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Threads Of Destiny(Eastern Fantasy, Sequel to Forge of Destiny)

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If we let others handle the strike then they'd be scuffed up and their Qi would be drained already trying to escape which we'll be ideally suited for capturing with our draining mist.
Were pretty weak by cultivator standards and theirs going to be some high level people in the ritual site.
 
I did like the banter between Ling Qi and both her former tutors. I think they're the only guys she's playful with when talking to them. Everyone else she's various degrees of formal.

As for the choice, I'm kinda leaning towards assault. Ling Qi's domain makes it harder for barbarians to escape in the first play so may allow for fewer runners. It's a good way to see the ceremony site too.


RebelYell said:
Were pretty weak by cultivator standards and theirs going to be some high level people in the ritual site.
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Just going by cultivation stage Ling Qi is one of the strongest disciples present.

Leaving aside herself and her liege, there were only three other disciples above at or above the Foundation stage, in addition to Liao Zhu and Ruan Shen.
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I think we'd be better at the perimeter bits, and although the frontal attack is more prestigous, it might be less so for each individual, so I support the perimeter attack.
Edit: just noticed that bit about being one of the strongest cultivators there; Nevermind, we might be needed in the initial attack.
 
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When their all grouped together we don't have the ability to capture them like what happened when we were chasing them around with Hanyi on our back we only got a few red's and maybe a yellow or two.
There are much higher cultivators present and I don't expect to capture many if any of them that has any meaningful intelligence to gather from if we go for the assault.
 
If LQ and CRX goes to Perimiter, then that is already 2 of 7 of the strongest cultivators not attacking head on (aside from the Elder obviously).

Seems like bad force distribution to me, especially since LQ and CRX dont exactly havr anything special for Perimeter defense (and No, Speed is just as good in Assault than Perimeter defense).

Edit: I keep seeing LQ is specially fit for Perimeter. Where are people basing that idea from? Cant actually think of anything besides flight/speed that LQ has that would help in Perimeter (also Hanyi).
 
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Do keep in mind that one of the criticisms we keep hearing is that Ling Qi basically only takes into consideration what her own role and abilities are. I don't think the perimeter is wrong, but we should be attempting to do our job here which is to show off what we're capable of while working with CRX.

Edit: I was scooped by @TimEd who did discuss CRX :V
 
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Hmm, lots of conflicting thoughts here for me. A big unknown factor is how much the "investigate after we've beaten them up" that Diao Gen suggested will actually be in play. If there's no surprises, and the Elder and Cyans don't block us out, we could get to see what's up with the ritual either way. If things don't turn out that way, then the opportunity may not be equal between the choices.

[] Join the group assaulting the caldera

This is the higher prestige option by default, I think. Probably shows off Ling Qi x Cai Renxiang teamwork better to our sect peers because our audience will be grouped closer together. This is also the option that gives us a front row seat to whatever it is the Cloud Nomads are doing with the site, if that ends up being interesting or important.

On the other hand, other disciples are generally geared towards punching barbarians on average, so we're less likely to stand out among our peers. Similarly, the control/capture logic that we wanted to follow doesn't showcase as strongly here, unless we overperform and prevent the escape of a good chunk of forces in the first place.


[] Join the southern perimeter group

Less impressive role by default, though specialty performance should be taken note of, and we should be specifically good at it. Some possibility that the broader scope of the viewpoint lets us see what the ritual is doing on a macro level easier.

If the enemy has reinforcements that aren't high enough realm to warrant the Elder interfering immediately, those reinforcements will be coming from the South, effectively pincering the perimeter group between fleeing Nomads and the reinforcements. Performing well in that case would be a big deal, and we may be better equipped for pulling together allies into a defensive stance than the other disciples on capture duty.
 
TimEd said:
Perimeter doesnt actually seem like it would allow us to prepare a fortification, since the assault group have no way of funneling the enemy in any specific direction, so chances are the fleeing barbarians will need to be chased down.
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We have setup other groups that will be participating in capturing the ones who flee all across the mountain and Qi as a controller on the battlefield can snatch the ones who come to her while CRX and Zhengui bombard them from Zhengui's instant fortification with the other disciple's.
 
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I'm leaning towards Assault for a couple of reasons. Ok, more like four.

  1. Guan Zhi is leading the Assault group. We've worked with her before, we've worked well with her before, and I think she is awesome. I'm all for working with her again and helping her decimate more Cloud Barbarians. We've made a positive impression with her, I think, and I would like to keep building on that.
  2. There is an allusion to investigating the ritual site after we break the Barbarians. All well and good, but I would like to see the ritual site before the fighting happens. Do some sneak peaking if you will and maybe some preliminary force reconnaissance to determine the strength and probable weak points in the enemies' self-buffing structure.
  3. Our ability to keep people contained within an area will ensure that less Cloud Nomads retreat from the fight. This means less prestige for our comrades in the perimeter guard and will mean the assault will likely be tougher, but will also mean that there is more prestige to go around for the assault group. I think, given the reason we are doing this is prestige and renown, as well as demonstrating how well we work with Cai, facing off against the most amount of Nomads is the right call, albeit risker.
  4. I want Zhengui to deploy and start operating on a Dormant Volcano. A volcano, albeit dormant, + Zhengui sounds like it would be a blast, both for Zhengui and for us to read his reaction. He's never been on one, and I want to see how he can utilize the volcano's natural qi.

For these reasons, I support the assault option.
 
Erebeal said:
Perimeter has the downside of being kinda lame if everything goes off really well.

Otoh, do we really think shit isn't going to go sideways in some way?
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If everything goes stupendously well, the perimeter will be holding off reinforcements while the original team investigates the ritual site/performs captive triage.
 
I'm not going to try making a well-thought-out argument based on our strengths and weaknesses for this vote. I'm just going to vote offensive because I think it allows us more direct access to the narrative (the ritual), and because our goal is climbing the ranks and I think offensive is likely to be the better choice for that.
 
yrsillar said:
"For there is every possibility that it is intended as a trap."
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"Divination within the Sect remains troubled and inconclusive," Diao Gen said, shaking his head sorrowfully. "However such sources as we have indicate both the potential for great fortune as well as great danger, and so it was decided that we must strike.
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"Earthwound Peak is believed to be a dormant volcano, although it has never erupted in the history of the Empire."
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The Arc name is Ramping Up.

Assault is going to be a slaughter.
 
Now that I think about it, the perimeter does have a few things going for it:

1) It's a rare opportunity to observe (?) battle.

One of the big things post-airbender raid 1 was the acknowledgement that we have to stop throwing ourselves at problems and expect them to get solved. This is a chance to observe and refine our own tactics in a battle that may become commonplace later down the road.

I'm not sure how easy it'd be to observe, admittedly. Ling Qi can do some pool gazing if it's much too far but the goal would be to get a holistic appreciation of battle here.

2) CRX is apparently really good at denying aerial unit retreat

As far as I know we're still among the only four or five units capable of genuine flight. Guan Commander probably has a gravity trick that forces opponents to the ground but that still leaves us and CRX with a tactical hole that needs to be plugged and we're the only ones that can plug it.

Just some quick thoughts.
 
I would prefer to go on the offense. Sweepers are necessary, but unless something goes really badly out there it will not be near so noticeable.


I would like to note that there are a total of 7 cultivators of g4 and up. Us, CRX, Liao, Ruan, and 3 others. Then there is Diao and Guan Zhi.

Ruan is almost certainly going to be in the main group of the assault, as a bard. Guan Zhi will be there. Moon sempai is an excellent sweeper, and will likely be deployed there.

CRX is likely excellent at both roles, but I believe her Command skills are better utilized on the charge.
Hanyi will be good at either role.
Six will do their thing in either role.

Zhengui is much better at the front rather than when the barbs have already taken to the air and begun attempting to escape. Additionally he has some AoE heals, zone debuffs, and will rapidly twist the whole location to be in our favor so long as they cannot dislodge him from the site.

Everybody knows we're a Scout that is good at being a Scout. Let's show off that we're a powerhouse on the battlefield as well, and provide little odds and ends of support to everyone we dive in with. Let's save some lives, steal some enemies, and make sure everyone has enough Qi left over to assist at whatever inevitably goes sideways. Some have assumed us to not be willing or able to fight without sneaking or truly raw Ambush tactics.

Let's see what they think after we pour ourselves all over this battlefield.
 
Honestly, we could do very well in either position. The problem is that the "optimal" position really depends on the rest of the force composition, which we don't know.

We can make some guesses: Ruan Shen is probably best suited to playing support in the main assault. Liao Zhu is the strongest inner sect disciple here, and while he could grab people fleeing he's probably best suited to trying to assassinate officers in the opening. If that read is correct, then us and Renxiang going with the main assault would put the four of the strongest inner sect disciples there, and that's before we look at what the others would be suited for.

Renxiang and us both have flight and some degree of lockdown, making us good for catching fleeing enemies. Our mobility is something that most of the people here probably don't have, and I assume they're counting on the fact that flying out of the caldera the barbs will probably still be within range of people standing on the rim. If things go south and they have reinforcements coming from behind, then we'd be well suited to stymieing them.

Otoh, we could also be overkill there, and be just as useful for ensuring we get prisoners in the main assault. 🤷
 
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yrsillar said:
"Divination within the Sect remains troubled and inconclusive," Diao Gen said, shaking his head sorrowfully. "However such sources as we have indicate both the potential for great fortune as well as great danger, and so it was decided that we must strike. However we are not foolish, Elder Yongrui will ensure that we are not overwhelmed by a potential high cultivation foe and if need be, call upon reinforcements. If the barbarians intend to trap us, then they will find themselves trapped in turn."
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Their sources are Mystical Chinese Fortune Cookies, aren't they? A divination expert who cooks up a bunch of cookies that hold paper divinations in them, and then they crack open half to count how many are positive and how many are negative.
 
This is going to be a trap and we still don't know what killed Guan Zhi's uncle, plus if there are Ice Ladies they wont be at the volcano I think.
In the previous vote option they Both had SURVIVE so either way shit's about to hit the fan no matter what option we do.
 
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I'm a little annoyed at the presumption of reinforcements as the thing that can go explosively wrong.

if something is about to go terribly wrong I would rather be in the thick of it, and the argument that Liao and Ruan Shen might be in the center . . . that would skew me towards that choice if we're thinking this is going to be horribly bad.

put us where we are most likely to evacuate some people. Do not make us sit in the periphery and watch the center be eaten.

My guess would be that the volcano might turn out to be one of the hollowed shishigui mountains.

I want us to be where we can do the most good, not where we are most likely to watch
 
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I'm going to advocate for the offense, for a few different reasons.
- First, we're an area buff/debuff specialist. The core attack is going ot be the one with the highest concentration of both friends and foes, and thus the place where our "everyone we hate is constantly attacked" and "everyone we like gets little buffs" themes get exploited to their fullest.
- Second, Zhengui-as-turret is weak. It's a secondary role for him at best, and among a scattering group it's even weaker, because he's unliekly to be able to leverage his area effect. Going direct assault is our only real remaining chance of letting Zhengui contribute to this fight at any level above "anemic" - it's the best place to catch them ont eh ground, ti's the best chance to hit them somewhere they wont' want to run, it's the best chance to do things like layer an Ashfield Flowering or two across absolutely everyone... and so forth.
- Third, Cai Renxiang is a shock-and-awe specialist, with a few area buff/debuffs of her own. Her place is at the vanguard in this one, and our place is at her back.
- Finally, if and when The Surprise comes, it will come here, at the greatest concentration of forces, where it can best preserve the lives of the Cloud Tribe and best damage the sect forces. If we want a chance to disrupt that attempt (by whatever means) then the core of the fighting is where we need to be.

Of course, there's also the benefit for both Sect Points and rep. In addition to being in the best position to show off, and the best position to do something decisive, we're also in the best position to have basically everyone enjoy that little edge that comes with being Ling Qi's friend in fights like this... and little blessings like that can rack up some nice social benefits, when spread across the group.
 
Few thoughts as well-

I want to see what the hell is going on with the cloud barbarians. I want to catch a glimpse of the daughter of the fallen star. I want to see barbarians being people before the attack hits.

I think we are well-suited to maximizing confusion in the initial moments, with fog and illusary warriors that keep others from seeing what is happening, while allowing our allies to hit without obstruction. Being able to simultaneously attack EVERYONE, even at low potency, will keep them from looking around with techniques for a few moments.

If things go bloody, I know we can evac to the dream and I'd like to take the three people we know and care about with. Apologies to the members of the ES crew that aren't in our group.
 
I don't think were tipping the scales being present and if our peers who will be much better tangoing with the Higher Realm cloud barbs need to be evac'd by us something has gone seriously wrong
 
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