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Author Topic: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-36 Decisions, Decisions  (Read 656511 times)

speedyth

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-22 (Updated 20th August)
« Reply #1815 on: September 20, 2013, 09:40:49 am »

I agree with travispro. This thread did need a bump
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monk12

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-22 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1816 on: September 20, 2013, 11:23:19 pm »

Spoiler: Buncha Suggestions (click to show/hide)

   Eko steps forward, seeming to feel the air in front of his face. "Well, the ward is just as I left it. No worries there. What do we do now?"
   Omo looks at you questioningly. "Do we go in?"
   "Yeah." You nod decisively. "Can you find the clearing where we found the children? We can use that as a base camp, if Eko wards it."
   Omo grins. "Can I find a random forest clearing I've visited once before in the dark of night? Of course! Who do you think I am?"
   "Good. Eko, can you protect us with a mobile ward on our way there?"
   "I can, but you'll have to stay close to me to remain within the ward's influence. You should be fine if you do not stray more than ten feet. How far is this clearing?" Eko asks.
   Omo scratches his chin. "It isn't too far off; an hour's walk, maybe two."

   Eko nods absently, rummaging through his pack for his chalks. Pulling out a nub of yellow chalk, he begins muttering to himself as he traces odd patterns on his hands. Omo watches incredulously as Eko pulls back his sleeves to draw on his arms, then pulls up his robe to scrawl on his belly. You watch with interest; not from any particular desire to see Eko's stomach (which is rather chubby and distressingly hairy,) but because you want to see what Order Magic looks like.

   Unfortunately, this spell just looks like a crazy person rubbing himself with a piece of chalk. Though the patterns are quite intricate, full of square shapes and right angles, they don't look like anything special. After drawing on every body part Eko can easily reach, he spends a few minutes with his eyes closed, still murmuring incomprehensibly to himself. With a sigh, he opens his eyes and nods.

   "There. One Minor Ward against Necromancy, ready to go. As I said, stay close, and you'll be protected as well as I am."
   "Well, if your spell is ready, there's no need to hang out on the edge of the forest. Lead the way, Omo!"

   Omo leads you once more under the leaves of Aloclesno. The thick forest is much less oppressive in the daytime, though it is still rather gloomy. Perhaps the most striking difference is the noise; at night, the forest seemed unnaturally quiet, but by day the familiar chirping of birds and drone of insects fills the forest. Leaves rustle as a squirrel jumps to a smaller branch. Somewhere in the distance, a crow caws raucously.

   However, even the usual noises of forest life are drowned out by the tramping of Eko Cleanvise.

   Omo throws up his arms as yet another dead branch cracks beneath Eko's feet. "Burn me to ash, but are you going to step on every twig in this forest, Eko? Because you're making a good start!"
   "Well excuse me for getting an education instead of playing in the woods all my life." Eko grumbles. "Not everybody can ignore little things like calendars and souls in favor of moving like deer. Never did like forests; they're far too disorganized."
   Omo snorts. "All I'm saying is that you're making enough noise to wake the dead."
   "That's the plan, right? We'll rouse that Necromantic monster from whatever haven it hides in, and then deal with it once and for all."
   You wince as Eko shuffles through a pile of dead leaves. "Well, speaking of that; from what you said about Kiros's expedition, it seems like the wards kept the monster from finding him."
   Eko nods. "That is quite likely, yes."
   "Is it possible that the wards also kept him from finding the monster?"
   Eko shakes his head. "No, that's not how the wards work. The Divinations are Order magic, and... they reach out past the wards, would be the easiest way to explain it. The wards would prevent Necromantic magic from entering- the stronger wards, anyway- but none of them would prevent Order magic from flowing out to find signs of Necromancy."
   "Hm. Well, to change the subject slightly, I'm interested to know what kinds of tricks you can do with your Alarm spell."
   Eko chuckles, twigs snapping beneath his feet. "Yes, that's quite a devious little spell. Some Wizards say the applications of Alarm are a school unto themselves. People have made some very clever things with Alarm; accurate timekeepers, intricate traps... one Wizard made a series of Alarms and Divinations that played a song from the sounds of different places."
   "Really? Could you, say, set an Alarm to trigger a Ward, or an Abjuration if we do something simple like break a stick?"
   Omo snorts. "He's broken enough sticks, if you ask me."
   Eko gives Omo a sour look before shaking his head. "I know what you're thinking, but things are a little more complicated than that. I'd still have to prepare a Ward the same as usual, so it would only work if you plan to lure this creature somewhere specific that I can prepare beforehand. And Equations and Divinations are even trickier, because they are not normally prepared for as Wards are. To tie one of those spells to an Alarm, I'd have to simulate the conditions for casting them within the Alarm itself, in addition to the provisions that allow the spell to be held in suspension, which tends to make the spell both more expensive and more unstable."
   "So... you can't do it?"
   Eko sighs. "I can try, but it's not easy. I can only tie one spell to an Alarm, and it will cost more Mana than casting the spells separately would. Centering a ward on a person, or casting a Divination or Abjuration would likely consume my entire mana pool. I certainly shouldn't try right now, if you want a ward at this clearing of yours."
   "Hm. Alright. I wish you had mentioned that when you were describing the spell earlier."
   "Forgive me for not relating my lifetime of magical studies on the walk here." Eko says dryly.
   "Actually..." You reply, "I had a random thought; do you know if mages of different Faiths can combine their spells? Life and Order, or Water and Earth, or something?"
   "That is an odd question." Eko says with a grin. "I don't know of any spells that absolutely require the presence of multiple Faiths. Of course, there are many spells which work well with those from other Faiths, merely by virtue of their effects. Legends tell of mythical weapons and armor forged by the combined efforts of Dwarven Earth Magicians and Fire Giant Invokers, for example, and occasionally mages of other Faiths will study with the Wizards to use their Divinations to aid their own research."
   "Interesting. Do you know-"
   "Hey." Omo interrupts. "We're here."

   The clearing looks no different in the light of day than when you first saw it; the ground is flat and covered with tall grass and leaves, and two young trees near the center of the clearing stretch toward the midday sun. At a nod from you, Eko begins walking around the clearing, preparing to enclose the entire area in a Minor Ward. You cast See Vitality, and at your urging Omo casts Sense Vitality.

   You take a moment to look at Omo and Eko with your newly-enhanced vision. As far as you can tell, the Vitality network within them moves just like that of Ado Drunkenstumbles back at the Temple, except they aren't wounded. You don't see anything new, and while every individual you've looked at with this spell has had a unique Vitality system (Omo definitely has longer ears, among other things,) you don't notice any major differences between Omo and Eko. Of course, all this confirms is that something was very wrong with the Vitality of the victims of Aloclesno.

   Examining the rest of the clearing reveals nothing out of the ordinary; the young trees are healthy saplings, the grass is basically tiny useless tubes of Vitality, and the surrounding trees all appear to be in good shape despite their unfriendly appearance. While Eko works on his ward, you and Omo take a quick circuit just outside the clearing.

   "So what exactly are we looking for?" Omo asks, stepping over a particularly large root.
   "I don't know." You shrug. "Anything out of the normal, I guess. Have you seen any larger animals in here?"
   "Not with that boar you brought along smashing through the brush." Omo says, nodding toward Eko. "But we were following a game trail most of the way here, so there must be some kind of larger wildlife in here. Probably deer."
   "Huh. So if there's some horrible Necromantic monster in here, why does it only target people, and not the other living things?"
   "You tell me, you're the... you know." Omo shrugs uncomfortably. "Speaking of that, what did you bring Eko along for? I thought we were keeping this kind of stuff on the down low."
   "He's got some useful skills. And besides, I think if we prove our good nature to him, he won't try to kill me. He seems like a reasonable guy."
   "Yeah, sure. Reasonable. Just a drunk and a liar."
   "That seems a little harsh." You say, frowning. "What have you got against Eko?"
   "Eh, nothing, really." Omo shrugs, bending to inspect a mossy rock. "I'm just saying, he's not the most holy of priests. He's gonna let those kids die if we can't solve this thing, remember."
   "That's their law; it's weird and wrong, but that's how it is. And he's not just letting them die; he's out here with us, right?"
   "Yeah, yeah." Omo says, looking around. "Looks like Eko is done back at the camp; anything else you wanted to talk about out here?"
   "Nothing that can't wait, I think."

   You've seen no trace of the monster of Aloclesno; not surprising, since you've been out from under the protection of Eko's ward for less than ten minutes. You rejoin the portly priest in the clearing.

   "So this is where the kids fell, huh." Eko says, looking around. "Well, this area is warded off, now. It'll be up for about a week, longer if I renew it. What should we do now?"

   It's not quite midday, and you still possess most of your mana. Eko is running low, though he still enjoys two more hours of protection from his mobile ward. What next?

Spoiler: You (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Your Spells (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Omo Thunderjaw (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Eko Cleanvise (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Eko's Spells (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Notable Figures (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Planned Experiments (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Maps (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Author's Notes (click to show/hide)

Angle

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-23 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1817 on: September 20, 2013, 11:38:25 pm »

First, take a good look at those two sapling trees we found the kids by. See if there's anything unusual about them compared to the other trees and plants.

Then we should either go out personally and look, or have Eko use a detect undead with all of his remaining mana. Also, ask him to elaborate about those people of other faiths learning order divinations. If we don't have him spend all of his remaining mana, we should probably tell him that we're a necromancer, or make up a story to explain how we have the abilities we have. It would be really bad if we found the thing, subdued it, then had Eko freak out and attack us. If he's out of mana, that shouldn't be too much a problem, so long as we keep enough space between us to prevent him physically attacking us.
« Last Edit: September 20, 2013, 11:43:23 pm by Angle »
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Travisplo

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-23 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1818 on: September 20, 2013, 11:41:16 pm »

Yeah, and also, WOOT UPDATE!
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Heh, I posted that as a joke. Then again, this is Bay12 and this plan is crazy enough to work...
Bump all day, bump all night, yeah this thread needs a bump alright!

Parisbre56

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-23 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1819 on: September 21, 2013, 08:29:35 am »

Also, look around for any unusual or interesting tracks near the clearing. If that creature has a physical form, then it ought to leave tracks.

I'm not so sure now is the right time to reveal ourselves.

"Damn humans. Why can't they learn to walk like deers?" That made me laugh. Omo is fun.

kahn1234

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-23 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1820 on: September 21, 2013, 04:54:59 pm »

Now that is interesting.

Two tree saplings which weren't there before appear right after two kids get their souls apparently sucked out by a Necromantic monster.

Bring this up with Eko, and maybe try to use our powers and ask Eko to use his to try and see if there is anything strange about the saplings.

RAM

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-23 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1821 on: September 21, 2013, 05:39:22 pm »

It was probably a case of other mages having order mages cast divinations for the purposes of studying the magic of the other element. Rather that mages of other elements learning order-derived divinations. And I propose that we should make the camp-site as comfortable as we practically can, we may be spending a week here... If there is any free time we should go beyond the ward and meditate on our necromantic senses for a few hours.
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Parisbre56

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-23 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1822 on: September 21, 2013, 06:11:36 pm »

Good idea. We can let those 2 make camp while we go and wait a small distance away from the border of this ward. And if nothing shows its face we can use our remaining mana to try experimenting with golems. I would love it if we could make a small winged golem that we can use as a scout and messenger. We could work on its body while waiting.

If we had that golem it would be a good way to spend time that would normally be wasted: You're bored? Just merge your consciousness with the golem and take a look around. Or use it to watch where you're walking while you read a book. We can start with something small and weak, like a small bird made out of sticks, leaves, leather and rope with no brain and only simple muscles and eyes. And by pouring more vitality to it, adding upgraded or larger parts and refining its vitality network to make it smarter, stronger and overall more capable we might end up with a loyal companion, something like a giant winged robo-pet.

@kahn 1234: Actually, the trees were there when we found the clearing. But you're right, it might be worth looking into it.

« Last Edit: September 22, 2013, 07:55:27 pm by Parisbre56 »
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speedyth

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-23 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1823 on: September 22, 2013, 12:59:35 pm »

@ angle:
I like the way you think. Maybe the necromantic monster turns the pulsing vitality of a living soul into a tree. hmmm....
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Parisbre56

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-23 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1824 on: September 22, 2013, 02:09:06 pm »

Oh, another idea for an experiment, to be conducted later since it will probably take some time and study of people with see vitality. Our abilities seem centered around manipulation of vitality, correct? We should try to directly manipulate the vitality of a living thing. If we're unable to do that, then perhaps we could create a "tainted" orb of vitality, like a virus that once absorbed by the body of a living thing will disrupt its vitality network. A curse, essentially. And if we can fine tune it to only affect certain parts of the network we could create different effects, like sleep, blindness or paralysis. And if we can hurt people with those orbs, we could do the inverse, provide people with upgrades.

javierpwn

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-23 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1825 on: September 22, 2013, 05:44:42 pm »

Providing Living people with upgrades sounds like Life magic though.

Now, if we were to first kill  them off first, that would be something entirely different.
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Travisplo

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-23 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1826 on: September 22, 2013, 05:52:38 pm »

Providing Living people with upgrades sounds like Life magic though.

Now, if we were to first kill  them off first, that would be something entirely different.
No, I believe he said something like necromancy was the modification of vitality in this universe.
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RAM

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-23 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1827 on: September 22, 2013, 07:10:20 pm »

Necromancy and healing are always going to have a strange relationship. In Dungeons and Dragons for example, life is based upon a specific form of energy and healing manipulates that energy while necromancy manipulates a similar but very much opposing form of energy. In concentration, either one is capable of producing and maintaining functional creatures, but introduced to a creature sustained by the opposing element they will cause harm. Given that D&D magic is created with a positive-energy environment in mind, necromancy is focused upon damage while positive energy is focused around health and invigoration. But it is interesting to note that societies powered by negative energy seem to enjoy longer lives, better health, and a reduced need for sustenance...

In this setting necromancy and Life magic are evidently manipulating the same thing, but appear to be doing so differently. One assumes that Life magic maintains and bolsters vitality and returns things to their natural state. Death magic seems to alter, transfer, or inhibit vitality. One assumes that Life magic is more potent, but works to a template, while Death magic is highly versatile, but you need to do everything manually... We have already demonstrated that Death magic can be used to heal by transferring vitality from one subject to another, although presumably Life magic doesn't need a donor, so maybe Life magic concerns the creation of vitality...
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Harbingerjm

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-23 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1828 on: September 22, 2013, 08:10:36 pm »

But it is interesting to note that societies powered by negative energy seem to enjoy longer lives, better health, and a reduced need for sustenance...
It's a shame about the frequent loss of much of the individual's mind.

In this setting necromancy and Life magic are evidently manipulating the same thing, but appear to be doing so differently. One assumes that Life magic maintains and bolsters vitality and returns things to their natural state. Death magic seems to alter, transfer, or inhibit vitality. One assumes that Life magic is more potent, but works to a template, while Death magic is highly versatile, but you need to do everything manually... We have already demonstrated that Death magic can be used to heal by transferring vitality from one subject to another, although presumably Life magic doesn't need a donor, so maybe Life magic concerns the creation of vitality...
Or at least the transformation of mana into vitality. I wonder, does this universe obey some (slightly expanded) version of the conservation of energy?
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Travisplo

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-23 (Updated 21st September)
« Reply #1829 on: October 07, 2013, 08:49:26 pm »

Bump all day, bump all night, yeah this thread needs a bump alright!
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Heh, I posted that as a joke. Then again, this is Bay12 and this plan is crazy enough to work...
Bump all day, bump all night, yeah this thread needs a bump alright!
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