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Wha- a box of bullets!! You swipe it and shake it eagerly, hearing it rattle with that powder appeal. You open it up. [You got +6 bullets!] [Gun: 6 / 6 bullets, +2 extra.] ANXIETY: [ X ][20%] Oh yes. Your gun is opened and then click-spun closed, freshly full and giving you that last reassurance. Weird find; you kick up the leafy ash pile more, and find evidence of melted weaponry. That's evidence enough to keep moving, and you take off to thhhhhhhe... (PE - Wait Where) 13 [3]+[6]+[3] = 12 - Success. ...left... then you spun around... so directly backwards to go west! You take off, eager to warm your body up further, and it isn't long before heat starts to pool out of the ashen ground once again. You delve into the Solar Woods, gun full-load and blade brandished. Event Log posted:You stop to rest and survey the area. You thwack a tree that looks a little suspicious, but it's just a normal dead burnt tree. Now, its neighbor on the other hand, is also a tree, but one filled with small brilliantly orange-red rodents that turn out to be ridiculously hostile. They leap at you! (!Tyranny - Inevitable) 18(-4) [1]+[1]+[5] = 7 - Success! You glare at the violent little furballs in the exact same style as Sauber. The fiery beasts stop on the burnt tree and chitter with a reconsider, realizing that you're probably a Top Pred which makes THEM dinner. So they take off, and you continue on to- Grinding posted:Here's a great grind spot! Whether you want it or not. Kicking over one pile of ashy leaves reveals the bright-orange head of some enormous fanged wormthing. It thrashes and bites at you, more pulling themselves up out of the crumbly soil. It's so cold. You hurt, bad. There's still a lot to get through. Coming here might not have been in your best interests. But you'll be out soon, right? Event Log posted:Another long dark grove of the ash-weeping trees. You fully expect another living fire to leap out, but you're wrong. Instead, there's a mechanical sound, as dozens of messily jury-rigged systems lift out of the ash and start to vomit streams of fire. (HT - Run!) 15 [6]+[1]+[6] = 13 - Success. You duck and run! The shroud is pulled tight as you charge across the clearing, nearly slipping on some ash when you pull a corner. One rusted nozzle catches you by surprise, forcing out a stream of burn. It splashes all over you. Fire Damage 6d: Took (20/3)(-8) 0 damage! Oh holy GOD you can feel it. You screech and run faster, slowed by your wounds and blood loss. But you manage to limp through without being shot by the other dozen flamethrowers, finally escaping down a long hill to another cold quiet deadzone. You rest a second, spreading an ash angel into the ground, head reeling. Bleeder was one thing. What about Burner? All that awful nuclear might. Instantaneous End. Absolutely no survival or after- only End. ANXIETY: [ X ][ X ][ X ][40%] You roll over and spit bile, feeling sick. It's too much. Too much to think about, to overcome; that awful finality of radiance. How? Assassination? Drowning? What will it take to stop Burner and her cult? You stand up weakly, and give up the idea of conquering the Solar Woods in totality. You've done enough damage for one day. You slump westward, finally spotting the rest of the valley outside of the plateau. Eager, you slump to the edge and look down. That's a, that's quite the drop. You need to climb, which will be hard in your injured state. You- Six-Pack Subscription posted:
(ST - Climb) 25(-10) [1]+[4]+[5] = 10 - Success. Oh. Well. Even this weak, you're still so strong you can slowly and gingerly climb the ash-slick soils. You find roots and outgrown trees, dangling down to reach ground floor. But halfway through the trip down, you spot something weird. A tree stump... with a sword hilt sticking out of it. You know you really shouldn't, but you need all the help you can get. (ST - Leap Grab!) 25(-10) [5]+[4]+[3] = 12 - Success. Jump! You swing and leap over, nearly bungling it into another freefall. But your iron body easily holds you up, and you pull the sword out of the charred wood before you start to climb back down. One more risk, and- (ST - Going Down) 25(-10) [1]+[4]+[2] = 8 - Success! -you did it! You're on the high slopes now, able to slowly slide and roll to the green silence waiting below. The mist has cleared up some, but now the heat lightning is even more frequent and intense, casting bizarre shadows across the valley. You rest for a second, eager to get back to Kwiat. But first, what kind of sword is this?
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Mar 1, 2022 19:47
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| # ? Jun 1, 2024 01:37 |
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lets see:quote:If empowered, Ashtheft gave it whenever fighting something that used Fire-Element abilities. only one i can find reference to although there could be more?
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Mar 1, 2022 19:59
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CoolCab posted:lets see:
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Mar 1, 2022 21:58
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Rinjani you say?quote:Mount Rinjani (Indonesian: Gunung Rinjani) is an active volcano in Indonesia on the island of Lombok. Administratively the mountain is in the Regency of North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (Indonesian: Nusa Tenggara Barat, NTB). It rises to 3,726 metres (12,224 ft), making it the second highest volcano in Indonesia.[2] It is also the highest point in Indonesian province of West Nusa Tenggara
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Mar 1, 2022 22:40
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Ashtheft sounds like it might be fire immunity in combat, which we've been told is a necessity for survival.
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Mar 1, 2022 22:56
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Yeah, I'd say that Ashtheft is the obvious safe choice here. We know it gives fire immunity, and fire immunity is required to survive. The other two choices are gambles.
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Mar 1, 2022 23:19
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Well, its required to survive if you're fighting.
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Mar 2, 2022 00:26
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And even if Burner lets us talk, the ideal outcome, her congregation might need to be fought through to some extent. The sunburners are no joke, and the better prepped we are the more likely we can control a fight and maybe not kill Burner's friends if at all possible. Plus, her megalith is going to be hot as hell. I do not want to fight her, but this is prep for interaction in general, not just a fight.
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Mar 2, 2022 00:53
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It's the blade... Fury - 4 Ashtheft - 20 Rinjani - 11   You heft the dense wood. It's a lovely charred-red color, and stinks of pseudonatural magics. It goes on your back while you survey the area; it's so much warmer down here. The familiar forest is rife with flowers, the area between ash-feeding plateau and small mountain making it especially fertile. So, if the mountain is ahead of you, that means you should hang a right and follow the Solar Woods until you come out at the river. You really want to avoid the Holy Land though, so you're going to stay inside the woods until you find the MC&D trail. Thank Red for her shroud. God, it's the only thing keeping you from dying of cold right now. You can't imagine how you're going to deal with meeting her again, but those are intrusive thoughts for later. Right now, the focus is to get back and get to bed. Keeping that intent sees you eventually pop into the trail; there's an icy wind blowing down the path from the Holy Land. You avoid going towards the mart, and vanish back north into the forest. Though it makes you that much more tired, you... (PSI Clouding ɑ) 13 [3]+[5]+[1] = 9 - Success. HP: [ 4 / 25 ] FP: [ 7 / 15 ] ANXIETY: [ X ][20%] OST: Lonely School ...allow yourself to relax just a little; it's getting easier to slip into the mindset to make the clouding possible. The woods take you back north for the pain of the final climb, and you sigh when you get back at last. But when you pass over the watery-sung stones and stand in the courtyard, you realize you still have plenty of time in the day to wind down before you sleep. You wander along the outside to the skateboard's territory, but can't heard its wheels shredding the stone. Huh. You sit on one bench and doze a little, warming up with the sound of the waterfalls. Still-dense mist means a degree of safety you can calm down in. It happens like it always does, with a single thought too deep and the sharp of a knife. (Disquie- A piercing mewl shatters the watery quiet. You scream and leap. Wheels shred stone. ANXIETY: [ X ][ X ][ X ][ X ][ X ][60%]  ANXIETY: [...?!%]
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Mar 2, 2022 21:14
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...does anyone else want to see what Ashtheft gets turned into if we suitify it? Also, kitty!
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Mar 2, 2022 22:31
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Holy poo poo I’m caught up. This has been a pleasure (?) to read. I noticed the influence of the Final Mission character on the protagonist (though i don’t remember her name, it’s been a loooong time) and the Drakalor Chain almost immediately This is so good and creepy and well done and i barely know what’s happening E: i was delighted to see the first movie description in the theater Captain Foo fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Mar 2, 2022 |
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Mar 2, 2022 22:45
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Hey Foo. Glad you like it so far. 
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Mar 2, 2022 23:10
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I've been trying to think on why i'm enjoying this more than most works that have what i'd call the 'puzzlebox nature'- asking to be solved, forming dozens of connections, theorizing, picking something apart. This is a sort of story I often find frustrating- a Lost or the like is one of the big things here, a story where it's all about what Could be happening and then when you get to the end there isn't much- or deep interconnected worlds full of Lore that doesn't elucidate themes or ideas. Even something like Homestuck is kind of this- through the massive, complicated mechanisms, it asks you to figure out what's happening, what might be happening, and all that part of that story always left me high and dry- but the characters kept me going. in Zen Hell EndThere are undoubtedly a ludicrous amount of moving parts. Maybe too many in some ways! Sometimes this doesn't hit for me at all- there are large parts of this story that, due to this, I just barely remember at all. Here, while hardly perfect it feels like the ideas that are being set up mean something. The imagery is evocative, I like a lot of the characters. I think some of the theorization is goofy- I never once really think our protagonist is 'actually' multiple people that have been fused, but it does feel like there's something to the way that they have very distinct parts of themselves that they conceptualize as different actors but are nevertheless themself. I've met people for whom that is their experience, and it doesn't feel... as exploitative as works grappling with that sort of idea that I've seen before. Not my personal experience of being, so I can't talk much more than that. I think what does hold up the most for me is the sort of theme here of a bunch of people who are all hurt, very badly, and trying to cope with it- a better world has been lost, ruined by exploitation in some way they don't understand. They know there was something that was supposed to be better, there should be a better world- but they aren't in it, and they're muddling through. Traumatized people, at least trying to help each other. Sometimes badly, often in ways that aren't healthy, but trying. Home, the different cults, and many others we've met. And our protagonist, the lost soloist- shying away from connection even when they make it, except for Kiwat. Trying to be a better person, in a world that asks them to be at their worst. Sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding. Little interactions with other people, light in the darkness. And I think the meta layer- while the complication of a holy end game also existing doesn't do anything for me- also adds to this. It sort of addresses the puzzlebox nature that both frustrates and intrigues me- it is dozens, hundreds of people trying to solve a fundamentally unsolvable thing. There isn't a secret route where you do everything just right and manage to kill all of them. It's not about that. The protagonist struggles with their nature of Tyranny and the desire to inflict their will on the world. Too, those trying to solve the game are trying to box up the world, to make it work the way they desire, to get it just /right./ A Tyranny of a hundred thousand tries, of every scrap of information, in a world that ultimately does not respond to Tyranny. There is always another secret. Tyranny and the blue book won't beat this game or save this world. To me, these feel like much the same thing on a thematic level. This is why I don't mind the 'puzzlebox' nature, the constant trying to figure out which character is also who or tied to what as much as I normally might. It feels like, in the world, that's what people are doing- and it has only lead them to futility. Everyone is trying to win. no one is just trying to play. It feels in conversation with those ideas. These are just some idle thoughts. I've been lurking, but I quite enjoy the thread. Apologies for dumping both criticism and praise in the thread. I might clean this up and edit it later, this is an absolute mess of a 'review'. I find it hard to put my thoughts together in a fully coherent way without spending an hour or two on it.
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Mar 2, 2022 23:41
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Kitty! Pet the kitty!
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Mar 3, 2022 04:52
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 [Another element-slaying blade. Most were guaranteed each onerun, with decreasing probability each find. Nobody has ever collected all 14, even with glitches and dives. Each one had different rules and secret upgrades.] [Five have been seen so far. What about the secrets of one of the other nine?] (Voting ends in the AM)
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Mar 3, 2022 08:03
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I mean, you can't not pick a sword named Michael. Guessing that's holy element? The archangel Michael? We'll see. Damnation I think should be Unholy, Azurecide could be lightning, Shinespark could be light, Horizon could be... maybe Dark, and uhhhhhhh... Maybe Baseblade is Metal? Does Void have a blade? There were 15 elements and yet there are only 14 elemental blades so maybe not. Grond fucked around with this message at 09:44 on Mar 3, 2022 |
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Mar 3, 2022 09:24
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I voted for Azurecide, but now I’m wondering if that’s Hider’s element, which isn’t what I wanted. I’m wondering if there’s a sword that can negate Dancer’s magic. You know, the magic that lets her crit success while you crit fail nonstop. Based on the info we have so far, it seems like more than any other lord, Dancer stops the oneruns that would otherwise be in winning positions. I imagine most oneruns have to do the “kill 50 backup” strat rather than face her, and I bet the ones that face her try for assassination. A sword that could stop her RNG manipulation would be...well…too much to hope for, but cool to read about.
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Mar 3, 2022 10:03
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Hm. Are Dancer's powers elemental in nature? I don't think Luck counts as an element in here, at least not according to the GURPS Superlite reference. There should be a way to counter her but I'd imagine it'd be more along the lines of us maxing our DX, or lowering hers or something similar.
Grond fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Mar 3, 2022 |
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Mar 3, 2022 17:13
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Damnation - 1 Horizon - 0 Baseblade - 2 Summering - 0 Azurecide - 2 Trenchpoint - 5 Auracision - 2 Shinesharp - 1 Michael Sword - 9  [Ah, a sword everyone wants, and only a single onerun has found. The chances for the Unholy-Slaying Michael Sword to spawn wasn't special, just incredibly low. Element-slaying swords tended to spawn the basic elements first, with the secondary and higher elements being rarer.] [It had a few upgrades. One was a Sword Art that did maximum damage to Unholy beings for an increased break chance. The second one was weird, called 'Remind Of Heaven' - all it did was tint the screen for a second, before a message saying 0 HP and 0 FP was restored. The third power was the most useful, 'Limit Break Gold', which uncapped ST, HT, and WL, allowing them to reach S+-Rank.] [Not a bad weapon considering its immense durability and ability to crit down some of the worst enemies. It'd be a wonderful find for the lategame. But right now there's something strange loading in, caused by the kitten repeatedly spamming meowing messages. What's this event?] LOADING...  ...LOADING
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Mar 3, 2022 17:32
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🐱
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Mar 3, 2022 17:36
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Haha, yeah. Nailed it. Yes.
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Mar 3, 2022 17:47
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Well, it would be rude to not pet the kitten. I'm always down for more shenanigans with the Council.
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Mar 3, 2022 17:47
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taiyoko posted:Well, it would be rude to not pet the kitten. I'm always down for more shenanigans with the Council. Yes
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Mar 3, 2022 18:31
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Jeeze! You were trying to have an emotional meltdown here. The skatecat scared you to shaking. You look at the familiar kitten. Yes, hi, hello. Hi.  Woah! You lean down to pet the kitten, but the skateboard keeps it a little out of reach.  What?! Stay still so you can pet their scruffy head. Tired, you hunch and walk one step forward.  Yeah, come on little fluff, come here.  [-1 HP!] HP: [ 3 / 25 ] FP: [ 7 / 15 ] Compromised Cranial posted:
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Mar 3, 2022 21:00
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Rude
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Mar 3, 2022 21:40
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wait, i thought we had head immunity more or less? If a bullet to the head did nothing meaningful, then surely hitting a bench should not have any meaningful effect either.
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Mar 3, 2022 22:51
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I sense shenanigans.
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Mar 3, 2022 22:53
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Regallion posted:wait, i thought we had head immunity more or less? If a bullet to the head did nothing meaningful, then surely hitting a bench should not have any meaningful effect either.
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Mar 3, 2022 22:53
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That must have been a pretty nasty head-bang if it got through our DR.
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Mar 3, 2022 23:11
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Regallion posted:wait, i thought we had head immunity more or less? If a bullet to the head did nothing meaningful, then surely hitting a bench should not have any meaningful effect either. If bob saget had a hosed up skull he’d be alive today, -1 hp
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Mar 3, 2022 23:22
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We have been summoned to the Dreamlands and the council paid for us to go direct flight, apparently.
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Mar 3, 2022 23:22
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Randalor posted:We have been summoned to the Dreamlands and the council paid for us to go direct flight, apparently. Yeah on further thought it’s this If the the Council of Ulthar wants us unconscious, we’re gonna be unconscious with a quickness
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Mar 3, 2022 23:40
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-it. Wuh? The kitten finishes its extended scream as you wake up in your comfortable seat. Your hands brush over the bright dewstained plants that grow dense over the sterile subway shell. Oh, look; it's Dead Cat, sleeping in the warm light. The car has been in travel for a week now, and it's time for you to wake up for the last few hours of the trip. There was no time to wait for the bedlove hours for you to descend here. There's much much too much going on. You look out the window at the lovely sky, and you see the shape of the mountain ri- Party Log posted:Dead Cat [Lv.0] has joined your party! !!! Dead Cat in your lap! The lil' minskin wants pets from you. You rub the wrinkly cat who blessed you, being gently playful with the observed corpse. Dangling their arms, singing silly songs while rocking them like a baby, and making sure they're all stretched out and scratched in the warm seats. You also swaddle them with your shroud for some real purring warmth, while you hook your crow mask back up and on, redressing into your Kadath reds. You decide out of some instinct that it's for the best for dress formal. You have that sensation again, holy immensity of the starlight slowly drawing you into the ultimate of midnight. It's still day now, but my God; the dark to come! Oh, right. You're here early why? Because someone wants to see you. They talked with the Cat What Swims, and it was agreed you should have a few months to vacation with him first before dealing with the immense that is tonight. He's going too, you see. To what exactly? The Dead Cat just wants its wrinkly skin warmed and pet instead, please. Yeah, you're fine with that. There's time now. Right?  DREAMING: [ ~ ][ ~ ][ ~ ][ ~ ][50%] Right. Called into work a year early. Rude, but necessary. You are the Ambassador after all. The Council is going to be so happy to see you well after the long-forgotten Eaumur incident. So much has changed since then, with a lot of the Dreamlands now gone or evacuated. But Duke Sauber's will be safe to journey to, which is where the subway will go as soon as it swings by Ulthar for a supply-up and meeting for nap and lunch. Your third eye flutters and winces at the light, while you dream of what to eat.
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Mar 4, 2022 03:58
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The Silver Mind posted:It's a difficult day for you especially, but Aitvaras is here to share it. No meeting of the Knighthood today thank goodness. No, you both need to hide. Hide in bed, his wings around you, both quiet with the wide-eye of anxious contemplations under a dozen blankets. It was such an intrusive thought.
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Mar 4, 2022 04:07
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Ouch. future readers, check the date
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Mar 4, 2022 05:20
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LITTLE MORE LOADING... Original Class Choices Adept-Level Abilities
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Mar 8, 2022 07:38
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...Things which stand out to me:
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Mar 8, 2022 13:58
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Chiurgeon is a bit odd in our case; I believe we picked up chiurgeon back when we were choosing our class, and due to a tie it ended up in its current state with Psychic as our non-Tyrant class proper. So for our purposes, we have a bit of what Chiurgeon offers without actually being one. Presumably if we picked up the class later somehow, it would overwrite the bugged version and we would get the rest of the Chiurgeon perks as normal. Or we end up Quad classing with Tyrant/Psychic/Bugged Chiurgeon/Chiurgeon, however that would work out.
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Mar 8, 2022 14:56
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If we get to vote for classes down the road again, I vote for max glitches, mixing classes again. Say, dual Valkyrie/Beastlord(chosen animal chicken) or something. Let's power up Kwiat. 
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Mar 8, 2022 15:23
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| # ? Jun 1, 2024 01:37 |
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I vote to respec into farmer and just carry around a ton of poo poo
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Mar 8, 2022 15:29
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