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[Horizon]

Our Evil Twin, a psychotic craftsman who believes advanced golems- like our master- are 'things' and should be treated as such rather than as people, furthermore they have been rather open in their opinion that we can't be called a "master", let alone a "Journeyman" just because we trained under them.

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[A_Curious_Cat]

Our Evil Twin, a psychotic craftsman who believes advanced golems- like our master- are 'things' and should be treated as such rather than as people, furthermore they have been rather open in their opinion that we can't be called a "master", let alone a "Journeyman" just because we trained under them.

+1

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[Stirk]

Our Evil Twin, a psychotic craftsman who believes advanced golems- like our master- are 'things' and should be treated as such rather than as people, furthermore they have been rather open in their opinion that we can't be called a "master", let alone a "Journeyman" just because we trained under them.

On the other side of the fire was a face that looked much like your own. The body attached to this face steps forward when called.

"Do you swear to thoroughly evaluate the candidate without being biased by family connections?"

"I do. I will thoroughly prod for any and all weakness despite our shared blood."

"Skeptic, present your case."

"As you can see, my unfortunate twin has found themselves without a traditional Master. The guiding hand of a teacher is necessary to insure the weapon smiths of our village are capable of creating works that are safe, effective, and up to standard. While they are clearly capable of swinging a hammer and producing results, they are effectively self taught - using a Golem in place of a book. Much like learning from a book rather than a teacher this introduces possibilities for dangerous misunderstandings or errors. Could we truly trust the candidate to not harm themselves or others when they copied a technique from something that does not feel the burn of a flame and risks nothing from an errant hammer blow? Imagine a future where my Twin becomes a Master only to sprawl on the floor from overheating as they never learned basic heat management. Could our village recover from the shame of having a Master who makes errors an apprentice would learn on their first day from a true Master? It is therefore my belief that they should be denied the license until they work under a proper master."

Our Evil Twin is holding back a bit more than usual thanks to the formal nature of the trial - they probably practiced the speech in the mirror ahead of time. They move forward and begin to examine our work closely by the light of the fire.

"For example while this work's craftsmanship is acceptable, it shows a lack of foresight. Clearly it is designed for short-range engagements, knowing them it is likely meant to defend their shop. They failed to take into account, however, that anyone intending to rob a workshop known for its golems would have the means to overcome the loyalty of the cores within. If my Twin ever steps away from it, it would be trivial for any would be robber to access it and turn it against them with a simple hacking core transforming the asset into a liability."

Hacking cores arn't a particular type of core. Rather they are a type of weapon that is essentially a golem core with mesh around it. If you attach the golem core to a golem's mesh, it then sends an order to twist the mesh near the original golem core(s) to breaking point. Once it is the only core it then acts as normal, taking over the object from the original (minus any damage that was caused in its conquest). For the most part this must be done by hand, making it impractical under battlefield conditions

"Golems lack innovation and imagination, if they are not told explicitly about a problem then they will have no recourse to solve it or even recognize it. A human Master needs both."

The chief looks back to your corner. It is now time for your rebuttal. What do you say in response?

[King Zultan]

"Fuck you."
I mean something well thought out and to the point.

[Horizon]

No, say nothing. They deserve no words, our work is far more important.

[King Zultan]

No, say nothing. They deserve no words, our work is far more important.

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[Stirk]

No, say nothing. They deserve no words, our work is far more important.

You remain silent. After a few moments your Master decides to speak up on your behalf.

"I was trained by humans and imparted the knowledge of my Master to my pupil leaving nothing out no matter how trivial. I was acknowledged as a Master by the village. If we where to acknowledge a book as Master anyone trained and put forth by the book would qualify for a Master Trial by our laws. There is precedent in laws foreign and domestic, as Pope Andrias declaring the scripture to be his successor."

Pope Andrias is the founder of the Scripturists movement. Near the end of his life he declared that the Scripture, a long scroll edited by the past popes, was now complete and would act as the head of the religion eternally. This caused some splintering among the religion, some scholars speculating it was only done to prevent corruption that was rampant during Andrias's time in the assumption an inanimate object could not be swayed. As the Pope is head of state the Scripture is internationally recognized as a world leader, despite being text on paper. A legalistic argument is just like your Master.

"There are many ways to prevent inappropriate interaction with the Masterpiece. The simplest being to place it on an elevated position and allow it to attack any who venture too close, with appropriate measures taken that only those with ill intent are able to approach. With such measures in place anyone capable of corrupting the Masterpiece would find it easier to loot the store without doing so."

There are a few more arguments, but it soon becomes clear that all your Rival's main points have already been pressed and all that remains is petty arguments listing of every one of your sins and mistakes since childhood.

Once again the chief speaks up. "Thank you all for your thoughts. It is now time for deliberation. Please form an orderly line."

You stand next to your Master and Masterpiece. All the assembled villagers form a line of craftsmen starting with the Chief. They each take turns examining the piece for any mistakes, offering a compliment or critique after doing so. Each examination is quick, but since the entire village is going through the ritual it ends up taking no small amount of time. On its face this is a final quality control check, but in practice it is mostly tradition so the entire village can be said to be part of the approval process for better or worse.

After going through the parade the crowd gathers back together. The chief nods on his cart.

"After a thorough investigation we the people of the village declare your skill to be sufficient for the rank of Master. Congratulations on your graduation! We happily welcome you to our ranks!"

A brief applause erupts from the crowd. Some come forth to give you pats on the back, shoulder shakes, or other affectionate nudges. After all your hard work, your new life starts tomorrow!

Your first order of business is to prepare your workshop. You've been saving up money so that shouldn't be a problem. After that is the opening ceremony. Opening ceremonies are another tradition meant to help new workshops get started. All the villagers will attend to be sure (which is one reason the villagers where supportive of your graduation - you now fund a party for the rest of the village), but it also serves a practical purpose of attracting new customers.

The problem is that you're the one who has to pay now. Your workshop and tools are all secure, so your remaining budget will have to be split between new materials and the opening ceremony. The more extravagant the opening ceremony, the less money you'll have to spend on starting materials. But if you cheap out on your opening ceremony you might not have any customers to buy what you made with all your expensive starting materials. What type of party you throw will also dictate what type of customer you attract - a rowdy drinking party with a wrestling ring may sound like heaven to the rougher adventurers but would probably drive away the upper crust who dictates the Crown's funds for example.

What are your plans for the opening ceremony?

[Maximum Spin]

Can we get BOTH layers of society with a very genteel and respectable gladiatorial combat?

[A_Curious_Cat]

Can we get BOTH layers of society with a very genteel and respectable gladiatorial combat?

+1, if possible.

[King Zultan]

Can we get BOTH layers of society with a very genteel and respectable gladiatorial combat?

+1, if possible.

+1

[Stirk]

Can we get BOTH layers of society with a very genteel and respectable gladiatorial combat?

You can certainly try! The most popular type of gladiatorial combat in modern times is Theatrical Combat, a type of scripted gladiator game that is considered high art. It is enjoyed by people of all social classes for different reasons. It usually involves complicated ongoing plots with philosophical themes that can be enjoyed by the upper class along with violence and special effects that can be enjoyed by the plebs. Both also enjoy the exclusivity. Gladiators play their characters even when off the clock and everyone involved pretend that the stories are real, so there are no repeated shows as there are in traditional theater meaning each game is unique making for great casual conversation or bragging rights. Fights have scripted winners and losers to fit into the plot, but most of the fighting itself is improvised. Wounds tend to be shallow and bloody, but special occasions can result in maiming or loss of limb that requires more expensive healing.

After that is monster fights. Captured monsters are put up against other captured monsters and spectators bet on the winner. This is considered a much more vulgar type of entertainment, and many nations regulate it either for humanitarian or safety reasons. Many adventures claim to enjoy the sport for educational reasons, as it allows them to see how monsters fight with minimal risk of getting devoured themselves.

True fight-to-the-death gladiator combats are usually left to Duel Viewing. Anyone desperate enough to toss their life away for money (or under bondage so someone else tosses their life away for money) usually go into Adventuring, so there arn't many opportunities for people to fight to the death for your entertainment. Fortunately people who want to fight or kill each other for unrelated reasons can do so in an arena for the entertainment of the masses. This allegedly comes from a tradition where the village would watch a duel to make sure it was done fairly, which is still a valid reason to have a bunch of people watching you fight. Famous Adventurers feuding can bring in huge crowds even for first-blood duels. Money gained from spectators is usually split between the winner and the loser's estate, with a fee for renting wherever the duel is held removed from both equally. Who is dueling depends on who is watching, aristocrats dueling would bring on aristocratic spectators (who may not even allow the lower classes to watch) while two peasants dueling would only really bring peasant spectators.

As you have to have the event in or near your shop, you're fairly limited event venue, but you can easily have a gladiator game in a ring of rocks in your workshop's test range.

Who do you want to hire for your Gladiator Game?

A) Professional Gladiators from the city. Part actor and part fighter, they are capable of drawing and entertaining crowds from all walks of life. They're no stranger to product placement and would be able to advertise your weapons effectively while putting on their show. The only problem is the expense involved with hiring someone from so far away would mean you'll have little left over to actually make your products with.

B) Golem Gladiators. You have all the resources to make your own gladiators! This allows you to demonstrate your products in something resembling a real battle while hopefully providing entertainment. Who shows up depends on what you build - there could well be a market for golem fights. Of course the downside is whatever you build is very likely to be in an unsellable state by the end of the fight, win or loose.

C) Your friends from the village. What they lack in acting skill they make up for in being free. Working with weapons from a young age has granted most of the villagers an athletic body and weapon testing means they have enough skill in weapons that they can fight convincingly enough. Their lack of fame means they won't draw as big a crowd, and their lack of acting experience means the fight is going to be slow and awkward barring a miracle. On the other hand you'll be able to use all your money on weapons!

D) Challenge your rival to a duel and have a Duel Viewing. Also free and more dramatic, but now there is a real risk of personal harm if you happen to loose. Or reputational harm if your Rival's weapons end up surpassing yours and you survive. There would be nothing more embarrassing than having your weapons shown up at your own grand opening.

X) Other. The world is full of people who could potentially fight each other.

[Superdorf]

B

[Horizon]

B

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[IronyOwl]

B

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Absolutely this. We're gonna make war golems, so let's show off some war golems!

[A_Curious_Cat]

B

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Absolutely this. We're gonna make war golems, so let's show off some war golems!

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