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>>36939238
Current Date and Time: Mid-morning on December 11th, 1953PC

Current FR Points: 1

>You play as Tarfinn in this thread. His character sheet can be found in the GDocs folder linked in the OP and will be posted after this post.

Somehow, wandering around the markets of Sarvsk wasn’t as fun as you’d expected. As the largest market town in Anadvsk it seemed strange that the atmosphere was so oppressive. There were far too many knights and soldiers in the market, especially combined with the muscly types opposite you.

“I’m not sure I know what you’re looking for,” the merchant tells you.

“You need to make yourself clearer to the boss, little man. He don’t ‘ppreciate time-wastin’,” the merchant’s friend says, leaning over you and making you avert your eyes from the sight of his overly hairy chest.

You’d figured that information would be easy to find in a busy place like this. Mana had agreed, saying that the best intel in the province could be found by Chester Imman, the merchant sitting on a small stool opposite you.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t want to step outside? It’s a nice day and the leather walls are trapping all the heat,” you ask Chester, somewhat worried for his health.

“The darkness matches the heart of our business deal. We don’t need to know the details of each other, particularly what they look like,” Chester replies, his voice a smooth drawl.

Blinking, you think on that. You turn your head to look at Chester’s friend and immediately regret it, turning your face back to the merchant opposite you. Mana had said he was the most connected man in the province and the most likely to know which section of Anadvsk housed the magical forest that Sylph resided in. The fact that she had wandered off with Adele and Kuro to look elsewhere had made it clear that you couldn’t screw it up, however. They trusted you with this mission while they investigated a front for another information dealer.

>cont

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>>36939246
After all, why else would they have wandered into the section of the market focused on clothes?

“Well, I can actually see you quite clearly,” you say.

“It’s pitch-black in here, boy. Don’t be silly,” he replies, getting a tad annoyed.

“I can see in the dark. You have brown hair, green eyes and quite a lot of freckles on your nose.”

There’s a long pause. Muscles turns to Chester with an odd look.

Cursing, Chester says, “Open the blasted rolls. Heaven knows the place is crawling with soldiers as is. How is it my business if they spot him?”

You wait patiently for Muscles to roll up the leather, Chester glaring at you all the while. Once they’re open, the place will be a little more comfortable. You didn’t mind heat too much, but really, why go out of your way to make it hotter?

Unfortunately, the information dealer doesn’t resume dealings once light, and fresh air, floods the stall. Instead he and his partner stare at you with very strange intent. Muscles has a damned strange look on him, which you catch as you turn to look at the soldiers lurking behind him. There’s three of them lurking near a fruit seller, one of whom is dressed more sedately than the others, without his armour and only a small emblem of the Mage Guard on his shirt.

“Say, boy, what’s your name?” Chester asks you quietly.

You’re about to chirp out the answer when you suddenly remember Talon’s advice, given to you in between the enormous security mess he’s been trying to deal with. ‘Don’t give out your identity freely’, he’d said. You weren’t sure how useful that advice was when you were walking around with pointy ears – the illusion on them would have simply attracted Guard attention – but you figured it couldn’t hurt to obey it. You…

>1. Tell Chester your real name, Tarfinn.
>2. Tell Chester your cover name, Finn Tarnn
>3. Make something up on the spot.
>4. Custom

>>36939269
>2. Tell Chester your cover name, Finn Tarnn

Finn is a good boy!

>>36939269
>4. Custom
I'll give you my name if you give me something in return.

>>36939269
>2. Tell Chester your cover name, Finn Tarnn

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>>36939269
As promised, Finn's char sheet is below. His party will be the three Griffin knights (Darren, Morn and Perry), a Ranger (Rick), two foxes (Mana and Kuro), a mage (Adele) and a vampire (Felix). If you still feel like talking about last thread or asking me general quest questions, I'd appreciate if you wait until after this one - I won't respond to anything on the topics until then.

Name: Tarfinn (alias Finn Tarnn)
Class: Ranger
Title: Squire
Magic Type: (Imbued) Sorcerous
Equipment: Scimitar, Armour of Basette (copy), longbow

STATS

Strength [3]
Endurance [5]
Speed [3]
Perception [3]
Magic [5]
Resistance [5]
Charisma [2]

SKILLS

Leadership O - the ability to effectively command and inspire a small party.
Weaponry II – great proficiency in a large variety of weapons.
Archery II – great proficiency at archery using all types of bows and crossbows
Martial Arts I – proficiency in a variety of martial arts and in combining them.
Imbued Sorcery II – ability utilise the sorcerous tattoos imbued into your body. This enables you to increase or decrease the effects of otherwise passive abilities as well as mitigate negative effects if you overuse them.

>continued

>>36939269
>3. Make something up on the spot.

Fish Tar?

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>>36939443


ABILITIES

(PASSIVE) Empower Self II – you use sorcery to increase your physical attributes by two points for two hours. Due to the nature of your power, this ability will automatically reactivate itself when it expires.
Improvised Transmutation I – you may manipulate the magic within your tattoos so as to cast simple combat transmutation. Simple illusions, temporary enchantments and elemental (e.g. fire) additions to objects are possible. Actual creation of matter or non-trivial modifications are beyond your ability.
(PASSIVE) Wondrous Body III – you give yourself the ability to regenerate grievous physical wounds at a very rapid rate by connecting your body directly to your sorcerous power flow. Non-fatal injuries can be healed in a matter of seconds and near-fatal injuries in minutes. Magical injuries can be healed at a slower pace and consume more energy, but extreme magical injuries cannot be healed. The initial connection drains stamina and all healing drains sorcerous power – the ability will last for six hours without initiating a new connection. Due to the nature of your power, this ability will automatically reactivate itself when it expires.
Express Power I – you may reduce your Endurance by one point for 24 hours in exchange for completely refilling your magical reservoir (MP). You may also exchange your physical healthiness (HP) for more magical power (MP) at any time so long as you do not endanger your own life in doing so.

>>36939443
>Perception [3]
You'd think it'd be higher given all the shit he's noticed.

>>36939269
3

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Going with 2.

>>36939490
Finn's magical perception is innate rather than anything else - it's representative of his talent in understanding magical flows. It's probably should be a special ability as it puts his magical detection abilities a league beyond almost everybody else (like the fact he saw through both Kyria and Lynn, whereas Talon didn't even get a hint and Karise's foxes completely missed Kyria).

>>36939269
>2
Because Finn should always do as Talon tells him to. That can't possibly go wrong.

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>2.

“Finn Tarnn,” you chirp.

Chester nods slowly. “The Imperator’s right-hand?”

You blink. “Oh, you know me? I wasn’t sure that was the official one. Wait, I’m Sir Talon’s right-hand?”

There’s a very long pause. There’s been a lot of those in this meeting. Clearly Chester knows where to look, or he wouldn’t spend so much time thinking on what you’d asked him. You’re about to repeat your question from earlier, sure that a small reminder might get his thoughts back in order, when Chester turns to look at the non-uniformed soldier to your left. Getting nothing but a shrug, Chester turns back to you with a sigh.

“It doesn’t particularly matter,” he says, his tone more guarded than earlier. “Now, what exactly were you looking for?”

“There’s a magical forest, or magical patch of forest, somewhere in the province. I think you know where it is,” you say, letting your voice drop an octave with the last sentence. You’d been trying to practice intimidation lately – sadly, all you attempts so far had simply been labelled cute but maybe that was just the effect on women. Talon seemed to have that effect on them, too.

“I do. For a price,” Chester says, glancing at the soldiers to your left again before naming a figure.

“I have enough money,” you say, reaching for your purse. Sarah had given you plenty of money, and Annette had topped it off when you’d visited her in Farun on the way north. You had almost ten times the amount Chester had named. You’d have to be careful – if everything cost this much you’d be broke shortly.

>continued

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>>36939923
Counting out the five coins necessary to pay Chester, and putting those that fell out during the process back in your purse, you pay Muscles as directed. He’d positioned himself in an odd way so that you couldn’t see the soldiers that Chester kept looking at. A shame he nearly dropped the money when you gave it to him. He should have been looking at the coins you were giving him, not your purse.

“Don’t be an idiot,” Chester mutters at his partner, rebuking him for nearly dropping the coins.

Looking a little annoyed, Muscles pockets the coins, muttering something about life being unfair.

“So?” you ask.

“You’ll know where to find it,” Chester says, standing up and holding his hand out.

You take his hand in a handshake, deftly accepting the small scroll of paper he flicks from within his sleeve as you do so. You’re guessing there’ll be a drop – you and Esra had done this a lot back in Terrnaine. Giving Chester a broad smile you look around.

“So, do I just go out the way I came?” you ask.

“Do whatever you like, it doesn’t matter to me,” he grumbles, wandering off in the direction opposite the soldiers. Muscles hefted a large wooden chest from behind where he was sitting and followed. Weird – why was he closing his stall before midday?

You…

>1. Talk to the soldiers who have clearly been waiting for you.
>2. Check out where the drop is for your information.
>3. Go check up on the girls.
>4. Go check up on Felix and the knights.
>5. Custom

>>36939952
1

Well then looks like Finn has made s name for himself.

>>36939952
Damn, Finn.

Better talk to those guys who have been waiting patiently for you.

>>36939952
>1. Talk to the soldiers who have clearly been waiting for you.

>>36939443
>If you still feel like talking about last thread or asking me general quest questions, I'd appreciate if you wait until after this one - I won't respond to anything on the topics until then.
by "after this one" you mean after this thread?

>>36939952
>3. Go check up on the girls.

>>36939443
>Ranger (Rick)

I too enjoyed that magazine as a kid.

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>>36940187
Yes. I'm trying to get my writing pace back up after it's been so terrible the last two threads.

>1.

You had the information you wanted but it seemed impolite to ignore the Mage Guard soldiers that had patiently waited for you. Plus, you weren’t stupid enough to go to the drop with them on your tail and it was easier to just talk with them instead of trying to lose them, then having to find them again when you wanted to talk. That would have just been annoying and a huge waste of time.

You wave to the soldiers, getting their attention immediately, but before you can get too close you hear a shout from behind you. Turning around, you spot two guards wearing the plate of the local guard instead of the Mage Guard itself. They’re both scowling from behind their helmets, one pointing at you with a plate gauntlet as he advances on you rapidly.

“What do you think you’re doing here?” he says as he approaches, his partner flanking him. “Your kind has no business here, just with me and my pals.”

The non-uniformed Guard soldier clatters his hand against the armour of one of his companions, stopping him from advancing from the other side and meeting the town guards. Your attention wavers from the soldiers you’re actually interested in to the hostile guards behind you. A frown furrows your face as you consider your alternatives – you don’t want to cause trouble with the locals but all of your training tells you not to let hostiles touch you. The decision is made when the first guard attempts to clap his gauntlet down on your shoulder.

>continued

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>>36940648
“I’d appreciate if you didn’t touch me,” you say to the guard, frowning at him after catching his wrist before he can touch you.

There’s an audible creak as the gauntlet begins to warp under your grip. You continue to stare at the guard as he stares at his gauntlet. The next creak is accompanied by a wince as his attempt to free his hand instead catches his hand within the buckling gauntlet.

“I’d say that’s enough,” a man says, the non-uniformed soldier it seems. “Sir Finn, I’d appreciate it if you’d release him.”

You turn to face the man, still frowning. He’s calm, but the other two soldiers have their hands on the axes at their waists. You certainly don’t want to cause infighting amongst the Guard and release the man’s gauntlet. He springs backwards, cursing and shaking his gauntlet. The other guard looks between his friend and the soldier who spoke earlier.

With a dismissive wave to the guard, the non-uniformed soldier speaks to you, “You’re Sir Finn of the York Empire? I’m Inquisitor Nant of the Mage Guard. I was hoping to speak with you in private, if you’d give me a moment of your time.”

His voice is rather relaxed, in contrast to the soldiers near him and the guards, who are rapidly retreating. You figure it can’t be too dangerous to go along with him and cooperating with the locals might be for the better. On the other hand, Mana will get upset if you don’t meet up with her shortly – she’s been antsy for the whole trip, probably because of all the drama back at Harrowmont lately. You’d rather get this over quickly.

>1. Agree to talk with Nant in private, so long as it’s a short trip.
>2. Agree to talk with Nant here or very close by. You don’t want to waste any extra time.
>3. Apologise to Nant but tell him you need to meet somebody else shortly.
>4. Custom

>>36940672
>1. Agree to talk with Nant in private, so long as it’s a short trip.

Seems kind of important.

>>36940672
this is going to be a hilarious diplomatic incident

>>36940672
>3. Apologise to Nant but tell him you need to meet somebody else shortly.

Finn has priority's to attend to. Besides, Talon is managing the inquisition and they are not the kind of people who look upon those different kindly.

>>36940672
>>1. Agree to talk with Nant in private, so long as it’s a short trip.

>>36940672
>3.

>>36940672
>1. Agree to talk with Nant in private, so long as it’s a short trip.

>>36940672
>1. Agree to talk with Nant in private, so long as it’s a short trip.

>>36940672
>You’re Sir Finn

Oh wow. Everyone knows tarfinn as just Sir Finn now.

>>36940672
>1

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>>36940909
Important people do. He's attracted attention with the tournament and wartime actions.

>1.

The trip to Nant’s building is quick, the inquisitor moving swiftly through backstreets and underpasses to avoid the market day crowds and carts. He appears relaxed even as he moves hurriedly but the two soldiers accompanying him are on edge, keeping a constant lookout. You don’t worry too much, instead focusing on taking in what sights you can and trying to place yourself within your memory of the city map at all times. As you step into a nondescript second-floor office, you place yourself as on the opposite side of the headquarters of the city guard and the mayor. The weapon stalls that Felix visited with the knights should be nearby.

“Two days ago I received word, anonymously, that a party from the York Empire would be passing through here on a long trip to Balkarin. I take it that’s you?” Nant says after sitting down behind the only desk in the largely empty office.

Glancing at the soldiers as they monitor the windows and entrances, you answer, “I guess so. How do you know we are heading to Balkarin?”

“My intel tells me that our spies caught your party moving through Baccia. How my anonymous source knows you were heading to Balkarin is beyond me, but I suspect that’s a case of somebody higher in the food chain knowing more than I do,” Nant answers, pouring four glasses of cider while he talks.

>continued

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>>36941260
You accept the glass, noting that it’s alcoholic but rather weak. “And? Is there something I’m supposed to do to help you? Or is this just a check-up?”

“If you’re heading to Balkarin I’ve been told to give you more specific directions,” Nant says. “I’m not giving them to you here, for reasons I suspect will become quite clear. I have an agent confirming Alan’s drop and adding the information there, so when you collect whatever you want you’ll also find a canister containing a scroll with the information.”

“Alan?” you ask, not recognising the name.

“Chester. It’s his real name. I deal quite closely with him,” Nant says with a wry smile. “In any case, I’d hoped this woiuldn’t take so long but it seems we were expected. If you go out the front you should be able to get clear.”

You blink, then realise what he’s talking about. There’s several mages converging on the building, accompanied by quite a few mage-knights if the weak magic is any clue. Nant is moving to the rear exit alongside his soldiers, gesturing to you to go to the front. Somebody is raiding the Inquisition facility in Mage Guard territory – you don’t know if you should get involved. You…

>1. Help Nant and his soldiers get away through the rear entrance.
>2. Do as Nant requested and escape through the front entrance.
>3. Defeat the soldiers at the front entrance, relying on Nant to fend off those at the rear.
>4. Custom

>>36941283
>2. Do as Nant requested and escape through the front entrance.

Keep a, relatively, low profile.

>>36941283
>2. Do as Nant requested and escape through the front entrance.

Getting involved in this shit flinging will end badly for us.

>>36941283
With whom in the mage guard is this facility aligned?
Our right hand man helping out against raids might be advantageous if these area actually people we like.

>>36941283
>2. Do as Nant requested and escape through the front entrance.

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>>36941389
You don't have a clue. Whoever it is aligned with knows that you're interested in PoPs however. Even Finn can work that out.

>>36941283
>3. Show some fucking support for Sylvian's faction.

>>36941283
>2. Do as Nant requested and escape through the front entrance.
Getting out of there seems like the better if things are murky.

>>36941283
>4. Custom
Ask nant if he needs help here.

>>36941422
Crap, that could be anyone. Well, more likely Syl or Irlin, but we don't know whether external forces have compromised the Mage Guard or not.

>>36941461
We don't actually know it's hers?
All we know is that these are well informed, but the Wardens have very much shown that they are capable at politics and subtlety.

Hell, given that the attackers have at least one mage and the Wardens can't stand those, I'd suspect it's either a third party or a group of Sylvian's faction.

>>36941422
Thanks for trying with the vote op.

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>>36941464
"Do you want some help?" you ask Nant.

The inquisitor turns to you, his sword humming lightly with magic as he draws a black steel dagger. "Right now? Not particularly. In the long run I won't hold the town without clearly out these thugs."

>>36941508
The Wardens use plenty of mages. They mostly just oppose mages holding power.

>>36941539
It does seem like a raiding group made up of a few mages and a bunch of normal mage-knights, which doesn't really fit my image of their organization.
I'd think there'd be at least a few higher ranked non-mages to keep the mages in line.

>>36941283
>3
can we have our squire be diplomatically useful for once

>>36941283
>3

>>36941539
Contact your squadmates/party members and have them find out what affiliation the thugs belong to. Hopefully We might find an emblem that we can recognize

I think the guy can probably handle himself pretty well right now.

>>36941539
We offered, he said not to help. listen to the guy
>>36941283
>2. Do as Nant requested and escape through the front entrance.

everyone assuming nant works for sylvian's faction, when we pretended to be friends with the other fation too and we know they have excellent spies

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>2.

“Thank you for the help, inquisitor,” you call out to Nant as you move to the front entrance.

With his back turned to you, Nant simply raises his hand with the dagger in a brief farewell. Then you open the front door, one of Nant’s soldiers swing the back one open at the same time, and the escape is on. There’s a spiral staircase leading down to the street but you simply leap off the second storey and land in a roll on the ground. The street isn’t too crowded but there isn’t a clear path in or out without pushing through groups of people or jumping a cart. You catch four mage-knights rushing up the street from where the market is and can feel a mage and a few more on the side, caught on the wrong side of a cart full of ale.

Drawing your scimitar, you run towards the four mage-knights coming uphill. The closest place to go is where Felix and the other knights are – if you’re followed they’ll be able to help you out. You try to make out any distinguishing features on the mage-knights but they seem to have actively scrubbed any identification clean. Even the model of armour is foreign to the territory, being one that is produced in Ahm for commercial sale rather than the military model of the north. You’ll just have to hope they’re not anybody Talon cares about.

>continued

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>>36942019
There’s a surge of magic from the other side of the building and you worry about its magnitude – that was at least a match for anything Adele could cast. A massive explosion causes the streets to rumble, as stonework is torn asunder by the power of the spell cast. You feel magic answering it, though you don’t know from which side. More magic flares on your side of the building and a magical fireball is launched at the inquisition building from the mage you’re running in the opposite direction of. It explodes against a barrier outside the building but the flames lick at their surroundings, burning bystanders. The street is immediately filled with screams and shouts as the civilians begin to flee from the battle.

Several magical bolts ripple towards you, fired by the mage-knights in front of you. They’ve suddenly stopped, pointing their polearms and swords towards you. With a cart on your right and fleeing civilians everywhere it seems the fastest way is through. It’s not like a few knights would be much trouble, though losing the ones behind you, particularly the mage, might be hard.

[DC12 Running Battle]

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>36942043

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>36942043

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>36942056
>>36942069
....
Well. damn.

>>36942043

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>36942043
I can salvage this.

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>36942043

>>36942043
dice+1d20

>>36942056
>>36942069
>>36942095

Only a normal fail! Starting the day off right.

>>36942096
this is gonna suck.

>>36942056
So are we getting captured or killing half the street?

>>36942137
Killing half the street. And burning some extra FinnLife.

>>36942137
>Finn gets confused and kills all of Sylvian's agents.

>>36942124
Funny enough this is oddly normal for Finn threads.


Talon threads tend to be middle of the road until we fail epically or succeed amazingly. Finn tends to fail badly at first then molest everything later on.

We get a Finn point like last Finn thread?

>>36942359
We should. I wouldn't use it though.

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>>36942359
Yes.

The Finn Point either lets you get a Nat 20 on a single roll or invalidate one post of rolls. Finn Points regenerate every time you play as him.

>>36942394
Hey, how hard is it to use disruption magic on Finn's tattoos?

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>>36942436
Pretty much only possible on his transmutation.

>Target not met

You effortlessly deflect the magical bolts that get close to you, not breaking pace in your reckless charge. You twist the magic within you and direct it into your sword and it glow red-hot in response, filled with more than enough magic to slice through the magical plate of the foe. Then you’re on the enemy, their weapons and shields raised in an attempt to stall you.

You crash into the centre two, you sword flicking in an upwards cutting motion as you do so. You lose your balance upon hitting the shields but your sword still scythes through the other one. His scream echoes in your ears as you fall into a roll and spring to your feet, noting that he’s down on the ground with his sword and arm useless beside him. Another mage-knights urges towards you with his spear, his face filled with fury. You slice the head off the spear and dart in, your free arm twisting around his outstretched arms and the spear, and you snap all three in a single strong motion.

Unfortunately, doing so overstretches yourself and you find yourself off balance as the remaining upright mage-knight hacks down at you. Holding the scream in as you nearly lose your left arm to the vicious blow that impacts your forearm, you decide that discretion is the better part of valour and retreat. Your sword flicks out as you do so, ensuring that you won’t be struck by any stray magical bolts by severing the remaining mage-knights wrist. The screams of your attackers and civilians filling the street behind you, you charge towards the markets.

>continued

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>>36942541
The magic healing your arm isn’t the only thing in the street, however. The floor that the inquisition building was on suddenly explodes outwards, metal shards peppering the street below. You glance back to see fire and blood filling the small causeway, with a single mage in the centre of it with a barrier around himself. He turns down the street, his eyes meeting yours, before you focus purely on running fast. You have a bad feeling that he’s going to be after you.

The streets quieten down rather quickly as you outrun the civilians fleeing in panic and you swiftly find yourself surrounded by stalls offering metalcrafts and weapons. Felix is rather easy to find now he's a vampire. He gives you a lazy glance as you walk up, eyes flicking over the blood on your clothes.

“You seem like you’ve seen some excitement?” he says, grinning lazily. “Did you deal with all of it or is following you?”

“Erm, I think it’s following me,” you say, frowning. Felix always bothered you a bit, more so now that he was a vampire.

“Well then, shall we finish them off, fearless leader? Or just gather ourselves? That might make it difficult to gather information, however,” he says.

“We only need to go to one place,” you say.

That mage is coming for you, sooner or later. You don’t have to ability to hide yourself if he knows how to track you – you’re a little too obvious as an elf. Even if he can’t find you magically, it won’t be hard to find you just by asking around for the only elf in town and using an illusion would make it easier for him to spot you. Still, all you really need to do is get to the drop in an hour or two. You…

>1. Take the fight to the mage.
>2. Tell Felix to gather everybody while you lay low and try to avoid the mage until you can collect the drops.
>3. Stick with everybody until you can collect the drops.
>4. Custom

I'm going to duck off and grab some lunch. Discuss some other things if you like - I'll be 30min.

>>36942579
>1.

>>36942579
We know our objective is related to Sylph's PoP, Are we going there to secure it for Talon and Summon Sylph? If so, then we need to get rid of the Mage so that those who try to follow/scry us won't know of our objective.

>>36942579
>1. Take the fight to the mage.

>>36942579
>1. Take the fight to the mage.

regarding the conman asshole in the previous thread, who wants to frame him for attempted assassination of someone, then use that as an excuse to execute him and revoke the trade concessions? I was thinking an attempt on Sarah in a secret meeting unfortunately for the assassins, she's meeting Slyvian to discuss some trade issues

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>>36942684
You know, it just occured to me that I never resolved Larrya, who would need to be bound right now. You've basically got three choices:

>1. Adele Gendarme. Supports Larrya at level 2 out of 3. Close to Talon.
>2. Archmagister Holland. Supportive but still at arms length. Level 3/3.
>3. Sarah. Very loyal. Would be good for city building and would get her outside of Vitria, but would also requrie her to focus on her magical talents. Level 1/3.
>4. Some random magister.

This will be important, as if you choose Adele that probably means Larrya is along this mission. I'm writing the 1 option now for combat.

>>36942579
>>1. Take the fight to the mage.

>>36943272
>1. Adele Gendarme. Supports Larrya at level 2 out of 3. Close to Talon.

>>36943272
>1

>>36943272
>1

>>36943272
>1. Adele Gendarme. Supports Larrya at level 2 out of 3. Close to Talon.
I'm fine with Sarah focusing on her magical talents more though. We've restructured the government a few times to reduce her workload.

>>36943272
Lets give Sarah a shot. Bind Sylph to Sarah

>>36943413
>Bind the second most powerful elemental around to a girl that can only support a pure elemental at level 1.
I don't even have words for this bullshit.
I mean, sure the PoP is going to do a lot of the work, but odds are it'd insult Sylph something fierce.

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>>36943413
Sarah can't support Sylph, unless you want her to bind the PoP but even then it would leave Sylph weaker than if she was bound to Mal. She just doesn't have the raw power or talent yet to control either Sylph or the PoP - maybe when she's got a few decades of magical training under her belt.

>>36943272
1. Adele Gendarme. Supports Larrya at level 2 out of 3. Close to Talon.

>>36943413
sarah is simply too weak for sylph at the moment. we are getting sylph as mal's second familiar.

>>36943512
good point.
So instead of what I meant by binding Sylph to Sarah, What I actually wanted was to bind the PoP to Sarah. She's been with us since we began the quest, we should give her a reward of sorts.

>>36943588
>The GM directly tells you even binding the PoP to her is s shit idea.
>Let's bind the PoP to her! Making her Arch-Duchess was no reward after all.

>>36943588
She gets one every night anon. Along with Undine.

>>36943588

Anon I think you kind of missed the point

>>36943588
I think she should get a pattern familiar when Mal completes his research (this is different then a demipattern). Those can actually equal pure elementals, at least in theory. Probably in fact too, because Kushan.

>>36943650
I stand corrected.

Changing vote to 1

>>36943665
No wonder she was in such a mood when Talon finally got home.

>>36943650
Then why is she an option?

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>>36943675
Definitely in fact. There's one faux-pattern familiar you'll encounter eventually who is almost Gnome's equal in combat.

>>36943687
>>36943750
Well, this vote is about Larrya, the earth elemental from Shropham, not Sylph.

>>36943750

She's an option for Larrya.
Not Sylph.

>>36943765
Oh...
Now I get it. Sorry for the confusion

Hey Aspirational, will Mal's crystal research be far along enough for a trial run whenever he enchants Talon's shield? Or has that sort of been put on the back burner?

>>36943763
>faux-pattern familiar
Wait, faux-pattern familiar or pattern familiar. One has terrible energy efficiency, the other doesn't.

>>36943675
Actually why bother with making them a Familiar? I mean even 2-3 Level Gnome pure elemental copies would be enough mass produced to jack someone over. It would require the mother of all magic engines though.

>>36943844
because nobody could make that. Kushan probably didn't mass produce patterns of that level.

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>>36943834
Faux-pattern. They're much more powerful than regular patterns if they can be supported by a master (e.g. Corrfax).

>1.

“There’s a mage following me, we should take him out before he causes us any trouble,” you say.

Felix nods and the two of you quickly organise a two-pronged assault – Felix at the front, you with your bow. The other knights are a bit too far and neither of you can use sendings. You’re also wary of using Talon’s new sending devices to arrange this attack – somebody might catch it and send reinforcements. You want them to think you’re alone or in low numbers.

The crowd is thinning rapidly as the panic spreads and the guards are nowhere to be seen. Something fishy is going on – you have to wonder if the guards who harassed you earlier were allied with the thugs who attacked Inquisitor Nant. Still, the thinning of the crowds is for the better – less chance of collateral damage. You eye Felix as he stands in the middle of the intersection below, sword and shield out as he lazily stretches his body. There’s a constant thrum of power around him, as though every time he breathes the magical energy around him shudders. Aladria had a similar presence, but she held hers in check when she wasn’t actually using her magic – Felix didn’t have that same control it seems.

It’s not just one mage that approaches you, however. It’s three. You suspect they regrouped after the assault to chase after you, their real target. Five mage-knights and another knight accompany them. Something about the black, bulky armour of that other knight bothers you. It bears no insignia and you feel no presence from it. A shudder runs down your spine. You don’t like the look of that thing.

[DC12 Magical Senses]

>>36943889
dice+1d20

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>36943889

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>36943889

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>36943889

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>36943889

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>36943889

>>36943889

Oh fuck, shit is about to get real.

>>36943889
dice 1d20

>>36943878
It's already been stated that pure elementals are possible and level 2-3 Gnome is just top end normal pure elemental.

>>36943898
>>36943968

Guys for real?

"dice+1d20" in the options field, minus the quotations of course..

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>36943999
sorry. new to rolling. lets try this again. Did I do it correctly?

>>36943889
>Faux-pattern. They're much more powerful than regular patterns if they can be supported by a master (e.g. Corrfax).
Oh, I thought you mentioned somewhere that if you do manage to complete the pattern correctly, you can still shove a familiar soul inside and it will act much like a Faux pattern, but with energy requirements more in line with a traditional familiar.

>>36943889

I'm really enjoying Felix already, the new presence he exudes is pretty cool. Getting to see his new power set will be fun.

>>36944103
Where's his new character sheet?

I suck at navigating Docs on a phone

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>>36944103
I tried to pick an opponent that suits him. Mind you, anybody who puts together the hints gets a good look at a future foe.

>Target met

You were right not to trust it. You can’t sense the magic in it but you know there’s some magic there. A living being can’t have no presence like this, even if his armour has some faint enchantments. At a glance, you suspect most would simply assume he’s non-magical simply because of how well he hides it. You know instinctively that that’s wrong. You don’t know how much magical power is present in that knight, or even if he’s human, but he can’t truly hide it from you.

Unfortunately, you can’t hide from him. His helmet turns up to the rooftop you’re positioned on top of. Your sharp eyes pick out a mass of shadow where his face should be – the minor enchantment of his armour clearly shrouding it. He’s as big as Talon with his armour and you realise what bothers you about the armour specifically – it looks like armour from Basette, but black. The greataxe he wields in one hand and the enormous tower shield in the other mark him as the main foe. Maybe you should target him first? Then again, maybe Felix’s vampiric abilities will be better suited. Those mages should make easy target practice.

You shoot at…

>1. The mages. They’ll be a threat to you and distract Felix.
>2. The mage-knights. You can fell them almost effortlessly, letting Felix focus on the real foe.
>3. The strange black knight. You don’t know how capable you are at shooting him.
>4. Custom

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>>36944139
Name: Felix Tarn
Class: Vampire Knight
Title: Personal Guard
Magic Type: Vampiric Sorcery
Equipment: Sword and shield, plate armour

STATS

Strength [3]
Endurance [3]
Speed [3]
Perception [2]
Magic [4]
Resistance [4]
Charisma [3]

SKILLS

Leadership II – the ability to effectively command and inspire a small army.
Weaponry II – great proficiency in a large variety of weapons.
Sorcery (Vampiric) I – ability to use basic sorcery. Felix’s vampiric sorcery favours blood over shadow and he is still learning to control it when under pressure.

ABILITIES

Empower Self II – you use sorcery to increase your physical attributes by two points for one hour.
(PASSIVE) Power Drain I - wounds you inflict on your enemies sap their magic, feeding you power - the stronger the foe, the more power gained. This gain is only temporary but strengthens you considerably in fights against large numbers of foes or longer fights against powerful foes.
Vampiric Regeneration I - by expending power, you may heal any wound in a short period of time. Magical effects that counter regeneration and healing will prevent this and greivous mortal wounds (e.g. decapitation) cannot be regenerated.
(PASSIVE) Vampiric Body I - you are a vampire and so do not die easily. Your body and mind will continue to operate despite wounds that would instantly kill a human. If you are reasonably able to regenerate an otherwise mortal wound (e.g. a crushed chest) within a few minutes, then you are not considered to be dead and may continue to operate normally.
Consume I - by combining your shadow and blood powers, you may feed on a weakened magical person or being and sap their essence as they die. This takes a length of time proportionate to the target’s power. The more magical power consumed, the more power permanently gained. This is the only known way for you to become stronger, apart from very long stretches of time.

>>36944150
>1. The mages. They’ll be a threat to you and distract Felix.

>>36944150
>1. The mages. They’ll be a threat to you and distract Felix.

Let Felix ramp on the canon fodder MKs and take the action to the Black Knight.

>>36944150
Take out the squishy wizard-mages. Felix gets to handle mage-knights, if he's still in control of himself, then we go for big boy blackie. It's Felix's debut.

>>36943889
>You’re also wary of using Talon’s new sending devices
oh sweet, we finished those then?
inb4 smartphones

>>36944150
>1

We take out the backrow dps and Felix buffs himself up on the guys that area ctually going to fight him in cqc.
Seems reasonable.

>>36944150
>1. The mages. They’ll be a threat to you and distract Felix.
It was implied that the quest the knights of Basette went on was their doom, but we were never told that they died. Maybe they suffered a fate worse than death.

>>36944171
Thanks Assp

>>36944171
You know thinking on it we where pretty lucky that Aladria's sir had a very powerful Blood magic side. If he didn't then Felix wouldn't have had such a high empower self.

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>>36944150
Hmm

We should get a Greataxe. Axes are cool man.

>>36944301

Axes are the bane of Talon's existence. And Finn's sometimes.

>>36944273
true dat. he could be our team magic damage tank. Just look at Magic and Resistance!

>>36944150
>1. The mages. They’ll be a threat to you and distract Felix.

>>36944301
everyone wants a greataxe, what is wrong with a lesser axe?

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>>36944301

>>36944301
I still remember early threads when great axes was talons greatest bane and that one anon arguing that salamander was too big of a hassle to be worth summoning.

>>36944239
Looked it up on the war doc
>Shortly afterwards, the Knights of Basette went off on a ‘holy quest’ and vanished from history.
Yeah, Aspirational has been very careful to never say that the Knights of Basette died.

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>>36944413
Then Sala incinerated an entire company of Nightwalker HMKs and nobody ever shittalked her again.

>1.

Before the black knight can warn his allies you begin to fire on the mages. You clear your mind of other thoughts and notch an arrow, twisting the magic that fills your very blood vessels into the arrow. Two other arrows dangle from your fingers, ready to be fired at the other two mages. If you can pull this off then you can fell all three in one go. Lightning flickers out from the arrowheads, ready to do serious damage to the unsuspecting mages upon impact. You’d learnt from experience that people’s bodies tended to handle the magical lightning flowing through their body poorly, their hearts and other organs failing catastrophically.

As you prepare to loose, the mage-knights suddenly leap forwards, the speed enchantments in their armour letting them close the few dozen metres swiftly. Felix falls into a ready stance, swinging his sword back down from over his shoulder as he steps forward to support his strikes. The black knight appears ready to move in right afterwards, meaning that Felix must fell all the mage-knights now if he doesn’t want to get caught up in a battle with several opponents.

Your master could handle this himself, destroying the mages with a single explosive arrow before drawing his sword and cutting down all the knights in an instant. Surely you and Felix can handle them together.

[DC12/14/16 Finn Archery]

[DC11 Felix v MMK; DC16 Felix v BK; DC16 Felix v BK]

Note that every success Felix gets lowers subsequent DCs by one.

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>>36944345
I don't know about that guy Anon but there's something about wielding an axe that is either as big or bigger than me and using it to viciously hack through my foes that gives me special feels

>>36944485
Oh, and roll 4d20 each. Sorry.

Rolled 16, 13, 19, 12 = 60 (4d20)

>>36944485

Rolled 7, 12, 6, 20 = 45 (4d20)

>>36944485

Rolled 4, 20, 20, 12 = 56 (4d20)

>>36944485

Rolled 7, 16, 18, 9 = 50 (4d20)

>>36944485

>>36944301
G-Axes are for Big guys who are spec'd for Dealing heavy damage and have high endurance. But they're two-handed. Felix's weapon configuration is a Sword and Shield Configuration.

If we want to give Felix an axe, then either replace his sword for a hatchet of sorts or train him how to duel-wield axes, they could be viable since he has Weaponry II.

Felix looks to be the sort who can aggro an enemy head on, use his blood sorcery and high magic resistance to tank the damage, and utilize his vampire traits to sustain himself via life-steal. But is Felix the type to care about taking the most attention of his enemies or is he the type to care about who deals the finishing blow?

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>>36944507
>>36944510
>>36944511
>Felix gets 3 exceptional successes in a row.
What the fuck.

>>36944507
>>36944510
>>36944511
I have no reaction images appropriate.

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>>36944507
>>36944510
>>36944511

>mfw Felix

>>36944507
>>36944510
>>36944511
So, upper success, Crit, Crit, Crit.

>>36944510
>>36944511
look at dem rolls! all dem 20s!

Time to panic! And Felix's debut starts with a bang!

>>36944507
>>36944510
>>36944511

I... I just don't even have the words to describe.
I'm laughing so hard.

>>36944527
So...... how long is this next write-up gonna take?

>>36944510
>>36944511
>>36944507
>Dice confirmed for approving of Greataxes

>>36944527
He hit the black knight so hard that Tobias Fenix has a heart attack?

>>36944507
>>36944510
>>36944511

Finn even got that Upper Success, but god damn will it be out shined.
If Felix doesn't auto gain a level in something from this I'll be surprised.

>>36944593
He's undead. More like, He killed one so hard, everyone else had heart-attacks. And then Exploded like bloody water-balloons

>>36944616
He has consume so I would his going to gain quite alot of power.

>>36944527
I would be content with a post of them just evaporating into a fine red mist.

Nothing elaborate, no techniques, no nothing

Just everything died. The end.

Imagine Finn's reaction to seeing new Felix.

>>36944636

That Black Knight about to be Consumed hard.

Assuming that's possible. I mean 3 20s in a row should make that possible right?

>>36944507
>>36944510
>>36944511
BlackWater pls

>>36944593
>>36944676
Nah he hit that one guy so hard Blackwater comes out of retirement and takes Felix on a training montage

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>>36944659
would this be appropriate?

Well safe to assume after this any onlookers are going to be pissing themselves.

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>>36944659

I think we can all safely assume those 3 unlucky soda are dead. But how dead are they?

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>>36944507
>>36944510
>>36944511

>Felix

>>36944493
This guy gets it

>>36944520
I think it depends on the enemy he'd be facing at the time

>>36944520

Well Talon single hands a greatsword that's about 5 feet long. After this display I wouldn't be surprised if Feix could one hand a greataxe. Hell, take the Black Knight's as a prize even.

>>36944838
He if does I prematurely vote that we duel him for it

>>36944527

And you were worried about Rayza being too over powered for this session.

>>36944485
>Then Sala incinerated an entire company of Nightwalker HMKs and nobody ever shittalked her again.
I still can't believe we took this long to get sylph, aside from the fact that having a set is cool as hell. sylph greatest strengths are mass teleportation and mass healing. Both of which are invaluable for our military operations.

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>Finn Archery: Highest Target Met; 16, 7, 4

You let go of the breath you’ve been holding as you loose the three arrows. For one brief moment it appeared as if the world bent to your will, your fingers effortlessly drawing each arrow and firing it in turn, flicking them each onto the bow string without missing a beat. You didn’t even need to slow down to fire, your magically enhanced speed enabling you to loose each arrow as fast as the bow string allowed you to. A trail of light, arcing lightning from each arrow, seems to follow each arrow through the air, reflected on the puddles of water still on the street on this overcast day.

Then the mages collapse like puppets that had their strings cut. The magic they were summoning just dissipates in beautiful prismatic lights, like party tricks by apprentice mages. In contrast to the beauty of their failing magic, their bodies twitch on the ground as the arrows pump magical lightning through their body. Their organs fail and they desperately gasp for air. They’re not dead yet, but you doubt they’ll last more than a minute. Targets eliminated, you reach for more arrows to aid Felix.

>Felix v MMK: Exceptional Success; 13, 12, 20

As you do so, you freeze, witnessing a truly vicious and breathtaking battle. Three of the mage-knights lay on the ground around him, having been sliced apart as he stepped forward into their charge and cleaved them all apart in turn. The final one twitches with rapidly draining life in Felix’s grasp, his power being rapidly drained for the sake of Felix’s strength. The magic around him doesn’t so much as shudder as shake, tremors of Felix’s dark power rippling throughout the world.

>continued (1/4)

>>36944527
his ascension has begun. first he will consume this black knight. then he will consume the world

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>>36945174
As you do so, you freeze, witnessing a truly vicious and breathtaking battle. Three of the mage-knights lay on the ground around him, having been sliced apart as he stepped forward into their charge and cleaved them all apart in turn. The final one twitches with rapidly draining life in Felix’s grasp, his power being rapidly drained for the sake of Felix’s strength. The magic around him doesn’t so much as shudder as shake, tremors of Felix’s dark power rippling throughout the world.

The black knight pauses in the face of such ferocity, falling into a stationary guard position. With his magic support gasping their way into oblivion and the last of his cannon fodder being drained dry by his vampiric foe, the knight finds himself with little to assist him. You know he won’t retreat, however. His aura is that of a knight dedicated to his duty and unwavering in his discipline – like a model of a human that doesn’t understand what truly drives a human at their most basic, but merely understands their ideals. Your master reminded you of that sometimes, falling into his persona so deeply that he seemed to forget how to act. This was different – your master knew better but merely succumbed to strengthen his resolve; this black knight simply didn’t understand at all. He fought because that’s what he knew to do.

>Felix v BK (1 & 2): Exceptional Successes; 19, 6, 20; 12, 20, 20

With the body in his hands merely twitching out of habit, Felix hurls it aside. He eyes the knight with a viciousness that surprises you. His vampirism had bothered you but now his behaviour did – you worried about what humanity remained in him. After all, wasn’t that precisely why Aladria behaved the way she did? To endear herself to Talon despite her inhumanity?

>continued (2/4)

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>>36945190
Your thoughts are interrupted by Felix leaping forward, his sword crashing into the shield of the knight. Pushed backwards by the force behind the blow, the counter with his axe only glances Felix. A gash of red rims upwards along his chest as Felix spins around the side of the knight, slamming his sword into him once more. You gasp in surprise, nearly dropping the arrow you’re notching, as the magic around Felix seems to suddenly rapidly shudder. His wound begins to rapidly seal itself, the blood seeming to just melt into his exposed skin, leaving not even a scar.

With his opponent behind him, the knight spins with his axe with great fury, nearly cleaving Felix in two. His shield takes the blow instead, its top half almost bending flat under the force of the blow as the black knight stumbles in turn, dropping his axe out of physical shock. Felix surges forwards, dropping his shield as he charges the knight and lifts him with both arms. With an enormous crash, the great bulk of the knight slams into the ground, raising great clouds of dust where it cracks and shatters stonework beneath it. Raising both hands above his head, Felix delivers numerous repeated blows against the knight’s armour, all of which are deflected. The knight swings wildly with his shield, trying to knock Felix away, but the blow is deflected and yet more dust flies into the air as the shield crashes into the ground.

You gulp, wondering how the knight can even operate his arm after that. Surely the force of that blow had shattered the bone? But no, both arms still operate, even as they cannot force Felix off. Their strength would perhaps had been equal but Felix seems to practically glow with power. You can’t feel where the power is coming from but somehow Felix is practically exploding in strength stolen from the knight, who seems not to falter himself.

>continued (3/4)

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>>36945214
With a mighty roar, Felix reaches down and attempts to rip off the knight’s helmet. Such a feat seems impossible, for Felix finds himself immobilised in his attempt, lacking the strength to overcome some invisible force. The knight’s blows batter the vampiric swordsman, shattering bones and forcing regeneration, and Felix gives up. Rolling to the side, Felix retrieves his sword and immediately slams his blade down into the maille-protected neck of the knight. It cuts clean through, and the knight’s body fails. What seems like an explosion of magical energy echoes from his death, but it lingers only on the edge of your perception as though the magical power within him escaped for but a moment and was then whisked away, leaving nothing but an emptiness that slowly began to fill with the ambient energy of the world.

There was no blood from that knight, nor any loss of life – all that remains is an empty suit of armour. Something magical was lost and all traces of its being vanished along with it. You don’t know if Felix destroyed the knight or if he merely teleported away, his vessel failing. Either way, as you join the furious vampire you realise that something very distinct from the Mage Guard was behind this. You can’t imagine the Mage Guard supporting this sort of magical power.

You shouldn’t stick around but you’re unsure as to what you should do next.

>1. Collect the drop before regrouping.
>2. Try to track down Nant for answers.
>3. Custom

>>36945231
>>1. Collect the drop before regrouping.
Jesus Christ. Did Felix go full bloodlust?

>>36945231
>1. Collect the drop before regrouping.

>>36945231
>3. Custom
is the black armor containing any magic? any runes on it? might want to take it with for further anylsis.

>>36945231
>1. Collect the drop before regrouping.

IS the armor worth anything? Or just useless mass of metal now?

>>36945231
We should probably take the armor. For examination and also because that shit be expensive yo.

>>36945231
>1

>>36945271
I think he soloed what should have been a group effort at the very least.

>>36945231
>1. Collect the drop before regrouping.
Was he supposed to be a mid boss?

>>36945231
Custom>> Hesitantly ask Felix how he's faring. Hand him the Black Knight's Greataxe.

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>>36945295
It's very large and well forged armour. The steel alloy it's made of is probably almost as strong as the dwarven one in the shield Talon got. There's no magic in the armour itself, however. Not anymore, even the mild enchantments from earlier are gone.

But yeah, you can take the armour.

>>36945317
He and his friends were the main threat when capturing Sylph's PoP. That means we'll be onto the next one shortly-ish.

>>36945231
Although we didn't get the big finish of Felix consuming the big bastard, I feel sexually satisfied.

>>36945361
>But yeah, you can take the armour.

WAR PRIZES!

Looks like Mal has more things to enchant.

Holy fuck, Felix.

I wish Talon was here to see this.

>>36945231

I'm scared. But aroused.

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>>36945401
>>36945475
>sexually satisfied
>aroused
Wut.

>1.

“So, are you okay?” you ask Felix.

Glaring at you, Felix answers, “You’re not good at tact, are you?”

You frown at that, feeling that you’re being insulted. “You look unsatisfied.”

“That’s because I am, though I hate to admit it,” Felix says. “Run along, little elf. I’ll gather the others – look, you can see Sirs Darren and Perry running here right now. We’ll take the armour – it’s a curiosity, at the very least.”

You’re not sure that Felix is alright but suspect that staying around will merely stoke his anger. Sir Darren is the forthright type, so you hope that he and Felix don’t have any problems. In the meantime, you’ll grab the drop. It’s a rather straightforward task, mostly involving you drinking some of the local cider at one of the only open stalls on the east-side of the town. The town guards had shut down the thoroughfare, and many stalls had shut down or moved as a result. After an hour, you checked the drop and retrieved two small canisters, both containing scrolls of information. You left town immediately afterwards and regrouped at the agreed upon location.

“Finn! What the hell were you thinking?” Mana screeched at you the second she saw you.

The others don’t look as surprised or bothered, and Adele looks outright amused.

“I was gathering information. You even told me who to visit,” you say.

>continued

>>36945443
i wish talon was the one who rolled 3 crit successes in a row.

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>>36945724
“We should have been going together. And how does meeting Chester end up with you fighting a small army in the middle of the town?”

“I met an inquisitor after I traded for the info-“

“And you trusted him?”

“He gave me more information on the other Place of Power-“

“How did he know about that?”

“Somebody else told him. He didn’t know-“

“And you believed him?”

You scowl, finding Mana’s insistence a little annoying. You knew that she got worried when you fought, which is precisely why she’d insisted on accompanying you, but it still got a little irritating.

“He got the info, didn’t he? And he’s alive. What does it matter?” Larrya says, stretching out on the grass nearby and lazily watching the rest of you.

“Indeed, Sir Finn is more than able to handle himself, particularly with the aid of Sir Felix,” Darren says, backing you up.

Mana quietens down and wanders off with Kuro, her tails swishing about almost violently as her sister tries to soothe her anger. You doubt you’ve heard the end of this. Still, everything is sorted. No problems. You just had to head to where the drop was. It’s about a day’s travel, so you pitch camp shortly before dusk. You decide to talk to…

>1. Larrya. The earth elemental has been rather quiet this trip and she had been a former enemy.
>2. Adele. You’d found it odd that she’d accompanied you after staying behind in the Shropham campaign.
>3. Felix. He seemed content again but you still worried about him.
>4. Custom

>>36945747
>2. Adele. You’d found it odd that she’d accompanied you after staying behind in the Shropham campaign.
I am curious, and we barely know her

>>36945747
>1. Larrya. The earth elemental has been rather quiet this trip and she had been a former enemy.

>>36945747
>2. Adele. You’d found it odd that she’d accompanied you after staying behind in the Shropham campaign.

>>36945747
>3. Felix. He seemed content again but you still worried about him.

I've waited 50 threads for the Felixinator to do something

>>36945747
>>2. Adele. You’d found it odd that she’d accompanied you after staying behind in the Shropham campaign.

>>36945747
>2. Adele. You’d found it odd that she’d accompanied you after staying behind in the Shropham campaign.

>>36945747
The fact that we got that info about the PoP's location from a second-hand source (the inquisitor), means that someone has already discovered the PoP. This could be bad. If we go to that PoP, we're gonna have to contend with the guy (who gave the Mage Guard Inquisitor the info) when we get there, with a high possibility of the PoP already bound to the one who discovered it in the first place.

>1. Larrya, she might know about the layout of the PoP.

>>36945747
>1. Larrya. The earth elemental has been rather quiet this trip and she had been a former enemy.

>>36945774
Same goes for Larrya, only she's someone who's much more likely to cause issues.

>>36945747
>2. Adele. You’d found it odd that she’d accompanied you after staying behind in the Shropham campaign.

I remember seeing the first thread for this waaaay back.

Haven't been to /tg/ for a while but I'm glad this is still going.

>>36945729
We've gotten pretty close.

Also before my internet goes out again Felix is now mai husbando.

I dont even remember who Adele is.
>1. Larrya. The earth elemental has been rather quiet this trip and she had been a former enemy.

>>36946005
Speaking of husbandos, does that one anon still hate Ren like no other?

>>36945972
>That glorious feeling when you have somehow been in here since the first thread.

It is a good pain. It is a wonderful pain. Staying up to about 5 in the morning all the time.

>>36946064

I know that feel Anon. It's weird.

>>36946037
Everyone forgets the QT girls.

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>2.

After a brief dinner, cooked by Laryya of all people, in which you’d mostly just stroked Mana’s tails in order to keep her content (or at least less unhappy) you decide to speak to Adele. You’d only encountered her once or twice in Harrowmont – her sister Pia was rather easy to read, being a battle-hardened officer, and you’d worked with Trielle in improving your archery before her pregnancy progressed too far for her to shoot. Adele Gendarme was a member of Mal’s tower and had teased you once, but that was about all you knew. Well, you also knew that Talon had slept with her once and probably had since.

Not that you could blame him, having just walked into her tent.

“Umm, sorry I didn’t knock?” you say bashfully, trying to resist the urge to look.

“It’s not like there’s anywhere to knock in this shambles of a tent,” Laryya says, laying on the ground in her thick leather clothing. “If I leave you two alone I expect to be able to come back in and get some sleep in a few hours.”

“Cute,” Adele says, not bothering to cover her chest while she dresses herself. “Were you after something, Tarfinn?”

“Err, I was hoping to talk,” you say, wondering if there was a correlation between girls that Talon had slept with and not caring at all about being mostly naked in front of you.

“Just talk?” she teases.

“Umm, yes?” you answer hesitantly, knowing you’re being teased. Rayza did it all the time.

That wasn’t a comforting thought as you realised that it wasn’t just women who slept with Talon who didn’t care about you seeing them mostly naked but also women you’d slept with. You figured to just play it safe and not earn your master’s ire.

“I was hoping to just ask why you wanted to come along. You didn’t get involved in the Shropham campaign,” you say, happy that Adele is now mostly covered up.

>continued

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>>36946445
Rifling through her bag, Adele talked as she tossed aside a variety of catalysts and trinkets, “Because this is an adventure and that was a campaign. I did enough of the latter with my father and Talon but not much of the former. Talon’s stories about the ruins of the infernal empire and spooky forests always interested me and now I have the perfect excuse to go look for them.”

“What excuse is that?” you ask.

“The fact I’m a member of a mage tower and work for him, Tarfinn,” she says, giving you a sideways look. “He wanted a mage to accompany you so I volunteered. Normally I wouldn’t be allowed to, due to being a noble who had to serve her kingdom and father’s territory. Now it doesn’t matter because we’re under a different hierarchy and system. It’s… liberating. Not that I should complain much about the past.”

“So you’re just here for fun?” you ask, not sure how you feel about that.

Having found a small case of something, Adele put everything back in the bag. “It also improves my talents. But yes, I’m here for my own enjoyment. I also think Laryya and I will bond better – she gets way too attached to buildings and structures. She wouldn’t shut up about the things she wanted to do to Shropham and that weird fortress to the north for the first week after I bound her. Then we went back to Harrowmont and she blathered about how she could improve everything there.”

“Wait, could she? I thought Gnome was doing that,” you say, wondering what amazing feats Laryya could do that would be greater than Gnome.

>continued

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>>36946464
“She thinks she can, which tends to annoy her former teacher. Have you ever seen a catfight, Tarfinn? And I don’t mean the animal kind,” Adele asks teasingly.

You scowl and nod. Of course you knew what she was referring to. It was a rather common event in Harrowmont, and you even got partly literal catfights any time Kuro and Mana disagreed. Looking at Adele, who appears to be drawing a magical circle with some strange powder, you think on what she might be referring to.

“Haha, sorry, Tarfinn,” she says. “Well, Laryya and Gnome actively get into catfights. Both of them dislike each other pretty fiercely and you can’t put the two within earshot of each other without them flinging insults at each other. I’m hoping I can bond with my new familiar without her getting her jaw broken again by Talon’s familiar or distracting Gnome from her construction work. Especially with tempers running hot lately.”

You make some small talk with Adele, who appears to just be practicing her rituals. After a short while Laryya reenters the tent and simply watches you closely. You find that a little unnerving.

[DC14 Composure]

Anyway, we'll be onto Sylph in the next update. This Finn thread will probably run into the next session.

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>36946486

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>36946486

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>36946486

>>36946519
Whew... We didn't spill the spaghetti.

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>36946540
I'm not sure I can consider that a good thing.
Finn's spaghetti is kind of delicious.

>>36946540
i think you mean
>awww, we didn't spill the spaghetti

Very important question, where does Adele rank in tit size?

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>>36946605
She has a similar build to Rayza but is a little plump (like Gnome) rather than lithe.

>Target met

You feel like you’re being sized up for a roast but keep yourself calm. Laryya is probably just passing the time. Or staring into space. Not picturing you being boiled in a pot, ready to be eaten by her. You try to think too much on that, as it might make it hard to stay calm.

“Anyway, Tarfinn, you should probably head out and keep Mana happy. At least before Laryya decides to make it difficult for me to get any sleep in my own tent and your fox charges in her in a rage,” Adele says, giving her familiar a sly look.

“I’m not planning anything like that. I’m merely admiring the view,” Laryya says. “He’s much cuter than the lunkhead you’re interested in.”

“Yes, the lunkhead that you spent almost an entire hour spying on in the hot spring. You can admit a varied taste in men, Laryya,” Adele says. “Go on, Tarfinn.”

You make a hasty exit from the tent while the earth elemental whines about her fun being ruined. It’s probably a good thing you didn’t talk to her – things might have ended awkwardly, at least for you current party. Waking up the next morning in your excessively fluffy bedroll, thanks to a pair of foxes, you help prepare breakfast with Darren and Rick and pack everything up. The march into Sylph’s forest will be a long one and you have to be prepared to spend most of the day actually looking for her.

[DC18 Party Navigation]

>>36946684
>plump
yum

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>36946684

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>36946684
Favored of the dice gods coming though!

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>36946684

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>36946684

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>36946684

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>36946684

>>36946702
>>36946711
>>36946712
Well it's not "you've lost your way and find yourselves back in Harrowmont" bad, but it's pretty close.

>>36946702
>>36946711
>>36946712

Welp looks like we used up all of our good rolls.

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>36946733
To be fair, the roll was unlikely to succeed anyways and there aren't any degrees of failure.

>>36946737
hopelessly lost, we are

>>36946804
Finn gets so lose he runs into himself 10 seconds ago.

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>Target not met

Sometimes you wondered why anybody bothered appointing you the leader of the group. Mana and Kuro were so confident in their intelligence and tracking abilities and Laryya in her ability to find a fellow pure elemental that they’d ignored you and gone off on their own. So you’d gotten a bit upset and shooed the others to go with them, Felix laughing as he instead set-up camp on the outskirts of the magical patch of the forest as a gathering point.

An hour later, as you’d expected, none of the others had found the Place of Power. You lay against one of the trees for almost an hour afterwards, enjoying the luxurious feeling of so much power flooding this forest and creating such amazing and varied plant life. Eventually you decided that they weren’t going to arrive any time soon and you’d just use one of the one-way sending devices you had to notify Talon. After you’d confirmed that Sylph was here – you’d been told to double-check that, in case Gnome was wrong and her sister had been summoned.

You wander about the small clearing, steering clear of the enormous circle marked by strange glowing plants, and search for the mysterious wind elemental. You would have climbed the trees to look for her but you had a constant feeling that you were being watched and didn’t want to leave yourself open.

>continued

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>>36947084
“You know, it would be nice if you would actually come down instead of just watching me,” you call out to the clearing.

“Ah, but perhaps you are the sort that are more enjoyable to watch than play with,” comes a female sing-song voice from the trees around you, the voice being projected to prevent you from locating its source. “I’d request you to remove your clothing so I might confirm as such, but that might seem a little crass for a joke on a first meeting.”

Glowing bright red at the rather visual suggestion, the erotic tone to her voice lending strength to the image, you glance about the trees wildly, searching for your quarry. The sheer depth of power surrounding you is making it hard to sense her, but you think she’s above you.

“Oh my, you are truly a cute one. What is such a remarkably youthful looking yet tormented elf doing here? I do hope you don’t seek magical relief from your pain, for all I have to offer is physical and I am not the sort to take joy in disappointing others,” the voice continues and you think you’ve finally placed it.

You slip a bit of power into your legs, twisting the tattoos power a bit, and as subtly as possible, to strengthen your legs for the leap. Then you make two jumps – into one tree, then onto a branch. You spot a woman lazily laying on a rather thick branch, watching you keenly with her eyes as you prepare to leap at her. Unfortunately, you spot her only as you begin your second jump towards her branch and desperately try not to hit her.

[DC12 Leaping]

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>36947098
I CALL upon the gods of the dice and of fate hear my plea!

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>36947098

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>36947098
Meh

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>36947098

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>36947098

>>36947116
>>36947127
>>36947132
Welp, now we dropped the Spaghetti.
and is that Slyph?

>>36947098
>you spot her only as you begin your second jump towards her branch and desperately try not to hit her.

>>36947116
>>36947127
>>36947132
bonk!

hahahaha

>>36947116
>>36947127
>>36947132

I much prefer these rolls to a success.

>>36947181
We should just let felix do all this now. he is probably the most competent person here.

>>36947222
Umm.... I think we're alone at the moment

>>36947257
That's the problem. If we had felix here he would have already talked her out of her panties and would be busy yelling about what is a man with blood wine and two air elementals in tow. Which is one more then we where expecting.

>>36947286
I think you got the F-bomb confused with Blackwater here

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>Target not met

Changing direction at such a late stage in a complicated jump isn’t easy. So you have no choice but to barrel into the wind elemental and hope the two of you don’t break something. At it is, nothing is broken because you never even get close to the ground. There’s warm breath on your ear, a rather soft warm feeling against your back and two arms wrapped around your chest as you seemingly float above the clearing, drifting slowly towards the centre. This flight is much different than you’d received from Lynn, who tended to move around a bit and be somewhat shaky with her wings when not moving fast. Sala also tended to always be moving, never able to really drift in one place for long. But this… this was truly just floating. Flight even freer than a bird or dragon.

“This is amazing,” you whisper.

Giggling in your ear, which elicits a pleasant sensation, Sylph, and you’re certain now that this is the fabled wind elemental, says, “I am glad you’re enjoying yourself. Bring wonder to others is one of the great lights of my life, even if I get to so rarely do it. I doubt this is all you are after, however.”

You frown, not wanting to ruin the moment. You decide to see what will happen if you merely don’t respond, ready to start talking should Sylph get impatient. Instead, she lazily drifts about the clearing and trees, changing speeds slowly and even the way she’s carrying you. Probably the only one you didn’t like was when she carried you in her arms like princesses in stories. It gave you a good view of her beautiful face, as he brown eyes stared down at you, and also made it clear that her magic seemed to inure her to the effects of her movement. No matter how fast she moved her hair barely seemed to sway, as though the wind went around her entire being.

>continued

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>>36947526
After what you suspect to be almost an hour you signal Sylph to bring you down and she does so, dropping you in the midst of the clearing. She plays with your hair and straightens your clothes after doing so, seeming to just busy herself while you think on what to say. The fact she’s doing as such makes it hard to think. You’re a little envious of Maloric for getting this woman without even trying.

“So, um, you don’t have a master currently,” you eventually say.

“That is correct. I have remained unsummoned for almost a decade now,” Sylph says, running her hands through your hair. “I do not think you are all that suitable to be my master. Those rents in your soul may grant you a measure of the power denied your ancestors but they do not make you a true sorcerer. I can grant you fleeting pleasure within this clearing, where my power is absolute, but cannot go beyond it with you.”

“Oh, um, I’m not meant to be your master,” you say, stuttering a bit as you try to ignore the rather blatant seduction. You’d been warned by Salamander not to get too caught up in Sylph’s ‘play’ as she called it – she might not let you back in should she feel she’s had enough fun. “My master has a friend who is interested. Um, he’s a really, really good mage.”

“Oh? Is he as cute an elf as yourself?” she asks, nibbling on your ear as she slinks around behind you.

“Um, no. He’s not an elf. He’s a mage,” you say, trying to shrink away or give in.

Stopping, Sylph slips back around in front of you. She looks rather unhappy. “You mean to tell me that the man who wants to be my master couldn’t even ask me himself?”

“What? No, no. I was just to find you. He’ll be here shortly to ask you himself,” you say, hurriedly trying to correct the mistake.

>continued

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>>36947542
“Oh. Well, until then you can be my playtoy,” Sylph says before whisking you back into the air.

It’s almost three hours later when Maloric, Talon and Gnome drift into the clearing, Taira standing at a distance behind them. Sylph deposits you on the ground in the middle of the clearing, gives you a neat peck on the cheek and walks straight to Maloric. You drift off to the side, where Talon and Gnome join you. It seems that it’s time to let Mal try to work his magic on the wind elemental.

“You didn’t sleep with her did you?” Gnome asks, giving you a sidelong look.

“No! I was warned about that,” you say.

“Warned? There’s nothing wrong with it, even if I don’t exactly approve of it,” Gnome says, arching an eyebrow.

“You’ve done well, Finn. I need you to head to Balkarin next while I keep our soon-to-be-married mage from upsetting his partner,” Talon says with a small smile.

You look over at Sylph and see what your master means – the air elemental is being as overly flirtatious with Maloric as she was with you. You take that as a good sign. Before you leave you explain what’s happened to your master, who frowns but doesn’t say much beyond that it will be a topic for when you return. Also, apparently he didn’t run into anybody except for Felix on the way here. You find that darkly amusing.

On the way back you…

>1. Try to find Laryya and Adele.
>2. Try to find Kuro and Mana.
>3. Just go to the camp with Felix and wait for the rest.
>4. Custom

Note that I'll probably do the Maloric meeting Sylph scene from Talon's perspective sometime after I finish the Finn stuff next session.

>>36947556
>>3. Just go to the camp with Felix and wait for the rest.

>>36947556
>3. Just go to the camp with Felix and wait for the rest.

>>36947556
wow. Sylph be as milf-y & horny as Gnome. Played with Finn for 3 hours. However, physical descriptions of Sylph may differ from Gnome.
Option 4. Go back and watch the Binding process.

>>36947556
>2. Try to find Kuro and Mana.

>>36947556
>2. Try to find the fluffiest tails to stroke.

>>36947556
>2. Try to find Kuro and Mana.

>>36947556
>3. Just go to the camp with Felix and wait for the rest.

>>36947556
>2. Try to find Kuro and Mana.
fluffy tails always and forever, talon or no

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Rolled 2 (1d2)

Tie-breaker roll

1 = Option 2
2 = Option 3

>>36947646
Sylph is a slightly more whimsical version of Sala. Similar height but with her older sister's bust and overall build and a pale complexion.

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>>36947814
>>36947817
Or I'll just take the vote winner. Didn't see that post.

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>2.

You decide to track down your fluffy aides as you suspect they might have more trouble doubling back to Felix than Adele and Laryya. Rick was the only one who had accompanied them, with the knights having gone off with Adele. It doesn’t take you too long to find them, though you find it amusing that they were only a few minutes run from the Place of Power and yet walking in the opposite direction.

You drop down from the tree you were in, rolling on the ground just behind them. Reacting instantly, they spin and ready themselves. Rick rolls to the side, notching an arrow and aiming in your general direction. Mana and Kuro summon barriers around themselves, their tails furiously inscribing patterns. The swell of magical power would be intimidating if it weren’t pointless.

“Finn! Don’t do that,” Mana scolds as she releases her power.

“I take it you’ve given up and decided to follow us?” Kuro says with a slightly smug smile. She was always a little more prideful than her sister.

“Um, not really,” you say. “I found the place of power hours ago. Mal is there binding Sylph as we speak. It’s probably already done, though I don’t know how long it takes.”

There’s a very long pause, the silence broken only by the amazing sounds of nature that fill this forest. The chirping of numerous birds and insects, unaware of the growing fury within the forest. That fury threatens to overflow once Rick bursts into peals of laughter, almost doubling over in his enthusiasm.

[DC16 Mana’s Composure]

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>36947946
Don't worry guys. We always succeed on the rolls want to fail1

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>36947946

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>36947946

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>36947946

>>36948002
...dammit.

>>36948002
Hail anon

>>36948002
Dammit.

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>36947946
Everybody else too scared to roll?

>>36948002
We always make those composure rolls, even though i always want to fail them

>>36948002
Hey aspirational. We know we can use a Finn point for a 20. Could we burn a finn Point for a 1 though?

>>36948110
Well, it's been outright stated that we benefit from failing them, so I'm not surprised we always succeed...

>>36948151
We aren't rolling for Finn right now, so my guess is no.

>>36948151
>>36948201
Do we have a Mana's mana or something?

>>36948042
>Everybody else too scared to roll?
tg dice tend to trend. that is, during certain periods it will roll a lot of low rolls, during another a lot of high rolls.
so when you see a string of low rolls.waiting a minute before rolling might be prudent

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>>36948167
What? The composure rolls are just for amusement. Different things will happen as a result. I just use them to vary up the conversation scenes.

>Target met

Instead of exploding the way you expected her to, Mana instead appears to deflate. Her tails fanning out low behind her as she admits defeat. Kuro looks a little put out as well, though you’re not sure it’s because you beat her or that her sister didn’t explode in an amusing fashion. And it could be amusing and endearing – you’d actually reached the point where Mana’s overemotional reactions were very attractive. Not that you actively tried to make her really angry – it was her exaggerated reactions to small things that you loved.

“Fine. You found it first. You were right,” Mana says, using the flattest, dullest tone possible. “How?”

You shrug. “I lived near a Place of Power for years. I even used to regularly visit it, just to see the memorial there. The effect this one had on the forest is very similar, particularly on the magical flows. I just followed that.

“Well, if you ever work out how to teach everybody how to do that, tell us so that Karise can lock you up and use you as a teacher for all time,” Kuro says with a small shake of her head.

“That sounds like a terrible idea,” Rick says. “So, you do know the way back, don’t you? We got lost a while back.”

“We’re not lost.”

“Well, not anymore now that we have Sir Finn with us.”

“He does have a point, Mana.”

“Oh, just shut up.”

The downside is that Mana wouldn’t talk much on the way back. The upside is that you’ll likely wake up covered in tails again. That was always a plus, even if Rayza always acted a bit funny any time you mentioned it to her. And Annette. You still weren’t really sure how to handle that. Things always seem much easier for your master. Clearly you were missing something great that he had or perhaps he simply had easier women.

>continued

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>>36948437
Felix is cooking some dinner back in the clearing, a boar that Laryya brought back. You’re helping Darren and Morn pitch the tents while the others relax.

“At least we managed to be useful,” she boasts.

“You still got horribly lost,” Mana says. “So much for pure elementals being able to easily track each other. Can’t you read the flow, too? Why couldn’t you do what Finn did?”

“Because he’s not reading the flow. He’s doing something weird with the way he perceives the energy itself,” she says, frowning. “Gnome complained about it, too. Something about how the little elf can see things from the nature of the energy that we can’t. We’re good at the flow of energy but that sort of energy control is probably more a water or wind elemental thing, though even then he’s pretty impressive. Maybe if you joined a water and wind elemental at the hip.”

“We’re heading for Balkarin tomorrow, aren’t we, Sir Finn?” Darren asks you quietly once the girls resume their ordinary chatter.

You nod, remember the strange information you’d received. Apparently the PoP lay beneath a keep in the centre of the city of Balkarin. The keep itself had been abandoned almost a century ago and was formerly the Mage Guard headquarters in the region, before they’d officially split their leadership into the Wardens, Inquisition and Army. Now the old headquarters lay abandoned in an area of the city that had been devastated by an earthquake several years ago and still being rebuilt, while the Inquisition and Army were nearby. The weirdest part about the advice is that it had recommended going to a specific part of the outlying keep at a specific time – clearly somebody in the city was going to contact you.

>continued

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>>36948462
But you’d worry about that then. For now, you’d finished the first part of your mission and were enjoying yourself. You even had some roasted boar to look forward to tonight.

>That’s the thread.

I spent a bit more time covering the forest stuff than I expected but, eh, I still like it. I think the Sylph scenes, even extended, are a rather nice introduction to her whimsical personality. Or maybe she just came across as interested in elves in a particular way. I was going to do some Balkarin stuff but figure that can wait until next thread. The rest of the Finn stuff should only take half a thread then we can resolve some Talon stuff, including the Mal meets Sylph scene. I’m pretty happy with this thread’s length – it’s about 9000 words and 17 updates of content, which is much improved on the past two threads.

Next thread at 5pm EST on the 27th Dec. Hopefully everybody has a good Christmas.

>>36948494
Thanks for running. Pleasant non-denominational festivities.

>>36948494
Neir is going to attempt to kill Sylph isn't she?

>>36948494
thanks for running, thanks for the chrismas wishes.

>>36948494
Thanks for running.

Now that the thread is over. can you say if this plan is viable (specifically, is the exact phrasing what I suspect it is)

>How to fix the bum deal with EWTC
I see a simply solution based on
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/36880037/#p36888212
>>He said tax cut, not exemption... so what % Are we talking about here?
>Effectively a halving on the preferred merchant rate, with it automatically going to 0% if you lower your tariffs below half their current rate.
IIRC our tariffs are 12% general, 8% with preferred license.
That gives them a 4% rate.

The key is that it is 4% as long as tariffs are above 4%, or 0% if they go below. Instead of being a dynamic 4%p discount. (%p is percentage point. going from 6% to 3% can be said to be either a 50% cut or a 3%p cut)
This means that we can institute a "10 year trade invigoration bill" that give a 3%p discount to both preferred and regular merchants. Making the tax rate
EWTC: 4%
Preferred: 5%
General: 9%
it also included "this bill automatically expires in 10 years"
Just in case it ruffles feathers, it can include a "preferred merchants who bought their license before this bill, can get a pro rated refund for 1 month after it goes into effect". I am going to assume most will keep it since they are still getting a good discount on taxes.

The EWTC thus doesn't have as big an advantage over our local mechants anymore. But it still got an amazing deal and its not like having them located in our trade capital isn't useful
Also, we can wait a few weeks before making said cut, they will have already spent a lot on relocating so are less likely to back down.

also, for the other anons. here is pastebin with the whole set of economic plans which I think are worthwhile
http://pastebin.com/xBrtyw3r
>How to fix the bum deal with EWTC
>EWTC fox overheard our plan for the farmer commune.
>Dwarves
>The whole illusion trick
>The root cause of the commune

Ok so, the next pop we are getting here in balkarin, I think it should go to undine...
and that the thread after that should be talon and co going to the sithran mountain source and binding that to talon.
Why? Because that one is swarming with shadow beasts, meaning it would be extremely well defended (by the shadow beasts) from people trying to get at talon by disconnecting him from his pops.

>>36948825
>EWTC fox overheard our plan for the farmer commune.
We could scrap the plan entirely and come up with an alternative. But I think before we resort to it we should give the guy a personal visit. Congratulate him on his ballsy maneuver, explain to him that we will honor it, but what we are doing with the tax cut to decrease the gain a little. Also ask to speak with his partner too because they overheard something sensitive and you wish to make sure it doesn't go further and they aren't gonna do something stupid like blackmail you. Do reassure him that we aren't going to just make him disappear... unless they do try to blackmail you.
Oh, and ideally, we pull a doctor doom and be waiting inside his home when he comes to it. sitting on his comfy chair, eating his cake.

>>36948825
>Dwarves
1. they benefit from the above general tax break like everyone else.
2. we can "gift" them their preferred merchant license instead of making them buy it.
3. we can do deals where we barter with them X grain for Y stuff. initially do it for iron (to feed our magitech factgories) and catalysts. Eventually we want to get access to their more advanced alloys in weapon and armor form.
4. the dwarves as a nation buy food in bulk as a nation. This means that their end goal is to bring X tons of wheat to their nation. For an individual merchant, paying 12% tax in a good instead of coin has an identical end result. He made 12% less profit that trip. (although it is still annoying to them)
But for a nation trying to import a specific amount, a 12% loss of each ship's cargo means their fleet has to be larger 13.6% larger which means more overhead costs on the fleet maintenance.
Thus I propose that we create a new office whose job is to price "common goods" to allow merchants the option of paying their tariffs in either a % of their goods (as currently done) or in coin (based on the pricing of said office). This will be available to all merchants, but the dwarves in particular would benefit as they make purchases as a national entity to meet a certain quantity goal. We can also give the dwarves priority processing on having their goods be priced by that office. To guarentee that the goods they export as well as the grain they import priced in such a manner.
Also, unlike a blanket % discount on all trade they do, this doesn't let them exploit the market by say, buying spices from EWTC in Vitia and then reselling it to the locals at a lower price then local merchants while still making more money.

>>36948825
>The root cause of the commune
Interesting unintended consequence. We have created a class of both nobles and merchants who get a permanent annuity from the empire forever, for having had land which we conquered.
I came up with a solution to fix this in the long term.
1. We make this annuity tradable. People can freely sell their "shares" in it between each other. This means a person who is stupid with his property can lose it and his authority
2. We create a voluntary buyback program where the government can buy those shares people own. we only buy, not sell, and we price them at a semi generous (say, 10% more than similarly returning commercial investments). Eventually most of those will disappear over many years as people liquidate theirs for more profitable investment (that is, if they sell shares giving 1000 coin per year to us, the cash they get allows them to invest in stuff giving 1100 coin per year.) Not everyone will sell of course, some liking the security. And some will buy it from each other for more than its "worth", again, for the security. But over time we will get those back and stop funneling taxes into private hands.

>>36948825
>The whole illusion trick
I will be honest, I was there in thread and even considered the idea for a moment. But like the mind control thing I shot it down because made assumptions on how illusion and mind control works based on our previous experiences. I assumed illusion was grossly impractical because of how our own ideas to use it were shot down as well as the fact that magic sensing is instinctive and how talon could even sense taira's illusion. but apparently taira is just not good at illusion, while ninja foxes ARE. So, that is fine, it was a learning experience and I got no hard feeling. I over estimated talon's passive detection, it happens, we learn.
We do need to beef security though. We should add a pair of foxes who specialize / get specific training in seeing through illusions in every cabinet meeting from now on. Maybe a disruptor fox to perform generic spell purges before the meeting starts (will also get generic spying spells and what have you). And when possible, have meetings with carnifex (the giant pseudopattern we got in ahm's pop who is actually specialized in people watching and personality analysis)

>>36948922
Main thing to remember is the positioning of the PoP is ideal for Defense. It's next to the Magi line so nothing above it and once we take the guard it will be right in the empire. Any other PoP isn't nearly as defensible and will take a bitching long time to get to.


>>36948946
I'm honestly not too worried here. They mostly just want what they can get like normal business so they probably won't do something that wouldn't be a gain for them and risk them getting a boot to the face.

>>36949008
add to that having finn in more meeting because his detection ability is obscene.

>>36949051
>I'm honestly not too worried here. They mostly just want what they can get like normal business so they probably won't do something that wouldn't be a gain for them and risk them getting a boot to the face.
You would think so, but they infiltrated our cabinet for a con. I would at least talk to them first and make it clear that while this was in good humor, actually trying to blackmail us on this or exposing it will get them killed

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>>36948825
The ways to deal with the EWTC are many. You can try to defeat them with legalese like you suggest. You can follow any country in the world when it comes to commodities like oil and just force them to renegotiate. You could also just cancel it and ignore them, trying to use your contacts to get their good through other sources (e.g. the dwarves). Probably some other options. You could just ignore it.

Also, I did a bit of a post-mortem after the last thread. Considering why things seemed to be so bad overall.

The first problem were the dwarves. This was largely on my end. My mind wasn’t really up to handling that sort of thing – I’d already spent a lot of time that session just staring at the screen with a blank mind, particularly when first writing the dwarf scene. Combined with the fact I was on a time limit and had other things I wanted to do, I did an open-ended Q&A scene when I shouldn’t have. I’ll try to avoid those sorts of situations in the future and put them off until I actually can do them justice.

The second was the whole Sylvian and character misreading problem. Particularly when you choose gambling options (e.g. trying to get both Alyce and Syl), there will be times in this quest when you need to have a handle on a character’s motivations in order to make the right decision. I think many people thought that Sylvian was like an anti-mage Alyce, firmly focused on politics, rather than the incredibly personal soldier that she was. I’m not sure whether there’s anything I can do in the future to avoid this sort of situation – I do my best to have consistent characterisation. Even the way characters speak is tailored – when Sylvian was blowing her top I did everything I could to make her sound very personal, for instance.

>continued

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>>36949101
I’m also wary about having Talon put down the ways people will react, particularly in situations with character he can’t read well or easily judge their reactions. When he was discussing mage tower solutions with Alyce and Syl they were pretty open in their opinions. When in a room with Irlin, Syl wasn’t going to tell Talon outright that she’d be pissed given she was pretending to be neutral.

Finally, the big one – the illusion/doppelganger. While I did expect a negative reaction once nobody actually spotted the trick and the fake-Tsucchi confrontation was voted down, I was most surprised about the reasons. A lot of people expected your security to spot any problems – the problem being that there’s just as good spies as you have trying to stop them. This is particularly so in a situation where the intruder had already been granted access to the keep and had done nothing suspicious for most of the past few weeks they were present (and was a fellow fox that would be somewhat trusted).

The second was people not expecting illusions or expecting a direct way to detect illusions. This is really confusing because I handled them the same way as in the past, with a tiny addition to Taira due to her ineptness and sheer power. Rayza, Kyria and Taira all used an illusion of sorts that hid their nature and made them appear human to all magical and mundane probes. None of them offered a roll to so much as detect them – Taira offered a hint because of her overwhelming power triggering Talon a tiny bit but the one roll made was to detect that she was using a diagnostic spell. Rayza and Kyria never offered a roll and Rayza’s illusion was so good she fooled the Archmage, Mercenie, Caitlyn, Talon and even Finn for years in some cases. Hell, she fooled an elite Pharosian monster slayer who specialises in seeing through just that sort of disguise. And yes, the magic they used was very similar to the illusion used by Arisa to pretend to be Tsucchi.

>cont

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>>36949121
Illusion magic itself is very common and has an implicit ‘magic-hiding’ aspect, simply because not having that means it would be super obvious. Some people suck at it, like Finn. Others are moderately talented, like Kyria and Taira. Some are brilliant, like Rayza and Undine. There have been other instances of illusions – illusory rams that fooled Taouran battlemages and had to be discovered with mundane means (which could be overcome with more expensive illusions); a potion Mal took that prevented a bunch of magical RSK nobles from determining who was the real Talon and was implied to have even tricked Neir, who grabbed Mal thinking he was Talon. There was also the really big one that the combat magisters used but was mental rather than physical, so had a huge weakness to astral power and Finn.

Basically, illusions are both tricky and common and are very much an absolute case of whether you can see through it. The really good ones can’t be seen through unless you’re just as good as they are at detecting them. The main way to detect them is for behavioural reasons – basically somebody doing things that breach the illusion. Taira’s weird tail movements; Arise not acting like Tsucchi at all; Rayza going all out with her magical power and breaking her own illusion. I try to handle trap options carefully, even going back to the dwarf a long way back, but they will occur but it locks off too much content and possibilities otherwise.

>>36949101
>I think many people thought that Sylvian was like an anti-mage Alyce, firmly focused on politics, rather than the incredibly personal soldier that she was. I’m not sure whether there’s anything I can do in the future to avoid this sort of situation – I do my best to have consistent characterisation. Even the way characters speak is tailored – when Sylvian was blowing her top I did everything I could to make her sound very personal, for instance.
Yea, I personally got that feel from her. She talked circles around alyce when we had the conference with her, alyce and the angel. This got me thinking "wow, she is good at politics". (although actually it was just alyce having a really unreasonable position there while syl was being reasonable and flexible)

that being said. You were being generous, you let us salvage it. and we barely did.

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>>36949175
Really? Syl is terrible at politics. That's the whole reason she wants to put herself under Talon - have somebody who can handle the ruing while she just focuses on blowing up stuff that threatens the world.

The reason Alyce was so unreasonable then was because she was aimed purely at her ambitions, which support mages and her League. She was going to be unhappy with any solution that violated either but the dangers of pissing off Alyce are less than Syl, because Alyce cares about the end result more. Syl cares more about the ability to trust Talon personally as a future ruler. Telling her you want her to stay in the Guard to keep them weak, then aiding Irlin (If indirectly) really got on her nerves.

>>36949099
>You would think so, but they infiltrated our cabinet for a con.

Yeah but there was an advantage there given they could use it to try and get more things.

"Hey we will tell this commune a story they might read as bullshit given we are a company in a power that would have a lot of reason to make a grab here."

That's not really even short sighted. Though personally I want to see what they would do if Talon asked to hire who did that.

>>36949101
> think many people thought that Sylvian was like an anti-mage Alyce, firmly focused on politics, rather than the incredibly personal soldier that she was.

I honestly kind of think that made perfect sense IC at first anyway. Now Talon has a better idea of her.

>people expected your security to spot any problems – the problem being that there’s just as good spies as you have trying to stop them.

Honestly for me I kind of fractured my leg and was high as hell when I was voting. Though what really honestly got me I think at that time is that Sarah and the others didn't seem to think it was weird. So I just guessed something weird was going on we would have to ask about.

Along with security it seemed odd to me and given Talon was away for most of the months I couldn't be sure what happened in the background. I probably would have mentioned it harder if it wasn't for that.

>>36949121
>The second was people not expecting illusions or expecting a direct way to detect illusions. This is really confusing because I handled them the same way as in the past, with a tiny addition to Taira due to her ineptness and sheer power. Rayza, Kyria and Taira all used an illusion of sorts that hid their nature and made them appear human to all magical and mundane probes. None of them offered a roll to so much as detect them – Taira offered a hint because of her overwhelming power triggering Talon a tiny bit but the one roll made was to detect that she was using a diagnostic spell. Rayza and Kyria never offered a roll and Rayza’s illusion was so good she fooled the Archmage, Mercenie, Caitlyn, Talon and even Finn for years in some cases. Hell, she fooled an elite Pharosian monster slayer who specialises in seeing through just that sort of disguise. And yes, the magic they used was very similar to the illusion used by Arisa to pretend to be Tsucchi.
My understanding was that this was not an illusion. An illusion changes ones physical appearance (ex, making someone's face look like the face of a different person)
Hiding of power seemed to be a different thing to illusion, and hinged on them not actively using the power. with it being immediately noticable one they used it (ex, ryaza blew her cover when she used her power in the arena, everyone could suddenly tell, talon realized lynn had unusual sorcery when she first used it, immediately detecting it).
So, I have been drawing this particular distinction between illusion (invisibility, false face, etc). and power detection (only sensed when you cast a spell).
Thus I was thinking "if she had an illusion on her face, people would just sense her face is covered in magic".

That being said. I was also making assumptions due to talon seeing through some impressive illusions and assuming that taira was the best fox ever at everything foxy... in retrospect those assumptions were obviously false.

>>36949266
Yeah personally I say we should be asking her to full on join us pretty soon. A lot of this is just due to the mage guard politics and her personality. Once we get her hanging around Harrowmont there shouldn't be as much danger.

>>36949163
>Some are brilliant, like Rayza and Undine.
One thing I recall is when we wanted undine to create an illusion in battle that will make it seem like a wall section got knocked down by an oncoming catapult shot.
You said that it would take her HOURS to prepare the ritual, and then it will drain half her MP, and have a good chance of not working (seen through by enemy mages who were mostly journeymen). With undine supposedly being brillian illusionist, this god me thinking that illusion (as per the distinction from power suppression >>36949349) is ridiculously hard to pull off

>Taira's massive power actually makes illusion harder
huh, another assumption I made, I thought that the more power the easier it is to do illusions