Session 72

Chancel_Amyra
Chapter 9

Knockwood: Hope's missing
BethE: Alas!

• • • Mode change "+o Sara" for channel #nobilis by lazarus.
      

Sara: We're hopeless.
BethE: Generally.
Random_Nerd: Etheric is on AIM, I'll poke him.
lazarus: nono: Beth, we always HOPE that our plan will succeed. 'cause that's the only way it ever would :p
Knockwood: yeah, without Hope on our team we'd be utterly screwed...
Knockwood: which reminds me, I think I may have figured out what's going on.
lazarus: oh?

• • • Mode change "+o Random_Nerd" for channel #nobilis by Sara.
      

Knockwood: yes. We'll need more macaroni, a pan flute, and about 60 cases of Triscuits.
lazarus: oh, so standard Nobilis fare, then
Knockwood: that's assuming we can convince the chicken to wear the nylons.
lazarus: "Pinky, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" "I think so, Brian, but how are we going to convince the chickens to wear the nylons?
lazarus: '
Knockwood: pondering, not thinking
lazarus: right
Knockwood: in our case: "Lesson, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" "I believe so, sir, but where in either here or hell could you find a rhino that knows the hula?
Random_Nerd: Does the rhino just have to /know/ the hula, or actually be able to perform it?
Random_Nerd: Because the former is way easier.

• • • Etheric has joined #nobilis.
      
    • Mode change "+o Etheric" for channel #nobilis by Sara.
      

Knockwood: Hi Hope
Etheric: Hi, all. Sorry for the delay.
BethE: Hi Etheric!
Random_Nerd: So, you guys ready to start, or did you want to discuss your theory, Knock?
Knockwood: OK, wild-ass speculation... I mean theory time:
Random_Nerd: And don't worry about Rule Zero.
Random_Nerd: The stuff I come up with is way more evil than the stuff you come up with. In your heart you know this to be true.
Knockwood: If Brian's right, then what the shard wanted was for Dante to _enter_ the vault, even if it cost her her life.
Knockwood: (The Chancel's full of nobles, she had to know she couldn't survive.)
Knockwood: And now, it seems that there's another enemy in Kaerkoven.
Knockwood: He may have been her partner.
Knockwood: OK, so, what would it benefit if we entered?
BethE: Tick off the Artifacts, could destroy some/all of the Chancel?
Knockwood: ...unless what they wanted was the key?
Knockwood: There's a possibility that her partner was watching King John when we coerced him into opening the vault...
Knockwood: which means he now knows the prayers he'd need to safely enter!
lazarus: how'd she get there, though?
Knockwood: Getting past mundane defenses is no problem for a Noble-level entity, like a Shard. Getting past their _divine_ defenses is another story.
Knockwood: Doesn't matter. All she had to do was get in and survive long enough to lure us in.
lazarus: brb
Knockwood: She was over in the corner, taking care not to touch the artifacts, and keeping as far away from them as she could while still being in the room.
Random_Nerd: Okay, shall we start, now?
lazarus: b

• • • Sara is now known as Snow.
      

Knockwood: OK

• • • lazarus is now known as Brian.
      
    • Knockwood is now known as DanteE.
      

Brian: (start with the girls?)

• • • You are now known as Theresa.
      

Theresa: (We can start with the reaction to the Dante-calling over the BB.)
Brian: (remind?)

• • • Etheric is now known as Carrie.
      

DanteE: I called ahead, said there was someone in the chancel with 6 traps

• • • Carrie is now known as Eve.
      

Brian: ah
Eve: (Sorry, habit.)
Theresa: (*grin*)
Random_Nerd: (So, now, any way we can get all the PCs close together fairly quickly?)
Brian: (hai)
Brian: (Brian and Dante move to meet up with the others)
DanteE: (Hold on...
DanteE: (Dante has that brainstorm first, then...)
DanteE: "Oh, <Amyran Profanity>!!!"
DanteE: "...I think I know what they want!"
Brian: "Oh?"
Snow: "Food?"
Snow: (Assuming they've caught up.)
DanteE: "They want a way _in_ the vault... and we showed it to them when we had John let us in!"
Brian: "You think everyone always wants food, Snow..."
Brian: "Um... huh."

• Snow grumbles under her breath, "They do..."
  

Brian: "Yes, but I'm saying you always think that. Your one constant."
DanteE: "I'm out of juice for Realm Miracles... Brian, can you seal off this room, make sure nobody can get in?"
Theresa: "I thought that you had thought that they were wanting you to come inside of the vault?"
Theresa: "How about so just King John or his appointed successor? No need borrowing trouble."
Brian: "Urm, I don't think I can fully seal it off, Dante. There's going to be a way around it."
DanteE: "Yeah, but that by itself makes no sense, it just means she dies there instead of here.
DanteE: "It only makes sense if getting _in_ the vault was the point...
DanteE: "...possibly witnessed by her partner who is currently luring us away!"
DanteE: (Does Eve have that Noble-spotting gift?)
Random_Nerd: (That's Theresa.)
DanteE: (oops)
Theresa: (You could ask Theresa.  :) )
Brian: "T, can we get a Noble Count?"
DanteE: "Theresa, you still have that locating ability, right?"
Theresa: "One moment..." (I'd like to play Spot the Actoritas, please.)
DanteE: "That might also find the traps... if they're meant to hurt us they's almost have to be based on Miracles"
DanteE: *they'd
Snow: "What kinda traps?"
Brian: "Dunno."
DanteE: "He didn't elaborate."
Random_Nerd: (Okay, let's see... no unexpected auctoriti in-chancel at the moment.)
Theresa: "Is this guy Message or someone else, though?"

• Snow does a realm div, to see if anything has a particularly strong inclination to trap her or her Familia.
  

DanteE: "Depends, would you say Message looks Indian?"
Theresa: "And there doesn't look like there are any unexpected auctoriti in the Chancel at the moment...unless someone's hiding in someone else's Auctoritas."
Theresa: "I thought he looked red, in a hue sort of way, not a racial background.":
Random_Nerd: (Snow, you don't find any significant intentions to trap you or the others.)
DanteE: "Right, red hue, but he said the guy looked Indian."

• Snow briefly turns into a red fox, then back into a girl.
  
• Brian blinks.
  

Brian: "Crap. We didn't help that guy out, did we?"
DanteE: "We need to find Red Guy."
Brian: "Dante: do you remember who that Chancelman was?"
Eve: (Hmm, a thought.)
DanteE: "Ah... Eve? Can you check on Carrie's parents?"
Eve: (Six traps... Six gifts.)
Theresa: "So, before we go running off, we have people who either want us to go into or not go into the vault, traps that may or may not exist and one or two guys with red coloration."
Eve: "As you wish."
DanteE: "Snow? ...How's Horse?"

• Snow checks up on Horse.
  

Random_Nerd: (Horse is vaguely puzzled why nobody's riding him into battle. It's been over a week!)
Snow: (Is he unhappy to have not been ridden into battle?)
Snow: "He's fine. Bored."

• Eve reaches through the anchor bond to share the perceptions first of Helen Winters, then of Doctor Frank Winters. She does not send mental communication, but her presence may be somewhat tangible in their minds.
  

Random_Nerd: (Perhaps slightly so.)
Snow: (Snow summons Horse then, at his leisure.)
Random_Nerd: (Horse starts moving towards where Snow is.)
Snow: "If the trap is a person, Horse can make him disappear." She yawns.
Random_Nerd: Somewhere in the chancel, Carrie's parents look up.

• Theresa will check her Domain in the Chancel for anything out of sorts or just feeling wrong.
  

Eve: (Mainly, I'm looking to see where they are and check that there's not anything obviously out of the ordinary in their vicinity.)
Random_Nerd: (Nothing particular. Neither is doing anything particularly interesting, neither seems to be in danger.)
Snow: "I don't like traps."
Random_Nerd: (Hmm. What would count as "out of sorts"?)
DanteE: (some nut in a red suit threatening to trap us?)
Brian: "I know Snow. On the plus side, I think that the traps may not be targeting you - they may have been set before you showed up."
Brian: "Of course, that doesn't help the /rest/ of us..."
Theresa: (Hmm...obvious distress from them at a level unusual for that plant/area. Plants that are usually sedate and quiet now yelling and spaced out. Lemurs.)
Snow: "Still, not good if they're after you guys."
Snow: (*innocent*)

• Eve opens her eyes and addresses Dante. "My Anchors are handling their assignments. Neither seems to be in need of assistance to accomplish their tasks."
  

Theresa: "But six...why count James? And plus, are they attuned to one of us each? Or do they even exist."
Random_Nerd: (Okay, the plants aren't suffering unusually. The odd tree getting cut down or lawn mowed, but no forest fires or anything.)
Theresa: (That's good to hear. thank you.)
Brian: "Well, I think the best we can do is be on our guard about anything coming at us, just in case. Traps have a habit of being stationary creatures"
Theresa: "None of the plants of the Chancel seem to be in an unusal mood or state, Dante."
Brian: (hm... Realm Div of traps?)
Random_Nerd: (Hmm. Define what you mean by traps?)
DanteE: (That may be the key right there)
Brian: (um. Objects or plans to capture/tangle/harm-by-catching-unawares)
Random_Nerd: (Lesser div or greater?)
Brian: (I'll go for lesser right now)
Brian: (*jeopardy theme*)
Random_Nerd: (Okay, you find mousetraps. Beartraps. Fine print on contracts. Whoopie cushions, none of them aimed at you.)
Random_Nerd: (And a guy in a red three-piece suit.)
Brian: (hm. Interesting)
Theresa: (A _suit_. Oh crap, the Camms...)

• Brian relays: "Just did a quickie Realm Div for traps ... there's a guy in a red three-piece suit who showed up."
  

Random_Nerd: (Oh, and the Maple vaguely shows up.)
DanteE: (so, he _is_ a trap?)
Brian: "And Maple."
Theresa: "Huh."
Theresa: (*innocent*)
Brian: (RN: what kind of further information would the Greater Div provide?)
Random_Nerd: (It'd show you all the things in the vicinities of these traps, give you more information about them, and show you specific things about their pasts if you're looking for those.)
Brian: (ok)
Random_Nerd: (But it wouldn't be likely to show something up as a trap that the lesser div wouldn't.)
Brian: "I can call up more detail with a Greater Divination, but that would be some effort."
Eve: (As long as we're doing Realm Divs, I'll try a Lesser Realm Divination of Gifts, to find out if any of the Familia have been given any significant gifts that we don't know about. <.< Although a gift *intended* as a trap would probably show up on Brian's Div... Still, might as well try.)
Random_Nerd: (Unless there was a miracle in place for the specific purpose of concealing a trap, of a level between two and six.)
DanteE: "Let's find red suit guy and ask him"
Theresa: "We can search for more info while we travel?"
Random_Nerd: (Gifts you don't /know/ about. Hmm.)
Random_Nerd: (Would something that one PC knew about and another didn't count?)
Eve: (I'd say if the Noble it was given to doesn't know about it, it counts. If not, it doesn't.)
DanteE: "Where is he?"
Random_Nerd: (None of you has been given a gift he doesn't know about. Except for Brian, who's been mailed a box of cookies that haven't arrived yet.)
Eve: (Have a feeling I'm barking up some incorrect tree but at least I'm not spending MPs.)
Brian: (LRD to find dude)
Random_Nerd: (Sitting on a park bench two thirds of a mile north of you.)
Eve: (Okay, that works then. I will refrain from mentioning the cookies.)
Theresa: (Well, we'll know who did it if Brian never gets them.  :) )
Brian: (and, I got cookies? ... also I need to give some advice to Chancel Guy who tipped us off.)
Brian: "This way."
Eve: ('Nother Lesser Divination. Will going to meet this Red Suit Guy trigger the trap?)

• Brian heads that way
  
• Theresa will follow, looking around cautiously.
  

Random_Nerd: (Ambiguous. Divining futures that key off of actions of Nobles isn't really reliable.)
Random_Nerd: (Best answer it produces is "Maybe, depending on what you do.)
Eve: (Might as well follow the others just to stick together then.)
Eve: (And I don't mention either Divination.)

• Eve goes along with Brian and the others.
  

DanteE: (Actually, what's the word on Lesson and his gang?)
Random_Nerd: (They're working on the things they were recently assigned.)
Random_Nerd: (Right now, their main task seems to be finding some really good gardeners.)
Theresa: (*grin!*)
Eve: (Remind me what the gardeners are for?)
Theresa: (Turns out some of the plants of the Chancel went sentient. And some of the sentients went plant. Those who are unhappy with this are to be dug up carefully and brought to the transmogrifier.)
Eve: (Ahh, that's right.)
Eve: (My Lesser Creation of Hope two sessions ago -- does it seem to be helping them at all?)
Random_Nerd: (Yes.)
Eve: (Okay.  :) No further questions, honest.)
Theresa: (So as we come into viewing distance of the guy (Aspect 2) what's he doing?
Theresa: )
Random_Nerd: (Sitting on the bench. Staring off into space.)

• DanteE checks him out with The Sight and Mythic.
  

Random_Nerd: (He looks mostly like Message, but with different skin tone.)
Random_Nerd: (To the sight, he's not himself miraculous, nor has he been recently effected by a major miracle.)
Snow: (How close is Horse?)
Random_Nerd: (Mythically, he's a red spider with web strands that come from his forehead.)
Random_Nerd: (Horse is on his way, and will arrive in about two minutes.)
DanteE: (...where do the strands go?)
Random_Nerd: (The web strands from his head fade out into nothingness as they stretch out. Also, they're positioned in such a way as to be in the blind spot of all eight of his eyes.)
Eve: (Should the strands fall under my Estate, I want to try and follow them with a Lesser Divination of Hope.)
Brian: (obligatory movie quotes: "How do you know it's a trap?" "Did you see us fighting?" "No." *interrupting* "TRAP!" ... and, "Are we forgetting the part where this is a trap?")
Theresa: (Huh. So, in metaphor, he probably doesn't even know of these 'strands'.)
Snow: (Well, there were no traps that knew they were traps, in theory.)
Random_Nerd: (The strands, prosaically, are thoughts in his head to the effect that he's waiting to do certain things as soon as he remembers what they are.)

• DanteE moves to the front of the group as they approach...
  

Theresa: (Quite like Message.)

• Snow climbs onto Dante's shoulders as a bright-eyed raccoon.
  

Random_Nerd: (Oh, and mythically, they wave around some rather than constantly pointing i nthe same direction.)
DanteE: quietly, to Brian: "Mind if I lead?"
Random_Nerd: (I should have said that earlier.)
Random_Nerd: (And basically, it looks like Message, but his skin has darkened.)
Brian: "go ahead. This is, after all, your department"
Random_Nerd: (Not really the same color as an Indian person's, either. But it's dark, and he's got straight hair and more or less caucasian features, so it's not too odd of a mistake to make in a hurry.)
DanteE: "OK. Then again, you're the one that puts things together..."
Eve: (Interesting.)

• DanteE heads up behind Red Guy and lifts him up by his collar.
  

DanteE: "Hello. Could we have a word with you?"
Random_Nerd: "Oh, yes. You got my message?"
Random_Nerd: "Certainly. Why else would I have sent for you?"

• Snow sniffs at the man.
  

DanteE: "Well... we're here. Now, what exactly is this about?"
Random_Nerd: "I was doing what you said. You wanted me, if I remembered anything you'd want to know, to tell you."
Random_Nerd: "Right?"
Random_Nerd: "So I did."
DanteE: "What was that about threatening that man's family, though?"
Random_Nerd: "I didn't threaten them."
Random_Nerd: "I told him that I thought that something bad might happen to them if he didn't do what I said. Because I was under the impression that something would."
Random_Nerd: "Was I wrong?"
Theresa: (... )
Theresa: "Some thing bad could have happened to him. Eventually. Or if the Chancel was harmed."
DanteE: to others: "When we have time, remind me to put together some So-You're-Dealing-With-Mundanes lessons, would you?"

• DanteE puts Message back on the bench.
  

Random_Nerd: "Oh, so I was right? Good."

• Eve laughs. "If you see the need, Brother."
  

DanteE: "Now... what exactly is this about?"
Random_Nerd: "Uh... It occurred to me that six traps are in place to harm you and your Family."
Random_Nerd: "Am I right about that too?"
Brian: "Do you know anything about that?"
Random_Nerd: "Not yet."
Theresa: "Are they here in the Chancel?"
Random_Nerd: "I think so. Stands to reason, at least."
Random_Nerd: "Because you're here most of the time, right? So where else would someone put a trap for you?"
Eve: "How do you know about the traps?"

• Snow peers, curious about all this trap talk.
  

Random_Nerd: "I just knew. It seemed obvious."
Brian: "What do you know about yourself?"
Random_Nerd: "I'm a few weeks old. I'm supposed to wait until I remember what to do, and then do it."
Random_Nerd: "My working theory is that I'm supposed to harm you guys in some way."
Random_Nerd: "Not quite sure why. But I'm sure it'll make sense when the time comes."

• DanteE mulls over spider threads.
  
• Snow leans over to look at Message. "Do you know what a lemur is?"
  

Random_Nerd: He thinks.
Random_Nerd: "No. Should I? Does it have something to do with my job?"

• Snow turns into a lemur, and stands on top of Dante's shoulder.
  

Snow: "THIS is a lemur. Isn't it neat?"
Random_Nerd: "I'm not sure. If you say so, I believe you."
DanteE: (Hm... could lemur-Snow follow one of those threads?)
Eve: (Believe the Adorableness!)
Random_Nerd: (Oh, if you've been watching the strands, it seems more like the ends of them fade off into not existing, rather than into invisibility.)
Snow: "It totally is. Got nothing to do with your job though." *slyly* "I'd turn into a giraffe, but Dante gets /so/ annoyed when I try to crush him."
Random_Nerd: He turns to Dante. "Do you know why my skin's getting darker? It seems like it should mean something."
Brian: "Suntan?"
Theresa: "Countdown?"
Random_Nerd: He turns to Snow: "Oh? Thanks. I'll have to remember not to try to crush him."

• Snow gives Message a lemur-thumbs-up.
  
• DanteE does the math, trying to figure when Message would go completely black...
  
• Eve walks over to a nearby bench, and as she sits, says, "A message has a purpose. A purpose is a hope. I will see what is to come of this."
  
• Eve rolls her eyes back into her head as she performs a Greater Divination of Hope, with the intent of divining the Message's purpose.
  

Random_Nerd: (Hmm. His purpose for himself, or his... telos, I guess you'd call it? The thing he was made for?)
Eve: (The latter. And you can be as cryptic as you need to be.)
Random_Nerd: (At the current rate, he'd probably be utterly light-absorbing in about two more weeks.)
Random_Nerd: (He was made with the purpose of distracting and eventually harming the PCs, and especially Dante.)
Random_Nerd: (And also, to a lesser degree, the chancel.)
Theresa: (... He's an eventual black hole?!?)
Random_Nerd: (...I'd call that a radical interpretation of the text?)
Brian: (you WOULD call that a radical interpretation of the text... doesn't mean it's wrong ;))
Random_Nerd: (His skin would be utterly light absorbing in the sense of not reflecting at all, not in the sense of gravitationally bending light paths.)
Random_Nerd: (Less like a black hole, more like... Severian's cloak, in those Gene Wolfe books.)
Theresa: (Oh, sorry. Imagination went a little wild for a moment.)
DanteE: "I think you'll be completely black in about 2 weeks."
DanteE: "Dunno what that means, just throwing it out."
Theresa: "Black as, say, night?"
Snow: "Maybe you're turning into a Raven!" The "r" in "Raven" even sounds capitalized.
Eve: (Is that all the Greater Div gets me? I was hoping for some clues of some sort.)
DanteE: (RN's composing linked haiku, give him a minute)
Random_Nerd: (Hmm. Is there some aspect of that that you want more detail on?)
Eve: (Well, a series of questions I could do with a seies of Lesser Divs. A Greater Div as I understand it is for scrying or getting cryptic clues that are always important but might be unexpected.)
Random_Nerd: (Okay, look at it this way. Say you've got a bomb. And you've got a city you want to mess with. So, every week, you say something vague to them and say that you hid the bomb in a place that would take a long time to search. Repeat it a few times. Then, one day, you actually plant the bomb, and maybe you tell them and maybe you don't. He's like that.)
Random_Nerd: (Or like if the Boy Who Cried Wolf was planted in order to weaken his village's preparedness against wolves.)
Eve: (That was surprisingly insightful. Thanks.)
Random_Nerd: (I try.)
DanteE: "Hey, Snow, you think you could make another 'stable' like the one in which Horse lives?"
DanteE: "...once you let go of my nose?"

• Eve opens her eyes, stands, and addresses Message.
  
• Snow pulls away from Dante's nose. "It's a good nose," she says apologetically.
  

Snow: "I didn't make Horse's stable. But yes, I could."
Eve: "I have foreseen that you have within you the seeds of poison for ourselves and our Chancel. Would you consent to my altering your nature to remove this poison?"
Theresa: (Brian made Monty's room.)
Random_Nerd: (It would take a lesser change for the "bigger inside than out" aspect, but you could do it.)
Random_Nerd: "Altering my nature? Please don't. I'm pretty sure I was created just for this one thing. If you take that away from me, I have nothing."

• Eve frowns, and looks at Dante. "He means well, but his ultimate nature is to distract, confuse, and ultimately harm ourselves and Amyra."
  
• Snow does a lesser divination to see if Message has ever considered doing anything else, besides finishing his mission and hurting them.
  

Random_Nerd: "I was afraid of that. Sorry about all this."
Theresa: "Did you learn anything else about yourself or the world in the time since we last saw you?"
Eve: (Hmm. What would the difference be between a Lesser Change that changes his telos, and a Lesser Destruction with included Creation that replace his telos with a new one?)
Random_Nerd: (A Lesser Change could give his intrinsic purpose qualities that such a purpose would not normally possess.)
DanteE: (Hold on, Eve. At least this way we know where the screwage will be coming from.)
Random_Nerd: (Like how you can use a lesser change on a tree to make it walk, whereas a lesser destruction with included creation could just make it into a different but ordinary tree.)
Eve: (I'm not doing anything yet. Weighing options.)
DanteE: (did Message ever answer Theresa?)
Eve: (Sorry to be distracting from everyone else.)
Snow: (Don't worry about it, you're making good points. :) )
Random_Nerd: Message thinks.
Random_Nerd: "I remembered the thing about the traps. I remembered that if I said that thing about that man's family it would help convey the message. I noticed that I was changing color. I came up with the theory for my purpose that you say is correct."
DanteE: "Ah, Message? Tell you what... next time you have a revelation for us, instead of grabbing some random citizen... just call?"

• DanteE hands Message the number for the BatPhone. I mean the tower's phone.
  

Random_Nerd: (Oh, and Snow, your divination produces a fairly blank result. He's occasionally considered doing things like walking around, eating, watching people, and so on. But nothing on a scale larger than minute-to-minute that doesn't connect with his purpose.)
Random_Nerd: He takes the number.

• Snow climbs down from Dante's shoulder and turns into a human.
  

Theresa: (Does Message track as human on the Noble-senses?)
Random_Nerd: (He tracks as a non-Noble. So, like a human, or a rock, or a potato.)
Snow: "I don't like this. Nobody ever gave him a choice. S'no fair, making a person outta something that's got no choices."
Random_Nerd: "Given how much my decision-making is affected by factors I can't predict, I can't say for sure that I'll call next time.)
Random_Nerd: "
Random_Nerd: "But the number at least makes it more likely, I think."
DanteE: "This would mean a better and quicker response."
Theresa: (Well, if he was a potato, i could possibly do more about him.  :) )
Brian: (He still may BE a potato)
Brian: (never tried Planting him)
DanteE: (NOw, now, we know what he is. A manifest plot point and/or bit of screwage. :)
Theresa: (And thus not a potato.)
Random_Nerd: "I'll remember that.)
Random_Nerd: "
Random_Nerd: (Wasn't that always obvious, though?)
Snow: (I'm crashing guys, I think I'm going to head off.)
Theresa: (I just thought I'd ask on the off chance. With no Realm, I feel a little helpless in helping at the moment.)
Theresa: (night Sara! *HUG*)
DanteE: (Oyasumi-nasai, Snow.)
Brian: ('night Sara. *hug*)
Snow: (Good night!)

• • • Snow has left #nobilis.
      

Random_Nerd: (Actually, do you mind if we stop pretty soon? I'm feeling a little beat too.)
Brian: (sure. Now's actually a reasonable spot, I think)
Theresa: (It's fine with me. I get the urge to poke at Message but I'd probably pull back a bloody stump.)
DanteE: (OK.)
Eve: (Works for me.)
Random_Nerd: (Okay, then.)
Random_Nerd: _________________STOP_____________
Random_Nerd: Thoughts?

• • • DanteE is now known as Knockwood.
      
    • Brian is now known as Lazarus.
      

Lazarus: I like Message.

• • • Eve is now known as Etheric.
      

Lazarus: interesting character.
Theresa: Feeling a little helpless and Theresa is confused by the trap-ness. Other thoughts are that I liked your thread about the game in Open.
Etheric: Indeed.
Knockwood: let's see... can we assume you already know where each of those strands lead
Random_Nerd: Metaphorically, yes.
Etheric: What I liked most this session: Moral dilemma with Message's inner nature, something sacred to the Wild, being intended to harm us.
Random_Nerd: Insomuch as they correspond to the ways in which Message's creator would use and direct him.
Knockwood: what thread is that?
Random_Nerd: What do you mean, exactly?
Knockwood: What do you think I mean?
Random_Nerd: Oh, thread in Open.
Random_Nerd: Thought you meant the strands from the mythic imager.
Random_Nerd: Image, rather.
Knockwood: well, hey, if you want to tell us alllll about those... :)
Etheric: What I liked least: I thought the Major div could have been handled better. It seemed to me that I first got less than I thought was proper, and when I pushed a bit I got more than I thought I ought to have gotten. Which starkly illuminated the moral dilemma, true, but I wonder if maybe I shouldn't have pushed as much.
Random_Nerd: No, it's okay. I just was less clear than I'd intended to be the first time.
Random_Nerd: When I realized I was vaguer than I meant to be, I gave a few illustrations.
Random_Nerd: ANd in truth, the fact that I was overly vague was one thing that made me think I was getting a bit too tired to run the game properly.
Etheric: All right. And it's fine if you were tired. Just consider this an expression of a preference for cryptic clues of great import in Major Divs.
Etheric: Also, I think I have a better idea of Eve's conception of Hope and how it differs from Carrie's.
Random_Nerd: Okay, I'll keep that in mind.
Knockwood: BTW, are we near the end of this 'adventure
Random_Nerd: Oh?
Random_Nerd: I think you are fairly close, yes, Knock.
Etheric: Eve looks at Hope as roughly equivalent to Telos, while Carrie sees it as that which inspires and fills the heart of a person.
Theresa: (Thread at (Link: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=320979)http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=320979 )
Knockwood: oh yeah, I did see that one
Theresa: What is Telos, by the way?
Etheric: Greek word for "purpose."
Knockwood: I think the Enterprise went there once.
Etheric: Means, roughly, the destined goal of a thing.
Etheric: Am I right, RN?
Random_Nerd: Pretty much.
Random_Nerd: The end to which something was designed.
Etheric: Anyway, it also gave me insightas to how Eve looks at humanity.
Lazarus: I've got some questions, for after the Nobilis stuff has been dealt with (superheroes questions ;))
Knockwood: ...wouldn't that mean that Eve is not quite Hope?
Etheric: No, it's still Hope.
Etheric: Different Nobles can have different takes on an Estate.
Etheric: And Eve is a different Noble, sort of.
Etheric: I cleared with RN that her miracles might be slanted a different way than Carrie's.
Etheric: Due to differing outlook.
Knockwood: Laz: Yes, spanking a female supervillain does count as an evil act. However, it's more than made up for by the fun factore. :)
Random_Nerd: Was my use of "telos" clear enough? Sometimes I revert to using words from philosophy, or greek... or, I guess, both.
Etheric: It was clear to me, at least.
Theresa: Hmm... Just pondering a little with how this Hope might intertwine with Theresa's feeling that Plants should have a Purpose.
Theresa: It wasn't to me and hence the asking.  :)
Etheric: Anyway, Eve considers humanity to be analagous to the Message -- ultimately destructive, even if the individuals within are guiltless or well-meaning.
Random_Nerd: Interesting!
Etheric: Oh, also, that reminds me that Entropy's Laws certianly apply to Message.
Random_Nerd: I'm glad this gave you new insight into your character.
Knockwood: I've been wondering how Hope can be Dark, myself...
Theresa: Hope can drive people to great amounts of destruction.
Random_Nerd: Especially towards themselves at times.
Etheric: Both the Light and Dark are about Hope, really.
Etheric: The hope to survive, and the hope that death will bring freedom.
Etheric: I don't endorse the Dark, personally.
Random_Nerd: Yep. More so than most of the other Codes, the Light and Dark aren't just about a way of life. They're about a mission.
Etheric: But I wanted to explore it.
Random_Nerd: Splintering and Domination are the same way, incidentially.
Random_Nerd: Oh, and full Codes for those are in the thread Beth mentioned.
Knockwood: you need to keep adding to that thread, RN.
Lazarus: (Link: http://roninarts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=85)http://roninarts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=85 <-- my questions are in there.
Random_Nerd: I intend to.
Theresa: I second that request.  :)
Random_Nerd: I'm thinking through how best to articulate certain things, at the moment.
Knockwood: Including the revelation that the Dionyl are actually made from Humanity's lost socks.
Lazarus: so that's where they go!
Theresa: The Socks of Imperiority?
Random_Nerd: No, they aren't /made/ of socks. They're wearers of clothing, rather than beings made of it.
Random_Nerd: Rather, it's the Dionyl that are stealing the socks.
Knockwood: Where do you think the Avatar of Argyle comes from?
Lazarus: ha
Random_Nerd: Well, them and the Angels.
Random_Nerd: The Estate of Socks is an earthly one, so you just can't get good socks anywhere but Earth.
Theresa: Socks, socks, socks, that's all you guys ever think about...
Random_Nerd: And the Angels are stuck with the dual facets of being the fuddy-duddy faction and being depicted as wearing sandles.
Random_Nerd: Sandals, even.
Random_Nerd: And everyone knows that sticks-in-the-mud wear sandals only with socks.
Random_Nerd: So, let's see. Laz's questions.
Etheric: ...Wow
Random_Nerd: What?
Knockwood: well, RN has often called himself a socks machine, vene before you were married... :D
Knockwood: *even
Etheric: I am very struck by how the Splinter's and Domination's commonground is shared by the Wild.
Lazarus: I'd appreciate if folks would look over what I wrote in that thread I linked in, and let me know what they think
Random_Nerd: To be honest, I don't really use modules or adventures much. Usually only for oneshots. So I'm probably not the best perso nto ask.
Etheric: I wonder if the Light and Dark have similar, less evident common ground?
Lazarus: well, if you take a look at the "adcopy", you could let me know what you think about that?
Random_Nerd: Two common grounds, in a way.
Random_Nerd: First, humanity is really really important. They both agree about that.
Random_Nerd: And there's a way for them to both "win," if you will.
Etheric: Not talking about the compromises that can be made between Nobles, rather common ground in the basic assumptions.
Random_Nerd: If humanity, as a whole, survives forever. But each individual human ends his life by his own hand.
Etheric: ...That's intriguing, but not really what I was wondering about. Though it might point at something.
Knockwood: "Yeah, I'm gonna go kill myself later. Hell, I'm 2630, I've seen everything."
Random_Nerd: Oh? What, then?
Random_Nerd: As for the ad copy bit... hmm.
Etheric: I'm not sure yet what it points at.
Random_Nerd: It seems like not my sort of thing. So I can't really judge well.
Etheric: But it seems like there's something below the surface.
Random_Nerd: Hmm.
Etheric: If it comes to me I'll let you guys know.  :)
Random_Nerd: Their... shapes, I guess you'd call them? Fit together in an interesting way.
Random_Nerd: I know that "shapes" probably doesn't make sense. It's just part of how I conceptualize some things.
Etheric: By the way, want to hear my theory about the Wildlords? Which I didn't share at first, because I didn't want to taint the game, but by now it's clear that RN has his own ideas of what a Wildlord is and my ideas aren't likely to change that.  :)
Knockwood: sure
Random_Nerd: Sure!
Random_Nerd: Sorry I'm not much more help, Laz. I generally only go for scenarios that are pretty sketchy and open starting situations with no real plot. But based on what sells, I think I'm pretty clear that I'm in the minority.
Etheric: I've had this theory for a while, though -- not that I would think it's necessarily true in all Nobilis settings, just that it's neat.
Etheric: The Angels, Celestial and Fallen both, are the children of heaven.
Etheric: The Aaron's Serpents and the Children of the World Ash.
Theresa: (Laz - I'm not a huge supers game fan and a lot of my tastes mirror RN's. I'm more likely to play a one-shot setup rather than do a campaign based on it. Players just seem to take things out into left field, especially when I think I have a plot thing going.  :) )
Etheric: The Wildlords, the only Imperators who cannot leave Creation, are the Children of the Weirding Wall.
Knockwood: (Am I this game's left fielder?  :)
Theresa: (*grin* You haven't seen my Buffy game. They fight with spatulas...and _win_.)
Random_Nerd: Hmm! That's an interesting take on it.
Lazarus: (T: I'm disappointed no one in my WotG game has used a spatula yet)

• • • You are now known as BethE.
      

BethE: (Awww...)
Random_Nerd: That's not what the WIldlords are in my game, but it's an interesting approach.
BethE: And the universe is one big playground...
Lazarus: I like the theory that Wildlords and Excrucians are two sides to the same coin
Etheric: I got the idea from that creation story in the margins of the GWB, which I'm trying to locate now...
Knockwood: (actually, fighting with spatulas isn't new... Ukyo.)
Knockwood: (Is your game going to turn into Buffy nibunnoichi? :)
Etheric: Where Cneph makes the Angels out of fire, and the Weirding Wall out of lightning.
Random_Nerd: The answer to one of Vyasa's questions, right?
Etheric: It's specifically noted as being apocryphal, but...
Etheric: Three, actually.
Random_Nerd: On the three things that existed first?
BethE: (I don't think so. RN's character just has a thing for a spatula that he stopped an evil knife with.)
Etheric: It was something like, "What fire once burned the unrighteous, but burns no more?" And the other two were equivalent.
Random_Nerd: Yeah.
Random_Nerd: (That was partly because Beth thought that the reason for the successes that the character had was that his taser was overpowered. So, I switched to a spatula. Still works just as well, I'd say.)
Random_Nerd: (Although the car keys are more powerful yet, it seems.)
Random_Nerd: Anyway, anyone have anything else before I step out?
BethE: (He threw his car keys last night in the middle of a fight. Pierced a guy's _skull_. *sigh* Good thing they were outside a hospital.)
BethE: I think I'm good. Etheric's ideas on the various Imperators is cool and thought provoking.
Lazarus: later RN
Knockwood: I should split, grab some meds.
Knockwood: oh...
Knockwood: how can I get a lightsaber again? :D
Random_Nerd: Depends on which sort of lightsaber you want.
Knockwood: purple. :)
Random_Nerd: Work out what you want your lightsaber to be able to do, and I'll wave a dead chicken and assign some numbers.
Knockwood: Actually, I was thinking of getting that, and Noble Kung Fu.
Random_Nerd: With the latter as an Aspect Gift vaguely similar to the Claw, right?
Knockwood: (It occurred to me that I can save points by making it One Trick--Whack Dude.)
Random_Nerd: Aspect Gifts are fun. Look at Snow's, for instance.
Knockwood: maybe Limited Use if it can also deflect incoming blows
Random_Nerd: Yeah, that sounds plausible.
Random_Nerd: But now is not the time to stat it out, for my brain is made of those tapioca things you get in that bubble tea stuff.
Knockwood: Snow has Munch Opponent, 6 Asp 3 Pen, right?
Knockwood: can she bump up the Penetration with cheese dip?
Lazarus: no.
Lazarus: she needs French Onion for that.
Lazarus: the Cheese dip increases the A rating ;)
Random_Nerd: Currently her Swallow gift is this:
Random_Nerd: Aspect 6 (Swallow Things) | Penetration 2 | Simple Miracle -1 | One Person -2 | One Trick (Swallow something) -3 | Uncommon +1. Three CPs.


Chancel_Amyra
Chapter 9