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RickVoid posted:Sounds like a case of game dev reading the lp thread. Happens from time to time. Or at least, someone claiming to be such. I'm not sure I got told anything that wasn't public knowledge, but then, I'm not really certain what I got told.
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Jun 18, 2019 23:45
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Reveilled posted:Or at least, someone claiming to be such. I'm not sure I got told anything that wasn't public knowledge, but then, I'm not really certain what I got told. Sounds like Kennedy all right!
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Jun 18, 2019 23:56
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I love this LP and I love Kennedy's past work. Really enjoying learning the lore in bits and chunks and trying to figure things out! And then being proven wrong! At least I don't go mad when I'm proven wrong.
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Jun 19, 2019 00:19
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Really appreciate the LP, and the added narrative is fantastic. Thank you. I bounced off this game so hard I hit high orbit. I love all the lore in this guy’s games, but the mechanics this time were just not for me. Glad to finally see it in action.
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Jun 19, 2019 05:23
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Kennedy is a goon, that was confirmed through a mutual game dev friend who is also a goon.
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Jun 19, 2019 05:28
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Okay, I have your key Randomcheese3, it doesn't look like you have PMs, so if you want to post your email in the thread, or email me directly at [myusernamehere]@gmail.com, I can get it to you.
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Jun 19, 2019 07:16
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Reveilled posted:Okay, I have your key Randomcheese3, it doesn't look like you have PMs, so if you want to post your email in the thread, or email me directly at [myusernamehere]@gmail.com, I can get it to you. I've sent you an email!
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Jun 19, 2019 07:49
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I wondered if the violet room was a reference to chromotherapy, aka the practice of shining colored lights on people and/or putting them in colored rooms in order to 'cure' certain things. It's a pseudoscience, but that just makes it more fitting, and, well, if you really wanted to expose someone to the healing benefits of violet, restraining them in a room with pure violet walls and no windows would do it. Now, let's see, what is violet said to treat? Violet in chromotherapy is associated with sahasrara, the crown chakra. Violet is said to calm the nervous system, aid meditation, relax muscles, and treat psychosis. It promotes awareness and aids spiritual growth. Now, the fun thing about chromotherapy is that it was developed after Niels Finsen discovered that UV light has anti-bacterial properties in 1877. So, he decided to see if points on the visible light spectrum could do things, too! They, uh... can't, at least not in the way he thought they did (he used red light to try and inhibit smallpox scars, for one). But I think it's interesting that chromotherapy basically is a combination of 'well, UV light does something' and 'maybe we can use the chakra system to determine what else colors do'. It's all very new age, and while practitioners will insist it goes back to ancient times, even the whole ROY G. BIV coloring of chakras is relatively recent and a new age development.
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Jun 19, 2019 16:46
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There's a whole cavalcade of half-baked belief systems that stem from the same pattern, namely "X acts in complicated ways that are difficult to fully understand; therefore, X is literally magic -- complete with the Rules of Similarity and Contagion, wizards who discovered deep secrets and are now nigh-omnipotent, not working when non-believers use their so-called science to test it, etc." Chromotherapy sounds like they wrote X = light, in the same way that sovcits have X = the law and various alternative healers have X = the human body.
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Jun 19, 2019 17:17
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megane posted:There's a whole cavalcade of half-baked belief systems that stem from the same pattern, namely "X acts in complicated ways that are difficult to fully understand; therefore, X is literally magic -- complete with the Rules of Similarity and Contagion, wizards who discovered deep secrets and are now nigh-omnipotent, not working when non-believers use their so-called science to test it, etc." Chromotherapy sounds like they wrote X = light, in the same way that sovcits have X = the law and various alternative healers have X = the human body. It's like the difference between aromatherapy as 'nice smells make me feel good, smells can help with memory if used right' and aromatherapy as 'you can cure all your health problems with the proper smells.'
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Jun 19, 2019 17:23
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PetraCore posted:I wondered if the violet room was a reference to chromotherapy, aka the practice of shining colored lights on people and/or putting them in colored rooms in order to 'cure' certain things. It's a pseudoscience, but that just makes it more fitting, and, well, if you really wanted to expose someone to the healing benefits of violet, restraining them in a room with pure violet walls and no windows would do it. i mean purple is knock is summons is rites, and the chair has armstraps and there's upsetting flint/glass tools in a cupboard. the hospital is described as having an unnatural number of amputations performed there and that being fine because it's better than the people in question walking the streets idk if the implication is shiny lamps also, moth has a heavy implication of shedding the unnecessary (clothes, hair, skin, eyes, fingers, mind) in the process of change, and if you line up your lores vertically you are a psychopath
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Jun 19, 2019 17:24
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megane posted:There's a whole cavalcade of half-baked belief systems that stem from the same pattern, namely "X acts in complicated ways that are difficult to fully understand; therefore, X is literally magic -- complete with the Rules of Similarity and Contagion, wizards who discovered deep secrets and are now nigh-omnipotent, not working when non-believers use their so-called science to test it, etc." Chromotherapy sounds like they wrote X = light, in the same way that sovcits have X = the law and various alternative healers have X = the human body. Something something DEEP MYSTERIES something something?
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Jun 20, 2019 00:38
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Inexplicable Humblebrag posted:i mean purple is knock is summons is rites, and the chair has armstraps and there's upsetting flint/glass tools in a cupboard. the hospital is described as having an unnatural number of amputations performed there and that being fine because it's better than the people in question walking the streets a number of the exploration sites are interesting mergers of fellow seekers after (or attainees of) mansus-principles. the Hospital appears to be investigating Knock and Moth, and Saint Agnes gets referenced in some Knock-related content as one of the faces of the Mother of Ants, the Hour most closely associated with Knock. not all doors are wounds, but all wounds are doors. if we could but pass through into that higher place!
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Jun 21, 2019 17:34
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ugh im compelled to start another goddamn game of cultist simulator!!!
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Jun 21, 2019 17:38
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Sorry for not having an update all week, by the way, I've been juggling work and two D&D games, hopefully I will have time to write a proper update tomorrow evening or Sunday.
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Jun 21, 2019 18:08
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Yeowch!!! My Balls!!! posted:a number of the exploration sites are interesting mergers of fellow seekers after (or attainees of) mansus-principles. the Hospital appears to be investigating Knock and Moth, and Saint Agnes gets referenced in some Knock-related content as one of the faces of the Mother of Ants, the Hour most closely associated with Knock. not all doors are wounds, but all wounds are doors. if we could but pass through into that higher place! I don’t know if you were just being coy, but in the Priest expansion, which is all about a Knock ascension, St. Agnes is front and center of the early part of it, so yeah, she’s absolutely a patron saint of Knock, and implied to be exactly the sort of doorway of wounds you would become in a Knock Ascension.
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Jun 22, 2019 02:17
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What is that seeker doing to his doorway? 
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Jun 22, 2019 04:38
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Synthbuttrange posted:What is that seeker doing to his doorway? two shall stand as sentinel; four and four shall open the Ring, and one shall be Ringed. and through the Opening of that Doorway, we shall glimpse that which the Black Goat Sees.
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Jun 22, 2019 05:51
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Yeowch!!! My Balls!!! posted:two shall stand as sentinel; four and four shall open the Ring, and one shall be Ringed. and through the Opening of that Doorway, we shall glimpse that which the Black Goat Sees. 
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Jun 22, 2019 08:09
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Yeowch!!! My Balls!!! posted:two shall stand as sentinel; four and four shall open the Ring, and one shall be Ringed. and through the Opening of that Doorway, we shall glimpse that which the Black Goat Sees. 
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Jun 22, 2019 08:26
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I see you have correctly enacted the Rememberance of the Ring.
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Jun 22, 2019 08:42
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man i do not like thinking about what the Ghoul would eat to get that remembrance
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Jun 22, 2019 15:39
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Priest Spoiler: I guess we now know why the game doesn't let us make a Knock or Secret Histories lock-scar
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Jun 22, 2019 15:59
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Yeowch!!! My Balls!!! posted:two shall stand as sentinel; four and four shall open the Ring, and one shall be Ringed. and through the Opening of that Doorway, we shall glimpse that which the Black Goat Sees. 
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Jun 22, 2019 20:16
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i completed another Lantern victory a few hours ago. i'm kinda interested what the speedrunning community is like considering the completely random expedition outcome is like in this game
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Jun 22, 2019 22:07
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Inexplicable Humblebrag posted:i completed another Lantern victory a few hours ago. i'm kinda interested what the speedrunning community is like considering the completely random expedition outcome is like in this game Expeditions are no longer random in rewards. Unless you're talking about the fact that you can no longer get above a 90% chance not to screw up now.
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Jun 22, 2019 22:19
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And anyone who has played an XCOM title knows better than to trust 90%
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Jun 22, 2019 22:21
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NewMars posted:Expeditions are no longer random in rewards. Unless you're talking about the fact that you can no longer get above a 90% chance not to screw up now. that is the thing i'm talking about i had people gently caress up a "fight the serpent check" four times in a row at 90%!!!!
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Jun 23, 2019 00:09
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I think the RNG that will have a bigger impact on speedrun time is waiting on Season of Ambitions when going from the third to the sixth mark.
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Jun 23, 2019 00:50
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Inexplicable Humblebrag posted:i completed another Lantern victory a few hours ago. i'm kinda interested what the speedrunning community is like considering the completely random expedition outcome is like in this game Expeditions rewards have been fixed for awhile now. There are several members in the Discord who do a bit of speedrunning theory crafting, but generally no one bothers to record runs because the game is so niche and the community is like...maybe 4 people tops? I believe the most recent scoring has It has a Speedrun.com page, but most of the categories haven't been popularized. I think the most recent run was a Grail run completed by a guy who goes by Pickle in 50:36.
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Jun 23, 2019 01:10
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I just read this whole LP front-to-back, and it's great work, Reveilled! I bought this game off the strength of Fallen London's writing but then tried playing it and, uuuuuuuh, this game's gameplay is not for me. It's possibly the least for me of all of the games I've played in the last few years. So, it's great to see it showcased! Especially with the way the narrative ties in with the game, works really well.
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Jun 23, 2019 01:16
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there's something incredibly hilarious about the concept of speedrunning "uncovering things man was not meant to know and becoming an unholy abomination"
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Jun 23, 2019 01:41
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President Ark posted:there's something incredibly hilarious about the concept of speedrunning "uncovering things man was not meant to know and becoming an unholy abomination" Do you HAVE to end up being something evil and/or incredibly harmful to humans and human existence?
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Jun 23, 2019 03:08
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Artificer posted:Do you HAVE to end up being something evil and/or incredibly harmful to humans and human existence? i think it's almost impossible, if not impossible, to beat the game without murdering at least one person; so the answer is "yes, and that's not even counting turning into something that isn't human" President Ark fucked around with this message at 03:25 on Jun 23, 2019 |
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Jun 23, 2019 03:21
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President Ark posted:i think it's almost impossible, if not impossible, to beat the game without murdering at least one person; so the answer is "yes, and that's not even counting turning into something that isn't human" Pacifism is doable if you're on Forge, Dancer or maybe Priest (I haven't dug into it yet). All the expedition obstacles have a non-murdery method of completion, and the higher Forge marks gobble up funds instead of victims.
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Jun 23, 2019 03:32
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Doopliss posted:Pacifism is doable if you're on Forge, Dancer or maybe Priest (I haven't dug into it yet). All the expedition obstacles have a non-murdery method of completion, and the higher Forge marks gobble up funds instead of victims. Non-murdery Priest is absolutely possible, but describing it as “pacifism” raises interesting questions around whether massive self-harm could be considered “pacifist”
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Jun 23, 2019 05:44
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skeleton warrior posted:Non-murdery Priest is absolutely possible, but describing it as “pacifism” raises interesting questions around whether massive self-harm could be considered “pacifist” Its videogame pacifism. Extreme violence is permitted as long as it dont kill
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Jun 23, 2019 13:09
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Page 85 Dear Diary,  It seems I've never stayed in one place very long this past week. First London, then Paris, then Vienna, and now a sleepy resort in the mountains of Romania. We're checked in to the Grand Hotel for the forseeable, and this will be out base of operations while we explore for the required secrets. When I checked in, I had a letter waiting for me from Olympe, containing a commission request. How did she know I'd be here?  This land is...strange. There is something of an urgent air that suffuses the atmosphere, a desire to consume that exceeds natural levels.   On some level I think I should find that troubling, even scary, but the truth is that it reinforces my own hunger. I've spent my evening reorganising my notes for the commission. Page 86 I've written to the University we came to visit, requesting permisson to access their library. Hopefully we will be permitted access soon; I have no particular desire to do things the hard way unless necessary. After the events at Gwaer Inn I realise I might have been a little too hasty. Let us try a more softly, softly approach.  I've also completed my writings on Grail lore for the commission. Wonderful what the free time a holiday provides for the writer.  As I wrote previously, this place seems highly attuned to the Red Grail. My body thrums with contentment even as my stomach and nethers rumble with greed.  Sitting on the balcony of the main bar, looking out at the trees, I saw two birds fighting in flight. They darted at one another, broke off, again and again, until at last one fell to the ground. Shortly afterward, I saw the victorious bird rise again, belly full with blood and meat. I think I'll do a little painting while I'm here. Page 87 A letter back from the University today. They are refusing us entry! The nerve of these people, honestly. I've written again, impressing the importance of our work.  For now, at least, I've decided to treat this as a proper holiday. Goodness knows I'm paying for it like one, so I might as well enjoy myself. I spent some time in the grounds and courtyards of the hotel considering views I might use to develop my painting skill.  As I wandered through the old gardens, I was drawn a little further, down to a lake. There on the shore was a house or perhaps a lodge, apparently once part of the hotel but now apparently disused.  Sitting on the porch was an old woman, sitting silently, painting.  Violet, she introduced herself as. She said she'd been waiting for me.  We sat and painted together for a while. I explained why I was here, the ending I was seeking. She nodded, but didn't say much.  I asked if she had anything to share, and after a pause, she told me the story of the lake house, supposedly once the summer home of the devil himself. An allegory, of course, but it fed my imagination. I've heard creatures of the mansus can manifest in our world, of course, but I assumed they had to be summoned. I wonder, are there places through which they can cross the barrier between the dream and reality?   Are there people through which they can cross?  After a while, I made to pack up and return to the hotel grounds. I offered to help Violet walk back, but to my surprise and despite her age, she moved with an efficient purpose of a woman forty years her junior, and needed no help at all. As we parted, she smiled and curtseyed which felt...odd, given the age disparity. ""I'm sure we'll see more of each other, dear," she said, "but do let me know when it's time to visit the castle."  I nodded and headed for the dining room, deciding I'd prefer to give the impression I knew what she meant. Page 87+i  I decided tonight to ask my friend, the captain, about castles on the Danube. She obliged, eagerly, of the many castles she'd seen over the years. I took attentive notes, but eventually realised I had no way of filtering an encyclopedic knowledge of a river spanning thousands of years and five histories. Still, I let the knowledge wash over me, and felt wiser for it.  Page 88 A second rejection from the University. This is ridiculous. All we want is to review the books! I'm a fellow scholar, how can they refuse this of me? I don't know what's happened to professional courtesy in this era, it's disgusting. I've written once more, sweet as I can, but this is the last chance.  I've been reading the papers a fair bit to keep up with events while I am abroad, but these days I find them more and more to be filled with irrelevant drivel. Political intrigues and gossip that once held great interest for me just no longer seems to matter, not when I'm drawing closer to my goal.  Still, with the things I'm learning in dreams, and these few tidbits of mortal trivia, my knowledge is broadening further.  I think I might be nearing the limit of what a mortal can hold in their mind without madness, but surely there will be some dark corners of my mind free to accept more things to Know, if only I can find the necessary light.   In addition to a letter from the University, I also today received a package from Clifton. Addressing me this time as Saint Hypatia, he writes with good news. It appears that with our disappearance, the police have run out of leads to connect any of us to the matter at Gwaer Inn. Elridge will of course be in trouble for fleeing if he is caught on our return, but for my part at least the trail connecting the book to me has gone cold. I can safely return when I am ready.   In the parcel is a book on Sanskrit. I had completely forgotten that I had told Clifton of my interest in languages, but it seems he remembered that better than I did. This should be useful.  He also included funds from the sale of the Spintria, both the one I left behind and others which were paid to him by my patrons in lieu of sending to me directly.  Finally, he writes that he has grown the cult somewhat in my absence, with a few miscellaneous nobodies gathered to him, "all anxiously awaiting your return". He doesn't say so, but I rather suspect that he is putting words in their mouths. Page 88+i  I decided tonight to take a different tack than before. In discovering the university, I found a mural on the walls of the river's chamber painted in fuschia. Tonight I did the same, looking for a castle in that brilliant and unmistakeable colour. Sure enough, but a few hours searching revealed what I was after.  Page 89  A third rejection. There's nothing for it, then. Supposedly, the pen is mightier than the sword, and so far they have kept us away by our permitting the use of pens as weapons. Now...now I'm going to insist on swords.  Enid, Neville and Auclair will look into the clues from my dream. All we need are blades, and lights to guide them.  We elected to approach the rural university from the forest around the grounds, rather than the front. I have no qualms about what must be done, but I'd prefer to be in and out with as few witnesses as possible.   I did receive a few cuts from the bushes as we made our way. Stange plants I've never seen before, and the scratches don't seem to be scabbing. I've bandaged my arm, I expect I need only time to heal.  We were aware from our scouting of the location that the main library of the Endowment buildings was dilapidated after some structural disaster years ago. We knew getting into the New Library would be too risky and attention grabbing, so we gambled on the main library having some forgotten treasures we could procure and make a quick escape with. Entering from an unlocked window, as we fought our way to the upper floors, I wondered if in their final moments these people regretted their arrogance for defying me.  On the top floor, Cat and I searched frantically for the mechanism while Victor and Elridge fought back the scholars in the hallway near the stairs.  And then, we were through. The library was a mess. Clearly built to hold secrets, the ground floor had no windows. Now sealed off but with a massive hole in the ceiling, the entire bottom floor was filled with a foot of brackish water.  Nonetheless, we waded downstairs to find what we could.  Finding six texts of worth not completely ruined by the water, cat and I grabbed three each and we made our way out guarded by Victor and Elridge.  We fled back the way we came, with the remaining scholars close on our heels. They pulled up when we got to the tree line, as if more scared of the trees than of letting us go.  And so, successful, we made our way home.  My arm felt like it was on fire as we got back to the hotel. The books weren't heavy, but whatever cut me in the forest seems to have weakened my arm considerably.  All we can really do is change the bandages; I can hardly go to a doctor for it given the possibility of being connected to the raid.  Similarly, one of the porters observed us as we brought the books back in through the rear entrance; but a few coins have bought his silence, I think. He smiled, and then left us be.   I haven't had time to read the book on Sanskrit that Clifton sent me, but two of the texts are written in Fucine--which I can read--apparently by an order of Longs who opposed the Hours. That's of particular interest. Perhaps the black lines spreading from this wound are reminding me of my mortality. Page 90  I awoke this morning to find my sheets soaked in some sort of black fluid, maybe blood? The wound has finally closed, but whatever infected my arm has drained it of its strength--I can still move it, but it is dull and grey, corpse-like, and I have no strength at all any more. I've read of rituals which can restore lost strength, but I have not the means to perform them here. I must wait until my return to London.  I hope to make my return to London soon, but for now my mind is focused on what we can do here. My own health is trivial compared to the prize. Auclair reports success in pinpointing which of the many castles in the area might contain those prizes.  It's time to speak to Violet.
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Jun 23, 2019 18:47
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Mechanics Update 11 Mistake on my part in this episode! Won't be the last. We upgraded a grail lore to allow a commission to be completed. I like to have as many Sixth-magnitude lores as possible around this point in the game to ensure I can complete any commission I happen to get. This one allowed me to use our headquarters' sanctuary property in lieu of glimmering to complete the upgrade. We also met Violet, completing our set of Winter disciples. Violet was essentially the last person I was really looking for in the follower deck, we picked up a few moth and heart people off-camera but they're not relevant to the narrative so I'm saving them in case they are characters in a future playthrough. But with two winter people, we have enough people now to get through the final few vaults. Side note, but the descriptions for Violet are possibly my favourites of all the followers. We spent a while upgrading our skills in painting and scholarship. The final stage of increasing your skills requires four Lessons Learnt and an appropriate lore. There are two versions of every skill, for Painting it's Open Soul and Never-No. Open Soul will be more useful to us because some of our skill challenges for lantern lore upgrades later will allow us to use it. One of the nice things about the Stag Door is that the Painted River gives frequent Erudition Lessons as a reward, so levelling up Scholarship becomes significantly easier at this point. Because of that pause taken to build our skills, the Tentative evidence from before timed out completely. The heat is off us for now, at least. Clifton joined us on the expedition to the Kusnetsov Endowment. I'd forgotten that he came along for this one which is why I left him behind in the narrative. Mea culpa, but Kate would do in his place. And sad news if you were expecting a highly detailed investigation into this location, but I could not find any reliable leads indicating that the Endowment might be a real place. There are many universities in Romania, of course, but nothing in this seems to positively identify one as the stand-in for the Endowment. While all this was going on, Kate got sick. And on my tableau, I chose to place health waaaay up in the top left corner. Usually When an illness turned health to affliction, I brought the card down to the middle so I wouldn't forget about it. But I failed to do that this time, and so the affliction sat up there in the top left corner, slowly timing out. I didn't even notice it happening, and had to go back through my screenshots to work out when it had occurred. When an affliction fully times out, it becomes decrepitude. It's only real use is that you can use it with Work to beg in the streets, producing dread and funds. That might be useful if you've got a problem with too much fascination, but that's very seldom a problem. Decrepitude can't be turned back to health, so we're stuck with this card now. There's a ritual which can reverse the process, but I don't yet have powerful enough Forge lores to enact it reliably. but eventually Kate's arm will work again, no matter the cost. Next Time: Steal Men's Souls, Make Them Your Slaves Reveilled fucked around with this message at 20:57 on Jun 23, 2019 |
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Jun 23, 2019 18:47
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oh there's other uses for decrepitude, for winter ascensions 
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Jun 23, 2019 19:01
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