>>1578871
Even more limbs.

And are you aquatic, or terrestrial?

(Even if you pick aquatic, we will be starting the adventure proper on land.)

>I am capable of drowining.
>It feels weird when I'm dry.

>>1579034
>It feels weird when I'm dry.

How's your tail.

>It's perfectly average length, thank you very much.
>I have no tail.

>>1579455
I got none

You are a crab! Congratulations!

(I will pick back up tomorrow when I'm back home and have access to my computer.)

>>1579848
>You are a crab!
FUCK YEAH!
INSTANTLY JUST GOT WAY MORE INTO THIS QUEST

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Crabs are a diverse people. What manner of crab are you?

>Hermit crab, clever and cautious
>Fiddler crab, beautiful and charming
>Rock crab, strong and tough
>other (subject to approval)

>>1580777
Lets hit up Rock Crab. Crab-barian in this shit.

>>1580777
Hermit crab.

>>1580946
I second The Rock

You are a Rock Crab! Standing a full head taller than a locust upon reaching adulthood, and only getting bigger well into your adult life, the rock crab is a Goliath on land and a force to be reckoned with underwater. Your bright red carapace makes you stand out in a crowd of muted green and browns, and your eight spear-like legs keep you stable even under a strong tide or the weight of your body on land.

Your face consists of two eyestalks with beady black eyes on the ends. In between those are the two sets of antenna which allow you to hear, smell, and detect the wind or currents. Your mouth is normally covered by the flat surface of your outer maxillipeds, feeding arms with one finger each. Behind them are several more pairs of smaller maxillipeds, as well as the finely haired setae which allow you to filter feed.

Your most arresting feature, however, are your two large pinchers out in front. These are where you are naturally strongest. Some say that crabs used to have two pairs of these, like how the insects have two pairs of arms and one pair of legs, but one pair of pinchers was split up into three pairs of legs to keep your kind from overthrowing the sea.

What is your name, crab?

>write-in

>>1581932
Litoreus

(shore-inhabiting)

bump

>>1581932
Crabacus

>>1581932
snibeti snab

Your name is Littoreus.

You were raised in a medium-sized trading city on the shore of the pearl coast, which served as an in-between for the cities populated by arthro species less amphibiously gifted than your own. Your father would sail off into the ocean for weeks at a time on a cargo ship, while your mother took care of you inside the family shop that did the buying and selling of his goods on land. Once you were old enough to scuttle out of the small pool that held you before your metamorphosis, you instantly took to life on dry land.

Because you spent your early years mostly on dry land in a trading city, you picked up a reliable cantrip to keep your gills moist, as well as the most common languages of the people above and below water. What else have you been doing with your time?

>I have picked up more magic. It's not easy for a rock crab to do, but I've learned to cast spells using my mouthparts to compensate for having a mere two arms.

>Get strong. Get sexy. Get crabs.

>Studying the world in every way I can. Fortune favors the informed crab.

>other

>>1582210
>>Studying the world in every way I can. Fortune favors the informed crab.

>Get strong. Get sexy. Get crabs

>>1582210
>
>I have picked up more magic. It's not easy for a rock crab to do, but I've learned to cast spells using my mouthparts to compensate for having a mere two arms.
i felt the magic trying to burst out of my body, so i sought help to unleash my magical understanding of the world around me

Anybody want to tie break?

>>1582359
>>1582210
I second getting strong

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You worked to shape yourself into a fine specimen of a crab that could draw in the ladies. You worked your muscles tirelessly until they strained against your shell, and when you molted you found your new carapace was a good deal larger and tougher than your last. You molted stronger and more often than any of your peers, and became very popular.

Chicks dig big pincers, and every guy respected you for them too.

You are larger and stronger than other crabs your age.

Something happened to set you off on a life of adventure. What was it?

>I took ill and had a prophetic dream.

>I was inspired when I saw a legendary monster.

>I ran afoul of the law and had to escape.

>>1582390
>I was inspired when I saw a legendary monster.

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I'm going to work, I'll probably be back in like, 7 hours.

>>1582390
>>I was inspired when I saw a legendary monster.

>>1582390

> I ran afoul of the law and had to escape

We /bandito/ now

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(Never mind, it's dead at work. Might be able to keep going intermittently.)

You saw it one day. You had closed up the shop for the night and gone out for a run. Your shell had just finished hardening after your last molting and you had a lot of room to fill if you wanted to keep up the pace. You were three and a half inches tall now with your legs at a comfortable angle, big enough to start rivaling even your elders in a few more molts.

Had that boulder always been there?

You stopped to take a longer look. That's where the clam mine was supposed to be, right? Maybe you've run out farther than you had thought on these new legs. Things do tend to look different in the dark after all.

And then the boulder morphed. Jagged edges turned soft, dull greys and greens turned red as stone and moss became flesh, and eight jointless, formless, writhing tentacles unfurled in a gross mockery of a crab. It slunk off into the ocean silently, easily stretching out three feet long as it did so, and disappeared.

The only sign it left behind was A field full of empty clam shells, and a changed crab shaking in his carapace.

>This inspired you to explore the unknown places of the world.

>This scared you, leading you to seek out ways of becoming stronger and never being so helpless again.

>This excited you, inspiring you to seek out adventure whatever form it may take.

>Other.

>>1582712
>>This excited you, inspiring you to seek out adventure whatever form it may take.

>>1582712
Become Stronkest crab

>>1582712
>This scared you, leading you to seek out ways of becoming stronger and never being so helpless again.

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That thing could have killed you, no question. You wouldn't even have been able to put up a fight. You need to get stronger if you're going to be able to protect yourself or your city, and just getting bigger the same way you always have won't cut it. You need to find something new.

>Seek out a smith who can armor and arm you.

>Seek out a master who can train and hone you.

>Seek out a mags who can enchant and improve you.

>>1582712
>>This scared you, leading you to seek out ways of becoming stronger and never being so helpless again.

>>1583122
my bad right there
>>1583117
>Seek out a mags who can enchant and improve you.

>>1583117
>>Seek out a master who can train and hone you.
We must go One Punch Crab

>>1583117
>Seek out a master who can train and hone you.
Littoreus, the Kung-Fu Crab

Alright, so Littoreus will be seeking out a master to study under. Do you guys want to continue with his story or build the next party member?

>>1583278
next one

>>1583278
Yeah next person, or, bug rather.

>>1583278
next person, much as I love this crab

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>>1579848
>>1580777
>>1581932
>>1582210
>>1582390
>>1582712
>>1583117
>>1583278
Behold the mighty Littoreus!

>>1583408
forgot to mention he's wearing his black belts as bracelets

>>1583408
Saved as hell! I can't believe I got fanart!

Well, no legs, six limbs (not counting wings) or more?

(It's possible that I might have to wait until I get home to check my reference materials after this choice.)

>>1583488
No limbs.
Also, are we talking about all invertebrates?

>>1583408
Nigga YES, fucking GREAT pixel art bro.

>>1583488
Six Limbs, go spider mage!

>>1583523
Think it's just arthropods m8, so no snakes if that's what you're thinking...

>>1583539
Lmao sneks are not invertebrates, boi.

>>1583523
I'm just running off the google document. I'm not going to let you play something like a coconut crab because the point is to be small. Other bugs, like aphids, make more sense as livestock than a pc race. And we're sticking to Arthropoda because something like a sea anemone would be too alien, even for me. But if you want to make a case for a particular genera, go right ahead and we'll hear you out.

>>1583539
Spiders are in the "more" category, and snakes are vertebrates.

I'm gonna be collecting this vote for at least a couple more hours until I get home, I'll try to answer any questions about bugworld until then though.

>>1583552
>>1583554
Are you telling me snakes have bones?
Holy fuck I've been lied to my whole life.

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>>1583557
you'd be surprised by how many they have

>>1583554
Amendment: I just realized we are not neccisarily sticking to Arthropoda. No limbs results in an annelid.

>>1583646
Sorry, no legs, not no limbs.

>>1583646
Oh in which case, go snake mage. We already have a crab monk.

>>1583652
i would say we are still working whithin invertebrates my dude.
fuck captcha tho

>>1583652
Nyet
More limbs, so we get Centipede mage
I was opting for a centipede the first time anyways

what about a springtail spy/rogue?

But i think we should stick with what OP says, bois (i like the element of surprise xDDDxddd ).

>>1583488

Moar legs pls

>>1583652
Playing a snake would be like playing a wyrm in dnd. Cool, but you've already got an idea for the limits of raw physical strength you'll be starting with from Littoreus.

>>1583668
Centipedes are wolves and I'm sticking to that.

>>1583673
I will look at those, they seem cool!

>>1583681
Yeah, I like doing the phylogenetic sorting character creation. It really goes well with the entomologist in me.

Of note: magic is like sports. Anyone can do it, but being born to the right people helps a whole lot.

>>1583717
oh hey op, just something that i'd really like REALLY enjoy seeing in the future. A weaver spider vilainess [/spoiler](the sexy voice type you know)[/spoiler](sounds rad to me, at least).
i'm sticking with no legs for the next character tho

>>1583717
jesus bug cleric when?

So, assuming the guy who said "six because spider" actually wants "even more", it looks like "even more" wins 2:1. That sound good guys?

>>1584889
yep, not disagreeing with the majority

Now, aquatic, or terrestrial?

>We need to summon Groudon for mining locations or something.

>Down where it's wetter, that's where it's better, take it from me.

>>1584957
>>We need to summon Groudon for mining locations or something.

>>1584957
>We need to summon Groudon for mining locations or something.

Gotta get some sleep, bois, tomorrow i'll make some artwork for this character

>>1584957
>Down where it's wetter, that's where it's better, take it from me.
Adventures are more fun under the sea

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Have high quality crabposting while I deal with family stuff.

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How many body segments are you rockin'?

>Exactly two.

>A whole bunch of them.

>>1585820
>Exactly two.
Let's see where you're going with this

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You're, like, a spider, man.

Until recently, spiders lived feral lives, without language or culture. Traveler, livestock, they hunted indiscriminately. But a few mantises recognized a spark of intelligence within them, able to grow into civilization if only it were properly nurtured. Today, spiders can be found all over, hired as expert trackers, soldiers, and hunters, or as builders and tailors. While spider's silk is high in demand, the durability of the material and capability of every spider to produce it keeps the price low.

The integration is not complete however, and the scars and tensions of the brutalities of feral spiders remain. They are kept fresh by the many wild spiders that remain.


There are many sorts of spiders. Which are you?

>Jumping spider, nimble and colorful.

>Darwin's Bark spider, expert craftsmen with exceptionally powerful silk

>Wolf spider, one of the largest civilized spiders and more than capable hunters and trackers.

>>1586127
Oh, or:

>Suggest your own

>>1586127

> Jumping Spider

Our party needs a rogue.

>>1586127
Wolf Spider, let's get a bro-team of big lifting bugs

>>1586127
>Wolf spider, one of the largest civilized spiders and more than capable hunters and trackers.
Pretty much the party ranger, plus it'll be strong enough to fight on it's own when necessary, a good package.

Your are a wolf spider.

As a first generation spider, you were hatched and raised in a mantis monastery, where you were tutored in the Learning, and shown how to best control your instincts. You can curb them back in polite company or unleashing them on the hunt. You also have learned language and a theory of mind.

That may not sound impressive compared to your hunting abilities or your speed, but it is very impressive for a first-generation spider.

One of your natural abilities is your favored one. Which is it?

>Webbing

>Speed and strength

>Tremmorsense

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>>1586318

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>>1586318
>Tremmorsense
spider sense my man

>>1586318
>Webbing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6I7AoY4krk

Tiebreaker? I may go to bed and check back for results in the morning.

>>1586318
Tremorsense.

>Webbing

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>>1586609
for fuck's sake, so close to a tie breaker

>>1586626
i like chaos, nothing personnel kiddo

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>>1586630

Tremmorsense

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPseOlTl7Dk

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>>1586649

>>1586650
you win this time

>>1586651
Get fucked you indecisive shit bag, PEACE OUT

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>>1586651
>>1586652

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It takes three points to determine a direction and distance with triangulation. You have eight. With the guidance of your Master, and your own natural aptitude, you have improved your tremmorsense into something that you can operate purely on instinct, leaving your focused mind to other tasks.

It is as if you havetapped into a sense entirely unique to spiders.

Students of the Learning value self-knowledge as well as self-mastery. How do you see yourself, young pupil?

>I am like the centipede, wild, free, and dedicated towards survival.

>I am like my master, a perpetual student on the path to becoming a teacher.

>I am powerful, and with that power there must come a heavy burden of responsibility to bear.

>>1587203
>I am like my master, a perpetual student on the path to becoming a teacher.

>>1587203
>>I am like the centipede, wild, free, and dedicated towards survival.

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>>1587203
>I am like the centipede, wild, free, and dedicated towards survival.
Tfw we ARE a Centipede!

>>1587203
>I am like the centipede, wild, free, and dedicated towards survival.

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Like the magestic centipede, you are a predator at heart. You are civilized, sure, but to you that is a matter of respect, not magnanimity. You are smart enough to know when to strike and when to retreat. You do not hunt thinking bugs not because you find it abhorrent, but because you know not to pick a fight with a civilization. You are predator and hunter in one.

With your empathy for the wild things if the world not unnoticed by your master, you were given the gift of a well-bred animal companion, so as to foster your development. What was it?

>A centipede. Staunchly loyal, clever for a beast, and a reflection of your own predator's soul. It is about as fast as you.

>A tiny frog. While it is a strange thing, with a skeleton on the inside of its body, this creature is capable of swimming, and serves as an alarm should something approach while you are gone or asleep.

>A damselfly. This beautiful blue creature is very nimble in the air, and can serve as a decoy with its brilliant color. A charm allows you to survey the landscape through its eyes.

>>1587633
>A damselfly. This beautiful blue creature is very nimble in the air, and can serve as a decoy with its brilliant color. A charm allows you to survey the landscape through its eyes

>>1587633
>A damselfly. This beautiful blue creature is very nimble in the air, and can serve as a decoy with its brilliant color. A charm allows you to survey the landscape through its eyes.
But if you kindly let me chose one of my own, i'd suggest a motherf*****g crane fly

I'm going to work so I'll leave this vote up for a while, I count one vote for damselfly and one for cranefly.

>>1587813
I second the notion of having a long legged boy on our journey

>>1587813
Mother fucking cranefly is is my nigga

Looking over my notes, I have the flies marked down as PC races. Unless someone has a good reason a cranefly would work as a hunter's companion, I'm going to stick to damselfly. How's that sound? (I'll give it a bit in case you want to change your votes.)

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I will take your silence as acceptance.

You received a damselfly, which you trained with until the two of you moved as one. You also received tutorship from one of the well-travelled mantises in the monestary as to how the two of you could share your senses and thoughts. Flying is an exhilarating experience, and you can see why your partner feels so restless on the ground.

In a meditative bonding exercise guided by your master, you and your partner's thoughts briefly joined together. I this state, you named her, and in kind she named you. What are your names?

>write in

>>1590001
>Pardo
>Proto
Gotta have that alliterative appeal

>>1590078
You need to specify which name goes to which bug, and if it means anything.

I've got tomorrow off of work, so hopefully we get to run for an actual solid amount of time.

>>1590087
Pardo's the wolf spider, Proto's the damselfly
Took them from the genera of their respective animal

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>>1590095
Neat! I will look over votes in the morning, and until then feel free to post questions about bugworld or just post bugs.

Scrumpy - spider
Frumpy - fly

W8 a moment boiz, I just noticed, are we getting 2 monks in the party?

>>1590095
me likes this idea

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Hey QM, another suggestion for an evil NPC would be a sugar glider

>>1590474
More like a fighter and a rogue who both took a dip into monk.

The Learning is a philosophy which centers around self-discovery, and making conscious choices about your actions. As long as those actions aren't, you know, murders, they don't really place much judgement on what they are. Being tutored in the Learning is really more about unlocking inner potential than any particular set of skills. It just so happens that Mantises, the most common practitioners of the Learning, are predisposed to kung-fu and gardening.

>>1590619
How many lil' dudes are we aiming for the party here?

>>1590623
3-4. I'm going to take a vote for start adventure/add member after our next bug. I imagine you guys would like to at least have the warrior/thief/mage party archetype going on.

>>1590631
yep, i'd definitely like that

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>>1586318
>>1587203
>>1587633
>>1590001

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>>1590674
Very nice

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>>1590674
That's a damn fine portrait anon!

Shall we move on to the next bug gentlemen?

No legs, six limbs (not counting wings), or more? (You'll be more likely to find a magic-skilled species outside of the more category)

>>1590688
next one! next one! next one!

>>1590688
LOL forgot the limb count, make it none.

>>1590688
Legless.

>>1590688

None, we /slipn'slide/ now.

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You are a leech!

Leeches are a curious people, with no chitinous exoskeleton, and only two foretentacles for limbs. But as a generous people gifted in healing, they are widely regarded with respect among the races. Anyone who can make it to one of their swamp cities can seek treatment there, and those who cannot may find help from one of their wandering clerics. Even among the leeches though, there is diversity. What manner of leech are you?

>Medical leech, exceptionally gifted healers which combine study and talent to not only heal, but also perform some occasional blood magic.

>Murk leech, skilled poisoners and illusionists, these are the least capable healers among the leeches, though they still can perform simpler healing magics, such as diagnosing diseases and blood transfusions

>Bog leach, druids able to to use spells that create entangling vines, raindrop bolts, or mud walls.

>>1590814
>Bog Leech

>>1590814
>Medical leech

>>1590814
>Medical leech
H e a l i n g b o y e

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>>1590814
You are a medical leech, a gifted healer by birthright. You were born into a large family of healers, who roamed the swamp on a great and ancient coconut crab, a beast of burden which escorted you from the wake of one disaster to another, always bringing aid wherever it was needed most. Generous and kind, your family truly embodied what it meant to be leeches on society.

Though your sense of taste is unparalleled, and your magic potent in its practiced uses, your body is less than robust. Not only do your eyes consist of little more than patches of photoreceptive skin, but your lack of a skeleton means that you must always be careful of what physical tasks you attempt, lest your turgid muscles and blood sacs buckle under the weight.

You entered a discipline to specialize your healing. What was it?

>Cleric. Many wounds occur in battle and act too quickly to be treated anywhere but right then and there. You have learned from priests how to use prayer and ritual to enhance your healing spells into fast-acting, though costly versions.

>Scholar. While general scholars are rare among the leeches, new advances in medicine must come from somewhere, and leeches versed in the natural sciences do arise from time to time, though more rarely than in most races.

>Lawman. There is no medicine like preventative medicine, and sometimes that means putting down a killer before they do any more harm. Your blood magic finds its own use in battle.

>write in

>>1590898
damn that's a tough one.
hmm
>Cleric, we gotta have a mf higher force by our side in the pt right?

>>1590898
>Cleric

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>>1590898
Your people all harvest the blood of horseshoe crabs as a staple reagent in healing, but some take it farther than that.

There are those who believe that the thinking crustaceans were created by a sort of astral crab-God called Cancer, who gave his sacred horseshoe crabs as a gift to the world. His clerics channel his power through prayer (though sceptics think of these prayers as unfocused spells) and travel the world, striking out disease wherever they find it, and healing whoever needs it, even if they are on a battlefield.

They also believe that horseshoe crab blood which has been blessed is his blood, and its effects are undeniable.

As a healer and a cleric of Cancer, your title is Vicar. But what is your name?

>>1591030
Sacerdos (priest in latin)

>>1591030
Ealaqa(leech in arabic)

>>1591066
godammit, you just outnamed me

>>1591080
Sacerdos does sound better though, to be honest

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>>1591080

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>>1591086

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>>1591105

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>>1591110

A point of interest while I mow another lawn: leeches are hermaphroditic.

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>>1591329
hot

Im voting Elaqa here

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>>1591030
You are Vicar Ealaqa (eye-law-kah), cleric of Cancer. Your faith and your heritage compel you to set off into the world and seek out the wounded.

But you are no fool. You know the world to be dangerous. And though the rules of engagement normally mean that you will not be attacked, there are still plenty threats you may have to defend yourself from. How do you plan on doing so?

>Your mace, a simple but reliable tool for crushing chitin.

>"Daddy's Little Girl", a blackpowder rifle gifted to you by a grateful and wealthy cranefly. Powerful but unreliable.

>You've gotten very, very good at running away.

>Write-in

>>1591959

>"Daddy's Little Girl", a blackpowder rifle gifted to you by a grateful and wealthy cranefly. Powerful but unreliable. only really needs to stand behind the actual battle so this seems to fit

>>1591959
>>"Daddy's Little Girl", a blackpowder rifle gifted to you by a grateful and wealthy cranefly. Powerful but unreliable.

>>1591959
also damn fine quest for a first try good job

>>1591994
>>1591989
This

>>1591959
>>"Daddy's Little Girl", a blackpowder rifle gifted to you by a grateful and wealthy cranefly. Powerful but unreliable.
top notch weapon

>>1592029
wow you really do show up everywhere on quest don't you?

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>>1592003
Thanks! I was worried my erratic update schedule would be too much of a turn-off, or my posts would be too short, etc etc, but it seems it was mostly first-time jitters. I'm very grateful to have readers!

>>1591959
Daddy's Little Girl, your rifle, is piece of art as much as a weapon. The way each part works together, perfectly suited for its function reminds you of a body. And, being a gift, it is a constant reminder of a life you saved, of what you do and who you are.

It fits a little awkwardly slung across your back, and it has overpenetration issues sometimes you affectionately call it's "stun setting", but it is a powerful thing that should not be underestimated.

It is time to set off into the world and bring Cancer's light into the dark places.

Blood will run, one way or another.


And with that, I think our party is set, unless you guys want to check out hexapoda?

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>>1592163
Also, my nicknames for the party so far are "Enlightened chitin Titan", "lone wolf" and "gun nun".

>>1592163
I say venture onwards, and get the show on the road

>>1592180
gun nun

>>1592163
You are Littoreus.

You have travelled far and wide in your search for a master to train you. Probably almost two hundred miles by now. And while you have found apprentices and adepts and even an expert in different martial arts, and you have learned many technical things about how to fight with your own two claws, and earned various insignias of your skill, a master still eludes you.

The more you seem to learn, the more one thing becomes apparent: there is some critical skill or idea which you have not yet learned, and which is holding you back from growing. It's like you're straining against the limits of your shell but you just can't molt. It's infuriating.

Hopefully this Mantis monestary would be your big break. You had heard that there was a Master of the learning here. Perhaps he would be able to help you out.

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>>1592397
You are Pardo.

And some... thing is approaching your home. Proto had spotted it this morning, and you had felt it's steps an hour ago. You can't tell if it's a civilized bug or just a beast. It seems too large to be either. It seems to wear black bands indicating a rank in one martial art or another, but they could also be a part of some hunter's trap that it ripped from the ground. But if it is a beast it may just wander off, and if it is civilized, you don't want to kill it and draw the ire of more of them.

But by far the most off-putting thing about it is the shape of its body. Eight legs, arranged around a flat body, much like your own. But the body itself is all one disc, not distinguished like your own segments. You should try to make contact and see if it is intelligent after all. A plan is in order.

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>>1592398
You are Littoreus.

And you appear to have stepped in some sort of spider's web. You've heard that Mantises have managed to civilize some spiders, but you don't see how laying traps in a road is civilized. You should probably just clip the net and keep going. If this was spun by a swarm of wild spiders, even you could get hurt. Let's just-

By Cancer's claws!

A spider's in the road. When did it get there?? Maybe you should stand still. Their vision is based on movement, right? You decide to try standing still.

"What manner of spider are you?"

>Well Littoreus? How do you respond?

>>1592401
"You must never have been to the shores before. I am but a crab, out here to seek guidance from a great master who can teach me the way of the fight."

>>1592425
this sounds good.

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>>1592401

Oh, thank goodness, it's civilized. You hadn't realized just how far away from home you really are. You hope everyone's doing okay. You'll come back for them, just as soon as you're strong enough, you promise.

"You must never have been to the shores before. I am but a crab, out here to seek guidance from a great master who can teach me the way of the fight."

Of the fight? Is that the right translation? Yeah, probably.

"Mm. You must be looking for master dad. I mean. My master. You are on the correct path."

Well that's great news! Your spirit soars, and you feel ready to charge on ahead, forgetting all about the web you're caught in. And you do so, dragging rocks along with you.

"Allow me to unsnare you and- Oh. Perhaps next time I should use a better anchor when trapping a crab."


You find the monestary at the top of the hill, a beautiful palace woven out countless living vines and covered in flowers. Light shines though, dapple get the courtyard in shade, where mantises garden, spar, meditate, and pray.

One particularly large Mantis hangs from a vine.

"Ah, another student come to the call of the Learning? You look strong already. Tell me, why come here?"

This is promising. It sounds like he might be willing to teach you.

"I have learned to grapple from the scorpions. I have learned to defend from the beetles. I have learned tactics from the locusts. But now it seems that even as I learn, I grow no better at the fight. I hoped you would impart some wisdom to help me."

He doesn't even hesitate in his response.

"Already I can see why you stall in your growth. Can you?"

>Is this some sort of test? If you knew you wouldn't have come here right? What should you say?

>>1592569
my fears, my doubts, my hesitation?

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>>1592633
Clever. I'm going to bed soon, I'll look over votes in the morning. The gang should all be together soon, and then we can really start to adventure!

Thanks for sticking around guys.

Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite!

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>>1592684
It's interesting, I like it so far Crabs are the shit man. Thanks for running bug.

>>1592684
Pixelanon here, the quest's looking good so far, too bad i can't play with you because of goddamn timezones

>>1593071
Time zones are tough. There's a guy in Poland who starts running his quest at what's 2 am over here. I can still participate in his evenings though.

Don't be afraid to post ideas or vote while I'm asleep!

Bugworld will continue once I get some food inside me, assuming I don't get assigned a bunch of work.

>>1592633
this seems good

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>>1592569

This is probably working up to being about it all being in your head, right?

"My fears, my doubts, my hesitations?"

"Though those things can indeed cloud the mind, but they are not why you falter."

He begins to walk down the stem towards you.

"You are not a scorpion. You are not a beetle. You are not a locust. Although studying the techniques of others does not hurt, you are a crab, and you will not fight to your fullest potential unless you fight like one."

How have you not been fighting like a crab already? You've been using nothing but your own two claws this whole time! It's not like you've ever been foolish enough to try floating like a butterfly, or stinging like a bee. The mantis draws up close to you now.

"Come. There is someone I think you should meet."

The mantis ushers you inside. The monestary is beautiful on the inside as well, with light filtering in from above, and a few violet flowers growing here and there. It is fortunate that the entry hall is so grand. You suspect that no other room in the monestary would be able to fit you.


You are Ealaqa.

And an enormous crab has just walked into the entry hall.

You had only come here to tend to a wound inflicted in a sparring accident, one of the new students had lost control and taken a large bite out of his opponent. But if a crab is here then it must be Cancer's will at work. You've met Crayfish, and worked with bestial crabs, but never have you met one of Cancer's chosen people. And you never thought you would this far from the shore either.

You're so excited!

>How should you introduce yourself?

>>1593614
be polite, introduce yourself as a cleric of cancer. Don't drop your spaghetti...

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>>1593614
Oh goodness.

Maybe it's because you're only 3/4 of an inch tall, a little on the small side for a leech, but this crab seems larger than life. It's hard to see the top of him even, especially since you can't actually see very well in the shade. But there's no denying the taste of the copper in his blood that permeates the air, or the feeling of his legs quickly stabbing down into the ground as he walks.

The master of the monestary speaks.
"Vicar, this crab here seems to be in need of a reminder of his heritage. I believe you could be of assistance?"

You? Teach a crab about being a crab? How presumptuous! You suppose you could recite some scripture. He may not have had all the same stories kept in the swamps. Still, introductions are in order.

"I am Vicar Ealaqa, Cleric of Cancer."

"Littoreus." He locks his claws together and makes a gesture of reverence usually reserved for pontiffs or high priests. Either he doesn't actually know much about the church or he's being especially reverential for some reason.

You wonder if you could get him to let you taste his blood? You quickly put aside the thought. Your duties in healing are strictly NOT for your own pleasure.


You spend the following week together, telling Littoreus of the exploits and gifts of Cancer. Which parts of the landscape were said to be carved by his claws, how he had protected a kingdom within his carapace, how the lobsters stole his gift of immortality, and how he had forgiven even them. In turn, Littoreus told you of his childhood, and all the different peoples he had seen pass in and out of his family's trading post. He told you of the night he had seen a kraken, and the journey it had sent him on.


You are Littoreus.

These stories of Cancer are really something else. You think living here has really helped you understand what the Learning is all about too. There was a day when one of the monks had fallen while training and gotten himself cut. Pardo and Ealaqa both rushed off to help before you even knew what was going on. When you asked them about it, Pardo said he had felt him fall through the ground, and the Vicar had said she had tasted his blood in the air.

You've been trying to get your body to cooperate and do things like Cancer did. Maybe someday you'll learn more, but for now you've been focused on:

>The scuttle. By quickly running in one direction while keeping your body and attention pointed in another, you can dodge or intercept attacks quickly. It's also a small general speed boost.

>The Crabhammer. A devestating blow that can break armor, or annihilate those without it.

>Eight blades. If the mantises can walk with a measly four legs, then so can you. That leaves four other legs for stabbing fools.

>>1593921

> The Crabhammer

We /barbarian/ now.

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>>1593921
>The Crabhammer

>>1593921
>The Crabhammer. A devestating blow that can break armor, or annihilate those without it.

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>>1593921

>The Crabhammer. A devestating blow that can break armor, or annihilate those without it.

nice armor you have there it'd be a shame if someone absolutely annihilated it.

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>>1593921
I'm somewhat scared of the fact the crab and the leech may fuck

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>>1595365

>>1595365
THICK
CRUSTACEAN
COCK

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>>1595475
I...I don't think that's how crabs work

>>1595475
Spongy
Annelida
Clitellum

>>1595499
>The male [crab] transfers sperm by inserting his gonopods (sexual organs resembling antennae)
>The reproductive systems vary greatly between the different families of leeches. Some families, including the Glossiphoniidae, have a simple pair of gonopores that open to the ventral surface of the leech. Other families, such as the Richardsonianidae, have a complex system with a penis and vagina.
So depending on whether or not the leech has a vagoo, it'd be two weird dicks inserting itself into a leech's cooch.
Would be kind of awkward

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>>1595554
I really didn't need that image in my head, let's hope bug isn't a smut writer...

>>1595554
>So depending on whether or not the leech has a vagoo
Well, her title is "Gun Nun" so unless Bug is going the "feminine penis" meme, she's a girl.

>>1595554
wait a sec I just noticed
>Gonopods
>Gonopores
Oh my fuck they're compatible in that way

>>1595578
yup
>https://www.bluecrab.info/male_anatomy.htm

>>1595365
Very unlikely.

>>1595566
Nope, but if somebody else wrote it I'd be thrilled.

>>1595573
Gun Nun just rhymes. Ealaqa is a hermaphrodite.

I will try to post something tomorrow, I'm emotionally drained from other quests and not sure what to do to keep the story moving. Anything I post now would be lacking.

Feel free to ask questions or post good bugs though.

>>1596031
Hey OP, do you feel like creating a discord server?

>>1596031
If we ever need to roll for damage how will we do that?
I thought of a cool method
>>I roll, anon rolls and anon rolls. Roll+roll+roll/number of rolls(3)

>>1597125
My twitter is @DivineSoupCan, I will post there and let you know when, not if but when, I figure out how I'll be moving the story forward.

>>1598544
thread is now archived

>>1599490
Well that is surreal to see.