Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:07 pm Posts: 2992 Location: --------------->
Re: Ad Infidium (Roll 290) - Elder Pact
"Ah, so they don't know either. Where are they set up? Better yet, where are the people in charge of the Subjects."
Thu Mar 24, 2016 7:19 pm
CaveCricket48
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:52 pm Posts: 13144 Location: Here
Re: Ad Infidium (Roll 290) - Elder Pact
CrazyMLC wrote:
>Head for Vranhal.
You head towards Vranhal. It looks like you remembered - surrounded with the massive wall with people stationed at the top. The gate is open, so you can just walk right on in.
A telepathic message reaches your mind.
Hail, traveller.
____________________
TorrentHKU wrote:
"Ah, so they don't know either. Where are they set up? Better yet, where are the people in charge of the Subjects."
Magicist: "All the people you seek are conveniently located in the Heartstone manufacturing building, just south of this one. It has some pretty beefy doors and a strong antimagic system, guess that's why all the high ranking staff fled to it.
Feel kinda left out now, just a replaceable bio magicist."
Thu Mar 24, 2016 7:36 pm
CrazyMLC
Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:20 am Posts: 4772 Location: Good news everyone!
Re: Ad Infidium (Roll 290) - Elder Pact
Hello. Could you tell me where to find some healers, for my scars? Linna said there were some around here. And, perhaps, let Elizabeth know Vandolf is back.
Thu Mar 24, 2016 7:39 pm
TorrentHKU
Loose Canon
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:07 pm Posts: 2992 Location: --------------->
Re: Ad Infidium (Roll 290) - Elder Pact
"On the bright side, you're less likely to get ripped to shreds when the hammer drops on everyone in charge.
...Is there any chance of rebuilding a body or making a new one, and attaching a dead spirit to that?"
Thu Mar 24, 2016 8:51 pm
CaveCricket48
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:52 pm Posts: 13144 Location: Here
Re: Ad Infidium (Roll 290) - Elder Pact
CrazyMLC wrote:
Hello. Could you tell me where to find some healers, for my scars? Linna said there were some around here. And, perhaps, let Elizabeth know Vandolf is back.
Lord Elizabeth has been informed, welcome back Vandolf. She says to meet her in the capital building for debriefing and payment for your services.
As for healers, the Whitehawk, a medical guild, are stationed in the fields south of the inner city. Lots of big tents, can't miss it.
____________________
TorrentHKU wrote:
"On the bright side, you're less likely to get ripped to shreds when the hammer drops on everyone in charge.
...Is there any chance of rebuilding a body or making a new one, and attaching a dead spirit to that?"
Magicist: "Rebuilding a body, could be difficult depending on what needs to be rebuilt. Brains are really hard to do, but theoretically possible.
Attaching a spirit to the body, I'd say yes with varying levels of difficulty, but that aspect is really out of my field."
Thu Mar 24, 2016 9:16 pm
CrazyMLC
Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:20 am Posts: 4772 Location: Good news everyone!
Re: Ad Infidium (Roll 290) - Elder Pact
Thank you.
> Might as well meet up with Elizabeth first.
Thu Mar 24, 2016 9:18 pm
TorrentHKU
Loose Canon
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:07 pm Posts: 2992 Location: --------------->
Re: Ad Infidium (Roll 290) - Elder Pact
"What about for a Product?"
Thu Mar 24, 2016 10:42 pm
TheKebbit
Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2009 10:24 pm Posts: 3939 Location: NORTH
Re: Ad Infidium (Roll 290) - Elder Pact
"You're right. We do have ties to this land, and at least some responsibility to fight for its security.
You know those friends of mine who were working to counter Lucida? I think perhaps it is time to attempt to link up with them. Vandolf too, if he's still alive.
They might still be pursuing a lead north of Luttiim."
Thu Mar 24, 2016 11:11 pm
Amazigh
Data Realms Elite
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 2:10 am Posts: 1531 Location: Ye Olde England
Re: Ad Infidium (Roll 290) - Elder Pact
"Figure there'd be least one or two healers close to the lord, but guards might be able t' direct us to some that are closer." "So, head towards the capital and ask any guards we come 'cross 'bout healers?"
>Keep an eye on horo, is she healing "unnaturally" fast? >Head for the capital building, if we see any guards on the way, ask them about bio-mage healers, adjust course as necessary.
Fri Mar 25, 2016 1:42 am
CaveCricket48
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:52 pm Posts: 13144 Location: Here
Re: Ad Infidium (Roll 291) - Elder Pact
Roll 291
The world as the players know it:
1. Kyeltziv, Vandolf 2. Kleigg 3. P’orihc, John
Notes:
1. Get Construct expertise from a Construct Master in a Chirop jail 1a. Investigate Heartstone, north of Luttiim (P’orihc, Ki’stha, Raze) 1b. Help investigate Heartstone and/or burn it down (John and Lucida) 2. Investigate the upside-down tower between Teleiat and Magusalto (Vandolf, Kleigg) 2a. Escort coffin to tower 3. What did I say about talking to strangers. (Kleigg)
Time: Afternoon
Name: John Freemaneth (TorrentHKU) Race: Human ____________________
CrazyMLC wrote:
"... And what goes into this 'incinerator.'"
Magicist: "Trash. Defective Products."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"My god... You just grow them, and attach a spirit? And that works? Is that because of the Heartstone, or the rest of the technology?
What exactly has been done to Alku? And if she's Base 2, what happened to Base 1?"
Magicist: "It works because of the entire system. If a Product is grown without a, link, to a mother, it ends up not having a spirit at all, but is still a perfectly functional human with rational thought. Just incapable of magic.
The link with Base 2 allows the Products to inherit her abilities, and the Incubator takes care of binding the spirit to the Heartstone. Without proper binding, the Heartstone does not work.
The Persistence Trigger is a machine in the Research building that forces a spirit to remain for a long period of time after the death of the host body. I'm sure by now you know that Emiel worked on the project for some time. He built many of the prototypes of our machines, including the Persistence Trigger. The early model had a few... Interesting additional functions, such as encoding genetic information into the spirit itself, and making them bind to Heartstones much more easily. However, that caused them to bind to other things as well, which was unwanted. Those operations were removed in the future iterations of the machine.
Alku has had numerous focus modules loaded. About as big as firewood logs. They fit into a slot on the Mother Incubator and the machine loads the contents of the module into the Mother. To put it simply, they give her more abilities.
As for Base 1, I'm not sure. She had male spirits merged into her, but that damaged her ability to create child spirits. I imagine whoever was handling that part of the operation disposed of her."
CrazyMLC wrote:
"And if they're just grown bodies with spirits attached, doesn't that essentially make them liches? This, and their treatment, is troubling."
Magicist: "If your definition of a lich is a grown body with a spirit attached, that would make all of us liches."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"...And pray tell. What happens to the nonmagical Products. What constitutes a Defective Product. What exactly does the Persistence Trigger do to a spirit to make it stick around."
Magicist: "The Products that were grown without a spirit were sterilized and then released to an orphanage. It was decided that creating an entire race of sentient, non-magic capable humans would have serious consequences in the future, and at the same time we didn't want to outright kill them.
Products are defective if they are unable to survive without life support and are unable to be medically corrected. Early growth tests created Products that were simply too fragile to live on their own without the support of a machine, and if attempts to correct their defects failed, they were euthanized.
The Persistence Trigger, I'm not familiar with the way it works. There's another team that handles it, I handle the Incubators."
CrazyMLC wrote:
"This... wow. How can something be alive without a spirit? And what's the difference between attaching a spirit to a creature during birth, and attaching it at a later point in life, which I guess is like a possession, like a lich? Are the spirit and body separate minds that are merged into one, which becomes a lich if the physical mind dies and the spirit does not? So many questions.
And if this entire process makes them truly alive, then how do you excuse murdering one of them in a goddamn incinerator, or keeping one locked up in a tube? And why are you keeping all these girls confined here? Couldn't this be a peaceful operation to conduct research for the betterment of society, and create a new generation of magically gifted beings to boot? Why the secrecy, besides the murder?"
She looks at you in a strange way.
Magicist: "Well, first off, we don't kill them with the incinerator. Secondly, Base 2 is a volunteer. I'm not sure if you understood, but many of the machines here require magic, thus, we can't use any antimagic here. That means Base 2 has an enormous amount of magic at her disposal that she can readily use at any given moment."
There's a tapping down the room, and you turn to see Base 2/Alku weakly waving from inside her Incubator.
Magicist: "As for your other questions, I'm not really sure what kind of answer you're expecting."
CrazyMLC wrote:
"What part do the girls have to do in all of this? Do you train them to make these focus stones?"
Magicist: "Which girls? Focus stones what?"
CrazyMLC wrote:
"The 'modules.' The girls you've been holding in the side buildings.
Nevermind."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"You... *sigh* God dammit. God dammit all. You tell me all this, make it seem like everyone here is trying their best to be as ethical as possible. And yet, up on the surface, you have literally over a hundred girls, all locked up in anti-magic cells against their will, undergoing... I don't know the details, but I've heard the word torture thrown around and it was bad enough to make them all want to burn this place down and run for their lives, even if they might die in the attempt. I- ♥♥♥♥. I really need to tear someone a new ass for this, but you're just here to grow Products, you're not the one accountable for this whole mess.
What about you Alku, you're... fine with all this? The treatment the Subjects get?"
Alku traces her finger on the glass tube.
"CLD B BTR"
Magicist: "The Directors were in the building just south of this one before the fighting broke out. If, you're interested in talking to them."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"Yeah, that it could.
Maybe once I've cooled off. Doubt I'm really the one to be giving them a piece of my mind anyway. Doubt it'll be anything they haven't heard before. Tell me about the Heartstone itself. What's it do in the body, and for the spirit? How does that enable a spirit to cast?"
The Magicist gives a shrug.
Magicist: "Not my field, sorry. Heartstones are actually made in the building I just mentioned, so you could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"Alright, what about the Mother Incubator and the "focus modules"? How does that work?"
Magicist: "The Mother Incubator has all the life support needed to keep Base 2 alive and healthy, and has a telepathic link to a probe in a library. Each Focus Module holds a specific fragment of a spirit, no consciousness, that was produced from the Multiplier. The Multiplier is another big machine, it causes a female's spirit to produce child spirits. The early ones produced entire child spirits, our current one only produces the bits that have the magic capability. Those fragments are loaded into Focus Modules.
The Mother Incubator can then merge the fragment with the Mother, Base 2. It doesn't work very well on anyone else. Like I said earlier, Base 2 has unique properties that make this operation possible. Some of the other magicists here gave her the nickname Pseudo-Witch in reference to her monstrous magic adaptation, but don't be alarmed by the name, she is a human."
Vandolf: "Torture, huh...
John, I'm going to head back, but I need to talk to you back at Vranhal later. Good luck."
He leaves the room and heads down the hallway, towards the stairs.
TorrentHKU wrote:
"...how's he gonna get there with the Leviathan in the way.
Witches can adapt magic? I know they can affect, or, corrupt things with their unique brand of magic. What exactly is unique about Alku that makes the absorption possible?"
Magicist: "Corruption is a bit of an ambiguous term. Common people think of it as some viral infection of magic, while those who study magic define corruption as a random alteration to a magic sequence.
Goal-directed sequence alteration is called that - Alteration.
Witches have powerful magic alteration, but their remains often emit a great deal of corruption with some minor alteration. Leads to some very strange and dangerous effects.
Alku possesses Alteration capabilities similar to a witch. Apparently she was discovered by a witch-hunting team because she was causing a ruckus hijacking and altering constructs. One thing lead to another, and she ended up volunteering as our Base 2."
Asklar wrote:
"Hey, so one of the girls knocked me unconscious when I tried to pick her thoughts up, before I knew anything of what I know now, and in the process she well... died, attaching some spirits she had on herself when it happened. And now I have this."
> Show them the red stone.
"Should I get used to them? The spirits, that is."
Magicist: "It looks like you have a Heartstone. As for the spirits, they can be extracted if you like."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"Can she control it? On and off, or conscious directed usage even?"
Magicist: "Originally it seemed to be out of her control, and mostly activated as a defence mechanism. She described how once when she was being chased by breeders, she ended up cornered and instinctively let out a pulse of corruption. The breeders were, of course, killed.
She also naturally resists foreign corruption and alteration.
After a bit of time, she learned to control her ability to the point where she could manipulate artificial matter on command, break down or alter cast spells, and leave fields of alteration or corruption.
We originally thought she might be a Fourth-tier mage, but all of her abilities can be done by Third-tier magic, she's just a naturalist at it. Also, she can't perform negation."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"It possible to implant a Heartstone into a normal person?"
Magicist: "Yes, just a lot more difficult to get the binding to work. Much easier when the spirit is in the weak early process of binding like when a baby is formed, or if the spirit lacks a good connection to a body. Dead."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"That sounds incredibly powerful. Has she ever tried to put those powers into focuses?"
Magicist: "It's not possible really, in the way you'd expect. Focus stones store the mechanisms to form specific magic sequences, while Alku's ability is altering magic sequences very quickly. A focus stone containing the possible bits from Alku wouldn't be very exciting, all it would allow you to do is to manually alter a magic sequence, something you can already do. Alku can just do a complete reading and alteration in a matter of seconds or faster, almost instinctively, while you might take months and need a pile of reference manuals.
It's kind of like manual casting, except she can manual cast as fast as a mage can normal cast."
Asklar wrote:
"I mean, it's not that I dislike having these spirits, but could they prove harmful in the long run?"
I won't be harmful I promise
We're basically the same person, how can we be harmful?
Magicist: "Um, I guess? There's always the possibility that a sentient being can be harmful."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"Have you been able to transfer that to the products?"
Magicist: "Nope. The spirits produced from the Multiplier built into the Mother Incubator completely lack Alku's unique Alteration abilities. We believe that there's more to inheritance of magic than simply a mother spirit creating child spirits, possibly requiring the child spirit to remain in the actual womb. A possible link between the mother's and child's spirit that continues the mother's influence.
We have not experimented on that aspect, if you were wondering."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"No but good to know. Can Alku leave the Incubator without problems?"
Magicist: "Alku would be fine, but the link between Alku and the Products still growing would be lost, and their spirits would not develop properly."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"Not develop properly as in they can't use all the magic they would normally be able to, or as in they could end up 'defective'. And what kind of memories are they given?"
Magicist: "Their spirits might be malformed and not be able to utilize magic, or could just die off and result in a spiritless Product. Past a certain point, the spirit is strong enough that it would no longer require the link.
The memories are Alku's, not all of hers, but a good chunk. Her moral sense, a few experiences, language. Enough that the Products are mentally independent by a few months after leaving the Incubator.
Though, the project is being, well, shut down, so the memory stream has been disabled. This will be the last batch of Products, with a nearly clean mental slate."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"...How exactly does the spirit-brain connection work even. There's consciousness rooted in the brain, since you don't need a spirit. But there's also one rooted in the spirit, since you can remain conscious as only a spirit. How does that... I guess, link, work? And what happens if someone dies but is revived? What if someone had their spirit separated from their brain without killing them? Would there be two copies of a person?"
Magicist: "That's a great question! I've been asking the Spirit Magicists for a while, but they didn't want to tell me until they've 'confirmed a few important details for a complete answer.' "
TorrentHKU wrote:
"Ah, so they don't know either. Where are they set up? Better yet, where are the people in charge of the Subjects."
Magicist: "All the people you seek are conveniently located in the Heartstone manufacturing building, just south of this one. It has some pretty beefy doors and a strong antimagic system, guess that's why all the high ranking staff fled to it.
Feel kinda left out now, just a replaceable bio magicist."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"On the bright side, you're less likely to get ripped to shreds when the hammer drops on everyone in charge.
...Is there any chance of rebuilding a body or making a new one, and attaching a dead spirit to that?"
Magicist: "Rebuilding a body, could be difficult depending on what needs to be rebuilt. Brains are really hard to do, but theoretically possible.
Attaching a spirit to the body, I'd say yes with varying levels of difficulty, but that aspect is really out of my field."
"What about for a Product?"
Magicist: ”They’re easier to work with, since they’re already bound to a Heartstone. We can grow the body around it and ease the binding into the stone, while a spirit that left a dead body, well, the binding is a lot messier to work with.”
You get 10 points to distribute among your Stamina/Mana
You get 10 points to distribute among your Passive stats, OR distribute to Accelerator (5% per point) or Constitution (5% per point) ____________________
Evasion Behavior: Use physical dodge when I have Evasion AP and when the Standard AP wasn't going to be used for other actions.
-Lucida Armor (Absorbs all damage) (17 Armor Resilience, 31/1500 Durability) (+50 Strength, +30 Evasion, +10 Speed) (Immune to Telepathy) --Biological Magic Book
Scarred Right Arm: 10 Right Arm Strength: -5 => -0 Right Arm Aim: -5 => -0 Right Arm Evasion: -5 => -0
Artifact (0/1):
Inventory: -Mana Stone (Mana: 0/15.3) -Mage Stone (Mana: 0/10) -Mage Stone (Mana: 0/10) -Mage Stone (Mana: 0/31) -Mage Stone (Mana: 0/50) -Release Stone (Output: 15) -Release Stone (Output: 3.3) -Release Stone (Output: 3.3) -Release Stone (Output: 3.3) -Focus Stone --Course Correction (Repeat the Land/Miss on a melee attack (consuming AP), but the target has 0 Evasion) --Propulsion Blast (Power a melee attack with a kinetic blast on impact [no AP/Mana is lost from Propulsion Blast if the melee attack misses]) (+Damage = Arcane + Mana)
-Power Flow Bracelet (Output: 0.1) (Mana: 0/1) --Memory Stone: Use Power Flow on the wearer as long as there is mana
Equipped: Lucida (Longsword) (+50 Edge | +8 Impact | +40 Arcane) (Mana: 280/3000) (Mana Regen: 100) (Magic) -Lucida Armor (Absorbs all damage) (17 Armor Resilience, 1500 Durability) (+50 Strength, +30 Evasion, +10 Speed) (Immune to Telepathy) -Illuminate (Create light, blinding a target if strong enough) (Inflicts Blind = Arcane + Mana) -Radiance (Create a powerful light, blinding everyone around you) (Inflicts Blind = Arcane + Mana) -Megaflare (Unleash a white torrent of flame that incinerates) (Inflicts Burn + On Fire = Arcane + Mana, Blind = [Arcane + Mana] * 0.5) -Haste (Single Turn Condition) (Cast at beginning of turn) (Speed up a target, increasing its Speed) (+Speed = Arcane + Mana) -Accelerated Repair (Speed up the body’s natural healing process on a target, clearing conditions) (Turns given = Arcane + Mana) -Fast Forward (Speed up a target, granting it additional AP) (Cannot use AP gained from FF to cast FF) (0.1 AP = Mana) -Divine Mirror (Passive) (+100% Light magic effectiveness, Immune to Blind from light)
Skills: (Magic) -(Spirit) --(Mana) ---Deposit (Discharge a select amount of mana into a source that is in contact) (does not consume AP) ---Withdrawal (Take a select amount of mana from a source that is in contact) (does not consume AP) ---Form Artificial Matter (Create magic’d solids) (Durability: Steel) (Efficiency: 1 Mana = 2 Durability) ---Form Memory Stone (Create a memory stone) (Efficiency: Low) ---Form Mana Stone (Create a mana stone) (Efficiency: 1 Capacity = 6 Mana) ---Form Conduit (Create mana conduits) ---Form Release (Create a release crystal) (Efficiency: 1 Capacity = 8 Mana) ---Form Focus (Create a focus crystal) (Efficiency: 1 Ability = 8 Mana , Ability Strength (per ability): 100% = 8 Mana [cannot exceed 100%]) ---Form Sparker (Create a Mana Sparker) (Efficiency: 1 Impulse = 0.01) ---Security Sequence (Level: 2) (Load a memory crystal with a magic sequence that protects the construct from deconstruction) -(Kinetic) --(Impulse) (Offensive skills lower target’s Will by 50% for Stagger check) ---Micro Meteor (Launch an object with kinetic force) (+ to Projectile = Arcane + Mana) ---Meteor Shower (Fire multiple projectiles with damage evenly distributed) (Inflicts Total + to Projectile = Arcane + Mana) ---Kinetic Bolt (Launch an orb of kinetic energy that explodes upon impact) (Inflicts Trauma = Arcane + Mana) ---Levitation (pick up and levitate small objects) ---Course Correction (Repeat the Land/Miss on a melee attack (consuming AP), but the target has 0 Evasion) ---Blast Wave (Lets out a powerful but short-ranged concussive wave) (Inflicts Trauma = [Arcane + Mana] * 1.5) ---Propulsion Blast (Power a melee attack with a kinetic blast on impact [no AP/Mana is lost from Propulsion Blast if the melee attack misses]) (+Damage = Arcane + Mana) ---Counter Force (Single Turn Condition) (Applies counteracting forces to a target, lowering strength and evasion) (-Strength, -Evasion = Arcane + Mana) ---Impulse Evasion (Evasion) (Can use Standard AP or Evasion AP) (Launch yourself with kinetics to evade an attack) (Can be used when Stumbled, can be used to recover from a Stumble) (Evasion = Arcane + MP) --(Fortification) (If cast with Mana, Mana is only drained when abilities are disturbed/buffed attacks land) ---Stabilize (Direct Magic) (Single Turn Condition) (Lock an object’s movement relative to a target) (+Trauma Resistance = Arcane + MP) ---Lockdown (Single Turn Condition) (Lock your bones in place and petrify your skin, resisting damage) (+Physical Damage Resistance = Arcane + Mana , affected parts are unable to move [affects evasion]) ---Power Flow (Single Turn Condition) (Cast at beginning of turn) (Fortify your bones and strengthen their movements with kinetics) (+Strength = Arcane + Mana) ---Agility Flow (Single Turn Condition) (Cast at beginning of turn) (Fortify your bones and accelerate their movements with kinetics) (+Evasion = Arcane + Mana) -(Thermic) --(Fire) ---Heat (Direct Magic) (Warm up a target, burning it with enough energy) (Inflicts Burn = Arcane + Mana) ---Fireball (Launch an orb that unleashes an explosion of heat on impact) (Inflicts Burn = Arcane + Mana) --(Ice) ---Freeze (Cool down a target, freezing it with enough energy) (Consumes 2x AP) (Inflicts Freeze = Arcane + Mana) -(Pure) --(Light) ---Illuminate (Create light, blinding a target if strong enough) (Inflicts Blind = Arcane + Mana)
(Physical) -Evade (Evasion) (Dodge an incoming attack) (Dodge successful if Evasion >= Attack Aim) (Uses Standard AP or Evasion AP) -Intermission (Spend 1 standard AP to recover 1 Stamina and Mana, and expedite debuff recovery by 1 turn)
(Hybrid) -Falling Star (Modifier, Melee) (Used with another attack, does not consume AP) (Leap up into the air with kinetic force and attack while falling, strengthening the damage of a single attack) (+Strength = Evasion + Arcane + Mana, Evasion is 0 for the next incoming attack)
(Other) -Counter Strike (Counter) (Instantly attack following an enemy’s attack if your Speed Roll is higher)
-Berserker (Passive) (Grants a separate pool of AP for melee attacks) -Fortified Resolve (Grants a separate pool of AP for Fortification magic) -Acrobat (Grants a separate pool of AP for evasion) -Accelerator (Passive) (+10% Damage and Aim to all “Meteor” skills) -Quick Rest (Passive) (If no action in the turn, all standard AP is recovered at the end of the turn) (Cannot be used if stumbled or in negative standard AP) -Constitution (+15% Maximum Base HP)
Name: Kleigg (TheKebbit) Race: Human ____________________
TheKebbit wrote:
"Yes. Let us test out the fruits of this labor." >Hitch the preexisting mill to our brand-new steam engine!
The three of you push the engine towards the Farmer's buildings a bit more north, into the one where the mill is contained.
It's a simple mill - about the size of a large well, you push a thing and it pushes a wheel that grinds stuff.
It takes a bit of work and some witch-metal gears, but you and Tabi rig the engine to the mill while the farmer fills the tank with water from a nearby pond and brings over a load of firewood.
After a few minutes of lighting a fire and letting the tank heat up, the drive shaft starts spinning freely, picking up speed until it's moving at a decent pace. Flipping a switch, a large gear connects the drive shaft to the mill's rotational pole, and the mill begins, well, milling.
Farmer: "Amazing. Here, lemme grab some wheat, you can get the milled wheat that comes out."
Barrels of wheat grain are poured into the mill, ground into powder, and then collected in the same barrels, and soon you have ten full barrels of wheat flour.
Tabi: "This should last a good amount of time. Thanks for the flour!"
Farmer: "And thanks for the engine! Oh, and you might want these, too."
She hands you a burlap sack, and opening it up you find it's full of jars.
Farmer: "Can't really make bread without yeast."
TheKebbit wrote:
"Let's get these supplies to your family - see how they're adapting to the core environment.
I'm sure we could probaby get more flour here later, considering that we practically established the new mill.
However, Tabi, we do need to talk beforehand."
Tabi: "Hm?"
The two of you take a step outside of the mill.
TheKebbit wrote:
>Lean in more closely, if the bulk of my armor permits it.
"You know I don't expect them to live inside Stahlnacht forever - we must start thinking of some place where you can have a home again in the long term, if Teleiat is going to become too dangerous to inhabit.
>>Request Stahlnacht to open a gate for us to deliver the flour and yeast.
Tabi: "Yeah, just temporary. I think we could easily head out west, to the coast where it'd be far from the leviathan, safe. But."
She looks across the farmland, towards Nullam, and then to the east.
Tabi: "It doesn't feel right. Running away."
Another rift in space appears, a bit aways from the mill, and several of the human-sized armored creatures exit and walk over to the mill, carrying the barrels of flour and the bag of yeast back into the twilight city.
"You're right. We do have ties to this land, and at least some responsibility to fight for its security.
You know those friends of mine who were working to counter Lucida? I think perhaps it is time to attempt to link up with them. Vandolf too, if he's still alive.
They might still be pursuing a lead north of Luttiim."
Tabi: ”Well. Let’s go find them.” ____________________
-Stahlnacht Armor (Absorbs all damage) (20 Armor Resilience, 5000/5000 Durability) (Regenerates 100 per turn) (+80 Strength, +20 Evasion)
Artifact (1/1): -Caelum Earth Token (+5 Will)
Inventory: -Silver Coin (Qty. 1)
-Note from “E” -Small Pouch --”Negative Fabric” -Quill (Qty. 3) -Inkpot -Paper (Qty. 10) -Mana Stone (20/20) -Padded Shirt (5 Armor Resilience , 30/30 Durability) (+4/4 Physical Defense) (Armor does not take damage from Trauma) -Shortsword (+5 Edge | +2 Impact) -Potato Sack Pants -Paper Bomb (Detonates after 10 seconds after pulling string) (Power: 100) (Qty. 1) -Spool of Thread -Runic Assassin Gauntlet (Mana: 0/??) --(Magic) ---Kinetic Blade (Single Turn Condition) (Strike with a blade of cutting kinetic force) (+Edge = Mana) ---Compression Barrier (Form a barrier of extremely compressed air around self, reducing damage and becoming invisible) (Durability = Mana/2, +Evasion = Mana, disregards Critical Shot) (Consumes 1 Mana at the end of EVERY turn) ---Conflagration (The user bursts into flames, destroying evidence) (Burn = 100, On Fire = 20)
-Running Pants (+1 Evasion) -Burlap Cloak (2 Armor Resilience , 30/30 Durability) (+1/1 Physical Defense) (Armor does not take damage from Trauma)
Skills: (Magic) -(???) --(Mana) ---Deposit (Discharge a select amount of mana into a source that is in contact) ---Withdrawal (Take a select amount of mana from a source that is in contact) --(???) ---Extrasensory (Detects magic in the area) (Does not consume AP) -(???) --(Negation) ---Nullify (Reduce the effectiveness of a magic instance, cancelling it with enough effort) ---Zero Field (Create a persistent nullification effect on a target or area) (Inflicts Null Body = Arcane + MP) ---Capture (Grab an instance of a spell or piece of Artificial Matter, storing it along with its mana) ---Release (Cast a spell that was stored with Capture [removes spell from storage]) ---Delete (Delete a captured spell) (Does not consume AP) ---Reversal (Reverses the Light/Dark polarity of a magic instance) (Fire<->Ice , Impulse<->Fortification , Light<->Dark , Electric caster/user is switched) (Reverse Strength = Arcane + Mana)
(Physical) -Intermission (Spend 1 standard AP to recover 1 Stamina and Mana, and expedite debuff recovery by 1 turn) -Evade (Evasion) (Dodge an incoming attack) (Dodge successful if Evasion >= Attack Aim) (Uses Standard AP or Evasion AP)
(Hybrid)
(Other) -Escape! (Roll a 5 or higher to successfully run away from a battle)
"My god... You just grow them, and attach a spirit? And that works? Is that because of the Heartstone, or the rest of the technology?
What exactly has been done to Alku? And if she's Base 2, what happened to Base 1?"
Magicist: "It works because of the entire system. If a Product is grown without a, link, to a mother, it ends up not having a spirit at all, but is still a perfectly functional human with rational thought. Just incapable of magic.
The link with Base 2 allows the Products to inherit her abilities, and the Incubator takes care of binding the spirit to the Heartstone. Without proper binding, the Heartstone does not work.
The Persistence Trigger is a machine in the Research building that forces a spirit to remain for a long period of time after the death of the host body. I'm sure by now you know that Emiel worked on the project for some time. He built many of the prototypes of our machines, including the Persistence Trigger. The early model had a few... Interesting additional functions, such as encoding genetic information into the spirit itself, and making them bind to Heartstones much more easily. However, that caused them to bind to other things as well, which was unwanted. Those operations were removed in the future iterations of the machine.
Alku has had numerous focus modules loaded. About as big as firewood logs. They fit into a slot on the Mother Incubator and the machine loads the contents of the module into the Mother. To put it simply, they give her more abilities.
As for Base 1, I'm not sure. She had male spirits merged into her, but that damaged her ability to create child spirits. I imagine whoever was handling that part of the operation disposed of her."
CrazyMLC wrote:
"And if they're just grown bodies with spirits attached, doesn't that essentially make them liches? This, and their treatment, is troubling."
Magicist: "If your definition of a lich is a grown body with a spirit attached, that would make all of us liches."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"...And pray tell. What happens to the nonmagical Products. What constitutes a Defective Product. What exactly does the Persistence Trigger do to a spirit to make it stick around."
Magicist: "The Products that were grown without a spirit were sterilized and then released to an orphanage. It was decided that creating an entire race of sentient, non-magic capable humans would have serious consequences in the future, and at the same time we didn't want to outright kill them.
Products are defective if they are unable to survive without life support and are unable to be medically corrected. Early growth tests created Products that were simply too fragile to live on their own without the support of a machine, and if attempts to correct their defects failed, they were euthanized.
The Persistence Trigger, I'm not familiar with the way it works. There's another team that handles it, I handle the Incubators."
CrazyMLC wrote:
"This... wow. How can something be alive without a spirit? And what's the difference between attaching a spirit to a creature during birth, and attaching it at a later point in life, which I guess is like a possession, like a lich? Are the spirit and body separate minds that are merged into one, which becomes a lich if the physical mind dies and the spirit does not? So many questions.
And if this entire process makes them truly alive, then how do you excuse murdering one of them in a goddamn incinerator, or keeping one locked up in a tube? And why are you keeping all these girls confined here? Couldn't this be a peaceful operation to conduct research for the betterment of society, and create a new generation of magically gifted beings to boot? Why the secrecy, besides the murder?"
She looks at you in a strange way.
Magicist: "Well, first off, we don't kill them with the incinerator. Secondly, Base 2 is a volunteer. I'm not sure if you understood, but many of the machines here require magic, thus, we can't use any antimagic here. That means Base 2 has an enormous amount of magic at her disposal that she can readily use at any given moment."
There's a tapping down the room, and you turn to see Base 2/Alku weakly waving from inside her Incubator.
Magicist: "As for your other questions, I'm not really sure what kind of answer you're expecting."
CrazyMLC wrote:
"What part do the girls have to do in all of this? Do you train them to make these focus stones?"
Magicist: "Which girls? Focus stones what?"
CrazyMLC wrote:
"The 'modules.' The girls you've been holding in the side buildings.
Nevermind."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"You... *sigh* God dammit. God dammit all. You tell me all this, make it seem like everyone here is trying their best to be as ethical as possible. And yet, up on the surface, you have literally over a hundred girls, all locked up in anti-magic cells against their will, undergoing... I don't know the details, but I've heard the word torture thrown around and it was bad enough to make them all want to burn this place down and run for their lives, even if they might die in the attempt. I- ♥♥♥♥. I really need to tear someone a new ass for this, but you're just here to grow Products, you're not the one accountable for this whole mess.
What about you Alku, you're... fine with all this? The treatment the Subjects get?"
Alku traces her finger on the glass tube.
"CLD B BTR"
Magicist: "The Directors were in the building just south of this one before the fighting broke out. If, you're interested in talking to them."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"Yeah, that it could.
Maybe once I've cooled off. Doubt I'm really the one to be giving them a piece of my mind anyway. Doubt it'll be anything they haven't heard before. Tell me about the Heartstone itself. What's it do in the body, and for the spirit? How does that enable a spirit to cast?"
The Magicist gives a shrug.
Magicist: "Not my field, sorry. Heartstones are actually made in the building I just mentioned, so you could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"Alright, what about the Mother Incubator and the "focus modules"? How does that work?"
Magicist: "The Mother Incubator has all the life support needed to keep Base 2 alive and healthy, and has a telepathic link to a probe in a library. Each Focus Module holds a specific fragment of a spirit, no consciousness, that was produced from the Multiplier. The Multiplier is another big machine, it causes a female's spirit to produce child spirits. The early ones produced entire child spirits, our current one only produces the bits that have the magic capability. Those fragments are loaded into Focus Modules.
The Mother Incubator can then merge the fragment with the Mother, Base 2. It doesn't work very well on anyone else. Like I said earlier, Base 2 has unique properties that make this operation possible. Some of the other magicists here gave her the nickname Pseudo-Witch in reference to her monstrous magic adaptation, but don't be alarmed by the name, she is a human."
Vandolf: "Torture, huh...
John, I'm going to head back, but I need to talk to you back at Vranhal later. Good luck."
He leaves the room and heads down the hallway, towards the stairs.
TorrentHKU wrote:
"...how's he gonna get there with the Leviathan in the way.
Witches can adapt magic? I know they can affect, or, corrupt things with their unique brand of magic. What exactly is unique about Alku that makes the absorption possible?"
Magicist: "Corruption is a bit of an ambiguous term. Common people think of it as some viral infection of magic, while those who study magic define corruption as a random alteration to a magic sequence.
Goal-directed sequence alteration is called that - Alteration.
Witches have powerful magic alteration, but their remains often emit a great deal of corruption with some minor alteration. Leads to some very strange and dangerous effects.
Alku possesses Alteration capabilities similar to a witch. Apparently she was discovered by a witch-hunting team because she was causing a ruckus hijacking and altering constructs. One thing lead to another, and she ended up volunteering as our Base 2."
Asklar wrote:
"Hey, so one of the girls knocked me unconscious when I tried to pick her thoughts up, before I knew anything of what I know now, and in the process she well... died, attaching some spirits she had on herself when it happened. And now I have this."
> Show them the red stone.
"Should I get used to them? The spirits, that is."
Magicist: "It looks like you have a Heartstone. As for the spirits, they can be extracted if you like."
Wait what
I want to stay in a body don't extract me
Whelp should've seen this coming. It's been short but fun, guys.
TorrentHKU wrote:
"Can she control it? On and off, or conscious directed usage even?"
Magicist: "Originally it seemed to be out of her control, and mostly activated as a defence mechanism. She described how once when she was being chased by breeders, she ended up cornered and instinctively let out a pulse of corruption. The breeders were, of course, killed.
She also naturally resists foreign corruption and alteration.
After a bit of time, she learned to control her ability to the point where she could manipulate artificial matter on command, break down or alter cast spells, and leave fields of alteration or corruption.
We originally thought she might be a Fourth-tier mage, but all of her abilities can be done by Third-tier magic, she's just a naturalist at it. Also, she can't perform negation."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"It possible to implant a Heartstone into a normal person?"
Magicist: "Yes, just a lot more difficult to get the binding to work. Much easier when the spirit is in the weak early process of binding like when a baby is formed, or if the spirit lacks a good connection to a body. Dead."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"That sounds incredibly powerful. Has she ever tried to put those powers into focuses?"
Magicist: "It's not possible really, in the way you'd expect. Focus stones store the mechanisms to form specific magic sequences, while Alku's ability is altering magic sequences very quickly. A focus stone containing the possible bits from Alku wouldn't be very exciting, all it would allow you to do is to manually alter a magic sequence, something you can already do. Alku can just do a complete reading and alteration in a matter of seconds or faster, almost instinctively, while you might take months and need a pile of reference manuals.
It's kind of like manual casting, except she can manual cast as fast as a mage can normal cast."
Asklar wrote:
"I mean, it's not that I dislike having these spirits, but could they prove harmful in the long run?"
I won't be harmful I promise
We're basically the same person, how can we be harmful?
Magicist: "Um, I guess? There's always the possibility that a sentient being can be harmful."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"Have you been able to transfer that to the products?"
Magicist: "Nope. The spirits produced from the Multiplier built into the Mother Incubator completely lack Alku's unique Alteration abilities. We believe that there's more to inheritance of magic than simply a mother spirit creating child spirits, possibly requiring the child spirit to remain in the actual womb. A possible link between the mother's and child's spirit that continues the mother's influence.
We have not experimented on that aspect, if you were wondering."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"No but good to know. Can Alku leave the Incubator without problems?"
Magicist: "Alku would be fine, but the link between Alku and the Products still growing would be lost, and their spirits would not develop properly."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"Not develop properly as in they can't use all the magic they would normally be able to, or as in they could end up 'defective'. And what kind of memories are they given?"
Magicist: "Their spirits might be malformed and not be able to utilize magic, or could just die off and result in a spiritless Product. Past a certain point, the spirit is strong enough that it would no longer require the link.
The memories are Alku's, not all of hers, but a good chunk. Her moral sense, a few experiences, language. Enough that the Products are mentally independent by a few months after leaving the Incubator.
Though, the project is being, well, shut down, so the memory stream has been disabled. This will be the last batch of Products, with a nearly clean mental slate."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"...How exactly does the spirit-brain connection work even. There's consciousness rooted in the brain, since you don't need a spirit. But there's also one rooted in the spirit, since you can remain conscious as only a spirit. How does that... I guess, link, work? And what happens if someone dies but is revived? What if someone had their spirit separated from their brain without killing them? Would there be two copies of a person?"
Magicist: "That's a great question! I've been asking the Spirit Magicists for a while, but they didn't want to tell me until they've 'confirmed a few important details for a complete answer.' "
TorrentHKU wrote:
"On the bright side, you're less likely to get ripped to shreds when the hammer drops on everyone in charge.
...Is there any chance of rebuilding a body or making a new one, and attaching a dead spirit to that?"
Magicist: "Rebuilding a body, could be difficult depending on what needs to be rebuilt. Brains are really hard to do, but theoretically possible.
Attaching a spirit to the body, I'd say yes with varying levels of difficulty, but that aspect is really out of my field."
John: "What about for a Product?"
Magicist: ”They’re easier to work with, since they’re already bound to a Heartstone. We can grow the body around it and ease the binding into the stone, while a spirit that left a dead body, well, the binding is a lot messier to work with.”
You get 10 points to distribute among your Stamina/Mana
You get 10 points to distribute among your Passive stats, OR distribute to Edge Alignment (5% per point) ____________________
-Padded Shirt (5 Armor Resilience , 30/30 Durability) (+4/4 Physical Defense) (Armor does not take damage from Trauma) -Grey Mage’s Hooded Robe (5 Armor Resilience , 30/30 Durability) (+4/4 Physical Defense) (Armor does not take damage from Trauma)
Skills: (Magic) -(Spirit) --(Mana) ---Deposit (Discharge a select amount of mana into a source that is in contact) -(Electric) --(Telepathy) (Skills ignore Evasion and do not consume Mana) ---Message (Sends a telepathic message to a target/multiple targets) (does not consume AP) ---Receive (Picks up on thoughts if people are thinking hard enough) (does not consume AP) ---Trace (Find the source of a tendril from an active spell that uses one) ---Proxy (Create a fake mind at a specified location that you can direct to use telepathy) ---Mental Security (Strengthen your defense against Telepathy) (Inflicts Mind Guard = Arcane) ---Locate (Does not consume AP) (Telepathically scan the area and locate people) ---Analyze (Degrading Condition) (Probe the target's thoughts to discover its behavior and stats) (+Evasion +Aim against target = Arcane - target_Will) ---Mind Control (Force the target to perform an action) (Arcane must be higher than target's Will) ---Calling the Shots (Does not consume AP) (Successfully predict what skill [and order of skills, if performing multiple calls] an enemy will perform, and increase your Evasion by 100% of its base value to that attack. AP will not be consumed while dodging that attack) -(Thermic) --(Fire) ---Heat (Direct Magic) (Warm up a target, burning it with enough energy) (Inflicts Burn = Arcane + Mana) --(Ice) ---Freeze (Cool down a target, freezing it with enough energy) (Consumes 2x AP) (Inflicts Freeze = Arcane + Mana) -(Pure) --(Light) ---Illuminate (Create light, blinding a target if strong enough) (Inflicts Blind = Arcane + Mana)
(Physical) -Flight (Capable of sustained flight. It takes 1 AP to take off [but not land]. Stops Stamina regen during flight, drains 1 stamina at the end of every roll. User specifies Altitude: If user is stumbled while in flight, takes Trauma equal to Altitude) (Altitude climb per turn = Strength) (+Evasion = Altitude) -Evade (Evasion) (Dodge an incoming attack) (Dodge successful if Evasion >= Attack Aim) (Uses Standard AP or Evasion AP)
-Edge Alignment (+10% Damage and Aim to attacks with edged weapons) -Aerial Evasion (Passive) (Can use Flight right after an enemy attack is successfully evaded on the ground) -Mind Guard (+1 Telepathy Resistance) -Acrobat (Passive) (Grants a separate pool of AP for evasion) -Multiprocessing (Passive) (Grants a separate pool of AP for Telepathic magic)
Last edited by CaveCricket48 on Fri Mar 25, 2016 7:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Fri Mar 25, 2016 6:41 am
CaveCricket48
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:52 pm Posts: 13144 Location: Here
-Padded Shirt (5 Armor Resilience , 30/30 Durability) (+4/4 Physical Defense) (Armor does not take damage from Trauma) -Blue Mage’s Hooded Robe (5 Armor Resilience , 30/30 Durability) (+4/4 Physical Defense) (Armor does not take damage from Trauma)
Skills: (Magic) -(Electric) --(Lightning) (Aim of skills is increased 50%) ---Shocking Touch (Electrify a target within arm’s reach) (Inflicts Electrocution = [Arcane + Mana] * 1.5) ---Lightning Bolt (Strike a ranged target with a lightning bolt) (Inflicts Electrocution = Arcane + Mana) ---Forked Lightning (Hit multiple targets with damage evenly distributed) (Inflicts Total Electrocution = Arcane + Mana) ---Ball Lightning (Create an electric artifact that releases all of its energy upon contact) (Electrocution = Arcane + Mana) ---Discharge (Does not consume AP) (Release any number of electric artifacts)
(Physical) -Flight (Capable of sustained flight. It takes 1 AP to take off [but not land]. Stops Stamina regen during flight, drains 1 stamina at the end of every roll. User specifies Altitude. If user is stumbled while in flight, takes Trauma equal to Altitude) (Altitude climb per turn = Strength) (+Evasion = Altitude) -Evade (Evasion) (Dodge an incoming attack) (Dodge successful if Evasion >= Attack Aim) (Uses Standard AP or Evasion AP)
>Change evasion behaviour to use Delay and Evade rather than Evade where possible.
>Put my Cloak from the ground into my inventory.
"Yeah, think that'll work.. There anythin' you wanted t' try?"
Tuhota: "Hmm. Maybe I could work on blocking, too. Defense seems pretty im-"
A fiery explosion nearby interrupts your training session. Turning towards the source, you see a spot of burnt grass, with Horoma lying on the ground close to it.
Miimas: "Holy ♥♥♥♥! Horo you okay!?"
You, Tuhota, and Miimas run over to the doll. A few flames on her clothes that Miimas pats out, and several cracks in her body that let out a red liquid.
Horoma: "I'm okay, sorta. I think my visual sensors got disconnected or damaged. Might have to whip me up a new one, Kyeltziv."
She reaches her hand up to feel her eyesockets, which are spilling gore.
Miimas: "Caelus Horo, you're bleeding!"
Horoma: "What? I can't-Oh my god, I hit someone. Who did I hit? Who's missing?
Is it Tuhota?"
Amazigh wrote:
"No..? I... None of us were near you? Right?" >Check for smears or otherwise that'd indicate a dead person. >Also sense for spirits, because that might help??
There aren't any smears that would indicate someone being exploded, and there aren't any loose spirits around either.
Horoma: "Weird. Also there's like, a tingly feeling all over.
Wait, that's pain. I'm not supposed to be able to feel that."
She slowly sits up, some of the cracks in her doll body spreading and dropping fragments, revealing red flesh underneath.
Horoma: "Oooooow. Am I really bleeding?"
Miimas: "Yeah. Looks like blood, smells like blood. Your eyes are mush, too."
Horoma: "Well. This was unexpected."
Amazigh wrote:
"..You think you need some healin'?" *Your thoughts Grant?*
Horoma: "I guess healing can't make it get any worse than it'll already be. Sure, heal me up."
Grant: I highly advise taking her to see a bio mage, not a light-based healer like myself.
Amazigh wrote:
"Grant's pretty sure you'd be better with a bio mage instead, want us t' go find one? Or take the risk of somethin' goin' wrong an' give his healin' a go?" >Has anyone come over to check out the explosion? A guard or the like?
Horoma: "Let's go with a bio mage, that sounds like the better idea."
There are quite a few mages and soldiers that are nearby, looking in your direction with a bit of concern. None have approached yet, maybe they don't want to be blown up.
Amazigh wrote:
"Think you can walk? or d'you need t' be carried?
Horoma: "Uh, let's see."
She struggles to push herself off the ground. More porcelain cracks and falls off, especially around her legs, revealing more flesh.
Horoma: "This hurts a lot, if you can't tell. I think I have actual bones, though. And I can see in one eye?"
The bloody eyelids that cover her right socket slowly close and open, revealing a blood-covered eye with a red iris. You're... pretty sure that wasn't there after the explosion.
Horoma: "I think I might need a lift, if none of you mind."
Miimas: "Yeah, just, try not to move too much. Tota, can you pick up those pieces?"
Miimas carefully picks up Horoma in a princess-carry while Tuhota retrieves the fragments of Horoma's body.
Miimas: "So where're we going?"
"Figure there'd be least one or two healers close to the lord, but guards might be able t' direct us to some that are closer. So, head towards the capital and ask any guards we come 'cross 'bout healers?"
One of the soldiers seems to have heard you and walks a bit closer.
Soldier: ”If you need a healer, the Whitehawk is just south of the main city. Bunch of tents set up, they’re professionals.”
Sounds like a good place to go. You thank the soldier and your party leaves the training grounds, heading south.
You keep an eye on Horoma while your group travels, and it does look like she’s healing abnormally fast. Her raw, exposed flesh lightens as ordinary skin grows on the surface, and more porcelain cracks off as real flesh takes its place.
Outside of the main city, there’s a village of large white tents set up in the fields, with numerous white-cloaked people moving about. ____________________
-Leather Carrying Bag --Wooden Protection Totem (Mana: 172/205) ---Mana Stones (8/8) ----Regenerating Mana Stone (?/24) (Regenerates 1 Mana per turn) ----Mana Stone (Mana: ?/30) ----Mana Stone (Mana: ?/30) ----Mana Stone (Mana: ?/30) ----Mana Stone (Mana: ?/24) ----Mana Stone (Mana: ?/23) ----Mana Stone (Mana: ?/22) ----Mana Stone (Mana: ?/22)
-Leather Brigandine (5 Armor Resilience , 30/30 Durability) (+10/10 Physical Defense) (Armor does not take damage from Trauma)
Skills: (Magic) -(Spirit) --(Entity) ---Meditation (Relaxes and strengthens your soul, resisting outside spirits) (Inflicts Inner Peace = Arcane + Mana) ---Spirit Channel (Let a spirit use your body to perform an action) (Consumes AP for spirit actions) ---Spirit Lance (Attack another spirit, weakening it) (Cannot miss) (-Arcane, -Aim, -Will = Will + Mana) ---Bind Spirit (Affix a spirit to a physical object with a Haunt) ---Possession Break (Forcefully detach a spirit’s bind) (Cannot miss) (Possession is broken if your Will is greater than Spirit’s will x2) -(Kinetic) --(Fortification) (Mana is only drained when abilities are disturbed) ---Power Flow (Single Turn Condition) (Cast at beginning of turn) (Fortify your bones and strengthen their movements with kinetics) (+Strength = Arcane + Mana) ---Agility Flow (Single Turn Condition) (Cast at beginning of turn) (Fortify your bones and accelerate their movements with kinetics) (+Evasion = Arcane + Mana)
(Physical) -Chilling Howl (Degrading Condition) (Strike fear into enemies, lowering their Aim and Arcane) (-Aim , -Arcane = Will) -Evade (Evasion) (Dodge an incoming attack) (Dodge successful if Evasion >= Attack Aim) (Uses Standard AP or Evasion AP) -Delay and Evade (Evasion) (Intercept the attack to delay it, and immediately follow up with an evade) (+Evasion = Aim) (Uses [a single] Standard AP or Evasion AP)
-Sixth Sense (Passive) (+5 Magic Evasion) -Berserker (Grants a separate pool of AP for melee attacks) -Acrobat (Passive) (Grants a separate pool of AP for evasion) -Inner Peace (+5 Spirit magic effectiveness, +5 Spirit Magic Resistance) -Constitution (+10% Maximum Base HP)
"My god... You just grow them, and attach a spirit? And that works? Is that because of the Heartstone, or the rest of the technology?
What exactly has been done to Alku? And if she's Base 2, what happened to Base 1?"
Magicist: "It works because of the entire system. If a Product is grown without a, link, to a mother, it ends up not having a spirit at all, but is still a perfectly functional human with rational thought. Just incapable of magic.
The link with Base 2 allows the Products to inherit her abilities, and the Incubator takes care of binding the spirit to the Heartstone. Without proper binding, the Heartstone does not work.
The Persistence Trigger is a machine in the Research building that forces a spirit to remain for a long period of time after the death of the host body. I'm sure by now you know that Emiel worked on the project for some time. He built many of the prototypes of our machines, including the Persistence Trigger. The early model had a few... Interesting additional functions, such as encoding genetic information into the spirit itself, and making them bind to Heartstones much more easily. However, that caused them to bind to other things as well, which was unwanted. Those operations were removed in the future iterations of the machine.
Alku has had numerous focus modules loaded. About as big as firewood logs. They fit into a slot on the Mother Incubator and the machine loads the contents of the module into the Mother. To put it simply, they give her more abilities.
As for Base 1, I'm not sure. She had male spirits merged into her, but that damaged her ability to create child spirits. I imagine whoever was handling that part of the operation disposed of her."
CrazyMLC wrote:
"And if they're just grown bodies with spirits attached, doesn't that essentially make them liches? This, and their treatment, is troubling."
Magicist: "If your definition of a lich is a grown body with a spirit attached, that would make all of us liches."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"...And pray tell. What happens to the nonmagical Products. What constitutes a Defective Product. What exactly does the Persistence Trigger do to a spirit to make it stick around."
Magicist: "The Products that were grown without a spirit were sterilized and then released to an orphanage. It was decided that creating an entire race of sentient, non-magic capable humans would have serious consequences in the future, and at the same time we didn't want to outright kill them.
Products are defective if they are unable to survive without life support and are unable to be medically corrected. Early growth tests created Products that were simply too fragile to live on their own without the support of a machine, and if attempts to correct their defects failed, they were euthanized.
The Persistence Trigger, I'm not familiar with the way it works. There's another team that handles it, I handle the Incubators."
CrazyMLC wrote:
"This... wow. How can something be alive without a spirit? And what's the difference between attaching a spirit to a creature during birth, and attaching it at a later point in life, which I guess is like a possession, like a lich? Are the spirit and body separate minds that are merged into one, which becomes a lich if the physical mind dies and the spirit does not? So many questions.
And if this entire process makes them truly alive, then how do you excuse murdering one of them in a goddamn incinerator, or keeping one locked up in a tube? And why are you keeping all these girls confined here? Couldn't this be a peaceful operation to conduct research for the betterment of society, and create a new generation of magically gifted beings to boot? Why the secrecy, besides the murder?"
She looks at you in a strange way.
Magicist: "Well, first off, we don't kill them with the incinerator. Secondly, Base 2 is a volunteer. I'm not sure if you understood, but many of the machines here require magic, thus, we can't use any antimagic here. That means Base 2 has an enormous amount of magic at her disposal that she can readily use at any given moment."
There's a tapping down the room, and you turn to see Base 2/Alku weakly waving from inside her Incubator.
Magicist: "As for your other questions, I'm not really sure what kind of answer you're expecting."
CrazyMLC wrote:
"What part do the girls have to do in all of this? Do you train them to make these focus stones?"
Magicist: "Which girls? Focus stones what?"
CrazyMLC wrote:
"The 'modules.' The girls you've been holding in the side buildings.
Nevermind."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"You... *sigh* God dammit. God dammit all. You tell me all this, make it seem like everyone here is trying their best to be as ethical as possible. And yet, up on the surface, you have literally over a hundred girls, all locked up in anti-magic cells against their will, undergoing... I don't know the details, but I've heard the word torture thrown around and it was bad enough to make them all want to burn this place down and run for their lives, even if they might die in the attempt. I- ♥♥♥♥. I really need to tear someone a new ass for this, but you're just here to grow Products, you're not the one accountable for this whole mess.
What about you Alku, you're... fine with all this? The treatment the Subjects get?"
Alku traces her finger on the glass tube.
"CLD B BTR"
Magicist: "The Directors were in the building just south of this one before the fighting broke out. If, you're interested in talking to them."
TorrentHKU wrote:
"Yeah, that it could.
Maybe once I've cooled off. Doubt I'm really the one to be giving them a piece of my mind anyway. Doubt it'll be anything they haven't heard before. Tell me about the Heartstone itself. What's it do in the body, and for the spirit? How does that enable a spirit to cast?"
The Magicist gives a shrug.
Magicist: "Not my field, sorry. Heartstones are actually made in the building I just mentioned, so you could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak."
CrazyMLC wrote:
"Torture, huh...
John, I'm going to head back, but I need to talk to you back at Vranhal later. Good luck."
> Leave for Vranhal. World's gone to ♥♥♥♥, and I'm not ready for it. Need to get strong as soon as possible. I need to be a hero, for Red, and everyone else.
You exit the building and head back to Luttiim, since it's on the way to Vranhal. The afternoon sun is bright, and you can feel an occasional rumble reminding you of the disaster occurring to the east.
Luttiim at least looks okay. Chirop are up and about, a bit in panic, maybe not okay.
CrazyMLC wrote:
This is bad...
> Head east. Stick to the north edge of the road, avoid contact with anything. If I see a Leviathan, the tower beast, or a witch, head back to the facility.
You head east, sticking to the north edge of the road. Not that it matters a whole lot when the roas is what, ten feet wide?
It doesn't take long for you to reach Teleiat, which looks deserted.
CrazyMLC wrote:
> Continue east. Try to stay out of sight, and keep an eye out for a massive salamander ready to crush me underfoot.
You continue heading east, reaching the location of where the watchtower used to be. All that's left is a large trench in the ground running towards the south, and a pitch-black hole where the tower used to be.
Looking to the south, you see a giant scaled lizard-like beast the size of a small mountain, not really like a salamander at all, angrily smashing its limbs into the ground or flattening hills with its tail. A dragon and an army of smaller dark shapes seem to be fighting something as well, but not the leviathan.
CrazyMLC wrote:
> Head to Magusalto. I'm in no shape to go investigating their battle.
You continue east, reaching Magusalto.
The city of skyscrapers is abandoned like Teleiat - no one on the streets or catwalks.
CrazyMLC wrote:
"Mmm..."
> Go to the anri, maybe there's a bridge to cross somewhere to get to Vranhal.
Heading east, you reach the Anri, with Vranhal visible on the other side. Following the river south, the river forks off into two, with a stone bridge right above the fork.
CrazyMLC wrote:
>Head for Vranhal.
You head towards Vranhal. It looks like you remembered - surrounded with the massive wall with people stationed at the top. The gate is open, so you can just walk right on in.
A telepathic message reaches your mind.
Hail, traveller.
CrazyMLC wrote:
Hello. Could you tell me where to find some healers, for my scars? Linna said there were some around here. And, perhaps, let Elizabeth know Vandolf is back.
Lord Elizabeth has been informed, welcome back Vandolf. She says to meet her in the capital building for debriefing and payment for your services.
As for healers, the Whitehawk, a medical guild, are stationed in the fields south of the inner city. Lots of big tents, can't miss it.
Thank you.
You enter the main city, navigating the streets until you reach the capital building. After talking to a guard, you’re led in and through the building, up a few stairs, and find yourself standing in front of the closed office doors. Twelve guards, six on each side of the door, standing at attention, and the lord waiting for you beyond.
You get 10 points to distribute among your Stamina/Mana
You get 10 points to distribute among your Passive stats, OR distribute to Sixth Sense (2 per point) or Constitution (5% per point) or Edge Alignment (5% per point) ____________________
-Paper (Spirit Map Runic Spell) -Paper (Spirit Map Runic Spell 2) -Paper (Light Grenade Runic Spell) -Paper (Taschenblitz) >Make a similar rune spell, one that is armed once its mana reserves increase by 0.5, like before. When it is armed, it locks onto the nearest spirit with a complexity over 30 and treats this spirit as its master. If the master spirit is within 8 meters, the spell will always do nothing. If the master spirit is farther away than that however, it will release all of its mana as light if a spirit with complexity over 30 comes within 2 meters of it. -Paper (Taschenblitz II) >Locks onto the nearest spirit with a complexity over 30 and treats this spirit as its master. If the master spirit is within 8 meters, the spell will always do nothing. If the master spirit is farther away than that however, it will release all of its mana as light evenly distributed 0.5 meters away from the compass if a spirit with complexity over 30 comes within 2 meters of it. -Paper (Fire Mine) >Locks onto the nearest spirit with a complexity over 30 and treats this spirit as its master. If the master spirit is within 8 meters, the spell will always do nothing. If the master spirit is farther away than that however, it will release all of its mana as heat from the compass if a spirit with complexity over 30 comes within 2 meters of it. -Paper (Mana Storage) >Rune spell that searches for the closest spirit with complexity over 30. If that spirit is very, very close, ie approximately held against their chest, then it transfers its mana into that creature. -Paper (Mana Storage 2) >Rune spell that searches for the closest spirit with complexity over 30 if the rune is set to T. If that spirit is very, very close, ie approximately held against their chest, then it transfers 2 mana into that creature and sets to F. Must be taken out of the specified range to set back to T. -Paper (Obscuring Light) upon activation locks onto the nearest spirit and treats it as its master. It then looks for the most complex spirit that isn't its master within 20 meters and creates a 6 meter cube around that spirit with points of light, meant to obscure that spirit's vision
Skills: (Magic) -(Spirit) --(Mana) ---Deposit (Discharge a select amount of mana into a source that is in contact) (does not consume AP) ---Withdrawal (Take a select amount of mana from a source that is in contact) (does not consume AP)
(Physical) -Flurry (Melee three times, each attack dealing one third of your normal damage [consumes 1 AP]) -Metabolize (Exert your will over your body, forcing it to produce energy faster than normal) (+Stamina = Will)
-Evade (Evasion) (Dodge an incoming attack) (Dodge successful if Evasion >= Attack Aim) (Uses Standard AP or Evasion AP) -Weak Block (Evasion) (Intercept an attack to defend yourself) (Block connects if your Aim >= Attack Aim) (-Damage = 0.5*Strength) (Uses Standard AP or Melee AP) -Delay and Evade (Evasion) (Intercept the attack to delay it, and immediately follow up with an evade) (+Evasion = Aim) (Uses [a single] Standard AP or Evasion AP)
(Hybrid)
(Other) -Offhand Strike (Counter) (When dual wielding and you evade or block using one weapon, instantly follow up with an attack from your other weapon with no additional AP cost)
(Heroic) (Each ability uses 10 Heroic AP) -Skin of My Teeth (When you fail to evade an attack, redo the evade while disregarding any negative conditions and increasing your Evasion by your Will) (Automatically triggers if the attack would be lethal)
-Sixth Sense (Passive) (+3 Magic Evasion) -Edge Alignment (+20% Damage and Aim to attacks with edged weapons) -Momentum (Passive) (Keep yourself moving, increasing damage with each attack) (Buff ends when you fail to attack in a turn or are blocked or stumbled) (+Damage = 1d6 per attack , Max total +Damage = 2 * Strength) -Critical Shot (Increases damage by extra Aim if initial damage to target is greater than 0) -Berserker (Grants a separate pool of AP for melee attacks) -Adrenaline Rush (Passive) (Stamina usage is twice as effective)
-Fleet Footed (Travel in the Overworld is doubled, +4 Combat Movement)
-Constitution (+20% Maximum Base HP)
Last edited by CaveCricket48 on Fri Mar 25, 2016 7:43 am, edited 3 times in total.
Fri Mar 25, 2016 6:42 am
CaveCricket48
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:52 pm Posts: 13144 Location: Here
Skills: -Stabilize (Spend the extra energy to hold still, increasing Aim for the next attack) (+Aim = Stamina)
-Evade (Evasion) (Dodge an incoming attack) (Dodge successful if Evasion >= Attack Aim) (Uses Standard AP or Evasion AP)
-Flight (Capable of sustained flight. It takes 1 AP to take off [but not land]. Stops Stamina regen during flight, drains 1 stamina at the end of every roll. User specifies Altitude: If user is stumbled while in flight, takes Trauma equal to Altitude) (Altitude climb per turn = Strength) (+Evasion = Altitude)
Skills: (Magic) -(Pure) --(Light) ---Accelerated Repair (Speed up the body’s natural healing process on a target, clearing conditions) (Turns given = Arcane + Mana)
Inventory: -Mana Stone (Mana: 22/22) -Mana Stone (Mana: 20/20) -Mana Stone (Mana: 19/19) -Mana Stone (Mana: 1/19) -Mana Stone (Mana: 0/19) -Mana Stone (Mana: 0/19) -Mana Stone (Mana: 0/19) -Mana Stone (Mana: 0/19)
Skills: (Magic) -(Thermic) --(Fire) ---Heat (Direct Magic) (Warm up a target, burning it with enough energy) (Inflicts Burn = Arcane + Mana) ---Flare (Unleash a torrent of flame that burns and sets targets on fire) (Burn + On Fire = Arcane + Mana) ---Fireball (Launch an orb that unleashes an explosion of heat on impact) (Inflicts Burn = Arcane + Mana) ---Flash Point (Launch an orb that sets a target on fire) (Inflicts On Fire = Arcane + Mana) ---Cauterize (Use heat to seal a wound) (Inflicts Burn = [Arcane + Mana] * 0.1 , Removes Cut, Frozen = Arcane + Mana) ---Mirage (Heat the air to cause distortions, lowering Aim and increasing Evasion on the target) (-Aim = Arcane + Mana, +Evasion = Arcane + Mana) ---Reactive Armor (Persistent Condition) (Grants the Reactive Armor condition that lowers or cancels out damage from a single hit and counters with Burn if targets are within melee range) (Must specify minimum damage value to trigger condition effect) (-Damage = Arcane + Mana, Burn + Trauma = [Leftover damage reduction] * 0.5)
-Evade (Evasion) (Dodge an incoming attack) (Dodge successful if Evasion >= Attack Aim) (Uses Standard AP or Evasion AP)
-Pyromania (Passive) (+50% Fire magic effectiveness) (No damage taken from Cauterize) (No Aim reduction taken from Mirage) -Twin Dragons (Flare casts twice [on 1 AP]) -Mana Regeneration (Mana regenerates 2 per turn)
Name: Aucupe Race: Human Spirit in a Doll ____________________
Skills: (Magic) -(Spirit) --(Mana) ---Form Swift Feather (Persistent Condition) (Create an AM feather that improves movement) (+1 Evasion, +1 Speed, +0.2 Movement) (A Swift Feather is lost every time you are struck) ---Form Armor Feather (Persistent Condition) (Create an AM feather that offers protection) (10 Armor Resilience, 10/10 Durability) (+10/10 Physical Defense) (Durability and Physical Defense stacks with more Armor Feathers) -(Kinetic) --(Impulse) ---Kinetic Blade (Single Turn Condition) (Does not consume AP if used with a Melee Attack) (Strike with a blade of cutting kinetic force) (+Edge = Arcane + Mana)
(Physical) -Evade (Evasion) (Dodge an incoming attack) (Dodge successful if Evasion >= Attack Aim) (Uses Standard AP or Evasion AP)
(Hybrid) -Feather Shot (Range = 5) (Does not consume AP) (Launch feathers out like arrows, damaging enemies) (Swift Feather: Cut = Arcane) (Armor Feather: Trauma = Arcane)
(Other)
(Heroic) (Each ability uses 10 Heroic AP) -Grand Feather Duster (Create a total 20 feathers, any type) -Feather Dragon (Let loose the inner beast, becoming stronger and faster) (+Strength = Feathers) (Bonuses from Swift Feathers are doubled) (Feather Dragon lasts for 3 turns [this one and the two after])
-Bird Catcher (Grants a separate AP pool for Feather creation)
-Berserker (Grants a separate pool of AP for melee attacks) -Flurry (Melee three times, each attack dealing one third of your normal damage [consumes 1 AP]) -Efficient Attacking (Passive) (Melee attacks will only consume AP if successful) (Cannot queue more attacks than max AP)
-Acrobat (Grants a separate pool of AP for evasion) -Efficient Evasion (Passive) (Evasions will only consume AP if successful) -Glancing Blow (Passive) (On a failed Evasion skill that uses the Evasion stat, reduce the damage of the attack by some of your Evasion) (-%Damage = Evasion/AttackAim)
-Critical Shot (Increases damage by extra Aim if initial damage to target is greater than 0) -Optimal Position (Increase damage by the difference between your and the enemy’s Evasion if your Evasion is higher) -Setup Time (Increase damage by the difference between your and the enemy’s Speed roll if your Speed roll is higher)
--(Impulse) (Offensive skills lower target’s Will by 50% for Stagger check) ---Blast Wave (Linear AoE) (Lets out a powerful but short-ranged concussive wave) (Inflicts Trauma = [Arcane + Mana] * 1.5) (Range = [Arcane + Mana] * 0.25) ---Kinetic Bolt (Launch an orb of kinetic energy that explodes upon impact) (Inflicts Trauma = Arcane + Mana) (Range = 5) ---Blur (Use kinetics to propel yourself with extreme speed, quickly moving across large ground) (If used directly after attacking, Blur is cast before the target uses any evades, counters, or triggers) (+Movement = [Arcane + Mana] * 0.25) (First use: +Speed = Arcane + Mana)
--(Fortification) (If cast with Mana, Mana is only drained when abilities are disturbed/buffed attacks land) -----Stabilize (Direct Magic) (Single Turn Condition) (Lock an object’s movement relative to a target) (+Trauma Resistance = Arcane + MP) (Range = Arcane) ---Lockdown (Single Turn Condition) (Lock your bones in place and petrify your skin, resisting damage) (+Physical Damage Resistance = Arcane + Mana , affected parts are unable to move [affects evasion]) (Range = Arcane) ---Power Flow (Single Turn Condition) (Fortify your bones and strengthen their movements with kinetics) (+Strength = Arcane + Mana) (Range = Arcane) ---Agility Flow (Single Turn Condition) (Cast at beginning of turn) (Fortify your bones and accelerate their movements with kinetics) (+Evasion = Arcane + Mana) (Range = Arcane)
(Physical) -Focused Strike (Modifier) (Strike with a melee attack that deals exponentially more damage with more stamina consumed) (Ignores maximum Stamina usage cap) (+Damage = Stamina ^ 1.5 ) -Jab Barrage (Strike out with a barrage of weak melee attacks, delivering more attacks the faster you are) (Cannot use special [ability] attacks as the attack) (Number of Attacks = Speed - Target_Speed) (Damage is halved of an ordinary melee attack) -Guillotine Hand (Cut your target with a powerful chop) (Cut = Strength) -Tornado Kick (Attack) (Can be used as an Evasion) (Leap into the air while spinning and then deliver a powerful kick) (Trauma = Strength + Evasion + Speed) (Consume unused Movement points to increase damage by 50% per point) (Evasion is 0 after ability until another ability is used)
-Evade (Evasion) (Dodge an incoming attack) (Dodge successful if Evasion >= Attack Aim) (Uses Standard AP or Evasion AP) -Intermission (Spend 1 standard AP to recover 1 Stamina and Mana, and expedite debuff recovery by 1 turn)
(Hybrid) -Hurricane Kick (Attack) (Can be used as an Evasion) (Consumes 2 AP [Standard, Melee, Evasion]) (Leap into the air while spinning and then deliver a powerful kick, followed by a small hurricane that smashes all other units in the tile, friend or foe) (Kick Trauma = Strength + Arcane + Evasion + Speed) (Hurricane Trauma = Strength + Arcane + Evasion + Speed) (Consume unused Movement points to increase Kick and Hurricane damage by 50% per point) (Evasion is 0 after ability until another ability is used)
(Other)
(Heroic) (Each ability uses 10 Heroic AP) -One Man Army (Gain 10 AP this turn) -Heart of Glory (Empower yourself with your Will for the rest of the turn) (+Strength = Will, +Arcane = Will, +Aim = Will, +Evasion = Will, +Speed = Will)
-Iron Bones (Unarmed damage is increased by 50%) -Critical Shot (Passive) (Increases damage by extra Aim if initial damage to target is greater than 0) -Optimal Position (Increase damage by the difference between your and the enemy’s Evasion if your Evasion is higher) -Justified (Passive) (Melee damage is increased by the percentage of missing Health)
-Brace for Impact (Passive) (Lower incoming Trauma damage by your Strength) -Glancing Blow (Passive) (On a failed Evasion skill that uses the Evasion stat, reduce the damage of the attack by some of your Evasion) (-%Damage = Evasion/AttackAim)
-Hard Counter (Immediately after evading or taking an attack, your Aim and Evasion are increased by their base values for your next AP action if targeting the last attacker)
-Unhindered (Standard AP refills completely at the end of every turn)
-Efficient Attacking (Passive) (Melee attacks will only consume AP if successful) (Cannot queue more attacks than max AP) -Berserker (Passive) (Grants a separate pool of AP for melee attacks)
-Efficient Evasion (Passive) (Evasions will only consume AP if successful) -Acrobat (Passive) (Grants a separate pool of AP for evasion)
-Last Will (Passive) (Your Will keeps you alive, allowing you to survive in negative health as long as the negative amount is not greater than your Will. When in negative health, you are not affected by conditions from injuries and you do not automatically recover from injuries) -Constitution (+50% Maximum Base HP)
Fri Mar 25, 2016 6:43 am
CrazyMLC
Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 4:20 am Posts: 4772 Location: Good news everyone!
Re: Ad Infidium (Roll 220)
Quote:
Ettiin: ”I fought in the Uniof independence war - the slow ones get shot up, the fast ones get slightly less shot up.”
> +6 Speed, +4 Will, +10 Stamina. Enter the doorway.
Last edited by CrazyMLC on Fri Mar 25, 2016 8:24 am, edited 3 times in total.
Fri Mar 25, 2016 7:10 am
TorrentHKU
Loose Canon
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:07 pm Posts: 2992 Location: --------------->
Re: Ad Infidium (Roll 291) - Elder Pact
> 10 points to Mana. 5 points to Arcane, 2 points to Aim, 3 points to Will. "I see... That's good to hear. I think I've exhausted my questions for you. Which means it's time to go pay a visit to the other building. Magicist... What's your name?"
Fri Mar 25, 2016 7:37 am
Amazigh
Data Realms Elite
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 2:10 am Posts: 1531 Location: Ye Olde England
Re: Ad Infidium (Roll 291) - Elder Pact
>Is there a sort of check in tent or something? if not just ask the nearest robed person.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum