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>>30553103

>Pic Related: Your Avatar.

Conflict Resolution is handled by highest of three 1d100s rolled. Criticals occur on a roll of 100, or when doubles or triples are rolled by the first three. Critical misses (roll of 1) trump all but critical successes.

>previous thread: https://archive.foolz.us/tg/thread/30508754/#30517003

>Twitter: https://twitter.com/AvatarPilotQM

Also screwed up the inventory. You also have 1 Ancient Black Locked Book, 10 ancient amulets, and a modified Old Empire uniform.

>>30553139

previous threads?

>>30553139
You feel exhilirated as the heart, the only real portion of the Rotmonger, distigrates into dust from the web of spell-script covered cords that link back to your Avatar's two right arms.

The dust blows away in the wind generated by the inferno behind you, leaving behind only the beheaded shell of rotting bracken and plant life the Rotmonger puppeted.

You begin running again, the thuds of your Avatar's feet on the hard stone platted ground vibrating in your ears as you put the heat and ash of the forest fire far behind you. Your Avatar's porcelain white surface is covered in ash, soot, rotting plat matter, and dried bug-blood, but that will all clean out. The hunter's tent cloth it's currently wrapped in though? That's probably ruined forever.

Your backpack bangs against your side inside of the chest cavity of the Avatar when you come to a stop at the tree line between the forest proper and the fields that surround your village.

You're still able to stay hidden in the treeline. Do you approach the village for all to see? Or are you going to try and hide your Avatar? You can hear the alarm bells in the village tolling, there's probably an uproar due to the near by forest fire. Approaching the village unseen in your Avatar will be impossible. There's a good quarter to half mile's worth of open fields between any one point on the village's walls and the tree line.

We need to decide our course of action. The hag wants that black book, and she probably won't stop at anything to get it.

So either we go back home and try to take care of her there or we just leg it through the forest to the next city.

>>30553294
Chapter 1: https://archive.foolz.us/tg/thread/30465264
Chapter 2: https://archive.foolz.us/tg/thread/30487055
Chapter 3: https://archive.foolz.us/tg/thread/30508754

sorry for the disorganization. On a different computer right now and rather slow.

>>30553358
How safe would it be to leave our avatar somewhere in the forest? Would we be able to get back to it?

>>30553400
You could also try to hide it in the village itself. Depends on whether or not you want to gamble on her coming in guns blazing or trying to keep things quiet to start.

>>30553418
Further out you left it, the more dangerous it would be to try and get it. Closer to the village you left it, the more likely it would be found by hunters once they begin patrolling and flushing monsters out that have gone to ground near by for your mother to kill off.

>>30553443
Probably best we just come into the village with it then.

I say we leave. Even tho we found our own Avatar, the situation hasn't changed. We're still just a spare for when our mom crook.

Hell, they might even sell our mech, they don't need two after all.

>>30553496
Are you kidding? Two Avatars are way better than one. Most villages have only a single Avatar for protection, and that limits their abilities. Most villages that only have a single Avatar are destroyed precisely because the Avatar Pilot has to cut it's losses and let the village be destroyed in order to evacuate people.

Selling your Avatar is unlikely in the extreme. You're right about the rest though.

>>30553549
The avatar would be ours though right? It doesn't become the village's second avatar because we found it?

>>30553549
Doesn't change a damn thing tho, we're still just a rat in a cage, bound by a duty chosen for us.

>>30553604
Until such time as you die? Pretty much. The only other person in the village who could pilot it is your mother, and she has one already.

>>30553471
>>30553496
So which is it? Go into the village with the avatar? or skirt around it and keeping going on towards the ocean city? The other city is in the opposite direction, back the way you came.

>>30553796
We should at least let the village know we're alive. I don't know if we should stay or continue onto the ocean city.

>>30553853
That's acceptable, we'll need supplies anyway.

>>30553853
>>30553869
Alright, assuming that means you're going in with the Avatar. I'll start writing. If you guys come to a different conclusion while I write I'll change things up.

Sorry if updates are a little slow. My autoupdater doesn't seem to be functioning for some reason.

>>30553853
>>30553869

The village's walls are within easy sight now as you make the turn and walk into the fields. In the dark, your teal colored Divine Essence exhaust leaking off of the surface of your Avatar makes you glow like a beacon now that you're within proper line of sight.

You can see the entire village is in an uproar. The gates are shut fast, and any member of the village who can carry a weapon is up on the walls, staring at the distant fires, wary of any beasts that may come. Behind the wall, having climbed one of the massive trees that make up the center of the village. Only 4 of it's 8 arms carrying weapons, two of them weilding a massive bow and arrow the size of a ballistae as it hangs from the high branches, looking like a terracotta nightmare ape.

An arrow as long as your avatar is tall streaks out from your mother's Avatar and slams into the earth between your avatar's feet. The message is clear. "I could have put it through your chest, where you are."

The village is on high alert, for all they know, you're a warlock or something who is looking to harvest the villagers for their essence.

You see Garmaniz begin to clamber down, your mother pulls another pike sized arrow from the side of the tree as she climbs down and continues to do so, each step she takes pulling another one, tucking them into a single arm as she strings another arrow. This time she pulls the string back with two arms as she descends. If that hits you, you know they'll have to scrape up your remains in a bucket, you've seen what those do to animals with MUCH thicker shells than your Avatar's.

"Stay where you are stranger!" Her distorted voice cries out, amplified by the mouth of her Avatar. Garmaniz's voice mixing with her own to project the words across the nearly half mile distance.

How do you react?

>>30554048
Open your avatar and wave back.

>>30554082
This. Then be ready to dodge in case she does shoot us.

>>30554082
This. Add a call of "Mom, stop waving a gun at me and pay attention to the tree line. I'm pretty sure they missed my trail but even if not they now where I'm from and are going to be headed here sooner or later.!"

>>30554205
"your bow" not "a gun". Sorry, rushing over here...

>>30554138
>>30554138
>>30554205

You can feel your Avatar protesting this action. It has been CHALLENGED. You get the feeling that it WANTS to fight Garmaniz, it wants a worthy opponent. The weird thing is that it didn't start pressing this into your head until AFTER you decided to open it. Your Divine Essence draws back into your body, though it's difficult. It feels like the Avatar is fighting you every step of the way. It's not very GOOD at it, but it's desire to fight rings deep in your mind as the light of your essence draws back into your body and the chest cavity opens up. Only the light glow of a live, but currently unpiloted Avatar lights you as you step out, bracing yourself against his shoulder as you wave at the village and your mother.

There's a moment of silence as Garmaniz stops dead in it's tracks and three points of burning light stare at you from across the distance. At that point your mother all but screams.

"SELENA PSYLOCK WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU! GET INSIDE THE WALLS RIGHT NOW YOUNG LADY!"


It begins to descend again, there's a much angrier look to the way it moves now.

You can hear nervous, then powerful laughter echoing back from the village as people's tensed nerves are released and they enter that moment when they have to either laugh or cry with relief.

You pull yourself back into your Avatar, to take advantage of it's own voice, given you're still far off from the village.

"Mom, stop waving a bow at me and pay attention to the tree line. I'm pretty sure they missed my trail but even if not they now where I'm from and are going to be headed here sooner or later.!" For the first time you hear your own Avatar's voice, not the blinding lightning that pierced your own skull when you absorbed the monsters, but instead a powerful, androgynous voice, almost lyrical lacing behind your own words rather than distorting them beastily like Garmaniz does for your mother's voice.

>cont.

>>30554415
This stops the laughter dead, and your mother's movements as well. You can see her Avatar begin to climb again, and a quick blinking of those 3 eyes in the darkness suggests a nod of Garmaniz's head.

You begin to approach the village again, this time without the threat of immanent impalement. The gates slowly open for you, and the press of your own 3 hands to the gates helping press the log constructions open.

In moments you're surrounded by those members of the village not already up on the wall. As you open your Avatar, you see your great uncle, a crotchety old man with pale white skin and a long set of black robes begin to walk towards you. He's old, but his back is unbowed and he has a wirery set of muscles to him. "Well Selena." He says in a voice raised over the crowd as he pushes his way to you. "I see you're still bringing home pets ehn? I thought we broke you of that with the razorpup?"

>What do?

>>30554465
We should probably come clean how we bought a map to a ruin and went to loot it. Also how there's a crazy woman that wants something we have now.

>>30554465
>"Some habits never really die I guess." Then tell them first about the burning avatar in the forest (excluding any mention of the codex for now), and after that back track to the blind dude we got the map from.

>>30554510
>>30554564
"Some habits never really die Great Uncle." You say with a smile and a slight nod of deference. Out of everyone in the village, your Great Uncle has always been the most accepting of your adventurous ways. Supposedly before he settled down with one of the previous villages, he was an adventurer. Maybe that was why?

"Um, anyway, I think it's important you all know..." You begin with the Avatar and it's angry pilot, and the blind trader Ralan as well. Your Great Uncle nods and watches, though as you remain vague on exactly WHAT the woman was looking for, he arches an eyebrow, though doesn't say anything. He listens carefully as you go over the ruins and what you found. "I'll want to look at what you've brought back before you go, make sure nothing dangerous is in it. Especially if you have any containers... there are diseases and plagues from the Old Empire that have lain dormant for centuries. We need to make sure that nothing you carry has them... or anything worse. You understand Selena?"

He waves at the others there, "everyone go back to your posts, and someone climb up and tell Anita what her daughter has been up to. If you breath a word of this to any outsiders I'll personally see to the curse that follows you, understand?" He gives everyone there a glare, and as they disperse he turns back to you. "What will you do now Selena? Whatever you've done, it seems to have riled someone very powerful. If you want to take refuge here, I'll make sure that no one tries to drive you away."

>>30554709
>"I...I want to do what's best for the village...but I don't think I'm ready to settle down and stop invading jungle ruins or stirring up trouble. I also need advice on how to avoid mom kicking my ass into a coma when she gets the chance, but that's probably not what we're talking about here."

>>30554709
We should see if we can lose her at the ocean city. We can also learn more about the book.

>>30554709
Shake your head "We both know I can't... As long as I stay here, she'll target you all, I can't risk the safety of everyone. I should... no, I have to drive her away."

>>30554843
>>30554852
>>30554852

You nod your head shakily at first, then stop. You begin to shake your head more firmly. "We both know I can't... As long as I stay here, she'll target you all, I can't risk the safety of everyone. I should... no, I have to drive her away." He nods considering.

"You know that we could probably fight off any small attack, there's more to it as well isn't there?"

You pause, running your fingers through your short cropped hair and avoiding his gaze. "I...I want to do what's best for the village...but I don't think I'm ready to settle down and stop invading jungle ruins or stirring up trouble. I also need advice on how to avoid mom kicking my ass into a coma when she gets the chance, but that's probably not what we're talking about here."

He nods, smiling "On the first point, I can understand, on the second, well, I'm pretty sure that she won't beat you into A COMA..."

You look up at him hopefully, before his face cracks into a massive grin and he laughs "Now your knee caps? Those I'm not sure will be safe until you're over the horizon line and she can't prevent you from leaving." He wraps an arm around you and begins to walk with you towards the village center.

"I think I'll head for Light Needle,"

"The tower by the sea? It's wise. One of the last intact towers in the entire world. Good place to get lost in the crowd." He considers as you walk and the distance between you and the villagers grows larger. "Now, that we're away from everyone... and you don't have to lie anymore... what is it that the Fire Avatar Pilot was actually looking for?"

I need a roll if you lie.

>>30555055
Show him the tome.

Also, you can paraphrase responses if you want.

>>30555055
Screw lying, just tell him what we heard. Not much to gain by being being untruthful, especially since we dont know much in the first place.

>>30555055
Give him the codex.

>>30555055
Show it to him.

>>30555132
This, don't hesitate to edit roleplay a bit, either for consistency or just quality.

>>30555132
>>30555165
>>30555174
>>30555182


You pull out the black covered book and hand it to him. He looks surprised and turns it over several times in his hands. As he does he traces his fingers along it in some pattern you cannot discern. As he does so you tell him the full story "I see... she called it a Codex did she?" he thinks carefully, then nods. "I think I might just come with you on this particular outing of yours?" he asks you gently as you come to the village shrine, which doubles as his home.

He pulls aside the covering over the doorway, letting you into a room full of scrolls and tomes. Some ancient, others new. The main alter is stained with various dyes and bits and pieces of divine magics scattered about like cogs and metal spars on a tinker's work table.

"I can understand if you want to go alone, but I have contacts amongst the elders of Light Needle, and I want to see how this particular story plays out."

"Why? Do you know what that is?"

"A codex."

"Yes uncle, I rather got that."

"That's all you need to know for now Selena. But it is lucky you took this. It is dangerous in the wrong hands. I cannot read it here, but there might be those in Light Needle who can. Or in Dravidan if you feel the shorter trip would be to our benefit?"

He arches an eyebrow at you, apparently willing to let you take the lead in this. He offers the black bound tome back to you and begins to pack up various scrolls and bits of divine magics as he walks around the shrine.

>>30555307
How would he keep up with us? Would he mind being strapped to our back?

Also, light needle is probably our best bet.

>>30555307
I was hoping to play a lone adventurer but oh well.
Light Needle

>>30555307
did we show him that magic crystal thing we found?

>>30555442
Which one? The heart? That's in your Avatar right now.

>>30555349
>>30555393
You consider, "Light Needle definitely. I think they came from Dravidan..." he nods as he continues packing.

"How would you even keep up though? My Avatar can keep walking much longer and faster than you can Great Uncle?"
"I have a mount, or if you feel that would slow us down, I can also ride on the back of your Avatar. I don't have to come with you Selena, but," he stretches his arms and looks at you with a grin, "It's been a LONG time since I've traveled. Won't you indulge an old man?"

>Take him
>Leave him behind
>Something else?
>Also feel free to suggest other things.

((Also, does anybody have any good pictures of luchadore robots or golems? My google-fu is failing me)

>>30555554
>>Take him

Also I think he meant that magic piece we found in the residential building.

>>30555619
AH! I almost forgot about that. It's what I get for leaving my notes on another computer. Thank you.

---

You show the bit of intact divine magic to your Great Uncle who looks over it carefully. "Hmmm... I believe this is an augmentation spell... if smelted down and applied to weapons or armor it should improve them. This one seems to be imbued with..."

>Fire
>Lightning
>Air
>Acid
>Something else

>>30555554
You're lucky I like that kind of character

>Take him, take the mount.

>>30555554
>take him

If for nothing else, then because he can actually read this stuff and we cant.
Knowledge is power

>>30555663
>>Lightning

>>30555663
>Something else
>>Pure energy like when our blade first evolved.

>>30555663
>Something else
Nullifying!
Defense against magic attacks/mitigates Magic defense!
Barring that cheese, Air

>>30555705
>>30555701
need some deciding votes. Then I'll start writing.

>>30555663
>Lightning
That shits scary.

>>30555705
This.

We righteous fury now.

>>30555705
I'll back this up then>>30555778

>>30555663

>>30555705 if possible. Lightning if not.

>>30555788
alright, my regular computer just opened up.

We're going pure energy it seems, 3 for pure energy, 2 for lightning.

The 'pure energy' is Divine Essence, so imbuing it right into your armor or weaponry is going to have some crazy ass effects.

>>30555864
Was going to say at the start, changing computers. Then I'll start writing. sorry.

>>30555864
I'll vote for armor then. Energy shields or ablative armor sounds cool.

>>30555864
Nice! We already have regen for defense, so let's pump that into our offense.

File: 1393643678023.gif-(1.17 MB, 170x113, 1381347504071.gif)

1.17 MB GIF

>>30555864
>crazy ass effects
>Implying that's not exactly what we want

>>30555945
This. Plus when those cuhrayzee effects happen, we won't want to be right in the middle of ground zero.

>>30555945
You know what would be cool? Reactive armor.

Whenever something hits us a large burst of energy vaporizes it.

sorry I'm late, good choices so far. can we name our avatar yet?

>>30556088
Patience anon. When the time is right.

>>30556088
I would ask him. It has a voice after all, there's gotta be some way to communicate/know if he likes what we chose.

>>30556088
Just about to get to that.

>>30556024
>>30555986
>>30555951
>>30555945
>>30555887

"Anyway, this will allow you to channel pure divine essence into the weapons or armor you give it too. To concentrate it, to focus it to a purpose. Much like how mages and warlocks do. It'll be very draining though, but very, very versatile I'd imagine, especially if you can augment your own output of divine essence somehow..." he gives you a stern look, "and I am not suggesting warlocktry."

"Hmm... our local smith might be able to do this, but it'll take him all of tonight and tomorrow if you want him to work it into your Avatar rather than personal weaponry..." he seems to suddenly realize something.

"Selena! Have you been piloting that Avatar without a name?" He sounds worried, but not very much so.

Choices:
-Name:
>Deus Sinistram
>Sinistram
>Tribus
>Other
-Augment
>Stay the day, augment armor
>stay the day, augment weapon
>augment your dagger
>wait on using the augment

>>30556216
>Deus Sinistram
Just call him sinistram most of the time tho.

>stay the day, augment weapon

>>30556216
>Deus Sinistram
or
>Tribus (the Divine Hand)

>wait on augment

>>30556216
>Deus
Just "Deus" short and to the point. Perfect.

>Stay the day, augment weapon

>>30556216
>>Tribus

>>wait on using the augment
We can augment in the city.

>>30556216
>Deus Sinistram
>Stay the day, augment weapon

>>30556216
>Tribus
>Wait on using the augment

>>30556258
>>30556241
Another vote for Deus Sinistram

>Suddenly all these votes.

Can we do a final destination type voting?

I'd rather not stay long enough to let the fire lady know we're back so
>wait on using augment
>Deus Sinistram
we'll call him Deus for short

Votes seem to be for Deus Sinistram and waiting on using the Augument. I'll start writin.

>>30556540
quick question, is it right to assume that all living things have Divine essence? if so would it be possible to augment either our sword or perhaps our left arm to absorb essence when we damage foes and then release it (like in a wave or blast or an all out finishing move)

"Deus Sinistram"

"Ah, Left Hand of the Divine... well considering what you told me of his abilities, that is oddly fitting."

He smiles and finishes packing, offering you back the augument. "We'll need to leave in the morning, once things calm down some more. The village should be safe till then, and we can preform the naming ceremony and speak with your mother as well. But before any of that, I have to ask you. Why do you want to do this? These people you claim have done no harm to us or you really. They've given you an Avatar... you might be able to give this" he gestures at the codex, "to them and never have to worry about them ever again... why is it so important to keep it away from them?" He doesn't actually seem that interested in the answer in and of itself.

>>30556628
Yes. All living things have it, and even most nonliving things. Only the rarest substances are entirely devoid of it.

Your Great Uncle explained that Divine Essence is ordered upon a great chain. With the nonliving, unworked things of the world possessing the least, with worked nonliving things the next most, then divine magic pieces, then plants, then animals, then people, then mages, and finally the gods themselves. When you inquired into the nature of the gods at the time, he was closed lipped, he simply said "They're the ones who allowed the towers of the old empire to be raised, and it is they who are the root cause of why they fell."

Divine Essence isn't EXACTLY life force. But that's a close enough analogy to be working with for the moment. If you want a more detailed explanation you'll need to pester your Great Uncle for it.

>>30556741
"Call me paranoid, but I don't think it's a good idea to hand anything of importance over to someone that sets forest fires and mutilates their underlings. It would eventually come back to haunt me, if I did."

>>30556811
god dammit, you were too fast for me. Second

>>30556741
"You didn't see the Avatar in charge Uncle. She wasn't just looking for the codex she was looking for blood, she burned her way through the jungle, killed her own men when she heard they had given me a map, and would have done the same to me if I hadn't camped outside the ruins. Even if they would just leave it sounded like this was important, too important to leave in the hands of someone who'd use it for whatever purpose she had in mind"

This just made me incredibly suspicious of uncle. We are keeping close tabs on him.

>>30556741
so in theory we could in fact augment ourselves to A)Absorb divine essence either from wounding foes and/or from life around us and B)Release it (in various ways)

>>30556935
I think he just doesn't care, if we choose not to give it to them then thats fine with him

>>30556935
Really? You're just starting to suspect him? Now and not at the "Please let me uproot myself from my happy retirement and accompany you on your journey. Oh, and can I ride on your back?" You didn't start looking a little more closely at him back then?

>>30556988
I did, but this is another fucking stage entirely.

He's literally telling us to hand the macguffin to the bad guy.

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>Pic Related: Inspiration for your Great Uncle. He's got slightly less hair ontop and no crucifix. Yeah, he's doing really well for someone in his late 60s.
>>30556811
>>30556871
"You didn't see the avatar in charge Great Uncle... she wasn't just after the codex, she was after blood. I mean, go a head and call me paranoid, but I don't think handing over a relic of the Old Empire to someone who mutilates their underlings and burns down entire tracks of forest is really a good idea. Even if they left me alive, it'd come back to haunt me I'm sure."

He smiles and nods, patting you on the head. "Good girl. Now then. figure out what you want to take with you, and what you want to sell here at the village alright? Everyone is up, and I'm sure that they'll want some of the spoils from the ruin. I have to go talk to my apprentices, they'll be taking over my duties as doctor and archivist for the village." he grunts, rolling his arms as he shoulders a rucksack. "About bloody time in my opinion too. I've been looking forward to retiring from this anyway."

You have the following things you can barter with.:
-10 copper coins
-20 silver coins
-6 days worth of trail rations.
-1 good bronze dagger with a dyed leather wrapped hilt.
-1 glow-stone, as bright as a torch once activated, but will cause fatigue if used for too long.
-1 set of climbing gear
-1 set of leather armor, not worn currently, but won't take long to get into if you have some shelter.
-1 Hunter's tent
-1 length of fresh hemp rope.
-Old Empire sheet of spell-tattoos
-Divine Essence Equipment Augment
-Amulet bearing a holy symbol of the Old Empire. On an old itchy string for a necklace.
---10 smaller amulets.
-1 Black Codex shut with a clasp with no lock.

You can also do anything else you can think of in the village until dawn, though you probably want to set some time aside for talking with your mom and sleeping.

>>30557007
No, he was asking why you DIDN'T just do that.

>>30556942
>>30556942
You could give it to a weapon or armor you carry, or to your avatar or it's weapon. That said, directly draining divine essence from living things is known as Warlocktry. While doing it to ANIMALS isn't 'illegal' so much as 'taboo', it's generally frowned upon. You could also do it to rocks and such, but it'd be very inefficient. The only 'approved' form of warlocktry is when a new Avatar is being awoken for the first time. And even then it's only done by the governments in big, big cities.

>>30557093
Uncle's a Jesuit? Ok guys, he's clean.

Aside from talking to mom and saying goodbye to any childhood friends, I'm out of ideas for what to do.

>>30557093
We should buy a new tent and some more rations. And then speak to your mother.

>>30557145
Why do we need a new tent?

>>30557093
>---10 smaller amulets.
See what you can get for those and the coins.

Change the string on the other amulet. Keep her for good luck.

>-Old Empire sheet of spell-tattoos
Show that to your uncle if you can catch him for a minute.


>No, he was asking why you DIDN'T just do that.
Which is different how ? He basically tempted us towards that decision.

>>30557118
guess that works, how about
>augment blade to make multiple weapons, either a second one for both smaller arms to use or blades for each arm temporarily
say our goodbyes, see if uncle can do anything with those old empire spell tattoos, and sell 10 smaller amulets?

>>30557169
Old one got ruined by blood, guts and many other things.

>>30557196
Ok, that's worth doing then.

>>30557184
>multiple spear/swords
nice

>>30557184
I'd rather just buy multiple weapons than have temporary ones honestly.

Oh wait, we should go to the blacksmith and peruse his wares.

>>30557319
just a thought, yes we could just buy more weapons but they probably wouldn't be anywhere near a powerful to our spear

>>30557319
I don't think the blacksmith makes Avatar sized weapons.

>>30557173
If that's how you want to see it.

Anyway.

You go into the town, it's still dark, though the gloom is lifted by the brightness of the forest fires off in the distance. They seem to be settling though.

You talk with people you've known for years, the inn keeper's kids for one, though you can't catch the elder members who are up on the wall. Amongst the younger ones though you manage to get help selling off the smaller amulets, and buying a new tent. The Hunters aren't happy with you stealing a tent and hurting one of their members, so they take the cost of the ruined tent, and his injuries out of buying the new hunter's tent.

You gain another 5 silver coins and a fresh hunter's tent.

After that you decide it's best to head up to the tree where your mother is keeping watch from within Garmaniz. It's a long climb, but over all, one you're used too. Your mother used to bring you up here with Garmaniz and taught you to make the climb yourself when you were much younger. You use the massive arrows and the stairs and ladders carved into the side of the great tree to make it up to her. She's still hanging there, looking for anyone coming. "Finally decided to come up here Selena?" She asks, in a slightly hurt voice. Truth be told you were sorta putting this off since you did pretty much run away without telling her. It's not like she could follow you into the forest, not and leave the village without Garmaniz.

>>30557236
This is a possibility. Semi-solid ghostly Divine Essence Weapons generated from your armor is definitely a possibility for how you could direct the augment.

>>30557352
>>30557372
closer to a great sword now. And you can get Avatar Sized weaponry, mostly from Garmaniz' spares. Since Garmaniz doesn't have any spells or special abilities, your mother and the village make up for it with a wide variety of weaponry. But those are village property, you'd need to buy them.

You have 10 copper and 25 silver coins to work with.

>>30557372
Someone has too.

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on the subject of weapons, i like the idea of either something like>>30557184 or either two smaller blades for our right arms or even something like a jitte to block, redirect, and stab with
>>30557394
>This is a possibility. Semi-solid ghostly Divine Essence Weapons generated from your armor is definitely a possibility for how you could direct the augment.
cool, so it'd be like temporarily having infinite weapons as long as our Divine Essensse holds out

>>30557394
What about avatar sized shields? Sword n board.

>>30557476
Yes, but the more weapons you generate, the more essence you're using up per second. Use up too much at once, and you use up your entire soul.

>>30557493
There is a set of bucklers.

>>30557476
I'd rather not waste an enchant on something we can just buy. Especially since it would be dangerous to our well being.

Two small blades sound good. Plus we would eventually be able to enchant those too.

>>30557534
Buckler and some kind of sword would be good I think. Good combination of defense and offense.

>>30557394
"If its any consolation I didn't want any of this, I love you and the village but I have to make this right. Everyone sees me as just a spare part and I've never been able to show anyone anything to prove otherwise. But now I can, I can stop whatever that mad women had planned, I can see the world, hell maybe I'll even find enough loot and artifacts to keep the village here instead of abandoning it while you fight. I want to do this Mom... I have to do this. Just stay strong and believe I'll make it back safe, I'm sure Deus will keep me from getting in over my head."

>>30557516
of course, just making sure I've got the facts
>more weapons means more awesome, but will drain more essence and put us in more danger

>>30557555
I'd prefer two blades, possibly two Jittles.

Can't find a reason to add a buckler to that, especially on one of our "weak" hands.

>>30557565
Going with this for the time being. Need to make something to eat then I'll start writing. If you guys have anything to add, do so now.

>>30557614
Can we visit the blacksmith after?

>>30557605
I assume you mean Jitte? I'd prefer a saber for slashing honestly.

>>30557614
sounds good
>either two small blades or Jitte if we can
>show uncle those spell tattoos we found
how about ghostly armor?

>>30557594
Let's only use our soul for stuff like finishers. We've already been told playing with it has dire consequences on our lifespan.

>>30557626
eh, a saber is nice but with our great sword/spear I'd honestly prefer something that can stab and block
>plus Jitte can be sharpened and our smaller arms won't have as much power behind them as our "Divine Hand"

>>30557681
over using it puts us in more danger, super charging every attack or repairing critical damage (part of the reason regen is helpful) would add more strain with greater potential risks

>>30557706
Swordbreaker then? Assuming the blacksmith even has any of this.

>>30557753
yeah, a jitte was designed to catch and break blades but something similar would work if you can think of one

>>30557735
I get that. But a finisher allows us to end a fight, preventing any additional damage to heal.

Frankly just buying some blades is more cost efficient.

>>30557626
Not convinced by the saber, we haven't encountered anything vulnerable to slashing damage yet and avatars sure as hell aren't.

>>30557791
I was thinking about two sai linked by a chain. Would make a decent throwing weapon and help parrying blades.

Dunno if it's better than a jittle tho.

>>30557796
That's a good argument. From what I've seen we should get a blunt weapon like a warhammer or mace to shatter armor.

>>30557565
"If its any consolation I didn't want any of this, I love you and the village but I have to make this right. Everyone sees me as just a spare part and I've never been able to show anyone anything to prove otherwise. But now I can, I can stop whatever that mad women had planned, I can see the world, hell maybe I'll even find enough loot and artifacts to keep the village here instead of abandoning it while you fight. I want to do this Mom... I have to do this. Just stay strong and believe I'll make it back safe, I'm sure Deus will keep me from getting in over my head."

You can't see your mother's face, but Garmaniz visibly untenses, like it was collapsing under some weight.

"I know Selena, I know... it's not been easy raisin you as someone to take over for me, but you know it was necessary. Our family has been protecting this village for ages now, and Garmaniz is used to our blood."

You sit there with her in silence, not sure how to make this less awkward.

"Promise me you'll atleast come back safe alright? When you're done with all of... this? I don't want to lose my only daughter."

One of Garmaniz' free arms wraps around you in an impossibly gentle hug for such a large limb.

Anything to say in closing before going off to the blacksmith?

>>30557820
a sai would be almost a smaller jitte but with only a metal point and shorter "arms." think of something like a wakizachi with a single thicker arm and you've got a jitte
>the chain seems bulky and unnecessary but maybe a sickle and chain somewhere down the line would be do able

>>30557859
>hug back
"Just promise me I'll have a village to come home to, I don't want to lose you either"

>>30557859
Promise her you'll come back.

>>30557862
Do they even have eastern style weapons?

>>30557925
I'm sure they'd have something similar or we could find someone to commission some from
>eastern weapons are the only examples I have, but since we have magic weapons and giant robots I'm sure there's something like those

>>30557961
I suppose a swordbreaker would be the western equivalent. But like I said, warhammer or mace will be useful for defeating armored foes.

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>>30557862
To clarify, do you mean one jittle held with both right hands or two, one hand each ?

Asking because I really want us to be able to use them like sundowner's Pincer blade

>>30557979
Considering which sword type we picked, I dont think armor is really a problem, unless it's oftype which the type of weapon wont matter anyway.

>>30557901
>>30557925

You hug her back, through the terracotta arm wrapped around you. You know you'll get another chance to see her in the morning, but still. "Just promise me that you, and the village will be here for me to come back to alright?"

Your see your mother's head, just barely through the haze of protective divine essence in Garmaniz's chest cavity, nod to you. "I will baby. Don't worry about that."

You exchange some more plesantries, and then you begin to climb back down. When you get to the base, you head over to the village blacksmith, he lived right across the village center from your own home.

There's plenty of things you can get. But he only has spares of one handed weaponry.

In terms of weapon breakers, he does have a large saw-edged dagger. Perfect for snapping swords, and also a deadly ripping weapon if used right. You have no experience in them though. (15 silver)

In terms of anti-armor weaponry, he has some small morning stars, and a spare warpick. (15 silver for 2 morning stars or 1 warpick)

He also has some metal bars that while not Jitte and never meant to be used as weapons, look almost exactly like Jitte and are the right size. They'd serve as them for a while. (5 silver for a pair)

(going to start wrapping this up soon. Real life is calling sadly.)

>>30557862
I'll go along with the jitte/Sai idea, because With our huge-ass sword, I think a Smaller, Faster weapon with defensive use will be complementary.

>>30558059
>Metal bars that while not Jitte and never meant to be used as weapons, look almost exactly like Jitte and are the right size. They'd serve as them for a while. (5 silver for a pair)

Get those.

>>30558059
>large saw-edged dagger.

Rather have that then the makeshift weapon.

>>30557979
true, I'm just trying to come up with the best solution while remembering our right arms aren't as solid/strong as the left. a warhammer might be a bit to much and kinda awkward with such a large weapon in our left hand
>>30558013
one in each, then depending on the situation both could block/catch, both could stab (like into an Avatar's chest to kill the pilot), or one could block and distract while the other stabs

>>30558059
Take the metal bars, theyre the most cost effective

Rolled 52, 44 = 96

>>30558059
The weapon breaker.

>>30558059
>metal bars
can he sharpen them or give them sharp points before we leave in the morning?

>>30558085
>>30558095
>>30558106
>>30558119
Two votes for makeshift Jitte, two votes for the saw-edged blade breaker.

>>30558127
>makeshift Jitte

Hey Op, Question
Would it be possible to use the Divine Essence Augment to synergize with our bugs, since their both at least close to the same substance?

>>30558127
jitte for now, we can always trade up to something better later if we want

You guys seriously want jittes so bad you'll buy makeshift bars? Just custom make them when we get to the city.

>>30558148
>Wasting 15 silver on a weapon we're gonna drop once we get to a city.
Smart decision right there.

>>30558148
don't see you coming up with a better idea
saw dagger is nice but we have no experience with it and like>>30558141 said we can trade up or make them more "weapon like" later
>plus only 5 silver

>>30558126
Not really. That would take reforging them, and even if he did, they'd never hold an edge or a tip. Think of them as rebar.

>>30558137
Yes, you can pour extra divine essence to give them a boost.

>>30558136
>>30558141
Makeshift Jitte have it. You now have a pair. For an additional 3 silver he'll also throw in a large monster leather belt and slings for your weapons.

Outside you can see down the distance that your Uncle is finishing off the naming Ceremony of your Avatar. Scrawling in charcoal and crushed inks along it's fore head to annoint it with it's new name of Deus Sinistram.

You'll be ready to go in the morning no matter what. It's been a very long day and you're pretty much ready to collapse. But you have enough energy to get one last thing done.

>go check on your Avatar
>Give the spell-tattoo sheets to your Great Uncle.
>Just collapse into bed
>something else

>>30558202
>>Give the spell-tattoo sheets to your Great Uncle.

>>30558148
>>30558166
Yeah, we just want to spend the least money to get the closest thing to what we wanted, so we can have enough to get something quality once we're in the city. Relax.

>>30558126
>>30558127
any way to have him make them pointy
>i do like the idea of using them to block then bludgeoning enemies with solid metal bars

>>30558202
>Give the spell-tattoo sheets to your Great Uncle.

>>30558202
I know you said one, but since Uncle is right next to Deus can we
>show spell tattoos
>check Avatar

>>30558202
>Not really. That would take reforging them, and even if he did, they'd never hold an edge or a tip. Think of them as rebar.
so in one hand we have giant spear
and in the other(s) we have heavy, solid metal jitte to block and crush with
>i can dig it

>>30558214
see >>30558202
>Not really. That would take reforging them, and even if he did, they'd never hold an edge or a tip. Think of them as rebar.

>>30558217
>>30558208
>>30558232
>sure
You bring the spell tattoo sheets over to your great uncle as he finishes up the naming ceremony and climbs back down from Deus.

"hello again Selena, I just finished here." he gestured towards the Avatar. "Deus Sinistram is ready. He is... different than any Avatar I've ever seen... and that heart... normally they are things made from clay and meat, not glass and gems... I'd suggest we find a way to disguise it before we arrive at Light Needle."

You put your hand on Deus Sinistram, and you feel something move underneath the surface. Not under your hand, but under your mind's sense of your hand. Your mother always spoke of Garmaniz as a person, not as a statue or an object. Under your touch you felt something WANTING to move, wanting to challenge things, wanting to FIGHT. It roiled against your touch for that brief instant, all but demanding that you climb in and let him do BATTLE with the Avatar that had threatened him and his pilot. He WANTED a challenge. 'He' is the closest sense of a pronoun you can get from Deus... You wondered if all Avatars were like this with their pilots?

In any case, you are jolted out of your thoughts by your Great Uncle. "These are very interesting Selena... I can't read them all, but I can begin deciphering them while we journey. If I'm right though, they're only part of a set. This looks to be some kind of incomplete tattoo, one of 5, meant to be lain one atop the other on a person's body. Though I'm not sure WHERE though it appears placement IS important... Do you mind if I keep this?"

>>30558202
>Give the spell-tattoo sheets to Uncle

>>30558340
Let him keep it, call dibs on the magical tattoo if we can ever find the five.

I like deus

>>30558340
"Sure."

Can't think of a reason not to let him have it.

>>30558340
>Sure, but I get dibs if we find the rest
"Goodnight Deus, we'll find you a challenge tomorrow"
>"And try not to stay mad at Garmaniz, he's kept me and mom safe for a long time"

>>30558340
I like Deus, he only wants to protect and prove himself to us and he wants to fight our old guardians (mom and Garmaniz) to show he can

>>30558375
>>30558390
You let him keep it, and pat your battle hungry Avatar again, "Goodnight Deus, we'll find you a challenge tomorrow... you'll have your fill of fights then I promise."
[[And try not to stay mad at Garmaniz, he's kept me and mom safe for a long time]] You think to him while patting him. He doesn't answer you, thankfully since his mind voice tends to cause nosebleeds and migraines, but you get a sense of sullen resignedness to not fighting Garmaniz.

You stretch and yawn, saying good night to your Great Uncle, and waving up at your mother before heading back to your home for the last time in what is likely to be a very long time.

You don't know who tucks you in after you collapse into your cot, but you wake up briefly to your mother and great uncle talking, something about the codex and a lock before sleep takes you once again.

>End Chapter 4.

I'd continue for longer guys, but I got some real life obligations to see too now.

Feel free to ask questions, talk about what you'd like to see in the future (I can promise, in no particular order, sonic expy's, luchador avatars, and at least one pacifist warlock who drains rocks and works of art rather than animals and people. But anything else you guys think would be awesome or hilarious to see? Either in the form of abilities, weapons, crazy ass shit you want to see? All of it.)

I can't promise I'll answer any questions tonight, but I'll try to peek into the thread as much as I can and answer the ones I'm able to. Consider any questions you ask and I answer to be things Selena's Great Uncle fills her in on during the trip.

>>30558535
He's like the overprotective older brother you never had!

>begins plotting how Deus will interfere with any future romance arcs.

>>30558536
If Divine Essence Augment could give us ghostly weapons, how about ghostly armor?
>think DMC 4 or Jojo's bizarre Adventure

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>>30558567
>romance arcs
pls no

>>30558536
Thanks for running.

>>30558567
>then why does he keep calling us "Priest?"
>why not Selena or Onei-chan

>>30558585
in theory yes. You could augment your leather armor with strands made from the augmentation, and get a massive temporary armor boost for example. Otherwise if it's just like a force shield or ablative armor (exploding out against impacts)

>>30558599
I said it mostly in jest. I'm horrible at writing romance. And considering she's 16 and this is a blue board and my own morality, it'd be chaste stuff anyway if I did do it.

>>30558621
Who knows! Your Great Uncle has never heard of anyone's Avatar actually SPEAKING to them sensibly rather than through empath like emotions and sensations.

>>30558654
That's reactive armor. Which is pretty awesome admittedly.

>>30558536
Thanks for running, I'm just glab we're getting more people
>were the beetles a summon option since the big one could spawn more or can we potentially do that with other creature?
>Is there a way to boost our summons/summon more if we used our Divine Essence (like more than we need to summon them in the first place)
>what about our spear/jitte?
>could we augment a Halo Beam? do we already have one and the dice before wouldn't let us use it?
>about how far/long is the trip to the tower?
>is it only one power per creature or is it possible to get multiple if we kill more (like finding another Rotmonger for Rot Vine Spinner?)
>time of next thread?

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>>30558654
meant augmenting Deus with ghostly armor
>like you said with a force shield or reactive armor or like a "ghostly avatar"

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>>30558654
>it'd be chaste stuff anyway if I did do it.
>chaste

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>>30558764
>My mech has a bigger spirit mech it can summon

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>>30558812
>not seeing a problem

>>30558731
>were the beetles a summon option since the big one could spawn more or can we potentially do that with other creature?
spell from the beetle monster, so it's beetles.
>Is there a way to boost our summons/summon more if we used our Divine Essence (like more than we need to summon them in the first place)
you can boost their numbers by pouring more energy into the spell, or make them tougher as well.
>what about our spear/jitte?
only if you have the divine essence augument into them.
>could we augment a Halo Beam? do we already have one and the dice before wouldn't let us use it?
You could definitely use the divine essence augment to create that. But no, you don't have one. It's just aesthetic at the moment.
>about how far/long is the trip to the tower?
About a month and a half. It's a fortnight's journey to Dravidan.
>is it only one power per creature or is it possible to get multiple if we kill more (like finding another Rotmonger for Rot Vine Spinner?)
You're not sure. You'll have to test it. What's clear is that your Avatar seeks out worthy opponents. If an opponent is not worthy, Deus may not absorb anything from it (like those small beetles, they were annoying). Your sword however may function completely differently. You're not quite sure WHAT made it evolve.
>time of next thread?
Sorry forgot.

I'll run it on 6:00-7:00 cst sunday or monday.

I should warn you guys I might be moving to singapore soon, so my times could very RADICALLY change on running this quest in the next few months. It'll either mean I have to slow down on the updates (that's going to happen anyway) or it'll be run at a different time relative to you guys entirely.

>>30558764
You'd need way more Divine Essence than you're capable of giving off to preform that. but if you just make it generalized armor augment? yes.

>>30559615
This is probably to meta, but if we absorb powers from Worthy Opponents does that also include a worthy Avatar opponent?

>>30559615
is flight a thing that can happen?

>>30559615
>you can boost their numbers by pouring more energy into the spell, or make them tougher as well.
if regular essence cost gives 6 beetles, could we channel the spell to instead 2 beetles the size of 3 beetles each? How about a single beetle the equivalent size of 6 beetles?
>general armor augment
eh figured, reactive armor is boss anyway

>>30559706
You'll have to test it and find out.

>>30559741
Yes, but it is exceedingly rare and dangerous. No Avatar can get up to the speeds that made planes viable from WWII on. In a situation where there are literally Avatars capable of sniping you with pin point accuracy from across the horizon line, being up in the air without cover can tend to be a bad thing. Plus some ruins get really tetchy about that, and then there's giant acid-tongue frogs. Don't get me started on the giant acid-tongue frogs. But in avatar on avatar combat, the number of Avatars capable and experienced in sniping a flying target out of the air far exceed the number of Avatar Pilots experienced enough in flying to avoid such a shot.

Short answer: Yes. But most avatars capable of it don't use it as a major mode of transportation so much as an emergency bug out button and extra level of manuvering.

>>30559768
In theory. You'd need to practice with the spell.

>>30560949
You mentioned before that to do some stuff we'd need increased essence, is there a way to increase the amount of essence we can give off like meditation? How about an artifact or augment to make our Avatar more efficient and do more with less essence?

>>30561127
There are ways you can artificially increase your essence for use by your avatar. There are artefacts that you can store up essence in like a battery for later use, you might be able to get something that lets you suck the essence out of something else and then deploy it as your own (say another Avatar rather than a living being) though you'd need to use it before getting out again or have some way of storing it up for later use.

Doing more with less essence isn't so much a deal as figuring out how to prevent your Avatar from leaking it if you want to give it raw horse power, if you want to promote spells, you have to increase the rate at which it leaks it.

Spells manipulate the essence that you're releasing into the atmosphere around you.

Abilities and raw power utilize the essence that is stored within the Avatar rather than leaking.

Garmaniz for example is a VERY efficient essence storage. Pound for pound, when you take into account his weight, multiple arms, and the fact he can't cast spells at all, he can probably turn you into a pretezle if we're talking raw strength.

There's also a few Avatars with custom jobs and modifications that only leak essence when they want to cast a spell, but those are relatively rare.

Chances are the fire Avatar the evil bitch has is a spell caster type. She's leaking essence all over the place and can manipulate it into fucking fire storms. But her Avatar probably isn't going to be jumping over buildings in a single bound.

That said, it means whoever is piloting that Avatar is either suicidal, or really scary powerful in terms of her soul's output.
>cont.

>>30561217

Finally, there ARE some ways you can improve your own souls output, but they are highly ritualistic, usually involve spell-tattoos, and more often than not require a gnostic style price involving flagelation and ritually removing body parts to improve your focus on the inner self rather than upon the body. Not many people opt for this because it tends to make life outside of an Avatar really fucking difficult.

Though many arcane bloods, people who can use spells WITHOUT an Avatar or a divine magic piece, will undergo such rituals. Their powers usually make up for them, or they have servants paid for by their clients. If you ever run into a quadraplegic being walked around in a palanquin, don't piss him off. Chances are he's an arch mage of higher end 3.5 DnD brokeness.

>spell caster type
So what are the general classes of Avatars?
>Spell Caster
>Knight?
>Tank?
>Speed?

Any plans on monsters like types or what appears where or will they just be made up as we go?
>Beetle: Insect?
>Rotmonger: Plant?
might help with powers and such in the future

>>30561417
It varies enormously. But it generally breaks down into
>Physical Based.
>Spell Based.
>Ability Based.

That's about it.

So far we've seen all three types.

Deus Sinistram is Ability Based.
Garmaniz is Physical Based.
Fire-Bitch's Avatar is Spell Based.

>>30561494
Take your pick from the monster manual, monster hunter, kingdom death, cthulhu mythos, traditional mythology, demons'/dark souls, final fantasy, and dragon's dogma.

I'm just making them up as I go along right now, but once my main computer is functioning again, I have a folder labeled 'monster art' drawn from here and god knows where else where I pretty much intend to use a random number generator for 0-9 and narrow down monsters in the list until I get it down to a single one.

But in general. Life forms in this world tend towards the extremely predatory, or the extremely hard to kill.

>>30561610
also I can't break it down further than what I listed there.

The Archetypes beyond that are just to numerous.

How do I categorize a 'knight' who uses spells to create stone armor and weapons that hover thanks to gravity manipulation so the actual physical power of the Avatar is moot?

What about a sniper type? It might literally hurl javelins with enough force to crack mountains open, or it has a built in ability to shoot lasers, or it uses air manipulation spells to turn the air in front of him into a magnefying glass to see with, and then more magic to create a magnefying glass effect out of the air above his opponent who gets to play the part of the ant on the concrete playground.

>>30561645
basically. What you want your Avatar to 'do' is limited by your imagination and what you have on hand. You guys have a lot more leeway in how you can change it. As long as you can give me a reasonable possibility of what might be gained from a creature you kill? I'll tend to roll with it.

>>30561610
So it breaks down like
>Physical: Strong, Durable, No magic
>Ability: Mix, better strength and armor with ability for essence use
>Caster: Extreme use of essence, not physically powerful, less armor
You did say there were titan sized Avatars so I guess the skies the limit on monsters really
>>30561645
>>30561701
so as we progress its just gonna get straight up anime with some of these fights and abilities huh

>>30561724
Pretty much.

And ability types run the gamut. They're defined by the fact that they have something going for them that isn't spells and isn't physical strength.

An Avatar with really strong jumping legs would be a physical type.
An avatar who used magic to cause the ground to press up harder to improve it's jumps would be a spell caster type.
An avatar that for some other reason entirely was able to jump really high or achieve the same effect would be an ability user.

>>30561764
also a spell caster type CAN be heavily armored, but it couldn't be heavily armored AND move fast like a physical type could.

Physical types can be very lightly armored, but they are heavily insulated against essence leakage.

It just hit me that pure essence weaponry like your augment causes is probably going to be less than effective against physical types due to that insulation... but probably super effective against spell casters regardless of armor.

>>30561772
So if we made it in reactive armor it would be very good against spells?

>>30561772
>It just hit me that pure essence weaponry like your augment causes is probably going to be less than effective against physical types due to that insulation... but probably super effective against spell casters regardless of armor.
thats what we have the spear for

Hmmm, i was thinking what if we used the augment on Deus for that reactive shield idea. BUT while activated the shield held in all the essence we normally emit thereby shielding Deus and improving physical stats/efficiency though at the same time cutting off magic since we would be unable to release essence with the shield up

>>30561828
no, I'm talking about in attacking.

Armor would probably be about equally effective against everything except a physical type Avatar trying to strike you unarmed.

Basically. You shoot a bolt of pure divine essence at somebody right? Against a physical type, it'll wash off, maybe scuff the paint. Against a spell caster, it will fuck up their day something fierce. Using it against a pure mage (not an avatar) or a warlock (in an avatar or not) would be suicide because they'd just turn it against you, but Avatars normally can't manipulate essence that isn't projected by themselves.

Anyway, even in spell duels, spell casters tend to use essence to manipulate their environment. Far more efficient use, and they can be certain it'll effect the enemy avatar. Since you never know if what was just thrown at you is a spell (thus signalling the enemy is weak to pure divine essence) or an ability cast by a heavily insulated avatar (and thus free of that weakness)

>>30561863
That could very well work. It'd be less effective at keeping stuff OUT though. It wouldn't be reactive armor at that point but artificial insulation, and would still have to be fed divine essence, but you'd get a physical power boost out of it yeah.

I think you're going to have to choose just ONE form of the augment, and try to hunt down a second one if you want to get both types.

>>30561906
>I think you're going to have to choose just ONE form of the augment, and try to hunt down a second one if you want to get both types.
yeah figured something like that, how rare overall would another pure essence aug be?
also what kinds are there, you mentioned fire, lightning, air and such

>>30561944
augments tend to focus on turning a primal force into something else. Divine Essence Augments aren't all that rare, but they're HEAVILY in demand by mages, warlocks, and spell caster type Avatar Pilots. So they tend to cost an arm and a leg.

other augments cost less, so just an arm or a leg, and tend to revolve around manipulating basic forces of reality. Some are simple (fire, earth, water, wind, lightning, etc.). Others are more complex (gravity, kinetic force, there's a documented case of momentum manipulation)

>>30561906
How about if we used it for the Halo Beam? If it was a pinpoint blast of concentrated essence would that do more damage to a physical or would it just leave a scorch mark instead of scuffing the paint
>it'd wreck a caster though

>>30561972
scorch mark.

concentrated for long enough it might burn through the insulation, assuming the enemy stood still long enough.

Good news. Your beetles are pure essence. They can't cut through a physical type for shit, but they could still grab on and hold.

>>30561971
how flexible are augments?
i figure something like putting fire in a sword would be fire sword that could maybe hurl fireballs or something, but say we auged Deus with say gravity. Would we need to specify whats being manipulated (weight, force of gravity on an object, area field of low/high gravity), could we spread it somehow like applying gravity to our beetles so whatever they latch onto gains 2x weight or begins to float

>>30561971
Is lightning electricity or do we actually shoot lightning?

Because lightning would be a pretty powerful ranged weapon.

>>30562014
Augumenting gravity gets you 1 abstract ability.

it could be that you can levitate yourself or others.

It could be that your armor is lighter

could be that your sword makes anything it hits weight more.

It cannot improve your spells. That takes spell-script diagrams like the set 1 out of 5 you got in the ruins.

>>30561984
good thing our spear is super sharp and not made of essence.
if the beetles can't hurt them they can still interact with them, like if we used two big or one huge beetle to pin/hold down a physical avatar so we could deliver the final blow

>>30562031
it's lightning lightning. Ionized air plasma blast basically.

Lightning spells also do up down more than straight across usually. Generally they force a connection between the tethers of both the Avatar and it's target and then launch the charge along it. If they're ability based.

If they're spell based then they just basically super ionize the air directly above the target's tether, cause a connection to happen, and ZAP.

>>30562032
so we could augment our small arm(s) with gravity to increase weigh when they hit
>keep peppering enemies with pot shots from our small fists while they focus on our main weapon until they suddenly can't move

>>30562054
could lightning be augmented say into an avatar's legs for super speed or lightning reflexes

>>30562067
pretty much. assuming you could find a gravity augment. The more esoteric? The harder it is to get.

>>30562077
No, that would take an ability.

>>30562092
so lightning sounds like its a mostly offensive augment. unless you like used it to cover your avatar in a layer of lighting i guess

so tell the truth, how lucky were we to find not only an intact avatar frame but a working heart. it sounds like avatars aren't that easy a thing to come by since Garmaniz was pasted down the village for who knows how long and i doubt ruined factories with working avatars and hearts are just popping up everywhere
>i know people can fix and augment them but are they a lost technology or can they still be built

>>30562157
He's referenced avatars being built by some cities.

>>30562092
would a lightning augment be needed for anything involving magnetism or is that its own augment entirely

>>30562157
Pretty damn lucky.

but yes, avatars can be built in cities today. Hearts too, but hearts are the labor of generations of careful work, and usually they're duds. So the ones found in ruins are special.

Yours is a very odd one as well. They generally look like biomechanical organs mixed with terracotta ceramic parts. You got one spun from glass it looks like.

can our beetles fly? i know they can jump like really far and fast but they can't fly right

>>30562193
own thing entirely.

>>30562205
no flight. They have wings for balance.

>>30562212
granted we'd need to experiment with the spell but would it be possible to summon a single beetle on par with the alpha beetle we killed
>and would it spawn tiny beetles as well for broken infi-beetles

How much would a good custom set of jitte cost? Or am I just jumping way ahead of myself since the trip to the tower is over a month

>>30562237
maybe. You'd need to test and practice.

>>30562254
depends on what you have to barter. But probably around 30 silver for a GOOD set.

>>30562293
Speaking of weapons, what are more prevalent in this world, western or eastern style? Is it dependent on region?

>>30562314
Completely dependent upon region.

In the far north, they still use weaponry from the Old Empire, but they are a barbaric people who openly practice warlocktry to power and defile their devices.

In another place, they use unarmed combat only, but they bare the marks of a true god, and so their fists crush iron and their spirits can turn the courage of armies to water.

Where you are? It's a trade nexus between two continents. The land routes converge upon Dravidan to the north and the sea routes upon Light Needle to the south. It's why your little village sees enough trade to rate an entire inn. But even then, trade is rare, a caravan coming once a month is a rare and bountiful occurrence, normally they come about once a quarter if that, and rarely are they large.

Travel is just too dangerous or too long.

>>30562393
>Where you are? It's a trade nexus between two continents. The land routes converge upon Dravidan to the north and the sea routes upon Light Needle to the south. It's why your little village sees enough trade to rate an entire inn. But even then, trade is rare, a caravan coming once a month is a rare and bountiful occurrence, normally they come about once a quarter if that, and rarely are they large.
by which I mean it's a hodgepodge.

>>30562427
hence western style sword spear and eastern jitte, works for me

alright then, so if we're headed south towards the ocean what kind of beasties may we run into

>>30562667
Meh, not a fan of jitte, I feel like we can have something more substantial on the right hands.

>>30562802
hopefully next encounter can give us something

>>30562690
you'll run into less bugs and rotbeasts, more and more reptiles and amphibians. Also seagulls.

Do not anger the seagulls