While you were never the sort that would go around preaching about what's right or wrong, you knew where to draw the line for acceptable actions. If someone had to die? So be it. You wouldn't even bat an eyelash if you knew it was needed. Some things though, they just don't sit right with you, and this was one of them. A single life is one thing, hell, even a few dozen can be acceptable depending on the cause, but hundreds of lives just because you don't like some rich assholes?

(You have triggered Resonance Overcharge on your dagger. Some artifacts can be overcharged to drastically increase the potency of their effects, although using it carries the risk of damaging the artifact. Mechanically, overcharge works by treating the artifact as a sustained spell focus on top of normal resonance cost. For example, base resonance cost on the dagger is 1 point, so overcharge reduces your pool total to 19 for a sustained effect, and then there's a further cost of 1 point per turn. To continue with this example, using the dagger for 2 turns will cost you 3 points, although you will get 1 point back when you stop the overcharge. At the end of combat, you will be forced to roll to determine the extent of damage the artifact has taken from using overcharge, although for this encounter you will not have to roll on it.)

In terms of pure combat prowess, the vice-captain far exceeds your abilities, and there isn't any talking him down. From the sounds outside you can hear that your master has either killed most of the guards or she forced them to retreat, but is still going to take a while to catch up to your location. With your overcharged dagger you can now cut normal steel.

What do you do?

>>30556428
Dual wield the pistol and the dagger. Get him to block the dagger and then shoot.

>>30556428
Defend with the dagger. Try to get your master's attention.

>>30556596
>>30556536
Since this is the first thread in a week and I started it rather late and abruptly, I'm going to extend the voting window another 5 minutes.

>>30556428
Snake, remember the basics of CQC

Disarm the asshole, literally if possible

>>30556698
>>30556596
>>30556536
I guess I can combine these inputs since none of them are conflicting, roll 3d10.

Rolled 6, 4, 9 = 19

>>30556817

Rolled 6, 8, 1 = 15

>>30556817

Rolled 1, 7, 10 = 18

>>30556817

>>30556854
>>30556847
>>30556839
Writing.

Rolled 9, 1, 1 = 11

>>30556817

Unfortunately, my friends, I believe we discharged our pistols at the beginning of this encounter and never reloaded them.

>>30556863

Off to a rather late start, but I'm glad you showed up. I've been looking forward to this.

If you can't beat the man in a straight fight, you decide that you must be a bit clever with your approach. Although your pistol is holstered and unloaded at the moment, not having to deal with using a wad or powder means it only takes moments to load. You back up to the window and take up a defensive stance, waiting for the vice-captain to take the bait. It doesn't take long for him to bite as he charges in, his artifact blade glowing as he comes in for a strike. Right before he enters striking range, however, you toss the saber in your right hand at him, causing him to shift his immediate focus to deflecting the incoming blade, which is all the opportunity you need to quickly load your pistol and ready it. The vice-captain comes in with an overhead strike, which you deflect with your dagger, creating sparks as the two blades come into contact. That momentary break in his guard is all you need to bring up you pistol, pulling the trigger once you target his center of mass. A last minute twist of the torso and the vice-captain manages to avoid taking the bullet to a vital area, although it still grazes his left side, shooting past him and shattering a window on the other side of the room. The wound forces him to back off.

What do you do?

>Mana: 16/19 remaining

>>30556922
I had familial obligations tonight that ran a bit longer than I anticipated, sorry about the delay.

>>30557178
Repeat, but instead of loading the pistol, feint and backstab him.

>>30557178
Keep on the defensive. Try to go for the door.

>>30557178

Do we know any spells?

>>30557178
Tackle him out the window

>>30557253

Seconding this before we do anything.

>>30557253
At the moment you don't know any proper combat spells nor do you have the proper type of focus for casting said spells.

>>30557275

Aah, oh well then.

>>30557229
>>30557223
Combination of these is my vote. Make him think we're trying to set up our pistol to flee, then seize the advantage.

>>30557254
>Not rolling to pin

What are you, a wimp?

>>30557344
>>30557223
>>30557229
I guess that creates enough of a majority that I don't need to call for a tiebreaker. Roll, 3d10.

Rolled 10, 9, 1 = 20

>>30557395

Rolled 7, 8, 5 = 20

>>30557395

Rolled 4, 2, 4 = 10

>>30557395

Check my crit 30

Rolled 3, 6, 8 = 17

>>30557415
>>30557420
Hah.

>>30557395
Shall we see if the third time is the charm?

>>30557431
>lowest roll
>is shit
nj bro

>>30557431
>>30557420
Pretty good.

>>30557415
You're about 20 points short, bud.

>>30557472
How am I supposed to get a 40 on 3d10?
Unfair DC's, dropped.

>>30557472

Heh, well it *would* be impressive for him to get a 40 with 3d10. If we manage to do that we should break the heavens with whatever we're doing.

>>30557505
Woops, wrong post link I guess.

You knew who I meant to link, smartass.

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>>30557470
>>30557472

Well that's just dandy

Rolled 8, 8, 2 = 18

>>30557524

lol I did

>>30557519
they'd already be broken

While you got him on the defensive now, he'll definitely be much more cautious with his attacks. You begin to move to the door slowly, not taking your eyes off of the vice-captain, reaching for your bag of lead balls to load another shot, carefully maintaining the grip on your dagger with all your fingers except your ring and index fingers. You look down at your fingers for just a moment, which gives the vice-captain an opening to exploit.

Or so he thinks, anyway. Dropping the lead ball, you spin the pistol about around the trigger guard to grip it by the barrel. You dash in and slash at him with your dagger, forcing him to block as you swing your pistol at his face. As the grip impacts his face he turns his head with the blow, minimizing the damage of the strike, but not before bloodying his nose. This in turn creates an opportunity for you to bolt for the door and you take it, calling out for your master as you run out into the hallway. On the other side you see a large group of guards heading your way, looks of terror on their face and behind them you can see your master giving chase.

What do you do?
>Mana:15/19

>>30557824
Load a ball and shoot them.

>>30557824
Get out of your master's way, that's a Slayer charging at us and I don't want to stand between her and RIP AND TEAR

>>30557824

An interesting predicament. If we let the Vice-Captain into the hall he might be able to rally the soldiers.

Let's load a ball+marrow charge and then intimidate the fleeing men with our glowing dagger. Dive in, if they don't lay down their arms.

Also, after they lay down their arms let our master kill them. Watch out for the captain the whole time, he might come through a wall.
You didn't really think /tg/ would play a whiteknight guy that extracts magic from bones, did you?

>>30557920
Not a whiteknight, but certainly at least someone with a moral backbone.

>>30557824
Shut the door on him, take a few steps away and open fire on the guards.

>>30557920
>>30557902
>>30557852
Roll, then. 3d10.

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844 KB GIF

>>30557960

Well I suppose they willingly turned their backs on their fellow guards and killed them all, so they're fair game.

Also, pic related.

JK, I love puns.

Rolled 7, 8, 2 = 17

>>30558002

Rolled 10, 8, 3 = 21

>>30558002

Here you go.

Rolled 7, 8, 2 = 17

>>30558002

>>30558067
>>30558045
>>30558033
Alright then. Writing.

Thinking quickly, you load your pistol with a lead ball and a marrow pellet. You raise your dagger in an attempt to intimidate the guards. They're having none of that though, and charge at you with weapons raised, although it's less of them raising the weapons against you and more of them clutching them against their chest as they flee. Unable to stop the charging group, you duck down and cut clean though the legs of two of the men, causing them to fall to the ground on bloody stumps and the rest of the men to give you a wide berth. After all of them have passed you by you raise your pistol towards the group and fire, the lead ball rocketing through the air with an eerie red glow. The ball tears through the first guard in its path viciously, the second guard in the line of fire taking a much smaller impact from a combination of loss of energy from going through the first guard as well as heavy deformation of the projectile, although it's still enough to bring him down.

“What do you think you're doing?” The words echo down the hall, the vice-captain clearly enraged by this point as he holds his bloodied nose with his free hand, the wound to his side bound by some cloth he found in the other room. The men stop, torn between the terror of fleeing from you and your master and the terror of their vice-captain. Looking nervously at each other, the lesser guards come to an unspoken consensus and turn back towards you and your master, weapons raised, although their morale is still visibly shattered.

What do you do?

>>30558447
Let our master rip their spines out.

>>30558447

"Lay down your arms and you can run and your spines will remain inside your bodies."

>>30558447
Shoot him while he's talking.

>>30558520
this

Rolled 9, 1, 10 = 20

>>30558447
Rip the spine from one of the fallen to dissolve their remaining morale

>>30558570
>>30558520

Seconding.

>>30558570
>>30558540
>>30558520
Rolling these together I guess, roll for it.

Also:

>mana:13/19

>>30558644
Actually, that should be 12/19, I forgot the pistol takes 2 per shot for some reason.

Rolled 10, 9, 6 = 25

>>30558644

Rolled 2, 6, 4 = 12

>>30558644

Here you go.

>>30558679
Nice.

Rolled 10, 7, 10 = 27

>>30558644

>>30558707
>>30558679
Freakin' A.

>>30558734

Heh, looks like our intimidation sure worked this time.

Rolled 5, 9, 10 = 24

>>30558753
barely scrape by in combat
overwhelming success in intimidation

dice gods why

>>30558776

Yeah, I feel like the only reason we lived through that combat was because of clever plans and GM fiat.

If you want to toughen up on us, feel free. I don't think we took a single scratch facing that guy despite us being non combat oriented and him being the vice-captain of the guard armed with an uber-sword

>>30558827
Yeah GM, don't be afraid to HURT US MORE

Looking down you see one of the men whose legs you have cut off attempting to crawl away very feebly at this point from the amount of blood that he's lost. Kneeling down on his back, you stare the terrified guards in the eyes as you finish off the guard on the ground with a flick your dagger, taking his head clean off his shoulders. Setting down your pistol, still staring down the guards, you touch the exposed spine with your free hand and cast disjunction. The corpse spasms violently as the spine frees itself from its fleshy packaging. Standing up, pistol back in hand, you speak.

“If you don't want the same thing to happen to you that just happened to this man, run. Run far, run fast, and don't stop.”

What little willpower was keeping the men ready to fight is destroyed by this display, causing them to break formation and escape past their vice-captain, although he remains in place. You can see that the man is a bit discouraged by the display, but it doesn't stop him from staying his ground. Between his wounds and your intimidation, the light of determination in his eyes has faded somewhat.

What do you do?
>Mana: 11/19

>>30559063
Make way for your master to handle him.

>>30559063
Tell master about his artifact and then tag-team the guy

>>30559113
>>30559104

Seconding. Try and coordinate a pistol shot with the master's initial attack so that she might get a lucky blow in.

>>30559113
second this.

>>30559104
>>30559113
>>30559138
>>30559142
Since everyone's unanimous I'll call it now. Roll.

Rolled 1, 6, 9 = 16

>>30559197

Rolled 6, 2, 3 = 11

>>30559197

Rolled 9, 9, 9 = 27

>>30559197

>>30559245
Well okay then.

>>30559245

Damn.

>>30559245
> 9 9 9

Man, it's gonna be a sad day when you guys start to roll shitty.
>>30559241
>>30559217
Writing.

>>30559245

Might consider adding nifty bonus effects for straight-number rolls like this. Maybe acquire a minor special ability relating to whatever action we were taking, whatever. Or maybe just add some sort of bonus to that action.

By the way, still writing, almost done.

>>30559710

S'all good, we're used to it. Also your speed this thread has been generally greatly increased. Good job.

>>30559710
its all good, but i have to sleep cya, QM.

I'll make attempts to keep this thread bumped up through the night/day so you can use it tomorrow, OP.

“Be careful about that sword of his, I'm not sure what sort of module it has,” you say to your master.

“I'll be fine.” She charges in, intent on pummeling the man into paste. The vice-captain braces himself and raises his sword. For a brief second you can see that light of determination in his eyes flare back up as he begins to parry and counter your master's fist, the sound of steel and hardened bone clashing echoes up and down the hall. Although he's both skilled and strong, after a few minutes of taking Impact charged hits from master's fist, his arms start to slow as the stamina drains out from him. Finally, your master manages to slip a blow past his guard and sends him flying into the wall. Coughing blood, he steadies himself and reaches into a pouch at his side and pulls out an odd looking white object, something resembling a twisted mass of bones ending in a single sharp point. Straightening up, he begins to speak.

[part 1/2]

>>30559900
“It shames me as a warrior to resort to this sort of thing, but if there's even a chance at victory then I must do anything I can to seize it.” Tilting his neck downward, he raises the object above his head and jams it into the base of his neck, point first. His body goes rigid before violently spasming and then going limp as he falls back against the wall. Your master begins to approach him slowly before he straightens up. He shudders and jerks, the sounds of bones creaking emanating from his body. Spikes of bone begin to pierce through his skin as his breathing goes ragged. He snaps his head towards your master, his eyes closer to an enraged beast than to a veteran warrior. With surprising speed and strength, he darts towards your master, blade raised and glowing a bright green. Although he's stronger and faster now, his movements have become so straightforward that your master has no trouble reading them and counters his charge with a heavy uppercut, lifting his body off the ground before she follows it up with a straight, resulting in a crunch of bones as the man's skull shatters inwards. He falls to the ground, twitching and bleeding. Your master gives his skull a few good heavy stomps, stopping the twitching and finishing off the poor man.

“So, let's see what this thing is, I get the feeling it's not exactly the sort of thing that should be out here,” your master says bending down and gripping onto the twisted bone object that the vice-captain stuck himself with, which has now fused to his spinal column. She gives it a tug and a twist, breaking it off from the body, the bones of which turn to dust as soon as they are separated from the object. Your master examines it briefly before hurriedly stashing it away in her pack.

“Well, Volk, this has certainly taken a turn for the worse,” your master says, her expression hard to read.

[2/2]

As it's getting late, I'm going to end for the night, although I'm aiming to run tomorrow afternoon (technically today, in around 12 hours). As always, I'll do Q and A.

>>30559921

Hmm. Glad we stayed to stop this stuff.

>>30559943
What are your fail/success threshholds? Feels a bit too easy

And do we have to take our master's mana into consideration or will it always be "enough"

>>30559943
always love these threads, thanks Saucy

>>30559970
Mana isn't as much of an issue for her due to how developed her Slayer is. At her level she's capable of replenishing by absorbing it from other (dead) things. As for DC, you guys were rolling just well enough to avoid taking damage, although in future threads I'll probably bump up the DC so that isn't the case, unless you roll really well.

>>30559986
Thanks for participating!

Also, at some point I'm going to write up a list of what actually does what so things are clear for you guys, I'll try to have it ready tomorrow or at least for the thread following that.

>>30560077

So how do we go about learning offensive (or defensive) spells, will those requires foci (I guess our master's are in her arm?), and how long does it take to learn spells?

>>30560133

Do we know how to create sustained spell foci like the rabbit-spine charm our master gave us? Given time to study our dagger's overcharge ability will we be able to craft artifacts that can do that too? Did the Vice-Captain's sword survive the fighting? What determines an artifact's durability against things like overcharging and marrow charges?

>>30560133
Certain spells require certain kind of foci, although spines are good as an all-rounder foci as they can be used with the widest variety of spells. Limbs are used as the basis for offensive spells, and the jawbone and ribs are used for defensive spells, while the rest of the skull is best for utility spells. As for actually learning spells, it doesn't take that long for some of the more basic spells, which you'll be able to start properly learning once you get back to your home/base/hub, which is also where you will be doing the majority of your equipment crafting as well.

>>30560226

Do we require special equipment to craft our artifacts? (Will we rid ourselves of that requirement once we're high enough level?)

>>30560077
Archive your quest!

>>30560224
Basic equipment isn't meant to withstand the kind of forces that overcharging/marrow pellets put out, but higher quality materials will be much more durable in regards to those forces. As it stands, every time you use overcharge from now on you will have to roll at the end of the encounter to determine if/how much damage it took. For marrow pellets, using them more than once per encounter will incur a roll to determine damage.

>>30560252
For most things you will require special equipment at your home in order to do crafting, although the equipment is already present. At higher levels you will be able to craft simple objects on the fly, such as being able to turn a spine into a simple sword.

>>30560252
>>30560288

Improving our 1v1 capabilities should be top of our to do list, the vice-captain beat our ass and he ain't even magic

>>30560334

So, magic has the ability to shape (dead) bone on its own, to an extent?

Also, I noticed we killed the guard before ripping his spine out but that our master had a disjunction cast on her and we've apparently had a mild one cast on us before. Does someone have to be dead for it to work?

>>30560377

Indeed. Offensive artifacts ought to be our first priority.

Fortunately, it looks like we have a sword on our hands.

>>30560380
Mild disjunction is probably just a dislocated shoulder. As bone mages this shouldnt be a big deal.

>>30560380
I'm glad you're asking about disjunction, since I've been meaning to clarify what that is. Disjunction is a utility spell that was created to separate bones from flesh quickly and easily, however using it on living things causes them immense pain as the bones try to free themselves of the flesh around them but cannot. In most cases, Disjunction cannot be used to actually kill or even permanently harm someone, which makes it a very handy torture/disabling spell in certain circles.

>>30560429

Are there any other common offensive/utility spells we would have a general knowledge of, as a bone mage apprentice?

Also, to our master: "Oh, it didn't get bad when we encountered an ancient walking construct of bone that eats spines using a hand that emerges from its neck?"

>>30560461
Disjunction is pretty much it at the moment, most of your training has pretty much been trying to get the fundamentals down and learning your specialization.

The Spinedrinker is one thing, magic bone steroids are another.

>>30560520

Your whole system of magic and world is very interesting and seems to be well developed, OP. Bravo.

>>30560520

What about this "impact" spell (and whatever the other one was that our master said she paired with impact for a damn good combo) that our Master uses to such effect?

>>30560554
Thank you, I wanted to break away from standard magic systems in a different direction.

>>30560577
'Impact', on its own, is an offensive spell that generates a kinetic impact on a target. Used in a module with a melee weapon, it amplifies the force of any impacts that weapon makes while it is active.

'Echo', on the other hand, causes magical reverberations that bounce around inside a target to damage it continuously, and used in a module with a melee weapon basically means the target will feel phantoms of the original hit internally.

'Modules' are essentially a physical, pre-made spell that is activated by using resonance on it and pumping in some mana.

>>30560681

You've done quite well with that, it would've been a moderate (and good) departure had you just had power derived from bones, and your resonance system.

However, all the avenues for application which you're bringing it down and the methods of its use are also very original.

So keep up the good work.

Bump.