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[IronyOwl]

Questions time! Update soon I swear!

EDIT2: ((Question to IronyOwl: Would it be possible for me to modify the Sundancer to eat Gloriouses that have catapulted themselves while they're still in space?))

Possible, yes. Given its impressive size and corresponding lack of grace and speed, though, actually catching them would be rather difficult.

((Not sure if this is possible, but I'll give it a try))

Da'at shows the Lumen that are still alive terrible visions of the Godborn, devouring and murdering everything wherever they go. After showing these, he shows them visions of small creatures digging holes and burrowing themselves underground.

Da'at observes interactions between the Lumen and the Godborn, and between the Sunlight Rocs and Godborn.

((What exactly are you trying to convey with the red? I'm a bit stumped. They should protect small burrowing creatures from the Godborn? They should burrow to escape the godborn? They should attack small burrowing creatures because they are in cahoots with the Godborn?

Also, you'd probably need to be a Patron level deity for this action to be valid))

((It's a puzzle for them. It's supposed to make them dig tunnels to hide themselves in. The less intelligent Lumen who don't understand the message, will probably die, while the smarter ones survive.))

Huh. This is... interesting.

Actually this isn't valid Pencil Art. You're a patron now so you can't create/modify life anymore. Spheres are just for investing xp, so you could invest xp in life since you have the Life sphere, if I'm understanding spheres correctly.

Ooh, this is true. You can't create life without Remantling, Pencil; you're a Patron now, and Patrons can grant gifts to civilizations but not create or alter life anymore.

[Pencil_Art]

Dang:

Give the Verna the knowledge of metalworking (Let's assume that the Ark was created with metallic rocks.)

[IronyOwl]

Turn 4: Worst Nightmares

Create Lightbulb mushrooms on the Ark. Lightbulb mushrooms are mushooms made out of light, which grow on the Ark's forest floor. They produce a fairly large amount of light in a small area, allowing other plants to grow under the Ark's sun-blocking trees.

[2, Malus] You create mushrooms of pure light on Ark, allowing plant life to thrive under the shadow of the canopy. Of course, the mushrooms begin to slowly influence things within their vicinity, gradually warping nearby plants into a spherical shell for themselves.

Lurelight Mushrooms created on Ark

Ol'kuur regards the Maze with a mixture of disappointment, interest, and vastly different sensory organs. It was good, it was working as intended, but it was lacking. Ol'kuur retreats back to the Kuron to consider his options. Was he ready to create the Natarki? He did not think so, but could he create a place that rivaled the Whispering Caves? Maybe a different approach was called for.

On Kuron, create the Kivshar Woods, a forest region consisting of mobile colorful chitinous plants.

[15, Good] The Kishvar Woods come out as a riot of slightly mobile color, a collection of plants jostling each other for space and recognition. Recognition from what remains an open question, but the tough plants appear rather dedicated to it nonetheless.

Kishvar Woods created on Ark

An error of colossal scale. This only gave the Elders all the more reason to hunt down their younger kin. Not at all a good result. Except for the magical blood that is. Shevel sighed at her mistake and decided to make her own little solution to the problem.


Create a Djinn caste called Illuminators. They have the ability of inhibiting the transition to an Elder via the constant emission of pheromones. These same pheromones also result in expanding the brains of Djinn to such an extent that they are able to make use of their blood-borne mana to cast spells. These spells are individually weaker than that of an Elder.

[9, Poor] Your Illuminators turn out serviceable but somewhat underappreciated. Most Djinn are not thrilled about the prospect of giving up power, nor are their abilities entirely effective, both of which serve to inhibit their usual goal of limiting the number of bloodthirsty monsters running about.

Illuminator Caste added to Djinn

Planner shifted uncomfortably, legs twitching, antennae flailing, head shuddering. The Godborn had gone beyond his plans! These... mutations of theirs, an unforeseen element. Failure. But even failures can have use. He would leave Ark alone for now, watching events as they unfold. The Shards had a good chance of surviving, if they were worthy. If they dedicated termites to the storage of food, or used more conventional food caches...

If not, he would have to start over. His legs bunched up, and then he leaped up, clearing the atmosphere. Compound eyes turned their attention to Flow, plans churning...

Create mosquito-like creatures on Flow. Invisible and near soundless, they feed on the magical blood of the Djinn (mostly when the Djinn sleep), gaining the magic and nutrients of the blood for themselves. -1 Size, +1 Power

Observe Ark, the Shards in particular.

[13, Good] Your mosquitoes turn out a rather beautiful copper highlighted with crimson, and are able to use their ill-gotten meals as well as any sorceror. Well, any very very small sorceror without much in the way of neural matter, which is to say that once they've fed once, they're pretty good at cloaking themselves well enough to feed again.

Sorceror Mosquitoes created on Flow

The Shards seem to keep to themselves mostly, which is to say violently. Apparently the meeting of members from two separate hives has a tendency to link them, which typically panics both hives. It also often results in a third hive forming from the conflicted parties, which is sometimes aware enough to panic itself and attempt to flee before either other hive reabsorbs it.

Other than that, they spend a lot of time neurotically pruning their own members, apparently trying to optimize their performance for some task or another. Beyond that, they do the usual of building up and maintaining the hive.

((Not sure if this is possible, but I'll give it a try))

Da'at shows the Lumen that are still alive terrible visions of the Godborn, devouring and murdering everything wherever they go. After showing these, he shows them visions of small creatures digging holes and burrowing themselves underground.

Da'at observes interactions between the Lumen and the Godborn, and between the Sunlight Rocs and Godborn.

[1, FAIL!] You implant terrible nightmares of the Godborn into the Lumen, ensuring that each of them knows the unending wrath of the giant grasshoppers. They are also tormented by the knowledge that it is safe underground and nowhere but underground, causing them further trauma as they struggle to come to terms with their decision to either remain underground forever and let everything else die, or venture aboveground on a suicide mission to save others.

Not surprisingly, their tendency to protect the weak starts to take a harder edge from their decidedly unhealthy mental state.

Lumen granted horrifying nightmares and damaged psyches

Interactions between Lumen and Godborn are now primarily limited to Lumen shrieking in mortal terror and fleeing immediately. Some study the giant beasts in the vain hope of easing their fears. The Godborn, not usually being carnivorous, typically ignore the Lumen, though they'll snack on them from time to time, particularly if mutated.

Interactions between Sunlight Rocs and Godborn are considerably more volatile. The Sunlight Rocs routinely assault Godborn, which are typically powerful enough to drive them off without too much difficulty. The surrounding areas usually take a fair beating from this altercation, however.

Also: >Check on the technological level of the Verna.

They are reasonably familiar with the natural world, though claiming they have a "technological level" might be needlessly aggrandizing. They understand basic concepts like farming and tool use, but nothing especially complex or specialized.

Dang:

Give the Verna the knowledge of metalworking (Let's assume that the Ark was created with metallic rocks.)

[20, CRIT!] The Rootrip Verna take to the gift of metalworking with surprising vigor, drawing connections between shaping metals and shaping themselves. It's not long, in fact, before they're able to combine the two, working metal seamlessly into their own plantlike flesh. Only the rarity of easily accessible ores keeps them from becoming truly terrifying.

Rootrip granted metalflesh
+2 XP

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Dominus (Cheesecake)
Spirit of [Physical Power][Light]
1 XP

Planner (Demonic Spoon)
Spirit of [Arthropods][Intelligence]
0 XP

Da'at (Lord_lemonpie)
Spirit of [Light][Protection]
0 XP

Maker (Pencil_Art)
Patron of [Life][Adaptation][Intelligence]
3 XP

Shevel (micelus)
Spirit of [Life][Magic]
0 XP

Ol'kuur (Knight Otu)
Titan of [Caverns]
1 XP

[Knight Otu]

Ol'kuur slithers through the Kivshar giving the plants some of the adoration they deserve before moving to a different spot on the Kuron. There, he begins to spread his titanic form thinner and thinner over the surface, leaving a large bulge in the center, and forms tentacles and outlines on his body. The outlines begin to bubble up and sink back down as Ol'kuur tries to get the shapes just right. Sometimes hands, feet, and eyes grow out of his flesh, before sinking away again. Soon, however, the first creatures are nearly free, tearing at the skin that separates them from the world, but they are not truly free until the central bulge splits open like a maw, releasing a screech - "^NaTarKi!" The screech causes the inert remains of the titan Ol'kuur to vanish, leaving only the Natarki, and, at the center, the Spirit Ol'kuur.

Unmantle into a Spirit to create the Natarki on the Kuron. Spend 1 XP to enhance their power. The Natarki are very vaguely humanoid creatures - upright main body supported by a ring of tentacle legs, and ending in a ring of tinner, more flexible tentacle arms that are capable of fine manipulation. They possess a head with three to five eyes spaced equally along the head, allowing all-around vision for many of them, and a single circular maw atop the head. Their large brains reside in the main body surrounded by rib-like bone structure. They have highly functional minds and an improved natural ability use supernatural mental powers like telepathy. (No, they don't have any dietary restrictions, at least no planned ones.)

Assume the sphere of Psionics.

[Lord_lemonpie]

Alter some of the Lurelight mushrooms, allowing them to grow to humongous sizes, and give them the ability to make plants grow so fast that they are able to shatter and carry stones upwards by growing. This causes them to create great, nearly impenetrable domes made of living plants. The size of these hollow domes can vary from large mansions to small mountains. The rocks that are carried by the plants are assimilated into the dome, making it even stronger. If someone or something manages to make a tear in the dome, it will grow back incredible fast.

[Demonic Spoon]

The Godborn are coming. The Lumen know the dread truth.

*****

Create the Crystal Death Scarabs in the Whispering Caves. They feed on the crystalline plantlife, and absorb the mystical energies of the place. In particular, the powers of the dead. As the Death Scarabs age, they begin displaying memories of the dead, the memories playing out within their transparent carapaces, the whispers of those who passed on lurking beneath their chittering, scents long gone lingering in the air. -1 Size +1 Power

Observe the Gloriouses, especially those that catapult themselves to other planets if any have done so yet. Observe how, if at all, the Djinn are responding to the Sorcquitoes.

Also observe interactions between the Shards and the Lurelights. Specifically, whether their paranoia is functional enough to prevent subversion by the Lurelights.

((The Shards are awesome btw. I am assuming lurelights effect fauna as well as flora? The encyclopedia implies such but the update implies only plantlife? I'm hoping it's fauna too honestly.

Mmm, from your description, it is possible for Shards to form "bandit" hives, that is to say, if the third hive formed by two hives interacting survives, it doesn't have any breeders, so has to continue its existence by stealing termites from other hives. Interesting and not at all expected! The Planner would be perturbed.

Final question, a Godborn Apocalypse hasn't happened yet correct? Will it be something specifically noted in a turn when it happens?))

EDIT: Waaait a second. Cheesecake didn't participate in turn 4?

[Cheesecake]

(Sorry, IronyOwl, but I'll have to drop out of this. Good luck on this!)

[IronyOwl]

((The Shards are awesome btw. I am assuming lurelights effect fauna as well as flora? The encyclopedia implies such but the update implies only plantlife? I'm hoping it's fauna too honestly.

It's fauna in theory, but in practice they're typically not going to hang around long enough to get massaged into service.

Mmm, from your description, it is possible for Shards to form "bandit" hives, that is to say, if the third hive formed by two hives interacting survives, it doesn't have any breeders, so has to continue its existence by stealing termites from other hives. Interesting and not at all expected! The Planner would be perturbed.

Possibly, though bear in mind that it works both ways. It'd be hard for bandit hives to get in and out without feeling violated, risking further fractures, and potentially losing members themselves.

Final question, a Godborn Apocalypse hasn't happened yet correct? Will it be something specifically noted in a turn when it happens?))

The exact timeframe is a little ambiguous here, and it's a recurring cycle, so it's probably but not necessarily happened before, and there likely won't be any mention when we cross some arbitrary feasibility line for it to have not happened yet.

EDIT: Waaait a second. Cheesecake didn't participate in turn 4?

Wait-

Create Lightbulb mushrooms on the Ark. Lightbulb mushrooms are mushooms made out of light, which grow on the Ark's forest floor. They produce a fairly large amount of light in a small area, allowing other plants to grow under the Ark's sun-blocking trees.

[2, Malus] You create mushrooms of pure light on Ark, allowing plant life to thrive under the shadow of the canopy. Of course, the mushrooms begin to slowly influence things within their vicinity, gradually warping nearby plants into a spherical shell for themselves.

Lurelight Mushrooms created on Ark

((Not sure if this is possible, but I'll give it a try))

Da'at shows the Lumen that are still alive terrible visions of the Godborn, devouring and murdering everything wherever they go. After showing these, he shows them visions of small creatures digging holes and burrowing themselves underground.

Da'at observes interactions between the Lumen and the Godborn, and between the Sunlight Rocs and Godborn.

[1, FAIL!] You implant terrible nightmares of the Godborn into the Lumen, ensuring that each of them knows the unending wrath of the giant grasshoppers. They are also tormented by the knowledge that it is safe underground and nowhere but underground, causing them further trauma as they struggle to come to terms with their decision to either remain underground forever and let everything else die, or venture aboveground on a suicide mission to save others.

Not surprisingly, their tendency to protect the weak starts to take a harder edge from their decidedly unhealthy mental state.

Lumen granted horrifying nightmares and damaged psyches

Interactions between Lumen and Godborn are now primarily limited to Lumen shrieking in mortal terror and fleeing immediately. Some study the giant beasts in the vain hope of easing their fears. The Godborn, not usually being carnivorous, typically ignore the Lumen, though they'll snack on them from time to time, particularly if mutated.

Interactions between Sunlight Rocs and Godborn are considerably more volatile. The Sunlight Rocs routinely assault Godborn, which are typically powerful enough to drive them off without too much difficulty. The surrounding areas usually take a fair beating from this altercation, however.

LEMONPIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!

(Sorry, IronyOwl, but I'll have to drop out of this. Good luck on this!)

Ah, that's a shame; your character was one of my favorites.


Ukrainian Ranger, Alerama is in.

[Demonic Spoon]

((The Shards are awesome btw. I am assuming lurelights effect fauna as well as flora? The encyclopedia implies such but the update implies only plantlife? I'm hoping it's fauna too honestly.

It's fauna in theory, but in practice they're typically not going to hang around long enough to get massaged into service.

What if a Lurelight happens to sprout near an existing hive though?

Final question, a Godborn Apocalypse hasn't happened yet correct? Will it be something specifically noted in a turn when it happens?))

The exact timeframe is a little ambiguous here, and it's a recurring cycle, so it's probably but not necessarily happened before, and there likely won't be any mention when we cross some arbitrary feasibility line for it to have not happened yet.

Umm, what? Why not? I mean, what's the point of the apocalypse thing existing if it doesn't have a noticeable effect on anything? I mean, I'd expect the Rootrip civilization to be effected heavily by it if nothing else.

[IronyOwl]

What if a Lurelight happens to sprout near an existing hive though?

Most likely it figures that out and deals with the threat with extreme prejudice. We're talking about life forms that can't even stand their own natural mental flow, much less being slowly combed into slaves by nearby mushrooms.

Umm, what? Why not? I mean, what's the point of the apocalypse thing existing if it doesn't have a noticeable effect on anything? I mean, I'd expect the Rootrip civilization to be effected heavily by it if nothing else.

It affects things, but it's a cyclical feature, not a countdown. It's presumably slow enough for the Verna to build up in between, but you're right that they may have difficulty holding onto much if they can't address it properly.

[Pencil_Art]

Well, they're half metal now, I don't expect that the Godborn eat through that. They could just create shell of metal and stand still, as the Godborn shouldn't be able to find any plant material.

Alter the culture of the Verna to state that social interaction is very important, as is doing what is best for the community. Hiding from the Godborn can be done with a shell of metal, though you must stand still.

[Demonic Spoon]

Well, they're half metal now, I don't expect that the Godborn eat through that. They could just create shell of metal and stand still, as the Godborn shouldn't be able to find any plant material.

They eat plants though, which is hard to do if all the plants are already eaten. If a Godborn Apocalypse happens to coincide with the Sundancer covering up the sun so they can't photosynthesize... well that should be a rare event fortunately.

Also, wouldn't be surprised if they mutated to eat metal, or smelled the plants within the metal, after all it can't be completely airproof if the Verna want to be able to breath inside the shells.

[Pencil_Art]

True.

[IronyOwl]

They are waaaaaaay less than half metal, and can cyborg themselves out, not shield themselves with liquid copper at will.

[Ukrainian Ranger]

"toys! So many toys! A scream of new abomination spread through the world. Late due to some unknown reason Alerama didn't waste any time to play and soon her attention got locked on the green world and something inside her young mind told her that it would look better at another Star!

Move The Ark from Golden pulse to Dark Star's orbit, leaving Kuron behind