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The Streetwalker's Guide to the Hierarchy
- Thread starter Birdsie
- Start date
While we are waiting for the update, lets talk about Mask. First of all, what is Mask, exactly? We know how Mask usually work, but Nameless Mask clearly doesn't accumulate personality in the same way ordinary Mask would do, and likely doesn't protect from Facelessness in the same way. Now, we know that objects without identity don't suffer from Facelessness so that could be the protection it offers, but how does it accumulate power? I've got certain theories, but nothing concrete thus far.
A bit more practical is its ability to create and animate artificial body. While this looks whatever on the first glance, this ability has an excellent synergy with Hammer, as that body can become a vessel for many different technologies and powers. Hammer radio into it and it can now casually do communication. Hammer flame retardant and it is now resistant to flames. Usually you can't use Hammer to just straight up upgrade people, but Masks' artificial body completely ignores that restriction. As such it will serve as a powerful focus for our crafting going forward.
Also, I don't think we put enough thought into implications of Door artifact. Immediate access to Taure provides many things; a way to save tens of thousands people, potentially, or a way to gain dozens of relics, or even new opportunities to Dwindle world's mana. We have been preparing for a fight, but what if instead door opens to bunch of people wanting to escape the world? We would be in situation where we'd probably want to let them through, and reap some of the benefits ourselves.
A bit more practical is its ability to create and animate artificial body. While this looks whatever on the first glance, this ability has an excellent synergy with Hammer, as that body can become a vessel for many different technologies and powers. Hammer radio into it and it can now casually do communication. Hammer flame retardant and it is now resistant to flames. Usually you can't use Hammer to just straight up upgrade people, but Masks' artificial body completely ignores that restriction. As such it will serve as a powerful focus for our crafting going forward.
Also, I don't think we put enough thought into implications of Door artifact. Immediate access to Taure provides many things; a way to save tens of thousands people, potentially, or a way to gain dozens of relics, or even new opportunities to Dwindle world's mana. We have been preparing for a fight, but what if instead door opens to bunch of people wanting to escape the world? We would be in situation where we'd probably want to let them through, and reap some of the benefits ourselves.
Providence - The Desert With No Doors
Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
The Desert With No Doors
Cheering on Dorian's boldness and fiscal dexterity, the robot-clerk offered a complimentary glass of water to down the Products with, and Dorian consumed them in short order. One after the other they went into his gullet, where he could feel them almost instantly dissolve into a colorless powder, and that powder subsequently dissolve into something more granular and untouchable to Visceral insinuation. The Soldat's treatment contained organic chemistry that, once undergoing dissolution, bent moderately to Dorian's directions and desires, allowing him to draw on more strength than he thought he might've been able to reap otherwise. Then came the penultimate consumption.
The risk and danger of immolation were, he hoped, reduced with a combination of chillness, a reinforced form, and the Crimson Lost - mask still on the precipice of evolution, straddling the edge of its current identity and something more coherent and mightier.
Dorian consumed the experimental Product.
And subsequently blinked in confusion and amazement, able to see into the robot-clerk's internal components: a well-ordered machine of colorful wires and lime circuitboards studded with metal across its face. He swept his gaze across the room, curious. It didn't seem his vision could penetrate too deeply into anything. Even so, the form of perception was so novel it was difficult to resist the temptation to experiment. He normalized his vision and offered Linneas a calm, reassuring smile and nod.
"It seems our endeavor was successful," Dorian said.
Linneas smiled back. "You haven't burst into flame, sire, so I believe that as well."
With the new credits deposited to his account, Absurdity was theirs.
Even as Dorian made the final purchase and received a small crimson pill, the clerk cheerfully reminded them that Infimedica Unified Neonclave bore no legal or contractual responsibility for any damages, emotional harm, or other undesirable consequences of consuming the Product in question.
Linneas raised a hand. "Sire?"
Dorian looked at him, curious. "Yes?"
"What if the Absurdity-created companion cannot follow along with us? The road we follow doesn't always admit new travelers." He avoided mentioning the Street directly, with his gaze fixed on the clerk. "We should finalize this wherever we're going, shouldn't we?"
"Hm," Dorian considered. "Yes, I think you're right."
Down the Street they went. They encountered a fellow passerby, a mercenary with twin swords and a scar over an eye, disinclined to conversation and gazing at them suspiciously - perhaps because of the unconscious woman that Linneas carried. He seemed more interested in avoiding both conversation and confrontation, so neither Dorian nor Linneas started up chatter. The Street sang as it always did, revealing faint impressions of the world ahead: a visage of sandy dunes and walled cities with access to oases, minarets floating skyward and vast canyons where elements pooled, a land of darkness far east, and a mystical force almost like a weave of narratives and faith.
The Street finally delivered them to a new world.
Its appendix was more informative than usual, almost as if the Street were doubly invested in providing extra details. Like a seal on wax, it carried more impressions of the world: a vague traveler's instinct, that north of here were settlements, that west of here was certain death. The name of this world, spoken on hundreds of lips by its citizens, hushed and proclaimed, almost reached Dorian's mouth as a barest flicker of nominative meaning: 'Providence.' That was all interesting and well, serving their needs. The air, Dorian noticed immediately and sharply, was mercilessly hot and arid, almost unbreathable for his poor and unaccustomed northern Drethiri lungs. The Chill Pill was a balm.
Then Dorian's eyes widened in slight shock. Not because of the air, but something else the Street sang to him.
The hemisphere we're starting on - and an entire season of stay.
Even Linneas was mildly surprised.
"That much leeway is available?"
Dorian shot him an inquisitive look. "This is rare in your experience as well?"
"It is certainly rare, Your Majesty. I didn't have much of a chance to travel of my own accord while enslaved by Goremont, but I overheard his exchanges. It is not unheard of, but it is uncommon." He started to assess their starting location.
It seemed they were deposited almost dead center in a sort of gulch, surrounded by sandy crags and ridges of elevated landforms, some of them backsliding inwards; as if a comet had struck the earth and burrowed deep, then almost tried to build a roof of stone over itself, before suddenly shooting out tendrils to form thin open-air canyons. There was also an oasis in the center of the area, containing a small depression filled in with fresh water from a spring that flowed from inside one of the walls. Greenery and verdure, adamant and unyielding to the sand around, had sprouted there, eking out an extremophile existence under the heat.
"This seems to be a most excellent location for a campsite," Linneas noted. He scanned the gulches around, humming, as if noticing confirmation of a theory of his. He stated it without Dorian having to request, "I've traveled paths such as this one before, sire. I suspect we're on a lesser trade route."
"Lesser?"
"Not traveled as frequently as those which form the arteries of empires, but traveled still, with enough regularity to make knowledge of spots such as this useful. I can see signs of climbing gear being used recently on some of those stones over there. This is a good spot to quench the thirst of one's steed and take a moment to rest. I suspect we're in a desert. Access to water is rare. Assuming the dynamics are similar, it is considered a precious resource, so we'd be wise to stock up while we're here."
Dorian nodded. "Before that, I'll eat Absurdity."
"Naturally."
The sensation of its dissolution was almost phantasmal, kind of like ice melting in extreme fast-forward. It became dust inside his throat. Before that dust could even catch on anything and cause a coughing reaction, it dissolved on an even more fundamental level. Then Dorian's mind became acute with electrifying awareness. Thoughts and memories of stories - and, in particular, characters - filled his mind. Aware of the pill's function, he focused on the character he'd already decided to make real.
And then, out of nowhere, a humanoid stood in front of them. Gaunt and dark-skinned one moment; short, heavyset, and milk-pale the next, it swapped like that a couple of times before finally settling on a form with a physique reminiscent of Dorian's, more male than female, but with a hint of androgyny and olive skin. Over its face was a small but elegant mask, a featureless white ceramic going from brow to nose.
The mask changed, shapeshifting as flesh did under Dorian's Visceral command. From the nose and cheeks came a mouth section, curved into an easygoing smile.
"Well, hello there. Call me Mask," it said and then promptly paused in brief expectation of a response.
"I am Dorian Croft, and this is Linneas, a friend."
The Mask looked at Linneas and the woman in his arms with curiosity. "And the unconscious lady?"
"Japhris," Dorian said. "She's not feeling or doing well."
"Hmm." The Mask looked to Dorian once again, bobbing on the balls of its feet. "Could this have anything to do with Fixation?"
"Yes, it does."
"How curious!" the Mask answered, voice elevated with an almost cheerful or at least curious tint.
"I assure you we mean no harm to you or her," Dorian started prophylactically. Then, inclined to intrigue at its tone, "Why is it curious, though?"
"Why, you seem downright Drethiri, but I can tell we aren't on Drethir. That much is obvious, I mean. I feel not a bit of pressure on me, as if suddenly taken out of that entire, terrible swirling rollercoaster of identity-crushing malevolence! And I've never heard of such a thing as a 'rollercoaster' before now, yet use the term so naturally within the appropriate context. Indeed, I cannot make much sense of my memories and qualia - leading me to conclude that I am, in some manner, fabricated. While this'd normally be worrying, I'd rather focus on the practicals of the situation. I assume you two, so expectantly looking at me, have some kind of involvement with this?"
Linneas and Dorian shared a look, the bond of King and Pawn allowing them to feel, in a feat of borderline telepathy, each other's sheer inability to process the Mask's casual attitude. After setting Japhris down against a nearby rock, they invited the Mask Without Name to hear them out, as Dorian regaled it with a laconic version of his story. He started with a summary of life before the Street, its discovery and nature, and then adventures since then - concluding, finally, in the manner in which they'd called it forth.
Throughout the entire tale, Linneas added minor addenda and footnotes while Dorian considered how to continue, helpfully answering potential questions before the Mask could even ask, and accelerating the entire process noticeably. The Mask's countenance - both its mortal vessel and the physical mask itself - shifted occasionally, seemingly almost as an emotional reaction. Its features showed a sense of wonder and curiosity, eye holes literally widening, as he talked about the Street. Horror and concern, its ceramic material turning dark like onyx wood, when the Somber Mask's potential influence on Veronica was revealed.
"I see," the Mask said with a final resounding hum. "Well... Given I am, apparently - or was, until now - a fictional being... I suppose I am somewhat thankful for being brought into the world. My general sense of morality and wisdom leads me to conclude I should help you, at least with recovering poor Doctor Musorov, if nothing else!"
"I sense a but," Dorian said.
"There is none," the Mask said cheerfully. "You are a nobleman, yes? Well, I am something of an adventurer, so it is only natural for you to offer me a quest! We'll discuss the recompense, if you can afford any, afterward! But simply the opportunity to see a new world is rather nice. For now, consider me a hired mercenary on your payroll!"
"How mercenary indeed," said Dorian drolly.
"Well, you are a self-proclaimed King, and Kings have mercenaries!" the Mask said, raising a hand to its chest almost defensively.
"Then perhaps you should refer to His Majesty with some respect. Nameless adventurers usually belong to the peasant classes, after all," Linneas joked lightly.
"Gentlefriends, we should consider our next and most immediate steps," Dorian said, defusing the conversation swiftly before it became a tangle of witty repartees and clever back-and-forths. One didn't need enhanced social instinct, to see where that was headed.
"Hmm, so very boring an order, Your Majesty!" the Mask complained, chuckling amusedly to itself - becoming a very literal comedic mask in the process, mouth hanging open almost like an Inquisitor's. Dorian shivered a little. The Mask seemed to notice and adjusted its countenance slightly for less exaggeration. "But yes, you are right."
The conversation moved in more productive directions from there.
---
Data on the Mask Without Name
*Cheerful, go-getter attitude. Unworried about its pataphysical origin, confident in the present.
*Seems genuinely willing to help you out but expects compensation - if you can afford it later, at least.
*Has a number of rather ill-defined powers derived from the gestalt of its past wearers, capable of shifting between them via identity-swapping. Altogether, as far as Dorian knows, that means about at least thirty-five powersets, each of which is about as, or even more potent, than his current Crimson Lost/Hunter.
*Some of its identities are more powerful than others.
Data on Providence
*Its cultures, kingdoms, and other aspects are unclear. It seems wherever you've ended up is a deserted region.
*You can stay on Providence for about a season, or three months, and your time won't drain any faster as long as you stay on the same continent as the one you've started on. However, you can travel to anywhere within the same hemisphere and the Street will permit it, albeit at a moderately faster time drain.
*Alongside your arrival came an attached impression that you'll find civilization slightly north of where you are, and total doom west of where you are.
Questioning the earbuds produced these nuggets of data:
*The Street deposited you to a safe sanctum. This oasis isn't frequently visited but most of its visitors are caravans, who rarely initiate hostilities with random travelers.
*The water here's safe to drink. 'The monsters who are made of water and blood,' are far away, whatever that means.
*A couple of interesting statements when asked about the oasis:
"Once, a princess slept here, under the moon's rays. Her father's men never found her, but a righteous prince did. They are happy ever after, somewhere out there."
"It's around you everywhere. You can't see it, you can't feel it, but it's there. So beautiful... if only it weren't so stained."
*A very ominous set of statements when asked about the world's topography and general nature:
"The answer is beneath us. A single hour, millennia in the making... How fearful."
"They are so far deep down. Still sleeping. Beg they don't wake up. Please, please - get on your knees and beg them not to wake up."
"It scares me. I'm an inanimate object. How can I be scared? And still... it scares me. YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID EVEN MORE THAN ME!"
The final sentence was shouted so loud Dorian flinched. The earbuds had never been this emotional with him.
What do you do from here? There are several options, so choose a couple, preferably in an orderly plan format. You'll have three (3) actions before you need to set out north and travel to a settlement so that you can find a door to call down Veronica to Providence.
Import: 9.7
Social Actions:
[ ] Talk to Linneas - Stories and snippets aren't the same as the man himself. Learn more about Linneas.
[ ] Talk to Mask - Your newest companion! Learn more about the Mask and its mode of thinking. It'd also be helpful to know more about your ally's abilities.
[ ] Awaken Japhris - You should address the elephant in the room. The sooner you deal with this, the sooner you can focus on other, more productive matters.
[ ] Get Extra Social Action [1 Import] - Find a way to slot in a bit of extra, meaningful conversation between the other activities.
Practical Actions - for those with a variety of results, such as Visceral Refinement, Craft Mask, or Train Gamaliel, add a footnote on desired results:
[ ] Hammer Earbuds into Oracle [1 Import] - Shatter the earbuds and implant them into your Oracle. For 1 Import and an action spent on adding details to stabilize the result, this will be a strictly better product than either of its components; otherwise, it'll simply be slightly more convenient, but not much else. Dorian's tempted to do this anyway.
[ ] Go Hunting - Evolve Crimson Lost into Crimson Hunter. Gets you food and other bodily components, potentially usable Viscerally or sellable.
[ ] Visceral Refinement - You can now Viscerality to change how your body works! Improve something about your body, such as general attributes or a specific organ.
[ ] Craft Mask - Craft a mask, either for its own sake or a replica of another mask to Hammer into the original.
[ ] Train Gamaliel - You can aim to either increase its general sophistication or - with better odds of success - invent or advance a specialized Technique.
[ ] Ambush Readiness - You're an excellent craftsman and the Mask is very well-learned in combat tactics. Craft some traps and weapons (esp. potent with Gamaliel.)
[ ] Get Extra Practical Action [1 Import] - Through sustained diligence, take an extra action on the practical side within the minor time window you have.
[ ] Write-in
Cheering on Dorian's boldness and fiscal dexterity, the robot-clerk offered a complimentary glass of water to down the Products with, and Dorian consumed them in short order. One after the other they went into his gullet, where he could feel them almost instantly dissolve into a colorless powder, and that powder subsequently dissolve into something more granular and untouchable to Visceral insinuation. The Soldat's treatment contained organic chemistry that, once undergoing dissolution, bent moderately to Dorian's directions and desires, allowing him to draw on more strength than he thought he might've been able to reap otherwise. Then came the penultimate consumption.
The risk and danger of immolation were, he hoped, reduced with a combination of chillness, a reinforced form, and the Crimson Lost - mask still on the precipice of evolution, straddling the edge of its current identity and something more coherent and mightier.
Dorian consumed the experimental Product.
And subsequently blinked in confusion and amazement, able to see into the robot-clerk's internal components: a well-ordered machine of colorful wires and lime circuitboards studded with metal across its face. He swept his gaze across the room, curious. It didn't seem his vision could penetrate too deeply into anything. Even so, the form of perception was so novel it was difficult to resist the temptation to experiment. He normalized his vision and offered Linneas a calm, reassuring smile and nod.
"It seems our endeavor was successful," Dorian said.
Linneas smiled back. "You haven't burst into flame, sire, so I believe that as well."
With the new credits deposited to his account, Absurdity was theirs.
Even as Dorian made the final purchase and received a small crimson pill, the clerk cheerfully reminded them that Infimedica Unified Neonclave bore no legal or contractual responsibility for any damages, emotional harm, or other undesirable consequences of consuming the Product in question.
Linneas raised a hand. "Sire?"
Dorian looked at him, curious. "Yes?"
"What if the Absurdity-created companion cannot follow along with us? The road we follow doesn't always admit new travelers." He avoided mentioning the Street directly, with his gaze fixed on the clerk. "We should finalize this wherever we're going, shouldn't we?"
"Hm," Dorian considered. "Yes, I think you're right."
Down the Street they went. They encountered a fellow passerby, a mercenary with twin swords and a scar over an eye, disinclined to conversation and gazing at them suspiciously - perhaps because of the unconscious woman that Linneas carried. He seemed more interested in avoiding both conversation and confrontation, so neither Dorian nor Linneas started up chatter. The Street sang as it always did, revealing faint impressions of the world ahead: a visage of sandy dunes and walled cities with access to oases, minarets floating skyward and vast canyons where elements pooled, a land of darkness far east, and a mystical force almost like a weave of narratives and faith.
The Street finally delivered them to a new world.
Its appendix was more informative than usual, almost as if the Street were doubly invested in providing extra details. Like a seal on wax, it carried more impressions of the world: a vague traveler's instinct, that north of here were settlements, that west of here was certain death. The name of this world, spoken on hundreds of lips by its citizens, hushed and proclaimed, almost reached Dorian's mouth as a barest flicker of nominative meaning: 'Providence.' That was all interesting and well, serving their needs. The air, Dorian noticed immediately and sharply, was mercilessly hot and arid, almost unbreathable for his poor and unaccustomed northern Drethiri lungs. The Chill Pill was a balm.
Then Dorian's eyes widened in slight shock. Not because of the air, but something else the Street sang to him.
The hemisphere we're starting on - and an entire season of stay.
Even Linneas was mildly surprised.
"That much leeway is available?"
Dorian shot him an inquisitive look. "This is rare in your experience as well?"
"It is certainly rare, Your Majesty. I didn't have much of a chance to travel of my own accord while enslaved by Goremont, but I overheard his exchanges. It is not unheard of, but it is uncommon." He started to assess their starting location.
It seemed they were deposited almost dead center in a sort of gulch, surrounded by sandy crags and ridges of elevated landforms, some of them backsliding inwards; as if a comet had struck the earth and burrowed deep, then almost tried to build a roof of stone over itself, before suddenly shooting out tendrils to form thin open-air canyons. There was also an oasis in the center of the area, containing a small depression filled in with fresh water from a spring that flowed from inside one of the walls. Greenery and verdure, adamant and unyielding to the sand around, had sprouted there, eking out an extremophile existence under the heat.
"This seems to be a most excellent location for a campsite," Linneas noted. He scanned the gulches around, humming, as if noticing confirmation of a theory of his. He stated it without Dorian having to request, "I've traveled paths such as this one before, sire. I suspect we're on a lesser trade route."
"Lesser?"
"Not traveled as frequently as those which form the arteries of empires, but traveled still, with enough regularity to make knowledge of spots such as this useful. I can see signs of climbing gear being used recently on some of those stones over there. This is a good spot to quench the thirst of one's steed and take a moment to rest. I suspect we're in a desert. Access to water is rare. Assuming the dynamics are similar, it is considered a precious resource, so we'd be wise to stock up while we're here."
Dorian nodded. "Before that, I'll eat Absurdity."
"Naturally."
The sensation of its dissolution was almost phantasmal, kind of like ice melting in extreme fast-forward. It became dust inside his throat. Before that dust could even catch on anything and cause a coughing reaction, it dissolved on an even more fundamental level. Then Dorian's mind became acute with electrifying awareness. Thoughts and memories of stories - and, in particular, characters - filled his mind. Aware of the pill's function, he focused on the character he'd already decided to make real.
And then, out of nowhere, a humanoid stood in front of them. Gaunt and dark-skinned one moment; short, heavyset, and milk-pale the next, it swapped like that a couple of times before finally settling on a form with a physique reminiscent of Dorian's, more male than female, but with a hint of androgyny and olive skin. Over its face was a small but elegant mask, a featureless white ceramic going from brow to nose.
The mask changed, shapeshifting as flesh did under Dorian's Visceral command. From the nose and cheeks came a mouth section, curved into an easygoing smile.
"Well, hello there. Call me Mask," it said and then promptly paused in brief expectation of a response.
"I am Dorian Croft, and this is Linneas, a friend."
The Mask looked at Linneas and the woman in his arms with curiosity. "And the unconscious lady?"
"Japhris," Dorian said. "She's not feeling or doing well."
"Hmm." The Mask looked to Dorian once again, bobbing on the balls of its feet. "Could this have anything to do with Fixation?"
"Yes, it does."
"How curious!" the Mask answered, voice elevated with an almost cheerful or at least curious tint.
"I assure you we mean no harm to you or her," Dorian started prophylactically. Then, inclined to intrigue at its tone, "Why is it curious, though?"
"Why, you seem downright Drethiri, but I can tell we aren't on Drethir. That much is obvious, I mean. I feel not a bit of pressure on me, as if suddenly taken out of that entire, terrible swirling rollercoaster of identity-crushing malevolence! And I've never heard of such a thing as a 'rollercoaster' before now, yet use the term so naturally within the appropriate context. Indeed, I cannot make much sense of my memories and qualia - leading me to conclude that I am, in some manner, fabricated. While this'd normally be worrying, I'd rather focus on the practicals of the situation. I assume you two, so expectantly looking at me, have some kind of involvement with this?"
Linneas and Dorian shared a look, the bond of King and Pawn allowing them to feel, in a feat of borderline telepathy, each other's sheer inability to process the Mask's casual attitude. After setting Japhris down against a nearby rock, they invited the Mask Without Name to hear them out, as Dorian regaled it with a laconic version of his story. He started with a summary of life before the Street, its discovery and nature, and then adventures since then - concluding, finally, in the manner in which they'd called it forth.
Throughout the entire tale, Linneas added minor addenda and footnotes while Dorian considered how to continue, helpfully answering potential questions before the Mask could even ask, and accelerating the entire process noticeably. The Mask's countenance - both its mortal vessel and the physical mask itself - shifted occasionally, seemingly almost as an emotional reaction. Its features showed a sense of wonder and curiosity, eye holes literally widening, as he talked about the Street. Horror and concern, its ceramic material turning dark like onyx wood, when the Somber Mask's potential influence on Veronica was revealed.
"I see," the Mask said with a final resounding hum. "Well... Given I am, apparently - or was, until now - a fictional being... I suppose I am somewhat thankful for being brought into the world. My general sense of morality and wisdom leads me to conclude I should help you, at least with recovering poor Doctor Musorov, if nothing else!"
"I sense a but," Dorian said.
"There is none," the Mask said cheerfully. "You are a nobleman, yes? Well, I am something of an adventurer, so it is only natural for you to offer me a quest! We'll discuss the recompense, if you can afford any, afterward! But simply the opportunity to see a new world is rather nice. For now, consider me a hired mercenary on your payroll!"
"How mercenary indeed," said Dorian drolly.
"Well, you are a self-proclaimed King, and Kings have mercenaries!" the Mask said, raising a hand to its chest almost defensively.
"Then perhaps you should refer to His Majesty with some respect. Nameless adventurers usually belong to the peasant classes, after all," Linneas joked lightly.
"Gentlefriends, we should consider our next and most immediate steps," Dorian said, defusing the conversation swiftly before it became a tangle of witty repartees and clever back-and-forths. One didn't need enhanced social instinct, to see where that was headed.
"Hmm, so very boring an order, Your Majesty!" the Mask complained, chuckling amusedly to itself - becoming a very literal comedic mask in the process, mouth hanging open almost like an Inquisitor's. Dorian shivered a little. The Mask seemed to notice and adjusted its countenance slightly for less exaggeration. "But yes, you are right."
The conversation moved in more productive directions from there.
---
Data on the Mask Without Name
*Cheerful, go-getter attitude. Unworried about its pataphysical origin, confident in the present.
*Seems genuinely willing to help you out but expects compensation - if you can afford it later, at least.
*Has a number of rather ill-defined powers derived from the gestalt of its past wearers, capable of shifting between them via identity-swapping. Altogether, as far as Dorian knows, that means about at least thirty-five powersets, each of which is about as, or even more potent, than his current Crimson Lost/Hunter.
*Some of its identities are more powerful than others.
Data on Providence
*Its cultures, kingdoms, and other aspects are unclear. It seems wherever you've ended up is a deserted region.
*You can stay on Providence for about a season, or three months, and your time won't drain any faster as long as you stay on the same continent as the one you've started on. However, you can travel to anywhere within the same hemisphere and the Street will permit it, albeit at a moderately faster time drain.
*Alongside your arrival came an attached impression that you'll find civilization slightly north of where you are, and total doom west of where you are.
Questioning the earbuds produced these nuggets of data:
*The Street deposited you to a safe sanctum. This oasis isn't frequently visited but most of its visitors are caravans, who rarely initiate hostilities with random travelers.
*The water here's safe to drink. 'The monsters who are made of water and blood,' are far away, whatever that means.
*A couple of interesting statements when asked about the oasis:
"Once, a princess slept here, under the moon's rays. Her father's men never found her, but a righteous prince did. They are happy ever after, somewhere out there."
"It's around you everywhere. You can't see it, you can't feel it, but it's there. So beautiful... if only it weren't so stained."
*A very ominous set of statements when asked about the world's topography and general nature:
"The answer is beneath us. A single hour, millennia in the making... How fearful."
"They are so far deep down. Still sleeping. Beg they don't wake up. Please, please - get on your knees and beg them not to wake up."
"It scares me. I'm an inanimate object. How can I be scared? And still... it scares me. YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID EVEN MORE THAN ME!"
The final sentence was shouted so loud Dorian flinched. The earbuds had never been this emotional with him.
What do you do from here? There are several options, so choose a couple, preferably in an orderly plan format. You'll have three (3) actions before you need to set out north and travel to a settlement so that you can find a door to call down Veronica to Providence.
Import: 9.7
Social Actions:
[ ] Talk to Linneas - Stories and snippets aren't the same as the man himself. Learn more about Linneas.
[ ] Talk to Mask - Your newest companion! Learn more about the Mask and its mode of thinking. It'd also be helpful to know more about your ally's abilities.
[ ] Awaken Japhris - You should address the elephant in the room. The sooner you deal with this, the sooner you can focus on other, more productive matters.
[ ] Get Extra Social Action [1 Import] - Find a way to slot in a bit of extra, meaningful conversation between the other activities.
Practical Actions - for those with a variety of results, such as Visceral Refinement, Craft Mask, or Train Gamaliel, add a footnote on desired results:
[ ] Hammer Earbuds into Oracle [1 Import] - Shatter the earbuds and implant them into your Oracle. For 1 Import and an action spent on adding details to stabilize the result, this will be a strictly better product than either of its components; otherwise, it'll simply be slightly more convenient, but not much else. Dorian's tempted to do this anyway.
[ ] Go Hunting - Evolve Crimson Lost into Crimson Hunter. Gets you food and other bodily components, potentially usable Viscerally or sellable.
[ ] Visceral Refinement - You can now Viscerality to change how your body works! Improve something about your body, such as general attributes or a specific organ.
[ ] Craft Mask - Craft a mask, either for its own sake or a replica of another mask to Hammer into the original.
[ ] Train Gamaliel - You can aim to either increase its general sophistication or - with better odds of success - invent or advance a specialized Technique.
[ ] Ambush Readiness - You're an excellent craftsman and the Mask is very well-learned in combat tactics. Craft some traps and weapons (esp. potent with Gamaliel.)
[ ] Get Extra Practical Action [1 Import] - Through sustained diligence, take an extra action on the practical side within the minor time window you have.
[ ] Write-in
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[X] Pink Plan
-[X] Go Hunting
-[X] Visceral Refinement - Get yourself some rearranged and redundant organs. Don't need it? Scrap it for space. Digestive system? Why not have a spare brain there?
-[X] Ambush Readiness - We know at the very least our good fellow Mask is equipped with 35 separate identities of power, tis only right our good mercenary works his arse off in at least a dozen of them, creating for example a shack to summon your foe into so you might have a very literal kill box!
-[X] Go Hunting
-[X] Visceral Refinement - Get yourself some rearranged and redundant organs. Don't need it? Scrap it for space. Digestive system? Why not have a spare brain there?
-[X] Ambush Readiness - We know at the very least our good fellow Mask is equipped with 35 separate identities of power, tis only right our good mercenary works his arse off in at least a dozen of them, creating for example a shack to summon your foe into so you might have a very literal kill box!
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Rihaku
The Internet
Ideally we would be able to use the Mask to do therapy on Japhris - it's possible that fusing it with Arcanist and having her wear it would fulfill her need to wear the Arcanist without further advancing Fixation, due to the Mask's unique nature. But we have no way of knowing this without talking to the Mask first, so making a plan around it isn't practical.
We'd also need to know what hammering the Arcanist into Mask would actually do.
EDIT: Some Discord Info
On Gamaliel Techniques - "Much as sufficiently developed technology is indistinguishable from magic, a sufficiently developed Gamaliel should be indistinguishable from arbitrary reality warping! For one turn you could most likely develop focused offensive Techniques of a very particular flavor (animate environment to attack, fire an elemental blast, create mask-minions,) that might still be somewhat shakily stable, or find ways to enhance traps or weapons you could make for the ambush."
On Hammering Arcanist into Mask - "The Mask Without Name's best mage identity at the moment is that of a conjurer of tricks, specializing in evocations and illusions; at its level it can fool all five senses reliably for a single target or confound a group with considerable impact past resistances, as well as evoke offensive and defensive effects that could destroy a castle's wall or prevent similar damage. Improved [by Hammering Arcanist in], it'd gain about a one-fifth or one-fourth increase?"
On Fixing Japhris - "It doesn't really know Japhris that well, so it's hard to say! It'd have to talk to her first. Based on your description, it doesn't sound more difficult than any of the cases of post-Fixation psychosis or dependence it's helped people with?
But that is only a cursory estimate. There are no stories of it causing Fixation! However, Mask posits that even if this were the case, it could predict and prevent that from occurring (or perhaps, if truly desireable, accelerate it?) Detecting Fixation and Facelessness are among its core abilities; things it can do regardless of form.
For whatever it is worth, Mask itself believes it'd simply be better to aim for giving it Arcanist, and it'll then simply increase its power with appropriate facetime. Even if the outcome is subpar and results in Auratic Investiture, that isn't so bad.
Also, it should be noted: Mask is an incorrigible itinerant by nature. It doesn't mind being worn for a time, especially in situations of dire exigence, but won't bond itself to any one wearer permanently."
Tentative plan:
[X] Plan Therapy
-Talk to Mask on a variety of topics - does it have any powers that would be relevant to occluding an ambush from Veronica's detection? What's its strongest identity in a straight fight? Does it think it can help Japhris find a semblance of mental stability? How does its analogue to Fixation (if any) work - are its wearers simply unaffected by Fixation, both benefits and harms, or is there a more sophisticated mechanism in play? What does it think about our theory that we can fuse it with Arcanist and have Japhris wear it to fulfill her need for the Arcanist without triggering or progressing her Fixation?
-What does Mask think about hammering items into its artificial body in order to augment its attributes - for example, hammering (Gamaliel-augmented?) steel to improve its body's durability?
-If the conversation with Mask portends well for therapy's prospects, awaken Japhris and deal with her Fixation as per the conversation above. Mask's experienced in these matters, generally follow its guidance. Mention unique aspects of Japhris' case (being a useful tool perhaps integral to her identity, rapid pace of Fixation, etc)
-If Mask doesn't know the answers to the most relevant questions, Hammer Earbuds into Oracle to see if you can get any useful information that way. If said information portends well for therapy's prospects, awaken Japhris. [-1 to -2 Import]
-Go Hunting
Having Japhris and her 70+ Potential Arcanist Mask back online will be the single largest combat buff we can muster, unless Mask has combat identities even stronger than that.
We'd also need to know what hammering the Arcanist into Mask would actually do.
EDIT: Some Discord Info
On Gamaliel Techniques - "Much as sufficiently developed technology is indistinguishable from magic, a sufficiently developed Gamaliel should be indistinguishable from arbitrary reality warping! For one turn you could most likely develop focused offensive Techniques of a very particular flavor (animate environment to attack, fire an elemental blast, create mask-minions,) that might still be somewhat shakily stable, or find ways to enhance traps or weapons you could make for the ambush."
On Hammering Arcanist into Mask - "The Mask Without Name's best mage identity at the moment is that of a conjurer of tricks, specializing in evocations and illusions; at its level it can fool all five senses reliably for a single target or confound a group with considerable impact past resistances, as well as evoke offensive and defensive effects that could destroy a castle's wall or prevent similar damage. Improved [by Hammering Arcanist in], it'd gain about a one-fifth or one-fourth increase?"
On Fixing Japhris - "It doesn't really know Japhris that well, so it's hard to say! It'd have to talk to her first. Based on your description, it doesn't sound more difficult than any of the cases of post-Fixation psychosis or dependence it's helped people with?
But that is only a cursory estimate. There are no stories of it causing Fixation! However, Mask posits that even if this were the case, it could predict and prevent that from occurring (or perhaps, if truly desireable, accelerate it?) Detecting Fixation and Facelessness are among its core abilities; things it can do regardless of form.
For whatever it is worth, Mask itself believes it'd simply be better to aim for giving it Arcanist, and it'll then simply increase its power with appropriate facetime. Even if the outcome is subpar and results in Auratic Investiture, that isn't so bad.
Also, it should be noted: Mask is an incorrigible itinerant by nature. It doesn't mind being worn for a time, especially in situations of dire exigence, but won't bond itself to any one wearer permanently."
Tentative plan:
[X] Plan Therapy
-Talk to Mask on a variety of topics - does it have any powers that would be relevant to occluding an ambush from Veronica's detection? What's its strongest identity in a straight fight? Does it think it can help Japhris find a semblance of mental stability? How does its analogue to Fixation (if any) work - are its wearers simply unaffected by Fixation, both benefits and harms, or is there a more sophisticated mechanism in play? What does it think about our theory that we can fuse it with Arcanist and have Japhris wear it to fulfill her need for the Arcanist without triggering or progressing her Fixation?
-What does Mask think about hammering items into its artificial body in order to augment its attributes - for example, hammering (Gamaliel-augmented?) steel to improve its body's durability?
-If the conversation with Mask portends well for therapy's prospects, awaken Japhris and deal with her Fixation as per the conversation above. Mask's experienced in these matters, generally follow its guidance. Mention unique aspects of Japhris' case (being a useful tool perhaps integral to her identity, rapid pace of Fixation, etc)
-If Mask doesn't know the answers to the most relevant questions, Hammer Earbuds into Oracle to see if you can get any useful information that way. If said information portends well for therapy's prospects, awaken Japhris. [-1 to -2 Import]
-Go Hunting
Having Japhris and her 70+ Potential Arcanist Mask back online will be the single largest combat buff we can muster, unless Mask has combat identities even stronger than that.
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We could try developing a technique that focus on restoring either Japrhis or our Dreamless. Probably former. Something like
[ ] Train Gamaliel - Develop a technique that allows you to manipulate target's Fixation parameter
The great thing about this is that just an itsy bit is enough. Going for 1.5 to 1.4 Fixation would make this way easier.
[X] Plan Basic 1.0
-Talk to Mask
-Awaken Japhris
-Get Extra Social Action [1 Import]
-Hammer Earbuds into Oracle [1 Import]
-Go Hunting
-Train Gamaliel - Develop Fixation modulation technique
-Get Extra Practical Action [1 Import]
This is probably it. Getting Mask info is a priority, Awaken Japhris plus Train Gamaliel to get Arcanist back, improve CL and get info power with Oracle. In either case I think that maximum Import expenditure is the way to go, as resolving our current situation without a hitch should be our priority.
-Talk to Mask
-Awaken Japhris
-Get Extra Social Action [1 Import]
-Hammer Earbuds into Oracle [1 Import]
-Go Hunting
-Train Gamaliel - Develop Fixation modulation technique
-Get Extra Practical Action [1 Import]
This is probably it. Getting Mask info is a priority, Awaken Japhris plus Train Gamaliel to get Arcanist back, improve CL and get info power with Oracle. In either case I think that maximum Import expenditure is the way to go, as resolving our current situation without a hitch should be our priority.
Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
To develop a Technique to any kind of efficacy, you'll need to experiment on someone with it!
We do have that 1.1 Fixation with Artificer :^)
Birdsie
Sharp Talons Cleave The Worthy
- Location
- Poland
Can't make an omelette without cracking your own head against the bowl, eh? I can support being based.
how would we even fixate them
You put a Mask on them. We know that animals can wear masks, and it stands to reason that their egos are weaker so they should Fixate faster, and Nameless could potentially help us as well, what with his ability to sense Fixation. Viscerality should also be helpful since we can monitor their mental state and keep them down. Also Linneas cheerleading powers.
Then you just keep pumping in Contamination until we figure first how to cause, then later undo Fixation so we can understand how to modulate it with Contamination.
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Maximum Power
The Unchosen One
- Location
- The Ormulum
🦁 🍽️ 👶 iykyk
Hello Providence. How good to see you again.
[X] Plan: Alert and Direct
[X] Talk to Mask
[X] Awaken Japhris
[X] Hammer Earbuds into Oracle [1 Import]
[X] Get Extra Practical Action [1 Import]
-[X] Ambush Readiness
I think this is a solid, all-rounder type plan that covers a few important things without overextending. Open to discussion of course, but this is my initial opinion.
Hello Providence. How good to see you again.
[X] Plan: Alert and Direct
[X] Talk to Mask
[X] Awaken Japhris
[X] Hammer Earbuds into Oracle [1 Import]
[X] Get Extra Practical Action [1 Import]
-[X] Ambush Readiness
I think this is a solid, all-rounder type plan that covers a few important things without overextending. Open to discussion of course, but this is my initial opinion.
[X] Plan Therapy
- Location
- 1
I don't think we should shatter the earbuds into oracle; the import version does says 'strictly improved', but needing to take off our current mask to use them makes them much worse in high-stakes situations, which is an issue as long as it's into a mask. Bud-boosted Oracle wouldn't have been usable while negotiating with Veronica or fleeing the urchin.
If anything between Oracle and Earbuds, we should shatter the Mask to feed its power into the earbuds.
If anything between Oracle and Earbuds, we should shatter the Mask to feed its power into the earbuds.
Its a trade off, less useful in some cases and vastly more useful in other cases, plus capable of evolving. Ultimately 95% uses of this ability would be out of combat so it is more than worth it.
Besides Midnight Oracle is detection/farsight mask so it has a decent chance of detecting good portion of foes before we engage them.
Besides Midnight Oracle is detection/farsight mask so it has a decent chance of detecting good portion of foes before we engage them.
- Location
- 1
I think 95% is a gross overestimation(assuming you're counting 'cases in which the earbuds were used', not, like, inflating the numbers for out-of-combat by counting every relic we looked at with them to start off separately. Distinct situations where the Earbuds mattered.). Historical rates are maybe ...75%? Somewhere in that range. I don't see that much reason to think they'll change so sharply.
'Vastly more useful' also seems like an overestimation! Without import it's "simply be slightly more convenient", so the ability to evolve must not be especially high in the base case of Earbudmask (over the even-baser case of Earbuds and Mask.). As for with import, the description only says "this will be a strictly better product than either of its components"- That's not a ringing endorsement of vastly improved use! From the phrasing, I'd be slightly surprised if the benefits are over +25%(in some arbitrary divination-power measuring system or what have you) and greatly surprised if they're over +100%.
(another thought: We might be better served trying to combine the earbuds into a Mask that makes them better at elaborating, rather than boosting their raw power? Clearly the Earbud's divination has managed to discover that this world is "A single hour, millennia in the making" and hosts "sleeping" beings that are "far deep down" and really scary; More useful than more raw divination might be if the earbuds or the powers of the mask in question could explain, or make it clear, what "a single hour, millennia in the making" means, and how much it has actually determined about the sleeping beings (and whether our potential begging is actually relevant.)- In some cases it might just only have divined what it's saying, but in the case of "a single hour, millennia in the making" it'd be pretty odd to randomly get that sentence and know it's accurate without knowing what it means.
I suppose there's no in principle reason we can't have the best of both worlds in that regard, though.)
'Vastly more useful' also seems like an overestimation! Without import it's "simply be slightly more convenient", so the ability to evolve must not be especially high in the base case of Earbudmask (over the even-baser case of Earbuds and Mask.). As for with import, the description only says "this will be a strictly better product than either of its components"- That's not a ringing endorsement of vastly improved use! From the phrasing, I'd be slightly surprised if the benefits are over +25%(in some arbitrary divination-power measuring system or what have you) and greatly surprised if they're over +100%.
(another thought: We might be better served trying to combine the earbuds into a Mask that makes them better at elaborating, rather than boosting their raw power? Clearly the Earbud's divination has managed to discover that this world is "A single hour, millennia in the making" and hosts "sleeping" beings that are "far deep down" and really scary; More useful than more raw divination might be if the earbuds or the powers of the mask in question could explain, or make it clear, what "a single hour, millennia in the making" means, and how much it has actually determined about the sleeping beings (and whether our potential begging is actually relevant.)- In some cases it might just only have divined what it's saying, but in the case of "a single hour, millennia in the making" it'd be pretty odd to randomly get that sentence and know it's accurate without knowing what it means.
I suppose there's no in principle reason we can't have the best of both worlds in that regard, though.)