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>>44507775

“Relax, girl.” The Queen shrugs her off. “Perhaps you might better persuade me in person to break my little oath with him. But if you believe you’re going to do it by force, you are sadly mistaken. Now, Averron: as we speak, my Regent is at work organizing maps, blueprints, and other relevant information that might be of use to you. We’ll be in touch in the coming days—once your Guardian has had time to cool off—should you desire to make contact so we might begin our journey to the surface together. For now, though, farewell, and best of luck in your endeavors…”

The line abruptly cuts, her video transmission fading away with the sweep of a vertical scan line.

“I think we’ve seen all we need to know that our sister cities are incompetent at best and enemies at worst.” Liza says, turning toward the exit. She pauses, then addresses Andor and Ayla. “I think it’s important that we finalize the Alliance merger before we put the excavation plans back into motion. The message boards are back online—that means watch them. I’m calling for a meeting soon, to discuss the upcoming merger, and the question of our foreign policy.”

“Great,” Andor says. “Sven will be happy to hear it, and I’m sure the rest of our officers will too. I’ll tell him to get a hold of you.”

“Yeah,” Ayla says, “Fantastic.”

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>>44507799

> [[ Underground: Averron Observatory // Neutral Territory // PVP Disabled ]]

You’re on one of the upper terraces. Still quiet, but information abuzz on the message boards means civilians will be here any minute. Andor, Kainzo, and Dorian are gone, while Ayla is presumably still in the communications room. Through an external window, you catch a glimpse of Liza flying straight upward, toward the higher branches. Upset seems like an understatement. Your body feels sluggish for some reason.

> Ayla and Liza are online.
> Smith, Vision, Donnel, Vyx, Nel, Tatsumaki, and Aelriss are offline.

What will you do?
> Head to one of the Observatory’s facilities. (Write-in)
> Search for some kind of information on the message boards. (Write-in)
> Head back toward Averron City.
> Talk to Ayla about the Hecatelia data.
> Log out.
> Other.

>>44507836
> Talk to Ayla about the Hecatelia data.

>>44507836

> Talk to Ayla about the Hecatelia data.

I don't trust her by a long shot but discussing it with a rational person can't hurt.

>>44507836
> Log out.
Something IRL might be causing our sluggishness

>>44507836
> Talk to Ayla about the Hecatelia data.

>>44507836
>Talk to Ayla about the Hecatelia data.

Also about Liza and her outburst back there.

>Anaximander purposely leaving instruction to trigger Liza and undermine her bargaining proposal.

I wish we were half as good at this game as he is.

>>44507836
>> Talk to Ayla about the Hecatelia data.

>>44507836
>> Log out.
ANAXIMANDER DID NOTHING WRONG

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>>44507881
>>44507926
>>44507972
>>44507978

> [[ Underground: Averron Observatory – Communication Hub // Neutral Territory // PVP Disabled ]]

“Packing up?” She’s flipping switches as you come into the room, to dull the lights and shut off some of the incessantly-humming machines.

“About ready to,” She responds. “Wanted to make sure I got everything Hecatelia had to send us. Going to give it a more detailed look as soon as possible.”

“Anything good?” You ask.

“Uh, yeah.” Ayla gives a bit of a nervous laugh. “Turns out they’re a good bit ahead of us, if that’s still a surprise to you. We’ve got some underground layouts and info on their Excavator design, as well as possibly some experimental weapons tech that looks interesting. They just finished putting their whole bestiary through, which we can’t compare to what we’ve got just yet thanks to the blackout.”

“Think they’re just doing us a favor?” You ask.

“Someone who had a problem with us wouldn’t give us information this useful.” She folds her arms. “Unless they had something to gain from us, or it was just a pittance to them despite being a game-changer for us.”

You’re not sure how you feel about that.

> Write-in.
> Thank her and go.

>>44508263
Dropped trip. Also, check out the user-made Celestial Artifact discussion document:
https://titanpad.com/kZOMVYSrMv

>>44508263
>> Thank her and go.

>>44508263
How far away are they? Which city is closer? What do you need to expand the range of this thing?

>>44508263

What kind of resources are we looking at to get an Excavator of our own going? I want that surface loot bad.

>>44508263
>Thank her and go.
>Log Out

>>44508263
Ask what she thinks about the merger

>>44508263
>> Thank her and go.

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>>44508326

“How far away are they?” You ask. “And how can we expand our communications range?”

“Finding that out is the next step. It’s difficult for us to determine whether what we’ve got going currently works on a model that’s any way derived from real-life physics.” She responds. “If it does, we’ll probably stumble across a way to find out how far apart we are from one another and how large the game world actually is. More likely, we’ll have to resort to more magic or advanced technology.”

“I heard her say something about Scrying?” You ask.

“Mhm. It’s a topic of interest.” Ayla says. “I might take it up with the fortune teller—that seems like a good idea. Increasing our range, we can start working on now. First, though, I want to organize an effort, just so I don’t have to pull everything out of my own guild bank to do it.”

>>44508350

“How about the Excavator? How far off are we from that?” You ask.

“That’s also an issue of materials, but design plays a role. We’ll want to get a lot of aethersteel on the market, though, but people will probably report rich areas now that the message boards are back up. I’m thinking about polished obsidian, too—mostly stylistic, but it stands to reason that it’s naturally heat resistant if a bit heavy.” She says, and you nod. There’s a pause, and she sighs.

> [[ Continued ]]

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>>44508389

“Still thinking about the merger? How do you feel about it?” You ask.

“I've already told you how I feel, Ashe.” She responds. “At this point, though, it’s a necessary evil. I don’t want to just accept Liza’s edict as absolute truth, but it’s hard for us to put our trust into people—barring those who’ve already proven themselves trustworthy.”

“The Alliance members?” You ask.

“The ones we don’t have a choice but to work with. I'm not sure what she means in regards to discussing our 'foreign policy', but I think it's at least worth hearing.” She responds, closing the doors behind you as the two of you exit the Communications Hub. She gives you a wave, heading for the staircase. “Alright, I’ve got to get out of here.”

“Yeah,” You say. “Thanks. I should get on some things myself.”

> Head to one of the Observatory’s facilities. (Write-in)
> Search for some kind of information on the message boards. (Write-in)
> Log out.
> Write-in.

>>44508789
> Log out.

>>44508789
>> Log out.

>>44508789
> Check our Celestial Gem count.
> Log out.

When are we going to kill Liza to get her gems?

>>44508789
> Log out.
Liza's temper is gonna make her a shitty leader

>>44508914
We won't be able too. WE need to grind like mad for a while first.

>>44509009
I kinda wanna try some solo grinding. Or with just one other person. Aelriss would be nice so we could both have an excuse for our extra CGs

>>44509041
Aelriss for nuking and heal and Nel for finding shit.

>>44509041
How about we go after those fire bugs again? I think there is something good down there.

>>44509093
That makes three anon. And Nel can't know about our extra gems.

>>44509133
How would he find out about it?

>>44509133
Nel is a bro as long as we get a good split he won't say shit. Sides we can say we lucked out on a drop on the way to grinding.

>>44509154
When we buy an artifact everyone's gonna wanna know about it. And without that extra gem we got wth Aelriss we wouldn't be able to afford any. Also I don't like Nel much. And the fact that he can find things is offset by making it a three way split instead of two.

>>44509193
We keep it hidden until we get an extra gem. Since artifacts can be anything no one will notice the extra gem for increased power.

>>44508789
>Log out.

>>44509193
Always have a scout when in the deeps. Besides him finding new routes can save and earn a lot.

>>44509231
and this too

>>44509231
Nel is kinda pathetic dude. Not sure why we'd bring him if we're grinding.

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Three Gems. Just the way you left it. You’re so happy; you just got them back, after all. Could you imagine losing them again so soon? With a smile on your face, you sit down, leaning back against the wall and tilting your head toward the ceiling, eyes closed.

A somehow-comforting darkness falls over you.

> [[ BROKEN SKY ONLINE ]]
> [[ Disconnecting, please wait… ]]

You feel like you sink a bit into your bed as you come to your senses. Your mouth is dry, your head hurts a bit, and you might be sweating.

First, a deep breath, then your stomach growls. Your body is sluggish, though not fatigued. You briefly imagine yourself as a vegetable—most likely some variety of turnip or potato, before rolling onto your side with a groan and pulling your glasses off of your head.

Blackout shades cover your windows, but the light shining through gives you the sense that the sun isn’t where you thought it’d be.

Fuck. At least you don’t have responsibilities you’re missing out on.

Your headache worsens a bit as you straighten yourself up.

> Check your phone.
> Scrounge around your bathroom for ibuprofen.
> Head into your apartment proper for nourishment.
> Play Broken Sky Online.

>>44509254
>> Head into your apartment proper for nourishment.

>>44509254
> Check your phone.
> Head into your apartment proper for nourishment.

>>44509254

> Scrounge around your bathroom for ibuprofen.
> Head into your apartment proper for nourishment.

Gotta hydrate, son.

>>44509254
> Scrounge around your bathroom for ibuprofen.
> Head into your apartment proper for nourishment.

>>44509254
> Head into your apartment proper for nourishment
while
> Check your phone.

>>44509254
>Check your phone.
>> Head into your apartment proper for nourishment.
WHAT DAY IS IT!?

>construct drip of water or IV fluid

>>44509251
Because he's consistently had our back? His combat utility is rubbish but he's been in our corner for a while.

>>44509254
>> Head into your apartment proper for nourishment.
> Check your phone.
Let's not take pills unless it's really necessary.

>>44509345
Yeah, He and Ael are like the only people I can think of who'd have our back almost unquestionably.

>>44509441
Anaximander is our greatest ally.

>>44509485
Anaximander is secretly our father

>>44509485
t. Anaximander

>>44509345
That doesn't mean we can't ever do anything without him. Plus he doesn't trust us much after that last boss fight.

>>44509506
t. Liza

>>44509511
Actually he and Ael are the only two who do. He was lobbying for us to get the spare CG "cause we're an awesome leader"

>>44509511
He's cool with Ashe. Ael is as well, although I'm less sure of the whys. The language barrier is probably keeping Tats from particularly distrusting anyone, but she's cool too.

Smith>everyone else

>>44509539
That's fine and all but I wanna get good without having to worry about protecting and giving drops to someone who hardly contributes in combat.

>>44509539
I'd bring him if we planned to explore but not for simple grinding.

>>44509666
>>44509704
Well he's going to be stronger now after the raid, and if we want to make our won guild him getting gud is a necessity

Sides he's already found things other people have missed.

>>44509666

When exploring hostile territory (particularly in an underground environment is prone to shifting catastrophically without warning) never underpay your scout, dude. Literal lifesavers.

>>44509666
>worry about protecting
we don't have to do that very often. Nell pulls his more than his weight, drawing far more aggro than his build has any right to because the others can't keep themselves out of harm's way.

>>44509704
I'd actually keep him even then to experiment with the MH part breaking mechanic

>>44509749
>MH park breaking mechanic
?

>>44509780
part*
Fuck. Mistyped that because copy and paste is a pain on my phone.

>>44509780
In Monster Hunter breaking certain parts on a monster guarantees a yield of specific drops based on the part broken. This is generally extra loot in addition to the parts you would already get from the monster's death. Anon is saying Nel could help us best identify the weak points and potential loot caches inherent to a monster in combat.

>>44509254

You grab the smartphone from your nightstand and fumble around with the pattern lock for a couple of attempts before opening it—straight to your messaging screen. You have a conversation open with Eric, your apartment-mate.

> You: “How's it going?”
> Eric: “At Camille's. Ex couldn't make it = score!”
> Eric: “You coming?”
> You: “Probably not”
> Eric: “Yeah didn't think so, alright later”

You remember all of this, from before the raid started; he was headed to a party, and you skipped out on the weekly LAN for your BSO raid. That was last night. The texts continue through the time you must have been raiding.

> Eric: “Fuck”
> Eric: “Yeah Charlene is here now RIP me”

Then, after midnight.

> Eric: “Okay, double NVM”
> Eric: “Charlene is coming to our place for a while”
> Eric: “If you aren’t still playing your game don’t bug me if my door is closed”

It’s almost four in the afternoon—the update must have somehow altered the game’s timescale. You can only assume Liza and Ayla are taking the hit as hard as you are; all of your other friends logged out shortly after you finished looting everything.

You loudly open the door and stumble over toward the kitchen. Eric’s door is open and the lights are off inside, but there’s a sizeable lump under a blanket on your living-room couch with a foot sticking out, sole pointed upwards, which you assume is him.

> Pour some water and start toasting a bagel while you root around in the fridge.
> Head out somewhere for food.
> Knock on Eric’s wall and peer inside.
> Wake up the lump on your couch.
> Play Broken Sky Online.
> Other.

>>44509728
>>44509739
>>44509749
Shit guys sorry for suggesting we do something without your husbando.

>>44509834
>> Pour some water and start toasting a bagel while you root around in the fridge.

>>44509834
>> Pour some water and start toasting a bagel while you root around in the fridge.

>>44509834
> Pour some water and start toasting a bagel while you root around in the fridge.

>>44509834
> Head out somewhere for food.

We could use some outside oxygen and a chance to actually stretch our muscles.

>>44509849
Sure is a lot of NIDF in here

>>44509834
> Pour some water and start toasting a bagel while you root around in the fridge.


>>44509849
Dude it's keeping an ally an ally. I have no interest in Nel other than if the terrain goes pear-shaped he can help us get out.

>>44509834
>> Pour some water and start toasting a bagel while you root around in the fridge.

>>44509834
>Pour some water and start toasting a bagel while you root around in the fridge.
>Start browsing for an IV drip online
If it sells in China right now, it could be selling pretty much anywhere in 10 minutes into the future-o-land

>>44509780
break specific parts, get elemental cores.

>>44509828
there's also dagger=more specific targeting

>>44509912
>>44509936
>>44509870
>>44509868
You didn’t have a lot to eat yesterday, come to think of it. You gulp down a glass of room-temperature water and fill another one, setting it aside while you warm up a bagel—you’re getting down to your last couple—and open up the fridge. Thankfully you’ve got most of a leftover pizza from the day before break started. It’s debatable whether or not the ensemble qualifies as food, but most important to you right now is keeping yourself on your feet.

You’re ravenous, and a bit tired; somehow, you get the feeling that playing BSO doesn’t exactly allow your brain to rest like sleeping, which would mean you’ve been up for a good deal longer than you’d have liked to be.

You are loud and unsubtle, but nothing in the apartment seems to react to your presence or the beeping of the microwave.

> Write-in.
> Play Broken Sky Online.

>>44510077
Take a nap
dream about BSO and gems

>>44510077
Check on Eric, check on date and time. Get some sleep.

>>44510077
>> Write-in.
Take a nap.
>>44510134
Less posting and more Totemist writing

>>44510077
>Write-in.
Check on Eric then go to sleep.

>>44510182

My bad anon.

> Check the couch lump then catch some Z's.

Mental activity = BSO reflexes. We need sleep to avoid being sluggish.

>>44510077
time to sleep and have an abysmal sleep schedule

>>44510337
>and have an abysmal sleep schedule
Sounds like an average veteran mmorpg player.

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>>44510077

“Eric?” You set your paper plate down on the coffee table before pulling the blanket back about halfway.

You’re a little out of it, but you’ve known Eric to be blonde. Or cross-dress.

Charlene is tangled up in blankets, bra unclasped and about halfway off; you’re not sure whether or not to be thankful she’s lying face-down, but regret from what you’ve just done starts to set in before you realize she’s completely blackout. Bullet dodged. You aren’t sure whether to punch Eric for hooking up with her again, or just have a good laugh at his expense. A quick look into his room reveals he’s either gone or in the bathroom.

Probably avoiding the consequences of his actions. Yeah, that’s fine then. She’ll just let herself out.

You roll your eyes and start to work on your bagel as you head back into your bedroom, headache seeming to respond to nourishment. You crawl back into bed, setting your plate and glass on the nightstand next to you. You’re not drunk, of course, but you black out yourself before too long without even finishing your meal.

Dinner. Continued shortly; feel free to discuss or leave questions.

>>44510401
*never known

>>44510401
>Or cross-dress

>No trap roommate
Dropped.

>>44510401

Wait she crashed on the couch rather than sleep in the bed with him? That's a fucked up dynamic that we'll never learn anything more about.

>>44510401
I think the lack of lbgt and non-binary characters is highly problematic

>>44510576
>implying Nel isn't a fag

>>44510576
>Implying Ayla isn't bi.
>Implying Tatsumaki isn't ace/aro.

>>44510576
hell all the female characters we met are probably men

>>44510576
Every female we've encountered so far (save Charlene) has been a man, Anon.

>>44510576
Don't make our character take out his race card.

>>44510664
ah fuck I just realized we're transracial. at least we'll never have to check our privilege I guess.

>>44510850
He's a jew irl and a black in the game. Never forget the 6 million or the slavery.

>>44510850
>we're transracial
Uh???????????????
Excuse me???

When has the MC EVER been stated to be white..

He could just as easily be black IRL.

>>44510892
My bad. Travis is just an extremely white name. Consider my privilege checked.

>>44510982
Doublecheck it shitlord.

>>44511200
Examine the phone entries more closely. If it's really nothing
> Play Broken Sky Online.

>>44510401

“It seems someone is playing games with you.”

A set of razor teeth unfolds into a grin, shining out of the darkness before you. Heady smoke rises up in the tent, numbing your senses more with each labored breath. Your cuirass feels lighter than ever on your shoulders, like it could be a part of you. But your glasses are heavy on your head and neck, and you look downtrodden as you struggle to maintain eye contact with the cat’s eyes that blink open, lights in the black.

“You were successful in your search—though what you found was not as you expected it to be.” It speaks, quivering, chattering. Enunciating without motion. “You found her, and discovered the truth. Driven, as though by lost love. A powerful motivator—a forlorn feeling that you are lucky to be able to experience. Mere such thoughts are the driving force behind the actions of so many…”

“The Precursors?” You ask. Something is crawling towards you.

“…and fixate you upon your desires. Still, you are among a lucky few—have you yet learned what it is to be blessed?” You feel cold.

“Clear your mind, child, and allow me to alleviate your worries.”

A strange wind pushes you further into darkness.

---

It’s late evening, after sunset. You feel moderately well-rested.

Despite your restlessness, that is. Somehow, in your sleep, you’ve managed to wrangle both your smartphone and your glasses into your bed from wherever you left them on your nightstand. The former is in your hand, and you’ve thumbed a bunch of blank and junk entries into your Contacts.

What’s left of your bagel, though a bit stiff, isn’t too unpalatable not to eat; you elect to do so.

> Take another look for BSO information on the Internet.
> Head into your apartment or get some fresh air.
> Other.
> Play Broken Sky Online.

>>44511252
>> Head into your apartment or get some fresh air.
then

> Take another look for BSO information on the Internet.

>>44511252
> Take another look for BSO information on the Internet.
Information is essential.

>>44511252
>Take another look for BSO information on the Internet.
Afterwards
>Play Broken Sky Online.

>>44511252
Examine the phone entries more closely

>>44511252
>> Take another look for BSO information on the Internet.
>> Head into your apartment or get some fresh air.
>>44511252
Prepare snacks, food, and bottle+funnel

There’s no pattern to the entries on your phone. The ones that aren’t completely blank appear to be random strings of numbers—predominantly fives, for some reason—and other characters, delineated with erratic spaces and punctuation. They’re dispersed randomly and somewhat evenly throughout your short contacts list, which consists mostly of friends from high school and the couple of people you’ve met at the LAN club, in addition to Eric and your family members.

You pull your glasses back over your head, electing to browse the Internet for a bit before heading back in. This time, you head to the imageboards first. The discussion is less cogent than ever, however. In addition to the same-old posters complaining that they’ll never be slutty healbitches or have cute Artificer waifus, or accusing other posters of being married to adulterous women, there’s a number of people complaining of quitting due to the “brainfuck time shenanigans”, as well as the Celestial Gems—still, the threads give the sense that more than half of the people participating are experiencing the game differently, with most not understanding these indictments.

Threads don’t last long, but new ones crop up quickly. There’s also complaints that there’s no good aggregation of game information due to “shitty redditor mods”. Context reveals that the game’s subreddit is down, and has been nuked multiple times within hours of creation.

> Shitpost. (Write-in.)
> Other.
> Play Broken Sky Online.

>>44511731
it's me

>>44511731
>> Shitpost. (Write-in.)
Talk shit about Hecatel and Anaximander. Let's see if they are famous enough to have a defense force.

>>44511731
> Play Broken Sky Online.

>>44511731
>> Shitpost. (Write-in.)
Brawlers are the master race and anyone with ranged skills or wepaons is a faggot.

>>44511731
> Play Broken Sky Online.
Real life sucks

>>44511731
>> Shitpost. (Write-in.)
Hecatelia, precursors and how Celestial gems hoarders who pk are shitters and addicts.

>>44511731
>Play Broken Sky Online
Need more CGs

>>44511794
Anaximander did nothing wrong.

>>44511794
>>44511731
I like this idea +1

>>44511983
Everytime somebody says that it looks less and less like they're trying to convince others and more trying to convince themselves.

>>44512076
He just wants to redpill everyone on BSO.

>>44511794
Seconded.

I really wanna test out our new skills and equipment in this thread. Resist the urge to shitpost too much.

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> “Brawlers are the master race, anyone with ranged weapons is a faggot.”
“This”
“Duh, everyone knows melee is imba in BSO. Enjoy easymodo scrub.”
“this is what dps players ACTUALLY believe”
“>be brawler >get shot”

> “What do people think about Hecatel?”
“Total qt if she’s who I’m thinking of. Anyone here from altinnea?”
“Literally who?”
“ayy who hecatelia here?”
“S L U T”
“Watch your tongue, Anon. Speaking ill of royalty in a public forum could have repercussions.”

> “Gem hoarders who PK are shitters and addicts.”
“Seriously, fuck the devs. Every party I’ve been in has turned into a dickstabbing contest.”
“>not ganking shitters for sweet loot”
“— anon, immediately after being PKed”
“nameless get btfo”

Another thread deleted. Janitors are in full force tonight. You guess that’s all the fun you’re going to have.

With a deep breath, you brace yourself for vertigo.

[[ Calibrating, please wait... ]]

> [[ BROKEN SKY ONLINE ]]
> [[ Updating... ]]

Oh, fuckdamnit!

> [[ Update complete. ]]

> [[ Underground: Averron Observatory // Neutral Territory // PVP Disabled ]]

The Observatory is loud and bustling. As you stand, people brush past you. No one you immediately recognize—lots of Nameless. There’s an explosion from the Test Chamber, followed by lots of cheering. Over the terrace railing, you can see a few player-run shop stalls in the open space on the bottom floor.

> Vyx, Tatsumaki, and Smith are online.
> Vision, Donnel, Nel, Liza, Ayla, and Aelriss are offline.

What will you do?
> Head to one of the Observatory’s facilities. (Write-in)
> Search for some kind of information on the message boards. (Write-in)
> Head back toward Averron City.
> Other.

>>44512461
>> Head to one of the Observatory’s facilities. (Write-in)
Test chamber

> Search for some kind of information on the message boards. (Write-in)
Grinding spots and area with lots of monsters to kill.

>>44512461
>Head to one of the Observatory’s facilities.
Let's get a status report. People seemed to move in pretty quickly. If anything, let's check out the Test Chamber.

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>>44512461
>“this is what dps players ACTUALLY believe”
Pic related.
“>be brawler >get shot
>“Duh, everyone knows melee is imba in BSO. Enjoy easymodo scrub.”
Stay salty faggots.
>Janitors are in full force tonight
FOR FREE
O
R

F
R
E
E
> Head to one of the Observatory’s facilities. (Write-in)

Test chamber.

>>44512498

Seconded. Let's also take a look at those player-run shops. We might be able to set up a small market tax for selling in a player hub to funnel revenue into building more upgrades here.

>>44512461
Meet up with Tatsumaki for some grinding. Find an appropriate area for two people of our level.

>>44512520
>. We might be able to set up a small market tax for selling in a player hub to funnel revenue into building more upgrades here.
>not taking money for yourself

>talk about grinding all thread
>immediately go to the test chamber where we fight for no exp or items

>>44512569
I don't think anyone is advocating we participate. I just want to scope out the excitement.

>>44512569
I want to gather the group before moving out.

>>44512578
why? that's boring as fuck

>>44512593
So why am I the only one voting to meet with anyone?

>>44512512
Literally all dps involves is mash buttons and don't stand in the fucking big red circles

>>44512545
The more upgrades we have in place, the more traffic we're likely to get, which leads directly to more money.

>>44512618
Literally all tanking involves is mashing threat.
Literally all healing involves is mashing heal.

>>44512461
>Search for some kind of information on the message boards. (Write-in)
Npcs related to kjorikos
Grinding spots for fractalline
Hunting spot for lower ground, and another for higher ground

>>44512520
We can't just stroll up to some random shop and demand a cut of their sales. Plus I doubt any player shops would be here yet. This place was just created recently.

>>44512646
>fractalline
Why? That shit is for ranged weapons. Or fluxsabres which I have no interest in.

>>44512653
>I doubt any player shops would be here yet
>Over the terrace railing, you can see a few player-run shop stalls in the open space on the bottom floor

>>44512653
>recently
As far as we know. We don't know exactly how much time has passed in-game since we logged out and slept.

>>44512653
There are already player shops in place. We've only been gone for a few hours, and the observatory is already lived in.

>>44512680
fuck, my bad. still. we can't just demand money from these people. we would have to create an official system to collect taxes.

>>44512676
Aethersteel. Bad efficiency, but we need to grind out xp and mats on lower level mobs anyway

We should check on our artificial biosphere, see if any players have fucked it up yet.

>>44512720
and climb that fucking cliff to survey our lands

I'm still supporting the decision to go into the cave with the firebugs you know the one that we got the heart that gives fire damage to our sword.

>>44512704
I assume we could establish that kind of thing through the custodian NPCs.

>>44512762
I'd rather go somewhere new near the observatory

>>44512762
Why, to make a "heater" shield?

>>44512851
Nope, because it wasn't fully explored. I think there is another dungeon down there full of CGs.

>>44512871
Was that the place with the giant frog boss or something? it's been way too long for me to remember.
>>44512851
shields are for fags

>>44512913
>Was that the place with the giant frog boss or something?
Yes.

>>44512933
I wouldn't mind going there with Tats and Vyx. Assuming it wouldn't take too long to get there. I have no sense of the location of the observatory relative to that area.

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A large group of people is gathered in the observation area of the test chamber, watching a spectacle on the floor; you have to muscle your way up to the window to see. A woman—you recognize her as the one who put the enchantment on your sword in town—is just finishing off her opponent, another player, who hits the wall trailing smoke and flames. An invisible shield bursts off of them on contact, breaking into shards of blue hard-light as they fall to their knees, barely catching themselves.

More cheering. You figured it’d be used for this at least for a while, but you don’t mind. The more places available to duel safely, the fewer people killing eachother in the underground. At least, that’s what makes sense to you. Broken homunculus parts strewn about the arena indicate that you’ve at least collected some profit, and probably will in the coming days. The Custodian is hovering off to the side, waiting patiently for some space to clean the place up without getting killed.

On the message boards, information has been flooding in for a while. People are trying to catalogue, and assign maps to locations. Areas of note have been classified as dungeons (ruins or areas with boss spawns, altars, or other notable properties), hunting grounds (large, typically open areas with high monster or resource spawn rates that are “safer” due to high player density), and unexplored branches, many of the closest of which are likely being mapped presently.

It also looks like someone’s started a “bounty hunting” thread that’s gotten a number of replies. Some things never change, you suppose.

[[ 1 ]]
> Ask someone what’s going on.
> Head elsewhere. (Write-in.)

[[ 2 ]]
> Look into dungeons.
> Look into hunting grounds.
> Look into unexplored branches.
> Look into bounty hunting.

>>44513349
>> Ask someone what’s going on.
Pm Tatsumaki if she wants to go hunting maybe.

> Look into hunting grounds.
> Look into unexplored branches.

>>44513349
>> Look into bounty hunting.
> Look into unexplored branches.

>>44513349
> Look into hunting grounds.
Message Tatsumaki about meeting us somewhere

>>44513349

> Ask someone what's going on.
Gotta get her contact info. A good artificer would be a great party member.

> Look into dungeons.
> Look into hunting grounds.

>>44513349
>Look into bounty hunting.

>>44513349
>Ask someone what’s going on.
>Look into dungeons.

>>44513349
>2 ]]
>> Look into dungeons.
>> Look into hunting grounds.
>> Look into unexplored branches.

>>44512913
>shields are for fags
you're a fag

>>44513349
>> Ask someone what’s going on.
> Look into dungeons.

>>44513349
While you’ve been occupied with the Sanctum, and the message boards have been down, there’s been plenty of time for a few hunting grounds to crop up by word of mouth. There’s the upper platforms near Averron, where crawlers and boss varieties thereof occasionally spawn. Packed with people, probably, but with a number of offshoot caves where you imagine you could find herbs or resources if you were interested in such a thing.

The cave where you, Aelriss, and Tatsumaki encountered the frog boss was cleared out not too long ago, and now serves as a hunting ground for more of the oversized insects. The part you didn’t get to, however, is an only-partly-mapped dungeon area full of the things: a proper hive, as it were. It’s not known how deep it goes, but save for the “sliverwing queen”, presented with a cross-posted bestiary entry, there haven’t been too many new discoveries in the mapped area.

An underground lake in a branch a distance straight below the outside of the ex-Sanctum appears to be home to rare aquatic creatures: primarily water skirters and lake sprites, as well as some rumored rare spawns that haven’t been documented, leading some to believe they aren’t actually real. Further down, the first open magma branch was discovered a while back, and hasn’t been explored thoroughly save for the adjacent locations populated with aethersteel and elemental beasts.

The deepest documented area is the Araneid nest, far below. The creatures encountered there have been the source of a number of more exotic weapons and materials, and the associated lore suggests the presence of a very powerful NPC somewhere in the unexplored part of the area—likely a Precursor.

>>44513896
“What’s going on here?” You ask. Looking down to your right, you see a pair of familiar faces: two of the three Nameless girls you fought outside the Sanctum, identical in all aspects except hair color. They either don’t recognize you, or don’t care, as they answer.

“Someone opened up a PVP arena.” The redhead speaks up. “If you just got here you probably missed the cool stuff.”

“Yeah, now it’s more of a Celestial Artifact dickwaving arena.” The green-haired Nameless responds. “I guess it’s still worth watching, especially since people are betting on the matches now.”

“Sounds interesting.” You wonder how high the stakes are.

“She hasn’t lost since she got in, but a bunch of people are trying to get her to fight the other Crimson Guardian officer.” Someone else nearby says. “Someone said it might actually happen, so get hype.”

[[ 1 ]]
> Message Tatsumaki. (Write-in.)
> Other. (Write-in.)

[[ 2 ]]
> Make plans for the upper platforms.
> Make plans for the sliverwing hive.
> Make plans for the underground lake or magma chamber.
> Make plans for the Araneid nest.

>>44513922
>> Make plans for the underground lake or magma chamber.

> Message Tatsumaki
> Make plans for the Araneid nest.

>>44513922
>Make plans for the underground lake or magma chamber.

>>44513922
> Message Tatsumaki. (Write-in.)
where are you?
> Make plans for the Araneid nest.

>>44513922
> Message Tatsumaki. (Write-in.)
Meet me at the entrance of the observatory
> Make plans for the sliverwing hive.

>>44513922
>1 ]]
>> Message Tatsumaki. (Write-in.)
Is she up to collect mats and practice brawler teamplay?
>> Make plans for the sliverwing hive.
>> Make plans for the underground lake or magma chamber.
Silverwing for mobile tanking, or aethersteel for general git gud.

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> [[ UI Messenger – Tatsumaki ]]
> [[ Ascheritte ]]: Yo
> [[ Tatsumaki ]]: hi
> [[ Ascheritte ]]: Where are you?
> [[ Tatsumaki ]]: underground: lower averron
> [[ Tatsumaki ]]: ?
> [[ Ascheritte ]]: Want to hunt and collect mats?
> [[ Tatsumaki ]]: !
> [[ Tatsumaki ]]: ok :D

The regions you’re interested in would give you an opportunity to get your hands on some magical or elemental materials you haven’t quite dealt with before, though you imagine the fights would be unlike even those you encountered in Kjorikos’s sanctum—you might even be able to get your hands on Celestial Gems if you seek out boss encounters or unbeaten paths.

To harvest raw material from the environment, though, you’ll need someone who can properly use a mining pick—and you aren’t about to ever touch another one after last time. You’ll have to find a competent Explorer somewhere, and Nel’s offline, which is an issue; depending on how much material you’re expecting to harvest, you’d rather have an Explorer that’s more compliant than not. You could look for Cardus or Sulya, the two you encountered at the Writ Keepers’ guild hall a time ago; they seemed to like you quite a bit, and you think they were both Explorers, though you also suppose you could see if anyone around here is organizing parties.

You guess you could always find the requisite tools to just blow up the walls surrounding ore deposits, too. That doesn’t sound like it’d have any potential negative consequences whatsoever.

Once you come to a decision--whether or not you want to try and exploit the environment or search for other party members, you'll have to arrange a meeting place with Tatsumaki.

> Write-in.

>>44514499
Try to get in contact with cardus or sulya
Ask Tats to meet us somewhere between the observatory and our destination I guess

>>44514499
Yeah, let's try and find a decent explorer. Maybe look and see if Ayla or Liza can recommend/loan us someone.

>>44514573
> Vyx, Tatsumaki, and Smith are online.
> Vision, Donnel, Nel, Liza, Ayla, and Aelriss are offline.

>>44514591
Fuck. Let's ask Vyx if she can recommend us anyone, then.

>>44514499
We could always just ask around for an explorer. We're surrounded by a shitload of people.

>>44514636
The problem with that is that we have no idea of how much of a shitter they are. For instance, they could be a PKer or otherwise untrustworthy, and we would have no idea.

>>44514663
>>44514499
We've got contacts in major guilds. Ask around there, see if anyone is available and willing that can be vouched for.

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>>44514499

> [[ UI Messenger – Vyx ]]
> [[ Ascheritte ]]: Hey, do you know any good Explorers that would want to go hunting right now?
> [[ Vyx ]]: Yeah? I can ask around and shoot some names your way but they’re all just dudes from my guild.
> [[ Vyx ]]: If that’s cool with you?
> [[ Ascheritte ]]: Sure.
> [[ Vyx ]]: Alright, give me a few. I’m in the middle of something.

The only ‘quest hub’ you know of for party-searching is the tavern in Averron, though you’re sure there’s one on the message boards. You imagine with this many people here, someone might have set up something—perhaps on the bottom floor or outside.

Cheering erupts from around you, and you glance down onto the test chamber floor. It looks like another fight is about to start.

Super sorry about this—I wasn’t planning on running for long anyway—but I am dead tired from a party lastnight. I'm archiving here because I can no longer promise a quality thread. Hopefully I'll be able to pick back up in the next couple of days; thanks for the posts, as always.

>>44515042
thanks for running

>>44515042
Aight, thanks for running.

>>44515042
Don't be such a stranger. Checking your twitter has become a daily thing for me.

>>44515042
No, perfectly understandable.

Anything you want to point out about the titanpad? Misunderstandings, valid artifacts, initial costs?

>>44515042
Could you put the cost for the artifacts in the titanpad just so we don't clutter the thread checking how much it costs?

>>44515193
Almost all of the Artifacts posted on the doc right now are viable in some permutation, in the sense that they or something similar could be created with an Altar and exist, or you could feasibly ask for one (going through the proper motions) and get something in the domain of what you're looking for.

The one exception is the "blade of cunning wit", which I'm more personally adverse to (rather than there being any in-game restrictions on it). This isn't because an Artifact in the theme of "lingustics" wouldn't necessarily work or be effective, but because even though I'm fond of humor (and try to make BSO as funny as possible whenever possible), I don't think I'd allow such a major focal point to be something so inherently silly given that this isn't a "comedy" Quest. I suppose I'd -have- to given can-not-continue levels of "fucking dropped" shitstorm but I don't think anyone is that attached to an idea that was probably mostly a joke to begin with.

>>44515451
Artifact costs are tangled up in the Celestials dispensing information that might be pertinent, and the nature of the Artifact is also determined by what exactly you ask for once you're in front of the Altar. And, I like writing them out. So, not really.

>>44515546
Yeah I was tempted to just delete that entry because it was so bad but I decided that would be too rude.

So right now, im leaning on totem, with one utility artifact later, depending on what happens.

But does anyone think it wise to grab the Shaper before that, never upgrading? Build up new locations/paths a little at a time after every dungeon run/log out, or just use it as a really expensive pickaxe if we lack an explorer.

>>44515902
I'd rather get the time piece. So many things you can do with it.

-haste
-time stop
-reset ability cooldowns
-setoff ability cooldowns without effect
-rapid aging of enemies and items
-redo button
It's a PVP nightmare and hard to actually counter without someone being a mage which falls under artifacts or precursors.

>>44516019
>without someone being a mage
>falls under artifacts or precursors
wot

>>44516060
There no default magician class. You are either a Precursor or someone who got it via Cgs. Time fuckery is only vulnerable to illusions making us time warp early. Even then it'd be hard because players would see effects not cause.

>>44516116
>There no default magician class
what is an artificer

>>44516152
They'd still need Cgs to learn it. Artificer is mostly about making items. The only magician like ones we've seen are Pandora and Kjorikos.

>>44516250
Both of your examples are artificers.

Kjorikos' title is even 'the First Artificer', for fuck's sake. At this point I'm just taking the bait.

I just want our celestial artifact to be really unique. Pandora's really struck my fancy. The idea of possessing an artifact that really embodies something about our character.

For Ascheritte, I would expect such an artifact to be something related to charging in to confrontations headfirst. So I think getting the headless pegasus summon or the landshark item would be cool.

>>44516844
I can barely recall how Asche played before the pegasus armor

>>44516378
Yes, they were two examples of artificers being mages or Mage like abilities. Neither are normal by far.

>>44519115
elemental attacks are said to be an artificier staple, so there's that.

>>44516019
But I've thought about it for a while
>The abilities do not strictly "break" the game, but I can't imagine the limitations made to prevent such would be very fun to work with
>Seeing time powers from the perspective of the user doesn't appeal to me, whether from how I expect the writing to work or how I expect it's application in voting.
>It's terrible for teamwork, whether you ignore your teammates entirely, or bust your ass using your powers to save theirs.
It's like a cog that works just fine, but doesn't fit at all within the machinery that is this quest.

You've been trying to sell it to us for a good amount of time: why don't you puzzle out the request wording to make it sound awesome/efficient on CG cost?

>>44519238
Yes elemental attacks, made with wands needing a focus, no casting under their own power like a Mage. Also there are no illusion essences meaning such an ability has to be CG based.

As far as teamwork? Several of those abilities are specifically the cooldown add or removal would be great for teamwork. The abilities do not preclude team work only modify it at best like our charge cuirass. I would address the other points but one is an assumption and the other is a matter of taste based on that assumption.

I will make a lengthy fluffy write in when we hit an altar.

>>44519547
All the abilities you mentioned are assumptions. We dont know which ones would actually happen.

And seriously, cooldown reduction is boring as fuck and immersion breaking.

Im suggesting you put out the writein, because inevitably well just use multiple ones and see which one sticks

>>44519547
What do you define as "magic"?

I love this quest so much.
I'd vote for an artifact that allows us to make pacts with spirits. Early levels it'd be really useful for support functions, since Asche is already pretty good at direct combat.
Later levels we'd be able to pact with heavy hitters maybe? Plot wise and for developing the story, I think it's the most interesting option.

>>44521969
Summoning is piss common though in other quests.

>>44522831
We're talking more about imbuing spirits in our equipment or ourselves to take on their aspects like in totemist quest rather than just summoning them.

>>44523075
>like in totemist quest
Well it certainly original.

>>44523136
Literally none of the artifacts suggested are original.
Let's at least go for the fun ones.

>>44523313
>More summoning shit
>More megamanning metagaming
>Fun