- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
Doubt we have enough negation to beat this guy. 1
Though I gotta wonder, Abraxas, why can’t you fix the sky yourself?
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2019 11:16
|
|
- Adbot
-
ADBOT LOVES YOU
|
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2024 02:05
|
|
- The_White_Crane
- May 10, 2008
-
|
Well okay then!
I guess there's only 1 thing to do!
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2019 11:19
|
|
- The Lone Badger
- Sep 24, 2007
-
|
Doubt we have enough negation to beat this guy. 1
Though I gotta wonder, Abraxas, why can’t you fix the sky yourself?
Because you have to die and he's already dead?
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2019 11:22
|
|
- Cthulhu Dreams
- Dec 11, 2010
-
If I pretend to be Cthulhu no one will know I'm a baseball robot.
|
Fix sky
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2019 12:30
|
|
- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
We'll all be seeing stars after this performance...
quote:"Yes, Abraxas." I cast an automation spell to clear the skies.
Apparently, Abraxas is giving you a second chance to prove yourself. You go outside to a balcony of one of the Cathedral towers, raise a hand toward the clouded sky, and let a powerful bolt of lightning strike you.
You begin to crackle all over with electricity, humming with more automation power than you've ever controlled before, and you try to shape it back into the power to part the heavens.
And you do see the clouds begin to part. You're doing it!
"To demand proof is not faith. Let this be your lesson."
There is a final surge of electricity, and you lose consciousness.
Achievement: Blue Skies Cleared the eternal clouds above the world.
quote:When you come to, you are blind.
"Thank you for your sacrifice," the spirit says.
There is a long silence in which you do not know what to say. Eventually, you're uncertain whether the specter has left.
"Hello?" you finally say to the darkness. But there is no reply.
When others find you, they will inform you that blue sky is now visible; your magic cleared the skies after all. But the blindness inflicted by Abraxas does not lift. You contemplate for the rest of your days what it means that Abraxas should punish you this way for only believing in what you could see.
A Tragic End: Uncertain Faith
Welp. Partial success. Now what?
quote:Hierophant Kris
Appearance
A rugged, adventurous man with an enormous beard wearing a white saint's cowl
Magic
Negation 9
Automation 19
Glamor 15
Divination 9
Vivomancy 7
Skills
Ancient History: 5 (Good)
Fighting: 4 (Good)
Subtlety: 4 (Good)
Charisma: 13 (Amazing)
Personality
Optimism: 73% Caution: 27%
Humor: 45% Solemnity: 55%
Empathy: 73% Calculation: 27%
Relationships
Romances (Interested in men and women)
None
Tal: 78 (Great)
Cos: 71 (Great)
Sam: 82 (Great)
Thecla: 82 (Great)
Church: 57 (Good)
Undiscovered relationships: 1
Kingdom
Kingdom Power: 5 (Decent)
Adoration: 76% Vilification: 24%
Inventory
Gold: 520 gold
Sword
Bracers of Stealth
Charisma Ring
Alchemy Set
Torc of Life and Death
Antidivination Ring
Crystal Ball
Golem Manual
Hierophant's Miter
Students
Blessed Sam
Pets
None
The Dead
Nobody
Plot Points
Chapter 1
You and Tal stumbled on an ancient magic academy.
You discovered a book of vivomancy, and an inquisitor chased you.
You found an ancient dueling ground.
You glamored yourself and ordered the inquisitor to leave and never report you.
You explored the academy library.
A divination revealed a potential ally in the form of a golem, so you took a manual on the operation of golems from the library.
You gained control of the golem.
You found a laboratory with a trapped specter.
You saw a vision of someone else becoming a specter and betraying the trapped specter.
You befriended the specter, who offered you gifts.
You freed the specter.
You went around the back way into the auditorium.
You retrieved the rings of the lead actor.
You went around the back way into the arena.
The fire from the dragon's breath began to consume the academy.
You rescued a dragon egg from the ancient airship that you used to drill your way out of the ancient academy.
You escaped the magic academy and headed for your hometown of Akriton.
Chapter 2
You flew up the coast of the Negative Sea back to Akriton.
Saint Ann, who seemed to be dying, told you that you might become hierophant, or a saint, or you might heal the sky.
You made your parents think your finds in the academy were purely of historical interest.
You stopped a thief who stole from Fruitseller Fran.
You saved a little girl by animating a gargoyle.
You saved an old man by animating his bed.
You saved a swineherd from the death cloud.
You agreed to hunt a dodecapede with Tal.
You went to Cos's place to play a board game.
You and Tal beheaded the dodecapede.
You sneaked around Banker Sara's place.
You had Banker Sara arrested for her role as leader of the antishapeshifter group, the Twilight Band.
Mayor Cos publicly declared you Automator Kris.
You heard a pair of inquisitors had come to town.
Chapter 3
Two inquisitors came to your door: the more aggressive Blessed Jacob, and the kinder Blessed Sam.
An old man intervened, claiming you weren't home.
You cast a divination and learned the old man was Mayor Cos, shapeshifted.
The inquisitors discovered that Cos was a shapeshifter.
You offered to go peacefully with the inquisitors.
Blessed Sam asked you to heal his pet dragon, Thomas.
You agreed and healed Sam's dragon.
You offered to teach Sam vivomancy, and he agreed.
Chapter 4
You rode to the capital in a wagon with Sam and Jacob.
While Sam and Jacob fought, you waited patiently to be presented to the hierophant.
You and Sam became saints.
Chapter 5
You briefly returned to Akriton to prepare for sainthood.
You turned over all your magical items to the Church.
You traveled to the town of Bonton.
Many people came for advice, among them a couple wondering whether they should move to the capital for the woman's hat-selling career.
You advised the couple to divorce.
You discovered Bonton has a working copper tree for protecting the town from lightning.
You had the tree dismantled for your own study.
You encountered a fledgling wizard named Pir in Bonton.
You turned Pir over to the inquisitors.
Sam motivated you to work harder and be a better saint.
You remained a faithful saint until you were named the queen's blessed advisor.
Chapter 6
You returned to the capital, summoned by the queen for an interview.
You became blessed advisor for the queen.
You moved into the royal palace.
The Church returned all your items.
The hierophant told you she had a vision that the Neighbors would invade, and she wanted you to help modernize the kingdom without going too far.
You recommended using automation as the main way to modernize the kingdom's industry and military.
You told the queen glamors were not worth the health risks.
Over dinner, the queen told you a story of a glass princess, and you incorrectly guessed the glass princess slew the witch and stole her magic.
Over dinner with Tal and the queen, you learned of the queen's childhood stuffed animal, Bear Bearson.
You animated Bear Bearson, and he defeated Royal Guard Tam in combat, delighting the queen.
Your power plants and factories came online without a problem.
A book you bought confirmed your suspicion that automation magic would cease to exist if the Eternal Storm went away.
You learned from a book that negative burn and rot cancel each other out.
Cos revealed a penchant for piloting.
You chose not to augment the entertainment industry with magic.
A visit to your mother turned deadly when she turned out to be a shapeshifter, who attacked you with a knife.
Your mother recalled the shapeshifter was Fruitseller Fran.
Your mother's house was destroyed by a Magisterian bombardment.
You told the queen you would try to negotiate for peace.
Chapter 7
You were brought before the high magister, who interviewed you in front of the Magisterian Senate.
You nearly lost consciousness on the trip home, thanks to rot.
You convinced the Magisterian Senate to opt for peace.
You made some progress on a cannon that would eradicate the Eternal Storm.
An attack of rot left you bedridden for a month.
Chapter 8
Rot finally began to kill you, and you were taken to the Cathedral.
You asked that your parents be invited to visit you.
You asked that Tal be invited to visit you.
You asked that Cos be invited to visit you.
You asked to see Queen Thecla.
Blessed Jacob paid you a visit.
A voice awakened you and called on you to have faith in it.
You cast a glamor and shouted a message of faith from the top of the Cathedral.
Sam rid you of the voice using a spell to cure delusions.
You ultimately chose not to sacrifice yourself in the way the voice demanded.
Tal visited you and cried.
Your parents visited you.
Cos visited you, and told you that what you experienced with the voice was a psychotic break.
The hierophant visited you.
The hierophant revealed she had a similar experience with a voice commanding her, and she became hierophant by convincing others that the voice was Abraxas.
The hierophant revealed she had become aware of you by casting a divination to find someone else who might have had a similar experience.
The hierophant offered you her miter, its protection from rot, and the office of hierophant itself.
You accepted the miter and the title of hierophant.
Chapter 9
As hierophant, you tried to emphasize goodness over obedience.
Thecla and Tal married.
Tal decided to become a puppeteer.
Queen Thecla became a powerful sorceress.
Sam remained a traveling saint.
Cos continued to be mayor and to develop his board game about Akriton.
Abraxas came to you and ordered you to cleanse the sky.
You succeeded in clearing the sky, but Abraxas punished you with blindness for believing in him only when you could see him.
|
|
#
?
Nov 16, 2019 10:50
|
|
- Maugrim
- Feb 16, 2011
-
I eat your face
|
So wait, how could we have avoided that? Is it because we accepted he was a hallucination after Sam "cured" us?
Also did we completely lock out Sam romance as soon as we tried to jump his bones on the way to the capital?
Not sure if I'm down for another run, there's a lot of repeating/filler content at this point. But I'd be interested to know if there are some major branches we haven't yet seen.
|
|
#
?
Nov 16, 2019 11:05
|
|
- Keldulas
- Mar 18, 2009
-
|
Honestly, Abraxas is kind of a massive douche.
|
|
#
?
Nov 16, 2019 11:29
|
|
- The Lone Badger
- Sep 24, 2007
-
|
Honestly, Abraxas is kind of a massive douche.
And a Spectre from the old empire that is pretending to be god.
|
|
#
?
Nov 16, 2019 11:37
|
|
- LJN92
- Mar 5, 2014
-
|
Can we make our next playthrough a "gently caress Abraxas" playthrough?
I know we already did one where we became an evil shade thingy, but I want to see one where we annihilate the church (cause I remember it being technically intact in the other playthrough) and maybe just generally spite Abraxas as best we can.
|
|
#
?
Nov 16, 2019 20:12
|
|
- Regallion
- Nov 11, 2012
-
|
Nah, at this point i'd prefer we got a Star treatment of just doling out content. 3 runs is a bit too much, especially since we re-tread large portions of same ground.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2019 11:19
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
Nah, at this point i'd prefer we got a Star treatment of just doling out content. 3 runs is a bit too much, especially since we re-tread large portions of same ground.
Ditto.
|
|
#
?
Nov 17, 2019 11:25
|
|
- The_White_Crane
- May 10, 2008
-
|
Nah, at this point i'd prefer we got a Star treatment of just doling out content. 3 runs is a bit too much, especially since we re-tread large portions of same ground.
Yeah, we've seen an awful lot of content multiple times now.
Just give us the cliff notes, please.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2019 10:36
|
|
- Keldulas
- Mar 18, 2009
-
|
Given that he's already doing the Star treatment right now, this probably means this is on hiatus then. It looks like a LOT of work, and i wouldn't impose that on anyone really.
Thank you for showcasing this, it was interesting, even if I feel it kind of runs into the same problem almost all the Choice games run into really.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2019 10:55
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
Given that he's already doing the Star treatment right now, this probably means this is on hiatus then. It looks like a LOT of work, and i wouldn't impose that on anyone really.
Thank you for showcasing this, it was interesting, even if I feel it kind of runs into the same problem almost all the Choice games run into really.
Thanks from me too. I second these feelings.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2019 14:18
|
|
- Fuschia tude
- Dec 26, 2004
-
THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019
|
So wait, how could we have avoided that? Is it because we accepted he was a hallucination after Sam "cured" us?
Also did we completely lock out Sam romance as soon as we tried to jump his bones on the way to the capital?
That's right. The only way to get the more triumphant ending in that vein is if Sam isn't able (or alive) to use viv magic to cure you there, allowing you to go out in a blaze of glory. You can also develop a cure to rot if you have an alchemy set and sufficient knowledge and negation skill.
And not necessarily; you just have to be more persistent about it in Bonton, although not doing that thing wouldn't hurt.
There's two more big climaxes, the automation => storms climax, and the divination climax, which somewhat bizarrely requires you to be captured and imprisoned by the Magisterians first. Speaking of which, there's a surprising amount of extra content with a ton of branching in that specific path considering how rare it is to see, plus a fair amount of extra content if you fight a long war rather than just steamrolling over them at the outset. Then there's a few other climaxes that are somewhat related to the ones we've already seen, plus a few dozen different ways they could all resolve.
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2020 22:06
|
|
- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
'Tis the season...
Kris Kringleson was a young adventurer who discovered a series of magical texts in some ancient ruins containing the secrets of long-lost magic. Kris was talented at both automation and glamor alike, rising to the position of town wizard and eventually accepted an offer from the church to be inducted into the ranks of Saint. Saint Kris helped the people, and was eventually promoted by the hierophant to be the Blessed Adviser to Queen Thecla to help her prepare the kingdom against the potential invasion of the Neighbors. Blessed Advisor Kris encouraged the kingdom to harness the magic of the storms in factories and other great inventions. But things came to a head when a Neighbor airship struck at his hometown of Akriton, guided by a sinister spy- Kris used his glamor to subdue them and then headed into the Magisterian Empire to negotiate for peace. He proved successful, and the full invasion never came.
The peaceful times were cut when Rot finally caught up to Kris, the reward of all saints. Growing weaker, Kris heard the voice of Abraxas himself, calling Kris to his great mission to cleanse the skies of the storms! Kris ran to the roofs but was cut off at the last moment by Saint Sam, when his old friend cast a spell used to treat delusions.
Just a dying man once more, Saint Kris was counting down the last days of his life when he received a visit from Hierophant Elizabeth. The two had a private discussion, Elizabeth revealing that she had once had the same delusions when she was dying of rot, but while her faith withered away Kris still believed in something. She appointed him Hierophant, passing on the miter and with it the artifact's ability to protect the wearer from the ravages of Rot.
Hierophant Kris advanced magic through education, using great machines to cleanse the Negative Sea. But one day the Hierophant had a his most unexpected visitor yet- the specter of Abraxas, who once again gave him a mission to end the storms and cleanse the skies. Kris complied, and cast his most powerful spell yet. He succeeded in his dream of healing the sky but was struck blind in the process, never able to see the blue skies he had unveiled.
Life is shaped by thousands of different decisions and can turn out in millions of different ways. You can follow a different path by making a thousand different choices, but sometimes you only need to change one.
quote:With no obvious threats looming from the Magisterians, you could engage in a research project in your spare time. What would you like to research?
Find a way to calm the skies down a bit.
I want to be more ambitious: a cannon that will destroy the thunderheads forever.
Find a way to reduce disturbances in the dark sun.
Work on learning how to turn myself into an immortal specter.
Research how to combat the effects of rot.
Create an army of thingies.
After Kris negotiated peace with the Magisterians, he used the opportunity to design a weapon to destroy the storms. He had some promising results but didn't finish it before the rot set in.
But what if instead of trying to save others, he first tried to save himself?
quote:Research how to combat the effects of rot.
Working day and night in your laboratory in the palace basement, you try various concoctions and potions in an attempt to create an elixir that could cure rot once and for all.
Only now do you begin to fully appreciate all the specialized vials and tinctures that came with your alchemy set from the sunken academy. You wonder if the ancients were working on something similar.
After a month of work, you drink the orange-and-gold elixir that you've produced.
You feel much better, though your still-unhappy stomach suggests the rot hasn't gone away entirely.
You imagine the other saints will be happy to have this, as well. Assuming they trust you enough to try it. (Increased Church Relationship.) (%+10 Church = +4% Church)
And with that, Kris averts his personal crisis
quote:The weather across the kingdom begins to worsen, with frequent tornadoes in the south and a major hurricane that tears through the west coast. Several seaside towns are forced to evacuate as giant waves engulf them. A deluge in the capital goes for three weeks straight; at least the water puts out the fires from the lightning strikes.
There was a brief period of time when Queen Thecla herself dabbled in automation magic; she even created a treadmill for herself that she used in the throne room so that she could exercise instead of sit while holding court. But as the storms worsened, the treadmill was quietly deprecated, the kingdom's airships were instructed to land outside the capital instead of within, and all your plans to improve the people's lives with automation were deferred indefinitely by the somber queen.
You have a sinking feeling this is all your fault.
You spend a lot of time in your room in the palace staring at a blank piece of paper, hoping for an idea for an invention that will fix this.
Nothing really springs to mind.
And with that, he enters a new one.
quote:You are flying an airship with Tal to Akriton, hoping to visit your family there, when the winds begin to get intense and rain suddenly starts pouring. You and Tal are safe and dry within the vessel, watching the rain start to come down via the mirror of divination located in the forward part of the ship. The ship is beginning to be tossed about, pitching and rolling this way and that.
Sitting on the throne that is the helm, you struggle through your mental link to maintain control of the vessel. It feels as if you yourself are being shoved around.
"These flash storms aren't too uncommon over the Crown Mountains," Tal says, gripping a rail to steady herself. "Especially now that the storms are worse these days." She leaves it hanging as to whose fault that might be. "It may pass as quickly as it began."
Lightning flashes off the port bow. Another stroke quickly follows starboard.
You're passing over the Crown Mountains, not very close to any towns you know. If you land now, you may be trapped by flooding. But if you keep flying, you're certainly in danger of being struck by lightning or crashing.
All other things being equal, you'd prefer to reach Akriton. You were looking forward to visiting Cos. But the capital is a little closer.
1. Turn around and return to the capital.
2. Land immediately in the Crown Mountains.
3. Press on toward Akriton.
Weather is getting worse, where will Kris go?
quote:Blessed Advisor Kris
Appearance
A rugged, adventurous man with an enormous beard wearing a white saint's cowl
Magic
Negation 9
Automation 17
Glamor 15
Divination 9
Vivomancy 7
Skills
Ancient History: 5 (Good)
Fighting: 4 (Good)
Subtlety: 4 (Good)
Charisma: 13 (Amazing)
Personality
Optimism: 70% Caution: 30%
Humor: 45% Solemnity: 55%
Empathy: 66% Calculation: 34%
Relationships
Romances (Interested in men and women)
None
Tal: 78 (Great)
Cos: 71 (Great)
Sam: 82 (Great)
Thecla: 78 (Great)
Church: 61 (Very Good)
Undiscovered relationships: 1
Kingdom
Kingdom Power: 5 (Decent)
Adoration: 65% Vilification: 35%
Inventory
Gold: 520 gold
Sword
Bracers of Stealth
Charisma Ring
Alchemy Set
Torc of Life and Death
Antidivination Ring
Crystal Ball
Golem Manual
Students
Blessed Sam
Pets
None
The Dead
Nobody
Plot Points
Chapter 1
You and Tal stumbled on an ancient magic academy.
You discovered a book of vivomancy, and an inquisitor chased you.
You found an ancient dueling ground.
You glamored yourself and ordered the inquisitor to leave and never report you.
You explored the academy library.
A divination revealed a potential ally in the form of a golem, so you took a manual on the operation of golems from the library.
You gained control of the golem.
You found a laboratory with a trapped specter.
You saw a vision of someone else becoming a specter and betraying the trapped specter.
You befriended the specter, who offered you gifts.
You freed the specter.
You went around the back way into the auditorium.
You retrieved the rings of the lead actor.
You went around the back way into the arena.
The fire from the dragon's breath began to consume the academy.
You rescued a dragon egg from the ancient airship that you used to drill your way out of the ancient academy.
You escaped the magic academy and headed for your hometown of Akriton.
Chapter 2
You flew up the coast of the Negative Sea back to Akriton.
Saint Ann, who seemed to be dying, told you that you might become hierophant, or a saint, or you might heal the sky.
You made your parents think your finds in the academy were purely of historical interest.
You stopped a thief who stole from Fruitseller Fran.
You saved a little girl by animating a gargoyle.
You saved an old man by animating his bed.
You saved a swineherd from the death cloud.
You agreed to hunt a dodecapede with Tal.
You went to Cos's place to play a board game.
You and Tal beheaded the dodecapede.
You sneaked around Banker Sara's place.
You had Banker Sara arrested for her role as leader of the antishapeshifter group, the Twilight Band.
Mayor Cos publicly declared you Automator Kris.
You heard a pair of inquisitors had come to town.
Chapter 3
Two inquisitors came to your door: the more aggressive Blessed Jacob, and the kinder Blessed Sam.
An old man intervened, claiming you weren't home.
You cast a divination and learned the old man was Mayor Cos, shapeshifted.
The inquisitors discovered that Cos was a shapeshifter.
You offered to go peacefully with the inquisitors.
Blessed Sam asked you to heal his pet dragon, Thomas.
You agreed and healed Sam's dragon.
You offered to teach Sam vivomancy, and he agreed.
Chapter 4
You rode to the capital in a wagon with Sam and Jacob.
While Sam and Jacob fought, you waited patiently to be presented to the hierophant.
You and Sam became saints.
Chapter 5
You briefly returned to Akriton to prepare for sainthood.
You turned over all your magical items to the Church.
You traveled to the town of Bonton.
Many people came for advice, among them a couple wondering whether they should move to the capital for the woman's hat-selling career.
You advised the couple to divorce.
You discovered Bonton has a working copper tree for protecting the town from lightning.
You had the tree dismantled for your own study.
You encountered a fledgling wizard named Pir in Bonton.
You turned Pir over to the inquisitors.
Sam motivated you to work harder and be a better saint.
You remained a faithful saint until you were named the queen's blessed advisor.
Chapter 6
You returned to the capital, summoned by the queen for an interview.
You became blessed advisor for the queen.
You moved into the royal palace.
The Church returned all your items.
The hierophant told you she had a vision that the Neighbors would invade, and she wanted you to help modernize the kingdom without going too far.
You recommended using automation as the main way to modernize the kingdom's industry and military.
You told the queen glamors were not worth the health risks.
Over dinner, the queen told you a story of a glass princess, and you incorrectly guessed the glass princess slew the witch and stole her magic.
Over dinner with Tal and the queen, you learned of the queen's childhood stuffed animal, Bear Bearson.
You animated Bear Bearson, and he defeated Royal Guard Tam in combat, delighting the queen.
Your power plants and factories came online without a problem.
A book you bought confirmed your suspicion that automation magic would cease to exist if the Eternal Storm went away.
You learned from a book that negative burn and rot cancel each other out.
Cos revealed a penchant for piloting.
You chose not to augment the entertainment industry with magic.
A visit to your mother turned deadly when she turned out to be a shapeshifter, who attacked you with a knife.
Your mother recalled the shapeshifter was Fruitseller Fran.
Your mother's house was destroyed by a Magisterian bombardment.
You told the queen you would try to negotiate for peace.
Chapter 7
You were brought before the high magister, who interviewed you in front of the Magisterian Senate.
You nearly lost consciousness on the trip home, thanks to rot.
You convinced the Magisterian Senate to opt for peace.
You developed a potion that can combat rot.
Storms began to worsen throughout the kingdom.
And yeah, Kris was on such a knife's edge that literally one decision was the difference between climaxes. I didn't have a save left at that junction, but it was pretty easy to just go through and remake the same decisions.
|
|
#
?
Dec 25, 2020 04:21
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
My sister sent me a card with Churchill’s line- “if you’re going through hell, keep going.”
Let’s take that advice. 3
|
|
#
?
Dec 25, 2020 05:39
|
|
- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
Kris fearlessly advances!
quote:Press on toward Akriton.
You've never been one to give up on your objectives; you're sure you'll figure something out to deal with this storm. (Increased Optimism.) (%+10 Optimism = +3% Optimism)
"Sometimes I think you enjoy getting into trouble," Tal says wryly.
Chapter 8: Downpour
quote:As you press on toward Akriton, the storm only gets worse.
You wonder whether you're flying still deeper into a great storm. But whatever happens, you're sure you'll handle it.
You struggle more and more to maintain control of the airship.
Then, just as you're reconsidering your decision not to land, the decision is taken out of your control. A powerful bolt of lightning strikes the airship, crackling along the outside; you feel it only as a buzzing on your skin caused by your magical connection to the ship. But the lights go out.
The ship has lost power. You begin to plummet.
Tal screams.
You struggle to eke out some kind of control over the vessel. All you can do now, it seems, is manage a tiny bit of pitch or roll in one direction.
Which side of the ship do you turn upward to help it survive the crash?
1. Aft, where the ship's battery lies.
2. The bow, where the divination mirror is located.
Mayday! What do we try to save?
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2020 02:05
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
1- Stats higher for using that device.
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2020 07:03
|
|
- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
We need power more than we need to call for help.
quote:Aft, where the ship's battery lies.
You angle the ship so the battery is most likely to survive. If you're going to get the ship restarted at all, you'll need that battery.
Having done what you can for the ship, you abandon the helm. With no time to reach the deck and sprout wings, much less be able to do anything for Tal up there, you cast a vivomancy spell to spin webbing for the two of you: "Istos arachnis, manus yfansi!"
Thick, sticky webbing shoots from your hands and envelops you and Tal, bouncing back and forth between the two of you and the interior walls of the airship. It cuts you off from the helm, but it can't be helped; at least you won't be dashed against it and die.
(You think.)
You brace for impact.
quote:With a deafening shriek of metal, your airship crashes. You are slammed hard into the ceiling despite your webbing, and the rest of the ship crumples, pinning you in place.
Then all is quiet except for the sound of the rain outside.
You can't move. Metal juts uncomfortably into your back and belly. You feel like you can hardly breathe.
"Tal?" you call.
"One moment," she says. You hear the buzz of her luxgladius. "You know, this thing's really handy. Thanks again."
"No problem," you say.
A few moments later, her blue blade of light juts from the metal in front of your face.
"Whoa, careful, back it up," you say.
"Okay." The blue blade slices through the wreckage, unpinning you.
Soon, Tal has carved herself and you out of the ship's wreckage. She helps you out, into the pouring rain.
"Well, here we are," Tal says, as thunder booms and the downpour drenches you.
"Yup," you say.
"Come on, let's build a shelter out of this stuff," Tal says.
"Right."
You begin to gather stray sheets of metal for a shelter.
quote:You and Tal take shelter in the makeshift shack you've created from the airship's wreckage. The rain continues to pour, and the wind howls.
Hours pass, and then a day. You go outside briefly and find that the valley around you has flooded. You are cut off from the outside world.
Twenty feet away, water laps at the side of the hill you're stranded on. And still, the waters rise.
"Why do I get the feeling that this storm is just never going to stop?" Tal says.
"I think…I think maybe I'm responsible for this," you say. "My automation magic. I must have gotten reckless…."
"You'd better not be responsible," Tal says, frowning.
quote:Outside again, you experimentally draw on some automation magic, in the hopes of perhaps restarting the airship. Lightning strikes your hand and burns you. You cry out and draw back your hand in pain.
That's new.
The storm is out of control. You think you soon will have no power over the skies at all—no way to cast automation spells again.
You cast a divination to see the extent of the storm. It appears to be everywhere—the kingdom, the Magisterian empire. In Akriton, roofs are being blown off houses. In the capital, slummy tenements are collapsing.
By the time you get back to civilization, there may not be much of it to get back to.
How do you feel about having contributed to a storm that may drown all civilization?
1. Can I be blamed for just wanting to create?
2. This isn't the end. I'll think of something. I always do.
3. The end of the world is my fault. I feel bad, of course.
Things look bad, how do we feel?
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2020 07:13
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
3. I feel bad about being the only player/contributor right now too. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2020 09:35
|
|
- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
No matter the problem, there's always a solution.
quote:This isn't the end. I'll think of something. I always do.
"This is not the end," you say softly, huddled in the airship wreck. Then you repeat it a little louder. "This is not the end. What's the one component of all the magics that drives them all? Will. Determination. That's what shapes this world. And I refuse to let this turn out to be some kind of morality play about how curiosity killed the cat. I say this will be a story about how hope shapes reality." (Increased Optimism.)
"Well, I hope you're right," Tal says.
quote:But maybe…maybe you can invent your way out of this. Yes…one great invention that may be your last.
You think through the leftover parts that are available in the airship, and mentally outline three possible designs to pursue.
DESIGN ONE: Storm Battery
FUNCTION: Store the energy of this massive storm. It won't stop the storm, and the kingdom will be forced to retreat underground. But it will allow you to continue to cast automation magic into the future, drawing on its power instead of the heavens.
BASE DIFFICULTY OF DESIGN: Low. There's a lot of energy in this storm. Of course, if you do get it wrong, you will probably be struck by lightning and die.
ADVANTAGES TO LEVERAGE: The battery you rescued from the crash would be a good starting point. The tree you saw in Bonton while you were a saint there could serve as a model for the lightning rods that will gather the energy.
DESIGN TWO: Negative-Energy Cannon
FUNCTION: Channel the mad energy of the storm into a powerful cannon that will destroy the very storm clouds themselves, finally revealing blue sky. Automation magic may become impossible without the storm, but the kingdom will finally see the sun and stars again.
BASE DIFFICULTY OF DESIGN: Slightly insane. Will also require some negation magic.
ADVANTAGES TO LEVERAGE: None.
DESIGN THREE: Ark Design Broadcast
FUNCTION: Send a distress signal to all airships in the kingdom that contains instructions for combining airships into giant arks that could save everyone, including you, from flooding.
BASE DIFFICULTY OF DESIGN: Moderate. You've never created anything with such far-reaching effects.
ADVANTAGES TO LEVERAGE: You think your crystal ball may help boost the signal. And the alchemy set from the sunken academy, only partly shattered by the crash, could be used to create a strong glue to help keep the assembly at the top from falling apart.
Which invention will be your masterpiece, and possibly your swan song?
1. A machine to store the storm's energy for the future, even after we retreat underground.
2. A great cannon to disintegrate the clouds themselves.
3. A machine that sends out a distress call and blueprints for airship arks. (Requires airships.)
Kris got the world into this mess. How will he get it out of it?
quote:Blessed Advisor Kris
Appearance
A rugged, adventurous man with an enormous beard wearing a white saint's cowl
Magic
Negation 9
Automation 17
Glamor 15
Divination 9
Vivomancy 7
Skills
Ancient History: 5 (Good)
Fighting: 4 (Good)
Subtlety: 4 (Good)
Charisma: 13 (Amazing)
Personality
Optimism: 78% Caution: 22%
Humor: 45% Solemnity: 55%
Empathy: 66% Calculation: 34%
Relationships
Romances (Interested in men and women)
None
Tal: 78 (Great)
Cos: 71 (Great)
Sam: 82 (Great)
Thecla: 78 (Great)
Church: 61 (Very Good)
Undiscovered relationships: 1
Kingdom
Kingdom Power: 5 (Decent)
Adoration: 65% Vilification: 35%
Inventory
Gold: 520 gold
Sword
Bracers of Stealth
Charisma Ring
Alchemy Set
Torc of Life and Death
Antidivination Ring
Crystal Ball
Golem Manual
Students
Blessed Sam
Pets
None
The Dead
Nobody
Plot Points
Chapter 1
You and Tal stumbled on an ancient magic academy.
You discovered a book of vivomancy, and an inquisitor chased you.
You found an ancient dueling ground.
You glamored yourself and ordered the inquisitor to leave and never report you.
You explored the academy library.
A divination revealed a potential ally in the form of a golem, so you took a manual on the operation of golems from the library.
You gained control of the golem.
You found a laboratory with a trapped specter.
You saw a vision of someone else becoming a specter and betraying the trapped specter.
You befriended the specter, who offered you gifts.
You freed the specter.
You went around the back way into the auditorium.
You retrieved the rings of the lead actor.
You went around the back way into the arena.
The fire from the dragon's breath began to consume the academy.
You rescued a dragon egg from the ancient airship that you used to drill your way out of the ancient academy.
You escaped the magic academy and headed for your hometown of Akriton.
Chapter 2
You flew up the coast of the Negative Sea back to Akriton.
Saint Ann, who seemed to be dying, told you that you might become hierophant, or a saint, or you might heal the sky.
You made your parents think your finds in the academy were purely of historical interest.
You stopped a thief who stole from Fruitseller Fran.
You saved a little girl by animating a gargoyle.
You saved an old man by animating his bed.
You saved a swineherd from the death cloud.
You agreed to hunt a dodecapede with Tal.
You went to Cos's place to play a board game.
You and Tal beheaded the dodecapede.
You sneaked around Banker Sara's place.
You had Banker Sara arrested for her role as leader of the antishapeshifter group, the Twilight Band.
Mayor Cos publicly declared you Automator Kris.
You heard a pair of inquisitors had come to town.
Chapter 3
Two inquisitors came to your door: the more aggressive Blessed Jacob, and the kinder Blessed Sam.
An old man intervened, claiming you weren't home.
You cast a divination and learned the old man was Mayor Cos, shapeshifted.
The inquisitors discovered that Cos was a shapeshifter.
You offered to go peacefully with the inquisitors.
Blessed Sam asked you to heal his pet dragon, Thomas.
You agreed and healed Sam's dragon.
You offered to teach Sam vivomancy, and he agreed.
Chapter 4
You rode to the capital in a wagon with Sam and Jacob.
While Sam and Jacob fought, you waited patiently to be presented to the hierophant.
You and Sam became saints.
Chapter 5
You briefly returned to Akriton to prepare for sainthood.
You turned over all your magical items to the Church.
You traveled to the town of Bonton.
Many people came for advice, among them a couple wondering whether they should move to the capital for the woman's hat-selling career.
You advised the couple to divorce.
You discovered Bonton has a working copper tree for protecting the town from lightning.
You had the tree dismantled for your own study.
You encountered a fledgling wizard named Pir in Bonton.
You turned Pir over to the inquisitors.
Sam motivated you to work harder and be a better saint.
You remained a faithful saint until you were named the queen's blessed advisor.
Chapter 6
You returned to the capital, summoned by the queen for an interview.
You became blessed advisor for the queen.
You moved into the royal palace.
The Church returned all your items.
The hierophant told you she had a vision that the Neighbors would invade, and she wanted you to help modernize the kingdom without going too far.
You recommended using automation as the main way to modernize the kingdom's industry and military.
You told the queen glamors were not worth the health risks.
Over dinner, the queen told you a story of a glass princess, and you incorrectly guessed the glass princess slew the witch and stole her magic.
Over dinner with Tal and the queen, you learned of the queen's childhood stuffed animal, Bear Bearson.
You animated Bear Bearson, and he defeated Royal Guard Tam in combat, delighting the queen.
Your power plants and factories came online without a problem.
A book you bought confirmed your suspicion that automation magic would cease to exist if the Eternal Storm went away.
You learned from a book that negative burn and rot cancel each other out.
Cos revealed a penchant for piloting.
You chose not to augment the entertainment industry with magic.
A visit to your mother turned deadly when she turned out to be a shapeshifter, who attacked you with a knife.
Your mother recalled the shapeshifter was Fruitseller Fran.
Your mother's house was destroyed by a Magisterian bombardment.
You told the queen you would try to negotiate for peace.
Chapter 7
You were brought before the high magister, who interviewed you in front of the Magisterian Senate.
You nearly lost consciousness on the trip home, thanks to rot.
You convinced the Magisterian Senate to opt for peace.
You developed a potion that can combat rot.
Storms began to worsen throughout the kingdom.
You were flying above the Crown Mountains when an epic storm hit.
Chapter 8
You decided to press on to Akriton.
Your ship was struck by lightning, and it crashed.
Tal freed you from the wreckage with her luxgladius.
You contemplated various machine designs that might take advantage of the storm energy that was spiraling out of control.
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2020 07:54
|
|
- Keldulas
- Mar 18, 2009
-
|
I'm sad our Negation score is only 9 because the audacity of #2 is hilarious. But I really don't think we can manage it.
Ah gently caress it, it's the funniest plan. #2
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2020 08:50
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
Yeah, 2 sounds cool.
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2020 09:52
|
|
- The Lone Badger
- Sep 24, 2007
-
|
A better life, underground.
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2020 09:59
|
|
- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
Time to shoot for the moon; even if we miss we might still shoot a star.
Here goes nothing...
quote:A great cannon to disintegrate the clouds themselves.
You create a giant cannon to point to the very heavens. Its barrel is roughly as wide as your full arm span.
"This. Is. Insane." Tal gives you the most dubious look she's ever given you, which is saying something.
You throw the switch at the base of the cannon.
The negative energy bursts forth from the cannon, and fires up in a column toward the clouds above.
Astonishingly, it begins to eat away at the clouds, creating an artificial eye of the storm above you. Blue sky appears beyond, the first time you've ever seen it.
"It's working!" you shout with a whoop. "It's working!"
Chapter 9: Nothing But Blue Skies
Achievement: Blue Skies Cleared the eternal clouds above the world.
Fun fact: The way this works is a check where it's your Automation skill + various bonuses for having the right stuff against a total number. We have no bonuses for a doom cannon but we do have 17 Automation. The difficulty of the automation check? 17 (plus 4 or more negation). It's the hardest check in the game, and if Kris had 1 fewer point he'd be dead.
quote:
Chapter Nine: Nothing But Blue Skies
When you finally do make it to Akriton, you're treated to a hero's welcome. Local musicians play for you, Cos presents you with a medal in recognition of your efforts, and there is a great feast that puts the one Akriton had after the death cloud's passage to shame.
Throughout the proceedings, the sun shines down through a brilliant azure sky. You'd read that the sky was beautiful during the time of the ancients—but seeing it firsthand is another matter altogether.
You will certainly miss having an eternal tempest from which to draw the magic of automation, but it's hard to argue with the feeling of the sun's warmth on your face.
Achievement: Triumph Survived the resolution of a chapter 8 climax.
Achievement: A Complete Story Reached the resolution of a chapter 8 climax.
quote:You receive reports that the kingdom generally seems to be using magic responsibly; you should nevertheless decide how the kingdom should proceed in regulating the use of magic.
1. Restrict magic to just the saints, as before.
2. Make magic illegal without permission from the crown.
3. Increase magical education so these dabblers learn the risks.
4. Do nothing; a little experimentation is healthy.
Well, automation went extinct, but what do we do about other sources of magic?
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2020 04:01
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
3 and research a way to get automation back too.
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2020 05:14
|
|
- LightWarden
- Mar 18, 2007
-
Lander county's safe as heaven,
despite all the strife and boilin',
Tin Star,
Oh how she's an icon of the eastern west,
But now the time has come to end our song,
of the Tin Star, the Tin Star!
|
Hopefully others will learn from our mistakes.
quote:Increase magical education so these dabblers learn the risks.
At your suggestion, small magic academies that can explore the risks of magic appear in most major towns.
It turns out students can be exceptionally reckless with magic, and these academies are often the sites of terrible accidents. But you're optimistic that such academies will be beneficial in the long term.
quote:Eventually, Queen Thecla finds her soul mate in Tal, who is every bit the knight that Thecla wished to have at her side when she was young. The two marry in an elaborate wedding at the palace. Tal becomes everyone's favorite dashing hero.
Then, when the couple adopts a daughter, Tal becomes everyone's favorite royal mother; Tal handles that aspect while Thecla continues to rule. Noodles is made First Monkey to the Princess, and Tal teaches from an early age that princesses can fight and have adventures, too.
Tal decides to settle down in the capital, and starts a career as a children's puppeteer. Using her natural talent for making Noodles come to life without any magic at all, Puppeteer Tal entertains the children of nobles with her silly imaginary adventures with Noodles. On the sly, she then performs the same shows in the less reputable parts of the capital, for free.
Queen Thecla gradually becomes a powerful sorceress in her own right, learning negation magic in particular. After the first time she obliterates an assassin with a negation spell, the intrigue at court dies down dramatically.
Sam remains a saint, traveling from town to town healing and dispensing advice.
Cos continues to be mayor of Akriton, enthusiastically adopting magic whenever it seems it would help the people. His board game about being mayor remains in flux, since every magical addition to the town requires new rules and pieces in the game. You think the game is getting pretty good, though.
You hear that your golem now works in the basement library of the Cathedral, helping to translate the more obscure works there.
Achievement: Queen's Knight Queen Thecla married Tal.
Well, good to see our friends are getting along.
quote:Unfortunately, without the raging storms above to draw power from, your airships begin to short out and die, and all the other automation-powered conveniences you have created begin to die out as well.
Without automation, the people of Akriton fall back on the methods they used for many years—hand tools for crafting, riding horses for getting around. They like these things; they're familiar. It turns out that when nobody in Akriton can use technology, few people particularly want to, either. When everyone remembers the old ways as if they were practically yesterday, there is palpable relief that drastic change need not be embraced on a daily basis anymore.
Of course, some Akritonians will miss the technology a great deal. Cos seems slightly heartbroken when regarding his grounded one-man airship; he can't stop telling stories about all the interesting places he visited. But more Akritonians are like your mother, who seems unable to go more than two sentences without saying, "At least that's all over!"
And everyone is quite happy to be able to see the fabled sun. (Increased Adoration.) (%+20 Adoration = +6% Adoration)
Would you like to try switching the kingdom to a new source of power?
1. Yes. Power factories and airships with negative energy.
2. Yes. Research how to create magical beasts and breed dragons.
3. No. We'll learn to live with what we have.
Automation is gone, but will anything else take its place?
|
|
#
?
Dec 31, 2020 04:09
|
|
- achtungnight
- Oct 5, 2014
-
I get my fun here. Enjoy!
|
Live with what we got.
|
|
#
?
Dec 31, 2020 05:01
|
|
- Adbot
-
ADBOT LOVES YOU
|
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2024 02:05
|
|
- Keldulas
- Mar 18, 2009
-
|
Live with what we got
This really sounds like 'do you want to do another crisis.' But we already seen the Negation and Vivomancy ones. I do find it weird that we have this option, even if it makes sense.
I'd probably vote for it if we were remotely good in those subjects, but we really aren't.
|
|
#
?
Dec 31, 2020 06:33
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2019 11:16
