Make a Contract With Me! [Lag Backup Thread]

[LightMage]

What is the cutoff at which you would consider it not worth it? 7/10? 8/10? 9.5/10? 10/10 is 16 times more efficient than 6/10, to serve as a reference point.

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I'd say at 9.0?

7/10 would be 9 times more effective right?
8/10 would be 4?
9/10 would be 2?

Right?

Oh some thoughts for training, could we use magic to increase our reflexes? Can we use it to increase our flexability?

 

[Thomasfoolery]

Is it possible for us to use our healing to induce cancer into someone?

 

[Rihaku]

You are currently at 6.5/10. Final decision time - 15 minutes before I start to write.

 

[Serous]

I vote we become Uly Lite.

 

[LightMage]

You are currently at 6.5/10. Final decision time - 15 minutes before I start to write.

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Ars also has a fanwork in the SB thread. (In case you haven't checked it due to lag.)

At 6.5 I think we should spend the 25k for Maximum Training.

What do you guys think?

 

[Serous]

Its quite hard to argue with increasing our general productivity by an order of magnitude.

 

[Malcolmo]

[X] Spend the xp to increase general productivity.

Also if we should start running everywhere we go when possible. It'll serve as a way to build up our normal stats when we are in public places and cannot really work out as much.

 

[Berserkslash]

Humm, each time we used the magic instincively it has been someone else, not us but us at the same time, not the original in control but the 'Magician's Mask' or the 'Soldier's Mask' to be able to handle the situation in the perfect way that aligns with our goals, not us but still undeniably us. We can switch out Masks, bring about another perspective and skill set that fit within that character, a smooth tongued liar of a Magician fooling with tricks and sleight of hand, a Soldier long of the battlefield and trained well to be able to case a scene and make the perfect shot at a moments notice.


Is this anywhere near what it is?

 

[LightMage]

Humm, each time we used the magic instincively it has been someone else, not us but us at the same time, not the original in control but the 'Magician's Mask' or the 'Soldier's Mask' to be able to handle the situation in the perfect way that aligns with our goals, not us but still undeniably us. We can switch out Masks, bring about another perspective and skill set that fit within that character, a smooth tongued liar of a Magician fooling with tricks and sleight of hand, a Soldier long of the battlefield and trained well to be able to case a scene and make the perfect shot at a moments notice.


Is this anywhere near what it is?

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Huh this sounds like Majora's Mask themed power. We put on a 'Mask' and gain it's form, powers, ectera.
Interesting.

On the thought of tricks and sleight of hand, maybe our bluffs and tricks can become real if no one doubts them?

 

[Vindictus]

Your morning begins with the shrill ring of an alarm clock piercing your dreams. You slap at the damned thing once- Twice- Three times before you finally shut it off.

You lay in bed a moment longer before prying yourself from it's warm sheets and slipping on your socks and shoes. It is five in the morning, and the sky is still black- But the city doesn't sleep. Streetlights pool a soft glow across the walkways as you start your early morning run. You can feel your muscles tightening, stretching and breaking- Blood pooling in your pumping legs and arms, giving an illusion of lightheadedness.

A week ago, running this speed would have left you gasping for breath after a few seconds. Now, as your flesh and bones heal and grow stronger faster then you wear them down? You will not stop running for another hour, and even then your only reason for halting is to wipe yourself off for school.

School is nothing special. Classes pass as they did before the accident- You sit by the window, and wait for the day to end

When it is over, you make your way back home. You have a freshly purchased rack of weights and a punching bag to try out- Bought with a small portion of your father's life insurance [An almost ironic turn of events- You wouldn't have thought that your old man qualified, much less that he would have ever actually bought any], these are your newest and best friends. The rest of the evening is spent pumping iron and beating the heavy bag. When you first got it, you messed up a few times- But in the end, pain was a decent enough teacher when broken bones mended in minutes.

The sun begins to drop in the sky, and you pause in your work to make yourself something to eat. You are no cook- Simple instant noodles and a chef salad are all you'll be eating tonight. ... Not filling, but it will keep you alive.

After eating, you shower for the second time and slip into bed. It takes only a few moments for you to get back to sleep.

Your morning begins with the shrill cry of the alarm...

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What is the cutoff at which you would consider it not worth it? 7/10? 8/10? 9.5/10? 10/10 is 16 times more efficient than 6/10, to serve as a reference point.

Click to shrink...

I would consider it semi-worth it at up to 8/10. Above that, I would view it as not being worth it.

That said, I'll support it up to 7.5 out of ten. I'm more then aware of how prone the voters are to last minute barrages of fanwork... Well. See above, I guess.

 

[Orm Embar]

Humm, each time we used the magic instincively it has been someone else, not us but us at the same time, not the original in control but the 'Magician's Mask' or the 'Soldier's Mask' to be able to handle the situation in the perfect way that aligns with our goals, not us but still undeniably us. We can switch out Masks, bring about another perspective and skill set that fit within that character, a smooth tongued liar of a Magician fooling with tricks and sleight of hand, a Soldier long of the battlefield and trained well to be able to case a scene and make the perfect shot at a moments notice.


Is this anywhere near what it is?

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As interesting as being a SMT protagonist would be, it doesn't fit with the notion that the Wish defines the powers. We explicitly wanted to become the greatest magician possible, so why would it give us a power more suited to taking on other roles?

 

[Enohthree]

So were these fanworks totaled?

 

[Vindictus]

I have absolutely no fucking idea.

 

[Rihaku]

All fanworks were totaled for XP and productivity. You can always check the second post of the main thread for the current XP total.

 

[Rihaku]

Update ETA ~15-30 minutes.

 

[Rihaku]

The Count of Monte Cristo

You ran, a fleeting shadow across the rooftops, until the noonday sun plunged into the bowl of the earth and the sky burned violet with twilight. Trailing behind you was the cloak of fog, and behind it, light-footed and sprightly and silent, the creature in white. And when you stopped running, the war began. Not against Tetsu Shiniichirou, nor against the Liches who preyed on men. The first and greatest obstacle to the completion of your vendetta was, of course, yourself. Shivers of hate wracked you, burning and cutting, impelling you forward like a thousand lashes. You'd been a fool. You'd thought that one clever trick and some moderate sustained effort could make up for your inherent weakness. You hated that you'd deceived yourself into complacency. You hated that you'd been so deceived.

You'd wished to become the greatest Magician possible. Not to be the greatest Magician, but to become him. Had the Messenger only interpreted your words literally, or had that been the secret wish in your heart all along? Was this - was what you experienced now the culmination of that wish? What this what you'd asked for?

It didn't matter now. If this was your wish being granted, you would show Tetsu Shiniichirou the power of a wish that surpassed even entropy.

Twenty-seven units of magical energy. No control over your wish magic. Physical abilities barely greater than a mortal human's. A rifle manifested from your Soul Gem. And the ability to heal yourself and Kyubey.

It would have to be enough.

When first you'd become a Magician, you'd felt all your being compressed into what would become your Soul Gem. When Tetsu had pressed your skull against the ground, there should have been more than enough force to cause moderate brain damage, and yet your thoughts weren't at all impaired. If anything they were clearer and sharper than ever.

"Kyubey," you said, glancing down at the vastness of the city spread before you, "a Magician is no longer a brain housed inside a skull, isn't he? That's why you call this jewel a Soul Gem...one might as well call it, a phylactery."

"We transfer your awareness from your neuron cluster to the jewel," the Messenger confirmed, "it's far more defensible, and provides some degree of insulation against pain-"

"I'm not complaining," you cut in, "you don't need to justify yourself to me. As a matter of fact, this will be very helpful. If this body is just a biological engine that ferries me around and performs physical tasks, then it will be able to better endure what I have in mind for it."

Healing. If the healing of exertion tears could result in increased muscle mass, the magic did not operate by imposing a previously recorded template of the target's body onto reality. Nor was it simply limited to accelerating the natural healing powers of the body - you would have had to consume colossal quantities of food to get the results that you did, otherwise, and your arm wound healed flawlessly, bone marrow and nerves and scarless flesh. But, from the other end, it was clear that a Magician's healing ability was not general biological manipulation, nor did it draw upon the caster's knowledge of anatomy. Upon introspection, you realized you had an instinctual grasp of what the magic could do; the hard part was formalizing it into words. It if could improve your physique, heal any wound, and remove physical defects, but couldn't replicate molecular nanotechnology despite feats that appeared to require it...if it had no reliance at all on the caster's knowledge of the actual science...

The similarity to wish-granting struck you. Formal analysis was nonsensical with the assumptions that normally governed empirical science. When you had wished for power, how had the wish-granting mechanism known not to simply deposit an enormous quantity of joules per second upon you? The system of magic that governed Magicians had some means of discerning both the intent of the user and the 'common sense' of humanity. Healing magic did impose a template, just not one that had ever been physically recorded. It was a template that existed purely as a mental construct, and - like a wish - was brought into reality by magic. The Platonic Form of your body, negotiated by the 'common sense' of humankind, was the template being used. That was why your arm, when first healed, did not exhibit an ideal degree of muscle, but after sustained exercise, did. Your mind, once the product of your body. Now your body was the product of your mind.

And even if you were bound by the common sense of men, now that you formally understood the magic, it was apparent there were applications far beyond common sense. If magic could revert your form into an ideal body in an ideal state, then many states could be overwritten. Not merely injury or illness.

Fatigue. Malnutrition. Sleep deprivation. Nearsightedness. Drug Tolerance. Drug Addiction. Asphyxiation.

It was a shame your brain was now nothing more than a receiver and transmitter of signals to your body. You would have liked to experiment with nootropic augmentation. Nonetheless, you ought still benefit from effects that temporarily improved the brain's ability to to interface with the body, one way or another. Caffeine. Modafinil. Methamphetamine.

In time, you ceased to require sleep or rest. Physical conditioning took up a minimum of your time. All else was devoted to preparation, mundane or magical. Refining your healing art, which in turn refined your body. A body that operated at peak efficiency to carry out the dictates of the mind. You entered a voluntary exile from civilization, retreating into the wilderness, practicing your marksmanship, your fieldcraft, with the infinite patience of a predator that did not need to eat, drink, breathe, rest, or sleep. In the long hours of the hunt, while your body stood statue-still, you busied your mind practicing magic, refining your efficiency, your versatility, your control. Day became night, the moon rose and set and changed her face, and your eyes stayed open. Time, no longer fragmented by sleep, flowed continuously for you, a single uninterrupted eternity of hate. When apathy and laziness raised their heads, you dissociated yourself from your body, enough to drown out the evolutionary impulse to conserve energy, but not so much that you couldn't still feel hate.

And if Healing Magic operated from the same fundamental core as wish-granting, it was likely that all the powers of a Magician were so derived. The instincts that you developed to heal likely had analogues in other arts. Though your wish magic remained a cypher, the potential within your weapon was not so inscrutable. The incarnation of your impetus towards violence was a sniper rifle. It represented a confluence of ideals you held about battle. Emphasize one such ideal, manifest it as you do your ideal form, and an effect is possible. And then, more complex interactions, things that could not be done to your own body. One ideal, designated as secondary, interpreted through the lens of another, designated as terminal. Multiple ideals locked in dialectic, the effect fluctuating with the strength of their respective positions. Or, in theory - each ideal, harmonized, aligned perfectly, all contradictions resolved, sprung fully-formed into reality like a goddess from the cranium of the creator.

But the tide of your advance was not inexorable. Many ideas, theorized, could not be realized. Despite enormous strides forward in efficiency, despite the fact that you could for the most part train un-transformed, a mere ten percent of your Soul Gem remained unblackened.

It was time to emerge. To apply what you'd learned. To fulfill your intended function. If Witches were supernatural predators that devoured humans, then Magicians were the apex predators that devoured Witches. The hunt would begin in earnest.

---

You guys will very likely need it, so I'm offering double XP for reactions for this weekend.

First off, Weapon Magic techniques. They go from rank 1-10 just like Stats, and you have 2 free levels from this training. You can therefore choose two of the following options or two levels in one of them. Each ideal has a discrete technique; when you possess one level in each technique, you may put levels into an Ultimate Technique that completely encompasses your philosophy of battle. However, the more ideals you have, the more constrained (and thus weaker) your Ultimate is. Minimum # of ideals is 3.

[ ] Arsenal Replicate - Violence should be Industrialized, benefitting from the reason and science of humankind. Level 1: Allows you to generate copies of your weapon, which last up to fifteen minutes. Level 2: Up to one weapon at a time can be remotely triggered.

Infrequent Use: 1 Energy / Hour. Heavy Use: 5 Energy / Hour.

[ ] Scope - Violence should be guided by Observation. Level 1: Creates a sniper scope for your rifle, which grants an instinctual (Newtype-esque) spatial awareness of anything within its sights. Level 2: When aimed at a spot for five seconds, provides superhero-esque X-ray vision of the indicated area. Every additional five seconds grants an additional level of penetration. For example, seeing through walls, then seeing through clothes, then seeing through flesh.

Passive.

[ ] Silver Bullet - Violence should be Final; it should resolve the situation, be it a good ending or bad. Level 1: Grapeshot. A multitude of bullets launched at once, targeting up to thirty-six distinct units each of which was aimed at beforehand. Damage reduced 50%. Level 2: Shieldbreaker, a round which is exceptionally difficult, even for supernatural beings, to block or interdict.

1 Use: 1 Energy.

I will accept write-ins for these as well. Your ideals aren't locked in until you actually buy them.

Second, where will you hunt? Kyubey suggests one of the following:

[ ] Big Game Hunter - Aokigahara is home to monstrous Witches, gorged on the souls of suicides. The Grief Seed of such a creature will yield ~100 Energy units, and you are very familiar with the terrain and conditions of the deep forest. However, there is really nowhere to run if you are forced to retreat, and no real chance of external assistance. Most Puella know better than to walk into the lair of the beast.

[ ] Mitakihara - A brief jaunt into Mitakihara Town, which is relatively close and has an above-average population of Witches. Road traffic is sparse and public transportation plentiful, so there are avenues of escape.

To some degree this is a choice on whether you'd rather see more original content or introduce some stuff from the show.

 

[Serous]

Our MC should know that he is currently relatively weak amongst the Puella, and thus Aokigahara is out. Stronger and more experienced Puella than him do not attempt to go there, and he currently has no frame of reference on how powerful a normal Witch is. Thus, it should be better for him to wet his feet against a weaker witch first, and gain experience against their tactics and abilities before attempting to challenge one of the more powerful ones.

 

[Pipeman]

Since this is more or less a response to a couple of the last posts on SB, I should probably post this over there, but since lag seems to have returned I'll just post this here and hope enough people see it.

We don't actually have the necessary XP to buy Scope 1 and Speed 2.
We'd need at least around 1-2 reaction posts or fanfics of sufficient length to get those two.

 

[Rihaku]

Yes, I hope people use this thread more when there's lag. Otherwise lag slows my posting speed considerably.

 

[Berserkslash]

Since this is more or less a response to a couple of the last posts on SB, I should probably post this over there, but since lag seems to have returned I'll just post this here and hope enough people see it.

We don't actually have the necessary XP to buy Scope 1 and Speed 2.
We'd need at least around 1-2 reaction posts or fanfics of sufficient length to get those two.

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As I posted over there, we have more than enough to get both, it only costs 25k to raise a stat under 5 and for weapon magic it costs 15k under 5. We have 37.8k exp right now.

 

[Pipeman]

As I posted over there, we have more than enough to get both, it only costs 25k to raise a stat under 5 and for weapon magic it costs 15k under 5. We have 37.8k exp right now.

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15k + 25k = 40k
And since discussion only accumulates ~150 XP per page through discussion I wasn't very hopeful we'd hit the mark before Vindicuts' Omake.

 

[Berserkslash]

15k + 25k = 40k
And since discuaaion only accumulates ~150 XP per page through discussion I wasn't very hopeful we'd hit the mark before Vindicuts' Omake.

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Agh, was thinking 20k last time I checked how much we'd need..... Guess I'm pretty damn bad at math. Though we should be able to get to the 40k limit if we try.

 

[Rihaku]

Damn, I'm actually conflicted now about where you are going. Well, it seems there is consensus on taking Silver Bullet 3 at least, so here is Silver Bullet 4:

4: Impactor. A spherical explosion of rending, grinding, crushing kinetic force erupts upon the point struck. General direction of motion is to repel all objects away from the center of the sphere. The energy cannot directly harm you or your magical items, but will still knock you back. Tends not to generate shrapnel, but will turn any normal humans within the blast radius into chunky salsa. Primary blast radius ~ 5 meters.

 

[Pipeman]

Agh, was thinking 20k last time I checked how much we'd need..... Guess I'm pretty damn bad at math. Though we should be able to get to the 40k limit if we try.

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The last Omake gave us ~1k xp times whatever quality multiplier Rihaku assigns to it.
I'll try to find out how many pages of discussion we had since then but it seems to me like we might have already done it.

I will note though that reactions get 4 XP per word times quality multiplier right now, so if anyone still hasn't posted one and has the time they'd be welcome.

 

[Pipeman]

Damn, I'm actually conflicted now about where you are going. Well, it seems there is consensus on taking Silver Bullet 3 at least, so here is Silver Bullet 4:

4: Impactor. A spherical explosion of rending, grinding, crushing kinetic force erupts upon the point struck. General direction of motion is to repel all objects away from the center of the sphere. The energy cannot directly harm you or your magical items, but will still knock you back. Tends not to generate shrapnel, but will turn any normal humans within the blast radius into chunky salsa. Primary blast radius ~ 5 meters.

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Sounds like a great way to keep them from closing in too quickly, do massive damage in the process and may even be used as an emergency measure to ge them to stop them from mauling us.
All around it sounds awesome.

Depending on how long it takes our opponents to recover their footing we may want to consider hammering them with loads of normal bullets as long as they need to get up or even to use the time it buys us to change position and start the whole thing anew.

 

[Guile]

Oh Lag, you are a flighty temptress. Also, thou art a bitch.

Reaction:
I like the idea of magic having only a passing nod to physics. Instead, its all Platonic Forms and stuff. That's neat. Its less easy to game the system (since its harder to understand from a modern viewpoint), but it feels more true to the show. I suppose its a matter of intent as much as anything; we need to want it, and visualize it, and it becomes so; in that way, change is accomplished more easily (its hard to make yourself believe we're all clouds of potential down beneath the molecular level).

I am blown away that we took the Soul Gem revelation so easily. We are incredibly well rooted mentally. I'm not really worried much about the yak kid inevitably kidnapping our buddy Jou, with this level of fortitude we won't choke, we'll just power on, Frank Castle style. Is this the power of our outfit choice (mania, rather than despair), or is this the power of 'I hate that guy so much becoming an undead is a good thing!'?

As for votes:
[X] Silver bullet, two levels
We're going Witch hunting, and Witches have familiars. Grapeshot is gonna be ideal. And the unblockable for the Witch itself.
[X] Big Game Hunter
I like the kids from the show a lot, but MC just got his ass kicked by the local magician. He's not going to want to tangle with other veteran meducas, and the odds of getting in and out without meeting SOMEBODY are slim. Big Game Hunter says we won't be getting backup, but... I don't think MC believes that will happen anyway.

 

[Rihaku]

I am blown away that we took the Soul Gem revelation so easily. We are incredibly well rooted mentally. I'm not really worried much about the yak kid inevitably kidnapping our buddy Jou, with this level of fortitude we won't choke, we'll just power on, Frank Castle style. Is this the power of our outfit choice (mania, rather than despair), or is this the power of 'I hate that guy so much becoming an undead is a good thing!'?

Click to shrink...

The latter, mostly, but also that many intellectually engaged college-age males have an active interest in high technology, science fiction, cyborgization, uploading, etc. It's not that he overcame a very tough and disturbing mental challenge, but that he doesn't regard it as really a bad thing. If you think about how fragile the brain is, and then consider the combat experienced by Magi, it's actually kind of a relief.

 

[Pipeman]

The latter, mostly, but also that many intellectually engaged college-age males have an active interest in high technology, science fiction, cyborgization, uploading, etc. It's not that he overcame a very tough and disturbing mental challenge, but that he doesn't regard it as really a bad thing. If you think about how fragile the brain is, and then consider the combat experienced by Magi, it's actually kind of a relief.

Click to shrink...

We really should take care to remmeber that we aren't playing a 14-year-old giirl pining over her first crush and having very little material to relate this to aside from undead.
The incubators do have a reason after all to prioritze pubescent girls.

 

[Serous]

I think we might as well take Silver Bullet 4 to give us an attack that deals large amounts of damage to an opponent. Its quite effective against an Average Witch, so going to Miki would be a better idea with Bullet 4 then going to Aoki. My biggest worry about Aoki is that currently, the MC does not have any experience fighting witches, and I rather not get thrown off the deep end for our first battle.

 

[Guile]

Mentally updated MC to 'idealistic utilitarian transhumanist'.