Mascot & Magic: Revival

[NaanContributor]

[X] Train Ranged Accuracy: Work to improve Kuuhaku's accuracy and skill with her weapon.

Aside from being the area closest to Kuuhaku and having the most Rings, the Agricultural Sector also seems like the place least likely to have problematic mundane obstacles at their locations to complicate our efforts to retrieve them (like the security of the rich neighborhoods and palaces). So I'm all for starting with that while we're still building up our Champion roster.

 

[Swedish15]

[X] Train Ranged Accuracy: Work to improve Kuuhaku's accuracy and skill with her weapon.

While I'm sad that Vulkan didn't win - somehow, I didn't get the notification of the new quest - I look forward to this!

 

[Royal_Sword13]

somehow, I didn't get the notification of the new quest

Click to shrink...

Is this a recurring problem on QQ?

 

[Swedish15]

Not usually. Eh, could have been me being scatterbrained.

 

[Royal_Sword13]

Not usually. Eh, could have been me being scatterbrained.

Click to shrink...

I think everyone has had moments like that, I would be honestly surprised if no one was ever scatterbrained at least once in their life.

What do you think of Do-Gi so far?

 

[Swedish15]

He seems more proactive and more direct compared to Vulkan, and I think that's a good thing. I still dislike dogs due to personal trauma

Either way, I like that we're also serving as a living plushie for our Champion. I think that she needs such a being - also, *damn* those adoptive parents are horrible. Like, literally horrible.

 

[SpacePaladin]

I think everyone has had moments like that, I would be honestly surprised if no one was ever scatterbrained at least once in their life.

What do you think of Do-Gi so far?

Click to shrink...

He's fun.

 

[SeerKing]

He's...interesting. I still prefer Vulcan, because, y'know, dragons are awesome, but Do-Gi ain't half bad.

 

[BooksRFme]

[X] Train Analysis: You can teach Kuuhaku how to observe and take notice of patterns during the heat of combat, forming a profile on her opponent's strengths and weaknesses.

Evasion and ranged accuracy are good, especially as ranged is her standard attack ability and she has no combat existence to avoid blows, but this is a girl with an inventory ability. Being able to pull out something like a fire extinguisher against a demon with a fire ability could be very feasible with her. And funny.

 

[Royal_Sword13]

Being able to pull out something like a fire extinguisher against a demon with a fire ability could be very feasible with her. And funny.

Click to shrink...

I imagine a fire extinguisher would be effective on a number of things. Having that stuff sprayed directly into the eyes is bound to be at least irritating and distracting, and you could use it as a blunt force weapon if the need be.

And yes, it would be very funny.

 

[Royal_Sword13]

Sooooooo….

if I'm counting the votes right, we have two votes each for training Ranged Accuracy, Evasion, and Analysis.

A three way tie.

I think that's first for me.
[dice]34936[/dice]

 

[Royal_Sword13]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] Train Analysis: You can teach Kuuhaku how to observe and take notice of patterns during the heat of combat, forming a profile on her opponent's strengths and weaknesses.

"Let's focus on combat analysis." You said, thinking about it. "Being able to identify an opponent's strengths and weaknesses through observation and forming a profile on them can let you make better use of your toolset and make more effective tactics and strategies that you could use against them." You explained to Kuuhaku after she tilted her head questioningly at you. You contemplated on how to do this for a few moments before speaking again. "Consider, for instance, the avian Dreg Beast I killed yesterday. While a truly fearsome enemy to most, if you know its strengths and weaknesses, you can prepare countermeasures to nullify the former and exploit the latter. Knowing is half the battle-" Just as you finished that line, Kuuhaku suddenly hummed a tune. You blinked a few times at the unexpected action as Kuuhaku seemed to realize what she just did and looked away from you, her mask probably hiding a blush of embarrassment.

"… Continue…" Kuuhaku said quietly, and you nodded before doing so, while finding her reaction to be somewhat adorable in a way. It still did somewhat baffle you how well she was doing considering what happened yesterday, but maybe she had just processed it all while you were flying around and doing your initial investigation and scouting, you should probably ask her how she was feeling later.

"Alright then. Something you might know regarding my birds is that they have hollow bones to help to fly, reducing the weight their wings have to generate lift for in order to get off the ground and into the air. While a Dreg Beast will naturally be tougher and larger, applying sufficient blunt force trauma will be more effective on that type of Dreg Beast than compared to one based on an Elephant. Breaking their wings in particular would also take away any potential use of flight, limiting their combat options and methods of escape." You explained, and paused as Kuuhaku raised a hand, like she was in class. "Yes, Kuuhaku?" You asked, somewhat amused.

"Do the monsters usually try to run away?" She asked, and you considered the question. While it was not something that happened often, the more intelligent Dregs were able to recognize when a fight wasn't going their way or that they were at a disadvantage, and so they would try to retreat. It rarely worked, but occasionally they managed to get away, though strangely those ones rarely ever popped back up again. It was theorized that the Accursed Ones disposed of most minions who ran away, though how isn't really known besides a potential kill switch that they might have access to. You couldn't really dissect a Dreg, and capturing them wasn't something past Mascots did. However, getting back to the actual question, most Dregs didn't try to run, Dreg Beasts and Dreg Golems would keep fighting until they were vanquished, and immature Dreg Demons never last long enough in a fight to even consider retreat. Fighting a Dreg outside of a host just didn't happen most times, the bastards were just that good at staying hidden.

"Generally, no." You said before explaining your relevant thoughts on the subject to Kuuhaku, with her nodding in order to show that she understands, or at least thought she did. "Continuing on, that particular Dreg Beast's primary weapons were its beak and talons, so piercing and slashing attacks are the most likely ones that you would have to watch out for. In the case of most attacks, it's better to dodge out of the way instead of blocking or parrying. We'll cover effective dodging at a later time. So, from what I've just told you, what sort of plan of attack would you use for this Dreg Beast, having the powers you do now?"

Kuuhaku thought about it for several seconds. "Constant movement, don't stay in one place for long. Use Magic to make something that can smash its bones, aim for the limbs first or the spine, incapacitating or paralyzing it to create an opening…." Kuuhaku looked up to the sky as she seemed to have an idea, but what expression she was making behind the mask was unknown to you. "Maybe bait it into trying to peck me while opening a portal, then closing it in order to decapitate it?"

She was taking to this better than you had expected, but then again, you had provided her with most of the information she needed to form a plan to begin with. That said, that last one was all her, though… "And do you know if your portals can do that? While it might work as a good alternative to block an attack, possibly redirect it back at the attacker, simply assuming that your portals could be used as makeshift guillotines without testing is a dangerous risk." Kuuhaku nodded, but then tilted her head and started to raise her hand again before you spoke up. "You can ask questions without raising your hand, as long as I'm not actively speaking, Kuuhaku."

"How is this helping with forming an analysis while in battle? We've been talking about something that's already happened." She asked after putting down her hand.

"Well that's simple, I'm giving you a baseline idea of the concept before starting the real lesson. An introduction before the training. Like orientation days at school or… something like that, I'm not familiar with how the school system operates on this island." You said, with Kuuhaku staring at you for a moment before taking a step back as she just came to a realization of just how you'll be doing this training. "I see you've figured out what we'll be doing for the next few hours, let's get started then!" You said, smiling at her. "I recommend opening a portal to somewhere with lots of empty space, the southeastern corner of the agricultural lands should do. Near the shoreline preferably."

Kuuhaku hesitantly nodded and opened a portal in mid-air, taking the form of a six foot tall disk of pitch black darkness with a halo of pale white around the edges, where void and existence touched. Showing her your trust, you jumped in first…


…and immediately face planted into the sand of the beach as the exit portal had formed in a slight angle so that the momentum of you leaping into the entry portal carried into a head first dive into the sandy shoreline, burying your head somewhat in the sand. Quickly you pulled your head out of the ground and quickly moved out of the way as Kuuhaku tumbled out of the portal, falling over and landing in an undignified heap as the portal closed behind her. Kuuhaku laid there for several seconds before slowly getting up, the front of her outfit now covered in sand. She took a moment before looking over to you. "… let us never speak of this to anyone." She said, to which you nodded in silent agreement.

Shaking off the sand on your head while Kuuhaku de-transformed and re-transformed to get rid of the sand on her, you shifted into combat form. "Alright, we will be going a few rounds and at the end of it, I want you to tell me what you managed to learn from it and explain the logic of any tactics you come up with and make use of, understood?" You asked her.

"Understood." She said as she immediately drew her gun and started shooting, spikes of void matter silently being fired from the barrel as you dodged. When you moved to counterattack, she shifted into her Void Form and used the enhanced physical abilities of the form to leap over you. Turning quickly, you saw her land somewhat un-gracefully and dropping Void Form. She seemed to experience a small degree of vertigo or dizziness for a moment, leaving herself open to attack. You took the opening and lunged at her while swinging a paw, aiming to not hit her with the claws but instead the paw pad. You could heal and resurrect, but that wasn't a reason to use potentially lethal force in a spar.

Seeing the attack coming, Kuuhaku formed a two-inch thick tower shield of Void Matter to block the swing, which still made her stumble a bit as she didn't properly brace herself for the impact and she lost her hold on the shield. Once more, she entered her Void Form and this time you noticed her legs shifting into something resembling grasshopper legs before she jumped away from you… and went a little too high up. Kuuhaku flailed around in the air uncontrollably as she clearly didn't expect to go so high. You quickly flew up and caught her and brought her back down to earth safely. Kuuhaku had to take a moment to catch her breath and calm down from her accidental super jump.

"Well, that one was a bit of a bust I suppose." You said, looking her over. "You okay?"

"Everything is fine." Kuuhaku said, sitting down and looking at her legs, which were back to normal after she had dropped out of Void Form while in the air. "I will not be doing that again without further testing…"

"Mind explaining why you thought giving yourself super jumping skills would help you?" You asked, Kuuhaku looking at you after you did and taking off her mask.

"You can fly, and are very fast. Needed ways to match or keep up with mobility." She said, and you could see a faint blush on her face. "It did not work as I planned."

"Well, that's why it's good to find these things out while training instead of out in the field." You said. "That way, you can improve and know what to do or what not to do when fighting Dregs or whatever else might come up."

"I understand." Kuuhaku said. After a few more moments she stood up and put her mask back on. "Let's keep going. I haven't really analyzed you yet…"

You nodded and started off the next round of sparring, and then the next one after that. So on and so forth for the next few hours before Kuuhaku needed to return home to sleep.

Spoiler: Training

DC: 50
Roll: 54

Kuuhaku gains progress on acquiring Combat Analysis skill (⅕)

After Kuuhaku went to bed, you were left to your own devices, which was mostly planning out your moves for the next day. You could follow up on one of your leads on trying to locate the Rings, you had a general idea where they were, but not their exact locations or what Rings were where. You still didn't have anything regarding the weird 'gravity' thing happening that drew in magical stuff to the island, so you may need to revisit that. You could continue training Kuuhaku in Combat Analysis, though thinking about it, only having you as a training partner might hinder her abilities. Not all opponents she would face were going to fight like you do. So, going out on a recruitment drive might help out there, and there were plenty of candidates in the local area of the city, and if you were lucky, maybe some of them even went to school with Kuuhaku and give her some friends. Having people to talk to and hang out with was good for mental health, and a sense of camaraderie could help then perform better out in the field.

Welcome to Day 2. You have a total of 3 Action Slots. Plan Format Required.

[ ] Patrol: Go out on patrol for Dregs, or even other supernatural problems. Chance to Encounter Dregs. Chance to Encounter ???
-[ ] Northeast Hoseki
-[ ] Southeast Hoseki
-[ ] Southwest Hoseki
-[ ] Northwest Hoseki
-[ ] Agricultural Section
-[ ] "Noble" Section
-[ ] Golden Dragon Park

[ ] Scout Recruits: Search for Champion Candidates that you could potentially recruit. Chance to Encounter Candidates.
-[ ] Northeast Hoseki
-[ ] Southeast Hoseki
-[ ] Southwest Hoseki
-[ ] Northwest Hoseki
-[ ] Agricultural Section
-[ ] "Noble" Section
-[ ] Golden Dragon Park

[ ] Recruitment Drive: Go after an Ember of Magic and try to Recruit the person it's attached to towards the cause. Can select the same option multiple times.
-[ ] Northeast Hoseki
-[ ] Southeast Hoseki (5 Embers)
-[ ] Southwest Hoseki
-[ ] Northwest Hoseki
-[ ] Agricultural Section
-[ ] "Noble" Section
-[ ] Golden Dragon Park

[ ] Training: Help a Champion improve in some way. (Will default to Kuhaku.)
-[ ] Combat Training: Train a Champion to improve in Combat.
-[ ] Mystic Training: Train a Champion to improve their Magic.

[ ] Investigation: This city and the island it was on is a little strange. Maybe you should investigate deeper.
-[ ] Gold Dragon Statue: It sits at the center of a lake, which is in the center of a park in the center of the city. That it also sits exactly at the center of the island itself makes you wonder what the deal is.
-[ ] Mystic Attraction: Something about this island has an attractive effect to anything with a magical and supernatural nature, at least that's what you can sense. Looking deeper into what might be causing it might help you.
-[] Follow Up, Noble Neighborhood: Two rings detected here, should be easy to collect if you can get a lock on them.
-[] Follow Up, Founder "Palaces": With only one ring located in the area, you should be able to track it down and claim it quickly. Hopefully it's not in a jewelry box or something…
-[] Follow Up, Hoseki City: A fourth of the rings are all located in the city, but it's a much bigger area to search through. You don't know which sections of the city have a ring, so you should focus on that.
-[] Follow Up, Agricultural Section: Six rings in the entire section of the island south of the city, lots of space including farmland and the greenhouse complex where they could be and you have to find them. Literally half of the rings are in this section, best get started.

[ ] Something Else: Sometimes, there are options that aren't obvious at first. (Write-In).

 

[SeerKing]

[X] Scout Recruits: Search for Champion Candidates that you could potentially recruit. Chance to Encounter Candidates.
-[X] Northeast Hoseki
[X] Patrol: Go out on patrol for Dregs, or even other supernatural problems. Chance to Encounter Dregs. Chance to Encounter ???
-[X] Agricultural Section
[X] Investigation: This city and the island it was on is a little strange. Maybe you should investigate deeper.
-[X] Follow Up, Agricultural Section: Six rings in the entire section of the island south of the city, lots of space including farmland and the greenhouse complex where they could be and you have to find them. Literally half of the rings are in this section, best get started.

 

[SpacePaladin]

[X]Plan Recruit, Investigate and Train
-[X] Recruitment Drive: Go after an Ember of Magic and try to Recruit the person it's attached to towards the cause. Can select the same option multiple times.
--[X] Southeast Hoseki (5 Embers)
-[X] Investigation: This city and the island it was on is a little strange. Maybe you should investigate deeper.
--[X] Follow Up, Agricultural Section: Six rings in the entire section of the island south of the city, lots of space including farmland and the greenhouse complex where they could be and you have to find them. Literally half of the rings are in this section, best get started.
-[X] Training: Help a Champion improve in some way. (Will default to Kuhaku.)
--[X] Combat Training: Train a Champion to improve in Combat.


We need to make sure she knows how to dodge.

 

[Swedish15]

[X]Plan Recruit, Investigate and Train

 

[NaanContributor]

Kuuhaku gains progress on acquiring Combat Analysis skill (⅕)

Click to shrink...

Uhhh, wow, training is a bigger time sink than I was expecting. 1 Action to get 1/5 progress to a single skill out of a selection of 4+ in the Combat section alone (not counting Magic skills) for a single girl. I really hope that getting multiple team members allows us to get same-time progress for all the girls training together, or at least some kind of bonus as was implied, because otherwise this is going to take us forever to get anywhere.

[X] Plan Investigate and Double Recruitment
-[X] Recruitment Drive: Go after an Ember of Magic and try to Recruit the person it's attached to towards the cause. Can select the same option multiple times.
--[X] Southeast Hoseki (5 Embers)
--[X] Agricultural Section
-[X] Investigation: This city and the island it was on is a little strange. Maybe you should investigate deeper.
--[X] Follow Up, Agricultural Section: Six rings in the entire section of the island south of the city, lots of space including farmland and the greenhouse complex where they could be and you have to find them. Literally half of the rings are in this section, best get started.

 

[Royal_Sword13]

I really hope that getting multiple team members allows us to get same-time progress for all the girls training together, or at least some kind of bonus as was implied, because otherwise this is going to take us forever to get anywhere.

Click to shrink...

Certain skills are easier to learn than others. Combat Analysis is the hardest one available so far and so requires the most training. Ranged Accuracy and DODGE is much easier and requires less investment. Plus once someone learns a non-magical skill, they can help teach it, giving a bonus. Unarmed Combat is likewise a harder skill because it's a new fighting style that Kuuhaku doesn't have the benefit of instinctual combat knowledge to build off of, and Do-Gi… is built different, so things are bit harder to teach.

Combat Analysis is one of those skills that also benefits from having more people to analyze, picking up the difference in fighting styles, abilities, and personalities is easier to do when you have more than one person to train it with. With just Do-Gi, it's more of a time sink.

 

[BooksRFme]

[X]Plan Recruit, Investigate and Train
-[X] Recruitment Drive: Go after an Ember of Magic and try to Recruit the person it's attached to towards the cause. Can select the same option multiple times.
--[X] Southeast Hoseki (5 Embers)
-[X] Investigation: This city and the island it was on is a little strange. Maybe you should investigate deeper.
--[X] Follow Up, Agricultural Section: Six rings in the entire section of the island south of the city, lots of space including farmland and the greenhouse complex where they could be and you have to find them. Literally half of the rings are in this section, best get started.
-[X] Training: Help a Champion improve in some way. (Will default to Kuhaku.)
--[X] Combat Training: Train a Champion to improve in Combat.

Almost identical to the plan I would make so I'll vote for it.

 

[Royal_Sword13]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X]Plan Recruit, Investigate and Train
-[X] Recruitment Drive: Go after an Ember of Magic and try to Recruit the person it's attached to towards the cause. Can select the same option multiple times.
--[X] Southeast Hoseki (5 Embers)
-[X] Investigation: This city and the island it was on is a little strange. Maybe you should investigate deeper.
--[X] Follow Up, Agricultural Section: Six rings in the entire section of the island south of the city, lots of space including farmland and the greenhouse complex where they could be and you have to find them. Literally half of the rings are in this section, best get started.
-[X] Training: Help a Champion improve in some way. (Will default to Kuhaku.)
--[X] Combat Training: Train a Champion to improve in Combat.

---

You were flying over the southeastern section of Hoseki City, looking for one of the five other Embers of Magic that you had sensed when you first arrived. While you were certain that Kuhaku would be a fine champion, the fact of the matter was that one girl would not be able to stand against the enemies that you were up against without some backup that wasn't just you. In fact, any time a champion tried to pull the whole 'Lone Wolf' thing, it… never really ended up going well for them, and they needed to be bailed out by the rest of the team. When they make it in time, anyway…

You shook your head free of such thoughts. 'It's an occupational hazard, Dregs won't show mercy just because you made dumb decision.' You thought to yourself. 'Besides, they didn't have someone like me in their corner.'

Your power to resurrect the dead and heal injuries was… a boon that you were sure many past Starborn would covet and desire more than any other. It's not exactly spoken about, but your kind can get attached and even a bit clingy at times when they become a Mascot and start building their teams of champions, spending time with them. It's a byproduct of interacting with the Ember, and tending to the mystic flames that burns within a champion's soul. Even now, you couldn't help but feel concern for the grey eyed girl and… Well, it was kind of clear even with the minimum interactions so far that her current civilian life was not optimal. Hopefully it improves, though if need be, you could eventually get the resources to pull her out of there if needed after some Dreg killing.

'Look at me, already considering basically adopting her even after, what, a night and a day? They really downplay how fast this bond forms.' You thought, your wings flapping a few times to gain altitude while your senses spread out and pinpointed the location of the Embers. 'Let's see, what is the human ritual? Eeny…meeny…miny…moe…' You flew over to a random Ember, going as fast as you could to reach its location. Once there, you found that the candidate was…

[ ] A young girl around Kuhaku's age, with eyes the color of royal purple. Well, you could only see one eye, the other was covered by an eyepatch. She also had some bandages wrapped around her left arm with something written on it that you couldn't make out. She seemed to be… making an amateur ritual circle, badly?
[ ] A boy with fiery red hair, facing down a group of delinquents with a glare from eyes like molten gold. He seemed to be defending another boy that had some bruises.
[ ] A girl with white hair and sparkling gold eyes, smiling as she helped an older lady put away some groceries, and being given an apple as a reward.
[ ] Two for one, what looked like an older boy was trying to get his energetic younger sibling to calm down while he was trying to fix up… is that a motorcycle with a tank tread instead of wheels?

---

The Agricultural Sector made up everything south of the city, with massive plots of farmland and a super complex of interconnected greenhouses, all growing crops to both feed the people of the island and to export to the rest of the world in order to earn money. As you performed aerial recon over the large area where a full half of the rings were located, you ended up discovering that among the farmlands was a smaller town area that you had completely overlooked during your initial broader sweep of the island and that you hadn't known about as part of the info you got when you were sent out. That would make scouring for any Embers in the area a lot easier, as they'd likely be located there, but your senses were busy trying to locate the exact coordinates of the Rings.

Spoiler: Search

DC: 80
Ring 1: 60, Fail
Ring 2: 98, Success!
Ring 3: 85, Success!
Ring 4: 42, Fail
Ring 5: 83, Success!
Ring 6: 87, Success!

Today was your lucky day! You managed to locate four out of the six Rings. As you flew over to the closet one however, you started to retract that statement. "Oh you have got to be kidding me…" You said as you stared at what looked like empty land to normal senses, but to your more mystical senses, you could detect a dimensional distortion that surrounded the location of the ring. Checking the other locations confirmed that it was the same for each one.

You knew that this wasn't going to be easy, but apparently racing against the Dregs and the Accursed wasn't the only problem you'd have to deal with. From what you can gather, the dimensional distortions would act as doors leading to a subspace that likely needed to be entered in order to retrieve the Ring, though you wondered why they were doing this? Was this some kind of defensive mechanism, or a sign of something else? At the very least, you could get an idea of what the nature of the Rings were from the faint impression your senses got from the distortions. You had managed to find the Earth, Water, Animal, and Plant Rings.

Well, at least you located them…

Locations of the Earth, Water, Animal, and Plant Rings discovered. Dimensional Distortions leading into pocket realms discovered at the locations, will need to enter to retrieve the Ring. Exact nature of pocket realms is unknown.

New Actions Unlocked.

---

QM Note: Hey everyone. I got hit with some serious burn out, so this took a long time. The general small number of votes also kind of contributed to the lack of motivation. Maybe I'm just a bad QM, or what I'm writing isn't interesting. Especially given how many times I've rebooted this. That and I suppose QQ isn't the best place for the Non-NSFW reboot in particular. I don't know. Still working on this version, just… could use some feedback and maybe discussion? I don't know…

Combat Training will pop up once Recruitment action is resolved.

 

[SpacePaladin]

[X] A young girl around Kuhaku's age, with eyes the color of royal purple. Well, you could only see one eye, the other was covered by an eyepatch. She also had some bandages wrapped around her left arm with something written on it that you couldn't make out. She seemed to be… making an amateur ritual circle, badly?

As for discussion on where to potentially place this non-NSFW quest for better exposure... maybe SV, SB, or fiction.live?

 

[Swedish15]

[X] A young girl around Kuhaku's age, with eyes the color of royal purple. Well, you could only see one eye, the other was covered by an eyepatch. She also had some bandages wrapped around her left arm with something written on it that you couldn't make out. She seemed to be… making an amateur ritual circle, badly?

Witches gonna be witching. Also, I don't honestly know why this quest resonates so slowly - I love it, for one. I'd suggest probably SV or SB

 

[NaanContributor]

[X] A boy with fiery red hair, facing down a group of delinquents with a glare from eyes like molten gold. He seemed to be defending another boy that had some bruises.

The regular Questing section certainly gets less traffic overall compared to the NSFW section here in QQ. And I did find the multiple reboots frustrating, since I was having fun with what we were building with the first iteration despite other people's complaints. But I'm still sticking with it, and the structure of this one seems much stronger and more planned out than the previous attempt.

 

[SeerKing]

[X] A girl with white hair and sparkling gold eyes, smiling as she helped an older lady put away some groceries, and being given an apple as a reward.

 

[Royal_Sword13]

As for discussion on where to potentially place this non-NSFW quest for better exposure... maybe SV, SB, or fiction.live?

Click to shrink...

Witches gonna be witching. Also, I don't honestly know why this quest resonates so slowly - I love it, for one. I'd suggest probably SV or SB

Click to shrink...

The regular Questing section certainly gets less traffic overall compared to the NSFW section here in QQ. And I did find the multiple reboots frustrating, since I was having fun with what we were building with the first iteration despite other people's complaints. But I'm still sticking with it, and the structure of this one seems much stronger and more planned out than the previous attempt.

Click to shrink...

I don't want to lose any progress with this.

I don't think I can just… move it to a different site… right?

 

[Swedish15]

Honestly, a potential route you can go, even if it is more work for you: Crossposting. Compare, for example, SV's A Stone of Honour, which conflates SB and SV votes.

Now I don't know whether you can do that with QQ stuff, but this game is unique and cool enough that you'd get at least some players.

 

[Royal_Sword13]

Honestly, a potential route you can go, even if it is more work for you: Crossposting. Compare, for example, SV's A Stone of Honour, which conflates SB and SV votes.

Now I don't know whether you can do that with QQ stuff, but this game is unique and cool enough that you'd get at least some players.

Click to shrink...

I feel that might be a bit too much, I already have a problem with burnout, adding even more work on top of what I have currently might end up being counterproductive.

… Can I actually just move what we have so far over to another site? I have no idea if that's allowed.

 

[Royal_Sword13]

I've seen quests that started on other websites.

Click to shrink...

Did they take an already occurring Quest, and basically transfer it all over to a different site while still keeping all the progress?

Also, seems we have a solid lead with the Chuunibyou.

Edit: Wait, is that what you meant? Sorry, my brain has not been working right

 

[iamweirdo]

[X] A young girl around Kuhaku's age, with eyes the color of royal purple. Well, you could only see one eye, the other was covered by an eyepatch. She also had some bandages wrapped around her left arm with something written on it that you couldn't make out. She seemed to be… making an amateur ritual circle, badly?

 

[Royal_Sword13]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] A young girl around Kuhaku's age, with eyes the color of royal purple. Well, you could only see one eye, the other was covered by an eyepatch. She also had some bandages wrapped around her left arm with something written on it that you couldn't make out. She seemed to be… making an amateur ritual circle, badly?

---

You took a moment to look over the ritual circle the purple eyed girl was making. While it was very rough and used several different mystic sigils and runes from different mythological systems, which was not a good thing if they actually wanted it to work. From a general overview, it looked like an attempt at a summoning circle, trying to call upon a familiar perhaps? Or maybe calling forth a spirit of the world, or the dead? Honestly you couldn't really tell what she was trying to conjure. ' Honestly, this is worse than amateur work, I need to have some serious words with whoever her mentor is.' You thought, before remembering that you were in the human world, and thus she likely didn't have any actual teachers in the true occult. 'Oh, I should probably intervene before something bad happens.'

With that thought you flew on down and landed silently behind the self-taught wannabe hedge mage. Now that you were closer, you could see that all the sigils on her bandages were a set of Runes, Elder Futhark, that spelled out the words 'Lock', 'Bind', and 'Seal'. You could see the idea, using similar words to reinforce a particular concept in order to strengthen the effect of an enchantment, in this case some sort of restraint likely to hold back excess energy from interfering with more delicate ritual work. At least, that's what you would say, but you don't detect a bit of magical energy from the bandages or the runes. The only Magic you could sense from her was the Ember within.

"Pardon me, but your ritual craft needs some refinement." You speak up, spooking the girl who flailed her arms a bit as she rapidly stood up and tried to turn to face you, only to land ungratefully on her rear end with a soft 'ow'. "Well, that was certainly a reaction, apologies for the scare."

"Why did you sneak up on me, don't you see that I was…in the middle of…something?" The girl's potential admonishment of your actions was soon extinguished as she truly looked at you and saw just what she was talking to. "A dog?"

You shrugged, wings flapping once along with the gesture much to the girl's surprise. "Well, if you want to be technical about it, the body I'm using is an alchemical construct similar to a homunculus in the shape of a winged dog." You said. "I assure you though, I am much more than that."

The girl was silent for several moments, and you feared that you had sent her into shock when your hearing picked up on a noise coming from her, and soon noticed her body trembling in excitement as she gave you a large smile. "OHMYGOD,YOUAREATALKINGANGELDOG!" She rapidly said while letting out a squee of unbridled joy. She then shook herself and turned away slightly and whispered to herself, even though you could hear her just fine. "Get yourself together, what kind of impression are you making!? You're supposed to be an awesome witch of dark magic, not a fan girl!" She then cleared her throat and slowly stood up, before… posing?

"Tremble, you stand before the Sorceress of the Evening Flame! Caller of Dark Forces, Master of the Night Throne! Heaven and Earth quake in my presence, for I am the one known as Yoru Fushigi!" She declared, pointing at you with her bandaged arm while seeming quite proud of her words. Once more, your innate translation rearranged her name to fit, putting her given name first and family name last.

"… Well, nice to meet you." You said while mentally preparing yourself. Dramatic mages are always so exhausting to deal with. You just needed to be patient. "I go by Do-Gi currently while in the human world, so please refer to me as such."

The girl, Yoru, seemed to deflate a little at your casual greeting. She soon regained her dramatic composure though, and resumed gesturing in a grandiose fashion. "And why are you here upon this plane, Do-Gi? Did perhaps one of my rivals summon you to spy on me, or have you come to pledge your allegiance to me?" She asked.

"No, rather I'm on a mission to retrieve a number of very important relics from history that humans have forgotten and lost. Relics that are so powerful, they threaten the very balance of creation itself." You said, adding a touch of dramatic flare to your words, but not much. "As for how you fit into that… Well, I am in need of champions. Warriors and heroes who will stand against the forces who would misuse the power of these relics, beings of calamity who are a danger to all. The Accursed and their Dregs, evils from an age lost to mankind."

"I get to be a magic hero!?" Yoru shouted, her persona shattered for a moment as she lost all composure and became really energetic. "This is so cool! what kind of powers do I have, can I fly, summon demons, go into people's dreams, what about-!?"

"Whoa, slow down!" You barked, perhaps a tad too loudly as she winced and took a step back while massaging her ears. "I won't know until I can get a look at your Ember and kindle it. Of course, I need your permission and I do understand if you need some time to think on it-"

"What do I have to do?" She asked, interrupting you and throwing you off your mental track.

"Pardon?" You asked, wanting some clarification.

"Like, do I have to pass some trial, stand in some ritual circle while you chant incantations, go through some meditation to look deep within myself?" She asked, before she made a face that you lacked words to describe. "I don't have to eat some weird plant and go on some kind of vision quest, do I?"

"… What? No, why in the world would you have to do any of that?" You asked, wondering what info she had access to for her self-taught sorcery. "I just pull forth your Ember, and feed the innate potential you have to kindle it into an active state. None of what you just said is needed."

"Oh, okay…" Yoru said, and she seemed both disappointed and relieved at the same time.

"I do recommend sitting down for this though, in a comfortable position." You said, and Yoru said cross legged on the ground. "I also recommend removing those makeshift sealing bandages… might cause some issues."

"Oh, right…" She said before doing as asked, taking off the bandages, and then took off her eyepatch, showing she had a fully functional pair of eyes. "It's so I have an eye already adjusted to the dark, in case of sudden blackouts… or so I can read books in the dark faster…"

"Oh, I'm familiar with that trick." You said, nodding in understanding before walking over and placing your paw on the purple eyed girl. "Now, this may either feel tingly, or like you're being incinerated, so please brace yourself."

"Wait, WHAT-!?"

Time Stood Still.

You looked at a dark purple Ember that also had an almost transparent look to it. You can feel a heavy alignment to Darkness in the Ember, along with a few more interesting concepts. Pulling out the Sparks of potential, you noted that she had 60 Sparks, just like Kuuhaku. You also took a somewhat deeper look to figure out what her initial weapon and power would be. You saw… a set of throwing knives for the weapon, and got the sense of something being hidden from sight for the power. Now then, how were you going to invest these Sparks?

---

Plan Format for Votes, Please.

Starter Power is Shade Shroud: The user calls upon darkness to obscure and hide their form, making it harder to hit them and effectively becoming invisible in dark areas.

Spoiler: Magic Upgrades

[ ] Dim Light: Gain the power to decrease the light level of the battlefield or a room the user is in, down to halve the natural brightness. (5 Sparks)
[ ] Extinguish Light: Gain the power to knock out all non-magical light sources in the battlefield or a room, except for natural sunlight. Requires Dim Light (10 Sparks)
[ ] Eclipse Light: Engulf the battlefield or a room in magical darkness, blocking out even magical and sunlight, for 2 Turns. Requires Extinguish Light (15 Sparks)
[ ] Night Bringer: The user can, for 2 Turns, turn day into a moonless night. Increases the user's and allies speed and magical power while it is night time as well, while dulling the senses and accuracy of enemies. Requires Eclipse Light. (20 Sparks)

[ ] Shadow Pin: By throwing a dagger or other sharp projectile into a target's shadow, paralyze them until either the projectile is destroyed/removed, or the shadow disappears. (10 Sparks)
[ ] Shadow Strike: The user can attack the target's shadow to deal half damage to the target, dealing injuries through it. Requires Shadow Pin. (15 Sparks)
[ ] Shadow Thief: The user can choose to steal a pinned target's shadow from, halving their abilities and stats for 2 Turns. If slain in that state, they give an additional 5 Sparks to the killer. Requires Shadow Pin. (15 Sparks)
[ ] Abyssal Assassination: By focusing their energy into their next attack, and striking a target's shadow to destroy it, the user has a chance to inflict Instant Death. Requires Shadow Strike and Shadow Thief. (20 Sparks)

[ ] Dark Duplicate: The user can make a shadowy copy of any item they hold, as long as it is non-magical. The item can only be used once being destroyed. (10 Sparks)
[ ] Dark Forgery: The user can make multiple shadow copies of non-magical items now, and they even shift them to look like the real thing, just darker. Requires Dark Duplicate. (15 Sparks)
[ ] Dark Doppelgänger: The user can make one copy of another creature they touch, creating a living shadow version that obeys their command. They are fragile and don't have access to special abilities, but can still attack with weapons. Requires Dark Duplicate. (15 Sparks)
[ ] My Own Shadow: Creates a perfect silent copy of the user with all their powers and strengths except this one. Any Dreg kill they make count towards the user. Requires Dark Forgery and Dark Doppelgänger. (20 Sparks)


[ ] Deep Shroud: The user becomes engulfed in a cloud of shifting darkness that completely obscures their form, making it near impossible to see them past it. Allies near the cloud are partially obscured as well. (10 Sparks)
[ ] Masked Shroud: The user can shape the shroud into a disguise, taking on any form they have seen for 3 Turns, only applies to appearance and physical ability. Requires Deep Shroud. (15 Sparks)
[ ] Erased Shroud: While the shroud is up, enemies will be unable to perceive the user and temporarily forget they were ever there, however attacking will break the effect. Requires Deep Shroud. (15 Sparks)
[ ] Umbral Masquerade: The shroud envelopes all and twists the senses. All enemies lose the ability to perceive the user and allies for 2 Turns, while all enemies perceive each other as the user and allies. Requires Masked Shroud and Erased Shroud. (20 Sparks)

[ ] Dark Body: The user moves faster and can see in the dark, and can easily be overlooked by others while in shaded places. (5 Sparks)
[ ] Dark Mind: Can see through Illusions and Invisibility, Immune to Fear and Charm. Thoughts are muddled and hidden from mind readers. Requires Dark Body (10 Sparks)
[ ] Dark Heart: Can travel between shadows, and transform into a Shadow Elemental, a being made of pure intangible darkness, becoming immune to non-magical attacks and can float through the air like a wraith for 2 Turns. Immunity to Possession and Resistance to Spiritual Attacks. Requires Dark Mind. (20 Sparks.)

Spoiler: Champion Upgrades

[ ] (Special) Evil Eye: A dark eye that delivers curses upon those it falls upon, dooming the victim to misfortune. Targeted enemy rolls will suffer a -10 malus for 3 Turns. Comes with a fancy eyepatch! (10 Sparks)

[ ] (Special) Demon Arm: An arm infused with cursed energy, bound in bandages bearing mystic sigils to suppress its dark power! Can be unleashed to give +20 to an Attack or Magic Roll, only once per battle. Comes with cool black and gold bandages and purple tattoos! (10 Sparks)

[ ] Additional Armaments: Most Champions only have one weapon, but by investing some Sparks, additional weapons can be given. Can be picked up to two times. (5 Sparks).
-[] Melee: A weapon like a sword, a hammer, a spear, or an axe as examples.
-[] Mystic: A weapon meant for channeling the user's Magic. Staffs, Wands, Talismans, and Emblems all fall under this category.
-[] FIST!: Not technically a weapon, this rather gifts gauntlets or brass knuckles like items that can enhance the unarmed physical blows of the Champion.

[ ] Reinforced Outfit: While certain outfits have armor on them, not all of them tend to be. So, you can invest some Sparks into boosting the defensive abilities of the Champion's outfit. Can be taken up to three times. (5 Sparks.)

[ ] Enhanced Masquerade: While Champions possess a minor form of perception filter that protects their identities, but by spending some Sparks, you can make it so that even if they saw the Champion transform in front of them, they wouldn't be able to form a connection unless outright told by the Champion. (10 Sparks.)

[ ] Environmental Protection: You know what would be nice? If you Champion didn't have to worry about things like radiation, poison gas, or a literal vacuum. With this, those are worries of the past. (10 Sparks.)

[ ] Impact Change!: Sometimes, you need the bad guys to back off while transforming. With an investment of Sparks, you can make so that any Dregs close to the Champions are blasted away when they transform. The Champion will also find their first attack after transformation will be much stronger. (15 Sparks.)

[ ] Emergency Reserve: With some investment, you can make sure that the Champion will have a backup supply of magical energy to call upon once their main source dries up. (15 Sparks)

[ ] Encore Mode: Sometimes, the first showing isn't enough. Sometimes, you're spent and the enemy just won't go down. Sometimes, you need to go beyond your limits. Encore Mode is what most would call a Super Form. For 4 Turns, the Champion can access Encore Mode, boosting their Magic and physical abilities. Once those 4 Turns are up however, the curtain falls and the Champion reverts to Civilian form and can't transform again for the rest of that Day. (20 Sparks.)

Spoiler: Civilian Upgrades

[ ] (Special) A Shadow's Light: ??? (5 Sparks)

[ ] Favor of Chance: Games of chance, the roll of a dice, the luck of finding some cash on the sidewalk, or meeting someone who could be important in the future. By investing some Sparks, the Champion is blessed with an odd sort of good luck. (5 Sparks.)

[ ] Favor of Fate: Destiny seems to have taken a liking to the Champion, or maybe it's the Sparks you've used to bribe the cosmos. Either way, you never have to worry about accidents or bad luck inconveniencing your Champion while they work with you. (10 Sparks.)

[ ] Ignition of Friendship: A bit of an odd one, the Champion seems to attract those who could become genuine good friends with them. They'll come to them instead of just leaving them alone, in the vein of an extrovert basically adopting an introvert if the Champion isn't the most social person. The Champion still needs to work to maintain those friendships, but it does handle the initial meeting. (15 Sparks.)

[ ] Blessing of Wealth: Well, you were sure that this might be technically illegal, but hey it's all for the sake of saving the world. The Champion will wake up each day with the equivalent of $100 USD in the local currency, stored in a convenient pocket space. (15 Sparks.)

[ ] Blessing of Sorcery: Normally, a Champion can only access their Magic when transformed, but this will let them use their Core Magic while in Civilian form. (20 Sparks.)

 

[SeerKing]

[X] Plan: Shadow Slayer
-[X] Shadow Pin: By throwing a dagger or other sharp projectile into a target's shadow, paralyze them until either the projectile is destroyed/removed, or the shadow disappears. (10 Sparks)
-[X] Shadow Strike: The user can attack the target's shadow to deal half damage to the target, dealing injuries through it. Requires Shadow Pin. (15 Sparks)
-[X] Deep Shroud: The user becomes engulfed in a cloud of shifting darkness that completely obscures their form, making it near impossible to see them past it. Allies near the cloud are partially obscured as well. (10 Sparks)
-[X] Dark Body: The user moves faster and can see in the dark, and can easily be overlooked by others while in shaded places. (5 Sparks)
-[X] (Special) Evil Eye: A dark eye that delivers curses upon those it falls upon, dooming the victim to misfortune. Targeted enemy rolls will suffer a -10 malus for 3 Turns. Comes with a fancy eyepatch! (10 Sparks)
-[X] (Special) A Shadow's Light: ??? (5 Sparks)
-[X] Dim Light: Gain the power to decrease the light level of the battlefield or a room the user is in, down to halve the natural brightness. (5 Sparks)