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Similarly, apart from a few offhand lines in obscure novels, Ogres really seem like a race with zero sexual dimorphism that use universal he/him pronouns.
Archives of the Empire 2 goes into ogres much as Archives 1 went into halflings and the Eonir. It has artwork of female ogres, textually says what the sexual dimorphism is, and uses she/her pronouns for its female ogre characters.

Page 21:
Ogre head-hair is thick, dark, and lank, although males often go bald past their 30th year, and otherwise go grey after their middle years. Facial hair is often prized by masculine Ogres, with many going to great extremes to cultivate long beards, moustaches, or goatees. Many believe an Ogre's love for his beard stems from his desire to trap escaped morsels of food for later, which, for many, is indeed the case. Females, on the other hand, often braid their hair into antler-like crowns, and elaborate ropes which they use to tie their possessions directly to their bodies.

Page 22 has a name generator that suggests ogre names are unisex, same as elves.

Page 26 gives us an example of a female ogre character, and it uses she/her:
Nazzaalta Tallta
Nazzaalta's story is a common one on the docks of Ubersreik — not because it shares resemblance to anyone else's, but because she has a tendency to shout about it at all hours of the day. Born aboard a ship headed down the Reik from Marienburg and dumped under Ubersreik Bridge, it was all too likely that Nazzaalta would meet a swift end. But the stevedore gangs saw her value early, took her into their care, and raised her like one of their own.

With her strong back and massive muscles, she's a welcome addition on the docks, but it's her booming voice that garners even more attention. What with the changing times, the higher ups in the Stevedores' Guild have recognised what a shouting Ogre really means: it's hard to say 'no' to someone who would love nothing more than to eat you whole.

Nazzaalta loves her lot in life. The docks are home, and she's kept well fed. What's more, folks seem to like listening to her tell tall tales that she picks up from the ever-changing influx of sailors. And every now and then the kindly folks who tell her what to pick up and where to put it down instruct her to crush someone's arm, or break someone's legs. What more could an Ogre ask for?

Female ogre artwork from pages 14 and 36:


 
Enchantments are generally based on spells. The Spellbook informational threadmark has the entire list of sub-Battle Magic, and possible Battle Magic enchantments can be found under the College Rep spoiler in Collection of Important Information.
Alright. My suggestion was going to be to enchant a talisman carved out of the wood with Pall of Darkness, but I have a questions about some specifics about it. Pall of Darkness description states that it is used on an area, but if we enchant a talisman with it, can it instead be bound to the talisman? As in the Pall of Darkness will move if the talisman it is enchanted on moves?
 
I've just had a big brain moment, which means about 90% chance it gets shot down as silly and 10% chance it is workable: :V

Initially we got the Hounds spell hoping for some kind of AI we could use widely right? But it turned out that no we could not use then like that because Apparitions are rather dim, you know interested in eating people and the magic that sustains them, you wrap them up in chains made of your wind and then hope for the best. But what if the chains could do more than chain?

Obviously Ulgu would be no good for this, there is no point in adding more confusion to the already dim beasts, but what if we passed that on to someone whose Wind does do mental focus and revelation, Hysh?

Yes you got that right I am proposing with teach Erngrim Von Horstman how to bind Legally Distinct Non-Daemons. ;)

Obviously we would need to adapt the stuff to Ulgu first, but eventually we could work with him to make a Hysh version and since we have Windherding we might even manage to use an Enlightened Apparition let's call it for the kind of stuff we initially envisioned.

@Boney from what Mathilde knows of binding Apparitions can one give them some sort of enhancements based on the wind as one is binding them? Is that something the Hounds get (I am thinking of the fact that they are made of metal when summoned).
 
Alright. My suggestion was going to be to enchant a talisman carved out of the wood with Pall of Darkness, but I have a questions about some specifics about it. Pall of Darkness description states that it is used on an area, but if we enchant a talisman with it, can it instead be bound to the talisman? As in the Pall of Darkness will move if the talisman it is enchanted on moves?

The exact details of the mechanism arises from the dice rolls made during the enchantment process, but that's something that Mathilde can aim for.

@Boney from what Mathilde knows of binding Apparitions can one give them some sort of enhancements based on the wind as one is binding them? Is that something the Hounds get (I am thinking of the fact that they are made of metal when summoned).

It's something that can be tried, but it might be worth mentioning that 'we captured these terrible monsters and built a bunch of containment mechanisms around their current level of intelligence and ability, and then we made them smarter' is the starting points of like five hundred different horror movies and video games.
 
I feel like there's entire dissertations in whether a culture considers 'chaos' to be inherently evil or negative, and how that lines up with cultural values like how individualistic or collectivist that culture is.
I can't actually think of any cultures that see chaos as positive, at least none that haven't developed in that way relatively recently. There's a good reason for this: for most of human history there were two kinds of change; slow changes over lifetimes, and fast changes that were terrible for everyone forced to live through them.

It's only for the past few centuries that there have been regular, (arguably) positive changes, as well as political philosophies that view a lack of heirarchy as positive and terrible groups that love extreme authoritarianism.
 
Alright, that'll be my suggestion then.

Carve a talisman from a portion of our ulgu wood and enchant it with Pall of Darkness.

Ideal result would be binding the effect to the object instead of the area, as well as making it able to be toggled instead of fixed in duration.
 
The exact details of the mechanism arises from the dice rolls made during the enchantment process, but that's something that Mathilde can aim for.



It's something that can be tried, but it might be worth mentioning that 'we captured these terrible monsters and built a bunch of containment mechanisms around their current level of intelligence and ability, and then we made them smarter' is the starting points of like five hundred different horror movies and video games.

Er... life finds a way?

Maybe we could build them a theme park :V
 
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As someone who heard the Japanese version of Final Fantasy Stranger in Paradise, they say Chaos as often as (if not more than) the English version and they straight up use the English word. Also, notice that fully half of that list is Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy has been pioneering the "Kill Chaos" train for a while now.
Guess it's not a translation quirk then, I guess it's also technically 6 games if we bunch up FF as one franchise.

You see 'em skiving.
Huh, just realized that was Gork talking, honestly didn't realize.

Also, can someone explain the deal with the skin color of orcs?

There's nothing on the wiki to something that is responsible for the color of their skin. There's a reddit post 11 years ago about why do orcs have to be green, but the two figures here aren't. There's also green-skinned artwork of them green, but Andres' isn't. They're also called Greenskins.

I'm guessing it's the copyright problem they had that was mentioned?
 
Alright, that'll be my suggestion then.

Carve a talisman from a portion of our ulgu wood and enchant it with Pall of Darkness.

Ideal result would be binding the effect to the object instead of the area, as well as making it able to be toggled instead of fixed in duration.
Doesn't seem particularly useful. It's a spell Mathilde can cast effortlessly, and is boosted by the staff.
Mathilde also has limited item slots.

And she can't see through it, which is something i want, but the rest of the thread is not particularly intersted in.
 
The reason Orcs aren't off on their own is because they have an energy field that pushes them to see other people of the same type and beligerence. If you're strong enough that you aren't attracted to someone's burgeoning Waagh, then other people will be attracted to you. The only way for you to be truly alone as a Greenskin is to cut yourself away from the Waaagh.
Mhm. Which is something interesting to think about. What would a solitary Orc rejecting the Waagh be like?
 
It's something that can be tried, but it might be worth mentioning that 'we captured these terrible monsters and built a bunch of containment mechanisms around their current level of intelligence and ability, and then we made them smarter' is the starting points of like five hundred different horror movies and video games.
Adventure Module Protagonist: "You made a daemonic hybrid, raised it in captivity...she is seeing ALL of this for the first time. She does not even know what she is. She will kill everything that moves."
Lady Magister Weber: "You think the daemon is contemplating its own existence?"
Adventure Module Protagonist: "She is learning where she fits in the food chain, and I'm not sure you want her to figure that out. And by the way? I'd have a word with your people in the lab. That thing out there? That's no daemon."

*some time later*

Lord Magister Van Horstmann: "You know I'm not at liberty to reveal the asset's daemonic make-up. Modified apparitions are known to be unpredictable."
Lady Magister Weber: "It's killed people, Egrimm."
Lord Magister Van Horstmann: "That's unfortunate."
 
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@Boney, I have noticed that, while there are plenty mind-affecting magics, there doesn't seem to be any that provide telepathic communication or allow any sort of direct knowledge transfer, even voluntary, in any of the winds (at least I can't find such spells). Why is that?
Actually isn't there among the Golds, as long as you use a bit of creativity? Tale of Metal can be cast on an item which purposefully had information being shown and expounded during its creation. Breach the Unknown can be cast on an item whose only purpose is to exemplify and explain a concept, thus teaching said concept near instantly. Both could types of items could also be enchanted with their particular spell so that one casts said spell automatically on itself (while saying a key phrase), thus allowing people who can't cast the spell to access the knowledge within.
I am slightly confused. To make sure I got it right: Mathilde could in principle get books on The Lady to any level of rarity due to being a noble, but currently she can only purchase them up to Extensive, and that will remain the case until she gets some book contacts in Bretonnia?
This makes sense because the Barak Varr book store is not run by nobles and their Bretonnian middlemen probably aren't noble either.
Whatever classification that the Cathayan jet fell under. Johann called it a talisman. I wasn't sure if it was religious or arcane in origin, or what capacity Mathilde could use it in if she decided to add it to her person since it was so niche.
Maybe the real world meaning might help you. In the German and Italian version of the Wikipedia article it also emphasizes that it is a small item. The difference is that in fantasy settings like Warhammer they can have tangible and even spectacular effects.
Archives of the Empire 2 goes into ogres much as Archives 1 went into halflings and the Eonir. It has artwork of female ogres, textually says what the sexual dimorphism is, and uses she/her pronouns for its female ogre characters.

Page 21:


Page 22 has a name generator that suggests ogre names are unisex, same as elves.

Page 26 gives us an example of a female ogre character, and it uses she/her:


Female ogre artwork from pages 14 and 36:


So no beard and culturally likes to emphasize the form of her boobs under clothing, which are maybe slightly differently formed, but not actually bigger than her male counterpart's.
 
So I've noticed something on a reread of Mathilde's interactions with Cadaeth. So far Mathilde has had four major interactions with Cadaeth. Cadaeth was largely playful, teasing and sort of flirty in the first and even second interactions, when Mathilde was still a stranger and hadn't started on the Waystone Project in Laurelorn, but I've noticed that Cadaeth of the third and fourth interaction is somewhat different.

The third interaction makes sense, because Mathilde caught Cadaeth off guard. She didn't have time to prepare thanks to the prank by the Mischief and the unannounced arrival of Mathilde, and she was caught by surprise by Mathilde's desire to bring her into the project. In this interaction, Cadaeth felt more open, which makes sense given she didn't have time to put a mask on.

But I've noticed that by this fourth interaction, Cadaeth has not made a single playful or teasing comment, even with an opportunity ripe for it (we're kind of beating a dead horse but it's still funny that we have Drycha's butt). I'm wondering if this is the result of Cadaeth being in "work mode", where she goes totally serious, or if the first two interactions were an affectation and now that Cadaeth is getting used to Mathilde and working with her she's revealing more of who she is.

It's interesting, and I can't deny that I don't mind either style. I think Cadaeth is fascinating either way, either as a fun playful character or as a useful source of information and expertise on a topic that Mathilde lacks knowledge in.
 
So, I'm gonna call back to a discussion from a long, long time ago for a moment:
@BoneyM I belive you already approved this spell idea, but I can't find the post, so can you comment on its eligibility?

I'm thinking of a spell that is essentially Eye of the Beholder, but applies to people using the Fog of War trait. Make someone (or a group of people) look more or less threatning using similar concepts as EotB.

I believe my comment was along the lines of 'yes, but at the scale of entire units it'd be battle magic'.
...because it occurs to me that we don't need it to affect entire units. We just need it to affect one single target: the Warboss. Sneak in, cast it on him, then stand back and watch the carnage as all the lesser bosses suddenly don't see him as particularly threatening at all.

I'm not sure it'd be better than "sneak in, apply Branulhune", but it'd for damn sure be funnier. And also probably more replicable.
 
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We have spent a long time trying to figure out what to think of the new people we got for the Project, but I wonder how Niedzwenka sees us. One the one hand someone who lives in a major trade port and speaks Reikshpiel would likely have had the chance to meet Imperial mages before, but I am not sure if she would have had the chance to se either Greys specifically or LMs. Generally speaking I imagine that Ulgu users tend to be more subtle even when they are playing diplomat and there just aren't that many LM in the world.

So list of stuff she might see from most to least likely:

Inspection at a glance:
Arcane Marks, these are big and obvious and they would show how deep into Ulgu Mathy is. Perhaps to a Hag Mathilde might look half-spirit... a spirit of confusion and lies, so cause to be wary
Robes, this should be pretty easy to notice as we have them on as a base armor all the time, but they would not tell one anything other than that she is a warrior, which would be known already
Staff, wizard has staff, news at eleven. I think she would need more time to realize what it does
Guns, I do not know is she knows enough about guns to recognize who made them, but at the very least given that she will see the staff and guns but not the sword I think she might imagine the guns are a primary non-magic weapon
Belt, I do not think she would notice this, it is too alien as magic does. That said if she knows enough about dwarf runes to recognize any of them it would be the rune of toughness not any of the esoteric stuff

Conversation
Knows stuff about elves, she lives in elf land so not that you would call news
Good listener, does not commit any of their opinions beyond nodding along, keeps her options open
Perturbed, I do not think she is likely to notice that, but if she did it is likely she chalked it down to the fact that Imperials are squeamish about binding spirits
Does not seem to care about the Ice Maiden, so she does not have to worry about some kind of political imbalance vis a vis her main political rival

Can anyone think of other reactions she might have to how we greeted her?
 
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When it comes to 'female ogres' you can always just go the Terry Pratchett route and make 'woman' a new and exotic idea a few members of a dual-sex race with a mono-gender culture have decided they like.
 
Man, all of these are Japanese aren't they? Is this a translation quirk? Are there multiple words for [Bad Thing] in Japanese and translation convention is to just translate it to Chaos? Naming an antagonist "Evil" doesn't really work in English.

As someone who heard the Japanese version of Final Fantasy Stranger in Paradise, they say Chaos as often as (if not more than) the English version and they straight up use the English word. Also, notice that fully half of that list is Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy has been pioneering the "Kill Chaos" train for a while now.

Not only are five of those games Final Fantasy games, but the entity called "Chaos" in each one is actually a direct reference to the final boss of the first game, and can broadly be considered the same character, just transplanted into different settings—for example, in FF14:Stormblood, there's an optional questline where you have to fight a gauntlet of "fictional" beings reproduced by an advanced AI, all of which are iconic bosses from previous games. So it's hard to say if it's a quirk of Japanese culture, or if it's just a quirk of Final Fantasy/JRPG culture, and possibly "Chaos" would be a less prominent foe in the genre if Hironobu Sakaguchi had picked a different name for his final boss, a time travelling knight-turned-demon who tried to destroy the world via magical climate change.

Interestingly, a central concept in many Final Fantasy games is "chaos vs harmony", not "chaos vs order". There's actually been several games where the "order" faction are connected to the bad guys (Shinra, Yevon, Cocoon).
 
For insepction, what about the fact that we were wearing a Witch Hunter hat the whole time?

Hmm... that is a fair point. What do you think that would tell her?

I mean obviously if she is wearing that around all the time it cannot be a battle trophy or anything like that, but it might be a sort of challenge to the Templars and their ilk? I mean it has only been a generation since the Colleges were outlawed and Niedzwenka would know that it is hard to judge the age of a wizard by her looks, for all she knows Mathilde is old enough to have taken part in those battles.
 
or if the first two interactions were an affectation and now that Cadaeth is getting used to Mathilde and working with her she's revealing more of who she is.
My reading of the below segment is that Mathilde thinks that one's the explanation, at any rate:
There are, you reflect, two distinct facets to Cadaeth - that of the diplomat, and that of the expert. Her diplomatic guise is a bludgeon of fey coyness that undoubtedly serves her very well in Middenheim, but as superficially charming as that can be, you find you enjoy her company a lot more as she is now, dressed sensibly and expounding on a topic she knows well.
Of course, there's also the possibility that Cadaeth is simply much better at this game than Mathilde is, and her more recent behavioral patterns are also a "diplomatic guise" - just one calibrated to a specific audience.
 
Teaching Egrimm the Ghenna's Hound Thingy sounds like a worth while endeavour. Add Johann to it too and we have three wizard collaboration!

Then we see what they can do to optimize it for each wind and maybe poke at the nature of appirations a lil. Yaknow, totally not daemonology stuff!

They could probably write a nice paper on it and it might piss off the golds a lil but I say all Eight colleges deserves this knowledge.
 
We swore not to teach anyone the gehenna's hounds thing.
Like, fuck no.
Once we have managed to create our own Ulgu version, and can claim it as original work (we came up with it from observing the Hag Witches, honest), then we can start teaching it to people, maybe.
But until then, mum's the word.
 
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We swore not to teach anyone the gehenna's hounds thing.
Like, fuck no.
Once we have managed to create our own Ulgu version, and can claim it as original work (we came up with it from observing the Hag Witches, honest), then we can start teaching it to people, maybe.
But until then, mum's the word.
Agreed, if we want to teach anyone the info we need to develop our version of it.
 
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