[X] Plan Ferian
- [X] (Sealing) Bijuu and Jinchuuriki
- [X] (Sealing) Contracts / Space-Time
-[X] (Mutation) Nothing
-[X] (Questions for Karin)
--[X] Use S+++ diplomacy for rapport with Karin
--[X] Are you alright with me asking a few questions, even if they might be harsh or hurtful?
--[X] Include a relatively unimportant question she'll lie about to get a baseline on whether she's a good liar.
--[X] Have you ever encountered or been in communication with Orochimaru before today?
--[X] Is it correct that you are from Kusa and hold absolutely no loyalty to them, nor to any single person in Kusa?
--[X] Excluding us, are there any other groups or individuals that you are involved with, in contact with, or hold loyalty to?
--[X] Do you have any shinobi training?
--[X] What about infiltration training?
--[X] Who taught you about the healing bite?
--[X] Where did you want to go before we met you?
--[X] Did you recognize or know about any of us before our meeting today?
--[X] What are your intentions towards our village?
--[X] Towards me and Naruto?
--[X] Are you planning to betray our trust?
--[X] Did someone 'help' you flee that might have arranged for you to meet either Orochimaru or us?
--[X] Do you have seals, tattoos, or other notable marks aside from scars anywhere on your person?
So, to reiterate, Bijuu sealing might pave the way for eventually allowing our friendly neighborhood ghost to interact with the world in some meaningful fashion. Storing basically energy in human and inanimate containers is also thematically similar enough to Tohsaka's magecraft specialties to warrant Rin's attention. (Reminder that jewel magecraft is the shortest way to reach for the Second Magic.)
Similar reasoning applies to space/time and contracts - summon realms are the closest thing to dimensional travel the setting has, which might lead to insights about the Second Magic. It is also the most generally useful option of the bunch, imo, as summons are one of the best force multipliers available in the setting; not getting some if we get an opportunity would be wasteful. (That said, I can be convinced to postpone this until a time we actually have the option of getting a summon contract. Throwing swords is fine, too.)
I've also included my suggested corrections to the questions' phrasing since no further comments on them have been made. If anyone sees any issues with them, please tell me.
You did get Archer's trait eventually though - fortunately for you, it wasn't the only way to get it. How do you think you got Eye of the Mind (though, in your case, it's False rather than True) and good enough at ranged combat to keep Danzo at bay?
Oh, I know; it is why I've quoted that trait's name in my post (copy pasted straight from Rin's profile page, in fact). But the difference between getting it originally and getting it later is the difference between a chosen primary focus and the issue of spreading ourselves too thin by branching out.
And that ties in with the main reason I am opposed to branching out into weapon creation. It is potent and viable, sure; but it also carries with it secondary requirements, such as forging the weapons, whether via techniques native to the Elemental Nations or alchemy, maintaining them (kunai and shuriken are one thing, but more complex and exotic weapons will require more complex and exotic maintenance), and using the weapons, assuming Rin will be the one using them.
If we were focusing on becoming a full-time support (something I'd be all for, by the way - balancing our time between clan head duties, weapon forging or medic rounds, and magecraft research, and leaving the fighting to other, maybe more qualified people, such as Naruto), it would be fine; it would be manageable. But we are not. Thus far, we have been steadily going for
being the one in the midst of action. Branching out into a dedicated support function such as weapon creation seems... counter-intuitive, at best.
Also, even if reaching for results in that field does not end up being the major time sink as I am expecting it to, glossing over those secondary requirements in such a manner does not sit well with me - those are time-consuming tasks that require a high degree of proficiency, and a high degree of proficiency requires time and effort put into improving one's skill; simply producing better, or even just competitive weapons without a significant commitment would be, in a way, looking down on the people who dedicate their lives to that job.
I... honestly don't get why people are so eagerly jumping onto that option. It really sounds like a far greater commitment than any of the alternatives, and does not go in line with our current progression, too, since we have (ostensibly) been focusing on personal prowess over tool use.
Rin doesn't really know what she is giving up IC, so I'm not going to consider that as OOC behavior.
...BTW, I'm glad I made each option just attractive and unattractive enough to spark a debate and votes that prefer each of them. That is what I'm usually aiming for when it comes to new powers.
This does change things, yes. I'll have to actually consider the merits and demerits of the mutations now.
That joke aside, yes, it is indeed a very well-designed set of choices, though it does carry with it the issue of detracting from the rest of the plan to some degree. I think that kind of choice would be best posed as a separate vote since that would allow players to focus on discussing it without reservation or detriment to the other choices presented at the same time. It's understandable that with the pace and scope of the updates offering it as a separate vote is difficult but it is nonetheless something to consider for the future.
we know for a long time elemental magecraft attacks are useless compared to ninjutsu so may as well trade something we are never going to use for a power boost.
Kinda iffy on losing a potential branch of magecraft, but chakra is all but guaranteed to be superior for offensive elemental spells
...Ugh, I think I'll bite after all.
It really depends. In raw firepower, yeah, it may be easier to get a higher yield via chakra techniques. In terms of control and versatility, though... Is there a Jutsu that directly burns out a target's heart? No need for aiming, no opportunity to dodge except getting out of range before the spell is triggered. Fire magecraft can easily be used to that effect (Touko's use of Ansuz in Kara no Kyoukai part 4). In the Nasuverse, those kind of applications are rarely seen since anything you'd use such a direct elemental spell on would have the capability to resist that kind of spell. This is not the case in the Elemental Nations so offensive elemental spells have an unoccupied niche that they could fill.
Note that you can always pick up a branch of Sealing that wasn't chosen now, later.
