him before, but where…
He staggers back to his feet and it all clicks for you. No wonder he seems familiar; you've seen him fall and get back to his feet several times before. He was one of the three disciples that Zhuan Kun put on his back at once!
At least he seems to be doing better against Xu Yun than he did against Zhuan Kun. Then again, you would hope that to be the case. You have stood against both of them and between the two, there is not much of a contest. Xu Yun may be able to land a blow on the more advanced disciple, but that would be the extent of his successes.
But even that would be more of a success than you had against the noble…
You shake your head, jerking your mind from the path it was taking, and raise your hand. "Xu Yun!" you call. "May I have a moment of your time?"
Xu Yun glances up and spots you. He waves you down and turns back to his sparring partner. The two trade a few words, and the other man staggers towards the crater wall, which he sags against. Xu Yun doesn't show a single sign of his opponent's exhaustion. He just waits for you to reach the crater floor and then walks your way.
As he approaches, he returns your wave. "Kong Zhi! I hope this fine morning is treating you well!"
"I have had far less productive days," you reply, getting right to it. "It may be of interest to you to know that hours ago, I was able to place the finishing touches on the charm you requested. Please, take a look."
You reach into your pocket and pull the necklace out. Xu Yun takes it and inspects it with narrow eyes. As he does so, you explain, "The necklace you hold is woven of string plucked from the robe of a heartbroken widow and stained in a tea of Ifeagrass. It is potent in blood Anam, as requested, but it also contains a not-insignificant concentration of sorrow Anam. Removing that from the materials would have proven costly, and also sacrificed some of the charm's ability. I hope that is alright."
Xu Yun nods as he holds the necklace up against the pillar, letting the central column's light stain the dark red bright. "Of course," he answers. "That is no trouble whatsoever. How does it function?"
You point out a small glyph on one of the beads, which rests right against an artery in your neck when you wear the necklace. "It is quite simple. All you must do is cycle anam into that glyph there and visualize a position. The charm does the rest. It takes your anam and creates a thin, but durable plate of armor in the location you desire. It is most effective if the armor is created flush with your skin, but it can be conjured in midair if so desired."
The sailor nods slowly and offers the necklace back to you. "Could you demonstrate it for me?"
Why- oh, yes. Xu Yun has yet to take the Soldier's Step. You had almost forgotten. Perhaps he would not be any more successful against Zhuan Kun than you were. You obligingly reach out and take the necklace from Xu Yun's hands, cycling anam into the indicated bead.
With a small shriek, the blood armor congeals over your wrist. It looks like a gauntlet made of bright, almost gelatinous red leather. Upon it sits an almost peaceful looking face; a pretty woman with her eyes closed. If it weren't for the tears slowly trickling down her cheeks, you might think her sleeping.
Xu Yun eyes the design carefully. "That is… artistic," he allows.
You shrug. "A simple side-effect of the sorrow anam I mentioned. It should have no bearing on the function of the charm."
"Indeed," Xu Yun agrees. "It seems very well made. May I?" At your nod, he produces a small hammer, which he swings for your hand. It crashes into the plate with the noise of a small gong and a wail from the widow. When the hammer is lowered, the gauntlet is unmarred.
You curl your fingers into a fist. "See? I did not feel a thing."
Xu Yun gives you an impressed nod. "That is certainly quality craftsmanship, Kong Zhi. I know little of the creation of charms, but even I know good work when I see it. The effort you put forth in crafting it is humbling; I hope that I prove worthy of it."
He reaches out, and you drop the charm in his hand. "Our arrangement, of course, shall be upheld. I shall arrange half of my sect points for the next four weeks to be transferred to you." He pauses and glances at the charm he holds. "But…"
"I do not have any missions taking me into the deeps any time soon," he continues. "Elder Lei has recommended that I dedicate myself to training before going out any further. So as of now, while you would still be receiving payment, it would not be as much as it otherwise could be. Since I am not going into the deeps quite yet, I do not need the charm right away."
"Would you prefer to hold onto it for another few weeks? I would come for it when I am ready to return to the lower caverns. Until then, it'd be yours to do with as you wish. I'm certain you would enjoy putting your own work to use!"
You consider Xu Yun's words. They make a great deal of sense. If you hold on to your newly finished charm, you would be able to use it in your quest to find the last two weapons for the Lost Armory- or even give it to your champion for your duel! The idea does seem appealing…
But on the other hand, you did do this for payment. You would greatly enjoy getting paid. Finishing this transaction would allow your Sect Points to grow immediately instead of waiting until whenever Xu Yun thinks he's ready. That has it's own appeal.
What do you do?
[] [DELAY] You will finish this today. You give Xu Yun the necklace and put your agreement into effect immediately.
[] [DELAY] You will hold onto it for another few weeks. Xu Yun will come for it when he is ready, and in the meantime you will have another potent charm in your arsenal.
If we start earning later, it'll be too little to put those points to their best use, which is in preparing for the deeps. Otoh, another charm for the duel would be... Another charm for the duel.
[x] [Name] Widow's Ward
[X] [DELAY] You will hold onto it for another few weeks. Xu Yun will come for it when he is ready, and in the meantime you will have another potent charm in your arsenal.
[X] [DELAY] You will hold onto it for another few weeks. Xu Yun will come for it when he is ready, and in the meantime you will have another potent charm in your arsenal.
[X] [Name] Another's Regret
I'm guessing he's shorter on points than he let on and isn't ready to pay yet. This is fine, he's trying to save some face.
[X] [DELAY] You will hold onto it for another few weeks. Xu Yun will come for it when he is ready, and in the meantime you will have another potent charm in your arsenal.
[X] [DELAY] You will hold onto it for another few weeks. Xu Yun will come for it when he is ready, and in the meantime you will have another potent charm in your arsenal.
I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. If he says he doesn't need it yet, I'll take his word for it.
[X] [Name] Sanguine Shroud
This is the name we came up with in Discord a while back.
[X] [DELAY] You will hold onto it for another few weeks. Xu Yun will come for it when he is ready, and in the meantime you will have another potent charm in your arsenal.
[X] [DELAY] You will hold onto it for another few weeks. Xu Yun will come for it when he is ready, and in the meantime you will have another potent charm in your arsenal.
[X] [DELAY] You will hold onto it for another few weeks. Xu Yun will come for it when he is ready, and in the meantime you will have another potent charm in your arsenal.
[X] [Name] Sanguine Shroud
Delaying seems to be the best. It gives us another charm to be displayed in the duel, and it'll be useful for the Depths and the Shallow Lost Armoury spot. With the Archer charm we'll have temporarily completed the archer-defender-warrior triangle.
Let Xu Yun get his Elixir first, and he'll make more money later.
I'm thinking that either Xu Yun is strapped for cash and needs money and sect points for something, or he's too unnerved to use the charm. (It doesn't really have the most pleasant of aesthetics.)
Nice name, Rockeye. Just remember to put an x in brackets before the name itself.
[X] [DELAY] You will hold onto it for another few weeks. Xu Yun will come for it when he is ready, and in the meantime you will have another potent charm in your arsenal.
[X] [Name] Widow's Ward
Xu Yun will come for the charm when he's ready. Having an extra charm would help us with both the duel and our hunt, and if he does have financial issues, I don't want to exacerbate them. He did offer us quite a bit when he asked for a charm, and taking the deal now would be a major resource squeeze.
[X] [DELAY] You will hold onto it for another few weeks. Xu Yun will come for it when he is ready, and in the meantime you will have another potent charm in your arsenal.
[X] [Name] Another's Regret
[X] [DELAY] You will hold onto it for another few weeks. Xu Yun will come for it when he is ready, and in the meantime you will have another potent charm in your arsenal.
[X] [Name] you wouldn't punch a crying woman would you?
Well, no idea why he doesn't want it now - but whatever, he can pay full price for a used-charm if he wants I guess. We'll just... keep wearing it - it's got a good dice pool, if only a s8 threshold, it could come in handy against all the warrior techniques that get thrown around though, and hardness 3 for 2 rounds isn't bad.
[X] [DELAY] You will hold onto it for another few weeks. Xu Yun will come for it when he is ready, and in the meantime you will have another potent charm in your arsenal.
[X] [NAME] Widow's Wail
