Bay 12 Games Forum

I notified my leave first, in the Discord group. I became busy with my new job and I don't think I'll be able to return for the foreseeable future. I think other GMs are busy as well, but if they resume the game later after revamping it as they want to then I could return and help in a simpler capacity.

((Addressing some previous actions))

Jack shivered. He never got over how horrible witnessing this process was, but until he could find some better treatment, it was the best available... And being disassembled and re-assembled was better than living with one of those things growing where it shouldn't.

His thoughts wandered to how to care for the poor thing.  Like himself and Mama, it probably would not be good for it to stay in a place like the inn, but he wasn't completely sure of that. Then the thought to check in that so called "bestiary" crossed his mind, and he smirked.

He rifled through his knapsack, and hauled out the absurdly thick ream of paper, then started flipping through the empty pages, looking for the right one...

The Tome senses the presence of a creature in the vicinity and as Jack flips the pages they start turning rapidly on their own, coming to a sudden halt midway though. All the flipped pages were blank and this alone seems to have visible writing on it albeit only on the left page, the right one remains empty.

It reads:

"Pixies are one of many entities under the Fae banner. Pixies are baser creatures, not quite as sophisticated as their Fairy cousins, but not as simplistic as Sprites which cannot be perceived as more than a floating mote of light.

Pixies can be found wherever arboreal wilderness still thrives, and never too far from paths that may be trod by human or other sentient species. Pixies live in social groups, the exact makeup of which is unknown. They subsist on whatever they can find in the forest, from berries to rodent-flesh and even cannibalistic practices have been documented. They are capable of making rudimentary tools and clothing and are able to use magic, as all Fae can. They generally use illusion magic to cause trickery and bewilderment in travellers. Indeed a Pixie’s mischievousness is generally considered their defining trait.

In appearance Pixies resemble miniaturized humans. Their height can vary between 2 and 3 feet, but unlike a human child they retain the proportion of a human adult. Their eyes are large, variously described as bug-like, toad-like or glowing a pure black or white. They have wings which are unique to every individual and the shape is analogous to that of any insect wing. These are used for hovering and flight but Pixies cannot achieve flight solely through wings, their ability to fly is augmented with magic. Like the wings a Pixie’s complexion also has variety, which can resemble the pale and dark hues of humans, or else exotic colors not seen in people such as yellow, purple, green and others.

Over the past few centuries they have been regularly spotted leaving their natural forest environs to prey (i.e. spread their usual mayhem) on people residing in villages in or close to the forest. It’s mere conjecture at this point, but this once atypical behaviour may be becoming more common due to the increased conversion of forests into farmland, reducing the density of old forests which serve as habitat for many creatures both magical and mundane.”

Burt woke up and discovered that he had fallen asleep while trying to read the books he had just acquired, he looks around and finds its just now morning and apparently he fell asleep next to some building.

"How am I going to become a gun wizard if I fall asleep trying to read the damn book."

Burt then tried to skim through both the gun and summoning books to get an idea of what spells and things they contain.

Burt reads the book on gun magic, which contains few instructions on how to perform magic and mostly regales the exploits of gunmen and magicians in the wild wastes of the Western Norosan Desert. The gunmages were more likely to draw their guns on ferocious beasts, native blood bandits and each other than to make better use of their judgement and most ended up with very short lifespans. But in doing so they managed to tame the vast desert which had defied the Empire's attempts at colonization in centuries past.

Of special note are three unnamed mages, seemingly more figures of myth than actual personalities. Each one relied on a personal brand of weapons and magic to blast their way through the frontier, and hey lasted longer than the other mages (if they succumbed to the desert in the first place, the book doesn't make that particular detail clear). It seems like would-be gunmages can learn and master any given spell as long as they practice it to full.

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((There are 4 tiers for gunmagic, which are unlocked at levels 1, 4, 7 and 10. You can pick any one spell to learn and master each level [assuming the higher, interior tiers are unlocked to learn those spells]. One does not need to learn a spell of a particular path to learn the higher tier spell for the same path. Each spell has path points attributed to it [e.g.  Wind Bullets have 2 Gumshoe points, Earth Bullets have 2 Gambler points, Poison Bullets have 1 Gumshoe and 1 Gambler point etc]. These determine the nature of the final spell, unlocked at level 10. Also, each spell once mastered to the full unlocks either a secondary spell or an upgrade for the mastered spell. The possible upgrade for each spell will be shared soon.))

Bori holds ground, ready to retaliate against any enemy that threatens him with his revolver.

I have something that might be magic, but I’m not sure what type
Show the shopkeeper the glowing bone

"Ah of course! I can tell you, with a great deal of certainty, that you are CORRECT in your assessment, if something glows it's definitely magic, unless it's a fluorescent mushroom, or a firefly, or the embers of a dying fire, or a lantern, or the sun which I must remind you is unwise to gaze at directly. My numerous forays into this confirm it... my vision still whites out sometimes. Err, if I may be ever so curious, can a plant person look at the sun without suffering the same effects or... well it had to be asked, in the name of magic. Plants depend on the sun after all, so perhaps your vision doesn't suffer as much as mi- I mean, a person's..."

"OH BUT BACK TO THE TASK AT HAND! The bone has quite a bit of magic essence to it, I'll just dab a bit of this, and smash a bit of that..."

The shopkeep uses a pipette to drop some strange-smelling liquid onto the bone, then takes out a tiny 3-inch silver hammer and proceeds to grind the bones into a fine power, then finally scoops the whole thing into a jar and hands it back to Reeta.

"i shan't charge you more than 1g. You can apply the essence to things, and magic will happen. I'm not sure what kind, but this is exactly why one must experiment to find out! I haven't lost a limb yet, I think you'll do just fine rubbing this powder all over the place."

"I'm afraid that we will have to refuse moving on until we are sure of one small detail."
"ALRIGHT YOU NUMBSKULLS! YOU IDIOT FUCKS HAD BETTER REMEMBER TO NOT ATTACK THE MATI UNTIL THEY'VE DISPERSED! RAISE YOUR HAND TO ACKNOWLEDGE OR I'M GOING TO MAKE THIS EASIER FOR EVERYONE BY SHOOTING YOU IN THE LEG AND MOVING ON WITHOUT YOU!"

Bori raises hand.

"Bori live in village next to river. Bori understand saying 'bigger fish to fry'. Bori love shooting, but Bori can stop shooting and wait so Bori can shoot bigger target instead. Also, Bori doesn't really like fried fish."

"Yes, this sounds most agreeable. Though it will perhaps work on one Mati at a time. I could perhaps take someone along to ensure that I do not meet my end from their continued assault before pulling it off. One or two capable panzers should be enough to soak the blows as I execute the plan. A full third of the glory should be enough for someone as humble as me."

"Bori not much fond of suicide attacks, unless they are done in a manner of Bori's own choosing, rendered in appropriate dramatic fashion. But if comrade need Bori help, Bori willing to aid comrade."

Bori volunteers to join Jonas' retinue, and waits to see if his offer is accepted.

Drink the blood that's pouring out of the wounds, it's the same color as a health potion so it should restore you back to full.

Linea stepped closer to the mayor's desk and flip it in a tranquil, yet discernable rage.

"Four agents. Four goddamn agents have been here for at least two days. We asked your people, we gathered information and it was apparently for a useless cause because you and your citizens were hiding something from us!  WE ARE HERE TO HELP mister mayor, why didn't you tell me, or my friends earlier?"

Linea took a deep, careful sigh before concluding. "So now you want us to get the bottom of this because you are desperate, huh? Thinking that we are the only chance to rescue your son? And we are expendable if something goes wrong? Don't worry, if he is still alive we will bring him back, even if my missing team isn't as lucky as him.

Linea stared at the window, then back to the mayor.

"With one additional condition."

The mayor shrinks away as Linea flips flips the table and lets loose her tirade. He begins stammering but is unable to interject while Linea is speaking.

Linea hated waiting. So she decided to be upfront with her proposition. "I want you to keep an eye on one of my agents. He is currently in the company of a girl named Little Sally, gathering information about her."

"It was strange that nobody in this town seemed to be... disturbed or bothered by her presence. Like she never exisetd at all. Mister Mayor, I don't think that would be normal for a little girl to have a deep connection with the black market syndicates. Is there anything you want to inform me about this Sally character?

"I-I-it's only fair I think, I'll help you out. I'll have my men keep a watch on the girl and your man. But I don't know about much about her, really! I can tell you she first appeared three months ago, after the animal attacks had started. Some villagers blamed her for the attacks, putting two and two together and tried to evict her from the village but... I will put it this way, you will be better off not angering her or the behemoth that follows her around. The other villagers keep their distance from her so I don't know if they can help you out either. However..."

The mayor pauses, trying to carefully gauge Linea's reaction.

"I know where she lives... I could tell you more once you come back."

---

Dularach tilts his head slightly to the right
"well miss Flo, i was wondering if i could learn more shape-shifting, since it would help with me being able to approach people better, on another note are you from a yokai clan?"

Flo adjusts her glasses and strums her fingers along her folded arm.

"Shape-shifting huh? Well yes, you could learn a Transmogrification spell. There's also animistic forms each with their own abilities, and Druids can imbue the spirit of the wilderness, changing shape in the process. I think Jack was interested in Druidry, he took a book on it. But anyway if you're interested in learning magic and strengthening them over time, I can draw up a list of books that might interest you. The books can be borrowed from the library for free, as long as you return them in acceptable condition."

"But if you only want to change forms to alter your appearance I would recommend brewing a potion instead. It won't boost your magic abilities, but you can freely switch between forms for an entire day and it need you to endlessly reapply the spell on yourself, exhausting all your magical energies."

"Um, I don't what those are. I'm not from any clan I think. Is that what you are?"