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

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The number 2 finisher can set us up to boost one of the combo attacks we just unlocked with our advanced insight, which is both fun and useful synergy as far as I'm concerned.
 
Both options generate a huge advantage when the finisher is used, but in a very different way.

1 is basically the perfect way to end a battle from a strategic perspecitive: during war or more prolonged fights having a force able to sweep a position and immediately be ready to strike again somewhere else at full strenght is downright bonkers honestly. Its like being able to move a chess piece twice in the same move, or being able to be at two important locations (almost) at the same time like a discount cyan.

2 is more tactical in nature, since it's either immediately useful or not useful at all. This type of buff is specifically for the more difficult fights where a fully stacked finisher isn't enough to actually end a fight, and we need some kind of extra edge for our friends or allies. More niche, but on paper it allows a force with LQ in it to punch above their cultivation level which as we all know is one of the most important limitors on potential actions in the entire setting. Picking a fight with beings stronger than us suddenly becomes more than simple desperation for lack of better choices: it becomes a (almost) reasonable tactical decision.
 
I'm late to this, but 1 feels more Ending as Renewal and 2 feels more like Void (To sacrifice, emptiness, hinger; from sacrifice, potential).

I prefer 1, but I'm willing to hear arguments for both
 
Both choices, highly summarized, seem to me like this:

The first one is ideal for use in repeated battles. Clearing out lots of consecutive encounters while minimizing the damage to ourselves and our party, allowing us to make it further in a gauntlet-style match.

The second one seems like the kind we'd use in a final battle against a much tougher enemy that requires everyone to punch above their weight-class.

Turning consecutive, easy-medium waves into a trivial affair that won't wear down our group OR being able to face and defeat an otherwise overpowered final boss.

General battles going from easy to trivial, or from normal to easy. VS Turning an impossible to win encounter into a very difficult, but still winnable encounter.

...Though if we're concerned about buying time for reinforcements to arrive, the first one is better.

I am partial to the second one, but I could be swayed either way.
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all traits buffed by 1 for the duration of the scene, and the potency of their next technique is increased by 2

In situations where we kill enough enemies with this technique and have allies to empower, it's mostly likely that whatever threats that remain will be the ones too strong to bothered overmuch by our moves. In that case, it's less useful to have allies that are healed and rejuvenated over allies that are more effective against more powerful enemies.
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all wounds removed and all negative effects on them dispelled.

I really think this is for the best. As Wabbitking says, can't enough too much healing, and imagine if someone has a trap set up envisioning us being worn down by attrition first? Guess again, buckos.
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all wounds removed and all negative effects on them dispelled.
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all traits buffed by 1 for the duration of the scene, and the potency of their next technique is increased by 2
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all wounds removed and all negative effects on them dispelled.
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all traits buffed by 1 for the duration of the scene, and the potency of their next technique is increased by 2
 
I feel both of these options are "safe" options, but Options 2 seems better in that it's vastly more offensive, while also retaining flexibility.

Option 1 gives healing + removes debuffs, which is pretty much always nice. But it has the potential "downside" of not being that relevant if we win. Snowblossom Shattering is a finishing move, so the fight is going to be (hopefully) over by then, and that means that any injury that isn't super-serious will have time to heal because the fight is over. On the other hand, in a drawn out "dungeon crawl" style encounter where easy access to recovery is lacking it could be a very powerful sustainment tool.

Option 2 on the other hand is ludicrous levels of offensive power. Buffing the power of our allies next techniques by 2 potency levels would mean that we can probably kill anything we have any business fighting. For relevance, Snowblossom Shattring is a G5 finishing move that can reach G7 on certain conditions.

That makes it our most potent technique from a pure potency standpoint by two whole potency levels. Zhengui's "Rebirth Inferno" (the big explosion move he does) is a baseline G6 Finishing move. I'm just going to assume Renxiang has a G7 finishing move like us as well, because she's Renxiang.

That means after a successful Snowblossom shattering, we could hit an enemy with G7 (Ling Qi), G8 (Zhengui), and G9 (Renxiang) finishing moves.

It's also not a purely offensive tool - it boosts the next technique, so it can also serve as a slightly scuffed recovery tool like Option 1. For example - Zhengui's healing techniques are G2 and G3 respectively, and are pretty weak. But with the option 2 boost, that'd make them G4 and G5 healing techniques, which is a lot more meaty. It'd make Sixiang's dispelling finisher a ridiculous G10 potency as well.

TLDR:

[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all traits buffed by 1 for the duration of the scene, and the potency of their next technique is increased by 2
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all wounds removed and all negative effects on them dispelled.

Mostly going for this because it's just always straight up good, there's never gonna be a situation where a full reset is not useful. Option 2 has potentially higher upside in a situation where it's needed, but one could argue that such situations are better avoided in the fist place if at all possible.
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all traits buffed by 1 for the duration of the scene, and the potency of their next technique is increased by 2
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all traits buffed by 1 for the duration of the scene, and the potency of their next technique is increased by 2
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all traits buffed by 1 for the duration of the scene, and the potency of their next technique is increased by 2
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all wounds removed and all negative effects on them dispelled.
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all wounds removed and all negative effects on them dispelled.

From a story perspective, I think this makes more sense. At the end of the day, Ling Qi's desires are to protect her friends and family, keeping them safe around her. Having their Qi restored with all wounds and negative effects removed is in itself a buff, shunting them back up immediately to fighting condition. Meanwhile, Ling Qi is the type of person who would feel distraught at her family and friends being hurt and needs them to be alright.
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all traits buffed by 1 for the duration of the scene, and the potency of their next technique is increased by 2

This is a world where one technique can say "dispels all negative effects" and another technique can say "this negative effect cannot be dispelled". Broadly speaking this comes down to which technique is more powerful, but it's also true that specialized techniques can punch above their level.

In other words, I don't think the benefits of option 1 are as reliable as they might seem. Removing all negative effects except for the particularly nasty tenacious one is still good but not quite as good as advertised. Techniques that block buffs seem to be a lot rarer, so it seems far more likely that we'll get the full benefit of this option when we use it.
 
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[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all traits buffed by 1 for the duration of the scene, and the potency of their next technique is increased by 2

Ling Qi has never really been a healer, but a buff support and disruptor, and this doesn't only buff attacks, but any allied techniques, so defense, dispel, and healing from our party become much more effective too.

We've often lacked the punch-up ability, and that's this.
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all wounds removed and all negative effects on them dispelled.
People talk about usefulness of option 2 in a boss battle, but full heal/dispel/mana replenish is also a very useful thing in a boss battle.
 
yrsillar said:
She did not bother to try and stand against it, that inevitability she felt there. Her persistence was not the mountain, standing astride the world until it was at last ground down.

The world changes, it is the truth, not the shape which is to be preserved.

Let the glacier pass its way, her winter would still be there, long after it had receded back to the mountains. It could no more stop the end of winter than she could stop it.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Super interesting concept, this. The world and the entities which compose it are subject to change. But the shape, by which I take to be the relationships which govern those entities, are immutable. Winter understood more as a process rather than a thing. With the focus LQ has on relationships and structures, I think this is the right way to go and could be very powerful moving forward.

[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all traits buffed by 1 for the duration of the scene, and the potency of their next technique is increased by 2

I like the themes of this one better. Healing doesn't strike me as particularly LQ, unless it's a "Ima steal your wounds and throw them at the enemy" type of thing.
 
[X] Total the Potency of enemies killed this way, allies of potency equal or less to that amount have their qi fully restored, all traits buffed by 1 for the duration of the scene, and the potency of their next technique is increased by 2

I think this is a very practical option in terms of mass battles. It allows us to drop a qi refresh and scene-long all-around buff on allies of note, plus gives a notable one-off boost to their efforts, which could mean battle-changers of their own. Notably, these buffs aren't limited to offense, or defense, or utility. It's all of their traits and any one of their techniques. Could be an attack, could be planting fortifications, a heal, leadership effect, control effect, etc. The two buffs, traits+ and tech++, should also be additive in their effects. I don't think that means an effective +3 potency for the tech, but traits are the bedrock from which efforts are realized, and that will have an impact on techniques unleashed.

But even on a thematic level, I prefer this option. It really leans into the potential unleashed by Winter's demise. Not just the reemergence of life, but the room and energy to create new things in new ways. I want to enable our allies in that way. I think it cuts closer to the core of Ling Qi's aspirations, in ways that even she doesn't fully realize yet. Can you imagine Zhengui getting supercharged by this? Not just on the elemental level of wood's resonance with Spring, but the thematic resonance of his cycle of Renewal with ours....

To me, that's an amazing prospect. We might get to see that green flame of his again sooner than we expected, this time in the material world.
 
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