Nix: Finishing BlowI shall take Soulforge.
Shove the pot onto the father's head. End this.
The pot falls, splitting the father's head open. Both mother and child are
horrified.
The grim serendipity of the event causes the mother to believe in you. However, she only sees you as a
monster, at least for now. Even the child's faith in you as his guardian is shaken, though he has not lost all hope.
You gain (1) believer!
You gain some mana from the encounter!
Spirit Rating:
Judgement - 6Protection - 2Forethought - 1Spirit Evolution:
You may take on a
Corporeal Form. You will manifest as a physical dog (you may also choose an exotic trait if you wish to appear as a non-mundane creature). This replaces your Shove and Unseen Fangs and converts
Soulforge into the weaker
Soul Bond, but it allows you to interact with the world in any manner a physical dog would. It becomes much easier to acquire believers. Taking on a corporeal form is permanent unless said form is destroyed.
If you choose to remain non-corporeal, you may acquire the ability
Spectral Form: You may choose to appear as a hazy apparition for short periods of time.
Shove: You can impart a small force on physical objects.
Unseen Fangs: You can increase the chance for a target to be wounded by sharp objects that they can't see.
Comforting Aura: Your presence brings a sense of safety, instilling confidence in believers.
Soulforge: You temporarily bind yourself to a believer, enhancing their senses and physical abilities.
Poultrygeist, Grue, and Aximodus: Triple Trouble at Charlie's Chickens: One Round RemainsThe Grue stares at the pitchfork in the man's hand, then the rake in the woman's hand, and finally resting on the chicken coop.
Cast Nocebite on the man as they're approaching the coop.
The farmer is terrified as a strange apparition seems to savagely attack him! Protecting his face with one hand, he manages to shove one more musket ball into the gun...
Shove Charlie's Wife into the gore of the exploded chicken
As the farmer's wife attempts to attack the unknown creature with her rake, she slips on the chicken guts and falls headfirst into the mess! She drops the rake and the candle and begins to scream in horror and disgust!
I Shall increase the strength of the flame of the Candle his wife holds.
The candle falls into a pile of chicken feed. The tiny flame suddenly explodes, setting Charlie's wife and the chicken coop on fire!
Many chickens, some of them on fire, are running around the yard, spreading the fire even faster. It seems this whole place will go up in flames in the next round...
Scene elements:
The gun (loaded)
A burning chicken coop
Some metal pots that can be used for bizarre and improbable ballistics
A bunch of chickens, some of which are on fire, running around the yard in panic, trying to escape the flames
A small latch holding the fence closed
Charlie (critically injured)
Charlie's wife (covered in chicken guts, on fire)
Shove: You can impart a small force on physical objects.
Possess Chicken: You may directly control the behavior of a single chicken, or vaguely influence the behavior of several.
Chicken Affinity: Your influence increases around chickens, but decreases away from chickens.
Unseen Fangs: You can increase the chance for a target to be wounded by sharp objects that they can't see.
Fear Aura: Your presence creates a sense of terror, making believers panic at the slightest sound and increasing the chance of injury.
Nocebite: Deals damage directly to a target. Only works if the target expects to be attacked by something.
Darkness Affinity: Your influence increases in the dark, but weakens in the light.
Strife Sense: You passively gain a bit of knowledge about the future as pertains to creating and encouraging conflict.
Strife Aura: Your presence increases egoism and anger, increasing the likelihood of conflict.
Inflame: You may cause flames to increase in strength and increase the likelihood of objects catching fire.
The FoolI am a Trickster and my name is The Fool. A name that represents potential, but also recklessness.
I am bound to a puppet in the form of a jester, handmade with high detail and care by it's creator. One day, it's original owner abandoned it on a tree, after trying to climb it.
The puppet's strings tangled on the branches of the tree and weeks later, on a particularly windy day, a young boy found his mind lost on the jester's haunting dance to the rythm of the wind currents. He decided to take the jester doll home and keep it, convinced that it was possesed by a jolly spirit.
You sit on a shelf in the boy's room. He is fast asleep.
Spirit Evolution - You may choose one of the following abilities:
Unseen Movement: You may move your puppet body slightly under your own power, but only when not being watched.
Soul Gaze: You can read the thoughts of anyone who looks into your eyes. Works passively, and can be used actively to read more deeply.
Joint Lock: When being played with or jostled, you may choose to make particular joints stuck or unstuck to position yourself in a particular way.
Inception: You may plant a simple idea in the mind of a person who looks into your eyes.
Bound Form (Puppet): Your presence is currently bound to a particular puppet. This increases your influence, but renders you unable to move independently.
DraoiI Nymphwalk from my tree for the first time. The mere act of separating from my tree, even momentarily, seems to make me feel less powerful. Neverless I take a look in my immediate area to see what lies around me. I do my best not to wake up Aurelia.
You are in the heart of a forest. There are trees all around you, and a narrow dirt path nearby.
You follow Argent's footprints for a short distance. They seem to lengthen a few meters down the road, as if he began to run, and then suddenly vanish.
There is also a squirrel in your tree, and some crows sleeping nearby.
Then in addition to my previous action I shift the branches of my tree to create something like a bed of boughs for her, beneath her, for comfort.
She's already asleep, but she'll probably appreciate the gesture when she wakes up. Sleeping out in the forest is rarely comfortable.
You gain some mana from the encounter!
Spirit Rating:
Engagement - 1Kindness - 3Prudence - 4Your
Triproots ability has expanded into
Wood Shift!
You gain a new ability:
Danger Sense(There's not much for you to do right now. Next round will be morning, when Aurelia will leave for the village. You may now choose to follow her, to try and locate Argent's camp, to stay put, or anything else you might want to do.)
Calming Aura: Your presence creates a powerful sense of calm, reducing the likelihood of conflict in your presence.
Wood Shift: You may move roots and tree branches as if they are being manipulated by invisible hands. Only works on living wood still attached to a tree.
Danger Sense: You passively gain a bit of knowledge about the future as it pertains to danger.
Tree Affinity: Your influence increases among trees, but decreases away from trees.
Nymphwalk: You can separate from your home tree and move around, but your influence diminishes as you move away from your home tree.
No One: Play Money-Making Game?I'm thinking face reading.
Octavian should play a bit of Triad (not a whole lot, mind you, but enough to get maybe 5 or 10 gold back), but I think he should also do some talking with Sky and Rosa. Then, when that's all done, I want to get to Bruin. Companionship would be nice.
Octavian sits down at the table with Rhodes and the two crew members. Rhodes grins and laughs at the chance to win some more gold.
His demeanor doesn't last long, though. Your influence and new ability to read faces quickly gets the better of Rhodes, and Octavian wins back 4 gold within a few single-coin match rounds.
Rhodes frowns. He places a few coins in his bag, and puts it on the Reaper Scales. Octavian puts 4 coins in his bag and places them on the scales. The scales indicate a two-thirds tilt in Rhodes' favor for the round. Your guidance wins out, however, and Octavian takes the pool, earning 8 gold - 6 from Rhodes, and one from each of the other players.
As Rhodes becomes angrier, his face becomes even easier to read. You notice Sky looking on with concern, and Rosa with bemused interest.
Octavian has a 22 gold total. Rhodes grits his teeth. He reaches into his purse and places a whole lot of coins in his bag. Octavian isn't sure how many, but it's way more than any sane person would bet on a single round. Maybe in the area of 40. Even if Octavian bets his entire pool, he won't be able to gain more than a one-half advantage. The other players are still in the game, throwing the rounds with one coin each. Looks like they're banking their hopes on Octavian draining Rhodes dry.
You're pretty sure you can pull it off.
Mental Influence: When a believer wavers on the edge of a choice, you can directly influence their decisions.
Money Sense: You passively gain a bit of knowledge about the future as pertains to business deals.
Face Reader: You become very good at reading faces. It's hard to hide secrets from you.
Bound Form (Coin): Your presence is currently bound to a particular coin. This increases your influence, but renders you unable to move independently.
Knowledge Infusion: Rhodes has a rule against killing his employers. That rule does not extend to tables.
AkeraunUse my aura of calm to reassure Calico, and make sure man won't hurt her.
I will go for Confusion. I hope soulforge pops up later though, since it seems like it could be quite fun to be the kitten for a bit.
Calico crawls out and mews. She rubs up against the man's foot. He reaches down and pets her.
"Well, you're a cute little thing, aren't you?" he says.
"How did you get here? You seem a bit too small to be the ship's cat. Hold on a bit, I'll get you something." He reaches into his backpack and pulls out a piece of meat, which Calico eats with relish, then mews for more.
"Now, don't get too greedy," the man laughs.
"A good hunter shouldn't take too many meals from others, lest they forget their art." He walks up the stairs.
"Why don't you come topside? I'm sure the others would like to meet you."Calico starts to follow, hoping for more food, but then pauses warily. It seems her expert feline senses detect a change in the air...
A storm is coming.
Unless she is made more curious or confident, she will refuse to leave the lower deck.
The man turns around.
"Is something wrong?" Curiosity: You may make a believer curious about something.
Comforting Aura: Your presence brings a sense of safety, instilling confidence in believers.
Confusion: You cause a weak-willed target to become momentarily confused.
Badel and Nami: The Great AcademyThere is a short orientation ceremony from Headmaster Fintan. He is surprisingly tall and muscular for a white-haired, bearded old man.
"Welcome to the Great Academy! Now, I'm sure everyone is anxious to get to their classes, so I won't hold you for very long."
"First years will be directed to their dormitories and will proceed to their first class afterwards. Class times and locations will be posted on the board outside the Grand Auditorium."
"We're cracking down on familiars this year due to the...unfortunate incident I'm sure you all remember from last semester. All students with corporeal familiars larger than 3000 cubic centimeters in volume or 3 kilograms in weight must be approved by Professor Basil. ALL familiars, corporeal or non-corporeal, must be kept within 12 meters of their owners at all times." A large, brownish-green troll carrying a boy on his shoulders frowns.
"The forbidden section of the Library is
forbidden. I shouldn't need to say that, but there is
always a first-year student who thinks they know better and winds up turning themselves into something small and unpleasant." A few third-year students glance at a red-haired girl standing in the crowd, whose face turns bright red.
"As always, all dueling is forbidden except in the Colosseum, and then only under the observation of an approved Yellow or a member of the faculty. If you are caught fighting in the halls, you will get detention. If Professor Sun catches you fighting in the halls and decides to join in, you will get detention
after you get out of the infirmary."
"Fourth years, particularly in the Red, Yellow, and Magenta classes, should be aware that in the coming months there will be visiting representatives from Queen Iolaion herself seeking recruits for the Red Army."
"Well, I think that's everything. And remember, all of your actions have consequences. Do try to make the most of your time."
The Academy itself is a huge building. Luckily, there is a map right near the entrance, so it shouldn't be hard for students to find their way around.
There are three major wings of the school.
The East Wing houses the library and laboratories.
The West Wing has the cafeteria and gymnasium.
The South Wing has the dormitories. It also has a large, open courtyard and garden.
There are classrooms all around the Academy. Most of them are color-coded. There is a general pattern to these, with most of the Red classrooms concentrated in the West Wing, Green rooms in the South Wing, and Blue rooms in the East Wing. There are some white classrooms near the center as well.
BadelNot a lot to do now, Attention on Kevin's books and learning metirial.
Kevin takes a quick glance through his textbook. He skims the table of contents.
- An Introduction to Magic
- The Principle of Belief
- The Three Virtues
- The Colors of Mana
- The Six Schools
- Red
- Yellow
- Green
- Cyan
- Blue
- Magenta
- Talismans and Icons
- The Principle of Infusion
- Charms
- Channeling Icons and Artifacts
- Places of Power
- Introduction to Rituals
- An Introduction to Spirits
- The Ways of Wild Magic
- Classes of Spirits
- Basic Familiars and Summons
Kevin's first class is with Professor Iris in two hours - she'll probably start with one of the first chapters. There's still some time to do some reading, talk to one of the students, or do a bit of exploring. Esme said she was going to the courtyard. The quiet boy who was reading on the train is in the boys' dorms. Amy is nowhere to be found.
Attention: You can draw a believer's attention toward a particular location or item.
Butterfingers: The pen becomes slippery, causing it to fall out of someone's hands.
Danger Sense: You passively gain a bit of knowledge about the future as it pertains to danger.
NamiI am Nami, and I was brought into being by Abelia, a mute neophyte at the Great School of Magic.
Abelia spent most of the train journey worrying over the prospect of fitting in at a place where knowledge of sign language was likely to be a rarity. However, her fears were allayed by the making of a friend; a fellow student who seemed capable of correctly deducing her intentions most of the time. Did this surprising capability merely reflect a high level of sensitivity, or could there have been more to it than met the eye?
My form is that of a levitating translucent sphere from which numerous fine tendrils emerge before extending towards human minds in the vicinity. One such tendril is firmly rooted within the mind of my first believer, and will act as her access point to what shall eventually grow into a sophisticated telepathy network. The other tendrils are currently underdeveloped and will hence only allow for one-way transmission of the most primitive thoughts and emotions.
Abelia is done unpacking her books, and her first class is with Professor Iris in one hour. She lies on her bed in the girls' dorms, staring at the ceiling, remembering her ride here. Karyn seemed nice - very chatty, but Abelia had no problem with that. Unfortunately she seems to have run off to meet with Professor Basil after the orientation.
There is another student reading in the dormitory, a pale girl with purple eyes. However, she seems to be magically shielded against mental influence, positive or negative - you don't think you can create a link with her, although Abelia might try and communicate with her directly.
Outside the dormitory there is a boy riding a troll.
Mental Pull: You create a minor compulsion for a believer to look or move in a particular direction.
Spirit Link: You form a link with a new individual, allowing them to recieve basic thoughts and feelings from existing believers.
Shah: Lost in a BookNestled deep within the Great Academy of Chromatic Magic, a forgotten old spellbook binds the nascent demon Shaa. Forgotten, that is, until the day a minor laboratory accident turned a few students into dogs, excepting the one who pulled an old book out of a dusty cupboard, holding it vainly in front of himself like a shield, and somehow the effect was reversed...
You are sealed in a grimoire. You cannot remember the name of the mage who did it, or even, for that matter, your own true name. The boredom of ages rests heavily on your mind, and the binding ritual itself appears to have dulled your senses and memory. You cannot see at all, and your hearing is muffled, as if all sounds are passing through thick pages. One sound stands out in your memory, however - you can remember hearing it many times, when the voices grow too loud, and before they fade into silence. "Shah!" Was that your name? It doesn't matter. It might as well be.
You haven't heard this sound, or much of anything, for a very long time, however. You struggle to move, to open your vessel, or to feel the world around you. It doesn't work. It seems that your covers are bound together with heavy iron chains and your pages are sealed with a heavy lock. Someone
really doesn't want anyone reading your book.
You hope someone comes along soon.
Wait...you think you can hear something nearby. A faint scratching noise... This could be your chance for escape! You concentrate hard and see if you can recall one of your old powers...
Spirit Evolution - You may gain one of the following abilities:
Compulsion: You may give a mental command to a nearby target. Only very basic commands work, and only on the weak-minded. You gain a vague sense of the target's state, but your perception will be filtered through their mind.
Borrow Senses: You may see directly through the eyes of a nearby target.
Jostle Vessel: You may move the book slightly.
Unseal Page: You make it easier to open the book to a particular page.
Devour Spell: You can absorb a spell cast in your vicinity. It seems you can only use this (2) times, however.
Bound Form (Book): Your presence is currently bound to a particular book. This increases your influence, but renders you unable to move independently.