Right now, I was hoping everyone would start proposing trade items that you're asking for. Because you have a lot of credit right now, with Andrewsburg mostly but still.
What do we know about metallurgy? Because I'm guessing that, while we have metal weapons, that metal could be so much better if we knew how to properly alloy it.
Aside from that... hmmm... well, I'm sure someone can think of something, right?
Oh wait, can we ask for imported animals? I mean, we'd need to discuss what we want vs. what they can supply, but that's a possibility, isn't it?
I demand that Avo and Gadro get their names! Long shall they be remembered in the history of the mole!
Also, for trade goods:
Pineapples, for Granny Miller.
A new ice chip from the top of the mountains, for Marta Yarrow.
Any exotic seeds, nuts, or plant samples. Coconuts, tropical fruits, etc.
Magical protective gear, or training/instructions to make such. I'm thinking anti-portal wards, Malice detection amulets, that sort of thing.
[X][Squirrel] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Deer] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Moles] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Beavers] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Bees] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Ants] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Wolves] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Corvids] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Bears] Support the Portal Hunt
Fancy fertilizer? We might be able to figure out more about what kinds of things we like in the soil...
Books! We would probably like books.
More friends? We could buy a basket of kittens...
Ancient-Tech stuff, for figuring out how it works.
Monster-fighting gear. For reverse-engineering mostly.
Enchanted equipment, for the same reasons.
Saplings of interesting tree types. Maybe we could expand the variety of Trees in the Forest? Get some more varieties of fruit?
The weird bit is that A, we're all magic users, B, we have this communal hivemind-with-individuals thing going on, and C, that B let's us share our advancements with relatively equal distribution.
So we are Basicaly the Silvers-Lite eh? (Context: is a MTG Race that are Hivemind but with the Gimmick Being if One Silver have a Ability everysingle silver in the proximity GAIN it )
The Stories of Old Man Materson
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In the dark months of winter, when the cold drives everyone inside until they go half-crazy from cabin fever and eating preserved food, Old Man Materson visits his neighbors.
Partly, this is because he's a worrier at heart, and likes to make sure everyone is holding together. Partly, it's because whoever he visits always offers to feed him, an offer he always accepts. It's a fair trade; he always clears the paths on his way in. Snow is just fancy water, after all, and water gets out of Materson's way if it knows what's good for it.
One night, not so many winters ago, he was settled in the spare rocking-chair at the Grim house, watching the fireplace and cheerfully digesting some rabbit-and-turnip stew.
"Mr. Materson," Young Ben pestered, "where did you learn to do magic?"
"Don't call me 'Mister'," Materson grumped. "I'm Old Man Materson. It took a lot of hard work to live this long, and don't you forget it! Lots of people said I'd never live to be an old man, and I'm proving them wrong!"
Back at the table, Mr. and Mrs. Grim rolled their eyes at each other, and continued darning a sock and sharpening the wood axe respectively.
"But, magic!" Betty prodded. "How do you get magic?"
"You don't get magic. You do magic, just like you do sewing, or whittling, or horse-riding, or fighting. You learn about something, and when you know it well enough, you can magic it. If you want to magic up fire, you got be around fire, and make fires, and put out fires, and think about fires, and when you really understand fire, you can just do it. Practicing helps."
Materson, understanding his audience, gave a little wave at the fireplace, and the wood-fire burning there split into two human figures that jumped off the logs and danced in a circle holding hands before diving back into the coals.
Young Ben and Betty had eyes like saucers. It was a pretty basic trick, but it never failed to impress.
"You must know fire better than anyone!" Ben blurted out.
"Well, I'm pretty good," Materson admitted modestly. "I learned about fire from a Greater Fire Salamander, actually. His name was Burt. Burnin' Burt, I called him. This was when I was a young man, not much older that you. I was patrolling in the mountains, way up high, when I felt heat coming from a cave. Burnin' Burt was trapped inside, because the weather had changed suddenly and the first snowfall of the year came early. Snow is deadly to salamanders, you may recall. Burt couldn't leave the cave, but he didn't have any food, so you can imagine he was in a pickle. When he heard me outside, he called out and promised me that if I could help him escape, he'd owe me a favor. Now, salamanders are tricky, but if they swear on their tongues, they always keep their word. Not if they swear on their tails, though; they'll just shed the tail and grow a new one. So I made Burt promise..."
Yep, though it is just where the appendixes are located. Like the core of any good scientific endeavour, the core of the tree just the complete and unprocessed/unaltered recordings of the results. After all, sometimes the (in this case literal) tons of raw data can be used for something else, or it may need to be reprocessed and the conclusions updated at a later date. After all if we are doing a study on the same or related phenomenon again having the data and the conclusions reached is better than just the conclusions.
I assume the outside of the tree is written in two-legs language for future proofing in the event that we need to share information with them (this way we can just have them walk up to the tree and read it off the bark), but the inside is made using a more compact, redundant and entropy proof system of storing information. The layer just under the bark is the same as the layer on the bark just written in this special tree language.
Thank you. I had fun making it. It is actually from my list of past actions. If you want, I can make a new entry into the library for every action I do.
I assume the outside of the tree is written in two-legs language for future proofing in the event that we need to share information with them (this way we can just have them walk up to the tree and read it off the bark), but the inside is made using a more compact, redundant and entropy proof system of storing information. The layer just under the bark is the same as the layer on the bark just written in this special tree language.
I figure he meant "how do you prevent the knowledge stored there from being stolen and used against us by whichever enemy manages to find this living library?"
[X][Squirrel] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Deer] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Moles] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Beavers] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Bees] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Ants] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Wolves] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Corvids] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Bears] Support the Portal Hunt
[X] Tree Maintenance
-[X] Put 1 Focus Action towards growing a Lens Tree until completion and then a Wise Tree until we've reached the cap for both
... The only reason we might be considered to not be at war is the small size of the forest and possibly the number of sapient foes we have.
And it sucks. Really sucks: The villagers are in danger due to our presence.
As such I really really want Materson to be the speaker - he's the best magic user and was noted as running low on power in the last fight. So giving him easy access to our power is the optimal choice in stopping people getting hurt. (Also might benefit our magic studies?)
But honestly I want multiple speakers if the Villagers are ok with that, the second being the theorist, and then any other magic users.
The herbalist would probably be up for a connection (espically if we mention our animal friends extended lifespans but point out we can make no promises).
Edit: Also, as we grow can we do so in the direction of the village? ... maybe after we use up the creek bonus
I figure he meant "how do you prevent the knowledge stored there from being stolen and used against us by whichever enemy manages to find this living library?"
[X][Squirrel] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Deer] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Moles] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Beavers] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Bees] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Ants] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Wolves] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Corvids] Support the Portal Hunt
[X][Bears] Support the Portal Hunt
Though I don't guarantee that it's possible as-stated. In particular, "xyz regardless of opposed abilities" sounds a bit improbable, though "regardless of <broad swathe of> opposed abilities" is quite plausible.
Figured as much, the wording is there to give a general picture of "Law" Magic that I want to research. A bit bummed on Portals not being affected at all if this goes through, but your story, your rules.
If that were true, the odds would be highly in favor of the Source of Elven Magic having been Corrupted at some point, and if you could figure out a way to undo that utterly, you could get Elves back to normal. If you could undo the Corruption enough to disconnect it from Elves in general, you could at least get Elves back to mostly-working.
Of course, that doesn't explain The Last Star. Admittedly, those three might have been capable of such a thing, when many others weren't. But it would be odd, then, that I mentioned what I did in that Interlude but DIDN'T mention them filtering the Magic they drew from some Source...
Could be that it is something done after the terrestial war, to ensure that there aren't any elves left/that no new elves can come into existence and grow enough to be an issue.
Could be that the communities of elves gave stability and allowed safe growing.
Also they had a Fairy with them, an 'Anchor of Magic' to survive without the contact to their home. (As hard and grueling as it may have been.
The middle – younger than her husband by a mere forty years or so, and so also 19 centuries – was the wife. She was an Elf, yes, but also a Fairy. Not a Pixie (the small things that buzz around flowers) nor a Fey (the half-phantasmal things that never lie but always deceive), but a Fairy, something that almost any Being can be born as, an Anchor of Magic of sorts.(Some say Fairies are a Cosmic Keystone. Some say they are a Link to the Source of Magic. Some say that Magic Grows around them, and admit to having no idea 'why' or 'how' – which is probably the wisest answer. At any rate she didn't know either.)
Another hint, the 'Anchor of Magic' having an even stronger connection to the land and community that is their forest. (as if the Anchor of Magic was anchored to the land)
Her favorite times were dancing beneath the Starlight with her love, and speaking with the Land, the place that had been hers since childhood (and which she would (indeed, as a Fairy, could) never willingly long leave).
And the seer seeing that Idrial must be away from the war and any malice, as if any home within reach of malice would be tainted.
Also 'then give her a lot of her remaining anchors', as if her passons and her domains of magic were 'anchors' for her. (anchors that new elves would need to grow)
And the home she lost, the community and forest she had to tell goodbye to would have been the other anchors, that she lost.
Which new elves wouldn't have unless a certain forest decided to be the new home.
Where elves may need some anchors and Fairies have a much stronger bond to the home anchor.
"There is no path. There is no scenario where our Forest survives," Rachel admitted, quietly, to Adrian, and the admission broke something inside her. "There are few wherein Idrial survives. We must fight to the final moment, save this place as long as we can. Then give her a lot of her remaining anchors, and no war, and no Malice in the air. There's… I've been looking through possible Starbases, for that's the only real choice that I can see."
"She needs her Magic and her Home. Her Magic is 'Healing' and 'Starlight' and 'Her Forest.' Her Home is 'Family' (us) and 'Peace' and 'Her Forest.' She lost a third of each, and there's no way we can get them back. My best hope is to deluge her in what's left: the two of us, and a satellite that I think I've successfully deleted from all records. Can you improve on your old Empty Shield?"
Pineapples, for Granny Miller.
A new ice chip from the top of the mountains, for Marta Yarrow.
Any exotic seeds, nuts, or plant samples. Coconuts, tropical fruits, etc.
Magical protective gear, or training/instructions to make such. I'm thinking anti-portal wards, Malice detection amulets, that sort of thing.
Fancy fertilizer? We might be able to figure out more about what kinds of things we like in the soil...
Books! We would probably like books.
More friends? We could buy a basket of kittens...
Ancient-Tech stuff, for figuring out how it works.
Monster-fighting gear. For reverse-engineering mostly.
Enchanted equipment, for the same reasons.
Saplings of interesting tree types. Maybe we could expand the variety of Trees in the Forest? Get some more varieties of fruit?
So we are Basicaly the Silvers-Lite eh? (Context: is a MTG Race that are Hivemind but with the Gimmick Being if One Silver have a Ability everysingle silver in the proximity GAIN it )
You win a free GM confirmation:
There are multiple things from his past that Old Man Materson hasn't told anyone. Not honestly. He'll deflect or make up wild stories, but never answer.
That said, he is vanishingly unlikely to become a threat or enemy to the Forest.
(Vanishingly unlikely: roughly "Old Man Materson gets extensively mind-controlled" or "the Forest goes full villain.")
I figure he meant "how do you prevent the knowledge stored there from being stolen and used against us by whichever enemy manages to find this living library?"
Figured as much, the wording is there to give a general picture of "Law" Magic that I want to research. A bit bummed on Portals not being affected at all if this goes through, but your story, your rules.
You aren't guaranteed Portals won't be affected.
Nor are you guaranteed that they will.
You'd need to test. And all currently-available testcases are also, unfortunately, enemy action.
Depends on your luck, but it's a valid possibility.
...
Depending on advertising, there's a slight chance one would move in just hoping for a cure/help.
On that note, how do we as players offer to multiple people the option to become a Speaker? In terms of setting up a vote.
Specifically, I really want to offer it to Materson and Mr. Tavish now this turnwith the explanation that it gives them the ability to call upon our power in an emergency (rather than us having to send power to them) and that the forest might learn magic faster.
And make an open offer to any other magic users/those who want to use magic in the village, as while I'm aware that they'd probably want to see how one or two people are affected by the deep connection first; the forest and village are suffering frequent attacks and the faster we get more villagers with the ability to call on the forest's power in a long fight the better.
I'd include the Herbalist in that too, but I think we as a forest should talk to her first individually, and maybe apologise for being cagey with her - and also warn her about that rock that might be spying on us.
Tbh, if we could have that conversation now this turn that would be great, especially if she can help against the vines. Herbicides are almost certainly in her wheelhouse.
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(Also, I expect the vines have been upgraded)
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At this point, our attacker's efforts have spilled out to four points over twenty miles away from us. The people in the towns to the north and south and general area are at risk and in my view it is now irresponsible to not warn them of the escalating threat attacking the general area they live.
As such I think we should stop trying to hide ourselves and go all in trying to trade for useful things.
Enchanted items that can be used by the forest or studied:
-items that pierce illusions; items of "See Invisibility" or "True Seeing" or other things.
-items that boost the growth of plants
- "+1" weapons
-items of "Resist Poison" or "Resist Disease"
-items of "Regeneration"
-potions of healing/resist poison/resist disease
-potions of plant growth
-living samples of all the ingredients for the potions on this list.
-items that boost "stats" [Int, Wis, Str ect]
-items that give bonuses to various defences, e.g. Magic Armour or resistance to Electric damage ect.
-items that provide resistance/immunity to various forms of mental attacks
-items that boost a mage's ability in an area, e.g. 'Staff of Water Magic'
-idk, like... 'drones'? As in remote controllable magic flying devices that allow the operator to see through it's visual sensors
-books on the magical fields of: Scrying/Divination, Space/Teleportation/Portals, Basic Elemental magics, Healing, Low-end Time stuff (Haste/Slow type magics), Group Buffs (i.e. "Bless" from D&D), Techniques to resist 'Shield Piercing' and any available developed methods of beating Hell and Malice magics.
-books on stuff like anatomy, medicine, animal anatomy and veterinary medicine (at least for the animals we are in range of).
-books on two-leg psychology.
[I've been giving Solasta a go, so I'm in a D&D frame of mind; hence the format of these ideas)
So consideration on the main reason behind my emphasis on not joining any 'auto-focus' vote.
This is a Riot Quest, and one of the inherent features of a Riot Quest is that coordinating actions can often times be like herding cats. While by and large this group does pretty well working towards a rough semblance of a plan, there is still the fact we're less a collective and more an assembly of individuals that sometimes find common things to work toward.
Consider also how difficult it can be to get votes to happen for the 'super arbitrary' animal votes. Oftentimes they don't happen simply because there is a heavy enough playerbase that usually don't care to vote for anything but that one players single action, maybe throw in a handful of focus votes.
By contrast, standard focus votes happen regardless. We don't need a majority of players to care, it just goes with the majority of what the people who do care want.
So my problem with the auto-focus system is that I have genuine concerns that by using the Auto-Focus system, which like the animals only changes if enough of the overall player base cares about it, we have genuine risk of making one or more focus actions unavailable when we need them the most. What is effectively set up is making it so that any time we absolutely need a focus vote for an emergency, but that much-needed emergency focus vote is dedicated to a successful cat herding to set it up, we then once again have to go through another cat herding in order to make the emergency focus action happen.
In short, I'm concerned about the long-term consequences over the supposed benefits of taking the easy 'vote-and-forget' route.
@Robinton Not sure if you caught my implication, but, assuming we aren't particularly knowledgeable about metallurgy, I'd like to request a book on it from the Traders. (And yes, I'm aware of the "might not be available" clause; no need to warn about that.)
Compromise, maybe? Vote for a single-Focus AutoFocus that actually seems useful and has a definite end-point, and save the rest of the Focus actions for emergencies (as opposed to that plan that dedicates literally everything to the portals, to the detriment of everything else and with no end in sight)?
I mean, "grow X Special Tree until its cap is reached" shouldn't take too long at 5 successes a turn plus whatever additional effort we send that way, I feel.
From my perspective, the end goal is "figure out what each of the Portals dropped, find it, kill it if necessary, end task", but I can see how that can be a nebulous goal.
Personally, I have it shaped like that because my thought process went "Oh hey, the Enemy is Acting Against Us and only like one tree is using their own direct action to do anything about this, the only thing I can do at this point is try to get people to spend the communal and animal actions on it and draw attention to the issue", so an AutoFocus plan was what I saw as the best way I could do that.
