First off, apologies for such a long delay. Exams are finished now though, so it shouldn't happen again anytime soon. And onwards!
"Uh, yeah, sure. I actually already work for this guy Vince, but he's kinda a dick so I wouldn't mind something else. Uh, hold on, this seems like it's going to be pretty distracting..."
Yeah, okay, let's enjoy the company of these lovely illusions.
You settle back in your chair as the statues come forward and begin the carnal temptations. Some very physical carnal temptations they are too, but you're not complaining.
After the first few minutes, you realise that you can barely move, your limbs heavy and sluggish. You shout out to Victor, who laughs and leaves, leaving you at the mercy of a mass of grey flesh. Rather... decomposed... grey flesh, you realise now, with the odd bone or withered tendon poking out here and there, but still intact, and definitely with teeth and fingernails left, and very sharp and hard fingernails they are too...
You begin to wonder if taking drugs in a tomb given to you by a thaumaturge you don't know wasn't a good idea after all. And then the ghoulish corruption reaches your brain, and the last thought before you lose consciousness is of the taste of human flesh.
Victor walks back in and laughs, as the undead back off, their sagging corpses changing into the forms of beautiful youths and maidens, and return to their coffins. And as they drag an unopened coffin out from an alcove, he sets about his alchemical equipment and begins to practice in earnest.
Inquire as to what the perks of lichdom would be. Also, ask how often I would have to "feed".
What about vampirism?
Sell the blood, then return to base and put my other spoils of war in a freezer or something. Also, wash myself off.
Perks? You can't be killed until your brain is thouroughly destroyed. You gain greater proficiency with magic relating to death and undeath. You can change or enlarge your body more easily: grafting bits of stuff onto yourself, even other undead or corpses. You can use limbs even once they're chopped off.
Feed? The guy at the desk shrugs and smiles. Once a day at least, if you're using magic and are physically active. More if you get knocked about, have incorporated a lot of stuff into your body, or do a great deal of magic.
Vampirism? Very different. Enhances your reflexes, strength, agility, speed, visions, charisma, intelligence, all that. Dislike of sunlight, garlic, holy-in-a-not-too-evil-way stuff. Several ways of becoming one, most common is by asking (or being kidnapped by) a vampire. There are organisations for people that want that, with strict hierarchies, or other methods. While vampires don't take kindly to it, people are prepared to sell their blood, which is another way.
The blood gets you £25. You go back to Vince.
And more Resting while I wait for the next mission...
You're so rested right now you could jump out of your skin.
Let's see this 'real-life applications of Python' thing.
Once the giant snake corpses are cleared away, the next lecture compares Python with other languages in terms of usefulness to magic users. Python dates back thousands of years, having only recently been adopted by mortals, and was popularised by the great Egyptian sorcerors, who used it to contruct temples, pyramids and statues for the pharoahs. It is useful for moving large masses, creating water for things such as irrigation, and the manipulation of natural organisms, but does not function as well when it comes to creating the most complex and sophisticated sorceries such as illusions or magical projectiles. Mistakes in Python may simply create physical distortions, but have been known to create tedious portals to the underworld, mass flooding by the hyperspacial Duat, and even horrific breaches into Izfit, the sea of chaos.
The popular downfall of Python came after the development of C#, which was used against the armies of the pharoah by Moses. C# is capable of controlling incredibly large classes of objects and sources of power by referring to them simply, but trying to do too many things with it will simply fail and likely break the strength of the user, shattering their mind. For example C# would be the best tool if one wanted to control the direction of a hundred-strong horde of undead, but would be less effective in allowing them to do different tasks. Mistakes seldom do anything other than catastrophically vary the cereberal pressure of the person making them.
Java, or the version involving magical runic writings, Javascript, is a relative newcomer to the world of magical coding languages. Very results-oriented, it involves some elements of voodoo and other systems. It is better for any smaller or trickier task the other languages fail at, and is the best for magical projectiles, illusions, control of magical beings, and other such messy things. It is closest to witchcraft among the languages, and mistakes will generally result in a spell that does something similar but not identical to the intended practice.
They don't say much about Perl directly, but from what you've gathered it is very dangerous and relies on powerful materials. An archaic technique used by the sort of people one wouldn't associate with, mistakes are usually preferable to whatever the user was trying to do.
A student notices your frantic note-jotting, and kindly offers you a flier on introductory lectures to each language. You're a bit out of your depth at the moment, and should probably pick one or two to gain some understanding of.
((All ready after this. Just want to be late for the mission briefing, as I did something big on the turn I was told to get ready.))
Gather some wand material. Buy some copper sulfate, the kind that makes the lovely blue crystals, and see if I can scrounge up a glass rod, like a beaker stirrer. Lastly, get some electrical tape to make a handle. If done, scratch the end of the glass rod and grow a sizeable crystal there, and wrap the opposite end in tape for a handle. Then use a clot to turn that into a wand.
Use an illusion to look like myself after the deal but before the last round of physical changes. After that, head over to Dave's and work on writing up more of the existing material from the exploration trips. Suggest the idea of raising money by taking commissions to visit specific locations in the real world, drawing them how they are in the magical world, along with who and what types of creatures live there. Do that for a few days, or until I start feeling buzzed again, or more changes occur.
Prac: 6+2
You end up with a hunk of relatively clear crystal neatly formed around a cheap glass rod. Turning that into a wand nets you two spells.
The first, one puissance, expels a short blue shard of something between salt crystal and glass. It's fairly weak, sometimes blunt, but will really cause someone difficulties if jammed through an eye, lung or major organ.
The second, for three puissance, buds a series of small crystals on and inside an object. The object is slowly consumed by the crystals, though larger things will not be fully eaten away unless the spell is applied multiple times. You finish with crystal gems that derive properties from whatever the target was made of. Kinda like weak magic gems. For example, testing it on a mars bar gives you shards of murky brown gem that taste faintly sweet and chocolately. Not really useful at all.
So your appearance changes back to just "stunning" rather than "striking in the ribs with a length of copper piping".
The next mission will be something longer-term you can come late to, but if people want to be there for the initial briefing, they should finish their business this turn.Name: Nanami Adachi. (Nanami)
Unnatural beauty granted by demonic contract and the adoration of mortals.
Power from mortal media.
Conscripted into twenty-nineth legion of Amdukias.
Puissance: 1
Ritual: 0
Runic Sight: 0
Banal Combat: 0
Aim: 0
Melee: 0
Agility: 1
Praticality: 2
Inventory: £315
Backpack, expensive camera + memory cards
Quality sketching paper, art pens+pencils, charcoal, etc.
Sketches of self as main character, Amdukias, the non-mortal world, etc.
[Glass Rod Crystal Wand]
Puissance: 5/5
Puissant Clots: 1
Bob Howard
Puissant fettle - 1
Ritual potency - 1
Runic sight - 1
Banal combat - 0
Practicality - 3
Inventory: £50, 1d20
{Certificate from Belial; Valid for one Potent Medium}
Puissance: 5/5
Puissant Clots: 2
Goethe T. Helle
Puissant fettle - 1
Ritual potency - 2
Runic sight - 1
Banal combat - 0
Aim - 1
Melee - 0
Agility - 2
Practicality - 1
Inventory: £20, clockface minus one hand, highlighter pens, two kitchen knives, half-empty cologne bottle
From the beast: one bone,
Italian Dinner suit, stored at Vince's place.
[Dog Collar Pendant][Molasses Clockhand Wand]
[Icecream Beast Blood Fur Chalice][Beast Remains Wand]
Runes:
Isolation: you never had many friends or allies, so are used to poor odds. +1 to rolls when outnumbered and alone.
Stoicism: a rune that calms those dealing with shock, tragedy or injury.
Perseverance: despite all the odds, you managed to kill a huge beast using nothing but hot syrup. Bonus to attack and extra damage to powerful or resistant enemies after several turns of combat or aggression.
Dwarven Weapon Storage: learned from a dwarf carrying a small armoury on his back. Increases load of weapons and tools that can be borne without being hampered or slowed down, or collapsing outright.
Ruination: when written, it makes a bad situation worse, and an irretrievable one more so. Learned after the second mission.
Puissant clots: 1
Puissance: 6/6
A GHOUL
Name: Ellen York
Puissant fettle: 1
Runic sight: 1
Banal combat: 1
Agility: 3
Runes:Unending Avarice: you can tell which loot is the most expensive and tradeable instantly, and can grab it as well. Pearls, money, fur coats, expensive champagne, and all things glamourous are magically attracted to your questing fingers.
Wallfish: a rune derived from snails you particularly enjoyed eating with pearls and vinegar. Better at avoiding damage when in or heading for cover.
Inventory: Duct Tape, nettles, crocuses, thorns,
Thorny and gothic katana
[Broom - Tier 2] - Roomba wrapped in rusty barbed wire.
[De-thorned Rose Wand]
Under the influence of magical substances
Puissant Clots: 0
Puissance: 6/6
Name: Sir Worthington the Fourth
Has a pretty crappy wooden broom for a leg.
Stats: Ritual Potency: 3
Practicality 3
Agility: -1 (wooden poles and plastic bristles do not a good leg make)
Inventory: £25, Pint of royal blood (stored at Vince's), blood covered knife,
Stored at Vince's place: mortal's tendons, skull and leg bones.
[Glass Eye Pendant] [Paintbrush Wand]
[Toad Demon Battery Acid Tupperware Chalice]
Novice's Pyromancy Flame - Heal Burn (1P), Create Flame (1P)
Puissant Clots: 0
Puissance: 5/5
Jimmy "Car bombs" Castanza
Slightly slowed by a heavy load.
Puissant fettle - 0
Ritual potency - 0
Runic sight - 3
Banal combat - 1
Aim - 1
Melee - 0
Agility - 0
Practicality - 3
Inventory: £20, very rusty saw, length of pipe stuck to block of concrete, highlighter pen
[Lightbulb Antenna Wand]
[Broom - TIER 3] - Bike handles for steering.
Glock 17
Runes:
Detonation: volatile stuff explodes or catches fire more when you're around it. You can't help it, it must be genetic. Written rune used to detonate volatile substances.
Dead Man Running: you escaped the wrath of a mafia boss. Higher chance of surviving things that should really be deadly.
Mafioso: a mafia hitman, you preferred not to let your targets know they were hunted until after they were spread over an area of three hundred metres. Bonus to carefully planned unexpected attacks.
Alchemical (definitely idiot) savant: you saw an alchemist's shop when wandering around London, and deluded yourself that you understood something of how it worked. Because of the nature of magic, this belief is now partially true. Use this rune to make substances a bit more useful or volatile when used in alchemy.
Trader: a rune that when signed signifies to people that you'd be a good guy to buy from and sell things to.
Reticence: a rune whispered to you by birds perched on phone lines, you can get information without giving away much about yourself.
Bethel: a rune that enhances and aids summoning performed where it is written.
Degeneration: you saw men turned into animals. This rune turns advanced things like steel bolts into crappy primitive things, like wooden bolts.
Entrance: a god tried to break into our world. You now have a +2 in breaking into magic places you shouldn't be messing about with.
Hiijacking: Sand crashed a summoning-party and inserted herself into the centre of the ritual. Things with this rune written on will be more central to events and will conduct more power and magical energy than they should by rights.
Hassle: a rune that allows you to deal more effectively with multiple threats, distractions and tasks at once.
Scrap-crafting: after making a wand with bicycle horns, you have improved at making stuff out of junk. And you were already great at making stuff out of junk.
Oligarchy: a rune revealed to you the first time you flew over London, spelled out in the twistings of the financial buildings and the houses of millionares. Increases your power according to how much money you have.
Punctuality: You're good at getting things done on time.
Puissant clots: 0
Puissance:5/5
Ben Breeze
Stats:
Puissant fettle - 0
Ritual potency - 0
Runic sight - 0
Banal combat - 4
Aim - 1
Melee - 1
Agility - 2
Practicality - 0
Inventory: knife, taser, handcuffs, police baton, stab vest, torch, incapacitant spray, and a first aid kit. All in sports bag
Also a bag of athames, 2.5 legs War Bacon (Vince's Fridge), a worn face-concealing hooded coat.
Two generous Roast Beef and Horseradish Sandwiches
Gunfarmer P90 (44/50) (in bag)
Puissant clots: 3
Puissance:5/5
Author
Topic: COVEN: Gulled Goldsmiths and Lost Locomotives (Read 156157 times)