Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Myth: A New Age CYOA

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Nevill said:
That, or we can brainwash poor little critters with a series of Suggestions, Delayed Reactions and Instructions. Their minds are tiny and likely would not be able to resist.

We can spin a story of how the White Mage is the father of all the cat horrors, how he steals and hoards the cheese from hard-working mice-folk, how he threatens to lock all the mice pups in mousetraps and put them in evil mazes to run experiments on them. That is, unless they help us get rid of him and ensure an age of prosperity for all the mice in the world.

Sure, they are just mice. If you want to break them and brainwash them it would not be too difficult. Lyssa won't appreciate it though.

Nevill said:
Fangshi, how heavily wounded are the Arrows? What is keeping us from carefully sending them back to the Fort on the chariots to be dealt with later? We are planning to be back in two hours.

Well two of them are seriously injured and will likely die if not given some sort of care. The rest might get infections and the like if they are not looked after rather promptly as well.

What is stopping you from just loading them into the chariots is that Derryth believes they will not make it and based on your previous decisions she refuses to let people under her 'command' die if she can do anything about it. If you want to take the risk I will need an excuse/explanation for how she is going to rationalize it.

Nevill said:
Does anyone else in the Fort know herbalism?

Not really.

Jawbone knew some but he is dead. Rand knows all about poisons (so he might know about medicine as well) but he has fled. A few of the dwarven warriors also had herbalism when I generated their skill set but they are all dead or missing. Some of Neel's scouts also knew but, well, chain lightning... ah, Neel himself could probably do a little but Derryth is far more knowledgeable than he is. (Neel is not really the 'ranger' type, he is more of a manhunter.)

Nevill said:
Actually, Fangshi, while we are investigating the structure, can our Pathfinders mine the passages the undead army will be travelling through? No sense wasting time, and they have a lot of explosives with them. This might delay their advance, or at least wipe some of them out as we retreat. All good.

Sure.

If there is a consensus then I will simply have them do it, if anyone objects then it will have to be put to a vote.

Nevill said:
On an unrelated note, Fangshi, is our second mortar done for, or can it be repaired given due time?

Well it was struck by lightning so it has been severely damaged. Astrid is quite good at fixing things but it may be beyond even her, she will see what she can do but I would not get your hopes up.

Absinthe said:
Fangshi, lets ask Albrecht for more energon cubes too. If we run our cubes hard we can inflict some serious casualties now.

Energon Cubes are readily available so that should not be a problem, sure.

Current Tally:

Azira:
1.B, 2.A, 3.A, 4.B, 5.B, 6.x

Kz3r0:
1.D, 2.A, 3.A, 4.B, 5.A, 6.Ai,Aii

archaen:
1.D, 2.A, 3.A, 4.B, 5.C, 6.Ai,Aii

Nevill:
1.D, 2.A, 3.A, 4.B, 5.C, 6.Ai,Aii

Absinthe:
1.D, 2.C, 3C, 4.B, 5.C, 6.x

Jester:
1.D, 2.A, 3.A, 4.B, 5.C, 6.Ai

Grimgravy:
1.D>C>B, 2.A, 3.A, 4.B>C, 5.B>C, 6.Ai

1.
A)
B) 1 vote
C)
D) 6 votes

2.
A) 6 votes
B)
C) 1 vote

3.
A) 6 votes
B)
C) 1 vote

4.
A)
B) 7 votes
C)

5.
A) 1 vote
B) 2 votes
C) 4 votes

6.
A) 5 votes:
i. 5/5 votes
ii. 3/5 votes
B)

Post Flop:
1.
A)
B) 1 vote
C)
D) 6 votes

2.
A) 6 votes
B)
C) 1 vote

3.
A) 6 votes
B)
C) 1 vote

4.
A)
B) 7 votes
C)

5.
A) 1 vote
B) 1 vote
C) 5 votes

6.
A) 5 votes:
i. 5/5 votes
ii. 3/5 votes

B)

And on the matter of the Interlude:

Nevill - C
archaen - C
asxetos - D>B
Kz3r0 - D>C
Azira - B>C
Sunnmøring - B
GreyViper - B
Grimgravy - B
Absinthe - C

A)
B) 5 votes
C) 4 votes
D)

With five votes to four Amena and Ithapi win out. When I get a moment this week I will dig out their interlude and type it up.
 
Last edited:

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Energon Cubes are readily available so that should not be a problem, sure.
How do Energon Cubes translate into mandrake roots for the purposes of casting the Heal spell? We know it could either be cast with a root, or by exhausting yourself for the day. So how much Energon Cubes it would take to produce the same effect?
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Nevill said:
How do Energon Cubes translate into mandrake roots for the purposes of casting the Heal spell? We know it could either be cast with a root, or by exhausting yourself for the day. So how much Energon Cubes it would take to produce the same effect?

They don't, energon cubes can not fuel healing spells.

There is something different about mandrake roots that lets them fuel healing spells but no one is really sure what it is. If you want I can tell you the most popular theories, most of them have to do with affinities, 'spirits' and the like and they are as much philosophical and spiritual in nature as they are 'magical' but at the end of the day no one can agree on which is true.
 

archaen

Cipher
Patron
Joined
Mar 10, 2014
Messages
633
They don't, energon cubes can not fuel healing spells.
Azira, Kz3r0, archaen, Jester, Grimgravy, I really think we should save some roots. We only have 6.

With my vote we still have two roots left over after taking care of the grievously wounded. We can be greedy with those two from a role-playing perspective in the future as now they are limited but I don't see us leaving people to die on the field if we can save them. Investigating the pavilion is too important to take time using herbalism until the enemy is upon us. I also want to save our casting strength for the day in case the mice report something that we have to act on immediately. We are the force multiplier and if the invading army immediately throws their full force against us we will be in trouble if we are tapped out to save a consumable.
 

Absinthe

Arcane
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
4,062
Archaen, you are misreading the situation. We would still be left at one third power, each. That leaves all of our mages able to nail the enemy with weaker spells (and Derryth has done a lot with just Zap in the past). Additionally, we have arrows and pathfinders, so we still possess overwhelming firepower on our side. We will also need these roots in the future, so I strongly recommend against wasting them right now. The decision you make right now to have the mages in a better condition will likely result in a scenario down the road where we can no longer save those we want with the few roots we have left. Stop being greedy for having everything right now and start looking at the price you pay down the road.

All we need to do is investigate, mine, and gtfo. Next day our mages are back in top shape and we still have roots to spare.
 
Last edited:

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
They don't, energon cubes can not fuel healing spells.

There is something different about mandrake roots that lets them fuel healing spells but no one is really sure what it is.
But we can cast them with our own power, without the roots. And Energon Cubes are just that - additional power. I figured if you had enough to double your casting reserves, you would be able to Heal twice. The cost would be outrageous and it would far less efficient that just using a root, but it would still be doable.

Why does it work one way, but not the other?
 
Last edited:

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Nevill said:
But we can cast them with our own power, without the roots. And Energon Cubes are just that - additional power.

Why does it work one way, but not the other?

There are a lot of theories as to why it does not work.

Some claim that there is a connection between mandrake roots and the Dream of Life that most healing spells are derived from. If that is true then the spells may simply be designed to only work with the roots or the life force of the caster.

Others claim that mandrake roots have their own 'vital spirits' that can be used to power a healing spell in much the same way as a sentient being fuels a healing spell. In that case you are consuming the root's 'soul' for a lack of a better word to power the spell. Many necromancers quite like this theory as it paints healers in a very poor light.

Another, related, explanation claims that the mandrake roots are the reincarnated souls of blasphemers and apostates, (some of the temples quite like this theory). Not many mages believe such things, but then most mages tend to be hostile or indifferent to gods and religion in general. But if it were true then you are burning through souls to fuel healing spells much as you would do if you tried to cast too many healing spells on your own.

There is also a theory that states that the 'inanimate'/'artificial' energies released by the energon cube simply do not play nicely with the 'organic' base that forms the foundation of all healing spells. In contrast, the 'organic' nature of the mandrake root seems to work well with healing spells (but only healing spells). A great number of scholars reject this theory as there are whole other 'schools' of 'organic' magic that can be powered by energon cubes.

There are about fifteen other minor theories and many variations on the large theories but those are the ones Derryth is vaguely aware of.

So it does not work, no one can agree on why it does not work but there are many competing theories and most mages are not too terribly concerned about it really.

As for who might actually know. Well, only the Heron Guards really specialize in healing spells (much like the Warlocks are the only real specialists in fire magic) and if they know they are not telling.

The more time you spend around mages the more you are going to notice this sort of behaviour. Mages are, as a general rule, more interested in killing/humiliating each other than uncovering the ageless secrets of their arts. Most of them simply know that something does or does not work and they are fine with stopping at that.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Another question. Do enchanted items and artefacts emit a signal of their own that can be traced? For example, if we put a ring on a person with no magical capability, can a third party recognize that? If yes, is the signal of the same kind mages usually emit while casting?

If we pile enough enchantments in one place/on one person, can they be mistaken for a mage?
 
Last edited:

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Nevill said:
Another question. Do enchanted items and artefacts emit a signal of their own that can be traced? For example, if we put a ring on the person with no magical capability, can a third party recognize that? If yes, is the signal of the same kind mages usually emit while casting?

If we pile enough enchantments in one place/on one person, can they be mistaken for a mage?

Plotting another way to kill the Thin White Mage? ;)

Alright, then:

Yes they do technically give off a signal when the enchantments are persistent (so your necklace gives off a signal and your bracelet gives off a signal but your gold ring does not except when the spell in it triggers) but most of the signals are very, very faint.

To pick up the signature a specific enchantment/spell is often required to purposely magnify the signal's strength so it is readable from a distance. Alternatively certain spells/enchantments may also be able focus in on specific signals planted in advance (this is the way Derryth thinks the Watcher's amulets work).

There is no real difference in the way a spell cast from an artefact and a spell cast by a mage will 'feel'. For the purpose of identification a spell is a spell.

Now the signal will often have specific qualities based on who is casting it, every mage really is unique in that regard, but the differences are quite subtle and most people will only be able to identify mages they have some experience with. For example when the Thin White Mage casts a spell Derryth and Thaïs (brilliant mages that they are) can usually tell it is him because he has a certain 'feel' to him. Another example would be that Derryth and Thaïs can each usually tell not just when but what the other intends to cast. This is a result of all the time they spend casting together and the fact that they both specialize in the same field of magic.

Interestingly, if you cast a spell on an item then when that spell is activate/activated it will 'feel' like the mage that originally cast it. So when you put a greater firebolt and a greater energy bolt on those rings they still carried Thaïs and Derryth's 'signatures'. To all the mages nearby it would have felt the same as if the ladies had cast the spells themselves.

If you loaded a non-caster down with magical items that carried persistent enchantments then they might come across as a mage. If you had them cast a bunch of spells from stored items then, again, they might register as a mage. If the spells were all from the same caster they might even be able to masquerade as the original mage. If the spells were from different casters then a careful mind might begin to notice how muddied the signal is but since mages tend to horde artefacts (often made by other people) a muddied signal is not all that uncommon either. A very keen mind though might just be able to figure out that there is no 'heart' to the signal, merely the trappings of power without anything to support it but it is not the first idea that would occur to most, the target would either have to be very careful, very paranoid, or very lucky as long as care is taken in 'constructing the lie'.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Interesting. So, we can potentially mislead another caster into following our doubles if we take care to mask the necklaces and won't cast anything in the meantime. Am I correct?

How would our enchantments interact with our pets? If we used the 'Path of Clarity', would they be able to discern illusions and, being animals with keen senses, 'see' through, say, invisibility? Would casting the 'Path of Intellect' and/or 'Path of Memory' affect the complexity of instructions we will be able to give them and/or improve their chances of carrying them out?

(Or would any intelligent pet go 'screw it, I'm not paid enough for this' and run away from us? I wouldn't blame them, honestly :lol:)

Do our eagles understand, or have a potential to understand, human speech? We've seen they are pretty smart and we think we caught one grinning when we praised it. Can they be trained in learning it through the 'Path of Tongues' enchantment? It would help us if our mages weren't be the only ones who could interact with them.

It's not just the eagles I am concerned about, it's the crows, too. Can they spy on what we are saying and relay it to others?
 
Last edited:

Grimgravy

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Messages
3,469
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire
I'm all for saving some roots too. I believe my vote would use 4/6. Seems reasonable to keep our people alive and potentially fighting. We will want the pathfinder and our manhunter when next we come to blows with the enemy.
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Nevill said:
Interesting. So, we can potentially mislead another caster into following our double if we take care to mask the necklaces and won't cast anything in the meantime. Am I correct?

It is possible yes. You can in theory make a non-caster appear to be a mage. You could also create a 'double' if you are careful and smart about it. Of course only targets that know how you 'feel' in the first place are likely to fall for it, mages that are not familiar with you would not be able to tell that the fake signal is 'you', they would only know it is a mage.

Nevill said:
How would our enchantments interact with our pets? If we used the 'Path of Clarity', would they be able to discern illusions and, being animals with keen senses, 'see' through, say, invisibility?

They would work. Would they be able to 'see' through an invisibility spell? It would depend on how the spell works. If it is only an illusion (and complete invisibility is a difficult illusion to create) then it might help them recognize any discrepancies in what they are experiencing. They are still animals though so they would still be easier to trick than an attentive person. If the spell is brought about by light manipulation then the spell may help or it may not, it would depend.

Nevill said:
Would casting the 'Path of Intellect' and/or 'Path of Memory' affect the complexity of instructions we will be able to give them and/or improve their chances of carrying them out?

(Or would any intelligent pet go 'screw it, I'm not paid enough for this' and run away from us? I wouldn't blame them, honestly :lol:)

Yes, on both counts, Path of Memory and Path of Intellect would make them smarter and better able to retain instructions. This would allow them to complete more difficult assignments but it would also make them harder to trick into doing something. They are, at the end of the day, willing allies and not slaves. The animal based spells can not force them to do anything, they can merely influence them. As already mentioned your mental spells can force them to do things though there may naturally be consequences to that.

Nevill said:
Do our eagles understand, or have a potential to understand, human speech? We've seen they are pretty smart and we think we caught one grinning when we praised it. Can they be trained in learning it through the 'Path of Tongues' enchantment? It would help us if our mages weren't be the only ones who could interact with them.

They can already understand quite a bit of Dwarven as that is what they spend most of their time listening to. They have had substantial training (unlike the mice and rats, your new recruits) so they are capable of doing quite a bit on their own. A couple of the eagles also know a bit of Bruig.

Nevill said:
It's not just the eagles I am concerned about, it's the crows, too. Can they spy on what we are saying and relay it to others?

You don't know for sure but it seems quite likely.
 

Absinthe

Arcane
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
4,062
I'm all for saving some roots too. I believe my vote would use 4/6. Seems reasonable to keep our people alive and potentially fighting. We will want the pathfinder and our manhunter when next we come to blows with the enemy.
If we go with 2C and 3C we would only use 2/6 roots and still have cast all those heals.

However, odds are looking very slim when it comes to obtaining additional mandrake roots from reinforcements, so we should make our supplies last for the long run. Burning two-thirds of our roots on day 1 of the siege is a really bad way to get started.
 

Grimgravy

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Messages
3,469
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire
True, but given that the shade led enemy army is less than a day away, I don't want to be at 1/3 strength or whatever we would be at.
 

Absinthe

Arcane
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
4,062
If we mine the path back, we can probably buy ourselves some more time and (and inflict losses, yay). Also:

1. Well Ceannard likes you and guard duty is not that taxing so about twenty to forty WPs. He might request more if you are honest with him about the chance of fighting Shades (forty to sixty WPs). In general though Shades do not worry him too much, as his company is mostly master marksmen. In the right conditions where they can mass their firepower they might even be able to 'outgun' a Shade, provided they are not hit by a Dispersal Dream that is.
Now add to that Pathfinders with their mortar and conceivably even a shade can get nuked by our buddies alone. And our mages still aren't down for the count, just operating at reduced power, so we can still loose a barrage of zaps, bolts, assaults, etc. while burning cubes.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
We've just had a quarter of our mobile forces and a mortar nuked by mages who were less powerful than shades (though admittedly more cunning). An average Shade is stronger than all of our mages put together.

We can hit them hard, true, but they can hit back even harder if they put their minds to it.
 

Absinthe

Arcane
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
4,062
We still have plenty of ranged firepower. And we already destroyed one shade by fighting unfair. At any rate, all this is only a concern if we confront the shade today.

Heck, Fangshi, if we go back and rest up immediately, it wouldn't take us a full 24 hours to recover, would it?
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Absinthe said:
Heck, Fangshi, if we go back and rest up immediately, it wouldn't take us a full 24 hours to recover, would it?

Yes, if you blow through only two thirds of your power then you should be able to get back to full strength in about sixteen hours as long as you avoid any more casting and you take the time to relax mind and body. So no going on raids or working on any spells or that sort of thing if you want to recover quickly. Just sleep and relaxation as healing spells are far more physically and mentally demanding than almost all other 'schools'/fields.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
What do our eagles normally eat? Is Lyssa feeding them, or do they fend for themselves? If there are no objections, have them catch something in the wilderness while we have no other work for them (probably a snake, so that the mice mercenary force wouldn't get agitated). We might want to run some experiments on living specimen.
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Nevill said:
What do our eagles normally eat?

Mice/Rats, they have had to stop hunting them recently though. The last thing you need is for them to accidentally kill one of the rodent nobility and start a civil war. ;)

Nevill said:
Is Lyssa feeding them, or do they fend for themselves?

Normally they hunt for themselves as they genuinely enjoy it. Lately Lyssa has been feeding them so they don't get up to trouble. They are still animals, and if they are hungry and see a wild mouse or a big juicy rat then sometimes instinct will just take over.

Nevill said:
f there are no objections, have them catch something in the wilderness while we have no other work for them (probably a snake, so that the mice mercenary force wouldn't get agitated). We might want to run some experiments on living specimen.

Sure, they can catch a snake. You want it alive I take it? They will be prone to killing and snacking on them otherwise. I would also be careful as most of the species of snake in the region are highly venomous, you might lose an eagle and if they do bring back a snake you will need to take the time to create the proper tools to handle one (it would be a shame to have Derryth die from a snakebite after all she has survived).
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I would also be careful as most of the species of snake in the region are highly venomous, you might lose an eagle and if they do bring back a snake you will need to take the time to create the proper tools to handle one (it would be a shame to have Derryth die from a snakebite after all she has survived).
Dammit, they are eagles. They eat those! One have to ask himself how do they fare in the wilderness without people telling them what is safe to hunt and what isn't! Have them catch a water snake or something. Or a lizard. Or a turtle. Or to hell with it, let it be a small mammal, like a hare - Lys could potentially talk to those if we want feedback from our experiments, even though it might lead to some unfortunate implications.

I don't want to start playing with fire (or poison, as it may turn out) in the middle of a siege, of all things.
 
Last edited:

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Nevill said:
Dammit, its eagles. They eat those! One have to ask himself how do they fare in the wilderness without people telling them what is safe to hunt and what isn't!

:lol: Yes, they kill and eat them. You want it brought back alive though and that increases the chance that the snake will get a bite off somehow. (Also these are not Snake-Eagles they do not have the sort of specialized tarsi designed to hunt venomous snakes.)

Nevill said:
Have them catch a water snake or something. Or a lizard. Or a turtle. Or to hell with it, let it be a small mammal, like a hare - Lys could potentially talk to those if we want feedback from our experiments, even though it might lead to some unfortunate implications.

Well you are in the middle of the mountains surrounded by desert. Not too many water turtles there I am afraid. ;)

But I get the idea, they will find something relatively nonthreatening and reasonably safe. Out of curiosity what sort of experiments are you hoping to conduct? If you let Lyssa know what you are trying to do she might be able to find you a suitable animal.
 

Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
That should be doable. She will tell them to catch you a hare or some sort of mammal. That way she can ask it what it experiences as well as observe any physical effects.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom