We would help them after we gain our sigil but beforehand the three month period is up. Elder Sela will offer a sigil from everyone who asks. Also now that we know more about Sect's hierarchy, or at least the Charmcrafting Department hierarchy, I don't think Sela's disciples get a personal sect member that is there advisor/teacher/tutor.
How does the thread feel about doing the deep point exactly one week after the Charm Duel. I know a few people wanted to do it two weeks giving us time to train after renting a wonder and maybe if we have extra time build a flashlight, but now that we have gone to the market and didn't buy any flashlight material(we will probably go back soon), and that renting a wonder will require getting at least two wonders, or one wonder and lots of pills and that is only affordable of we start to spend our talents. A few people on the Discord were considering doing the Deep Point right away. The reasons for waiting longer might not properly exist and if we just want to raise BSA up one level we can buy the needed pills when we go to the market to get pills for the Deep Point's fight.
How does the thread fill about doing the deep point exactly one week after the Charm Duel. I know a few people wanted to do it two weeks giving us time to train after renting a wonder and maybe if we have extra time build a flashlight, but now that we have gone to the market and didn't buy any flashlight material(we will probably go back soon), and that renting a wonder will require getting at least two wonders, or one wonder and lots of pills and that is only affordable of we start to spend our talents. A few people on the Discord were considering doing the Deep Point right away. The reasons for waiting longer might not properly exist and if we just want to raise BSA up one level we can buy the needed pills when we go to the market to get pills for the Deep Point's fight.
Depends on if nokai (or whoever we and Fa agree is a suitable stand in if we cannot trust her with this) is busy or not. Even with travel supplies it's a pretty hefty action cost and there is 0 guarantee Shouxi will be coming so we'll need more anam restores and heals bought too. It's not a bad given it's probably got the best shot of high grade mats we can expect for dad's stuff, and gives us time to keep working if the map expands after all three points are cleared (because let's face it having 3 cleared and then another leg show up or a final boss location revealed is a thing that could happen). Issue is coordinating all this so we can get it done.
How does the thread fill about doing the deep point exactly one week after the Charm Duel. I know a few people wanted to do it two weeks giving us time to train after renting a wonder and maybe if we have extra time build a flashlight, but now that we have gone to the market and didn't buy any flashlight material(we will probably go back soon), and that renting a wonder will require getting at least two wonders, or one wonder and lots of pills and that is only affordable of we start to spend our talents. A few people on the Discord were considering doing the Deep Point right away. The reasons for waiting longer might not properly exist and if we just want to raise BSA up one level we can buy the needed pills when we go to the market to get pills for the Deep Point's fight.
My enthusiasm for mingling is still subordinate to getting an Elder's sigil, of course. We are banking really heavy on the Map getting us there, but we need to keep in mind the possibility that it doesn't. First priority still has to be getting guaranteed into the 8th Circle. But once we have that on lockdown, let's meet some more people!
We should probably spend an action and tell everyone we want to join us a week ahead of time. The fact that the Deep Point will cost as 2 actions will probably either raise thhe difficulty level of the roll or require getting several successeses, if we just ask them five minutes before we plan on leaving.
My enthusiasm for mingling is still subordinate to getting an Elder's sigil, of course. We are banking really heavy on the Map getting us there, but we need to keep in mind the possibility that it doesn't. First priority still has to be getting guaranteed into the 8th Circle. But once we have that on lockdown, let's meet some more people!
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[] Night Parade of a Thousand Gnashing Teeth (aka BOX)
-[] Timbers of the Caravan (Night 11), Vestige's Teeth (Hunger 8), Game Piece (Mind 3)
-[] A Black lacquered wooden backpack made from The caravan timbers that opens up to reveal a Triptych ornately carved and decorated with images of cavorting monsters and fiends in vivid colors, all centered around a Demonic Face in the center panel. The Teeth of the Vestige make up the face's horns and teeth and the game piece is firmly secured in a hidden recess inside the faces brow.
-[] Upon activation, produces/summons a single anam construct to fight on the user's behalf and follow their instructions.
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Slowly, ever so slowly, you run your hands over your assembled materials. Your gathered horde has been greatly depleted since you first assembled it, with the Widow's Ward and your gauntlet feasting upon your components like a starving man gorging himself on bread, but there is still enough power before you that your mouth dries out slightly just thinking about it. But you cannot use everything left; you cannot compose a good song by simply including all the notes, and so it is with charms. You are going to have to leave some of them out.
The Timbers of the Caravan are going to make up the body of your next project; they are simply too large to do otherwise. Everything else will have to form around them. Perhaps the Timbers would enjoy being a cage; you could carve them into a large birdcage and line it with the Camel Turkey feathers. The picture of it forms in your mind's eye- a barely restrained gale of darkness that lashes out when it's unleashed.
But no, no, the feathers might be useful for that, but the Timbers are not of darkness. They are of night. Theirs is an all-encompassing power, true, but one that is also soothing. It is the stillness that hangs over an empty forest, the feeling of your eyes closing after a long day's work, the moon peeking out over the horizon. The night is no simple storm.
However, the idea is not without merit. The Timbers don't want to be a cage, but you do need to reshape them into a more cohesive whole. An orb, no, a large box. You can fashion the timbers into a large box that you can wear on your back like a travel sack. That will concentrate and focus the anam inwards. But what can you direct that focused anam into?
Your fingers glide over the teeth you chiseled from the jaw of the skeletal vestige, and you have your answer. The night may be soothing and calm, but not all that dwells within it is peaceful. The teeth can be your focus! You can join them with more of the timbers and place them in the center of the box. That should produce something like the gale, but properly hungry and ready to devour your foes.
The teeth alone are not enough though. You need one more piece, and you find it when you heft the small, round game piece in your hand. The hunger anam in the teeth is fierce, but directionless. The same cannot be said for the mind anam in the game piece you stole from Jin Yazhu so long ago. It lacks the fierce power of the teeth, but it is focused and ready.
An image forms in your mind. A large box with leather straps that you walk around wearing. When the box is opened, it reveals the face of a demon, carved from more of the Timbers and the game piece with the teeth serving as accents and highlights. Surrounding the face is a mural- no, a triptych carved with another of the teeth depicting monsters and fiends of all shapes and sizes. The result? A monster in a box that does your bidding when it is opened.
You nod to yourself. Perfect. You set aside your unused materials, hiding them in their safe places once more, and get to work.
Craft (Charm) Check: 6d10s7(1.3)(Soun of Kong Shuren) + 22 (Timbers of the Caravan, Vestige's Teeth, Game Piece). Dice Rolled: 8, 9, 6, 6, 5, 3. 2.6, rounded up to 3 Successes!
Craft (Charm) Check: 6d10s7(1.3)(Soun of Kong Shuren) + 25 (Timbers of the Caravan, Vestige's Teeth, Game Piece, Previous Roll). 2, 8, 8, 9, 1, 5. 2.6, rounded up to 3 Successes!
Build Target set: 28!
At first, you consider just fashioning the box first and focusing on the detailing later. But no; that would leave you crouched down in a small space with poor lighting as you tried to carve an elaborate design. There is no way it would turn out as well as you're picturing in your head. No, what you need to do is form the walls of the box first and prepare them to be joined together later. Then you can focus on the central triptych without fear.
So that is what you do. With your small saw and the keen eyes Meng Cai drilled into you, you grab the Timbers of the Caravan and begin carving them into smaller pieces. Piles of boards with different lengths begin to form on your workbench. The very small ones, you set aside to be incorporated into the mask. The larger ones, on the other hand, you continue to cut.
Notches are hewn in the planks and joined together, turning several individual planks into one large wooden board. Another quickly joins it, then two smaller ones that shall be the doors, then several larger ones. Once the seventh board- the largest one, which will serve as the back- is formed, you step back and grab one of them.
The joins in the board feel smooth and perfect; you'll need to lacquer them with something in order to really unite them, but they are a good start. And the perfect lacquer is all around you! You gather all the sawdust that you can and place it in a large bucket, and then after a moment of contemplation, you begin grinding one of the smaller teeth into the dust as well.
Before long you have a pile of mixed sawdust and ground teeth. It's not enough though. The two have complimentary anam aspects, but they need a joining agent. You find that in your oilskin with a hunk of uncut amber. The fossilized tree sap will serve nicely to bridge wood and ivory. After you grind this up, you will just need-
You pause as you remove the hunk of amber from your bag and stare at your oilskin. The pouch which contains the mundane components you brought from home is starting to look deflated and barren. You're going to need to replenish it soon- and add to it. Since you are branching out from your jewelry, you will need more things than just gems and Angel's Tears for your next project.
But that's all you need now! And speaking of, you also grab your bottle of Angel's Tears. Once the amber is grated into the dust pile, you upend the bottle into the mixture and begin to stir. A lumpy mixture forms within moments. Another pour of the Tears helps smooth it out, leaving you with an almost clear lacquer that's ready to go on the boards.
You sigh as you put the bottle down and grab your sandpaper. Angel's Tears- is there anything they can't do?
Craft (Woodworking) Check: 13d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) (Includes Bonus Dice!) vs. Build Target 28. Dice Rolled: 3, 6, 2, 10, 6, 3, 5, 2, 5, 1, 5, 2, 9, 3. 1.3 rounded down to 1 Success!
Craft (Woodworking) Check: 11d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target 27 (28-1). Dice Rolled: 8, 5, 7, 3, 5, 3, 2, 2, 10, 9, 7, 7. 7.8 rounded up to 8 Successes!
Craft (Woodworking) Check: 11d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target 19 (28-1-8). Dice Rolled: 6, 5, 6, 8, 6, 8, 7, 1, 1, 6, 2, 9. 2.6 rounded up to 3 Successes!
Craft (Woodworking) Check: 11d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target 16 (28-1-8-3). Dice Rolled: 10, 6, 3, 6, 2, 7, 8, 9, 2, 6, 4, 6. 5.2 rounded down to 5 Successes!
Craft (Woodworking) Check: 11d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target 11 (28-1-8-3-5). Dice Rolled: 3, 1, 2, 9, 5, 4, 5, 1, 9, 10, 10, 1, 9. 2.6 rounded up to 3 Successes!
Craft (Woodworking) Check: 11d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target 8 (28-1-8-3-5-3). Dice Rolled: 1, 9, 7, 6, 2, 2, 6, 5, 7, 6, 6, 1. 1.3 rounded down to 1 Success!
Craft (Woodworking) Check: 11d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target 7 (28-1-8-3-5-3-1). Dice Rolled: 1, 9, 8, 2, 10, 5, 6, 10, 7, 9, 10, 4, 1, 5. 6.5 rounded up to 7 Successes!
Craft (Woodworking) Check: 11d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target 0 (28-1-8-3-5-3-1-7). Dice Rolled: 7, 8, 9, 5, 6, 9, 4, 3, 8, 10, 10, 2, 10, 2. 10.4, rounded down to 10 Successes!
Craft (Woodworking) Check: 11d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target -10 (28-1-8-3-5-3-1-7-10). Dice Rolled: 7, 10, 3, 10, 6, 1, 4, 8, 9, 8, 5, 1, 1. 3.9, rounded up to 4 Successes!
Craft (Woodworking) Check: 11d10s7(1.3)(Son of Kong Shuren) vs. Build Target -14 (28-1-8-3-5-3-1-7-10-4). Dice Rolled: 5, 8, 8, 2, 7, 7, 7, 9, 2, 2, 9. 9.1, rounded down to 9 Successes!
Build Target Met! Current Build Target: -23. 5 successes until Double Threshold!
The next few hours of your life are consumed with sanding the boards to a smooth finish. Only when you can run your hands across every last inch of every board and not have your rough fingers catch on anything do you stop. Then it's time to etch the necessary runes for the charm. Only when that's done do you apply a coat of your homemade lacquer on six of the seven boards, and then another once the first dries.
Your third coat, you save for when you've joined four of the boards into your box's framework. You pay extra attention to the joints as you brush it on, making sure that they are thoroughly coated and bound so closely they might as well be just one piece of wood. Then you affix the doors, binding them to the rest of the box with hinges carved from caravan scraps and pins you fashion from small marbles of emerald and four more of the smaller teeth.
You step away from the framework and admire your craftsmanship. You're certain your tutor would call it an affront to good taste and common decency before feeding it to the ground, but you cannot help but feel pride as you look upon your work. Before you sits an enormous box, fully four feet tall and two feet wide. All that's left is the gaping void in it where the last side will go. You allow yourself a moment more to appreciate what you've done and then set it aside, turning to your loose planks and last remaining board.
The demon head forms easily beneath your hands as the timbers bend to take the shape they have always wanted to hold. Barely a day later, the mask is complete. When you set it within the triptych, it will dominate the middle third- and you will be unable to see the back of it. You had best take care of it's runework now.
You're starting to feel the anam in the materials now. The plaza around you seems dimmer than it was when you started, and the air carries with it a note of night's chill. Your work is starting to bring out the power hidden in these components, and you could not be happier. It's a feeling that's only amplified when you drill small holes along the mask's mouth and slowly screw in the vestige's teeth.
There are too many teeth to fit in the mask and still remain symmetrical. You set aside one to serve as your etching tool, but the rest you incorporate however you can. The mask is coated with a fine dust of the remaining incisors, turning it from dark mahogany to a dusty ivory. You consider it for a moment and, before you add the lacquer, take your saw to the game piece. A quick slice cuts the wooden disc in half widthwise, and you cement them in place over the demon's eyes with a drop of lacquer. But it's still missing something. You find that certain something in your oilskin in the form of a pair of small rubies, which form the pupils of your demon's eyes. The gems won't do all that much as far as focusing the anam, but they will not harm it in the least- and moreso, they complete the look. This is art after all! It is as much about form as it is function.
As the mask dries you move to the board. When you formed it, you carved it into three sections. The central one will house the mask, but the other two are still blank and empty. You need to adorn them with designs carved with your last remaining Vestige Tooth that both mask the runes you will engrave it with and also tell a story of this charm. What exactly the designs will look like is a mystery, even to you. You will have to let your hands and the anam flooding the room decide.
First, you engrave the runes. They spiral out from the central portion and sneak towards the sides, where they will join with the patterns you have carved in the rest of the framework. However, the runes on the triptych are surprising. Each one is exactly what this charm needs, but the form they take is unlike anything you've etched into other pieces. They are far less jagged, far looser than your normally restrained hand and much more serpentine. The anam around you clearly wants this charm to look a certain way.
The runes are flawless and pristine before long. They sit dull and lifeless for now, but you know that once the charm is infused they will burn with barely restrained power. All that's left is to accent them with the proper drawings, affix the mask, and then you can unite this board with the rest of the framework. You put down your chisel, lift your last remaining Vestige Tooth…
And pause.
The anam certainly wants this charm to look a certain way. However, you're not sure which way that is.
In your hand sits a spike of hunger anam. It practically cries out for you to carve monsters and demons into the soft wood before you. Pictures of gnashing teeth and mourning fill your mind. You can easily bring these images to life, and you know it would have quite the effect on your work. The force within would be fiendish and violent, a malevolent beast ready to hunt and crush whatever you direct it at.
But while the hunger wants that, you're getting a different sensation coming from the wood itself. The Night doesn't want to be a fiend- it wants to be something different. Something more graceful, more elegant, more… well, you cannot truly put your finger on what the night wants. All you can tell is that the effects would be similar, but the night would be dominant over hunger, as opposed to the other way around.
You stand over the triptych and consider it carefully.
Which Anam do you choose to favor in your carvings?
[] Night (Final charm gains an additional 3 Rounds of Functionality, but has weaker attacks)
[] Hunger (Final charm gains an additional 5 Dice worth power per round, but fades faster)
Well, it depends on what the dice pool and round duration is. @Vesvius, does Kong Zhi have any estimate on how significant the changes would be (i.e. is three additional rounds twice the length, 50% more, etc, and same for 5 dice to power)? Figure it's worth at least asking.
Well, it depends on what the dice pool and round duration is. @Vesvius, does Kong Zhi have any estimate on how significant the changes would be (i.e. is three additional rounds twice the length, 50% more, etc, and same for 5 dice to power)? Figure it's worth at least asking.
Sadly, Kong Zhi has not yet worked out the fine numbers (what do you think he is, a Jin?!), so that is unclear. Either one is a substantial boon though.
One of our big concerns about this charm has been anam efficiency. It sounds like Night is best for that - may be, though a strong alpha strike has efficiency all its own.
Sadly, Kong Zhi has not yet worked out the fine numbers (what do you think he is, a Jin?!), so that is unclear. Either one is a substantial boon though.
Given this, I feel that Hunger is the better long-term pick - more dice means it would be relevant longer, and with low Anam capacity and damage thresholds, Zhi is built to knock down foes quickly, not drag it out.
I'm torn because night seems conceptually more interesting though.
The power of the charm is adding a second fighter who the other champion has to deal with as the same time as Jai Fa. This means lasting longer rather than hitting harder for a short time.
[X] Night (Final charm gains an additional 3 Rounds of Functionality, but has weaker attacks)
I feel like the charm has some utility beyond combat, and adding more round of functionality would help with that utility. Hunger, in my opinion, would be saying this charm is just for combat.
