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Author Topic: Museum III, adventure succession game (DF 0.47.05)  (Read 475396 times)

Bralbaard

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #540 on: November 07, 2020, 01:10:42 pm »

Sorry about that! I've added you to the turn list. 
I have an updated version of the map ready as well, but for some odd reason imgur uploads are not working. Will try again later.
Duskhome is very close to Championvault. Gor (the Pit) is very close to Mosshill the Mines of Iron.
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Bralbaard

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #541 on: November 09, 2020, 04:40:18 pm »

Recently, another journal attributed to Raki Umberclan has been found. It is incomplete, and the writing is different from his earlier journal. Most of it is written with an unsteady hand, and carelessly spilled ink droplets stain the pages.

I KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. You fear me for the shape I take under the full moon. You do not understand yet, nor does anyone else. YOU SHOULD FEAR YOURSELF, not me. I was once like you. When I first read about werecreatures I thought that once transformed they lose all control of themselves. That werebeast run off on killing sprees only to wake up later with no memory of, and no responsibility for the horrors they caused. This is far from the truth. While transformed I am completely in control of myself, I could pet a cat, and pick flowers if I wanted to.
The others though, as soon as you’ve transformed, everyone else turns aggressive, as if driven by a wild bloodlust. EVERYONE HAS GOTTEN IT WRONG. It is the world that goes crazy, not the werecreature!

The only way to make you see, is to let you experience it. This should be so easy to accept. BUT EVERYONE MAKES IT SO HARD.They resist, they run, they do not understand. How can I, with these mammoth fangs and claws, bite a body so gently that it merely becomes infected, when people struggle to get away? I’m horified by all the bodies I’ve bitten in half because of a lack of cooperation!

But there is hope. This is not the only curse the world has to offer. I found this strange slab on my initial trip to the museum. THE HUMANS DID NOT WANT ME TO READ IT. But now I have returned, and I’ve read it, and it showed me what they wanted to hide. The humans who together with the dwarves have destroyed the world, wanted to HIDE FROM US that the world can be fixed! The legendary megabeasts from the past can be brought back from the dead! And now I have the power to do so.



YES DEAR READER. Ozob Mintbears the Rosy Swamp, the taiga titan, lives again!! This majestic beast was brought down by one of the museum crusaders, Doñas Silenttowers, decades ago. It is back, it’s sinews and bones reattached. Over time, it’s wounds will heal.
But this work is hard. I’ve tried to raise Tor Dunescale the Simple, the sand titan from death. But these adventurers.. THEY HAVE BUTCHERED IT! Do they have no decency !!?
I’ve patched together it’s skin, and raised it from death, and did the same with his hair.. NOW TWO TITANS STAND WERE ONE HAD FALLEN. The world will pay for it's sins.



(above you see Raki riding his hollow horse, a beast carefully crafted from the leather skin of a butchered horse, he wields a pike forged from blistered metal, pillaged from an abandoned vault that was destroyed by earlier adventurers.)
« Last Edit: November 10, 2020, 11:43:48 am by Bralbaard »
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TheFlame52

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #542 on: November 09, 2020, 05:04:38 pm »

I expected there to eventually be a dark emperor.

I didn't expect him to be a monkey.

Imic

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #543 on: November 09, 2020, 06:17:18 pm »

Sometimes, the biggest changes come from the most unexpected places.
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Bralbaard

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #544 on: November 10, 2020, 05:26:47 am »

NOO!! My magic is not yet strong enough.. The twin sand titans, hair and skin, they fell apart when we encountered another band of adventurers. They fell apart at the slightest touch!
I tried to raise them again, I tried everything... THEY WERE TAKEN AWAY FROM ME.
Luckily a new full moon is nearly upon us. I will mend this world and bring it back to an age of myth! I will make everything whole again.

-----

For my second transformation, I have come to the deep south, to the city Scarletbronze. The peaceful south, where thousands walk through the city streets, were civilisation is untouched.  IT IS PERFECT.
I will start at the keep. It is full of nobles. See them run now, the fools. The next full moon THEY WILL THANK ME.

During my last transformation I did not yet have the power over death, but now I do. I now know that these powers are so much greater when combined! Now when one of the nobles struggles, and is maimed and killed, I can raise it from death, and in doing so I have made some interesting observations.

When raised as a normal zombie, these humans are useless. USELESS. They will only attack the other humans, killing them. A waste! But when I turn them into a fell one, reconnected to their fallen soul.. I found something that will change everything. The mammoth curse.. IT PERSISTS BEYOND DEATH! The curse is tied to the soul. Even better: Under normal circumstances, a victim has to wait a full month for their transformation, but these raised fell ones.. THEY TURN INTO THEIR MAMMOTH FORM IMMEDIATELY.



I was terribly unprepared for this discovery. As these fell ones keep their soul, so they keep their misjudgements. The beast attacked me immediately! And I found that I had created something far more powerful than myself.. These Mammoth Fell Ones cast a terrible spell that paralyzes their victims and tosses them away like useless rag dolls! Helplessly I was tossed away, my limbs were battered and broken. Each time I overcame my paralysis the Fell One would cast again. COULD IT NOT UNDERSTAND I GIFTED IT HIS POWERS?? Though I could feel no pain both because of my form and the paralysis, I could feel that the life was quickly draining from my body.



I got lucky when the beast tossed my broken, paralysed body through a narrow street. I landed right in front of a door, and with all my willpower I overcame the paralysis. I crawled inside and was for a moment outside of the view from the mammoth fell one. I did not hesitate and used dark magic to escape (ooc: long live fast travel)

The full moon only lasts a day. There was no time to waste, and though wasteful, I immediately set up a new experiment. I needed to distract the fell ones with other victims, so I could study them safely. The crowded marketplace was perfect. THREE MAMMOTH FELL ONES WERE RAISED. From a safe distance I observed their brutal efficiency, their dark paralysis spells, their mastery of telekinesis: how they cast their victims away, as if they were toys.



It was clear to me that my own power was insignificant. The full moon was drawing to a close, and in any case the city was.. becoming too… complicated. Somehow many of the earlier victims had already taken their beastly form by now. There were hundreds of infected. The sounds of battle came from every alley. The city was tearing itself apart. Those that were not yet infected still tried to fight it, and it was too distracting. I left, but I already had what I came here for.

The journey north was long. I travelled all the way back to collect the slab with the secrets of life and death. I had not taken it earlier, it is incredibly heavy and almost impossible to carry in my monkey form (speed 0.099), but I needed it for my final plan. I walked to the shore ready to swim to the islands before the coast, and jumped in, but made a terrible miscalculation. The heavy slab immediately pulled me to the bottom of the sea, and despite all my powers I needed air to breathe. There I was, 4 or 5 z-levels below the waves, and the slab, the slab.. I HAD TO LET IT GO.



I swam back to the surface and emerged just in time, gasping for air. Why does the world try to kill me? WHY HAS IT TAKEN FROTHBONE FROM ME?
But my monkey intellect is too strong! I can solve this! I will just wait for the next full moon, and dive for the slab on the ocean floor in my mammoth form!
----

While waiting The monkey man decided that he would not travel to the islands, and that he would start the ritual here. The mad monkey constructed and build for many days, aided by a small army of undead creations. Finally the dark pyramid started to take shape. At night it looked haunting. Incapable of sleep, the monkey looked at the waxing moon above the temple with bloodshot eyes and waited impatiently. His time would come again.

----
The full moon is here. I am yet again in my mammoth form. I wield great power, though not nearly as great as the fell ones. This is not the only problem. THE SLAB IS GONE.  I dove into the deep water. In this form, the lack of air did not bother me. But it was NOT THERE. I have heard of this dark magic. It is said that artifacts remain strongly bound to their site of origin, and that sometimes they will teleport back to that site. THERE IS NO TIME TO GET IT NOW... I have prepared everything. I just have to write better instructions.
THE MOON IS FULL, If the ritual works, I will wield the power of the Fell ones.

----

In silence the massive weremammoth walked into the dark pyramid, leaving his undead minions to wait outside. Threatening clouds gathered above the structure when he prepared the ritual. This terrible beast had once been a mere monkey that had never left the home tree. Within several months, he had learned to command powers that would have been beyond him to imagine not too long ago. But it was not enough for him.
He lit the fires, and again checked all the instructions. Then he started to chant, first softly, then louder, as if trying to reassure himself. Then when the chanting had reached it’s climax he raised a dagger with trembling hands,
and plunged it into his heart.

Raki Umberclan the Bulbous sank to his knees, fell backwards and was no more.
« Last Edit: November 11, 2020, 10:48:47 am by Bralbaard »
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Bralbaard

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #545 on: November 10, 2020, 05:27:17 am »

The final chapter, make sure to read the footnote if you are going to follow this quest...

In the pyramid, near the casket that holds the mad monkey’s corpse, a set of carefully crafted arcane instructions can be found. They promise the reader eternal life and power without limits.

"AND SO I COMMAND YOU. Finish these tasks and all these powers will be yours. FIND ME THE SLAB KNOWN AS FROTHBONE. In the old tongue, it is known as Uklasut. According to legend*, this slab is magically bound to the mead hall of Tunneledaction. Be careful. The occupants of the hall will guard it well, events from the past have made them wary. 
WAIT UNTIL THE FULL MOON, then bring it here.
In this temple, perform the rituals that are needed to understand the slab. You will receive the powers over life and death, an honor only bestowed on my most loyal servants. Now with this power, once again make sure the moon is full, and RAISE ME, YOUR MASTER, FROM DEATH AS A FELL ONE."

"Once I have returned from death, my disciple, the ritual can be completed. I WILL GIVE YOU YOUR JUST REWARD. I will pass onto you the curse of the weremammoth. Just hold still to accept it. THE BITE WILL BE GENTLE."

---
*ooc: So that is were Raki thought the slab would be, the legends are wrong apparently. Reports of other adventurers indicate it is still present in monkeycurse, randomly appearing around the site and possibly the nearby ocean floor. 
The map has been updated with Imic's sites, and with my site, Monkeycurse. I bet Raki had thought of another name for his tomb, but among the local population this is how it is known.


Save game

« Last Edit: March 10, 2021, 08:57:58 am by Bralbaard »
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Yarlig

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #546 on: November 10, 2020, 07:15:47 am »

Man' this story was absolutely chilling; loved how it went from a morning egg delivery to some grisly horrorshow overnight. It was necessary though' as interesting as this setting is' it doesn't really compare to the previous two Museums in terms of peril.
Also' this should be reprinted as a cautionary tale about the dangers of leaving your comfort zone.
Also also' I was browsing the legends lately' and alas' it seems that our benefactor' the architect of dwarven renaissance' King Etur Equallashed of the Walled Dye' has passed away in 736' at the ripe age of 159 years. It's about time his work be undone by the twisted minds of a new dark age!

Edit: oh' and it seems there's no longer 4 million Hands of Planesgifts in the northern hamlets; rather' their number is in the excess of 40 million. I have no idea what could be causing this' but I'm anticipating problems if it keeps increasing' which seems to happen whenever somebody crosses their territory. Can't we nuke them somehow before they break the world?
« Last Edit: November 10, 2020, 03:25:36 pm by Yarlig »
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Quantum Drop

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #547 on: November 10, 2020, 03:34:08 pm »

Edit: oh' and it seems there's no longer 4 million Hands of Planesgifts in the northern hamlets; rather' their number is in the excess of 40 million. I have no idea what could be causing this' but I'm anticipating problems if it keeps increasing' which seems to happen whenever somebody crosses their territory. Can't we nuke them somehow before they break the world?
Holy fuck. Gimme a sec, I'm going to check this myself.

EDIT: Okay, Hummedraces is now a no-go zone - 25,361,979 Hands of Planegifts present. Truthfulriddled holds another 18,128,044 Hands of Planegifts. The aptly named 'Planegifts' hamlet in the Quick Steppes holds 10,481 Hands of Planegifts. Weirdly enough, all or almost all of the Elven Forest Retreats on the north/north-west have exactly 50 Hoppy-bois lurking in them. This is all LegendsViewer, so I can't tell if they're clown car-ing in the mead hall again, or if they're trying to do what the weird bandit town did.

As for exterminating the lot of them through DFHack and moving on, though it kind of pains me to say this, I'm not sure whether or not to drop the Exterminatus on them. On one hand, it'd handily prevent them from moving between hamlets and stop everyone from having to exportlegends and check to see if they've migrated each turn. On the other, it'd pretty thoroughly kill a fair few historical figures, prevent some interesting story opportunities, and I think as long as you don't go to the Hamlets, they won't muck the game up that much.

Going to leave this to thread consensus.

EDIT2: As for the story, that was perfectly chilling. Raki may be dead, but he's left behind a wealth of were-curses and mayhem for future adventurers.
« Last Edit: November 10, 2020, 04:00:54 pm by Quantum Drop »
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I am ambushed by humans, and for a change, they do not drop dead immediately. I bash the master with my ladle, and he is propelled away. While in mid-air, he dies of old age.

Bralbaard

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #548 on: November 10, 2020, 05:05:19 pm »

Wow, that is a *lot* of hands of planegifts.. I did travel all over the place though. Where are those towns on the map?
I raised at most 200 fell ones and zombies myself and caused possibly 200+ were-infections (stopped counting after a 100 skin penetrating bites), only one of my titans survived. It had no effect on the age as far as I can see. We're still in the age of heroes.

I had a few crashes to desktop during my turn by the way, I do not think they were related to this undead issue.  I probably messed up something in the marketplace of Scarletbronze with my dead-raising antics, as a visit to the marketplace seemed to crash it reliably later in my turn (I really wanted to pick up the blistered metal spike that I dropped there, but had to accept it was lost). I also had it crash during an ambush, somewhere up north. For now I've put advice in the first post for people to please safe often, and possibly make backups. I'll repeat that here. ( the first two museum games were in a far worse state at this point, by the way)

I guess we can always exterminate the undead at a later date, if we really have to. I was playing around with the idea of going to this town with 70.000 hands of planegifts that people succesfully visited earlier and just raising a couple of weremammoths in the midst of them and let it escalate from there.
Also, I was sad that my tame firebreathing zombie titan did not actually breathe fire. I guess it could have done some major damage to a stack of 70.000 units if it did.
 
I did accidently visit the bandit town (swordgleamed?), but managed to back out of there after being fake ambushed. ( I was ambushed but all of the hundreds and hundreds of bandits were very friendly and reasonable).
« Last Edit: November 10, 2020, 05:07:00 pm by Bralbaard »
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nogoodnames

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #549 on: November 10, 2020, 05:18:45 pm »

Fantastic! Looks like things won't be quite as peaceful for my adventurers as I'd planned. Got the save, will start later tonight.

EDIT: Okay, Hummedraces is now a no-go zone - 25,361,979 Hands of Planegifts present. Truthfulriddled holds another 18,128,044 Hands of Planegifts. The aptly named 'Planegifts' hamlet in the Quick Steppes holds 10,481 Hands of Planegifts. Weirdly enough, all or almost all of the Elven Forest Retreats on the north/north-west have exactly 50 Hoppy-bois lurking in them. This is all LegendsViewer, so I can't tell if they're clown car-ing in the mead hall again, or if they're trying to do what the weird bandit town did.

As for exterminating the lot of them through DFHack and moving on, though it kind of pains me to say this, I'm not sure whether or not to drop the Exterminatus on them. On one hand, it'd handily prevent them from moving between hamlets and stop everyone from having to exportlegends and check to see if they've migrated each turn. On the other, it'd pretty thoroughly kill a fair few historical figures, prevent some interesting story opportunities, and I think as long as you don't go to the Hamlets, they won't muck the game up that much.

Going to leave this to thread consensus.

I think it's safe to leave them for now. They seem fairly well contained in a couple places, aside from those weird otherwise abandoned sites with 50 each. Hummedraces was already home to them the last I checked, albeit only ~300k not 25 million. Planegifts used to be downright deserted at ~2.6k. As long as those small groups don't start germinating into new superclusters it should be fine.

Oddly enough, Heartwhispers, the previous epicenter, is now deserted save for a single goblin. Maybe they eventually reach an overflow point and wrap around to zero.

Meanwhile Cog's Soldier of Night army at Glazedriven has grown to 285k, so that tower's completely off limits as well.
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Quantum Drop

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #550 on: November 10, 2020, 05:42:55 pm »

The map (at least, my crudely-altered version of it) has the clown-car towns marked out:

Spoiler: HoPs (click to show/hide)

As for Werebeasts, Raki reeaally got around. I count around 111 'passing on the curse' bites on historical figures, give or take a couple and any non-HFs that LegendsViewer didn't pick up, and all of them are Weremammoths. Something tells me this will be very Fun indeed, though becoming a powerful Werebeast may now be a fair bit easier.

All of this said, though, I am going to have to request that you bump me down 2 or 3 spaces. University assessments (formative and summative) are coming up for me for the next two weeks or so, which means I probably won't be able to do what I have planned for my turn.
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I am ambushed by humans, and for a change, they do not drop dead immediately. I bash the master with my ladle, and he is propelled away. While in mid-air, he dies of old age.

TheFlame52

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #551 on: November 10, 2020, 06:16:18 pm »

What a bug. Has this been witnessed anywhere else?

Imic

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #552 on: November 10, 2020, 08:40:31 pm »

I think I know exactly what I want to do for my next turn now. I can’t wait!
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Glloyd

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #553 on: November 10, 2020, 08:50:41 pm »

Meanwhile Cog's Soldier of Night army at Glazedriven has grown to 285k, so that tower's completely off limits as well.

That's too bad, I'd planned to return there on my next turn. I'll have to think of another idea now. Anyways, great story Bralbaard! That was a fun read.

Bralbaard

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Re: The Museum III: Adventure mode succession game.
« Reply #554 on: November 11, 2020, 02:22:05 am »

As for Werebeasts, Raki reeaally got around. I count around 111 'passing on the curse' bites on historical figures, give or take a couple and any non-HFs that LegendsViewer didn't pick up, and all of them are Weremammoths. Something tells me this will be very Fun indeed, though becoming a powerful Werebeast may now be a fair bit easier.

I think you might underestimate how hard it is to actually survive a weremammoth bite :-). Everything I touched had a tendency to explode into gore.
Also some of the other werebeasts definitely helped to spread the curse, as this image illustrates.



I moved you down a few spots on the turn list, as requested.
« Last Edit: November 11, 2020, 07:19:00 am by Bralbaard »
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