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“I have much I wish to say, and I would imagine you have even more you wish to ask.” Charon intones, sitting across the couch from you as your family occupies the other half-circle of sofa. November and Francine flank either side of the warrior, clearly on edge despite your assurances, ones backed by Gina’s constant monitoring of the Hexane’s mindstate. Julia and Dorian are making tea while Amara cackles with joy as Ringo bounds around the room, while GG and Rath sit on your right and left, respectively.

“Reyva, I...we have so many questions.” You begin, leaning forward and placing your chin against your knuckles as you study the Artisan’s angular features.

“If I may make a humble request, before we begin?” They interrupt softly, holding up one bony hand. “While I introduced myself as Reyva, that was more to set your mind at ease regarding my freedom. While Reyva was the name I was assigned, Charon is the one I treasure.”

“Thank you, Charon.” You smile, feeling a flicker of happiness across the empathic channel.

“I’m glad you’re free…” Gina begins, hesitantly. “…though knowing Mother, I’m sure there’s mayo in this cupcake, so what’s the catch?”

Rath slowly turns to look at the brunette, horrified at the euphemism.

“Ozmas is still alive and in Mother’s Throne, I’m afraid. Now, while Ringo and I have been freed, there are a great many beings that have also been loosed that do not bear our goodwill towards the Honored Daughters.” Charon says, head tilting low. “Amalgams, remnants of previous Crucibles…a handful of particularly troublesome…mutations, shall we say. Combined with what you did in the capital, chaos is soon to sweep across your world in your Crucible’s death throes.”

“So was she aiming to free everything to spite us collectively, or is she working on another plan of hers?” You ask, leaning back and folding your arms.

“I…do not believe that was her intention.” Charon counters, primly folding their arms in their lap. “I do not believe Ozmas has any intentions at all, actually.”

“Are you sayin’ we broke the bitch?” Rath chuckles, and you nudge her lightly in the side as her mirth dies down, noticing Charon’s falling shoulders.

“She’s been broken for a long time.” They reply. “She went ‘all in’ as the Midnight Crew was fond of saying…and for her efforts, she lost everything.”

Silence hangs over you for a moment, the echoes of Amara’s laughter dimming as she and the hound dart into the little one’s room. You have so many questions…picking them carefully seems advisable to showering your guest with them, despite your desire to ask everything, all at once.

So, where do you begin?

>>Ask Charon about Mother/Ozmas, and what she’s planning.

>>Ask Charon about the Halos, why they were made and how they work.

>>Ask Charon what their plan is with their newfound freedom.

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next two hours, with posting to resume shortly thereafter. This week will likely be a relaxed one, though I'm aiming for an evening of rapid-posting this Wednesday if that suits everyone. I hope you are doing well, and it's good to continue.)

>>3805833
Write In
>"Listen Charon. We found your Diary.... Do you wish it back? If not, how safe is it to read?"

>"There are also a couple of the other ascendants that we have in our heads now. Do you wish to commune with them? BUt before we can get to that could you answer me this..."

>>Ask Charon about the Halos, why they were made and how they work.
I think mother has little plan but to bring this crucible to its end as fast as possible

And what they do with their freedom i s up to them. If theyx wish to tell us they can but its not the most polite to bring up first.

Also remnants of older crucibles....... Oh that can make for something good in my stories

>>3805846
If my doctor insits on extending my sick leave from work sure otherwise maybe

>>3805833
>>Ask Charon about the greatest threats we might encounter now from the freed contractees, and if she knows of any that could be convinced to help too. she probably doesn't have a complete list but her time under the Crucibles thumb surly got her some info on this topic.
>>Ask her of any locations she knows of that might aid us.
she already said she doesnt think Ozmas is up to anything, and i feel like asking her her plans should come last. the Halos are important, but not as important as figuring out what threat or potential allies we have now, if so many potentially potent threats now are loose.

second one is obvious, the waystation attendant may not know of everyplace, but shes gotta know something or someplace we might be interested in.

>>3805846
sounds good, Wednesday should work for me at least.

>>3805854
while it would be nice to let Charon talk to their potential friends, like i said, stuff like that and the Halos can wait til more pressing matters are resolved. save those questions for last id argue. it'll alos help the mood too. get the heavy weight off everyones shoulders with the heavy questions first, save the less straineous and even pleasant questions for the end, so it ends on a higher note, instead of bouncing back and forth with the tension of the conversation.

>>3805867
You do make a good point about the potential dangers....

>>3805833
Ammending my vote from >>3805854
to
>>Ask Charon about the greatest threats we might encounter now from the freed contractees, and if she knows of any that could be convinced to help too. she probably doesn't have a complete list but her time under the Crucibles thumb surly got her some info on this topic.
>>Ask her of any locations she knows of that might aid us.

>>3805833
>“While I introduced myself as Reyva, that was more to set your mind at ease regarding my freedom. While Reyva was the name I was assigned, Charon is the one I treasure.”
Damn it, Charon, stop flip-flopping on which name you want us to use! It's messing with our bookkeeping.

>>Write-In
>What sort of creatures got released? Were there specific dispersal points, or are they just emerging at random? Are all of them going to be hostile, or are there any that are neutral and just looking to survive?

>>3805846
So to clarify:

Ozmas bet "all-in" on the Messiah Project, lost, and now she's spent the rest of her admin tokens releasing all the safety valves and freeing up everything that was once contained/restricted/contracted and then sits back to watch the fireworks.

Is that the impression that I'm getting?

>>3805929
(You're fairly close to the truth, yes.)

>>3805833
>What exactly was released a great many things out into the wild?
>Amalgams, mutations, remnants of previous crucibles...even contracted beings like yourself and Ringo?
>Those mutations you spoke of, I remember Ozmas asking me to pick a mutation that would affect the world. Ones that would release dream-based amalgams into the world, or a mutation that introduced a global famine to us daughters... would they all go into effect now that they've been released?

>>3805846
Wednesday is fine with me.

>>3805933
....we just basically unlocked the equivalent of Minecraft's Uber-Hardcore mode with all mutations and mods active haven't we?

>>3805940
i think Charon meant mutations like the Pyreants, but but of a more dangerous and developed caliber. creatures, not rules changes. mutations as in, something from the crucible itself it locked up due to them changing in ways it didnt want, or something to that accord. it wouldnt make sense for rules changes to be something released alongside physical entities as their own thing... unless the rules of the crucible themselves are/are stored inside living creatures, in which case, that would be quite the twist.

>>3805872
>Damn it, Charon, stop flip-flopping on which name you want us to use! It's messing with our bookkeeping.
Why how about we call her Charon Revya? Introduce it to the concept of having a first and last name.

>>3805833
>"There's a cultural practice of Humanity that rose about from social needs of naming as we gave ourselves a first name and a last name to both distinguish our individuality as well as make our lineage known, but I think it would fit you as well. You were assigned the name Reyva in the life before your Crucible, but you came to cherish the name we gave you in our Crucible...So how about Charon Revya? Charon; the name you cherish. And Reyva, the namesake of your Hexane lineage."

>>3805948
Nah. I was mostly joking, I don't have a problem with calling them Charon. They don't want to be Reyva, let's not try to force it upon them. They've probably got a last name, anyway. The Hexane reproduce by clonal budding, I'm sure they have a way to signify "this person is descended from the unbroken lineage of ____".

>>3805948
yeah lets not dilute the serious conversation with an unnecessary conversation over a human practice, especially not with a name they already made it sound like they dont want to be called.

Amending this vote >>3805948 by opting not to say it bhop. >>3805833

>>3805833
>"Did...Did Ozmas say anything to you before she released you from your contract?"

>What has exactly changed in the Crucible?

>>3805953
>>3805951
I would like to point out that convenient Fast Travel is no-longer available to the public masses because Ozmas released Charon from the job of being the Fast Travel Station attendant.

>>3805987
>I would like to point out that convenient Fast Travel is no-longer available to the public masses because Ozmas released Charon from the job of being the Fast Travel Station attendant.
Charon was already not managing the waystations, they were off hunting disruptive elements. They're not actually needed, they're really only there to introduce people to the waystations' function. So I guess any new Daughters wandering on their own won't have the knowledge of what these weird chambers she keeps finding are, but she could still learn.

>>3805987
i dont think thats true, i mean yes its much more limited, but Charon was not required, only neuromancy(and maybe skintalking?), which isnt so uncommon as to really assume it wont be used well enough. its already something usually put in a place alot might have trouble finding without being told or having neuromancy to find it anyways, so those that know about it most of the time peobably already have the tool necessary to use them.

>>3806000
>>3805987
>>3805994
Still, PVP camping in the waystations is going to be a problem. The more ruthless daughters will be able to camp in sweet locations, render them into killzones and gorge themselves on easy kills.

Evil Dr. West would probably do that. And it is likely some other nefarious factions will try it too, unless a stop is put to it. In any case, it won´t do any good to the decent people in the crucible, and will only empower sociopaths.

>>3805833
Supporting the majority consensus:
>Ask Charon about Mother/Ozmas, and what she’s planning.
Which is what >>3805863, >>3805872
>>3805987 have expounded on altered format.

BUT, once we are done, move onto:
>Ask Charon about the Halos, why they were made and how they work.

>>3805846
Thanks again for your constant commitment to this quest, it is a delight to participate in this 30th vein...as it always has been.

>>3806073
maybe but even if that is the case that hardly started now, as Charons been busy for awhile now... for us at least. maybe only a week if less IC, but still.

>>3806082
im sure we'll have much more important things to talk about than the Halos first still, even after these questions are answered.

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>>3805833

“These new threats…” You start, staring into Charon’s empty sockets. “…what sort of dangers are we talking about, and is there anything that’s been freed that we might be able to call a friend?”

“Of their number, there are three that are of particular import due to the danger they pose.” Charon elaborates, giving a polite nod to Julia and Dorian as the two of them return with tea for all present, with the young man’s elongated arm holding most of the teacups and saucers along its motile length. “Amalgams, to be loosed upon the Fleshscape in the event of a threat to its proper continuation. One by land, one by sea, one by air. Each one possessing enough power to challenge an army.”

“Good to know, since we got one hell of an army right here.” Rath chimes in, gesturing at the rest of your family.

“So what constitutes a threat to the Crucible, exactly?” Gina asks, pondering your guest’s words. Charon shrugs.

“The Crucible’s strain is but one of the many things floating in the vastness of the universe, Honored Daughter. While the Crucible is certainly powerful, it is not at the top of the food chain, as it were.”

“Any threats Mother unchained that we might be able to convert into friends?” You offer, deciding not to dwell on Charon’s ominous words for the time being as a ripple of unease moves through your allies.

“There are a number of Tindalos, though none as powerful as Amara’s Ringo. Among the Daughters, there are two of note; one, who I was told in short order attained all twelve abilities within a few days of awakening, and combined them all into a thing most terrible. The other, well…her power is nothing at all, to quote Ozmas. I am uncertain as to what she meant by that, but she alluded that it was a thing that should not exist in the framework of the Crucible, as is. I am uncertain as to whether or not they could be swayed to be allies like the Tindalos, but it may be worth trying.”

“Any locations of note that might be useful to us?” Gina queries, taking out her phone and opening her detailed maps.

“Quite a number, and as master of the Waystations I shall be happy to grant you access to as many as I can, though my connection to them is waning as the last vestiges of my constraints leave me.” Charon replies, and you can practically feel them smile across the empathic channel.

(Continued)

>>3806129

“I may not be able to give you a direct route to the Cord, but I can certainly help you get closer without having to busy yourselves with fighting through that which is beneath you. However, if you’re looking for places to strengthen yourselves before your ascension of the Cord then I know of a Tier 4 Forge that is quite easy to access, though I must confess I do not know its current status, as the location was quite contentious to a number of factions. Additionally, I also can bequeath the location of an Amalgam spawning zone, devoted to creating custom-built Amalgam’s for the current Mother’s whims. It might be an excellent place to acquire some unique abilities, as my friend Silvis can attest to.”

“Speaking of which, we have a few new buddies you might want to say ‘hey’ to at some point.” Rath interjects. “Silvis is one cool dude, I’m sure he’d love to catch up.”

“I would…yes. Yes, that would be greatly welcome.” Charon replies with a bow, their subdued enthusiasm carrying a tinge of sadness with it. “However, I wish to be as of much service to you and yours as I can while I am here.

“You’re talking like you won’t be sticking around.” You posit reluctantly.

“Indeed. I mentioned the Tindalos, earlier. I wish to take Ringo and gather their forces under the one they respect, and once done I will to go and right at least some of the many wrongs I committed under Ozmas’ control. Additionally, if there is even the slightest chance her reigns can find me again…then I would not wish to be present to pose a threat to those I care about. Thus, I believe it is best that I remain on the move, if only to do what is right by all involved."

You nod slowly as Charon gingerly takes the cup from the table, the porcelain container held between slender fingers.

“What else do you wish to know? I am an open book to you, Honored Daughter…” Charon offers, raising their cup to their lips as you watch the liquid float up to and filter through their teeth in an aqueous blob. “…at long last. I must admit, it’s pleasing to have the freedom to ‘spill the tea’, as I have heard some younger Daughters say.”

Charon glances down, regarding the rest of the liquid in their cup.

“I do not wish to spill a single drop of this, however. It is quite lovely, my compliments to the creator.” They amend, and Julia just gives a little bow to the Hexane as she makes no effort to hide her appreciative smile.

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next two hours. I mentioned that this Vein will be a relaxed one, as my work schedule this week is shaping up to be quite the opposite. Thank you for bearing with me and for your participation, as always.)

>>3806140
>"to put things bluntly before continuing, besides those three big Amalgams, are there any other immediate threats to our plans for the Cord and Crucible we ourselves can help take care of... and any we should still know about, that we cant?"
>"You said Mutations? mind explaining that a bit? we recently ran into some pyreants we have... formed a bit of a relationship with. to put it bluntly, to call them amalgams anymore in the standard sense of the word wouldn't fit. does the Cord collect such things usually, at least if they get... out of hand?"
>"related to it, and to our plan for the Cord once we ascend, while i understand its a bit of a broad question but, is there any mechanics or workings of the crucible you think we should know, that we may not know as far as you are aware, or may be far from easy to learn, that your unique position and experiences might of given you knowledge of? Gina could use her neuromancy to quickly fill you in on what we do know, if you think it would help."


>>3806144
oof, sorry to hear that.

im a bit confused by Charons wording by the way. was Charon just taking the opportunity to list daughters of note they knew about, or as was related to our question were those daughters for some reason under Ozmas control?

>>3806140

I like these questions>>3806162 as well.
>"to put things bluntly before continuing, besides those three big Amalgams, are there any other immediate threats to our plans for the Cord and Crucible we ourselves can help take care of... and any we should still know about, that we cant?"
>"You said Mutations? mind explaining that a bit? we recently ran into some pyreants we have... formed a bit of a relationship with. to put it bluntly, to call them amalgams anymore in the standard sense of the word wouldn't fit. does the Cord collect such things usually, at least if they get... out of hand?"
>"related to it, and to our plan for the Cord once we ascend, while i understand its a bit of a broad question but, is there any mechanics or workings of the crucible you think we should know, that we may not know as far as you are aware, or may be far from easy to learn, that your unique position and experiences might of given you knowledge of? Gina could use her neuromancy to quickly fill you in on what we do know, if you think it would help."

If there is enough time i would also like to ask this

>"Actually Ringo. You mentioned your kind were the first skintalkers. Do you have any words you could teach to my litle girl here?" Pat Amara on the head

>"And if you dont mind your kind has curious powers. Do you consider the non sentient lesser Tinadlos Kin? If not would you mind pointing us towards a couple non sentient lesser Tindalos? I would to have some of thsoe abilites for ourselves they would be quite useful tools to navigate the Fleshscape and the cord"

Not sure if we have asked Rignop this before so just writing it in in case we have not

>"Will you download the coordinates to us? So we can check on these places on our own time."

>"Listen Charon. We found your Diary.... Do you wish it back? If not, how safe is it to read?"

>>3806162
(The two Daughters they mentioned were of note because they'd been sealed away by Mother, though the hows or whys have not been elaborated on yet.)

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>>3806129
To guess as to what one of those Mega-Amalgams is like: one that's made from the massive plankton blooms that can be seem from space.

>>3806170
How much did that cost Ozmas?

That must have been expensive as all hell to interfere like that....

Also a daughter that is nothing at all? Sounds like a void elemental or something similar

>>3806175
Perhaps it's an Anti-Matter Generator. The direct opposite of a Radiant Generator

>>3806170
oh, yeah now that IS interesting. ill get to that in a bit, as interesting as that is, its not the most important questions to ask right now.

>>3806169
Ringos not in the room, he went to go play with Amara in Amaras room.

geezus that must be a cuteness overload scene. theres probably over a dozen Amaras wearing Ringo and FuzzBuzz to the bone with their antics right now, in the best ways possible.

>>3806175
maybe, though it feels more like that was pointing to her odd powerset. it could be her abilities are basically anything, not necessarily related to 'nothing' themselves, but that she means she has no crucible based powers, hence she is 'nothing' to the crucible.

could be an alien half breed or something. or some poor fool so genetically fucked they werent recognized as human. while the crucible can obviously handle different species i can still see something totally out of place like that throwing it for a loop. plenty of other possibilities too though, mind you.

>>3806175
(I'd love to explain, but I am afraid elaborating on that would be spoilers. My apologies, as I was in the middle of typing up an explanation when I realized most of what I was typing were egregious spoilers.)

>>3806129
>“Amalgams, to be loosed upon the Fleshscape in the event of a threat to its proper continuation. One by land, one by sea, one by air. Each one possessing enough power to challenge an army.”
It's a shame that we've already been calling the big aquatic Amalgams "leviathans", because this would fit perfectly for Behemoth, Leviathan and Ziz. Now we've got to either find a different trio or break the pattern when it comes to the sea monster. Let's see, how about Arabic myth with the three beings that support the Earth on their back? Kujata the cosmic bull for land, Bahamut the world-fish for sea, and...shit, can't find a name for the third creature, the angel who would stand for the sky monster. I'll keep looking.

>“The Crucible’s strain is but one of the many things floating in the vastness of the universe, Honored Daughter. While the Crucible is certainly powerful, it is not at the top of the food chain, as it were.”
Damn it, I was so hoping I was wrong about that and there wasn't an entire ecosystem of world-eaters. Well, something for future humanity to fight, I guess.

>“There are a number of Tindalos, though none as powerful as Amara’s Ringo.
Ringo's the strongest of them? While neat, they certainly don't seem that strong. Unless Ringo went through a big power leveling session since working with us, this just adds further unreliable narrator status to Proxy Uzu's account of entering the Cord. Wonderful.

>ne, who I was told in short order attained all twelve abilities within a few days of awakening, and combined them all into a thing most terrible
I remember you hinting at her. Oh, I want to meet this lady, she sounds cool.

>The other, well…her power is nothing at all, to quote Ozmas. I am uncertain as to what she meant by that, but she alluded that it was a thing that should not exist in the framework of the Crucible
Maybe some sort of dieback apoptosis code, accidentally incarnating in a Daughter's abilities? Like there's some system that just shuts down the Crucible's functions, and so her powers are to deactivate Crucible biology and bring about nothingness?

>>3806140
>Additionally, I also can bequeath the location of an Amalgam spawning zone, devoted to creating custom-built Amalgam’s for the current Mother’s whims. It might be an excellent place to acquire some unique abilities, as my friend Silvis can attest to.
Huh? Shouldn't all the Amalgams already be spawned, if Ozmas has stopped actively administering the Crucible?

Sorry about the bamboozle.

>>3806144
>There are a number of Tindalos, though none as powerful as Amara’s Ringo.
Wow. Ringo is best 4-D Spess Doggo.

> Among the Daughters, there are two of note; one, who I was told in short order attained all twelve abilities within a few days of awakening, and combined them all into a thing most terrible. The other, well…her power is nothing at all, to quote Ozmas. I am uncertain as to what she meant by that, but she alluded that it was a thing that should not exist in the framework of the Crucible, as is. I am uncertain as to whether or not they could be swayed to be allies like the Tindalos, but it may be worth trying.”
mfw that one homebrewed daughter idea where some anon made a ungodly omni-hybrid of the 12 core classes is a game-ender

>mfw the other game-ender daughter is "nothing special, yet scared Ozmas so much that they had to seal her away".

Jesus, I think we've fed Bhop a few too many good ideas when it came to endgame daughters.

>>3806162
I think Ozmas was taking the time to give note of powerful daughters that it knew about.

>>3806181
>>3806175
Or it could be a daughter that corrupts Crucible rules and reasoning into non-functionality just from existing.

>>3806196
We will see because she sound interesting as all hell even if she does not want to join forces

AS a GM i can understand that feeling very well. I have to bite myself on the lip more oten than not to not reveal a spoiler to the plot in my own games

>>3806205
>>3806207
Yes insane characters are "fun" to write

And we may have fed OP ideas but i think he still came up with more ideas of his own

>>3806202
>Space threats.
yeah, the other space organisms also could easily explain the crucible. its using those its consuming as a method to improve itself against other threats. a sad but simple explanation perhaps.

>Ringo
you have to remember we were told the Tindalos are severely nerfed compared to their natural power level due to being constrained into a crucible conforming body. its possible because of this, those in the cord are less constrained aswell.

>amalgam spawning
we know the crucible has an automated system though, it clearly controls when its ready to stop making them. its also simply a factory, could be all amalgams she made were made then then teleported to location.

>>3806178
I think an antimatter Generator would just be a different flavor of Radiant damage. Annihilation reactions create a lot of radiation, after all. It might be a negative energy Generator, though. Negative energy is a hypothetical form of energy invoked in some models of space-time, and which the harnessing of could allow for the manipulation of space for things like extradimensional storage or teleportation. Things we know are possible in this setting. But negative energy cancels out an equal amount of positive energy when they come into direct contact, creating nothing instead of leaving behind an explosion like with antimatter. Someone who could manipulate that would be pretty terrifying, there's no sort of physical defense you can use against negative energy. The only chance you have is that negative energy reacts the opposite way to forces that you'd expect. Gravity makes it fall upwards, pulling on it sends it away from you, etc.

>>3806207
nah, BHOP already had a 'all hybrid' daughter thought up when i posted that. a bit of a shame, but in a good way, as BHOP seems to already have ideas for everything, hes not one thats easy to throw an entirely new idea at it seems.

>>3806140
>it’s pleasing to have the freedom to ‘spill the tea’, as I have heard some younger Daughters say
Okay, I thought that this was Charon just getting confused about "spill the beans", but it turns out that "spill the tea" is actually an idiom meaning "to gossip" coming from the gay communities of Texas. Charon, how many gay Texans have you been talking to?

>>3806250
Charon has a bit of a difficulty getting the exact idioms right. Also, consider the fact that literally all the daughters on the planet are genetically "female", so any relationship could technically count as "Gay (aka lesbian)"

>>3806257
No, sure, we've got plenty of homosexuals in the Crucible, that's not what's getting me. Just the absurdity of Charon hearing this term frequently enough to have learned it.

>>3806250
well to be fair, any Texans left alive have at least a 25-50% increased chance of being gay just by necessity if they want any romantic relationships, so its probably not that hard to come across a few. i really do feel sorry for the still overwhelming majority of daughters out there who are all straight though, their pickings are slim, very slim, for things that even resemble a human male.

>>3806265
Texas is a big place with alot of people, and would basically be a necessary travel point for any southern american daughters. might even have quite a few from africa and the rest of the eastern world coming up through there too, if many are trying to avoid being on the sea as much as possible, which actually probably is pretty common id think. the great oceans can be perilous even today in our world, cant be any better in the crucible.

>>3806275
There's always the Construct Brothel houses in a settlement. Some Daughter who specializes in Phantasmal Conduit and Hive Mistress creation would likely set up shop and create sex dolls and Gigolos for the lonely souls...

I've taken the topic to a awkward tangent haven't i?

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>>3806285

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>>3806285
i mean, you're not wrong, its probably happening, but i think it falls under the 'Isabelle was naked 80% of the time she was in the story' category of 'best not actually mentioned too much.'

>>3806140
Okay, a big one that I forgot I wanted to ask Charon and am feeling silly I didn't remember to until now:

>>Write-In
>"Charon, does the term "Mother of All" mean anything to you? We have the notes of a Daughter who entered the Cord and transmitted information back to a construct of hers. It gave us some details about the challenges the Cord presents, but towards the end of the journal the entries start getting weird and disjointed. The very last entry was these words: 'She wakes. She fights. She ascends. The Mother of All.' Does that mean something, did Professor Uzu have a revelation into the Crucible's nature up there?"

>>3806140
Supporting>>3806169
and>>3806320

>>3806140
>>3806320
supporting this. Hopefully it might be addressed.

Finished the Omake for Luna Bonney's choice.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/10g11rbJ7oEyJg2nMNQ83YLuxSL15OQF6fL98R09EUc0/edit?usp=sharing

Give it a read and let me know what you think.

Author's thoughts: Wanted to do something lighthearted that would annoy the crap out of Ozmas because insanity is "fun". It instead took a rather unexpected swerve into cosmic horror when I wrote it. It's also hard to balance the ramblings of insanity with narration and keep the story flowing. Ending felt weak, but couldn't figure out how to close it properly due to the perspective it was written from.

>>3806466
That was good. The slowly dawning realization of Ozmas that she kept seeing this one Daughter, and that the Daughter was able to perceive her, moving on to dismissing the Daughter as just insane before getting a horrifying sense that maybe she knows what she's talking about. Very creepy, and I'm impressed that you managed to make the creepiness work when our perspective was from that of the horrible alien monster.

>>3806466
Luna has made a pact with a great old one hasnt she? She is a Warlock send to destroy the crucible and make it bow to good old tentacle face or his offspring

All jokes aside very entertaining. Like>>3806482 pointed out very funny how she noticed the daughter that was staring at her.

And then when she realizued what she had just unleashed. I wish there was a picture for her face...... probably a surprised pikachu face would do the job.

I see great things and many carrots mixed with Mochi in Lunas Future

(Back home and writing now, Gentlemen. The next few updates will be hefty ones, given the amount of information.)

>>3806466
overall not bad, but had certain aspects im not really a fan of personally, considering the type of work it is.

>>3806511
so i suspected, take your time BHOP.

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>>3806140

To put things bluntly before continuing, besides those three big Amalgams are there any other immediate threats to our plans for the Cord and Crucible we ourselves can help take care of... and any we should still know about, that we can’t?" You ask, finishing your own cup before placing it back on the table between you and Charon.

“No major threats to you or your family have been set loose by Mother, aside from the Amalgams I mentioned previously, and the two Daughters if they prove to be antagonistic. At least, none that will be insurmountable for you on your current trajectory.” Charon details further, politely declining Julia’s mimed offer of a refill with a gentle palm. “Most of the things that were freed will seek to avoid you, given that they bore witness to Mother’s defeat at your hands…though it was by proxy, it was still more than enough to strike fear and respect into the hearts of those that would have risen against you, otherwise.”

"So, you said Mutations…mind explaining that a bit?” Gina interjects, and you can’t help but notice the conversation now has Francine’s rapt attention. “Shu recently ran into some Pyreants she was able to negotiate and form bonds with.”

Charon’s head turns back to you quickly, and you supplement Gina’s question with one of your own in the face of the Hexane’s silent surprise.

“To call them amalgams anymore in the standard sense of the word wouldn't fit.” You explain. “They’re sentient, and they’ve stepped out of their ‘programming’, for lack of a better term Does the Cord collect such things usually, at least if they get... out of hand?"

“Typically, yes. At least in the rare instances when a Crucible has lasted long enough for such a thing to occur.” Comes Charon’s measured reply. “I must admit that you did these Pyreants a favor by allying with them, then. Now that they are considered an extension of you, interfering with them would count as a move against a given Daughter, using resources that Ozmas cannot afford to spend. Thus…it would appear that you’ve spared them an inevitable fate.”

“So, while I understand this next question may be a bit broad, I figure there’s no harm in asking; are there any mechanics or workings of the Crucible you think we should know that we may aware of or may just be obscure? Gina could use her neuromancy to quickly fill you in on what we do know, if you’re comfortable with that."

With Charon’s assent, Gina reaches into their mind and catches them up to you current base of knowledge. When she’s done, your guest merely sits in silence for a long moment, nodding as the details of your experiences congeal into a coherent whole.

(Continued)

>>3806576

“I’m envious, really.” Charon murmurs, mulling over what your companion’s imparted. “I wish we had learned half of what you had by this point. Let me review for a moment…you’re quite caught up on Forging, Hybrids, and Relic interaction. It seems your friend here is quite the Forge master, even this early on.”

With a nod towards Rath, Charon sets the girl’s face with a wide grin.

“Most of what I have would be mere suggestions and observations...if I may?" They ask, and with a nod of assent Charon begins to speak once more. "Well, if my information isn’t too out of date; the Phantasmal Conduit skill you possess will become a great deal more versatile if my experiences with that power are any indication. Given your relationships with your current Dream Daughters, the resulting Construct bodies will be incredibly potent."

"Moving away from utility, I notice that your Maw appears to be rather under-utilized, save for dealing finishing blows." They note, glancing towards your stomach. "It's an odd power to be sure, but now that your Swarmlings possess the strength to latch on to things, while your tongue is able to retract...I've seen other Daughters deal terrible wounds with such powers. Coupling that with the sheer destructive nature of your drill, you alone are formidable, to say nothing of your family."

"I-if I m-may ask, could you elaborate a b-bit on the m-multi-person techniques some of us have?" Julia asks, surprising everyone present.

"It would be my pleasure, Honored Daughter." Charon replies with a bow of their jet-black skull. "The techniques you describe are in several different tiers, each one capable of being reached by differing emotional thresholds over time. Early ones are the result of shared experiences, hardships, or simply connecting with another in a small, but meaningful way. These are relatively weak, with stronger ones coming about through intimacy and time spent with others. Though many of the Ascendant knew each other before our Crucible started, it took some time for us to develop these...but Ozmas and I certainly possessed a great many, by the time we began to climb. Truly a curious thing to have in a system designed to divide a people."

"Charon, does the term "Mother of All" mean anything to you?"

Charon's gaze snaps to yours, recognition flickering across the channel. The question comes out of the blue, escaping your lips after having rattled around in your mind ever since you first heard it, what feels like an age ago.

"We have the notes of a Daughter who entered the Cord and transmitted info back to a construct of hers." You explain as Charon leans back, hands on their knees. "Towards the end of the journal the entries start getting weird and disjointed. The very last entry was these words: 'She wakes. She fights. She ascends. The Mother of All.' Does that mean something to you?"

It's a long, quiet moment before Charon speaks again.

(Continued)

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>>3806587

“…Ozmas. She found out, when we were traveling the stars.” Charon begins, dread creeping into their otherwise dulcet voice. “She learned what it meant, and when she did…even at the moment that she fell into despair, mere footsteps away from us completing the Crucible together, I have never witnessed her more distraught than when she came understand it.”

"So...what is it, exactly? What does it mean?"

“I am afraid I have no idea. I was trapped with her, locked by her side in silence, her mind an island apart from mine. I only witnessed her reactions to what she learned as she perused the Cord's infinite stores...it took, so, so long to reach your world. While she was languishing for millennia, fully aware, I was in a state between the dream and the waking, bearing witness to everything in silence, much like the one at your side.”

Your heart skips a beat before you remember the one you purged from your mind mere hours ago.

“Oh, her. No, Sam’s gone, thankfully. A Conduit by the name of Cassandra helped us move her into a…”

“Forgive me, I meant the one close to your heart. The one that sleeps, in your jewel.” Charon elaborates, extending an obsidian finger to point at your chest.

At the emerald, clutched by a scarab’s claws at the end of a noose.

“There is no rest for Daughters, Most Honored Shu.” Charon sighs wearily as the fingers of your right hand curl around the necklace. “As any high-level Conduit can tell you when it comes to the living or the dead; we may sleep, we may dream…but there is no averting one’s eyes from the Crucible, until it is done.”

Gina places a comforting hand on your thigh as Charon continues, and the scarab imprints on your hand from the tightness of your grip.

"The only ones that are blissfully unaware of what's transpired are your other selves, saved within the Cord. Ozmas and I, we hoped to free the copies of our race. We were united in that goal, until...until we weren't. Even as we climbed, we learned. We learned of our race, of the duality of our disparate selves." They say, lost in the ill-remembered past. "Copies of us, stored in the bridge between hell below and firmament above. What were we to do, when there was another Reyva, another Ozmas within the Crucible, frozen as we were before the Crucible changed all that we'd known? We did not know if we would live, and they would die, or the other way around. To move forward, or to forget it all...we never came to an agreement, on that."

Charon's shoulders sink a little further down.

"We differed on a great many things...forgive me, Honored Daughters. My personal recollections are not to your benefit."

"Oh no, these Darlings just love a good infodump." Francine chimes in, hands in her coat pockets. "So don't feel bad...I never do."

"Shu, if you wish to find out what this ‘Mother of All’ means…” Charon says.

“…then Ozmas is the one to ask, I’m sorry to say.”

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Voting shall remain open for the next two hours, Gentlemen.)

>>3806602
Damn. Heavy stuff.

> the Phantasmal Conduit skill you possess will become a great deal more versatile if my experiences with that power are any indication.

She's referring to Spiritus Ex Testa, I suppose. Nice, good to know that that one's a keeper.

>I notice that your Maw appears to be rather under-utilized, save for dealing finishing blows.

Huh, we might just have to level that power up some more and experiment a bit. I'd like to see what else it can do.

For further questions:

"You've ascended the Cord, Charon, you know how dangerous it is and what it takes to win the Crucible. Compared to an end-game Daughter, how strong are we? If a newly awakened Daughter is at the beginning of the game, and a Daughter ready to ascend the Cord is at the end, then where would you consider us to be? 30% of the way through, 50%, 70%?"

>>3806600

>"Okay that is a bit to take in. I may ask her later.... You said there are copies of ourselves in the cord. Are there regular backups or just from before the cord. And is it our entire race? Like all humans, male as well as female?"

>"Did you find out what would have happened? would you have died and they have been revived? Did she experiment with that while you were travelling?"

I like this as well
>"You've ascended the Cord, Charon, you know how dangerous it is and what it takes to win the Crucible. Compared to an end-game Daughter, how strong are we? If a newly awakened Daughter is at the beginning of the game, and a Daughter ready to ascend the Cord is at the end, then where would you consider us to be? 30% of the way through, 50%, 70%?"

>"Listen Charon. We found your Diary and that of her.... Do you wish yours back? If not, how safe is it to read them?"

>"Say do you know how the forgecores work? Could you maybe even give us a pointer how to create a high tier one?"

>"If not no problem but we may have to put our Hexxane Dreamdaughters to work then. But my guess is you know a lot about the Halos dont you? WE ahve a rough idea but for what purpose where they created. What was their original intended purpose?"

>>3806600
whew, damn, well alright then. 'Mother of All' might be something pretty dreadful, maybe literally the mother of the crucible, who knows? something to learn about some other time, or from another source it seems.

>"Any tips, hints, or warnings for climbing the Cord? We also need a way past the 'no teams' allowed rule. any ideas, or should we be prepared to just brute force past that part?"
>"Hah, honestly i trust the path we have been on to prepare, but anything you think we are truly lacking to be prepared to climb, would be appreciated if you could spill your wisdom on it."
>Ask about the Halos, and any other hexxane tech that may of made it into our Crucible.
>Ask if anything... older, than the Hexxanes may be laying about, or if by now it would all of been rounded up into the Cord.

>>3806587
huh...the idea of using our swarmling tagging system to get a better chance to use our maw on someone, or even just guarantee us getting close to them is... well it feels like one of those 'so obvious you will never see it' type of things i think.

>>3806576
oh, well glad we saved the PyreAnts from becoming a museum piece... but that also hints at some really interesting creatures having been released from the cord. imagine becoming sentient only to be grabbed and stored in the Crucibles collection? that cannot be a fun fate.

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>>3806600
>"Moving on to less cosmic matters... You mentioned that remnants of previous crucibles have been released, like the halos we wear now. Your halos are one, as well as your architecture's penchance for giving dream daughters a physical body to walk in like in Almath, Can you tell us their purpose and function? And what other Hexxane Technology do you think has survived your crucible and has been recreated here?

>>3806632
I'm just imagining Alien specimens and interesting symbiotes that have been canned by the Mothers of previous crucibles suddenly released in an alien environment.

Well this is turning into some High Surreal Bio-punk Sci-fi Fantasy setting. Ancient Alien Dragons of Mold and aliens of a different planet be walking around these parts.

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>>3806643
yeah, im sure all sorts of crazy insane things are now roaming around. mutations of ALIEN amalgams, things like the Tindalos who made pacts, and hell, apparently even actual Daughters that were worth being locked up. hell wonder if alien daughters just got released too, though clearly none of it strong enough to risk upsetting us, though to be fair, im sure getting stuck in the cord for who knows how godamned long, as it further evolves and changes, and is now in one of if not its longest running session ever, probably puts alot of things behind the power curve, deadly alien super monster or not.

i do think the 'current trajectory' part should not be ignored though. that doesn't mean we can handle alot of it now, only in theory by the time we run into it we can... best hope that reputation of ours keeps keeping some things at bay i reckon.

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>>3806658
Not to mention the alien augmentations and abilities that are added to the loot pool when Consuming comes around. I can guarantee you that there are powersets that don't play nice with alien biology and vise versa.

>>3806600
>“There is no rest for Daughters, Most Honored Shu.” Charon sighs wearily as the fingers of your right hand curl around the necklace. “As any high-level Conduit can tell you when it comes to the living or the dead; we may sleep, we may dream…but there is no averting one’s eyes from the Crucible, until it is done.”
>Gina places a comforting hand on your thigh as Charon continues, and the scarab imprints on your hand from the tightness of your grip.
>"The only ones that are blissfully unaware of what's transpired are your other selves, saved within the Cord. Ozmas and I, we hoped to free the copies of our race. We were united in that goal, until...until we weren't. Even as we climbed, we learned. We learned of our race, of the duality of our disparate selves." They say, lost in the ill-remembered past. "Copies of us, stored in the bridge between hell below and firmament above. What were we to do, when there was another Reyva, another Ozmas within the Crucible, frozen as we were before the Crucible changed all that we'd known? We did not know if we would live, and they would die, or the other way around. To move forward, or to forget it all...we never came to an agreement, on that."

I'm not sure that tracks. If the stored mindstates don't update to reflect the active ones, then the peace of death remains. Even with my own personal philosophical beliefs that two copies of the same mind should be considered the same person until their experiences cause them to diverge significantly, death still has finality in the Crucible without the stored copy being updated. Because the iteration of the person who has known the suffering and torment of the Crucible is gone, their experiences lost. All that would remain is the slumbering copy, who does not experience the Crucible at all because they are frozen in a single steady state. There is a finality to death, once a Daughter dies and doesn't have their mindstate eaten they effectively lose all their memories of the Crucible and are frozen in time.

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>>3806669
oh without a doubt. interesting times are ahead, for both really good and really bad reasons. i both look forward to possibly gaining truly alien powers... but not into facing them. honestly hopefully even if our reputation is keeping them at bay, not all of them are actually still bad folks, or... whatever you would call them. id imagine at least some might be all too happy to not waste this opportunity and stop the crucible from eating and enslaving them again, at the very least. others... might be very happy exploiting the situation, unfortunately.

>>3806674
i think it was implied no one actually dies in the Crucible, is what Charon is saying. either the Cord eats any daughters mind that doesn't become a dream daughter, or they basically end up in limbo, not actually gone but not anywhere else, until the crucible ends. lost to the fleshscapes system basically, or something.

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>>3806674
>>3806681
You know... It's gonna be tragic for Sam and Isabelle. If those pre-crucible data selves are released. Sam's previous state before the Crucible happened was of her slowly dying from getting her brain caved in by Isabelle's lava lamp.

>>3806681
>oh without a doubt. interesting times are ahead, for both really good and really bad reasons. i both look forward to possibly gaining truly alien powers... but not into facing them. honestly hopefully even if our reputation is keeping them at bay, not all of them are actually still bad folks, or... whatever you would call them
Regardless of fear or respect, there will always be the bold ones who will still dare try and combat Shu and her family despite the respect they have for her.

That and there's the issue of the Alien Language Barrier. Still, I wonder how those aliens will react to the new damage types and mechanics that are patched in since their time being frozen/locked away.

Meta-wise, We've practically thrown the door open for Bhop to go ham with tossing Aliens and True sci-fi monsters at us instead of sticking to Amalgams with Daughter Templates. On the other hand, we've given him a lot more behind-the-scenes work for him.

>>3806600
Before we continue, can you grant us access to as many waystations as you can within your power before your connection completely fades?

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>>3806693
>It's gonna be tragic for Sam and Isabelle
for alot of people. their past selves would probably have their own crisis having to compare themselves to what they became, for good or ill.

>there will always be the bold ones who will still dare try and combat Shu and her family despite the respect they have for her.
true. certainly need to be prepared.

but yeah, will be some interesting hurtles to overcome, though Neuromancy and empathic fields give us options... provided they are fleshscape material, at least.

>Meta-wise, We've practically thrown the door open for Bhop to go ham with tossing Aliens and True sci-fi monsters at us instead of sticking to Amalgams with Daughter Templates. On the other hand, we've given him a lot more behind-the-scenes work for him.
technically, we did nothing. it was all Ozmas, and thus BHOP. he could've made her go a different route, we had nothing to do with this. not that im upset by it or anything, just saying dont put the 'blame' on our shoulders, BHOP made his choices, now he gets to lie down with them, and probably look at his sleep schedule and regret his decisions.

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>>3806704
Given that Space is HUGE, what do you think of the possibilities of a planet-sized predator of the Crucible coming to wreck shop and what do you think would possibly happen other than "everyone dies"?

>>3806600
>>Write-In
>"We found your Ascendant Crown. One of the ideas we were considering for how to free you before this was to assemble the Neurotic Crown and get it on your head. If you're worried about Ozmas reasserting control, we could try to knock out any remaining influence she has
>"What was the plan with the Crown? It requires seven copies of the same Halo, and each of you had your own different type. I got the impression you were planning on disseminating the Halos beyond your group, empower the Hexane on a wide scale? When did you start making them?"
>"Actually, that reminds me of another thing I've been wondering: What lead to the Ascendants coming together as a group? Twelve members, each with a different Core type, it doesn't feel like it emerged naturally. Was it part of your people's preparation for the Crucible?"

>>3806681
>i think it was implied no one actually dies in the Crucible, is what Charon is saying. either the Cord eats any daughters mind that doesn't become a dream daughter, or they basically end up in limbo, not actually gone but not anywhere else, until the crucible ends. lost to the fleshscapes system basically, or something.
Yeah, but that requires the Crucible to record updates. I guess it could be saving multiple files for the sake of redundancy, though, so there's a backup of the base state and the updated copy. But if so, why would those copies be active, why not keep them frozen like the initial ones?

>>3806717
Given the relative lack of power of the Crucible's "antibody" Amalgams, I'd guess that the odds actually aren't very high. It would put more energy into producing planetary-scale defenses if it thought it was likely it would be attacked by another planetoid. Its ecological niche probably relies on obscurity and hiding, with attacks being uncommon.

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>>3806717
>Chances
slim to none, unless our crucible was already being hunted, in which case i feel like it and Mother would be doing more to get things moving, possibly even telling the truth. "look, big giant space monster is coming to eat THIS space monster eating your planet. i know it sucks, but if you dont win the crucible and get us moving again, you're species is facing even worse than an eternity in the Crucibles archives, they'll be dead. dead dead, and everything else in here."

>other than "everyone dies"?

hrm... well.....

>"It was terrifying, knowing the Crucible wasn't the biggest fish out there... even moreso, knowing it was coming for ours. of course, no one liked the crucible, even those who wished to win it had their... disposition to the whole thing, but still it was better than watching us get eaten along with it, that was an even worse fate than this hell hole. or so we thought. things dont always go as... expected. im no scientist, so i wont try and figure out why it only ate what it did. but it did, and here we still are."

>"The sky went black, as if the crucibles membrane didnt block out enough light. some had prepared, hoped to fight... but just like the crucible surrounding and devouring out planet... how do you fight something like that? that big? that immense? the fact of the matter is... you dont. and so we watched. some cried, some got high, others pissed at the thing as they flipped it off. what? the world was ending, who was i to judge them? "

>"But...instead... something different happened. of course, there was still collateral damage, people still died... but it wasn't here for us, and that im thankful for. whatever it was, it tore and shredded the membrane, sucking up the chunks, most before they could crush anyone. then it bit down in the cord. with ear shattering, mind crushing jerk, it tore the cord from our planet, and like a giant, wet noddle, sucked it up and down its immense, otherworldly gizzard..."

>"and then it was gone. it had gotten what it came here for, the rest of our planet and, thankfully, us, weren't worth its time or energy. and so it left. i wont say i know what this leaves for our future, what to do next... or if we even can do anything. the damage was world wide, two apocalypses in such a short amount of time... and now, whats next? does life find a way? or are we all doomed to rot and starve without the cord running things? i have no idea, but i do know one thing... i thought the crucible was terrifying, no, that word doesn't do it justice, the primal fear felt at this hellscape that had found our planet has no words to describe it... so what the hell then, am i feeling now, now that i know... it was hardly the worse thing to fear thats out there?"

>>3806728
>Yeah, but that requires the Crucible to record updates. I guess it could be saving multiple files for the sake of redundancy, though, so there's a backup of the base state and the updated copy. But if so, why would those copies be active, why not keep them frozen like the initial ones?
well, its all theory still, Charon didn't give us the most to work off of, but it could be it just doesn't care? after the initial backup, why would it care to 'shut down' the 'programs' it might still learn from, or waste the time doing that extra action? not its fault or problem if you go insane in limbo land once you get double-offed and are no longer a part of the crucibles game.

>>3806731
I think it actually would do pretty significant damage to the planet if a predator attacked. The Crucible's been putting most of its energy into producing the Favored Daughter, and that thing's deep underground, near the core. A predator would probably dig that out to consume, it should be the most nutrient-rich part. Like how most predators on our world prioritize the organs and leave the muscle tissue for scavengers. Which there's probably also an analogue to, giant void-vultures traveling the stars looking for dead world-eaters to scrape the bones clean.

>>3806734
I'd assume to conserve resources. The Crucible's resources are enormous but finite, why spend computational power on running programs it doesn't need to? Then again, it's also a buggy piece of shit, maybe the fact that all its RAM is being spent on running mindstates is why it's so buggy.

>>3806739
well maybe, but less then it eating literally everything. also really depends on alot of things. the cord probably would be the most nutrient rich, the new Mothers body might just be basically a hollow shell of biomass honestly, if what we saw from technically inside of it is anything to go by. i mean to be fair, it probably wouldn't need to be much more, but that still makes it less useful as a meal.

>I'd assume to conserve resources.
maybe, but we really dont know. and as you say, the Crucible doesn't always make the smart or obvious decision. wondering if all these sentient beings it snacks on isnt rubbing off on it the wrong way...

>>3806739
>>3806747
You are now imagining Two Crucible planet eaters ramming each other and fighting over the planet that's supposedly their next meal, just two giant meat shapes banging each other.

>>3806750
(Much like those two Gluttonous I alluded to.)

>>3806750
W O R D I N G.
geezus its the cosmic level equivalent of those two gluttonous daughters again, isnt it? imagine having to watch two planet sized meatballs fight over who gets to put your species through a death tournament though?

>>3806750
I want to hear the story of the civilization that encountered that. Like both of the world-eaters killed each other, and then the civilization's space program gets massively accelerated because they want to land on their corpses to study them. Their technology evolving rapidly by analyzing this bizarre biology, their species eventually hitting the singularity all on the back of dissecting giant alien corpses.

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>>3806753
>>3806754
I'm sorry I couldn't resist bringing some levity back into the discussion.

>>3806760
Or it could end up with one of the world-eaters subsuming the other and then eating the planet.

Or both crucibles learn to share somehow and now said planet is facing two apocalypses.

>>3806771
>Or it could end up with one of the world-eaters subsuming the other and then eating the planet.
>Or both crucibles learn to share somehow and now said planet is facing two apocalypses.
Sure, there are lots of possible ways for this to go down. I chose a more optimistic one, but it doesn't have to end that way. Things could get so much worse.

Oh, and I think I've come up with a trio of names for the land, sea and air super-Amalgams that works, with Leviathan already being taken knocking out Hebrew myth and Islamic myth apparently not naming their air creature. Going with the creatures that tend the Tree of Life in Zoroastrian mythology, kind of appropriate with them being the guardians of the Crucible and the Cord. You've got Goshorun the primordial ox for land, Kar the serpent-fish for sea, and Simurgh the king of birds for air.

>>3806771
>>3806773
>Mfw when giant planet consuming meatballs find love and lovingly eat your planet together

>>3806787
you're missing a reaction image for that.

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>>3806787
>>3806790
(I've got you covered.)

>>3806790
well, my phones image cache is not as diverse as my computers. that, and i am unsure what the right emotion to convey there really is.

>>3806798
im unsure this is the one either, but geezus yeah thats terrifying.
so wheres the daughter BHOP whos got a hybrid where she turns your own organs into her constructs?

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>>3806811
(Soon.)

>>3806786
How about
jormungandr-class for Sea-based amalgam
Nidhoggr-class for land-based amalgam
Aigaion (Aegaeon) class for air-based amalgam

>sees >>3806815

>>3806811
You just had to tempt fate didn't you?

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>>3806815
i am unsure if i should be glad or not i had that idea and just knew you already had it implemented. she must be terrifying to fight against haha.

>>3806823
i have no regrets! ok maybe i have some thats gotta be one of the most terrifying ways to die ive ever heard of, she will be a nightmare of an encounter.

>>3806823
Feels a bit weird to swap mythologies for the air amalgam. I'd rather go with Hresvelgr, the giant eagle, if we were going for a Norse thing.

>>3806834
Well we could go Greek or Norse.

Greek has some fitting name classes for giant creatures
Greek
>Atlas = Land
>Aigaion = Air
>Oceanus = Sea
Norse
>jormungandr = sea
>Nidhoggr = Land
>Hresvelgr = Air

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>>3806600

"Okay that's...a lot to take in, I'll admit." You sigh, hand leaving your necklace to rest on Gina's fingertips. "You said there are copies of ourselves in the cord. Are there regular backups from before the Cord, and is it our entire race? Male as well as female?"

"Indeed, Most Honored Shu." Charon affirms. "Every member of your race that was alive before the Crucible began is hard-coded into the Cord, and exist there in stasis as we speak."

"Did you find out what would have happened, if you and Ozmas would have revived everyone?" You posit, both you and Gina's minds racing with the possibilities. "Would you have died and they have been revived? Did she experiment with that while you were travelling?"

"She did, finding that a variety of options were possible." Charon patiently explains. "Programs could be set into motion to reduce all living Daughters to basic biomass and revive their original forms on the spot, or to swap the conscious mind of a Daughter with their original consciousness within the Cord, to even deleting both. She found all that and more, in her years of immobility and grief."

"You've ascended the Cord,so you know how dangerous it is and what it takes to win. Compared to an end-game Daughter, how strong are we?" You ask, sensing the question resonate with the red-head to your left, in particular. "If a newly awakened Daughter is at the beginning of the game, and a Daughter ready to ascend the Cord is at the end, then where would you consider us to be? Thirty percent of the way through? Fifty? Seventy?"

"In terms of sheer power, and the progress you're capable of making? I would say you're at the halfway mark...but you still have quite a ways to go, as things are only going to get that much more dangerous the closer you draw to the Cord."

"Oh, um...w-we found your d-diary, too, along with M-Mother's" Julia chimes in, casting a glance to your room. "I w-was wondering, d-do you want it back?"

"Ah...thank you, Honored Daughter." Charon replies stiffly. "I believe I shall be declining the offer. Neither are things I wish to expose myself to again, if it's all the same to you. You are welcome to keep them or get rid of them, but in regards to Ozmas'...if you read it, then I do hope that you do not judge my people as harshly as she did."

"Hey, just spit-balling here, but do you know how the Forge Cores work?" Rath asks, leaning forwards in her seat. "Could you maybe point me in the direction of how to make a higher-tier one?"

"Indeed, I...it was Ozmas who found out how, much like how she augmented the Sparagmos Engine without my knowledge. It's a simple thing to raise a Core from one level to the next." Charon says coolly. "She found you could sacrifice crystallized Daughters to do so, the kind that her broken Engine could produce. I did not realize what she was doing until I had a full suite of Forge Cores installed at a variety of encampments around our version of the Fleshscape, I'm sorry to say."

(Continued)

>>3806875

"...We found your Ascendant Crown." You say, filing that news away as yet another reason to despise the sitting matriarch. "One of the ideas we were considering for how to free you before this was to assemble the Neurotic Crown and get it on your head. If you're worried about Ozmas reasserting control, we could try to knock out any remaining influence she has by doing that."

"I...I am honored you would think of me, when I was in a position to cause you harm." Comes their shocked response as they struggle to pull their words together. "If... if you would be willing to ease my mind in such a fashion, I...just the fact that you would offer is a testament to your grace, Honored Shu."

"Just out of curiosity, what was the plan with the Crown? It requires seven copies of the same Halo, and each of you had your own different type. I got the impression you were planning on disseminating the Halos beyond your group, empower the Hexane on a wide scale? When did you start making them?"

"I started crafting them shortly after our Crucible began, with knowledge of the twelve types of Daughter in mind in addition to the Ascendants' varied personalities. They were...gifts, more than anything. A gesture of goodwill to those that I had yet to meet, and a token of affection to those that I called friends. I have to admit a certain pride in their construction, surpassed only by the Contender." Charon answers, their tone moving from satisfaction to a more somber one as they continue. "Dissemination came later, and for a very good reason."

With that, Charon adjusts their posture, leaning forward in a mirror of Rath as the Hexane begins their explanation.

"Our Crucible was planed for. It was a known thing, for all involved. We were told by our leaders that we as a people were beyond the Hunger, that we were attuned to each other in such a way that the barbarism we'd seen on other planets would not apply to us, that we'd evolved past our primal urges. We thought we were special, mortal things in our little rock floating through a cosmos we barely understood. We thought a great many things...and perhaps we'd have learned, if any had survived. But I digress." They finish bitterly. "When study of the Crucible was well underway, it was found that one's particular classification of power could be determined before the Crucible began, and thus the Twelves Ascendants were brought together. A collection of noteworthy Hexane who were to be the proud representatives of our race in the trials to come. Everyone else would rest, safely protected as we swiftly and efficiently ended the Crucible and brought a new wave of prosperity to our people. That is what we were told...and we, in our infinite naivete, believed it."

(Continued)

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>>3806880

"The chaos that spread was...we were on the fringes, not wholly aware how bad it was until we found a town that had been fortified, protected. The high walls meant it simply became a charnel house that we had to carve through to find any survivors, and when we did...they'd succumbed due to what they'd borne witness to. One of the Ascendants, they...after a few more incidents, we had to put down one of our own." Charon shudders. "I modified the Halos with Ozmas' help, and crafted them into an easily-replicable failsafe for any that would be foolish enough to turn from feasting on Amalgams to killing their own kind. It was the kind of deterrent that would spell death for a predator, and a posthumous victory for their prey."

"...Deleting the devourer's Core." Gina breathes, hazel eyes wide as Charon begins to nod.

"Indeed. My failsafe appears to have successfully translated to your species, as was intended." Charon affirms, pride and relief pulsing across the channel in equal measure. "You see, Relics move between Crucibles, coded as vital objects to create variety and competition to even the playing field, as it were. I wasn't certain if my coding would be able to correctly acclimate to the Crucible's next participants in the event that Ozmas and I failed our quest...but I am relieved to know it has been of such great use to you and your family."

"Charon...it's because of you that Gina's with us today. It's because of you that our family is whole again." You say softly, rising from your seat, Gina rising alongside you with her hand clasped tight in yours. "Thank you, for what you've done."

"As much as your thanks is appreciated, I am only returning the favor." Charon intones, rising as well. "When I was first granted this form, I promised myself that if I ever regained control, I would use my freedom to remove myself from this Crucible...and my actions to this day had only reinforced that desire."

You watch as Charon slips their right hand into their cloak, retrieving a small insect-symbol pin, its bright emerald and orange paint shining in the light of your home.

"Then I was granted three things by a Daughter unlike any other." Charon says, gazing down at the well-cared for pin. "The first was a name, the second was this. Simple things...but no-one I'd ferried before that moment had though to grant me either."

"....and the third?" You ask.

"Hope, Dearest Shu." Charon answers softly. "Hope for a better end to this tale than the one I left behind."

>>Continue to speak with Charon, as you have a few more questions you'd like answered.

>>Attempt to reach out to Mother, with Gina's help.

>>Settle down a bit, and talk with Francine about her Choice.

>>Use the Engine to make a fully-functioning Neurotic Crown, and give it to Charon.

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Gentlemen, I shall be pausing here for the evening. Voting shall remain open for the next eleven hours, with posting to resume in roughly thirteen, give or take as work demands. Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm, participation, and kindness. I shall be around for a short while longer to address any questions, concerns, and criticisms, and I welcome them all. I hope you have a restful evening, and I look forward to seeing where you'll take this in the morning.)

>>3806894
>>Continue to speak with Charon, as you have a few more questions you'd like answered.
>"Any tips, hints, or warnings for climbing the Cord? We also need a way past the 'no teams' allowed rule. any ideas, or should we be prepared to just brute force past that part?"
>"Hah, honestly i trust the path we have been on to prepare, but anything you think we are truly lacking to be prepared to climb, would be appreciated if you could spill your wisdom on it."

honeslty mostly i just want that first part answered. feels like its a very important thing we should not overlook the chance to get even a smidgen of info on.

then;
>Use the Engine to make a fully-functioning Neurotic Crown, and give it to Charon.
>Then, help Charon settle down so they can talk to their Hexxane friends we have with us, while we go and talk to Francine about her choice.

>>3806899
well, certainly a relaxing time BHOP, and nothing wrong with that.

no actual questions, but im never against hearing what Amara is up to while out of sight.

>>3806875
> It's a simple thing to raise a Core from one level to the next." Charon says coolly. "She found you could sacrifice crystallized Daughters to do so, the kind that her broken Engine could produce
So are crystallized Daughters just a universal catalyst for Crucible-based technology? Seems like you can do more or less anything with enough atrocities, even if the machine wasn't designed for it.

>>3806894
>One of the Ascendants, they...after a few more incidents, we had to put down one of our own
Themis the Mad, I assume?

>"Indeed. My failsafe appears to have successfully translated to your species, as was intended."
So anyone who ate one of our party, now (except November, sorry Heather) would get Hexane Rewriten? Dang, we need some aposematic coloring, then. You know, like poison dart frogs. Something to indicate "there is no gain to be had by eating us, it will only hurt you".

>>3806899
Thanks for running, BHOP. It's been a good thread. Francine is right, this group loves an infodump.

>>3806918
maybe when/if we trade biomass with the PyreAnt Queen well get their spikes or something on us, not just our swarmlings. not sure id actually want that, though Rath would certainly probably be a bit jealous. still, nothing to say 'im not good to eat' like being covered in bright red spikes.

>>3806899
>Our Crucible was planed for. It was a known thing, for all involved. We were told by our leaders that we as a people were beyond the Hunger, that we were attuned to each other in such a way that the barbarism we'd seen on other planets would not apply to us, that we'd evolved past our primal urges. We thought we were special, mortal things in our little rock floating through a cosmos we barely understood. We thought a great many things...and perhaps we'd have learned, if any had survived. But I digress." They finish bitterly. "When study of the Crucible was well underway, it was found that one's particular classification of power could be determined before the Crucible began, and thus the Twelves Ascendants were brought together.

Wow. Charon's Solar System must've been a crowded Neighborhood full of other civilized planets of varying tech levels if the Hexxane Civilization had time to actually study and more or less prepare for the Crucible Virus's coming. Can you confirm on that?

>>3806894
>Settle down a bit, and talk with Francine about her Choice.
Charon seems to be at a natural stopping point.

>>3806906
Whoa Whoa whoa, this feels so hasty.
Do we even have the levels provided?
You do realize we're sacrificing a lot of Neurotic Halo or even pruning entire Neurotic Halo trees in order to protect Charon. Gina's and Amara's halos have been Hybridized into powerful Hybrids. Shu's Halo is at level 5, Rath's is at Level 2, Julia's is also at level 2, and Dorian's is at level 3. That's a lot of Neurotic Halo level investments being poured into a crown for Charon. And Shu's halo is providing that +5 to swarmling cap.

Those Halo Automatic Critical Counters have saved our asses at crucial moments, are you sure you want us to strip down a Halo level from our family to give Charon the Neurotic Crown (lvl 1)?

How are we going to finagle the levels required in order to give Charon a crown while not severely gimping the family?

>>3806936
>Wow. Charon's Solar System must've been a crowded Neighborhood full of other civilized planets of varying tech levels if the Hexxane Civilization had time to actually study and more or less prepare for the Crucible Virus's coming. Can you confirm on that?
I doubt it was all one system, but maybe a globular cluster? Lots of stars pretty close together, so that with a big enough telescope you could see them pretty clearly.

>How are we going to finagle the levels required in order to give Charon a crown while not severely gimping the family?
It's not a permanent thing. The Neurotic Crown only has to be put on once to cleanse the wearer of any geasa. Ozmas might be able to establish control through another method later, but Charon would be cleared of back doors. Then we can take the Halos used back.

>>3806936
its doesnt matter, we'll give it out. im not saying theres no cost, hell i understand its a VERY big cost...

...but Charons not a bad person, and they have suffered enough. even more importantly, even if its a slim, almost non existent threat... we dont want them falling into Mothers hands again. it can even be a temporary thing. 'hey, wear this til you feel the last of your crucible connections have fully gone away, then mind bringing it back?'.

it's simply not the type of thing Shu would turn down doing, or our family for that matter. Charons a friend, a powerful ally, and is suffering, and Shu and her family can do something to help. they would, and they would do it with a smile on their faces. any drawbacks we could, can, and will work around. its the right thing to do, even if its not the funnest hit to take.

>>3806948
And I think we can do it without actually gimping any of the high-level or hybridized skill trees, even if we give the Crown away permanently, though it may give Francine a bit of indigestion. She doesn't have the Neurotic Halo skill yet. Transferring a Halo to the Crown removes the skill from the Daughter, and the tier of Neurotic Crown we need only requires level one Halos. So we can just keep giving her level one in Neurotic Halo. Have everyone transfer one level of a skill of their choice to Shu with the Sparagmos Engine, turn them all into levels of Neurotic Halo. Give Francine one, she sacrifices it, repeat seven times. We'll each be down one level, which sucks, but we won't have lost any advanced functionality or hybrids.

Though Charon could always pay us back. Just jaunt out with Ringo real quick and kill a medium-level Amalgam with their endgame power set. Nothing so big that we'd get a net gain of levels and have to start build voting again (oh god, no, put that off for a while please), only seven levels worth to recoup the investment. No need for any real drawbacks to this, just giving up a Relic that we were unlikely to use anyway because we don't want to lose access to Halo skills like that.

>>3806977
true. though, to be fair, besides Shu, those with non hybrids really only use the level one abilities on it. granted, i still think they will be a good long term investment(or hybrid material) for anyone, but i dont think Julia, Dorian, and Rath getting down to level one is really that bad. thats 4/7 right there. Shu could then provide the other 3 and still be at level 2 plus the Crown Augment. even Shu besides passives only really uses the level 3 part really, so we could also get rid of the perpetual Crown. not a fan of it, but honestly with how we use the Halos, it really would not be that bad a hit at ALL to do this, we could still easily keep the parts of it we actually use that make it so powerful.

and i get not wanting to dump Perpetual or anything, but we have options, and its only one level from somewhere else otherwise to do it that way, and only an issue if its permanent, though that is a risk.

Honestly for the cost of doing the right thing and putting Charons mind at ease, it could've been worse. maybe has been before, depending on how you want to frame some things in the past. plus like i said, until Charons connection to the crucible fully fades, it sound very much like a 'better safe than sorry' predicament.

>>3806988
Yeah, they don't really use the level two functions, though I do like the hypothetical ability to go into neural lockdown mode. That feels like the sort of thing that might be useful, someday. But yeah, I'd be willing to bring Shu down to Neurotic Halo level two and the non-Neuromancers of the party down to level one, in order to craft the Crown. Still would like Charon to pay us back, though. I'm happy to take the hit if we have to, their safety of mind comes first, but come on. You're Charon the Artist Ascendant. You can go down to the river and kill a leviathan in like thirty seconds with the help of your teleporting dog. It's not a big investment of time or effort.

>>3806995
>>3806988
...I wonder if Charon could impart part of its Flesh Artisan Halo onto our resident Artists...She's got the Flesh Artisan Halo after all...

>>3806995
>mfw Charon says they'll be back with the material shortly
>mfw takes them like seven hours
>"I apologize, im so powerful now i cant hold back, i kept leaving nothing behind for me to bring back for most of my kills."

>>3807000
perhaps, id not be against them trading their neurotic for a artisan one, well, maybe at least. id want to see and hear what it does first. obviously it SHOULD be better for them, but still, better safe than sorry afterall.

>>3806918
(Precisely, on both your questions.)

>>3806916
(A platoon of seven clones have Amara-piled Ringo and are currently napping away happily after the productive afternoon.)

>>3807087
>(A platoon of seven clones have Amara-piled Ringo and are currently napping away happily after the productive afternoon.)
Adorable. Ringo, you're so cute that sometimes it's hard to take you seriously as a member of a predatory alien species with intelligence comparable to humans and the ability to violate our concepts of space and time. Seriously, it's too tempting to treat you as just a big friendly dog.

With these upgrades, I'm pretty damn curious how OP is going to make this harder.

OP, can we also upgrade any constructs we make through SPIRITUS with swarmling modifiers?

>>3806899
OP one question
If someone with an activated halo(eg activated like Ginas was by being paired with neuromancy) is consumed but is unaware of their ability to delete cores of other people. Does the Hexxane rewrite still take place?

Or does the user need to be aware of that?

>>3807357
Oh yeah, we need descriptions for new Spiritlings and Lagannlings from the new Spiritus and Firmament abilities.

>>3807357
(You absolutely may, as Spiritus is built to benefit from Swarmling Modifiers and Augmentations.)

>>3807363
(The user does not need to be aware, as the deletion is automatic.)

>>3807399
(I'm putting the finishing touches on them today, and I'll either update the Swarmling sheet this afternoon or early evening.)

>>3807404
Bhop, do you mean Spiritus is unique in that it can benefit from related classes Ability specific Augments? because all but Chitinous Stalwart are not class specific Augments but Ability Specific Augments relating only to Trypophilic Hive.

>>3807087
>A platoon of seven clones have Amara-piled Ringo and are currently napping away happily after the productive afternoon.
absolutely adorable.

>>3807421
(Indeed, that is how it was intended to work.)

>>3806906
(Also, since this appears to be the main vote, is everyone alright with crafting the crown?)

>>3807448
alright, thanks for the clarification.

>>3807451
I would guess so. If Charon can provided the levels necessary to do so absolutely

but even so it will be nice of us to do so. So go ahead no objections form me

>>3807451
What's the exact cost for completing the Crown? I need to know due to internal reservations

>>3807462
(Removing the Neurotic Halos from your respective allies, then slotting them into the Crown to make it Neurotic. Removing them is temporary in this instance due to an Augmentation Charon has that will let them essentially 'clone' the Crown's effects and then give the actual Relic back to you.)

>>3807470
Sounds a bit sketchy, but if Charon has an augmentation that allows her to do that, then I'll be fine since it's by your word.

>>3807470
Oh, definitely in favor of it, then. I was okay with it if it had a cost for us to pay, but with Charon using high-level Flesh Artisan tricks to make it functionally free for us, then definitely go for it.

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>>3806894

"Then consider us even, Charon.” You say, a warm smile on your lips. “So, I have to ask; any tips, hints, or warnings for the Cord? We also need a way past the 'no teams' allowed rule. Any ideas on how to bypass that, or should we be prepared to just brute force it?"

Charon considers your question as Rath begins to quietly chant ‘brute force’ under her breath, knees bouncing in place.

“Brute force may be the only option, unless…” They trail off, your ginger companion quietly pumping her fist in victory. “…unless you could convince Ozmas to make a rule change, if such a thing is even possible in her current state.”

Dorian scoffs lightly as he finishes his tea, scooping up the empty cups before Julia can react to play hostess and casting an amused wink her way when she makes a noise of protest.

“Now, if you’re able to go up as a team, then unity will be key. While Ozmas and I were powerful, there are things in there that will test you beyond the powers you have attained, things that will strain the bonds between your allies until they are fit to break.” Charon intones, slowly looking between everyone present. “It will play on your fears, your weaknesses, until you doubt all that you hold dear…to say nothing of the horrors you will be fending off at the same time. You are quickly growing in power, Honored Shu…almost at an alarming pace, given the time you’ve spent awake. Cementing your bonds is key, if you all are to remain whole for what is to come.”

“Alright…okay.” You say, nodding as you mull over what your guest has imparted. “Well, Charon…let’s get you freed. Come on, we have a Crown to complete.”

While you start on the engine, Charon bequeaths Gina with all the waystation coordinates they possess. Then, with Gina and Francine’s careful supervision the Halos are removed from each of you and slotted into the Crown, in turn. The Crown becomes a resplendent thing, seven crystals flickering across its breadth, shining and regal in Charon’s onyx talons. The moment Charon places it upon their skull their entire body shudders, veins of pink light pulsing along their limbs and cloak, before fading away as the shivering stops, and then…

“It’s…I’m free.” Charon mutters, removing the crown with painstaking care. “It is finished.”

The turn to you, unsure what to do with themselves until their attention focuses on the weapon at your hip.

“I wish to begin to repay you, Honored Shu.” Charon intones, handing the Crown back to Gina and giving you a low bow. “May I speak with my old friend, for a moment?”

You relent, passing the Contender to them as they admire the weapon for a moment before you feel a twinge of joy and sadness from somewhere deep within them.

“Ha, it seems you are now more this one’s Master than I am.” Charon chuckles, the weapon starting to glow in their grasp. “Still…I can work with this.”

>>CONTENDER – LEVEL UP x5

(Continued)

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>>3807691

PLEASE CHOOSE 5 OPTIONS FROM THE LIST BELOW

>>TRIGGER ROUND: Any type of round fired by the Contender now accelerates timer-based abilities by one tick per round that hits the target.

>>GEMINI’S BLADE: While in Lionheart Form your blade splits into two identical copies, each one half of the ammo capacity available to you. While they each require a hand to hold, you may make two strikes with each of them using a single ACT as long as both are in your possession.

>>CONSTRUCT’S SWORDARM: Your blade may now disappear from your grip as a free action, reappearing in the hands (or claws) of a construct of your choice and allowing you to pull of angles of attack that would otherwise be quite impossible. While a warp can only be done once per turn, you may warp the blade back to your hands as a free action on any subsequent turn.

>>GUNSLINGER’S DRAW: Your first shot fired in combat is now guaranteed to strike with perfect accuracy, and will automatically take place first in the combat initiative regardless of other modifiers.

>>SHEATHED STRIKE: When in Lionheart mode, the Contender now occupies a calcite sheath that may imbued with energy and ‘primed’ by imbuing the weapon’s empty chambers with explosive levels of biomass. This may stack up to the number of empty chambers the Contender possesses and be released on a subsequent turn to deal a devastating blow, boasting drastically increased attack power, critical chance, and critical damage.

>>[FORM AUGMENT] ULTIMA’S SQUALL: The Lionheart’s Form now resembles something more akin to an elegant, yet imposing bastard sword. Boasting a strike radius of two movement zones thanks to the sheer cutting force and speed of the blade, this form also doubles the base stats of any augmentations applied to it in the present or future. A peerless blade for a peerless soul, you have only one thing to say to this form…it’s perfect. (Please note that these bonuses are only applied to the pure Lionheart mode, and do not translate to the bayonet, as listed below.)

>>[FORM AUGMENT] LIONHEART’S BAYONET: The form and function of the Lionheart Form may now be applied to any Form change, as the blade consistently appears across all forms as a wickedly powerful bayonet. Additionally, this blade also gains unique and additional quirks across the forms.

(Continued)

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>>3807693

>>[NEW FORM] ÜBER SCHROTFLINTE: Sound and fury, signifying carnage. The Contender unfurls into a form that, while antiquated, belies terrible power. This form splits the Contender’s ammo into a shower of individual pieces, diminishing its efficacy at long and medium ranges in exchange for devastation up close. The BIO required to load the break-open barrel increases by 10%, but now boasts a far greater chance for critical hit, guaranteeing catastrophic damage in melee range. Rip, tear, and repeat to your heart’s content. (Lionheart’s Bayonet: The bayonet may now be fired before releasing your rounds, lancing into a foe to deal damage and boasting a high chance to haul them up to two movement zones closer to you.)

>>[NEW FORM] PAVLICHENKO’S EMBRACE: Death reaches out from afar, bringing one and all into her welcoming arms as shelter from the cold. The Contender’s barrel and stock lengthen, requiring two hands to wield as it assumes a rifle-like shape. Unfit for short or medium-range engagements due to the unwieldy nature of the form, it instead boasts peerless penetrative power, easily capable of tearing through calcite armor and flesh-weave coatings to bring a swift end to your foes, though the increased penetrative power requires an additional 15% BIO per shot to generate such a powerful round. Boasting far greater accuracy than any other form, it gains the additional benefit of making its rounds incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to remove from their target, ensuring your payloads reach full and lethal maturation. It is will a keen eye and a patient heart that you will usher your foes unto eternal peace. (Lionheart’s Bayonet: Twisting to form a spiraling needle as an extension of your barrel, the CRITICAL HIT chance and CRITICAL DAMAGE of this form is boosted dramatically, all but ensuring killing blows from afar.)

>>[NEW FORM] GATLINGGUNNER’S MAXIM: This hefty mutation of the Contender’s base design now allows for rapid-firing, akin to the machine guns so popular in the old world’s wars. Easily able to be wielded with one hand, while in this form the Condender’s current magazine size is doubled, allowing for a relentless barrage of rounds across a wide swathe of foes. Finally, the rapid-loading inherent in this form allows you to automatically slot in a number of rounds at the end of your turn equal to half the number of rounds fired during your previous barrage, ensuring that you will always have a round hot in the barrel. (Lionheart’s Bayonet: Repeatedly firing the Contender applies a stacking damage bonus to the Bayonet equal to 10% for each round fired, with all stacks consumed upon striking the foe with your devastating blade.)

>>Choose 1 AMMO type to LEVEL UP (This option may be chosen multiple times)

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next two hours. My apologies for the delay, as I actually had a lot of fun putting some last-minute tweaks on the level-up list. I hope you find it to your liking, and if you have any questions then please let me know.)

>>3807691
damn, well Brute force it probably is. glad Raths happy at least.

>>3807693
damn, wasn't expecting this, let alone five levels.

>>TRIGGER ROUND

>>[FORM AUGMENT] LIONHEART’S BAYONET

>>[NEW FORM] ÜBER SCHROTFLINTE

>>[NEW FORM] GATLINGGUNNER’S MAXIM

>AMMO UPGRADE: BB.33 SPECIAL

>>3807700
does the Bayonet damage bonus from Gatlinggunners carry over to other other Bayonet attacks from other forms?

>>3807700
also, is form shifting a free action or does it cost an ACT?

>>3807698
>LionHeart's Bayonet
Blade form present in other forms is nice.
>Ultima's Squall
All of these will help LionHeart Form immensely since we tend to keep it that way in default. Also, the range upgrade ill be nice.

>Construct's Sword Arm
Very handy. This will prevent us from getting disarmed as well as making unexpected attacks. Not to mention, further augmentions applied to Lionheart will double the base stats of it in the future.

>Uber schrotflinte
We need a new gun form badly.

>Gemini's Blade
Dual wielding. A shotgun in one hand and a rapier in the other, we get to use two gun forms at the same time.

>>3807724
Still a free action.

>>3807721
(It does not, I'm afraid...at least, not without the appropriate Augment.)

>>3807724
(It is a free action.)

(Also, these levels are considered a bonus; the Contender is still considered to be on the cusp of a level up, which will trigger soon.)

>>3807726
wait. so this is Charon augmenting the Contender as a bonus, yet we've still yet to trigger our own level ups on the Contender?

>>3807693
>Gatlingunners Maxim

>Construct Swordarm

>Lionhearts Bayonet:

>Trigger Round

>Ammo Upgrade: BB.33 Special

>>3807700
Did charon give over some of the levels they had with Karma that caused us to get these? Or did Charon had an epithany to optimize design?

>>3807725
id be willing to give up the BB upgrade but im not willing to pass on anything else. seriously, Trigger Round is imemnsely powerful. rounds not getting triggers is one of if not our biggest drawback to the contender.

Gemnis Blade really is not worth it, and i dont think Shu needs Squall either, not over other options. Constructs sword arms alright i suppose, id trade the BB.33 for it i guess if you would go for Trigger round.

>>3807729
(You are correct.)

>>3807730
(It's a gift of levels and connection they'd built up, essentially.)

>>3807693
Get the Gunslinger's Draw. That is a must have; we can instantly hit anyone with one of our shots immediately no matter what shot.

Lionheart's Bayonet allows us to combine both forms of the Contender into one. while unlocking new ones; again, it's a no-brainer because now we gain the guard effects and can shoot at will.

GATLINGGUNNER’S MAXIM is a good third choice; most of our engagements are at mid to close range, not extreme range and being able to pummel an opponent with twice the capacity of rounds is also great. It also pairs really well with Contender; we can use the swarmlings and shots from the gatling gunner to keept eh enemy in place and then shank them with the bayonet followed by a drill.

Herculean Fulbore is a god tier choice if paired with Gunslinger's Draw; we could alpha strike enemy's before they even get a chance to respond.

On the last, I don't particularly mind. Either another gun form or B-33's maybe?

>>3807742
Gunslingers Draw is basically the worst one on the list. anything that only happens once is not worth it.

Okay, let's see.

>>3807693
>>TRIGGER ROUND
Very effective when used with the B.33s and our current rapid fire capability. Can also speed along the Cancerous Payload, which would be huge. Julia delivers a strike, Shu fans the hammer, enemy dead.

>>GEMINI’S BLADE
It's alright, but Shu isn't really made for DPS in melee anyway. Giving her more sword attacks per round isn't going to help much.

>>CONSTRUCT’S SWORDARM
Has some neat potential now that we can make Daughter-clone constructs. Pass the blade around between our incarnated friends, give them all a versatile weapon. I'm not sure we'd make use of another fiddly bit effectively, though.

>>GUNSLINGER’S DRAW
Just a solid all-round upgrade, not flashy but practical.

>>SHEATHED STRIKE
I want this, because it's awesome, but Shu already has enough options for high one-hit melee damage from the Maw and Drill.

>>[FORM AUGMENT] ULTIMA’S SQUALL
Now this is good. Better stats and some extra reach to enhance our zoning abilities. Definitely higher up on the list.

>>[FORM AUGMENT] LIONHEART’S BAYONET
Practically a necessity if we get the new forms. Retain melee capability and gives upgrades to the new forms, what's not to love?

>>3807698
>>[NEW FORM] ÜBER SCHROTFLINTE
Again, we've got some pretty powerful melee abilities already, I'm not sure we need a shotgun.

>>[NEW FORM] PAVLICHENKO’S EMBRACE
More enthusiastic about this, Shu tends to use the Contender for her main ranged damage. And the ability to deny rounds from being removed is a big one.

>>[NEW FORM] GATLINGGUNNER’S MAXIM
I am very tempted. Massive rate of fire increase goes together incredibly well with Trigger Round and just increases ranged damage significantly, and the ability to build up a damage bonus for melee attacks is quite nice.

>>Choose 1 AMMO type to LEVEL UP (This option may be chosen multiple times)
And the boring but practical option. Not sure which ammo I'd want to upgrade. B.33 seems like the obvious answer, but the Parabellums could use an upgrade too. Fullbores are probably fine where they are for now. And Hollowpoint Hives...well, upgrading would make them actually useful again, but I think that might be throwing good money after bad. Is it worth it to spend the points bringing up something we never use instead of making something we use a lot even better? probably not.

>>3807738
Question: If we pick up Gemini's Blade and a new gun form (i.e. Super-shotgun), is it possible to split Contender into two separate forms? (basically Full Lion Heart Form in one hand and Super Shotgun in the other hand using Gemini's dual-blade function)

>>3807749
Anon, are you insane? We get to decide the opening of every combat before anyone else does and we get a shot off with perfect accuracy and it triggers every single combat? That's a huge advantage, especially if we upgrade one of the bullets to take advantage of it.

Picture starting off any fight we've had so far by removing enemy regen before anything else happens or anyone else moves.

>>3807750
Embrace suffers from the fact it isnt useful at medium or short range. we simply dont take long ranged fights... basically ever. we would never end up using it, and even then for an opening salvo only, if lucky.

the thing with the shotgun is, it still has SOME range to it, and has just raw power. but i can see the iffiness about it, i just think its a better choice then other ones on the list mostly.

>>3807756
(Oh, absolutely.)

>>3807757
doesnt matter, anything you can only use once, isnt worth it. it also only applies to a single round, not an entire hammer fan. a single round is not worth it over other options we have.

>>3807763
How does that affect Gemini Blade splitting ammo capacity between the two weapons?

>>3807763
Changing my vote from B-33 upgrade to Gemini.

>>3807764
No, that's ridiculous. Look at how the first round with Lepisma went; our mistakes in the first round made it monumentally harder. The first round of any fight is the second most important after the last round. Being able to gimp an enemy immediately is a huge advantage and not only that, means that our sneak attacks will only be more fantastic.

An upgraded Herculean shot will end fights in the first round.

>>3807769
(With six rounds available, you'd get three rounds per weapon.)

>>3807773
Yeah, but I mean, Gatlinggunner's Maxim doubles the ammo capacity. So if we had the Maxim in one hand and the Lionheart in the other, would that give six rounds on the Maxim?

>>3807777
(Indeed, it would.)

>>3807735
>>3807763
So hearing Bhop's response, I'm willing to give up Ultima's Squall for the Trigger Round if you're willing to drop B.33 for Gemini Blade.

>>3807772
you mean something we almost never get? its not ridiculous at all, its simply the worst choice on the list. we also cant guarantee anything, at best we get a BB into them but cant guarantee it goes off, or just possibly deal decent damage. we simply do not have a playstyle where relying on the opening round is a good idea, we usually use that round to figure out what WILL work, not waste it on what we THINK will work.

>>3807779
i really dont like Geminis either, Constructs much better, but its the better choice over Ultimas so fine i guess. better choice than the anon im replying to above at least.

Okay, so I'm pretty set on Trigger Round, Lionheart's Bayonet, Gatlinggunner's Maxim, and upgrading the B.33 Special round. Not sure what to use the last upgrade on. Thoughts?

>>3807698
>TRIGGER ROUND
>GEMINI’S BLADE
>[FORM AUGMENT] LIONHEART’S BAYONET
>[NEW FORM] GATLINGGUNNER’S MAXIM
>Upgrade B.33 Special

>>3807782
Who said anything about a BB? Herculeans don't need to be triggered, they cause damage constantly and continuously. It's literally perfect; fire the herculean, it causes damage constantly and over time while ripping the opponent to shreds.

Also, what 'will' work and what we 'think' will work? You're just a player as well, you have no ability to speculate beyond me.

>>3807785
I'd still say go for Gunslinger. Free damage, big fucking hit with the Herculean shot that'll stagger just about anything and leave them open for our drillings or banelings to shred to pieces.

>>3807698
>>3807714
with me and the other Anons change, current votes are;

>Trigger Round- 6 votes
>Lionhearts Bayonet- 6 votes
>Uber Schrotflinte- 2 votes
>Gatlinggunners Maxim- 5 votes
>BB.33 Special- 4 votes
>Constructs Sword Arm- 2 votes
>Geminis Blade- 4 votes
>Gunslingers Draw- 1 votes
>Hurculean Fullbore- 1 votes


Winners so far are( current is 6 Voters here, so at least 4);
>Trigger Round
>LionHearts Bayonet
>GatGunners Maxim
>BB.33 Special
>Gemnini Blade

technically, with 6 voters, we have all 5 choices chosen. Until we hit eight, they are locked in too.

>>3807786
>>3807785
>>3807782
>>3807779
>>3807772
>>3807730

>>3807791
feels kinda lackluster though to only pick a single new form though, but eh, longterm planning i suppose.

>>3807791
Should swap out the BB.33 for Gunslinger.

>>3807793
Considering that it's Charon that's giving us bonus level ups on the Contender, we're making the most of it for long term planning.

>>3807791
I don't really see the utility of Gemini Blade in this context. It just gives Shu an extra blade. Rate of fire isn't increased by having a second gun, because Shu can already unload the entire ammo load in one turn. I guess it could benefit Defender's Edge, give us twice as many chances to parry? BHOP, does having two swords give us two Defender's Edge parries?

>>3807797
I wouldn't worry about it. We'll get more ammo options as we continue to use and upgrade it I think. Form upgrades seem like they'd be more difficult to come across anyway.

I wonder if we can let someone use one of the split off gemini blades while we use the other? Probably.
>Rath or Dorian in melee building up stacks while we snipe and use our swarmlings/spiritus constructs to support.

>>3807799
You can choose two different forms as above >>3807763

>>3807799
Parry with one gunblade, riposte with the other gunblade via unloading all the bullets at point blank range.

>>3807693
>>TRIGGER ROUND
Lethal with cancer bomb

>>CONSTRUCT’S SWORDARM
>>LIONHEART’S BAYONET
Teleport gun to swarmling in the sky and now we have an invisible floating sniper on command

>>GATLINGGUNNER’S MAXIM
>>Herculean Fullbore

>>3807789
no, Hurculean still only does limited damage, it just is able to adjust inside their form to do heavier damage, they still dont last indefinitely. ITs still only a single shot we only get an advantage on once. compared to any other option on the list, its not worth it.

and congrats on having no reading comprehension at all. re-read what i actually said, then ill properly respond to your second part when you actually understand simple English.

ait, no, waiting on you to understand isnt worth it. as i actually said, not what you pretend i said, i said we use the first turn to test the waters and find out what will work, while your plan and Gunslinger relies on us randomly guessing correctly on what will work.

>>3807797
i suppose.

>>3807799
i agree, but i made a deal with Purple Anon and ill stick to my word. IF we had two Contender forms, it would be worth it, so lets pick up another next upgrade. longterm planning, like i said.

>>3807806
tallied but so far no changes.

>>3807808
>We use the first round figuring out what will work
I don't get this, how is the bullet not going to work? Nothing you've said has explained why the bullet won't work. Herculean's don't do limited damage either.

'. Firing an oversized stag-beetle-like Swarmling armed with uniquely inviolable Chitinous horns and armor that can penetrate Calcite plating and acidic claws that can liquefy soft tissue. On hit, the swarmling will immediately set about carving a warpath towards the internal organs upon breaching its target at Shu's command while remaining impervious to attempts to remove or integrate it into the target’s biology, should they possess the skill to do so. To take down a monster of Herculean size and strength, you need a bullet to match it.'
>digs through
It does continual damage as it moves to the core. Your argument makes even less sense now.

>>3807803
>You can choose two different forms as above >>3807763
Yeah, but that's currently worthless, since there's no functionality on the regular Lionheart that won't also be on the Maxim. The best option would be to just have two Maxims. Though that actually reduces functionality somewhat, since the Maxim powers up its melee attacks proportionate to the number of shots it's fired since the last one, so splitting it between two guns gives reduced damage.

>>3807808
>i agree, but i made a deal with Purple Anon and ill stick to my word. IF we had two Contender forms, it would be worth it, so lets pick up another next upgrade. longterm planning, like i said.
I guess. It feels like it would be more worthwhile to get the two forms now and get Gemini's Blade later, though.

>>3807813
We can split in half and have one half be the machine gun and the other be the base version. We can also throw two machine guns for ourselves and someone else to use.

>>3807813
i mean, i agree, but again, concessions were made in both directions.

>>3807816
like the other anon said, with the Bayonet Augment we have no advantage to having the base form.

>>3807816
>We can split in half and have one half be the machine gun and the other be the base version
Yes, and that's worthless. The machinegun is Lionheart Plus.

>>3807818
Sure but we can still give it to someone else so we have two people opening fire. It's not as useful as it could be but it still allows multiple angles to fire and may become more benefical as time passes and we unlock other forms.

>>3807820
Can we? The Contender is attuned to Shu, you're not supposed to be able to share it around so casually. Maybe the upgrade would allow that, but it feels like a big assumption. BHOP, can we give a spare gunblade from Gemini's Edge to another party member without influencing how the Contender is attuned?

>>3807799
(You're correct in that it will double the effects tied to certain aspects of the Contender, the parry being the most obvious one.)

>>3807812
>>3807808
(If I may interject, I've realized through your discussion that while Gunslinger's Draw is likely to not be chosen this round, it is sorely in need of balancing to make it viable. Thus, I'll be tweaking it for the next time it comes up in the level up pool. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, as I strive to make every level up option interesting.)

(Finally, regarding Gemini; giving the Contender to another for a short time was to be the main drawn of the power, at the cost of magazine size.)

>>3807826
(Indeed, as per my post here >>3807826)

>>3807826
to be fair, if it only does it to half the Contender, that might actually be a good advantage. but i doubt it, that sounds finky or like it might get half our contender locked to someone else.

>>3807818
I wouldn't say that. It looks like Maxim's gatlinggunner is supposed to be the "machinegun form" of the contender, designed to do rapid-fire damage with future various loadouts/attachments associated with machineguns (i.e drumbarrels, breakbarrels, bullpup designs, weaponized cooling vents, etc.)

LionHeart is supposed to be the melee sword specialization of the Contender, mixing melee attacks with the gun shooting.

And. I've got to go to work.

>>3807835
i think hes taking into account we are taking the Bayonet Augment so that wont matter, as with that it doesnt lose any of the Lionheart traits.

>>3807827
Ah, okay, still don't think it's worth it but at least it would work.

>>3807835
Yeah, I'm sure in the future that will be the case. But right now they're not differentiated enough to matter. It makes more sense to make the modes distinct now, then get Gemini later. Like getting Ultima's Squall, so pure Lionheart mode at least has some advantage over Maxim mode.

>>3807836
Well have a nice day Anon

>>3807842
id still prefer the shotgun, if we took another. it can at least draw people into its range with the Bayonet Augment. the Squall is worthless at Medium AND close range, our most common ranges to fight. we just would never actually end up using it, over the other two forms.

>>3807827
Wait, what's wrong with Gunslinger's Draw? It seems like a modified version of the Masque. Are you saying its overpowered or underpowered?

>>3807847
I think you're getting the Squall confused with the Embrace, Squall is the one that increases the base Lionheart's stats and reach. It's amazing at close and medium range, not terrible.

>>3807851
oh, so i am, my bad there yeah. still, id prefer another Form over that. we have plenty of ways to get the lionheart close, and the shotgun would do that too.

>>3807856
I was just using it as an example because they were talking about using Maxim in one hand and base Lionheart in the other.

>>3807849
(It's strong, but not as strong as I'd personally like it to be given how the Contender's been upgraded. In all honesty, I'd expected you to choose a close and long range duality of forms, and thus the Gunslinger's Draw would have been devastating with the Embrace. Given your recent level ups, I believe I'll be adjusting it to make it even better and more competitive with how you've been upgrading things thus far. I hope you like it even better the next time it comes around.)

>>3807858
oh, well i guess thats what confused me, as the Squall is an augment, not a form.so it would apply to the bayonet too. not bad, but i still think a distinct form would be better, at least if we are gonna take Gemini.

>>3807851
>>3807856
Lets just go for the rifle and the machine gun then. Don't bother upgrading any of the bullets.

>>3807870
The Squall specifically does not apply to the Bayonet.

>>3807877
id rather go for a round type over the rifle. the Shotguns simply something we would use way more often. a form we wont ever use is worse than having no second form at all.

>>3807882
oh, right. then its worthless honestly in my opinion.

>>3807887
We'll probably be able to level up bullets with the contender naturally and modifying the gun affects/changes every bullet as opposed to just focusing on one.

A rifle might be good to give some of the supports so they can hang back and snipe while the other half of the gemini is used for the machine gun up close.

>>3807895
ive already said my piece several times over now, the Embrace aint worth it.

>>3807898
It seems pointless though. We already have a sword equivalent and those massive drills. What do we need another melee attack for when we can have 2 people on overwatch with sniper rifles?

>>3807698
>>TRIGGER ROUND

>>[FORM AUGMENT] LIONHEART’S BAYONET

>>[NEW FORM] GATLINGGUNNER’S MAXIM

>>Choose 1 AMMO type to LEVEL UP (This option may be chosen multiple times)
>B.33 Special

>>Choose 1 AMMO type to LEVEL UP (This option may be chosen multiple times)
>Ravenous Parabellum

Honestly not that crazy about the Gemini or mode-switching. Would rather just go for an all-round upgrade. Maxim doesn't have any downsides, just our current gunblade but with bigger ammo capacity and higher rate of fire. Trigger Round will give us some fun new tricks with spamming a dozen B.33s and having them all detonate on the same turn, and both upgraded B.33s and Parabellums should be amazingly deadly.

>>3807912
I'm pretty surprised that people don't want to have two hexane contenders to lay down cover fire with.

>>3807903
close range is not melee range, which the shotgun is still effective at. plus, a shotgun is simply a devastating weapon, without requiring us to turn a hand into a drill or hope we can somehow get someones limb into our maw.

who? who would give sniper fire? no one. even Amara and Gina dont stay at long range, and can do us better focusing on their own abilities over using a sniper rifle. no one has a build setup to be staying behind giving sniper fire, or giving it over other other methods of aid they have to offer.

>>3807912
oh, i already had your earlier post tallied up, but ill change it to this then.

>>3807912
oh nevermind, you didnt change anything, just threw your last point onto something no one else voted for. okay, your call i suppose.

>>3807922
Well, I didn't want any of the other options people were voting for, so the point wasn't contributing to anything either way.

>>3807935
fair enough i suppose.

>>3807791
>>3807698
updated Votes Tally BHOP;

>Trigger Round- 7 votes
>Lionhearts Bayonet- 7 votes
>Uber Schrotflinte- 1 votes
>Gatlinggunners Maxim- 6 votes
>BB.33 Special- 4 votes
>Constructs Sword Arm- 3 votes
>Gemini Blade- 5 votes
>Gunslingers Draw- 1 votes
>Hurculean Fullbore- 2 votes
>Ravenous Parabellum- 1 votes


Winners so far are( current is 7 Voters here, so at least 4);
>Trigger Round
>LionHearts Bayonet
>GatGunners Maxim
>BB.33 Special
>Gemnini Blade

also, i changed another point of my own from the shotgun to Gemini, as no one was going for the shotgun so i figured id at least stabilize the vote a bit.

voters;
>>3807714
>>3807725
>>3807730
>>3807742
>>3807786
>>3807806
>>3807912

vote edits;
>>3807779
>>3807782
>>3807772

>>3807917
Amara and Francine would both benefit from having a ranged option. And again, pretty much everyone already has a surplus of close to melee range attacks they can do, even Shu; we have the Dominus Lash for that.

The sniper rifle opens up more avenues of attacks, lets our squishier players attack further out of combat and pairs excellent with Trigger Round which you wanted so badly.

>>3807967
i disagree and have stated reasons you have not at all properly countered, far from it in fact.

you want to change your vote? go ahead, you have just over 5 minutes to do so.

>>3807967
>Amara and Francine would both benefit from having a ranged option
They kind of do have them. Amara can shoot wind blasts and make damaging terrain with Grinding Earth, and Francine's got her fish and possibly the strings. We don't actually know at what range she can attach them, now that I think about it.

>>3807974
Since it is a Fibromancy Hybrid it will probably reach up to medium.

As most Fibromancy powers are close or medium range only

>>3807967
Amra has way better optionts like casting spells instead of shooting.....

And Francine is now a Hive Mistress she will have enough to do as Midrange support with the healer role being her primary one

>>3807973
What reasons? You said it wasn't redundant by saying close, not melee, completely ignoring the fact we still have a surplus of close and melee attacks. I can easily see a support build of Francine hanging back behind a shield of her swarm, deflecting and blocking attacks and healing nearby allies while taking shots whenever she gets the chance while we use the rifle in close combat.

>>3807977
Midrange to long-range while being able to provide cover fire with she's firing with Amara would be very useful.

I don't think we have a single counter for if an enemy was long-range anyway.

>>3807742
Lionheart Bayonet
Gatling Gunner's Maxim
Trigger Round
Gemini
Pavlichenko's Embrace

>>3807988
yes completely ignore all the reasons ive said Embrace is a bad choice.

also congrats on the vote change, your change changes... lemme see... nothing at all. technically five minutes late but doesn't matter anyways.

>>3807998
Yes, your argument of 'more of the same' was extremely compelling. Especially when pretty much everyone has better melee options than that already.

>>3808005
Better close range options too.

>>3808005
no, that wasn't my argument against the rifle at all, bur congratulations on being a braindead simpleton who cant read, or an asshat who ignores over half of someones argument, or refuses to actually go back and read what ive said to you and everyone else over the subject matter.

>>3807988
>>>[NEW FORM] PAVLICHENKO’S EMBRACE: Death reaches out from afar, bringing one and all into her welcoming arms as shelter from the cold. The Contender’s barrel and stock lengthen, requiring two hands to wield as it assumes a rifle-like shape
.
Unfit for short or medium-range engagements due to the unwieldy nature of the form,

it instead boasts peerless penetrative power, easily capable of tearing through calcite armor and flesh-weave coatings to bring a swift end to your foes, though the increased penetrative power requires an additional 15% BIO per shot to generate such a powerful round. Boasting far greater accuracy than any other form, it gains the additional benefit of making its rounds incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to remove from their target, ensuring your payloads reach full and lethal maturation. It is will a keen eye and a patient heart that you will usher your foes unto eternal peace. (Lionheart’s Bayonet: Twisting to form a spiraling needle as an extension of your barrel, the CRITICAL HIT chance and CRITICAL DAMAGE of this form is boosted dramatically, all but ensuring killing blows from afar.)

It literally says that is is unfit for medium or short range.

So medium range where Francine is usually suppooised to be to be able to make th most of her powerset this weapoon becomes very hard to use

Okay for an Enemy at long range we ahve the following options

Rath. Flings herself over with her tensile stradns while burning like a goddamn star.
November. Has Guns that are effective at long range not to mention a tank
Julia. Has nothing but we are working on making her faster(can be carried by Dorain and makes both of them stronger)
Dorian. is really really fast and can close the gap easily
Gina...... Is a godsdamned Psyker that can hit people at visual range up to several kilometers away due ot her halo
Amara. Is a spellcaster who needs her acts for spells there are alweays more buffs and debuffs to cast.
Shu. Midrange support. Can fling herself using the tounge or just shoot at them with the normal gun or send swarmlings out
Francine. Hides and sends out her scoal of fish

TL DR
If we are at long range we make damn sure we dont stay there unless its November and her tank

>>3808016
You said 'who would it benefit?', I told you. You said it 'wasn't just melee, it's close range' and I said 'we still have other and better options for close range'. You said 'we don't normally fight at range' I said ' we completely lack range coptions at all and having some people on overwatch taking popshots would be useful'.

I've read your arguments, I just don't think they're good.

>>3808022
I did say medium to long-range. Francine can move between the two and take pop shots. She moves to medium to support, then pulls out to range to take pop shots when it's necessary.

Also, we may not always be able to not engage at range. We don't need more melee options and having 2 people able to fire a sniper rifle at range completely changes the scenario of having just one sniper rifle; we could use them to punish and pick apart holes in the enemy's defenses that we create as we fight them.

If anything this is an argument FOR a long-range weapon because of our utter deficit there and the redundancy of having yet another close range attack option.

>>3808023
yes, and those you mentioned wouldn't benefit from it, for reasons i mentioned and you never refuted, or said anything on it that wasn't simply wrong and not worth listening to, which seems to be basically 90% of what you say anyways.

thankfully, everyone was smart enough not to listen to either of your ramblings, and better choices won out.

>>3808030
I gave reasons here about why it would suit both and why we need longrange options in general >>3807988 You should practice what you preach.

>>3808042
no, i read that, its just inane babbling and didn't put anything new on the table i hadn't already refuted, you were just repeating yourself uselessly.

>>3808048
You said they don't stay at long range. Having a sniper rifle option doesn't imply they have to 'stay' anywhere. Your argument is nonsensical.

>>3808054
it does, when the sniper rifle is only good at long range, a place no one stays, and thus will never be used. as ive said multiple times. its quite the opposite of nonsensical, you just dont agree with it, and cant let it go for some reason that i and no one else agreed with you. its over, you lost the argument, move on.

>>3807698

>>CONTENDER – LEVEL UP: Trigger Round, Lionheart’s Bayonet, Gatlinggunners Maxim, Gemini Blade, and B.33 Special (Enhanced)…UNLOCKED

>>B.33 SPECIAL (Enhanced): The upgraded form of the adorable B.33 round has evolved from a cute distraction to a devastating round that can turn the tide of battle more drastically than ever before with two new detonation modes; HONEY and SWARM. Upon the HONEY mode’s detonation, the B.33 Special now bursts out of the entry wound, viscous ropes of semi-intelligent honey reaching out to automatically grapple all foes within medium range of the effect's target and hauling them into a paralytic cluster of limbs and honey, making all subsequent attacks against the cluster of foes hit everyone simultaneously. Upon SWARM mode’s detonation, the sweet-smelling aroma of the vanguard B.33 gives off a swarmling accelerant, resulting in a 10% Damage bonus for each B.33 Round detonated, drastically increasing the damage your Swarmlings deal in addition to decreasing the affected foe’s damage against your brood by the same amount.

“It is my understanding that you have a few of the Ascendants residing with you.” Charon intones as you test the weight of the Contender’s new form with both hands. “If it’s not too much to ask, may I speak with them?”

“Of course, I’m sure you’ve all got a lot to catch up on. GG, if you would?” Gina squeezes your hand after you give her a quick nod, and as she settles next to Charon on the couch you take a moment to walk over to Francine, holstering the Contender when you approach.

“I must admit that while I was beginning to fret at the prospect of encountering a Hexane in combat this early on that went leagues better than I’d expected.” She mutters with a relieved sigh, motioning for you to follow her to the bar. “Come to see how close I am to my Choice, I presume? Ever the prescient leader, I see.”

“That, and I wanted to ask if you’d like some backup when it comes time.” You answer, taking a spot near the bar where you can keep an eye on the room, watching as Gina and Julia connect Charon with the other Hexane, while Dorian disappears into Amara’s room to rouse her from her slumber.

“It won’t be long at all, I believe…and while I do not believe I shall require any handholding, I would nevertheless welcome you to join me.” She says, leaning on the counter next to you.

“Does Mother worry you?” You ask as Dorian emerges from the side room, leading a sleepy Amara as six other weary versions of the girl follow them out of the room, with Ringo and FuzzBuzz close behind.

(Continued)

File: The Doctor, Relaxed.png (430 KB, 1280x1877)

430 KB PNG

>>3808065

“It’s less her, and more the fact that I have no idea what to expect…you know the old saying, right? ‘The oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown’” She chuckles, turning away from the scene before you and propping one elbow on the glossy black bar, half-turned to you as she puts her chin in her hand. “Maybe that’s the whole point of this damnable curiosity…it gives answers, and drives away fear. Well, what do you think?”

“I think you’re not West Prime, if that’s what you’re getting at.” You say as you face her. “Your choices, your drives are your own, because you’re not her.”

“Then what are we, exactly? If I’m not her, and you’re not Sam, then where did we come from?” She softly counters, eyes studying yours intently before she cracks a weak smile. “Ha, I suppose I should relish the time I have to hypothesize endlessly like I did with the Disassociated…after all, I think we’re going to be quite busy, and very soon.”

“True…but while we have some time, my offer still stands.” You repeat, and she gives a little shrug.

“As does mine. If you wish to join me, then you’re welcome to. Perhaps it would set both our minds more at ease, but I’m certain you have much better things to attend to, Darling.”

While you could accompany her into the Dreamscape, you’re not sure if she really wants you there, or if she’s simply putting on a brave face…even with the Empathic Channel, she’s a hard one to get a read on.

>>Follow Francine into her mind to witness her Choice.

>>Stay out of it, as a show of trust (Write-In what do to while she is occupied).

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Voting shall remain open the next two hours as I close out the work day, Gentlemen.)

>>3808068
>Follow Francine into her mind to witness her Choice.
My reason isn't lack of trust, but rather to see how Mother is right now for ourselves, and what info we may be able to squeeze out of her.

>>3808027

As for a good ranged option i had to do some math for we have Shus hundred Handed ability.

As a generator ability it is near instantanious and costs us 3% BIO to create one limb if we can guess that the average limb is 60 centimeters long we can create a chain of nearly 3.2 kilometers in length in about a second. (more if we generate the limbs form the fingertip of the limb before. I was thinking aboute extending it from the palm of the hand)

Taking into consideration the speed at which we can extend this arm we could probably punch someone with several times the speed of sound. (WE woiuld obliterate several of the arms doing the punch itself but we would deal a ton of damage.)
The Sniper Rifle just does not seem that impressive in comparison

Dorian can pass through anything that is not a solid object to get to his foe.

Gina has Visual Range to mindrape people

Amara has visual range to fuck people over with Powerword Kill

Francine lets her constructs fly and is way more effective just stayign at medium range to support everyone with her heals(and keeping her head down to not have it blown up by a countersniper)
Moving still takes an Act so not the best idea for Francine when she can do other things.

>>3808068


>"If you wish me ther i will come with you. It is after all your choice to invite me" Offer her a jack. If she takes it follow her

if she does not take the Jack
>"Actually Ringo. You mentioned your kind were the first skintalkers. Do you have any words you could teach to my litle girl here?" Pat Amara on the head

>"And if you dont mind your kind has curious powers. Do you consider the non sentient lesser Tinadlos Kin? If not would you mind pointing us towards a couple non sentient lesser Tindalos? I would to have some of thsoe abilites for ourselves they would be quite useful tools to navigate the Fleshscape and the cord"


If she takes us with her we will also be able to see Mother again. Maybe we can have a talk with her but there are also questions i have for Ringo...I would really like for us to get our hands on their spacewarping ability. Or a new Skintalker Power we could maybe give Francine

>>3808068
>Give Francines shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "we are who we decide to be Francine, nothing more or less."
>>Stay out of it, as a show of trust.
>But Stay by her side, while she makes it, as a sign of support.
>"I trust you to make this choice on your own, but ill be here if you need a hand to squeeze if she scare you too much." say with a smirk.

i think its VERY important for both us and Francine to make this choice on her own, by herself, without her having us there influencing her decision. but even if we go in, that doesn't mean we cant be there for her.

>>3808068

>>3808083 I agree with this. One of our tenets is that one's choices are their own... but we are also all in this together. We are neither commanding Queen, nor Ravenous Swarm, but the Fool's Choice. We don't control Francine, but she's also not just another -ling from our hive. We care, but trust her to make her own choices in the face of Mother. Also, that quote... Mother-be-damned if that doesn't describe each and every one of us here.

>>3808083
Yeah, this is good. Trying to find my own way of saying it, but honestly this says what needs to be, I think. I'm not sure where Francine is getting the idea we have better things to do from, though. The rest of our party is busy playing psychic relay station to let Charon talk with their dead friends (and actually, don't they have the remaining five Ascendants inside them, too? We should ask about them before Charon leaves), we don't have much to do right now that isn't "pet the alien doggo". I guess we could get to work crafting some Spiritus constructs, but it feels strange to make them too far in advance of a fight.

>>3808177
that, and we should probably ask who wants to come out and help for a bit. Holly might be ok with doing it every now and again, just not permanently. Uzu? unsure, she could go either way easily. Johanna? i have no bloody clue on.

i mean, mind you, if its an important fight we know we are walking into, im sure literally any of them almost would come out, im just talking out of the blue in a 'we really dont know what or even if we're gonna fight.' kinda situation.

>>3808191
we actually have a decent amount of DDs i think would be ok or even ecstatic to help... just... not inside Shus head. hopefully we'll expand who she can draw from sooner or later.

>>3808210
would be nice if we could make the power grow in such a way that we could draw from the Dreascapes of those around us.

Maybe an interaction that could be achieved by combining the Hive with that power. The empathic field could maybe be used as the link that is missing to connect to the dreamsacpoes of other daughters.

>>3808220
im entirely sure its possible. its just a matter of whether it'll get it on its own, from an augment, or from a hybrid. also a matter of how far out those each are.

Speaking of Spiritus, BHOP said that the Daughter Swarmlings can benefit from our Modifications and Augments. What if we apply the template derived from a Daughter's Core to that Daughter? Make a Spiraling Uzu, or a Nomling Holly? You think that would give them a boost to their powers?

>>3808244
i dont think i ever saw him say they can benefit from our modifications, just our actual ability augments. as far as im aware, the Spiritus is basically just its own isolated construct type, at the moment. it just has the odd and unique ability to treat other hive Mistress Abilities augments as its own.

>>3808253
No, he did, right here. >>3807404. Modifiers and Augments. We should be able to making Spiraling Uzu.

>>3808260
fair enough i guess. he really should've listed that in its actual profile though, as thats just... not how that should work, from what we have been told.

(Gentlemen, I shall post when I can, somethings holding me after work so when I get home I'll update when able. Thank you for your patience, and I hope your day is going well.)

>>3808428
Eh make sure you dont overburdenyourself. Take your time like always we will be patient

>>3808428
Hope its nothing serious, you take your time bhop.

>>3808428
No worries, BHOP. I hope it's nothing too stressful.

(Finally back home, and writing now, Gentlemen.)

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>>3808068

Reaching out, you give Francine’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "We are who we decide to be Francine, nothing more, nothing less. I trust you to make this choice on your own…”

She cocks an eyebrow as you flash her a playful smirk.

“…but I’ll be here if she scares you too much."

Francine laughs, a high, amused sound that makes Gina and Rath glance your way to make sure everything’s alright. The good doctor brings the back of her hand to her lips to stifle her dying chuckles before returning your smile.

“Duly noted, Darling.” She says, taking the seat beside her and resting her chin against her crossed arms on the bar’s glossy surface. “I think I’ll just rest my eyes here for a moment…and in case it wasn’t clear, I appreciate the offered hand.”

You can tell sleep is tugging at her every action, her eyes fluttering closed as she drifts off to make her Choice. To your pleasant surprise, while everyone appears to be conversing with Charon and the Hexane Dreamers, Ringo pads up to your side and promptly sits at your feet.

"Hey there, Ringo." You say, grinning as you reach down to pet the creature's head, a thousand little angles making themselves evident as your fingers caress its scalp. "Amara said your kind were the first Skintalkers. So, have any words you could teach to my little girl over there?"

<Nothing she does not already know>

You freeze.

<My body is constrained, my powers are limited>

<But I have become accustomed to your minds after much practice and patience>

"You can...does Amara...?" You begin, unsure of where to begin as you stare at the Tindalos.

<Of course>

<Your pup knows much, and voices little>

<To be a Skintalker is to be the conduit through which all flows>

<All the knowledge, pain, joy that howls out from every corner of her world>

<It is a heavy burden for a pup so young, but her shoulders have grown strong from the weight>

"I...I have questions." You begin, and Ringo

<For the price of repeated pets, I shall answer them>

<Does this arrangement satisfy you, as it does me?>

"Indeed it does." You reply, scratching Ringo behind their ears as you continue. "Do you consider the non-sentient lesser Tindalos Kin? If not, would you mind pointing us towards a couple? I'd love to have some of those abilities for ourselves, since they'd be quite useful tools to navigate the Fleshscape and the cord"

<They are lost to us, do as you will>

<I shall give their locations to your mate, so that you may put them down>

<They would consider it a gift, as would I>

<I sense you have more questions, Alpha>

(Continued)

>>3808816

Oh Ringo! Oh Amara! You are going to get all the pets and hugs respectively in a moment.

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>>3808816
>"Indeed it does." You reply, scratching Ringo behind their ears as you continue.
>ears
>looks at pic
WHERE ARE THE DOGGO EARS?

pic may be related in the distant future.

>>3808816

"Alpha?" You mutter, confused before Ringo puts their chin on your knee where you sit at the bar.

<You lead your pack to victory after victory>

<Have you not returned from your hunt, snout held high?>

<You are an Alpha>

<This is fact>

"Huh...thank you." You chuckle, rubbing one ear, then the other...at least, you *think* they're ears. All you have to go on are the vague positioning of the holes closest to the Tinadlos's mass of glowing, ephemeral eyes. You shrug, continuing in the absence of any protests from Ringo as you're careful not to cut yourself on the bits of the hound's actual body that peeks through the cage of flesh. "So, what do you think of my pack?"

<Admirable>

<Your mate has wit and heft, a worthy combination>

<The red-furred one is bony, but strong...a fierce fighter, endlessly loyal>

<The gentle ones are worthy of their own pack, and wish to make one>

<The hard one makes me nervous>

<They do not smell like a Daughter, and I fear their rubs would not be satisfactory>

"Ha, I think she'd surprise you...she's surprised me, actually." You chuckle, keeping an eye on where November hovers near her niece as Charon and Gina continue to commune with the associated Hexane.

<Your pup is my favorite>

"Oh? Why's that?" You ask with a smile.

<She gives the best cuddles>

"I'm sure she does...and what about this one?" You counter, hiding your smile as you nod towards Francine.

<Honest and sad> Ringo says simply, your hand slowing to a stop as you consider the doctor's sleeping form.

<Surely you are not done>

<You have more questions to ask>

Maybe it's just you, but you sense a hint of anticipation at the prospect of continued head scritches.

"So...I do have a lot of questions, actually. What was your Crucible like? What of your kin can we find at the Cord? How do your powers..."

<You would have me speak?>

"Yes, if you..." You start, the unfortunate implications of the phrase hitting you as you begin to trip over your words. "Uh, never mind...I meant no offense, so sorry if I..."

<It was a joke>

You blink.

<Your pup taught me that one, after I taught her how to sever a tendon with a single bite>

"...Was that a joke?"

<No>

God, this is weird...but considering Ringo's leaving with Charon, this might be your only chance to ask the kindly Tindalos anything that's on your mind.

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Gentlemen, I shall be pausing here for the evening. Voting shall remain open for the next twelve hours, with voting to resume in roughly fourteen, give or take. Thank you for your patience with my work schedule today, and I'll be around for around an hour more before trying to catch up on lost sleep. I'll put the tweaks on the Lagannlings and Geistlings in the morning, but I think you'll like what you'll find. Thank you all for your participation, and have a great evening.)

>>3808856
><Your pup taught me that one, after I taught her how to sever a tendon with a single bite>
I think human jaw and tooth structure doesn't really work for that, Ringo, and Amara doesn't have any Gluttonous powers. Maybe someday, though.

>>3808860
>Thank you for your patience with my work schedule today, and I'll be around for around an hour more before trying to catch up on lost sleep.
Sleep well and get a lot of rest, BHOP. See you tomorrow.

>>3808856

>> "What happened to the engine you were guarding? Should it be relocated, destroyed, or...?
>> "You have taught much to our, um, pup. What would you teach me, Alpha to Alpha?"
>> "When all this is done, what do you want in the end Ringo?"

>>3808856
hrm... not sure i have much to ask honestly. im also very unsure of how to feel about him teaching Amara how to cut a tendon with a single bite. guess it'll help her in a close range grapple at least?

>Experiment with where you pet Ringo. find his weak points. this may be vital information to save your life in future fights. also, it might get him talking more.
>"But really, id love to hear about your crucible, if you would be willing to say anything on it."
>"I Understand its probably not something you could even begin to describe, but id love to at least hear you try and explain 'angular space' to me if you would be willing to try."

>>3808816
huh, that implies lesser Tindalos Hounds arent supposed to exist in that state. guess its not a surprise even they are not immune to the mental degradation of the crucible. though, that does also imply they may end up acting more like daughters in some ways when we defeat them... which may not be a bad thing, mind you, but still something to note.

>>3808860
hey man, you get sleep now if you need it, but like always, appreciate you running things.