Empire!7 - Into the Depths: Out-of-Character Thread (CWBG)

[Autumn Stars]

alas, i must leave this game. i haven't been able to really keep up with it for *several* rounds, and have only (barely) been managing with significant help from both Rocket and Grim. it just costs too much of my attention span, which has stressed me out quite a bit.

it *has* been fun, and i've enjoyed my time with polar. i'll be passing the gravetenders to Role , and letting him take them over. i hope everyone here has a lot of fun in the future, and thank you all for the experience!

i'm certain Role will take the gravetenders in an interesting direction!

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Turns out while I am stumped mechanically for Professor Deeatrice, I absolutely have ideas for DMG.

__**Salt The Seas**__

> *Ionizing radiation in certain conditions can damage living organisms, causing cancer or genetic damage.*

> -6 Leader Loss. -6 Enemy Leader Loss. +20% Own Casualties. +20% Enemy Casualties. (Possibly some attacking conditional, possibly + tac doc and - battle stuff)
> On tac doc victory, add 1 pollution to the region for every treasure spent and every unit killed on both sides. On battle victory, add 6 pollution to the region and make it Unowned.


I also have the seed concept of __**Disjunction**__, to negate and or invert faith type Enemy bonuses, and to make Enemy Artifacts take a Leader Loss roll, but less sure how to make that work and it's prone to juggling with the Enemy just fielding their resources differently.

[Grim ranger]

Technology idea I had as of late:

Mobile Subdivisions
Requirements: Specialized Ship, Building materials, Megafaunal Caravans, Megafaunal Tailoring
Effect: Allows Specialized Ships to be assigned to any publicly made roll once a round (outside of battle rolls), providing additional +2 bonus to the chosen roll. The Specialized Ship cannot be used for anything else during that round.

Created in a spark of genius born out of necessity during a punishing journey through the Wandering Dunes, the Mobile Subdivisions combine the benefits of megafauna used as beasts of burden and structure of Specialized Ships, creating a well-supplied temporary base of operations. The ship becomes a basis for a small, self-contained fortification built around it, the use of which can range from a headquarters for expedition, temporary emporium for goods or even to a sudden shrine for the faith of the crew.

Edit: here is a preliminary World Wonder writeup too

World Wonder: Polar Institute of Warfare

Built upon the bedrock of existing Nathi knowledge from the Strategium, the Polar Institute of Warfare is aimed to become the leading name in martial innovation. The planned expansion of the institution is radical enough to transform the silhouette of formerly ruined Pelegar, with its spires and intricate network of pathways connecting the grand building into the existing glow-spires and ancient infrastructure of Panatia. This wonder of the world will do much to raise the esteem of the native lizard-people of the region, and it is not for its own sake that all this grandeur is for either: prodigies from all over the Hegemony and all seas beyond the domain of the Frozen King are invited to attend to the lessons taught within, where their innovations can be recorded to further preserve the methods of war across the world. The most prized positions of the Institute are reserved for grand generals, scholars of war and other people of import... no doubt a tempting prospect for any nation with ambitions of grand martial tradition. The Hegemony itself will much benefit from the knowledge within, as cadets going through the rigorous schooling in arts of war will make for formidable protection for their home provinces.

[Volthawk]

After thinking it over, talking with Mappy (as the other person benefitting), and looking over what's been said in the discord, I have something to put up for approval for my 40 HS tier 2 faith tech:

Spoiler: Inspirational Adventurers

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The Flowing Way does not only teach, it inspires. As followers of the Cyphiri Way journey into the unknown, they are accompanied by those who are knowledgeable of the Way and its mysteries. These sages of the Way trade in stories, and the adventures, trials and travails of an expedition is fertile ground for material to work with, and the time travelling gives ample time to consider what the journey means in the context of the Flowing Way and the fates of the explorers. Sent home for consumption by the public, or performed to those living in the places the expedition arrives in as a means of communication, the effect is the same - inspiration, a push to abandon stagnancy and go out to find their own flow in the Way. While many institutions notice an increase in applicants in times where these stories are commonplace, the militaries of countries following the Cyphiri Way in particular have learnt to take advantage of this inspiration, offering those yearning for more a place to find true adventure in their ranks, even if they come from abroad, bolstering their forces with new recruits.

On a success/great success/breakpoint between the two (delete as appropriate for balance) on an Expedition* action, gain one unit.

*If it ends up being at a point where adding in the other exploration types wouldn't break it, that'd be nice, but not at all essential.

[To explain the reasoning, decided to go with the flow of everyone's faith things being unit boosting rather than fighting it, but with the fluff of the Cyphiri Way being what it is and my personal desire to both not copy someone else's tech (an alternative idea thrown out by Mappy when discussing this was copying the Middish Way benefit but making it Cities and/or Specialised Ships instead of Forts and Holy Orders) and not entirely drop the idea of tying it to expeditions, I felt like this way was the best way to reconcile that all. It seemed like a automatically successful rolled action was okay for a great success on an opposed action, going off Memetic Hazard Generators, but this is an unrolled action (and one that has already been given out without an action cost in various ways elsewhere) that goes off an unopposed action (so a success/GS is easier), so I'm unsure where the final balance should end up, hence presenting various options in that regard. Would probably get better results just putting the strongest version in and getting you to negotiate me down, but that's time consuming and boring so multiple choice it is.]

[CopyOfBaguette]

I love, to laugh! Long — and loud — and clear! Ha ha!

[CopyOfBaguette]

I love, to laugh! Long — and loud — and clear! Ha ha!

I love to laugh! It's getting worse every year!

[CopyOfBaguette]

I love to laugh! It's getting worse every year!

The more I laugh (do-da, dee-da), the more I fill with glee! He he he he he!

[CopyOfBaguette]

The more I laugh (do-da, dee-da), the more I fill with glee! He he he he he!

And the more the glee, he he, he-he, the more I'm a merrier me!

[CopyOfBaguette]

And the more the glee, he he, he-he, the more I'm a merrier me!

And then! The! Band plays and it's ve! Ry! Bouncy and fun!

[CopyOfBaguette]

And then! The! Band plays and it's ve! Ry! Bouncy and fun!

Some people laugh through their noses, sounding something like this "Mmm..."

[CopyOfBaguette]

Some people laugh through their noses, sounding something like this "Mmm..."

Some people laugh through their teeth goodness sake, hissing and fizzing like snakes.

[CopyOfBaguette]

Some people laugh through their teeth goodness sake, hissing and fizzing like snakes.

Some laugh too fast — hahahahahahahahah!

[CopyOfBaguette]

Some laugh too fast — hahahahahahahahah!

Some only blast - HA!!!

[CopyOfBaguette]

Some only blast - HA!!!

Others, they twitter like birds, tehehehehe!

[Tychris1]

They raise them weird outside of Tropical.

[CopyOfBaguette]

Others, they twitter like birds, tehehehehe!

I hope that's enough of that song that just beamed itself into my brain.

[slimetrials]

Hi! I am going to try joining and now I am going to do ten posts here if that's okay. Just a little posts. For images.

[slimetrials]

This is another post.
Snails are my favorite animals.

[slimetrials]

This one is going to be about fish.
I think my favorite fish, out of like. Actual fishes has to be the Mola Mola. Not just because they are big but because they look very friendly. Great dane of the wet.

[slimetrials]

This one is going to be about Leopard Slugs.
Did you know when they mate they hang upside down from a branch and make a cradle out of mucus? Wild. When they're done they just drop on the ground.

[slimetrials]

Did you know that there are sea snails that make sails out of their feet in order to use the tide for locomotion?

[slimetrials]

Did you know Giant Isopods keep their young in a pouch on their bellies?

[slimetrials]

Did you know giant isopods compound eyes look silvery, or reflective?

[slimetrials]

Did you know that there are many species of bone-eating worms in the ocean?

[TheDarkDM]

Tech Proposal: Cartel Organization

Effect: If both a liege and a vassal possess Cartel Organization, once per round the vassal may use one of their Liege's stat scores in place of their own for an Action. This Action still counts towards the vassal's per-round total for the purposes of stat growth. A liege may spend 2 Treasure as a non-action to enable one vassal to take a second action using their stats.

If a liege with this technology has multiple vassals who also share this technology, the liege may expend 1 Treasure as a non-action to act as a bridge between them. If the liege does so, then two vassals (specified in the non-action where treasure is spent) may make use of each others' stats as though they shared a direct liege-vassal relationship. This may be done once per round in addition to the normal benefit of Cartel Organization.

[Grim ranger]

So, since some explanation story-wise may be in order for my planned use of Teach a Fish to Man from DNA, I plan to further develop Talented Crabs into Talented Crab Soldiery, and I do have some in-story justifications for this.

Spoiler: Crabs with Talent...for War!

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While their humble ancestors were mere animals incapable of complexity, the help of Seatide Condeferacy left the people of Pelegar cultivating a number of Talented Crabs instead... an operation that has only grown in size in recent years. And as Hegemony's grand achievement, the Polar Institute of Warfare, is set to lift the region back into its ancestral glory, the crabs too are gaining more possibilities to shine. The influx of martial geniuses and military trainers eventually led to the question of whenever or not the Talented Crabs had any use for the Institute, many of the personell arriving taking it upon themselves to find the truth of the matter out.

Although the task was unorthodox and at times frustrating, their efforts slowly bore fruit, many of the teachers finding ready source of decent students in the basics of warfare among these lesser crustaceans... and eventually the martial training was intriduced fully as a part of the raising of Talented Crabs. The academy would need many guards thanks to its sheer size alone, after all, and the Hegemony would always have battlefields that'd require more soldiers to conquer them.

[slimetrials]

Sorry, making one last post in here to try and appease the site gods into letting me use the link feature.

[Minescratcher]

109 for approval (finally). Shorter than I would've liked but at this point I just need to get something out.

* * *

Region 109
Camual, the Swarming Shelf

Spoiler: Geography

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Bounded on the west, north, and northeast by chains of islands, Camual is an extremely shallow and swampy region like many in the northern temperate seas, and one which is quite out of the way for most travelers. Still, though it has all the usual features of a brackish sea, lightly spotted with groves of seaweed, no traveler would ever mistake Camual for a “normal” sea. The seafloor surface is not sand, but a swirling, undulating mass of isopods, giving the region its nickname of the Swarming Seas. Grey dust thrown up by their movement rises towards the surface, at night illuminating the whole sea with a faint glow, while far off the songs of Mer are heard.

Spoiler: People

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The Innips are Mer in form, though their adaptations to the brackish conditions of Camual suggest they may be a separate related species, as they are capable of resisting desiccation for periods of up to a day and require substantially less oxygen than foreign Mer. They prize resilience and community and so have often been rather isolationist, treating occasional foreign missionaries or traders with respect but rarely forming close bonds. Most Innips do not leave their home clan’s claimed waters, relying on the bounty of seaweed and isopods Camual provides.

Spoiler: History and Government

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Camual had no centralized government until the Finalists invaded the region, being instead divided into a number of independent clans who mostly stayed out of each other’s business. Finalist rule was brief, as they were expelled by the Order of Orders within a few years, but the fledgling region-wide institutions they created proved valuable enough for the Knights to co-opt rather than replace them. The clans are now all officially ruled by the Defender of the Peace, currently an Insmiddish by the name of Oliver, who answers to the Order of Orders on matters within Camual.

Spoiler: Resources

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The constant churn of the seafloor brings the region’s famous deposits of Swarm Ash to the surface. A chalky, grey dust, Swarm Ash glows with an inner heat that lasts for weeks. Some believe this to be magical in nature, while others suggest it is a strange chemical property of the ash, but regardless it is extremely valuable for those in need of heat.
The region requires steady imports of Military Equipment, as its own domestic industries are weak.

Spoiler: Faith

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The Innips have long been followers of the Flowing Way, being among the first peoples reached by Middish missionaries before the region was made fully brackish by the Divine Nacres’ hydroforming experiments. Little changed in the decades since until the Finalists invaded the region in the desperate throes of their defeat, rapidly spreading the tenets of the Final Peace among the Innips. Though the Order was severely offended by this, it remains to be seen whether the Flowing Way can be restored.

[Feathersnow]

The Savannah of Terbon (region 107)

Spoiler: people

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This region is inhabited mostly by Leafsheep, but a physically reedy, technologically primitive offshoot of that race, unconnected to the Lux-Glossian or Pfilghol civilizations. In recent decades, they have increasingly been economically dominated by the Remainder minority, opportunistic Clans of which immigrated from Umbergy to establish themselves as a sort of aristocracy.

There had been some resentment among the populace, though they they receive useful trade goods and were rarely interfered with on a personal level. Indeed, nationalist elements had appealed to the Cherry Blossom movement powers to redress the supplanting of their native rulers. This was rendered moot by the disappearing of the surviving Remainder nobles into the Ultimate Bunker.

Their native government was a loose true democracy of local leaders coming to a consensus, them having no strong family ties or massive wealth disparity in their culture.

Spoiler: Thassalography

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This region has rolling Plains of seagrass with occasional copses of large tree-like kelps. It is home to a vibrant ecosystem of large, charismatic fauna, much recreated from the Finalist Seed Bank in the days after the Cataclysm.

Spoiler: Religion

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There are Finalists holy sites here. Most notable is The Ultimate Bunker, built when the the Sakura-Jin made holding the Final Bunker impractical. Apparently this holds a population of unreformed Final Peace devotees who may well believe they are waiting out a Second Cataclysm.

Another holy site is The Seed Bank, where genetic samples are held of species that went extinct in the "first" Cataclysm as well as ones still common today. This will be used to repopulate the world when the Finalists return from hiding, or so they think.

The Leafsheep natives believe sporadically that Finalism is probably true, but that, being physically bigger and fitter than Remainder, some of them will survive to join the New Order as valued allies when the storm has passed.

Spoiler: Trade

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The Leafsheep value precious minerals, holding they will be useful in the post apocalyptic future as a sort of currency. Their culture furthermore fixated on them as a sign of wealth.

This region is home to the Kalask, a venomous icthyosaur roughly the size and intelligence of a housecat. These creatures can be tamed as pets and hunting animals, but their real value is in their venom. It has no effect if ingested, but it is delibitating when injected in its pure form, and psychoactive when dilluted. Kalask Venom has a tarry viscosity when milked correctly and can be easily stored.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Sorry, making one last post in here to try and appease the site gods into letting me use the link feature.

No problem, we all understand the kinds of forum stuff that are necessary evils. We're glad to all welcome you into the community though, congrats.