Topic: Roll to Innovate - Turn 31: Crystal Fever! (Read 16544 times)

IcyTea31 · « **Reply #75 on:** June 19, 2014, 11:56:53 pm »

Test the hammer on a piece of scrap metal, then, using the concept of it, create the schematics for a much larger machine-hammer, one working with gravity instead springs. When a rod attached to the side of the machine is spun, it raises a huge weight/hammer, then drops it after it ratchets fully up, striking the metal set on an anvil below it. Then, create the chematics for a machine that uses a source of power, such as a bonfire or a Tortoise Boulder, to propel water upwards, as steam or otherwise, to work mechanism that spins a rod attached to the machine.

((The hand-crank hammer is only a proof of concept, by the way. It's to convince the Forgemaster things like this are feasible. I'm not sure if the engine could run on magic, but it'd probably be more efficient than mundane fuel.))

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #76 on:** June 20, 2014, 05:41:34 am »

"Ah. Well, okay."

Clean up the body parts in a timely manner, removing the shards from them. Put the remains in a box and send them back to Varisport's Mages' Guild with an apology and brief explanation of the circumstances of this man's death (written on paper, mind you, not on the box or the man's bits) attached. And also take back the crystal. And now, since I'm going to be audited, time to see what happens with the other trees!

Spoiler: Test 3: Let's Appear Like We're Doing Something Important (click to show/hide)

Also, check the reaction times of the fighting tree - maybe throw something at it, or perhaps approach with a long pole - does it move faster than before, perhaps?

Furthermore, make a noise - maybe hit a metal bucket or something with a piece of scrapwood - and check if it reacts in any way.

Samarkand · « **Reply #77 on:** June 20, 2014, 04:06:32 pm »

Turn 8: An Audit

Iktaka Modri
[Recover Corpse and Send to Mages: Moderate=7] It was challenging to clean up all of the bits of mage and make sure the area was clear, but Modri pulled it off. The pieces were swiftly packaged with an apologetic note placed on top, and this was shipped on a caravan to Varisport, with 10 shillings changing hand for the carrier not to inquire about the contents. Or smell.

Spoiler: Test 3 Rolls (click to show/hide)

One tree proved too difficult to insert the crystal into, at least for Modri alone. There was a reason she hired a mage, after all. The other two trees were much easier however. Of those one showed no significant changes, but the second one showed an increased ability to manipulate its environment. A vine was thrown off of it, and a similar effect of opening the canopy took place. Finally Modri observed that water ran uphill to sink into the ground at the base of the tree if she watered significantly far away from it. She did keep her distance from both trees, and did her best to appear nonthreatening.

[Reaction Time: Moderate=9] At first it was almost as if the tree didn’t get it. Nothing was deflected away from it. Once Modri started tossing large objects which could actually damage the tree, however, it began warding them away. It appeared to have a rather slow reaction time, and quickly thrown objects could nearly make contact before being deflected.

[Noise: Simple=10] Modri tried making as much noise as a she could and noticed only subtle reactions. It would occasionally seem to push wildly in the direction of the noise, often merely disturbing leaves or bending other sapplings. Modri though it was possible that the way it normally sensed had to do with sound, since it did seem to react. She also noted that it did have a limit on how far away it could push things. After all, it hadn’t done anything to her yet…

Five guild representatives, appointed to a council to review her project, arrived. There was a forester, a bowyer, an artisan, an arborist, and a member of the Treasury Board.

Forester: ”We’ve come to check on your project. We’ve been told you had a corpse hanging in cage. This is both disturbing and unrelated to your original proposal. You are required to give us an overview of you project, a justification for your actions thus far, and a description of the direction of the remainder of the project. Otherwise this research will be terminated.”

Audit Time!, -10 shillings, -2 crystals, -1 Dead Mage Helper

Spoiler: Assets (click to show/hide)

George Thain
George was having an adventure!

Spoiler: Items (click to show/hide)

Bane Willedhelm
[Add Flowers: Simple= 5] Bane was a fisher, not a gardener. But he was able to uproot some flower and place them well enough around the boulder to provide it better cover. It shouldn’t be discovered if he left it now, but he’d certainly know where it was.

[Find Willing Merchants: Moderate= 5] It was late, and so merchants were suspicious. Three men, one clearly drunk, seemed to trigger their internal alarms. Everyone he talked to found excuses to stand closer to his guards, and gave only terse answers telling Bane to find an inn for the night, it wasn’t the time for travelling.

+ Poorly Hidden Boulder

Spoiler: Assets (click to show/hide)

Herman Tongs
[Test: Simple= 2+1] The metal was poorly positioned and shot out as soon as the hammer landed. Herman was very fortunate to have survived the ordeal, and decided he would attempt some mental work before returning to hazardous physical labor.

[Design Powered Hammer: Moderate=12] Herman drew a gorgeous sketch of his intended hammer. He knew where everything belonged, he knew the precise sizes necessary, everything would work perfectly. There would be minimal friction, provided a lubricant was provided. Now he just needed to get all of the parts just right… (Penalty on assembly roll for every part below great quality)

[Design Magical Water Power Source: Difficult=12] Herman didn’t know much about magic. But he knew they could push things, and all he needed was some pushing power. He designed an intricate system whereby water would be ejected from a horizontal pipe and spin the rod, at which point it would fall into the reservoir which fed the pipe. If the pipe was made the appropriate size, and a crystal of precisely the right size was obtained, then there would be suction to keep the system circulating perfectly.

+ Intricate Powered Hammer Sketch, + Parts List for Powered Hammer, +Intricate Magical Water Power Source Sketch, + Parts List for Magical Water Power Source

Spoiler: Assets (click to show/hide)

Wol Fann
[Test Memory: Moderate= 8]Only one trained rat was poisoned without killing it, so Wol’s sample set was rather small. He did notice, however, that the rat appeared to take a while to figure out what the test was. It learned faster than last time, perhaps relating to latent memories, but it did not have immediate recall.

Spoiler: Assets (click to show/hide)

Playergamer · « **Reply #78 on:** June 20, 2014, 04:48:10 pm »

"Interesting..."

Try to get Tox2 to do an experiment on pigs with me. Focus on memory effects, specifically.

Look for a willing assistant/guinea pig. "Help wanted working on new drug to benefit Paludan." Write it so it doesn't sound like "Test subject wanted."

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #79 on:** June 20, 2014, 05:03:48 pm »

Iktaka Moddri knows that it's make or break time now. An audit's something she hoped to avoid, but what happens, happens.

"Right, so. An overview of the project. Where to begin?"

"Firstly, I have gone over to Varisport and established contact with the Mages' Guild, rather successfully, and obtained a crate of Tortoise Boulder shards for 30 iron shillings - a very good investment, considering that they are a very reusable resource, though further tests will need to be performed to discover the true extent of their power. I also hired a mage to help me with crystal matters, as this seemed like a wise investment, but more on that in a moment."

"Now, secondly, I have returned and conducted several tests on trees and wood with the crystal shards, mostly of the simplest variety - inserting a shard into a tree and observing changes. If you look over there, you may notice that several trees are reacting very markedly to even a single crystal inserted - they begin to move, and also react to stimuli they shouldn't be able to, like sound, for instance. Two out of three trees I've treated with the crystal seem to be able to use its power to gain animal-like capabilities - most unfortunately, my assistant met a terrible fate when the tree, despite being rather slow in its movements and not particularly dangerous, managed to surprise him and push him into the crystal crate - lack of immediate qualified medical attention led to his expiration, sadly. But, from an observation of his crystal-affected body parts, I did notice that certain parts seem to have an ability to ward off insects and other animals - potentially very valuable in infested groves or in lumber storage, if a similar property applies to dead wood, which can only be confirmed through further research."

"As you may surmise, this is very much unknown territory - as such, it is a little difficult to predict future outcomes. But now that I am beginning to obtain very valuable data, I can also easily pinpoint many applications. For one, even a single crystal shard inserted into a tree's trunk allows it to mold its surroundings for optimal growth, sunlight absorption, even water flow - one of the trees has begun pulling water to itself uphill. I surmise that even if it did only this, and the wood of the tree had no other properties of interest that could be uncovered with experimentation, that this discovery is of great value - trees do seem to be able to incorporate magic into themselves admirably, and their magical ability is certainly on par with any mage. Further discoveries of permutations in plant-crystal interaction could prove to be revolutionary, judging from these experiments, as their results are far beyond what I originally thought they could achieve."

"As to where I will go from here, if you permit it - there will be no more corpses, I believe, as I will take the utmost caution and urge any potential future assistants to do the same. I have only spent half my budget so far, and even less time, and I can already show that there is much to discover here. For instance, the variability of effects between different species of tree, intensity of effects versus number of crystals inserted, necessity of keeping crystals within the tree, testing the pest removal abilities of crystals, checking for the properties of emerging tree mentality and more. Though I do believe I may need to relocate to Varisport eventually, as there I can obtain more informed opinions on the trees, and presumably handle crystals in a much safer fashion. But there is much to be done here as well, and the data could prove of incredible value."

"So, honorable committee, if you have any questions, I would be glad to answer them to the best of my ability."

Explain. It really all makes sense when you think about it!

Samarkand · « **Reply #80 on:** June 20, 2014, 05:30:01 pm »

"If you were to transfer would your discoveries still be kept within or guild to whatever degree possible?"

IcyTea31 · « **Reply #81 on:** June 21, 2014, 12:57:25 am »

Get an anvil on wheels from somewhere, attach the hand-crank hammer to it somehow, test it without metal and use chalk or something similar to mark the point of the hammer strike, then test it with a piece of scrap metal.

((Gee, I'll have a lot of allowance to ask from the Forgemaster. Sea Silver, iron, a carpin' magic crystal... I must get this right.))

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #82 on:** June 21, 2014, 03:03:06 am »

Quote from: Samarkand on June 20, 2014, 05:30:01 pm

"If you were to transfer would your discoveries still be kept within or guild to whatever degree possible?"

"Naturally, though I fear a mage assistant is indispensable to this sort of project, and thus secrecy and privilege would be rather difficult to ensure completely. Well, unless a significant sum were to be paid for their silence, but I do believe that at this juncture there are better ways to spend our money."

"By the way, I did have a thought on a very interesting application of this. Could I possibly gain access to some apple trees, or ones that produce fruit of a similar size?"

Samarkand · « **Reply #83 on:** June 21, 2014, 01:24:48 pm »

Quote from: Harry Baldman on June 21, 2014, 03:03:06 am

Quote from: Samarkand on June 20, 2014, 05:30:01 pm
"If you were to transfer would your discoveries still be kept within or guild to whatever degree possible?"

"Naturally, though I fear a mage assistant is indispensable to this sort of project, and thus secrecy and privilege would be rather difficult to ensure completely. Well, unless a significant sum were to be paid for their silence, but I do believe that at this juncture there are better ways to spend our money."

"By the way, I did have a thought on a very interesting application of this. Could I possibly gain access to some apple trees, or ones that produce fruit of a similar size?"

[Result of Audit: Favorable (11)] After some brief private discussion the committee returned.

"Your work is promising. It could go a long way to increasing the importance of our Guild, often written off as the weakest. And it will help tie us to Varisport. However, for this to aid our Guild it must be kept securely within the Guild. We request that you remain within the city, and limit your traveling to only what would be strictly necessary. We will secure a helper for you, but we expect this one to be kept alive. We also ask that you keep the rather eccentric experimentation to a minimum. No more corpses, no matter how relevant it is. Finally, you will be given access to apple trees. Getting you a trustworthy assistant and access to more trees should cover most of your research requirements, you will not be given any additional funds.

You have done something interesting, but do not think we have forgotten that this was originally a disciplinary hearing. Be careful."

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #84 on:** June 21, 2014, 03:14:03 pm »

"Of course. Eccentricities will be kept to an absolute minimum. And yes, more funding is quite unnecessary if I obtain more trees and an assistant - many thanks for your open-mindedness - I am sure this research will, one way or another, pay off in some important manner."

If that's it, examine my current resources and await the arrival of my assistant.

_DivideByZero_ · « **Reply #85 on:** June 21, 2014, 04:33:03 pm »

Sigh, and find an inn where Podri and I can stay the night until morning. Preferably as close to the boulder's hiding spot as possible.

Playergamer · « **Reply #86 on:** June 21, 2014, 06:56:51 pm »

(Oh! THAT red vine! Took 4 months, but finally made the connection.)

Samarkand · « **Reply #87 on:** June 21, 2014, 08:13:10 pm »

Quote from: Playergamer on June 21, 2014, 06:56:51 pm

(Oh! THAT red vine! Took 4 months, but finally made the connection.)

((REALLY??? Lol

))

Samarkand · « **Reply #88 on:** June 22, 2014, 10:57:53 am »

Turn 9: The Prototype Works!

Iktaka Modri
[Examine Resourced: Simple= 11][Wait for Assistant: Simple= 6] Looking at her stand of trees Modri had 4 untreated ironwood trees, a fighting tree, a thus-far-peaceful tree, and an unresponsive tree. The stand of apple trees she was led to held 5 young trees in it. Her crate of crystal shard was still nearly entirely full, she'd only needed to remove 4 crystals so far. Her purse was getting light at 64 shillings, but with the increased support of the Guild she shouldn't need much money. After completing this inventory Modri monitored her trees and tended to their needs, waiting for her assistant to arrive. When he did she felt it was time to get back to work.

+ 5 Apple Trees

Spoiler: Assets (click to show/hide)

George Thain
George was having an adventure!

Spoiler: Items (click to show/hide)

Bane Willedhelm
[Find Inn: Simple= 5] Varisport is a town with a lot of traffic, and therefor a lot of inns. It wasn't challenging for Bane to find the Sleeping Swine Inn, and a room was purchased for 5 shillings.

Spoiler: Assets (click to show/hide)

Herman Tongs
Herman was excited to get started on his new inventions, but also apprehensive about the substantial materials that would be required to complete the projects. He needed the full support of his Guild, and so he needed a working prototype, in this case the hand cranked version. [Get Anvil on Wheels: Moderate= 9][Attach Hammer: Simple= 8] After showing his contraption to some of his associates he found one that was curious enough to loan him a hammer for a mere 10 shillings, and quickly attached his machine to it.[Mark with Chalk: Simple= 10] Herman was able to pinpoint the precise location that the hammer struck, and he marked it carefully with chalk. [Test Hammer: Moderate= 11] With the careful preparation, the test went perfectly this time. The hammer struck and reshaped the metal, as though it were wielded by a human hand.

Spoiler: Assets (click to show/hide)

Wol Fann
[Recruit Tox2: Moderate=4] The toxicologist still seemed a little apprehensive about poisoning the animals to test the effects on their memory.

[Find Test Subject: Moderate=5] You put up the notice, but no response yet. Hopefully with time someone will be interested. Or perhaps better incentive.

Spoiler: Assets (click to show/hide)

Playergamer · « **Reply #89 on:** June 22, 2014, 11:01:26 am »

"Give it time..."

Offer Tox 10 Credits, and volunteers 5 Credits to work with me.

Obtain and train a pig for memory.

Bay 12 Games Forum

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Author Topic: Roll to Innovate - Turn 31: Crystal Fever! (Read 16544 times)

IcyTea31

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 7: Someone Built Something!

Harry Baldman

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 7: Someone Built Something!

Samarkand

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 7: Someone Built Something!

Playergamer

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 8: An Audit

Harry Baldman

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 8: An Audit

Samarkand

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 8: An Audit

IcyTea31

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 8: An Audit

Harry Baldman

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 8: An Audit

Samarkand

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 8: An Audit

Harry Baldman

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 8: An Audit

_DivideByZero_

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 8: An Audit

Playergamer

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 8: An Audit

Samarkand

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 8: An Audit

Samarkand

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 8: An Audit

Playergamer

Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 9: The Prototype Works!