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Author Topic: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T6  (Read 17401 times)

Powder Miner

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Strategy Phase T4
« Reply #225 on: September 03, 2022, 03:12:45 pm »

Quote from: Votebox
Thpenos
Centrists: (1) Twinwolf
Extremists: (4) MoP, Taricus, Rockeater, Powder Miner

Xyrania
Archaeologists: (4) MoP, Rockeater, Twinwolf, Powder Miner
Reliquar: (1) Taricus

Deployment
Vampire Lord to Steppe: (2) MoP, Powder Miner
Vampire Lord to Pirate Haven: (2) Twinwolf, Rockeater
Nar-Carok to Fjord: (4) MoP, Twinwolf, Rockeater, Powder Miner
Impossible Thief to Schism'd Capital: (4) MoP, Twinwolf, Rockeater, Powder Miner
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Light forger

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Strategy Phase T4
« Reply #226 on: September 05, 2022, 09:43:07 am »

Quote from: Votebox
Thpenos
Centrists: (1) Twinwolf
Extremists: (4) MoP, Taricus, Rockeater, Powder Miner

Xyrania
Archaeologists: (4) MoP, Rockeater, Twinwolf, Powder Miner
Reliquar: (1) Taricus

Deployment
Vampire Lord to Steppe: (3) MoP, Powder Miner, Lightforger
Vampire Lord to Pirate Haven: (2) Twinwolf, Rockeater
Nar-Carok to Fjord: (4) MoP, Twinwolf, Rockeater, Powder Miner
Impossible Thief to Schism'd Capital: (4) MoP, Twinwolf, Rockeater, Powder Miner
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NUKE9.13

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Strategy Phase T4
« Reply #227 on: December 25, 2022, 03:31:58 pm »

Demon Team: Battle Phase T4
TURNTURNTURN
Battle Report



Infiltration Report: Xyrania
With inroads into the upper classes of the Schism'd Capital, we've been briefed on the attempts to end the ongoing schism and return stability to Xyrania. Unfortunately, both factions are headed by true believers- but there are ways to 'replace' these leaders, or to seek an outcome which allows the faithful to turn a blind eye to eldritch efforts. Of the two factions, our choice is clear- we can only support the
   Revisionists: "Dogmatic adherence to the faith hasn't always worked out. That doesn't mean we give up, though." The Revisionists are willing to make slight changes to established doctrine in pursuit of stability. They seek to convene an ecumenical council that shall re-examine the faith and determine the one true way forward- said council will of course listen closely to the views of the Revisionists and their allies. They seek support in theological debates, and help preventing the further splintering of Xyranian beliefs.
   Myriadites: "Xyrania needs to get with the times. It is the insistence that there is only one true path that is causing problems, not the people following different paths." The Myriadites are certain that unorthodox beliefs can exist side by side, and want to reform Xyranian society to be more tolerant. While there are worries that this could destabilise Xyrania, they believe that in the long term it is the only way forward. They seek help promulgating alternative views, and proving to the people that there is no harm in differing beliefs.    

The Impossible Thief's Haul:
The gods, though undeniably real, are not always clear as to their wants and intentions, thus the need for a priesthood to interpret and enforce their will. A convoluted hodgepodge of ceremonies, prayers, augury, mannerisms, decor, and other things are used, many of which are incomprehensible to laypeople. Whether their faith is heartfelt or not, the priesthood of Xyrania are experts on these intricacies. It is this expertise that the Impossible Thief has acquired this month, should you wish to use it.
Now, you almost certainly should not actually try to make contact with the gods directly. While mortal priests can achieve miraculous feats through divine intervention, these powers are granted at the gods' discretion. At best, the gods would simply not grant your requests. At worst, it would draw their attention and ire down upon you and all your followers.
However, this does not mean the knowledge is useless. You could use it to imitate and/or infiltrate the priesthood more effectively. You could use it to disrupt the rituals of mortal priests, thereby losing them divine favour and leaving their flocks vulnerable to your influence. You could coopt the structure of prayers to strengthen the connection between yourself and your followers. Or you could do something completely different. Don't let a voice from on high tell you what to do.



The Chronicler's Gifts:
Having finished interviewing your bewildered cultists, the Chronicler seems very pleased, and gladly hands over a stack of books (seemingly chosen at random from her cart). Despite the carefree selection process, some of them are revealed to be very valuable tomes, containing secret wisdom that would greatly benefit upcoming projects. There's also one about stamp collecting ("Stamps of the Tokzoku Empire, Volume Six of Nine"), but they can't all be winners.
((Gained 1 Tome Token))
Notably, one of the tomes has a bunch of bookmarks in it. That's not especially unusual, and the pages bookmarked do not seem to be all that interesting... but the bookmarks themselves are. They are folded up pages, seemingly torn from a journal- written by the Chronicler. Some are just accounts of her travels- she seems to have visited many countries over the years. One page details her visit to a library in a distant land, where she purchased a large number of books for an exorbitant fee. Another page is covered in symbols that you do not recognise, but the way some of them repeat suggest it is a form of writing. The most interesting is a page containing several formulas for steel alloys, most of which are scratched-out, but one of them has been circled several times. A note on the page implies it can absorb magical energy better than regular steel. While there are some details missing, there's enough to work with that you could probably recreate the alloy in question with a little effort.
((Gained partial recipe for Infused Steel))



It is now the Design Phase. You have 2 designs. You will receive 2 revisions this turn.



Spoiler: Equipment (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Tokens & Misc Bonuses (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Map (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Influence Factions (click to show/hide)
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Long Live United Forenia!

Powder Miner

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T5
« Reply #228 on: December 26, 2022, 01:23:12 pm »

Lurch of Fear (Uses Tome Token)

Among the books granted by the Chronicler, one of them told of the accounts of a foreign soldier facing a different foreign empire's mages - although this foreign soldier was not a mage and did not know the secrets of how magecraft worked, he had spent many a battle indeed at their mercy, and though he hadn't come out unscathed he had managed miraculously to live to tell the tale. One kind of magic of this foreign empire dominated this narrative - magic that crushed to the ground, that threw one sideways as if one was falling, not as if one was thrown by a hand, magic that drew one upwards to fall seemingly infinitely into the sky (should one be unlucky enough to face the archmages of that land) or that slowed the fall of the soldier's enemies. The soldier referred to a concept called "gravity", but more often he spoke of the overwhelming fear that he faced when dealing with these mages. The lurch of his stomach in the moments where he knew a spell was being cast, where the very world around him was potentially going to change and he was potentially going to be rendered utterly helpless and he felt weightless with the pure terror of it. The time he was affected by one of these spells, and he could do nothing despite all of his strength and skill and experience; simply left tumbling and bouncing and broken, saved only by the chance intervention of a healer.

There was a great deal of inspiration for our Soul Magi to take from this - but while some of it was literal, a great deal indeed was not. These "gravity" spells proved to be a deeply interesting route of magical exploration, but being very ancient and very spiritual mages - the kind with a penchant for leaving grand poetic inscriptions of their histories on their sarcophagi, and also incredibly Evil - the description of the lurch of the stomach and feeling of terrified weightlessness caught their eyes, even though they largely no longer had stomachs on account of the whole "canopic jar" thing. The spell that resulted from this is "Lurch of Fear", a spell designed to both cause disruption to enemy lines and cause disruption to enemy cavalry charges - not through direct murder, but through disruption of positioning, movement, and causing vulnerability.

In its base form, Lurch of Fear causes a gravitic anomaly low around a moderately-large area of effect, which throws those within it a few feet into the air and then cuts the effects of gravity within the area for several seconds, leaving those within that area floating and vulnerable for that period of time - further, the spell is not a bolt, but is simply cast at the intended target area. It does not do damage in its base form (maybe the most hapless of morons could twist an ankle when falling back down, but the spell just lifts you high enough up that you can't twist around and grab onto the ground or something of that sort) - but of course, if you take an arrow to the stomach while floating, that's a different story.

While empowered, Lurch of Fear's gravitic vortex becomes significantly more violent nature, modified by the chaotic pain and fear of the souls being trapped and butchered for the spell. Much like Agony of the Soul, the spell's area of effect is significantly widened, and as the spell already covers a wider area than Agony of the Soul does as is, this makes for a very wide area of effect as is. But the primary effect of this is the much larger amount of churning force that the gravitic vortex imparts onto its surroundings. While this could theoretically hurt the feet of weaker enemies, this is still avoidable by anyone with any reflexes and wits - less so by inanimate ground and water. Ground in the area of effect is churned into soft and sucking sand or mud, making escaping from the terrain around the area of effect difficult after the spell ends. Should the spell be aimed at an underwater target instead, the water in the area of effect is violently peeled away, the ensuing droplets of water becoming suspended along with the rest of the targets for the duration of the spell (and whatever is under the target being revealed).
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Man of Paper

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T5
« Reply #229 on: December 26, 2022, 04:44:14 pm »

Champion: Titan of the Decaying Winds (uses Wealth Token, Tome Token, Partial Infused Steel Recipe)

The Fluff used to validate the proposal's use of tokens

Distance is relative. A long hike for the small, impatient, unintelligent rats could be but a short walk for the larger and better disciplined Roachmen. Once you begin distorting or, ah, inexperiencing time, distance means even less. This has proven especially true within the "borders" of our buried necroscape.

The Roachman have many legends and myths they pass on from generation to generation, tales to help define the past and guide (or otherwise manipulate) the future. One such tale is that of the Titans that came before them. This mystical race of beings was, according to their stories, capable of astounding feats utilizing their towering staves. Each titan wandered the land, spreading fire, ice, water, wind, earth, life, death, and everything in between as they saw fit. Roachman belief claims there is a land on the surface where the Titans still roam free, and those rumors could (and should) be investigated by the followers of Nar-Carok.

There was just one snag. All the tales in all the tomes our people could study pointed them along paths that just went deeper beneath the earth. Still, our people followed it, and after what seemed like weeks of travel they exited into a cavern so high that cloudy condensation obscured all but the longest stalactites (for those that could see far enough in the dark). The ground, covered in moss and snow, also stretched out endlessly before the cultists. Some scouting and exploration of this supposed Land of the Titans was quick to uncover a hand that jutted from the ground and frozen clawing at the sky. The flesh was old and cracked, but otherwise preserved by the low temperatures. Logically the rest of the body would be in equal shape, and that was a prospect that enticed our more necromantically educated.

These titans were not just in the Roachman Empire's myths. The magi had glyphs, carvings, and writings which also described beings of great size and power that came before themselves, users of, well, titanic soul gems. These soul gems were fitted atop staves of copper and steel quenched in quicksilver before being attuned to the titan's magical sphere. This combination of smithing techniques and soul gem enchantment let the Titans in the magi's myths slaughter smaller and lesser beings and harvest their souls with greater effectiveness regardless of any sort of "alignment". More importantly, these Titans could share power stored in their immense gems, distributing their soul power to those under their command/control. This was definitely a desired material for a while, since it would grant the priest nobility the ability to display great power more often and at a lower cost. However as their empire aged and the secrets of steel never breached, the idea of this mythical alloy and the tales themselves were buried by time. Luckily, an application of our stores of wealth to acquire manpower and equipment through various means has hastened our excavation of an ancient library once used by the early magi. Within it all the old texts had faded or crumbled away. All but a single leaf of papyrus missing a corner and describing a process to empower soul gems through use of a specific metallurgical process. Now if only we could get our hands on a physical example and the means of digging it out of wherever it may be...

Needless to say, there was a lot of focus on the results of excavating the titan's corpse. The body was almost entirely whole, and it did indeed hold a staff in the previously earthbound hand. The Infused Steel Staff was topped with an unbelievably massive but unmistakable soul gem - and one that was visibly charged. It would take some coaxing for a soul of this magnitude, but the cult was determined to reunite the titan's soul with the body.


The stuff that you probably actually care about

The Titan of the Decaying Winds is a large humanlike figure standing at seven meters tall. Its body is pale blue and bits of flesh have been broken off or torn away, but it is largely intact. The titan is reanimated with its original soul, twisted by the magicks of Nar-Carok and the cult in order to serve faithfully as a gargantuan spellcaster in the field. With its massive Infused Steel Staff and the wholly death-corrupted soul gem atop it, the titan can store vast quantities of souls to burn as fuel for incredible displays of power or siphon off to empower other beings in the army beneath it. Souls trapped by this Infused Steel Staff are burned off more efficiently, providing the titan with an even greater capacity for magical violence.

While an undead giant acting as a glorified magical battery by another name is fine and all, the Titan of the Decaying Winds has its name for a reason. Originally the "Titan of the Gales" according to Roachman myths, this megabeast would use its staff to call on incredible storms, lashing at the earth with wind, rain, and lightning. Now the winds lay still in his putrid presence as he shambles, almost as if in fear until the great beast commands them. The Titan of the Dead Winds can bring forth storms from seemingly clear skies, rapidly changing dry earth to slick mud, buffeting foes with harsh winds, and blasting targets with lightning fired from staff and sky. The Titan of the Decaying Winds can maintain and direct a storm for as long as the Infused Steel Staff's soul gem holds charge. Once out of charge or the titan wills it, the winds die back down to the unnatural stillness they otherwise maintain in his presence. The spells cast from the titan are otherwise, well, titan-sized, having a significantly larger impact or effect but at only a slightly increased cost in souls thanks to the Infused Steel Staff.

This lumbering, large, physically and mentally powerful being is more than capable of harvesting souls for its gem by hand, clubbing enemies with fist and staff alike, but its sheer magical might is on another level entirely.



tl;dr - giant caster with big alloy staff and soul gem that define a means of using the special steel while making what is essentially a mobile weather manipulator with a fancy wizard club that buffs our other soul gem-based casters' ability to blast their big boy spells, all maybe made possible through judicious use of tokens
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Rockeater

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T5
« Reply #230 on: December 30, 2022, 08:51:12 am »

Marks of greed
Pricey, corruption and other crimes are usually not completely made by the person in the tip of them but involve an entire network which is usually harder to track, Mark of greed come to solve this problem.

Casted on money or valuable items, the item gain several "charges", each time a new person touches the item, a charge is dispensed from the item and mark the person, those marks don't have a direct effect on the person but do allow our casters capable of casting the spell to recognize them, a single mark on a person does fade after a few days, but they do stack up on each other making those with close access to many marked items long lasting marks.

This only exist as long as I am the only voter (Wanted something better but couldn't think of a backronym):
Sausage distraction
Sausages are a great meal, an unrecognized meat in such a simple shape, always fun to eat, making them also a great distraction,based on dark sudaction a spell of the soul magi, it create an ethereal illusions of sausages among the angel's line, which mortal creatures will crave to acquire and consume the sausages, and if powered with a soul stone, putting your mouth around one of those sausages will cause a great pain at the discovery they aren't a real sausages
Quote from: Nar-Carok damn, we need a votebox
Lurch of Fear (Uses Tome Token)[0]
Sausage distraction[1]:Rockeater
Champion: Titan of the Decaying Winds (uses Wealth Token, Tome Token, Partial Infused Steel Recipe)[0]
Marks of greed[1]: Rockeater

Quote from: Capital faction
Revisionists(1): Rockeater
Myriadites

« Last Edit: January 05, 2023, 12:33:19 pm by Rockeater »
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Damnit people, this is why I said to keep the truce. Because now everyone's ganging up on the cats.
Also, don't forget to contact your local Eldritch Being(s), so that they can help with our mission to destroy the universe.

Knightwing64

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T5
« Reply #231 on: January 05, 2023, 01:22:40 pm »


Quote from: Nar-Carok damn, we need a votebox
Lurch of Fear (Uses Tome Token)[1] Knightwing64
Sausage distraction[1]: Rockeater
Champion: Titan of the Decaying Winds (uses Wealth Token, Tome Token, Partial Infused Steel Recipe)[0]
Marks of greed[1]: Rockeater

Quote from: Capital faction
Revisionists(2): Rockeater, Knightwing64
Myriadites
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Powder Miner

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T5
« Reply #232 on: January 05, 2023, 03:30:34 pm »

The Ancestral Prophet (Uses Wealth Token, Thief Bonus, Infused Steel Recipe)

The religious traditions of this land have a long history - a long, long history, one rendered incomprehensible to any modern historian not only by the incomprehensible stretches of age that roll between now and the common roots of religion, but by the twists and breaks in time that only those in the south of Xyrania or who have braved the deepest depths of the Wastelands can begin to understand. In truth, it's not likely that the Soul Magi represent "the" root of all modern religion; although the Cult of the Eternal Soul is ancient indeed, the questionable relationship this land has with causation means there are most likely multiple. But the Soul Magi are certainly A root of common religion - their burial rites' impact can be seen in Xyrania and Thpenos. Their religious infrastructure was so strong as to survive the war that they buried themselves to escape, establishing itself partially independently around a demon - with impacts yet to be fully understood.

Although many Soul Magi work gladly with us in order to further the cause of evil and reclaim their former glories, it is is by no means uncommon for these undead mages to refuse to stir; the more powerful and canny of the Magi often have some level of control over their own souls and rituals and can often just choose not to wake. Sometimes, this is because of loyalty particular to the demon of their time, other times it is because they're infuriated by our imperfect ritual, yet other times it is because they are unimpressed for more personal reasons. The Ancestral Prophet is one of this last category. One of the oldest and most powerful members of the religious caste of his home land, the list of accomplishments on the sarcophagus of the Ancestral Prophet is long indeed, coating every surface of it. It seems, frankly speaking (as he and his 'peers' have explained), that he was not willing to be reawakened unless he felt that he was surrounded with trappings (arcane, religious, and material) that befitted his position - and we finally managed to deal him what he considered to be the proper respect when we adjusted our awakening ritual to portray him as a nearly eternal arbiter of souls stepping into a new era... at Nar-Carok's side, of course.

The Ancestral Prophet is a mage of nearly incomprehensible compare, even keeping in mind that he comes directly from Soul Magi stock. He is capable of casting theoretical Rare spells, of course, and could also theoretically cast a Unique spell were we to create one for him. But that isn't really where his magical prowess comes into play. No, where his magical prowess comes into play is where his spiritual prowess comes into play, and where our material and magical-material contributions come into play as well. During the difficult-to-comprehend time-eras of the rule of the Cult of the Eternal Soul and the war of the Cult of the Eternal Soul and the 'death' of Cult of the Eternal Soul, the Ancestral Prophet at times assisted the Demon with handling souls and at other times was responsible for handling souls in that place with the Demon gone. He has a long experience with their workings, and we've put that to use by giving him a very special regalia indeed.

While he of course retains his Soul Gem, his body is festooned with an incredibly beautiful, if perhaps ostentatious, network of our own produced Soul Gems and chains of a strange, bright, colorful, semi-transparent glass-infused steel that we have chosen to call Glass Steel. The Ancestral Prophet is capable of using the many Soul Gems in his regalia (many of which he has already filled - he takes them, enters the Buried City, and then somehow they have always been filled) to transfer souls between different Soul Gems. Most often this will be of course used to charge the Soul Gems of the Soul Magi he is fighting with, giving them more frequently empowered spells - or taking their energy unto himself, using several Soul Gems' worth of spells to create a truly freakishly powerful superspell.

Whereas the Soul Gem absorbs souls, the Glass Steel absorbs something else - "essences", specifically "essences" from spells. These "essences" are echoes of pieces of a spell's function, taken from being around its casting or around its area of effect, which can later be discharged at the user's discretion from the Glass Steel. Although this could, perhaps, be used in magical weaponry, the Ancestral Prophet uses it for the sake of magecraft - at the most base level, he could for example place an essence of lightning from Agony of the Soul into a Ward, shocking anyone who passes it. He will typically accrue a great number of essences within his regalia, and then discharge them all at once. Sometimes this is in one of his 'superspells' - he may create a massive Agony of the Soul that also rips the enemy formation to pieces by (should Lurch of Fear be created) having gravitational anomalies at its edges, or shoot out strangely into the distance where "essences" of the bolts from magic missile were stolen, for instance, making his superspells particularly devastating. However, he may also parcel these "essences" out to the lesser Soul Magi, making their own empowered volleys significantly less predictable - suddenly, that Lurch of Fear volley is not just a Lurch of Fear volley, but also in several places something that kills or breaks the morale of those it lifts, making whatever responses were prepared less germane. Notably, these essences don't have to be demonic in nature.

If placed on influence, he can't exactly go out on his own to speak to and convert people, but he's extremely capable of understanding religious rituals and knows their roots - he could direct religious operations with extreme skill, and could potentially later help our magically-inclined missionaries via parceling out essences and souls to help their spellwork should later efforts make these things relevant to them.

Also, he finds the Vampire Lord's situation personally very funny and likes to rib him about it, in a seemingly personally mostly friendly nature.
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Rockeater

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T5
« Reply #233 on: January 05, 2023, 04:11:46 pm »



Quote from: Nar-Carok damn, we need a votebox
Lurch of Fear (Uses Tome Token)[2] Knightwing64, Rockeater
Champion: Titan of the Decaying Winds (uses Wealth Token, Tome Token, Partial Infused Steel Recipe)[0]
Marks of greed[0]:
The Ancestral Prophet (Uses Wealth Token, Thief Bonus, Infused Steel Recipe)[1]: Rockeater

Quote from: Capital faction
Revisionists(2): Rockeater, Knightwing64
Myriadites
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Damnit people, this is why I said to keep the truce. Because now everyone's ganging up on the cats.
Also, don't forget to contact your local Eldritch Being(s), so that they can help with our mission to destroy the universe.

chubby2man

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T5
« Reply #234 on: January 05, 2023, 04:19:09 pm »

Earthenspikes (Of Dread)

Channeling their foul magic, the demonic spellcasters force the earth to erupt into brutal spikes.

The spike’s appearance varies based on the spellcaster’s ability and needs, but typically the earth hardens into a series of thick protrusions, sharpened into a cruel point at the end. The density and area covered by the spikes is also dependent on the strength of the caster, a regular strength cast might be enough to provide cover for a small unit of bowmen, while a demon may cover the majority of a front.

In use it would be typically to disrupt a formation of enemies and make the ground much harder to traverse, making it hard to escape or charge into a position. Being dropped onto a field of these spikes would also be decidedly uncomfortable.

Empowering the spell allows for a much greater level of control over the shape and area of the spikes, from growing a field of fractal protrusions to a sheer wall of stone.
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Powder Miner

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T5
« Reply #235 on: January 05, 2023, 05:26:58 pm »

Quote from: Nar-Carok damn, we need a votebox
Lurch of Fear (Uses Tome Token)[3] Knightwing64, Rockeater, Powder Miner
Champion: Titan of the Decaying Winds (uses Wealth Token, Tome Token, Partial Infused Steel Recipe)[0]
Marks of greed[0]:
The Ancestral Prophet (Uses Wealth Token, Thief Bonus, Infused Steel Recipe)[2]: Rockeater, Powder Miner

Quote from: Capital faction
Revisionists(2): Rockeater, Knightwing64
Myriadites(1): Powder Miner
I actually feel like the Myriadites go well with the nature of the Buried City.
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Man of Paper

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T5
« Reply #236 on: January 05, 2023, 10:06:03 pm »

Spell: Field Hands (uses Tome Token)

How did the ancients build their great structures when the elite were so few in number and the enslaved too poor, weak, and dumb to do complex tasks? Magic, obviously, and Field Hands was one such spell recently recovered in a locked desk drawer within the ruins.

If an area needs to be turned into hard to pass or outright hostile terrain, Field Hands is capable of doing that job. When cast, a targeted surface is briefly bound to the essence of the damned. Hand-like shapes push outward in a dense mass in an attempt to grasp the nearest non-Evil being (although obviously traversing a field of hands is to be avoided anyways) before pulling them into the earth. The Field Hands are typically just powerful enough to yank a grasped object a few centimeters downward - not enough to be lethal on its own, but definitely capable of ruining days.

Under the boosted power of soul gems, largely intact and fresh souls are briefly bound to a surface by the spell. Unlike standard Field Hands, Empowered Field Hands is capable of binding memories of past physical forms of the souls to the enchanted surface. Earthen copies of the recently deceased are capable of "breaching" the surface with most of their upper body briefly launching toward targets. These Empowered Field Hands are not always outright lethal, but it is possible to see unlucky foes bear hugged and buried alive as they're tackled into the earth. Both the normal and boosted versions of Field Hands are identical in appearance until a non-evil target trespasses and draws the ire of the earthy mimics.

Although the spell was tied closely to the upper classes of an old empire, it wasn't too complex and stayed out of the hands of "the poors" largely thanks to the highly structured caste-based society they maintained. With a perfect original text to work with, copies of this spell were easily replicated and made Commonly available for trainee casters inducted into the cult (through whatever means we "induct" them).


Spell: Biostasis (uses Tome Token)

Many of those dwelling in and around our stomping grounds, perhaps even all of them/us, are out of place and out of time. Not in the sense that we'll all die soon (doesn't take an oracle to see that), but in the sense of when we are. While some of us abhor the idea of the passage of time, some of our number have studied the concept in depth. By poring over recently recovered and translated Cult of the Eternal Soul scrolls and texts we were able to somewhat recover their studies on the conquering and implementation of time.

Unfortunately it seems their focus of study was on the human body, so instead of rituals and spellwork in the realm of chronomancy their works often fall closer to the biomagical, as seen in the Soul Magi's own preservation techniques. Biostasis is a high-level technique that freezes a specific target in space and time by locking its organic structure in place. As a result targets under the effect of biostasis may be completely immobile and helpless, but are also impervious to harm. Empowering this spell gives the caster the ability to hit a small area with the spell as opposed to a single target.

The biostasis can be maintained through concentration by the caster but will continue to hold for a few moments afterward. The spell fades relatively quickly but not uniformly, often giving targets the appearance of physically breaking free from the hold of the spell.


Quote from: Nar-Carok damn, we need a votebox
Lurch of Fear (Uses Tome Token)[4] Knightwing64, Rockeater, Powder Miner, C2M
Champion: Titan of the Decaying Winds (uses Wealth Token, Tome Token, Partial Infused Steel Recipe)[0]
Marks of greed[0]:
The Ancestral Prophet (Uses Wealth Token, Thief Bonus, Infused Steel Recipe)[3]: Rockeater, Powder Miner, MoP
Earthenspikes(Of Dread)[1]: C2M
Field Hands (Uses Tome Token)[1]: MoP

Quote from: Capital faction
Revisionists(3): Rockeater, Knightwing64, C2M
Myriadites(2): Powder Miner, MoP


I agree with Powder on the Myriadites, our forces are composed entirely of things that have walked wholly different paths while they were alive and in some cases afterward, and none of them fight in our armies for the same reasons.

I want field hands over lurch because spooky mud grabby hands > gravity anomaly, there'll be enough of that in other games soon enough :)
But more seriously I think a gravity bubble isn't all that appealing visual-like, and this could serve as a solid potential half-step toward raising earth-corpse golems and totally not magi-bio mechs and all that fun business. A bit of antigrav can give us some experience toward your good ol' Burden/Feather/Featherfall/Force Pull/Force Push, but we can probably achieve the same effects with fancier vibes than forces and vectors for little to no additional cost. Powder said he thinks Farm Hands needs a little extra pizazz with the use of the tome token, but I was figuring having it be a common spell - which was not specified until now oops - was a fair enough boon for it. If there's suggestions to make the idea more palatable for use with the tome token though feel free to help out.

« Last Edit: January 07, 2023, 01:48:23 pm by Man of Paper »
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chubby2man

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T5
« Reply #237 on: January 07, 2023, 01:16:02 pm »


Quote from: Nar-Carok damn, we need a votebox
Lurch of Fear (Uses Tome Token)[4] Knightwing64, Rockeater, Powder Miner, C2M
Champion: Titan of the Decaying Winds (uses Wealth Token, Tome Token, Partial Infused Steel Recipe)[0]
Marks of greed[0]:
The Ancestral Prophet (Uses Wealth Token, Thief Bonus, Infused Steel Recipe)[2]: Rockeater, Powder Miner
Earthenspikes(Of Dread): [1] C2M

Quote from: Capital faction
Revisionists(3): Rockeater, Knightwing64, C2M
Myriadites(1): Powder Miner
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Sindari Immortals Play as an immortal being trying to subvert an evil empire of (for now) stronger immortals. On *very* long term hiatus.

Man of Paper

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T5
« Reply #238 on: January 07, 2023, 01:52:46 pm »

Reasons for votes are in my previous post. Huh weird what the hell happened there and how is this votebox already up there before C2M even posted their votes? Fucking time, amirite?

Quote from: Nar-Carok damn, we need a votebox
Lurch of Fear (Uses Tome Token)[4] Knightwing64, Rockeater, Powder Miner, C2M
Champion: Titan of the Decaying Winds (uses Wealth Token, Tome Token, Partial Infused Steel Recipe)[0]
Marks of greed[0]:
The Ancestral Prophet (Uses Wealth Token, Thief Bonus, Infused Steel Recipe)[3]: Rockeater, Powder Miner, MoP
Earthenspikes(Of Dread)[1]: C2M
Field Hands (Uses Tome Token)[1]: MoP

Quote from: Capital faction
Revisionists(3): Rockeater, Knightwing64, C2M
Myriadites(2): Powder Miner, MoP
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NUKE9.13

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Re: Demon Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T5
« Reply #239 on: January 10, 2023, 12:06:11 pm »

Demon Team: Design Phase T5
TURNTURNTURN
Lurch of Fear (Uses Tome Token)

Among the books granted by the Chronicler, one of them told of the accounts of a foreign soldier facing a different foreign empire's mages - although this foreign soldier was not a mage and did not know the secrets of how magecraft worked, he had spent many a battle indeed at their mercy, and though he hadn't come out unscathed he had managed miraculously to live to tell the tale. One kind of magic of this foreign empire dominated this narrative - magic that crushed to the ground, that threw one sideways as if one was falling, not as if one was thrown by a hand, magic that drew one upwards to fall seemingly infinitely into the sky (should one be unlucky enough to face the archmages of that land) or that slowed the fall of the soldier's enemies. The soldier referred to a concept called "gravity", but more often he spoke of the overwhelming fear that he faced when dealing with these mages. The lurch of his stomach in the moments where he knew a spell was being cast, where the very world around him was potentially going to change and he was potentially going to be rendered utterly helpless and he felt weightless with the pure terror of it. The time he was affected by one of these spells, and he could do nothing despite all of his strength and skill and experience; simply left tumbling and bouncing and broken, saved only by the chance intervention of a healer.

There was a great deal of inspiration for our Soul Magi to take from this - but while some of it was literal, a great deal indeed was not. These "gravity" spells proved to be a deeply interesting route of magical exploration, but being very ancient and very spiritual mages - the kind with a penchant for leaving grand poetic inscriptions of their histories on their sarcophagi, and also incredibly Evil - the description of the lurch of the stomach and feeling of terrified weightlessness caught their eyes, even though they largely no longer had stomachs on account of the whole "canopic jar" thing. The spell that resulted from this is "Lurch of Fear", a spell designed to both cause disruption to enemy lines and cause disruption to enemy cavalry charges - not through direct murder, but through disruption of positioning, movement, and causing vulnerability.

In its base form, Lurch of Fear causes a gravitic anomaly low around a moderately-large area of effect, which throws those within it a few feet into the air and then cuts the effects of gravity within the area for several seconds, leaving those within that area floating and vulnerable for that period of time - further, the spell is not a bolt, but is simply cast at the intended target area. It does not do damage in its base form (maybe the most hapless of morons could twist an ankle when falling back down, but the spell just lifts you high enough up that you can't twist around and grab onto the ground or something of that sort) - but of course, if you take an arrow to the stomach while floating, that's a different story.

While empowered, Lurch of Fear's gravitic vortex becomes significantly more violent nature, modified by the chaotic pain and fear of the souls being trapped and butchered for the spell. Much like Agony of the Soul, the spell's area of effect is significantly widened, and as the spell already covers a wider area than Agony of the Soul does as is, this makes for a very wide area of effect as is. But the primary effect of this is the much larger amount of churning force that the gravitic vortex imparts onto its surroundings. While this could theoretically hurt the feet of weaker enemies, this is still avoidable by anyone with any reflexes and wits - less so by inanimate ground and water. Ground in the area of effect is churned into soft and sucking sand or mud, making escaping from the terrain around the area of effect difficult after the spell ends. Should the spell be aimed at an underwater target instead, the water in the area of effect is violently peeled away, the ensuing droplets of water becoming suspended along with the rest of the targets for the duration of the spell (and whatever is under the target being revealed).
Lurch of Fear (Uses Tome Token): Trivial: (1+1)+2=4: Below Average
There are many magical traditions in the mortal world. Of these, perhaps the strangest is Thaumaturgy- a philosophy that believes the entire world (magic and matter alike) to be a rational system that abides by strict laws. Though this is obviously completely insane, there are some areas where these madmen seem to understand the world better than others. The force of 'gravity' is one such area- their theories as to its fundamental nature line up surprisingly well with the day-to-day functioning of reality. Perhaps the foes of the foreign soldier knew something of Thaumaturgy, enabling them to better understand (and thus manipulate) the mysterious force?

This might've been a lot harder if it weren't for the fact that the foreign soldier included fragments of an enemy spellbook in the appendix of his story. Though he may not have understood it, his transcription was meticulous, and you were able to copy the spell wholesale, with the majority of your efforts focused on reworking the spell to use Evil- a process that thankfully proved relatively simple in this case. Unfortunately, you were unable to fully streamline the spell- Mana spells tend to be a lot more complicated and inefficient than those cast using Evil (or Good, for that matter), and while you were able to strip out the most egregiously unnecessary elements, the spell takes a bit more time, concentration, and energy to cast than it could do if properly optimised.

Lurch of Fear's brief reversal and subsequent negation of gravity is sure to be disruptive to enemy manoeuvres, although its wind-up time means it must be used carefully, since it is difficult to change the area targeted mid-casting. The exact AoE and duration depend on the caster's skill and power, but for most Soul Magi it is likely to involve a ~20m diameter and ~15 second duration.
When Empowered, the diameter of the affected area is doubled, while the duration receives a more modest 50% increase. More importantly, the chaotic roiling will do more than just disrupt enemy movement, it will disorient and nauseate, and leave the shaken foe stranded in freshly-plowed earth. While anticipation of the un-empowered spell may allow the foe to compensate, the empowered version is far harder to withstand.
Worth noting is how this spell interacts with wards. Novice (and the derivative Ymis) Ward is designed to block attacks, not disrupt forces of nature. The un-empowered version of the spell will not be affected by wards at all, as a ward does not know which way is up, so the reversal or removal of gravity goes unnoticed (as it were; this is a simplification). However, the empowered version will be, albeit not severely- the rapidly fluctuating forces resemble attacks, and will be weakened when they encounter wards.


Lurch of Fear is a potent, albeit somewhat inconvenient to cast spell for disrupting enemy movement. It is Uncommon



The Ancestral Prophet (Uses Wealth Token, Thief Bonus, Infused Steel Recipe)

The religious traditions of this land have a long history - a long, long history, one rendered incomprehensible to any modern historian not only by the incomprehensible stretches of age that roll between now and the common roots of religion, but by the twists and breaks in time that only those in the south of Xyrania or who have braved the deepest depths of the Wastelands can begin to understand. In truth, it's not likely that the Soul Magi represent "the" root of all modern religion; although the Cult of the Eternal Soul is ancient indeed, the questionable relationship this land has with causation means there are most likely multiple. But the Soul Magi are certainly A root of common religion - their burial rites' impact can be seen in Xyrania and Thpenos. Their religious infrastructure was so strong as to survive the war that they buried themselves to escape, establishing itself partially independently around a demon - with impacts yet to be fully understood.

Although many Soul Magi work gladly with us in order to further the cause of evil and reclaim their former glories, it is is by no means uncommon for these undead mages to refuse to stir; the more powerful and canny of the Magi often have some level of control over their own souls and rituals and can often just choose not to wake. Sometimes, this is because of loyalty particular to the demon of their time, other times it is because they're infuriated by our imperfect ritual, yet other times it is because they are unimpressed for more personal reasons. The Ancestral Prophet is one of this last category. One of the oldest and most powerful members of the religious caste of his home land, the list of accomplishments on the sarcophagus of the Ancestral Prophet is long indeed, coating every surface of it. It seems, frankly speaking (as he and his 'peers' have explained), that he was not willing to be reawakened unless he felt that he was surrounded with trappings (arcane, religious, and material) that befitted his position - and we finally managed to deal him what he considered to be the proper respect when we adjusted our awakening ritual to portray him as a nearly eternal arbiter of souls stepping into a new era... at Nar-Carok's side, of course.

The Ancestral Prophet is a mage of nearly incomprehensible compare, even keeping in mind that he comes directly from Soul Magi stock. He is capable of casting theoretical Rare spells, of course, and could also theoretically cast a Unique spell were we to create one for him. But that isn't really where his magical prowess comes into play. No, where his magical prowess comes into play is where his spiritual prowess comes into play, and where our material and magical-material contributions come into play as well. During the difficult-to-comprehend time-eras of the rule of the Cult of the Eternal Soul and the war of the Cult of the Eternal Soul and the 'death' of Cult of the Eternal Soul, the Ancestral Prophet at times assisted the Demon with handling souls and at other times was responsible for handling souls in that place with the Demon gone. He has a long experience with their workings, and we've put that to use by giving him a very special regalia indeed.

While he of course retains his Soul Gem, his body is festooned with an incredibly beautiful, if perhaps ostentatious, network of our own produced Soul Gems and chains of a strange, bright, colorful, semi-transparent glass-infused steel that we have chosen to call Glass Steel. The Ancestral Prophet is capable of using the many Soul Gems in his regalia (many of which he has already filled - he takes them, enters the Buried City, and then somehow they have always been filled) to transfer souls between different Soul Gems. Most often this will be of course used to charge the Soul Gems of the Soul Magi he is fighting with, giving them more frequently empowered spells - or taking their energy unto himself, using several Soul Gems' worth of spells to create a truly freakishly powerful superspell.

Whereas the Soul Gem absorbs souls, the Glass Steel absorbs something else - "essences", specifically "essences" from spells. These "essences" are echoes of pieces of a spell's function, taken from being around its casting or around its area of effect, which can later be discharged at the user's discretion from the Glass Steel. Although this could, perhaps, be used in magical weaponry, the Ancestral Prophet uses it for the sake of magecraft - at the most base level, he could for example place an essence of lightning from Agony of the Soul into a Ward, shocking anyone who passes it. He will typically accrue a great number of essences within his regalia, and then discharge them all at once. Sometimes this is in one of his 'superspells' - he may create a massive Agony of the Soul that also rips the enemy formation to pieces by (should Lurch of Fear be created) having gravitational anomalies at its edges, or shoot out strangely into the distance where "essences" of the bolts from magic missile were stolen, for instance, making his superspells particularly devastating. However, he may also parcel these "essences" out to the lesser Soul Magi, making their own empowered volleys significantly less predictable - suddenly, that Lurch of Fear volley is not just a Lurch of Fear volley, but also in several places something that kills or breaks the morale of those it lifts, making whatever responses were prepared less germane. Notably, these essences don't have to be demonic in nature.

If placed on influence, he can't exactly go out on his own to speak to and convert people, but he's extremely capable of understanding religious rituals and knows their roots - he could direct religious operations with extreme skill, and could potentially later help our magically-inclined missionaries via parceling out essences and souls to help their spellwork should later efforts make these things relevant to them.

Also, he finds the Vampire Lord's situation personally very funny and likes to rib him about it, in a seemingly personally mostly friendly nature.
The Ancestral Prophet (Uses Wealth Token, Thief Bonus, Infused Steel Recipe): Easy: (3+1)+1=5: Average
There's something frustrating about the Ancestral Prophet. You sometimes get a strong feeling that he knows something very important, and his refusal to share amounts to intolerable insubordination. But whenever you find yourself in a position to demand answers, the feeling vanishes, to the point that you almost forget what you wanted to ask about. To manipulate your mind to such an extent... you are a Demon; not even the Gods should be able to twist you away from the single-minded pursuit of your Evil goals. Could it be the Demon the Ancestral Prophet once served, protecting his servant across the veil of time? Could the Ancestral Prophet actually possess so much more power than he appears to? Could there be something even more incomprehensible awaiting in the depths of the Buried City, whose influence even you cannot comprehend? Could-
...wait, what were we talking about? Ah, right. Your new servant. Suspicious? Well, maybe, but not more so than any other being who willingly follows a Demon. The preceding paragraph? What preceding paragraph?

The Ancestral Prophet is a powerful individual, not easily roused. Fortunately, your extensive in-depth knowledge of religious rites, and the use of exotic alloys and eye-wateringly expensive materials to produce regalia of unparalleled refinement, made him significantly more amenable to serving you. Sort of. 
In terms of spellcasting, the Ancestral Prophet is appropriately positioned as a leader of the Cult of the Eternal Soul. He actively resents even being compared to the incompetent imbeciles awoken before him- brazenly calling them third-rate, bumbling novices, barely scratching the surface of the diabolical arts. For Tneptohokanatht'tazk's sake, not one of them has spent even a century studying! And now, awoken with inept rites pieced together by glorified grave-robbers, they don't even have full control of the modicum of power they managed to scrape together!
...tell us how you really feel, mate.
Anyway. For all his derisiveness, and for all that his magical prowess is exceptional in comparison to Soul Magi, he's not a better spellcaster than you are. In response to this observation, he scoffs that he needs most of his concentration simply to mitigate the effect your primitive revival rites have on his form- that if you had awakened him properly, he would've been able to strike you down without a second thought.
After consuming the cultists and Soul Magi who heard his denigrating outbursts (to prevent such disrespect from spreading), you give the Prophet the rundown on the whole Muu situation. Given the pressing concern of a sanctimonious angel bearing down on the Buried City (again), he agrees to set aside his most biting criticism until the situation is resolved. How magnanimous.

His Soul Regalia, though able to be pre-charged, doesn't allow for every battle to be opened with rolling volleys of empowered spells- to prevent excessive leakage, the power is sealed outside of battle, and must be unlocked with the power of- you guessed it- souls. This means that the Ancestral Prophet can absorb N souls, and unlock 5N souls worth of power. Since he can also absorb souls more quickly than regular Soul Magi, and share the soul power freely between nearby Soul Gems, this makes him a potent force amplifier, even before he starts casting spells himself.
The Glass Steel Essence Trap allows him to store the lingering essence of about two dozen Magic Missiles (less for more complex spells). Lesser Soul Magi can only handle fusing one spell's worth of essence into their own, but the Ancestral Prophet himself can (with some effort) combine everything in the Essence Trap into a single spell. Doing so is... drastic, as combining so many spell elements together- even if they're all just Magic Missiles- can have extremely unpredictable effects; it is far safer to combine two or three essences, and for most situations this should be sufficiently unpredictable to take an enemy off-guard.
The Prophet can absorb hostile spell essences into the Essence Trap, with two caveats: firstly, the spell must not be cast using only Good (that is, spells cast by Muu, as opposed to her acolytes); secondly, he has to 'experience' the spell himself, which means either taking the hit directly (unpleasant) or 'catching' it with a Ward. Given the testimony that Muu has not yet demonstrated any spells other than Magic Missile and a modified Novice Ward, he does not expect to be using this option much.

In terms of resilience, the Ancestral Prophet demonstrates his superiority to regular Soul Magi (and, to a certain extent, the truth of his claims of putting concentration into mitigating your poor revival rites) by being able to fortify and restore himself using the souls stored in his regalia, as opposed to requiring fresh Evil souls all the time. While not someone who should be in the front lines, it would take considerable effort to cause him significant harm, and incredible effort to actually incapacitate him.

His influence use is currently mostly theoretical, as your Acolytes do not have the finesse needed to handle his gifts, and he cannot exactly appear in public. His religious knowledge may be extensive, but it is also hilariously antiquated, not to mention steeped in Evil influences that would be blatant to any modern theologian.

The Ancestral Prophet cannot be trusted is an excellent spellcaster, amplifier of other spellcasters, and adds an element of unpredictability to any battlefield. You should incinerate him at once He will serve you well. He can cast all Rare and lower spells, unless noted otherwise. Unique



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« Last Edit: January 10, 2023, 12:51:33 pm by NUKE9.13 »
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