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Author Topic: Roll to Innovate - Turn 31: Crystal Fever!  (Read 16543 times)

Harry Baldman

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 10: Presenting the Prototype
« Reply #105 on: June 24, 2014, 06:10:52 am »

"I don't really see why I would look down upon perfectly reasonable practices like studying anatomy, to be honest. Science has to progress somehow, right?"

Okay, for future needs we're going to need some test subjects - ask Farrek about whether he knows of any common animals, preferably small and omnivorous or herbivorous (like rats or pigs, for instance) - that also experience crystal sickness, and if those would be commonly available nearby - if yes, get as many of these as possible, complete with suitable means of enclosure, as 30 shillings can get me.

Then begin tests!



"The hammer and anvil need the durability of iron."

((Iron isn't actually particularly durable compared to bronze - you need to do things to it to make it so. Its main perks before steel can be inexpensively made is that it's theoretically easier to obtain, though not around these parts, since we have loads and loads of copper.))
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Samarkand

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 10: Presenting the Prototype
« Reply #106 on: June 25, 2014, 07:21:17 pm »

Turn 11: Pigs are Model Organisms

Iktaka Modri
[Get smallest animal and enclosure: Moderate=11] Two pigs were purchased with a pen of scrap wood quickly erected to house them. Farrek said that very few "lower animals" experience crystal sickness, its actually rather unique. Pigs do, capybara do, and horses do. The commonalities were not clear, and Farrek thinks that there may not be a true pattern.

Spoiler: Test 6 Rolls (click to show/hide)
Modri couldn't find anyone that had trees with mechanical damage, for the most part that sort of stuff was avoided easily. She found one tree that was diseased and one that was being preyed on by pests. Sadly the trees beset by pests were too small to support a crystal, and the diseased tree had been softened too much, and the drilling took out a huge core of the tree. The owner blamed Modri, and she handed over ten shillings to keep him happy. Really it was his own fault for letting a disease take hold of his trees. Farrek was, unsurprisingly, blunt enough to tell him this. Needless to say they weren't able to put a crystal in it.

Spoiler: Test 7 Rolls (click to show/hide)
The apples had indeed ripened. Farrek got a chance to dissect the apples carefully. He noted larger seeds and a juicier flesh, but no sign of any crystals were apparent. They didn't have any volunteers other than the pigs to test the apples out of, however.


+ Apples, + Crystal Tree Apples, -10 Shillings, +2 Pigs
Spoiler: Assets (click to show/hide)

George Thain
George was having an adventure!

Spoiler: Items (click to show/hide)

Bane Willedhelm
[Move Boulder: Simple=8][Find Merchant: Moderate=9 +1] Bane moved the boulder to the side of the road while Podri attracted a merchant. He came up with the idea of acting as though you were his servant, and he was a mage traveling to do business. The ruse worked, all it took was the promise of repayment by the Mages Guild for the trip was all it took to get Bane back in Korinscove.

Spoiler:  Assets (click to show/hide)

Herman Tongs
[Demonstrate: Simple=7 + 1] Herman showed off what the hammer could do, and invited others to try it out. All present were able to get it to work, including the Forgemaster, and there was only a small amount of whispering about how much faster they could have done it with the hammer directly in their hands. [Show Hammer Sketch: Moderate= 6+2] They didn't all get it, they weren't really visual people, but the Forgemaster was still following. [Show Magic Power Source Sketch: Moderate= 8+2] Even the ones who were better with hammers than ideas were picking up on the significance of this one, and the Forgemaster even looked a little excited. The others started talking amongst themselves while the Forgemaster carefully looked over the designs. He may be a hands-on person most of the time, but his brain was still incredibly keen. It was not coincidental that the Guild had risen to such power under him.

"Your designs are meticulous. Clean. It'll fit together. I'm not sure about this magic bit. Don't know how much power you can get out of a mage, that's the big limitation here. But that's research, eh?"

One of the mages tasked with following him interjected, "Actually, part of the training mages go through is trying to sustain a force over a period of time. Mages levitate tortoise boulders up above them for as long as they can, have contests."

The Forgemaster gave the mage an annoyed look, despite the helpfulness of the comment. Turning back to Herman, "You'll have your money and your materials, we can spare 'em. The biggest question is still the mages. How can anyone tolerate 'em?

With that the Forgemaster left, and one of his assistants grabbed the extra coin for Herman, as well as telling him where to access the metals, and told him to try and limit his use of Sea Silver as much as possible.

+ 50 shillings, + Iron, + Sea Silver
Spoiler:  Assets (click to show/hide)

Wol Fann
[Red Vine/Sage to Pig: Moderate=11] The toxicologist informed Wol that both the toxins he was investigating were acute toxins with immediate onset, which is toxicologist speak for all the damage happens right away. He said this meant they could give the pig the toxic mixture in increments, and just keep going till the vital signs seemed wacky. He also said that red vine was, thus far, not a terrible lethal plant. Under this advice Wol fed the pig small doses repeatedly, until the pig was unconscious, which forced them to stop feeding it. Its pulse dropped slightly, but the toxicologists advice was sound, as it picked up shortly there after and the pig regained consciousness. They had a poisoned and recovered pig, and the toxicologist had naturally taken notes on exactly how much of the mixture was required.

[Test Memory: Moderate=4] The tests on the pig's memory were fairly inconclusive. It seemed slow to complete the tests, but it scored only marginally worse than before. [Toxicologist being helpful: 6] During the testing the toxicologist prepared more stock mixtures for testing, but was otherwise unhelpful.

+ Recovered Trained Pig
Spoiler:  Assets (click to show/hide)
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Playergamer

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 11: Pigs are Model Organisms
« Reply #107 on: June 25, 2014, 07:29:20 pm »

Do more tests.

Try to secure a smarter test subject.
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_DivideByZero_

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 11: Pigs are Model Organisms
« Reply #108 on: June 25, 2014, 09:45:43 pm »

((Am I back in Korinscove yet?))

Look for fishermen seeking to hunt large fish (like this universe's equivalent to marlins or sharks) and offer them a chance to hunt monster fish.
Also, give Podri his 20 shillings. Since we have the boulder, we are going to get somewhere, at least.


"There's always a bigger fish. If this goes right, we'll be famous, for our bravery if not for providing the city with a vital resource."
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flabort

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 11: Pigs are Model Organisms
« Reply #109 on: June 25, 2014, 11:18:01 pm »

So, Bane/Zero, what's your plan again? Use the boulder to haul the fish up and keep it place while you spear the fish to death?
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IcyTea31

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 11: Pigs are Model Organisms
« Reply #110 on: June 26, 2014, 12:56:39 am »

Find a casting basin. A big one. A really big one. If I can't, get a shovel, go out and start digging.
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Harry Baldman

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 11: Pigs are Model Organisms
« Reply #111 on: June 26, 2014, 02:21:53 am »

"Hm... we definitely need better trees."

Repeat Test 6, but with trees in the wild. Larger ones, this time.

As for test 7, feed one of the pigs the crystal tree apples, the other one some normal apples. Then try to examine cross-sections of the crystal tree seeds I've obtained - compare them to regular seeds. Maybe there are crystal seedlings within?

After those bits are wrapped up, engage Tests 8 and 9.

Spoiler: Test 8: Escalation (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Test 9: Location (click to show/hide)
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Samarkand

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 11: Pigs are Model Organisms
« Reply #112 on: June 26, 2014, 04:59:44 pm »

Turn 12: Helpful Helpers

Iktaka Modri
Spoiler: Test 6 Rolls (click to show/hide)
Modri managed to find trees falling into all three of her classes of damage, and they were implanted easily. Observation showed that the aphids which had previously feasted upon one of the trees were repelled easily, demonstrating crystals could be effective pest control. There were no appreciable changes in the trees with mechanical damage or disease however.

Spoiler: Test 7 Rolls (click to show/hide)
The pigs gladly at the apples, both from crystal and natural trees, and did not appear to suffer any crystal sickness as a result. Attempts to examine the seeds were less successful, however. Modri and Farrek simply were not equipped for that kind of examination.

Spoiler: Test 8 Rolls (click to show/hide)
The first shard went in, but there was still no response from the tree. The second shard shattered as it was being inserted, and one of the small shards found its way into Modri’s arm. Farrek was efficient, quickly laying her down and pulling out the shard. He told her to sit still while he carefully examined the shard, trying to determine if any might be in her. His examination was inconclusive, and so he spent the rest of the day monitoring her very closely, watching for any sign there might be some of the deadly slivers left in her arm. She recovered fully, but the constant attention of this normally cool man made her realize how close she had come to being in real trouble.

+ 1 Embedded Insect Infested Tree
Spoiler: Assets (click to show/hide)

George Thain
George was having an adventure!

Spoiler: Items (click to show/hide)

Bane Willedhelm
[Find large-fish fishermen: Simple=7] Bane passed of twenty shillings to Podri, who was more than happy to accept them, after which they set off to the Korinscove market to find some people selling products related to large fish. Shark fin soup was a popular one, but that was usually made by cooks, not fishermen. Finally they did find a stall staffed by a woman with well leathered skin, providing clear evidence she wasn’t a cook.

”What is it you boys are looking for?”

-20 shillings
Spoiler:  Assets (click to show/hide)

Herman Tongs
[Find a Casting Basin: Simple=6] Herman was well familiar with the casting basins, and he found one which was not being used at the moment, and was large enough for his purposes.

+ Casting Basin
Spoiler:  Assets (click to show/hide)

Wol Fann
[Test Memory: Moderate= 9] Further data collection demonstrated that the pig did indeed have a weaker memory than before, though not great enough to say it had truly forgotten much.

[Get Smarter Subject: Moderate=8] Wol got a hold of a stray dog. The question was whether or not he would be willing to experiment on it.

[Toxicologist Helpfulness: 10] ”May I make a suggestion? You want to test immediate memory, but what you’re actually testing is conditioning at the moment. It may be the pig couldn’t recall any details from immediately before the toxin, but would still be conditioned from the earlier test. Might I recommend finding an herb that would be incredibly distasteful to the pig and mix it into the concoction? It would require another pig, but if you could demonstrate the herb with Sage would be refused the second time, but with the toxin the pig would eat it again, you would have shown that it did not recall the events immediately surrounding the introduction of the toxin.”

+ Dog
Spoiler:  Assets (click to show/hide)
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Harry Baldman

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 12: Helpful Helpers
« Reply #113 on: June 26, 2014, 05:07:04 pm »

"You know, Farrek, I do believe we need some more helpers."

Go check around if there are any helpers available in the Carpenters' Guild - delicate people, preferably. Ones you could trust to inset things into trees. Hire one or two - maximum budget, if relevant, is 30 shillings. Have them aid in the execution of Tests 8 and 9 if found - otherwise proceed anyway.

Also, this reminds me - before doing the tests again, write down all the findings so far (tree animation, the activity of the shards, influence on fruit trees, pest control abilities), complete with relevant data. This is some prime stuff, after all, and we can't just let it go to waste if we accidentally get perforated by crystals.
« Last Edit: June 26, 2014, 05:11:47 pm by Harry Baldman »
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Playergamer

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 12: Helpful Helpers
« Reply #114 on: June 26, 2014, 05:12:56 pm »

Do that.
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IcyTea31

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 12: Helpful Helpers
« Reply #115 on: June 27, 2014, 12:25:59 am »

By carefully layering the wax, create a mold for the columnal hammer. If it's not great or better, retry. Pour iron into the mold, then wait until both the metal and the wax have cooled down. Then get them out the basin and each other. Consider whether or not there is a large enough anvil in the building. If not, repeat the casting process for it.
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_DivideByZero_

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 12: Helpful Helpers
« Reply #116 on: June 27, 2014, 08:51:30 pm »

Ask if they're fishers and if they're planning to go out to sea soon.
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Samarkand

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 12: Helpful Helpers
« Reply #117 on: June 28, 2014, 11:32:21 am »

Turn 13: An Expanding Operation

Iktaka Modri
[Hire: Moderate= 7, 8] Modri shelled out thirty shillings, but found two willing assistants. With the addition of two more assistants Farrek took control of most of the physical operations, overseeing the junior members of the team and performing the insertions. Modri stood at a distance, taking notes and conferring with Farrek when he had an observation, or she had a question.

Spoiler: Test 8 Rolls (click to show/hide)
Under Farrek’s watchful eye and skilled magics the first shard went in cleanly, the second hole wasn’t big enough, but a third hole allowed for yet another shard. That made four shards in one tree, and throughout all of it there was no reaction. The tree didn’t appear to realize it had sources of great power inside of it.

Spoiler: Test 9 Rolls (click to show/hide)
Branches proved trickier than trunks. One assistant climbed the tree with a leather belt and spiked boots to drill a hole, and position a crystal in it. Farrek then had to stand directly under the branch and pull down on the crystal to try and insert it. Modri was concerned watching this, but he promised that as long as the crystal didn’t shatter into multiple pieces his control over it would be great enough to prevent it from striking him. He needed to be directly under it to pull it straight, or else it would glance off of the hole. Farrek’s skill was put to the test, the day was windy and the branch swayed from its original position. As Farrek predicted this caused the crystal to glance of the branch and fly at him. Again true to his word it was redirected effortlessly into the ground, rather than his flesh. After the second time watching this seemingly death defying feat by her greatest asset Modri called off the branch testing till a better method was developed, or at least the wind died down.

The roots were as simple as could be. The other assistant spent this time locating a thick root and drilling into it. By the time Farrek had stopped attempting the branches there was a hole ready and waiting, and the crystal was pushed in in a matter of seconds. The tree responded, pushing the assistant and Farrek away from the root, but not causing any harm. Through a couple of simple tests of throwing objects and measuring their deflections the team was able to determine that the force was dissociated from the crystal when the tree absorbed it; any part of the tree could act as the origin for the magic from that point on.

Horizontal slits were similarly a success. The tree was quicker to grow around it, it seemed, and the positioning made it slightly less dangerous for the workers inserting the shard. (+1 to rolls using this technique.)

All of the work being done by Farrek allowed Modri time to organize her notes on the project.
Spoiler: Research Notes (click to show/hide)

+ 2 Assistants, - 30 shillings, - 4 crystals, - 1 Tree, + 1 CET
Spoiler: Assets (click to show/hide)

George Thain
George was having an adventure!

Spoiler: Items (click to show/hide)

Bane Willedhelm
[Fishers going out?: 10]

”Aye, soon as I sell these marlin steaks I’ll be out at sea. Can’t go till it sells tho’.”

Spoiler:  Assets (click to show/hide)

Herman Tongs
[Pour Wax Mold: Moderate= 10 (Great)] It took the patience of a man with experience in casting; patience which Herman possessed. The wax couldn’t be poured and shaped quickly, as with smaller parts. It had to be laid down in layers, each shaped individually as a cross-section of the final piece. Herman understood the necessity of this task and devoted hours to shaping a mold which he was proud of. [Pour Iron: Moderate= 9+2 (Great)] Herman carefully, but quickly, poured the iron into the mold, creating what he knew would be a great columnar hammer. [Search for Anvil: Moderate= 7]There was an anvil that was originally meant for multiple smiths to work on the same large piece of metal. Herman felt a surge of pride as he realized that this was precisely the sort of thing his hammer would make obsolete, inefficient. He had to shell out fort shillings when he wanted to actually use it, but he felt confident after he assembled his machine the Forgemaster would see it as the superior alternative to multiple-smith forges.

+ Great Columnar Hammer
Spoiler:  Assets (click to show/hide)

Wol Fann
[Find Repulsive Herbs: Simple= 8] Wol quickly realized the ideal herb for this would be marigolds. They were grown to sell as flowers, but he knew them to be repulsive to animals. And unlike many other potential candidates, they didn’t have a strong enough smell for the pig to know what it was eating without trying it first. After that he quickly purchased another pig for 7 shillings.

[Give Marigolds and Sage to one Pig, Marigold/Sage/Red Vine to the other: Moderate= 6 +1 (Tox)] Correct doses of red vine were given to the pig selected to be poisoned. It took the careful calculation of the toxicologist to make it work, because the herbs had to be fed all at once to prevent the pig from rejected the marigold laced concoction.

[Give herbs again: Moderate=9] After allowing the poisoned pig the appropriate time to recover Wol attempted to feed the animals the herbs again. The pig which had not been poisoned refused to get near the sage and marigold mixture, as expected. It wouldn’t even touch sage by itself. The one that had received red vine in its treatment, however, gladly gulped down another dosage of the toxin.

- 7 shillings, + 1 Pig
Spoiler:  Assets (click to show/hide)
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Playergamer

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 13: An Expanding Operation
« Reply #118 on: June 28, 2014, 11:50:04 am »

"Interesting..."

Look for a human test subject.

Run more tests on the pig.

Train the dog.
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A troll, most likely...But I hate not feeding the animals. Let the games begin.
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IcyTea31

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Re: Roll to Innovate - Turn 13: An Expanding Operation
« Reply #119 on: June 28, 2014, 12:08:59 pm »

Create and hone enough wax molds to get one mold for one metal frame and five mechanisms, all of Well-Made quality or better. Retry if unsuccessful on first try. Cast the parts out of bronze once I'm happy with the molds.
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