The Awakening (Open to All Who Read First Post)

[Realms of Chaos]

Yes. Even you are free to post in this thread, even if you’ve never so much as seen the recruitment thread. Please read this entire post before doing so, however.

Point 1: What on Earth is this? Unlike traditional D&D, in which each player controls one character, I’m aiming for a campaign where the collective will of the boards controls the actions of a single main character, as seen in You Awaken in Razor Hill (http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=20677329926&sid=1&pageNo=1) (an excellent story that I recommend reading).
The particular character you control is of a custom class/race with so-far hidden abilities (including some that are selected from hidden menus). Feel free to experiment in order to discover your abilities and fill out the stat block below more definitively. Decisions made at each new level (feats, skills, ability score increases, etc.) are decided through the will of the many.
All dice rolls will be made in secret so there is no reason to roll for the orders you declare. Though only this post is strictly mandatory reading, you’ll have to read the rest of the thread so far if you want to ensure any sort of context.
Unlike other campaigns, where you may be expected to slavishly post as often as one post per day (or even more), this thread is made for whenever you have some free time to put down a post. Post once a day if you feel or once a week or just once or whatever.

Point 2: How this Works (more detail): Just in case you’re still a bit vague on the details…
A) Please use orders in place of descriptions: Going against what 99% of tabletop gaming has likely taught you, less is more in this type of game. If you want the totem character to point a weapon at somebody and threaten them, something like:

>point sword at Person A’s neck
>threaten not only to slay Person A but his entire family if he doesn’t surrender.
Is FAR more convenient than something like:

”I” gracefully draw forth my blade from its dagger, swinging it across the air where it stops mere inches away from Person A’s neck. “I know where you live, Person A,” says “I”, grinning with barely concealed madness, “and I know that you have a wife and child. If you try to resist, know that I won’t just stop with killing you. I will ensure that your entire family tree weeps blood and withers away. How about you put down that dagger, eh?”
Everything that I’ve learned playing tabletop RPGs tells me that the former example is wrong and that the latter is right. On the other hand, how would you feel if you spent the time to type up that description and then it never occurred because 5 other people all agreed that the character should simply cast a spell instead. What if everyone agreed that your idea was best but you rolled a natural 1 on your intimidate check (hardly deserving of the presentation you wrote out)? I know that I would feel pretty darn ticked off that my creative energy had amounted to nothing. Two of the great things about this format is that players need not invest that much energy and that they can be surprised not only by the result but by the execution of actions. It seems a bit silly to rob yourself of these advantages just in order to describe an action that may or may not occur and doing so can drain the fun out of this campaign for you pretty quickly, especially if none of your ideas make it in. As such, I ask (but will not force) that you give direct orders to your character rather than using the same prose and descriptions we use in every single other PbP.
B) Don’t be afraid to support another order: If you see that somebody else has already put in a command that you agree with, it is tempting to assume that putting it in again would be simply redundant. Don’t forget that I may end up using the view of the majority when I finally sit down to post. If two other people swoop in to give an opposing opinion at the last moment, they might win just because you didn’t give your opinion. On the other hand…
C) Don’t be afraid of opposing another order: Likewise, when you see that someone else has put in a command that you don’t agree with, you may feel that it is pointless or contrary to post your opinion, especially if there are multiple votes in the opposition. If everyone lets this stop them, however, your opinion won’t be heard even if the majority of readers would prefer it. Also, don’t forget that I may collect even contradictory orders and use them in sequence over the course of a couple in-game rounds when I post. Lastly, don’t forget that a single good order is more likely to affect the game than a dozen people all agreeing on a juvenile order.
D) Please don't edit: Without writing descriptions, it's possible that someone will sometimes write something up without realizing certain implications or amuzing typos in their message. While you're first instinct may be to fix this error, I ask you, as a favor, to leave it right where it is. Though you can edit in the real version of what you meant to say, these small slips of the tongue and brainfarts give me a chance to have some real fun with the character's thought process as they consider acting upon your commands. Please don't rob me of this rare joy. :smallbiggrin:

Point 3: A Couple Big Differences in the Setting:1. In this campaign, psionics has virtually taken the place of magic completely (there is literally one spellcaster in the entire world... and even they are only using a tier 3 class). As such, there are divine mind priests, psion scholars, and a couple of other classes.
2. For the most part, psionics has been re-flavored from the traditional “Your mind makes people explode” explanation to the more “magical” explanation of utilizing your life force to force ambient magic within the world to conform to your designs. As a result, all psionic characters possess the benefits of the Body fuel (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#bodyFuel) feat for free.
3. In this setting, cognizance crystals (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/cognizanceCrystals.htm) can be built into just about any medium (rather than just crystals), allowing the wealthy to store power points in staves, tomes, carvings, or even in tattoos (though inscribing such tattoos on nonpsionicists is a societal taboo). In addition, such stones are ridiculously cheap, selling for only 1/5th of the price found in the EPH.

[Realms of Chaos]

Information:

Stat Block:Wil; Male ??? (incorporeal) 2; Medium ???; HP 20/20; Init +6; Spd 30 ft., Fly 30 ft (perfect); AC 14, Touch 14, Flat-Footed 12; Base Atk +1; Grp --; Atk +1 (--, unarmed strike); Full Atk +1 (--, unarmed strike); SA Menu A Ability, Psionics; SQ Low-Light Vision, Darkvision 60 ft., Unstable, ???; SV Fort +5, ref +5, Will +5; Str --, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 14
Skills: +7 Concentration, +6 Diplomacy, +6 Psicraft, +7 Knowledge (Psionics), +6 Spot, +6 Use Psionic Device
Feat: Ghostly Grasp, Improved Initiative

Current Status:
HP: 20/20
Positive Conditions: –
Negative Conditions: –
Equipment: None
Languages: Common, ???
Skill Points: All spent; all skills are class skills

Powers Known: Energy Ray
Power Points Used: 0


Allies: None?
Enemies: Intruders?

[Realms of Chaos]

THE BEGINNING

Fifty-one words. You were only ever intended to say fifty-one words. A short speech, a bow, and then… your existence was never destined to be a long one. Lucky for you, destiny was auspiciously absent on the day that you appeared.

Like most good stories, yours begins with a deafening explosion. You find yourself in a large entry chamber formed of stone. If it weren't for the chunks of rock blown all over the place and the huge hole ripped in wall ahead of you, this place would look pretty darn nice. Two marble stairways hug the walls as they curve upwards towards a higher balcony. There are three doors behind you (one back to your right, one back to your left, and one directly behind you). The walls, floors, and ceiling all glow with bright arcane symbols.

In front of you are five individuals, crouching in the rubble of the explosion: Two woman, a boy, a younger man with a torch, and old man with a staff. All are wearing black cloaks. Having only existed for the past 5 seconds, you aren’t quite sure how you know what a boy is, or what a cloak is, or that your name seems to be Wil. Odd…

Nothing left to do but say that speech, then, “At long last,” you begin, “the moment has arrived to fulfill my ancient pact.” The five individuals seem to take a step back, visibly frightened. “I am Wilber Runewind, descendant of Kerris Runewind.”

Now comes the important part. You open your mouth to continue and… your mind has gone completely blank. You try a couple more times but no luck. Whatever you were supposed to say, it has totally slipped your mind.

What now?

--> Will knows common!

[TruorTupnm]

>Attempt to read the glowing arcane symbols, hopefully jogging your memory.

[Realms of Chaos]

>Attempt to read the glowing arcane symbols, hopefully jogging your memory.


---Game Pause---


Skill Acquisition System (SAS) enabled:
Invest skill points in Knowledge (Psionics) (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/skills/knowledgePsionics.htm)? Y/N [#] ranks
Invest skill points in Psicraft (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/skills/psicraft.htm)? Y/N [#] ranks
Remaining Skill Points: 24/24

[Critical]

>Uh, sure, since it seems to be such a big aspect of the campaign.
>Knowledge (Psionics): Yes (4 ranks)
>Piscraft: Yes (4 ranks)

[Realms of Chaos]

>Knowledge (Psionics): Yes (4 ranks)
>Piscraft: Yes (4 ranks)


Allocation Confirmed

*Cha-chink* *Cha-chink* *Cha-chink* *Cha-chink* *Cha-chink* *Cha-chink* *Cha-chink* *Cha-... Cha-...Cha-... CHACHINK*

Error Detected!

>Searching... Searching...
>Automatic SAS disabled
>Switching to manual SAS
>Manual SAS enabled.

Skill Points: 16/24
Future use of SAS must be included in initial orders.
Have a nice day!

---Resume---


>Attempt to read the glowing arcane symbols, hopefully jogging your memory.


Wait... wait... you think you have it on the tip of your tongue... almost... almost... nope, totally lost it. Something in the back of your mind tells you that it was really important, too...

Wait a moment. What about the glowing symbols? Things don't typically glow like that unless they're pretty significant... probably. Maybe something written there can help you remember...

As you crouch down on the ground to get a better look at the symbols on the floor, about a dozen words ring in the back of your mind. Murderers... thieves... bandits... hooligans... the list goes on. It's amazing how much you seem to know, considering that you've only been around for about a minute. You hear a cough from in front of you, breaking the silence. Oh yeah, those other guys are still in the room with you. Well, they'll just have to wait for you to finish decoding before they can here the rest of your glorious speech.

After a few moments of squinting at the ground and looking at it from different angles, you can safely ascertain that it isn't any language you know. What you can tell, however, it that it looks to be a single huge cognizance crystal of some sort.

That's kind of interesting. You didn't consciously know what cognizance crystals were until two seconds ago but now you're pretty sure that they typically aren't this big. Wait, what were you trying to do again?

[Critical]

>Try to take power points from the crystal

[Kuma Da]

>Address the assembled figures. Since you seem to be someone of importance, demand to know what they want of you.

>Engage manual SAS. Allocate 4 ranks to diplomacy.

[TruorTupnm]

> Engage SAS, then stick the rest of your skill points in Concentration, Diplomacy (sure, why not?), Spot, and Use Psionic Device.
>Resume game, I suppose, then make something suitably intimidating up, to finish your speech, since those guys seemed frightened of you.

[Realms of Chaos]

>Try to take power points from the crystal


You place your hand on the ground and will some of the energy into your body. You feel a bit of it flowing through your hand, all nice and toasty and refreshing like a warm flagon of mead on a cold winter morning. Wait. What was that?

>Wil gains 1 power point.
>Wil gains 2 power points.
...
>Wil has lost 3 power points.

What. The. Abyss?
The points seem to be dissipating as fast as you can draw them in.

The young man in the group approaches you slowly, brandishing a short sword. As if you needed anything else to ruin this day.


>Engage manual SAS. Allocate 4 ranks to diplomacy.


---Pause---

Skill Acquisition System (SAS) has been activated:
Allocation confirmed
Skill Points: 12/24
Have a nice day!

---Resume---

Okay. Now you should be ready to deal with these... you know what? You probably aren't ready. You were stuck in this world that you know nothing about, you have no way of possibly knowing what you do seem to know, and half of your statistics are question marks. Enough of this ******* uncertainty. You are sooo finishing this SAS nonsense right this moment.


> Engage SAS, then stick the rest of your skill points in Concentration, Diplomacy (sure, why not?), Spot, and Use Psionic Device.



---Pause---

Skill Acquisition System (SAS) has been forcefully ripped open:
Allocation Confirmed
Skill Points: 0/24
ASDFLEWAEASETOJSDGFALLAWE

---Resume---

There, all done now. Other skills might be more conveniant in the future but you couldn't care less. What are the odds that a skill you don't have would come up right now. Seriously, you just invested those skill points five seconds ago.


Address the assembled figures. Since you seem to be someone of importance, demand to know what they want of you.


Demanding information, huh? Seems a bit aggressive for someone like you. You know how to parlay, entreat, and negotiate but you are hardly an intimidating figure. At least you don't think you are. Come to think of it, you haven't had a good look at yourself so far.

Maybe you could simply ask for the information you want, at least if these people give you the time to present your argument...


>Resume game, I suppose, then make something suitably intimidating up, to finish your speech, since those guys seemed frightened of you.


Nope. This is the time for intimidation. They seemed scared of your little speech so you might as well finish it for them, even if you have to pull it out of your ***. You'll get your information after you've scared them half to death. You close your eyes, take a deep breath, and give the best (and first) performance of your entire life.

"Any who stand between me and the fulfilment of my promise shall become a sacrifice for my greatness. Their deaths shall be followed with one thousand years in the darkest depths of the abyss while your soul is reduced to ashes. This is the dawn of a new age."

Wow. You've got some nice stage presence. Also, your subconscious seems to be a wee bit disturbed. Anyhow, apart from the young man with the torch and shortsword, everyone else immediately turns and flees out into the darkness of night beyond the shattered walls. Darn it. You really need to learn how to pull your punches.

You note for the first time that you can see surprisingly well in the dark. You see in full color at least 40 feet outside, letting you see that this building seems to rest on a hill of some sort. You see another 60 feet beyond that in merely black and white, letting you see a road at the base of the hill and a couple trees beyond.

>Wil possesses Low-light vision
>Wil possesses Darkvision 60 ft.

The one man in the room with you has retreated back into a corner, raising his sword with one shaky arm. The light of the runes around you finally fade into darkness, leaving no illumination other than the man's torch.

[Kuma Da]

Okay, now that we've properly cowed him, demand to know why he dared summon us here.

[TruorTupnm]

>That makes sense. What the above poster said. Also, pause the game again and attempt to uncover more menus?

[Critical]

>Try to think if any part of own speech rings any bell in the memory.

[Realms of Chaos]

>Try to think if any part of own speech rings any bell in the memory.


You still don't (consciously) remember anything other than the twenty words you've already stated and the events of the past two minutes but you’re still a bit spooked regarding that bit of improvisation, to be perfectly honest. You hardly know anything about yourself but jumping to intimidation so easily (and effectively) could hardly be considered a good thing.


Okay, now that we've properly cowed him, demand to know why he dared summon us here.


On the other hand… seeing as you’ve already gone through all the trouble of scaring this man senseless, it would be simply wasteful not to interrogate him.

“Why have I been summoned, rogue? Speak quickly and you may yet know mercy.”

As the man opens his mouth to reply, a few hundred thoughts shoot across your mind. What if this man is trying to control you? What if you’ve been called upon to fulfill this promise that you know nothing about? What if this sack of flesh is somehow related to you? What if this is all some misunderstanding? What if this man is an ally and you just offended him? You aren’t ready to hear his response. You feel your hands shake with panic as the man inhales. You have to get out of there. Now!

ABORT! ABORT!


>That makes sense. What the above poster said. Also, pause the game again and attempt to uncover more menus?


Of course! The only real escape. You have to…

---Pause---

“The Awakening” has been paused
Commands will be queued up and become active when the game is no longer paused.









[Space] Resume
[V] Video Settings
[A] Audio Settings
[S] Save Game
[R] Reroute
[K] SAS
[?] Help

[TruorTupnm]

>?

And, because I need to type more, to make this a post ---> OOC-wise, are you having none of it, we should we keep it to a minimum, or does it not really matter, and you'll mostly just be paying attention to the stuff next to the ">"?

[Critical]

>Audio Settings -> Background Music: On!
>Unpause
>Run back, hopefully, finding a good place for an ambush for the guy and hide, on ambush try to take his sword.

[Kuma Da]

Check the helpfile for information on what reroute does. If it doesn't tell us, reroute anyway.

After we unpause, give the guy a chance to respond before Critical's plan kicks in (I assume that, like You Awaken in Razor Hill, you're going to be trying to run with every command entered. So, i'll try not to kick up too many differences of opinions between the voices in Wil's head.)

[zyborg]

>Save game before taking unpaused actions

[Kallisti]

>S
>?
If ? defines reroute, then disregard the rest of this post.
If ? doesn't define reroute, >R
>[Space]

[Realms of Chaos]

>Save game before taking unpaused actions

>S


Yes! You can save this thing. That’s the best news that you’ve ever heard… ever. You doubt that the scared man in the room will put up much of a fight but you don’t have to take that risk any longer. In fact, this means no taking risks forever. You’re almost happy enough to cry.

>S
BU-BUUUH!
>S
BU-BUUUH!
>S
BU-BUUUH!

Why. Won’t. This. Game. Save?

Wait a minute, maybe this is one of those games where you can only save on a world map, or when next to a special sphere, or when in a magical circle, or when you write things down in a diary…


>?


Of course! The help menu! This should shed some light on everything.

?
*Initiating Help Screen*
*Loading…*
*Error Detected*
*Loading…*

HELP MEN_

PLEASE T_PE IN _O_R Q_ER_
____________________________
____________________________

…
...
...
...juuuust perfect. Oh well. Beggars can’t be choosers.

How do I save my game?

*search “save game”*






To avoid losing data after a game over or ending this program, enter the pause menu and type “S”. It is recommended that you save frequently when in new and dangerous environments.


Why can’t I save my game?

*search “save game”*






To avoid losing data after a game over or ending this program, enter the pause menu and type “S”. It is recommended that you save frequently when in new and dangerous environments.


You’re starting to understand why this game only cost you five bucks at EB. Not having save files sucks. Then again, it will only ever come up if you end up dying so… let’s not die. In the meantime, let’s see what this menu has to say about that reroute option. That seems to be new. It’s not like you have anything to lose.


Check the helpfile for information on what reroute does.


What does reroute do?
*searching… searching*
Data Corrupted

Of course it is… Okay then, it seems that you’ll have to investigate this the old fashioned way.


If ? doesn't define reroute, >R

…If it doesn't tell us, reroute anyway.


R

You have entered a new screen, one depicting four colored quadrants (blue, green, red, and yellow) with a black sphere in the center. Each of the four quadrants seems to glow dimly. In the upper-right hand corner of the screen are a couple of words with troubling connotations, written in red.

Degradation Rate: 20%

In the lower-left hand corner is a set of options.






>Exit
_Matrix 1 On [_] Off [X]
_Matrix 2 On [_] Off [X]
_Matrix 3 On [_] Off [X]
_Matrix 4 On [_] Off [X]


It may just be something about the words “degradation rate” but you don’t feel fully comfortable playing with this setting just yet. There will be time for it later. In the meantime, you quickly wonder if there’s anything else that you could be doing.


>Audio Settings -> Background Music: On!


Oh yeah. Let’s take a look at these audio settings. Things have been far too quiet since that first deafening explosion.

A

Audio Settings






_Volume: ------[]-------
>BGM: Off
_Sound FX On [_] Off [X]
_Echo On [_] Off [X]


Ooh, background music. Just what the doctor ordered.

Audio Settings






_Volume: ------[]-------
>BGM: Track 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsUGgZ-G7o0&feature=&p=0A654E86A90FA328&index=0&playnext=1)
_Sound FX On [_] Off [X]
_Echo On [_] Off [X]


Nice tune. It suits the elegance of this… mansion(? Castle?) pretty darn well.


>[Space]

>Unpause

…before taking unpaused actions


You take a deep breath and steel yourself for whatever the ruffian is about to say. Though the pause screen has raised more questions than it has answered, at least you have a decent tune to give you some morale. On the count of three. One. Two. Three.

[space]

You find yourself back in the entry chamber and with the man about to give his explanation. You think that you’re ready to him out, though


After we unpause, give the guy a chance to respond…


“I wasn’t trying to summon you,” he says, speaking in a deep voice that wavers ever-so-slightly with fear, “It's just that you’ve been gone for centuries so... me and my friends were just planning on…”


>Run back, hopefully, finding a good place for an ambush for the guy and hide, on ambush try to take his sword.


You feel a strong urge to run away and set an ambush for this rogue but that seems a bit irrational at the moment. The man seems to know who you are and is obviously afraid of you. Running away would be a tad suspicious.

Even so, the man has yet to put down his sword and you don’t know how long you can keep up this bluff (you, for one, blame this entirely on the SAS). You slowly walk across the room and walk up one of the stairways, pretending to listen carefully to what the man is saying as you claim the high ground and look around. Atop the balcony, you note a single open doorway leading deeper into the structure.

(Edit: OOC is fine but if you start up with it, I'll start being stricter about requiring >s next to orders :smallwink:).

[Critical]

>Ask on what were they planning
>From now on, watch out if the music drastically changes

[Kuma Da]

>try to find out who his friends were

[TruorTupnm]

>...and what they might be planning on doing, after running away.
>Also, pause the game again, go to the Help menu, then ask about Degradation Rates and Matrices, then you might as well check out the Video menu, too.

[Realms of Chaos]

>From now on, watch out if the music drastically changes


Music change = caution? Well… it makes about as much sense as anything else you’ve seen here. You’ll be sure to keep that in mind.


>Ask on what were they planning

>try to find out who his friends were

>...and what they might be planning on doing, after running away.



Let’s take a quick review:
Advantage of High Ground? Check
Escape Route if Things Go Bad? Check
Outside of target’s only source of illumination? Check.

Some would call you a coward but you prefer to think of it as being prepared (actually, a rather large portion of your mind prefers to think of it as you trying to remain mysterious and ominous and a small portion even considers yourself to be rather heroic right now. Who knew you were such a narcissist?). It seems that you’re finally prepared to get some answers out of the scared little man below.

“What were you planning on doing, exactly?”

“We were… it was… I never thought you’d actually BE here. Everyone’s heard the rumors so I thought I’d… please don’t kill me. I’m all that my poor nephew has.”

“What were you doing?”

“We were… going to rob your mansion blind.”

“And who were those friends of yours?”

“My team. I spent years just getting them together and…”

It’s hard to tell from this distance but you get the distinct impression that the man is crying.

“Well," you start, your voice a bit less harsh, "What are you and your friends planning to do now?”

The man looks up in your direction for a few moments, motionless save for the occasional sob. After taking a deep breath, the man dashes from his corner towards the hole in the wall.

What now? You need a moment to think. You just need a moment to… bingo.


>Also, pause the game again, go to the Help menu, then ask about Degradation Rates and Matrices, then you might as well check out the Video menu, too.


---Pause game---

---Pause---

“The Awakening” has been paused
Commands will be queued up and become active when the game is no longer paused.









[Space] Resume
[V] Video Settings
[A] Audio Settings
[S] Save Game
[R] Reroute
[K] SAS
[?] Help


Now you can finally catch your breath and decide what you need to do. Let’s take a look at those… video settings?

[V]

Video Settings






_Brightness: ------[]-------
_Zoom: ------[]-------
_Bloodshed/Gore On [_] Off [X]
_Path Guide On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Big Head Mode On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Mirror World On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Aura Mode On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked OMNISEARCHER


Wait… how did you? When did you? But… you slowly close the menu and glance around to see if anyone is watching. Nope. As far as everyone knows, you’ve earned these unlockables fairly and squarely. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t lead to further bugs down the line.
You’re almost ready to return back to dealing with that rogue but there’s a couple more things that you’ve been wondering about…

[?]

What are Matrices?
*searching… searching*
No Entry Found

…

What is a Matrix?
*searching… searching*
Data Corrupted

Oh, *@$^.
Well, might as well try one more.

What is a degradation rate?
*searching “degradation rate”*






In Ayrth, incorporeal creatures rarely last too long. Each possesses a natural degradation rate that accelerated through combat and manifesting. Some items may let you see the current degradation of such creatures.


>Wil possesses the incorporeal subtype
>Wil gains a fly speed of 30 feet (perfect maneuverability)
>Wil loses his Strength score

How could you be incorporeal? Wouldn’t you already know it? It’s true that you haven’t actually applied pressure against anything so far but… but… you feel fairly outraged. You’re statistics have been downright lying to you. What can you trust if you can’t even trust your own statblock?

Enough of this doubt. If you’re on some sort of timer, you intend to make every second count. There’s no more time for self-doubt, only action and discovery. Now is the time to act. Let’s do this.

[Space]

(Wil possesses enough time to fulfill two commands before the rogue has left the building)

[Kuma Da]

Attempt to possess the rogue.

And not in the sense of 'get rogue.'

[zyborg]

>Aura mode and Omnisearcher: ON!

[Realms of Chaos]

Attempt to possess the rogue.


hmm… maybe you’re a spirit of some sort… back from the depths of the abyss for some reason… unfinished business or whatnot… hold on… can’t spirits control people? A mad grin spreads across your face as you consider this new option. You have no idea how this is going to work but you strongly suspect that you need to touch the rogue in some way.

You “jump” off of the balcony and fly in a beeline towards your target, one arm reaching outwards to pry into the rogue’s pathetic soul. You sink your hand into the rogue’s back and… scream out in pain that jolts through your entire body, prompting the rogue to try running even faster.

>Wil takes [2] damage.

Looking at your arm, you see that it looks somehow… faded, letting you see through it. Rather than being filled with blood and organs as a living creature would be, your body seems to be completely hollow. Well, more support for the spirit theory.

>Wil possesses: Unstable (Ex)

What now, what now, what now. The stupid pain is keeping you from seeing straight. Have… to… regain… focus… pause…

---Pause---

“The Awakening” has been paused
Commands will be queued up and become active when the game is no longer paused.









[Space] Resume
[V] Video Settings
[A] Audio Settings
[S] Save Game
[R] Reroute
[K] SAS
[?] Help


Well, it seems that you’re back here again. Good old pause screen. Even if it’s options are confusing and misleading, at least you can depend on the screen itself appearing when you need a moment to think, a phenomenon that seems to occur every minute or so.

What to do, what to do, what to do…


>Aura mode and Omnisearcher: ON!


[V]

Video Settings






>Brightness: ------[]-------
_Zoom: ------[]-------
_Bloodshed/Gore On [_] Off [X]
_Path Guide On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Big Head Mode On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Mirror World On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Aura Mode On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked OMNISEARCHER


Nope. Nothing particularly useful here… or is there? Those last two options look rather intriguing. On the other hand, you don’t have a clue how you unlocked them (if you even did) and using any of them might mess up the game.

Aura mode… Destroy the world… Aura mode… Destroy the world… Aura mode...
You really wish that you could save your game right now.

*click*

Video Settings






_Brightness: ------[]-------
_Zoom: ------[]-------
_Bloodshed/Gore On [_] Off [X]
_Path Guide On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Big Head Mode On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Mirror World On [_] Off [X]
>Unlocked Aura Mode On [X] Off [_]
_Unlocked OMNISEARCHER


………nothing happens. Well, at least not on this screen. Maybe something will happen when you resume the game. In any case, it seems that the game still seems to be working. Speaking of which, what about this omnisearcher? While we’re here, we might as well turn that bad boy on and…

Video Settings






_Brightness: ------[]-------
_Zoom: ------[]-------
_Bloodshed/Gore On [_] Off [X]
_Path Guide On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Big Head Mode On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Mirror World Mode On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Aura Mode On [X] Off [_]
>Unlocked OMNISEARCHER


That’s odd. There doesn’t seem to be any settings for this option. Maybe if you just click on…

*click*

---Resume---

The pain floods back into your arm as the game unpauses and… so this is aura mode? Wow.

The world around you is utterly filled with auras of various strength throughout the world around you. Unfortunately, you don’t get much of a look at it before your camera starts jerking around like a madman. Your camera searches the entire area within five feet of your body extensively as you helplessly watch the rogue run away whenever the camera turns in the proper location.
You try to pause the game again to end this ridiculous function but you can’t seem to do so. The omnisearcher continues its work uninterrupted for 30 seconds before some text appears on the screen at long last.







>Nothing useful underfoot.
>Nothing new seen
>Nothing new heard.
>[0] traps found.
>[0] secret doors found
>[0] powers identified
>[0] lies detected
>[0] secret messages detected.
>[0] imposters identified
>[0] disguises seen through
>[0] natural hazards discovered
>[0] effects disbelieved
>No tracks detected.
>You do not know where you are
>You do not detect any forgeries
>You cannot predict the weather


As the text fades away and you regain control over your own camera, you can finally realize what you are looking at. So… aura mode… neat.

The walls of this building possess a strong aura that sheds a dim glow (about the brightness of a candle) that seems to be rapidly fading. Outside, you can make out a very faint aura from the grass glowing around this building, though not nearly bright enough to illuminate a thing. Behind you, however, you can see an aura deep in this structure bright enough to be visible even across solid objects (somewhere behind the middle door of the three lined on the floor beneath the balcony.). All auras in light pulsate with a unified rhythm. If this mode didn’t make everything else look so blurry, it would be absolutely perfect…

[Kuma Da]

Check the crystal with aura mode active, then head towards the 'deep' aura in the building--phasing through the floor if possible.

[zyborg]

Maybe with bigger eyes, Aura Mode wouldn't be so blurry?

>Pause, Video Settings, Big Head Mode: On, unpause, look at crystal's aura

[Critical]

>Lets continue the crazyness and turn Mirror World on as well.

[Realms of Chaos]

>Pause, Video Settings, Big Head Mode: On, unpause, look at crystal's aura

>Lets continue the crazyness and turn Mirror World on as well.


Maybe it’s the blinding pain or maybe it’s the fact that you’re effectively feeling colors in the world around you but some part of you brain has just decided that it needs a vacation. As it tunes itself out, you realize that your brain was simply holding you back all this time. With a functioning brain, you’d never be able to enjoy the fun (and/or incredibly dangerous) things in life. In fact, you’ve decided to celebrate this revelation by playing around more with the mysterious video controls. Yessir, this can only end well.

Video Settings






_Brightness: ------[]-------
_Zoom: ------[]-------
_Bloodshed/Gore On [_] Off [X]
_Path Guide On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Big Head Mode On [X] Off [_]
>Unlocked Mirror World On [X] Off [_]
_Unlocked Aura Mode On [X] Off [_]
_Unlocked OMNISEARCHER


[space]

As the pain shoots back through your body, you realize that your head really does feel a bit bigger, perhaps even twice its normal size. Luckily, being incorporeal means not having to put up with your new center of balance. Even so, you feel more than a little bit silly and are glad that nobody else is around to see you like this.
As for mirror world mode, you suppose that it’s working. The room is pretty symmetrical but a few pieces of rubble seem to have moved… maybe.


Check the crystal with aura mode active, then head towards the 'deep' aura in the building--phasing through the floor if possible.


Bending down to consider the stone, you observe that it is glowing a light shade of blue. It is very pretty but you can’t really remember why you’re looking at it anymore. Confound your malfunctioning brain.

Looking around, you suddenly remember the aura in the center of the structure. Well, that’s worth investigating. You walk up to the central door on the ground level and reach out with your good hand for the handle before you reconsider the situation.

After all, it would obviously be cooler to phase in through the ceiling of that room. Whatever were you thinking? Floating up to the balcony, you walk through the corridor and over the aura, leading you into a rather Spartan bedroom with a single wardrobe, a writing desk, and a comfy mattress.

Normally, you’d quickly realize that passing your hand did some serious damage do you and that passing your entire body through the floor is likely to hurt even more, if it doesn’t kill you outright. With that part of your brain gone, you take a deep breath and plunge into the floor with nary a second thought.

OUCH!

>Wil takes 5 damage

As you recover from the pain and blink a tear from your eye, you find yourself nearly blinded by the aura in this room. Almost every surface is glowing with bright runes, especially a long stone box built into the center of the room.

Astounding…

[Critical]

>Aura Mode: Off
>Check out the wardrobe

[zyborg]

>Check out our dead body in the coffin?

[Kuma Da]

Switch all modes back off, check degradation levels, attempt to pass a hand through the ground with aura off to see if it's aura that makes you incorporeal or if that's a natural function of being you, and then attempt to open the coffin.

[Betropper]

>search "how do incorporeal creatures become corporeal?" or look for corporeal mode in menu.

[Realms of Chaos]

Hmmm… the auras in this room seem to be quite bright. In fact, if feels very much like your eyes are on fire. Even when they’re closed. At least you have that loud, shrill sound to distract you from the pain. What is that sound, anyways? Oh… it would appear that you are screaming. Better take care of this, then.


>Aura Mode: Off


Video Settings






_Brightness: ------[]-------
_Zoom: ------[]-------
_Bloodshed/Gore On [_] Off [X]
_Path Guide On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Big Head Mode On [X] Off [_]
_Unlocked Mirror World On [X] Off [_]
>Unlocked Aura Mode On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked OMNISEARCHER


[space]

Returning to the world again, the glow in this room still remains but is nowhere near the blinding radiance of a few seconds before. You make out more carvings on every surface, especially on the large object in the center of the room, where the carvings seem to be most eloquent. You also notice a single stone door on one side of the room. Looking down at yourself, you see that your entire body seems to be frightfully translucent. Maybe it’s this sobering sight or maybe it’s the fact that you’ve stopped looking at psychedelic auras but your mind has returned to full function and not a moment too soon.


Switch all modes back off…


What a wonderful idea. You’ve felt a bit silly with this giant head of yours since the moment you acquired is and mirror mode is only fun when the rooms you’re in aren’t symmetrical (if an idea like mirror world could ever be said to be fun).


Video Settings






_Brightness: ------[]-------
_Zoom: ------[]-------
_Bloodshed/Gore On [_] Off [X]
_Path Guide On [_] Off [X]
>Unlocked Big Head Mode On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Mirror World On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Aura Mode On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked OMNISEARCHER


…check degradation levels…


Another great idea. For the first time in your life, not being suicidal need not coincide with overt cowardice.

[R]

When you enter the reroute menu, it looks exactly the same as it did before, down to the red letters telling you, fortunately, that the degradation rate is still only 20%.
…wait a second, degradation rate? Yeah, this screen doesn’t seem to tell you the progress of your degradation at all. In fact, you realize that you don’t even know how fast your degradation rate is. You know that it’s only at 20% but do you degrade 1% per minute, per hour, per day? Holy ****, you could really die at any moment.


>search "how do incorporeal creatures become corporeal?" or look for corporeal mode in menu.


And another genius plan runs through your mind. Three in a row: a new personal record. You’ve been in every menu already and have seen no option for corporeality (unless turning on one of those matrices does the trick…) but the FAQ might work, maybe…

[?]

How do incorporeal creatures become corporeal?

*searching… searching…*
No Entry Fou…
*search “become corporeal”*
Harden Ectoplasm
Psion/Wilder 3

Hope! Glorious, glorious hope! Even if it’s just four words, they are the most beautiful ones that you’ve ever seen (well, apart from “save game” but then again that’s kind of a given). You were scared for a second there but it looks all right. You just have to find somebody… much stronger than you… and force them to use a power for your benefit… not a problem…


…attempt to pass a hand through the ground with aura off to see if it's aura that makes you incorporeal or if that's a natural function of being you…


On the one hand, you really kind of need to know if aura mode is responsible for something this big. On the other hand, it seems foolish to stick your hand into a solid object when it could really hurt you, especially as you already seem quite injured. No. Forget these contradictions. You’ve been on something of a roll for the first time in your life and you aren’t going to let it end now.

FOR SCIENCE!!!

You insert your hand through the ground with one fluid motion, yelping in pain as it flows through the ground.

>Wil has taken 2 damage

As you withdraw your arm and look at your nearly invisible hand, it dons on you that you first tried to “possess” the thief (and passed through him) before you actually activated aura mode. It also occurs to you that you could’ve just tried flying around instead. You can’t help but feel a little bit silly as you stare down at your faded hand.

As you look around, you suddenly realize the full implications of what you’ve just done:





You are trapped in a room, surrounded by solid surfaces.
Passing through solid surfaces hurts you
You are at one hit point and may well die at 0 hit points
Waiting to heal may take too long and result in degradation


Dang it, and you were on such a roll, too.


>Check out the wardrobe


Wardrobe? Where is there a wardrobe? Why would a wardrobe be made out of stone?
All of these thoughts and more fly through your head as you stare down at the long stone box that rests against the floor rather than standing up remotely like a wardrobe. Perhaps if your “eyes” were a bit more discerning and specific with details, such meaningless questions would never have to occur to you.
Your “eyes” apologize for any inconvenience caused by this confusion.


… and then attempt to open the coffin.

>Check out our dead body in the coffin?


What on Ayrth is a coffin and why would your dead body be in it?
Even if you are a spirit, everybody knows that dead bodies are thrown into the abyss so that death can claim them and watch over them for all eternity. Doesn’t everybody know that? Pfffft, coffins indeed…

Well, coffins or no coffins, you feel the overwhelming need to open something… Deep down, you know that you’ll die the moment that you touch anything. Even so, the urge to do so is simply irresistible. If you’re going to die, you might as well do so on your own terms rather than waiting around to degrade.

You take a quick moment to steel yourself for the embrace of death and take a deep breath before charging directly into the stone box.
…
There is a bright light, utterly blinding
…
There is a warmth around you, a fond embrace
…
There is a loud rumble, very much like distant thunder.
…
You regain sight to find yourself flying backwards through the room in which you first found yourself, surrounding by a faint golden aura. Though you must’ve flown through at least two surfaces, you feel perfectly fine. In fact, you feel better than ever.
Looking down, it would appear that the entire ground is shaking beneath you and wonder if that could possibly be a good sign. At last you come to a stop about 60 feet beyond the hole in the structure’s walls and the golden aura fades away.

Looking around, it is quite clear that the building you emerged from is a mere manor, the type that a lesser noble would be liable to live in. Some part of you is faintly disappointed but it is drowned out by the many voices in your head that seem to congratulate you on surviving…surviving…whatever it is that just happened.

>Wil gains 1,000 XP
>Wil is now a level 2 ???
>Wil’s maximum Hit Points increase by +10
>Wil’s BAB increases by +1
>Wil’s Saving throws increase by +1
>Wil gains 6 skill points to distribute
>Wil gains ghostly grip as a bonus feat
>Wil gains PSIONICS
>Wil gains MENU A ABILITY
>Wil is fully healed

>In front of you is the manor
>Behind you is a road that seems to circle the hill upon which the manor stands and possesses another path leading away from the hill.

(Sorry that it took me so long to update the stat block. That probably caused quite a bit of confusion :smallyuk:. Error is fixed and everything worked out for the best so hopefully no harm done. In my defense, though, the incorporeality was anounced and the posession attempt was made before aura mode was activated. Even so, I will definitely be better about that in future, promise. :smallsigh:)

[zyborg]

>Check Menu A ability

[Critical]

>Check out the surroundings with aura mode on

[Kuma Da]

Sink five points into knowledge: psionics. We need an emergency shot of what-the-crap-is-going-on.

Invest the last point in concentration.

Check through menus to see if we now have a list of psionic powers known.

[Betropper]

>Check to see if we are still incorporeal

[zyborg]

>Sink five points into knowledge: psionics. We need an emergency shot of what-the-crap-is-going-on.

>Invest the last point in concentration.

>Check through menus to see if we now have a list of psionic powers known.

>Do these actions.

[Realms of Chaos]

>Check to see if we are still incorporeal


Looking down, you see that your body doesn’t look even a bit insubstantial any more. If an onlooker didn’t know better, they’d probably think that you were as solid as the manor before you. In fact, you’re not entirely sure that they’d be wrong.

You just went through a very large… well, you don’t quite know what it was but you’re guessing that it was pretty important. Adding that big impressive event with your apparent new-found solidity and there might possibly be a very small chance that you may or may not be at least somewhat solid… maybe.

Then again, you note that you are still flying a bit. Your feet aren’t touching the ground yet and it might be dangerous to do so. You can already picture the countless blades of grass on this hill tearing up your feet. Perhaps there is a safe way to test your solidity.
…
After much deliberation, you decide to try plucking a single daffodil from the hill. Even if it fails, it shouldn’t be toooo painful, right? Right?
…
slowly
…
carefully
…
not too fast, now
…
almost
…
You finally close your fingers over the stem of the flower. Feeling a solid resistance between your fingers rather than unbearable pain, you try exerting a bit of force, pulling the daffodil up from the ground.

For a couple minutes, you hold the flower before your dumbstruck face, turning it over in your hand while searching for a suitable emotion. At long last, you break into a bit of not entirely sane laughter, interspersed with loud whooping and kicking your hands and feet in the air.

Do you see this?

DO YOU SEE THIS?

YOU ARE HOLDING A DAFFODIL!

NOTHING CAN STOP YOU NOW!

NOTHING!!!

You place one foot down on the ground, experimentally, and it creates a small impression on the ground. Yes! It’s true. You are finally corporeal.

Shooting a glance over to your statistics, however (located in the upper left-hand corner of the screen), you can’t help but notice that the word “incorporeal” still appears. What gives, really? How can you be incorporeal? You are touching things!

Maybe your stat block is trying to bring you down or maybe it’s a bit broken (it was a bit late to the party in pointing out that you were incorporeal, after all) but you don’t care. Why would you care about some stupid stat block when you’re HOLDING A FLOWER!

Wait a second. What else might have changed? You can’t wait to find out!

---Pause---

“The Awakening” has been paused
Commands will be queued up and become active when the game is no longer paused.









[Space] Resume
[V] Video Settings
[A] Audio Settings
[S] Save Game
[R] Reroute
[K] SAS
[?] Help


Sink five points into knowledge: psionics. We need an emergency shot of what-the-crap-is-going-on.

Invest the last point in concentration.

Check through menus to see if we now have a list of psionic powers known.


>Do these actions.


Hey, why is the SAS glowing red? That’s… different. Well, you WERE thinking of using those skill points anyway sooo…

[K]








_Power Allocation
>Skill Point Allocation


Oh, that’s what it means. Good to know, then.
…
HOLD ON JUST ONE SECOND! If the SAS is short for skill acquisition system, why are you using it to choose out powers as well? Shouldn’t there be a PAS for this? Now you’re just confused.

Well, you came here to deal with skills so you’ll deal with that first.

Skill Acquisition System (SAS) has been activated:
Allocation impossible. Maximum ranks exceeded. Please Try Again.
Have a nice day!

Oh, right. You almost forgot that this system is based in D&D logic. You can’t possess more ranks in any skill than your level +3. As you’re level 2 and already pumped 4 ranks into Knowledge (psionics), you could only really gain 1 more. Adding more than one to the other skills you’ve selected so far would probably be impossible as well. For now, let’s put one in knowledge and another in Concentration.

Skill Acquisition System (SAS) has been activated:
Allocation confirmed
Skill Points: 4/6
Have a nice day!

You can’t help but wonder if that extra skill point helps you at all. You don’t feel particularly smarter…


>Check out the surroundings with aura mode on


Hmm… what might aura mode look like when you’re full corporeal… worth a check.

[V]

Video Settings






_Brightness: ------[]-------
_Zoom: ------[]-------
_Bloodshed/Gore On [_] Off [X]
_Path Guide On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Big Head Mode On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Mirror World On [_] Off [X]
>Unlocked Aura Mode On [X] Off [_]
_Unlocked OMNISEARCHER


[space]

---Resume---

Well, not too much has changed. The mansion behind you is quickly losing whatever remained of its aura and all of the plants around you seem to possess a slight aura of their own. In the far distance, on the road leading away from the manor, you detect a large concentration of faint auras. Unfortunately, it seems that this mode is still as blurry as ever in regards to normal sight.


>Check Menu A ability


Having explored every menu available (well, other than that power acquisition option), you feel fairly certain that none of your options allow you to check your abilities at all. In fact, the only place that you can even see that ability listed is in your stat block over in the corner of the screen.
Your stat block, the filthy little liar who said that you were corporeal back in the manor but insists on your incorporeality even now that you’re holding a daffodil and standing on the ground. If you could access your stat block, you’d be doing far more than checking that one ability. By the time you’d be done with it, that stat block of yours would be singing another… tune…

Oh… oh no… no no no… it’s finally happened… how didn’t you notice sooner… the music has changed… (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xomvHDcOM18&feature=related)


>From now on, watch out if the music drastically changes


Ohnosomethingisgoingtojumpoutatyouatanymomentnowan dit’sgoingtobeabigscarybossthatyoudon’tknowhowtofi ghtsoallyoucandoisscreamandrunaroundincirclesuntil … until… you know, this is just silly. That music doesn’t sound particularly threatening and it’s just music, for crying out loud. You don’t know how the music changed, mind you, but you feel embarrassed that you’d instantly respond with fear. If something actually DOES jump out at you, that’s the time to scream and run in circles.

[Critical]

>Sink 1 point in Use Psionic Device, 1 point in Diplomacy, 1 point in Psicraft.
>Retrain 4 Spot ranks to 4 Bluff ranks, sink the last point there, too. The guy has freaking psionics, since when did casters need spot?
>Check out the Power Allocation

[Kuma Da]

Agreeing with critical.

[Realms of Chaos]

>Sink 1 point in Use Psionic Device, 1 point in Diplomacy, 1 point in Psicraft.


Might as well get the rest of this allocation out of the way.

Skill Acquisition System (SAS) has been activated:
Allocation confirmed
Skill Points: 1/6
Have a nice day!


>Retrain 4 Spot ranks to 4 Bluff ranks, sink the last point there, too. The guy has freaking psionics, since when did casters need spot?


You know, you can’t even remember that you’ve heard of a spot-based build. While you’ve heard of master bluffers and diplomancers, spot-mancers are… nonexistent, really. However did you make such a clumsy mistake? You’ll fix that at once… as soon as you figure out how to retrain. If it’s possible, the menus are making it far from self-explanatory. In the meantime, you might as well put your last skill point in Bluff. Better than nothing, after all.

Skill Acquisition System (SAS) has been activated:
Allocation confirmed
Skill Points: 0/6
Have a nice day!


>Check out the Power Allocation


Now to get down to the nitty-gritty. It is time for some real power.

Accessing power allocation, you find yourself on a screen with a list of 1st-level psion/wilder powers (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powerList.htm#firstLevelPsionWilderPowers) and a small message on the bottom of the screen reading, “0/1 powers selected”.

[zyborg]

> +Energy Ray

[Critical]

> +Energy Ray
>I agree with that.
>Path Guide - on?

[Kuma Da]

Path guide on.

Suggesting either 'know direction and location' or 'call to mind'. Still need to figure out who we are and where we are.

[Realms of Chaos]

Hmmm… time to finally choose a power, then.


Suggesting either 'know direction and location' or 'call to mind'. Still need to figure out who we are and where we are.


Well, it’s true that you really need to get some answers pronto. The question, then, is which of those powers you’re going to take.


> +Energy Ray

>I agree with that.


Oooor you could shoot energy rays from your fingertips. Let’s see, hand lasers or answers; beams of death or info you might get at the next town you find?

The choice is clear: Energy Ray

*Click*

Power Acquired
Now that you have your power, all that you need are some power…

Power Points Used: 0

…points. You’re fairly certain that power points normally count down rather than up but you honestly aren’t surprised anymore. As far as you know, this game has been game-sharked, game-genied, and smacked a few times with a hammer for good measure. You’ll probably figure out your limit when you run out of points.

Well, you can’t just sit here and wait around forever. Time to decide which way you’re going to travel.


>Path Guide - on?

Path guide on.


Or maybe you don’t have to decide. If you recall correctly, there is a video option that might help out here, one of the few that you haven’t messed with yet. Time to turn it on and follow the path. Free will is for suckers.

Video Settings






_Brightness: ------[]-------
_Zoom: ------[]-------
_Bloodshed/Gore On [_] Off [X]
>Path Guide On [X] Off [_]
_Unlocked Big Head Mode On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Mirror World On [_] Off [X]
_Unlocked Aura Mode On [X] Off [_]
_Unlocked OMNISEARCHER


You move to unpause yourself when a horrid idea occurs to you. What if this path guide simply creates a glowing fairy with a shrill voice that keeps yelling the same things at you over and over again? What if it’s even worse? How long could your sanity bear the strain? Slowly, cautiously, you finally unpause, preparing yourself for the worst.

[space]

As the game unpauses, you see… that nothing has changed. Either the game is a bit broken or this setting actually needs a mission directive to point you towards. You are pretty aimless at the moment so… now what?

>In front of you is the manor
>Behind you is a road that seems to circle the hill upon which the manor stands and possesses another path leading away from the hill.

[Kuma Da]

Definitely circle the hill. Might as well get an idea where we are.

[Critical]

Definitely circle the hill. Might as well get an idea where we are.

This. :smallsmile:

[Realms of Chaos]

(Stupid Holidays keeping me away from computer for over a week, grumble grumble)


Definitely circle the hill. Might as well get an idea where we are.

Might at well get a sense of the environment. Walking on the path around the mansion's hill, you get a sense that the forest of trees is only to one side of you. To the opposite side is a tall ledge 20 feet tall. Both paths leading away from the hill look almost identical, save for the fact that only one of them has the auras that you detected in the distance.

Hmmm...

[Kuma Da]

Head towards the auras.

[Critical]

Head towards the auras.
Yessy yes!

[Realms of Chaos]

Head towards the auras.


Must. Head. Towards. The Light.

As you walk your way down the road, you don't run into anything or anyone in particular. You see a few more breeds of plant but you can't quite identify them. The path heads up a large hill and once you read the top, you find yourself looking over a large town. Most of the auras seem to be within the buildings.

>The slope before you seems to lead to some form of town square with a fountain in its center.
>A small side-path to your right curves around to the side of town, by what looks like a stable.

[Critical]

>To the stables!

[Kuma Da]

Sure. Better not approach town directly in case we're some kind of extra-planear frankenstein's monster.

edit: fixed a typo

[Betropper]

Agreed i guess.

[Realms of Chaos]

>To the stables!

Sure. Better not approach town directly in case we're some kind of extra-planear frankenstein's monster.


To the stables, then. As you walk down towards the stables, you get a decent look at the city. It seems to be small (though still the largest town that you've ever seen) and divided into four main quarters by roads, the fountain in the center. Buildings near the center seem to be a tad larger and lack auras within them and one of the four quarters is occupied by a single large structure so filled with auras that it creates a false dawn.

You finally reach the stables and notice three horses asleep within the structure and one that seems to be silently eating oats and ignoring you. A small wooden strucure rests nearby, in which you can detect a single aura.

>There is a road to your left leading directly into town.
>There is a road ahead of you leading out of town and across some fields.
>There are four horses in the immediate surroundings
>There is a wooden structure nearby

[Critical]

>Wooden structure, wooden structure!