Session 225

Chancel_Amyra
Chapter 32

--»| YOU (Verithe) have joined #Nobilis
«Verithe» ...
--»| Random_Nerd (Random_Ner@MagicStar-4BF6DF39.hsd1.il.comcast.net) has joined #Nobilis
--»| BethE (~BethL@MagicStar-4BF6DF39.hsd1.il.comcast.net) has joined #Nobilis
«BethE» Hi V!
«Random_Nerd» Is this the Daylight Savings Time Week?
«Random_Nerd» When half of us are off-schedule?
«BethE» I thinks o.
«BethE» The rest of the world changed over last weekend with Halloween, while we're this weekend. I want that extra hour of sleep.
--»| Knockwood (~chatzilla@MagicStar-E048CE2B.dhcp.reno.nv.charter.com) has joined #Nobilis
«Knockwood» Hi guys...
«BethE» Hiya Knock!
«Knockwood» seems a bit sparse in here...
«Random_Nerd» Daylight Savings, we think.
«Knockwood» that would explain Angelo
«Knockwood» and laz already said he'd be absent...
--»| Etheric (~Etheric@MagicStar-C0184E71.rd.hr.cox.net) has joined #Nobilis
«Etheric» Hi! Sorry I'm late.
«Knockwood» Hi Eth
«Random_Nerd» Hey, Etheric. I just sent you an email responding to your one about the proposed Carrie.
«Etheric» Ah, thanks. Let me see if it's gone through...
«Verithe» Sorry! Distracted by a call.
«Verithe» And I'm proud to live in a land that does not believe in Daylight Savings Time.
«BethE» Hi Etheric!
«Verithe» For now
«Knockwood» oh, good grief, anti-virus update... BRB
|«-- Knockwood has left irc2.magicstar.net (Disintegrated: ChatZilla 0.9.87 [Firefox 7.0.1/20110928134238])
«Random_Nerd» Did the email get through?
«Verithe» Email?
«BethE» (To Etheric)
«Verithe» Ah
«Verithe» Was there game last week?
«Etheric» Unfortunately not. We took a rain check.
«Etheric» And yes, RN, it went through. I just took a few minutes to read it.
«Etheric» For tonight, we can work off that draft sheet. I didn't spend all my points and there are a couple things that might need rewording, like those Passions and that one Affliction.
--»| Knockwood (~chatzilla@MagicStar-E048CE2B.dhcp.reno.nv.charter.com) has joined #Nobilis
«Knockwood» LTNS!
«Etheric» Indeed! Good to see you Knockwood.
«BethE» (Darn it. I found out that G. del Toro was in this town...this time last year. Crud!)
«Random_Nerd» I mean, it /can/ work as an affliction.
«Random_Nerd» But it would be an atypical one.
«Knockwood» virus checkers?
«Random_Nerd» Normally, Afflictions are... hmm.
«Random_Nerd» The things that are true about your character even when she isn't thinking about them.
«BethE» (No, Etheric was talking about Carrie's sheet.  :) )
«Etheric» Yeah, I'm not completely sure how to word it. Maybe something closer to, "I must intervene."
«Random_Nerd» Hmm.
«Etheric» That's the general idea, and would probably fit the Affliction system more.
«Random_Nerd» What do you want it to do, in play?
«Random_Nerd» Make Carrie better at intervening?
«Random_Nerd» Cause miracles to happen to prevent her from not intervening?
«Random_Nerd» Or something else?
«Etheric» I want situations to crop up that she has to deal with.
«Etheric» She's Hope, so she can't leave anything alone. That's the idea.
«Knockwood» Summonable
«Random_Nerd» Hmm.
«Verithe» Is that the entire wording of the affliction?
«Etheric» Well, I'll probably reword it, but what I had was...
«Etheric» "I must save those who need saving.
«Etheric» Er, just pretend that had an even whole number of quotes. Two, four, zero all work.
«Knockwood» "You "really" think "so?""
«Etheric» In other words, she can't sacrifice a person or ignore a situation that's under her jurisdiction. She's not going to go out of her way to get involved in new situations (so it's not Summonable)
«Verithe» You should have twelve, Knock.
«Etheric» And no, not really.
«Knockwood» 'Duty-bound?'
«Verithe» :D
«Etheric» Well, I need it in the form of a sentence.  :P
«BethE» Easily distracted?  :)
«Knockwood» I can not refuse a request for aid.
«Etheric» We're in Third Edition here, or else I could reuse my old sheet. (Well, if I still had it I could.)
«Verithe» The more quotation marks = the more people who said the quote! :P
«Random_Nerd» No...
«Random_Nerd» The more recursive quotations.
«Verithe» Ah!
«Knockwood» Isn't it on the Wiki?
«Random_Nerd» So, three sets of quotation marks means they quoted someone who quoted someone who said it.
«Knockwood» and technically it should alternate between double and single quotes
«Etheric» Oh, that's a good one, Knock. Not precisely what I had in mind, but it might even be better.
«Etheric» I want to think about it a bit more, because Carrie's also a bit conscious of the Code of the Wild, and how one-sided gifts can encage...
«Etheric» So it probably would need to be a bit more complex than that. She won't ignore genuine need -- but that doesn't mean she'll always help.
«Knockwood» I can not ignore a request for aid.
«Etheric» Active word there is "genuine," not "ignore."
«Random_Nerd» I guess the question is...
«BethE» 42?
«Etheric» But maybe it is better as a Bond, if she can decide what's genuine need...
«Random_Nerd» Is it /physically impossible/ for her to pass by someone in need?
«Random_Nerd» Like, if she's jogging down the street, and unknown to her there's a person in need down the alley that she didn't glance at, does she stop in mid air?
«Etheric» No. That's why I was trying to think of a better way to word it...
«Random_Nerd» Might work better as a Bond, then.
«BethE» I cannot knowingly ignore a request for aid.
«Etheric» The idea is that she has an overriding compulsion to save everyone.
«Random_Nerd» "I always help those in need", say.
«Random_Nerd» Or "those I see who're in need."
«BethE» "I have a need...a need...for speed."
«Etheric» That could be... Hmm, I'm going to let it be for now.
«Etheric» By next week, I can hopefully get a better sense of what I want to do with it.
«Knockwood» WHoops, you can't do that! :)
«Random_Nerd» Because you can /do/ that physically impossible thing.
«Random_Nerd» Like, that's how Dante's version of Honest works.
«Etheric» Ah, really?
«Verithe» I like what an "I always help those in need" affliction could imply.
«Random_Nerd» Which was a plot point once, actually.
«Random_Nerd» Yeah. Dante can no more lie than he can add two and two and make five. It just doesn't work.
«Etheric» Well, see, I'm wary of a Catch-22.
«Random_Nerd» Like the whole Cuchullain geas-conflict thing?
«Knockwood» That's what the rule's there for
«Knockwood» "Here's a way to screw yourself, go nuts!"
«Random_Nerd» There are advantages to the affliction too, even when it limits yourself.
«Etheric» Because although it's not on the sheet, another constraint that's strongly influenced Carrie in the past is the "Give in kind for a gift received" of the Wild, and her interpretation of that, which says that unrequited patronage is a kind of harm.
«Random_Nerd» Like... say, if a deceiver wants to get you to be unaware that someone needs help, if he doesn't use enough Strike to beat your Affliction, it just doesn't work.
«Random_Nerd» And remember, now Strike only comes from Bonds, MPs spent, or baked into Gifts.
«Random_Nerd» You can't just use attributes to give it by lowering your miracle level.
«Random_Nerd» Of course, on the other hand, that's an advantage of that as a Bond.
«Random_Nerd» Free strike when you're helping people.
«Etheric» Ah, that's an important point. So it would have to be a Bond, for Strike?
«Random_Nerd» Yes.
«Random_Nerd» Bonds give Strike when invoked.
«Random_Nerd» Afflictions produce miracles when relevant, and are protected with an Auctoritas.
«Etheric» Then I'll definitely keep that Code-of-the-Light Bond, because that's directly relevant to what she's trying to accomplish personally.
«Knockwood» Light, or Wild?
«Etheric» Light.
«Etheric» Specifically, this is what I had in my draft...
«Etheric» Bond: I still love my father. (1)
«Etheric» Bond: I still love my mother. (1)
«Etheric» Bond: I will serve the Light by preserving and fostering what divine potential remains in humanity. (2)
«Etheric» Bond: I will protect the people of Amyra, my adopted home. (2)
«Etheric» Affliction: I must save those who need saving. (4)
«Etheric» And one more Affliction that I'm not satisfied with the wording of, that has to do with Eve being around somewhere in her own body and with her own agenda.
«Knockwood» I have a not-really-Evil Twin?
«Random_Nerd» Might be interesting to have "I will serve the Code of the Light" as a Bond, and "I must serve the Code of the Wild" as an affliction...
«Etheric» Yeah. I just copied the language from the book, but I'd prefer to make it a bit more directly relevant.
«Verithe» I am my evil twin
«BethE» Huh. Thinking about the Eve thing...man, she must be able to give the _greatest_ and most powerful of Motherly Guilt Trips.
«Etheric» Pardon?
«Knockwood» (Heh... how would "I'm my own evil twin" work? :P )
«Random_Nerd» (Hmm...)
«Etheric» (You have a twin who goes around undoing your evil schemes?)
«Random_Nerd» (Fight Club.)
«Knockwood» (I gotta watch that)
«BethE» (Sorry, was thinking about Eve and mothers and ethnic grandmothers who will guilt trip you so much and have the Affliction: I must feed anyone who crosses my threshold.)
«Etheric» (Oh, heh! I just had a doubletake because Carrie is really nowhere near being a mother.)
«Random_Nerd» Did you have any rules questions, Etheric?
«BethE» (Theresa, I think, has surrogate mother. But there's still a wall that she has between the kids that she's taught and herself that I think she keeps there because she's sad that she's never had kids of her own.)
«Etheric» No questions really. I'll get the hang of it in play, I think.
«Knockwood» (You mean "In Loco Parentis")
«Random_Nerd» So, let's see.
«BethE» (She is a little crazy abotu kids, yes...  ;) )
«Random_Nerd» With respect to the game, the next bit was going to be seeing Caesar, right?
«Random_Nerd» Was that a Dante plotline, or a Dante /and/ Brian one?
«Knockwood» Well, Dante was considering talking to Gaius about Breach Day and asking JbJ about the rules he's supposed to follow
«Knockwood» of course, we'll have to go to him, since if he comes here they'll tear down your temple and build a statue to him
«Random_Nerd» But Laz may be gone for a while.
«Random_Nerd» So, should we go on with the game?
«Knockwood» hm... if Angelo was flummoxed by Daylight Savings, shouldn't he show up about ... now?
«BethE» Wouldn't he have shown up an hour ahead?
«Verithe» No, he'd be sleeping in longer by an hour, I think.
«Knockwood» not if he set his clock back a week early
«Verithe» So, maybe in a few minutes, he'll show up?
«Etheric» Well, wouldn't he be on time in that case?
«Etheric» Anyhow, could someone quickly go over whether this is the same Gaius Caesar as the famous one and what the situation is?
«Etheric» I don't mean to be so clueless all the time but I have a lot of catch-up to do.
«Knockwood» what happened right before you left?
«Etheric» We visited Barakiel. He gave us gifts. Carrie disappeared instead of opening hers.
«Random_Nerd» Okay.
«Random_Nerd» So...
«Random_Nerd» Caesar.
«Random_Nerd» Do you know what the whole "breach day" thing was?
«Etheric» Unfortunately not. Maybe that should be the start.
«Random_Nerd» Okay.
«Knockwood» Turns out he's the guy behind the salad. :)
«Random_Nerd» About three months back, in game-time, something weird happened with the Warmains and their Shards.
«Knockwood» (It's been 3 months?)
«Random_Nerd» (Perhaps two.)
«Random_Nerd» (Something like, though.)
«BethE» (I forget gifts.)
«Random_Nerd» Some Warmains made full-on-in-person attacks, instead of sending shards.
«Knockwood» (Beth: same here)
«Etheric» (Three months, eight years, it's all the same in Nobilis time.)
«Random_Nerd» Some shards went AWOL and tracked down people that their temperings cared about.
«Random_Nerd» Or decided to retire.
«Random_Nerd» And a few Wildlords acted oddly as well, or had flashbacks.
«Random_Nerd» Anyway, on that day, on Dionyl, a guy showed up.
«Knockwood» (oh, and those 'few Wildlords' include Kudzu)
«Random_Nerd» It appeared that he was either the Warmain Suebi, or the Domination Sakaroth.
«Random_Nerd» Suebi had killed Sakaroth, and then Tempered with him.
«Random_Nerd» The guy who showed up had the memories of both, and wasn't quite sure which he was.
«Random_Nerd» It was clear that he came from Outside, though.
«Etheric» That's a bit disturbing. Kind of like a Mimic but without the keeping it secret part?
«Random_Nerd» Eventually, and largely as a result of conversations with the PCs and with Ha-Qadosh Berakha, he decided that he wasn't either, and started calling himself Gaius Julius Caesar.
«Etheric» I see.
«Random_Nerd» He's generally considered to be a Warmain. He doesn't quite agree...
«Random_Nerd» But he basically fits. From Outside, apparently loyal to Creation, mostly hangs out with Wild-affliated folks.
«Verithe» Wildlord
«Random_Nerd» Err, Wildlord.
«Random_Nerd» W is a /complicated/ letter!
«Etheric» It's the only letter that takes longer to say than it is to write.
«Etheric» And it's based off of a lowercase omega.
«Etheric» So yes, I agree.
«Random_Nerd» He currently is working on building a chancel with a militaristic theme, populated by dionyl who'd been dissatisfied with their city-states.
«Random_Nerd» He's quite a few deaths away from having it complete, though.
«Random_Nerd» And he's involved in planning /something/ with HQB.
«Knockwood» worth mentioning that Sakharoth was a Domination...
«Random_Nerd» Yeah.
«Etheric» So I think I get the gist now. Is Dante then hoping to find out more about what exactly happened with the Warmains that day?
«Random_Nerd» That's been something that Dante and Ftisk have been working on.
«Random_Nerd» It was behind Ftisk's tempering, for instance.
«Knockwood» Right. It looks like a channel opened up between inside and outside.
«Random_Nerd» Oh, one other thing about it.
«Knockwood» Which is of ... some concern considering the calendar/
«Random_Nerd» During and after it, High Summoning seemed to get easier.
«Etheric» As in, probably less than a year left in the Third Age?
«Random_Nerd» Yeah.
«Etheric» What was Kudzu's reaction?
«BethE» Probably less than half a year. At least more than a month. Probably.
«Knockwood» were you here when we talked with Attaris?
«Etheric» I think so.
«Random_Nerd» Kudzu went sleepwalking and several of the PCs had odd Outside-themed memories.
«Etheric» Sleepwalking?
«Random_Nerd» Or, at least, walking around while appearing to be /severely/ out of it.
«Knockwood» more thanj usual
«Etheric» Okay.
«Knockwood» )Hi Tpyo!(
«Etheric» Typo's Regal?
«Random_Nerd» And this is when he woke up from the "sleeping" he was doing deep underground in Amyra after (for a while) absorbing the newly-found James.
«Knockwood» True God of Botched Communications
«Etheric» So that's what happened to James.
«Knockwood» well... not quite
«Random_Nerd» He got spat out later on.
«Random_Nerd» He occasionally shows up since then.
«Random_Nerd» But seems confused more than anything.
--»| Angelo (~Angelo@MagicStar-7C757003.cust.dsl.vodafone.it) has joined #Nobilis
«Knockwood» he's on the moon now
«Etheric» So noted.
«Angelo» HI!
«Knockwood» Hiya Angelo.
«Random_Nerd» Along with an Excrucian!
«Etheric» Maybe the best thing for me to get up to speed is not to try to understand.
«Knockwood» different moon
«Random_Nerd» But, the short version is, Breach Day was something weird that affected warmains with Temperings, some but not all Wildlords, and High Summoning.
«BethE» Hi Angelo!
«Knockwood» Oh, Angelo? DST ends _this_ week.
«Etheric» Which one is the Monty moon?
«Random_Nerd» The Excrucians seem to be no more clear on what it was than you are, or at least, the ones you've talked to didn't seem to know what was up with it.
«Knockwood» So, next week if you come at this time you'll be all right
«Random_Nerd» Oh, right.
«BethE» The moon that is green.
«Random_Nerd» James is on Earth's moon.
«Random_Nerd» Your pet Mad Science Warmain is on Monty's moon.
«Angelo» ok Knock, thank you
«Etheric» Ah, and that was the guy behind the red kudzu/algae thing?
«Random_Nerd» Yes.
«Random_Nerd» Currently he's working on breeding horses that can eat meat.
«Random_Nerd» Because that seemed like a good idea to him.
«Random_Nerd» He still thinks like a warmain in terms of competition and so forth, just not in terms of destroying Creation.
«BethE» And Monty has part of Barakiel in him. Which may, possibly, explain some things.
«Random_Nerd» Yes.
«Random_Nerd» Part of Barakiel, part of Lesson, and some rabbits and stuff.
«Etheric» Ah, as in, morality may not apply?
«Etheric» Well, arguably
«Random_Nerd» At least to some degree.
«Knockwood» but Kudzu just asked for a demon heart and angel feather, how could he know we'd meet us with Barakiel?
«Random_Nerd» Like, Barakiel's nobles aren't immune to law, fully. But they do have the Soul-Twisted property.
«Etheric» How did you get the Warmain to change his mind about Creation, though? Or was it more, he did on his own as part of this Breach thing?
«Knockwood» Well, he came here and forgot what he was doing
«Random_Nerd» He did it on his own.
«BethE» Latter.
«Etheric» I see.
«Random_Nerd» He didn't so much change sides as come over and decide "You know what, screw destroying Creation, I like it here. The lab facilities are much better."
«Etheric» What did you end up doing to that algae, anyway? And, was it a Flower Rite or an Actual or none of the above?
«Random_Nerd» It wasn't a deliberate attack.
«Random_Nerd» It was just... something that he was doing, that happened to be bad for Plants.
«Etheric» I sincerely hope that this attitude becomes more popular with all the Excrucians in the Fourth Age.
«Random_Nerd» That's part of what the planned peace talks will discuss, I believe.
«Etheric» Ah, I see.
«Random_Nerd» You still need... let's see, a well-placed God of Earth, and someone from Light and Dark.
«Knockwood» You get the whole attack-»tempering-»meeting plan thing?
«Etheric» I'm not sure. I know that there's a peace talk planned, but not the details.
«Random_Nerd» Okay, you know that Ftisk tempered with a shard of a Warmain, right?
«Etheric» Yes.
«BethE» (We've got three Warmain shards bunkered in Chancel Vulcan.)
«Angelo» Conrad
«Random_Nerd» A while after that, he send most of his shards back into creation, and one of them had tatoos ordering them to find out what was going on and tattoo it on his back before coming back.
«Random_Nerd» They're currently vaguely friendly with the PCs.
«Knockwood» based on the fact that we've shown we can eat them if we wanted to
«Random_Nerd» The plan is to get a cross-factional group of Imperators on one side, and their Warmain and whoever else he can get together, to discuss a possible peace.
«BethE» And because Ftisk tempered their brother and Dante has one of their swords.
«Random_Nerd» But before you can do it, you need enough support that it looks legit, and not like a bunch of traitors trying to cut a deal.
«Knockwood» well, I thought it was mainly because Vassa has no idea what's going on between Entropy and Shirk
«Angelo» me too
«Random_Nerd» He's curious about Breach Day, too.
«Verithe» Kite wants to scribble Orion on the finalized Imperator list just because he can.
«Etheric» If it needs a True God, is Vulcan already involved?
«Random_Nerd» Or, at least, the issue of curiosity about it seemed very familiar to his Shards.
«Angelo» also after the meeting Ftisk will go "back home" with Vassa
«Etheric» Or is he not well-connected enough?
«Verithe» Vulcan is already involved.
«Random_Nerd» Vulcan's currently building a temporary world to use for it, but he isn't in until enough others are.
«Knockwood» (He will?)
«Verithe» Or...right.
«Random_Nerd» He's... a little too respectable to be one of the first people involved.
«Random_Nerd» Since a lot of the key people are a bit shady.
«Etheric» Ah, alright.
«Random_Nerd» The Kudzus and Barakiels and Caesars.
«Random_Nerd» You know.
«Random_Nerd» Lunatics.
«Etheric» So Surolam is probably out for the same reason.
«Knockwood» and the PCs
«Random_Nerd» Surolam isn't in. HQB is.
«Etheric» She was my first thought for "influential True God."
«Random_Nerd» Ophaniel tentatively is.
«Angelo» Ophy <3 <3
«Random_Nerd» Let's see...
«Verithe» We didn't get the Angel of Mars, right?
«Random_Nerd» Ymir is /not/ in. That conversation... could have gone better.
«Random_Nerd» Not yet, at least.
«Verithe» Okay.
«Random_Nerd» But he's more friendly with you than Ymir was.
«Random_Nerd» You haven't burnt that bridge.
«Random_Nerd» Jan ben Jan /had/ been tentatively interested, but is currently in a funk because of Brian's prophecies.
«BethE» Even if we did find out that he's got ant-kids.
«Random_Nerd» But you don't need Samael as much.
«Random_Nerd» Because Barakiel has pull in Hell.
«BethE» We..can't really count on Barakiel coming to our little tea party, can we?
«Angelo» also we want to talk to Partner's dad
«Verithe» Do we know what type of Imperator Papa Legba's Imperator is?
«Random_Nerd» Let me see...
«Random_Nerd» I /think/ I recall that he was Light.
«Random_Nerd» But let me double-check.
«Verithe» Ooh!
«Etheric» Has anyone tried to recruit Ananda?
«Random_Nerd» Not to any serious degree.
«BethE» We're...kinda not on good terms with him at the moment...
«Random_Nerd» Last contact with Ananda was as part of the whole... apocalypse... thing.
«Random_Nerd» And that was messy.
«Etheric» Alright. It was just a thought.
«Random_Nerd» Relations with the Littlest Serpent are currently tense at the moment, too.
«BethE» He ended up coming to see what was going on when we were getting in an argument with the Imperator of Impending Doom and Apocalypses...
«Etheric» Ideally we'd at least want to know the Council won't condemn us all as traitors.
«BethE» Oh, Entropy will do that.
«Random_Nerd» Oh, that reminds me. A Serpent wouldn't hurt, if you could arrange for one to be in.
«Knockwood» Do we know any besides Jerren?
«Random_Nerd» You met Jaris briefly.
«Verithe» Yes, Jaris!
«Random_Nerd» And she kind of owes you a favor, if not one this big.
«Verithe» That's also where Orion was, yes?
«Random_Nerd» But it's a foot in the door.
«BethE» We could try to get Jerren to come, but he'd be bound to his Estate to cause...you know...doom.
«Random_Nerd» Orion knows Jaris, yes.
«Verithe» Not that he would be much help, but did we try to recruit Jeremiah or did we meet him before we started recruiting?
«Etheric» If Lord Entropy will do it anyway, all the more reason to get a majority of the Council involved... I mean, we might try to get Surolam to agree not to support excommunicating us, even if she won't actively support the idea.
«Knockwood» who?
«Verithe» Imperator of Dogs.
«Random_Nerd» And, let's see... Lightlords... there's Mike Cook's father.
«Knockwood» Oh, right
«Random_Nerd» Yeah, him.
«Random_Nerd» You weren't recruiting yet when you met him.
«BethE» I don't know if there's a precedence that Surolam might be interested in or not.
«Etheric» Is she really Dogs? I thought just Law, Willpower and the Broken-Hearted...
«Random_Nerd» Oh, yes, and if it matters, this game uses Noblis 2 Surolam, not Nobilis 3.
«BethE» But do we _want_ to let the whole Council know we're doing this? What if they go and tell Entropy?
«Etheric» That's a reason against, yeah.
«BethE» Oh, sorry, dear, I was thinking 3rd edition. My mistake.
«Etheric» I was wondering whether Surolam already knew, since RN said she wasn't in, which made me think, "Already said no."
«Random_Nerd» She doesn't know, as far as the PCs know.
«Etheric» I didn't think she was detailed much in 2e. So she's Dogs?
«Random_Nerd» No.
«Random_Nerd» Jeremiah of the Light is.
«Etheric» Oh.
«Etheric» Crosstalk. Sorry.
«Verithe» Would a True God of Dionyl help?
«Random_Nerd» List of Imperators who are in: Kudzu, HQB, Caesar, Barakiel, Ophaniel. Fence-sitters: Vulcan.
«Etheric» Right, so main difference that I can think of is the Locust Court isn't hers.
«Random_Nerd» Probably would. Or a Domination or Splinter.
«Knockwood» so we need to either come up with some revelations about what's going on or turn into the A-Team in order to get the support we need to have a face-to-face with somebody who might figure out what the hell's going on and what to do
«Random_Nerd» And Nobilis 2nd Surolam is a traditionalist.
«Verithe» We could pay a visit to Blue Shock, et al's Chancel after Caesar.
«Random_Nerd» And kind of... mechanical about it. Not mindless, but... "it's settled, so why are we bothering to argue about it"?
«Etheric» Ah, true. It's stated a lot more strongly in 2e.
«Etheric» So, trying to get her support would likely be a waste of time.
«Random_Nerd» Triad/Blue Shock/Conceptual Tint is a True God of Dionyl.
«Knockwood» OBTW, we may have prompted a nervous breakdown in Jan ben Jan
«Random_Nerd» Or, at least, a crisis of faith.
«Random_Nerd» He's got a bad case of self-fulfilling prophecy.
«Random_Nerd» He currently thinks that the thing that he finds out that makes him have a crisis of faith in his plan is that he'll find something out that will make him have a crisis of faith.
«Random_Nerd» More or less, anyway.
«Etheric» What was his plan?
«BethE» He's in bad need of an Imperator-sized tub of Ben and Jerry's.
«Random_Nerd» 1. Collect body parts of Nobles in massive quantities.
«Knockwood» gather enough body parts to exchange for Das Uber-Answer
«Random_Nerd» 2. Spend them on huge "How do I fix all this shit?" prophecy.
«Random_Nerd» 3. Profit.
«Etheric» I figured it was something to do with profit.
«BethE» But they are given _willingly_. Brian's prophecy answers make him think that he's going to go off the deep depressed end and _take_ them.
«Etheric» How do body parts add up to a prophecy though?
«Random_Nerd» It's how his rules work.
«Random_Nerd» You gotta pay for your answers.
«Random_Nerd» And "what should I do" answers are the most expensive kind.
«Knockwood» the prophecy says he'll "cheat", try to get the answer and _not_ succeed
«Random_Nerd» These rules apply even when he's the one who wants the prophecy.
«Etheric» I see. So that's just JBJ's nature as an Imperator?
«Random_Nerd» Yeah.
«Random_Nerd» It's part of his Code.
«Random_Nerd» And part of the properties of the Estate of Prophecies, for that matter.
«Random_Nerd» The way this one goes is, he breaks the rule and tries to force it, and it doesn't work.
«Knockwood» which is why Dante's thinking of asking him about the rules.
«BethE» He goes against his own nature.
«Random_Nerd» For that matter, that's how you get Actuals.
«Knockwood» If he knows what he can and can't do he hopefully won't violate them
«Random_Nerd» Ah, but that breaks the rules too.
«Random_Nerd» Because prophecies have to be true predictions.
«Random_Nerd» So if he changes his actions to keep from breaking the rules, that breaks the rules.
«BethE» It could be that the rules that he knows, he just 'knows', like how to breathe?
«Knockwood» But you were saying he doesn't know, that he has a source
«Random_Nerd» Yeah.
«Random_Nerd» What it is and how it works is not fully clear.
«Random_Nerd» Might be some other entity, might be the Estate of Prophecy itself...
«Random_Nerd» Might be something weirder.
«BethE» He is the magic eight ball, you do the shaking, but he doesn't know what's on the little triangle till you do.
«Etheric» Well, was Bryan's insight necessarily a prophecy?
«Random_Nerd» The one he bought, with the JBJ part?
«Random_Nerd» Yes.
«Random_Nerd» Because Brian paid for it, by the rules.
«Etheric» Ah, alright. Yeah, I see the problem.
«Knockwood» ... wait, that means those _will_ happen, right?
«Random_Nerd» That the situations will arise.
«Random_Nerd» But not how they'll end up.
«Random_Nerd» That was part of the deal.
«Knockwood» ah, that's right
«Knockwood» they're specifically "what Brian will deal with"
«Random_Nerd» Yeah.
«Random_Nerd» You know the shocking twists, but not the resolutions.
«Random_Nerd» And the one you've seen happen...
«Random_Nerd» JBJ's words were correct, but weren't the whole story.
«Knockwood» right, the prophecy came true... Brian faced that situation
«BethE» I wonder if Shadows has detoxed yet.
«Random_Nerd» Partially because Lawbreaker stuff is tricky for JBJ.
«Random_Nerd» Breaks the usual rules.
«Random_Nerd» And Jan ben Jan is a creature of laws and rules.
«Knockwood» wouldn't that mean if he meets with a Lawbreaker the prophecies get junked?
«Random_Nerd» The mere existence of Lawbreakers, even in Creation, doesn't turn the whole world unknowable.
«Random_Nerd» Their effect is more local than that.
«Random_Nerd» And Jan ben Jan, while there are blind spots for him, they usually don't butterfly-effect their way into making everything fall apart.
«Knockwood» so what we do is, have him prophesy doom for all Creation then french-kiss a Lawbreaker, problem solved! :D
«Knockwood» (and RN's brain smokes!)
«Random_Nerd» He doesn't get to pick what prophecies he tells, though.
«Random_Nerd» Just what they'll be /about/.
«Knockwood» (AFK BRB)
«Random_Nerd» So he can only prophecy doom for Creation if it actually is doomed.
«Random_Nerd» Any other questions, Etheric?
«Etheric» I think that's all pretty clear. Thanks.
«BethE» DO Lawbringers have tongues?
«Random_Nerd» Do /you/ want to check?
«Angelo» (Ftisk: ME!!! )
«BethE» Well, we know that JBJ has multiple tongues...
«Etheric» Because he has multiple heads?
«Random_Nerd» He has multiple... many things.
«BethE» And there isn't any consequences of french kissing a Lawbreaker...
«Random_Nerd» Not all of them physical.
«Random_Nerd» For instance, he has Ftisk's crush on Dante.
«BethE» (And I _keep_ calling them lawbringers. Darn it.)
«Knockwood» (BAK)
«Etheric» Ah, that kind of having. Nevermind then.
«Random_Nerd» Well, they're part of him.
«Random_Nerd» Otherwise it wouldn't work.
«Angelo» so HE have a crush on Dante now
«Etheric» I see.
«Random_Nerd» Yes.
«Knockwood» (Hm...)
«Etheric» That's very Third Edition True God-ish.
«BethE» And..»Dante wants to get to know JBJ better...
«Knockwood» Well, he looks like a big ball of frozen parts
«Etheric» Huh, really?
«Random_Nerd» It's implied that, somewhere under all that, he has an "original" body.
«Angelo» but the core of the ball is humanoid?
«Random_Nerd» Ymir talked about Jan ben Jan turning himself into something monstrous.
«Etheric» I imagined something like a classical Djinn, since those are his descendants.
«Random_Nerd» But right now, yes, he's a cold planetoid made of thousands of severed body parts, thoughts, memories, emotions, and so on.
«Etheric» What kind of Imperator is Ymir?
«Random_Nerd» True God.
«Random_Nerd» Of the older generation.
«Etheric» Estates?
«Random_Nerd» Violent Revolution and the Sky.
«Angelo» so instead that true god he is True Old
«Knockwood» also, Snarking
«Random_Nerd» A big deal in the old days, got a lot of his spirit ripped out in the divine civil war.
«Etheric» Huh.
«Random_Nerd» Now he's kinda in a state of...
«Etheric» Was JBJ also an Old God or one of the new? I know he's the Second Age...
«Random_Nerd» Well, you know "too big to fail"? Like that, with respect to death.
«Random_Nerd» Jan ben Jan was an old god, but wasn't part of the war.
«Knockwood» too awesome to die?
«Etheric» Huh, on life support then?
«Random_Nerd» At least, to die all the way.
«BethE» (Death has a tattoo of Ymir.)
«Random_Nerd» As the Second Age, he was kind of neutral.
«Angelo» he is diminished and death inside
«Random_Nerd» Oh, and in this game, it's canon that the term "Ymera" as a title of respect for Imperators of Earth was derived from Ymir's name.
«Etheric» Ah, interesting.
«Random_Nerd» He's not that big of a deal now as he was then.
«Random_Nerd» But older imperators remember.
«BethE» And think 'There but for the grace of me, goes me.."?
«Random_Nerd» Also, his skull is the sky of Earth.
«Etheric» How does that work with the Angels of the Sun and Moon?
«Knockwood» y'know, it looks like this week's session is a washout... but what if we come up with plans?
«Random_Nerd» The Sun and Moon are under the Sky, mythically.
«Angelo» and mars too, right?
«Etheric» Ah, so Earth is all within his mythic body? I can understand why he's so revered then.
«Random_Nerd» Or, at least, within his corpse.
«Random_Nerd» But a dead god is still more alive than a living human.
«Random_Nerd» Mars too, yes.
«Knockwood» (Which mythos says the land is the body of a dead god?)
«Random_Nerd» But not the stars.
«Random_Nerd» (Like, all of them.)
«Knockwood» (No, the actual body)
«Random_Nerd» (I mean, not the Abrahamic ones, or all the native american ones.)
«Random_Nerd» (Yeah. Just about all of them.)
«Etheric» Huh. So he's alive enough to have Estates, but still dead as far as being a being able to move around.
«Random_Nerd» (Well, sometimes it's a living god.)
«Etheric» In Greek myth, it's a living goddess.
«Knockwood» (Egyptian!)
«Random_Nerd» It's usually either a living or dead god or pre-divine primordial being, though.
«Etheric» I don't know what it is in Egyptian mythology.
«BethE» Egyptian has living body of a god and the sky is the living body of a goddess.
«Random_Nerd» Egypt has an Earth-Father and a Sky-Mother, right?
«Random_Nerd» Geb and Nut?
«Random_Nerd» So, inverse of the Greek version.
«Etheric» Ah, alright.
«Random_Nerd» It's currently unknown in the Nobilis setting of this game what god, if any, the land was made from.
«Random_Nerd» Ymir is explicitly only the sky, not both as in Norse myth.
«Knockwood» like it matters. Unless we can meet them and get their help...
«BethE» We do go on tangents, Knock.  :)
«Etheric» Oh, I have a question about Projects.
«Random_Nerd» Yes?
«Random_Nerd» (Oh, and there's no known Odin figure, as such. This was a plot point at one point.)
«Knockwood» (Well, that's an aspect of Cneph, isn't it?)
«Random_Nerd» (Also, Jan ben Jan is identified with Mimir to some extent.)
«Random_Nerd» (What is?)
«Etheric» Carrie had that one vision, and a lot of it still seems unclear. But do I understand right that if I make "fulfilling the vision" a Project, then I could investigate, try out a theory of what to do, and then whether it succeeds or fails, it gets Destiny and moves the whole thing toward completion?
«Random_Nerd» Yes.
«Etheric» Alright. Thanks.
«Random_Nerd» Make it a project. Do things towards it.
«Random_Nerd» You'll accumulate destiny points, which let you move it forward.
«Random_Nerd» This is because Nobles, when they work at things, tend to Get Shit Done.
«Knockwood» also, that's how you improve yourself now
«Random_Nerd» Yes.
«Knockwood» which reminds me, I need to add a new branch "Be AWESOME". :D
«Random_Nerd» Heh.
«Random_Nerd» First milestone: "I am now 20% cooler."
«Knockwood» What exactly would that do, besides make a rainbow appear behind me when I fly?
«Random_Nerd» Give you rainbow-themed armor?
«BethE» Give you better sunglasses.
«Random_Nerd» Tacky rainbow-themed armor.
«Verithe» Give you hip theme music?
«Knockwood» I might want the atomic rainboom...
«Random_Nerd» That'd take more.
«Verithe» Or is hip theme music too much for 20%?
«Verithe» Maybe 8-bit theme music?
«Random_Nerd» Heh.
«BethE» You;d have to define 'hip'.
«Random_Nerd» That seems more of a Brian thing.
«Knockwood» So... plans. What are we going to do?
«BethE» Is Dante determined to not let the 4th Age go through?
«Knockwood» No, he wants it to go through and Creation to be part of it
«Knockwood» (Would you want Attaris in charge any longer than necessary?)
«BethE» But I had thought that with the whole sky-pieces thing, you were against the apocalypse and changing of the Ages?
«Knockwood» against the former, not the latter
«BethE» But that's what the changing of Ages is, isn't it? A great big Apocalypse?
«Knockwood» The best outcome is for either a victory or a good settlement in the Valde Bellum
«Random_Nerd» The apocalypse is... necessary... for the change.
«Random_Nerd» But it isn't the change itself.
«Random_Nerd» It's a precondition.
«Knockwood» Right. So Dante's pushing for a 'good' change
«BethE» I must have misunderstood the arguing with Jerren, then.
«Verithe» Kite feels pretty reassured that most of the things he wants around will still be around after the apocalypse.
«Etheric» So, I just reread the section on Projects, and I'm still not sure I understand.
«Knockwood» Jerren seems to be aiming for a more traditional apocalypse
«Etheric» How exactly would I start a Project for Carrie?
«BethE» What would be the difference between a traditional apocalypse and Dante's?
«BethE» Just what survives?
«Knockwood» Earth survives, for one
«Verithe» Earth was one of the things Kite wants around. He's pretty sure Jerren's not destroying Earth.
«Etheric» If one of you could describe your own Projects and what they look like, that might help.
«Knockwood» (Hm... Wikipedia: An Apocalypse (Greek: ἀποκάλυψις apokálypsis; "lifting of the veil" or "revelation") is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted.)
«BethE» The opening of the well.
«Knockwood» (which means, finding the true cause of the war and 'fixing' it might qualify)
«Random_Nerd» Didn't AEA use the term "cataclysm" rather than "apocalypse"?
«Verithe» Let's see... Projects...
«BethE» So, she was waiting for the latest World of Warcraft expansion?
«Random_Nerd» And I know Ananda did.
«Knockwood» don't most of us have our Destiny charts as mind maps on mindmeister?
«Etheric» Well, "apocalypse" is a Christian term. It isn't necessarily applicable to other ends of the world.
«BethE» I see it mostly used in Buffy.
«BethE» Looking for a plural.
«Etheric» It's a pretty popular word for the end of the world, yeah...
«Knockwood» Ah, here we go. Dante would like an apocalypse that's more revelation than eschaton. :P
«Knockwood» and a whole bunch of other $10 words.
«Random_Nerd» But bear in mind, "apocalypse" is you guys' word for it.
«Random_Nerd» It's not like you can call it a "potato" and that means you can make french fries out of it.
«BethE» What about a yam?
«Etheric» We'd need the help of the Power of Potatoes for that.
«Etheric» And hope they have good Persona.
«BethE» I keep thinking catalyst instead of cataclysm.
«Etheric» Power of Cats then?
«Etheric» Or the Power of Words That Start With Cat.
«Random_Nerd» Kitty!
«Etheric» Ah, right. The kitty effect. http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cat_proximity.png
«Random_Nerd» That's an estate property.
«Random_Nerd» Anway, it's eleven local, and I need to get up at seven.
«Random_Nerd» So I should go to bed.
«BethE» It's a very very powerful estate. Especially thanks to the internet.
«Etheric» Does posting lolcats count as prayer then?
«Etheric» Anyway, have a good night everyone. I should turn in too.
«Knockwood» good nigth Etheric
«Random_Nerd» G'night, all.
|«-- Etheric has left irc2.magicstar.net (Disintegrated: Destiny is choice.)
«Random_Nerd» Hopefully, we'll have a real session next week.
«Verithe» Good night!
«BethE» Night, guys! Hmm, I guess a slide shows of lolcats would be the equivalent of a prayer wheel...
«BethE» *HUGS*
|«-- Random_Nerd has left irc2.magicstar.net (Disintegrated: )
«Knockwood» g'night all
[INFO] Disconnecting from IRC. Click close again to exit now.
[QUIT] Disconnected from irc://irc2.magicstar.net/ (irc://irc2.magicstar.net/). [[Reconnect][Reconnect to irc2.magicstar.net][reconnect]]


Chancel_Amyra
Chapter 32