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[Radio Controlled]

So heretical things are obviously disliked but in the church there is a underlying precept that is the reason Necromancers are still sort of unofficially accepted: preference for humanity. The Church is, at its heart, focused on the survival of humanity above all other things and they are willing to go outside their comfort zone if it is for this cause. So if you start using heretical things the average believer might revile you, but as long as you show you are still using such things for the survival or betterment of humans, the church as a whole will accept you tacitly. Necromancers are the prime example of this: they use diving in a way that basically everyone finds unsettling, namely reanimating the dead and converting themselves into a lich of sorts. But most Necromancers are/were human and while they are pompous, arrogant, and self aggrandizing they are not mindless monsters and have shown a willingness to side with humanity if it is faced with threats. They still count themselves with humans, for whatever reason, and as such the church sees them as an ally.

Wowzers, interesting! To the wiki it goes!

Also, something I'm wondering about: what would you think about Adam doing something like using a dive to copy the information that Alex learned earlier in that conversation with robobro? Since I figured (OOC'ly) that it could be an interesting opportunity to potentially take the character in a new direction, but it also feels a bit wrong or perhaps impolite given that the player suddenly vanished. Not saying I have definite plans in this direction, but would like to hear what you think about it (originally were gonna interrogate him anyways, but that fell kind of flat on its face). Would it be kosher, or best to just let that saga rest and find information through other avenues?   

Either way, try to use the labradorite staff to command my crystal construct to open up/make a small hallway for Kara and Adam to move through. Point it in the direction of wherever Clate thinks is most interesting to visit first in this structure.

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: 13
Awa: 12
Cun: 11
Kno: 10
Ner: 14
Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Flammenvision!
Inventory

anti-heat suit
Soldier's chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, currently worn long to hide the black veins
Rubber Suit
Sobriety helmet: provides a +3 bonus against mind fuckery, though it will degrade over time as it gets "hit" with more effects.

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
labradorite rod

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
324 fathoms
5 unspent skillpoints
copy of cult papers sold to the church
cult holy book sold to the church
scribbled notes with faces of cult conspirators sold to the church
lenses of telescope that can look through solid matter
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest sold to the church
set of numbered metal plates

- 0 x portal knife, not yet enchanted
- 1 x sacrifices for +3

1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through), enchanted, but badly (!unknown destination!) :v
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.) Currently deployed on the bore, there is padding on the floor to prevent damage from drift.

[Pancaek]

- See if I can make a connection with the overmind at this point. Sporadically ping it when we venture forward if it isn't possible at this time.

- If possible, try to somehow mark Adam and Kara as friendlies/companions. Maybe through their crystal friends. So that any potential security systems don't see them as hostile beings.

- Point out the "buildings" I can sense to Kara and Adam, in case they want to head off on their own. Then lead them into the crystal structure and head towards the closest important building.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  10 (+1 from levelup not added yet)
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  9 (+1 from levelup not added yet)
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
(((1 free skillpoint from levelup)))

Inventory
pair of crystal swords. (cut 6, pierce 3) They look basically like normal crystals, but flattened so that two of its sharp edges are aligned.  There are no handles, as you can just fuse them to your body.
10 Crystal spears (pierce 3)
6 crystal lazer guns (pierce 3)


Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
TNT x5 (3 fitted to spiderbots)
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 x2 (1 on loan to Kara, 1 in Clate's possesion)
Silver ethral pendant: small silver pendant in the shape of a compound eye wreathed in white fire
Ethral archive promissory note



243 Fathoms


Crystal Babies
1. Ramiel V2.0, half the size of the original
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)
6. 2 small golems with black flames mounted on their heads. Suicide bots.
7. 3 suicide spiderbots. Smol, fast, each holds 1 TNT charge.
8. Knifebirb: Two long legs, attached to a single, long, razor sharp blade of crystal. It moves in a jittery, rapid way that makes anyone with flesh that can be cut stay far away from it. Cassowary Sized.
9. Protecto: a big rolling wall of hexagons that can reshift themselves around to form shields of different sizes, shapes, and thicknesses.
10. Death Blossom:  floating flower, it has a bunch of little points  and when attacking it rotates rapidly in place, firing small energy bolts from those points, like a minigun.


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]

So heretical things are obviously disliked but in the church there is a underlying precept that is the reason Necromancers are still sort of unofficially accepted: preference for humanity. The Church is, at its heart, focused on the survival of humanity above all other things and they are willing to go outside their comfort zone if it is for this cause. So if you start using heretical things the average believer might revile you, but as long as you show you are still using such things for the survival or betterment of humans, the church as a whole will accept you tacitly. Necromancers are the prime example of this: they use diving in a way that basically everyone finds unsettling, namely reanimating the dead and converting themselves into a lich of sorts. But most Necromancers are/were human and while they are pompous, arrogant, and self aggrandizing they are not mindless monsters and have shown a willingness to side with humanity if it is faced with threats. They still count themselves with humans, for whatever reason, and as such the church sees them as an ally.

Wowzers, interesting! To the wiki it goes!

Also, something I'm wondering about: what would you think about Adam doing something like using a dive to copy the information that Alex learned earlier in that conversation with robobro? Since I figured (OOC'ly) that it could be an interesting opportunity to potentially take the character in a new direction, but it also feels a bit wrong or perhaps impolite given that the player suddenly vanished. Not saying I have definite plans in this direction, but would like to hear what you think about it (originally were gonna interrogate him anyways, but that fell kind of flat on its face). Would it be kosher, or best to just let that saga rest and find information through other avenues?   

Either way, try to use the labradorite staff to command my crystal construct to open up/make a small hallway for Kara and Adam to move through. Point it in the direction of wherever Clate thinks is most interesting to visit first in this structure.

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: 13
Awa: 12
Cun: 11
Kno: 10
Ner: 14
Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Flammenvision!
Inventory

anti-heat suit
Soldier's chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, currently worn long to hide the black veins
Rubber Suit
Sobriety helmet: provides a +3 bonus against mind fuckery, though it will degrade over time as it gets "hit" with more effects.

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
labradorite rod

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
324 fathoms
5 unspent skillpoints
copy of cult papers sold to the church
cult holy book sold to the church
scribbled notes with faces of cult conspirators sold to the church
lenses of telescope that can look through solid matter
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest sold to the church
set of numbered metal plates

- 0 x portal knife, not yet enchanted
- 1 x sacrifices for +3

1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through), enchanted, but badly (!unknown destination!) :v
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.) Currently deployed on the bore, there is padding on the floor to prevent damage from drift.

Considering he vanished into thin air, I think its reasonable to try and get the info from him somehow. I think a dive is acceptable.

(Since you're sticking with clate, I'll have him handle the stone stuff while you're together. So until you split or he fails rolls, I'll hold off on the action of you using a golem to open doors. It will work just fine, but no reason to double up)

- See if I can make a connection with the overmind at this point. Sporadically ping it when we venture forward if it isn't possible at this time.

- If possible, try to somehow mark Adam and Kara as friendlies/companions. Maybe through their crystal friends. So that any potential security systems don't see them as hostile beings.

- Point out the "buildings" I can sense to Kara and Adam, in case they want to head off on their own. Then lead them into the crystal structure and head towards the closest important building.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  10 (+1 from levelup not added yet)
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  9 (+1 from levelup not added yet)
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
(((1 free skillpoint from levelup)))

Inventory
pair of crystal swords. (cut 6, pierce 3) They look basically like normal crystals, but flattened so that two of its sharp edges are aligned.  There are no handles, as you can just fuse them to your body.
10 Crystal spears (pierce 3)
6 crystal lazer guns (pierce 3)


Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
TNT x5 (3 fitted to spiderbots)
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 x2 (1 on loan to Kara, 1 in Clate's possesion)
Silver ethral pendant: small silver pendant in the shape of a compound eye wreathed in white fire
Ethral archive promissory note



243 Fathoms


Crystal Babies
1. Ramiel V2.0, half the size of the original
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)
6. 2 small golems with black flames mounted on their heads. Suicide bots.
7. 3 suicide spiderbots. Smol, fast, each holds 1 TNT charge.
8. Knifebirb: Two long legs, attached to a single, long, razor sharp blade of crystal. It moves in a jittery, rapid way that makes anyone with flesh that can be cut stay far away from it. Cassowary Sized.
9. Protecto: a big rolling wall of hexagons that can reshift themselves around to form shields of different sizes, shapes, and thicknesses.
10. Death Blossom:  floating flower, it has a bunch of little points  and when attacking it rotates rapidly in place, firing small energy bolts from those points, like a minigun.


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

The overmind is here, and stronger than before. Not strong enough to make a two way communication with yet, but you can feel its desire for you to venture in.

About the  best you can do to mark important structures is to converse with adam and, through a combination of his wizard eyes and your sense of the structure, come together with a rough understanding of what places are important. Its mostly "See that bit over there that kind of looks like  an 'H'  doing a cartwheel? Thats important." Not perfect, but better than nothing.

You open a passage in the crystal wall and  head inside with the rest following behind. You get maybe 10 feet in when the crystal wall behind you reforms and seals behind you. Not like a trap, more line an airlock you think. A safety feature. Hmm. You push onward, burrowing through stone past unimportant areas and into the first place that you believe is significant.  Its pitch black the entire way; you don't really notice due to your lack of normal senses but the bumbling fleshlings behind you seem to have an issue with it. As soon as you breach the building there is a tremendous release of gas as the building and your tunnel equalize pressures. The "air" inside the building was pure noble gas, argon you think but such things are difficult to tell. As you take your first steps into the small antechamber room you get a distinct feeling that seems to grab your head and twist it in another direction.  Up and to the right; at the center of the entire structure. Thats where they built the thing that shattered the overmind and thats where you can fix it.

The room you're in now though, its diamond shaped, like a cube balanced on the point of one vertices. Its got some sort of sign equivalent near the place you entered, though you'll have to swim through it to see what it means. Beyond this room you can sense that the building goes up several floors, folding over and over in a switch back pattern. Housing you think it is.  Hive is what comes to mind.

[syvarris]

((FYI, if you're waiting on me in any game, please PM me.  I get email notifications, so even if I've forgotten the forum for awhile (or, more likely, forgotten a game due to distractions), I'll respond in short order.))

Continue listening at the door, and politely knock.  Listen for any change; do the sounds stop, or get more agitated?  Either way, give them a few seconds to respond or do something.  If there is a change, and no response is forthcoming, use the tungsten toothpick to smash the door open, and charge in otherwise unarmed.  Use the empty hand to disarm anyone within reach, but don't kill anyone.

If there is a response, politely ask if they can open the door.

If the sounds don't change, attempt to open the door less destructively.  Could the lock be picked?  Nyw will ask one of his flighty friends to make an attempt, if so.

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: 10
Spe:11
End:14
Awa:14
Cun: 10
Kno: 9
Ner: 13

Skills: (Two unspent skillpoints)
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

[Pancaek]

Clate points a tentacle up and to the right, though his squishy friends probably aren't helped much by that gesture

I can feel it, over there. The thing that shattered the overmind, the thing that can make it whole again.
As for the rest of this complex, it feels like a sort of hive, a housing complex.

I propose we head straight for the thing to fix the overmind. Exploring the rest of this place should prove easier once it is back online.

[Radio Controlled]

Clate points a tentacle up and to the right, though his squishy friends probably aren't helped much by that gesture

I can feel it, over there. The thing that shattered the overmind, the thing that can make it whole again.
As for the rest of this complex, it feels like a sort of hive, a housing complex.

I propose we head straight for the thing to fix the overmind. Exploring the rest of this place should prove easier once it is back online.

"That sounds good to me. One thing I have been wondering about though...

Clate, once this 'overmind' has been reactivated, what is gonna happen to you?"


Can we say Adam left the teleport portal open inside the tin can in the crystal mover? If not go back and set it up before going on.

After that, follow Clate!

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: 13
Awa: 12
Cun: 11
Kno: 10
Ner: 14
Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Flammenvision!
Inventory

anti-heat suit
Soldier's chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, currently worn long to hide the black veins
Rubber Suit
Sobriety helmet: provides a +3 bonus against mind fuckery, though it will degrade over time as it gets "hit" with more effects.

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
labradorite rod

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
324 fathoms
5 unspent skillpoints
copy of cult papers sold to the church
cult holy book sold to the church
scribbled notes with faces of cult conspirators sold to the church
lenses of telescope that can look through solid matter
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest sold to the church
set of numbered metal plates

- 0 x portal knife, not yet enchanted
- 1 x sacrifices for +3

1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through), enchanted, but badly (!unknown destination!) :v
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.) Currently deployed on the bore, there is padding on the floor to prevent damage from drift.

[Pancaek]

"That sounds good to me. One thing I have been wondering about though...

Clate, once this 'overmind' has been reactivated, what is gonna happen to you?"

"An excellent question. The truth of the matter is that I have no way of knowing for sure. From my direct interaction with the overmind in the previouys ruin we went to, I believe that it will not attempt to influence my being. I may become more connected to it and the shared consciousness of the crystal people, but I don't think the Overmind will try to limit my indivudality or make me lose my old sense of self or anything along those lines.

Of course, that's just my belief based on the interaction I've had with the overmind so far. I don't actually have any way of knowing for sure. What we're trying to do here has, to my knowledge, literally never been done before. Regardless, I still want to go through with this, come what may."

Keep heading towards the place where the shattering took place. Ignore the other rooms/places, unless I feel danger and/or that it will be required to visit them to undo the shattering.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  10 (+1 from levelup not added yet)
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  9 (+1 from levelup not added yet)
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
(((1 free skillpoint from levelup)))

Inventory
pair of crystal swords. (cut 6, pierce 3) They look basically like normal crystals, but flattened so that two of its sharp edges are aligned.  There are no handles, as you can just fuse them to your body.
10 Crystal spears (pierce 3)
6 crystal lazer guns (pierce 3)


Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
TNT x5 (3 fitted to spiderbots)
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 x2 (1 on loan to Kara, 1 in Clate's possesion)
Silver ethral pendant: small silver pendant in the shape of a compound eye wreathed in white fire
Ethral archive promissory note



243 Fathoms


Crystal Babies
1. Ramiel V2.0, half the size of the original
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)
6. 2 small golems with black flames mounted on their heads. Suicide bots.
7. 3 suicide spiderbots. Smol, fast, each holds 1 TNT charge.
8. Knifebirb: Two long legs, attached to a single, long, razor sharp blade of crystal. It moves in a jittery, rapid way that makes anyone with flesh that can be cut stay far away from it. Cassowary Sized.
9. Protecto: a big rolling wall of hexagons that can reshift themselves around to form shields of different sizes, shapes, and thicknesses.
10. Death Blossom:  floating flower, it has a bunch of little points  and when attacking it rotates rapidly in place, firing small energy bolts from those points, like a minigun.


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]

((FYI, if you're waiting on me in any game, please PM me.  I get email notifications, so even if I've forgotten the forum for awhile (or, more likely, forgotten a game due to distractions), I'll respond in short order.))

Continue listening at the door, and politely knock.  Listen for any change; do the sounds stop, or get more agitated?  Either way, give them a few seconds to respond or do something.  If there is a change, and no response is forthcoming, use the tungsten toothpick to smash the door open, and charge in otherwise unarmed.  Use the empty hand to disarm anyone within reach, but don't kill anyone.

If there is a response, politely ask if they can open the door.

If the sounds don't change, attempt to open the door less destructively.  Could the lock be picked?  Nyw will ask one of his flighty friends to make an attempt, if so.

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: 10
Spe:11
End:14
Awa:14
Cun: 10
Kno: 9
Ner: 13

Skills: (Two unspent skillpoints)
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

You knock and listen. The sounds become louder and more erratic; you can make out voices, though exactly what they're saying is muffled beyond comprehension, just language-like sounds. They may be gagged or perhaps the door is just too thick. Distressingly, at least one voice is extremely near the door, close enough that you're fairly certain knocking the door down could injure them. They might even be directly on the door, as you hear want sounds like metal shifting as well.  Dully, in the background, you hear a low CLANK. You ask to be let in and the door physically shakes. Not much, its very secure, but enough that you can feel it with your ear pressed to the metal.

Clate points a tentacle up and to the right, though his squishy friends probably aren't helped much by that gesture

I can feel it, over there. The thing that shattered the overmind, the thing that can make it whole again.
As for the rest of this complex, it feels like a sort of hive, a housing complex.

I propose we head straight for the thing to fix the overmind. Exploring the rest of this place should prove easier once it is back online.

"That sounds good to me. One thing I have been wondering about though...

Clate, once this 'overmind' has been reactivated, what is gonna happen to you?"


Can we say Adam left the teleport portal open inside the tin can in the crystal mover? If not go back and set it up before going on.

After that, follow Clate!

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: 13
Awa: 12
Cun: 11
Kno: 10
Ner: 14
Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Flammenvision!
Inventory

anti-heat suit
Soldier's chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, currently worn long to hide the black veins
Rubber Suit
Sobriety helmet: provides a +3 bonus against mind fuckery, though it will degrade over time as it gets "hit" with more effects.

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
labradorite rod

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
324 fathoms
5 unspent skillpoints
copy of cult papers sold to the church
cult holy book sold to the church
scribbled notes with faces of cult conspirators sold to the church
lenses of telescope that can look through solid matter
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest sold to the church
set of numbered metal plates

- 0 x portal knife, not yet enchanted
- 1 x sacrifices for +3

1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through), enchanted, but badly (!unknown destination!) :v
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.) Currently deployed on the bore, there is padding on the floor to prevent damage from drift.

(sure)

"That sounds good to me. One thing I have been wondering about though...

Clate, once this 'overmind' has been reactivated, what is gonna happen to you?"

"An excellent question. The truth of the matter is that I have no way of knowing for sure. From my direct interaction with the overmind in the previouys ruin we went to, I believe that it will not attempt to influence my being. I may become more connected to it and the shared consciousness of the crystal people, but I don't think the Overmind will try to limit my indivudality or make me lose my old sense of self or anything along those lines.

Of course, that's just my belief based on the interaction I've had with the overmind so far. I don't actually have any way of knowing for sure. What we're trying to do here has, to my knowledge, literally never been done before. Regardless, I still want to go through with this, come what may."

Keep heading towards the place where the shattering took place. Ignore the other rooms/places, unless I feel danger and/or that it will be required to visit them to undo the shattering.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  10 (+1 from levelup not added yet)
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  9 (+1 from levelup not added yet)
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
(((1 free skillpoint from levelup)))

Inventory
pair of crystal swords. (cut 6, pierce 3) They look basically like normal crystals, but flattened so that two of its sharp edges are aligned.  There are no handles, as you can just fuse them to your body.
10 Crystal spears (pierce 3)
6 crystal lazer guns (pierce 3)


Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
TNT x5 (3 fitted to spiderbots)
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 x2 (1 on loan to Kara, 1 in Clate's possesion)
Silver ethral pendant: small silver pendant in the shape of a compound eye wreathed in white fire
Ethral archive promissory note



243 Fathoms


Crystal Babies
1. Ramiel V2.0, half the size of the original
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)
6. 2 small golems with black flames mounted on their heads. Suicide bots.
7. 3 suicide spiderbots. Smol, fast, each holds 1 TNT charge.
8. Knifebirb: Two long legs, attached to a single, long, razor sharp blade of crystal. It moves in a jittery, rapid way that makes anyone with flesh that can be cut stay far away from it. Cassowary Sized.
9. Protecto: a big rolling wall of hexagons that can reshift themselves around to form shields of different sizes, shapes, and thicknesses.
10. Death Blossom:  floating flower, it has a bunch of little points  and when attacking it rotates rapidly in place, firing small energy bolts from those points, like a minigun.


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

You move through, opening paths as needed for your less mobile companions. As you grow closer to the central chamber complex where you feel you must go, you start to feel...strange. You stop moving and rest for a moment. You feel...light headed is something close to right, but not 100%. Dissociated? You look at your "hand" and find it somewhat difficult to flex the stone as you want. Stiff? Rebellious? You look around, sensing the stone for something that seems to explain this. And then you notice them: there are other crystal people here. Or rather, the remains of them. They didn't form tunnels like you are, they swam through the stone, but they're all moving towards that central chamber complex. Or they were. You see them now as bodies, vague forms noticeable only by their distinct grain patterns in the stone. Sort of like a shadow or a human shaped knot in wood. They're further forward than you, closer to the chamber, but not by much.

[5]
Whatever it is that fractured the overmind is having an effect on you too. Its trying to tear your mind out of its crystal housing, make your body nothing but inanimate stone. And clearly this isn't the first time crystal converts have tried to come here and fix things; there are dozens of bodies of people like you, frozen here where they failed to reach their goal.

[Pancaek]

Clate moves back a little, slowly, laboriously. He turn towards his two companions.

"Friends, there are other crystal people here. Or at least, their bodies are. They moved through the solid crystal, towards the central chamber complex as we are doing, I believe for the same reason as well. But the thing that shattered the overmind is having an effect on us as well. The other crystal people, their minds have been ripped from their bodies. I can feel it tugging at my mind, stronger and stronger as we get closer.

I...I am afraid I may have to ask you to head on without me. I think if I go any closer than this, I too will be shattered."

[Radio Controlled]

Move on to our objective, use wizard vision to get forewarning of problems or threats. 

"Do we have any idea of what it was that shattered this overmind, or who did it?"

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: 13
Awa: 12
Cun: 11
Kno: 10
Ner: 14
Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Flammenvision!
Inventory

anti-heat suit
Soldier's chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, currently worn long to hide the black veins
Rubber Suit
Sobriety helmet: provides a +3 bonus against mind fuckery, though it will degrade over time as it gets "hit" with more effects.

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
labradorite rod

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
324 fathoms
5 unspent skillpoints
copy of cult papers sold to the church
cult holy book sold to the church
scribbled notes with faces of cult conspirators sold to the church
lenses of telescope that can look through solid matter
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest sold to the church
set of numbered metal plates

- 0 x portal knife, not yet enchanted
- 1 x sacrifices for +3

1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through), enchanted, but badly (!unknown destination!) :v
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.) Currently deployed on the bore, there is padding on the floor to prevent damage from drift.

[Pancaek]

"Do we have any idea of what it was that shattered this overmind, or who did it?"

Hard to say. According to the info in some tablets friend Kara uncovered, the shattering occurred right after the crystal superweapon was used.

Now, the possibility exists that the overmind simply had to incorporate too many new crystal people into the hivemind, causing some sort of overload. It's also possible that the weapon malfunctioned somehow, or was sabotaged.
Seeing what I am seeing right now I almost suspect sabotage of some sort, seeing as it is still immobilizing and/or killing crystal creatures that get close to it to this very moment. Though we can't rule out some catastrophic, cascading malfunction either. I'm afraid we'll only get an answer to this question once the machine is turned off and we can inspect it.

Assist my companions as much as I can via giving directions or stoneforming, but don't get any closer to the shattering room.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  10 (+1 from levelup not added yet)
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  9 (+1 from levelup not added yet)
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
(((1 free skillpoint from levelup)))

Inventory
pair of crystal swords. (cut 6, pierce 3) They look basically like normal crystals, but flattened so that two of its sharp edges are aligned.  There are no handles, as you can just fuse them to your body.
10 Crystal spears (pierce 3)
6 crystal lazer guns (pierce 3)


Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
TNT x5 (3 fitted to spiderbots)
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 x2 (1 on loan to Kara, 1 in Clate's possesion)
Silver ethral pendant: small silver pendant in the shape of a compound eye wreathed in white fire
Ethral archive promissory note



243 Fathoms


Crystal Babies
1. Ramiel V2.0, half the size of the original
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)
6. 2 small golems with black flames mounted on their heads. Suicide bots.
7. 3 suicide spiderbots. Smol, fast, each holds 1 TNT charge.
8. Knifebirb: Two long legs, attached to a single, long, razor sharp blade of crystal. It moves in a jittery, rapid way that makes anyone with flesh that can be cut stay far away from it. Cassowary Sized.
9. Protecto: a big rolling wall of hexagons that can reshift themselves around to form shields of different sizes, shapes, and thicknesses.
10. Death Blossom:  floating flower, it has a bunch of little points  and when attacking it rotates rapidly in place, firing small energy bolts from those points, like a minigun.


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

[Parisbre56]

Kara turned towards Clate and shined her Dynamo Lantern towards him, trying to make out the letters on his body. She fumbled with her beak a couple of times until she finally managed to hit the button that activated the radio stuck on the inside of her helmet. Clate didn't need the radio to hear her, he could just sense the vibrations on her suit, so it was mostly for Adam's benefit.
"Perhaps we shouldn't rush in blindly. That weapon was meant to be used on non-crystal people after all. If it is still active, even in some diminished form, then it could also hurt me and Adam. If they were conducting research, then perhaps there are leftovers of that research we could peruse. Or maybe there are places where they kept... erm, organic test subjects, let's say, places where they tested some prototype of the weapon on them. Or perhaps we should explore the outer layers of this structure. The texts I read spoke of the weapon 'feeding' on the fire of the Molten Heart. Perhaps instead of heading towards the Superweapon like moths to a flame, it would be better to find an alternate way to disable it by cutting off its power source. Then again, that might unleash some other calamity, so we shouldn't go through with it without first understanding the consequences. I don't think we can fully trust the overmind to provide us with that information. After all, it was leading you to your... not necessarily death, but at least your incapacitation without warning you. It might not really be all there. Perhaps the overmind of this place has been damaged or corrupted in some way."
For some reason the idea of zombie Crystal people was on her mind, even though such a thing made little sense. For one, they were already inorganic, already undead in a way. Still, the idea of being surrounded by things that were once alive made her uncomfortable. What if they suddenly came alive and tried to steal her body?

Ask Clate to search for places that could accommodate beings made of flesh. If they needed to test the weapon, they would need test subjects and those would most likely be near the labs they used to conduct the tests. Alternatively, search for libraries or control rooms. If those aren't found either, then see if he can identify where the device that's sucking power out of the Molten Heart is.

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:14 
Spe:13 
End:10
Awa:12
Cun:12
Kno:13
Ner:12

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

Inventory
Heavy Crystal Mirror Armour Shroud
Golden pin (in forearm)
Crystal Friend (with riding harness + Obedience Rod)
Radio
Telegrabber with Stasis Box (Rifle, 100 meters max grab range)
3 Stasis Boxes (diving enhanced containment container) for the Telegrabber
Ethral Rifle (scope+bipod) (rifle 3, pierce 3) 6/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 6/7
Crystal Weapon
Black Flame Crystal Golem
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Shiny interconnected colorful gems
Grappling Hook + Ethral Silk rope 200 ft
1 Doctor's Bag
1 Dynamo Lantern (Light 3)
1 Knife (Cut/Pierce 2)
2 Slave Traps
Suit Repair Kit

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
Notes on insect saddle construction
Ancient Bird-people idols
Ancient Mole-jewels depicting unknown beast
Simple Clothes (with hood)
Cot
Book (Adventures of Pilgrim)
Deck of Cards
760 fathoms (1% royalty for flame)

Kara's Diary

[piecewise]

Kara turned towards Clate and shined her Dynamo Lantern towards him, trying to make out the letters on his body. She fumbled with her beak a couple of times until she finally managed to hit the button that activated the radio stuck on the inside of her helmet. Clate didn't need the radio to hear her, he could just sense the vibrations on her suit, so it was mostly for Adam's benefit.
"Perhaps we shouldn't rush in blindly. That weapon was meant to be used on non-crystal people after all. If it is still active, even in some diminished form, then it could also hurt me and Adam. If they were conducting research, then perhaps there are leftovers of that research we could peruse. Or maybe there are places where they kept... erm, organic test subjects, let's say, places where they tested some prototype of the weapon on them. Or perhaps we should explore the outer layers of this structure. The texts I read spoke of the weapon 'feeding' on the fire of the Molten Heart. Perhaps instead of heading towards the Superweapon like moths to a flame, it would be better to find an alternate way to disable it by cutting off its power source. Then again, that might unleash some other calamity, so we shouldn't go through with it without first understanding the consequences. I don't think we can fully trust the overmind to provide us with that information. After all, it was leading you to your... not necessarily death, but at least your incapacitation without warning you. It might not really be all there. Perhaps the overmind of this place has been damaged or corrupted in some way."
For some reason the idea of zombie Crystal people was on her mind, even though such a thing made little sense. For one, they were already inorganic, already undead in a way. Still, the idea of being surrounded by things that were once alive made her uncomfortable. What if they suddenly came alive and tried to steal her body?

Ask Clate to search for places that could accommodate beings made of flesh. If they needed to test the weapon, they would need test subjects and those would most likely be near the labs they used to conduct the tests. Alternatively, search for libraries or control rooms. If those aren't found either, then see if he can identify where the device that's sucking power out of the Molten Heart is.

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:14 
Spe:13 
End:10
Awa:12
Cun:12
Kno:13
Ner:12

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

Inventory
Heavy Crystal Mirror Armour Shroud
Golden pin (in forearm)
Crystal Friend (with riding harness + Obedience Rod)
Radio
Telegrabber with Stasis Box (Rifle, 100 meters max grab range)
3 Stasis Boxes (diving enhanced containment container) for the Telegrabber
Ethral Rifle (scope+bipod) (rifle 3, pierce 3) 6/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 7/7
Ethral Rifle magazine 6/7
Crystal Weapon
Black Flame Crystal Golem
Field Lighter (Fire 2)
Shiny interconnected colorful gems
Grappling Hook + Ethral Silk rope 200 ft
1 Doctor's Bag
1 Dynamo Lantern (Light 3)
1 Knife (Cut/Pierce 2)
2 Slave Traps
Suit Repair Kit

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
Notes on insect saddle construction
Ancient Bird-people idols
Ancient Mole-jewels depicting unknown beast
Simple Clothes (with hood)
Cot
Book (Adventures of Pilgrim)
Deck of Cards
760 fathoms (1% royalty for flame)

Kara's Diary

[12,2,15]
Clate looks around, scanning the area.

He says that there looks like there might be areas near the center that are cooler. He points to a specific place, which you obviously can't see, but assume Adam can.

He points towards another place, this time up and parallel to here. He says there's a lot of data stored there, but in a form only crystal people can access. The "Swim through to learn" kind.

Finally, he says the entire structure seems to be drawing power from where it connects to the molten heart. Its conducting through everything, but it starts down at the bottom, where the crystal is literally submerged in magma.

"Do we have any idea of what it was that shattered this overmind, or who did it?"

Hard to say. According to the info in some tablets friend Kara uncovered, the shattering occurred right after the crystal superweapon was used.

Now, the possibility exists that the overmind simply had to incorporate too many new crystal people into the hivemind, causing some sort of overload. It's also possible that the weapon malfunctioned somehow, or was sabotaged.
Seeing what I am seeing right now I almost suspect sabotage of some sort, seeing as it is still immobilizing and/or killing crystal creatures that get close to it to this very moment. Though we can't rule out some catastrophic, cascading malfunction either. I'm afraid we'll only get an answer to this question once the machine is turned off and we can inspect it.

Assist my companions as much as I can via giving directions or stoneforming, but don't get any closer to the shattering room.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  10 (+1 from levelup not added yet)
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  9 (+1 from levelup not added yet)
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
(((1 free skillpoint from levelup)))

Inventory
pair of crystal swords. (cut 6, pierce 3) They look basically like normal crystals, but flattened so that two of its sharp edges are aligned.  There are no handles, as you can just fuse them to your body.
10 Crystal spears (pierce 3)
6 crystal lazer guns (pierce 3)


Bladed Shovel - handle coated with Pseudomagnetic mortar
Knife (cut2, pierce2)
TNT x5 (3 fitted to spiderbots)
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 x2 (1 on loan to Kara, 1 in Clate's possesion)
Silver ethral pendant: small silver pendant in the shape of a compound eye wreathed in white fire
Ethral archive promissory note



243 Fathoms


Crystal Babies
1. Ramiel V2.0, half the size of the original
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)
6. 2 small golems with black flames mounted on their heads. Suicide bots.
7. 3 suicide spiderbots. Smol, fast, each holds 1 TNT charge.
8. Knifebirb: Two long legs, attached to a single, long, razor sharp blade of crystal. It moves in a jittery, rapid way that makes anyone with flesh that can be cut stay far away from it. Cassowary Sized.
9. Protecto: a big rolling wall of hexagons that can reshift themselves around to form shields of different sizes, shapes, and thicknesses.
10. Death Blossom:  floating flower, it has a bunch of little points  and when attacking it rotates rapidly in place, firing small energy bolts from those points, like a minigun.


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

Move on to our objective, use wizard vision to get forewarning of problems or threats. 

"Do we have any idea of what it was that shattered this overmind, or who did it?"

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: 13
Awa: 12
Cun: 11
Kno: 10
Ner: 14
Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Flammenvision!
Inventory

anti-heat suit
Soldier's chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, currently worn long to hide the black veins
Rubber Suit
Sobriety helmet: provides a +3 bonus against mind fuckery, though it will degrade over time as it gets "hit" with more effects.

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
labradorite rod

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
324 fathoms
5 unspent skillpoints
copy of cult papers sold to the church
cult holy book sold to the church
scribbled notes with faces of cult conspirators sold to the church
lenses of telescope that can look through solid matter
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest sold to the church
set of numbered metal plates

- 0 x portal knife, not yet enchanted
- 1 x sacrifices for +3

1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through), enchanted, but badly (!unknown destination!) :v
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.) Currently deployed on the bore, there is padding on the floor to prevent damage from drift.

Clate projects a tunnel as far as he can, but by the point it gets within about 10 feet of the central structures it grinds to a halt. He tries again but it refuses to go any further.  Adam follows the tunnel, intent on using his crystal golem to continue it, but the golem doesn't  get much further than Clate's current position before keeling over, separate pieces clanking to the floor and rolling back down.  Adam moves to the end of the tunnel and examines it. Solid stone for about 10 feet until reaching the complex. Explosives might work...but crystal tends to facture and enough boom to blow away 10 feet of stone might put a crack through this entire place for all he knows. Diving might be the more reasonable option.

[Radio Controlled]

He says that there looks like there might be areas near the center that are cooler. He points to a specific place, which you obviously can't see, but assume Adam can.

And what can Adam see there exactly?

He points towards another place, this time up and parallel to here. He says there's a lot of data stored there, but in a form only crystal people can access. The "Swim through to learn" kind.

Are they slabs we could pick up and bring back for Clate to read, or are they too big? Or is that place not near the core enough to be dangerous to our crystal boyo?

but the golem doesn't  get much further than Clate's current position before keeling over, separate pieces clanking to the floor and rolling back down.

Can we repair this crystal baby, or is it destroyed for all intents and purposes?

Diving might be the more reasonable option.

Assuming I used Es to move the crystal out of the way (move it down to the side of the rest of the tunnel), which material spheres seem appropriate here? Akhmah probably since it's crystal, but perhaps also Yengenze or Balarim? And how many reinforcements of each sphere to move this amount of material?

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: 13
Awa: 12
Cun: 11
Kno: 10
Ner: 14
Skills
Diving: +3
Stealth: +2
Occult: +1
Flammenvision!
Inventory

anti-heat suit
Soldier's chestplate
Clothing: simple priest robes, currently worn long to hide the black veins
Rubber Suit
Sobriety helmet: provides a +3 bonus against mind fuckery, though it will degrade over time as it gets "hit" with more effects.

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
labradorite rod

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
324 fathoms
5 unspent skillpoints
copy of cult papers sold to the church
cult holy book sold to the church
scribbled notes with faces of cult conspirators sold to the church
lenses of telescope that can look through solid matter
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest sold to the church
set of numbered metal plates

- 0 x portal knife, not yet enchanted
- 1 x sacrifices for +3

1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through), enchanted, but badly (!unknown destination!) :v
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.) Currently deployed on the bore, there is padding on the floor to prevent damage from drift.

[syvarris]

Direct the flighty friends to try and unlock the door.  If they are catatonic, direct one of the human adventure kids to give it a try.

While they're doing that, walk a few paces to the right of the door, then use the tungsten toothpick to smash a hole in the wall at eye level.  Nyw's eye level.  Stand away from the hole and loudly ask what's going on.

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: 10
Spe:11
End:14
Awa:14
Cun: 10
Kno: 9
Ner: 13

Skills: (Two unspent skillpoints)
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