rolled 1, 3, 6 = 10

Trying out a new format today:

>RECENT EVENTS<

(O) Ilian has entered into a partnership of sorts with Hretmar. The information in the town's library, including the designs and theories provided by you, is being disseminated among the 'bro network'.

(O) The frost demon has reached the point of no return. You could probably intercept it before it enters Karok if you leave within the next three days. Otherwise, it will reach the old city unopposed.

(O) At your request, Vasian has drawn up a nice letter of introduction you can use to initiate contact with the College of New Aarmour. Ilian's network is extensive, but you think it might be a good idea to go directly through more proper channels as well.

(O) Dreman has completed your new crossbow. It is an absolute work of art, reinforced with heavy bands and inscribed with magical runes provided by Jerith. The reloading mechanism has been improved, the magazine capacity has been increased to 32, and the nose of the weapon sports an impressive, menacing MS bayonet. The entire magazine can easily be detached and replaced, so running out of ammunition should only be a minor problem.

(I) Giant Crossbow (1), MS-Head Bolts (64), Giant Crossbow Magazine (2) added to inventory.

rolled 6, 1, 1 = 8

>NEWS<

(O) The 89th Engagement Division, known colloquially as the 'Terror Saints', has captured the Forusian factory city of Sestavol. Squad 10, with three members from Dreamwood, was confirmed lost in the assault.

(O) Officials from the College of New Aarmour have begun an initiative to catalog all known deities and higher beings that can be contacted from Perin. The last such 'census' was completed two decades ago.

(O) Capitol specialists report that volcanic activity in the central regions of Forus has increased by half in the past month alone. General speculation is that the nation might be getting ready to implement a literal 'scorched earth' policy to stall Perin's advance.

(O) Troops are being recalled from most minor fortresses and garrisons in the rural areas. There are rumors of a 'final push' to take the capitol of Forus.

>CURRENT STATUS<

Your life is mostly back to normal. Kel, to his credit, has made every attempt to avoid making you uncomfortable in any way. He is still your apprentice, so he sticks close, but not too close. Fortunately, none of the others are treating you much differently from how they did before your 'death'. Right now, you'd just like to avoid all the 'complicated stuff' and get back to work.

Questions? Orders? Comments on new format?

rolled 2, 4, 5 = 11

rolled 13 = 13

Sweet, I knew you wouldn't let me down, Sub :D

can anyone do a brief rundown of what've happened since we died, it'll take me way too long to go through it all before the thread(s) die.

rolled 13 = 13

Did we get our magicks and strength?

rolled 7 = 7

>>8801477
Also, I wanted to know where Capitol is on that map.
In addition could you make a rough world map?

rolled 1, 2, 1 = 4

>>8801573
Wouldn't dream of it. Thanks for being here.

>>8801600
You released a frost demon that finished the job you were sent to do. It's heading for a city containing the sum total of the knowledge of the Frost Giants.

Kel, your apprentice, proposed to you, and you accepted, later backing off and suggesting you take it slow for a while.

You recovered what remained of your armor and it has been repaired. You've been working on building yourself back up, but it will take months to get your magic back to previous levels.

rolled 5 = 5

Dm, do you think we have any chance to defeat the Ice Demon before it becomes too troublesome?

Also, push Hretmar harder to convince his siblings to deal with the problem ( do a roll if you must )

>>8801642
>It's heading for a city containing the sum total of the knowledge of the Frost Giants.


It wouldn't destroy all that knowledge, would it ?

Okay, first question, if we left now, would we even be able to do any good at all against the frost demon? I mean, it killed the Fire creature in one strike when it was at it's weakest point, and our arms have a tendency to fall off.

(Also, after hours of intense sweaty-palmed study I came to the conclusion that the bands on giantgirlfriend.jpg's right arm are in fact meant to be gold or silver bands like Vikings used to wear, rather than pointless leather belts like Animes often wear. So I recolored someone else's recolor of the picture. I couldn't get the wristbands to look like the right shade of yellow, yet.)

rolled 1, 6, 5 = 12

>>8801604
Your strength and physical stamina have nearly returned to their previous heights. Magic will take a while longer, though you are focusing much more on alchemy this time around, so the knowledge you had before isn't quite as useful.

>>8801618
The Capitol is far, far South of your region. Would you like a rough map this session, or could you wait until tomorrow?

>>8801645
You personally? No chance. Hretmar is trying to convince his brothers and sisters, but that might not work out soon enough to make a difference. Ilian is gathering allies and acquaintances just in case a stand must be made.

rolled 6, 4, 3 = 13

>>8801666
It probably could, but there is really no reason for it to do so. It has been assumed that it will use that knowledge for its own gains.

>>8801685
Right now, you have no hope of defeating or even damaging the demon. It would kill you easily, and this time you might not come back.

Thank you for your efforts. Picture saved.

>>8801463
Well, we have no fucking chance of stopping the Ice Demon, especially since it has a couple thousand Frost Giant followers now. And it would take too long for the gods to get another group together. Guess it'll all in the hands of the Conclave now. Any news on what they're planning to do?

>>8801698
>The Capitol is far, far South of your region. Would you like a rough map this session, or could you wait until tomorrow?

I could wait forever.

You know what I forgot to say the last session: we should make sure that Hretmar gets recognized in our country. No matter what he helped to save this land at least they should put some runes in the libraries so that he get all the delicious knowledge.


Who were "College of New Aarmour" again?

>>8801698
>You personally? No chance.
My people have a story of a team of great heroes named SG-1.
When the heroes Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson were stranded in the realm of a mad demon named Ra who claimed godhood and had the power to even resurrect the dead, they may have also thought that they had no chance.
But they fought back with the weapons of our people, the armaments of science. And the greatest of the weapons of my people even killed the mad demon-god. It was called a "nuclear warhead."
The knowledge the design of the most rudimentary nuclear warhead, what we call a "gun assembly," is fairly common amongst the nerds of my world. You need two "reaction masses," a chamber in which the masses are contained, and an explosive that can propel one of the reaction masses into the other, and if you have critical mass, the reaction will be stupendous in it's power.
Would one of these "nuclear warheads" be sufficient to take out this demon-king, just as it was sufficient for Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson on Abydos?

>>8801792
Yeah, that's great, but this is real (for a given value of "real"), and that's just a TV show.

>>8801792

you think it would be that easy to make a nuke? If so, we could do that.

rolled 5, 5, 6 = 16

>>8801747
They are debating it. For the past few weeks they have remained inside the Capitol Temple, allowing in only high-profile government officials. It's a safe bet that they, as well as Intelligence, are divided roughly down the middle.

>>8801751
Now that he has joined Ilian, that process will be accelerated.

New Aarmour is the city Vasian hails from. Its university is expansive, widely respected, and commands a large amount of resources, even in wartime. All told, its various campuses serve nearly 100,000 students.

>>8801792
Just as on Earth, any sufficiently powerful weapon can penetrate any type of shielding or armor, no matter how durable. While the demon is very well-protected, a nuclear weapon, a large amount of conventional explosives, or a gigantic ballista bolt could all be used to great effect against it.

>>8801838
>Vasian
hmm, I think the last session you said he wasn't looking well. How is he?

>>8801838
That's not good. They need to take action. If only we could find some way to talk to them and convince them to just combine their powers and destroy the demon.

>>8801820

Making an elegant nuke would be hard.
Getting the right fissionable mass would be hard.
But the principle is fairly simple, and since we're a giantess, weight is much less of an issue and we could probably carry a pretty crude nuclear warhead with far more reaction mass, far more explosives, and far more layers of lead containing the whole thing than would be necessary for a decent nuke from our own world.

>>8801882
You suggest we through it like some kind of rock? Wouldn't the blast hit us too?

>>8801872

Perhaps they could invest their powers into mortal champions, via a series of rings that correspond to their elemental alignment, and in times of great need these champions could combine their powers to form a great Captain of virtue to defend the world from dire threats?

>>8801904

This world has ornithopters and, I believe, zeppelins.

We could call in some favors and commission an us-sized ornithopter, or possibly a zeppelin.

Woah, early FG quest.

Anyway, as far as solutions to the Ice Demon; what about just moving or destroying the records at the Frost Giant city? That ought to be easier.....

>>8801904

Well, throwing IS an automatic success for Frost Giants, isn't it?
Considering how well we roll, I think it might just come to that.

>>8801939
As awesome as that would be, and believe me, I appreciate a good Captain Planet reference as much as the next guy, it would probably be more expedient to just use magic to cause the demon to die.

rolled 3, 1, 4 = 8

>>8801871
Jerith is doing what he can to mitigate the effects of Vasian's advanced age, as you requested. As time wears on, the magic will become less efficient, and eventually simply fail. The mage estimates he has from five to ten years if he doesn't exert himself, but he has weakened considerably in the past several months. There's no way to know exactly what's going to happen, but he's stable for now.

>>8801872
You can attempt to contact them, if you wish.

>>8801882
You can carry between one and three tons, depending on whether you are also wearing armor or want to keep a reasonable pace, if that helps.

>>8801961
Except that getting the materials for a nuke would take too long, and a zeppelin or ornithropter would be too slow. No matter what we do, unless we go RIGHT NOW, withing the next 3 days, which means going almost entirely alone except maybe for Kel and Jerith. And if we do that, we have 0% chance of stopping it.

well, crap, Lobsterman quest has some really unfun timing.

>>8801997
Yeah, let's try to contact them. I doubt they'll listen to us, but every extra voice telling them to stop dicking around and just kill it helps.

rolled 2, 1, 4 = 7

>>8801961
Ornithopters you know of, but the only zeppelin-type craft available are hot-air balloons, which are limited in utility.

>>8801968
The knowledge of Karok is inscribed on a neverending, enchanted wall of ice beneath the city. Moving it might not be possible at all, and destroying it would probably require much more fire than you have access to.

>>8802030
Very well. The twins will send a letter through Intelligence channels, if that is acceptable. Do you want the message to say something exact?

>>8802068
"Having seen the power of this demon firsthand, I believe that the best course of action would be to take forcible control of it to use against Forus, and then destroy it after that purpose is fulfilled. If controlling it is not possible with 100% certainty of control, then it should be destroyed, immediately and expediently."

>>8802068
>you need fire
Would telling Forus to destroy the demon, and maybe setting out a few "leaks" of it being a Perin superweapon planned for use againse Forus, be completely out of the question here?

>>8801997
Oh that's a shame, we could lose our scientist dude.
Last session I asked if he know any young bright minds that we could call to our settlement so that they could use their skills and form an intellectual backbone. You said he knows a bunch of them . I think we should call upon couple of them (ask Vasian to call the "best natured" ones, I don't think we don't need evil scientist no matter how smart they are)

>>8802105
Ha, pulling the strings from behind the scenes, I like. We should totally try that.

rolled 1, 2, 2 = 5

>>8802101
Message sent. Arrival anticipated within three weeks, using the distance link in Bell.

>>8802105
At present, you have no way to contact Forus. It is likely that they are already aware of the demon's presence, given that it was released within feet of the center of their most crucial operation. Not to mention, what you suggest would certainly be considered treason by the government of Perin.

>>8802132
Ilian is working that angle, and Vasian has drawn up a letter you can use to initiate contact with his home city's university (see opening post). Is there anything you would like to add to it, or do you want to send it now?

>>8802195
Send dat letter of introduction. Send it.

rolled 2, 1, 2 = 5

>>8802249
Done. Arrival anticipated in about two weeks, reply anywhere from three weeks to two months later, according to your resident professor.

Any additional orders? At the moment, you are focusing on extending your magical prowess, alternating between the ice sphere and alchemy. However, alchemy is a large discipline, incorporating everything from transforming materials to actively creating life. Is there anything you would like to pursue besides the goal of transmuting available matter into uranium?

>>8802195

we should add that we are advancing at very high rate, maybe outline some of our scientific goal, mention that there are many possibilities to pursue their scientific ambitions. That should attract some smart young people

>>8802195
Three Weeks? Oh, that's ridiculous. Can't we send them a magic-o-gram so they get the information in time to actually use it?

>>8802340

we should get that damn Noble title already!

>>8802340
Healing magic and luck magic. I remember those two were kinda important. We'll put off the earth magic for later.

>>8802355
Well it'll take the demon 5 months to get to the library, so 3 weeks isn't too bad.

>>8802363
If I recall correctly, the nation is a bit miffed about the release of the ice demon. They're ok with us, but at most we could get a minor title now- and even then it sounds like it might cause some trouble if we do.

rolled 1, 1, 1 = 3

>>8802352
Added. Sahl is not particularly enthusiastic about being swamped with aspiring scientists, but given the distance from your town to New Aarmour, there isn't likely to be much movement for months, if it happens at all.

>>8802355
The distance link is as close as you can get to magical transmission at the moment. Ilian isn't connected to anyone near enough to the Conclave to get it done faster.

>>8802363
You'll have to request an escort from the Fairnest garrison and head to the Capitol. A simple task, really, but time-consuming, and you might not be as well-received as you'd like.

>>8802388
Noted.

Can we make napalm?

>>8802457
we must get that title....
Then we can buy even better one with our hordes of money and get some privileges )

If we get that title we will "own" the the village right? What do we get out of it anyway?

>>8802491

The village already pretty much listens to anything you say, why the hell do you need to own part of it?

>>8802340
What about an opposite version of our heat pump spell? Transfering cold could come in handy when fighting ice demons or getting rid of ice walls.

rolled 1, 2, 6 = 9

>>8802486
You can make a rough copy of greek fire, but nothing approaching napalm.

>>8802491
Copied:

The very least of the minor nobles rule a single town from a manor on the property. They pay tribute in coin, resources, and men, occasionally submitting their daughters to a political marriage, and in return are left mostly alone, following the orders of the local Governor of course. All nobles, no matter their status, are entitled to protection from the Lord, which generally means a personal guard and the ability to call reinforcements from the nearest garrison. In addition, all nobles can vote, while most peasants cannot.

You would, with the consent of the population, become the legal ruler of Dreamwood. I should add that Ceril is attempting to get you declared a citizen, which, in light of your service, probably won't take all that long, though your resurrection will definitely fuel a brief debate.

>>8802491
Oohhhhh, only the friendship and trust of a large number of people. We genuinely like them and vice-versa.

So far, we've approached this quest from an almost perfectly neutral-good standpoint so far. We're not an annoying do-gooder, but otherwise we're acting like an ideal future resident of Bytopia (ref: D&D Planescape)

Relevant quote?
"Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can"

>>8802611
ugh, double 'so far' in one sentence, sorry

rolled 4, 1, 1 = 6

>>8802591
Do you want to try 'removing' the cold from an object, thus causing it to heat up? If that's what you're suggesting, it's magically possible, despite the defiance of physical laws.

>>8802544
well, seeing how prosperous this village has become some snob may come along and declare it his property if we don't do it before him

>>8802591
>>8802654

I though it consumed way too much stamina.

>>8802659
thats a good idea, we're unsure how accurate the maps are in the capitol so a noble/land-owner/jerkwad could say that teh village is on his land and therefore his property.
We should push for purchasing the title to ensure the safety of the village.
We should also lay plans for another vegatble garden/roads/housing if we plan expanding on the other side of the river.

>>8802654
This is what I had in mind.
It will still be a very situational spell but should be easier to manage since we don't have to deal with heat.

rolled 4, 6, 4 = 14

>>8802659
That is highly unlikely, and without the consent of the people, impossible.

>>8802680
It consumes quite a lot, but can still be useful in limited bursts. If nothing else, it's a good way to 'exercise' your mind.

>>8802714
Any noble attempting something like that would have to deal with you, and you are rather... uncompromising with threats to the town.

Expansion plans have been drawn up and revised numerous times. Eventually, yes, you will eventually be building up over the river as well.

>>8802654
it shouldn't be removing cold, but rather adding heat, cold non-existent, it is merely the heat has been drawn out, technically speaking ice is hot compared to say liquid nitrogen.
So use the heat pump in reverse to pull heat rather than add cold.

>>8802746
Let's concentrate on mind-exercise that's more immediately useful for now- like healing magic.

(healing+alchemy, hehehahahahahahah! If I was personally a mage here that would be my route. Make spare bodies- become immortal)

rolled 2, 6, 1 = 9

>>8802736
You will focus on this as part of your ice magic study, then.

>>8802766
Manipulating heat like that brings you too close to the fire sphere. Remember that magic does not follow physics; you can treat 'hot' and 'cold' as two opposite forces, and indeed, magic itself is divided in such a manner.

>>8802746
>That is highly unlikely, and without the consent of the people, impossible.

Who the hell listen to what people want in a feudal society? Some asshole with a small bodyguard army and few bribes to some officials could overtake such a remote village (of course if you put a pissed off Frost Giantess with a garrison of soldiers who will back her up into the equation this becomes difficult)

>>8802787
Well, ok, the ice magic is good too. For defense and all.

We need more excitement, I think

>>8802830
Nono, excitement BAD. Excitement means we lose our arms. What we need is relevant timeskips until the next important decision point.

rolled 3, 5, 3 = 11

>>8802787
Very well. You'll swing your alchemy practice in the direction of healing.

>>8802800
This is not medieval Europe. Perin's society is not a feudal one. The people do have rights, though not nearly as many as they would in a first-world nation on Earth. Chalk that up to a few centuries of enlightened rule.

>>8802873
Alright. Timeskip of one month okay?

>>8802606
I would say go for it, since from what I gather Dreamwood is already paying both monetary taxes and giving man to recruitment, and we aren't planning to have daughters any time soon, so we aren't really loosing anything, unless taxes would increase very significantly (which still isn't that much of an issue) or we would need to provide additional recruits (which would be very bad).

>>8802884
While we focus on various other magic types (alchemical, healing, luck, whatever) we should still do some training in ice magic, which given our natural affinity and fact that we were well-versed in it before our death would be quite easy.

>>8802915
Seconding this.

>>8802884
Alright let's skip time

>>8802873
We should go explore the ruins. What could go wrong? coolface.jpg

>>8801477

Regarding the loss of the Dreamwood members in Squad 10 of the 'Terror Saints' perhaps an observation according to the villages rituals are in order?

Those that were afield we might not have met personally but their lives helped shape the people we ended up finding refuge and friendship with. It's the least we can do.

Ask Hretmar if he's ok with us submitting his status as 'Frost Giant god of Knowledge and its pursuit' to the Perin deity census. If he's 'on the books' there could be an air of legitimacy just from him being written down.

Also in regards to Hretmar's sigil can we work the dictation spell to 'tag' an area with pigment?

Jet Set Radio graffiti bomb on the wall of knowledge when we finally face the Ice Demon. Might give Hretmar a chance to look up some method to bind it while we fight for our second, actually third if you're counting incarnations, life.

>>8802915
Suprocessor said it would be time consuming AND uncertain. I'm all for it- after we've established more links by mail.

rolled 1, 1, 6 = 8

>>8803051
A funeral will be held during timeskip.

Hretmar, as part of Ilian's organization, will go on the books with the others.

Dictation spells are normally extremely short-range. You'll see what can be done.

How difficult is it to test people for magical aptitude? Are people with no aptitude completely hopeless or would they just never get very good at it?

>>8802884
Do you mean not feudal or not enserfed? I thought feudalism referred to relations intra- ruling-class, not between the ruling class and the people at large.

rolled 3, 6, 5 = 14

One month has passed. It is day 13 of the eighth month. Autumn has come.

>RECENT EVENTS<

(O) Your messages to the Conclave and the College of New Aarmour will have been received by now. However, there has been no response as of yet.

(O) The frost demon has passed out of intercept range. It will arrive at Karok in roughly five months.

(O) You have had a breakthrough in alchemy. It is now possible for you to heal minor wounds, though this requires a lot of power. So far, the heat pump effect has seen only minimal improvement, but you can melt a block of ice about the size of your fist in about thirty seconds with it.

(O) In general ice magic, you are quickly gaining ground. It will be a month or two before you're back up to initial levels, but the change is startling.

(O) A memorial service has been held for the members of the Terror Saints lost in action. It was a somber, quiet affair, during which the elders each said a few words about honor and sacrifice, and delivered their personal condolences to the parents of the fallen. Afterward, you asked Ilian if he could find out if the three ascended to the upper plane, just in case.

(O) A merchant has arrived from Fain, pulling a tiny caravan consisting of three covered carts. You are currently inside the false granary, but you can reveal yourself if you wish.

Am I the only one who thinks there would be more rolls ?

It adds a great level of excitement and is always fun no matter how bad the rolls (I was literally loling at our awful rolls during horrible trip to the earth core)

I'm sure DM will think of a way to not make every roll deadly

rolled 2, 1, 3 = 6

>>8803258
>NEWS<

(O) Volcanic activity in Forus is reaching alarming levels. Mage squads on the front lines are preparing barriers, but any sizable eruption would wipe out a large number of troops.

(O) The government at large has committed itself to winning the war as quickly as possible, not just settling for another cease-fire. A massive surge of support is carrying an army of new recruits to the front.

>>8803137
Not difficult at all. Those with little or no magical aptitude have great difficulty learning or casting any kind of magic, though their problems can be mitigated by various effects. It is not impossible for a 'low-magic' person to become a mage, but very uncommon.

>>8803175
Serfdom, as such, largely does not exist in this nation. Citizens are much more free than medieval peasants would be.

Unfortunately, I will be indisposed for the next half hour or so. Please discuss what you would like to do next.

>>8803258
No need to give anyone heart attacks yet. Ask someone what he brought.

Is Alchemy purely magical? Wouldn't using ingredients and special tools increase our proficiency?

Maybe we could go to front line and wreak some havoc ?

>>8803258

Attempt to do some sneaking.

Not along the lines of tactical surprise on a hapless, hopefully, merchant but actual practice in not being as easily 'seen'.

No Maya you aren't the Batman.

>>8803348
>(O) Volcanic activity in Forus is reaching alarming levels. Mage squads on the front lines are preparing barriers, but any sizable eruption would wipe out a large number of troops.

Fucking hell, how do they stll have the energy to do this after all that stuff with the demons and filaments?

>>8803542
Shouldn't the army, you know, pull back and let Forus blow itself up? Then go back in via a different route?

On the same note, shouldn't they be out of mana now or something? Are they busy selling souls to a malevolent power?

We should start inventing stuff :\

Maybe guns?

>>8803571
>Are they busy selling souls to a malevolent power?

Could be, could be. We're dealing with double-crossing pig-disgusting Forusians here, those moral-less bastards are capable of anything

>>8803348
I will be asleep by then so unless something very unexpected happens I say:
1. Go for becoming minor noble

2. After consulting with villagers get try to few new people (if villagers aren't against of course). I think we should try to get an architect and maybe a mechanic of sorts. We could also try to convince that healer from Fairnest (the town which was attacked by trolls) to move to dream wood because while Jerith can do it from what I gather he isn't an expert. Also there's good to have two healer in case something unexpected happens to one. Also villagers kinda knows him, and saw him help us, so they might be less reluctant to help him.

3. Also now that we don't have to hide how about building that big wall we though about about 20-15 threads ago and decided that it's too flashy.
We could at build at least part of it as our geomancy training, it would also would make Dreamwood look like small but expanding town rather than small village in Buttfuck Nowhere.

>>8803734
these are good suggestions

>>8801838

Subprocessor DM mentions a "a gigantic ballista bolt" might be able to harm the Ice Demon. That's if we could even hit him.

Although the idea of zeppelin sniper shotting the Frost Giant's demonic war chief with a telephone pole sized enchanted harpoon does have some allure to it.

>>8803571
Well if we pull back, they'll stop the explosion. And yeah, that's what I mean. Where are they getting their power from?

>>8803734
Wall sounds good, though we don't have our Earth Magic any more so it will probably be slow going.

>>8803734
Oh, also how hard would it be to combine power to create blizzard/snowstorm and our scrying power to create strong snow storm which would almost completely obscure visibility of our enemies but we could magically see through it or at least sense other being i it. It would be very useful (unless it's REALLY draining) since it would both make us untouchable by most ranged fire, disorganize our enemies as well be powerful psychological weapons (Imagine - there's suddenly snowstorm out of nowhere and you start hearing sounds of battle and you comrades dying all around you while you can see anything. You will quickly begin to panic unless you have balls of steel and even then you will be disorientated).

It may not be possible, it's just a cool idea I had. But if it's possible it would make us like Batman with portable night.

>>8803808
1. Switch to relearning some earth magic or get earth mage army buddy to help.
2. Raise dreamwood to be on a hill (30-50 feet high). This hill should extend beyond the village itself. Do this without moving the stream.
3. Construct wall outside the boundary of the village but still on the hill. Nickname this the 'inner wall'.

Possible problem- water supply might not be sufficient for a big city.

>>8803808
>Wall sounds good, though we don't have our Earth Magic any more so it will probably be slow going.
Well that's kinda the point, we will both (slowly build the wall to train our geomancy at the same time, so it will go faster the longer we work on it.

>>8803918
So you're thinking about raising the town onto a tall mesa? And interesting idea, and one that would severely inhibit enemy attacks, but I see two problems.

1) That would take a _lot_ of energy. I doubt we could have done it even in our prime. We might need to get some divine help with that.

2) How would people get in or out of the town if it's a sheer drop? I supposed we could develop some kind of primitive elevator with a pulley system, but we'd need someone of our strength to pull heavier things like carts up.

>>8802606
>You can make a rough copy of greek fire, but nothing approaching napalm.
Okay, I think we should maybe work on making rough approximations of super-soakers for to arm the locals against minor frost entities.

>>8803973
Hill not equal mesa. I mean a hill. Maybe some low cliffs (10-20 feet) on some aspects, but I really meant a hill. That can do a lot by itself.

>>8803978
Wait, wasn't Greek Fire _better_ than napalm anyway? We still don't know exactly how they made it, but it was pretty fucking powerful stuff!

>>8804029
>>8803973
>>8803918

problem with hill/mesa thing

what about the river thats powering alot of our stuff?
it cant really go up hill

>>8804029

It's a farming community.
Farming communities do better when they're on level ground or river deltas.
For industrial purposes the hill is counterproductive.
We could use a hill as a defensive strongpoint, but we do NOT want these people to have to climb a hill every time they go from the fields to their houses.
We can make use of a redoubt, but putting the town on the hill seems like it would only make it that much harder for the people to get around. Plus, if we make a small hill fortress rather than a large hill town, we'd be a big blue castellan in practice, which might make it easier to gain a higher noble title.

Hill dwellers and highlanders are traditionally impoverished unless they have a source of income apart from industry and farming, like how the Swiss exported war all across the world, and later moved on to banking.

>>8804166
Of course not. Greeks fire was simply a really flammable liquid, while napalm is, well, hell in a can.

>>8804166

Greek fire burned, and burned well.
But.
Napalm STICKS.
Sure, Greek fire was about as sticky as any other oil. But napalm is like superglue's angry older brother.

>>8804166

I bet it was, back in the days when they, you know, made war machines out of WOOD.

rolled 3, 2, 2 = 7

>>8803360
The merchant brought quite a lot of tools, mostly relating to farming or smithing, but there is a little of what you would consider chemistry equipment. There are a few magical trinkets, bolts of cloth, iron bars, and an enormous amount of books. If you're looking for something specific, he might have it, in limited quantity.

Alchemy can be enhanced by certain runes, runic arrays, and magical items, just like other magical disciplines. You are working with one of the items Jerith brought; a small pendant with an inscription in an unknown language that seems to help.

>>8803442
It is doubtful that you could get there in time to be of any great use.

>>8803484
You can be quite stealthy when you want to be. Roll 1d20 for stealth, success on 6.

>>8803542
Forus has always been extremely volcanically active, which is part of the reason for their fire specialization. It probably wouldn't take much for them to 'nudge' the earth into action, given that and their skill in the area.

>>8804193
What's the radius of the town? 100 yards? They're not gonna have to go that far to get to their fields.

>>8804189
Well, I did mention having the river cut through the hill.

>>8804339
Delicious books! Forget stealth. Have someone tell the merchant we're coming, then show up.

Also, what's Perrin's magic specialty as a nation?

rolled 5, 1, 4 = 10

>>8803571
If Forus turns into an exploding hurricane of ash and magma, it will be bad for everyone, not just them. It would be wise to attempt to stop them before they destroy everything around as well as themselves.

>>8803576
You have access to saltpeter. Vasian has been working on gunpowder mixtures in the laboratory.

>>8803734
>>8803785
You will contact Ames, the healer in question, and see if you can get him to set up permanent shop in Dreamwood. Sahl is against flooding the town with new people, but there isn't much danger of that yet.

You will begin work on the wall once you have reasonably proficiency with earth magic again. As for the title, whenever you're ready to go, you can.

rolled 12 = 12

>>8804339
>Roll 1d20 for stealth, success on 6.

rolled 6, 4, 1 = 11

>>8803808
Forus's power sources are unknown, but they probably have a pact with at least a few fire gods.

>>8803870
As expected, this would be draining, but entirely possible.

>>8803918
Raising the entire village would require more power than you have or are likely to get. The gods you know could do it, but they've done quite a lot for you, and others in the realm are starting to notice. There is a reason deities don't usually use their powers constantly.

>>8803978
A crude, bellows-like construction could be used to shoot fire. Confirm?

>>8804410
Perin has no specialty. The mages here can study in most spheres unimpeded, though there is some understandable resistance to letting people become lords of fire.

>>8804595
Let me re-ask that question. What is Perrin's magic comparative advantage vs Forus?

>>8804454
I'm not saying that we should "flood" town with new people, I'm just saying we should get one or two new people (probably with their families), and only after they become part of our community we start looking for new people, rinse, repeat. Last new person I think was the smith, and he certainly became part of our small but growing community, so I think it's time for a new face or two.

>>8804339
Let's take iron bars, chemistry equipment.
more info on magic trinkets, we could use any magic buff we can carry.

Ask farmers and smiths if the need those equipments.
And the books? Get them all, we're going to have
mother of all libraries.

>>8804454

We need to make some rough drafts on modern guns (no need to go through muskets and other old stuff since we have KNOWLEDGE!) then some bright minds will fix them up and we'll have blueprints in no time

>>8804595
I think you're confusing power and energy. Sure we can't do it in one day- what if a typical earth mage worked on it for a few months?

>>8804454
>Vasian has been working on gunpowder mixtures in the laboratory.
Beautiful.

>>8804595
>A crude, bellows-like construction could be used to shoot fire. Confirm?

I'm sure that making a never ending fire will never bite us back ;)

rolled 2, 3, 2 = 7

>>8804467
>12

Success. With a grace you thought you'd never have again, you remove yourself from the false granary, deftly stepping between houses and taking up a closer position. You can see the merchant and his two assistants discussing something with Bem, while a few of the farmers and one of the hunters stand around watching.

Kel will relay your choices to Bem. Anything you want besides books?

>>8804622
Unknown. That information is probably well-protected by Intelligence, but the twins believe that Forus has an advantage in raw power, given their larger population and greater proportion of mages to 'normals'.

>>8804339
Buy bars, chemistry set for village and books, for Hretmar primary (we definitely owe him at least that much) but more books is always good.

>>8803870
>As expected, this would be draining, but entirely possible.
Then add "Learn to create magical snowstorm we can see through but others can't" to out "To do" list.

>>8804672
>Maya with massive Gatling gun
;_;

rolled 4, 4, 3 = 11

>>8804659
I know. But this is one of Sahl's hot-button issues. Even limited immigration doesn't sit very well with him, though he does go out of his way to be nice to newcomers. The other two elders are not as opinionated, but they usually side with him out of respect.

>>8804660
Very well. The farmers do not need all of the equipment, but there are a few designs they haven't seen, and would like to examine closer. Dreman jumps at the chance to acquire newer, better tools, but says it's not crucial.

>>8804669
Through gradual changes, the village could be raised over a long period of time. The typical earth mage would need to work on it for quite a while, but you don't have an exact estimate.

>>8804826
Get the equipment then.

What about magic trinkets?

>>8804595
>A crude, bellows-like construction could be used to shoot fire.
Confirmed.
Once we have a working prototype we can create a backpack attachment that can store more fluid and send it to the bellows via a short hose and the force of gravity. Then we can create a pressure storage pack with the bellows and a butterfly valve at the top, and another butterfly valve at the end. Then we can work on improving the designs on both until we have made a functional high-capacity high-volume super soaker capable of shooting a quarter-inch stream of water up to fifty feet, at which point our ability to werf flammen will be up to mid-19th century standards.

>>8804875
> A Gatling gun in one hand, napalm thrower in another. Shooting Ice boolets with the power of MIND

Beautiful

>>8804797

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8QGTUS5Ke4

rolled 3, 3, 6 = 12

>>8804868
A variety of cheap, disposable items that are, according to Lark, 'worthless crap'. Inexperienced enchanters churn them out by the dozens and sell them to tourists and those ignorant of what they're actually receiving.

>>8804875
Alright. Vasian will start working on it. It might be a while before you have an effective prototype, though.

You have acquired what tools were needed, all the books, the chemistry equipment, and the iron bars. As usual, Bem has gotten impossibly good deals. Anything else you want to buy, or should the merchant be sent on his way?

>>8805036
Didn't we buy like everything he has worth buying? except worthless trinkets

Let's go get that damn title already

rolled 6, 5, 3 = 14

>>8804996
Do you want Vasian to draw up plans for a giant-sized jetpack and missile spam modules?

>>8805078

With pauldrons plz.

>>8805078

WHY THE FUCK NOT?

>>8805036
Nope, send him on his merry way.

rolled 3, 3, 4 = 10

>>8805068
It'll take about two and a half months to get to the Capitol with your escort. Ready?

>>8805101
>>8805110
Alrighty then. Maya, Death from the Air Edition set as long-term goal.

>>8805116
And off he goes, never knowing you were there.

Wow, we are going to the capitol?
*_*

Take a bag of gems with you WE ARE GOING SHOPPING!
*GLEE*

>>8805148
Would we be severely missed in the fields? I'd hope Dreamwood will not suffer too much agriculturally without us.

Would our escort be missed? Who are we planning on taking along? I'd assume Kel, someone who we can train magic with, and probably a diplomatic type as well. (I'd like to try training Kel in magic a little- now that we know lack of talent doesn't make it impossible)

Is there anything along the way we want to check out? I'm all for the trip as long as we aren't wasting time along the way and as long as Dreamwood is OK.

>>8805148
I still say we should wait until the Frost Demon is taken care of. And hey, if we wait until Forus is defeated, when everyone is feeling excited and generous, then we might be able to get the title for less. Right now, they view us as having stopped an immediate thread by unleashing a long term threat. If we can wait until we prove that our move payed off with little to no consequences, then we'll probably be received much more readily.

>>8805239

Village will manage without us. Remember we were in the military for few months and it was all ok

>>8805267
That was the dead of winter- no plowing or harvesting to be done.

>>8805264
Isn't the Demon like a far far future threat?
We can't do anything about it anyway. And it might not attack us at all.

>>8805304
>it might not attack us at all.
Don't say things like that.
We might not get our giant Gatling gun finished in time if you keep saying things like that.

rolled 5, 2, 2 = 9

>>8805191
You'll take about twenty gems, if that's acceptable. Unless you want to take all fifty.

>>8805239
They will be fine. You have done quite a lot to lessen their workload, and while they won't be as fast without you, they've been feeding the town for a long time, and they can manage.

Your escort would be a single eight-man infantry squad with a sergeant. They would probably not be missed. Kel is obviously going with you, and the resident diplomat, Bem, will go as well, along with anyone else you want to take.

There are plenty of major cities along the way, as well as various landmarks and points of interest. You could hit them on the way back, if you're worried about getting the title quickly.

>>8805344
you will have to notify us during the travels what interesting stuff we come along and we'll decide what to do next.

>>8805148

So we'll be back in Dreamwood in roughly 5 months?

Enough time for the Ice Demon to get comfy in the Frost Giant city. :_:

On the way to capital we could continue the hand to hand combat training. Would be nice to give Maya 2's reflexes some of the brutal battler Maya 1's muscle memory fighting instincts.

Might we also attempt to learn Giantish script? Could come in handy if we need to read something without firing off any magic at the Frost Giant City. Might also aid us if there are any museums or Universities in the Capital with Frost Giant relics.

Practicing for the Hretmar remote rune tagging might be an interesting distraction on the journey.

>>8805332
Oh, we can't have that, can we?

>>8805344
20 gems is still a lot of money I guess. No point in putting all your eggs in one basket, etc etc

Let's get on with ADVENTURE TIME! alrready

>>8805422

Given that our arms came off almost every time we went to battle WITHOUT a giant Gatling gun, like we're some sort of sexy blue Abbadon, yeah, it's a priority.

rolled 4, 6, 3 = 13

>>8805404
Absolutely.

>>8805411
You will continue hand-to-hand training and work on adapting the dictation spell for 'tagging'. As part of your study on the Frost Giant language, you have learned a bit about their writing, but it so different from English that it's difficult for you to parse.

>>8805462
Alright. Timeskip in progress.

>>8805411
???

>>8805514
Not forget to practice magic.
Also, I take that it's a give we took all our equipment (armor, weapons, potions). What is out load out at this moment?

Hey guys, I've been away for a while now, can somebody quickly brief me on what happened ?

>>8805540
God I fucking loved that movie

>>8805540

Amusing TMNT cash-in poster, thanks for making my day brighter from the unabashed marketing greed displayed. :)

>>8805411

Image based on a critter from one of the Monster hunter games if memory serves.

rolled 1, 2, 5 = 8

>>8805578
Full suit of Magma Steel armor, with fireproof suit underneath (crudely repaired, but functional). Giant Crossbow with two full magazines and bayonet, Magma Steel knife, eight Giant health potions and four standard health potions. In addition to that, twenty gems, which haven't been appraised but are undoubtedly worth quite a lot.

rolled 4, 5, 4 = 13

>>8805620
How far back?

>>8805673

We don't have any melee weapons except the knife? We must fix that, if there's leftover Magma Steel put smiths to work to make a new halberd

>>8805688
shortly after the troll killing

>>8805620
We mildly irritated Nyarlathotep in his mask of the Bleeding Sun a long time ago, and I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop from that.
We almost died in a fire but instead got eaten by a giant magic ice wolf that used to live in a palm-sized rock and kept telling us to kill.
So Viking Santa Claus knitted our soul back together and he and a bunch of gods who are total bros gave us our giant ice queen body back. When we returned to Lars Homestead, we got engaged to a man. Then, as comes naturally to an Ice Giant, we got cold feet and backed out of it, so it's all cool now. We're trying to stay frosty out here and build up our magic and grind rep so that when the evil ice monster returns to eat us again or Nyarlathotep decides it would be fun to send something our way to rape us in HALF, we'll be better able to handle it.

rolled 6, 4, 4 = 14

>>8805712
They're working on it. Do you want to wait a few days so they can craft a new blade? You can always attach it to a wooden pole.

>>8805344
i propose setting up the start of a telegram network
explain the principals and draw a basice diagram of a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spark-gap_transmitter
and a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_radio
the power source could be a low speed dyno run off a waterwheel.

>>8805815
Time is of the essence. The blade isn't crucial to our journey right now, a knife should serve us well, and we still have frost sword.

>>8805815
include it into the timeskip.
Wasn't our previous halberd made entirely out of MS?

rolled 3, 5, 2 = 10

>>8805845
You do this just before leaving. Vasian adds that to the list of things to study, and remarks on how busy you're keeping him. Without you around, experimentation and construction will be markedly slower, but you have faith in the old professor. He'll get it done, somehow.

>>8805845
good point disseminate through the bro network.
hell give plans to the army along with plans for a hand cranked Dynamo or Faraday disk and they would give you practically anything

im not so sure the army already has the mage corps to run comunications

>>8805975
we could use those to improve our status in Capitol. Heck, maybe we'll get payed.

>>8806016
But having a radio everyone can use would greatly reduce fatigue of the mages and the could focus on something else

Are you typing, DM?

rolled 2, 6, 5 = 13

On more than one occasion, you have considered heading down to the Capitol to get yourself 'baronized'. Now that you've actually got a shot at getting there without being horribly murdered, it's time to see what you can get. You take Kel and Bem with you, saying goodbye to the rest of the townspeople. With any luck, you won't be gone longer than five months, but that will still take you into next year, and traveling in the middle of winter is not all that pleasant.

Two weeks pass, during which you continue your training, using your immense strength and speed to great effect while hunting for food for the three of you, and keeping in touch with Dreamwood through Hretmar. You arrive at the Fairnest garrison just before sunset, causing Ceril to criticize your poor sense of timing, laughing as she does so. She asks how you've been, what's been happening in your town, and how you've been holding up with the new body. She also relays some news, and informs you that your citizenship request has been 'processed', but not finalized. She hands you a piece of parchment embossed with a runic seal, identifying you as Maya Terrasdottir, outlining your short service record and confirming your status as a citizen of Perin. It won't technically be valid for another few weeks, but you probably won't need it for a while anyway.

You have been offered a place here for the night. Orders? Questions?

rolled 2, 3, 4 = 9

>>8806224
>RECENT EVENTS<

(O) One of your older projects, a crude acid battery, has been more-or-less completed, and tested successfully. It is large, cumbersome, and inefficient, but none of that matters much in electroplating. You have your first portable electrical power source.

(O) Ames has returned to Dreamwood, as he said he would. He is understandably averse to staying permanently, since his temple is in Grennet, a fair ways away.

(O) One of the bypass tunnels in the bunker under the town has caved in. No one was near it at the time, thankfully, but there are now some questions about stability. Lark wants to know if you want anyone to attempt repairs.

>NEWS<

(O) The third army has advanced into the Forusian heartland. Resistance is extreme, but Perin presses on. Optimistic estimates from Intelligence state that unconditional surrender will be secured within half a year.

(O) The Conclave has come out in favor of destroying the frost demon. There are dissenting opinions, but not many. For Intelligence, it is the opposite. Almost all of the higher-ups want to chain the demon to Perin's service. The Lord, so far, is undecided.

(O) This year, the winter is expected to be unusually mild. The nearer the Forusian border you go, the more it will feel like summer.

I'll be away for about ten-fifteen minutes. Please discuss what you wish to do next.

any general worthy of the name would realise the inherant value of a radio set hell even if it is only used in garison it would greatly reduce response time when the mages have wandered off somwhere and if we can get even a few scholars at the uni interested they will be able to tak the ideah and run with it.

as a side note is there a way to magically generate electricity that and a binding circle could solve a lot of issues very quickly

>>8806224
Ask Ceril how she's doing, how the garrison is holding up. Hang out with you old comrades-in-arms. Stay for the night and the set off again

>>8806237
We should repair the bunker and make it more sturdier. Having a safe retreat in an emergency is a must.

>>8806237
Repairs should be effected, as should attempts to determine what caused the collapse. Also: Fuck yes, Conclave is pro demon killing!

Take the offered shelter for the night. It'll be good to see the soldiers again.

Perhaps someday after our magic assisted Industrial revolution has gotten rolling we could introduce some new weapons for Perin's war machine.
Some sort of Mobile Suit Golem perhaps?

rolled 17 = 17

>>8806605
see
>>8805148

We have that in our TODO list already

>>8806237

>(O) The Conclave has come out in favor of destroying the frost demon. There are dissenting opinions, but not many. For Intelligence, it is the opposite. Almost all of the higher-ups want to chain the demon to Perin's service. The Lord, so far, is undecided.

That's good. I don't think it matters that much what higher-ups want. Isn't Conclave independent institution?

rolled 5, 4, 3 = 12

>>8806265
Lightning magic can generate an electric current fairly easily, and when applied as an enchantment, can also generate constant current or electromagnetic fields.

>>8806308
>>8806330
>>8806342
Ceril has been doing well. With the incursions gone, there hasn't been much excitement, which is a very good thing. The garrison has lost more than half of its regular troops to the first and second armies, putting it severely understrength. But if it helps win the war for good, she would go herself. Your comrades are excited to see you again, though the lack of booze disappoints them. Marc and Harlin went with an earlier detachment, leaving the base without an enchanter or an experience surgeon. In most of the other garrisons, it is worse.

At your request, the villagers begin repairing the collapsed tunnel, and try to find the cause of the damage. Lark thinks it was simply a fluke, but if the ground is unstable, you'd really like to know.

This time, there is no feast or party, but you enjoy your time with the soldiers anyway. They certainly miss your presence, and some express interest in joining your community when the war's over. You seem to have this effect on people, for some reason. After catching up for a few hours, the three of you retire to the cathedral, which now sits unused after Sae's departure. It seems colder now, but still welcoming, after the months you spent here.

>>8806716

Say that we would be delighted to welcome them in our village. Ask them to bring their families if the have any at home.

rolled 6, 1, 5 = 12

>>8806699
The Conclave is officially part of the government, but it serves more as an advisory board for the Lord of Perin than anything else. From what you know, most of the Conclave's power is exercised in secret, unlike the parliament's.

>>8806716
>Your comrades are excited to see you again, though the lack of booze disappoints them

Argh, if I realized we would be stopping there before we went out I would have suggested to bring few barrels

>>8806777
So, they could theoretically do what they wanted, even if it was against the King's wishes? Certainly with severe consequences if he found out, but they COULD do it?

>>8806777
I don't know how but we must find a way to persuade the Lord to destroy the demon.

rolled 1, 1, 1 = 3

>>8806774
In the morning, you inform the soldiers that expressed interest in Dreamwood (with Bem's approval) that you would happily welcome them, as well as their families if they brought them along. As you thought, though, those that would immigrate to the town don't have a lot of family connections, and most don't have 'homes' at all. Those that have something to come home to tend to think about getting back to their lives before moving to a new location. However, since the offer is open, you're sure it will be considered after the war's through.

>>8806791
I told you that you would be getting an escort from the Fairnest garrison.

>>8806826
Yes. They would need a very good reason to act against the Lord, though, since doing so would be treason.

>>8806887
>I told you that you would be getting an escort from the Fairnest garrison.

Must be too sleepy then, I missed it. Are they going all the way with us?

I guess we say goodbyes and go our way

>>8806716

Ask Ceril about Lightning Magic and if there are any particular starter techniques she might be able to help us with.

Also does anyone in the Barracks have letters or news they wish to send off to Capital? Ask Ceril if this is a good idea first in private. We might at least be able to get things there with our carrying capacity.

"Blue Woman Express; through Ice and Sleet and Snow but not fire"

rolled 4, 2, 5 = 11

>>8806910
Yes they are.

>>8806911
Ceril has no magical aptitude and doesn't know much about the subject beyond what she's picked up from Marc. She doesn't really know. As for the mail, there isn't much, and the things the soldiers would like to send to the Lord consist mainly of profanity and threats. There are some letters you could deliver to cities on the way, though.

Once again, I must depart temporarily. I am very sorry I couldn't warn you in advance about my absences tonight, but I didn't know until a little bit before I had to leave. I will be back, though, and there will be another session tomorrow, starting at roughly the same time.

A question: What are you going to do once you get to the Capitol? You'll have an audience with the Lord, and you'll be near the centers of both the Conclave and Intelligence. Besides that, you'll have the best diplomat Dreamwood's got, one with bluff as his primary skill.

>>8806968

Oh Gosh, we could do a lots of things but until we get there I don't know :x

>>8806968
Talk with the Conclave about exactly how they plan to destroy the demon.

>>8806968
Wait, I don't get it. Are you done for now or are you coming back? If so for how long will you be gone?

>>8806968

Well one good part of delivering the mail is that we'll at least get the folks in charge of these towns on the way USED to seeing the Giant Blue Woman.

So it'll be less "Call the captain and get those bows in position!" and more "Ah the Frost Giantess that dropped off the mail last time. See if she has anything and let her rest up".

Also for Intelligence- They were the pragmatic military folks looking to win at all costs? Depends on their policy of taking good intel regardless of it's source. They were exposed to Maya 1's last moments thanks to the scrying stone so they at least know we're committed to the cause. We might have to present evidence to convince these plotters however.

The Conclave we pretty much snubbed if memory serves. Thought they were racist jerks and not afraid of anything. Despite them sharing our opinion on the best tactic in dealing with the Ice Demon they might not take us seriously. Sure we killed our prior body and ended the immediate threat but our capacity for bad luck might have them think us bad mojo.

We do have "Bluff-King" Bem with us however and plucky innovative BS is sometimes > than magister incredulity.

Also isn't there a university we're trying to visit?

In regards to convincing the Lord I have no idea.

rolled 1, 5, 2 = 8

>>8807066
Back. Sorry about all this.

rolled 6, 3, 3 = 12

>>8807172
You can visit New Aarmour if you want. It wouldn't take you more than a day or two off your projected path.

>>8807426
sweet

Let's continue our journey. I hope our escort know of our tendency to get into mortal trouble?

>>8807458
yes, we should

rolled 6, 4, 2 = 12

>>8807466
They do. Stories of your various near-death experiences have helped to pass the time.

Continuing on. You will take the main road from Fairnest to Merdis, a small city on the way to the plantations. It is a far cry from New York or the Capitol, but it's definitely bigger and brighter than anything around your town.

Would you like to stop there, continue on, or hear further information?

>>8807458
Alright, should be nice to see the University firsthand. For some reason, I'm imagining this place to be like Greenhill from Suikoden 2.

>>8807556

>or hear further information?

About the city? Yes.

>>8807458

Yes please. Visiting the University would be an excellent idea.

They have gotten our letter and at least know that a sanctioned Frost Giantess is interested in exchanging knowledge.

Hopefully none of the letters WE are carrying are time-sensitive.

Also for a place relatively untouched by the fighting on the front having a genuine war veteran in their midst might be a nice wake up call.

Visiting here would give us some needed practice in navigating winding avenues safely. Keeping an eye out for folks emptying their chamberpots at our eye level from the second floor for instance.

>>8807585
This.

rolled 6, 2, 2 = 10

>>8807585
Merdis is a miniature metropolis, blessed with incredible resources. Once a small mining town, it has long outgrown its walls, as well as its original status. It has made many men rich, and thousands have flocked to it to make their fortunes in the underground. As a production city, it provides most of the nearby plantations with tools, and many of the regional garrisons with weapons. Its metal deposits are said to be inexhaustible, and its earth mages beyond peer. As far as shopping, the great abundance of lesser precious stones, or 'chaff' as the foremen call them, makes for fine, inexpensive jewelry, as well as cheap, disposable magelocks for anchoring enchantments. The city's school of geology is widely renowned, and the local noble's rigorous quality control ensures that visiting tourists and businessmen find only the very best.

>>8807678
Whoah, we could get tons of help with our earth magic, let's go there

>>8807678
Sounds like we'd be able to get a high-quality appraisal of the gems we have with us. I say we go there for that, if nothing else.

rolled 2, 5, 4 = 11

>>8807691
>>8807712
Very well. Skip length: three days.

>>8807678
>>8807691
>>8807712

And a bit of window shopping

>>8807691
Considering we are just starting and they are famous for it, I doubt that. >>8807712 is right, we should get our gems appraised.

>>8807818
It's a big city and any little bit helps. I'm sure we could find a way

rolled 1, 2, 5 = 8

>>8807728
You come to the outskirts of Merdis, accompanied by eight of Fairnest's finest, led by their stoic Ull commander, as well as your apprentice and your master of the bluff. The city beyond is crowded with tall tenements and pointed chimneys, all trailing thin wisps of gray smoke. From behind what scraps of forest remain here, you can see the broken, jagged outlines of ancient pillars, which once formed the outer wall. Along the main road, no longer dirt, but smooth and well-set cobblestone, a continuous stream of people and carts weaves in and out of the city, passing by you as if you are only one novelty among hundreds.

Up ahead is a small guard house by the edge of the road, staffed by a bored-looking officer and two other men who wear unfamiliar uniforms. The sergeant informs you that those are part of Count Dorien's personal force.

You approach the guard house, and, after the officer stares at you and your escort for a moment, are waved on through. The guards don't even blink.

The main gate, as such, is framed by two large towers plastered with notices, many of which are too faded to read. Most of them trumpet local and national news, but some have been issued directly from the Count's office. Beneath them are maps to the city. The road ahead splits into three, the center leading to the markets, the left to the temples, and the right to residential. After that, it gets very convoluted. At least the appraisers are likely to be in the market area.

This session will be ending soon. Which way would you like to go?

>>8807912
Market!

>>8807912
market

rolled 6, 2, 6 = 14

>>8807912
You head straight down the center, your armored feet striking a regular rhythm on the worn-down stones. In this place, you are given your first taste of this land's multiculturalism; a mixing of the races you could not see back home. Here, small bands of goblins haggle with humans, avoiding the many legs of a bira as it passes by, scanning the shops with its tiny eyes. There, an aquen, its head encased in a bubble of water, chases a group of children dragging an enormous leather purse. Even you, in all your bulk and blueness, do not stand so far out here.

Down a side road, directed by signpost you go, with your armed and alert entourage. You get a few brief looks, an 'excuse me' or two as you try to avoid crushing anyone underfoot, but nothing to make you feel unwelcome. You arrive at your first destination, a small plaza ringed by the garish, flashy facades of jewelers. A great amount of people are crowded here, pushing past each other, all searching for the best deal. Bem points out the most promising location, and you do your best to get there in a timely manner.

Bem moves forward, bag of gems in hand. But the jeweler, a portly man with a curled mustache, ignores him, looking to you instead.

“Nice ring you got there, miss,” he says, nodding to the runic band. It makes you wish you were still wearing your gauntlets, but Bem told you you looked so 'menacing' in full armor. Silly.

>>8808193
Huh, there are much more races than you first let us on

rolled 6, 6, 4 = 16

>>8808239
I posted a full list of known races a while back. Would you like me to post it again?

>>8808193
Let Bem do the talking. He's the party mouth.

>>8808258
I don't remember biras or aquen even goblins. Post the list if you want to

>>8808279
this.

>>8808279
Yes, but not responding at all would be rude. Say something in vague agreement and try to let him take over smoothly, rather than remaining completely silent.

Move along, /tg/, nothing to see here but the worst quest thread on /tg/.

Don't mind Subprocessor, he likes to force it on us and insist upon it.

rolled 1, 6, 3 = 10

>>8808305
>Hagrek

They are stout, beastly things that are covered in fur and look rather like wookies, though they're usually shorter than humans. They are poison-resistant, quite strong, and tend to enjoy physical work, which sees them employed in mines and factories. Despite those characteristics, they are as intelligent as humans, and have been known to craft staggeringly beautiful works of art.

>Ulls

Ulls resemble upright-walking lizards, complete with scales and tail. They prefer not to associate closely with humans, instead providing their services at a distance, often through proxies. The Ulls are tall, fast, and difficult to kill, making them fine soldiers, messengers, and assassins. About ten percent of the army's bulk consists of self-contained Ull Regiments.

>Frost Giants

Once a great civilization, but now little more than marauding raiders, their minds clouded with rage. Reasoning with them is now mostly impossible, but they can be swayed by their own greed, if enough riches exist to sate them. The World's Peak is their home.

It is physically possible for humans and giants to interbreed. However, offspring generally favor either parent's ancestry. That is, you would be more likely to have a Frost Giant with human traits or a human with Frost Giant traits than a 50/50 hybrid.

rolled 2, 4, 1 = 7

>>8808338
>Orcs

Tall, strong, and very agressive, Orcs are thick-skinned brutes that tend to prefer raiding to any constructive action. They are vulnerable to fire, but rarely conscious of that fact. In areas where Orcs have not been entirely eradicated or enslaved, other civilizations can expect infrequent attacks from them.

>Goblins

Generally about half the size of a human and nearly as intelligent, goblins are quick and cunning, with a natural aptitude for earth and nature magic. They tend to congregate in nomadic bands, wandering through forests and swamps, living on whatever vermin they can catch.

>Mountain Giants

Reclusive, philosophically-minded beings, the Mountain Giants are given to contemplation and communion with the natural world. Their culture favors isolation from other races, even more so than the Ulls', so humans know little of them. It is rumored that almost all of their race are magically attuned, but strangely vulnerable to evil forces.

>Aquen

River and ocean-dwellers, capable of living on the surface for only limited periods, the Aquen are an innately magical race, but only one out of thousands is likely to have the capability to learn to cast spells in the traditional sense. They somewhat resemble sharks, with a single thick tail that can separate into two limbs to allow them to walk. Three small eyes are set on each side of their heads, but are little-used because of the Aquens' great reliance on echolocation.

rolled 6, 2, 2 = 10

>>8808349
>Bira

Inhabitants of dark caves and overgrown forests, the Bira are normally very friendly and tolerant, despite their appearance. They are eight-legged, with numerous tiny eyes ringing a black, armored abdomen, and three clusters of four or five larger eyes dotting a head suppporting large, serrated mouthparts and two grasping mandibles. They often speak to other races by short-range telepathy, as they are unable to emulate the vocal noises of most humanoid species. Since they have no manipulator limbs, they cannot use most tools or weapons, though some of their mages learn telekinetic spells to make up for this deficiency.

>Rahm

The Rahm are desert-dwellers, living where there is an abundance of sunlight. They are quite adept at surviving without moisture or any kind of sustenance for extended periods, and have been known to hibernate for up to three years beneath the shifting sands. They are humanoid, with a mouthless face framed by gill-like structures that filter the dry air of the wastes. Not much is known about their culture, as they tend to avoid other sentients and have difficulty communicating with them.

rolled 1, 2, 5 = 8

>>8808360
>Hill Giants

Hill Giants, as the offspring of Frost and Mountain Giants are called, are not a proper race, since most are sterile, but can be found, if you're lucky. They are extremely long-lived, highly resistant to cold (though not immune), incredibly fast and agile, and naturally skilled with earth magic. However, most are afflicted with emotional problems, as they inherit a quiet, contemplative nature that is at odds with their other, aggressive half. It is common for them to succumb to schizophrenia within 50 years.

Hill Giants can live to be almost five hundred years old on average, and it is rumored that they can be made functionally immortal. Not one of them has found a permanent solution to the problem, as it gets continually worse throughout their lives and can only be mitigated, not erased, by magic. It is believed to be a curse from one of the high gods.

>>8808360
>Bira
Oh right the spiders, forgot about them.
Again.

DM, are you staying for long?

>>8808327

rolled 5, 2, 2 = 9

>>8808279
>>8808323
“I suppose it is,” you say quietly, fighting the urge to fold your hands behind your back.

Bem snaps his fingers, glaring at the jeweler as he opens the bag. Suddenly, it's as if you don't exist at all.

“Where did you get these!” the man exclaims, reaching for them rudely as Bem withdraws the sack, pulling it closed.

The elder smirks. “Demons. Would you mind telling me how much they're worth?”

After a moment, the dumbstruck jeweler regains his composure. “Oh, of course, of course,” he replies, grinning back and rubbing his hands together. “For a hundred, I'll appraise them all.”

“Oh, no, no, that won't do at all,” answers Bem, who then begins to explain the various reasons why he shouldn't have to pay.

Roll 1d20 for Bem's success on bluff. Given his immense skill, failure is only possible on a four or less.

>>8808443
The next post will be it for the story tonight. Sorry about having to leave constantly.

rolled 17 = 17

>>8808506

I've made some awful rolls today, let's see if this holds up

rolled 19 = 19

>>8808506
inb4 1

>>8808544
Woo! Bleeding Sun cant touch that roll!

rolled 18 = 18

>>8808506
>The next post will be it for the story tonight. Sorry about having to leave constantly.

Hey, no worries.

>>8808544
>>8808549
>>8808564
Huh. Wait, don't tell me, this is under those new rules where we want close to 10, right? These are actually crap rolls.

>>8808574
no, those rules suck

>>8808594
They do. But it would be just our luck for them to be imposed upon these rolls.

rolled 6, 3, 4 = 13

>>8808574
>failure is only possible on a four or less.

I'm sticking with the standard 'high is good' for the time being. Good thing, too, it seems.

>>8808625
Oh thank god! So, I know we only needed a 4 or better to succeed, but for getting a 17, which is fairly high, do we get a bonus?

rolled 1, 1, 3 = 5

You have never seen Bem in action this close-up before. Now you wonder what you've been missing out on. He goes off on a thousand different tangents, weaving a ridiculous tale of demon-slaying, troll-hunting, and aimless wandering in the wilderness, even incorporating Batman, of all things. The jeweler can't get a word in edgewise, and is forced, by Bem's compelling nature if nothing else, to listen to the entire story, glancing from time to time at the bag in the elder's hand.

>17

Bem brings it home, punctuating his words by slamming his fist on the poor man's table.

“And that's. Why. You can't. Murder. The spirit. Of free trade.”

For a moment, you think you can see little jets of flame leaping from the elder's blazing eyes. You thank Hretmar you've never been on the receiving end of this.

The jeweler holds up his hands. “Alright, alright. We'll make it twenty.”

You walk out of the plaza with all the gems appraised, the fat man's compliments, and a small copper plate with his shop's address on it, as well as the words 'come again'. Everyone, even the notoriously disinterested Ull, is impressed, as they should be. Because he's just that good.

>>8808688
Man, we should take lessons from him )

rolled 5, 2, 3 = 10

>>8808643
No twenties were rolled, and I'd like to start saving the bonuses for when they're really deserved. It's incredible to see three high rolls in a row, though. In this quest, at least.

>>8808688
>“And that's. Why. You can't. Murder. The spirit. Of free trade.”

I.... what? Okay, whatever works. I won't argue with an 80% discount. So what are the gems worth?

>>8808732
inb4 roll 2d20 to not die

> 3, 1 = 4

rolled 6, 6, 1 = 13

>>8808742
Enough to buy about two hundred cows in Fain, with carts for them all to pull. For reference, the diamond geode was estimated to be worth between 600 and 700.

thanks Sub, you're the best, will try to tune in next time

>>8808793
What? I thought the diamond Geode was worth more than the rest of the gems combined. We had about 200 gems, iirc. If 20 of them are worth 200 cows, and the geode is worth 700, that would mean that most of the other gems were of very low value.

rolled 3, 3, 1 = 7

>>8808800
Thank you for being here, and thanks for the compliment.

>>8808818
Or the geode itself was undervalued.

>>8808846

rolled 2, 1, 6 = 9

>>8808909
I try. If you have found an inconsistency, I will attempt to rectify it. Unfortunately, my information is incomplete, and my memory is staggeringly inefficient.

>>8808945
Nah, it's fine. All in good jest, as they say. I just hope that this will be enough gems to afford a title. I remember something along the lines of needing 50% of our gems to do it. Though with this new information about the rest of the gems being undervalued, these valuable 20 gems might still cover it.

rolled 3, 2, 6 = 11

>>8809005
That was when you had done nothing at all to deserve one, and were a fugitive, besides. As things are, the Lord should begrudgingly afford you at least the lowest rank of nobility. Word of your efforts has reached the public, by now, and even the highest power in the land cannot stand against the people of it. We'll see how things play out in the next month or so.

>>8809073
Alright. But do you really think it will take an entire month of sessions to finish getting the title though?

rolled 3, 1, 1 = 5

>>8809085
I meant timeskip-wise.

>>8809098
Oh, phew! Had me worried there!

Thanks sub-DM. See you tomorrow!

>>8801445
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>>8809098
What magic path would lead us to that shrink-to-human-scale spell that Hretmar is preparing for us? We ought to eventually learn to cast it ourselves.

rolled 6, 2, 5 = 13

>>8809359
See you. Thanks for playing.

>>8809403
Transformation magic, specifically the type that acts on physical beings. It's nothing you've tried before, but it's not that hard to get into, if you have the right tools. Magic like that is highly regulated, though, which is one reason why people often rely on gods for it.