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He shrugs. "Even if I knew anything more - and I don't - I probably wouldn't be able to tell you. The future isn't set in stone, so if you get a glimpse of it and act too dramatically to try to alter it, you could change the future too much for the glimpse you got to be any help to you. You can stack the deck," he says with a smile as he ruffles the cards in his hand, "but you can't change the game."

You frown thoughtfully at that. A bit like having a spy inside the enemy camp, you suppose. If you act too obviously on their information, you could give away that you have that information. "That makes sense. I don't like it, but it makes sense."

Honestly, this is the thing that makes me doubt myself most and second-guess my call. Did we just get advice on the right course of action right there?
 
I've given to understand that they actually killed Nagash after he completed his ritual. The ritual was done; he'd already resurrected and enslaved pretty much every dead person on his continent, creating an army of evil that would have allowed him to conquer the world. Because he died afterwards and lost concentration on them, the ones with enough willpower and coherence stuck around under their own power; these were the Tomb Kings, who were prepared by the Mortuary Cult to be raised in the best conditions.
 
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All this discussion has convinced me to approval vote.

[X] Stand your ground.
[X] Stone is an excellent insulator of magic.
My bad, I forgot to vote for the most important option.

[X] Stand your ground.
[X] Stone is an excellent insulator of magic.

You joke, but it makes sense that the memetic effects even reched the voting results, the vote represents Mathilde's mind and decision making, after all.
 
I've given to understand that they actually killed Nagash after he completed his ritual. The ritual was done; he'd already resurrected and enslaved pretty much every dead person on his continent, creating an army of evil that would have allowed him to conquer the world. Because he died afterwards and lost concentration on them, the ones with enough willpower and coherence stuck around under their own power; these were the Tomb Kings, who were prepared by the Mortuary Cult to be raised in the best conditions.

Not quite, he had poisoned the River Vitae, killed Nehekara and its gods (bar Usurian who was already dead in a way) and raised every Tomb King and their retinues, he had not gotten around to the part where he subsumed their will with his own when he got stabbed hence free range Tomb Kings.
 
Tell me what kind of magical phenomenon or threat is big enough that the Lords will become interested in investigating the situation after hearing Mathilde's very well educated analysis of it. I cannot understand your thought process on this issue and it's largely because I cannot understand what about this makes you think it's too minor for them to not drop what they're doing to deal with.
I think the odds of any response from the colleges being more killy than "Lady magister, 10 other wizards and an army of magic-resistant dwarves in land-battleships (EDIT: and a dragon)" is pretty low. We're a Lady Magister now. We ARE the backup that other people call in to deal with things like this.

Even if this isn't aimed at the expedition, we have an official duty to wreck Chaos's plans. For me, the question is, 'will the ritual trigger before we get back to the expedition if it is aimed at us' and 'can the expedition help, if we did'.
 
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Whoever first mentioned the SCP antimemetics division here, thank you.

It is a fun thriller to read, even if it plays way too much with your mind.
 
because we aren't wearing a "Lord Magister here" banner
We are, if a very subtle one. The promotion ritual chair wove the markings of rank into our new robes, the Halfling Elder noticed. You'd presumably need a very sharp eye from a distance, though.
B: Is a Grey Mage and therefore always suspicious
Sus mountain is sus!

Honestly, this is the thing that makes me doubt myself most and second-guess my call. Did we just get advice on the right course of action right there?
Are we ahead of the convoy still? I'm not sure if we ranged ahead of the wagons with Snorri to get here. I.e. is this still in the convoys 'future'?
 
Not quite, he had poisoned the River Vitae, killed Nehekara and its gods (bar Usurian who was already dead in a way) and raised every Tomb King and their retinues, he had not gotten around to the part where he subsumed their will with his own when he got stabbed hence free range Tomb Kings.
I don't think we can actually tell whether or not that's true; they'd have been released from his control upon his demise in any case, under the same rules as Wights and other undead entities on their level.
 
I don't think we can actually tell whether or not that's true; they'd have been released from his control upon his demise in any case, under the same rules as Wights and other undead entities on their level.

You can tell by how the Tomb Kings never recall being controlled, they just woke up confused and started fighting each other, there is no mention of them being as puppets in their unliving bodies.
 
I'd point out that Take No Heed works pretty much like that? As does Mindhole.
Automated nothing - if you're influencing multiple targets its already a stupidly complex spell, if you're influencing multiple targets with individually tailored effects you would need to cast repeated instances of single target effects, and thats not good either.

The next part has already been quoted recently, but the thread just moves so flippin fast.
But it shows an ongoing enchantment that when supercharged could do what we're seeing here.

An Apprentice waits by the appropriate street corner to let you in without having to go through their bizarre entrance ritual, and reality unfolds before your very eyes as the buildings and streets are pushed back to make way for the Light College: a massive pyramid of pure-white marble so filled with ethereal light as to be transparent. And that you didn't immediately mentally question that light made marble transparent, and that you mentally described the light as 'ethereal' rather than 'garish', rather suggests that your initial reaction of awe was not entirely natural. You scowl up at the towering display of magical puissance- No. You refuse. You glare upwards at the overgrown caltrop and dare it to insert any more purple prose into your internal monologue.
 
You can tell by how the Tomb Kings never recall being controlled, they just woke up confused and started fighting each other, there is no mention of them being as puppets in their unliving bodies.
A few already highly confusing hours under a mostly quiescent master, while they already retained the majority of their free will as a matter of spiritual composition except in regards to his orders, recalled hundreds to thousands of years later? I'd say 'color me skeptical', but I'm mostly just tired. To each of us our own headcanon.
 
Has anyone considered that maybe acting normal is playing into its hand and we just forget there was anything important there?

Running away by definition implies there is something to run away from, which would protect us from this memetic threat. And just staying here risks the expedition forgetting us (until the dragon asks where they left the grey wizard) and us getting ganked at the enemies leisure.

[X] Run like hell
- Every second could count. Return to the Expedition as fast as magic will allow and raise the alarm.
 
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I'm also suggesting she's subconsciously seeing through the infohazard.
the options are phrased as if we're looking at a clear and present threat even though we're looking at a dangerous magical mystery.
If Mathilde is subconsciously seeing through an infohazard, and phrasing her options as if we're looking at a clear and present threat -

We need to consider that the reason might be that she's looking at a clear and present threat.

Which means: do we think whatever we're looking at is small enough for our present forces to survive the time for reinforcements to get here? Do we think whatever that threat is will respond to "pretend it isn't there" by letting us go, rather than maneuvering to catch us in a more effective ambush?
 
If Mathilde is subconsciously seeing through an infohazard, and phrasing her options as if we're looking at a clear and present threat -

We need to consider that the reason might be that she's looking at a clear and present threat.

Which means: do we think whatever we're looking at is small enough for our present forces to survive the time for reinforcements to get here? Do we think whatever that threat is will respond to "pretend it isn't there" by letting us go, rather than maneuvering to catch us in a more effective ambush?
As I see it there are three options.
1. As you say, she's sensing a real threat.
2. She's Mathilde Weber, professionally paranoid.
3. It's an effect from the infohazard that unnerves her.

I've personally said my point that I think we should play it safe, head back to base, and speak with the others. Karag Vlag, despite what others have said, doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
 
A few already highly confusing hours under a mostly quiescent master, while they already retained the majority of their free will as a matter of spiritual composition except in regards to his orders, recalled hundreds to thousands of years later? I'd say 'color me skeptical', but I'm mostly just tired. To each of us our own headcanon.

I see your point, but we are talking about Tomb Kings, if someone had dared control them, they would have recalled that with the force of fiery hate.
 
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