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>>34656041
Current Date and Time: Mid-morning on January 10th, 1952PC

It felt strange to stand on land that technically wasn’t yours in spite of it sitting within your territory. You’d palmed off the issue of the daywalker Aladria Serat claiming her little estate as separate territory when it had first been raised. Taour had been the concern then, not some homebound vampire. That meant the village in which you stood right now was technically not your territory.

You didn’t think much of that. You’d conquered this land and any vampire in it who thought better would either swear fealty or find themselves pondering their lack of immortality in whatever afterlife vampires had. In order to do that, you needed to get inside her castle without getting yourself killed. Everything you’d heard about Aladria suggested she was very powerful and her ignorance of your summons of her meant the only remaining recourse was to go into Castle Dalrec.

Reflecting on your recent visit to Ahm as you approached the front gates to the castle’s outer courtyard, you hoped that you got this business over with quickly. You need to determine what you were going to do about Rayza and let Alyce know – and convince Rayza to go along with your plans. The archmage had been ambivalent about your possible wish to take her under your wing. Most likely Alyce felt that Rayza had as many liabilities as benefits. You hadn’t spoken to the dragon herself about the idea, however.

You’re shocked out of your thoughts by the sound of the gate opening. Giving Taira an angry look as your summon power into your body, you prepare for some form of attack.

>continued

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>>34656062
Yet it never comes. You had expected the gate itself to be trapped, but Taira’s ability to open it so easily suggested it wasn’t. You had expected some form of assault once the gate was open, but that didn’t happen. In fact, there was nobody in the courtyard. Not a single sign of life. Merely a neatly stoned walkway to the front entrance of the castle’s keep. You weren’t about to use it, having been told of a servant’s entrance around the back. You, Taira, Undine and Gnome skipped around to it cautiously.

With no signs of any foes or servants about, you cautiously open the entrance. No traps. No sounds of life or noises of any kind coming from within the castle. You gesture to the others to be careful as you place one plated boot inside the keep. Greeted by the loud creaking of old wooden floorboards, you realise that stealth isn’t going to be of much help when you’re this heavily armoured.

Then the world falls away. It’s an entirely odd sensation. Somehow it feels as if you’re completely immobile yet are falling through the floor at the same time. Then your mind seems to blank out momentarily, your very memories, thoughts and prejudices being rearranged.

“General, we’ve got some bad news,” comes a gruff voice from above you, in the rough direction of the entrance of your tent.

You grunt out a response and pull yourself to your feet. Damn, your head hurts. Maybe you should have laid off the whiskey last night when drinking with the men. The constant ringing of it was murder. Colonel Adam Carpin, your second-in-command for this jaunt into Magi League territory, is standing at the entrance of your tent in his RSK uniform. Or at least most of his uniform – he tended to leave off most of the bells and whistles when marching. There wasn’t much point to looking regal on a battlefield.

“Hard night, General?” Adam asks you with a shadow of a smile.

You wave him off. “What’s happened? League forces nearby?”

>continued

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>>34656095
After breaking through the League’s front lines, you’d been merrily pillaging your way around Blacktaffe for weeks now. You’d fought off a few militias and raiding forces, too. Most likely a sturdier force was heading your way and the scouts had just caught sight. You only had a couple thousand soldiers, even if half of them were mage-knights. You’d need to pull out if the League had finally mustered a strong force.

Adam shakes his head. “Not that. Or at least, we don’t think so. We’ve lost contact with our eastward scouts and Lars is concerned about something else in that direction. The spooky sort of concern.”

‘Spooky’ concern was Adam’s way of talking about sorcery. He didn’t seem to mind the parts where mages could throw fireballs, but the intangible sixth sense side of it seemed to come across as a whole lot of shaky hocus pocus. If Lars, the archmagister leading your battlemages, was showing the ‘spooky sort of concern’ then it meant he’d sensed something that bothered him.

>continued

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>>34656140
You dress hurriedly before stepping out of the tent. Sunlight stabs into your eyes like daggers and the ringing of your head doesn’t cease. The hustle and bustle of your camp blasted through the air. The sharpening of blades, the clattering of weapons and shouts of spars, the crackling of grills and fires of those preparing food. You got some good smells from the last one. You’d been campaigning with these soldiers for these last few months of 1949. Adam didn’t seem to be in any particular rush – the scouts had been a good day’s march to the easy. You…

>1. Mingle with your men on your way to the command tent. No need to skip some friendly time with the soldiers and get a bit of food.
>2. Head directly to the command tent. You had business to conduct.
>3. Grab some breakfast and chat with your men before worrying about the formal stuff. You weren’t really in the mood to command before filling your stomach.

Welcome to the flashback. Sorry for the long opening.

Note that the decisions you make here may have impacts on the present (in terms of the events here and the people) and on how Talon behaves in general at this time (you may want him to be more loose or strong).

>>34656175
>3. Grab some breakfast and chat with your men before worrying about the formal stuff. You weren’t really in the mood to command before filling your stomach.

>>34656175
>>2. Head directly to the command tent. You had business to conduct.

>>34656175
>2. Head directly to the command tent. You had business to conduct.

>>34656175
>1.

We have to take care of business, but a big part of that is reassuring our command.

>>34656175
>2. Head directly to the command tent. You had business to conduct.

Wait, confused. I thought it was established that there was no rank between General and Captain/Marshall in traditional noble armies like Darlesia and the RSK. That's why we had to rearanged our military structure

>>34656175
>2. Head straight to the command tent. You have business to conduct

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>>34656670
Herp, you're right. He should have been a Captain, being a commoner.
>2.

If Adam had come to your tent directly it likely meant that your officers had already assembled. You felt no need to keep them waiting for longer than necessary. You’d just need to fill your stomach and talk with the men afterwards, if you had the time.

Slipping inside the tent you note Lars brooding in the corner and Marshall Maria leaning over the map on the centre table. She gives you a brief nod. You’d yet to work out whether her abrupt behaviour was just the way she naturally was or if it was some way of showing her discontent over a noble such as her being commanded by a commoners such as yourself. Brooding over that yourself seemed a waste of time, however. She followed orders well enough and was sharp in both command and battle.

“I hear we’ve lost our scouts,” you say as a way of opening the meeting, Adam taking up position around the table.

Maria nods sharply. “We received no contact from the east-most scouts shortly before midnight and the other team we redirected to check on them failed to make contact this morning.”

You frown at that. “Any particular reason nobody notified me of the missing scouts last night?”

With a shrug, Adam answers, “You seemed to be enjoying yourself and keeping the men’s spirits up. It also seemed pretty routine.”

A true enough response, even if it did show Adam’s penchant for keeping the nitty-gritty of command away from you if possible. You knew he meant well by it, preferring that you focused on broad leadership and keeping morale up as none of the other officers had the slightest clue of how to keep homesick men happy.

“What bothers me more than the lost scouts is the strange energies I’m feeling near to where they disappeared,” Lars says, still brooding in the corner. “It feels familiar yet not…”

“Like I said, spooky,” Adam says with his odd smile.

>continued

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>>34657100
You frown. “Strange energies you’re sensing…”

Your head is still ringing and you’re not certain it’s from the hangover. For one thing, you don’t feel groggy or ill in the other way. It merely feels like somebody or something is playing the drums on your mind. A call to war, perhaps? It certainly irritated you enough to make you want to go to war and kill something.

“Are you getting that damnable ringing in your head, too, Lars?” you ask with a grimace.

Maria and Adam give you a surprised look while Lars frowns.

“Not as such,” he says. “Your senses are sharp to be getting such a distinct response, though, especially given your lack of training. I merely get this strange sensation on the edge of my mind – like when you think you hear a sound at the edge of your hearing and cannot help but wonder if your mind is playing tricks on you. It feels so strange yet familiar. A long lost power…”

Exchanging odd looks, it’s clear that your other officers are a little bothered by Lars’ strange behaviour and words. You’re bothered more by the way he speaks of it in a positive manner.

“It feels more like an old foe to me,” you say, shaking your head. “I don’t like it or the feeling I get.”

It’s Lars’ turn to give you an odd look. “Interesting… In any case, I believe we must investigate it. It may be of aid to the Kingdom or it may a new threat from the League. We must know.”

You’re not sure whether Lars is speaking honestly of his desires here. You suspect he has a more personal interest in finding out what it is. Maria speaks first, allowing you more time to mull over your response.

“I’m not so sure about that,” she says slowly, eying both you and Lars. “A powerful magical threat is beyond us. We should retreat to the frontlines and relay word to mage towers more suitable at dealing with it. A handful of battlemages would be no match for mighty League magicks.”

>continued

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>>34657141
Adam cuts in with his own words before Lars can start to bicker with Maria. “If we walk away then it might be too late. At the same time, investigating now could put us in peril – we lost two teams of scouts without them having any chance of notifying us. We should dig in and call for aid – our sendings can still reach the frontlines through that sending tower we captured a few days ago.”

All eyes turn to you, as they have so many times in the past. You’d been the one to lead them out here into League territory. You’d been the one to keep the men in high spirits long after they should have been deserting. You were going to have to be the one to take them forwards – or backwards – once again. You…

>1. Agree with Lars. Investigate the strange magical energies.
>2. Agree with Adam. Dig in and call for help while keeping an eye on what’s happening.
>3. Agree with Maria. Pull out immediately in order to mount a more unified RSK response.
>4. Custom

You can probably expect longer posts with more serious decisions in this thread. I’m trying to cut out the more meaningless decisions given you don’t know these characters and there’s only one thread earmarked for the flashback.

>>34657171
>1. Agree with Lars. Investigate the strange magical energies.

Headstrong reckless Talon seems the most appropriate. Haven't played him in awhile either.

>>34657171
>>2. Agree with Adam. Dig in and call for help while keeping an eye on what’s happening.

>>34657171
>1. Agree with Lars. Investigate the strange magical energies.
But alert someone

>>34656062
>newworldmap.png
can you include an update date in the filename?
I keep records of all maps but I get a feeling i am downloading the same map many threads

>>34657171
It's a astral being that Talons inner self is screaming to murder. Calling it now.

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>>34657472
Sure, I'll try to do that in the future. That one was last updated on the 17th of August.

>>34657171
>1

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>1.

Your men hurriedly break camp, readying themselves for the day’s march east. It’s an efficient process and as a result you’re closing on the area that your scouts last reported on come nightfall. Not all is good, though.

The ringing in your head hasn’t subsided in the least even if it hasn’t gotten worse. The constant pain and discomfort leaves you brooding for much of the march. Your poor mood infects the rest of the army despite your best efforts to beat it back. Nobody can really escape the feeling that they’re walking into something highly dangerous and foreign. Save Lars and the battlemages – they seem to be growing more excited the closer the march brings you to your destination.

“We’re making camp here,” you say to Lars, much to his dissatisfaction. “I won’t have us marching into an unknown foe that destroyed two of our scouting teams in darkness.”

“Our scrying shows no people around, General,” Lars says. “We should make haste while the enemy is absent and discover the source of this power. I’m certain there must be something buried there.”

You scowl. “I gave orders not to scry them for a reason, archmagister. If they had detected you then we’d be in great danger.”

“There’s nobody there, General,” he repeats. “We should move in now!”

You end the argument forcefully. Something killed your scouts and you’re not so certain it just upped and walked away, leaving the prize behind. You get the men to make camp in a way that allows better defensibility and maintain a high watch. You even join them, wary of a magical assault that might overwhelm them.

[DC13 Magical Perception]

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>34657959

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>34657959

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>34657959
Can already tell what kind of night this will be like.

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>34657959
welp

>>34657984
>>34657997
>>34658016

Years earlier and Talon still can't into magic. Hope we can just angrily shake our fist at it instead.

>>34658016
Close but fail, not seeing all this supposed talent that Talon was known for.

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>Target not met

The night seems to pass with little event but you don’t let your guard down. Shift changes come and go and you encourage your men to get their rest and lay off the liquor. Being well-fed and rested will matter in the morning, you feel. Or possibly during the night if your worst fears are realised.

It’s not until after midnight that you notice the ringing in your head has subsided. Your first thought is that whatever it was reacting to has left but there’s no way it could have been moved so quickly. Then, as ice runs down your spine, you wonder if it means that the call to war is no longer necessary – for war may already be upon you. You focus more on your surroundings, worried that you’ve missed something. You can’t see anything of note or feel anything different.

Then there’s a strange flicker of green light at the hillside you’re watching from atop the palisade you’re standing. Something flickered in your peripheral vision and isn’t there now. You can’t see or hear anything out there. Merely the low crackling of torches and the mumbling and snoring of men behind you. The darkness seems to swamp the countryside on this clouded night and even your empowered vision has difficulty making out details with so little light.

You do feel the strange void along the hillside, however. Normally it would be subtle but when you focus on it you feel the nothingness that shouldn’t be there. Your mind frantically chatters away about the nonsensical idea of nothingness not belonging in empty space but your instincts tell you that you should feel something there.

>continued

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>>34658579
The green light flickers again, this time directly where you’re looking. Yet, despite appearing to be light it illuminates nothing. The darkness seemed to emit a strange light that you could only barely perceive and provided no illumination. It was not alone, either. You noted several flickers of light all along the hillside. You note that they appear to be evenly spaced and that they correspond to the strange nothingness you’re feeling. Gaps of normality appear to separate them.

Finally, you realise that these flickers are closer to your than the one you barely saw earlier. You gulp, ice sliding down your throat, as you realise that something you can hardly perceive is coming for you. You’re not one given to fear so easily but something about this whole situation bothers you immensely. All you realise now is that you need to fight or die. You unsling your bow quietly, your mouth opening to shout a warning, when one of these nothing shapes moves into the edge of the torchlight.

The torchlight appears to vanish into nothingness. You cannot see or feel any presence there. There is no light or substance in that spot. Yet you know that there is something there merely by the fact that there is nothing there where there must be something. Other nothing-beasts slip into the torchlight, unnoticed by your men – for who would notice such a subtle difference if they weren’t looking for it?

“To arms!” you shout as you nock an arrow, placing a small amount of power into it in hopes that some magic will aid you. “We’re under attack. Watch for the shadows in the torchlight.”

[DC18 Sorcerous Arrow]

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>34658615
Fuck you dice gods.

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>34658615
Nope.

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>34658615

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>34658615
18 eh

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>34658615
Late roll for the pain!

>>34658668
and pain it is, lel

>>34658668
YOU COLLOSSAL ULTRAFAGGOT

>>34658668
Well that took forever to go through, though as predicted it didn't beat the third roll...

>>34658631
>>34658632
>>34658646
>>34658657
>>34658668

I can't stop laughing.

>>34658668

I like where this thread is going. Errybody gonna die.

>>34658747
Hope so. Not a fan of loose plot threads. (no offense OP)

>>34658615
>>34658631
>>34658632
>>34658646
>>34658657
>>34658668
Welp, looks like Dalrec's summons are pretty good.

NO TALON YOU CAN'T DO THAT
YOU'LL CAUSE A TIME PARADOX!

>>34658806
huh?

>>34658914
We're in a flashback induced by Dalrec's/Aladria's castle, fighting shadow entities, and it is a known fact that Dalrec tried to thrall Talon in the past and got offed.
What else could be happening?

>>34658906
I don't know, if we get Talon killed it's still probably workable. Something (us) just body jacked a readily available corpse and made the most of it or something, right? See, no paradox.

>>34658964
I"m going to guess the armored knight he keeps seeing decided to show him the past. But I have no idea.

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>Target not met

You add the extra oomph to your arrow with your sorcery and let it fly, hoping to land a solid blow and fell one of the beasts. Orange light flickers on the head of the arrow as it flies true to one of the nothing-beasts, your aim second-to-none in quality. Yet it is not enough.

The arrow strikes the beast, your power hammering into it. It appears to recoil, the light of your sorcery allowing you to make out some semblance of a shape of the amorphous beast. Then your arrow seems to just disappear, your power flickering out of existence as it is swallowed by nothingness. A cacophonous roar bellows forth from the beast, like the sound of dozens of different animals giving their death cries at once. The sound grates on your ears and mind.

Your men shout and cover their ears from the noise. They had been scrambling to defend themselves, shouts echoing throughout the camp behind you as the soldiers on watch alert those sleeping to the attack. The other defenders sight out the strange shadows encroaching on the torchlight and attempt to assault them with arrows and magical bolts. The arrows have no effect and the magic seems to do little more than slow them. The only attack that has done little more than phase the monsters is your own arrow.

They’ve been slow moving so far, hardly able to outpace a walking man. You still won’t have much time to assault them from the walls if they’re able to do to this wood what they’ve been doing to the arrows and the very air. You need to pull out – your men cannot fight these beasts. You need to hold them off somehow – those that had been near the one you attacked are making a beeline towards you. Perhaps that could give you an opportunity.

>1. Continue to try to hold them off at the walls along with your other soldiers.
>2. Leap over the walls and try to keep the monsters busy in melee.
>3. Pull back from the walls, gathering soldiers as you go. You can outrun the monsters.
>4. Custom

>>34659148
>1. Seems like the Talon thing to do.

>>34659148
>3. Pull back from the walls, gathering soldiers as you go. You can outrun the monsters.

ABORT. ABORT.

>>34659148
>>2. Leap over the walls and try to keep the monsters busy in melee.

we go alpha (Talon) mode, we charge in with our shield and break the un breakable

>>34659148
>>3. Pull back from the walls, gathering soldiers as you go. You can outrun the monsters.

>>34659148
>2

>>34659148
>3. RUNAWAY!

>>34659148
Our poor men are all going to die because I can already tell the vote is going to go for full charge.

>>34659346
Yep.

>>34659148
3
we are faster then those things, they can't be harmed by anything we have...
they are probably summons and probably of limited duration and range. Pull back until they run out of energy and poof out like all summons do. then we can either go back in and finish off the summoner, or keep running

>>34659420
Also, ORGANIZE the retreat. Order your men to NOT use any mundane weapon it, spell blasts ONLY. spells used to slow them down.
And shoot at them yourself while you are organizing this

>>34659420
>>34659454
the idea is to avoid a panic. everyone keep their wits and retreat at a solid pace. Share the tidbit about the limited duration and range to reassure your men. And be on the lookout for a flanking maneuver by regular troops who try to trap you as you retreat. as well as making sure your retreat doesn't go through an overly ambushable path

>>34659148
>2

An idea... what if a large group focused fire on a single monster?

So what are Shadow Beasts doing out here?

>>34659567
Then the other monsters would flank and massacre that group?

>>34659611
The monsters are all progressing anyways, and are fairly slow at it. And this can be done as part of the fighting retreat.
Also, if we CAN actually kill them with enough focused power, we need to find out soon and how much of it.

>>34659593
idk but it would be a convenient way for us to gain arch angels powers by that way

>>34659668
talon is already a powerful "instinctive sorcerer" by now. Which means already astral powers and just doesn't know it

>>34659739
Just imagine his stats are probably lower then when we first started. Which already would get curbstomped by Modern day Talon.

please dont let us be an angel.........

my own little theory is that Talon is THE god/creator of this universe- and for some reason his true self is dormant and slowing waking up- like hes the master of this "dream world" hes in and any time the characters/whatever act up and change his reality he gets upset subconsciously.

or something like that

i just dont want it to be "herp derp arch angel talon"

>>34659793

I'd take Angel over that.

>>34659830
ninjad.. me too, I will also take angel over that.

personally I am of the "stumbled across a dying/dead angel and absorbed its remains" or "stumbled across an old demon lab and empowered by some experiment" or some such

>>34659793
and the shadow beasts are his subconscious manifestation of general nightmare stuff- thus the exist in the "dream world" but are noticably different

>>34659793
I reckon Talon's the reincarnation of a fourth great lord and the knight he keeps seeing is his past self.

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>3.

“Off the walls! Everybody, off the walls and pull back with your officers,” you shout repeatedly as the monsters close in.

Most of the closest soldiers hesitate before the watch officers take charge and begin ordering the men back even as they organise the soldiers coming out of the tents. You gesture to your nearby aide as you fire another empowered arrow at a more distant beast to draw its attention. Shouts continue to run along the defensive line as your officers begin to organise a retreat from the walls.

“I need sendings to all captains and marshalls to mass the troops and immediately begin pulling out to the west,” you tell your aide before you loose another arrow. “I’ll try to keep these beasts ready while they get everybody out.”

You wave your aide off as you leap off the walls yourself and begin to retreat behind your men. The watch officers are forming a defensive line of mage-knights while the rest of your soldiers gather supplies and equipment hurriedly as the line slowly withdraws. You’re jogging up to one of the defensive lines when you hear the wooden palisade behind you collapse.

Turning back as you draw your sword and shield, you can’t help but notice the ice running down your spine as the beast seems to just destroy the wooden wall as it advances, the supports next to it collapsing to the ground as the main wall is destroyed. It’s as big as a stallion and doesn’t seem to slow in the slightest as wooden beams fall onto it and get reduced to the same nothingness that makes it up. You’re hesitant to describe it as a shadow as a shadow still must be something, if only the lack of something. This is an absolute nothingness that doesn’t compare to what you’ve ever heard of or seen before. An antithetical existence, almost.

>continued

>>34659880
there was a fourth great lord?
also, if so then I revise the >>34659867 theory to "absorbed the remains of the fourth great lord" instead of reincarnation.

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>>34659921
There’s a shout from the watch officer behind you immediately before a fusillade of magical bolts hammers into the beast. It appears to distort slightly from the power and pauses momentarily. Yet it still shows less discomfort than when you struck it with your arrow. If twenty mage-knights could hardly phase the beast than it wasn’t like you could actually kill it, you think.

You continue to pull back with your troops, the beast falling behind slowly along with several others that come in behind it. You’re feeling confident that things are going well when you see some strange flickers of green again. Then the screams start, coming from your sides. Before you get the chance to react, the beast in front of you appears to change its form, the strange green light appearing to become a permanent fixture along it. The lightless light appears to run along its side as it gains four legs, giving it two features even as the rest of its body remains shapeless.

You grit your teeth, realising that these monsters have more tricks yet. Then it leaps towards you.

[DC12/19 Combat]

>>34659830
angel just seems like the easy explanation- id much prefer it if talons destiny was to become all powerful

not "suddenly you awaken with wings and know that you exist to defeat the shadow beasts- queue expected storytime for the rest of the quest

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>34659955
This was not a good plan...

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>34659955

>>34659985
Bugger! Someone roll a 1!

>>34659933
Not that we know of, hence 'a' fourth great lord rather than 'the' fourth great lord.
Any theories are completely baseless right now anyway, so eh.

>>34659963

That is absolutely ridiculous and not even remotely how Aspirational has written anything thus far.

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>34659955

>>34659978
>>34659985
>>34660029
so close
at least it is a success

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>34659955

>>34659955
i was really curious what a 20 would look like for pre astral talon

>>34659963
I'd much prefer if destiny was bullcrap and even the most powerful being around can be upstaged.
Also, I'd rather the setting didn't have omnipotents.

>>34660021
i know
i trust him to still write an entertaining story

im just voicing my opinions, nothing more.

hell even if it was the case id still read it

>>34660067
Um, he's still astral, he just has less power to work with and wastes a lot more of it than he does now.

>>34659933
Personally I get the feeling he is just something created by the planet. Something like the otherworldliness with Kushan. Other wise it wouldn't explain how he had his powers since he was 19 and why no one can see a power source.

>>34660079
Almost agreed. I hope the setting has one or two omnipotence and that we'll have the chance to defeat them and bend them to our will.

>>34660113
most aren't suited to detect such things.
taira is and she complained not about lack of power SOURCE, but power DESTINATION.
She says talon power's seems to just goes into his body and then disappears into nothingness. which is impossible, it must go somewhere. yet it still happens
source is probably ambiant power or direct tap to the astral dimension (the source of all magic)

>>34660113
id like that

just not angel.... makes our role pretty straight forward in the story

"beat the shadow beasts, win"

>>34660133
By definition, there can only be one Omnipotent and the only way they can be defeated is if they allow themself to be.

>>34660079
part of what i like about talon is that he doesn't feel like "the chosen one". but just some powerful dude with no destiny doing awesome stuff

>>34660113
Clearly Talon's an extraterrestrial who's parents defected to this world and went native.

>>34660079
>Omnipotents
>s

Wut? You mean omnipotent right? You can't have more then one.

>>34660195
What happens when an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object? A draw, mutual destruction, something intervenes OR one breaks the other.

There are different levels of omnipotence, I'm saying I want Talon to get that good, and for the world to require him to get that good.

>>34660172
that isn't the role of all angels. angels choose what their roles are, and that is even assuming angels aren't just another form of ascended human.
1 archangel is dealing with the shadowbeasts. the reast are simply away from the world doing nobody knows what.
(i bet raphael sacrificed them to make the wall)

Anyways, we already decided we are going to destroy the shadowbeasts, and finding out that talon is angel will not change anything. our goals remain the same (conquest, expansion, building, management of the best empire).

>>34660113
Calling it now, Talon is TYPE: Whateverthefuckthisplanetiscalled.

>>34660256
>OR one breaks the other.
which means the broken one wasn't omnipotent, it was a pretender.

>>34660247
Yes, I did mean Omnipotent. In fact I'm actually >>34660195
>>34660256
There are not different levels of omnipotence, there is only one.

>>34660283
But in absence of the breaker being forged that pretender would remain the sole omnipotent force in the universe. Talon started small, we're seeing him at the early days of his empire. How far can you dream of him going?

>>34660364
all the way to the top

>>34660308
Yeah pretty much. A true omnipotent being has all the power ever and forever. The only way you can ever challenge them is if they let you and if you win or lose it was all predecided by them.

Because the moment you can't do something your not omnipotent by definition your just extremely powerful.

>>34660257
The angels are all dead. The archangels know how to make more but they don't.

>>34660417
Because they're smart. Angels can Fall.

>>34660443
I don't think so.
demons are most likely not fallen angels, they are completely different type of creature.

>>34660417
Maybe they're just not into each other?

>>34660364
>sole omnipotent

Not really. Just an extremely powerful godlike being. Even ten trillion FR points would be infinitely far from Omnipotent. You may well be all powerful from the perspective of other beings though.

>>34660443
So far I get the feeling the Archangels didn't really like the angels that much. They tend to avoid a lot of the empire building they used to do and don't seem to want to build new ones. This is just a guess though.

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>Lower target met

You flood the area in front of you with power as your raise your shield in desperation. A barrier of golden light springs into existence in front of you from your shield. If that thing touches you it will destroy you, you feel. It’s not an intrinsic feeling so much as knowledge that if the beast can just walk through a wooden wall then it’s not going to stop for steel or flesh.

When the nothingness of the beast collides with the brilliant golden light of your power, the world seems to explode for a moment. You find yourself on the ground nearby, shouts and screams echoing in your ears. You rise to your feet quickly, your body feeling as though it’s been put through a meat grinder. There is a strange green and black mist hanging in the air where you had once stood trying to repel the beast. A melted pile of slag that was your shield lay on the ground nearby, seeming to arc with that same green light from the beasts.

Smoke hangs in the air as torches set the camp alight, having been knocked over in the retreat. The remaining beasts near you appear to be taking on their own bestial forms – false-formed bears, wolves and tigers. Your men are retreating with much greater haste and you idly note a sending from Captain Adam telling you that he’s accelerating the retreat to get as many men out as possible. If these beasts are moving fast, though, you don’t know how you’ll be able to outpace them.

You’re left with a dilemma – do you continue to hold the line here or do you attempt to retreat to form a more solid core. They seem uniquely interested in you, now that you’ve shown your power. The only thing that is certain is that you need to hold them in some way. You…

>1. Fight the beasts here, protecting this flank for now.
>2. Retreat to the centre of the camp in order to hold off more of the beasts at once.
>3. Retreat with your men and try to do a running battle to keep the beasts at bay.
>4. Custom

>>34660506
>So far I get the feeling the Archangels didn't really like the angels that much
I get the same feeling.
then again, it might be like the dragon vs feldragon thing

>>34660508
>1. Fight the beasts here, protecting this flank for now.

>>34660508
>Shield + Beast = dead beast + explosion + you fly back and are momentarily stunned.
AWESOME! Fun and effective!
Absolute worst thing that can happen is if you are surrounded... but this can work in your favor.
Get more shields, charge a shield up, then charge into a beast to destroy it. Have a team of strong fast men to catch you when you are knocked back and keep you away from the monsters while you recuperate between each blasting

>>34660508
>>1. Fight the beasts here, protecting this flank for now.

>>34660508
3
distance from their summoner, and time are what we need.

>>34660508
>Draw them off somewhere away from the troops.

>>34660508
>>1. Fight the beasts here, protecting this flank for now.

>>34660079
>I'd much prefer if destiny was bullcrap and even the most powerful being around can be upstaged.
To be fair "destiny" is something of a thing in this setting. Or rather, inherent limitations are. For example, baring absurdly powerful enchanted equipment, It's impossible for Moss to become strong enough to challenge an experienced and capable God-Knight archer while remaining. He simply does not have the magical potential or innate talent to let him overcome that gap, regardless of how much effort he puts into it. Many people seem to have a more or less absolute limit to their talents beyond which they simply cannot progress. Which is why an anon suggested a power that would let Talon passively tinker with that innate limitation.

>>34660902
potential is not the same as destiny

>>34660902
That's less destiny more inherit nature of existence. Even him increasing their power can be considered destiny in that case because he had the power to do so.

>>34660508
>1. Fight the beasts here, protecting this flank for now.

>>34660902
Well, unless Moss made a Pact with something. Or someone actually figured out how to make the Tattoos work without cannibalizing life force. Or one of several other "or"s...

>>34660902
>Or rather, inherent limitations are. For example, baring absurdly powerful enchanted equipment, It's impossible for Moss to become strong enough to challenge an experienced and capable God-Knight archer while remaining.
While remaining human rather.

>>34660987
>Ergo talon beats the shit out of the fae ever few weeks to force them to give pacts.
>"I keep telling you Moss needs more pacts!!"

>>34661061

Talon will be the best bully emperor around.

>>34661022
Why that limitation?
If it was his destiny then he would be unable to just say "I go vamp nau, fuck destiny" you can't beat destiny this easily

>>34661081
If he could then it wouldn't be destiny in the classical sense of the word. True destiny never works good for games unless you're into full grimdark.

>>34661081
>If it was his destiny then he would be unable to just say "I go vamp nau, fuck destiny" you can't beat destiny this easily
Actually, even vamping him would just raise his ceiling, and there still would be plenty of threats where "Do not pass go, do not collect $200" would be the order of the day.

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>1.

You have to trust in your men to hold the rest of the line – you had a small pack of the nothing-beasts here. If you could deal with this group then it would take a lot of pressure off the rest of your force.

Your path decided, you grit your teeth. There’s four foes here and only one of you – you’re not certain how well trying that barrier trick a second time will go. Still, it’s the one thing you’ve got up your sleeve that you know can hurt them. It’s also something they know you have.

Smoke hangs in the air, forcing you to take shallow breaths in your helmet. Your chest feels constricted, your armour having taken a beating from the force of the explosion earlier. Bright orange light from the flames arcing high over the tents makes the featureless outlines of the nothing-beasts apparent. Their warped animalistic shapes carry dull, lifeless streaks of green ‘light’ that appear almost painted on in the face of so much natural light. Yet those green marking shift about dynamically and appear to flicker and arc off the beasts. They advance upon you slowly and soundlessly, leaving the crackle and roar of the flames the only company you kept besides the screams of your men.

Then the not-bear in front of you charged forwards, the smoke between the two of you melting into his body as he moves terrifyingly fast.

[DC12/19 Combat; DC12/19 Combat 2]

>>34661136
What about if he got made into a god knight?
Or what about if he started seriously studying sorcery? I don't think the limitation there is that of raw power, but of intellect.

Rolled 16, 7 = 23 (2d20)

>>34661204

Rolled 20, 11 = 31 (2d20)

>>34661204

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>>34661204
Oh, and roll 2d20 each, please.

Rolled 3, 16 = 19 (2d20)

>>34661204
2 dices right?

Rolled 4, 9 = 13 (2d20)

>>34661204

>>34661229
>>34661231
>>34661234

I'LL TAKE IT.

>>34661231
>>34661234
Aww yeah

>>34661231
>>34661234
20 and 16. Solid!

>>34661231
>>34661234
>20, 16
Its the east side gryphon time!

>>34661231
>>34661234

Huh, I guess we're sucking less for now.

>>34661228
This is kind of getting off of destiny. If destiny in the classical sense said so him as a human right now could over throw Talon then rule a millennial empire. Then randomly die of the flu after he trips due to some bad luck.

>>34661338

Fenix.

Anon. Come on, we've been over this.

>>34661281
that is the point. it isn't destiny, its just normal limitations you are born with... and hey, take a look at fenix. Emperor of one of the greatest superpowers on the continent entirely by virtue of his cunning. Devoid of any magical talent

>>34661338
Fenix.
Felix is our treacherous bodyguard.

>>34661362
>>34661370
What did anon say?

>>34661362
>>34661370
I swear that was an unconscious typo. I noticed it was wrong right away but I had to wait to delete and repost

Also, dude's heart was in the right place and he did kick ass and take names.

>>34661228
>Or what about if he started seriously studying sorcery? I don't think the limitation there is that of raw power, but of intellect.
Actually, something like 80% of humanity is outright unable to use ANY sorcery at all, and only a very small % can be tower mages, and an even fewer have the ability to get beyond magister rank. I believe Moss is among that 80% that can't use magic at all, which is why he is inherently screwed against any opponent above a certain caliber, no matter how good he is with his bow.

>What about if he got made into a god knight?
Ceiling would probably be higher than if he was a daywalker, (though considering how little we know of the procedure how much higher would be a guess) but again, still more or less absolute limits at some point.
This applies to all of our companions, incidentally.

>>34661362
>>34661370

Honestly by this point I want that anon to keep doing that. It's pretty funny now.

>>34661494
That and he might be stronger as a daywalker. Since there is no generic daywalker.

>>34661494
>Actually, something like 80% of humanity is outright unable to use ANY sorcery at all
I am aware, but as a knight he is in the 20% that can
> and only a very small % can be tower mages
no, this is entirely based on ability. which is first and foremost training and secondly intellect/talent.

>>34661517
Daywalkers work off of sorcerous talent to some degree. Which he has 0 of, so he'd actually probably be somewhat weak.

>>34661494

Sounds like a lot of assumptions to me.

>>34661548
>first and foremost training

Hahahahah.

>>34661517
that has to do with quantity.
the generic godknight is way stronger than the non combatant daywalkers
and the best god knights develop special abilities

speaking of, maybe talon has some godknight in his ancestry?

>>34661517
>>34661553
Hell, it's entirely possible he might be stronger as a Nightwalker than as a Daywalker.

>>34661553
Get a powerful sire. That and it's not like it's totally decided only by those factors.

>>34661576
Training (primarily through combat) is the biggest source of power in the setting anon. You can have all the talent and never make it anywhere without training.
an untrained daywalker or dragon is gonna get slaughtered by any tower mage
most people have other stuff to do with their lives other than pushing themselves to be the best they can be

>>34661548
>I am aware, but as a knight he is in the 20% that can
Nope, plenty of knights have no magic talent whatsoever. They use expensive equipment to cover for their innate lack of talent. This has been mentioned on several occasions.

>>34661607
Aladria is getting whored out isn't she?

>>34661658
>Nope, plenty of knights have no magic talent whatsoever.
Those aren't real knights, they are nobles pretending to be knights

>>34661625
That doesn't mean that Moss can suddenly with 40 years of work beat Mal with 10 years and Send a Untrained fae vs a tower mage.

>>34661685
Aladria is most likely going to get whored out yes. She could help boost a decent knight even higher.

>>34661700
Fair enough. but if mal didn't actually study wizardry and was instead, say, a baker. he wouldn't be the powerhouse that he is today

I am not at all comfortable with the idea of making more vampires.

>>34661691
>Those aren't real knights, they are nobles pretending to be knights
Uh, no. Even the majority of the Order of the Griffon rely on enchanted equipment rather than their own skills. Which is irrelevant, because if you can find a single indication that Moss has any magical talent whatsoever rather than being a talented but mundane archer with high quality equipment, cite it.

>>34661769

Seconded.

>>34661700
So long as Moss is destined to beat Mal I say he damn well can.

>>34661700
>>34661740
Or, better example. imagine if talon remained a farmer instead of joining the military?

>>34661779
>Even the majority of the Order of the Griffon rely on enchanted equipment rather than their own skills
what? no way.
enchanted gear is severely limited and much weaker than what someone can do himself with his own power (if he has power). they wouldn't make it into the order if they just had gear

>>34661769
Personally I say we just need to limit the amount in the military based on a ten years.

I mean in the end when the vampires are placed inside the empire is at one point going to be a situation where someone wants to be one and consents to it legally. So we will need to think about how to do the legal work here.

>>34661700
An average Fae is probably kind of shit, actually.
The one we fought was a high-ranked noble iirc.

>>34661815
>enchanted gear is severely limited and much weaker than what someone can do himself with his own power (if he has power). they wouldn't make it into the order if they just had gear
...Go reread the Finn thread. Then sit in the sad corner.

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Alright, so I'm having a bit of writer's block with the scene I want to write and it's annoying the shit out of me. I'll try to get that done ASAP.

>>34661494
>Actually, something like 80% of humanity is outright unable to use ANY sorcery at all
Pretty sure that's the wrong way around, though I don't know if i've ever actually stated it. most people can use some form of sorcery but only half could so much as cast a spell capable of potentially being directly lethal to a healthy person. Around 20% could be dangerous to multiple people and 5% could be mages. Due to the structure of civilisation however, the mage towers only pick from a very small pool and many people never have the chance to realise their potential.

>>34661769
I'm not comfortable with the idea of orderin the creation of more vampires.
If they just kind of happen then good for them and us, though.

>>34661815
>Talon remained a farmer

Then he could still kick the ass of half the humans in the world. Just due to raw stats of working and natural talent.

>weaker than what someone can do himself with his own power (if he has power)

You do realize Felix with the power to increase his stats by 1 is considered a top tier knight right? and that talent is rare what matters is less magic and more skill along with how strong your enchantments are.

>>34661881
unless it precipitates a vampire revolution

>>34661857

It's okay man, take a drink break.

We'll just continue... Whatever conversation is going on here.

>>34661857
>many people never have the chance to realize their potential

We need to fix that at some point.

>>34661826
The average fae can probably easily slap the shit out of the average mage.

>>34661881
Well yeah. We shouldn't order people to agree. But we can ask around the immortality seekers and the blood knights to see if we can get recruits to become on.

>>34661892
I highly doubt it would get that bad, anon.
Besides, we could always impose limits on the number of vamps made per year.
Not that such measures would be necessary when we control their only legal food source.

>>34661915
State run wizard academy? "Welcome ta Harrowmorts 'Arry"

>>34661915
It's honestly nigh-impossible to fix that in the long term. The greatest baker ever may never become the greatest one if he is too busy trying to be a writer and it's pretty damn hard to figure out the guy is the greatest of X if we don't know to start with.

>>34661888
>Then he could still kick the ass of half the humans in the world. Just due to raw stats of working and natural talent.
he didn't have those raw stats before he unlocked his powers. he was a completely normal human by all appearances

>You do realize Felix with the power to increase his stats by 1 is considered a top tier knight right?
Knights also enhance their weapon and armor, not just their body, and do so to a greater effect than pre enchanted stuff.
also felix has more abilities than you let on

http://pastebin.com/whVL5VjQ
>Sorcery (Instinctive) I – ability to use basic sorcery. This sorcery is instinctive rather than properly learnt. You don’t need a focus to cast and are better at ad hoc spells.
>Empower Self I – you use sorcery to increase your physical attributes by one point for one hour.
>Ad Hoc Projection I – you may project raw magical energy up to melee distance of minor strength. This projected energy may be used as a barrier, to deflect magical attacks or to propel oneself a moderate distance at high speed. The ad hoc nature of this ability makes it versatile, if weak.

>>34661970
Honestly the hard part there is there really isn't anything stopping a citizen from agreeing to let them take blood.

>>34661892
Unlikely just because of how low they are in numbers. With the thrall cure there really isn't much they can do because even 1000+ daywalkers and 10,000 nightwalkers would get curbstomped by 20,000 Mage knights lead by Talon.

>>34661996
>Charging past you, Darren, Torphan and the other two knights don’t waste a second on the dead and dying. Instead they crash into the much more lightly armed and armoured men-at-arms joining the melee. Numbers mean little against enchanted armour of their quality – these weren’t mere mage-knights. Darren and his two knights were noble knights of the Order of the Griffin – even if you had easily crushed Darren in the grand melee he was still a much more dangerous fighter than any of the enemy soldiers. The enemy men-at-arms still desperately try to hold the line as more soldiers come up behind them, including several mage-knights.

>Numbers mean little against enchanted armour of their quality – these weren’t mere mage-knights.

>enchanted armour of their quality

Oh look, Knights of the Order of the Griffon are relying on heavily enchanted armor.

>>34661996
I hope we get a chance to sit down with the guy soon. I'd really rather not have another betrayal on our hands because we couldn't make time to help the guy grind some levels and sort out his whole view on evil thing.

>>34661978
Hey, I'm not saying we turn them all into mages, just that we make sure that they all have access to the opportunity. That way if they have the right drive and talent their more likely to end up with the skills and power to be useful to the empire (in either a military or civilian capacity) than your standard soldier, baker or farmer.

>>34662075
We also rely on heavily enchanted armour, anon.
You know, for protection?

>>34662075

I thought it was mentioned they used both.

Arail uses both. He literally has levels in Mage and Knight.

>>34662108
Right, and that style of armor is so ridiculously rare and difficult to forge that Finn's suit cost 25 TBY. Pay attention.

>>34662108
No, you don't get it. Mage knights aren't actual mages, they're just fighters with magic gear.
Usually.

>>34662101
Oh yes I agree there. I'm just saying that before someone goes off on a rant about it.

>>34662137
Wrong, that *quality* of armour costs 25 TBY for one suit.
>>34662142
Mage Knights and Noble Knights are two very different things, read the pastebin.

>>34662137
and finns suit is not nearly as good as talons, which is the first suit he got that is good enough to be worth it for him compared to non magical armor.

>>34662075
isn't it also called enchanted when a knight uses his spell to temporarily strengthen his equipment? and that this "cast" enchantments conflict with premade permanent enchantments?

>>34662189
that being said, you >>34662075 are probably right based on that quote. just saying its not so cut and dry

>>34662177
A quote from Aspirational:
>Most battlemages wouldn't have a familiar and those that would probably have weaker ones. That would also be an issue for most knights - probably around 60-65% of knights can use magic but maybe 10% overall are strong enough to match your average adept in magical power and even less the sort of power necessary to summon a combatant familiar. There's a reason even your better knights tend to rely on their fancy suits of armour over their own talents, after all.

>There's a reason even your better knights tend to rely on their fancy suits of armour over their own talents, after all.
Note this bit.

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Note that the second roll basically got invalidated by the first.

>Exceptional success

Golden light floods the world in front of you from your outstretched hand, trying to hold the bear back. They’ve learned quickly, however. The not-bear leaps over you and your barrier in an astounding feat of agility and strength, leaving you surrounded with no back-up. As the not-bear charges you again, the dirt it scrapes from the ground disintegrating as it is dug up, you notice that the other beasts are closing on your front.

You’re left with no choice but to drop the barrier and desperately try to defend yourself from all sides. As the not-bear leaps at you, you attempt to cleave its forelegs off with a hard slash from your sword. The small trickle of magic in your sword appears to give your blow enough force to knock the beast aside from its tackle but it still strikes you. Its enormous body of nothing doesn’t so much as slam into you as attempt to absorb you with the impact.

The clearing fills with your scream as this antithetical existence attempts to consume you. Your armor and chest appear to melt together and begin to merge with the beast where you stand. A beast of nothing lacks any momentum so you suddenly find yourself caught up in it. You’re not one to give up easily, however. You muster the strength in your legs and leap aside, the not-bear being left behind.

You’re too weak to control your leap and instead find yourself crashing into the ground. You roll into a burning tent, taking out its supports. The flaming canvas collapses on you, the searing heat penetrating your armour. You hold back a scream as the fire attempts to catch your clothes beneath your plate and instead cut yourself free as quickly as possible. As you leap out of the destruction, rolling on the ground, you find yourself ignoring the searing pain along your face caused by the burns. The not-bear closes on your slowly as its fellow beasts begin to move on.

>continued

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>>34662265
No, you think desperately. They can’t just ignore you like that. How can you defend your soldiers if they just walk on past? You have to stop them. You try to move. Try to pull yourself to your feet. Yet your muscles merely scream in defiance and you remain prone and in agony. Light flickers across the clearing from the flames surrounding you, being absorbed by the nothing-beast standing on its hind legs in front of you.

You’re going to die.

Your men are going to die.

You can do nothing.

You refuse to do nothing.

You…

>1. Destroy the beasts with the blazing brilliance of your lust for life and that of your men. [Life]
>2. Return the beasts from the nothingness from which they came. You will not suffer such existences despoiling your land. [Ruin]
>3. Fill yourself with raw power and crush these beasts with your bare hands. You have a future to guarantee. [Power]
>4. Restore balance to your surroundings, making the beasts of nothing into something. [Balance]

>>34662287
>>1. Destroy the beasts with the blazing brilliance of your lust for life and that of your men. [Life]

>>34662287
>>4. Restore balance to your surroundings, making the beasts of nothing into something. [Balance]

>>34662287
>>3. Fill yourself with raw power and crush these beasts with your bare hands. You have a future to guarantee. [Power]

Okay this is fucking badass. Talon smacking the shit out of these things.

>>34662287
>>4. Restore balance to your surroundings, making the beasts of nothing into something. [Balance]

>>34662287
>4. Restore balance to your surroundings, making the beasts of nothing into something. [Balance]

>>34662287
>1. Destroy the beasts with the blazing brilliance of your lust for life and that of your men. [Life]

Hey a storyline 20!

>>34662287
>4. Restore balance to your surroundings, making the beasts of nothing into something. [Balance]

>>34662265
NOT THE BEARD AGAIN!

>>34662287
>1. Destroy the beasts with the blazing brilliance of your lust for life and that of your men. [Life]

>>34662287
I can't decide between power and balance

>>34662287
>4. Restore balance to your surroundings, making the beasts of nothing into something. [Balance]

>>34662331

For some reason I imagined this as pre-beard Talon.

But if beard exists. NOOOOOOOOO

>>34662287
Not an easy choice...

>1. [Life]

Gotta keep our command alive.

>>34662287
>>3. Fill yourself with raw power and crush these beasts with your bare hands. You have a future to guarantee. [Power]

>>34662287
>>4. Restore balance to your surroundings, making the beasts of nothing into something. [Balance]

>>34662367
I hadn't thought of that... I like the idea of him growing a beard after this to protect his face.

>>34662287
>1. Destroy the beasts with the blazing brilliance of your lust for life and that of your men. [Life]

>>34662418

That sounds like the best Talon logic ever.

>Talon why'd you grow your beard?
>To protect my face.

>>34661857
>Pretty sure that's the wrong way around, though I don't know if i've ever actually stated it.
You mentioned a 10% mage rule in an email chain with me. Also that 60-65% of knights could use magic, which seems offly low if we are using an 80% average.

>>34662287
>>1. Destroy the beasts with the blazing brilliance of your lust for life and that of your men. [Life]

>>34662287
>>4. Restore balance to your surroundings, making the beasts of nothing into something. [Balance]
This honestly seems to be the most interesting. I wonder what that something will be?

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I think 4 beats 1 barely.

>>34662482
Yeah, I'm not sure what the final numbers for magic were. I might poke through some old threads for any off-the-cuff quotes or something. Otherwise I'll just work it out. It's possible with the knight comment I actually meant 'useful' magic as most folks can basically do cantrips.

>>34662287
>4. Restore balance to your surroundings, making the beasts of nothing into something. [Balance]

>>34662546
And that is the story of how Talon got a puppy.

>>34662546
I am also curious
I also like the idea of talon being water aligned. it just feels right
even though I think power is the most min max option and perhaps even "more talon"

>>34662287
>1. Destroy the beasts with the blazing brilliance of your lust for life and that of your men. [Life]

>>34662615
>Yeah, I'm not sure what the final numbers for magic were. I might poke through some old threads for any off-the-cuff quotes or something. Otherwise I'll just work it out. It's possible with the knight comment I actually meant 'useful' magic as most folks can basically do cantrips.
Fair. I basically assume anything you tell me in a private email is non-canon until confirmed in public anyway.

>>34662738
Power is about using overwhelming might to win and lead. Balance is about forcing things to blend into the natural world.

>>34662800
We're going to turn the shadow beasts into fluffy tails, aren't we?

>>34662821
Thats where the fluffy tail that tried to marry Talon comes from, it all makes sense.

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>>34662775
Well, that particular quote did pop up in a Q&A bin I updated.

>4.

Time itself seems to stop as you see your death before you. As you see the deaths of the brave men and women who believed in you. You remember the nights around the campfire, drinking and eating, talking about what everybody did back home, talking about what they wanted to do. If there was one thing you had truly enjoyed as a general, it was the faith and allegiance you received from your soldiers. To not pay that back…

You weren’t going to let your wishes turn to the same nothing as these beasts. There should never be a nothing for the world; for life. Everything about these beasts is wrong, starting with their very existence. If they were nothing, then you would use your last breaths to turn them into something. All of their power came from their lack of being so you would rob them of that.

A power you didn’t know you had swells up inside you. Somehow this feels right so you let the power flow through you. If this is some sort of magical death curse then you’re happy to let it take its course. The world seems to waver as the beasts let out their death throes. Strange, warbling screams of otherworldly beasts. Their strange forms of nothingness seems to turn into a strange inky liquid. The lightless light suddenly becomes real for several moments, strange crackling mist forming around it before vanishing along with the green light.

Then the beasts around you collapse into puddles of muddy water, their substanceless forms unable to maintain their body without the essence of their power. The puddles seem to shift in the light but are otherwise immobile. You are content now – content that the lives of your men are saved and that these beasts are gone.

>continued

>>34662821
i don't think these are shadow beasts, we encountered shadow beasts already in the quest and they were different

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>>34662960
But you are not yet dead and the night is not yet over. Your body still holds strength. You still hear the echoes of screams to the far west as your men continue to flee from the remaining beasts. While you still draw breath you will not leave them to fight and die alone. Your muscles scream as you pull yourself to your feet, discarding the useless pieces of armour that merely slow you down. You amble off in the direction of your men, hoping against hope to reach them and help them. The heat of the flames beats down upon you. The smoke chokes your lungs. You feel so alone.

You vision blacks out and the ground comes up to meet you as you fall roughly. For several long moments all you can hear are your ragged breathes as your body fights to survive in this inferno. Then the lack of oxygen starves your body of consciousness and all goes black.

All is dark.

You feel a strange, tickling sensation.

There’s a slight humming sound above you. You’re certain it’s a person. You’re also certain that some furry animal is near your face. You…

>1. Take no action.
>2. Open your eyes and try to make out what’s happening.
>3. Try to grab the fuzzy animal. It’s kind of annoying to be tickled like this.
>4. Custom

>>34662987
>2. Open your eyes and try to make out what’s happening.

"What the hell is going on now?"

>>34662987
>3. Try to grab the fuzzy animal. It’s kind of annoying to be tickled like this.

>>34662987
>3. Try to grab the fuzzy animal. It’s kind of annoying to be tickled like this.

>>34662987
>>2. Open your eyes and try to make out what’s happening.

>>34662987
>3. Try to grab the fuzzy animal. It’s kind of annoying to be tickled like this.

>>34662987
>2. Open your eyes and try to make out what’s happening.
fluffy pup

>>34662987
>>2. Open your eyes and try to make out what’s happening.

>>34662987
>3. Try to grab the fuzzy animal. It’s kind of annoying to be tickled like this.

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Rolled 1 (1d2)

Tie-breaker roll

1 = Option 2
2 = Option 3

>>34663190
Oh god, it's fluffy tails, isn't it?

>>34663231
of course it is

>>34663231
Yes, we were voting to molest a fox. You didn't let us touch fluffy tails

>>34663231

End of flashback it seems. Probably Taria poking us awake after possibly collapsing for what might be seen as for no reason...

>>34663266
or maybe it is still flashback and we just met our first fluffy tails

>>34663266

>implying it's over that early

It's Talon's old fluffy bride.

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>2.

You open your eyes slowly, wary that you may not be in a safe place. In the end, you’re not sure. It’s a small room – the walls are obviously wooden but you don’t recognise the architectural style you’re seeing. The source of the humming is a young woman in loose brown and grey robes kneeling at a low table nearby.

Tickling your face is one of five light brown fluffy tails. When you see those everything makes sense. You’d heard of mystic foxes but this was the first time you’d actually seen one. Most likely the architecture was from Pharos. The question was: why were you and her here?

Before you get a chance to do anything, she turns around and notices that you’re now conscious.

“Oh, you’re certainly awake sooner than I expected,” she says with a very pleasant voice, even if it does carry a noticeable sharpness – like a drawn knife. Your experience tells you it’s just part of who she is, given she doesn’t appear to be hostile in any other way. “On the other hand, given what you are I can’t say I’m too surprised.”

>Reaction?

I’ll probably meld together the responses that make the most sense.

>>34662987
>3. Try to grab the fuzzy animal. It’s kind of annoying to be tickled like this.

>>34663318
"And what am I?"

>>34663318

Ask about what happened to our men and if they managed to retreat from the nothingness beasts.

>>34663318
>damn you are cute

>>34663318
"Your tails are beautiful."

>>34663318
"How did my [insert correct term for Past Talon's current command] fare?"

>>34663318
"Fluffy..very fluffy. How am I alive?

>>34663318
"What happened to my troops"
Seems very Talon.

>>34663318
"Greetings fare maiden, your tails are delightfully soft and silky. May i pet them?" then precede to kiss her hand

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>myriad of responses

“And what am I?” you ask simply as you look her in the eyes.

She meets your eyes for a second before turning away, a slight blush on her face. “You’re a God, aren’t you?”

“As much as I would think of myself as omnipotent, I’m not one of the Gods from the north-west,” you say, watching the way her tails flick about.

“Oh?’ she says, obviously disbelieving.

You’re not sure why she doesn’t believe you so instead move onto more interesting topics. Such as your men.

“I don’t know anything about what happened,” she says. “I investigated because I felt a lot of power being used – it felt a little like Pharosian sorcery at one point. All I found was an ablaze army camp and you lying collapsed inside it. I’d be more interested in hearing from you what happened.”

You…

>1. Tell her about what happened.
>2. Don’t tell her at all.
>3. Tell her you were assaulted and had to flee but don’t go into details.
>4. Custom

I'll be throwing a few more responses into the fray after this vote is done.

>>34663600
>1

>>34663600
>3. Tell her you were assaulted and had to flee but don’t go into details.

>>34663600
>4.

Tell her what we faced, don't tell her any specifics of what we did. Just that we tried not to die and then woke up in her care.

>>34663600
>1. Tell her about what happened.

Trusting strangers is fun!

>>34663600
>1. Tell her about what happened.

>>34663600
>>3. Tell her you were assaulted and had to flee but don’t go into details.

>>34663600
>>3. Tell her you were assaulted and had to flee but don’t go into details.

Lets not spill our heart out to a fox we just met.

>>34663600
>1. Tell her about what happened.

"I'm a commander. Our camp found creatures that were wrong. A nothingness in the world. I put them down, but I'm not sure how I did it. I denied them their nothingness. It cost me. I think my men escaped, but I don't know where they went."

>>34663600
>4. Ask if you can touch fluffy tail.

Seriously, those things are incredibly distracting. And we need to distract her.

>>34663600
>3. Tell her you were assaulted and had to flee but don’t go into details.

>>34663600
>3. Be vague.

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For those wondering, this was mostly written by the time the vote changed.

>1.

You explain rather briefly about how you sensed some strange magical energies and went to investigate and about the subsequent assault. You left out the details of what happened close to when you collapsed – it’s difficult for you to tell if you merely imagined what was happening then. It all seems so surreal.

She listens seriously before shaking her head, her tails making similar motions. “I never encountered those beasts. I did notice those energies, though. I had assumed it was something from Pharos and ignored it. ‘Beasts of nothing’ is an interesting concept, though. They sound like astral beings without bodies – if they project themselves into the world with raw power, but as little more than a concept, then they’ll have a ‘form without a form’. That would also explain why you were able to harm them. Local astral power would be incredibly lethal to them if they hadn’t taken on a proper concept within this world.”

If you were perfectly honest, you didn’t have the slightest clue what you were just told. So you instead decide to distract yourself, and her, by seeing exactly how fluffy her tails are. As she lets out a high-pitched squeak you realise they are very fluffy. So fluffy you don’t see yourself stopping your stroking any time soon.

“Ah, that’s-“ she tries to say, before being cut off by a moan,.

“I’m Talon, by the way,” you say as you stroke one of her tails from tip to base, giving her ‘base’ a nice rub. “Yours?”

>continued

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>>34664061
“A-Arisa!” she squeaks out before giving in.

It’s a few hours later before you finish up, Arisa snuggled up closely to you, her bare chest pushing against yours with each breath. You still weren’t in the greatest shape despite the fact she’d been healing you recently. Still, recuperating with such a cute healer wasn’t difficult. You got plenty of exercise.

Several days later, having been pronounced fit and ready, you slip inside the main room of the shrine where Arisa is reading a book. You hadn’t received any contact from your men but that could very well be because the sending tower was enemy controlled now. With little to do besides recuperate, you’d taken great pleasure in the fact you had a healer who appreciated your presence. Even if she did duck your questions about why she was here.

You…

>1. Sneak up on Arisa and stroke her tails without her realising.
>2. Take a seat next to Arisa and get ready for a serious chat before you leave.
>3. Have one last bout of fun with Arisa before you have to leave.
>4. Custom

>>34664084
>2. Take a seat next to Arisa and get ready for a serious chat before you leave.

>>34664084
>>2. Take a seat next to Arisa and get ready for a serious chat before you leave.

Well, we owe her that much....

>>34664084
>2. Take a seat next to Arisa and get ready for a serious chat before you leave.

>>34664084
>1 >2 >3

In that order.

>>34664084
Just realized that Arisa is only one letter off from being another anagram of Taira...

>>34664084
>2. Take a seat next to Arisa and get ready for a serious chat before you leave.

>>34664180
or this I'm easy.

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>2.

You decided that if you were going to leave then it might not hurt to be serious rather than teasing. You weren’t really sure how Arisa was going to react to the news, even if she should have known it was coming. She’d gotten rather attached to you over the last few days, even if it was hell getting her to admit it.

You sit next to her, slipping your arm around her comfortably. She immediately leans into you as she closes her book. She gives you a deep kiss before nestling her head in the crook of your neck. She’s being a little more forward than usual, which catches you by surprise.

“You’re going to leave already?” she asks, her voice carrying her usual sharpness.

“I am a general. I can’t just leave things be,” you say.

The room is silent for almost a minute as you caress one of her tails and she merely cuddles you. Then she pulls back and gives you a serious look.

“I’m coming with you. I didn’t teach you all that etiquette for nothing,” she says.

“I thought you said you were doing that to pass the time.”

“And you were bedding me every spare moment to pass the time, right?”

“Well, yes.”

She snorts. “Well, too bad. You’re stuck with me now.”

You playfully bicker with Arisa for a few minutes before relaxing for a bit. You spend your last day at the shrine peacefully with her and retire to her room for the night.

[DC13 Magical Perception]

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>34664428
Luck has been kind to me thus far.

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>34664428

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>34664428

SOMETHING IS WRONG

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>34664428

>>34664084
>1. Sneak up on Arisa and stroke her tails without her realising.

>>34664479
close call based anon

>>34664479
Skin of our teeth!

Nicely done.

>>34664479
WE CAN FEEL IN OUR BODY

File: UNCANNY ALLEY! UNCANNY ALLEY.gif (3.55 MB, 636x354)

3.55 MB GIF

>>34664479
I wanna suck you dick anon.

>>34664504
>Joel help!
>What's wrong?
>I'm bleeding!
>Where?
>Down there..

>Joel face's when

>>34664479
>mfw I've rolled literally every success tonight

>>34664701
Well for fuck's sake don't stop now then!

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>Target met

You wake in the middle of the night, your head ringing. At first you think it’s just a side-effect of the rice wine you were drinking with Arisa but then you realise how similar this is to how you felt when marching with your men a few nights ago. Ice runs down your spine as you fear that the monsters from that night are coming up the mountain after you. They had been so interested in you that night – could they be trying to hunt you down?

You shake Arisa awake before gathering up your sword – probably the only thing that had survived that night’s disaster. She looks around groggily before seeing you carrying your sword and immediately becomes alert. Shortly afterwards she’s dressing in her robes and her tails are high and alert.

“What the hell are these things?” she hisses, her tails weaving about in the patterns she’s explained that replace spells for foxes.

“If I’m right, then these are the same beasts that came for my men that night,” you say, mind racing as you try to work out how to escape and how to get Arisa out.

A quick glance at the brown-tailed fox confirms that she’s realised exactly what’s happening. These things are after you – you’re not sure how well you can protect her if the two of you try to escape separately. There are two ways out of the shrine but if they’re ascending both…

“If these are astral beasts then I can’t hurt them, Talon,” she explains. “Your astral powers are the only thing that can help us.”

There she goes again, talking about how you have astral powers. Before you can ask her again a grating scream echoes throughout the shrine. It’s that same death-scream that you’d heard from that nothing-beast you’d first shot with your empowered arrow. That definitely confirmed your suspicions then.

>continued

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>>34664866
“They’re after me,” you say. “It’s possible that you might be able to escape more easily if I draw their attention.”

“No. I’m not leaving you, Talon,” she says, giving you an angry look. “We escape together or not at all.”

You want to argue more but there’s no time. You can’t merely try to wait these things out but you’re also not sure if you can outrun them. In fact, you’re not sure what to do. Everything appears risky. Perhaps the only thing you can do is just try to keep Arisa alive.

You…

>1. Try to work with Arisa to keep the nothing-beasts at bay by defending the shrine. Perhaps the wards on the building will keep them out.
>2. Blitz outside, focusing everything on getting both you and Arisa out as you charge. You can’t help her if you go down first, after all.
>3. Blitz outside, focusing on protecting Arisa. If you go down first, then she can at least escape while they’re busy with you. Or at least, you hope that’s true.
>4. Custom

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>>34664913
>2. Blitz outside, focusing everything on getting both you and Arisa out as you charge. You can’t help her if you go down first, after all.

Shoot and scoot motherfuckers.

>>34664913
>2. Blitz outside, focusing everything on getting both you and Arisa out as you charge. You can’t help her if you go down first, after all.

>>34664913
...don't suppose she could teleport?

>>34664913
>>3. Blitz outside, focusing on protecting Arisa. If you go down first, then she can at least escape while they’re busy with you. Or at least, you hope that’s true.

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>>34664979
Nope. She's only got five tails. You need six or more to teleport.

>>34664913
>3. Blitz outside, focusing on protecting Arisa. If you go down first, then she can at least escape while they’re busy with you. Or at least, you hope that’s true.

>>34664979
>5 tails

Needs six to teleport.

>>34664913

they seem to have greater agility than us, not to mention that constructed barriers mean little to them. That suggests that we need to either find a cave which should prevent them from flanking us, or we charge while their numbers are split.

>2. Blitz outside.
Ideally we can take out one of the beasts in our initial charge, then we can dispatch the others whilst making a fighting retreat...

>>34664913
Hmmm, option 3 seems like the most Talon thing to do. If we can pull it off.

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Rolled 1 (1d2)

Tie-breaker roll

1 = Option 2
2 = Option 3

>>34665128
Talon doesn't seem to be a self sacrificial guy who just charges into anything. Personally I think we should get the hell out.

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>2.

You give Arisa an abrupt nod and prepare for a tough charge. You don’t have any armour, though Arisa does spend a moment to wrap a ward around your body. Supposedly not even these astral nothing-beasts should be able to easily blow through it. You’re sceptical, however. You saw those monsters shrug off so much last time.

Then you have not choice but to make your charge. You kick down door closest to the narrow path down the mountainside and charge out, power humming lightly along your blade. As soon as you step outside, your head stops ringing and you see the rocky clearing filled with the beasts, all of them already having taken on bestial forms. There must be at least a dozen of them, all streaming in from the main path up the mountain. They know where you are immediately and you can sense the overwhelming pressure of their attention upon you.

Arisa freezes up as she steps outside and into that power projected onto the two of you. Her formerly calm demeanour collapses into terror as she sees how much danger she’s in. You can’t let her stay like that and grab her hand and pull her behind you as you run for the escape route.

Your movement is the signal the beasts are waiting for, however. They immediately charge for you.

[DC11/16 Running Battle]

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>34665452

File: spoiler.gif (3.24 MB, 450x336)

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Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>34665452
Suck it dice gods. I don't give a fuck.

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>34665452

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>34665452
can we make it?

>>34665464
yuss

>>34665464

AW SHIT SON ALL DEM 20s TONIGHT.

>>34665464

DING DING DING
we have a winner

>>34665464
...Is it possible to have skills level up in a flashback thread?

>>34665464

Bust out the good stuff Aspirational.

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>>34665485

>>34665552
Talon is awesome enough to become better at fighting simply by having a flashback.

>>34665552
Perhaps since we're having a flashback on the moment we remember something with crystal clarity and can actually grasp what happened now that we have a better idea about astral power, thus leading to increased skill?

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>>34665464
On one hand, we are using up all our 20s on a flashback thread.

On the other hand, I don't give a fuck. 20s rule

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This is going to be a crazy long post. There'll be one choice before I finish the flashback and probably the thread. The 20 effectively skipped anotehr roll/choice.