[CYOA] Praetorian Academy

[Karinna]

Thief Of Time: Hey FE

Thief Of Time: Sorry to pimp you for this, but could you do the frosh welcoming speech for Shard 6?

FireEater_Black: i guess

Thief of Time: Somebody needs to. And it was supposed to be me because I'm the least insane upperclassman, but,

Thief of Time: I'm on my third loop through the day 'cause Varmaelis assassinates me right before midnight

FireEater_Black: oh wow

FireEater_Black: how are you already having problems with the golden dragon god

Thief of Time: Ugh don't call him that

FireEater_Black: idk do i gotta

FireEater_Black: I can't murder my way out of a speech if I fuck it all up

FireEater_Black: how many more loops can you do today?

Thief of Time: It's zero stakes, they're freshmen, just try to be kind to them

Thief of Time: Sorry, homegirl. I don't trust *anyone* that much

FireEater_Black: right sorry

FireEater_Black: ok I'll go welcome them to hell

FireEater_Black: good luck with the golden dragon not-a-god

Thief of Time: Thanks.

Thief of Time: If I die, you're club leader

FireEater_Black: yeah, i know

 

[Karinna]

Hello! Welcome to Praetorian Academy.

-What's Praetorian Academy?

This is a murderous and hypercompetitive school in which the majority of hopefuls die and are enslaved to permanently become part of the divine multiversal infrastructure. Graduates become gods; relevant players on the multiversal stage.


-What, uh, are gods? Where do gods come from?

Well, over in one universe a woman cyborgified herself and then strapped into a hypercomputer the size of Jupiter; she then recursively self-improved until she totally solved physics, at which point she jailbroke her way out of the conventional universe and showed up in Vaster Reality, and met a bunch of other gods who were like Sup.

And then in the Endless Court, a fae noble united the warring clans in a way that literally no one had ever done before, and then, in a sudden yet inevitable betrayal, consumed and absorbed all of their souls. At which point she became so swollen with magical power she was inclined to rewrite the entirety of the world, and as she was doing that, noticed a few loose threads that turned out to be the boundaries of the universe. She pulled on them and punched into Vaster Reality.

Whereas, God-Emperor Sun fought his way up through the Celestial Bureaucracy, ascending to higher and higher heavens, until he eventually became the god above all gods. But every ocean is but a drop of water in a vaster ocean, and there is always another sky. At which point he left the backwater province of his universe, and entered Vaster Reality.

Anyway a thousand of these entities are now elbowing for space.


-So who am I?

Let's find out together.

 

[Karinna]

The Praetorian Course Catalogue (Truncated)​

Tech

Tech 001
Remedial classes for those raised in premodern societies.


Basic digital competency (UI class)
Email forwards from Grandma, finding the power button

Tech 101:

Electropunk:
This path heavily utilizes the "flow of electrons" to allow for counterintuitive technologies like computation, encryption, and (simple) robotics.

Steampunk:
This path harnesses pneumaflux—a slow-burning thaumochemical reaction between charbonite and the emanations of a soul—to create Steam Cores, nigh-indefinite power sources with several interesting applications.

Dieselpunk:
This path is built following the development of the radiocore engine, an early atomic technology capitalizing on the "island of stability" arising from excitation of uranium to create impetus, a superheated fluid which transmits kinetic force while escaping square-cube laws.

Solarpunk:
This path is built heavily utilizing the key resource of skyward (a.k.a. sunstone, sunsilk, or radiant sheeting), a naturally occurring mineral which, when exposed to sunlight, exerts kinetic force in opposition to gravity.

Biopunk:
This path heavily utilizes Elan Vital, a "blank slate" cellular fluid which procedurally generates biological life from samples it appropriates. When used in accordance with the Wollstone Ratios, this allows for a profoundly streamlined method of creating and optimizing biological creatures.

Matter Fabrication
Stabba the goblin (and the professor) walk you through the process of creating custom items, just for you!

Chemistry 1, 2
Produce interesting drugs and substances

Tech 201

Cyberpunk 201
Implants, hacking, trenchcoats.

Atompunk 201
Autonomous robots. Megafactories and girthy, prehensile machine tentacles assembling dreadnaughts. Power armor.

Arclight 201
Forcefields, energy projection, and people turning into lightning.

Mindworms 201, 301
Taught the basics of hypnosis and generating subliminals

Robotics 201
You receive specific instruction in the creation of autonomous robots, who possess a trained dog's level of intelligence.

Cyborg 201
Specific education in personal augmentation.

Cyberwarfare 201
(This is an anti-tech specialization, which is instrumentally necessary if you want to e.g. hypnotize a robot.)

Robotics 301
Self-replicating machines, soft AI.

Hybrid Disciplines
(Consult with your advisor)

Realitywarping 101

Fundamentals of Realitywarping
Establishing firm characterization and beginning to influence probability

Realitywarping: Superpowers
Acquiring superpowers via retcanonical Event

Realitywarping Plot Beats
Well-worn, identifiable narrative moments that you will find happening in your life disproportionately often.

Realitywarping: Tropes
Fate loves to repeat itself.

Realitywarping: Genre
Which events are most likely, in your life?

Realitywarping: Characterization
Your self-concept, backstory, and the means by which probability influences you.

Realitywarping 201

Realitywarping: Metagaming 201
Mechanical interactions with the underlying reality of Reality. Gamelike properties available.

Realitywarping 201
Become a protagonist, increase your narrative significance, share the plot armor.

Realitywarping: Metagaming 202
Save scum, fast travel, more.

Psi

Fundamentals of Psi:
The quieter your mind becomes, the more it is able to hear.

Fundamentals of Psi 2

Fundamentals of Psi 3

Psi shielding
The basics of defense

Psi combat
The basics of offense

Psi tricks
Bringing that X-Factor to your engagements

Psi tricks 2

Mindworms 1
Taught the basics of generating subliminals, hypnosis, and BLITs via psi

Mindworms 2

Mnemosyne 1
Enter peoples' mindscapes to alter, remove, or incept key ideas.

Mnemosyne 2

Illusion 1
Beguilements! Deceptions! Visions! Omens!

Illusion 2

Psionic Jutsu
This is a hands-on combat course. Please be familiar with at least the fundamentals of Chi.

Psionic Jutsu 2

Psionic amplifiers via implants

Building and attuning technology that amplifies your psychic powers.

Psionic amplifiers 2

Magic:

Magic 101
Basic magic perception and identification

Mageslaying 101
All mages should be familiar with this.

Mana Training 1, 2, 3
Ammunition for your spells

Essentialism 1, 2, 3
Soul magic.

Lumen 1, 2, 3
Use gemstones to shoot magic lasers, among other things.

Divinity 1, 2, 3
Godbinding.

Dark Magic 1, 2, 3
The sacrificial magicks

Spiritualism 1, 2, 3
Radical animism.

Forcemage 1, 2, 3
You can use tension to apply kinetic force outward from any point touching your skin.

Arcana 1, 2, 3
Dungeons and Dragons!

Alchemy 1, 2, 3
Chemistry, but vibes

Chi:

Spiritual growth:
Learn to feel your chi.

Chi 101
Basic chi competency, basic chi resistance

Chi 102:
Chi presence, embodiment, your first martial path, the Tao.

Chi 202:
Maya below, Inexorable Will, preternatural reactions, etc.

Elementalist 1, 2
Become a "bender"

Ki Vampire 1, 2
Drain others' energy to replenish yourself.

Stand 1, 2
You acquire a unique and autonomous projection which acts in your best interest

Chi Weapon 1, 2
You manifest a unique and personal weapon.

Psionic Jutsu 1, 2

Dangerous Forbidden Techniques

 

[Karinna]

(Hi, QQ. We're gonna come up with a character together! The five meta-disciplines across the multiverse are:

Tech

Everything is explicable and made of parts. Through learning, we can remake the world.

Chi

Refinement of the self is the greatest pursuit. Through strength, we reach perfection.

Psi

The light of consciousness is the only worthwhile thing. Through will, we find harmony.

Narrative

We are all characters in a story. Through drama, we get a good ending.

Magic

PEW PEW MAGIC MISSILE



We'll come up with a background world, too, but first—what kind of character do you want to play?