Our Story So Far...
998.05 (37/60 Months)
Next Population Increase in 998.08
Pillar Mountain Population 504 (+25% per roll, no UnEarthen for next roll); 7 Superior Minds, 7 "Chartosh" Superior Minds, 1 Mother Mind (Glorth), 321 Drones (124 Chartosh Drones), 132 Strong Eyes, 42 Streamline Drones, 2 "Missing" Katha (Theemo, Zolorm)
Golem Shell ready in 998.06
Link to the stat sheet for the Katha is in
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1259&start=450#p155100
(it's better than spamming it every month.)
This Month's Rolls
Allies and Enemies
Characters
Other Knowledge
Other Dimensions known
This Month's Rolls :
Glop becoming a Mother Mind or UnEarthen: 45 / 63
Theemo becoming a Mother Mind or UnEarthen: 40 / 60
Carving up the Grand Ember Emerald: 75 + 37 (Focusing) +248 (Previous total) = 360/600
Zolorm's Diplomancy: 23 (Nope)
Retrieving Zolorm: 29 (Terrible)
Strengthening Mental Power: 91 (Very Successful)
Splitting the Clans: 4 (Critfail) Uh oh...
Saving Throw (15+): 17 (New clan does -not- become 150 individuals instead of a new hive)
Theemo pulling Glop to himself: 11 (Nope)
Allies and Enemies :
Great Stag Spirit (Morale Boost): Neutral Good
The Telsen'ari (Hippo-rhinotaurs): Neutral, possibly Neutral Evil (have moved south out of range)
The Blackness (Evil spirit force): Enemy of all that is in the material world 99% Dealt With
The Mist (Evil spirit force): Physical version of the Blackness, so rare as to almost be unique
"Greater" Calmer Lands spirits (Will aid you once on your behalf on an SA or FH)
Discorded Snarl: Sealed in the Pillar of the Hexen Slip
Chomvid and the Black Chalk Clan: Negative and Hostile; bunch of "crystal meth" addicts (Extinct)
Chartosh and the Pink Clan: Overly upbeat, willing to help, childlike; now one "voice" under the "rule" of Glotch
Glotch: The Entity, seemingly a being made of "knowledge"...?
Andersandria: Demon of the Scarred Scar, with her partner Gore (Presumed gone unless I think of something)
Trolak: Neutral, Sentient Avians, masters of wind magic, defensive-move specialists (+7 AC while in the air), immune to Glotch (Gone)
Muial'ki: Neutral Evil Winged Bighorn Sheep, advancing on the Trolak and very much the religous zealot stereotype (Extinct)
The Withermaw: Nasty Black Dragon ancestor/offshoot/mutation, leaves behind life energy in the form of Eldritch Pearls
The Kobadi: Minor kobold/fly demons with chimp intelligence mostly; leave behind Corruption and Crimson in their wake
Characters :
Zolorm (Synch) {Constructionist} (0 Standard Actions, 0 Finest Hour)
Mutation: Spell Reflection (1st/2nd)
Grounk (Krulle) {Food Collector/Harvester} (1 Standard Actions, 1 Finest Hour)
Mongao (Nolandking) {Warrior} (7 Standard Actions, 0 Finest Hour)
Eelem (D34lock) {Diviner} (2 Standard Actions, 0 Finest Hour)
Chuwu (Patdragon) {Shaman} (4 Standard Actions, 2 Finest Hour)
Golvark (Moose) {Ranger} (3 Standard Actions, 0 Finest Hour)
Glop (Badge) {Beast Master} (0 Standard Actions, 0 Finest Hour)
Completely Independent
Regeneration has dropped to 1 HP/round
2% to become UnEarthen (Saving Throw at 13+ to avoid)
2% to become Superior Mind on his own (Saving throw at 18+)
If Superior Mind, 1% to become a Mother Mind on his own (Saving throw at 19+)
Xiu (Burns) {Sage, specialty Mutations} (0 Standard Actions, 0 Finest Hour)
Mutation: Clearsteel Form (Invis, AC +7 and Damage Reduction 10/+1 while in water)
Mutation: Complete Imperviousness to Fire
Mutation: Able to Ignite Water in 5' radius
Mutation: Able to transmit heat to any object in a 5' radius, held items get no saving throw
Mutation: Damage Absorption (15/Stone); HP absorbed can be distributed through hivemind
Chirp (Gathers) {Superior Mind, Historian} (6 Standard Actions, 2 Finest Hour)
+20 on data-based rolls (archiving, drawing conclusions, research, problem solving)
Carpacio (Chuck) {Arcanist} (2 Standard Actions, 1 Finest Hour)
Cannot move 200 feet from the Pillar of the Hexen Slip or 125 from another Clan's Pillar
Prestige Class: Manipulator
Strong Telekinesis (425 pounds within 150 feet of any Pillar of the Hexen Slip)
Force Bonus to AC (11, 8 if not at home Pillar)
Can see into Other Dimensions
Can sense Deity Interference
Can physically manipulate Ley Lines
Other Knowledge : Dark Oak forest trees extrude "stone sap"
Ley Lines seem to consume iron to recharge magic/powers
Ten mile radius around the Pillar of the Hexen Slip defended by counterfetishes
Wooden/Klerite Forts/buildings have been built on Pillar Mountain for shelter
Knowledge of forging Iron Weapons unlocked
Buildings constructed by Katha can exist in more than one plane at once (Force effect)
Blackness seems to want "Only Chaos," can possess the dead, completely blocked by Happysight Plant
Discorded Snarl rearranges any solid matter it comes in contact with, can steal thoughts, might gain sentience
Pillar of the Hexen Slip can be used to grant mutations at 50/50 odds of good/bad, -10 per extra mutation if specific mutation sought
Red Minerals ("Neandersite") found in caves contain potential magic...?
Karthesis plant = fertility, bad mutation blocking
Control of Discorded Snarl is possible, but requires a lot of effort...
Ley Lines + Charged Neandersite = Boom
Use of Charged Neandersite cuts one off from spirits
Flipstone: Antigravity crystal, requires flame and an uncharged Ember Emerald to "supercharge" for boots
Kathan Armor designed and tested
Purgative for the Karthesis plant is possible to get rid of negative mutations through vast consumption
Ember Emeralds are supercharged Neandersite, can be used to contain primal elemental magic
Klerite: Appearance, shapeability of clay, strength of steel, explodes on contact with fire
Stone-Eye Plant: Can only be cultivated in the Purefire Lands, opens psychic senses
Kathirals: Batteries with Purefire Land "Liquid", functional only if flash frozen
There's chemical gas at the bottom of the Crevasse Cavern that condenses into anti gravity crystals...
Zolorm's energy web can cause Earthen Storms if projectiles are aimed right
Black Forgefire kills souls, not bodies, if bodies are "flashfried" or submerged in the fire all at once
Pain Plant: Turns target emotionless (if they make the save; failure kills, 19+)
Demonsteel: Stronger than normal steel, an "evil version" of Mithril, very difficult to work with without Black Forgefire
"Demon Dust" -- unknown potential as of yet, very finite resource
Meat Plant -- grows a soul's former body, soul can feel the reaping / harvest / being eaten.
Other Dimensions known : Spirit Realm (Etheral and Astral Planes),
The Calmer Lands (effectively endless plains filled with neutral natural-world animal spirits)
The Grand Abyss (a bottomless pit filled with souls that succumbed to the sin of sloth),
The Purefire Lands (Effectively a Nether x Oblivion crossbreed; no life as you know it): One pocket invaded by the Obsidian Scar
The Obsidian Scar (Traditional Hell)
The Scarred Scar ("Damaged" bit of Purefire Lands, abandoned)
Plane of Torrential Currents (Elemental Water, things constantly moving)
Plane of the Eternal Sewer (exactly what it looks like)
Plane of the Primal Waters (Concepts other than water are not understood here)
Plane of the Slithering Mud (Earth, Water)
Plane of Molten Glass (Earth, Fire)
Alright, after a couple days off because reasons, let's get back into this. I apologize if it seems disjointed and if I ended up contradicting myself as I got back into it and you catch me on it I'll make some snap decisions. Still off and on working on the Chartosh knowledge, while trying to make it "come from many weird sources", so what I'm going to do is this... any knowledge revealed to you will be considered "hidden from public view" since Glop is still around, we can say it was hidden so Glop couldn't link in somehow with his luck and steal it, or use it to his advantage if he observed things being built. Stop Glop and Roll is set to end soon, so we can deal with the knowledge after, and maybe even apply it directly to the Golem.
Work continues on carving up the Grand Ember Emerald. The rough shell will be ready next month and you will then have a choice whether to use the shell as it stands or finish the carving. If you decide to use the shell as it stands, its offensive skills will be greatly improved (due to rough edges) at the cost of armor (it's brittle). If you choose to finish it, defensive ability will be increased instead but at the cost of potential extra skills. There's a lot of discussion about how exactly to balance the abilities this golem is going to have (I may just give it a set number of "points" you spend as "offensive", "defensive", etc; haven't worked anything out yet).
The mental "cage" tightens around Glop, who has withdrawn into himself, unmoving and almost catatonic. No one is willing right now it seems to let him rejoin the hivemind after all the actions he did; it was assumed that he was going into the wilds to befriend the animals and bring them back under Katha control for symbotic relationships. What happened with Glop and the animals is unknown, really... but they have appeared in greater numbers ever since Glop's capture. While you don't sense any communication going on between Glop and the animals... something is going on for sure. He assuredly has a connection to them and when you talk to the Calmer Lands they suggest that there's a "ley line" of a different variety connecting Glop and the animals... something that cannot be naturally severed by "civilized" creatures such as yourselves (Carpacio, being different, could with an SA). They could do it... for a favor... and it does look like they still owe you one, too...
Finally, we have the Splitting Of The Clans. This doesn't go so well at all. It seems good god a critfail at the worst possible time that when Glop was poking around in the hivemind trying to do some converts and the like, the damage he did plus the damage he did resetting one of the Superior Minds has come back and caught up. When a clan splits, three of the original clan's Superior Minds split with them to be the "focal point" (one of them usually becomes the new Mother Mind while the two others ease five more into Superior Mind status) of the new clan. When the split off began, what you can only call a "cascade failure" also began, despite the fact the "reset" Superior Mind is no longer a Superior Mind. While this was going on, Theemo used the resulting confusion to try to "pull" Glop to him so Glop could hitch a ride and they could both escape; it looks like Theemo is beginning to side with Glop more and more. He's mentally swatted aside by Glorth at the last second and "yelled" at for quite a bit, but for now he remains a free Katha even though the clan's patience is wearing very thin.
The new clan that has formed did not drop into a clan of 150 individuals. The support of the rest of the streamliners and the clan networks supported you enough to keep the Katha together, although the hivemind bond between the new clan is very very shaky. While Glop cannot penetrate it right now, Theemo could (he has said he won't, because he agrees it is time to split the clans) Now the new clan needs a new location to move to (reflected in the choices below).
Storyline: Stop, Glop, and Roll
Theemo came within inches of being thrown into "jail" with Glop but managed to somehow (you're not exactly sure how) talk his way out of it. The two have grown to a deeper connection, and when no one is looking, Theemo thanks Glop for the new outlook on life. It looks like his new plan is to simply depart; if he is allowed to go his way, he will not bother the Clan(s) any further. He wanted to take Glop with him since the Clan obviously doesn't appreciate Glop's efforts for "new things", but Glorth caught him at the last second. Theemo tells Glop that Chartosh aims to make an example of Glop by killing him shortly, and that escape is the only option; Theemo has been studying the ley line "nets" to keep him out of the hivemind and thinks he has a way to break him out so that they can make a run for it. He doesn't care what the Clan thinks about him; he just wants to see everyone get an equal shot at living life the way they want. Chartosh seems to just want Glop dead, a sentiment reflected by dozens in the clan (and especially the new clan when the short circuit happens).
Theemo will "reset" the nets when he comes to visit Glop next, and allow them to escape. Then they'll have to break and run because the Superior Minds and especially Chartosh will be out to kill them both. Question is, is Glop in, or out? If out, Theemo leaves on his own next turn. If he's in, the entire plan depends on how good the rolls end up. The animals are getting closer and closer to Clan lands, some of them (especially big wolves and big cats) are even wandering onto the mountain itself but not directly being hostile to the Katha.
Storyline: The Bigger They Are...
Zolorm's "diplomacy" doesn't go so horribly well. While looking rather strange for a sentient creature yourself and while you did try to appear as a kindred spirit, the Kobadi have seen worse in whatever realm it is that they come from. However, since you do not appear to be hostile, they decide not to be hostile and instead allow Zolorm to tag along... up until Zolorm's friends arrive with direction from Eelem and some disagreements occur. The Kobadi are of the "This one is ours now" opinion, as Zolorm was originally the one "summoned"... the Kobadi feel that it is only right for them (the two casters) to decide when they can dismiss the summons and free Zolorm. Some discussion is had over a campfire about how the Kobadi ended up here with the Ankylocerbus, and from what you understand, they are creatures looking for a new home away from demonic influence despite being demonic themselves. They're not looking for "redemption", mind you... just a different locale to live in.
You've also noticed that where they set up camp, the ground has begun to wither under their touch in about a fifty foot radius. In some places it takes on a sick purple and white glow that greatly pains you when you look at it with aura sensing, while in others, the trees themselves begin to bleed "human" blood and the fauna therein seem to take on a more reddish tinge. When this happens and the Ankylocerbus retraces its steps through the now-damaged land, the Ankylocerbus seems to grow in power slightly as if it were feeding. The spiritualists among the diplomacy group sent to retrieve Zolorm sense the land screaming in agony when this happens.
So not only does the Ankylocerbus eat whole trees/forests for material food, it also leeches the very soul of the land out from underneath it...
WILL YOU...
A) Kill, banish, imprison, or re-integrate Theemo (say which)?
B) Work on a cure for the damage the Kobadi seem to be unconsciously doing to the land?
C) Try and diplomat your way to freeing Zolorm? They're kind of resistant now, though.
D) Experiment with severance of hivemind members, putting Theemo's hypothesis to the test?
E) Focus on building Mongao's Arena (cuts Ember Emerald Focus bonus by 25%)
F) End the work on the golem's shell and focus on its offensive abilities (turning it into a glass cannon)
G) Send a war party to deal with the Withermaw so you can get its supply of Eldritch Pearls?
Where is the new Clan moving to?
1) The Withermaw's Finger, to deal with the Withermaw so it doesn't eventually come to you?
2) The Rocky Badlands (Signs of a mentally-shielded race, potentially mineral poor)
3) The far western forests (meat-poor)
4) The lake next to the Rocky Badlands (meat rich, mineral poor)
Statistics: Posted by Aegis J Hyena — Thu Mar 26, 2015 2:52 pm