The Sun - High signal activity, consistent with E class civilization.
Tau Ceti (bottom of starmap) - Weak signals, consistent with a Ca class civilization
Alpha Centauri (Top left of the Sun) - Extremely strong signals consistent with
Epsilon Eridani (Right of T Ceti) - Weak radio signals, anomalous infra-red signature
Barnard's Star (Top right of the Sun) - Moderate radio consistent with a D class civilization
Procyon - No radio signals, occasional flare activity from Procyon B
Sirius - A single, repetitive signal with weak intensity, magnitude similar to a Ca class civ.
((Note that italicized words in your character sheets can be hovered over for additional info))
Tau Ceti IV
Landing on a world with crushing atmospheric pressure is not usually the brightest idea one can have. Nonetheless, you perform the aerobraking maneuvers and end up floating over a vast sea of clouds and vapor. The planet's outer composition is mostly water and hydrogen, although you find unusual concentrations of colorful chemicals on the dark undersides of the clouds where the sun does not shine.
The ocean below lies under massive atmospheric pressure. Staying underneath will test your skills at maintaining a pressure barrier. (roll once per turn, lose a mana potion if you fail).
[3] You encounter a balloon from below, emerging from a burst of multicolored cloud material. It seems broken, but you find a radio dish hanging from the body by a cable. Definitely a sign of life!
The planet does not have any moons, although it does have a ring system. You should be able to dive out of the planet's atmosphere with a bundle of air and investigate. The ring system is faint and hardly visible, but it was visible nonetheless as you careened into the atmosphere.
Your Inventory:Chromatic Staff (
Unique spells that are multicast cost 25% less affinity that turn.)
Lesser Mana Potion (x19) (Consume to negate 1 point of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Greater Mana Potion (x4) (Consume to negate 10 points of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Antimatter Catalyst (x5)
Conditions:
Perfectly Healthy
Stats:
---Basic---
Creation: 1
Reduction: 1
Alteration: 1
Redirection: 1
---Advanced---
---Misc---
Go and see what some of those signals in the outer planets are about. Gotta be somewhat stealthy about this, after all.
From your hiding spot in the Oort cloud, the last place you can efficiently use your interstellar mana-travel, you can observe many things from afar. The signals from the outer planets are mostly clustered around Neptune, with an occasional signal near Uranus and no signals from Saturn. Europa itself seems to be emitting radio, so perhaps there's a colony. It's probably either a small one or a particularly silent one.
The Kuiper Belt contains two signals, mostly simple blocks of data you can interpret as low-bandwidth information such as coordinates and timing. The signals are extremely faint, consistent with starships. You don't sense any radar or active sensors in the vicinity, so it should be safe to make a flyby through the Belt and end up back in the Oort Cloud. Decelerating to meet up with the sources will require you to take some propellant with you, along with the energy to heat it. The outer planets are difficult to traverse without an energy source.
One possibility is to approach Neptune and dive into the atmosphere, slowing yourself down until you can capture some hydrogen gas with your telekinesis. Then you should be able to make an orbital transfer, using the winds as an energy source and storing the energy inside your mana.
Your Inventory:Travel Kit (
A bunch of items that you can channel through. The glasses grant you DiseaseVision)
Lesser Mana Potion (x25) (Consume to negate 1 point of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Greater Mana Potion (x3) (Consume to negate 10 points of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Seeking Dust (x5)
Conditions:
Perfectly Healthy
Stats:
---Basic---
Creation: 0
Reduction: 1
Alteration: 1
Redirection: 1
---Advanced---
Deconstruction: 1
---Misc---
Medical: 1
Go to Sirius and determine what life is present.
((Sorry for absence, was ill.))
During your flight to Sirius, you notice a disturbance in the interstellar flow of mana. There is another wizard nearby, on approach to the same star.
You are in a position to slow down and synchronize your approach so that you can meet him upon arrival. This would probably be the wisest move.
((I'm kind of forcing you to wait for him because it would desynchronize the game otherwise. I don't want causality issues.))
You've arrived here first. The other wizard is most likely closing in on the radio signal, which you identify as a series of repeated broadcasts from a primitve transmitter. The source looks to be on an unstable orbit, so it's definitely artificial. Most likely either a ship or a station. You can approach it with a flyby, but to slow down you need some propellant. Sirius' system is quite devoid of natural sources, without much of an Oort cloud to gather gas from, so you might be forced to consume a mana potion.
Sirius A seems to be undergoing a solar flare, however. You might actually be able to skim some heated gas off of it, although it's a risky maneuver (Redirection roll, failure results in passing by unharmed).
To communicate with the ship you could use a mana antenna to send a focused radio signal, but there's no garauntee the ship will understand the signal.
Your Inventory:Pressure Suit (
A suit decorated with a silk shawl, made of many metals.)
Lesser Mana Potion (x23) (Consume to negate 1 point of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Greater Mana Potion (x3) (Consume to negate 10 points of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Morphic Dust (x5)
Conditions:
Perfectly Healthy
Stats:
---Basic---
Creation: 1
Reduction: 0
Alteration: 1
Redirection: 1
---Advanced---
Transformation: 1
Augmentation: 1
---Misc---
Continue previous action, initially aerobraking at a tar planet to get myself into position. Once I'm done at each of the tar planets I move outwards to the asteroids and then shift systems when it's all complete.
You approach the first tar world, gouging through the atmosphere at massive speeds, but protected by your cape. Once you've killed off most of your momentum you are able to bring yourself back into space along with a sizeable pocket of air to use as propellant. To fly back onto the planet, you simply need to squeeze the pocket.
While you orbit over the planet's scarred, craggy surface, you notice teal discoloration along the shores of a tar sea.
Additionally, Proxima II has a small asteroid moon much like those of Mars. It shouldn't be difficult to approach it and check to see if it hasn't been mined already by another wizard. Knowing Proxima Centauri's close location to Earth, however, you probably shouldn't bet on it. No potions needed for travel.
Active Nodes: 1 Orbital Node (Proxima Centauri II)
Your Inventory:Dimensional Cape (Contains a non-Euclidean pocket. Does not negate the mass of whatever you are carrying, though.)
Dragon Chains (x5, highly durable self-levitating chains with a dragon's head as the final link)
Oblivion Blade (A programmable shapeshifting weapon made of memorymetal. Morphs based on how it's swung.)
Meta Potion (x10) (A pressurized rod of metastable helium stabilized inside a Critical Resonance Matrix.
Handle with care.)
Lesser Mana Potion (x12) (Consume to negate 1 point of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Greater Mana Potion (x3) (Consume to negate 10 points of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Barrier Dust (x5)
Conditions:
Perfectly Healthy
Stats:
---Basic---
Creation: 1
Reduction: 0
Alteration: 0
Redirection: 3
---Advanced---
---Misc---
Seek the source of the signals, consume a mana potion, and begin my journey to the planet. On the way, investigate the planet to check if it has atmosphere. If it does, great, no second potion needed. If it doesn't, consume a second mana potion to land. Check out the local flora and fauna (If there is any)
((You don't need a mana potion to start--you can always enter the system at high speed from interstellar space, where you can easily propel yourself))
As stated, there is no planet in sight. You make a pass closer to the signal source, however, and discover an infra-red signature with four planar hotspots arranged symmetrically along the object's axis. It looks like a spacecraft with active radiators. That means that whether or not the crew is dead (if there is a crew), the reactor is still running. You could try communicating with a mana antenna, but the ship might not know how to respond to the radio signal.
You might not need to consume any mana if you can find propellant. Sirius A seems to be undergoing a solar flare, and you
might have a slim chance of skimming some ionized gas off of it. That should do for propellant, although your skills at focusing energy are not the most refined (Redirection roll, failure means you fly past it unharmed).
Your Inventory:Masks (
A set of masks used to express yourself. You can modify sound waves and visual stimulus coming through.)
Lesser Mana Potion (x27) (Consume to negate 1 point of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Greater Mana Potion (x3) (Consume to negate 10 points of negative affinity in a stat for one turn)
Antimatter Catalyst (x10)
Conditions:
Perfectly Healthy
Stats:
---Basic---
Creation: 2
Reduction: 0
Alteration: 0
Redirection: 0
---Advanced---
Animation: 1
Construction: 2
Destruction: 1
---Misc---
Author
Topic: Roll to be a Celestial Space Wizard - Turn 30, page 23 (Read 35713 times)