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Paul's funeral is rather short. Father Curtis conducts the ceremony in Calloway's chapel. Quissonce, Gilda and yourself say some words to a small gathering of people who knew the man. Unfortunately he was the last of his particular group to perish and as such the people who knew him best on the Island left this world before him. He was brave. He protected Gilda during one of Seaside's worst events. He freed the rest of you from being saddled with a cursed object. And now he gets to experience his final rest.

After the ceremony ends, you spot Dolah speaking quietly with a teary-eyed Quissonce. Ed stands by holding her hand while that Desden fellow leans against a pillar a short distance away, eyes peeled like a hawk, scanning the small crowd.

You see Blackburn at the back of the assembly, peacefully watching the proceedings, paying his respects.

You also lock gazes with Gabby who promptly breaks eye contact and stares at the floor. You're surprised she came, actually. You don't believe she interacted much with Paul.

Neither did Dart, who's also here, skulking around the back by Blackburn, a smirk not fit for the atmosphere of the occasion plastered upon her face. She might just be here to people watch. Or to protect the Overseer.

>Check up on Quissonce
>Berate Desden for his behavior
>Ask Gabby what she's doing here
>Speak with Blackburn
>Talk to Dart
>Leave and begin Essentia's management training
>Something else? (write-in)

>>129546
>Speak with Blackburn
We also need to ask him about any management tips we can pass on to Essentia.

>>129546
>Speak with Blackburn
>Check up on Quissonce
>Ask Gabby what she's doing here

Writing!

>>129535
by the way, Trick, what Rowe said in the other thread had me thinking.

She said that, with all the assimilating going on, with the prospect of having various bits of personality and all sort of incorporated into us, that we may not be the same person that we were coming on that boat in the beginning.

And it reminded me a great deal about the philosophical question: the ship of Theseus.

>>129666
hmm... triple sixes, not encouraging.

Anyway,

considering that the ship starts out with certain materials, but eventually has to replace aging components, would the ship many years later on, still be the same ship as it was when it started.

In essence, this kind of reflects a human's mind/personality as they develop through life. Various components such as the material compounds and the thoughts that used to inhabit the body and mind are changed or replaced, while the vessel still goes by the same name.

The assimilation process that we have just seems like a very unnatural and accelerated version of that.

>>129666
>the ship of Theseus

This is a slightly weird tangent, but I believe some of the submarines in WWII that had high kill counts on the United States side that ended up being sunk by the Germans would be replaced with newly made submarines, crewed by entirely new people (since the previous crew died) but keep the same name and would also keep the previous boat's kill count. So you would have a new boat with new people keeping up the logo, reputation, tradition and name while being entirely new. I always found that interesting.

>>129707
I guess they did that for the propaganda/psychological value?

In any case, I'm thinking that, had we developed our skills sets and beliefs the old fashion way without our ability, we might see a fairly slow and steady change in character over time. The drastic personalty trait adoptions, purportedly, in such a short period of time, is what's disturbing Rowe.

But on that matter, I wanted to revisit the subject of the nature of Assimilation.

>>129707
>>129740
I remember reading back through the archives and there was that part where we were using Gabby's skill set and then we were thinking of ourselves as cute.

I believe she mentioned something afterwards about thinking of herself in a pink dress or some other feminine feature.

Which then led to, if I recall correctly, one instance where we relied on her skill set again, and that time did come buy a disturbingly feminine mental image of her as such.

Does Assimilation necessarily mean we're incorporating other people's personalities? Or are we simply tapping into their thoughts and leeching their experience every time we need to? Like, a psychic link that exists solely so that we can draw from an experience and knowledge base from an outside source rather than in inside one?

>>129765

There have been moments when you've relied on/ adopted another's identity so strongly that it overwhelmed you to the extent that for a short amount of time you believed you were that person.

You definitely seem to incorporate skill sets and certain physiological abilities although when it comes to specific knowledge you do need to hear the person mention the thing.

Like for example, you haven't (yet) spontaneously learned the name of all the poisonous plants in the region without hearing Rowe mention them or point them out at least once. So leaching from thoughts seems to be out since you don't spontaneously know information.

>>129830
>There have been moments when you've relied on/ adopted another's identity so strongly that it overwhelmed you to the extent that for a short amount of time you believed you were that person.

Even their though processes, yes? But say we've assimilated them before their thoughts/beliefs changed. Based upon the precedent with Gabby, it seems that we'd also experience those changes as well. This is why I thought that we share a sort of psychic link of sorts with those we've assimilated from.

>>129849
It is easier to assimilate from those you're more strongly associated with and who regard you more closely and intimately.

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You move towards the back of the chapel past a few of Dolah's white-robed acolytes. They have the decency to not bear arms at this event.

Blackburn regards you with a respectful nod as you sidle up to his form.

“I'm a bit surprised to see you here,” you admit to him. He was at Calloway's funeral, but most everybody attended Calloway's funeral.

“Paul was a dedicated agent and provided insight into the nature of reanimation. It's a shame we lost him as an asset. And I'm sorry to see the man gone. Part of me did hope we could undo the fate that befell him.”

“I apolo –”

“No need. I can either expect progress or no unforeseen setbacks. Not both. Speaking of progress, I hear you've developed a literal kiss of death.”

“Yes I have. Although I've promised my lover I wouldn't use it. Don't want to incur her jealousy or her wrath.”

Blackburn chuckles. “I thought there might be complications arising from that relationship, but I'll admit that wasn't one of them. So you still have the succubus?”

“We're keeping her locked up on the 6th floor.”

“I want her. I'll reimburse you of course, like all the live specimens you've brought me.”

“Shouldn't you be asking the Archmage about this?”

Another chuckle. “I think we both know why I'm asking you.”

>Take her
>No, I'm not done with her yet
>Ask Essentia, she's the one in charge

AND

>Check up on Quissonce
>Berate Desden for his behavior
>Ask Gabby what she's doing here
>Talk to Dart
>Leave and begin Essentia's management training
>Something else? (write-in)

>>129928
>>Ask Essentia, she's the one in charge
>Check up on Quissonce
>Ask Gabby what she's doing here

>Talk to Dart
At least try and see what she's doing here.

>>129928
Also, sorry about dumping those posts on you. It was just something that was bugging me for two or so weeks, and I wanted to get it off my chest.

>>129928
>Will I still be able to ask her questions? I may have questions later concerning the Abyss, Hell, and just what to expect in terms of hit squads sent against me.
>Ask Essentia, she's the one in charge
I don't want to undermine Essentia authority right as we're beginning her management training.

>Ask Gabby what she's doing here

>>129928
>>>Ask Essentia, she's the one in charge
Actually, going to change this to >Take her

Writing!

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“Will I still be able to talk to her? I may have questions later.”

“If I do my job right,” Dart butts in. “You can direct your questions to me.”

“I think I'd prefer talking to the succubus,” you casually mention.

“I don't know,” Dart musically comments. “If you're looking to not incur Gabby's wrath, maybe you shouldn't have secret rendezvous with the sex demon you kissed.”

“Rowe is my lover,” you correct the rogue. “Not Gabby.” Dart actually looks surprised.

“Getting sloppy, Dart,” Blackburn chides. “That isn't even a secret. Maybe you can't do your job right.”

“Perhaps I am getting sloppy,” Dart admits. Her eyes flicker behind you before coming back to rest on your face, her smirk deepening a bit. “Or maybe I'm not.”

You can't help but look behind you. Gabby's intense study of the three of you halts as she notices you looking at her. She turns around. You swivel your head back to the conversation to watch Dart silently laugh to herself as her eyes light up mischievously. You grimace.

“Well,” Blackburn interjects. “Can I have the succubus?”

“Ask Essentia. She's in charge.”

“So Azdor wasn't exaggerating,” Dart tells Blackburn. “Loverboy here wants to mold Essentia into a real leader of men.”

“If you think you can do it, I see the advantages to the idea,” Blackburn tells you. “I'm currently trying to bring in more potential casters. If Essentia's failed attempts at leadership is part of the reason we lost so many spellcasters in the siege, I'm all for her shaping up.”

“I think she could use a few pointers from you.”

“I lean towards a hands-off approach myself, but sure. Bring her to my office sometime and we'll chat. I think it may be time for our two organizations to mingle more. Good day, Alan.”

“You always find a way to make things about business. Makes it hard to see anything you do as altruistic, Blackburn,” you tell him honestly.

He shrugs and takes his leave. Dart starts to follow him out of the church, but only after giving you a wink. She hums merrily as she exits.

You take a quick glance back and see that Dolah, Quissonce, Desden, Ed and most of the other attendees have left. Gabby still sits in a pew, examining the floor.

>Go after Dart
>Speak with Gabby
>Leave and begin Essentia's management training
>Something else? (write-in)

>>130368
I swear it was me.

>>130368
>Speak with Gabby
But after this, we have to start Essentia's management training. No more delays after this.

>>130368
>>Speak with Gabby
>>130408
I'd like to ask Dart what she's here for. Maybe she's up to something, maybe it's just her getting news, idk.

>>130427
We've been putting off Essentia's training, and any information we get from Dart will be outweighed by the amount of information she gets from us.

>>130437
Ok, I guess we could gather intel on the other group some other time.

>>130460
I want to minimize the information she can get about us, because Alan is the one who doesn't have an equivalent in Irontide's group.

Writing!

You walk to where Gabby sits. She looks up at you and quickly does a double take before scooting over to make room for you.

“Didn't expect to see you here,” you tell her as you sit beside her. “I don't recall you interacting with Paul much.”

“I didn't,” she admits. “But the guy sort of covered my ass when I fucked up. It's my fault we got saddled with cursed shit. And I never once thanked him even. So, this is the best I can do.”

“I think he would have appreciated that,” you commend her.

“Hey,” she looks at you intently, eyes wide but posture sturdy, like she's ready to be physically hit. “I heard snippets about what happened. Ritual gone wrong and you stopped it. But, uh, I want to know if it's my fault he's dead. Did you stop whatever was powering him up from happening because he had that necklace?”

>No, had nothing to do with it
>No, had nothing to do with it (lying)
>Yes, that was why I stopped the ritual

AND

>Is there a reason you're ogling me in secret?
>Dart thought we were fucking. How crazy is that?! HAHAHAhahaha?
>Leave and begin Essentia's management training
>Have you made any decisions regarding your dream?
>Something else? (write-in)

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>>130777
Forgot pic

>>130777
>>No, had nothing to do with it
"It was my fault. I got too cocky and confident about our chances, and it was risky. I still pushed for it anyways and now..."
>Have you made any decisions regarding your dream?
>Is there a reason you're ogling me in secret?

>>130777
>No, had nothing to do with it
>Dart thought we were fucking. How crazy is that?! HAHAHAhahaha?

Writing!

“No, the necklace had nothing to do with it. Quissonce and I got cocky about the procedure and when we saw it wasn't doing what we wanted I panicked. I aborted the whole thing without realizing how it was going to backfire. It was my fuck up.”

“Hindsight's a bitch,” Gabby remarks. “Who knows how shit would have gone if you had let it happen?”

“Mhm,” you reply. The two of you sit together, looking forward towards the altar as the rest of the stragglers funnel out of the church. Silence reigns as you take in the calming atmosphere of the church. Father Curtis nods to you as he gathers his things in a bag and exits. The two of you are alone.

“So,” you begin, immediately drawing Gabby out of wherever she mentally drifted off to. “Have you made a decision regarding your dream yet?”

She scratches her head. “Uh, well, I've thought about what you said. With regards to the whole trusting people bit. And I think I'll give it a shot. At least until, y'know, it almost fucking kills me.”

“Good.” The silence falls over the two of you again. You try to think of a new topic. “Hey, did you know that Dart thought we were fucking. How crazy is that?”

You laugh.

Gabby laughs.

You laugh together.

It's awkward.

“Yeah, she told Irontide you were my boyfriend yesterday,” Gabby finally says, looking down at her feet.

“I remember that,” you respond.

“I mean, you did dream about the two of us fucking,” Gabby eventually speaks. “Which is kinda weird.”

“I agree,” you concede. “It's also sort of weird when I keep catching you secretly ogling me.”

Gabby's voice catches in her throat. “I'm not ogling you!”

“It's what it seems –”

“I was looking at you and then I realized I might be unconsciously, I don't know, sending you fucking fuck signals so I looked down to – Fuck you for making me self-conscious about wanting to interact with you.”

“Well last night you felt fine being aggressively flirty.”

“I was in shock. My instinctual reaction was to make you feel uncomfortable. I didn't realize I'd actually have to deal with you being attracted to me the next day.”

>I'm not attracted to you
>Making it sound a bit one-sided there
>Don't stress over it, nothing's changed. Just act like usual
>Something else? (write-in)

Essentia management training after this, I promise

>>131345
>Making it sound a bit one-sided there
>Don't stress over it, nothing's changed. Just act like usual
We can admit that Gabby's attractive.
We still love Rowe and intend to marry her, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends and joke around.

>>131345
>>Making it sound a bit one-sided there

I won't deny that I'm attracted, but we don't have to change anything if you don't want to.

>>131385
Eh, I want to test the waters and see if Rowe's ok with a three way relationship.

>>131394
Uh, the >Making it sound a bit one-sided there
sounds to be a lot more for wanting a three-way than just >Don't stress over it.

Writing!

Captcha: Select all street signs

ME: Well, it's a car so I guess I'll just click the pictures that have the license plate in them?

>>131405
I thought we were fairly close enough that it would be interpreted as physical and emotional attraction.

Still, don't want Gabby to feel stressed over this.

I just want to find Rowe and talk to her about our dream connection and see if she'd be alright with polygamy in this regard.

>>131439
If we're trying to not have Gabby stress over it, then wouldn't telling her not to stress over it and that nothing's really changed be the option to go for?

>>131466
well, that's what I was trying to shoot for with "things don't have to change if you don't want to."

>>131473
What?
You chose >Making it sound a bit one-sided there back here >>131386

>>131526
yeah, but I added the custom line under it.

>>131533
That was a write-in?
Didn't realize it was supposed to be one.

>>131557
sorry, probably should have put quotes around it.

“You have to deal with me being attracted to you?” you ask, eyeing her.

“Well, yeah. What, you saying you don't find me attractive?” She cracks her knuckles.

“No, I do!” you quickly amend your inquiry to avoid the brawl that would ruin the building that signifies Father Calloway's legacy. “I do. It's just you're making it sound rather one-sided.”

“I dreamt of killing you. You're the one who dreamt of experiencing the little death.”

“You think I'm cute.”

“I . . .” she stops like she ran into a brick wall. “Yeah, that's true. I think you're cute.”

“And from the looks you've been giving me since . . .”

“Alan –”

“Dart seems to think –”

“Alan. Look, I don't fuck co-workers. Things get weird when shit like that goes on.”

You look at her dumbfounded. “You tried to kiss everybody at the New Years' party.”

“Alright, I don't fuck co-workers sober. Drunk Gabby comes out and all the bets are off. And even if I did, I don't fuck men who are taken.” There is a pause as she rethinks what she just said and readjusts herself.

“Alright, that's a lie. I'd totally be fucking you by now if you were with Dolah. God if you were somehow with Dart I'd fuck you and have an artist draw the scene as it was happening so I could hang it on her wall HOLY SHIT does that sound hot. But you're with Rowe. And I like Rowe. She's pretty cool and oftentimes right behind me me holding a bow filled with pointy arrows. And with people like Dart and Irontide around I don't want to be doing shit that would cause in-fighting. Y'know.”

“Gabby, I'd never cheat on Rowe. I can admit I'm attracted to you and not act on it. Look, don't stress over it. Nothing's changed. And nothing has to change if you don't want it to. Just act like usual.”

“Alright.”

“And admit you're attracted to me.”

“Oh, I admit you're the cutest little button! Come give mommy a kiss!” Gabby starts to make kissy noises at you and the residual forced slobber causes you to recoil a bit.

“I will steal your soul,” you jokingly threaten her.

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You spend the next two weeks teaching Essentia how to be a better leader and coordinator. You aren't the only influence on her, but you do give her pointers you've picked up from your stint in the army. She needs to be much more commanding to earn the respect of her underlings. You teach the benefits of being decisive, forceful and sure of yourself while balancing it with listening to wise advice.

The two of you meet with Blackburn, Betsy and Gale multiple times to learn more about what it takes to schedule people, manage a multitude of schedules and how to keep track of equipment. Each of them gives their own anecdotal experiences with how to control, convince and direct people who look up to them.

Essentia really seems to take to it. Studying with a notebook and pencil in hand as she listens to the rest of you. She is truly determined to be better at leading. You start to see small improvements in how she directs your daily meetings at the Circle. She starts spending time organizing all the magical equipment stored on the 8th floor. She has the twelve or so remaining mages of the Circle submit a more regimented training schedule and speaks with them one on one to hear their grievances and comments.

She ends up assigning students to each of the Circle Magisters to assure the training of those beneath you. All of you are responsible for educating, helping and guiding two people beneath your station to keep them on the right path. Thankfully one of the two you are assigned is Ed so that makes your duties a little easier.

As new potential recruits flood in with money in talent, Essentia has one of you actually test and examine the skills they bring to the table before assigning these new acolytes to the mages above them in the pecking order.

You do however have enough free time during all of these upheavals to train up one skill set.

>Monk Skills
>Ranger Skills
>Cavalier Skills
>Sorcerer Skills
>Cleric Skills
>Wizard Skills
>Something else? (write-in)

>>131865
>Wizard Skills
Maybe if we learn to make wands, we can get around the limited number of spell slots.

>>131865

>Wizard Skills

Writing!

Roll me 1d100 +49, Best of 3

Also, is there a particular school of magic you want to focus on? Evocation is the explodey school of magic.

Rolled 52 + 49 (1d100 + 49)

>>131968
got any teleportation related?

>>131968
may we also roll the third? we seem to be lacking a third player.

Rolled 45 + 49 (1d100 + 49)

>>131995
If a third person doesn't show up and roll higher we'll use this

Rolled 35 + 49 (1d100 + 49)

>>131968
Conjuration.

Rolled 86 + 49 (1d100 + 49)

>>131976
>Wizard

>>132190
UGH!

Um, well, hmmmm

Guess what everybody, I'm going to spend a bit more time writing now. Because that baller ass roll is changing up what happened a bit now.

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You speak with Ed in your appointed “apprenticeship” meetings about what would be the best school of magic to pursue if you were interested in teleportation. He tells you that focusing on the Conjuration school would be your best bet. So you take some advice from him and a few other wizards including Essentia and Quissonce to train yourself a bit in conjuration-focused wizardry.

You make impressive strides in the two weeks you devote to study and pick up some nifty spells on your way to acquiring teleportation magic.

Glitterdust, for one, summons a cloud of golden particles that covers everyone and everything in a set area. Handy in case you run into anything that decides to turn invisible like that blackguard managed to do during the siege.

You also learn the spell Web, which creates a many-layered mass of strong, sticky strands similar to what those phase spiders had erected in the lower levels of the Circle.

The last spell you manage to master on your own is one which summons forth monsters from other realms of existence to fight for you. You learn three different versions of it, each one more powerful than the last.

By the end of your study you manage to tap into that moment when Essentia almost made you vomit as she phased your body up and down the floors of the tower. Unfortunately, you currently can only manage to utilize to shift your position in the world fifteen feet in any direction including straight up.

Quissonce decides to teach you a spell of her own invention that she calls the Urban Step. You get the hang of it quickly and the jist of the spell is that if you are within eyesight of two different doors you can magically link the two from your position so that if you enter one you can teleport to the other. Handy for sure if you end up in another fight here in Seaside.

After two weeks of intesne study, Essentia gathers you all for the usual daily meeting of the Circle Magisters that she is insisting everyone attend, despite Azdor's protests.

She opens up the agenda for that day by telling you all a truth you're all painfully aware of: the Circle is too few in number of members to function properly.

“So,” Essentia says, a giddy anticipation simmering beneath her voice, “I believe we should open up membership to any and all spellcasters who draw their power from divine or otherworldly sources. Thoughts?”

“Ridiculous,” Azdor immediately opines. “It's a completely different subject. Unrelated to any sort of educational or informative study we could provide at this institution.”

Flid, while not wholeheartedly in support of the idea, is slightly more accepting of the idea. “Two of our Circle Magisters already draw some of their power from the divine, so it wouldn't be impossible to incorporate. But without their dedication to the idea I think it's a dud.”

>Your thoughts?

>>132389
I think it might be helpful. Having insight from individuals who are using such power could be valuable for the Circle.

>>132389
"It would provide some insight into other forms of magic which may be useful from an academic point of view.
"As well, it would cement the Circle's position as the eminent authority on magic and magical phenomena. I think it would help bolster our ranks and reputation."

Writing!

>>132389
For more questionable sources of power, or area of study (for wizardry). We should move conservative at a pace we can handle if anything flares up.

“I think it'd be helpful,” you tell the others at the table truthfully. “If we could manage to convince them joining would benefit them it would solve the simplest problem of bolstering our ranks. Would do good for our reputation as well.”

“How?” Azdor asks.

“We're seen as elitist and exclusive. Widening the definition of what makes someone worthy of joining our esteemed ranks makes us look like our heads aren't lodged firmly up our collective asses. It also grants us legitimacy and more power if it works."

"Imagine if Calloway had been a member of the Circle. Right now there are dozens of people who can cast magic who are unrelated to us because they can't be part of our group and anybody who's casting magic who is not part of the Circle makes us look irrelevant."

"Allowing divine casters to join makes us the the eminent authority on magic and magical phenomena. Not to mention that these casters have unique experiences that would provide valuable insight. And examining other forms of magic from an academic view grants those casters a perspective they lack if we weren't here. It makes us much more important.”

“I assure you, some of these casters are drawing their power from dark places,” Azdor tells you. He's probably thinking of his 'ally' Ferrek.

“Then it's best if we get to them early,” Rowe chimes in. “If we're already guiding arcane casters from necromancy and diabolism, being in a position to guide newbie divine casters away from I don't know, The Relentless Surge or some other foreboding god, makes us look even better. We could easily control the pace of anyone we think is going down a dark path.”

“It would sure get Dolah's support and recommendation,” Eve pipes up. “If we included that clause. Some of her followers have access to divine magic. Our first batch of recruits could come straight from her.”

“Tying ourselves to the Church would brighten our image a tad,” Flid agrees.

“Alright, then we're all in agreement?” Essentia asks, beaming. The vote is unanimous. Even Azdor begrudgingly agrees the plan is a solid one.

After a few important conversations with influential folks such as Blackburn and Dolah and the next two weeks lead to a massive recruitment drive for those with knowledge and access to divine magic to join the Circle.

A whole slew of folks you know previously join up. Deliria, The Sculptor, Father Curtis. Even Dolah and her new subordinate Desden become nominal members despite choosing to keep some amount of distance from the Circle. Dolah promises to send over a few written books and postulations on the nature of divine spellcasting.

It seems to go well, but you soon realize that the current number of your divine students near the bottom is too much for those of you at the top. Rowe doesn't even have much in the way of divine power, considering she has focused so much of her time on mastering specialized arcane techniques. She now has the power to shoot arrows around corners to hit her targets. You're a skilled cleric, but you're certainly not the best.

Essentia decides you need a pure divine Circle Magister to truly keep things in order. You advocate for . . .

>Dolah, The Paladin of Seaside
>Ms. Helbot, The Sculptor
>Ferrek, The Sapper
>Desden, the Detector

You also find time to
>Increase one of your skillsets (which?)
>Tactically coordinate with a teammate (who?)

>>132769
>Ms. Helbot, The Sculptor
>Increase one of your skillsets (Rogue)
>Tactically coordinate with a teammate (kyra)

I don't think we've hung out with Kyra in quite a while. Let's change that, shall we?

>>132769
Who was Deliria?

>>132799
You remember how The Sculptor taught us, right? Are you sure that's a good choice?

>>132810
Actually, I don't recall. All I remember is that she taught us burst and stuff, and that she's mute?

>>132810
Wasn't Deliria the girlfriend of that one criminal guy who tried to off us and then she tried sending more after our asses?

>>132810
None of the options are great choices.
The least worst are probably Dolah and The Sculptor.

Dolah is a paladin and could butt heads with the other Circle Magisters when it comes to matters of keeping Evil magic items and magic items charged with Necromancy.
The Sculptor's teaching methods leave a lot to be desired.

>>132816
She hit us with Negative Energy Burst, first to get us to learn Negative Energy Burst, then continued to hit us with it until we learned Positive Energy Burst.

If Alan wasn't the Assimilator, then he probably wouldn't have learned anything.

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>>132810
>Who was Deliria?

Deliria is this chick. She was the girlfriend of a guy you went frontier justice on who was having you followed and most likely planning on killing your waifu in revenge. You decided not to have Kyra assassinate her and she eventually ended up as a particularly blunt school marm for some particularly blunt Island orc children.

>>132769
>Dolah, The Paladin of Seaside
or that prick we met in the church what was his name again?
>Tactically coordinate with a teammate
Kyra or Eve

>>132835
Do we know more about her beyond that she's currently a school teacher?

I'm sure that Blackburn would have had a dossier written up on her.
Can we ask to look through it as part of the Circle's vetting process for new Circle Magisters?

>>132834
>>132835
Might as well go with Dolah.

>>132854
But consider whether that's a good idea or not, since she seems to want a clear separation between Circle and Church.

We need to give this some more thought than a cursory consideration.

>>132886
ok, then. Who are the other two? I barely recall them and how good they are with their craft.

>>132835
Hey, Trick, could you remind us who Desden and Ferrek are?

>>132900
Ferrek is the guy who likes to blow things up with magic. Like, he doesn't just like to blow up people, he revels in it.

Desden is the asshole we met in the Church after Paul died. Thinks that just because he can see a person's soul he can judge them without actually looking at evidence.

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FUCK! Starting again. >>132846


Deliria was one of the other clerics who was taking money for healing around the same time that Father Calloway was.

She eventually shacked up with Harnost, pic related, to reduce competition.

She's a cleric, like Calloway, but seems to draw her power from a more war-like interpretation of The Great Will. One of his angels who was suited for battle, really. She wears armor and is much more heavily focused on fighting rather than healing, although she ran it as a side business.

She turned an ogre over to Blackburn to research. She was most likely planning to sic it on you or a girlfriend of yours but probably backed out on that plan after you, gabby and kyra convinced her it would only end in her death. She apparently found it wandering nearby Seaside and captured it. Where the fuck it came from, nobody knows.

>>132921
>>132915

Ferrek is one of Azdor's/Irontide's crew. He's a cleric that worships some Dark God called the Looming Shadow. He channels negative energy and is known as the sapper because he drains people to death (sorta like your kiss, just AOE).

Desden Grimwold is Dolah's subordinate and apparently was a detective on the Mainland and quite a good one at that. He also is super judgmental from your own personal experience with him. He puts a lot of stake in being able to magically read people. So did Dolah initially.

>>132921
From the sounds of it, those two seem like liabilities.
Dolah's our friend, but we don't want the line between church and circle blurring.

Despite her flaws, maybe we could get the Sculptor to be the one, provided we get her to improve on her lesson giving?

>>132769
>Ms. Helbot, The Sculptor
As problematic as she is (doesn't talk, teaching method is to try to kill the student until they stop dying), she won't blur the line between the Circle and the Church, and can probably be counted on to at least consider things from an academic rather than dogmatic perspective.

>Increase one of your skillsets (Cleric)
>Tactically coordinate with a teammate (Dolah)

Alright, I believe Kyra wins the second vote. And for that I'm going to need a roll of 1d100 +49, best of 3.

But I just want to make sure once more about who you're choosing.

Your options are, discounting the people nobody even mentioned

>Ms. Helbot, the Sculptor
>Dolah, the Paladin of Seaside
>Deliria, the Crusader

Rolled 81 + 49 (1d100 + 49)

>>132998
>Ms. Helbot, the Sculptor

Rolled 77 + 49 (1d100 + 49)

>>132998
>Ms. Helbot, the Sculptor
She definitely needs to work on her teaching methods, though.
As someone who builds, she probably is best for the Circle, temperament-wise.

Rolled 82 + 49 (1d100 + 49)

>>132998
third roll, just in case.

File: The Sculptor.jpg (56 KB, 480x600)

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You eventually decide to recommend Ms. Helbot for the position. She's mute, she's an inconsiderate asshole and her teaching methods leave much to be desired. But she's calm, knowledgeable, skilled, has a variety of talents and frankly the fact that she has to write down what she says means she can't yell her opinions or get into truly heated arguments with other members of your esteemed group. Not even Azdor wants Ferrek to join and nobody knows who Desden even really is. Dolah herself asks you not to choose her. So Ms. Helbot ends up joining you at the table.

Thankfully, she takes the job seriously. And seeing as she has been granted jurisdiction over a majority of the current acolytes at the Circle she quickly becomes busy and engrossed with sculpting the minds of those graced with divine powers. You end up hearing a few complaints and grumbles from those unable to pierce the complexities of her teaching style, but for the most part she is an able instructor.

In one short month you see a rebirth of the Circle. Your membership has risen from seventeen haggard arcane spell casters to over fifty magic users. The sounds of feet, discussion and effort refill the circular halls of your tower. Support staff are re-hired and unlike the atmosphere of the previous Circle, people seem to be communicating. Arcane and divine, religious and secular. An encouragement of direct, clear transfer of knowledge and ideas to those who need or want it grants the institution you are now leading an air of actual legitimacy. You feel like a real college. Essentia feels like a genuine Archmage, what the word is meant to mean.

Things just may be looking up.

>End of Thread
I will most likely run this next time on Saturday. https://twitter.com/TrickQM

I really want to do the Kyra interaction justice and I'm blanking on good ideas at the moment so I will be starting with that next thread.

>>133168
Alright.
Maybe Kyra asks us to bring along Muffin and Pascala to help with tracking some people or creatures down, and so we get to work with her as well as our familiars.

I'm simultaneously dreading and looking forward to when Rowe and Alan can speak with their animal companions, and they have to talk about proper breeding with Sef and Pascala.

>>133168

That's cool. We want to have a nice proper interaction with Kyra after all this time.

Also, I hope we get to talk to Rowe about Gabby next thread. My fingers are crossed in hopes of acceptance.

>>133189
>I'm simultaneously dreading and looking forward to when Rowe and Alan can speak with their animal companions, and they have to talk about proper breeding with Sef and Pascala.
"when a mommy dog and a daddy dog love each other very much-"

>>133201
No, not that.
It's "Yes, we know that you're both in a relationship, but we think it would be better for everyone if Pascala breeds properly, with someone with a pedigree.
"You can still be together, but puppies have to breed true, not be unreliable hybrids."

Rowe literally wants her animal companion to get NTRed hard, for his girlfriend to carry the babies of some breeding stud, and we promised to make it happen.

>>133218
perhaps we could convince her otherwise? Seems a tad heartless.

>>133218
Hmmmm, I assume the conversation you're referring to is this one.

>“Do you want Pascala to get pregnant?” she asks quite severely, cutting you off. “With wolfdogs?”

>“Uh –”

>“Because she's purebred Shepherd. Any knowledgeable dog keeper worth their salt would call you an idiot to ruin her offspring by breeding her with a wolf. Wolfdogs make for poor dogs and poor wolves. Hard to domesticate and not suited for the wild. Do you really want to ruin that?”

>She seems pretty upset about this. You really haven't put much thought into it, but you guess she has a point.
Let me just put one little hint out there.

Rowe wasn't talking about Pascala and Sif.

>>133243
Really?

Because, she is actually making a very valid point about wolfdogs being the worst of both worlds. It seemed like the position an actual woodsman would validly hold because they would have likely used dogs in their work and life.

>>133272
I mean, she is making a valid point. If she wasn't making a valid point she'd just be saying a bunch of meaningless bullshit.

People generally value purebreds and would hate to see purebreds mixed together to result in mutts. People value purebreds for their ability to do the thing they're designed for as opposed to mutts who aren't specialized. And sometimes for their specific look.

There are certainly some who would look down upon someone who owned a wolf breeding it with a dog. And there are some that would look down upon someone who owned a purebred dog breeding it with a wolf of all things.

So maybe you don't want to breed your purebred dog with a wolf to result in some mutt whose temperament is variable and hard to predict.

>>133375
If Rowe wasn't talking about Sif and Pascala breeding wolfdogs, then she must have been talking about children with Alan, and that her experiences as a half-elf makes her not want to see more half-elves.
If she's not talking about wolfdogs, then she must be talking about half-elves.

The point I'm making is that if you wanted people to look deeper, then it didn't work because the surface reasoning and context is valid enough to not warrant a second look.

>>133419
>The point I'm making is that if you wanted people to look deeper, then it didn't work because the surface reasoning and context is valid enough to not warrant a second look

Yeah, I agree, it didn't really work.

Although I disagree that the only way to make it work is to make the surface reasoning and context invalid. Because then no one would ever try to be subtle. Subtlety needs to actually hide behind something valid to be subtle.

>>133439
Yeah, I wasn't' sure whichever way you were going in with that. I figured since she kept on preventing them from mating whenever they tried everytime, and then bopping them on the noise all the time. I figured it seemed more about the animal companions.

>>133439
I'm not saying that the surface reasoning and context have to be invalid.
I'm saying that they were too valid and there wasn't hints in the background.

No one would think twice about a dog breeder becoming upset at the prospect of a purebred producing only mutts.
There is such a thing as too subtle, and things only making sense in hindsight because you had all the puzzle pieces and the players didn't have enough.

>>133460
Yeah I agree.


Although i will defend my actions with the argument of realism. Sometimes women really are that subtle.

I will say that I almost immediately realized nobody got it and I in no way used that as like, I don't know, a "negative modifier" when it came to any future interactions with Rowe

>>133488
>Sometimes women really are that subtle.
Alright. Can't argue that one.

>>133500
Kek. Same.