[1x] seeing as other quests have encountered resistance, it occurs to me that I ought to prepare for such confrontations as well. To do this, I enhance the durability of my plates. To do That, I start tap-dancing on them. rule of weird (which may or may not exist) says that the rotating plate-spaceship with a tap-dancing man within it won't have the plates just Break from the tapdancing because that would be narratively unusual in the micronarrative described. From there, Consistency means that however hard I tap-dance on my plates, they won't break; and if anything hits them with less force then my tap-dancing, it obviously won't work. I rapidly increase the force of my Tap-dance as I travel, increasing the durability of my plates.
[1x]Next I'll want a way to retaliate. I mean, I already have a few good ways- you know, drones, clones, elementals, my own biological mech-suit- but none of those really mesh with the idea of a man tap-dancing his way in on a platemobile. So instead, I make what appears to be a piano. If one looks closely, it has no keys. I start playing it anyway, creating a pleasant smooth melody of piano music overlaid with tapdancing. This music is designed to use magical and non-magical means to make people calmer,less hostile, and more easily confused into innaction (by way of seeing a tap-dancing man in a platemobile is playing a piano, a quite bizarre occurrence.).
[1x]And- oooh, there's an idea. this side-thing'll need preperation, though. I conjure myself a small ball of whiteish fuzz to start off preparing it, and stuff the ball in my pocket.
Nerà teleports into a base miles away. He grabs a rod out of a stunned servant's hands and teleports away. A shorter distance away this time, he kicks open a closet and rapidly dons a magical crown before teleporting away. At his next location, a single command word causes bonedust to coat Nerà's form before he teleports away. He appears before an Auma who is currently teaching his retainers how to cast Eyebite. Nerà grabs a few of the trainees and teleports away. At this point, the teleportation ring on Nerà's finger is beginning to burn him with overuse, but he ignores it. He appears, finally, before a gnoll lord on his throne of bones.
Nerà disintegrates him.
Several Gnoll followers of the Yeenoghu shake their shock off quickly and move to consume Nerà, but the mages (who came about rather quickly given the rapid teleportation without explanation) blast them to pieces. Nerà magically magnifies his voice and shouts "'Monster King'. I know who you are. I know your plots. Your ploys. Your schemes. Your nature as horrific fusion between Illthid and Fey. You abominations. You twofold manipulators. You false and fallen kings. You who twicefold strive for dominance. HARK. I haven't the time to waste with petty politics with puppet rulers. As we speak, an Iron Prince from the Voidic Sea beyond the Great Wheel invades Mount Celestia. His metal automatons- the likes of which Primus knows not- scour the shores and climb the cliffs with a ravenous determination that would make these Gnoll's deity cower in inferiority. I know that your end goal is to reestablish the mindflayer empire in the Astral plane. I know that my struggles are normally of no importance to your 'eldritch goals', but I implore you. Without my people to maintain the balance of the Positive and Negative planes, there will be no Astral plane to conquer. There will be no Gith to enslave. There will be nothing but empty arcane spilling out into the void, our worlds destroyed.
Face me, hivemindcoven. Face me, eyes and ears of the true Motherbrain. I wish to negotiate."
Auma and Ismael are met by an imperial mage whose glossy eyes indicate that his body is currently being puppeted by a foreign mind (likely a higher Auma). Its mouth opens, and from it comes... information. Pure, not in any real language, but still transmitted verbally somehow. Ishmael is informed of the political situation of the Neràverse. Both of the are also informed that they will be sent to meet with the lord of hell for negotiations.
They are then teleported to the deepest plane of Hell.
There are no real enemies to scan right now. Right now, the only thing that's PG-Aligned is that Projector Drone over there.
That being said, you create an Improvement Facility Creator!
[1x] seeing as other quests have encountered resistance, it occurs to me that I ought to prepare for such confrontations as well. To do this, I enhance the durability of my plates. To do That, I start tap-dancing on them. rule of weird (which may or may not exist) says that the rotating plate-spaceship with a tap-dancing man within it won't have the plates just Break from the tapdancing because that would be narratively unusual in the micronarrative described. From there, Consistency means that however hard I tap-dance on my plates, they won't break; and if anything hits them with less force then my tap-dancing, it obviously won't work. I rapidly increase the force of my Tap-dance as I travel, increasing the durability of my plates.
[1x]Next I'll want a way to retaliate. I mean, I already have a few good ways- you know, drones, clones, elementals, my own biological mech-suit- but none of those really mesh with the idea of a man tap-dancing his way in on a platemobile. So instead, I make what appears to be a piano. If one looks closely, it has no keys. I start playing it anyway, creating a pleasant smooth melody of piano music overlaid with tapdancing. This music is designed to use magical and non-magical means to make people calmer,less hostile, and more easily confused into innaction (by way of seeing a tap-dancing man in a platemobile is playing a piano, a quite bizarre occurrence.).
[1x]And- oooh, there's an idea. this side-thing'll need preperation, though. I conjure myself a small ball of whiteish fuzz to start off preparing it, and stuff the ball in my pocket.
Nerà teleports into a base miles away. He grabs a rod out of a stunned servant's hands and teleports away. A shorter distance away this time, he kicks open a closet and rapidly dons a magical crown before teleporting away. At his next location, a single command word causes bonedust to coat Nerà's form before he teleports away. He appears before an Auma who is currently teaching his retainers how to cast Eyebite. Nerà grabs a few of the trainees and teleports away. At this point, the teleportation ring on Nerà's finger is beginning to burn him with overuse, but he ignores it. He appears, finally, before a gnoll lord on his throne of bones.
Nerà disintegrates him.
Several Gnoll followers of the Yeenoghu shake their shock off quickly and move to consume Nerà, but the mages (who came about rather quickly given the rapid teleportation without explanation) blast them to pieces. Nerà magically magnifies his voice and shouts "'Monster King'. I know who you are. I know your plots. Your ploys. Your schemes. Your nature as horrific fusion between Illthid and Fey. You abominations. You twofold manipulators. You false and fallen kings. You who twicefold strive for dominance. HARK. I haven't the time to waste with petty politics with puppet rulers. As we speak, an Iron Prince from the Voidic Sea beyond the Great Wheel invades Mount Celestia. His metal automatons- the likes of which Primus knows not- scour the shores and climb the cliffs with a ravenous determination that would make these Gnoll's deity cower in inferiority. I know that your end goal is to reestablish the mindflayer empire in the Astral plane. I know that my struggles are normally of no importance to your 'eldritch goals', but I implore you. Without my people to maintain the balance of the Positive and Negative planes, there will be no Astral plane to conquer. There will be no Gith to enslave. There will be nothing but empty arcane spilling out into the void, our worlds destroyed.
Face me, hivemindcoven. Face me, eyes and ears of the true Motherbrain. I wish to negotiate."
Auma and Ismael are met by an imperial mage whose glossy eyes indicate that his body is currently being puppeted by a foreign mind (likely a higher Auma). Its mouth opens, and from it comes... information. Pure, not in any real language, but still transmitted verbally somehow. Ishmael is informed of the political situation of the Neràverse. Both of the are also informed that they will be sent to meet with the lord of hell for negotiations.
They are then teleported to the deepest plane of Hell.
The Gnoll lolls over in his throne, crown falling to the ground. Tendrils of psionic slime slither out from the four holes in it's skull. Wrapped in a veil of eerie green light, The Voidmind regards you with an intelligence very much unlike that of a Knoll.
"SSUCH INNDECORROUSSNESSSS, LITTLE EMMPERRORR. OUR MINDS ARE... OPEN."
"Wait!" Ishmael holds a hand up, stopping his teleportation. "I need to make a withdrawal!"
Running up to the safe, he scribbles something onto a notepad, and takes something out. "All good, let's go."
And with that, he teleports to Nessus with Auma. If we could see the Third Praetorian's feet, they would probably be tapping right now. "Yes, they are! Well, any takers? No? In any case, I'm leaving next round. If you'll excuse me, we have a world to save."
The Improvement Facility Creator will help with HV's Charge Next Round. In the meantime, it ticks up to 40%.
((Because nobody part of Foundationquest has posted, nothing happens.))
The Platemobile gets closer to M616. It trips a Voidmine, which bursts open with a Fire Elemental which is quickly cut down by the forces onboard. You've entered a minefield. Best move slowly.
Initiate. Hacking
(lolwhatthefuckdidyoujustsayyoulittle- NANI?)
Overtaking the Projector drones pathetic defenses, the DAI explores the database of the Projector Drone.
A star falls from the sky into a universe. In it, machines besiege the Seven Heavens of Celestia. The Iron Prince hard at work.
The star continued to fall until it landed somewhere important. Someplace the Operator felt important.
The former star, now revealed to be some sort of escape pod, split open to reveal a person inside. He opened his eyes and looked up to everything above.
"Thank god that's over with."
He gets up, rubbing his goofy anime hair about. He looks this way and that, until...
"Aha!"
He picks up a towel. He wraps it around his waist, acting as an impromptu style accessory. It is the same color as his shirt - white. His pants are the same color as his hair - black. His shoes are a mix of both.
"Always good to know where your towel is. Now... let's see where jettisoning from an Infinite Improbability Drive gets me."
He examines his surroundings with a slightly fake smile.
Special - Join the game as a HGttG character? Or, at least, one from an alternate timeline to their canon, judging from the hair alone? Fuck if I know - all I know is that they had access to an Infinite Improbability Drive before jettisoning from it.
"Nothing you can give us will stop us from going down there. Unless you're willing to put a end to the war."
Astrec leaves a drone to relay whatever the Prince has to say to him, then turns and zips down towards the surface of the planet, heading for the biggest concentration of Praetorian troops they can see.
[1x] I, the tap-dancing man, take off my shoes. I am still wearing shoes, so I take off another pair of shoes. And another. And another. Soon, I have a quite large quantity of shoes in one hand, and am, of course, still wearing shoes. I throw the shoes forwards, then use some telekinesis to make them orbit the platemobile at a fair distance. I then increase the speed of my tap-dancing, and the shoes speed up their orbits. After a fair bit of acceleration, the shoes are spinning fast enough that no mine will get past them without getting hit first, causing future mines to detonate further from the platemobile, and so not deal any damage.
[Entity Order: I instruct the clones and drones not to kill the fire elementals, and instead knock them away while we forge ahead faster then them, if possible.]
[1x] As I tapdance, I also conjure a small horde of miniature floating paintbrushes, which get to painting all of the plates. Soon enough, every last plate is painted to look like a cake, for obvious reasons.
[1x] I shrink the ball of fluff I made earlier.
[1]
As you saw on Discord, the Elder Brain and I had a close contention ending in my victory like the boss I am. Absolute legend, me. Anyways, a casting of Dominate Monster later and the Motherbrain (and by extension every Elderbrain, Hag and Illithid on the material plane) is under my command. By extension of controlling the Monster King, the gathered hordes of unaffiliated minor nations of monsters that they collectively controlled also work under a proxy banner of mine, for a while at least. But a while is all I should need.
Telepathically, I order them all to rush the United Dwarven Tribes. Sure they're prepared for the average drow raiding party or stray slime, but the collective underdark plus every monstrous beast that roamed the overworld flooding into their halls unannounced? It will be a slaughter.
No need to worry about them any more.
[1]
(meanwhile, I also communicate with my, ahem, "Recruiters" to go "recruit" what are certain to be a whole hell of a lot of bodies into the skeletal workforce. This will certainly be relevant later.)
[1]
Now, to teleport into the halls of New Ostoria. The new All-Father is actually of interest to me, as are the skill and power of his people. I shield myself from what is likely to be a surprised lightning bolt or two from teleporting into the halls of the most important of all storm giants, and then do the teleporting.
While Auma begins casting a ritual, Ishmael is left to do the political discussion with the lords of Hell.
Initiate. Hacking
(lolwhatthefuckdidyoujustsayyoulittle- NANI?)
Overtaking the Projector drones pathetic defenses, the DAI explores the database of the Projector Drone.
As you open up the Drone, The Prince laughs, hologram intermittently flickering. "You'll find nothing of value in this proxy."
The Projector Drone holds no databanks. Only a camera, reciever, transmitter, and miniature drive, the last of which is heavily damaged.
A star falls from the sky into a universe. In it, machines besiege the Seven Heavens of Celestia. The Iron Prince hard at work.
The star continued to fall until it landed somewhere important. Someplace the Operator felt important.
The former star, now revealed to be some sort of escape pod, split open to reveal a person inside. He opened his eyes and looked up to everything above.
"Thank god that's over with."
He gets up, rubbing his goofy anime hair about. He looks this way and that, until...
"Aha!"
He picks up a towel. He wraps it around his waist, acting as an impromptu style accessory. It is the same color as his shirt - white. His pants are the same color as his hair - black. His shoes are a mix of both.
"Always good to know where your towel is. Now... let's see where jettisoning from an Infinite Improbability Drive gets me."
He examines his surroundings with a slightly fake smile.
Special - Join the game as a HGttG character? Or, at least, one from an alternate timeline to their canon, judging from the hair alone? Fuck if I know - all I know is that they had access to an Infinite Improbability Drive before jettisoning from it.
Oh, dear. A stranger with no stake in this battle whatsoever! "Oh, wow! Perfect! Would you look at that! Amazing! How incredibly fortunate! Truly serendipitous!"
Escape Pod added to the battlefield! You land on the slopes of a mountain. Dwarves look up from their fieldwork, farming in the valley below. A white cylinder floats above the peak, generating similarly-white machines which crawl about, transforming stone to metal. Above even them, spheres of whirling rings are being repelled by guards with spears.
One of these Clockwork Orreries warps in next to you. "State your business."
"Nothing you can give us will stop us from going down there. Unless you're willing to put a end to the war."
Astrec leaves a drone to relay whatever the Prince has to say to him, then turns and zips down towards the surface of the planet, heading for the biggest concentration of Praetorian troops they can see.
[1x] I, the tap-dancing man, take off my shoes. I am still wearing shoes, so I take off another pair of shoes. And another. And another. Soon, I have a quite large quantity of shoes in one hand, and am, of course, still wearing shoes. I throw the shoes forwards, then use some telekinesis to make them orbit the platemobile at a fair distance. I then increase the speed of my tap-dancing, and the shoes speed up their orbits. After a fair bit of acceleration, the shoes are spinning fast enough that no mine will get past them without getting hit first, causing future mines to detonate further from the platemobile, and so not deal any damage.
[Entity Order: I instruct the clones and drones not to kill the fire elementals, and instead knock them away while we forge ahead faster then them, if possible.]
[1x] As I tapdance, I also conjure a small horde of miniature floating paintbrushes, which get to painting all of the plates. Soon enough, every last plate is painted to look like a cake, for obvious reasons.
[1x] I shrink the ball of fluff I made earlier.
[1]
As you saw on Discord, the Elder Brain and I had a close contention ending in my victory like the boss I am. Absolute legend, me. Anyways, a casting of Dominate Monster later and the Motherbrain (and by extension every Elderbrain, Hag and Illithid on the material plane) is under my command. By extension of controlling the Monster King, the gathered hordes of unaffiliated minor nations of monsters that they collectively controlled also work under a proxy banner of mine, for a while at least. But a while is all I should need.
Telepathically, I order them all to rush the United Dwarven Tribes. Sure they're prepared for the average drow raiding party or stray slime, but the collective underdark plus every monstrous beast that roamed the overworld flooding into their halls unannounced? It will be a slaughter.
No need to worry about them any more.
[1]
(meanwhile, I also communicate with my, ahem, "Recruiters" to go "recruit" what are certain to be a whole hell of a lot of bodies into the skeletal workforce. This will certainly be relevant later.)
[1]
Now, to teleport into the halls of New Ostoria. The new All-Father is actually of interest to me, as are the skill and power of his people. I shield myself from what is likely to be a surprised lightning bolt or two from teleporting into the halls of the most important of all storm giants, and then do the teleporting.
While Auma begins casting a ritual, Ishmael is left to do the political discussion with the lords of Hell.
You successfully dominate the Mother Brain. Their network is now yours, and then-
I.... I don't know how to feel about this. Why? Why attack the dwarves?
Following this, you teleport to New Ostoria, breaching countless otherwise-fine Dimensional Locks.
Meanwhile, Auma and Ishmael find themselves on a bridge outside of Malsheem. A parliament of owls circle the skies above. Accompanied by Horn-Devils, they are flown to the top of the tallest tower of Fortress Nesuss, where Boccob, Lord of the Ninth awaits.
The God of Magic sits on a desk piled high with books and scrolls. He addresses without so much as even looking up.
"Yes, yes. Auma. Nerà, I know you're listening as well. What do you have to say?"
As Auma ritualizes, Ishmael opens his mouth, only to be Silenced by the Lord of All Magics. "You are Incapable of Magic. Know your place." The Projector Drone sputters. "Well, it seems our time together has come to an end. See you in Celestia."
+1 AG Morale
Nothing else really happens. The DAI Improvement Facility ticks up by 3? ((I forgot to increment last round))
JOE Continues to approach his destination, and Ishmael soundlessly splutters at Boccob's nerve to just mute him.
Itinerary:
Stop Alethea!
Stop The Invasion:
Get Planetside!
...Talk to P3?
Descend to The Planet.
Defeat the Third Praetorian!
Find a way to get to reach Celestia
FoundationQuest:
Locate The Foundation.
Planetside:
Investigate?
Talk to the Clockwork Orreries?
NeràQuest:
Find allies to fight off P3?
Please call off the Dwarf Invasion. Genocide is not the answer.
((I'm thinking of testing a new thing right now, which is the requirement of scanning to figure out Entity Stats in the future. You have Scanning as a Free Action. Better get some mileage out of that.))
Astrec darts back and scans the Clockwork Orrery. He summons a spear of light in his hand and points it at the Orrery. "I come to fight off the invading forces of the Iron Prince."
Astrec darts back and scans the Clockwork Orrery. He summons a spear of light in his hand and points it at the Orrery. "I come to fight off the invading forces of the Iron Prince."
"Understood. He poses an immesurable threat to The Balance of these planes. Your assistance is welcomed."
/null
((Currently thinking of possibly doing brief Rp between posts in the future, just to speed up conversations here. Might think of some sort of system in the future.))
[1x] I use Metal, which you forgot to uptick into full charge, granting the Biosuit another AC.
[1x] I conjure a small symbiotic void-travelling organism. In exchange for increasing the hosts metabolic consumption 50%- requiring them to eat 50% more food- it integrates with their biology and modifies itself to, in conjunction with the host, fulfil as many magic system's requirements as it can, granting them access to Magic. This particular specimen has been tied to a jetpack and aimed on the path cleared through the mines, aiming towards Nera's universe, and from there, to Ishmael.
[1x] I carefully paint and solidify parts of my ball of fuzz until it has two anime-style eyes on it.
The man smiles politely even as his trained eyes gauge the relative strengths and likely powers of the Clockwork Orrery.
He takes the towel off his waist, folds it a little, then places it behind his head. His head leans into it with each hand pulling an end slightly forward. The towel, notably, is wrapped around each hand, allowing for it to stay firmly in his grip.
"I crash landed here on accident through something that was, quite literally, infinitely improbable," He speaks frankly. "Is there something the matter with my presence?"
Action - "Summon" the Towel as an... Artifact? If so, then it's to boost the power of utility (read: noncombat) actions at a rate best befitting game balance.
Smirk continues his conversation with P2,"I intend to convince the others to attend, and will set up a truth field so that they won't think anyone is speaking in bad faith, nor will they be able to speak in bad faith. I simply needed confirmation of your willingness to attend, should they do so."
He then begins to construct a room around him (void shielded, of course), of a clean looking white, with a nice marble column design, and a spot at the center that his staff looks to fit in. He places it into that slot, before beginning to chalk in a magic circle around the staff itself.
I bow my head slightly towards the Storm King, in an unparalleled display of reverence.
"Surely, the wise all-father of all giant-kind needs not the words of an elf for them to be aware of the sure times upon us all, and so I shall waste no time with the the formalities of a political discussion. Now is not the time for it, and so I come to you wasting no moment.
You know, certainly, that since I penetrated the shell of Neutral Energies that encompasses the outer planes a new sea, dubbed the Voidic Sea, full of other shelled planar systems of entirely different weaves of arcanum.
The ships of steels unknown to the finest firegiant that descend upon our worlds are of these other systems, and threaten us all equally. I myself have fought the Navy of this Iron Prince before and know of the threat they pose. Separate as we are, it is insurmountable. I present to you the opportunity to take what I know of this menace and lead with the full force of your most potent of people's a surprise assault on the enemy before they finish with their current prey and can move their focus to you. Apart we will fall one by one until none can stop them. Together we might defeat them, and come out of this not only alive, but with a pact of adamant bindi g together an alliance that will shake our opposers to their cores."
Auma being the snarky jerk he is, just winks at Ishmael to keep talking while he continues his ritual.
Astrec darts back and scans the Clockwork Orrery. He summons a spear of light in his hand and points it at the Orrery. "I come to fight off the invading forces of the Iron Prince."
Mass-manufactured border guards present in universes under the protection of Primus, Clockwork Armillaries maintain the internal balance of a given universe, keeping track of extradimensional travellers.
"Understood. He poses an immeasurable threat to The Balance of these planes. Your assistance is welcomed."
/null
((Currently thinking of possibly doing brief Rp between posts in the future, just to speed up conversations here. Might think of some sort of system in the future.))
[1x] I use Metal, which you forgot to uptick into full charge, granting the Biosuit another AC.
[1x] I conjure a small symbiotic void-travelling organism. In exchange for increasing the hosts metabolic consumption 50%- requiring them to eat 50% more food- it integrates with their biology and modifies itself to, in conjunction with the host, fulfil as many magic system's requirements as it can, granting them access to Magic. This particular specimen has been tied to a jetpack and aimed on the path cleared through the mines, aiming towards Nera's universe, and from there, to Ishmael.
[1x] I carefully paint and solidify parts of my ball of fuzz until it has two anime-style eyes on it.
The man smiles politely even as his trained eyes gauge the relative strengths and likely powers of the Clockwork Orrery.
He takes the towel off his waist, folds it a little, then places it behind his head. His head leans into it with each hand pulling an end slightly forward. The towel, notably, is wrapped around each hand, allowing for it to stay firmly in his grip.
"I crash landed here on accident through something that was, quite literally, infinitely improbable," He speaks frankly. "Is there something the matter with my presence?"
Action - "Summon" the Towel as an... Artifact? If so, then it's to boost the power of utility (read: noncombat) actions at a rate best befitting game balance.
"This world is contested ground," the Armillary explains. They aren't wrong. "For your well-being, I can take you to your desired destination."
If you want an explanation from me: The Third Praetorian has launched a direct assault on the Heaven of this Universe. Because he's barred direct travel to the plane, we need to find a way to bypass his defenses.
Clockwork Orrery Armillary. 25/25 Hp. 3 AC. 5 Regen. Blast: 0/2. Dispel: 0/3.
Attack: 40,000. Mounted to the top of the Orrery is an Onyx torso bearing six arms, each brandishing a weapon.
Blast: The Armillary has a link to the Elemental Planes, and can channel those energies into a focused stream.
Dispel: The Primary Mechanism of an Armillary grants it's ability to freely travel wherever it wishes. In addition, it can also produce a pulse which nullifies all magical effects in play.
PASSIVE: Hemophile. The Armillary's weapons are designed to inflict bleeding.
Smirk continues his conversation with P2,"I intend to convince the others to attend, and will set up a truth field so that they won't think anyone is speaking in bad faith, nor will they be able to speak in bad faith. I simply needed confirmation of your willingness to attend, should they do so."
He then begins to construct a room around him (void shielded, of course), of a clean looking white, with a nice marble column design, and a spot at the center that his staff looks to fit in. He places it into that slot, before beginning to chalk in a magic circle around the staff itself.
I bow my head slightly towards the Storm King, in an unparalleled display of reverence.
"Surely, the wise all-father of all giant-kind needs not the words of an elf for them to be aware of the sure times upon us all, and so I shall waste no time with the the formalities of a political discussion. Now is not the time for it, and so I come to you wasting no moment.
You know, certainly, that since I penetrated the shell of Neutral Energies that encompasses the outer planes a new sea, dubbed the Voidic Sea, full of other shelled planar systems of entirely different weaves of arcanum.
The ships of steels unknown to the finest firegiant that descend upon our worlds are of these other systems, and threaten us all equally. I myself have fought the Navy of this Iron Prince before and know of the threat they pose. Separate as we are, it is insurmountable. I present to you the opportunity to take what I know of this menace and lead with the full force of your most potent of people's a surprise assault on the enemy before they finish with their current prey and can move their focus to you. Apart we will fall one by one until none can stop them. Together we might defeat them, and come out of this not only alive, but with a pact of adamant bindi g together an alliance that will shake our opposers to their cores."
Auma being the snarky jerk he is, just winks at Ishmael to keep talking while he continues his ritual.
The Storm King considers your words. Raising his hand, he presents a pile of crushed holographic drones. "We have already been made aware of this threat you speak of. Their spies trespassed in our territory, and were dealt with accordingly."He sighs."My people seek autonomy, Nerà. This is a world ruled by the strong, and you are the strongest. It stands that you would benefit the most in a crisis such as this. Forming an alliance is different from establishing trade relations. Think on my words, Archmage. You'll have your coalition."
...Well.
Ishmael shoots Auma a glare. Winkins regains invulnerability, and is summarily removed as a Battlefield Entry because he isn't holding an artifact.
Boccob looks up for the first time to address Ishmael. "Do you know what's just happened? You've been given a jumpstart, a second chance from your mistakes. A second chance you don't deserve. You had the chance learn magic like everyone else, but you chose not to. Your peers are years ahead of you. Who do you think is willing to teach someone as old as you? Even if you were accepted, how long do you think you'll live? Your days are numbered. You chose to be nobody. You have no dedication, no drive whatsoever. That is why you are a failure. You are psychologically incapable of greatness. That is all."
He dismisses the silence, once again turning to his scrolls.
Itinerary:
Stop Alethea!
Stop The Invasion:
Get Planetside!
Descend to The Planet.
Investigate?
Talk to the Armillaries?
Defeat the Third Praetorian!
Find a way to get to reach Celestia
FoundationQuest:
Locate The Foundation.
NeràQuest:
Find allies to fight off P3?
Please call off the Dwarf Invasion. Genocide is not the answer.
[1x] I conjure a new fuzzball. This one is somewhat smaller then the first was originally, but larger then the first is now.
[1x] I accelerate my Platemobile further, adding new shoes to the defensive field of debris as necessary.
[1x] After some thought, I decide that Symbiote I created for Ishmael was a Great idea! With a bit of focus, I conjure another such symbiote, but in a different stage of its life-cycle. Specifically, the Symbiote enters this stage in its life-cycle once its host is sufficiently powerful with magic and several years have past, at which point it causes the host to feel an unusual and slowly increasing lethargy. The increase is slow so that, if the host is in a life-threatening situation, they will be able to escape it first. After the host gives in to the lethargy by not doing much for a while, the Symbiote puts them into a magical sleep and crawls back out of their body. Using the magical power it has drained- only power that would otherwise be wasted- over the years, the Symbiote creates as many eggs as it is able, then reenters the host; In total the process takes less then an hour after the host acquiesces, and the Symbiote will serve the host faithfully for the rest of their lives afterwards. The other way the Symbiote enters this stage, though... if the Host dies. when that happens, the Symbiote flees, then roots itself to a spot, and remains in the egg-laying mode until it wastes away.
This all goes to say that I've just conjured a Symbiote engaging in replication, which is sort of like a small tree that grows more symbiotes, and I throw it through a portal (conjured from nothing with magic of course)to the Facility. I wonder if they'll be able to get anything useful out of it?
Technically speaking, this is a different Symbiote species then the one inside Ishmael, because I hadn't designed this stage of the Symbiote lifecycle at the time of conjuring, and I'm not going to try and reach my powers across reality to Ishmael. So His Symbiote is stunted, unable to reproduce, but that shouldn't be a problem.
"Well, I supposed I can ask for directions. But I'm not leaving yet. Not until I check to see if some friends of mine are here - dead or alive-"
He turns. He thought he heard someone, but that wasn't possible. At least, not conventionally.
Hitchiker's universe was full of improbable things. He focuses just a bit...
"Well, if you want to take me somewhere - take me to the local Heaven - if my friends ended up here and died, then their souls would be there. I'm sure of it, if there's any justice here."
Even so, he notices something. He unconsciously uses an Action to reveal any nearby Dwarf forces being Genocided, since they don't appear on the stat sheet.
"Wonderful, my liege. I am certain that you will not regret joining beneath my banner, All-Father. To begin with my grand strategies must be put into motion with your people to help. Currently, the conglomerated forces of darkness are moving to destroy the United Dwarven Tribes in their hovels. My mages will take their corpses into our fold while the souls of the monsters join their demonic masters. While my armies are bolstered by these new undead numbers, you will be mobilizing your forces to aid mine. Mages of mine will communicate with your generals to maximize the efficiency of this mobilization, and soon the material plane will have a sizable defense against these invaders."
Since the Silence is dismissed, Ishmael is free to distract Boccob for a little while longer while Auma completes their ritual.
I suppose I don't have much left to do, personally, besides make my way to visiting the Raven Queen. I planeshift into the Underfell.
(The Fire Giants work on their forges, with the weapons and armor they produce being teleported by mages to the Armies of Frost Giants descending from the north to help out The Empire. Cloud Giants take to the skies, paired off with mages to create a vast network of fairly well defended heads of military strategy. The Stone and Hill Giants are rallied and sent to aid the Empire as well, while the Storm Giants gather from across the plane.
Groups of necromancers prepare to teleport into the battlefield between monsters and dwarves to raise the fallen once the battle ends.)
[1x] I conjure a new fuzzball. This one is somewhat smaller then the first was originally, but larger then the first is now.
[1x] I accelerate my Platemobile further, adding new shoes to the defensive field of debris as necessary.
[1x] After some thought, I decide that Symbiote I created for Ishmael was a Great idea! With a bit of focus, I conjure another such symbiote, but in a different stage of its life-cycle. Specifically, the Symbiote enters this stage in its life-cycle once its host is sufficiently powerful with magic and several years have past, at which point it causes the host to feel an unusual and slowly increasing lethargy. The increase is slow so that, if the host is in a life-threatening situation, they will be able to escape it first. After the host gives in to the lethargy by not doing much for a while, the Symbiote puts them into a magical sleep and crawls back out of their body. Using the magical power it has drained- only power that would otherwise be wasted- over the years, the Symbiote creates as many eggs as it is able, then reenters the host; In total the process takes less then an hour after the host acquiesces, and the Symbiote will serve the host faithfully for the rest of their lives afterwards. The other way the Symbiote enters this stage, though... if the Host dies. when that happens, the Symbiote flees, then roots itself to a spot, and remains in the egg-laying mode until it wastes away.
This all goes to say that I've just conjured a Symbiote engaging in replication, which is sort of like a small tree that grows more symbiotes, and I throw it through a portal (conjured from nothing with magic of course)to the Facility. I wonder if they'll be able to get anything useful out of it?
Technically speaking, this is a different Symbiote species then the one inside Ishmael, because I hadn't designed this stage of the Symbiote lifecycle at the time of conjuring, and I'm not going to try and reach my powers across reality to Ishmael. So His Symbiote is stunted, unable to reproduce, but that shouldn't be a problem.
You successfully locate Nera and Auma, but fail to detect Ishmael, despite him being right next to the latter. Oh? Sorry about that. I keep myself guarded at all times.
Nevermind. He's opened a link to you. Not too sure what I should say to someone like Boccob. You got any suggestions?
"Well, I supposed I can ask for directions. But I'm not leaving yet. Not until I check to see if some friends of mine are here - dead or alive-"
He turns. He thought he heard someone, but that wasn't possible. At least, not conventionally.
Hitchiker's universe was full of improbable things. He focuses just a bit...
"Well, if you want to take me somewhere - take me to the local Heaven - if my friends ended up here and died, then their souls would be there. I'm sure of it, if there's any justice here."
Even so, he notices something. He unconsciously uses an Action to reveal any nearby Dwarf forces being Genocided, since they don't appear on the stat sheet.
"Unfortunately, Celestia is currently inaccessible due to current events. Would you like to search similar Planes?"
Hm? Interesting...
There isn't any visible violence from your current vantage point, but if you're interested in knowing, troglodytes are assembling in numbers and organizations unheard of deep below the surface.
"Wonderful, my liege. I am certain that you will not regret joining beneath my banner, All-Father. To begin with my grand strategies must be put into motion with your people to help. Currently, the conglomerated forces of darkness are moving to destroy the United Dwarven Tribes in their hovels. My mages will take their corpses into our fold while the souls of the monsters join their demonic masters. While my armies are bolstered by these new undead numbers, you will be mobilizing your forces to aid mine. Mages of mine will communicate with your generals to maximize the efficiency of this mobilization, and soon the material plane will have a sizable defense against these invaders."
Since the Silence is dismissed, Ishmael is free to distract Boccob for a little while longer while Auma completes their ritual.
I suppose I don't have much left to do, personally, besides make my way to visiting the Raven Queen. I planeshift into the Underfell.
(The Fire Giants work on their forges, with the weapons and armor they produce being teleported by mages to the Armies of Frost Giants descending from the north to help out The Empire. Cloud Giants take to the skies, paired off with mages to create a vast network of fairly well defended heads of military strategy. The Stone and Hill Giants are rallied and sent to aid the Empire as well, while the Storm Giants gather from across the plane.
Groups of necromancers prepare to teleport into the battlefield between monsters and dwarves to raise the fallen once the battle ends.)
The Storm King nods slowly. "Yo͟u͝'́v̀e p͠la̴nn͝ed t͞his ̷wel̢ĺ.͏"
Your surroundings desaturate as you enter the Underfell. You are met with a short, squat skeleton wearing a flame-red hoodie. *well well well. What do we have here? he chuckles. *a human?
*no, an elf.
*we dont get many visitors around these parts.
*you see.
*they call this place the underfell for a reason.
*we've been outlawed by the queen.
*it's been nice talking to you, kid.
*goodbye.
A sphere of fire ignites in the skeleton's left eye socket.
...You're about to have a bad time. ((Since the players in the Void aren't really doing much, I might archive them for later.))
Astrec descends further towards the planet. You come across a a field where an Iron Colossi struggles against a massive airborne serpentine machine. Beneath it's feet, Iron Golems fight against alien-looking robots. The advance of Nerà's forces can be clearly seen by the burnt field behind them. It looks like they were handling the Fire Elementals quite well, but the robotic portion of the invasion force is proving to be more of a struggle. Beyond the Serpent, a circular gateway half-sunken into the ground reveals images of a certain foreign bright mountain location. Celestia. You've found a gate! Now you need to capture it!
BOSS FIGHT CETUS [THE_SPINE] === = ==̼̪͚̞͎̰̲̺̥̮͔̫͔ͯ͋͌̅=
How To Play:
Cetus's Stats are currently obscured. You'll have to scan the new foes it introduces to figure out what each of them do. Keeping an eye on the entities it summons is important. Don't worry if Cetus is too much to deal with right now. I think I might just open up the game a bit, let you mess around before you actually face THE SPINE. After all, the group's is a bit scattered right now. Maybe it'll be more interesting with allies? We'll have to see.
Finally, Ishmael speaks to Boccob. "First of all, shut up. What the hell."
The Uncaring God continues to write. "As someone who used to work with the Iron Prince, I can assure you that he is one of the most dangerous people in existence. I have seen him lay waste to entire fleets by taking them over from the inside. He is more than just a man who uses technology. He will always do one thing, and at the same time accomplish something else in his hidden agenda. His physical ability is just the tip of the Iceberg. I strongly urge you to beware of the Third Praetorian."
Ishmael slams his fist on the table, sweeping the books off the desk. "Metal and Madness, are you even listening!?"
Boccob stands up, lifting Ishmael by the wrist. "Harm."
Necrotic energy courses through the ex-snipers' body, reopening old wounds, reacting to simultaenously detonate all seven spheres of his Crown of Stars. "Never do that again."
Tossed aside, Ishmael slumps to the ground, blood running down his neck. Crawling out of his throat, the symbiote curls up and dies. "I... I see darkness..."
The Uncaring God narrows his eyes. "Silence. Once again, you've lost your right to speak with me."
Calling his staff to his hands, he presses it's crown to Ishmael's chest. I... I'm not going to describe any more of this. Needless to say, Ishmael has lost his ability to do magic. Permanently.
Boccob sits back down, wordlessly retrieving his books and scrolls through telekinesis.
Meanwhile in the Underfell, Nerà senses his surroundings visibly brighten.
JOE's getting closer to his destination. I can only hope it's worth the wait. Itinerary:
Stop Alethea!
Stop The Invasion:
Get Planetside!
Descend to The Planet.
Investigate?
Talk to the Armillaries?
Defeat the Third Praetorian!
Find a way to get to reach Celestia
Defeat Cetus! It's protecting a portal!
FoundationQuest:
Locate The Foundation.
NeràQuest:
Find allies to fight off P3?
Please call off the Dwarf Invasion. Genocide is not the answer.
Smirk begins to chant an incantation to the magic circle. The incantation has two purposes. It first installs a zone of truth within the building he is crafting. It secondly will also create an aura of peace, which will effectively work as a hyper version of the sanctuary spell upon all who enter, while also causing them to feel incapable of directly attacking.
Astrec drops down from the sky, landing amongst Nerà's troops. "Don't worry! The Descended are here. Some of us, at least. We got held up in orbit, but we're going to stop the invasion."
He raises the godarm, and summons a spear of light, using it to blast back nearby robots and give the army a chance to breath, for a moment. He tilts hs head to look up at the beast in the sky. He scans it and one of the robots near it. "..who's in charge here? And what do you know about that?"
