Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Pancaek]

"Not by a long shot, but I've done all I can for now. I fear this whole endeavor is going to take a long, long time to truly be complete.

Yes, essentially. As all crystal beings are connected to the overmind, you could talk to basically any golem and I would be able to hear it. These fit in your pocket though, so they're more practical than larger golems to bring with you.

Sure thing, I'd be happy to do that.

I would certainly like for you to take the first word. Introduce us and such, since I know very little about this Leon and the Church at large, I'm afraid. Perhaps we should keep the full extent of the Overmind under wraps in the beginning stages, though it is possible the Church still has knowledge of it written down somewhere. Also the connection between all crystal people and the interconnectedness of the crystal ruins. Better that they think of them as seperate cities, functioning in the same way as you know them.

On that note, I also have this for you."

Clate holds out two crystal boxes in his crystalline shluck environmental suit arms. One each for Kara and Adam, simple boxes, perfectly grown from orchid coloured crystal.

"Each of these boxes contain a crystal toothpick, the same kind that made me into what I am today. The very first two of this era. I give these to you, as a safeguard. If....should I perish before being able to make more crystal people, I cannot allow the Overmind to become dormant once more. We have done too much and come too far to succumb to a single point of failure. All I ask is that, should I come to perish before managing to truly kickstart the new crystal race, you find someone to take up my mantle. Please."

[Parisbre56]

"Don't worry Clate! We won't let you down!"

According to them it appears to continue to burn without an energy source, produces no heat, does not damage substances, and produces electromagnetic waves similar to those of a functioning human brain. They have concluded that it is a "condensed thought-form".

That's quite interesting. Do they have any idea about how it was created? Could they replicate the process to turn a person into that state?

Would they be willing to sell it back to me? Or at least allow me to experiment with it as long as they can get the results back? I'm thinking, if this thing is like a human brain, then we could attach some sort of prosthetic to it to have it write to us, so that we can extract the knowledge it has.

Do I know of anything like those bacterial colony people that the Crystal people traded with for knowledge? Is there a chance I could find them near the section of the map marked bacterial, the "Sulfurous Maze"?

Its entirely possible. Not many people go there so there's not much info.

Would our magma diving suits work to protect us from the toxic environment there?

Try to contact those gangsters back in Goldshore. See if I can get them to tell me what the current law about magma-mining is. If I supplied them with crystal-based magma-mining equipment, could they use that to produce gold and give me a cut of the profits? Or would it be better to have them set up a meeting with one of the big mining interests?

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
Simple Clothes (with hood)
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 energy Weapon
Black Flame Crystal Golem
Radio Crystal Golem (in pocket)
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

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
Cot
Book (Adventures of Pilgrim)
Deck of Cards
760 fathoms (1% royalty for flame)
Magma-resistent diving suit
Suit Repair Kit
Dust from the Crystal Orb Superweapon

Kara's Diary

[Pancaek]

"Thank you, Friend Kara, that means a lot to me."

As stated in RP. Give both radios and one (boxed) crystal toothpick each to Kara and Adam.

Fix up Adam's crystal telescope

Ask the overmind how it thinks I should go about this meeting with Deepwalker Leon. It surely has opinions or experiences with meetings like this in the past.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  11
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  10
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

[Radio Controlled]

"Of course. The crystal race won't perish a second time, we'll see to that."

"I would certainly like for you to take the first word. Introduce us and such, since I know very little about this Leon and the Church at large, I'm afraid. Perhaps we should keep the full extent of the Overmind under wraps in the beginning stages, though it is possible the Church still has knowledge of it written down somewhere. Also the connection between all crystal people and the interconnectedness of the crystal ruins. Better that they think of them as seperate cities, functioning in the same way as you know them.

"I can mention you used to be Schluck but got changed due to a toothpick? And what about the fact that the crystal pvermind used to be dormant and that we resurrected it, is any off that off-limits for now?"

[Pancaek]

"Yes, the toothpicks can be mentioned. We want to attract others to voluntarely become crystal people at some point, anyway.
The overmind as well can be mentioned. I'll leave it up to your involvement in its resurrection you mention. You can say it was I alone who did it, if you think your involvement might bring into trouble with your church or something."

[piecewise]

By the way, did we lvl-up already from the crystal ruin restoration (or was it too short for one)? I forget. If we do lvl-up, could you roll it for me please? (with a little luck it'll help for the dive this turn).

Quickly test the crystal lens telescope.

Suppose I wanted to go and find myself a necromancer to acquire a heretical artifact, are there any ones that are 'known'? We once met that one guy when he retrieved his zombies, but are there any other known ones? And where could I find them, or find someone who could bring me to one? Finally, what sort of thing could I offer in exchange, some sort of item or maybe certain knowledge?

Let my mind rest for a while to let any mind points reset. Then let's make another teleporter knife.
Use a +3 diving sacrifice. Do the dive in the church diving vault to roll at advantage.
Move to Noth, then to Xi. Reinforce Noth and Xi 10 times each.
This allows the entrance portal to be made when 'cutting' with the portal knife while the selection dial is pressed down a bit. The position of the selection dial determines which destination portal is used, with the rune (or number or whatever) on the dial corresponding to a rune on the destination portal. So, if a portal doorway ever gets destroyed, that destination is not reachable, but making a new portal with the same rune reestablishes the connection. Trying to open a portal while the dial is set to a rune with no corresponding destination portal doorway means the connection is denied and opens no portal. Closing the portal from the knife side can be done by doing the same cutting motion in the reverse direction. Once open, the portal is two-way. A single rune on the dial is meant to act as a 'wildcard' to connect to a destination with no rune on it, for situations where we need to eg. define the destination doorway as a hole in the ground (as per the example you gave: "That would probably help somewhat: defining the edges I mean. but thats again more related to the nature of the dive. You could map the edges to a crate or a hole in the ground or just about anything.")

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 broken 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
130 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
anatomical drawings of ancient corpses found in the molten heart

- 2 x portal knife, not yet enchanted (cost 17)
- 3 x sacrifices for +3 (cost 50)

1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through), enchanted, Set up on the bore in the main cargo hold/entry point. (cost 30)
1 x portal knife, enchanted given to Clate
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. 2 reinforcements on each to fix.) Currently deployed on the bore, there is padding on the floor to prevent damage from drift. Set up on the bore in an open room.

Spoiler: level up (click to show/hide)

Str: 14 (6, 2, 6)
Dex: 17 (6, 5, 6)
Spe: 12 (5, 4, 3)
End: 8 (3, 1, 4)
Awa: 10 (2, 5, 3)
Cun: 13 (6, 2, 5)
Kno: 12 (6, 3, 3)
Nrv: 9 (5, 1, 3)

Telescope works.

[9] The ruins attached to the giant worm tunnel are thought to be one of their hideouts. I've sent you an image on discord.

Ok....-2 nerve. Results are as designated. Using the old set up from previous rolls.

...I am going to take 100% of the bounty for that mission, becuase none of the people who helped seem to still be playing.

Buy a glass eye rifle, and another tunnel clearer, and give them to Gus and Baxter, the adventure kids.  They can choose which of them wants to be the sniper.  Two extra reloads for each gun (-121 fathoms)

Buy eight low-caliber ethral rifles (-140 fathoms), and two reloads for each (-16 fathoms).  These will be put somewhere on the bore for Nyw's "recruits" to use, in case they ever need to defend the bore.  These are the people Nyw freed from prison in the moth city, in trade for having provided some information on the drug cartel.

Speaking of, give them some pay for... whatever they do.  Do they cook us meals?  Clean the bore?  Are they maids?  Whatever, they get 20f per body, so -160 fathoms overall.  Hopefully that'll encourage them not to desert.

Can we buy frag grenades?  What would be the cost?  The armory has TNT, but raw explosives aren't as killy as proper grenades.  Also, how about gas grenades that would knock people out or incapacite them, like teargas?  To my understanding Nyw would be immune to such things (being a corpse), but most of the people he fights would not be.

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 Injectable tranquilizer.

77 fathoms.
--63 fathoms left over from wolfman bounty.

Followers:
Tunnel Clearer shotgun [5/5 shotshells] [Shotgun 3] [Pierce 3] (10 spare shotshells) (-2 on to-hit rolls)
Glass Eye rifle [4/4 shots] [Sniper 3] [Pierce 4] (8 spare shots)
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
----Each armed with one low caliber ethral rifle [Pierce 2] (10/10), 20 spare bullets for each gun.

Ok.

Gus gets the rifle, Baxter the tunnel clearer.

Done. Records gremlins, please take note!

They do general stuff if you don't give them specific work.  Mostly cleaning up and handling gruntwork like fueling, maintenance, etc.

Normal grenades sure. Lets call them..6 each. Gas grenades aren't as commonly available but you could probably find them for about 10.

"Don't worry Clate! We won't let you down!"

According to them it appears to continue to burn without an energy source, produces no heat, does not damage substances, and produces electromagnetic waves similar to those of a functioning human brain. They have concluded that it is a "condensed thought-form".

That's quite interesting. Do they have any idea about how it was created? Could they replicate the process to turn a person into that state?

Would they be willing to sell it back to me? Or at least allow me to experiment with it as long as they can get the results back? I'm thinking, if this thing is like a human brain, then we could attach some sort of prosthetic to it to have it write to us, so that we can extract the knowledge it has.

Do I know of anything like those bacterial colony people that the Crystal people traded with for knowledge? Is there a chance I could find them near the section of the map marked bacterial, the "Sulfurous Maze"?

Its entirely possible. Not many people go there so there's not much info.

Would our magma diving suits work to protect us from the toxic environment there?

Try to contact those gangsters back in Goldshore. See if I can get them to tell me what the current law about magma-mining is. If I supplied them with crystal-based magma-mining equipment, could they use that to produce gold and give me a cut of the profits? Or would it be better to have them set up a meeting with one of the big mining interests?

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
Simple Clothes (with hood)
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 energy Weapon
Black Flame Crystal Golem
Radio Crystal Golem (in pocket)
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

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
Cot
Book (Adventures of Pilgrim)
Deck of Cards
760 fathoms (1% royalty for flame)
Magma-resistent diving suit
Suit Repair Kit
Dust from the Crystal Orb Superweapon

Kara's Diary

They've known about these sort of things for a while, apparently they're known as weapons humans wielded on the surface, but their methods of creation are lost to both the humans and the other races. The only ones who would know are the ancient humans; or perhaps someone associated with them.

They would, but they'd ask for more than you sold it to them for. Even experimentation would cost you. They're very covetous of their stuff. But if you convinced them you might be able to get more knowledge out of it, they might cooperate with you for free.



Yes.

There aren't a lot of "laws" in corven society.  There are cops but you have to pay them. There are jails but you have to pay them. There are inspectors but you have to pay them.  In general things are kept running through a complex series of social norms and privatized systems. A lot of the "laws" or "regulations" are just tenuous agreements between the mining groups enforced with private security and the threat of retaliation.  New equipment is gonna throw a wrench in the whole system...but they'd also be willing to pay for it and pay well. The chaos it causes isn't your issue.

"Thank you, Friend Kara, that means a lot to me."

As stated in RP. Give both radios and one (boxed) crystal toothpick each to Kara and Adam.

Fix up Adam's crystal telescope

Ask the overmind how it thinks I should go about this meeting with Deepwalker Leon. It surely has opinions or experiences with meetings like this in the past.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  11
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  10
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

Done
Done
Its knowledge of the church isn't great but it tells you that the chance of converting is low. And its likely that any agreements are going to have to be not only beneficial to them but that it will have to in someway not seem like you are intruding in their space. It is easier to just kill you and keep the population for themselves; you have to give them reasons why not to do that.

[Radio Controlled]

level up

Wow! What a level up!
More of these in the future please!

I think we're ready to go do that meeting now? If Clate is ready, go and meet Leon. Should we do the talking over discord or would you rather do it over turns?

If latter: start with some pleasantries, how is he doing, how was his pilgrimage, etc.

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: 12
Dex: 12
Spe: 13
End: 13
Awa: 12
Cun: 12
Kno: 11
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 broken crystal construct
labradorite rod
2 x crystal telescope (can look through solid matter)
boxed crystal toothpick
crystal radio

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
130 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
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest sold to the church
set of numbered metal plates
anatomical drawings of ancient corpses found in the molten heart

- 1 x portal knife, not yet enchanted (cost 17)
- 1 x sacrifices for +3 (cost 50)

1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through), enchanted, Set up on the bore in the main cargo hold/entry point. (cost 30)
2 x portal knife, enchanted, 1 given to Clate
1 x Custom collapsible doorway, enchanted (Warning: portal's end point isn't very well anchored to the physical object, 4,5m max drift. 2 reinforcements on each to fix.) Currently deployed on the bore, there is padding on the floor to prevent damage from drift. Set up on the bore in an open room.

[Pancaek]

All set to go to the meeting with Darwin. Let him take the word when meeting Leon.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  11
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  10
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

[syvarris]

I am my own records gremlin!  I assure you, I am fair and honest in all my recordkeeping.  No cheating is afoot.

Buy four nonlethal gas grenades, and two frags (-52 fathoms).  Each adventure kid gets one gas grenade, Nyw keeps the rest.

Go out into one of the bore tunnels, away from civilization and valuable things, and test out the old guardian hatchet's magical ranged attack thing.  IIRC, using the effect requires a nerve check, and if you succeed, it launches a Moonlight Greatsword-style energy blast?  I'd like Nyw to practice with it and confirm that, so I can write it down.

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
Two frag grenades
Two nonlethal gas grenades
Tunnel Clearer shotgun  [shotgun 3] [Pierce 3] (5/5 shotshells) (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 Injectable tranquilizer.

77 fathoms.
+11 fathoms left over from wolfman bounty.

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
--Equipped with a Glass Eye rifle [Sniper 3] [Pierce 4] (4/4) (8 spare shots)
--Armored with a mail shirt [Protect 3], and has two smoke bombs and a nonlethal gas grenade.
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
--Equipped with a Tunnel Clearer shotgun [Shotgun 3] [Pierce 3] (5/5 shotshells) (10 spare shotshells) (-2 on to-hit rolls)
--Armored with a mail shirt [Protect 3], and has two smoke bombs and a nonlethal gas grenade.

Bore NPC "recruits":
--Five moths
--One lizard dude
--Two humans
----Each armed with one low caliber ethral rifle [Pierce 2] (10/10), 20 spare bullets for each gun.

[piecewise]

All set to go to the meeting with Darwin. Let him take the word when meeting Leon.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  11
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  10
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

All set to go to the meeting with Darwin. Let him take the word when meeting Leon.

Spoiler: Clate (click to show/hide)

Name: Clate
Race: Shluck
Description: To bring back the crystal race
 
Stats
Str:  12
Dex:  9
Spe:  11
End:  13
Awa:  12
Cun:  10
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

Yeah, lets do it over in discord. Will be faster. Just hit me with a post to start.

I am my own records gremlin!  I assure you, I am fair and honest in all my recordkeeping.  No cheating is afoot.

Buy four nonlethal gas grenades, and two frags (-52 fathoms).  Each adventure kid gets one gas grenade, Nyw keeps the rest.

Go out into one of the bore tunnels, away from civilization and valuable things, and test out the old guardian hatchet's magical ranged attack thing.  IIRC, using the effect requires a nerve check, and if you succeed, it launches a Moonlight Greatsword-style energy blast?  I'd like Nyw to practice with it and confirm that, so I can write it down.

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
Two frag grenades
Two nonlethal gas grenades
Tunnel Clearer shotgun  [shotgun 3] [Pierce 3] (5/5 shotshells) (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 Injectable tranquilizer.

77 fathoms.
+11 fathoms left over from wolfman bounty.

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
--Equipped with a Glass Eye rifle [Sniper 3] [Pierce 4] (4/4) (8 spare shots)
--Armored with a mail shirt [Protect 3], and has two smoke bombs and a nonlethal gas grenade.
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
--Equipped with a Tunnel Clearer shotgun [Shotgun 3] [Pierce 3] (5/5 shotshells) (10 spare shotshells) (-2 on to-hit rolls)
--Armored with a mail shirt [Protect 3], and has two smoke bombs and a nonlethal gas grenade.

Bore NPC "recruits":
--Five moths
--One lizard dude
--Two humans
----Each armed with one low caliber ethral rifle [Pierce 2] (10/10), 20 spare bullets for each gun.

I'll trust you. An honored dead wouldn't lie.

Done.

That is indeed how it functions. By the way in the course of rolling for it you gained 1 point in using it so good for you.

[Radio Controlled]

Spoiler: discordo (click to show/hide)

[20:47] pancaek: How about that deepwalker Leon meeting tho?
[20:55] Radio Controlled: I'd start it off with what was in the thread: ask how he is doing and how the pilgrimage went, etc.
[20:59] pancaek: Clate'll just be quiet and observe for now
[15:34] Mr.Bones: He says that 3 pilgrims died but that it was overall successful. He is also working on a new passage down that he hopes will expand the edges of the map. He then asks what you want exactly.
[19:38] Radio Controlled: "Well then, to cut to the chase: this crystal being you see before you used to be a Shluck teammate of ours. However, after he injected himself with a crystal toothpick he transformed into the form you see now. This gave him strange and incredible powers over stone, such as the ability to shape it with but a flick of his wrist and without any diving involved. Not only that, but he can form crystal minions of varying shape and size, see through stone and more.

Further exploration led us to a number of crystal ruins, and after some adventuring it appears that the crystal people have 'reawakened' from their slumber so to speak. The reason we came to see you is because I arranged for our former teammate, Clate, to come here as a representative of the crystal race to discuss the possibility of forging an alliance between the crystal people and humanity. I have seen their works, they are amazing and I believe we could greatly benefit from such a friendship. In turn their fledgling society could benefit from having a strong partner.

As for the negotiations, I will act as a mediator between our peoples. And as a token of their goodwill and as an example of what they could mean for humanity and the church, they offer you this crystal telescope, which can view through solid stone without requiring any sort of diving."
[19:49] pancaek: Clate moves his "gaze" between Leon and Adam a few times, imitating a being who still has eyes, before saying.
"Yes, that is the long and short of it.
I am Clate, of the crystal people. Formerly Clate B. Simple of the Shluck. A pleasure to meet you."
[19:54] pancaek: Also keep an eye so to speak on the Overmind. See what he thinks about what is being said. Also, where are we right here, how does this meeting place look?
[16:10] Mr.Bones: Leon looks at you both for a long time after you finish.  He taps one finger on the desk in a steady rhythm, clearly intently focused on you and thinking at the same time. After maybe a minute of silence he finally speaks.
[16:10] Mr.Bones: "How many more like you are there?"
[16:20] pancaek: What does the Overmind think, should we tell them I'm currently the only one? Since he's back "online", if Leon-Kun here kills my crystal ass, will Overmind be okay?
[16:25] Mr.Bones: The overmind would survive your death but it would have to convert another being, which would probably require waiting for a while.
[16:26] Mr.Bones: It tells you that saying you're the only one would likely be dangerous. Right now you are an unknown actor and the church -if it is like most organisms- would likely consider it a better idea to kill you and prevent any future trouble as opposed to cooperate and maybe have future benefits
[16:34] pancaek: "A curious question to start off with. I cannot give you an answer as of yet. We are steadily reestablishing contact with the old crystal cities.
There is also some ambiguity involved. All crystal constructs are 'like me' in a sense. From the humblest worker golem to the largest mover. Even the buildings themselves are, in essence, crystal people. I am merely the speaker, taking a form suitable to conduct diplomacy."
[16:37] pancaek: ((Also, what is this meeting like? How many people did Leon bring and where are we, roughly?))
[16:42] Mr.Bones: ((You guys are, seemingly, alone together. You're in a public place; a bench in a fungal park near the church building that houses his office))
[16:43] pancaek: ((So at least ten expert marksmen have a bead on us right now, gotcha))
[16:55] pancaek: So yeah, answer that.
[17:04] Mr.Bones: was waiting to see if RC had anything to add
[17:04] Mr.Bones: but I'll go with it
[17:05] pancaek: I'm not sure he's around right now.
[17:06] Mr.Bones: "I see. And you say you have effortless control over stone?"
[17:08] pancaek: "Effortless is an overstatement, but we do have the power to shape and control stone, correct."
[17:09] Mr.Bones: "Is there a price paid for it? Or a danger?
[17:09] pancaek: Actually, ask the overmind if there is a price/danger. I don't think so, just doublechecking.
[17:10] Mr.Bones: The response seems to be "Its only dangerous if you do dangerous things."
[17:12] pancaek: Right, as expected.
"None inherent to using the power itself, no. Physics are another thing, however. If you shape the stone into a form that cannot support itself, it will collapse as all structures do."
[17:14] Mr.Bones: "A useful talent. Or potentially deadly weapon.  You're seeking an alliance, but to what end? What do you hope to gain and what can you give?"
[17:21] pancaek: "Most of all we seek peace. We realise we are a sudden, unknown factor reappearing into this world. But in the first place we seek to be left alone. As your Church represents the largest faction and Friend Adam speaks highly of you, we came to you first.

In return, we can offer commerce. Goods and rented labour. Both items such as this telescope, and golems build to the specifications of an intended task. We can work in dangerous tunnels and locales with ease. Our means are currently somewhat limited, but will grow only with time."
[19:24] Mr.Bones: "Peace would be most advantageous of course. And your ability to shift stone could be of great interest. As you know we often dig major pathways through the stone, but doing so is a time intensive, expensive, and in many cases dangerous process. Your ability would be very useful for this. Among your other capacities of course.

But you must also understand the position we have: we are rather dependent up on the stone remaining solid and where it is.  A pact balanced on the razor's edge of mutual altruism seems...unwise. True peace is always brokered by mutual need...or mutual destruction if that peace is ever broken."
[19:24] Mr.Bones: He taps the table thoughtfully for a few moments
[19:29] Mr.Bones: "Here is what I recommend: I will let the powers that be know about you. Chances are they already know but I will at least let them know you've made contact and are seeking peace.  However I doubt they will see you as a worthy partner as you are now. I'm sure your...benefactors are large indeed but we have no real evidence of them.   You, in turn, begin making yourselves known. Trade with the other races and church members. Ease the population into your existence. Integrate into the cities.  The church's policy is non-aggression unless the subject poses a danger. Stay friendly and they'll leave you be. Become known and they'll extend more official connections. "
[19:40] pancaek: "We do understand your position. I can only try to reassure you by saying that from our viewpoint, intruding upon the stone where the other races live has no merit. We can build our cities in places that are inhospitable to your people, so why risk possible strife by intruding upon your living space?

Your recommendation rings solid, and is in line to what we had already planned. We wish only to become a useful and respected member of the society at large. This will take time, of course.

I thank you for your time and words. Friend Adam, do you have anything you'd like to say or discuss?"
[09:45] Radio Controlled: ((Sorry for not being part of this more, was busy and didn't see it before it was over.))
[09:45] Radio Controlled: "Hmm. I had hoped we could move into a more explicit relationship between our peoples given the possible benefits this could bring forth. But I can understand where this is coming from, so if this is the position of the church, I accept it.

One final thing I might suggest however, Clate, is that you share with Leon one of the crystal radios. That way, once your kind has become a more known actor and have proven not to be a menace, further deepening of ties can be established easily. Or, should there be some sort of misunderstanding or trepidation, having an easy line of communication could prevent a disaster from occurring or animosity from growing.

Thank you, brother Leon, for hearing us out."
[09:54] Radio Controlled: ((Do we return to the thread now, or anything else we need to do in here?))
[10:58] pancaek: "An excellent suggestion, Friend Adam."
stoneform a compact crystal radio for Leon
((assuming it worked)) "Please accept this. It is a small two-way communication device. Should you ever wish to contact us, you need merely to address it and speak my name."
[14:53] Mr.Bones: He takes the radio very carefully, between the thumb and forefingers of his left hand.  He examines it a moment, seemingly looking both at it and at you at the same time, and then tucks it away into a bag. He thanks you for your time and then promptly leaves.
[14:53] Mr.Bones: (and yeah, back to thread)

Church diplomacy: done!

Regarding the necromancers, what sort of thing could I offer in exchange for a heretical artifact, some sort of item or maybe certain knowledge?

The church does dives for payment, right? Suppose that I wanted to pay them to do the dive to make a portal knife or destination. I would provide the material to be enchanted and the dive instructions. How much would they charge for 1 enchantment (for reference it's dive to Noth then Xi and reinforce each 10 times)? 

"Well then brother Clate, I hope that the meeting with the deepwalker was what you hoped for.

Now, before I forget, you still have one of the portal knives, right? As it stands you can return to the crystal by keeping the portal open, but that's not exactly convenient. I could forge you another destination portal to leave there permanently, but in that case I might have to ask you to help me fund this endeavour since my personal reserves are running a tad low. "

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: 12
Dex: 12
Spe: 13
End: 13
Awa: 12
Cun: 12
Kno: 11
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 broken crystal construct
labradorite rod
2 x crystal telescope (can look through solid matter)
boxed crystal toothpick
crystal radio

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
130 fathoms
6 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
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest sold to the church
set of numbered metal plates
anatomical drawings of ancient corpses found in the molten heart

- 1 x portal knife, not yet enchanted (cost 17)
- 1 x sacrifices for +3 (cost 50)

1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through), enchanted, Set up on the bore in the main cargo hold/entry point. (cost 30)
2 x portal knife, enchanted, 1 given to Clate
1 x Custom collapsible doorway, enchanted (Warning: portal's end point isn't very well anchored to the physical object, 4,5m max drift. 2 reinforcements on each to fix.) Currently deployed on the bore, there is padding on the floor to prevent damage from drift. Set up on the bore in an open room.

[piecewise]

Necromancers tend to be extremely vain and individualistic. If you can figure out what a specific one likes, it would be a good trade. They don't really have any basic needs (food, water, etc) and don't care about money so they're rather difficult to shop for without info. But more bodies might be a good general present. That or any info that lets them get one over on their rivals. They are eternally feuding and scheming with their fellow necromancers.

Yes. Lets just generalize this as 3 gold for every sphere jumped and 2 gold for every reinforcement.

[Radio Controlled]

Yes. Lets just generalize this as 3 gold for every sphere jumped and 2 gold for every reinforcement.

Hmm. Alright then. It seems too cheap to me to be honest, given that diving yourself is so dangerous and having to buy sacrifices to reduce the risk also costs money.

Case in point, the +3 sacrifice costs 50 fathoms, which heavily reduces the risk but doesn't eliminate it (and doesn't guarantee the material roll will work). The full price for the dive to make a teleporter knife or portal through the church like this is 2x2x10 + 3x5 = 55 fathoms (2 times 10 reinforcements, path length of 5).

I guess one could always chose to dive sans sacrifices to make it free, but still. 

Necromancers tend to be extremely vain and individualistic. If you can figure out what a specific one likes, it would be a good trade. They don't really have any basic needs (food, water, etc) and don't care about money so they're rather difficult to shop for without info. But more bodies might be a good general present. That or any info that lets them get one over on their rivals. They are eternally feuding and scheming with their fellow necromancers.

Do I know of any specific necromancer that might be hiding out in that area? If not where could I go and find any info or at least rumors pertaining that? (I'm guessing that a big city like this is suitable for that). Basically try to look around for clues.

That location where the necromancers hang out is near a worm path, with the nearest civilization being the Shluck-settlement 'Bythos', right? Can Bythos be reached with a regular bore, or would we need to make it amphibious?

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: 12
Dex: 12
Spe: 13
End: 13
Awa: 12
Cun: 12
Kno: 11
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 broken crystal construct
labradorite rod
2 x crystal telescope (can look through solid matter)
boxed crystal toothpick
crystal radio

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
130 fathoms
6 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
slabs with the history of the crystal people
mysterious cult chest sold to the church
set of numbered metal plates
anatomical drawings of ancient corpses found in the molten heart

- 1 x portal knife, not yet enchanted (cost 17)
- 1 x sacrifices for +3 (cost 50)

1 x large collapsible doorway (large enough to allow crawler to move through), enchanted, Set up on the bore in the main cargo hold/entry point. (cost 30)
2 x portal knife, enchanted, 1 given to Clate
1 x Custom collapsible doorway, enchanted (Warning: portal's end point isn't very well anchored to the physical object, 4,5m max drift. 2 reinforcements on each to fix.) Currently deployed on the bore, there is padding on the floor to prevent damage from drift. Set up on the bore in an open room.

[piecewise]

Spoiler: actual turn (click to show/hide)

We can raise it to 5 for each thing then.

[8]
You have heard of one, you think. Kaltizar the Implacable. You remember hearing the church bargained a truce with him after some pilgrim insulted his honor or some such. They make monthly payments to him of corpses and other goods in exchange for his cooperation and effectively acting like a border guard for those distant settlements.

A regular bore is waterproof, though depth and movement can be an issue. Depths shouldn't be here, and the drill can be used as a propeller, so you can make it. However they do sell propeller kits for the bore that make maneuvering easier.

This is two weeks of just RC answering. We done here guys? Everyone ready to move on? Besides RC of course. I'm pretty sure that a global thermonuclear war wouldn't stop him from sending turns to me via trained rats or something.

[syvarris]

I like the game, and would be interested in it continuing, but I imagine if you end it and start on something else we'll all enjoy that more.  I was considering having Nyw search for some kind of underground crusade to drag the crew into (along with his squad of NPC convicts and adventurers), but haven't had the motivation to pursue it--even beyond other players probably not being very interested in that.  I think I should play a more curious and adventurous character in the next game.

How close is Call of Earth to being a thing?