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[Naturegirl1999]

Spoiler: Reply to the reply to the reply (click to show/hide)

Make the Dive consume the item, as in a regular sacrifice.

I did think about this, but didn't suggest it because I don't like how that mechanically works.  Having the ability to sacrifice materials for advantage on the material role is logical, but mechanically would largely amount to trading fathoms for safety.  It's functionally ammo for safe diving, except the ammo is fancy rocks or gadgets. 

a) if the ammo is expensive enough, all this does is level the playing field between Diving and, say, shooting - a skill in which Nyw has effectively traded fathoms for skill points. (Personally, I dislike that mechanic as well, for the same reasons. logically, training to gain skill makes sense, but in game, it feels like an exploit or bug. But I'm not complaining, it doesn't hurt me at all.)

Gaining a benefit for diving in a relevant location has the positive aspect of making players search for appropriate locations (which could be cool, and create its own mini-adventure), and encourages players and enemies to use the local spheres in combat, rather than whatever uses their best spheres.  Gaining benefit for possessing a special and permanent relic has the positive aspect of encouraging adventuring for said relics, and the debatably-positive aspect of giving a different form of progression/specialization for divers.

Sacrificing magnets for Noth boons is comparatively uninteresting, because searching for sacrifice materials which will be used up after a couple dives isn't worth devoting much time to, and since single-use bonuses are always relatively cheap, it makes it pretty straightforward to just buy the stuff when you have an important dive.  There's ways around this, of course, but I think it's simpler and more interesting to just use attuned relics/artifacts.  That is a mechanic which can spark an adventure.

Both of these ideas- a location or item related to a Sphere giving bonuses for that Dive - have very similar problems with current mechanics. When in a Sphere except Akhmah, Using that Sphere in a Dive has a lot of dangerous side effects. it stands to reason that being in a location where that Sphere is more prominent would share that tendency toward dangerous effects. and with an object tied to a Sphere - they don't work as sacrifices to that Sphere It stands to reason that objects closely associated with a given Sphere would not provide any kind of bonus to that Dive.

I want to point out that I have not been paying much attention to diving throughout the game.  I like DIG because Nyw is a fun and simple beatstick of a character, and I've never been terribly interested in the magic system.  If material rolls really haven't mattered, then yeah, adding a system to modify them is just a waste of time--there's no good reason to stack more mechanics on a largely ignored feature.  On the other hand, if material rolls are a source of danger, and adding the mechanic would remove that, it's much more debatable.  If I were a diver, I would of course vote for the rule change that allows me to mitigate risk, because "mitigate risk" is like 90% of my playstyle in games.  But other people tend to like danger, so removing the last bit of risk from diving would... just make it boring for those people.

I don't think any new system should be added if the actual players who play divers don't think it should be changed.  Don't fix what ain't broke.

I agree with your conclusions in this section. I do get that you are enjoying Nyw as an eccentric and simple character, and that Diving isn't something you care much about, except when it goes ugly. I also understand and appreciate that PW asked you to review the mechanic because you are good at spotting exploits and he wants to avoid stuff like the runaway mana issue in Cabal.

Spoiler: addendum. A situation that might change the discussion a bit (click to show/hide)

I just realized that there is one aspect of Diving that is generally left untouched and might benefit from one or more of the suggestions we've ben discussing: multimaterial Dives. As is, we tend to only use one of the material spheres in our Dives because the risk of failure compounds pretty significantly with multiple materials. So, having something like a relic of junctions or something would be cool to make it more accessible to use Noth And Telzach together, or something.

secondary issue, only tangentially related: For me, I just think I'd prefer the risk of failure, but honestly, Diving has a pretty steep learning curve as is and has been restricted in practical use to a few veteran players as a result. I thikn that's fine for teh setting though. But perhaps there could be a way to allow beginners to do lesser Dives, like restricting the number of Nerve Dives or Spheres a player can visit based on Diving Skill or something.
Example:
0 skill, 1 material, path no longer than 2,
1 skill, 2 material, path no longer than 4,
2 skill, 4 material, path no longer than 6,
3 skill, 7 material, path no longer than 9,

As a Diver, I like the skill amount limiting the lengths of paths, I think it makes sense, that longer paths (more complex dives) would require more training

[piecewise]

Drink worm's blood to restore Nerve, then purchase Silent Night (cost 5) and worms' blood (cost 3)
Then sit in on the call with Leon's disciple.
Turn 2 of Silent Night effect.

Adam, Alex, Kara. I have enchanted the Explosive that Alex has prepped for use in my quest. I request that our next location is back to the Cist, or near enough that I can use the crawler to proceed. I believe I have everything necessary to complete the task set before me, though a device to carry the explosive would be helpful. Any who share the goal of eliminating this threat to humanity are welcome to join me in this task, thoug hI recommend that our less ... stable recruits be carefully supervised during the conflict.

Are there any significant tasks that prevent us from departing immediately?

Spoiler: Not so much a character, but a mistake (click to show/hide)

Name: AsHul
Description:Former human. Awful, ugly, indifferent.
Goal:To find God
 
Stats
Str:10  Dex:10  Spe:10  End:12  Awa:13  Cun:13  Kno:12  Ner:16 (-2)

Skills (+1 skillpoint from levelup)
3 Diving
2 Animal Handling
1 Survival
3 Weapon skill: Guitar

Inventory
Relic Fragment
Black Book (Genuine)
Black Book (copy, strata 1,2,4)
1 Silent Night
4 Worm Blood
100 ft of rope
1 knife (cut/pierce 2)
2 Occult Junks (1 a skull currently holding Lighter Water)
some kind of lightning tree from the plane of elemental forces
Song Book (Treasure, Vomit, Dissociate, Shred) (Shape Steel: very hard to play. untitled song that makes people feel well but fall asleep and have a seizure)
neodymium collar
1 Bone-fretted haunted electric guitar
1 mundane acoustic guitar with wave patterns in abalone and turquoise
1 Crystalline Clate Guitar
156  Fathoms

Ok
Ok
Ok.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 Name:Rhea Alcove
Description: A female human with blonde hear. She holds a Hooked Cleaver in her right hand and wears a Mail Shirt for protection. She wears a denim shirt and denim jeans, along with tennis shoes.
Goal: To explore and learn as much as she can

Stats:
Str:11
Dex:10
Spe:10
End:10
Awa:11
Cun:12
Kno:11
Ner:12

Skills:
Weapon Skill(Cleaver): 1
Diving: 1
Unarmed: 1
Persuasion: 1
Defense Skill(Mail Armor): 1
Survival: 1
Biological: 1
Caving: 1
Navigation: 1
Animal Handling: 1
Geology: 1

Inventory:
200 Fathoms
Free Clothing
Worm Blood x1
Organic/Bio Junk x6
Hooked Cleaver
Mail Shirt
Relic Fragment
Crystal Egg Creature

Go to stores and look for anything that would assist with climbing, like ropes, grappling hooks, etc.

They have a grappling hook for 10 fathoms.

Ask Clate if he knows anything about if Undertow is older than Kirk or the relationship between Corven and Shluck. For that matter, do I know any stories about Corven and Shluck? Legends or sayings and such?

Could I pay someone to dive to make me a sort of pokeball or Ghostbusters trap? I'm thinking of a single use bazooka-like device that would teleport whatever object I'm aiming at (or better yet a ball-shaped chunk of space from where I'm aiming at) inside it and then put it in stasis via Neth. Would probably have to be two dives, one for the teleportation and one for the stasis. The fact that it teleports things would really help me if I want to steal something dangerous without being seen. Maybe add some armor as well, just so that it won't break and release the potentially dangerous thing.

Also inquire on the price of armored boxes to contain dangerous things. You know, artifact containers.

Spoiler: "Kara" the Corven (click to show/hide)

Name: "Kara" is what most humans call her, though the closest pronunciation would be  Kr'ra-Kax
Race: Corven (advantage for climb, disadvantage for falls)
Appearance: She is a crow-like Corven with matte-black feathers. A bit short. Constantly moves her head around, examining her surroundings. Moves her tail up and down whenever she's excited.
Age: Adult, but just barely
Goal: Wants to find artifacts and experiences that she can use to make an (under)world-famous museum. Wants to prove herself to her mother and piss off her brother with her success (both financially and socially).

Status
Sacrificed left arm to reverse time (eaten by giant Shluck-like thing). Bandaged.

Stats
Str:11
Dex:13 
Spe:13 
End: 10
Awa:12
Cun:11 
Kno:12
Ner:12

Skills
Rifle: 1
Medical: 1
Translate: 2
Acrobatics: 1
Caving: 1
Machine Control: 1
Stealth: 1
Geology: 1
Archeology: 2
Navigation: 1

Inventory
Heavy Crystal Mirror Armour Shroud
Golden pin (in forearm)
Crystal Friend (with riding harness + Obedience Rod)
Radio
5 fathoms (1% royalty for flame)
Ethral Rifle (scope+bipod) (rifle 3, pierce 3) 6/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 6/7
Crystal Weapon
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Shiny interconnected colorful gems
Grappling Hook + Ethral Silk rope 200 ft
1 Dynamo Lantern (Light 3)
1 Knife (Cut/Pierce 2)
2 Slave Traps
Simple Clothes (with hood)
Cot
Book (Adventures of Pilgrim)
Deck of Cards
Notes on insect saddle construction
Ancient Bird-people idols
Ancient Mole-jewels depicting unknown beast
Kara's Diary

In Storage
15 chemical junk
22 mechanical junk
Crystal Tablets (diary about All-Eater and Great Destroyer, inventory, obedience rod instructions, construct assembly instructions)
Church Documents (document ownership and events, and recommend favorable treatment)
Metal Card with the address of the Gilded Crow (corven Gangsters of Goldshore)
Mechanical Arm (not installed)
Bomb collar (unlocked)
All bomb collar remotes
A large number of shiny gold-like messenger path rocks

No response from Clate so far.  You know the Corven have worked as mercs for the Shluck for a long time, but then again so have the Moles. The shluck have a lot of money and not a lot of physical ability so it only makes sense. You aren't aware of any deep connection between the two, but when you consider the history of the Corven, the Shluck do always seem to feature somewhat prominently. They are kind of always there....Hmm.

Possible to pay someone for that, though they might have further questions. The church sells diving services so they're a good place to start. Having the physical objects already made instead of summoning them from nowhere might make the dive and costs easier to bear.

How big? Like shoe box or crate or something in between?

That's 49 rolls to the third 1, which maxes out Nyw's guard/ethral rifle skill.  I'll take that happily!  As for giving shotguns -2 on to-hit rolls with shotshells, that seems perfectly fair.  It probably won't affect Nyw, because if he's in shotgun range he's probably close enough to murakumo range, but it does give others a reason to use shotguns sometimes.

About the "HEY SY" thing:

Spoiler: On the topic of giving material rolls advantage if you're in a place related to the sphere (click to show/hide)

I very much like the idea, but as described I think it could be problematic.  The material spheres are not made equal; Balarim (technology) and Akhmah (mundane materials) would be super easy to get advantage on.  For tech, just do it in the bore, a giant technological hulk, and for mundane mats, virtually anywhere underground would work, since natural stone is everywhere.  On the other side of the coin Noth (physics) and Yengenze (mind) sound super difficult to get advantage on, ever.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, messing with physics itself does sound like it'd be harder than messing with some dumb rocks, but it does mean the system might strongly encourage using certain spheres over others.

If you go this route, advantage should definitely only come from being in a place, not just having relevant items.  Someone shouldn't be able to get permanent Noth advantage by spending 100 fathoms on magnets which they drop in their backpack.

I think if it's important to have a method of making material rolls easier, a cleaner method would be to tie it to relics.  Allow people to go adventuring in spheres for minor artifacts that give slight bonuses to certain material rolls when in your inventory.  Or maybe give the various relic fragments different "flavors", so one relic fragment benefits material rolls for Noth, while another benefits Akhmah.  Maaaybe add tiers of relic fragments, so commonplace crappy ones give -1 to their favoured sphere(s?), while a really epic one that an adventure might center around gives advantage to a single sphere.

A potential problem with that idea is that it'd somewhat encourage divers to collect all sorts of fragments to benefit all the spheres they like, possibly acting as something of a money gate/money sink for dives to certain spheres.  "Oh, we don't want to dive to Yengenze until we can get 1000 fathoms together to buy a -3 Yengenze fragment."  It would also allow basically permanent upgrades to diving ability, since if you obtain a relic which grants advantage to Telazch rolls, you will then always get advantage on fleshwarping dive material rolls, regardless of the circumstances.

Neither is necessarily negative; allowing players to progress in power by spending money is a common mechanic, as is rewarding having a larger "arsenal" of equipment, but both would noticably change how divers are played.  I think.


Edit: Another idea I had, while thinking about this.  Something nice about the "advantage when in a relevant place" mechanic is that it encourages doing dives that are aligned to the local spheres, rather than just falling back on your best stat.  Making relic fragments give bonuses to their own spheres does the exact opposite, since it causes there to be an even wider gulf between your best spheres and your secondary ones.

To make diving in places more interesting, you could have some kind of randomization mechanic on which sphere an area is tied to.  Say, when someone wants to get advantage on material checks, they first have to spend an action "attuning" to the local spheres.  Then you make a list of the kinds of things that are around, and roll a die to select one or two.  Those chosen spheres are the local dominant spheres during the encounter, and grant advantage on their material rolls.  It's far from perfect, Akhmah would still be very common while Konis (weather) would be pretty rare, but it would still give some variety in what spheres are encouraged.  Even cooler, it'd act as a kind of warning on what enemy divers are likely to try, since they would also usually choose to use advantaged spheres.

Towards the "hey can I speak with the person of mass destruction before we kill him" convo: "Perhaps a dive could enable Alex to speak with the Warrior, without ever damaging the being's containment?  I agree with Ashul, if the security of the cyst must be compromised to allow communication, then communication is a foolhardy and virtually suicidal plan.  I would only support it if risk to the rest of the crew, and our world at large, can be avoided."

Spoiler: The Unpronounceable Undead (click to show/hide)

Name: Nyw'geuq Otin Sunam; calls himself "The Lords' Child"
Description:

((TWO murakumo!  FINALLY, hahahaha!))
Goal: Inscrutable, which is code for "Talks like this.".

Stats:
Str: 15 
Dex: 9
Spe:11
End:14
Awa:14
Cun: 10
Kno: 8
Ner: 13

Skills: (One unspent skillpoint)
Guard Rifle: +3
Unarmed: +1
Defense Skill: +3 (Full Plate)
Vehicle Skill: +1
Caving: +1
Navigation: +1
Murakumo: +2 (+1/3)


Inventory:
Full Plate Armor [Protective 4]
Ornamental Mask of the Child

Extremely crude harness, holding all Nyw's weapons:
Crystal Murakumo [Cut 6, Pierce 3]
----Enchanted to remove fragility.
Crystal Murakumo [Cut 6, Pierce 3]
----Enchanted to remove fragility.
Giant Guardian Hatchet [Chop 4, ]
Three knives [Cut 2, Pierce 2]
Tungsten Toothpick [Pierce 5] (10/10)
Slave Trap
Nine smoke bombs
Five flashbangs
Tunnel Clearer shotgun [5/5 shotshells] [shotgun 3] [Pierce 3] (5 spare shotshells) (3 spare slugs) (-2 on to-hit rolls)
Guard rifle [Pierce 2] (10/10) (210 spare rounds)
Pistol [Pierce 1] (?/?)

300' of silk rope
2x Silent Night
2x Black Flame
2x Cave Spider Venom
30x Path markers
10x Injectible tranquilizer.

77 fathoms.

Followers:
Gus (Young human with minimal training.  Healthy.)
--Equipped with a small iron melee weapon [Cut 3, Pierce 3] and a Black Flame [Cutting 3]
--Equipped with a low caliber ethral rifle.  [Pierce 2] (10/10), 50 spare bullets
--Armored with a mail shirt [Protect 3], and has two smoke bombs.
Baxter (Young human with minimal training.  Healthy.)
--Equipped with a small iron melee weapon [Cut 3, Pierce 3] and a Black Flame [Cutting 3]
--Equipped with a low caliber ethral rifle.  [Pierce 2] (10/10), 50 spare bullets
--Armored with a mail shirt [Protect 3], and has two smoke bombs.

Bore NPC "recruits":
--Five moths
--One lizard dude
--Two humans

Okie Dokie.

I see your point about how it would make some spheres a lot easier to get to. The attuning the spheres thing works but I don't like forcing them to spend a turn on it if only because of how slowly I update. Howabout instead we give bonuses if you're near something related to the dive. So if you want to do something with machinery, you'd need machinery instead of just "Technology". It would also let you avoid being screwed when you were doing something related to a more abstract thing like physics. Because you could just find an area that is somehow related to whatever the nature of the dive is, rather than a "Physics" area. Like if you wanted to make something float, you could go out on a pond with some floating stuff and get the bonus by connection. Seem like an idea?

"Yeah it's about time that we returned to the cist. We've prepared long enough and are more than ready to resolve the situation there. I can also build a cart for the bomb while we're travelling to the cist. Whatever is carrying the bomb won't survive the blast anyway, so there's no point in throwing away a crystal construct when using a simple cart achieves the same thing."

Create a second 50lbs bomb with a regular fuse. The first one required 5 chemical and 15 structural junk, for a cost of 50 fathoms.
Once the bomb has been created, give it to Polyantha along with 100 fathoms.

Also buy 20 structural, mechanical, electrical and chemical junk for 320 fathoms total.

Spoiler: Alex Wells (click to show/hide)

Name: Alex Wells
Description: A middle aged man standing 5'7" feet tall. He has short brown hair and an unkempt beard.
Goal: Exploring the depths and collecting its wealth.
Status: Fine.
Stats:
Str: 12
Dex: 11
Spe: 12
End: 12
Awa: 12
Cun: 13
Kno: 12
Ner: 12
Skills:
Explosives 2
Mechanical 1
Survival 1
Caving 1
Chemical 2
Geology 1
Persuasion 2
Armorsmith 1
Inventory:
Weapons:
Bladed Shovel (Cut 3)
Black Flame (Cut 3)
Rifle (Pierce 2) 3/10
4 TNT (explosive 4)


Armor and Clothes:
Silk shirt
Gas mask

Tools:
Dynamo Lantern
Field Lighter
Grappling Hook

Tinkering:
2 lenses
Crystal Golem (flat disc and hooks)
Crystal box of golem limbs
A severed leg

Valuables:
1003 Fathoms
5 ancient human books
34 additional ancient human books.
Cognition magazine from the archive.
20 copied ancient dictionary pages

Agreements:
Moon blade and 500 fathoms held as collateral by the Ethral Archive in Anvil until they're presented a being from the surface.

[8] Done.

You get a black lacquer box with a silver nameplate that reads "Peculiar Rose".  Inside is what appears to be a sculpture of a very thorny rose and stem. The stem is made of some kind of silvery metal, the rose of some kind of polished red stone.

Ok.

I think it would be fine, since its targeting something there was no real specific boost to yet. I dunno. HEY SY! what do you think?

Pending the result of this, can we perhaps do that call with Leon's disciple? If yes, start that now please. Be sure to inform Ashul in case he wants to sit in for it.

Also, remember that crystal weapon/beaker artifact I have? Take a look at it with wizard eyes, and try to figure out how one should use/activate it. Ask Clate if I can't figure it out.

Well, we can assume you know about their use, ie to cause a localized EN effect. Other than that probably nothing honestly.

So if the idea hinges on either knowing/realizing that Clate's crystal babies (or creatures like these) can use black knives, I could not play around with that idea, correct? Because you told me before that they have to be used 'with intent', so I know that IC'ly still, but I dunno if Adam would ever realize that crystal babies of limited sentience can still fulfill this intent clause if he hadn't seen it happen.

Adam, Alex, Kara. I have enchanted the Explosive that Alex has prepped for use in my quest. I request that our next location is back to the Cist, or near enough that I can use the crawler to proceed. I believe I have everything necessary to complete the task set before me, though a device to carry the explosive would be helpful. Any who share the goal of eliminating this threat to humanity are welcome to join me in this task, thoug hI recommend that our less ... stable recruits be carefully supervised during the conflict.
Are there any significant tasks that prevent us from departing immediately?

"I will, of course, assist you in this holy purge any way I can. Are you truly sure we are ready, though? Perhaps I can still try to figure out how to use the crystal weapon I found, just to have a backup.

I still have a call to make with Leon's disciple, but other than that there is nothing else so urgent that it couldn't wait. As for a method to carry the bomb, we could probably construct something to do so, or perhaps brother Clate could have one of his crystal servants perform that task? Assuming he is willing to assist us again in our new attempt of course."

Spoiler: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza (click to show/hide)

Name: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza
Description: A young man of slightly pale complexion and eternal 9 o’clock shadow, he was raised in a small village. While the village priest and passing mystics droned with endless sermons of the Church and their teachings, what had always captivated young Adam’s attention more were the stories of his Granny.
Old stories of the world as it once was, before people were forced to flee to the caves and crannies of this damp hell. Of warm days where pleasant green plants tickled your feet as you walked through them and a cool breeze blew through your hair. Where food was plentiful, nature was benign and endless vistas reached as far as they eye could see.
Adam was nominally a card-carrying member of the church, though he mostly did it for the connections and perks that brought. They were powerful and had ancient lore, all things he would need to fulfill his true heart’s desire: to return to the surface, vanquish the madness that tainted their homeland and reconquer paradise.
After his encounter with a Word of God, the edges of his vision are flickering with black flame and his skin is extremely pale with what appear to be black veins instead of the normal blue ones. It also forced him to reevaluate his views on the cthonic church and god.
Goal: Plunge the secrets of the depths below to find an answer to the horrors above.
Stats
Str: 11
Dex: 11
Spe: 13
End: 12
Awa: 12
Cun: 11
Kno: 10
Ner: 14 
Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Flammenvision!
Inventory

Soldier's chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, currently worn long to hide the black veins
Rubber Suit

1 ethral rifle [7 rounds]  (pierce 3)
5x black flame
2x smoke bomb
1 flashbang

3 Silent Night
4 worm blood

1 minor artifact
1 beaker artifact (found in crystal ruins) => in locker
1 crystal construct

Transport mission papers
1 black book copy
1 black book
1 book "Artifacts of Faith"
1 empyrean city map
1 field lighter
1 radio
portal knives design
495 fathoms
4 unspent skillpoints
copy of cult papers
cult holy book
scribbled notes with faces of cult conspirators
lenses of telescope that can look through solid matter
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest

- 1 x portal knife, not yet enchanted
- 1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through)
- 2 x sacrifices for +3

1 x portal knife, enchanted
1 x Custom collapsible doorway, enchanted (Warning: portal's end point isn't very well anchored to the physical object. There's some drift involved (4,5 meter), so you will come out in the general area, but maybe not spot on.)

[8]
That beaker contains a highly dangerous substance that destroys organic life. Contact based.

No...since you'd have no memory of them using it. Or existing. Theoretically you could figure this out with tests but you have to think of ways to get around the weirdness of EN erasing reality to "remember" it.

 And yes, you can start the call now.

[Naturegirl1999]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name:Rhea Alcove
Description: A female human with blonde hear. She holds a Hooked Cleaver in her right hand and wears a Mail Shirt for protection. She wears a denim shirt and denim jeans, along with tennis shoes.
Goal: To explore and learn as much as she can

Stats:
Str:11
Dex:10
Spe:10
End:10
Awa:11
Cun:12
Kno:11
Ner:12

Skills:
Weapon Skill(Cleaver): 1
Diving: 1
Unarmed: 1
Persuasion: 1
Defense Skill(Mail Armor): 1
Survival: 1
Biological: 1
Caving: 1
Navigation: 1
Animal Handling: 1
Geology: 1

Inventory:
190 Fathoms
Free Clothing
Worm Blood x1
Organic/Bio Junk x6
Hooked Cleaver
Mail Shirt
Relic Fragment
Crystal Egg Creature
Grappling Hook

Buy Grappling Hook, ask around to find out if anyone in town knows about crystal conduits or possible locations of them
((I’ve added the grappling hook to inventory and subtracted 10 fathoms, I know Clate would know about crystal conduits, but maybe some people in town are historians or something and might also know some things about them as well))

[Ozarck]

placeholder action so I don't forget to edit my inventory. And .... edited

Spoiler: Not so much a character, but a mistake (click to show/hide)

Name: AsHul
Description:Former human. Awful, ugly, indifferent.
Goal:To find God
 
Stats
Str:10  Dex:10  Spe:10  End:12  Awa:13  Cun:13  Kno:12  Ner:16

Skills (+1 skillpoint from levelup)
3 Diving
2 Animal Handling
1 Survival
3 Weapon skill: Guitar

Inventory
Relic Fragment
Black Book (Genuine)
Black Book (copy, strata 1,2,4)
2 Silent Night
4 Worm Blood
100 ft of rope
1 knife (cut/pierce 2)
2 Occult Junks (1 a skull currently holding Lighter Water)
some kind of lightning tree from the plane of elemental forces
Song Book (Treasure, Vomit, Dissociate, Shred) (Shape Steel: very hard to play. untitled song that makes people feel well but fall asleep and have a seizure)
neodymium collar
1 Bone-fretted haunted electric guitar
1 mundane acoustic guitar with wave patterns in abalone and turquoise
1 Crystalline Clate Guitar
148  Fathoms

[Radio Controlled]

That beaker contains a highly dangerous substance that destroys organic life. Contact based.

And how is it supposed to be deployed/used? just smash the beaker into what you wanna see dead or what?

No...since you'd have no memory of them using it. Or existing. Theoretically you could figure this out with tests but you have to think of ways to get around the weirdness of EN erasing reality to "remember" it.

Is Adam aware of the fact that people who use black flames tend to lose the appendage that held it?

And yes, you can start the call now.

Let's do so then. Start by introducing ourselves, and explaining how we normally work with Leon but he's busy now so that's difficult. Explain that we have information that's very important for the church, but that I would like a secure line/personal meeting to talk over to ensure the info doesn't fall into the wrong hands. 

Spoiler: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza (click to show/hide)

Name: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza
Description: A young man of slightly pale complexion and eternal 9 o’clock shadow, he was raised in a small village. While the village priest and passing mystics droned with endless sermons of the Church and their teachings, what had always captivated young Adam’s attention more were the stories of his Granny.
Old stories of the world as it once was, before people were forced to flee to the caves and crannies of this damp hell. Of warm days where pleasant green plants tickled your feet as you walked through them and a cool breeze blew through your hair. Where food was plentiful, nature was benign and endless vistas reached as far as they eye could see.
Adam was nominally a card-carrying member of the church, though he mostly did it for the connections and perks that brought. They were powerful and had ancient lore, all things he would need to fulfill his true heart’s desire: to return to the surface, vanquish the madness that tainted their homeland and reconquer paradise.
After his encounter with a Word of God, the edges of his vision are flickering with black flame and his skin is extremely pale with what appear to be black veins instead of the normal blue ones. It also forced him to reevaluate his views on the cthonic church and god.
Goal: Plunge the secrets of the depths below to find an answer to the horrors above.
Stats
Str: 11
Dex: 11
Spe: 13
End: 12
Awa: 12
Cun: 11
Kno: 10
Ner: 14 
Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Flammenvision!
Inventory

Soldier's chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, currently worn long to hide the black veins
Rubber Suit

1 ethral rifle [7 rounds]  (pierce 3)
5x black flame
2x smoke bomb
1 flashbang

3 Silent Night
4 worm blood

1 minor artifact
1 beaker artifact (found in crystal ruins) => in locker
1 crystal construct

Transport mission papers
1 black book copy
1 black book
1 book "Artifacts of Faith"
1 empyrean city map
1 field lighter
1 radio
portal knives design
495 fathoms
4 unspent skillpoints
copy of cult papers
cult holy book
scribbled notes with faces of cult conspirators
lenses of telescope that can look through solid matter
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest

- 1 x portal knife, not yet enchanted
- 1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through)
- 2 x sacrifices for +3

1 x portal knife, enchanted
1 x Custom collapsible doorway, enchanted (Warning: portal's end point isn't very well anchored to the physical object. There's some drift involved (4,5 meter), so you will come out in the general area, but maybe not spot on.)

[Ozarck]

((Don't forget that AsHul and Adam are Wanted by factions within the Church for our 'special gifts.'))

[Hotfire90]

Proceed to read the copy of the cognition magazine I received from the archive. Keep the date of publication in mind, it'll be useful as a point of reference.

Spoiler: Alex Wells (click to show/hide)

Name: Alex Wells
Description: A middle aged man standing 5'7" feet tall. He has short brown hair and an unkempt beard.
Goal: Exploring the depths and collecting its wealth.
Status: Fine.
Stats:
Str: 12
Dex: 11
Spe: 12
End: 12
Awa: 12
Cun: 13
Kno: 12
Ner: 12
Skills:
Explosives 2
Mechanical 1
Survival 1
Caving 1
Chemical 2
Geology 1
Persuasion 2
Armorsmith 1
Inventory:
Weapons:
Bladed Shovel (Cut 3)
Black Flame (Cut 3)
Rifle (Pierce 2) 3/10
4 TNT (explosive 4)


Armor and Clothes:
Silk shirt
Gas mask

Tools:
Dynamo Lantern
Field Lighter
Grappling Hook

Tinkering:
2 lenses
Crystal Golem (flat disc and hooks)
Crystal box of golem limbs
A severed leg
20 structural junk
20 mechanical junk
20 electrical junk
20 chemical junk

Valuables:
533 Fathoms
5 ancient human books
34 additional ancient human books.
Cognition Magazine volumes 475+
20 copied ancient dictionary pages
Peculiar Rose

Agreements:
Moon blade and 500 fathoms held as collateral by the Ethral Archive in Anvil until they're presented a being from the surface.

[Parisbre56]

How much to buy a head-sized containment box and a stick with cross hairs and a trigger?
Then how much to enchant the the trigger with one-time a teleport-what-I'm-aiming-at-in-the-box enchantment?
And how much for a one-time "put what's in the box in stasis" enchantment?
I'm thinking that way it could also be useful for interrogations. Just grab someone's head and then hand it to the church so they can use diving to read their mind.

Spoiler: "Kara" the Corven (click to show/hide)

Name: "Kara" is what most humans call her, though the closest pronunciation would be  Kr'ra-Kax
Race: Corven (advantage for climb, disadvantage for falls)
Appearance: She is a crow-like Corven with matte-black feathers. A bit short. Constantly moves her head around, examining her surroundings. Moves her tail up and down whenever she's excited.
Age: Adult, but just barely
Goal: Wants to find artifacts and experiences that she can use to make an (under)world-famous museum. Wants to prove herself to her mother and piss off her brother with her success (both financially and socially).

Status
Sacrificed left arm to reverse time (eaten by giant Shluck-like thing). Bandaged.

Stats
Str:11
Dex:13 
Spe:13 
End: 10
Awa:12
Cun:11 
Kno:12
Ner:12

Skills
Rifle: 1
Medical: 1
Translate: 2
Acrobatics: 1
Caving: 1
Machine Control: 1
Stealth: 1
Geology: 1
Archeology: 2
Navigation: 1

Inventory
Heavy Crystal Mirror Armour Shroud
Golden pin (in forearm)
Crystal Friend (with riding harness + Obedience Rod)
Radio
5 fathoms (1% royalty for flame)
Ethral Rifle (scope+bipod) (rifle 3, pierce 3) 6/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 6/7
Crystal Weapon
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Shiny interconnected colorful gems
Grappling Hook + Ethral Silk rope 200 ft
1 Dynamo Lantern (Light 3)
1 Knife (Cut/Pierce 2)
2 Slave Traps
Simple Clothes (with hood)
Cot
Book (Adventures of Pilgrim)
Deck of Cards
Notes on insect saddle construction
Ancient Bird-people idols
Ancient Mole-jewels depicting unknown beast
Kara's Diary

In Storage
15 chemical junk
22 mechanical junk
Crystal Tablets (diary about All-Eater and Great Destroyer, inventory, obedience rod instructions, construct assembly instructions)
Church Documents (document ownership and events, and recommend favorable treatment)
Metal Card with the address of the Gilded Crow (corven Gangsters of Goldshore)
Mechanical Arm (not installed)
Bomb collar (unlocked)
All bomb collar remotes
A large number of shiny gold-like messenger path rocks

[syvarris]

I see your point about how it would make some spheres a lot easier to get to. The attuning the spheres thing works but I don't like forcing them to spend a turn on it if only because of how slowly I update. Howabout instead we give bonuses if you're near something related to the dive. So if you want to do something with machinery, you'd need machinery instead of just "Technology". It would also let you avoid being screwed when you were doing something related to a more abstract thing like physics. Because you could just find an area that is somehow related to whatever the nature of the dive is, rather than a "Physics" area. Like if you wanted to make something float, you could go out on a pond with some floating stuff and get the bonus by connection. Seem like an idea?

I have no action I want to engage in.  Response:

Spoiler: In here (click to show/hide)

This seems fine.  The only obvious "problem" I see is that it means any kind of environment-affecting dive is automatically advantaged.  If you make a dive to make a wall of stone, while in a tunnel, you get advantage because you're affecting stone while surrounded by stone.  Dive to make some change to a part of the bore, while inside the bore, you're advantaged because you're affecting bore and surrounded by bore.  Etc.

This could be seen as a benefit, though.  It functionally means dives which affect the things immediately surrounding you are easier than those which pull something from nothing, which makes sense.  Plus, it encourages being creative and using your environment, possibly in really interesting ways--throwing boudlers around because you're in a cave is one thing, but pushing people off a cliff so you can get an advantage on a dive related to falling would be quite another, and is really cool.

I would like to point out, however, that I don't think changing the system is necessary.  Ozarck pointed out that material rolls are rarely significant, and act as an unavoidable risk that makes frivolous diving dangerous.  Implementing a mechanic to make material rolls easier could be negative in itself, and aside from Radio idly asking about it, there doesn't seem to be much interest in a mechanics change anyway.  Why fix a mechanic that players don't feel is broken?

[Ozarck]

((maybe you have to be near something related to the Dive that isn't involved in the Dive. Something other than what you are actually manipulating needs to be the source of the bonus))

[Pancaek]

Just stick with Adam for now, (acting) like the good little golem/diveconstruct that I totally am.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  10
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  9
Kno:  14
Ner:  15

Skills
Natural +3 Caving
Natural +3 Geology
Natural Mute
Natural No clothing
Natural Stonesenses
Natural Stoneshaping

Unarmed: +2
Weapon skill: Stone Blade +2
Stealth: +1
Archeology: +2
Weaponsmith: +2
Navigation: +1
Armorsmith: +1
Chemical: +1
Crystal Biology: +1

Inventory
Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
TNT x5
Dynamo lantern
Field lighter
Path markers x10
"Muggy"(skull mug scrimshawed with "can we fix it?" on the side, "No, it's fucked." on the bottom. Has trigger on the inside of the spine-handle that, when squeezed, caused the mandible to open and close)
100ft silk rope
6 Octahedrons - supposedly replicate materials
1 container of Pseudomagnetic mortar
labradorite/Obedience rod (on loan to Kara)
Silver ethral pendant: small silver pendant in the shape of a compound eye wreathed in white fire
Ethral archive promissory note




1243 Fathoms


Crystal Babies
1. Big Chonk Ramiel, about the size of a car.
2. Pryamid with stumpy limbs
3. Crystal snake. hiss. 18 inches long.
4. snake golem. Its larger than the original by several times and rougher, sort of like a squirming line of uncut gemstones, each the size of a human fist.
5. Crystal Praying Mantis (Can fire lazer, Cut 4 Claws)

Warehouse/bore storage:
Bomb Collar
Slate box
Spool of thermoreactive wire.
Acoustic guitar (Metal + guardbone, totally mundane.)
Rifle (pierce2, 6/10 magazine)
Small Knife from crystal barrel
Small bowl from crystal barrel
roll of very thin and flexible stone
small cube of the extremely dense material
sharp pyramid shaped wedge thing
3 structural junk
30 chemical junk
1 gold ingot

[piecewise]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name:Rhea Alcove
Description: A female human with blonde hear. She holds a Hooked Cleaver in her right hand and wears a Mail Shirt for protection. She wears a denim shirt and denim jeans, along with tennis shoes.
Goal: To explore and learn as much as she can

Stats:
Str:11
Dex:10
Spe:10
End:10
Awa:11
Cun:12
Kno:11
Ner:12

Skills:
Weapon Skill(Cleaver): 1
Diving: 1
Unarmed: 1
Persuasion: 1
Defense Skill(Mail Armor): 1
Survival: 1
Biological: 1
Caving: 1
Navigation: 1
Animal Handling: 1
Geology: 1

Inventory:
190 Fathoms
Free Clothing
Worm Blood x1
Organic/Bio Junk x6
Hooked Cleaver
Mail Shirt
Relic Fragment
Crystal Egg Creature
Grappling Hook

Buy Grappling Hook, ask around to find out if anyone in town knows about crystal conduits or possible locations of them
((I’ve added the grappling hook to inventory and subtracted 10 fathoms, I know Clate would know about crystal conduits, but maybe some people in town are historians or something and might also know some things about them as well))

[20]
As it turns out no one in this entire city knows anything about that. Nothing at all.

Proceed to read the copy of the cognition magazine I received from the archive. Keep the date of publication in mind, it'll be useful as a point of reference.

Spoiler: Alex Wells (click to show/hide)

Name: Alex Wells
Description: A middle aged man standing 5'7" feet tall. He has short brown hair and an unkempt beard.
Goal: Exploring the depths and collecting its wealth.
Status: Fine.
Stats:
Str: 12
Dex: 11
Spe: 12
End: 12
Awa: 12
Cun: 13
Kno: 12
Ner: 12
Skills:
Explosives 2
Mechanical 1
Survival 1
Caving 1
Chemical 2
Geology 1
Persuasion 2
Armorsmith 1
Inventory:
Weapons:
Bladed Shovel (Cut 3)
Black Flame (Cut 3)
Rifle (Pierce 2) 3/10
4 TNT (explosive 4)


Armor and Clothes:
Silk shirt
Gas mask

Tools:
Dynamo Lantern
Field Lighter
Grappling Hook

Tinkering:
2 lenses
Crystal Golem (flat disc and hooks)
Crystal box of golem limbs
A severed leg
20 structural junk
20 mechanical junk
20 electrical junk
20 chemical junk

Valuables:
533 Fathoms
5 ancient human books
34 additional ancient human books.
Cognition Magazine volumes 475+
20 copied ancient dictionary pages
Peculiar Rose

Agreements:
Moon blade and 500 fathoms held as collateral by the Ethral Archive in Anvil until they're presented a being from the surface.

[12] You read the articles. There are several that seem relevant, but...you can't understand them. You can translate them to a degree but there are large swaths of words you don't understand, and even some sections you can completely translate are beyond your understanding.  Things like "Solid patterned thoughtform manifestations residing in semi-material superposition". Its a wall of technical terms and explanations that require knowledge you don't have.  The following is what you manage to piece together out of what you can understand.

1. The comet was alive, or something resembling alive. They claim it falls outside the framework for which they judge life, appearing to be a "Sapient energy/matter condensate which  macroscopically manifests unknown phenomena." There are mentions of shifting or unstable physical phenomena that defy understood physics.
2. The Comet's trajectory is locked to Earth and it is maneuvering to reach it. Attempts to intercept are either avoided or shrugged off.
3. Defenses are being established for when it reaches the planet. Reactions to its existence range from fear to religious worship.
4. The "Tail" of the comet is several hundred million miles long and is not made of the same matter as the comet's core. Whatever it is, that matter appears to be alive as well.

How much to buy a head-sized containment box and a stick with cross hairs and a trigger?
Then how much to enchant the the trigger with one-time a teleport-what-I'm-aiming-at-in-the-box enchantment?
And how much for a one-time "put what's in the box in stasis" enchantment?
I'm thinking that way it could also be useful for interrogations. Just grab someone's head and then hand it to the church so they can use diving to read their mind.

Spoiler: "Kara" the Corven (click to show/hide)

Name: "Kara" is what most humans call her, though the closest pronunciation would be  Kr'ra-Kax
Race: Corven (advantage for climb, disadvantage for falls)
Appearance: She is a crow-like Corven with matte-black feathers. A bit short. Constantly moves her head around, examining her surroundings. Moves her tail up and down whenever she's excited.
Age: Adult, but just barely
Goal: Wants to find artifacts and experiences that she can use to make an (under)world-famous museum. Wants to prove herself to her mother and piss off her brother with her success (both financially and socially).

Status
Sacrificed left arm to reverse time (eaten by giant Shluck-like thing). Bandaged.

Stats
Str:11
Dex:13 
Spe:13 
End: 10
Awa:12
Cun:11 
Kno:12
Ner:12

Skills
Rifle: 1
Medical: 1
Translate: 2
Acrobatics: 1
Caving: 1
Machine Control: 1
Stealth: 1
Geology: 1
Archeology: 2
Navigation: 1

Inventory
Heavy Crystal Mirror Armour Shroud
Golden pin (in forearm)
Crystal Friend (with riding harness + Obedience Rod)
Radio
5 fathoms (1% royalty for flame)
Ethral Rifle (scope+bipod) (rifle 3, pierce 3) 6/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 6/7
Crystal Weapon
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Shiny interconnected colorful gems
Grappling Hook + Ethral Silk rope 200 ft
1 Dynamo Lantern (Light 3)
1 Knife (Cut/Pierce 2)
2 Slave Traps
Simple Clothes (with hood)
Cot
Book (Adventures of Pilgrim)
Deck of Cards
Notes on insect saddle construction
Ancient Bird-people idols
Ancient Mole-jewels depicting unknown beast
Kara's Diary

In Storage
15 chemical junk
22 mechanical junk
Crystal Tablets (diary about All-Eater and Great Destroyer, inventory, obedience rod instructions, construct assembly instructions)
Church Documents (document ownership and events, and recommend favorable treatment)
Metal Card with the address of the Gilded Crow (corven Gangsters of Goldshore)
Mechanical Arm (not installed)
Bomb collar (unlocked)
All bomb collar remotes
A large number of shiny gold-like messenger path rocks

Box: Assuming diving enhanced containment container, 30 fathoms.
Stick: 3 fathoms and a weird look.
Teleport: Single use, 15. Repeated use, 72. Target must be within 100 meters of the box.

Just stick with Adam for now, (acting) like the good little golem/diveconstruct that I totally am.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  10
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  9
Kno:  14
Ner:  15

Skills
Natural +3 Caving
Natural +3 Geology
Natural Mute
Natural No clothing
Natural Stonesenses
Natural Stoneshaping

Unarmed: +2
Weapon skill: Stone Blade +2
Stealth: +1
Archeology: +2
Weaponsmith: +2
Navigation: +1
Armorsmith: +1
Chemical: +1
Crystal Biology: +1

Inventory
Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
TNT x5
Dynamo lantern
Field lighter
Path markers x10
"Muggy"(skull mug scrimshawed with "can we fix it?" on the side, "No, it's fucked." on the bottom. Has trigger on the inside of the spine-handle that, when squeezed, caused the mandible to open and close)
100ft silk rope
6 Octahedrons - supposedly replicate materials
1 container of Pseudomagnetic mortar
labradorite/Obedience rod (on loan to Kara)
Silver ethral pendant: small silver pendant in the shape of a compound eye wreathed in white fire
Ethral archive promissory note




1243 Fathoms


Crystal Babies
1. Big Chonk Ramiel, about the size of a car.
2. Pryamid with stumpy limbs
3. Crystal snake. hiss. 18 inches long.
4. snake golem. Its larger than the original by several times and rougher, sort of like a squirming line of uncut gemstones, each the size of a human fist.
5. Crystal Praying Mantis (Can fire lazer, Cut 4 Claws)

Warehouse/bore storage:
Bomb Collar
Slate box
Spool of thermoreactive wire.
Acoustic guitar (Metal + guardbone, totally mundane.)
Rifle (pierce2, 6/10 magazine)
Small Knife from crystal barrel
Small bowl from crystal barrel
roll of very thin and flexible stone
small cube of the extremely dense material
sharp pyramid shaped wedge thing
3 structural junk
30 chemical junk
1 gold ingot

Ok.

That beaker contains a highly dangerous substance that destroys organic life. Contact based.

And how is it supposed to be deployed/used? just smash the beaker into what you wanna see dead or what?

No...since you'd have no memory of them using it. Or existing. Theoretically you could figure this out with tests but you have to think of ways to get around the weirdness of EN erasing reality to "remember" it.

Is Adam aware of the fact that people who use black flames tend to lose the appendage that held it?

And yes, you can start the call now.

Let's do so then. Start by introducing ourselves, and explaining how we normally work with Leon but he's busy now so that's difficult. Explain that we have information that's very important for the church, but that I would like a secure line/personal meeting to talk over to ensure the info doesn't fall into the wrong hands. 

Spoiler: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza (click to show/hide)

Name: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza
Description: A young man of slightly pale complexion and eternal 9 o’clock shadow, he was raised in a small village. While the village priest and passing mystics droned with endless sermons of the Church and their teachings, what had always captivated young Adam’s attention more were the stories of his Granny.
Old stories of the world as it once was, before people were forced to flee to the caves and crannies of this damp hell. Of warm days where pleasant green plants tickled your feet as you walked through them and a cool breeze blew through your hair. Where food was plentiful, nature was benign and endless vistas reached as far as they eye could see.
Adam was nominally a card-carrying member of the church, though he mostly did it for the connections and perks that brought. They were powerful and had ancient lore, all things he would need to fulfill his true heart’s desire: to return to the surface, vanquish the madness that tainted their homeland and reconquer paradise.
After his encounter with a Word of God, the edges of his vision are flickering with black flame and his skin is extremely pale with what appear to be black veins instead of the normal blue ones. It also forced him to reevaluate his views on the cthonic church and god.
Goal: Plunge the secrets of the depths below to find an answer to the horrors above.
Stats
Str: 11
Dex: 11
Spe: 13
End: 12
Awa: 12
Cun: 11
Kno: 10
Ner: 14 
Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Flammenvision!
Inventory

Soldier's chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, currently worn long to hide the black veins
Rubber Suit

1 ethral rifle [7 rounds]  (pierce 3)
5x black flame
2x smoke bomb
1 flashbang

3 Silent Night
4 worm blood

1 minor artifact
1 beaker artifact (found in crystal ruins) => in locker
1 crystal construct

Transport mission papers
1 black book copy
1 black book
1 book "Artifacts of Faith"
1 empyrean city map
1 field lighter
1 radio
portal knives design
495 fathoms
4 unspent skillpoints
copy of cult papers
cult holy book
scribbled notes with faces of cult conspirators
lenses of telescope that can look through solid matter
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest

- 1 x portal knife, not yet enchanted
- 1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through)
- 2 x sacrifices for +3

1 x portal knife, enchanted
1 x Custom collapsible doorway, enchanted (Warning: portal's end point isn't very well anchored to the physical object. There's some drift involved (4,5 meter), so you will come out in the general area, but maybe not spot on.)

No idea how it was intended to be used, but anything that gets it on the target should work.

Considering there are probably plenty of stories of pilgrims waking up with the stump of a limb they never had bleeding for no reason, we can assume it can be inferred by most what the flame's use and consequences are.

Your contact tells you that the easiest secure line to get would be in the nearest church. He gives you a code to tell them, so that you can use the line, and tells you he will be waiting for your contact.

[Radio Controlled]

Your contact tells you that the easiest secure line to get would be in the nearest church. He gives you a code to tell them, so that you can use the line, and tells you he will be waiting for your contact.

Do as instructed. Then try to confirm I am indeed speaking to Leon's disciple. Should nothing suspicious pop up, start explaining about that cult that some of our teammates found, and how we tracked them down and found out that it was part of an organized anti-church conspiracy. Then mention that we managed to acquire a number of papers documenting the cult that could help us track down the rest of the conspirators, as well as a heavily-enchanted chest of unknown contents that belonged to them.

Finally, offer that we are willing to give them the documents in return for some compensation for our efforts as well as the promise to be kept in the loop so that we could help with tracking down the cult in the future (aka to ensure this questline doesn't get closed off).

Oh, and mention that we 'found' some ancient crystal people texts that we would be willing to sell them a copy of, provided they assist us with the copying process.

Spoiler: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza (click to show/hide)

Name: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza
Description: A young man of slightly pale complexion and eternal 9 o’clock shadow, he was raised in a small village. While the village priest and passing mystics droned with endless sermons of the Church and their teachings, what had always captivated young Adam’s attention more were the stories of his Granny.
Old stories of the world as it once was, before people were forced to flee to the caves and crannies of this damp hell. Of warm days where pleasant green plants tickled your feet as you walked through them and a cool breeze blew through your hair. Where food was plentiful, nature was benign and endless vistas reached as far as they eye could see.
Adam was nominally a card-carrying member of the church, though he mostly did it for the connections and perks that brought. They were powerful and had ancient lore, all things he would need to fulfill his true heart’s desire: to return to the surface, vanquish the madness that tainted their homeland and reconquer paradise.
After his encounter with a Word of God, the edges of his vision are flickering with black flame and his skin is extremely pale with what appear to be black veins instead of the normal blue ones. It also forced him to reevaluate his views on the cthonic church and god.
Goal: Plunge the secrets of the depths below to find an answer to the horrors above.
Stats
Str: 11
Dex: 11
Spe: 13
End: 12
Awa: 12
Cun: 11
Kno: 10
Ner: 14 
Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Flammenvision!
Inventory

Soldier's chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, currently worn long to hide the black veins
Rubber Suit

1 ethral rifle [7 rounds]  (pierce 3)
5x black flame
2x smoke bomb
1 flashbang

3 Silent Night
4 worm blood

1 minor artifact
1 beaker artifact (found in crystal ruins) => in locker
1 crystal construct

Transport mission papers
1 black book copy
1 black book
1 book "Artifacts of Faith"
1 empyrean city map
1 field lighter
1 radio
portal knives design
495 fathoms
4 unspent skillpoints
copy of cult papers
cult holy book
scribbled notes with faces of cult conspirators
lenses of telescope that can look through solid matter
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest

- 1 x portal knife, not yet enchanted
- 1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through)
- 2 x sacrifices for +3

1 x portal knife, enchanted
1 x Custom collapsible doorway, enchanted (Warning: portal's end point isn't very well anchored to the physical object. There's some drift involved (4,5 meter), so you will come out in the general area, but maybe not spot on.)

[Pancaek]

Sticking with my boy Adam and acting like a simple construct. Keep an eye on our surroundings and the people he's with while he does his thing. Occasionally do a crystal sense sonar ping if we're inside a room or enclosed space, to check for potential hostiles creeping up on us around the corner

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  10
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  9
Kno:  14
Ner:  15

Skills
Natural +3 Caving
Natural +3 Geology
Natural Mute
Natural No clothing
Natural Stonesenses
Natural Stoneshaping

Unarmed: +2
Weapon skill: Stone Blade +2
Stealth: +1
Archeology: +2
Weaponsmith: +2
Navigation: +1
Armorsmith: +1
Chemical: +1
Crystal Biology: +1

Inventory
Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
TNT x5
Dynamo lantern
Field lighter
Path markers x10
"Muggy"(skull mug scrimshawed with "can we fix it?" on the side, "No, it's fucked." on the bottom. Has trigger on the inside of the spine-handle that, when squeezed, caused the mandible to open and close)
100ft silk rope
6 Octahedrons - supposedly replicate materials
1 container of Pseudomagnetic mortar
labradorite/Obedience rod (on loan to Kara)
Silver ethral pendant: small silver pendant in the shape of a compound eye wreathed in white fire
Ethral archive promissory note




1243 Fathoms


Crystal Babies
1. Big Chonk Ramiel, about the size of a car.
2. Pryamid with stumpy limbs
3. Crystal snake. hiss. 18 inches long.
4. snake golem. Its larger than the original by several times and rougher, sort of like a squirming line of uncut gemstones, each the size of a human fist.
5. Crystal Praying Mantis (Can fire lazer, Cut 4 Claws)

Warehouse/bore storage:
Bomb Collar
Slate box
Spool of thermoreactive wire.
Acoustic guitar (Metal + guardbone, totally mundane.)
Rifle (pierce2, 6/10 magazine)
Small Knife from crystal barrel
Small bowl from crystal barrel
roll of very thin and flexible stone
small cube of the extremely dense material
sharp pyramid shaped wedge thing
3 structural junk
30 chemical junk
1 gold ingot

[piecewise]

Your contact tells you that the easiest secure line to get would be in the nearest church. He gives you a code to tell them, so that you can use the line, and tells you he will be waiting for your contact.

Do as instructed. Then try to confirm I am indeed speaking to Leon's disciple. Should nothing suspicious pop up, start explaining about that cult that some of our teammates found, and how we tracked them down and found out that it was part of an organized anti-church conspiracy. Then mention that we managed to acquire a number of papers documenting the cult that could help us track down the rest of the conspirators, as well as a heavily-enchanted chest of unknown contents that belonged to them.

Finally, offer that we are willing to give them the documents in return for some compensation for our efforts as well as the promise to be kept in the loop so that we could help with tracking down the cult in the future (aka to ensure this questline doesn't get closed off).

Oh, and mention that we 'found' some ancient crystal people texts that we would be willing to sell them a copy of, provided they assist us with the copying process.

Spoiler: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza (click to show/hide)

Name: Adam Blavatsky Darvaza
Description: A young man of slightly pale complexion and eternal 9 o’clock shadow, he was raised in a small village. While the village priest and passing mystics droned with endless sermons of the Church and their teachings, what had always captivated young Adam’s attention more were the stories of his Granny.
Old stories of the world as it once was, before people were forced to flee to the caves and crannies of this damp hell. Of warm days where pleasant green plants tickled your feet as you walked through them and a cool breeze blew through your hair. Where food was plentiful, nature was benign and endless vistas reached as far as they eye could see.
Adam was nominally a card-carrying member of the church, though he mostly did it for the connections and perks that brought. They were powerful and had ancient lore, all things he would need to fulfill his true heart’s desire: to return to the surface, vanquish the madness that tainted their homeland and reconquer paradise.
After his encounter with a Word of God, the edges of his vision are flickering with black flame and his skin is extremely pale with what appear to be black veins instead of the normal blue ones. It also forced him to reevaluate his views on the cthonic church and god.
Goal: Plunge the secrets of the depths below to find an answer to the horrors above.
Stats
Str: 11
Dex: 11
Spe: 13
End: 12
Awa: 12
Cun: 11
Kno: 10
Ner: 14 
Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Flammenvision!
Inventory

Soldier's chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, currently worn long to hide the black veins
Rubber Suit

1 ethral rifle [7 rounds]  (pierce 3)
5x black flame
2x smoke bomb
1 flashbang

3 Silent Night
4 worm blood

1 minor artifact
1 beaker artifact (found in crystal ruins) => in locker
1 crystal construct

Transport mission papers
1 black book copy
1 black book
1 book "Artifacts of Faith"
1 empyrean city map
1 field lighter
1 radio
portal knives design
495 fathoms
4 unspent skillpoints
copy of cult papers
cult holy book
scribbled notes with faces of cult conspirators
lenses of telescope that can look through solid matter
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest

- 1 x portal knife, not yet enchanted
- 1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through)
- 2 x sacrifices for +3

1 x portal knife, enchanted
1 x Custom collapsible doorway, enchanted (Warning: portal's end point isn't very well anchored to the physical object. There's some drift involved (4,5 meter), so you will come out in the general area, but maybe not spot on.)

Sticking with my boy Adam and acting like a simple construct. Keep an eye on our surroundings and the people he's with while he does his thing. Occasionally do a crystal sense sonar ping if we're inside a room or enclosed space, to check for potential hostiles creeping up on us around the corner

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  10
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  9
Kno:  14
Ner:  15

Skills
Natural +3 Caving
Natural +3 Geology
Natural Mute
Natural No clothing
Natural Stonesenses
Natural Stoneshaping

Unarmed: +2
Weapon skill: Stone Blade +2
Stealth: +1
Archeology: +2
Weaponsmith: +2
Navigation: +1
Armorsmith: +1
Chemical: +1
Crystal Biology: +1

Inventory
Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
TNT x5
Dynamo lantern
Field lighter
Path markers x10
"Muggy"(skull mug scrimshawed with "can we fix it?" on the side, "No, it's fucked." on the bottom. Has trigger on the inside of the spine-handle that, when squeezed, caused the mandible to open and close)
100ft silk rope
6 Octahedrons - supposedly replicate materials
1 container of Pseudomagnetic mortar
labradorite/Obedience rod (on loan to Kara)
Silver ethral pendant: small silver pendant in the shape of a compound eye wreathed in white fire
Ethral archive promissory note




1243 Fathoms


Crystal Babies
1. Big Chonk Ramiel, about the size of a car.
2. Pryamid with stumpy limbs
3. Crystal snake. hiss. 18 inches long.
4. snake golem. Its larger than the original by several times and rougher, sort of like a squirming line of uncut gemstones, each the size of a human fist.
5. Crystal Praying Mantis (Can fire lazer, Cut 4 Claws)

Warehouse/bore storage:
Bomb Collar
Slate box
Spool of thermoreactive wire.
Acoustic guitar (Metal + guardbone, totally mundane.)
Rifle (pierce2, 6/10 magazine)
Small Knife from crystal barrel
Small bowl from crystal barrel
roll of very thin and flexible stone
small cube of the extremely dense material
sharp pyramid shaped wedge thing
3 structural junk
30 chemical junk
1 gold ingot

After explaining what you found, Leon's disciple, who you are convinced is legitimate, considers for a long moment

"I can offer compensation personally. I have accounts for this sort of thing. However, I cannot guarantee further information about the cult or our actions regarding it. I can offer guarantees that I will do my best to be allowed to give you that information and will advocate on your behalf, but I am limited in terms of what I can promise on my own. If you would like I can run this information to my superiors and try to get you those promises before you hand anything over, but it may take time."

"We would be interested in the text, however not to a degree where my interaction is needed. Take it to our archives in Empyrean and they will handle the process."






(If everyone else is just waiting to leave, me and Radio can handle anything else via PMs)