1. I've changed how training works, and that's in the system notes. I'll also post it here.
2. Due to ongoing sleep issues, I'm going to be late with an update. I am aiming to get it written tonight and tomorrow, since I want to get the updates out every 3~4 days, but I will get it done by Friday.
So, after some thought, I went to redo the training mechanics:
Classes have a base statline they give, and then a flat modifier to certain skill growth. For Sorceress, it is +15 to Mana Sense,Mana Control,Magic Missile (The modifier increases given certain plot beats.)
Every morning, April does training. The intensity (and the length) is currently Normal (modifier*1 to skills, +1d100/3 to Intelligence and Agility)
(This can be switched to Light, which is modifier*(2/3), -1 skill choice, and +1d100/5 to INT/AGI, +1 action
or Heavy - modifier*(4/3), +1 skill choice, +1d100/2 to INT/AGI, -1 action.)
During the day, she takes classes to both get her up to a minimum standard of represnetation, and because the Alley of the Star Seeker is not a cloistered/pure academic organization.
The classes award a random item from the pool. On a critical success, the reward is ranked up.
After that, April has off-time to do certain things. She can do additional training, do a task from the taskboard, socialize, etc.
This training action is for three things, and can be for
- Skills
- Powers
- Stats
- Specific Actions
Each gets a 1d100 roll added to whatever it was already. You can specify a skill or power, or state (Random Known Spell) and (Random Known Power).
A critical roll can upgrade the power or skill that is either about to rank up to the next rank, or already a rank above the tier of the spell.
For example, Magic Armor (Common) at Common 9 can upgrade to Armor of the Earth (Adept) at Common 0. But Magic Armor (Common) at Common 5 can't unless the critical roll is enough to increase it 5 subranks.
Stat increasing here does require some explanation as to how, though. Some stats, such as Presence, which controls social abilities, may require something like 'attending talks, or seminars' given for fun.
[X] Plan: magic boot camp
-[X] [Conduit] Death Magic Purification - April, unknowingly, is cursed with Death Mana. You could work on purifying it from her before she gains Infernal traits. However, it must be a slow and spread out process. (Ongoing, has 33% Curse Progress. Each turn stops progress and decreases it by 5%.)(Possible side effects and complications if you take this every turn. Current Progress per turn: 3%)(Taken 2 turns ago)
-[X] [Conduit] Luck of the Goddess - You cannot teach her the grand secrets, but you can ensure that she finds the right books, of course. (Increase April's luck for a turn. More likely to learn a power from observation, increase a skill, of course.)
-[X] [Self] Mana I - You've just ascended, and feel sluggish. You cannot remanifest or even communicate. Your spells fizzle from lack of mana and you feel you will need to unlock them all over again. You will need to increase your mana to do so. (2/?)
-[X] [April, Training] The Training Yards - Spell Practice: Spend time on the training halls to learn to experiment and understand your power. You'd need to balance it with your other obligations, but it's always good to practice and get a gauge what you can do. (Pick three non skill rolls to get double dice)
-- Aspectless Channeling, Mana I, Learn Divine Magic
-[X] [April, Training] Aspectless Channeling - April would probably want to, or need to, channel her energies either to powers that take mana she normally doesn't use, or to assist others, who are using different types of mana for effects (150pts)
[X] [Class] Attend a Class: Defense - The Abbot has recommended you attend this class as a bare minimum, as the power you were taught is flawed, and only good against low magic projectiles. Even your inventive way of weaponizing it would be insufficient against many opponents.
-[X] [Class] Attend a Class: Utility - Any sorceress needs to have a good understanding of the utilitarian powers they can turn their magic to.
-[X] [Class] Attend a Class: Society and Religion - You may have to move in society. Being able to do so without gaining (more) enemies might go well. This also covers dealing with other religions.
-[X] [Other] Talk to your Master - Your assigned master has a standing office timeslot for you, you could go take advantage of it. (Random benefit.)
-[X] [Other] Learn Divine Magic - It might be helpful to learn to channel this when you aren't in risk of immediate death, but it will take time.
- Alter Self finishes this term.
- Aspectless Channeling: 170/150
- Mana I: 165/450
- Learn Divine Magic: 105/210
- Death Magic Purification: 33% -> 28% (progress now 2% per turn)
- Classes Taken: Defense, Utility, Society and Religion (once per) (3 total classes taken)
- Mana Sense -> Adept 4, Perception -> Common 6, Inertial Canceller -> Common 4, Extradimensional Space -> Common 6
- Gain Trait: Marked by Demons (reached Aspect cap.)
April soon found that over channeling the way she did was more draining than she thought when she came to in the infirmary the next morning, with sunlight streaming in from the windows. It was a simple building, like many of the Alley, made of brick and stone. There was an interior layer of wood decorations in places, but the primary purpose was to stand against the cold. After all, it never got particularly warm here, peaking at about twenty degrees Celsius.
In a few moments, as she tried to remember what had happened when she blacked out, a human woman nearing her forties, from the looks of her, probably from somewhere further south. Probably the Grand Duchy, if April was forced to guess. And given the looks she got after the healer confirmed she was doing better, and lecture, it had been extremely unwise.
Still, it wasn't an invalid concern, so she sat and listened, and honestly didn't intend to do it again. The particular, almost waning burning and draining feeling that came from pouring your very vitality into a spell was something she was in no rush to experience again. And hearing that she was probably seconds from killing herself had she continued to utilize mana was not great either.
Still, she had passed the various trials, and her mentor, a Master Ksenia Joaninha, would be visiting her. Just first, she had to pick classes, and April felt like she was back at boot camp.
'I'm not sure I like this.' April thought to herself, wrestling with her choices. They changed every week, and she was just staring at the list. Apparently, it was largely so the Masters could prepare materials as needed. It wasn't surprising, though, as when she thought about it, a reason to join was the teaching the alley offered which could unlock new ways of using the inborn power.
One thing she had learnt was that unlike wizards, who could invoke external power, sorcerers used their internal power in the same way – except they were and could be far more idiosyncratic with their abilities. This meant that while wizards could just be taught how the spell was put together, sorcerers had to be taught how the mana effected. Or something like that. She was sure there were other differences as well. But that is what drove individualization and unique powers from what was considered common powers.
After some consideration, she decided she needed to work on shoring up her defense – she had been forced to move to such an expensive mana style during the trials after all, some more utility uses, and a class on how to not make as many enemies would be nice. And she'd probably still be able to get some extra training in.
And the classes went, well, well. There was a bit of looks towards her, and some tension for what she demonstrated at the trial, but worship of the Sisters of the Night was a fairly common religion. Overchanneling was not common, but it was amongst those who had been in death's way on death ground, which well. April kept her head down, studied closely, and worked on practicing. There wasn't much going on, and it sounds like this year they accepted five.
The classes were close to what she thought they would be, although it did really seem like to her that they were covered by people who had no plans but were encouraging people to come to their classes by picking a topic at random. And even then, it seemed to be more of a hands-on seminar. Which considering the degree of individualism implicit in teaching sorcerers, made sense.
[Defense (48) -> False Image(common); starts at Common (1)]
The defense teacher was covering an interesting use of mana shadows to provide false images. It required the sorcerer to be moving, but the trick to it was to give each after image an element of mass. It also, she rapidly discovered, couldn't fool a good sense of Mana Sight. But she still thought it a worthwhile tool to use against people who might not have it.
[Utility (53) -> Arcane Lock (common); starts at Common (2)]
The utility teacher, though, was teaching ways to secure one's goods. April wasn't entirely sure it'd stand up to much, but it reminded her to Experiment with her shelter when she had time.
'Surely, there's a way to open a limited space.' April mused. It gave her something to focus on as she prodded at the locking mechanism she was magically locking.
[Society and Religion (64) -> Knowledge (History)]
She took it back. This was lectures and discussion, and it reminded her vividly of training for officers in Tokiya. Although, some things she was learning were notably different, and she noted them down to look up later in the library. The more she learnt, the more she felt Tokiya lied to itself about a lot. She wondered why.
The problem was, even if she practiced a few of her powers, she couldn't be sure it was working, because the alley effectively prohibited access to extradimensional spaces. She was working to find a way around it and felt she had managed to more strengthen its 'bubble' but honestly spent most of the time in the library looking up some mana theory books between studying the other things.
One evening, with the snow beginning to fall, April was experimenting with the power she used to slow others down by entangling them in some kind of vines. It was going iffy, as setting the testing dummies to break them worked flawlessly at the lowest levels. A soft noise got her attention, and she turned around to see a woman dressed up in the robes of a Master – and April raised her eyebrows, as she recognized someone of ethnic Teyeralli descent, from the steppes.
"Hello, Initiate. I am Master Ksenia Joaninha. And yes, I am from the steppes of Teyeralli." Her accent was also distinctive. "I actually asked for you because of that, since I know it is an adjustment. You may have noticed, already, that Tokiya teaches a" Her lips quirk for a moment as she searches for a word " unique version of history. There are reasons for this that you may learn, in time."
April raised an eyebrow, and the Master continued. "It is a secret of our Order, for many reasons. By the time you can learn it, you will understand why it is a secret. Regardless, there are two things you need to know urgently and the rest I plan to cover once you've had more classes and we can look at things I would recommend."
"First, killing demons marks you. You can expect demons to know who you are and be hostile on sight. As you have already learnt, only purification can permanently kill demons. I would seek to learn purification chants and crafting various tools, as you are going to face them more."
"Secondly, you need to stop training so much. It is urgent, yes, but I would recommend socializing or performing tasks. Let everyone know you as more than someone who keeps to themselves. Overtraining with your mana is much more risky than overtraining with Qi, and I fear you're over relying on your previous experience. As you have seen, you need to unlearn your instinctive use of Qi with mana, as only some powers will work that way, and as you gain a deeper connection and understanding, using Qi might backfire catastrophically."
April's eyes had widened at that, and she nodded.
"Good winter's eve to you, Initiate." The Master walked off
Talonis Actions
Conduit Actions (pick two.)
[] Mana Boost - Boost her mana power in general by 25%.
[] Magic Shroud - Channel magic to lead her enemies astray. (Less chance of hostile encounters)
[] Spark of Inspiration – Give her an insight into an ongoing issue that will lead to a spell. (Random choice, but one that will matter in turn 3.)
[] Death Magic Purification - April, unknowingly, is cursed with Death Mana (and is the only reason she can use it). You could work on purifying it from her before she gains Infernal traits. However, it must be a slow and spread out process. (Ongoing: Has 28% Curse Progress. Each turn stops progress and decreases it by 5%.)(Possible side effects and complications if you take this every turn. Current Progress per turn: 2%)(Taken 1 turn ago)
[] Luck of the Goddess - You cannot teach her the grand secrets, but you can ensure that she finds the right books, of course. (Increase April's luck for a turn. More likely to learn a power from observation, increase a skill, of course.)
Self Actions (pick one)
[] Mana I - You've just ascended, and feel sluggish. You cannot remanifest or even communicate. Your spells fizzle from lack of mana and you feel you will need to unlock them all over again. You will need to increase your mana to do so. (3/?)
[] Work on Manifesting - You can send an short image of either yourself or the Goddess to send an important message to April, or simply to teach her a lesson of your past. (100) (Write-In: what to send.)
[] Send Dreams of the Compact - April should have been taught this, but wasn't. (200 pts)
April Actions
Training Focus
[] Training Focus - Change Focus from Normal to..
[] ... Light. (Slower gain, gain one additional action to spend) - Your mentor does not recommend this at this time.
[] .... Heavy. (Faster gain, lose one action to your training.) - Your mentor extremely does not recommend this at this time.
Class Actions (pick three)
[] Attend a Class - Defense: The Abbot has recommended you attend this class as a bare minimum, as the power you were taught is flawed, and only good against low magic projectiles. (Taken once.)
[] Attend a Class - Combat: With a firm foundation, you could learn more options for combat. (1 each of fundamental class, +1 more. Missing Req: Knowledge, The Wilderness, one other class.)
[] Attend a Class - Utility: Any sorceress needs to have a good understanding of the utilitiarian powers they can turn their magic to. (Taken once.)
[] Attend a Class - Knowledge: Take a class on some bit of knowledge. Write in the type of knowledge.
[] Attend a Class - The Wilderness: Take a class on survival, recognizing where you are, moving stealthly, etc.
[] Go on Wilderness Expedition: Put your wilderness training to the test. May have random encounters. (Req: At least one Wilderness class, will award more skill experience.)
[] Attend a Class - Society and Religion: You may have to move in society. Being able to do so without gaining (more) enemies might go well. This also covers dealing with other religions. (Taken once.)
[] Attend a Class - Demons: Demons are an omnipresent enemy. Most only come from the Ocean Ruins, but the wasteland of a battlefield can spawn them. While there are demons who just want to live peacefully, you know you won't be called on them. (Req: 1 more class.)
[] Attend a Class - The Path of the Sage: You did pick a specialty. All of them have some classes, although some are tricker than others.
[] Attend Divination Classes - To see at a distance is very useful. (Req: At least 3 Utility Classes)
[] Attend a Seminar - Star Seeker Unique Power: The Alley has a Master Inquisitor who leads seminars to teach the inquiring unique and specialist powers and spells to the Order of the Star Seekers. He has found you worthy. (Req: 7 more classes, 2 critical successes in classes, ???)
[] Attend a Seminar - The Path of a Sorceress: Learn basics about your class and being a good seeker of knowledge. Contains random skills, but includes, more effective study and training.
[] Regular Mock Combat Trials: The best way to prepare one for potential combat against threats is mock combat. It's not entirely a good subsitute. (Gain insight into possible changes to existing powers.) (Req: One more defense, one more utility class.)
[] Attend Visiting Dignitary's Seminar - Occasionally, a visiting dignitary has a speech about an ongoing issue, or tips. (Gain knowledge to an ongoing issue) - There are no such seminars at this time.
Evening Actions (pick two)
[]Extra Training - Extra training never hurt anyone, right? Pick three things to dedicate extra practice to. (See the System post for details)(Taken last turn)
[]Device Research - You could research those devices to understand them better. It might be a very long term thing, but you can't help but feel it's peculiar a magic hating country such as the Kingdom of Tokiya has them. (????)
[]Hang Out With Other Initiates and Acolytes - Learn a bit of social chatter, as the Alley sorcerers seem to be very well connected to the gossip of this continent. Maybe gain a friend or contact.
[]Talk to your Master - Your assigned master has a standing office timeslot for you, you could go take advantage of it. (Random benefit.)
[]Learn Divine Magic - It might be helpful to learn to channel this when you aren't in risk of immediate death, but it will take time. [105/210]
[]Perform A Quest - The Alley of Star Seekers has quests and tasks for both the alley and nearby villages. This is good practice, maybe some money, and in any case, is required to do to do the promotion trial to Acolyte.
[]Learn the Hail of Divine Darts - Practice might make that instinctive usage something April could do. (Unavailable)
[]Work on Mana Meditaiton - Dedicated meditation can strengthen your connection to your inborn power, as well as potentially improve and refine it with ambient mana. (In this location, you can both improve your mana pool and refine costs of powers. Pursuing this trait can also unlock traits that replace the need to sleep with meditation..
[X]Plan quiet study time
-[X] Spark of Inspiration – Give her an insight into an ongoing issue that will lead to a spell. (Random choice, but one that will matter in turn 3.)
-[X] Luck of the Goddess - You cannot teach her the grand secrets, but you can ensure that she finds the right books, of course. (Increase April's luck for a turn. More likely to learn a power from observation, increase a skill, of course.)
-[X] Mana I - You've just ascended, and feel sluggish. You cannot remanifest or even communicate. Your spells fizzle from lack of mana and you feel you will need to unlock them all over again. You will need to increase your mana to do so. (3/?)
-[X] Attend a Class - Defense: The Abbot has recommended you attend this class as a bare minimum, as the power you were taught is flawed, and only good against low magic projectiles. (Taken once.)
-[X] Attend a Class - Utility: Any sorceress needs to have a good understanding of the utilitiarian powers they can turn their magic to. (Taken once.)
-[X] Attend a Seminar - The Path of a Sorceress: Learn basics about your class and being a good seeker of knowledge. Contains random skills, but includes, more effective study and training.
-[X]Hang Out With Other Initiates and Acolytes - Learn a bit of social chatter, as the Alley sorcerers seem to be very well connected to the gossip of this continent. Maybe gain a friend or contact.
-[X]Talk to your Master - Your assigned master has a standing office timeslot for you, you could go take advantage of it. (Random benefit.)
@KNakamura a few questions:
Can we write in questions for our master if we visit them?
Are there any actions that can be taken multiple time(I.e taking Spark of Inspiration twice to get two spell ideas)
Can we suggest/write in possible actions?
[X]Plan quiet study time
-[X] Spark of Inspiration – Give her an insight into an ongoing issue that will lead to a spell. (Random choice, but one that will matter in turn 3.)
-[X] Luck of the Goddess - You cannot teach her the grand secrets, but you can ensure that she finds the right books, of course. (Increase April's luck for a turn. More likely to learn a power from observation, increase a skill, of course.)
-[X] Mana I - You've just ascended, and feel sluggish. You cannot remanifest or even communicate. Your spells fizzle from lack of mana and you feel you will need to unlock them all over again. You will need to increase your mana to do so. (3/?)
-[X] Attend a Class - Defense: The Abbot has recommended you attend this class as a bare minimum, as the power you were taught is flawed, and only good against low magic projectiles. (Taken once.)
-[X] Attend a Class - Utility: Any sorceress needs to have a good understanding of the utilitiarian powers they can turn their magic to. (Taken once.)
-[X] Attend a Seminar - The Path of a Sorceress: Learn basics about your class and being a good seeker of knowledge. Contains random skills, but includes, more effective study and training.
-[X]Hang Out With Other Initiates and Acolytes - Learn a bit of social chatter, as the Alley sorcerers seem to be very well connected to the gossip of this continent. Maybe gain a friend or contact.
-[X]Talk to your Master - Your assigned master has a standing office timeslot for you, you could go take advantage of it. (Random benefit.)
@KNakamura a few questions:
Can we write in questions for our master if we visit them?
Are there any actions that can be taken multiple time(I.e taking Spark of Inspiration twice to get two spell ideas)
Can we suggest/write in possible actions?
It is. I didn't catch it when building the options list, will fix.
I may offer fast forward choices for the next turn after this, depending on things. The difficulty is that this arc by default is meant to get things established and such, and to give you all ideas on where to sorta direct the plot. I will say that the ranks of the Alley are Initiate -> Acolyte -> Disciple -> Master -> Archmmage (and then Abbot, but you won't ever get that, probably.) and the Alley as a rule doesn't let anyone under Disciple leave the 'area' of the Alley.
True, but I think taking time to build our foundation in sorcery is more important.
In any case, April is familiar with combat and is resourceful, she will adapt what she has. What she needs first and for most is to fully harness her new abilities. Might switch utility though, but we need 2 more for divination. So doing one this turns allows us to start it together with combat, without delaying combat.
Any questions for our master BTW? Will add them to the plan if anyone has any
Scheduled vote count started by KNakamura on Sep 22, 2024 at 10:41 PM, finished with 7 posts and 2 votes.
[X]Plan quiet study time
-[X] Spark of Inspiration – Give her an insight into an ongoing issue that will lead to a spell. (Random choice, but one that will matter in turn 3.)
-[X] Luck of the Goddess - You cannot teach her the grand secrets, but you can ensure that she finds the right books, of course. (Increase April's luck for a turn. More likely to learn a power from observation, increase a skill, of course.)
-[X] Mana I - You've just ascended, and feel sluggish. You cannot remanifest or even communicate. Your spells fizzle from lack of mana and you feel you will need to unlock them all over again. You will need to increase your mana to do so. (3/?)
-[X] Attend a Class - Defense: The Abbot has recommended you attend this class as a bare minimum, as the power you were taught is flawed, and only good against low magic projectiles. (Taken once.)
-[X] Attend a Class - Utility: Any sorceress needs to have a good understanding of the utilitiarian powers they can turn their magic to. (Taken once.)
-[X] Attend a Seminar - The Path of a Sorceress: Learn basics about your class and being a good seeker of knowledge. Contains random skills, but includes, more effective study and training.
-[X]Hang Out With Other Initiates and Acolytes - Learn a bit of social chatter, as the Alley sorcerers seem to be very well connected to the gossip of this continent. Maybe gain a friend or contact.
-[X]Talk to your Master - Your assigned master has a standing office timeslot for you, you could go take advantage of it. (Random benefit.)
