Our Story So Far...
999.04 (48/60 Months)
Next Population Increase in 999.05
Positive Energy Blister pops in 999.05
Link to the stat sheet for the Katha is in
http://goblinsforum.com/viewtopic.php?f ... 50#p155100 (it's better than spamming it every month.)
.[tabs:This Month's Rolls]
Theemo becoming a Superior Mind or UnEarthen: 82 / 45
Carpacio's controlling of Not Andersandria's soul: 58 +25 (All precautions taken): 83
Soul saves to avoid damage (15+): 9 +4 (Precautions) = 13 (Nope)
Xiu's Scabby Mutationing: 67 (Successful)
Chuwu's Portalology vs the Withermaw: 100 (Critical!)
Isolating and combining the Mental Fragment Scabs: 57 (Successful)
Driving Back the Demons: 34 (Their offense is better than yours)
Raid for the Singing Moonstone: 68 (Somewhat successful)
[tabs: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 80% 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 (Effectively un-sapient now)
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 (
Disintegrated)
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 (Retreated to another plane)
Dwarves (discovered in the Rocky Badlands); at war with what appear to be Illithids, 90% Hostile to the Katha, hoard a large supply of Singing Moonstone
Mindwalkers: The Illithids attacking the Dwarves
[tabs:Characters]
Zolorm (Synch) {Constructionist} (3 Standard Actions, 1 Finest Hour)
Mutation: Spell Reflection (1st/2nd)
Grounk (Krulle) {Food Collector/Harvester} (1 Standard Actions, 2 Finest Hour)
Mongao (Nolandking) {Warrior} (10 Standard Actions, 1 Finest Hour)
I don't think we've heard from him in a long long time, have we?
Eelem (D34lock) {Streamliner, Diviner} (1 Standard Actions, 0 Finest Hour)
+10 on data-based rolls (archiving, drawing conclusions, research, problem solving)
Chuwu (Patdragon) {Shaman} (3 Standard Actions, 2 Finest Hour)
Golvark (Moose) {Ranger} (5 Standard Actions, 1 Finest Hour)
Rocky Badlands Clan
Zolt (Badge) {Mental Lens} (0 Standard Actions, 1 Finest Hour)
Rocky Badlands Clan
Xiu (Burns) {Sage, specialty Mutations} (0 Standard Actions, 1 Finest Hour)
Mutation Limit Reached
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
Mutation: Touch of Fossilization (deals 30 necrotic damage per hit)
Mutation: Soul is held in a Phylactary (an Ember Emerald) and can transfer from Ember Emerald to Ember Emerald
Chirp (Gathers) {Superior Mind, Historian} (9 Standard Actions, 3 Finest Hour)
+20 on data-based rolls (archiving, drawing conclusions, research, problem solving)
Inactive (+20 bonus will continue through this stage)
Carpacio (Chuck) {Arcanist} (2 Standard Actions, 0 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
Can control Katha Growth
[tabs: 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.
Knowledge of "Manipulator Spears" unlocked (think finger puppets, only sharp and extendable to a great distance; unwieldy but a mean surprise to those not expecting it)
Knowledge of "Stone that Sprouts Stone" unlocked (pyrite armor coated in a "micro dust storm" that sprouts sedimentary spikes on command)
Expert knowledge of Anatomy Unlocked (Now you critically hit on 16+)
Expert tactics knowledge unlocked (better flanking, knowledge of greater ambushes, etc)
Knowledge of "Mental Regrowth" available (If between 0 and -10, recover enough for 1 HP on next turn, Superior Minds and Mother Mind only; requires Mother Mind alive)
Expert knowledge of grappling unlocked (nonmagical sources of escape, such as slimy skin, are now useless against you)
(Locked by Chuwu) Ability to Step Sideways into the Hexen Slip itself is now available (Strong Eyes and Superior/Mother Minds only)
Fortitude saves now cut damage to 1/3 or better instead of just 1/2
(Locked by Chuwu) Knowledge of seeing out of another's eyes unlocked (though things with more than one eye may provide a disorienting effect)
Immunity to one particular type of mental forces is available, Chuwu's choice (Charms, Illusions, Hold Monster, Compulsions, Dominations, etc, Superior Minds and Mother Mind only)
Ability to "Weave Ley Lines" into "Braids" of elemental energy unlocked, focused through an Ember Emerald (special casters required, requires anchoring the braid to the plane you're in by way of a Dimensional Anchor)
(Locked by Chuwu) Knowledge of "Group-Soulling" unlocked (All souls clumped together like a beehive's inhabitants, but the bodies are still separate; kind of like an "in between" version of what Chartosh did)
The Hexen Slip exists, existing as a very
thin plane between the Etheral and Astral. It is finite, and is two dimensional (Paper Mario style)
(Locked by Chuwu) The Flipstone is radioactive, but it won't have an impact until the next "generation" (next stage) -- it reinforces dimensional barriers at the cost of corrupting the etheral plane (spawning hostile ghosts-with-no-past-or-future) and tearing holes in the Astral (causing "vaccums")
(Locked by Chuwu) If the Blackness is completely killed, the Forces of Order will ruin the world (there -must- be a balance, and -some- Blackness and Mist must exist)
The Crimson and Corruption can be "drained like water" back to its own "plane"; this requires special tools carved of "Pure Silicon" interwoven with primal life energy. Using these tools it is possible to "control" it.
Any knowledge locked by Chuwu is only usable by his permission until he unlocks it.[/spoil]
[tabs: 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)
[tabs:Clan Holdings]
Pillar Mountain Population 322 (+25%); 7 Superior Minds, 7 "Chartosh" Superior Minds, 1 Mother Mind (Glorth), 164 Drones (+124 Chartosh Drones), 100 Strong Eyes, 42 Streamline Drones, 1 "Missing" Katha (Theemo)
Rocky Badlands Clan: 185 (-15) (7 Superior Minds, 1 Mother Mind, 80 Drones, 21 Streamliners, 76 Strong Eyes)
Draconic Cavern Clan: 230 (7 Superior Minds, 1 Mother Mind, 100 Drones, 21 Streamliners, 100 Strong Eyes)[/tabs]
Aaaand we're back to one update a night with a year to go in the stage! I may just say "I'll start posts at midnight and post them when they're done" or even livestream it again as I make the rolls from here on out.
We start with the Mindwalkers and the Talking Stones. They've divided their forces rather strongly, with about 30% of them coming for you while the rest goes on defense as the dwarves attack. A raid is done on a surface building used as storage for the Singing Moonstone. You got away with several Katha-sized Singing Moonstone stones before they caught on and began to chase you off, but their attention was redirected as the Mindwalkers made a feint in between Katha attacks. The feint was not a very good one because their forces are divided, but they still thought they could get away with it. Now you just need to prepare the stuff as counterfetishes, and it might work against their Mist / Blackness combo.
With this in mind, both Zolt and Xiu begin to prepare mental defenses. While Xiu is successful in "trapping" the scabs to act as a mental cancer, others work to combine the mental fragment scabs into one HUGE scab and stick that off in a dark corner of the Rocky Badlands Hivemind. They then leave a single shallow mental tendril for the Mindwalkers as a lure; anyone who tries to use the mental scabs as a focus is going to be in for a rude surprise. Zolt, on the other hand, is still reeling after last month's blown work and is still rebuilding, trying to protect the Rocky Badlands hivemind from it happening again. No damage was done in trying to strengthen the hivemind, but no progress was made in either preventing future breaks or makiing an easy path for rejoining those who -do- get severed.
Meanwhile, the Arch Withermaw returns, and this is where Chuwu shines. The battle is a long one, with the golem on hand to assist in the beatings (all this happens before Carpacio's work on Not-Andersandria later). For the most part the Arch Withermaw, for all its impressive battle skills, is out-fought by the golem and its claws can't seem to damage either its fire shield or the golem itself. Then it winds up for a long charge from on high, preparing to give the golem a powerful shoulder tackle to try to knock it off balance, because the bigger they are, the harder they crash to the ground. While Chirp works on the proper arcane mathmatical formulas to create a portal that will bring the Withermaw elsewhere, Chuwu releases various bits of information he'd been holding since the little chat with Glotch... and this gives Chirp an idea.
Coordinating with Chuwu's portalling and Xiu mutationing of the scab, as the Arch-Withermaw passes through the portal to the Obsidian Scar, Chirp links its (completely unguarded...
sloppy, dragon) mind to the mental scab in the Rocky Badlands hivemind with a tiny ley line braid. With the negativity and bad energy of the scabs serving as open bait for the demons, they latch on to it almost at the same time, and the Rocky Badlands troops dealing with the demons on the Obsidian Scar front feel a surge of the demonic host trying to push in. At the right moment as the Arch Withermaw's body sails into the demon realm, Chuwu forcibly shoves the creature's mind into the huge scab (along with the demons who'd tried to grab on for the ride), where it functions as a giant containment area. Then Chuwu mentally lifts the scab off the background of the hivemind network and
heaves it into the minds and bodies of the demons preparing their assaults on the Holy Ground.
The net result is that the Arch Withermaw's mind is now scattered through about 200 demons
you could say he got "schlocked", if you get the reference and about 200 or more demons' minds are all locked in the dragon's body, pushing about and fighting for control.
The constant thrashing of the giant Arch-Withermaw as it has 200 or more voices in its head decimates the ranks of the demons as it goes completely insane and flops about like a fish out of water, struggling and thrashing to get to its feet (and failing hard at that). Chuwu then detonates the braid, blasting its mind (and its brains) all over the gathered demon army, and while there are always more demons to fit the rank and file grunts, it is going to be a -long- time before they can mount another serious offense (Maybe six to nine months, if that). By that time it will be long too late for them to have any influence on Not-Andersandria, and so the higher-ups order a retreat before they, y'know, lose someone actually valuable. The demons were
scared after seeing that demonstration of mental might, and Glotch is
very impressed with Chirp's and Chuwu's combining of knowledge at the right time in order to achieve your goals rather than just out and out bashing or magic-ery.
While you did lose a lot of lives in the defensive battles (fifteen Strong Eyes), Chirp and Chuwu's actions saved the lives of the Katha clans.
Storyline: Holier Than Thou
Whatever Theemo was going to try (and he WAS going to try something, you're just not sure
what) has been pre-empted by the news of Chuwu's Arch-Withermaw adventures. Now Theemo is asking to be reintegrated with the hivemind, and that he will be a "fine upstanding citizen" from now on. You're pretty sure his intentions are honorable, as he's realized that if Chuwu and Chirp are capable of doing what they did, it could just as well be used against
him and he doesn't want to die or end up in three hundred mental fragments imprisoned, say, in ants. He comes clean that he had something in mind which would require him to wrest control of the power guiding Not-Andersandria's growth, but A) he's not talking about what it was and B) he probably would have needed a 95+ on the roll anyway, given Carpacio just outclasses him in -how- many flavors? Chartosh's own best guess was that he wanted the Avatar to inhabit his body while he gives his mind to it as fuel to be consumed, but that's just a guess.
With the demons driven off (that shut down my incoming storyline for them, but it's probably for the better), work is FAR easier once Carpacio returns with the golem and now focuses his power (and braided ley lines) on guiding and controlling the spirit that is going to come out of the Holy Ground. The excitement of the battle vs the Arch Withermaw as well as the aftermath sort of had people functioning on adrenaline... that runs out during the middle of establishing connections and power to Not-Andersandria. The Calmer Lands helps Carpacio to recover, and the beginning of the "updates" (of the "do not turn off your computer" variety) can begin. You begin by focusing on a set form for the new Avatar, rather than allowing it to change shape; if it needs to exert mindpower to change form, it's mindpower not spent on defense and therefore mindpower that can be wrested away by someone incredibly lucky or skilled.
Katha guard the braid around the clock, especially from any Mindwalkers or other creatures that venture this far south so as to discover the Holy Ground. The nature of the Holy Ground is beginning to change as well, as when Katha get close to it it begins radiating an aura of peace for them rather than just "flat out divine energy". Regular animals, even when guided by the Calmer Lands, are still frightened by the power, though.
The one downside to all of this though is that all of this is happening on the spiritual planes and "mentally". With all this power in one place, other things
will be attracted and I doubt the Mindwalkers or anyone else is going to let this resource just sit here and be guarded by alien chocobo-taloned pinecones.
WILL YOU...
A) Focus on preparing counterfetishes for the Mindwalkers? They -can't- (eventually) miss the buildup of power on the Holy Ground...
B) Attempt to blow up the dwarven Gates while the dwarves are busy with the Mindwalkers' feints?
C) Harness and refine Chuwu's portal skills so you can do what he did reliably?
D) Try and shunt the "Ghost" to the Hexen Slip (or another plane) to charge it up in more familiar surroundings?
E) Focus on Zolt's rebuilding and reinforcement, to prevent getting individual members getting wrested free from the hivemind?
F) The Blister pops next month. Use the released positive energy to boost population of the Pillar Mountain Clan?
G) Let Theemo return to the hivemind, or punish him instead?
