Those Blessed with Talent

[Falconis]

Considering the extent to which it outlevels us, that it is known for it's tough fur(and thus might be too tough for our pets to actually affect) and it looks tall enough that we probably can't outrun it even if we decide to, I'd suggest blowing the whistle.

Whether you decide to fight or run, whistle.
This is the last day anyway.

 

[Darkened]

First, FFFFFF Autumn shade has 29/30 XP, and Iiirc you can only get one level per action. This might mean it can only get 1XP for that lol.

Click to shrink...

Hasn't come up yet, but you can only get one level's worth per condition. IE: You can't earn more than 30 at once.

 

[Arkeus]

Darkened, does this Fox count for the quest?
Anyway, Preliminary vote:

[X] Blow your whistle
[X]Analyze specifically its elements, and if we can its Attribute, with the goal of knowing the high/low ones. Analyze it's HP and MP to find out if it is vulnerable to MP draining attacks.
[X] See if your team can retreat safely to a denser part of the forest where the Fox's mobility will be impaired (and Autumn shade will get his boost).
[X] Let Mountain Peak Blossom use Slumber Powder 1 if it can do so away from yourself and your allies, then harden around yourself when we are attacked, hopefully acting like an armour. We should then distract the fox and check whether Peach Blossom or Auntumn shade can even scratch it (with Auntumn shade obviously attacking from stealth).
-[X] Drink a potion if Moutain Peak Blossom is drinking your blood in order to grow to Armor-sized.
-[X] If they can scratch it, hopefully Auntumn Shade's poison could help.
-[X] See if Mountain Peak Blossom can Drain Blood or Drain Spirit it if it has a noticeably lower amount of MP.
[X] Hope to survive until help is there
-[X] If we are winning, Friendship Bond it.

The thick fur tells me that Moutain Peak Blossom is not going to be able to even draw blood (Like for Owl). Analyze is for being aware of bad surprises, as well as in case we are lucky and there is a weakness we can capitalize on.

Slumber Powder is basically our best CC right now and will help us survive, and Harden might mean we can have a quasi-armor for the combat.

 

[wayne82444]

[X] Blow your whistle
[X]Analyze specifically its elements, and if we can its Attribute, with the goal of knowing the high/low ones. Analyze it's HP and MP to find out if it is vulnerable to MP draining attacks.
[X] See if your team can retreat safely to a denser part of the forest where the Fox's mobility will be impaired (and Autumn shade will get his boost).
[X] Let Mountain Peak Blossom use Slumber Powder 1 if it can do so away from yourself and your allies, then harden around yourself when we are attacked, hopefully acting like an armour. We should then distract the fox and check whether Peach Blossom or Auntumn shade can even scratch it (with Auntumn shade obviously attacking from stealth).
-[X] Drink a potion if Mountain Peak Blossom is drinking your blood in order to grow to Armor-sized.
-[X] If they can scratch it, hopefully Autumn Shade's poison could help.
-[X] See if Mountain Peak Blossom can Drain Blood or Drain Spirit it if it has a noticeably lower amount of MP.
[X] Hope to survive until help is there
-[X] If we are winning, Friendship Bond it.

"Well, the kind you'll need is called the Silver-Tipped Fox. Below 100 years old they're an E ranked breed of fox, but like any fox, they'll grow a tail, trade a part of their level for a rank up and get stronger every 100 years they live. If they only have one tail you should be safe, and weak fox species have trouble living that long or something this uses too many big words." the idiot nods sagely as he reads from a book his silent assistant's prepared.

"Even though they're just E ranked, Silver-Tipped Foxes are really rare in the forests, and their perception is unusually high. Besides a lot of people try to catch them and you'd need a very good specimen to make a nice pet, so..."

Click to shrink...

Went back and found the info from the first post, so this fox is more than 200 years old, and likely has high perception. It depends partly on how much our info on silver tipped foxes applies to the steel tipped fox we are fighting, but the age thing said it applies to any fox.

Trying to use presence concealment against that doesn't seem like it would work, although having Autumn Shade use poison claw on it is good. Maybe we should have Autumn Shade try to climb up a tree and attack it from above? Most ground based creatures tend not to look up, so that seems like it would increase Presence Concealment's odds of working and give extra damage to his attack.

For Mountain Peak Blossom I think going with Slumber Powder is better than Drain Blood- it seems to need prolonged contact and we just saw fail against Owl. If we could get it to work though I'd think Drain Spirit could be better depending on its type- stopping it from using skills could easily be a game changer, and we already know running out of MP leaves you tired.

Peach Blossom likely is best off with hit and run attacks, although with her level she can likely tank better than we can. Still she needs to jump at it from a distance to deal max damage, so if she is stuck up close she isn't fighting at her best.

Little Bee seems most useful trying to Analyze it several times to get its elements, stats, then occasionally its HP/MP mid fight and letting the others know them. Also we should try to stay close enough to the others for Inspirational 1 to boost them, for something like this it is probably needed. For weapons I say forget Tiger claws and stick with a spear- it sounds like its fur acts as armor, which I would imagine is a lot better at stopping slashing attacks than piercing attacks.

For the whistle I had to look it up, it only notifies out backup we are in trouble, not teleports us out or something like I was half worried it would. I think this counts, so we should use it before we try to catch the fox that is almost as high level as all of us combined.

 

[Arkeus]

For the whistle I had to look it up, it only notifies out backup we are in trouble, not teleports us out or something like I was half worried it would. I think this counts, so we should use it before we try to catch the fox that is almost as high level as all of us combined.

Click to shrink...

While The Idiot would approve of us not calling for back up, everyone else won't, and there is a reason he is The Idiot.

Oh, also: in my plan where Moutain Peak Blossom is used as Armor it might need to grow to a bigger size for that first, so we would also need to drink a potion probably after that. Darkened, how big is the size it can get? Or do we just have no idea?

 

[redaeth]

I personally disagree with the assumption that the fox's fur will no-sell Mountain's drain ability. Owl no-selled it by having tough skin, but there are going to be places on the fox with less fur and even no fur, as well as Mountain Peak Blossom being able to send roots through the fur, it isn't going to be one solid mass, its going to be fur, and plant roots can be very, very small. In my opinion Mountain Peak is the best weapon we have against the fox.

However I do agree on using Analyze several times. Modifying my vote. Adding

-[] Analyze the fox multiple times to get as much information as possible.
-[] Have Mountain Peak Blossom use Slumber Powder and have Autumn Shade use Poison Claw.
-[] The instant you can use Friendship Bond, do so.

 

[JENTHULHU]

NIGHTMARE​

Deep beneath the earth she shifted, her ancient bonds groaned, chains of metal straining, ropes of the finest materials creaking in protest. Humans had done this to her, bound her beneath the land when they could not kill her. The filthy, degenerate worms had thought to strike down their better, to strike down her, thinking they could rise against the very seed she had planted in them. Thought they could best fear and terror. The fools had realized their mistake when their greatest champions, working in concert with every ally they could gather, had struck her down, and found they could not slay her.

The fear and horror they'd felt at that moment had been some of the most delectable in her timeless existence. Even now, bound beneath the earth and forgotten, she savored that fear, drew strength from it, and all the little fears man had failed to conquer. The chains tugged against horns, spikes, anywhere they could get purchase, including the great spikes of iron the humans had driven through her chest. Even now, ichor dripped from the wounds, every thrash of resistance causing a resurgence of pain. But, their fears fed her, it was a tiny trickle compared to what she deserved- compared to what they would feel when she got free and birthed her horrors anew- but she grew a tiny bit stronger every day.

Her claws dug into the stone as they had countless times before, the fools had made one other mistake- they had forgotten about her. Her jailers had long since turned to dust, as had their successors' successors. No one came to maintain the seals, to treat the wood, metal, and ropes with the appropriate oils and rites, it had been an indeterminable amount of time since someone had made the most important rite, a paradoxical ritual observance of her powerlessness. Instead of ages more, she would be healed- and free- in mere years. It was with satisfaction that the agony of struggle this time was met with the groaning of the stone of the mountain. Soon… so very, very soon… Mankind would know her once more. She would birth countless nightmares and visit upon them torment a thousand fold.

She strained against her bonds in the lightless depths once more, the mountain groaning in protest…

Soon

 

[Arkeus]

Ok, going to try and Analyze our foe:

Level: 17
Race: Fox
Species: Three Tailed Steel Tipped Fox
Element: ???, ???, ????
Rank: C
Known for its sturdy fur

Click to shrink...

So, what we know for a fact:
*It's over 200 years old, and has grown through two evolutions, trading some of its level each time.
*It has three elements.
*It is rank C
*It is level 17
*It is known for its sturdy fur.

Now, given the "Known for sturdy fur", I am fully expecting that it has a number of skills that are specific to making its skin stronger and harder. If we Blood Bond it, we are probably going to get a 'Armor' shapeshifting skill.

Rank C and level 17 means, at first glance, that it is around the same level of threat as Winter Breeze. I do get the impression that as a rule Beast > Human of the same rank, though.

The big thing, though, is that it is over 200 years and has 3 elements. My impression is that multiple element is fairly rare, and three would be very rare for a C-rank. What I am worried about is that each time it evolves it gets a 'new' element, which would mean that even though it trade part of its level it possibly still keeps its old stats and skills. Hard to say.

Regardless, I think we can expect Agility in the low 50s or high 40s, Stamina in the 40s and I don't know what else. Probably high Perception too, given what The Idiot said. Hopefully Analyze will prove me wrong.

So, I am hoping we are even able to give it ping damage. If we are lucky and it has low mental defenses, Slumber Powder + Drain Blood Might be enough to get it to critical health and Friendship Bond it.

If it simply dismisses the vines because its armour is too high, then our best bet for 'winning' is poison damage + Slumber Powder.

If Autumn shade cannot do ping damage either, than our best bet is to be a tank by using Hardened Moutain Peak Blossom as an improvised armour, Slumber Powder for Debuff, Autumn shade probably trying to limit their movements, and Peach Blossom as our striker. This should be enough to have our help arrive.

Anyway, Edited my vote a bit to reflect a few changes in possible ways to win or at worse survive this.

 

[wayne82444]

Added a modified version of Arkeus vote to my last post. Modified in that we specifically check if it might be vulnerable to Drain Spirit and try that rather than Drain Blood if so. Running out of MP might not immediately beat it, but we know that tires out whoever it happens to, which would make beating it much easier. Also the fact that it wouldn't be able to use any active skills would help as well.

 

[redaeth]

Added a modified version of Arkeus vote to my last post. Modified in that we specifically check if it might be vulnerable to Drain Spirit and try that rather than Drain Blood if so. Running out of MP might not immediately beat it, but we know that tires out whoever it happens to, which would make beating it much easier. Also the fact that it wouldn't be able to use any active skills would help as well.

Click to shrink...

It's not an either or situation. You can totally use multiple skills at the same time. Mountain Peak was using Slumber Powder on us while draining our health and mana.

 

[Arkeus]

Added a modified version of Arkeus vote to my last post. Modified in that we specifically check if it might be vulnerable to Drain Spirit and try that rather than Drain Blood if so. Running out of MP might not immediately beat it, but we know that tires out whoever it happens to, which would make beating it much easier. Also the fact that it wouldn't be able to use any active skills would help as well.

Click to shrink...

Ehh, why not, switching to this, though Stamina govern both HP/MP. Now, given that I don't think any other stats govern MP, but Luck does HP, it probably has more HP than MP, but probably not that much more. Hard to say.

Well, unless someone else is against me switching to this? Main reason not to would be if we think Moutain Peak Blossom is going to lack Mana given we apparently can use more than one skill at once... but Mana Drain

 

[redaeth]

Ehh, why not, switching to this, though Stamina govern both HP/MP. Now, given that I don't think any other stats govern MP, but Luck does HP, it probably has more HP than MP, but probably not that much more. Hard to say.

Click to shrink...

Actually foxes are known for their frailty. I bet under that fur it actually has a lot less HP then MP. It most likely has a pretty large armor rating, or skills that amounts to the same thing, but once you get past that it should fall quickly.

 

[wayne82444]

I did an either or because Mountain Peak Blossom only has 25 MP, and will already be using Slumber Powder. So down to 15 MP, I figured a 4 MP per minute drain means we could potentially hold out 4 or 5 minutes (Depending on how much MP we get per minute), where as if we only do MP drain that is 1 per minute, so 15 minutes for backup to get here minimum. That said if it isn't weak against MP drain we might want to try Drain Spirit and Drain Blood anyway, 3 MP per minute isn't very different from 4 MP per minute, but the regen could make it last longer.

As for HP and MP, I'm aware that Stamina effects both. What I don't know is what else effects either, and it seems likely that something does. Little Bee has 47 HP and 15 MP, nearly 3 times as much HP as MP. Autumn Shade has 22 HP and 9 MP, just over twice as much HP as MP. Mountain Peak Blossom has 42 HP and 25 MP, just over 1.5x as much HP as MP. That said it could just be each race starts with so much base HP and MP and that is just how it worked out from increases per level, but it seems more likely another stat effects them to me.

 

[Arkeus]

As for HP and MP, I'm aware that Stamina effects both. What I don't know is what else effects either, and it seems likely that something does. Little Bee has 47 HP and 15 MP, nearly 3 times as much HP as MP. Autumn Shade has 22 HP and 9 MP, just over twice as much HP as MP. Mountain Peak Blossom has 42 HP and 25 MP, just over 1.5x as much HP as MP. That said it could just be each race starts with so much base HP and MP and that is just how it worked out from increases per level, but it seems more likely another stat effects them to me.

Click to shrink...

As I said earlier, Luck affect HP. Given that Little Bee has 84 Luck (fast growth), Autumn Shade 31 (no growth) and Moutain Peak Blossom 44 (slow), it sort of makes sense.

Basically, our HP/MP ratio is slowly going to get smaller over time (we began with a lot of luck), but given Autumn Shade's/Moutain Peak Blossom's own luck growth the ratio is obviously growing smaller faster.

 

[Darkened]

Oh, also: in my plan where Moutain Peak Blossom is used as Armor it might need to grow to a bigger size for that first, so we would also need to drink a potion probably after that. Darkened, how big is the size it can get? Or do we just have no idea?

Click to shrink...

You're not sure yet. But it isn't that huge yet.

Darkened, does this Fox count for the quest?

Click to shrink...

Doubtful, but you can try!

As for what stat does what, this is from the first story post, though it should probably go in the FAQ:

Stamina- Determines HP and MP. Enables someone to act for longer without succumbing to exhaustion.
Strength- Influences damage, accuracy, as well as how much weight you can carry and use.
Agility- Influences accuracy, movement speed and defense
Affinity- Slightly adjusts MP, Determines what magical items and equipment you can use, and
increases your compatibility with them.
Perception- Determines what you can notice both by strengthening senses senses and your ability to interpret them. Slightly influences drop rate.
Luck- Influences both defense and HP. Increase drop rate for rare items as well as events. Helps with all actions.
Intelligence- Influences reasoning ability. You may not pick this as your high or low attribute.
Charisma- Allows you to influence others and hide your intentions.

Click to shrink...

 

[Arkeus]

A couple more questions Darkened, does the 'enemy' wording on Slumber Powder means it only affects enemies, or do we need to be careful because it's not Foe-only? Likewise, is there any benefits from having fast affinity for our shapeshifted weapon/etc, or is it just a plain loss there? (E.G, they bypass the affinity system and having good affinity does nothing for those core skills?)

 

[Darkened]

A couple more questions Darkened, does the 'enemy' wording on Slumber Powder means it only affects enemies, or do we need to be careful because it's not Foe-only? Likewise, is there any benefits from having fast affinity for our shapeshifted weapon/etc, or is it just a plain loss there? (E.G, they bypass the affinity system and having good affinity does nothing for those core skills?)

Click to shrink...

The enemy wording indicates who you'd usually use it on. I can clarify if needed, but it'll effect anything that breathes in the pollen.

Shapeshifted abilities in your core skills don't tend to have particular affinity requirements, and none of the ones you have now benefits much from affinity, though you could potentially get gear to use with them.

 

[redaeth]

So using Slumber Powder while Mountain Peak Blossom is literally draped all over us is a bad idea. Check.

 

[Darkened]

Without wind, movement, immunity or the like, yes.

 

[LeoAbogos]

If we're doing this fight, we should try to bring it into the foliage. Autumn Shade gets a hefty (relatively for his stats) buff in 'sufficient darkness'. No clue what the threshold for that is, but sneaking when there's cover should be easier anyway. Speaking of sneaking, Autumn has enough MP for a minute of Presence Concealment and a use of Poison Claw... and not much else. Given the lack of other options, my suggestion would be for him to open with a Poison Claw from stealth.

Peach Blossom also gets a damage buff for distance traveled, which might be useful if she jumps down from a tree.

 

[redaeth]

Alright some thoughts on the battle

For own assets.

Autumn Shade is still a kitten. He does not have enough Presence Concealment to be useful against a high perception fox unless we give that to him. I'm thinking we do the same thing we did with Winter Breeze. We let him find a good place to ambush and have him wait to attack with Poison Claw. Then do our best to maneuver the battle to the ambush spot.

Winter Peak Blossom is attack heavy, and the most likely to damage the fox besides Peach Blossom while taking the least damage in turn. It has three status effect like abilities that work best at close range, and an ability that allows it to pass as a normal looking plant. For defense it does have that Skin-Like-Stone ability but that depends heavily on just how much nutrients it would need to grow big enough for armor. Killing Little Bee because we had it drain her dry is not ideal. My personal preference is to use Peach Blossom as launching point, but we could do the same with Autumn Shade and leave it hanging in a branch somewhere. Once its attached it should use everything in its arsenal to keep it down.

Peach Blossom is primary useful to drive it from that stream and into ambush points or away from our party so to give us time to heal up through potions. Her leaps and high agility means she can probably get into attack range and out of its own attack range reliably enough. Hopefully. Honestly our best bet is to drive it into the trees, where Peach can use them as springboards to build up that Distance = More Attack bonus.

For Little Bee, I don't really see a way to help all that much directly beyond acting as a meat shield. So her job is coordinate everything. Pity we don't have enough XP to buy an Order yet.

 

[Sirrocco]

Question: we automatically comprehend its mood and nature. What does that tell us?

also worth noting - if we can somehow get an exp, we can buy the ability to communicate with the thing midbattle.

 

[Darkened]

Question: we automatically comprehend its mood and nature. What does that tell us?

Click to shrink...

That it's just found some weird flabby furless thing entering its territory that looks delicious!

 

[Sirrocco]

That it's just found some weird flabby furless thing entering its territory that looks delicious!

Click to shrink...

Okay. Mood. Check. Anything about its nature?

Also, tactically, this is useful. It's not expecting us to fight - it's expecting us to run, and if we do run, it'll give chase. That's not the best thing in the world for a number of reasons, but it is potentially useful in forming a plan of attack. Example - if we discard our little vegetable friend behind us and run away, there's a good chance it'll just run right over the guy - giving a good chance to latch on.

 

[Darkened]

NIGHTMARE​

Click to shrink...

You may choose one of the following.

• +2 charisma
• +2 stamina
• See one high level skill for Mountain Peak Blossom

Okay. Mood. Check. Anything about its nature?

Click to shrink...

You have what you'll get.

 

[JENTHULHU]

Hmmm, insight into its ability build might be nice, but given the immediate situation, I think I'll take the

+2 Stamina

 

[Minion #Q]

[X] No, you can do this.
[X] Have Mountain Peak Blossom wrap around Peach Blossoms spear and appear like a plant. When Peach Blossom gets close enough to attack it Mountain should drop onto the fox and begin to drain its health and mana. You and Autumn will do your best to harry it along side Peach Blossom.
-[X] Analyze the fox multiple times to get as much information as possible.
-[X] Have Mountain Peak Blossom use Slumber Powder and have Autumn Shade use Poison Claw.
-[X] The instant you can use Friendship Bond, do so.

 

[Arkeus]

Darkened, should I precise that LB not have Moutain Peak Blossom (Fuck, that name is so long) use Slumber Powder if it can't use it away from herself, or can we trust LB about that?

 

[Darkened]

Darkened, should I precise that LB not have Moutain Peak Blossom (Fuck, that name is so long) use Slumber Powder if it can't use it away from herself, or can we trust LB about that?

Click to shrink...

Your allies won't usually try to sabotage you mid-fight unless specifically given orders to do so. On the other hand, more detail probably won't hurt in conveying the intent of a plan.

 

[Arkeus]

OK then, reworded that part like so:
[] Let Mountain Peak Blossom use Slumber Powder 1 if it can do so away from yourself and your allies, then harden around yourself when we are attacked, hopefully acting like an armour. We should then distract the fox and check whether Peach Blossom or Auntumn shade can even scratch it (with Auntumn shade obviously attacking from stealth).

Not only is there only 4 5 votes, but it's tied... Sirrocco, JENTHULHU, LeoAbogos, Falconis, fitzgerald, Jiven, DOOMPOTATO, others, not going to vote?