Witch's Lament: A Claymore Quest

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rdc30 said:
[ ][CONTROL] Razor Web
You could always sense minuscule amounts of Yoki Energy flowing into your long, wavy strands of bleached silver hair, but you never truly paid much heed to it, until the Researchers informed you that your entire body is a Living Weapon designed to express your predatory instincts led you to reconsider every aspect of your mutated body. While your early efforts were limited to ensuring you always have perfectly well-kept and glamorous hair every morning, you eventually began to strengthen them to the point that they began stronger than normal steel and, since the diameter of each strand of hair is finer than most blades, you eventually learned to how to manipulate and embed them into the environment to use as tripwires, makeshift steps and deadly invisible razor wire that can easily decapitate any Yoma clumsy to stumble into your trap.
-[ ][WEB] Advanced Skill - Razor Hair: C- (Favored)
As insane as it might seem now, when you first began work on what would eventually turn into your unique combat stlye, you were actually attempting to find a less-lethal use for your hair to avoid endangering your fellow Warriors and any innocent bystander. Based on an old game your mother used to play with you during your childhood in which you arranged and manipulate a string around your fingers to create elaborate patterns, you can manipulate your strands of hair to attack your opponents from any angle with invisible razor wire.
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I have to say that going full Alfred with our opponents seems extremely awesome.
 
rdc30 said:
You don't need to get injured to use your bone abilities, since you just grow them out of your body.

They revert to their human form, but they'll most likely die from their injuries before that point.
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Ah, figured that since Shards specifically allowed that and Smith implied it (since how else would we get those weapons?), the fact that Dust only worked after our ribs were removed didn't have that feature. I suppose that leads into the question... how much control do we have over the shards? If we take, say, Razor Wings, would it be reasonable to say we could make brittle, hollow shards that shatter against armor to splash our corrosive blood on the opponent?
 
Ryumancer said:
Ah, figured that since Shards specifically allowed that and Smith implied it (since how else would we get those weapons?), the fact that Dust only worked after our ribs were removed didn't have that feature. I suppose that leads into the question... how much control do we have over the shards? If we take, say, Razor Wings, would it be reasonable to say we could make brittle, hollow shards that shatter against armor to splash our corrosive blood on the opponent?
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Yeah, all your bone weapons and your hair if you pick that benefit from your blood.
 
Not quite what i was asking, but close enough. Means we don't need an explicit anti-armor option, since we can just apply blood to corrode armor instead.

I think then, that i'll propose this.

[X] Plan Lockdown
-[X][DIRECTED] Yoki Leech
-[X][SHARDS] Razor Wing

Basically, spam shards to deliver blood, until the opponent just can't use Yoki anymore. More shards presumably means more stolen Yoki (or more accurately, 'more places funneling their Yoki away' if we spread our shots across their entire body) , which in turn fuels... more shard spam. And since it's Directed, we don't necessarily have to apply Leech to volleys of shards if we're already stealing as much as we can reasonably handle. If we start stealing more than we can handle, Razor Wing also provides an easy outlet of just... spending the energy rapid firing shards at things that don't have Yoki Energy to steal from.
 
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Hey rdc, couple of questions:
1. How would getting both Hardened Physiology and Honed Edge work for our bone weapons and blood?
2. What would taking both Healing Salve and Synchronized Healing do? Just be redundant, or stack, etc?
3. How easy would it be to pick up Dueling in story as opposed to here?
4. How easily could we pick up any of these other suboptions after chargen, also?
 
PlazmaStryke said:
Hey rdc, couple of questions:
1. How would getting both Hardened Physiology and Honed Edge work for our bone weapons and blood?
2. What would taking both Healing Salve and Synchronized Healing do? Just be redundant, or stack, etc?
3. How easy would it be to pick up Dueling in story as opposed to here?
4. How easily could we pick up any of these other suboptions after chargen, also?
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If nothing else, Salve means we can potentially apply it mid-combat as First Aid instead of having to concentrate on Synchronized Healing which'd make us a sitting duck. I can see what you're going for with Hardened and Honed, but we're really not a hack-and-slash build, so even if it works, i'm not sure the combination would really be worth it.
 
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[ ]Plan Only takes one...
-[ ][CONSTITUTION] Yoki Eater
--[ ][EATER] Corrosive Growth
-[ ][CONTROL] Bone Shards
--[ ][SHARDS] Penetrator Bolt

Basically a way to introduce the Corrosive growth into the flesh deeply, meaning any time we hit someone with it they are going to have existence issues very shortly.

[ ]Plan Buff stacks
-[ ][CONSTITUTION] Physical Resilience
--[ ][RESILENCE] Hardened Physiology
-[ ][CONTROL] Power Manipulation
--[ ][POWER] Yoki Burst

This allows us to turn Yoki burst up to eleven because it's less likely to harm our body, meaning we get even stronger and faster from it and it turns us into a monster for a short amount of time. Given Claymore normally turns into rocket tag at higher levels, the usefulness of this cannot be understated.

@rdc30 both of these synergize like i suspect right?
 
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CuriousRaptor said:
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Penetrator+Corrosive works, yeah. Main concern is the charge time on Penetrator, and it's a single shot so if we miss, we have to charge it all over again. It's also hella lethal, with no way to turn off Corrosive Growth, which might be a problem in sparring. Hardened+Burst... probably stacks, but i mean, we're not a hack-and-slash build.
 
[ ] Plan- Its Bitsy Spider
-[ ][CONSTITUTION] Infectious Agent
--[ ][INFECTIOUS] Hallucinogenic Toxin
-[ ][CONTROL] Razor Web
--[ ][WEB] Yoki Puppeteer

I just like being the spider in the forest turning peoples mind's into mush dancing to our tune of madness :V
 
Ryumancer said:
Penetrator+Corrosive works, yeah. Main concern is the charge time on Penetrator, and it's a single shot so if we miss, we have to charge it all over again. It's also hella lethal, with no way to turn off Corrosive Growth, which might be a problem in sparring. Hardened+Burst... probably stacks, but i mean, we're not a hack-and-slash build.
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Frankly EVERYONE hacks and slashes in Claymore, even some of the Awakened Beings and Abyssal ones. Being able to just overwhelm your opponent with sheer speed, and strength is as viable as anything else in the setting.
 
CuriousRaptor said:
Frankly EVERYONE hacks and slashes in Claymore, even some of the Awakened Beings and Abyssal ones. Being able to just overwhelm your opponent with sheer speed, and strength is as viable as anything else in the setting.
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Fair, but it's something of a waste to invest in that now, since we're already somewhat deep in just 'apply blood, await opponent's demise' territory. If we had invested in hack-and-slash to begin with, then sure, but it'd be a waste of the investments we've already made.
 
PlazmaStryke said:
Hey rdc, couple of questions:
1. How would getting both Hardened Physiology and Honed Edge work for our bone weapons and blood?
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Hardened Physiology buffs the quality of your bone weapons and it gives you more blood to play around with, but with Constitution A, you already have a lot, so it probably doesn't factor in that much. Your heart would basically have to be destroyed and half your torso is gone before you start running into problems getting enough blood.

2. What would taking both Healing Salve and Synchronized Healing do? Just be redundant, or stack, etc?
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Synchronized Healing is a much stronger and faster heal, but it requires to the concentrate on healing the whole time, while healing salve is a splash and forget and you can bottle it for emergencies.

3. How easy would it be to pick up Dueling in story as opposed to here?
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You just don't have a reason to learn it without the buff from the bone weapons, so it would require some really persistent planning.

4. How easily could we pick up any of these other suboptions after chargen, also?
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You have to spend XP to get them and the pace for character progression I'm aiming at is one minor upgrade every chapter/mini-arc and more at the end of every major arc.
 
CuriousRaptor said:
[ ]Plan Only takes one...
-[ ][CONSTITUTION] Yoki Eater
--[ ][EATER] Corrosive Growth
-[ ][CONTROL] Bone Shards
--[ ][SHARDS] Penetrator Bolt

Basically a way to introduce the Corrosive growth into the flesh deeply, meaning any time we hit someone with it they are going to have existence issues very shortly.

[ ]Plan Buff stacks
-[ ][CONSTITUTION] Physical Resilience
--[ ][RESILENCE] Hardened Physiology
-[ ][CONTROL] Power Manipulation
--[ ][POWER] Yoki Burst

This allows us to turn Yoki burst up to eleven because it's less likely to harm our body, meaning we get even stronger and faster from it and it turns us into a monster for a short amount of time. Given Claymore normally turns into rocket tag at higher levels, the usefulness of this cannot be understated.

@rdc30 both of these synergize like i suspect right?
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Yeah, the first one is only going to be effective against heavily armored targets, since it'll overpenetrate most flesh, but that's not really a problem since you ideally wouldn't bother with that on a more target in the first place, since you still have your regular bone shards. Second one is basically a pure melee build with a DPS steroid.
 
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[ ] Plan More Humanity
-[ ][CONSTITUTION] Directed Response
--[ ][DIRECTED] Healing Salve
-[ ][CONTROL] Bone Smith
--[ ][SMITH] Advanced Skill - Dueling: C- (Favored)

Alright, this is my preference thus far. I like the idea of taking some more humanizing skills, and they seem like good responses to the problems she's facing in her backstory, to me.
 
rdc30 said:
Yeah, the first one is only going to be effective against heavily armored targets, since it'll overpenetrate most flesh, but that's not really a problem since you ideally wouldn't bother with that on a more target in the first place, since you still have your regular bone shards. Second one is basically a pure melee build with a DPS steroid.
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Would over pen be an issue? The blood of ours would still make flesh contact even without being embedded, wouldn't it? Perhaps not a full dose but enough for them to feel it?
 
CuriousRaptor said:
Would over pen be an issue? The blood of ours would still make flesh contact even without being embedded, wouldn't it? Perhaps not a full dose but enough for them to feel it?
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Yeah, but you have to remember that more powerful Yoma and Awakened Beings all have some degree of healing and resistance, so a tiny dose isn't going to do much against them and, against weaker targets, the bolt will most likely still be lethal by itself.
 
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Fanhunter696 said:
Yeah, but would it be any different if we use Dust Storm instead?

I mean both effects are basically poison damage, that is why I asked if those two mutations will synergize or become redundant...
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Miasma does buff it because circulates the growth through the bloodstream instead of just having it in your throat and lungs.
 
[X] Plan Tank and Tear
-[X][CONSTITUTION] Physical Resilience
--[X][RESILENCE] Hardened Physiology

I really like the extra protection and Str/Dex this gives us.

-[X][CONTROL] Bone Smith
--[X][SMITH] Honed Edge

Ditto for being able to make a weapon that we can use better than the standard Claymores, and which can more easily cut Awakened Beings.
 
Also, in regards to Organic Artillery, you guys do have bad Perception, but you can use Yoki Residue or a later upgrade for Sensory Input to paint a target beyond your normal sensory range and later upgrades have a guided projectile.
 
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New Idea


[ ]Plan Evil Angel
-[ ][CONSTITUTION] Yoki Residue
--[ ][RESIDUE] Control Node
-[ ][CONTROL] Bone Shards
--[ ][SHARDS] Razor Wing


This would let us Scattershot into the enemy's squishy bit and once we do allow us to REALLY mess with them and their abilities, nasty against anything without adequate armor or a gaping weak spot.
 
Constitution Rank B+ (Pick One Main Ability and One Specialization)
[ ][CONSTITUTION] Yoki Eater
-[ ][EATER] Explosive Reaction
-[ ][EATER] Corrosive Growth
-[ ][EATER] Yoki Disruption

[ ][CONSTITUTION] Directed Response
-[ ][DIRECTED] Healing Salve
-[ ][DIRECTED] Sensory Input
-[ ][DIRECTED] Yoki Leech

[ ][CONSTITUTION] Infectious Agent
-[ ][INFECTIOUS] Viral Incubator
-[ ][INFECTIOUS] Hallucinogenic Toxin
-[ ][INFECTIOUS] Defibrillating Poison

[ ][CONSTITUTION] Yoki Residue
-[ ][RESIDUE] Sensory Relay
-[ ][RESIDUE] Delayed Reaction
-[ ][RESIDUE] Control Node

[ ][CONSTITUTION] Blood Tendrils
-[ ][TENDRILS] Reinforced Strands
-[ ][TENDRILS] Crystallized Blood
-[ ][TENDRILS] Animated Blood

[ ][CONSTITUTION] Passive Regeneration
-[ ][PASSIVE] Healing Trance
-[ ][PASSIVE] Focused Regeneration
-[ ][PASSIVE] Controlled Overexertion

[ ][CONSTITUTION] Physical Resilience
-[ ][RESILENCE] Ablative Armor
-[ ][RESILENCE] Redundant Organs
-[ ][RESILENCE] Hardened Physiology

Yoki Control: Rank B+ (Pick One Main Ability and One Specialization)
[ ][CONTROL] Bone Smith
-[ ][SMITH] Honed Edge
-[ ][SMITH] Advanced Skill - Dueling: C- (Favored)
-[ ][SMITH] Advanced Skill - Marksmanship: C- (Favored)

[ ][CONTROL] Bone Shards
-[ ][SHARDS] Penetrator Bolt
-[ ][SHARDS] Razor Wing
-[ ][SHARDS] Organic Artillery

[ ][CONTROL] Dust Cloud
-[ ][DUST] Dust Storm
-[ ][DUST] Yoki Miasma
-[ ][DUST] Bone Shackles

[ ][CONTROL] Partial Transformation
-[ ][TRANSFORMATION] Improved Locomotion
-[ ][TRANSFORMATION] Monstrous Appendage
-[ ][TRANSFORMATION] Combat Tentacles

[ ][CONTROL] Razor Web
-[ ][WEB] Advanced Skill - Razor Hair: C- (Favored)
-[ ][WEB] Spider's Nest
-[ ][WEB] Yoki Puppeteer

[ ][CONTROL] Yoki Synchronization
-[ ][SYNCHRONIZATION] Synchronized Healing
-[ ][SYNCHRONIZATION] Yoki Camouflage
-[ ][SYNCHRONIZATION] Yoki Disruption

[ ][CONTROL] Power Manipulation
-[ ][POWER] Yoki Burst
-[ ][POWER] Energy Leech
-[ ][POWER] Yoki Furnace

I'm just gonna leave this here because it'd be easier on the eyes to plan with a quick glance, at least to me anyway.
 
CuriousRaptor said:
New Idea


[ ]Plan Evil Angel
-[ ][CONSTITUTION] Yoki Residue
--[ ][RESIDUE] Control Node
-[ ][CONTROL] Bone Shards
--[ ][SHARDS] Razor Wing


This would let us Scattershot into the enemy's squishy bit and once we do allow us to REALLY mess with them and their abilities, nasty against anything without adequate armor or a gaping weak spot.
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Basically the same as my Plan Lockdown, but with the other 'eats up a lot of the enemy's Yoki Energy' blood upgrade. And our QM did confirm that against armored targets, we can just make our projectiles shatter vs armor to splash corrosive+energy sapping blood on the target. The problem with Control Node is that it's only self-sustaining if we get it in the opponent's body, and while it DOES relay commands to let us manipulate the bone shard projectiles, there's not a whole lot we can do with them beyond, i dunno, slight adjustments to trajectory after they've been fired. It also doesn't let us turn off our blood's properties, it's ALWAYS corrosive+sapping. Energy Leech isn't quite as powerful as Control Node, but it's a lot more reliable since we can just cover our opponents with corrosive+sapping blood even when we can't properly inject it. We can drain more energy, as a result, and since we can turn it off, it means we can adjust it nonlethal for sparring purposes.

I'm not opposed to merging Plan Lockdown and Plan Evil Angel since they're so similar, though we'd have to decide which plan survives, but having both plans is just redundant and splits the vote, making it less likely for either to win.

Edit: Oh, i suppose Control Node could be used to 'root' the bone shards in the target's skin, and have marrow in the shards to produce more corrosive+sapping blood, but... it relies on all targets having at least one squishy point we can embed a bone shard in. Which i guess we can just forcibly make by splashing regular corrosive blood on the armor to weaken it, but...
 
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