I love my players

[thelorax42]

Sorry, meant to write this up sooner, but been busy busy busy.
__Mechanics things:__
_Costs for Permanence_
In sanity:
Effect sphere rating:
1: 1 Failed Notch or a permanent d4 wound
2: 1 Failed Notch or a permanent d6 wound
3: 1 Failed Notch or a permanent d8 wound
4: 2 Failed Notches or a permanent d10 wound
5: 3 Failed Notches or a permanent d12 wound
(There was a thing about how the notch costs didn't scale and whether
you'd get multiple level 1s for a notch but I don't recall it being
decided.)
__Stuff wot happen'd__
1. People learnin' stuff: the HP of the Mother, the Mystery Priest,
the apprentices learnin' the maegycks down on the forge. I think
Ratatosk (Robbie) was recruiting some d00ds for his nefarious schemes,
and I suspect Sigrun (Kath) may have also been trying to convince a
slayer to want to Awaken. (And yet, without mind magic! It just seems
inefficient.)
2. Captain Mystery wanted to show Us something out on the ice. We took
Corporal Apprentice. (Currently both Enl 1.)
3. Find piles of dead animals who'd run until their hearts exploded.
Made a note to take for nommy meat-based treats later.
4. Find what they'd been running towards -- a special effect!
Actually, a circle around which animals were standing rapt -- and some
sort of unfamiliar form of mind, embedded and spread in the earth.
Everything drawn to it.
4.1. The special effect appears to have a very high number of space
links, and nothing decays around it.
4.5. Special effect appears to have its own paradigm, which makes mind-
boosting and sharing coincidental. Lo, intelligence 8 for some,
mediocrity for others.
5. Some of us wander in blithely, Sigrun with a nested shielded mind.
Things happen. Revelations are had. Selves are doubted. We emerge.
6. Mystery priest and apprentice tell us that they couldn't/felt they
shouldn't go any further towards the centre of the rapture field.
7. We go any further towards the centre of the rapture field.
7.1. ...and find ourselves on a lovely asymptotic reciprocal mountain.
7.2. Trolling critiques of Sil's philosophical manuscript are made. (I
think.)
7.3. Sigrun transforms into the deadliest swan of all, learning in the
process that artefacts can take paradox for the things they do instead
of you, and attempts to fly towards the mountain peak. Little progress
is made. Uphill walking is attempted.
7.4. *SOMEONE* (not naming any names but for now we'll say ELOTH)
decides to pump some QE into the ground to see what happens. It drives
back the local paradigm (replacing it with a heart filled with
neutrality), making the newly acquired Int 8 and mind-link
paradoxical. The Human Race|Sigrun|Rald is displeased. Perceptions
flit around a bit, and people are found outside the Ice Fields. (They
are found to think in a manner consistent with the swirly pseudarabian
language.) (I can't remember whether Sigrun found any nifty things in
that little mass-mind-link.)
8. The Sigrun|Rald|Human Race make a shot roll uphill and then put
their perceptions into it. Nothing useful is accomplished.
9. Stepping through the mountain is accomplished (by Eloth), reaching
an empty plain with a pillar of light. A medallion is thrown. Others
reach the plain. (These two things are, as far as I know, not causally
linked.)
10. Further revelations are had. It is learned that Nodes are breaks
in the world formed when QE pools on its way through realities, and
also that this effect is formed by someone travelling the other way --
ascending/autoannihilating/becoming One with Everything -- also that
the person responsible for this is/was not Enl 10, and was from a
paradigm related to Signi's.
11. Everything is the same thing.
11.1. Nothing has to fall back.
12. People get sense that they are not ready to go further.
12.1. Rald ignores sense.
12.1.1. S̴̝̙̤̙̹̏͐ͦ͌͗̚I͝G̼̈́ͤ̃̆̆͆̚͟H͖̜̦̝͙̘ͅT͉̦̳̱͗ͬ̃̅̽S͙̬̠͕̳̬͛͂̐
̘̇͐S͈͚̳͖͑ͦ͢O̵̗̰̞͍̭̲̦U̐̾̒͋N͈̬͔͍̪̏͘D͎ͮͦ̉͜ͅSͨ̋̂҉
̬̘̽͒̓̎͛ͫ̎̕I̞̖̥ͤ̇͆ͮ̈́ͬ͝M̺̬̦A̼̼͋͐̽͊͐͆̿G̪̙̗ͦ̓ͣ̒͠E͉͖̪̫ͫ̐S̤̯̈̄͛͆ͥ̄̈
12.1.2. Knowledge gained at next step appears to be the epiphany that
*is/was* ascension. Rald is not ready. (Plus, who wants to ascend?)
13. Group wanders back to the mountain. Shot still rolling down
somewhere in vague distance. Discussions held about future visits,
including to make people have more Enl. People regain normal-ish
levels of Int. Paradox effect on Sigrun|Rald|Human Race wiped! Some
argument was had by some over whether we should still kill Sil, I
think.
14. Either Corporal Apprentice or Captain Mystery now has Enl 2, I
think Captain Mystery. It is neat. Captain Mystery is still not in our
paradigm.
15. Antirapture field set up -- it is determined that the effect
should expand and weaken over time.
15. Huskies are pointed in the right direction and dragged a bit until
they start moving again.
_Misc things_
* SELF CHECKS FOR ALL
* NOTCHES TRADED FOR EVERYONE
* EPIPHANIES HAD
* For Enlightened People to be born, there need to be more enlightened
people storing more QE in their patterns. Both parents/creators would
need to be enlightened. A thing enlightened from inception would start
at high enlightenment (5-ish) due to being ignorant to the lies of the
world.
* Making everyone awaken is viable, and desirable to the residual mind
that is/powers/is the source of the effect.
* Space links still within the internal space of the effect? Did not
emerge.
* Animals were drawn to the outer rim of the effect, but I think we
learned that this effect would dissipate more quickly as the field
expanded. The Enl 1 rim, in which the first revelations are had,
seemed to be much closer in, and was expected to dissipate less.
(As always, I have probably made some mistakes or got some orderings
wrong. Pls correct me. Also, I have deliberately not attempted to add
what people learned/had altered about their motivations/beliefs. Feel
free to if you want.)
(I also have a note saying "In Mountain Place, we take HP Damage to
sustain our minds" but I can't remember what it means.)
(I suspect Ratatosk did some things on the mountain, but I think I was
busy being the human race at the time, so I can't remember what
exactly. Sorry.)
(Action/adventure suggested for next session. Downtime actions
suggested to be appropriate.)

NEW SESSION!

Downtime Actions from before:
* Ratatosk: Trainin' Mans (for SPIES) (Misc spies of unknown origin)
* Sigrun: Trainin' Mans (for SPEARFU) (Slayers, I assume)
* Eloth: Trainin' Mans (for MAGICK) (Several apprentices, the HP of
the Mother, the Mystery priest, and his one Awakened Apprentice)
* Rald: Trainin' Woman (for MORE MAGICK) (HP of the Mother)
* Eloth: More airship building
* Sigrun: The finest dragon omelette
* Ratatosk: Research possible instruction assisting devices
* Ratatosk & Sigrun: Look into development of magic-assisted psychiatry
(There were probably some more of these)
Company Actions:
Sil -> Us: In ur base, splodin' ur defences (Unconventional warfare,
succeeded, we lose Might)
Sil -> Us: Spying, clearly Sil's greatest talent (Failed?)
Vidar -> Us: Spying (?)
Varin -> Us: Spying (?)
Us: Increase Sovereignty
Us: Increase something else (Influence maybe?)
Adventure Time:
1. After a long time mysteriously spent not keeping an eye on things
for no raisin (downtime), we decide to go and check whether the Armies
of the Righteous have made it to the city run by the Visionary of the
Broken Man (is he a High Priest? I forget).
1.1 We're a bit late.
1.2 Bits of the city are on fire.
1.3 The walls are a bit exploded.
1.4 There are bullet holes in everything.
1.5 Also the city is surrounded by amateurish siegeworks, siegecraft
not really being a thing yet. (Unlike scaffolding.)
1.6 Also, some downed airships, of the gasbag variety.
2. BMHP is nevertheless very psyched, and loves us. Fancy goblets for
all! Dragonbone and gold, with delicious meads in, a traditional
goblet of champions. (Beer and cornflakes aren't a thing yet.)
3. Discussion about the attack, the possibility of evil magic ("You!
Work out how there can be evil magic!"), and how the city managed to
kill many doods. It's established that they weren't doing so well
after the breaches in the walls, until some airships turned up and
started bombing the crap out of things. (Getting downed in the
process.) Eloth suggests he might be able to fix them.
4. Someone suggests we take a person to awaken. BMHP gives us a poor
put-upon acolyte, who doesn't really have the Pillpoppen to manage it.
Looking around, we find the one who does, Hamred, "Master of Boys",
who is "Wild and Undisciplined". ಠ_ಠ
5. Upon learning about how the walls were broken - something something
and then the walls just exploded - we investigate.
5.1 There is a hemispherical perfectly smooth white rock created in
the permafrost outside the city, where some Artifacty ritual tools and
a puddle of everything that wasn't artifacty tools including blood
are.
5.2 It's slippery.
5.3 Using DNA evidence, splatter patterns, zooming, and enhancing, as
well as the dangerous power of seeing into the past, Eloth and Sigrun
conclude that there were four mages, 1 of Enl ~3 and 3 lower, who were
doing a forces and matter effect to (a) turn bits of the walls into
glass, (b) shatter the glass.
5.4 Then they paradoxed badly.
5.5 And one of the apprentices kind of exploded.
5.6 Anyway, it's all fine now, and some mans are going to lift out the
nifty hemisphere. We offered to help with lifting power from the
airbrick when they're done digging it out.
6. Ratatosk notices someone watching us very intently from the walls meanwhile.
7. SPLIT THE PARTY
7a. Eloth gets to work on repairing the airships, this time without
those terribly unnecessary gas bags
7b. Sigrun goes to the priestesses of the mother to see about some
mass healing things but thinks better of it due to paradox. (I think?)
A *lot* of people were injured. (During the battle, not because Sigrun
was trying to heal them, though I can see how confusion could arise.)
7c. Ratatosk and Rald watch the watcher with space, then go to find
him with Stealth.
8c. Ratatosk and Rald discover a conpiracy of mans in a tower with a
hawkloft, who are heard discussing something about barrels, that they
fit the profile, and something about a trap.
8c.1 The men in the tower decide to lock the tower at each level for
security, not realising the killer was phoning from inside the house.
(The fools)
8c.2 A combination of chairs and mind and force are used to subdue
those on the upper levels, obtaining keys and certainly not revealing
a total lack of forethought by Ratatosk and Rald, but instead
revealing that these men appear to be spying on behalf of Sil, Vidar,
*and* Varrin, reporting things he is spying on for the other two to
Vidar(?). (I think that's what it appeared to be, anyway.) The
messages currently about to be sent are about us having arrived here.
They are vigorously disposed of, and nothing written to take their
places.
8a. Eloth paradosplodes with violent noise.
8a.1 Eloth's paradosplosion creates a hemispherical field of
weightless matter with no physical resistivity but the cohesiveness of
a fairly nonviscous liquid, as well as imbuing Eloth with a touch
effect that converts matter to the same. The field appears to remain,
assigning weightlessness but not liquefying more matter. Currently
unsure whether either effect is permanent, given that the effect he
was attempting to use was. Some cows drown in the ground.
8a.2 This means that most of Eloth's clothes liquefy, leaving only his
toolbelt, the ritual tools, and whatever other artifacts he was
carrying.
8a.3 Eloth creates light wind to blow most of the liquid stuff away,
and makes himself float on the ground.
8a.4 Some guards coming to see what's up, fall in the hole.
(Presumably become weightless?) (Take Unnatural checks, with the usual
sorts of results.)
8a.5 Eloth tries to dig himself out by liquefying more matter.
8b.5 Sigrun does not fall in the hole. Communicating via mind link
with Ratatosk, it is established that it would be really helpful if
she would bring some guards to break down the locked door and finish
up in the tower to make it all official, prevent us getting shot, and
make it look less like we're invading. (I think.)
9. Sigrun brings guards, who knock, get no answer, and break down the
door, getting a bit shot in the process. Sigrun spears the remaining
conspirator, the day is saved.
(I think that was where we finished.)
Devious Plan:
* Make a new city with the Broken Man city - expand our influence, and
get rid of the HP of the Father (surely that doesn't work, you can't
get rid of the Father, I'm now confused as to how this whole thing
works again)
Shiny Things Gained:
* Finest Goblets
* The Varrinite Ritual Tools (which we can apparently either repurpose
or convert into tass, woo).

NEW SESSION!

0) Session continued IN MEDIAS RES from where we were last time (the
Broken Man-worshipping city, I forget the name) with Eloth in a gloopy
mess of stuff due to paradox explosion naked party 2.
1) Arrangements are made with some official or other, Eloth helps them
with some mining things and the wall repairs with his power of messing
everything up.
2) Establishing that the city's people are in a pretty bad state,
healing plans are made:
2.1) Ratatosk and Rald give bonus pie to the city's survival rolls,
while Sigrun preps...
2.2) Sigrun boosts the mother's ritual in public right there at the
ritual, taking horrible paradox and a whole bunch of the nearest
people's wounds.
2.3) People freak out.
2.4) People mob the dais, wanting MOAR HEALINS
2.5) Riots, panic, etc
3) Ratatosk attempts to start bucket chains in the streets to help put
out the fires.
3.1) 3 random guys who were up to no good, started makin' trouble in
the neighbourhood
3.2) (Okay, they were probably mind controlled/triggered, and they
start attacking people and setting fire to more buildings.)
3.3) [Sigrun gets secreted off in disguise to get her away from people
trying to mob her, while Eloth starts the stonejumper.]
3.4) Guys get totally beat up by townsfolk, Ratatosk gets axed real bad.
3.5) Guys get totally killed, so we never find out what their deal
was. NEVER MIND. THERE WAS NOTHING THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE. (Which I
really should have stopped, now that I think about it. Oops.)
4) City calms the hell down, wuvs Sigrun.
5) It is established that we could probably convert both this place
and Storelva to our paradigm SOON. Woooo.
6) We return to an inn at a place which is either Storelva or the
other place, where a nervous person is waiting for us. (There was some
confusion over this.)
7) Sky Captain Neils Airwalker of the World of Tomorrow announces that
upon Enlightening, he saw a vision of Vidar's Light Future: Clockwork
Man (see below) and decided to cheese it.
7.1) Since he hates Varrin (natural conditioning), and Sil (sensible),
it was either us or Signi, and we're closer and not as groupthinky.
7.2) He basically cut himself off from the collective, and
commandeered airships (he was intimately involved in the Sky Captains
programme) to get here.
8) We set wards, check him for nerve stapling, traps, automatic
mind-wipes, memory tampering, scrying, etc, ask him some questions,
and establish that he's genuine
8.1) Then, we pump him for information and read all his memories to
double-check that his memories haven't been altered and find out more
things.
THINGS LEARNED:
This guy:
* Is Enlightenment 3
* Is taking a boatload of isolation checks, which hopefully a familiar
will help with
Vidar has:
* Two cities fully, explicitly under his control
* More cities in his paradigm
* Mind-based IRC, used constantly for questions and discussion and
democratic voting (which all mages are expected to be on all the time
when inside the territory)
* Knowledge of how to jam things into a paradigm to make "hedge magic"
(I'm still not entirely sure of how this works)
* A pretty strong personality cult, with sub-blocks in votes
* An artifact prisonfactory for captured mages
* A model for humanity as a perfectly functioning immortal democratic
melded enlightened machine
* A Plan to do *something* (we don't know what and neither did our new
recruit) to make the world more amenable to his paradigm. Maybe he
will BLOW UP THE MOON
* A massive rage-on for Varrin
* An arcane xp farming system of research stations near weird stuff
that people get shuttled around
* A new tech for sky captains almost ready (again, I'm not sure we
know what it is. Maybe it's a wang in the ear) (Actually I think it
was something to do with the gas, making it easier to make it work,
permanently or something)
* A number of misconceptions about our paradigm in circulation, either
because he doesn't know or is growing propaganda
* A widely circulated belief that eventually our and Signi's paradigms
will fold into his
* Added to his agents the ability for them to wipe their own minds? Or
maybe just for the mages...
* Spheres thus: Forces, Matter, Prime at 5+; Mind at 2; Entropy,
Space, Life at 3-4
Vidar does not:
* know about familiars
* know that people can change paradigms
* know people outside the bloodline can awaken
* pool Paradox
Other notes:
* It is established that your Enlightenment Increasing Vision cannot
be seen by other mages, even if you want them to (apparently this is
common knowledge among Vidar's crew)
* Vidar's doods tend to specialise, training one primary sphere and
one secondary
* Field mages diversify more for utility
Other other notes:
* Varrin is not getting a wang in the ear
* Mages do not nuke each other from orbit
* The Moon totally radiates cold, you guys, I'm telling you
* KIND OF NEW SYSTEM WOO: Joint Beliefs!
* (What are they, I think Kath you made the notes on those)
* Neils did not bring us any free gifts. :(