Edmango 2021/10/25(Mon)20:50 No. 1013612 ID: afe7de
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You feel... flashes of moments, glimpses of themes and ideas, but as they enter your mind, you forget them, permanently. Your thoughts weren't complex, if you could even call them thoughts. You forget your birth, breaking from a shell of carapace. You forget your first love, someone like you buzzing around that you met after a long journey. You forget the feeling of flight, the freedom. You forget the CHIRPING. You forget your predators. You forget the blue skies. You forget the machine that slaughtered your kin. You forget the thousands you inadvertently saved that day. You forget what killed you. There's a large maw speeding towards you, but you forget your instinctual fear. And then a moment passes, and eventually, you forget your sense of self.

Time passes and you feel... Cold. It's uncomfortable, unnerving, unnatural. You want to be WARM, but not HOT, you feel an instinctual fear of anything too HOT. You... your SOUL feels different, not that you can tell exactly what that means. It's... dark. You're starting to feel more sensations. There's a prick somewhere on you and you cry out.

Edmango 2021/10/25(Mon)20:51 No. 1013614 ID: afe7de
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You can't see anything yet, but there's a cacophony of noise, sounds in unison. A shout, and then silence. There's a sound that you can't discern, a plodding? A pitter-patter? Footsteps? It's unclear. You feel your body, your sense of self, SHIFT as you are grasped, and a word is said. Something tells you this must be your NAME

What is your NAME?
Your name is a single word, a prefix will be added when you grow up.

What is your RACE?
You were born someplace... strange, traditional races do not exist here but there are some analogues. Three races stand out to you among the ones on this planet.

CLOTH-KIN - The most populous of races. This race looks like CLOTH DOLLS with THICK STRING or CHUNKY CLOTH for hair. They have OPPOSABLE THUMBS, but lack FINGERS, so they can HOLD TOOLS but not do anything TOO COMPLEX without spending a lot of TIME. They wear plain clothes and tend to have more HUMAN-LIKE features, and since they are SMALLER than other races in adulthood they require less to eat. To make up for their SMALL SIZE and SLOWER SPEED they are CRAFTIER than others.

ASH-KIN - The least populous race. They look like lanky, tall, CLOTH-KIN with PORCELAIN MASKS and HANDS that are FULLY ARTICULATED. They tend to move at a NORMAL pace, but are more FRAGILE due to their MASKS and HANDS. To compensate they are skilled in the manipulation of TOOLS and TRAPS, and tend to be ECCENTRIC CRAFTSMEN living in SMALL NOMADIC GROUPS, eating a normal amount of food. They tend to wear DETAILED OUTFITS of their own design that they add to and modify over the course of their lives.

FUR-KIN - A commonly found race. This race looks like STUFFED ANIMALS with bodies covered in fur, typically with a tail. They typically lack HANDS of any kind but instead make up for it by moving FAST when they are on all four limbs. It is uncommon, but it is possible to find ones with HANDS, however they tend to move at a NORMAL pace on all fours and still move SLOWLY on their hind legs. To compensate they are NATURAL HUNTERS and have good NATURAL WEAPONS OR TRAITS, but they need to eat a lot. They tend to wear TRINKETS AND TROPHIES from a hunt, with those that can, making PONCHOS from their kills. When selecting this race please pick an ANIMAL to be based on.

And as a bonus, how do you RESPOND when you open your eyes.
With Excitement? With Fear? With no emotion at all? Or some other way?


NOTES: All races can “hold” things and perform basic life actions, it just takes more time for some races. Fur Kin can “hold” objects in their paws, but without hands cannot WIELD weapons and tools with any efficiency in them.

Gurt the moose fur-kin.

Respond glibly

Gaffe the ash kin. Elf doll!

Clancy, the Ash Kin. You can shorten it to "Lance" to sound cooler.

Cin (or "Cinder", alternatively), the Fur-kin Eastern Dragon

Humples

Ash-Kin

There is a sequence of vibrations within your hollow shell. It undulates and softens, growing fuzzier with each reverberation. As it almost peters to nothing, your brain enacts its tenuous compulsion, and with a sickening crack your recipient hole widens and maws to let the last remnants of that clustered sequence roar:
"CRITICAL HIT! I̷͙̞̣͂̕ẗ̸̢̤̭͍̲̯͈̠͕̤̤̮͎̗͔͈͍̜̹̼͕́̍͌̄̅́̉͑̊̐̂͛͋͆͜ͅ'̷̨̛̦̟̝͓̗̠̰͕͔̰̏̇̈͑̌͆́͋̇͂͂̿̃̿̎̓͌̋͘͝͠͠ṣ̴̍̎́͆̿̍̌̑̈͒͗̓̒́͜ͅ ̶̞͖̞̳̖̘̯̰͚̮̐̂̃͋š̴̡̢̧̛̖̮͔̫̱̮̫̰̤͔̥̜͎͈̝̦͍̻̉͐̀̈́̓̾̍̿͝ų̷̡̢̡̹͈̖̲̞͚̙̮͎́̿̍̑p̶̛͓͍̦̩͉̱͑̏̅̃̍͌̔͂̆ȩ̷̠̲̥̥͍̱̩͓͕̼̼̠̥̙̿͜ͅṟ̴̡̨̧̣̣̻͍͕̩̯̞̜̭̗̻̗̫̣̳̭̜̂̅̏͋̏̒̋̎̾̈́̋̎̉͂̔͋̽̑̍̐͗̚͝ ̵̢̳̮̭̘̙͙͚̹̳͓̱̱̲͕̙͚͔̟̘͙̘̲̀̄̿̆̐̌̌͆̀͑̈́ë̶̛͉͈̤̳̫̣̲̘̫͍̫̥͙̣́̓̅̑̅̈́̓̇͆͊͂̄̊̚͘͘f̵̡̧̢̢̠͎͚̻͚̯̮͓̦̼̣̮̠̮̯̀̊͂̈́̒̚ͅͅf̴̢̧̛͕̼̤̙̣̙̠̜̙̲̜͓̞͖̺̟̥̫̼̤̳̾͋̎̀̆̓͗̀̄̔̋̍̔͂͒̅̓̃͐́̕̚͝͠ę̸͖̜̘͎̺̬̩̳̝͈͕̼̮͎̙̼̯̦͉̦͚̈́̒̾̀̑͌̂̃̉ͅĉ̶̛̩̘̠̲̺̜̳̇̈́͗̌̐͆̆͂̈́͌̏̇͊̾̚͘͝t̶̨̼̘͇̣̻͉̟̗̤͍̜͎̱̺̞̙̭͉͊͜ͅĭ̸̡͚̻̖̠̈̉̀̍͗̀̒ͅv̷̡̯͓̠͓̭̪͈̯̀͆͂̋͊̽̓̏̒̀͛͆͘͘͘ͅę̶̳̦͈͉͈̞̣̥̳̮̭̗̜̈̽̎̑͒͜͠͠!̵̩̯̓̈́̉̿̓́͒̂̈́̓̐͘͜"

Ash-kin

Your name is Paco.

You're kinda creepy looking. Give the person holding you a creepy thousand yard stare.

Fur-kin
-barn owl

Name
-Erin

Ash-kin, name is Clinker. You felt sorrow when you woke up, a nostalgia for something you never knew.

>>1013629
Plushman centipede the game?
Second

>>1013641
oh oops I didn't realize someone replied to me, that was:

"Cob.
Ash-kin.

My ambition is to stitch together plushes into abominations. For our name to become a well known term... "cobbling"."

I kindof just want to get into forbidden science though, in general.

Zen, Cloth-Kin. You awake at peace. "Yes?"

Pin the Ash-Kin
We felt nothing, emotions don't seem to be our strong suit.

>>1013658
Oh I like Pin for a name, also ash-kin is my vote.

Edmango 2021/10/26(Tue)19:46 No. 1013705 ID: afe7de
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> COBBLER [COB] THE ASH-KIN
You feel something more, like you're being injected with something. Your body fills with an ENERGY and you start to feel a little warmer. You now understand what that SHIFTING was, you're being held, and the embrace is comfortable. Your vision is spotty but it starts to come in, you blink. Once, twice, and then a third time and you can finally see the tall, lanky figures surrounding you. There are 6 of them visible by the lights surrounding you. They all have masks ranging from a PURE WHITE to an ASHEN GRAY. Half of them are in tears, smiling. The one holding you especially so, they embrace you whilst sobbing. But you feel WARMTH, COMFORT from it. you know instinctively these are tears of joy.

> RESPONSE - NOSTALGIC SADNESS
Your sight goes to the lights that are twinkling mist, subtle and insect-like. It gives you a feeling of NOSTALGIC SADNESS that you can't really place and your expression matches. The chanting from before continues and it's that word.

COB-BLE-ER, COB-BLE-ER, COB-BLE-ER HUA!

More words are said but you can't understand them. You're feeling tired, even though you're full of energy, you weakly return the hug and there are some GASPS as you do.

You've gained the trait [DESIRE] due to your NOSTALGIA!

In the future when you are given CHOICES, your [DESIRE] will occasionally manifest itself as an option that is weighted as having one vote automatically.

Edmango 2021/10/26(Tue)19:47 No. 1013706 ID: afe7de
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Several years pass and you've gotten older, entering your CHILDHOOD. The other kin call you COB for short, and you get along well with your younger clutch-mate of a year, their name is CINDER. You're still small compared to the rest of your CLUTCH, even CINDER is taller than you, but that doesn't bother you. You've just barely grasped the LANGUAGE of your people, having been taught the basics of their PROSE and WRITTEN LANGUAGE, and are now being taught CANON, the language of CITIES. You're told it will be useful to you in the future when you leave the TRIBE during your ADULTHOOD, your journey to build your own CLUTCH. You're told not to worry, and that it won't be for a long time, so you don't. You trust them. They're your TRIBE, your KIN.

One bright evening you're checking a RUDIMENTARY TRAP you made under the guidance of your CLUTCH MOTHER. It was a simple thing you made and set up under some of the PLASTIC BRUSH near the outskirts of your encampment. You set it a little away from the others in the hopes that you could GET LUCKY, and it looks like your labor paid off!

Your DART TRAPS led to an obscured SNARE TRAP, catching a strange looking PAPERLING inside. It's stomach is bloated and it's eyes are red. It looks more FERAL then usual, but it also looks WOUNDED. It's probably terrified. You examine the wounds more closely, it looks like they were made by... something else? There are LARGE VERTICAL SLASHES down it's flank and a few shallow horizontal slashes along its side. They look to be days old, having attempted to heal over, but reopening due to overexertion.

You have a CHOICE to make, you could go and get an ADULT to help you, but you get this NAGGING FEELING that you should do something RIGHT NOW. What do you do with this PAPERLING?

A. [DESIRE] Bring it back yourself to prove your capability to the CLUTCH.
B. Let it go
C. Get help from someone in your CLUTCH
D. Other

D. Lets attempt to heal that wound before we A. Got any cloth to wrap up that wound? Maybe leaves would help? Stitch it back together somehow?

Hopefully this will influence Cob to start wanting to get interested in rebuilding or modding other kin to the point of doing forbidden science, towards the route >>1013643 was aiming for.

D: Let's examine the injury in detail to see what we can learn. And since the cuts go into the paperling's body, we can use them as a viewing window to explore the inner workings of this being.

Get lost in your curiosity for a bit. Maybe try to heal it when it stops being interesting.

>>1013706
A. There's something wrong with it. That could be a harbinger of worse things, which means bringing it back is important. If you fetch someone it might take too long and the evidence could be lost.
Only problem is... keeping ahold of it without endangering yourself.

> Bloated stomach.
There's something inside! Has it eaten something or someone who needs help, or is it ready to give birth? (Wait, never mind, maybe "birth" isn't a concept here.)

D: Free its devoured occupant.

>>1013715
Disturbing, but yes.
Heimlich Maneuver!

A!
We should bring it back so the adults can take a look at it! They might know how to help!

C. Get help, better not risk a mistake handling it.
D. Attempt to dress its wounds.

C. Never get in a fair fight if you can help it.

D. Examine it further. Is there some way you can help it?

Edmango 2021/10/27(Wed)19:53 No. 1013766 ID: afe7de
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> Worldbuilding questions
You don’t know how to stitch things together, or dress wounds, only the SHAMAN knows how to STITCH, and they keep the art of the NEEDLE a closely guarded secret that only ADULTS can ever learn if they’re good enough. But as for DRESSING WOUNDS and HEALING, other ADULTS know enough to get by. Especially the CLUTCH MOTHER.

> Examine it more closely
You take a few steps towards it, It’s aggressive and flailing about. It’s a good thing it’s SMALL and NOT FULLY DEVELOPED, otherwise your trap wouldn’t even catch it, let alone be able to hold it considering you MADE THE ROPE YOURSELF. You do get the feeling that it could very much HURT YOU, and you’re not looking forward to that potential outcome.

You can immediately tell that something is WRONG with it. The red eyes are practically GLOWING, you’ve never seen a PAPERLING like this, though you’ve only really seen DEAD ones, but their eyes always looked DARKER. You examine the wound a bit closer, the flailing makes it hard to tell anything other than it’s a fairly DEEP CUT. You’re too inexperienced to get anything other than whatever’s inside it’s belly is kind of CUBE-LIKE in shape.

> Listen to your DESIRE
You’re torn on what to do, free it, bring it back, get help, bandage it, but eventually you get an extra push from your [DESIRE] to bring it back and prove yourself. The only problem is… how? That Nagging feeling is getting even stronger now. Practically GNAWING at you. You don’t know how to KILL this thing, nor do you even have a WEAPON on you. You have some LEFTOVER PLASTIC ROPE from when you made the traps, so you think your best bet is to attempt to tie up its limbs. It’s reckless, but you don’t have any better ideas and REALLY want others to think you’re CAPABLE, you’re the RUNT right now, and although it doesn’t bother you, you still want to be treated like an ADULT.

Your results are… mixed at best. You succeed in tying it up, but in the process fracture your right hand, causing you to cry out in pain. You push through it as chunks of porcelain fall to the ground and some STUFFING oozes out. It bites at you, missing your arm, but ramming your MASK, causing chunks of it to fly off. The pain is excruciating, immense, and you’re near blacking out before you finish tying it up. You never imagined it would be this difficult but a sense of PRIDE swells through you. You slowly drag the beast to your camp as a few ADULTS rush to your location, having heard your CRY. Knowing you’re in the safety of your CLUTCH, you fall to the ground, as your consciousness fades your eyes travel behind you and you notice a figure coming in your direction, but you pass out just as it was getting close enough for you to see.

Edmango 2021/10/27(Wed)19:53 No. 1013767 ID: afe7de
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Days pass before you wake again, and you notice your right hand is fully bandaged and packed tight. The sensation of WET, STICKY TAR on your broken digits. You touch your MASK with your free hand, feeling a similar gunk on it. Apparently this TAR has some HEALING PROPERTIES that will allow your FRACTURED PARTS and CUTS to reform. Your arm, formerly covered in cuts, is also bound in leaves and covered in TAR. After a moment you sit up and someone comes to you. It’s CINDER, they SCREAM at you, saying you could have gotten killed, wondering what you were thinking. They remark that you’re only 8, and don’t even know anything yet. They cry as they grasp you, and you feel a sharp pain from the wounds. It’s then that your CLUTCH MOTHER enters, eying you. You can tell she’s PISSED from the expression you see on her face, but it’s soon replaced by the compassion you know.

You’re told off for what you did, and are told that for the next year you cannot go outside the main encampment without direct supervision. You’re a bit upset by that, you just wanted to prove yourself, and you say as much in a soft mumble. She eyes you down and sternly informs you that you can prove yourself when you’re older, you’re just a kid right now and you haven’t even learned the basics of the HUNT. You’re informed that as additional punishment you won’t get to eat any of the MEAT from the creature you caught, you try to object, but she instead holds out a hand, stating that the meat is POISONOUS, and that the reason you didn’t wake up for several days was due to the TOXINS in the creature that got on you. Luckily your MASK and HANDS absorbed the brunt of the impact and only a FEW DROPS entered your system. You ask about the thing inside it’s belly and that figure you saw as your CLUTCH MOTHER leaves. She grasps her left arm tightly, you now notice there’s a small gash there, covered in tar. It’s BLACK just like her sleeve and you would have missed it, had she not grasped it. She tells you that the SHAMAN will talk to you about it when the time comes and leaves without another word.

This confuses you, but you’re too distraught by the thought of the restrictions brought upon by your mistake and how you could have DIED from that POISON that you don’t think too hard about it.

Edmango 2021/10/27(Wed)19:56 No. 1013769 ID: afe7de
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Several more years pass and you enter your YOUTH, your TEENAGE YEARS. You now know the basics and better details surrounding TRAPPING, ROPE-MAKING, and LANGUAGE. You’ve also been taught a little bit on how to IDENTIFY PREY and their TRAILS. You don’t know much about PLANTS and POISONS yet, but imagine that when you finish your upcoming COMING OF AGE CEREMONY that you’ll be taught more when you go on your FIRST HUNT. You did however practice TYING UP PREY that has been caught in your traps and have become proficient in doing so WITHOUT INJURY to those your size or smaller that aren’t STRONGER than you.

Noticing your improvement, you’ve been given an OPPORTUNITY by the SHAMAN to learn a SKILL or TWO in more detail from them. Their NEEDLE never leaves their side. You notice it’s made of this material called WOOD. You’ve never seen it out in the wild other than in the presence of the SHAMAN. You always had a bit of a pang of frustration towards them ever since you found out THEY were the one who issued your punishment years ago. Albeit it was a really minor punishment and was mostly over when your HAND and MASK healed, it still irks you a tad. You’re presented with a choice of SKILLS, you get the feeling you will EXCEL in the first skill you pick and only have a NORMAL PROFICIENCY in the second.

What SKILLS do you learn? (pick two, with the first being the one you are best at)

A. ADVANCED TRAPPING - Learn how to make handheld devices and more powerful traps with low quality resources
B. STONEWORKING - Learn to make tools out of STONE and how to identify STONES of varying QUALITY via strict teaching
C. SCOUTING - Learn the art of PERCEPTION and how to move unencumbered in difficult terrain, or trapped terrain.
D. MEDICINE - Learn how to make POISONS and MEDICINE and how to identify RARE PLASTICINE HERBS, FRUITS, and RARE PAPERLINGS.
E. PRECISION - Pick a weapon, learn best how to use that weapon and how to land PRECISE STRIKES on opponents. You’ll get beat up. A lot.
F. CLIMBING - Through rigorous training learn how to climb not just trees, but structures and cliff faces, you’ll probably fall. A lot.
G. OTHER - Learn another skill, No magic skills, this is low tech, primitive society, so I’ll be a bit strict on what I allow, but am open to suggestions!

A and F! Better traps allow us to take the indirect approach more often, and better climbing supports that option by giving us escape routes and hiding places that others may not have access to. Plus, it may open the doors for us to explore areas otherwise unreachable.

1st medicine
2nd stoneworking

G/F: Pottery and climbing.

I see several POWER COMBOS available to us:
A and B: A mix of stoneworking and trapping allows us to understand everything our village can teach us in engineering, they aren't advanced enough to fully understand that type of stuff but maybe combining these skills we can become an ENGINEER and make cool inventions using our OTHERWORLDY KNOWLEDGE. This option is the most suited to our species as well.
E and C: Movement and precision, this combination would make us an excellent duelist in most scenarios and allows us to be ready for attack with the extra perception. We may have weak points, but that just means we know when to dodge in order to not let enemies hit those. This would focus on evasive maneuvers and expert jabs making us an EXPERT DUELIST.
D and G, cooking: An alchemist, I don't know what this route would fully entail but it could be interesting.

My vote is for the ENGINEER combo: A and B

>>1013769
D, a.

>>1013775
Changing my vote to be an engineer as Belief suggested.
A and B.

Besides, making traps was something Cob wanted to do as a kid, and it's the best way to live up to our name: Cobbler.

PRECISION

SCOUTING

A
B

You've proven yourself to be OBSERVANT, even if you struggled to act on those observations: training your PERCEPTION through SCOUTING (C) would suit you well.

Second, your FRUSTRATION and IMPATIENCE manifest as wanting answers about the origins of that poison NOW, and you want to be able to patch your OWN mistakes in the future. Though you don't excel as well at it as you do with using your senses, you eagerly learn all you can about MEDICINE (D). The added knowledge will pair well with your EXCEPTIONAL PERCEPTION, at the very least, even if you don't get all the answers you seek.

SCOUTING
and
PRECISION

We know how to TRAP but we need to learn how to SCOUT to know where and when to place those traps.

We need PRECISION because SCOUTING is useless if we cant handle ourselves alone.

>>1013769
D
What made that paperling to act like that? I need to know more!
E
And I won’t let it hurt me either.

AUTHORS NOTE: After some thinking, I plan to assess the votes as follows: the thing you voted to EXCEL at will count as having 2 VOTES. The thing you voted to have NORMAL PROFICIENCY in will count as having 1 VOTE. Then the 1st and 2nd place votes will be chosen as your skills. You've got some time to vote still so feel free to delete or update your suggestions if this changes how you want to vote.

>>1013775
Also I like the idea of SYNERGIES that you suggested and I might give you a MINOR SKILL associated with the combination if I can think of a good one if it wasn't already suggested.

>>1013777
For my vote,
B. Tool making is the one we're efficient in (two votes)
A. Trap making is the one we have normal proficiency in (one vote)

B. STONEWORKING and F. CLIMBING

Edmango 2021/10/28(Thu)18:27 No. 1013816 ID: 0838d6
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> SKILL GAINED - ADVANCED TRAPPING [EX]
You decide to learn the more advanced ins and outs to TRAPPING that other ASH-KIN tend to learn over a longer period of time. The initial training period is spent forcing you through an obstacle course of various traps. It's a painful experience but as it goes on you adapt and become more intimate with the traps. The days go by and you practice making these traps, even whilst running through traps, becoming proficient in making them QUICKLY, and with SUB-PAR RESOURCES that doesn't reduce their DURABILITY or QUALITY. The better the resources the better the traps. You learned how to make and identify the following:

SNARE TRAPS - Used to CAPTURE, SNAG, and STRETCH limbs
DART TRAPS - Used to LAUNCH small amounts of DARTS to PARALYZE, POISON and INJURE
LURE TRAPS - Used to DISTRACT, ATTRACT, or ALERT by creating NOISE
SPEAR TRAPS - Used to DAMAGE LARGE PREY
PIT TRAPS - Used to CAPTURE, HURT, and TRIP UP prey
NATURAL DISGUISE - Used to HIDE TRAPS, CAMPSITES, and OBJECTS
ROPE - used in MANY TRAPS, you can make it out of various materials without tools and can make a special ELASTIC rope used in TENSION based and TRIPWIRE traps

In the future when you create your SIGNATURE OUTFIT you will automatically gain a TRAPPING POUCH that can be used to hold enough resources and tools to create 5 TRAPS at any time instead of the normal 3. Preparing MOST traps takes LITTLE TIME, but you now know how to make and place them whilst ON THE MOVE or MID COMBAT with NO PENALTIES.

And with your newfound trapping knowledge, as long as you are not IMPRISONED or in a RESOURCE SCARCE LOCATION, whenever you REST for any amount of time you will automatically restock your supplies from your surroundings with NORMAL QUALITY PARTS. You also have a bonus to SPOTTING TRAPS due to your TRAINING.

In addition, you've gained access to a single HIDDEN HANDHELD TRAP MODULE that you can add to your SIGNATURE OUTFIT that you know how to restock/modify/create if you were to lose it in the future. Replacing the module with a different one requires a SAFE LOCATION and A FEW DAYS TIME due to its COMPLEXITY.

Edmango 2021/10/28(Thu)18:27 No. 1013817 ID: 0838d6
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> SKILL GAINED - STONE WORKING
You decide to learn STONE WORKING as well, it's a STRICT process that involves some YELLING, and INSULTS, but by the time you get proficient enough that you are told "It's Okay" by the SHAMAN you know you're better at making things with stone then most of the CLUTCH.

You've learned how to make STONE TOOLS, WEAPONS, MINIATURE NEEDLES, BRICKS, and UTENSILS.

You've also learned how to identify STONES by their GRADE.
- They look the same to most KIN, but you know that there's a stark difference in the STRENGTH, WEIGHT, and DURABILITY of a HIGH and LOW grade stone.

> SYNERGY - KNOWLEDGE GAINED - BASIC ENGINEERING
Two seemingly unrelated skills come together to give you some basic knowledge in ENGINEERING. By taking some TIME you can examine a structure or object to find weaknesses in it. You also know how to make PERMANENT SHELTER, should the need to SETTLE DOWN arise.

Edmango 2021/10/28(Thu)18:28 No. 1013819 ID: 0838d6
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> COMING OF AGE CEREMONY
Every year, around the same time, just after the HEAVY RAIN SEASON, the MOST TERRIFYING OF SEASONS, your CLUTCH celebrates in a ceremony known as THE SACRIFICE. A PAPERLING is offered to the LOOMINOUS ONE. The deity that SPUN you and your TRIBES into existence. Your CLUTCH believes that SHE is represented by a GOLDEN WHEEL with TWO GLASS ORBS in the center.

And in return for the sacrifice you are bathed in the WARMTH of your TRIBE'S SYMBOL. You never paid attention to the SYMBOLOGY of your TRIBE before, but it's significance is apparent this year more than others. You're told this CEREMONY is about DEFINING YOURSELF and your SPIRITUALITY. There is dancing and those twinkling lights you hazily remember from your birth. It's a JOYOUS ceremony that tingles something deep inside of you. You join in the festivities and you feel an ENERGY flowing inside of you, you're not sure exactly WHAT it is, but it starts to INVIGORATE YOU.

Pick your PRONOUNS
- He/She/They/etc, this has no bearing on anything other than how you refer to yourself.

Pick a HAIRSTYLE
- Your hair grows in all at once! What’s it like?

Choose an ADJECTIVE/NOUN combo or just a NOUN
- This will be the name of all of the COLLECTIVE CLUTCHES in your TRIBE
- A TRAIT will be generated based off of that and you will learn more of your TRIBE
- Examples that fit this criteria (you cannot use these examples) are: Flaming Horns Tribe, Hui (cloud) Tribe, Loom Tribe, etc.
- You cannot name your tribe after the LOOMINOUS one.

>Pronouns
They/Them
>Hairstyle
Long and curly, perhaps too long, due to your smaller stature the hair reaches all the way to your waist.
>Tribe Name
Abstract Tinkerers

She, something pointy and long with big old bangs.
Our tribe is known as the Long Needles!

Pronoun: they, them.
Hairstyle: short, fuzzy. can't have enemies grabbing at our hair easily.
Your tribe is called THE CERAMIC RONDALPHUS TRIBE, named after our ancestors who founded it. (since the name Rondalphus seems to be a name of importance or some kind of royalty in CATALYST and SHARDS. Nipha Rondalphus, Ignis Rondalphus. Want to continue this universal constant by having this name appear in this universe too)

Sometimes 'she', sometimes 'they'. You're complex.
Patchwork - as a mixed bag, you have the silkiest, most luxurious hair in the village - but it's grown in ugly clusters and lumps. You wear a hat and let the hair out of the sides.
Sharp Wardens

Pronouns: She/Her

Hair: Long and curly, with a tendency to become a complete unkempt disaster

Tribe Name: The Innovator Tribe. Let's lean into our engineer trait with a name that also works if we go down the horrible experimentation route discussed before.

She

Mohawk

Sturdy clay tribe

She/They
A long mohawk that ends up being just one giant curl.
The Cinder Bearer Tribe.

She, her, long and curly, the Jumping Jacks tribe.

> Pronouns
She/Her

> Hair
Short-to-medium and fluffy, in a somewhat curly way.

> Our Tribe
... Ōame (Downpour) Tribe. You understand how scary rain can be for a KIN's health, but... you feel like it used to be so much more frightening than this? It seems almost tame in comparison now. (Wait, what? You thought this was your first experience with it...) You'd sometimes stare out at it from the safety of your tribe's sturdy structures, almost entranced by its pitter-patter rhythm.

Edmango 2021/10/29(Fri)21:02 No. 1013895 ID: afe7de
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> PRONOUN - She/Her
You think you'll go by She/Her. They/Them is fine too, but you feel that using She/Her is JUST RIGHT for you as you are now.

> HAIRSTYLE - LONG and CURLY
Your hair begins to grow as you feel yourself become more COMPLETE. Thin strands of this STRING-LIKE SUBSTANCE called HAIR grows out of your scalp. It grows longer than you were expecting and becomes a bit CURLY as well. You're comfortable with this change, it feels RIGHT.

You see the SHAMAN waving around their NEEDLE, chanting. They peel a SPLINTER from the NEEDLE and brandish it towards you. You feel a PULSE reverberate through the air as a PAIN radiates from your chest, right where your CORE should be. You see SPARKS forming at the edge of the SHAMAN'S SPLINTER. In a moment it turns to ash, sparks obscuring it for a moment before a small, terrifying orb quickly pierces your chest, you think that it was FIRE, but after a moment you realize you're not only not on fire, but instead are feeling INVIGORATED.

> THE CINDER BEARER TRIBE
It's in this moment you see SOMETHING NEW, you didn't notice it before, but above you tribe lies three hazy figures wreathed in flames and gusts of wind, one figure is masked with a whiter flame, but it's just as hazy as the rest. It's motions are matching that of the SHAMAN'S and it's looking down directly on you. But for some reason you feel no fear from this, but instead feel a sense of PROTECTION. You look at others chests and you can see their core, many of them are surrounded in BARBS of what you imagine is WOOD. You know that this is not natural, but is something a part of your TRIBE.

This CORE covered in BARBS is the TOTEM of your tribe. It’s SYMBOL. They call this the ANCESTOR'S PROTECTION. This wood in your chest is a CINDER, an ember of your ANCESTOR. It's effect varies from KIN to KIN, with some receiving no effect to others receiving wild abilities. You feel a light behind you and see a manifestation of your ANCESTOR there for the briefest of moments. They EMBRACE you and you feel WARMER, like you have the ability to warm all those around you.

> INNATE POWER GAINED - WARMTH
You now give off an aura of WARMTH that WARMS and COMFORTS those within a 1 meter radius of you. You're not sure how to control it, so as of right now it is ALWAYS ON.

> TRAIT GAINED - [GUIDANCE]
Your ancestor now watches over you and will occasionally NUDGE you towards actions that will BENEFIT you in some way. However it's not INFALLIBLE and can make mistakes.

Similar to your [DESIRE], you will occasionally see choices manifested by [GUIDANCE] that will be weighted as having 1.1 votes automatically (to break ties).
[DESIRE] now counts as 1.05 votes.

The rest of the SACRIFICE plays out and you notice there are others surrounding you, the SYMBOL of their TRIBES different from your own. Instead of a CORE in one KIN’S chest you see a TRIO OF NEEDLES. In another you see a SHARP DISK. Your mind returns to the ceremony itself and you realize the song and dance being performed is actually a brief HISTORY of your TRIBE. You could never understand it before, maybe when other tribes awaken they hear the story of their home too? You learn that your KIN have a homeland called MOUNT CINDER, where all ASHEN MASKS are produced, even ones for other ASH TRIBES. They're also skilled in making PORCELAIN WEAPONS blessed with UNIQUE PROPERTIES. You can feel a slight tug in your subconscious towards the SOUTHEAST, something tells you that MOUNT CINDER is that way, and should you ever want to MAKE A CHILD in the future, you'll need to visit that place.

And with that the ceremony comes to a close, the twinkling lights dissipate and you share your new POWER with the others as you are welcomed as a well and proper KIN to your CLUTCH. It's at this moment the SHAMAN welcomes you and you earn your SURNAME. Your name is now KA COBBLER, or KA COB as you've taken a liking to be called. You feel a sense of pride and warmth radiating from you, that you were meant for the CINDER BEARERS, meant for this name.

Your CLUTCH MOTHER and the SHAMAN tell you that it’s time, in one month you’ll be on your FIRST HUNT. You’re filled with excitement. Apparently it takes a month for your body to adapt to the newfound energy inside. You’ll feel STRONGER, more AGILE, and more AWARE. They call this your AWAKENING, it happens to all KIN when they come of age, even the vile FELT.

Your CLUTCH MOTHER spews vitriol when speaking of them, the CANNIBALISTIC MONSTROSITIES, they're like you, but if all the cloth on your body was pierced so that your insides become your outsides, yet they were firm enough to move. Sometimes they're AMORPHOUS, other times they look like a simulacrum of yourself. You can tell it bothers her greatly.

Edmango 2021/10/29(Fri)21:02 No. 1013896 ID: afe7de
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A month passes and your body adapts to the new energy inside of you. You’re still not able to control the WARMTH, but it doesn't seem to bother anyone, in fact, others seem to want to be near you MORE than before. The occasional HUG has turned into something a bit more frequent, where others LINGER more often. You visit the CLUTCH MOTHER and she continues from before, describing the CHALLENGES of your FIRST HUNT. You are to join HUNTING GROUP A, on a 5 day hunting mission. You tend to camp away from the PAPERLINGS, laying traps around your encampment to protect yourselves, which means that a group of around 8 or 2/5 of your CLUTCH goes out at a time to hunt for actual meals, herbs, and materials. A few new members have joined since you were stitched together, and you can tell the CLUTCH MOTHER is quite happy with the development.

Your OBJECTIVE during this hunt is to GATHER RESOURCES to create your SIGNATURE OUTFIT and to OBSERVE how others hunt. You're assigned a BUDDY for this. Their name is HARI TOMO and they are skilled in the THROWING NEEDLE, otherwise known as a LONG NEEDLE. They're an ASH-KIN member of the LONG NEEDLE TRIBE but are welcomed amongst your CLUTCH as CLUTCHES are NOT TRIBALLY or RACIALLY EXCLUSIVE. You notice their SPIKY HAIR has a streak of GREEN in it. They'll be guiding you and demonstrating things you would otherwise not know. They seem a little SHARP, tending to respond FASTER, but acting a bit more CRITICAL in casual conversation.

You are NOT TRAINED in any WEAPON, so you will need to rely on your TRAPS and pick a WEAPON to DEFEND YOURSELF, should the need arise. You're skilled in STONEWORKING, so you decide to make a weapon yourself.

What WEAPON do you make?
- EX. Sword, Throwing Needles, Axe, Darts, etc.
- You'll gain a bonus to using it due to your FAMILIARITY since you made it but you are inexperienced with that weapon and will suffer penalties to actually using it in combat.

Your HUNTING GROUP comes across several different kinds of GAME, they allow you the choice of which they hunt. You know that they will set various traps and try to GOAD them towards them using various techniques, but the specifics evade you. You get the feeling you’ll learn and get something different from the different types of game you could hunt.

Which do you choose?

A. A colony of SMALL SIZED SQUIRREL-LIKE PAPERLINGS
- They're light and highly mobile, but easily distracted by noise and various PLASTICINE NUTS
- Each one is around half a meter tall
- There's at least 6 in the group
- Their materials are LIGHTWEIGHT and would make for EASY TO MOVE IN GEAR

B. A family of MEDIUM SIZED ELK-LIKE PAPERLINGS
- They move in short bursts of speed where they're highly mobile, then highly exhausted.
- Each one is around 1.3 meters tall
- There's 3 in the group
- Their materials are AVERAGE but their HORNS could allow for the creation of SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT

C. Two warring LARGE PAPERLINGS
- They're in the middle of combat a bit of a distance away.
- It's unclear which will win, but is evident that one will drop soon
- Both are suffering from HEAVY injuries
- They're both over 2 meters tall
- Their materials are TOUGH and would make for HIGHLY DEFENSIVE GEAR

And as a bonus, what do you do to contribute? Do you just watch? Or do you provide assistance in some way?

AUTHORS NOTE: You will have at least 2 opportunities to find GAME, with special opportunities arising depending on approach and PUSHING YOUR LUCK. Each type of thing you collect will give you a PART related to the beast, these will be tallied up and you will be presented with a list of potential MODULES to add to your SIGNATURE OUTFIT upon return.

Go after the elk. You contribute some whistling grooves to a long needle that act as noisemakers on the way down from a throw, scaring the paperlings from a location other than the hunters' to make pursuit easier! Just don't get run over by the ensuing stampede.

>Weapon
Pin-Flail (Trick Weapon)
A mace with a fluffy ball on the weighted end. Kin tend to laugh at it - until you trigger its alternate form and pull the drawstrings, tightening the flail into a hardened ball with an iron core, and revealing the threaded needles inside. These needles will then fly out as you swing the flail, dealing scratch damage to any who barely dodge the mace part. Even in its plush stance, it can be used to subtly assassinate someone in broad daylight, by bashing them with what seems like a stress-relief toy weapon only for the needles to penetrate through the wooly outer layer, if the solid core doesn't shatter their porcelain and/or wooden bones first. Its one weakness is the durability, especially with its annoyingly long repair time, but you can use it as a basic mace if needed.

>Prey
Large Paperlings. They'll wear each other out, then you can focus on one while the other retreats. Good armor is essential due to your low Endurance.

I think we should go for the squirrel-like paperlings, as easy to move in gear sounds very appealing. Our current specialty is in trap making, so defensive gear doesn't really suit us (as we ideally won't be fighting one-on-one).

As for our weapon, let's go for something simple and easy to use. I'm thinking hammer, one small enough to use with one hand.

Make a WHIP as your weapon. A bullwhip. Paperling bullwhip? (Maybe whips in this world look like a jumprope that the people in this world see as a whip) it's long range, easy to carry and should help us escape if need be.

Go for the squirrel paperlings.

>>1013896
>what weapon?
Giant scissors.
No? Fine, axe.

Take down some elks. Should be easy, either follow them until they collapse or lead them into traps. You can help execute them in either case, low risk.

Scissor Katar

elk

A spear would be best, I think. For the hunting, go for B, the medium-sized ones.

Scissors!
A

>>1013896
Weapon: Boar spear

Target: Elk

Edmango 2021/10/30(Sat)13:56 No. 1013924 ID: 0838d6
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> WEAPON CHOICE - SCISSOR OR LONG NEEDLE?
Several days before the hunt you were debating what WEAPON to use. Unsure what would be the best or what situations you might be put in on the hunt other than from hearsay you go to HARI TOMO, asking for their advice between the two.

They remark that the LONG NEEDLE is an updated design of an ancient weapon called a SPEAR. It's designed in such a manner as to allow for longer distance tosses and is weighted so that if it hits JUST RIGHT it can also PIN their targets. It can no longer be used as a SLASHING weapon, but HINDERING MOBILITY tends to be more important when fighting PAPERLINGS.

The SCISSOR is typically split into two parts, where an individual wields ONE HALF at a time. Though there are some KIN that DUAL WIELD, it's uncommon. They remark that both are fine as STARTING WEAPONS, given you get TRAINING in them, however they heavily emphasize that you should use a LONG NEEDLE for this journey as they are your guide and they can provide you with TIPS due to their FAMILIARITY with it.

> LONG NEEDLE
You go with the long needle and make a few of them in varying WEIGHTS and SIZES, even giving a few to HARI TOMO. You also make one with a STOPPER a bit of the ways down the TIP so that it can be used for STABBING, but won't get STUCK in the BEASTS. You also etch WHISTLING GROOVES into some of them so that they can act as NOISEMAKERS. HARI TOMO thinks this is a good idea and remarks that they hadn't thought of it. You end up with 4 of them that you have no trouble carrying.

Edmango 2021/10/30(Sat)13:57 No. 1013925 ID: 0838d6
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> HUNT - ELK-LIKE PAPERLINGS
The group of you scatter about and you observe their process. Three pairs group together whilst you and HARI TOMO observe. They scatter traps in 3 directions opposite to where you are, to account for the SCATTERING of the PAPERLINGS. They set up several DART and SPEAR traps along their paths and you notice two of the paths end in what appear to be DEAD ENDS where they make a quick PIT TRAP. The process doesn't take long at all as the PAPERLINGS are seemingly unaware of your presence. You stay an extra distance away, worried your lack of STEALTHINESS might give away your PRESENCE. They DISGUISE the traps and you hear a WHISTLE reminiscent of a FLYING PAPERLING. HARI TOMO replies and you ready yourself.

The HUNT is a quick and cottony affair. You feel your adrenaline pumping as several LURE TRAPS are triggered at once, alarming the PAPERLINGS as they attempt to scatter. Two head in the directions of the DEAD ENDS whilst one heads completely in another direction.

> CONTRIBUTION - NOISEMAKERS
You see the one heading off in the other direction and due to your quick thinking you toss a specially made LONG NEEDLE in front of the creature's path. The WHISTLING is SHARPER than you expected, but that has the added effect of STARTLING the creature, sending it towards one of the TRAPPED PATHS. You get an approving nod from HARI TOMO and your COTTON BOILS in excitement.

> RESULTS - SUCCESS
Due to your planning the hunt was a success and you collect the bodies of the PAPERLINGS. You notice that one was too unfortunate and was impaled by the SPEAR-TRAP, but the others were caught ALIVE and have been bound. You return that evening to your STORAGE CAVE, where you hold your game between hunts. The group shows you how to skin and take apart the PAPERLING, you've seen others do it before and attempt to do so on smaller portions just to get an idea of how it works. The beast is TOUGH to clean and skin, if you hadn't AWAKENED you imagine it might have been downright impossible, if not taken a LONG time.

You gained SPECIAL PAPERLING PARTS
- These parts will allow you to make special modules
You gained BASIC PAPERLING LEATHER
- This will allow you to make an outfit out of BASIC MATERIALS
- This material has no advantages or disadvantages

Edmango 2021/10/30(Sat)13:57 No. 1013926 ID: 0838d6
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The day passes and you are brought to a series of CLEARINGS with patches of TALL GRASS on the foot of a NEARBY MOUNTAIN. There are small CREEKS, WILD BERRIES, BUSHES, a small outcropping of SMALL TREES, and HERBS nearby. Your last hunt was an experience in ACTIVE HUNTING, looking for prey and CORNERING them. This hunt is an experience in PASSIVE HUNTING. This location has not been disturbed in some time, so it's the perfect spot to LAY TRAPS. The group decides to have a little COMPETITION between themselves and you. They know that you're good at TRAPPING, so they offer a SMALL PRIZE to the one who can catch the BEST GAME and the one who can catch the MOST GAME. You're free to use any of the supplies in this area or even some of the OFFAL from the PAPERLING you took apart.

How do you set up your traps?
- Feel free to go into as much or as little detail, ex:
- You place some SNARE TRAPS around the BERRY BUSHES, attempting to capture prey and hanging them from the top of the TREES.
- You can also state what SIZE of prey you are looking to capture

> PUSH YOUR LUCK - EXTRA RESOURCES
You'll have some time after you finish setting up your tracks to breathe and do something minor. After talking with the group they inform you that this area tends to have some HERBS, HIGH QUALITY STONE, and other SPECIAL RESOURCES, but there's always a RISK that other PAPERLINGS might want them.

HARI TOMO, as your guide, promises to go with you and pull you out if you encounter anything TOO dangerous if you're interested in trying to find something like that, but they won't assist you in the hunting process, prefering to let you experience it yourself and allow you to learn the DIFFICULTY associated with it.

A. Do you attempt to gather any SPECIAL RESOURCES?
- The more RESOURCES and the more SPECIFIC you get the higher chance of FAILURE, INJURY, or FINDING NOTHING.
- Feel free to describe what you want to find or parts for what kind of thing you want to find, or leave it blank for a random assortment
- Your [DESIRE] wants to do this

B. OR do you attempt to BOND with the HUNTING PARTY?
- You can ask some questions or attempt to befriend someone.
- there are 7 other members of the HUNTING PARTY
- You can feel your [ANCESTOR] NUDGING you towards this.

B. Get to know HARI TOMO, their tribe, and a bit about the other hunters from your tribe's lives, and abilities. Friendship is most important.

Try to catch a lot of small critters with snares. Bond with the party while you craft the traps- maybe talk about what everyone else is planning to catch.

> MOST GAME
Oh, duh. Beyond the bush idea, you could string a net through the river, catch loads of AQUATIC CRAFTS with it. (Er, do a world check to see if water creatures even exist - can't assume anything about this world, I swear.)

> EXTRA ACTIVITIES
Get yo good stones, girl! And even if you trail off from the others, you can still try to BOND WITH TOMO if that goes nowhere soon - you can walk and talk.

>>1013924
Here comes the ~Girl~
>>1013926
Set up as many traps as you can set, put PIT TRAPS in the tall grass, place some SNARE TRAPS around the BERRY BUSHES, etc etc.

Get some HIGH QUALITY STONE, we got STONE WORKING for a reason people. Yep, just that. definitely don't want to spend time with HARI or anything, nope nope nope.

Anyone have any more trapping know how? Because I posted all I got.

>>1013948
Like this trap idea. Lets do it!

Axe
If not, then scissors
I'd like our weapon to be useful out of combat.
Go after the Elk. I like the idea of SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT.
We can also take this easier than the warring beasts which we couldn't do anything for and would have to rely on HARI TOMO
I say we have Hari wear out the elk and lead them right into one of our traps, this seems the most efficient solution.

Edmango 2021/11/02(Tue)18:23 No. 1014112 ID: 0838d6
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> CHALLENGE: COLLECT THE MOST GAME
You decide to go for this challenge, not intending to focus on the BEST game challenge. Trapping is what you know, at least, what you were trained in. You lack the practical field experience but that will only change with time.

> LORE - AQUATIC LIFE?
You know that there is some sort of UNDERWATER PAPERLING LIFE of some kind. They’re covered in PAPER SCALES instead of PAPER LEATHER, which is still a tougher material then CLOTH, FUR, and BODY PORCELAIN. You want to set up as many traps as you can, but are given directions to not set up TOO MANY traps, or the PAPERLINGS might get suspicious. After some deliberation you decide to place down different traps in the following ways.

Several SNARE TRAPS around some of the BERRY BUSHES.
- You set up the SNARES so that they will DRAG the PAPERLING into the bush
- It will then fall into a small PIT so as to not scare off future prey
You set up a single PIT TRAP in the TALL GRASS
- The process takes too long to make more than one
You create a NET and string it so that it can attempt to catch some SMALLER AQUATIC PAPERLINGS
- You’re not actually skilled in the process of making one
- but HARI TOMO gives you a hand, curious as to if your idea will bear fruit

This is all you’re able to set up before you hear movement in the distance. The PARTY SCOUT whistles out to let you know that your time is up and the group of you book it to a safer location. They remark that today is meant to be more of a REST day and offer you to join them by the CAMPSITE. It’s a REALLY tough decision, your DESIRE pulling you in one way and your ANCESTOR pulling you in another. Eventually HARI TOMO lets you know that there’s no pressure, that the group has some wonderful KIN, so it’s perfectly fine to REST every now and again.

Edmango 2021/11/02(Tue)18:24 No. 1014113 ID: 0838d6
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> BOND - HUNTING PARTY A
HARI TOMO was the last PUSH you really needed to want to spend time with everyone, you can always get stones LATER. You vaguely knew about the other members of the HUNTING PARTY before, but hadn’t truly spoken with them, or gotten to know them before. They reveal their names to you, but two of them stick out more than the rest.

PU KRIS introduces himself as an ASH-KIN member of the SHARP WARDEN TRIBE. You notice that grafted to his SIGNATURE OUTFIT on his right and left arms is a BLADED SHIELD, it’s edges are SHARP and the shield itself is covered in SMALL SCALES. The shield itself is as long as his FOREARM and you imagine that it’s possible to link the two into a larger shield for protection. He has a similar cadence to HARI TOMO, just as SHARP, but with a slight bit more of tender PROTECTIVENESS. He’s the SCOUT for the party because he’s the best at CLOSE COMBAT in the group and is fairly OBSERVANT. You learn that he joined your CLUTCH to watch over KA XU.

KA XU is a CLOTH-KIN, but he has facial features that make you think of a FUR-KIN, almost like when they were STITCHING him, his CLUTCH couldn’t decide on exactly what he should be. He is a member of the CINDER BEARER TRIBE like yourself. He’s SMALL, but moves about as fast as you and your fellow ASH-KIN, a rarity amongst his race, which means he’s just as capable on hunts as anyone else. He may not be that great at making TRAPS, only having OPPOSABLE THUMBS, and not ARTICULATED HANDS, but he makes up for it by knowing how to use his CHAINED NEEDLE AND SCISSOR to navigate terrain and even move around in the CANOPY of the trees. The only problem is that he just talks… so… much… You’re not sure what is true and what is false with what he says, but you think you learned that he was born under strange circumstances and wasn’t really welcome back at MOUNT CINDER.

HARI TOMO reveals a bit more about themselves, remarking that they were once famed for their QUICK THINKING on their PRIOR ADVENTURES. They used to be a part of an ADVENTURING CREW, there were three of them. They don’t mention their companions' names, and mentions that their former companions are not around anymore. So they joined up with the CLUTCH on behalf of the SHAMAN, needing someone like them to help out.

The group huddles together and is comforted by your WARMTH and as the night falls KA XU pulls out a small rock giving off a light glow. He tells you that it’s a MOONSTONE, it absorbs light from the MOON and in return lights up the dark night. You remark that it’s fairly pretty as you look towards HARI TOMO. There’s just something about… THEM, you know? And then a moment later, this thought and feeling passes, and you continue to enjoy the tales as you rest for the night.

Edmango 2021/11/02(Tue)18:25 No. 1014114 ID: 0838d6
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> HUNTING PART 2
The night passes and it’s another day of hunting. You all go to check your traps from the previous day but a GIANT PAPERLING looms on in the distance in that direction. So, the 8 of you book it in the opposite direction, hoping to find out what happened to your traps another day after it leaves. You can typically leave the traps alone for a few days and reap the rewards before other PREDATORS find them, so they tell you not to worry.

You look at the beast from a distance. It’s massive frame reaches more then 10 meters to the sky, it’s cry sounds like a whistle, it’s pitch constantly changing, and it’s teeth are jagged and bloody, you think you see a piece of cotton sticking out but duck away with the group before you can catch more.

The group pauses a bit of a distance away and decides to hunt again, just in case something happened to their game. The needed game is lesser than it was before, given your successful first hunt, so HARI TOMO offers you a choice.

A. Track and attempt to hunt some SMALL RABBIT-LIKE PAPERLINGS
- They have strong LEGS and can JUMP HIGH, but are vulnerable when they’re mid leap
- Each one is around half a meter tall
- The tracks indicate that there is between 3-10 in the group
- Their materials are AVERAGE, but KEEP HEAT IN, allowing you to navigate colder climates
[ANCESTOR] Your WARMTH can only do so much

B. Go FISHING for some MEDIUM AQUATIC PAPERLINGS
- The group knows of a spot where they can hunt some of these creatures
- They are fairly STRONG, but once fished up on land with the help of others are easy to dispose of
- There’s a 50/50 chance of not catching any unless you can figure out what kind of BAIT they like
- Their materials are SHARP and would make for DAMAGE REFLECTING or SUNDERING GEAR

C. Attempt to gather SPECIAL RESOURCES
- The more RESOURCES and the more SPECIFIC you get the higher chance of INJURY or FAILURE
- Feel free to describe what you want to find or parts for the kind of thing you want to find
- Some of the group think that there could be a TAR PIT nearby as well as some HERBS that the CLUTCH would find useful
- You have the ability to bring back whatever resources you find if you are successful

Go fishing! They probably like foot and butt shaped bait as they love to catch these things unawares.

Dig holes for Stringworms and pit traps.
Also, look for Rare Herbs and Mushrooms.

If you do go fishing, use bait shaped like brightly-colored paper flakes and some string-worms.

I bet the medium fish like to eat the smaller fish.
That said, I'd rather hunt rabbits for cold weather gear.

Hunt rabbits, as our [ANCESTOR] advised, our warmth can only do so much.

We already have a trap set for fish, so there is no need to go fishing. Lets rely on our trap instead. Traps are our expertise after all.

Suggestion 2021/11/03(Wed)00:34 No. 1014142 ID: fec07f
File 163592489854.jpg - (47.87KB , 529x579 , images.jpg )

>>1014114
Go big or go home
Hunt the GIANT PAPERLING: Have KA XU go into the CANOPY and find an area with large enough rocks, trees, or other such obstacles sufficient to limit a creature that size to a set path, in said path dig and conceal a bunch of upscaled ankle-breaker traps. Menwhile you and any other stone workers make as many weighted throwing needles as possible. Once the ground and weapons are prepared bait a trail with Viscera from our other kills to lure the giant.
Once it's broken an ankle or two everyone starts pelting it with throwing needles until it's bleeding heavily. Then retreat until bloodloss weakens it enough to kill.

Additionally depending on time and resources we could set up spiked treetrunk swing traps, boulder fall traps, deadfall traps, and add things like spikes or pic related to the ankle breakers

>>1014142
Oh and additional bait idea: Capture something particularly noisy alove and stake it out in the trap zone

Yeah, we're on the hunt for OUTFIT MATERIALS here - hunt the RABBITS.

If they're vulnerable mid-jump, ask how high they do so, and string up SNARE NETS at that height instead of floor traps.

>>1014142
While I believe this plan makes some pretty extreme assumptions about how much work a few people are able to do in one day, I will none the less back GO BIG OR GO HOME.

Edmango 2021/11/03(Wed)19:09 No. 1014184 ID: afe7de
File 163599175799.png - (14.76KB , 500x500 , p20.png )

> Mention Interest in hunting that GIANT PAPERLING
You immediately get smacked upside the head by PU KRIS who explains that while your idea of making an ankle trap is a good one, you have no guarantee there’s enough time to dig a big enough hole. Hunting something 10x your size is a fool's errand without more KIN. Even with more KIN, they’d still consider it a problem. It’s quite possible that one is a KING PAPERLING with MAGICAL PROPERTIES. They’re SMARTER than the average PAPERLING, even smarter then some KIN at times, even if they can’t speak your language. He even mentions you may need to MIGRATE soon if it heads towards the CLUTCH’S ENCAMPMENT. You’re told to drop the idea of ever hunting one unless it’s a last resort, the materials gained from it aren’t worth all of your collective lives. Given they’re smarter, it’s highly likely it’d seek revenge on anyone with your SCENT, leading to the devastation of anyone you care about in the area.

You gulp at that and massage the spot of your head that was smacked, it’s not that painful, but you still pout, mumbling about how you were just curious. You do, however, file away that idea for an ANKLE-BREAKER trap as you think there are many applications you could use it for in the future.

> HUNT - RABBIT-LIKE PAPERLINGS
You inquire about the exact height these things jump at and get HARI TOMO’S help in making a few more NETS. You think you could make a series of tripwires between some trees that when triggered, would quickly net and pin down several of these creatures. They support the idea and you’re able to make a few as the rest of your party searches for their warren.

After acquiring their location you set up a few of these net traps and wait for the signal. The others set up a few minor traps to delay and distract, but don’t focus on many ground based traps. Instead, opting to pull out LONG NEEDLES and SHORT, THROWING NEEDLES. The eventual count of RABBITS appears to be 5, no, 6. One stands out to you in particular. It’s moving around slower then the others, and eying the environment with more APPREHENSION then you would credit to one of these beasts. The others don’t pay much attention to it, instead focusing on the group as a whole, but you keep your eye on it just in case.

After a moment, the signal goes out, it sounds like a FLYING PAPERLING’S CALL. It’s a subtle whistle, loud enough to be heard, but quiet enough to not disturb the beasts. A rain of NEEDLES shoots towards the RABBITS, felling two of the beasts. One hops up, triggering one of your TRIPWIRES and being caught in a net. The one you were keeping an eye on though, instead turns towards KA XU, who has started rushing at it. It’s legs then bulge as it hops, not away, but towards him, this surprises KA XU, and he is caught unaware as it hops directly on top of his head, knocking him face first into a pile of mud and lint.

Edmango 2021/11/03(Wed)19:09 No. 1014185 ID: afe7de
File 163599178336.png - (7.45KB , 500x500 , p21.png )

> What was that?
You think, for the briefest of moments, you saw small nubs of horns on it, before it bounds along the canopy, jumping from tree to tree, nearly out of sight. None of the other RABBIT-LIKE PAPERLINGS moved with that ferocity or intent and eventually you finish catching the 5 remaining creatures and bound them in one of your bags to bring back.

You ask as you collectively bundle up the beasts. The others tell you that might have been a PAPERLING experiencing an AWAKENING. Perhaps it lived long enough, or perhaps it came across enough ENERGY DENSE PAPERLING MEAT to EVOLVE. Soon it will become a MEDIUM RABBIT-LIKE PAPERLING with higher intelligence and even form a colony of the RABBITS, like it’s making its own CLUTCH. You ask if you can EVOLVE like that, getting BIGGER and SMARTER from just eating MEAT, and the others laugh at you. You pout a bit but they correct you, stating that it’s only something PAPERLINGS can do, KIN evolve with KNOWLEDGE and TOOLS and through their AWAKENINGS. They don’t rule out the possibility of EVOLUTION, but say that it’s probably an extreme RARITY. They tell you to ask the SHAMAN if you want to find out more, but the answer will probably be disappointing and filled with you being yelled at again.

You gained WARM PAPERLING LEATHER
- This will allow you to make an outfit with WARM MATERIALS
- An OUTFIT made of this will help you to withstand FREEZING temperatures
- A CLOAK made of this will help you to withstand COLD temperatures
- CLOTHING made of this might cause you to OVERHEAT in WARM AND SCORCHING environments

> RESULTS - COLLECT THE MOST GAME
The day passes and you head to the site of your PASSIVE HUNTING. Your NET was the most successful, catching 6 TINY AQUATIC PAPERLINGS. They’re barely bigger than your hand. You won’t be able to use the materials to make any CLOTHING, but their SCALES are SHINY, and by sharing this information you might be awarded a BEAD for the innovative new way to gather FOOD for the CLUTCH.

Your PIT TRAP is wildly unsuccessful, in fact, the bait you placed near it is completely eaten and nothing seems to have triggered the trap. As for your SNARES, they succeeded in catching a single RABBIT-LIKE PAPERLING. The hole was almost too small to contain it and you see it squirming as you kill the beast and drag it out.

The others collected only about 2-3 creatures of GAME, with KA XU catching the least, but he did manage to snag the body of a PAPER THIEF, which can be used to make a SPECIAL TINCTURE by the SHAMAN. It’s a shame you could never find the HEAD of said creatures as they detach and flee like an ARACHNID when their body is ensnared by predators.

Seeing as you won the MOST GAME contest, PU KRIS awards you with a small IRIDESCENT BEAD on a string, stating that he was to give this to you in the event that you went above and beyond in your first HUNT. You beam with PRIDE and can feel a warm THRUMMING inside of you as your ANCESTOR approves.

> RETURN
You return to the tribe, successful on your HUNT. You beam with happiness at your results, you did WELL, and the HUNTING PARTY approves of your assistance. After returning your findings to the CLUTCH MOTHER you are called to the SHAMAN’S TENT. They award you with another 2 GOLD BEADS for your innovative new way to catch TINY AQUATIC PAPERLINGS, apparently none of them ever thought to do that because they were scared of the WATER. You’re told that this technique will make it easier for those staying back at the campgrounds to eat.

You gained [3 BEADS]
- BEADS are a form of currency that is commonly used in this region.

Edmango 2021/11/03(Wed)19:10 No. 1014186 ID: afe7de
File 163599182518.png - (15.74KB , 500x500 , p22.png )

> OUTFIT CREATION
The SHAMAN then proceeds to tell you about the OUTFIT CREATION PROCESS. It’s a sort of BONDING process where you’ll be guided to create an outfit that can help you be truest to yourself. Some KIN make theirs ORNATE, others make them SIMPLE. But what matters most is what MODULES you put in them. You’ll need to make these MODULES yourself, so it’s best if it’s related to something you’re AVERAGE or EXCELLENT at, but you can also make them to shore up your WEAKNESSES. The SHAMAN pulls out a small piece of PAPER LEATHER and a vial of INK. They list out the potential MODULES you could make given your current RESOURCES and SKILL-SET.

https://forms.gle/g93xL7drSDz5HDsu6

AUTHORS NOTE: POLL TIME. Clothing creation will have two steps, this initial poll, then a confirmation next update. After that, you’ll be given a choice of QUESTS and an opportunity to buy supplies with your meagre finances. Then the plot begins and you’re stuck with the stats and skills you have, so this is your last chance to get anything you think might be useful before the tutorial is finished so to speak.

You’re then informed that you have some TIME available to think about this. You’ll need to finish your SIGNATURE OUTFIT before the CLUTCH begins it’s MIGRATION, but perhaps you can GAIN A NEW SKILL or POLISH AN EXISTING ONE in the meantime. The SHAMAN lets you know that it takes a BIT OF TIME to PROCESS all the materials for an ASH-KIN’S first SIGNATURE OUTFIT, so YOU’VE GOT WHAT YOU’VE GOT. You ask if you can spend your BEADS on any special LEATHER or RESOURCES, but are told that the process works the best when you were involved in the HUNT, at least for your first OUTFIT. Future outfits have a different problem, a MENTAL ROADBLOCK, you’ll need to get more EXPERIENCE in the wider world before you can make a new one. What do you do?

> YOU HAVE [2 TIME POINTS] TO SPEND ON ACTIVITIES

1. Go out and GATHER some HERBS or ROCKS
- You know nothing about HERBS, so you can only gather RANDOM ones and hope for the best
- You know quite a bit about ROCKS, maybe you can pick up an especially VALUABLE one for TRADE or to make a WEAPON
2. Craft NORMAL QUALITY tools for some BEADS
- Earn [5 BEADS] by doing what you’re good at
- Stone tools are currently IN DEMAND by your CLUTCH
- If you get some HQ rocks before you do this you might earn more
- You can also craft any TOOLS or WEAPONS you might need at the same time
3. Practice SCOUTING with PU KRIS
- You bonded enough that he’s willing to show you some pointers
- Will give you NORMAL PROFICIENCY in SCOUTING
4. Practice MEDICINE with KA XU
- You bonded enough that he’s willing to instruct you on the BASICS of identifying RARE HERBS and PAPERLINGS
- Will give you NORMAL PROFICIENCY in MEDICINE
5. Learn how to PROPERLY use the LONG NEEDLE from HARI TOMO
- They see potential in you, but remark it’s a shame you didn’t AWAKEN to the LONG NEEDLE TRIBE
- Will give you NORMAL PROFICIENCY in the LONG NEEDLE
- Will also solidify your foundations and add NETS to your TRAP LIST, allowing them to be quickly made
6. Learn from the SHAMAN
- Spend [4 BEADS] to gain a SINGLE SKILL at EXCELLENT PROFICIENCY
- Spend [2 BEADS] to gain a SINGLE SKILL at NORMAL PROFICIENCY or upgrade one to EXCELLENT
- Available skills (Scouting, medicine, precision, climbing, pottery)
7. Practice controlling your WARMTH
- You’re not sure how to do it, describe how you try to do it, unexpected results may appear
- Or pay the SHAMAN [1 BEAD] to learn more
8. Other
- Feel free to describe something not listed

Practice with Hari and train your Warmth.

1. Gather Rocks or 6. Upgrade stone toolmaking to excellent with a shaman (leaning towards 6)

Then

2. Make stone tools. Make a PICKAXE as one of them while selling the rest of the tools. you have a weird feeling you'd be able to get tougher materials with the pickaxe in the future. Maybe make something stronger than stone tools

> THE PLAN
MONEY, RESOURCES, and EQUIPMENT are all things you can obtain elsewhere, but SKILLS are NOW OR NEVER, from what I can tell. BONDS WITHIN THE CLUTCH, as well, will be necessary at an early stage.

> TP 1
Practice the needle with HARI TOMO. You're not exactly planning on getting into too many scrapes, but BASIC PROFICIENCY WITH A WEAPON seems like a no-brainer if you're going abroad.

> TP 2
Practice controlling your Warmth... with KA XU. He's a primary source, yo! Do keep in mind to take everything he says on the matter with a grain of salt. Between his penchant for stream-of-consciousness rambling, the "strange circumstances" of his crafting, and why he's "no longer welcome" at Mt. Cinder, you could probably learn just as much by not following his example. (Although, do give him the benefit of the doubt to start - trust he knows what he's doing, but test things for yourself).

I'm changing my vote

>>1014205
Pretty much this

>You’re not sure how to do it, describe how you try to do it, unexpected results may appear

In order train our warmth, I theorize it has to do with [LOVE]. Practice by giving Ka Xu hugs. Lots of hugs. And realize despite him talking a lot, his stories are actually very interesting if you know what to listen for, even the lies has a hint of truth to them and are funny sometimes

If hugs are too lewd, we could just resort to handholding or headpats.

>>1014186
4. Practice MEDICINE with KA XU
If we’re not going to learn medicine now we’ll never become the Bondrewd of our world in the future.
7. Practice controlling your WARMTH
Ok so hear me out, WARM OUTFIT+ WARM CLOAK+WARMTH CONTROL= SELF COMBUSTION BABY! For the suicide on the go~ But seriously though having more control over WARM will be a huge advantage in the future.

Learn the Long Needle from Hari Tomo.
Who knows when we'll have time again, best learn to defend ourselves.

Practice controlling our warmth.
Perhaps we can focus on trying to project it beyond ourselves. Perhaps meditating near a real fire will help. How would it interact? Can we try to influence the flame? So many things to try.
If we hit a wall I'm not above spending a bead to seek the help of the Shaman.

Edmango 2021/11/04(Thu)20:35 No. 1014239 ID: afe7de
File 163608334748.png - (17.39KB , 500x500 , p23.png )

> SPEND TIME WITH HARI TOMO
You spend time with the SHARP individual. HARI TOMO needles you a bit when you ask for help, but it seems more playful than anything. They're CRITICAL of your POSTURE, your THROWING DISTANCE, basically everything you can think of doing wrong, they point it out. But because of this your skill ends up BLOOMING and due to your minor practice in the prior HUNT. Part of your days are spent learning this process and then learning how to WEAVE NETS at an increased speed.

The two of you eventually get to talking and you learn more about HARI TOMO'S PAST. They talk about their BUDDY, his name was HARI KIRA. Also of the LONG NEEDLES, and LEADER of their small adventuring group, they say it's similar to a CLUTCH in a lot of ways. KIRA would lead them on strange journeys across the land and their adventures lasted for 15 years. They pause for a moment and you see a single tear pass from their eyes.

HARI TOMO: He was STRONG, not just physically, but mentally
HARI TOMO: A beacon of HOPE for us
HARI TOMO: But, like CINDER BEARERS sometimes say
HARI TOMO: The flame that shines the brightest
HARI TOMO: Also causes the most darkness when extinguished
HARI TOMO: I won't be going back to my homeland ever
HARI TOMO: But if you're in the area
HARI TOMO: If you ever meet a TSU NAMI of the STURDY CLAY TRIBE
HARI TOMO: Do NOT trust them.

Their face looks grave and ASHEN, more so than usual, so you take your leave.

You get the feeling that HARI TOMO doesn't want to leave the CLUTCH anytime soon, convincing them to leave would be DIFFICULT should you chose to attempt to do so.

> SKILL GAINED - LONG NEEDLE PROFICIENCY
You've learned how to properly wield the LONG NEEDLE in its various forms. You suffer no penalties and gain a boost when using the LONG NEEDLE as a WEAPON or TOOL.

You caught a glimpse one day of HARI TOMO doing something remarkable. They threw several LONG NEEDLES at a few trees and jumped from NEEDLE TO NEEDLE with a GRACE and SWIFTNESS that seriously impressed you. You think that EXCELLING in the NEEDLE and increasing your AGILITY would allow you to mimic the technique.

> TRAP GAINED - NETS
You've learned how to make NETS in a specific style that allows for QUICK CONSTRUCTION. With your ADVANCED TRAPPING KNOWLEDGE, you now know how to make them QUICKLY and with SUB-PAR RESOURCES without reducing their DURABILITY or QUALITY. You can also make TOUGHER NETS but these take longer to make and require better resources.

Edmango 2021/11/04(Thu)20:35 No. 1014240 ID: afe7de
File 163608335718.png - (15.13KB , 500x500 , p24.png )

> SPEND TIME WITH KA XU
You spend some time with a WARM, TALKY individual. He was ready to teach you what he knew about MEDICINE and then some, but you instead requested his help learning to control your WARMTH. This surprises him, and he goes on to explain about how the ANCESTOR'S PROTECTION manifests itself in members of the CINDER BEARER tribe.

Sometimes it's just a general boost to their health or stamina, other times an INNATE POWER manifests. He goes into the varieties of INNATE POWERS, and you realize they have a common THEME, they have to do with either LIGHT or FIRE. He kind of rambles at this point, but you understood the gist of it.

KA XU claims that he has very little room for growth. He calls the ability SUNDIAL. It allows him to know the direction of the sun, given it's daytime. He's learned to even use it whilst underground, making him invaluable when encountering MIRAGES and DISTORTED LOCATIONS, as he knows the TRUE DIRECTION and can pinpoint NORTH or the TIME of day with more ease than others.

He tells you that to IMPROVE or MANIPULATE your INNATE POWER you need to use FEELINGS. PASSION is a good one, even LOVE if you can manifest it with consistency, and there's always ANGER.

You try using [LOVE] but don't really know much about it. So you try hugging KA XU for a bit longer than normal, you can feel his core beat and his face flush. He's way shorter then you, so you're kind of holding him up in the air and he coughs, mentioning maybe you could hold hands instead and feel his ENERGY as you attempt to figure it out. You can tell he's a little EMBARRASSED, but that he doesn't mind being near you, especially with your COMFORTING AURA. It's the first time you've caught him being this quiet.

He speaks up and talks a little bit more about his past as the days go by of your practice. Some days he talks a bit about MEDICINE, because you're still interested in the topic, but your primary focus is your WARMTH. One day he reveals a small nugget of information about his past.

KA XU: There was an accident one day
KA XU: I was picked to help bring things up the mountain to the ORIGINAL FLAME
KA XU: But uh because of my blabbermouth I distracted the...
KA XU: The GUARD that was with me
KA XU: And well, we accidentally walked into an alley
KA XU: There was a scuffle
KA XU: The FUR-KIN that was supposed to guide me tricked me
KA XU: So maybe me talking was part of the plan?
KA XU: But I escaped, wounding her, but she was high up in the TRIBE
KA XU: And now I'm a wanted KIN in MT. CINDER and can't go back

You give KA XU a hug, a warmer, more calming one. He says he's fine outside, and that the others don't mind it. Mentioning that FUR-KIN is a bitch anyway. He says to keep an eye out for KA EFLUME, she used to be a LIEUTENANT in the GUARD, but he's not sure where she's at now. And in that moment, you feel it. Like a small switch was flicked, you turned your WARMTH off.

You get the feeling you could convince KA XU to join you should you want to leave the CLUTCH soon, but you’d need to present good a reason to him first.

> INNATE POWER UPGRADED - CONTROL
You can now CONTROL your WARMTH, flicking it ON and OFF at will. You plan to keep it OFF when HUNTING or in COMBAT, and ON when near other KIN, giving you a slight bonus when talking to other KIN. You can change this at any time by suggesting it.

You get the feeling that INDULGING in a certain FEELING will influence the GROWTH of your INNATE POWER in the future.

Focusing on [ANGER] will make the WARMTH HOTTER
Focusing on [LOVE] will change your AURA to be more than just COMFORT
Focusing on [PASSION] will increase the RADIUS and INTENSITY of its effects
Focusing on other FEELINGS might have other effects

> KNOWLEDGE GAINED - HERB IDENTIFICATION
You picked up on some of the things KA XU was saying and got the ins and outs of actually identifying some of the herbs out there. You can't tell the STRENGTH of the herbs, but you can at least tell if they are POISONOUS, PARALYTIC, HEALING, etc. Unfortunately the actual refinement process to get the most out of them eludes you. You can EXPERIMENT if you ever come across any, but there's a high chance of FAILURE.

Edmango 2021/11/04(Thu)20:36 No. 1014241 ID: afe7de
File 163608339302.png - (10.33KB , 500x500 , p25.png )

> OUTFIT CREATION - CONFIRMATION
Time has passed and the actual creation of your SIGNATURE OUTFIT has come. You have no trouble selecting the MATERIAL for your CORE OUTFIT and your CLOAK.

You decide to make the BASIC OUTFIT out of BASIC LEATHER
- No Advantages or Disadvantages
- 3 MODULE SLOTS
- Has a hidden TINY POUCH just for holding BEADS

You decide to make the WARM CLOAK out of the WARM LEATHER
- ++Cold resist
- -Heat resist
- Comes with a TINY POUCH that you modified to make HIDDEN after some advice from the SHAMAN
- Wearing the cloak increases the difficulty of others identifying what you are wearing
- Your [ANCESTOR] is pleased

Your CLOAK will be stored on your person somewhere that you could DON or DOFF it with ease.

On your CORE OUTFIT one MODULE SLOT is AUTOMATICALLY EQUIPPED with an HQ TRAPPING POUCH that you received for free from the SHAMAN. It can hold 5 TRAPS instead of 3 and only takes up a single slot.

You've done some thinking and you've reduced the fairly long list to 7 MODULES to choose from. You have 2 remaining MODULE SLOTS to fill, what do you get?

A. HIDDEN BLADE
- Requires [SPECIAL MATERIALS] which you have
- You can only make one module that uses [SPECIAL MATERIALS]
- A hidden blade is located somewhere on your body, typically your SLEEVE OR FOOT
- It is DIFFICULT for anyone other then yourself to locate it
- This blade can be coated in POISON, but you must acquire it yourself
- Deals BONUS DAMAGE on SNEAK ATTACK
- You have PROFICIENCY in this
- it is shaped like a NEEDLE, the most familiar weapon to you.

B. HIDDEN TRAP
- Requires [SPECIAL MATERIALS] which you have
- You can only make one module that uses [SPECIAL MATERIALS]
- A HIDDEN TRAP of your own design is placed on your body
- It is DIFFICULT for anyone other then yourself to locate it
- It can be used at any time to launch a SNEAK ATTACK on a trigger like someone touching you
- You can also place this trap like normal instead

C. TRAPPING POUCH
- Hold more traps! you attach it to your HIGH QUALITY POUCH so you can now hold a total of 8 traps.
- Does not hinder your weight at all, but is easily identifiable if one were to investigate your body

D. TOOL POUCH
- A place to store your TOOLS
- Given your understanding of TRAPS and TOOLS you think you could make it HIDDEN
- It is HARD for anyone other than yourself to discover (one step easier than DIFFICULT)

E. SURVIVAL MODULE
- A place to store your BEDROLL, TENT, and a weeks worth of RATIONS
- Also automatically gives you HQ versions of those for free
- Your [DESIRE] suggests this, but does not count as a vote

F. MEDIUM POUCH MODULE
- Can be used to hold MISC resources you collect
- It can hold one MEDIUM thing or multiple SMALL or TINY things
- Can hold larger objects like BRANCHES, BOXES, SATCHELS, etc
- Costs 2 MODULE SLOTS, but only takes 1 MODULE'S worth of resources to make
- You will be reimbursed some BEADS if you make this
- Your [ANCESTOR] suggests this, but it does not count as a vote

G. SMALL POUCH MODULE
- This can be used to hold misc resources you collect without encumbering you
- Lets you hold books, rations, and other similarly sized objects
- It can only hold one SMALL thing or multiple TINY things

And what does your outfit LOOK LIKE? Is it a dress? A trendy coat?

AUTHORS NOTE: PAPER DOLL TIME! Feel free to draw what you imagine the outfit to look like, you can incorporate modules or they can be magic invisible ones that other people just know exist if they pass a perception check.

Leftover Modules that do not fit will not be created, nor will they be stored. This is the end of Character creation and will define your skill set and toolset without further investment.

For context, you will still receive a SATCHEL or BACKPACK to store things, so should you not chose to get the POUCH MODULE, you will still have a way to carry your goods and resources, it will just be a WAY MORE OBVIOUS way to carry things.

I won't be micromanaging inventory, instead I'll focus on the narrative element of it. But if you get things that are CUMBERSOME to carry you will be informed of the consequences associated with it.

tippler 2021/11/04(Thu)20:46 No. 1014242 ID: eedbeb
File 163608396847.png - (19.57KB , 500x500 , p25b.png )

i will not be taking criticism at this time

Himitsu 2021/11/04(Thu)21:36 No. 1014243 ID: 629f2e
File 163608696383.png - (10.43KB , 500x500 , plushquestpaperdoll.png )

Nothing too elaborate. Practicality over appearance for the most part.

For the basic outfit, plain black pants, long-sleeve shirt, and gloves, perfect for staying hidden in the shadows. It almost blends in with your body, which is ideal if we have any hidden pouches or weapons on this layer.

The cloak is a little more eye-catching, being modeled after a loose-fitting trenchcoat. Its wide area of cover and thick material suits the warm attributes we've chosen, and its loose fit makes it ideal for hidden items. The front can be kept tied when you don't need to access them, or left open in warmer areas where you need the airflow.

The pouch on the front can be ignored if we don't end up taking that module.

Forgot to vote for modules. I say we go for Hidden Trap and Small Pouch. The trap because I honestly just think it's cooler than the other options, and the Small Pouch because I'd have to give up the hidden trap if we went for Medium.

Suggestion 2021/11/04(Thu)23:26 No. 1014252 ID: c92a02
File 163609359507.jpg - (103.62KB , 540x780 , tumblr_bf456b01acb39e2daed6836e10a70564_590181c0_5.jpg )

Hidden blade and a tool pouch!
Make sure your outfit covers your torso but leaves limbs open for mobility. Knee pads and vambraces to protect your joints during hard work (and hide a hidden blade).

> MODULES
TOOL POUCH and SMALL POUCH, I say.

> APPEARANCE
A classy vest-and-dress-shirt look that pairs nicely with the poncho cloak made from the rabbits. Think like a draped-poncho Clint Eastwood look.

Hidden trap
Tool pouch

Tool pouch and small pouch

Tool pouch and medium pouch.

Hidden Blade
Hidden Trap

Suggestion 2021/11/05(Fri)16:22 No. 1014313 ID: 34dfce
File 163615452243.png - (22.77KB , 500x500 , Steve'd.png )

Honestly Surprised nobody posted this yet.

We almost had a catastrophe.

Edmango 2021/11/05(Fri)20:16 No. 1014331 ID: afe7de
File 163616861932.png - (10.31KB , 500x500 , p26.png )

> SIGNATURE OUTFIT - COMPLETE
After the materials were PROCESSED by the shaman you can feel latent ENERGIES within them. You were involved in the process and were taught the basics of SEWING CLOTHES. In the future you'll be able to MODIFY, ADD, and CREATE clothes for yourself and others, but only your SIGNATURE OUTFIT will have these LATENT ENERGIES and will be as effective.

But as you go to make your MODULES, you decide to forgo making an ADVANCED TRAP MODULE and you FEEL the energies flowing through you as you adjust and make some MODIFICATIONS to all of them. It's done almost instinctively and when you're done even the SHAMAN gives a light gasp. Some of them have changed, and for the better!

HIDDEN TOOL POUCH
- It will hold your various tools
- Is a HARD (+3) check for others to find

HIDDEN SMALL POUCH
- This can hold multiple TINY or few SMALL misc items
- Is a HARD (+3) check for others to find

HIDDEN HQ TRAPPING POUCH
- Can hold 5 traps
- Is a HARD (+3) check for others to find

WELL HIDDEN TINY POUCH
- Used to hold BEADS exclusively
- Is a VERY HARD (+5) check for others to find

All of your MODULES have gained the HIDDEN attribute, making them HARD to discover by others. You look over your finished outfit, it takes the form of a TRENCHCOAT. It's THICK and WARM and feels NATURAL to wear. You chose a DARK GRAY as the base with WHITE ACCENTS. You think about making GLOVES but you need some LIGHTWEIGHT and FLEXIBLE materials to make something that would HINDER your movement. So you have a pair of BLACK MITTENS tucked away with your CLOAK just in case.

Your CLOAK can go on over it and has a HOOD to obscure you. It’s a VERY LIGHT BLUE, and you imagine it would help you BLEND IN whenever you are in SNOWY REGIONS, giving you a slight bonus to STEALTH therein. It’s WARM, and feels just right for you. Your cloak’s TINY POUCH is also HIDDEN, but not as well as your BEAD pouch.

Edmango 2021/11/05(Fri)20:17 No. 1014332 ID: afe7de
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The completion of your outfit is marked by a small CEREMONY. It's a simple affair, but others in your CLUTCH really appreciate the simplicity of your design and the TRENCHCOAT AESTHETIC.

And after a few days everyone packs up their supplies, tents, and goods as the date of the MIGRATION has come. The 20-ish members of your CLUTCH begin their journey, CINDER is nearly old enough to AWAKEN, so they want to reach a good new area to settle for the ceremony before long.

The journey is interesting, with scouts sent ahead to patrol for BANDITS and scout for RESTING SPOTS as you move to a new location. One day you arrive at a clearing by a trail. There's a rather large BUILDING made of HARD PLASTIC and STONE with a sign out front written in CANON. Apparently the building is called THE STUFFED TAIL. It's an INN. You all settle down outside the INN, and some of your CLUTCH even head in. You feel the stirrings of your CINDER, your ancestors must want you to go in, so you do, you'll admit you are a bit CURIOUS.

Edmango 2021/11/05(Fri)20:17 No. 1014333 ID: afe7de
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The inside is QUAINT and COZY. You feel a WARMTH emanating from the place just from appearance alone. Your CLUTCHMATES are sitting in a corner, they have some PLASTIC FRUIT DRINKS and seem to be enjoying themselves. There’s a BARMAIDEN that’s a tall and slender CLOTH-KIN with an ample bosom and wide waist, at first you thought it was just some fur, but no it looks like she’s just real SHAPELY. But what draws your attention the most are the others in the place. Three spots, some with individuals, others with signs, stand out the most to you.

> PICK A QUEST HOOK

A. [INVASION OF THE BODY-STITCHERS]
- This is a [HORROR/MYSTERY] themed quest
An old CLOTH-KIN with thick and matted braids for hair. Her eyes gloss over as you overhear her talk about something being WRONG with her grandson in the nearby COLONY. She pleads with the passersby desperately for help, but everyone ignores her. You overhear someone mention she’s been at this for days now. Someone whispers something about CULTISTS in that town that STITCH together other parts making ABOMINATIONS, but you can’t tell if it’s true or not. She offers her PRICELESS FAMILY HEIRLOOM to whoever can help her.

B. [POPULARITY CONTEST]
- This is a [POLITICAL INTRIGUE] themed quest
An ornate banner is pinned over the rest of the parchments on the bulletin board right next to the BARMAIDEN. There’s a map to the town of FLUFFSENUFFS next to it, it’s about a day’s travel a bit down your MIGRATION ROUTE. You can hear the BARMAIDEN talking about how the POWER gained by being ELECTED is a real potent form of MAGIC that doesn't use WOOD, so there are plenty of opportunities to SELL YOUR VOTE for some goods. She’s squishing her CHEST FLUFF in an apparently ALLURING fashion to the nearby fairly large FUR-KIN that she’s talking with. You read the banner and it says the following:
IT’S ELECTION SEASON IN THE TOWN OF FLUFFSENUFFS.
VOTERS DESIRED, ALL TRIBES ACCEPTED.
NEW ENTRANTS ALWAYS WELCOME.
GREAT POWER AWAITS THE ELECTED
ZU KIRK THE SHAMAN PROMISES EASIER ACCESS TO NEEDLES AND TO DISCOVER A WOOD MINE
RU DEUS THE BOY PRINCESS PROMISES MORE HUG BROTHELS SO KIN FEEL LESS LONELY

C. [SPAWN OF TYRANNY]
- This is a [SLICE OF LIFE] themed quest
A rather plush and velvety FUR-KIN sits in the corner. They look like a mix between some sort of DRAGON and CLOTH-KIN, you think they’re called KOBOLDS? They’re nursing a rather large mug of something sweet smelling. Apparently they’re looking to give someone a job that’s been hastily scrawled on some leather, one they don’t want to do. To keep watch over THE SPAWN OF TYRANNY whilst a SPELL is prepared to return it to it’s LONG SLUMBER. The distance to the TOWER where they’re being held is quite far away, so you’re guaranteed to meet lots of new KIN and maybe even start to form your own kind of CLUTCH, and there’s also a reward offered based on how well you do, but the specifics are vague or smeared.

All of these sound like fun, but my votes on Popularity Contest

B) Let's support the Shaman as a campaigner.

C

I'm changing my vote to B, only because I notice another name from CATALYST there, RU DEUS (Rudeus)

A!

A. Cultists must be snipped in the bud.

>>1014333
A.
HECK YEAH FELLOW BELIVERS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD!!!

C

B

A
Let's bust a cult.

A & B

It's the popularity contest, but one of the people competing is the cult leader who will try to win through their brainwashed members and brainwashing others.

You have to stop their corruption and lies from spreading, helping the person you want win, and sneak into their tribe to act as a whistleblower by finding proof of misdeeds and that they are the ones causing the abominations.

>>1014333
Going to vote A

B sounds fun too but I'm a sucker for good old fashioned horror scenarios

A.

We can finally pursue our true calling!(>>1013643
) Lets join the cultists!

C: I believe we're best prepared for life on the road, and I think a more laid-back quest would suit this setting.

Also, convince KA XU to come with you. See the whole world with you, meet tons of new people! Maybe find a place he can truly call a second (permanent) home.

I must vote for A, the potential possibilities are sew stuffed in this plush premise that I can't resist!

>>1014333
C.

Edmango 2021/11/07(Sun)16:08 No. 1014458 ID: afe7de
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> QUEST - INVASION OF THE BODY-STITCHERS - ACCEPTED

For some reason this woman’s plight pricks at your heart and unlike the others you cannot ignore her cries for help. You have a seat next to her and you notice the fog in her eyes lighten ever so. Your CALMING AURA takes effect and a little bit of clarity has come back. There’s a spark there, but it’s brief and you have to cling to it before it’s too late. You can immediately tell that she’s exhausted beyond your ability to understand, but she begins the tale again.

Her GRANDSON, no, GRANDDAUGHTER in the nearby COLONY has been acting strange. This woman, whose name is DA CRONE, runs an INN, currently the only INN in the town. Her GRAND-CHILD is the only one around after all of the townsfolk left. The COLONY used to be a MINING TOWN as there was a rich vein of WOOD ORE that was tapped for generations. It was shipped off to FLUFFSENUFFS and allowed the little hamlet to prosper. Unfortunately, 10 years ago the mines ran dry and it’s been in decay ever since. Now the town barely has 30 STUFFIES in it and that number is declining rapidly.

Since then it’s been just her and her GRANDDAUGHTER, but ever since around a WEEK ago she’s been acting strange, lashing out. One night DA CRONE swore she saw her arms covered in GPRE and that someone in town went missing the next day, but when she went to check, there was no STUFFING RESIDUE anywhere and her GRANDDAUGHTER looked at her with a disappointed expression. It was so foreign that she ran away to this tavern, seeking help and fearing for her life.

Edmango 2021/11/07(Sun)16:09 No. 1014459 ID: afe7de
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You hear a desperate plea for help come from the woman. She offers you her PRICELESS FAMILY HEIRLOOM, it was around BEFORE THE MINES and may not be made of WOOD, but it’s still worth SOMETHING. She just wants to know what’s going on. She says if you can find out what happened and bring back PROOF she will give it to you, or if you can bring back her GRAND-CHILD safe and sound.

She truly is looking at you like you’re her last hope and you don’t have it in you to turn down her request. You’ve been having this feeling lately, one that it’s time for you to go on a journey, seek out new experiences and life. You’ve already trained in the basics of HUNTING and SURVIVAL, so you could make it on your own if you stay near the roads, maybe meet a few travel companions on the way. But you’ll need supplies, and maybe a companion. You overheard that the town is TWO DAYS AWAY and slightly up the nearby MOUNTAIN. You’re not familiar with the terrain but it’s quite possible that it might be SNOWING up there. You shake your head and think for a moment. You can see she hasn't slept in days and your acceptance of her request has her near passing out in relief.

You heard whispers about CULTISTS coming from the other members of the tavern, but seeing you talk to DA CRONE has them shutting up and avoiding eye contact with you, like they want nothing to do with you and do not want to be involved. It appears she’s your only point of information on this one.

You have a moment to ask her SOME QUESTIONS before she passes out for an undetermined amount of time. What do you want to know?

Who can you talk to in town, and where can you stay? Was the mining equipment still around?

Ask about the cultists, as that will likely be related to the mystery. You should also ask about the folks who inhabit the town, as that will give you a good idea who to talk to when you arrive. Finally, ask about the route to her town, so that you know what supplies to bring.

Hey, we gotta know the granddaughter's name, amd what she looks like.
Also, wonder why she corrected herself calling them her grandson first and then her granddaughter.

Also ask about any specific people we should be careful around.

>Grandson - er, Granddaughter
Da Crone is Sus.
Get clarification as to why she would accidentally misgender her own grandchild, and why they haven't left their failing company town. Then clarify as to the nature of the heirloom.
Warn Da Crone that you will not put your life below that of her granddaughter... especially in an act of self-defense.
Ask the bartender if Da Crone is shunned because of stigma or suspicion.

>>1014459
Ask her for a description of her granddaughter, and directions to the INN if you don't know where it is already.
Who went missing? Have there been any other unexplained disappearances?

>>1014458
>Her GRANDSON, no, GRANDDAUGHTER
Huh, you usually remember that kind of stuff easily about your grandkid, and especially when you live with them...Oh what am I saying! This woman has been sleeplessly searching for someone to help this kid for days now, plus her kid may have transitioned into a new gender and is still getting used to it.

>DA CRONE.... DA CRONE.....THE CRONE.......THE CLON-
I-I’m sure it’s just a coincidence!

>>1014459
Ask about important individuals we should know (Mayor, person who knows a lot, her granddaughter, etc) and ones we should look out for (Town drunk, that one creepy dude who always watches you, her granddaughter, etc).

>>1014493
ZA WARUDO

but seriously, our name is literally Cobbler, which following your logic would mean we are destined to be the one making abominations.

(Whether this means you are right or wrong... well, idk.)

Ask Ka Xu if he has any medication for helping the old woman relax from her stress and sleep properly before she passes out.

Edmango 2021/11/08(Mon)12:29 No. 1014509 ID: afe7de
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> Ask about her GRANDDAUGHTER
You decide to tug on this thread first, inquiring about general details on this kin. DA CRONE describes her grandson, no, grand DAUGHTER as a half cloth half fur kin. Her upper half is that of a Cloth, and her bottom half is that of an OCTOPUS FUR KIN. So she has lots of tentacles down below her waist. Apparently it makes cleaning way easier since she can use the tentacles for that. It sounds like she has something else to say but closes her mouth and blushes a bit, whispering that her other hobby is too lewd.

You noticed she mis-gendered her grandkid and ask what’s up with that. DA CRONE responds that her GRAND-CHILD has yet to AWAKEN, but has chosen her pronouns early, so it’s hard to adjust. She’s also incredibly TIRED, so mistakes in conversation are easy to make. You don’t really find any fault in that and continue on.

> Ask about the DENIZENS of the town
The second thread you tug on is of the natives, you ask who is there, who to talk to, and who to be wary of. She says that she doesn’t trust JAQUELINE the GENERAL STORE owner, but won’t elaborate as to why other than multiple petty reasons. AN BOREALIA is the town’s only remaining GUARD, she’s taken to calling herself the SHERIFF. And MORTIFER, the former FOREMAN of the MINE, he’s the closest thing to a CHIEF or CLUTCH MOTHER that they have there. The last kin she mentions is good old GLUM PLUM, she’s an unawakened sweetheart but is quite knowledgeable and did the inn’s finances. She mentions that there’s other kin who live in the town, but she’s old and doesn’t leave the INN that often, so she’s not sure who else is still around.

She also mentions this one kin that lives near the edge of town by the RIVER and does this thing called FISHING, which absolutely terrifies the everliving fluff out of her. She says maybe he’s tainting her granddaughter. You think about explaining FISHING to her, but hold off instead, deciding it better to just ask more questions.

> Cultists?
You ask about the cultists and she mentions that cults are a MYTH, she remarks that no one would believe in anything other than the LOOMINOUS one and a TRIBE’S TOTEM.

Edmango 2021/11/08(Mon)12:29 No. 1014510 ID: afe7de
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> How to get there, where to stay
Next you talk about the route to town, she scribbles a vague route on a napkin, indicating you should head NORTHWEST for around 2 days, pointing at a few landmarks. You think you’ll be able to reach it without a problem. As for where to stay, she says that you should go to the INN of course! She hands you a single BEAD, saying that this is advanced payment that should net you 3 DAYS rest in the inn so long as NO ONE ELSE rents out the rooms. You get the feeling there are other options she won’t mention, but you take the BEAD anyway. As for supplies, you get the idea that WARM CLOTHES would help, and you’re set on that, as well as RATIONS for a week and your CAMPING SUPPLIES, they’re not the best, but you’re sure the CLUTCH would let you have the things you made and used for all these years.

> Why didn’t you leave?
She sighs as you ask this question, saying that the town has a lot of memories for her, she grew up there, and might not have left had she not felt something too OMINOUS to leave her sitting at home. She claims she can’t make the trek back up the mountain for at least another WEEK given her injuries, and points to her cut up legs that you failed to notice before.

> What exactly is the heirloom?
She says that it's something priceless and has been in the family for generations, but refuses to elaborate on it. You get the impression she’s worried if you know exactly what it is you’ll reject her request and leave, so she hopes the MYSTERY will keep you interested. You find this to be a bit manipulative but have to admit a good MYSTERY does peak your interest.

> IDEA - Ask KA XU for medicine to let her relax and heal properly
You quickly mention that you’ll be right back and ask KA XU for a CALMING or RELAXING HERB for this old woman and he gives you something that can be chewed to allow her to RELAX with minor HEALING PROPERTIES. You return, handing it to her in the hopes that her pain is eased and it does look like it works. She’s quite grateful and hands you another BEAD as thanks.

She says she’s tired and dozes off right then and there as the herb takes effect, barring off all future questions. You try to ask around, but no one wants to talk to you. Your CLUTCH knows nothing about cultists, so you try to ask the BARMAIDEN. The BARMAIDEN says that if you want to talk, you should buy a drink for [2 BEADS]. You’re not sure you have the capital to afford it, given your need for supplies so you back off for now.

You gained [2 BEADS]
You now have a total of [5 BEADS]

Edmango 2021/11/08(Mon)12:30 No. 1014512 ID: afe7de
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You feel a stirring inside of you, like this was something you were meant to do, something you wanted to do. The stirring matches beats with a thrumming you feel from your [DESIRE] and [ANCESTOR]. You’re taking the job, so you head to your CLUTCH’S CAMPSITE and talk to the CLUTCH MOTHER and SHAMAN. They congratulate you on finding something you wish to PURSUE, mentioning that since you’re now an ADULT that you can make whatever choices you would like and begin your journey to form your own CLUTCH. You’re told their general route should you ever wish to rejoin them, judgment free, in the future. The SHAMAN says that they’re willing to sell you some GOODS for the BEADS you earned before and from either not using the SPECIAL MATERIALS, or saving MATERIALS. They’ll also give you a SMALL BONUS as you’re heading out for the first time and definitely need supplies. It’ll take a moment, so they recommend you say your goodbyes to the CLUTCH MEMBERS before you set off.

You head over to the HUNTING PARTY and discuss your plans with them, they all seem enthusiastic about it, but KA XU and HARI TOMO both seem a little sad to see you go. You see CINDER off in the distance, they’ve yet to awaken and you’ve grown apart over the last few years. They seem eager, almost like they’d follow you at the drop of a pin, the WANDERLUST hitting them hard as they inch ever so close to their AWAKENING. You know, however, that it would be better for them to stay and gain their SIGNATURE OUTFIT before trekking out. Plus then you’d have to convince the CLUTCH MOTHER as to why you’d drag them out when they can’t properly defend themselves. A momentary flash of enlightenment hits you as you realize you could perhaps INVITE ONE OF THEM to join you.

HARI TOMO doesn’t want to leave the clutch and is sad to see you go, but wishes you the best.
- It will take some HEAVY CONVINCING to get them to even consider joining you

KA XU has grown a little attached to you, but hearing the situation finds the whole thing a bit SPOOKY.
- IT will take a REASONABLE ARGUMENT to get him to join you

Or you could invite no one and trek out on your own. You do get the feeling that this COULD BE DANGEROUS.
- Invite no one, but have the opportunity to meet up with the clutch later… if you survive.
- You might receive a GIFT if you invite no one.
- (30% chance of one gift, 10% chance of 2 gifts, 60% chance of no gift)

Do you invite anyone to join you? If you do, how do you convince them?

AUTHORS NOTE: Heyo, you’ll get a chance to shop for stuff after this as adding a party member will adjust some logistics on my end. Also you’ll get an opportunity to spend those 2 beads on talking to the BARMAIDEN should you choose to. But just as a heads up, there will be uses for BEADS during the adventure itself, so it’s entirely up to you whether you spend it all or save it. Expect around 1/2 more updates of prep before the adventure begins in earnest.

>>1014512
"ka xu i know you gave granny crone the weed, if you stay here too long you'll get caught and the whole clutch will get turned over to the feds. Come with me to this mysterious village and we can dodge the law."

Let's convince Ka Xu to come along. Mainly because I want him to stop making that sad face.

He needs a reasonable argument, but don't feel like you have to put emotions aside. Let him know that you want him there, on top of having him as a good ally. He seems like a softy, so he'd probably appreciate it. As for your actual pitch for bringing him: it comes down to two points.

Firstly: You need someone else with you, who would be able to notice if you began to behave differently. There could be any number of reasons why people would be behaving weirdly, but you need some way of knowing whether or not you're being affected by it. Having somebody who knows you can serve as an early warning sign for a more widespread problem, such as there being something in the air or water.

Secondly: With Ka Xu, you'll always know the way home. You're going in to solve a mystery, and you don't have much to work with going in. The more variables you can lock down the better. Ka Xu's innate ability will keep you safe from illusions and trickery.

Bring Ka Xu. Make the argument that there might be new herbs that can be used for new types of medicine, maybe to even bring back to the tribe if we decide to return. Also, we might need his expertise in medicine if people in that town get hurt, and earn respect as a traveling healer.

Also, keep the beads you got. No need to buy q drink, save them for something else

BUT give one of the beads you got to Ka Xu. It was him who made the medicine to help the woman sleep, so he deserves that bead, not us. We only came up with the idea (But maybe use that as an argument for the respect and appreciation he'll recieve from this mission to help others in the town.)

Ooh, follow up reason for convincing Ka Xu to join us: his medical knowledge may help identify and/or treat conditions related to this granddaughter's sudden odd behaviors.

Bring Hari Tomo. Looks like something almost got Da Crone on her way down, there could be a dangerous beast to hunt. Plus, we'd be saving a member of the old lady's clutch! So come on, let's go on a creepy mountain hunt.

>>1014509
>Pic
Oh no bros! I don’t think we can’t flirt with this one! She’s just too goddamn cute!!!
>>1014512
Bring no one, why go on a quest if you can’t do it yourself.

>>1014521 etc.
This, let's bring Ka Xu.

>>1014509
So, we're definitely going to try and romance the granddaughter right? I mean, look at her. We can't just not try that.

Edmango 2021/11/09(Tue)17:48 No. 1014646 ID: 0838d6
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> Invite KA XU - SUCCESS
You tell KA XU that you'd like him to come with you, you have some reasons to justify it but the first one is that you actually LIKE to spend time with him. You were about to explain that his medicinal knowledge could also be useful if it's some kind of disease, and his innate ability could even be used if there are illusions, but he just hugs you and cries that he thought you were leaving because he talked too much. You give him a pat on the back as he calms down. And then do a sick HIGH FIVE as you become BEST FRIENDS!

> Invite HARI TOMO - FAILURE
You try to invite HARI TOMO but they don't budge, they're not interested in whatever BEAST could hurt the old lady, and they'd rather stay in a larger group. Instead he presents you with a GIFT. It's a small whistle made of PLASTIC that when blown can be altered to sound like different FLYING PAPERLINGS. It's a subtle way of communication across distances that you've seen them use before. KA XU has one too so if you're ever separated this might be a good way to find each other.

KA XU has joined the party!
- KA XU is EXCELLENT at MEDICINE and identifying plants
- KA XU is PROFICIENT in using the CHAINED NEEDLE AND SCISSOR
- KA XU is BAD at PERCEPTION unrelated to PLANTS
- KA XU has a basic survival kit (bedroll and 2-kin tent) and a Low light MOONSTONE
- KA XU has a PAPERLING WHISTLE and a small HERB JOURNAL as well

HARI TOMO has given you a gift!
- You received PAPERLING WHISTLE
- Can be used to discreetly send messages between party members
- It might be best to keep this SECRET from others outside of your PARTY

Edmango 2021/11/09(Tue)18:19 No. 1014650 ID: 0838d6
File 163651079675.png - (17.48KB , 500x500 , p35.png )

You finish saying your goodbyes and head back to the SHAMAN with KA XU in tow, they've got a piece of leather with some scrawlings on it out in front of them as well as a brand new MEDIUM SATCHEL. You see that it’s open and inside is a series of items.Inside is an HQ Tent that can support up to 3 kin comfortably inside, it’s also slightly INSULATED making it protect you from a little bit of HOT and COLD. There’s an HQ bedroll that will make it easier for you to be WELL RESTED. And lastly there’s two TINY JARS of SEASONINGS, one of SUGAR and one of SALT, these can be used to add FLAVOR to your meals for a minor stat or morale boost, or they can be used to PRESERVE GAME and create your own RATIONS.

You ask what that is and the SHAMAN says it’s your PARTING GIFT. They hand you a small string of [10 BEADS], stating that those were for the SPECIAL MATERIALS and EXTRA LEATHER you contributed. They decided rather than giving you a bonus of BEADS as a parting gift, to give you the general survival gear that would be useful no matter where you go. You thank them and look at the rest of the goods.

You gained [10 BEADS]
You have a total of [15 BEADS]

> SHOPPING
The SHAMAN recommends saving A FEW BEADS for various expenses when you're out and about, but also states that their prices here are typically CHEAPER than what you'll find in any CITY. Their ADVICE is that you should at the MINIMUM get a MOONSTONE and some TAR SALVE, but that you’re an ADULT now and it's ultimately up to you as to what you think has more value. KA XU mentions that they have a MOONSTONE, but having one per person is better just in case you ever get SEPARATED.

KA XU plans to get a WARM COAT and his own set of RATIONS since you're heading up the mountains, but will be BROKE afterwards and refuses the BEADS given to you by DA CRONE, stating that you should use it for now and that you can split profits later when you strike it rich. KA XU suggests getting whatever you feel like you need, he’s lived a pretty minimal lifestyle and knows how to hunt so he doesn't need much else.

What do you buy? And how many BEADS do you try to save if any at all?
You have [15 BEADS] to spend.

Low light MOONSTONE - [1 BEAD]
- Only one in stock
- Provides a small amount of LIGHT when in dark places
- Recharges in the MOONLIGHT
- is a WEAK moonstone, valued at [5 BEADS] elsewhere

1 week's rations - [1 BEAD]
- Candied rations that last a long time
- Comes in 7 parts

SMALL leather bags with straps [1 BEAD]
- Good to hold SMALL and MISC things you don't want loose in your bag
- Comes with 2
- Can be worn in addition to your SATCHEL but stuffed ones will ENCUMBER you

Plastic or Stone vials [1 BEAD]
- Can hold liquids
- are TINY
- comes with 3

Tar Salve [1 BEAD]
- Allows you to SEAL and HEAL wounds
- Is slow, but cheap
- Comes in a TINY vial with 3 uses
- You can use the bottle when it's empty

Processed PAPER and INK [1 BEAD]
- Allows you to take notes in a TINY notebook with some pages
- Comes with INK and a small stone ROD you can use to write with

Candy Wine [1 BEAD]
- Incredibly bitter fermented candy beverage
- Non alcoholic, but provides a very light buzz no matter how much is drank
- Good as a GIFT or to SHARE

Sweet and Sour Candy Belt [1 BEAD]
- A rolled up belt of edible sweetly sour candy with a rubbery texture
- Said to make one more energetic if you can stand the sourness
- Good as a GIFT or to SHARE

Berry Candies [1 BEAD]
- A small bag of chewy candies with an incredibly sweet liquid juice center
- The juice leaves a pleasant smell in your mouth and is commonly used as a breath freshener
- Good as a GIFT or to SHARE

Colorful Threads [1 BEAD]
- A small bundle of thick threads good for embroidering, making bracelets, bows, hair extensions, etc
- Not really useful for anything practical but are nice for making aesthetic additions
- Good as a GIFT or to SHARE

HQ tent [2 BEADS]
- 3 kin tent
- Is insulated, protecting you slightly from HEAT and COLD

HQ bedroll [2 BEADS]
- Allows you to be WELL RESTED when you sleep so long as you have SHELTER and are not affected by EXTREME ELEMENTS

Seasonings - [2 BEADS]
- Provides 7 charges of SALT
- Provides 7 charges of SUGAR
- Can be used to preserve meals or add flavor
- Preserved meals turn into RATIONS that last a long time and feed you for a whole day
- Salt provides PHYSICAL bonuses when used on a meal
- Sugar provides MENTAL bonuses when used on a meal
- Using both on a meal provides a weakened effect of both rather then one

Normal Paper Leather [3 BEADS]
- Can be used to make clothing
- Can also be used to make a few smaller things

Sewing kit - [4 BEADS]
- Comes with all the trappings to let you make CLOTHES
- Will come in handy later for UPGRADING your SIGNATURE OUTFIT

Warm Coat [7 BEADS]
- Provides the same benefits a WARM CLOAK does

Low-Light vision tincture - [7 BEADS]
- Produced from the PAPER THIEF that KA XU caught
- PERMANENTLY Provides Low-light vision, allowing you to see further in the dark if there's a weak light source
- Allows you to see slightly better in pure darkness

Special Materials - [7 BEADS]
- Allows you to make SPECIAL MODULES
- Allows you to craft SPECIAL TOOLS
- The same materials you got while hunting

Wooden stitching needle - [8 BEADS]
- Used to stitch together wounds
- Automatically produces MAGIC STRING to bind things together as a much more potent effect
- Can be used 3 times before turning to ash
- Acts as a healing potion

Wooden charm necklace - [8 BEADS]
- A small wooden cube on a plastic string
- It looks strangely familiar

Porcelain mask - [35 BEADS]
- You can use this to make an ASH-KIN
- You're too young for this why did I put this out in the shop

AUTHORS NOTE: When suggesting please put the thing you want the most at the top of your list and the thing you want the least at the bottom, I’ll then read the vibe of everyone's suggestions unless it becomes a unanimous decision. Feel free to get duplicate things and expect prices in other stores to not be as cheap as this.

Forget saving Beads, that's why we go out and earn more! Plus, a few good investments early may save us from needing to spend more later, so we can save up then.

Most important: Wooden Stitching Needle

After that, pick up a few generally helpful items.

-Tar Salve

-Processed PAPER and INK

-Plastic or Stone vials

-Low light MOONSTONE

And finally, spend the rest on gifts and other items you can share. It may be a good way to endear yourself to the locals. That, or just make Ka Xu happy, which in turn will make you happy.

-Candy Wine

-Sweet and Sour Candy Belt

-Colorful Threads

That'll spend all your beads, but leave you prepared for just about anything.

>>1014647
1-Moonstone
1-Tar Salve
1-Paper and Ink
1-Berry Candies
8-Charm Necklace

That leaves 3 Beads left. Let's try to hunt for all our food during the journey, to save money. We should also try to collect some valuable parts to sell once we arrive.

> WOODEN STITCHING NEEDLE
KA XU can already whip up SLOW medicine and remedies just fine, I imagine. Something MAGICALLY FAST is the only thing we're sure he's missing, and if we think we won't need it later and are strapped for cash, we can probably sell it in the more remote town for WAY MORE.

> WEAK MOONSTONE
Duh. There's no doubt we're going to get separated at some point, at least according to ONO STORK'S LAW.

> CANDY WINE
Immediately after vital supplies come gifts. Why? Because our clan is all about TOGETHERNESS - we oughta take full advantage of our talents. Firstly, I'm sure someone up in the stuffing-freezing mountains will appreciate this, and if we SHARE it, it serves the practical function of maybe loosening some tight lips!

> SWEET AND SOUR CANDY BELT
Another gift with practical alternate use, as running out of ENERGY while out in the cold could be DEADLY, even for the most well-dressed traveler.

> INK & PAPER
We could come across symbols we need to compare or convey later, witnessing sketches to (attempt to) draw, and maybe a comprehensive list of LEADS and FACTS to keep us organized.

> VIALS
To collect MYSTERIOUS SUBSTANCES with, of course! And also for something KA XU can put his own tinctures into. Go for stone and mark them with INK to differentiate, as we don't necessarily want people to know what we've got if they were to take a passing rummage through our stuff.

> COLORFUL STRING
Maybe someone can make something warm with this? Also, another unintended use (assuming you have no takers): you can tie these strings as markers.

> SAVE THE REMAINING BEADS FOR THE INN

>Low-Light Vision Tincture
We're gonna go hunting some spooky shit, everyone knows that ghosts have the uncanny ability to make you lose your flashlight.
>Seasonings
Something tells me these are gonna get much more expensive further on so it's best we get it now and make our own rations with what we hunt.
>Tar Salve
A good bit of healing is always good.
>Low Light Moonstone
Mainly suggesting this because we can get a profit off it later.
>Vials
Being able to collect specimens is very important, even if we aren't attempting to hunt the occult.

Somewhat indifferent. By the way, I assume you can stab yourself with a sewing needle, so what exactly would happen if you stitched together a wound like you would clothing (even as just a stopgap)?

--

So you have the tar salve you use to heal injuries, but have you ever heard tell of using a golden lacquer? Wondering if we could maybe do kintsugi on breakages, especially porcelain, in the future.

>>1014665
good question! it would work temporarily, but leaving just regular ass string in you could lead to infection, so if you are in a life or death situation, doing so is a good idea, and then tarring it so it stays closed, but you'll need to take out the string at some point or you could get sick.

(at least thats my justification as to why you cant use regular ass string)

And as for the lacquer I had never considered it but I assume some kin in MT. CINDER would definitely do something like that.

Charm bracelet, sewing kit, two tar salves and the moonstone.

Charm Necklace (8 beads)

1 week's rations (1 bead)

moonstone (1 bead)

Candy wine (1 bead)

HQ TENT (2 beads)

HQ BEDROLL (2 beads)

We already have most of the basics so we should get:
Moonstone (will definitely come in handy)
Tar salve (good for emergencies)
Berry candies
Colorful thread (these two are fun gifts)
Charm necklace (too intriguing to pass up)

and maybe extra seasoning to to make more rations

I think it would be a good idea to save one or two beads for emergencies

Low Light Vision Tincture is too good to pass up imo. A literal superpower. Pure darkness is rare, especially if we take a moonstone. The ability to actually see in the dark and see just well enough in pure dark to not hurt ourselves could be a godsend.

After this:
Stitching Needle
Tar Salve
Moon Stone seem an obvious choice.

though I wouldn't be opposed to getting just the tincture and the Charm Necklace. We already have the basics, we're a trapper traveling with someone who can forage, so we should never want for food. Even if the necklace isn't special, wood is precious. someone might offer a large sum for it in the future. It is at the very least an investment.

Edmango 2021/11/10(Wed)15:57 No. 1014714 ID: afe7de
File 163658863204.png - (7.62KB , 500x500 , p36.png )

> SHOPPING - RESULTS
You eye that WOODEN CHARM NECKLACE hard, you’re not sure exactly WHAT it is that’s so familiar about it, but get the idea that you should grab it. You motion towards it and the SHAMAN perks up and their eyes widen.

Shaman: You’re sure? There’s a lot of other useful things here?
You: It feels weirdly familiar?
Shaman: Damn it
Shaman: By the CINDERS will
Shaman: Fine, fine, take it

The SHAMAN then goes to detail that this was found in that one PAPERLING you caught when you were younger. They were hoping you would just forget about it and keep it for themselves, having grown a little too attached to it, to which you narrow your eyes at the SHAMAN and pout. What a swindler. You grab the necklace and examine it. The wood is an IVORY with spotted BLACK speckled throughout. The shaman says that it is made of BIRCH WOOD, they don’t know if it’s rarer or more common, but hasn't had a chance to visit an APPRAISER since it was found.

You get a weird feeling when you look at it but that’s about it. You put it on and tuck it underneath your coat, you get the feeling you shouldn’t show this kind of thing off as WOOD IS RARE and could lead some JEALOUS INDIVIDUALS into attempting to STEAL from you. You continue to list off the rest of your interests and pause when you get to a final choice between some COLORFUL THREADS or some BERRY CANDY. You’ve got [2 BEADS] left at this point but want to save for the INN or any other thing that might come up.

Noticing your contemplation the SHAMAN passes both to you, stating that they’re FREE OF CHARGE, apologizing for holding the WOODEN CHARM NECKLACE from you and even charging you for it. You pout again and grumble in acceptance. Most of your finds are SHARED between the clutch anyway, so you’re not REALLY mad, more just flustered that this wasn't discussed at all beforehand.

You spent [13 BEADS]
You have [2 BEADS] remaining which you stuff in your WELL HIDDEN BEAD POUCH

> CURRENT INVENTORY
MEDIUM SATCHEL
- HQ Tent
- HQ Bedroll
- Tiny SALT jar (7 uses)
- Tiny SUGAR jar (7 uses)
- Rations (7 uses)
- Candy Wine
- Colorful Threads
- Berry Candies
- Can hold one more SMALL thing or multiple TINY things

HIDDEN SMALL POUCH (OUTFIT) -
- Low Light Moonstone
- Tar Salve (3 uses)
- Paper/Ink
- 3 Plastic Vials
- 1 Stone Vial (filled with water, treat as a waterskin with a day’s allotment)
- Can hold a few more TINY things

HIDDEN TINY POUCH (CLOAK) -
- Empty
- Can hold a 2 TINY things

> CURRENT MODULES
HIDDEN TOOL POUCH
- Stoneworking tools
- Has room for 2 more sets of tools

HIDDEN HQ TRAPPING POUCH
- Has 5 traps worth of materials
- Automatically produces ABOVE AVERAGE traps with generic materials
- It is possible to find higher quality materials to have your traps be of better quality until they are expended

Edmango 2021/11/10(Wed)15:57 No. 1014715 ID: afe7de
File 163658866789.png - (8.11KB , 500x500 , p37.png )

> INVASION OF THE BODY STITCHERS - START
You’re about as well equipped as you’re going to get. You wonder if it would have been a better idea to stock up on some SEASONINGS or that SEWING KIT, but are sure that you can find them later on or perhaps trade some GAME for them in the future. You have a few avenues to make some BEADS should the need arise. KA XU makes his purchases and the two of you set off at the break of dawn onto a new journey. The CLUTCH is all there in the morning to see you off, you see the SHAMAN, the CLUTCH MOTHER, CINDER, and HARI TOMO waving you off.

The trek up starts normal, the weather fine, but as you continue moving NORTHWEST and up the incline, things start to chill. You can see the light pepperings of a white SNOW in the distance. It’s tolerable during your trek and the nights that follow given your HQ tent and WARMTH, but you get a FEELING that it will only grow HEAVIER and HEAVIER until you reach the town. You’ve never seen snow before and while it’s a novel and interesting experience, you can’t help but feel something OMINOUS about it. You decide on your way up to spend your EVENINGS HUNTING for food so you don't have to spend any rations. This causes your journey to the town to be delayed, causing you to arrive TOMORROW, on the MORNING of the THIRD DAY of your trip.

You were only able to get some PAPER LEATHER SCRAPS and just enough meat for the two of you to eat as the game is relatively TINY in the areas you were traveling through. That EVENING as the sun was setting and you were getting ready to look for a place to rest you notice a SMALL CAMPSITE, a CLOTH-KIN sits there, hood over their head and they appear to be scrawling something on a piece of PAPER LEATHER. He’s even cleared out the area of snow so that he’s on DRY GROUND. The two of you approach and he spots you, hurriedly putting away his things and shoving some things into his nearby TENT which you notice is of a higher quality then yours is. You greet the stuffy and he responds with a slightly timid sounding voice as he pulls his hood down further, obscuring his eyes completely.

Carto: Ah, hello, I’m CARTO, nice to meet you all.
Carto: Uhhh, are you headed to that MINING TOWN?
You: That’s right, DA CRONE wanted us to check it out.
Carto: Who? Eh, it doesn't matter.
Carto: I just left that place and it was… hmmm.
Carto: Certainly something.
Carto: Ominous would be an appropriate word for the vibe I got while I was there briefly.
You: See anything weird?
Ka Xu: Anything culty?
Carto: Ah well I see LOTS of things, see I’m a CARTOGRAPHER!
Carto: I go around making and selling MAPS!
Carto: I didn’t really enter the town, not my style when I get this FEELING
Carto: But I did go around it and sketch out the area.
Carto: Probably found some stuff that most kin would outright miss ha ha.
You: Could we see it?
Carto: Hmmmmmm
Carto: Well I’m a man of BUSINESS, it takes a KEEN EYE and ARTISTIC PROWESS to make these maps
Carto: Can’t just go giving out this info for free!

Edmango 2021/11/10(Wed)16:03 No. 1014717 ID: afe7de
File 163658898865.png - (15.76KB , 500x500 , p38.png )

The CLOTH man then proceeds to bargain with you, you can feel their confidence growing as the conversation moves along. They start by stating that the cost of a map of the REGION would be 50 BEADS, knowing full well you couldn’t afford it. They continue to 10 BEADS for a map of the TOWN showing MAJOR LANDMARKS, BUILDING/STORE NAMES as well as the surrounding area, it would be easier to NAVIGATE and take less time to find places. You ask how he could see the names of the BUILDINGS or STORES and he just says that he has REALLY GOOD EYES. You say that you can’t afford that so he haggles down to 5 BEADS, offering a vague map of the area so at the very least you won’t get lost and will know the DISTRICTS and LANDMARKS. You can’t afford that either. He bites down on his writing implement and pauses for a moment before considering.

Carto: How about this, 3 BEADS and I’ll tell you
Carto: Where the 2 major landmarks of this place that you’d probably miss are at.
Carto: I found a REALLY good place to get an overview of the whole town.
Carto: Throw in those scraps you just got and I’ll make it 2 BEADS.
Carto: Or, I see you have that bag over there
Carto: If you have something good to trade I’ll give you information based on how much I value it.
Carto: But it’d be no fun if you just SHOWED ME ALL YOUR GOODS
Carto: I also like a little GAMBLING.
Carto: So you’ll have to pick ONE thing to show me that you’re willing to trade
Carto: And depending on how much I like it I’ll give you an appropriate amount of information.
Carto: At the very least if I hate it I’ll tell you where the 2 miss-able landmarks of the place are at
Carto: Oh and I’ll still be taking it.

What do you do?

A. Trade 2 BEADS and some SCRAPS for information on some LANDMARKS
- You will have to come up with an alternative for HOUSING to the INN
B. Trade SOMETHING and get information based off of how much he likes it
- This is a gamble, but at the minimum you could at least get SOME info
- Select an item from your inventory to haggle with
C. Do not trade
- Get no hints for this adventure
- Save your beads and scraps and items
D. Other
- Please don’t kill the hint man

B, trade some candy. Or maybe the wine?

I think we should take the trade, as we just so happen to have an item that is only mildly helpful at best for us, but which he could probably use well. Let's offer up out Processed PAPER and INK. If it's a higher quality than the paper leather he was described as writing on, he may be able to make better maps with it. And if it's about the same, then it's still something he has a clear use for.

>>1014717
TRADE 6 of our sugar, we're hardly going to use it anyways.

Don't trade anything. We really can't afford it and you never know what items you might need later.
That being said, lets see where they are from/how to find them in the future. Maybe once this trek is done, we could see about assisting them in their efforts. Also chat them up and get to know them. Basically, do networking. Networking is good.

Might sound silly but might be silly enough to work:

D and B.Keep haggling. Ask him how he would feel about trading his information for a big hug... from KA XU! Explain that Ka Xu is very huggable and soft. You should know, you've hugged him tons of times in the past.

To make the offer more inviting, use you WARMTH on him and Ka Zu. Try to feel [LOVE] to make it more effective. That oughta get him interested.

Ten beads for a map of one town? How much do you charge per square foot? If they were landmarks they wouldn't be hard to spot, you ragamuffin.
Keep your stuff and maybe some of his too.

Either the hug (because that's hilarious)
or
the Processed PAPER and INK, since that would definitely be something useful to him probably.

more towards paper and ink tho, but if we keep the paper and ink, we should call it our COB LOG

We paid 8 beads for a wooden charm. A map of the town costs 10 beads. There is no way his prices are worth it. Do not haggle, but politely decline and move on.

So uhh, this might be a tad out of line, but given the lack of reproduction as we know it and thus a lack of biologically driven reproductive urges which would mean a lack of sexuality as we know it, wouldn't giving out hugs for goods and services basically be socially equivalent to whoring?

Ask not of others what we would not offer ourselves! Let us exchange our own hug for a hint, along with a promise to share any new points of interest when next we might cross paths.

>>1014807

THIS but we also use WARMTH as previously suggested to be more convincing.

And if all else fails we can try to do our own scouting. Hopefully we can get at least a semi decent view of the town and keep our items.

Maim the hint man.

Edmango 2021/11/11(Thu)20:23 No. 1014873 ID: afe7de
File 163669100480.png - (15.68KB , 500x500 , p39.png )

> Prices are too expensive
You don't have a good frame of reference, but KA XU mentioned that a STITCHING NEEDLE would go for around 30-50 BEADS depending on where you got it. You've got no idea how much your WOODEN CHARM is worth, but bet it's a lot more. You think a good measure of potential future pricing is that things will be around 4-8x the cost you paid at the SHAMAN, they just treated you well since you're part of their group. But they're also a SWINDLER, so you can never be TOO SURE. You just don't want to pay these seemingly exorbitant prices.

> Is exchanging HUGS for GOODS and SERVICES considered WHORING?
You don't know, you ask KA XU about this and he flushes HARD. Saying that there are places that offer that kind of thing at a place called a HUG BROTHEL. You think you remember seeing something about that in the banner for the FLUFFSENUFFS election.

> Offer up KA XU as a HUG WHORE
You posit the idea to KA XU and he looks at you deadpan saying that he only wants to hug members of his CLUTCH or that he's close to. You then hear in a whisper him say something about how if he goes to a HUG BROTHEL that'd be his choice too.

> Offer to HUG CARTO as trade
You get a ballsy idea, you use your WARMTH and try to focus on that tingly comfort feeling as you approach CARTO, finishing your brief sidebar with KA XU, offering a HUG in exchange for some information.

The man was absolutely not expecting you to offer that and starts stuttering and stumbling his words nervously, but your WARMTH reaches him and after a few moments he calms down and you can see the gears in his head slowly reconsider.

Carto: Are... are you guys sure you want to offer a HUG for info
Carto: I mean, I do get touch starved on my lonely travels
Carto: Not that I WANT company or anything, It's more an innate need
Carto: To just WANDER and MAP.
You: I'd be happy to

KA XU just gives you a look and an eyeroll, you think you hear him muttering about how much he wonders you're going to try to pay for with hugs.

Edmango 2021/11/11(Thu)20:23 No. 1014874 ID: afe7de
File 163669103871.png - (11.01KB , 500x500 , p40.png )

> HUG CHECK - MIXED SUCCESS
You do your best giving a hug but you never really tried to do it with the intent to COMFORT, it was more a GREETING to you, and others sought comfort from the WARMTH and CALM you could bring. You can tell the man in front of you feels quite awkward at the situation, but he's not pulling away immediately. After a few beats he releases and is shivering with nervousness. He says that it was quite warm, but you can tell he has the look of someone slightly ashamed at what they did.

Carto: Uhh, thanks, but I think you need to get a little better at
Carto: AHEM uh I dunno hugging CLOTH KIN, I uhh
You: You didn't like my hug?

You say as you pout.

Carto: Nononono that's not it I uh, but uh, yknow gotta eat
Carto: And that wasn't REALLY worth some beads…

He sees you getting sadder and pouting harder and waves his hands in the air

Carto: YET, I MEAN YET, Definitely with some improvement, please don't cry
You: I wasn’t going to cry, but okay

You really weren't going to cry, but it did make you feel a little sad that your hug wasn't as well received as it was in the clutch.KA XU consoles you saying that he still thinks your hugs are pretty good. He offers you a little information instead, saying that the two missable landmarks are as follows.

HIDDEN TRAIL TO THE PEAK
- There's a bramble covered path that spirals up to the mountain in the [FOREST] near the town. It's easy to miss and would commonly be avoided but just to the side is a simple climb that can let you get a good overlook over the whole town.
- There were signs of someone being there before, but he's not a TRACKER, so they could have been PRETTY OLD.

SWEETWATER CABIN
- There's an extremely easy to miss cabin at the nearby SWEETWATER LAKE. It appears to be in the process of FREEZING OVER, and the lake, while nearby, looks to take some time to get to and is an easy source of DRINKABLE SWEETWATER.
- He thinks he saw someone sitting out at the lake holding some kind of pole and device, but didn't dwell on it too long.
- You're told an easy path to traverse from the [ABANDONED RESIDENTIAL AREA] to get to the [LAKE] easier.

Edmango 2021/11/11(Thu)20:24 No. 1014875 ID: afe7de
File 163669105692.png - (10.55KB , 500x500 , p41.png )

You and KA XU then pitch up your tent and settle in for the night. The next morning as you get up at the crack of dawn you notice the hooden man is gone, practically without a trace. There's some scrawling on the ground and it says a simple SEE YA AROUND, BRING BEADS NEXT TIME - CARTO and then a symbol you don't recognize, you think it's his totem? It looks kind of like a square with a needle jabbed into it.

You and KA XU both have a breakfast of a SINGLE RATION to start your day off, preferring to reach the town asap instead of hunting.

You have consumed a RATION, you have 6 remaining

As you approach the town, you notice the snowfall is getting heavier. There's a one-inch layer of this thick, cotton-like snow lightly covered everywhere you can see. The wildlife is quiet, you assume that most of the PAPERLINGS would be HIBERNATING, but you can never be too sure, there might be some WINTER PREDATORS out there. There's a STONE SIGN engraved with the town's name, WOODWATER. You get the idea that they named the town that, hoping that the WOOD wouldn't dry out and would flow like the rivers. The sign is old, cracked, and seemingly on its last legs at this point. You imagine a forceful PUSH would knock it over.

In the distance you can see a CANDY FIELD and their accompanying BARN. The thick whiteness of the snow makes it hard to tell exactly what crop they were or are growing. There's a [FOREST] just past that which you imagine is the one that CARTO was talking about.

There are a few buildings that can be easily seen as you approach the [TOWN SQUARE]. The buildings themselves are made of a hybrid of STONE, PLASTICINE PLANKS, and THATCHED PLASTIC GRASS ROOFS but most are overgrown in PLASTIC PLANTS and cracked open, you can see some snow inside and the buildings don’t seem that insulated any longer. It appears that their PLASTIC THATCHED ROOFS have caved in from lack of maintenance and heavy snowfall. Farther in the distance you can barely make out what looks to be even more dilapidated buildings, some even connected in a strange fashion.

KA XU mutters about how this place feels deserted, but you can see in the distance some signs of life, footsteps traversing the buildings. You think you see someone slowly walking and carrying something behind a few of the buildings. Three buildings stand out compared to the rest. One is what you imagine to be a GUARD HOUSE. Another has a sign of a string of beads, you assume this is the GENERAL STORE. The last has a sign that has been covered in some sort of paint or ink and has been rebranded with a few tentacles that now says MIMI'S INN.

One Cloth kin, short in stature and bundled up with two buttons on one side of his face as eyes walks out. Two sharp teeth hang outside of their mouth and they look around, shaking from the cold. They spot you as you approach and turn to face you from a distance, but do not leave from their spot underneath a small scaffolding protecting them from the snowfall.

Edmango 2021/11/11(Thu)20:27 No. 1014876 ID: afe7de
File 163669123073.png - (39.92KB , 500x500 , p42b.png )

To the SOUTH is the way you came
To the WEST is the BARN and the [FOREST]
To the EAST is as far as you can tell the [ABANDONED RESIDENCES]
You’re not sure what is to the NORTH

It is the [MORNING OF DAY 1], what do you do?

AUTHORS NOTE: Time is separated into 4 parts of the day. MORNING, NOON, EVENING, and NIGHT. You need to SLEEP for a period of time every day, which means having a place to rest. You can go 2 days without rest, but you'll start to receive PENALTIES if you go any longer or do it multiple times in a row. As long as you have rations you automatically eat, but you can also spend a time segment HUNTING if you don't want to spend any money or trade.

Doing things takes TIME, and time will pass if you either do enough activities or do a long activity like searching an area for something that you're unsure of is even there. Feel free to suggest any action, or if you're unsure you can suggest multiple ones and I'll weight them from most wanted to least wanted.

I will occasionally provide maps like this so you can get a general idea of who is in the area near you if you want to talk to them or investigate a thing. Feel free to suggest written or other stuff you have ideas about though!

Go find that person that was having trouble carrying something. Perhaps you can offer to help?

Mimi is most likely the granddaughter we heard about, she seems to have taken full ownership of Da Crone's inn.

Part of me wants to check on whoever is walking off behind the buildings, but something tells me that cloth kin in front of the inn might not be too happy with us if we ignore them, especially if they took the time to go outside in the cold with the intention to want to talk to us. Go and ask questions about the inn, like the price and stuff, and the town. Not sure if we should reveal and use our warmth on them yet, test the waters.

>>1014876
Check out the abandoned houses for anything hidden. Then talk to the general store owner for conversation and any jobs they might offer.

I wonder if we can have Ka Xu talk to the person behind the building before we lose them while Cobbler talks to the cloth kin in front of the inn, get more work done that way.

If not, then just talk to the cloth kin at the inn, introductions and stuff.

Go check on the person carrying something away behind the building, see what's that about.

Edmango 2021/11/12(Fri)16:55 No. 1014942 ID: 0838d6
File 163676491338.png - (12.24KB , 500x500 , p43.png )

> Check on the one carrying something
The two of you continue onward, you were debating talking to that one CLOTH-KIN, but decide to check out the stuffy carrying something along this pathway. As you step past them, you don't get a sense they stepped out just to talk to you, more you get the sense that they just happened to leave the INN at that moment.

They look COLD, but you have your WARMTH suppressed for now, intending to use it when negotiating and keep that power close to your core. You passively look at them and are unable to interpret their expression, they're simply regarding you as you walk by.

WARMTH toggled to OFF until you either SLEEP or suggest to turn it on again

KA XU mentions that the two of you can SPLIT UP at any time, so long as you indicate a MEETUP TIME and LOCATION. You nod as cold breath escapes your mouth. The former town lacks the hustle and bustle you're used to in your CLUTCH, but from what you can tell, the buildings that are still intact are INSULATED and SOMEWHAT HEATED somehow. You're not sure how they do it though, so that might be something to ask later. But even with this knowledge as you look at the building design with your basic knowledge of ENGINEERING, you still feel something unnerving about this place.

You turn the corner to see a FUR-KIN, they're wearing a poncho that looks RATHER WARM, but what surprises you the most is their WING-LIKE HANDS. They're carrying a LARGE BAG and seem to be moving quite slowly, not due to encumbrance, but because they're choosing to carry it and walk on their HIND LEGS, rather then strapping it on their back and walking on ALL FOURS, which you assume would be faster, then again you don’t know much about FUR-KIN, so that might be too much of a broad assumption.

You take a step towards them and while you are several meters away, the sharp crunch of the snow immediately reverberates giving the kin in front of you a shock. They whip around and look at you and you notice their PLASTIC GLASSES, but behind those glasses lie some beady eyes with a look of crazed PARANOIA to them.

You: Ahem, excuse me
???: I DON’T KNOW YOU
???: WHO ARE YOU WHAT DO YOU WANT
You: We-
???: WAIT, YOU'RE NEW
???: DON'T STEAL MY STUFF

They shift their bag to their back, protective of it and eye you down. They wave vaguely in the direction you came in in a STAY AWAY gesture. You get the feeling a wrong move here will have them fleeing before you can say or ask anything.

>>1014942
Step back a few steps and then tell him you were going to offer to help but if he's that worried you'll just go.

It's DRIFT!!

Do what he says and step backwards. But ask where AN BOREALIA is, shouldn't it be her job to protect the town from thieves and keep citizens like him safe and calm?

Also, grab Ka Xu's arm, and have him step back with you.

Step back, and keep your hands in the air where he can see them during the conversation to show you won't mean any harm.

Then tell him you'll just leave if he's worried, but if he'd allow it, you'd like to ask some questions.

If he lets you, ask about how much it would cost to stay at the inn or if there is anywhere else to sleep at besides the inn.
Also ask what jobs are in town that are hiring that can pay us beads.

Afterwards, we can decide if we want to search for a job in town for beads or hunt and sell what we catch for beads, and decide whether we want to stay at the inn, stay somehere else, or just stick to our tent.

>>1014965
DON'T mention An Borealia's name, he might get suspicious of us already knowing someone's name when we're supposed to be new here and scare him off. We don't want anyone suspicious nearby hearing something we don't want them to hear, like that cloth kin that was staring at us earlier.

hug

AUTHORS NOTE: I totally forgot this when listing your inventory, but here you go

> INVENTORY UPDATE
LONG NEEDLE x3
- One is grooved to make noise when thrown
- Two are normal long needles
- These are inside of your SATCHEL, poking out and easily grabbed, should you need to engage in combat.

Edmango 2021/11/13(Sat)15:33 No. 1015041 ID: 0838d6
File 163684639824.png - (13.10KB , 500x500 , p44.png )

> TAKE A STEP BACK, ATTEMPT DIPLOMACY
You take a step back and KA XU mirrors your action. You keep your hands visible and attempt to communicate as you see the flighty bird calm down a notch.

You: We saw you struggling on our way in and wanted to offer help
???: I'M GOOD THANKS
You: Can we talk? We just got to town an-
???: OBVIOUSLY
You: -And have some questions.
You: I'm COB and this is KA XU
Drift: I'M DRIFT, MY ACTUAL NAME IS STUPID SO I SHORTENED IT
Drift: FINE, I HAVE GOOD HEARING SO I'LL ANSWER A QUESTION OR TWO
Drift: JUST STAY OVER THERE THOUGH

> HOUSING OPTIONS
You ask about places to REST at and SPEND THE NIGHT and they mention the INN would be a good option because they have a SUNSTONE, heating up the whole place with some well placed VENTING. But they suggest getting there soon as other townsfolk tend to book rooms when BLIZZARDS come like it looks like it is happening. He says that rooms typically go for 1 BEAD, but during storms the price increases to 2 BEADS since it could last a while and supplies are low.

You would know that while your tent can handle normal weather, if a BLIZZARD were to occur you would need to find shelter from the EXTREME CONDITIONS or your tent could very well BREAK in the middle of the night. You also know that with your WARM CLOTHES and WARMTH you and KA XU could potentially walk through the storm to different locations, but will probably be PARTIALLY BLINDED, DEAFENED, and it would be hard to MOVE AROUND due to the buffeting snow.

Edmango 2021/11/13(Sat)15:33 No. 1015042 ID: 0838d6
File 163684642257.png - (10.87KB , 500x500 , p45.png )

You ask about other options and DRIFT says that if you can stand the EXTREME COLD you could just BREAK INTO an abandoned house. No one really cares anymore, not even AN BOREALIA since the majority of the town is abandoned, but he mentions letting her know anyway and gestures to the GUARDHOUSE.

The last thing he mentions is the BARN nearby the farmhouse is typically INSULATED but its a bit ISOLATED. You could also potentially find someone to REST with, but DRIFT mentions that everyone's on edge and won't tell him why. He briefly mentions how the number of stuffies leaving or outright VANISHING without saying GOODBYE has increased in the past WEEK, there’s barely 15 Kin left here. The town’s on its last, crippled legs. He used to be the TOWN CRIER and prided himself in knowing these things but now everyone KEEPS TO THEMSELVES. Or at least KEEPS FROM HIM. He gloats a bit about how good his hearing is and how no one understands the true plight of a town crier.

KA XU cringes a little bit at that statement and tugs your coat saying maybe finding SHELTER should be a priority given a BLIZZARD is coming. You may have the HQ equipment, but he doesn't and will likely be UNCOMFORTABLE the whole time you're sleeping. The [MORNING] is about half over and you have no idea when the STORM is coming, but you do know that storms tend to have PEAKS and VALLEYS where it bounces between HARD to navigate and NORMAL to navigate with some inconsistency.

Do you ask DRIFT some more questions or do you do something else.

If we combine our warm clothes, our warmth, our tent, AND an abandoned house, I think we'll be fine. The abandoned house can protect us from blizzard elements destroying our tent, and the tent will serve as an extra layer of warmth in there.

Yes, I know we saved a couple beads for the inn, but consider that those are two beads we could save for something else now!

As for Berdly here, let's ask about people we can talk to here. Da Crone gave us a few names, but as the former Town Crier Drift probably knows better about these peeps. If anyone knows who's who here, it's him.

Afterwards, let's scout out a home to take shelter in.

Tell him if people are vanishing suddenly it kinda sounds like kidnapping.

Next stop, guardhouse. Maybe they're already investigating and we can help? At the least we can tell them we're gonna take over someone's abandoned house.

I'd say either the barn, or the inn since they are insulated.

The reason why I say no to the abandoned buildings is because the abandoned buildings are not insulated and Drift says that they're only recommended if we can handle EXTREME COLD.

And while Cobbler may be able to handle the extreme cold with warm clothes, her WARMTH and a tent inside an abandoned building, KA XU does not have an HQ Tent and WARMTH like Cobbler, and might freeze during the night. We gotta care for his health. so ABANDONED BUILDING AS A LAST RESORT

So either Barn or Inn for me. I'm leaning towards INN as my main vote. Luckily we can share a room with Ka Xu so we won't have to spend 4 beads in the event of a storm.

But if we decide on the barn, lets see the town guard first to see if it's okay, and make sure we set up traps in the barn since like Drift said, it's isolated, so we don't want people kidnapping us while we sleep alone.

But yeah, I'd say lets go to the INN ASAP right now. The sooner we reserve a room the better since they fill up quick.

We kept those beads for a reason. Let's go get a room at the inn.

>>1015042
I vote we let rhe sheriff know we're here and set up the tent in an abandoned house.
Also we should keep the fact that we can move about in a blizzard secret until we know we can trust someone.
Oh and should we ask about the missing granddaughter?

The inn. It'll be way too cold for the abandoned buildings, unless we can share our hq tent with Ka Xu in an abandoned building, and keep him close to us with our warmth.

Question: Can we share our hq tent and hq bedroll with Ka Xu? Or maybe trade tents and berolls with Ka Xu since we have warmth and he doesn't? Because If so then yeah, go see the guard about the abandoned buildings

I'm still really interested in the inn or barn, but it might be a good idea to check with the guard first, just to get a better idea of our options. the day is still fairly young, so we should be able to have time to reserve a room after our visit to the guard once we determine things are good.

We should also ask her about jobs for beads if weather gets too bad to hunt.

We'll be a lot more productive with a nice warm SUNSTONE to come back to no matter what. Go for the inn!

Ask if there's anything we could help him with.

Edmango 2021/11/14(Sun)19:05 No. 1015173 ID: afe7de
File 163694554821.png - (12.22KB , 500x500 , p46.png )

> TEXT ADJUSTMENT
AUTHORS NOTE: It’s come to my attention that there’s some confusing verbiage in the quest revolving on exactly how TRIBES function. So to alleviate that I’ll be referring to them as COTTON-LINES as in bloodlines in the future. You can think of a tribe as your bloodline from now on, some kin get powers and knowledge from it whilst others get nothing at all.

If there’s ever anything confusing like this again, let me know, i'm not above fixing stuff for legibility and so kin can have a more enjoyable time reading the story!

> How does REST and SHELTER work?
Weather conditions increase in steps, a BLIZZARD will have a difficulty level of 5 that you need to meet or succeed. Each thing you can contribute to this will decrease the difficulty level. Your HQ tent can hold up to 3 STUFFIES and is LIGHTLY INSULATED, protecting you from the elements slightly.

These are your options as you see it:

Stay at the INN
- Weather breakdown: SHELTER (+), INSULATED (+), HAS SUNSTONE (+++)
- This means that you will be protected from the elements fully and by using your BEDROLL and WARMTH you will feel COZY
- You will gain the benefits of being WELL RESTED
- Costs [2 BEADS]

Find INSULATED SHELTER
- Weather breakdown: SHELTER (+), INSULATED (+), HQ TENT (+), WARM CLOTHES (+), WARMTH [YOU ++] [OTHERS +]
- This means that you will be protected from the elements and up to 2 other companions will be warmed enough to survive
- You will not gain the benefits of being WELL RESTED

Find UNINSULATED SHELTER
- Weather breakdown: SHELTER (+), HQ TENT (+), WARM CLOTHES (+), WARMTH [YOU ++] [OTHERS +]
- In this case YOU would be fine, but your companions would not
- Each night spent in these conditions increases the likelihood of your companions getting SICK which would be BAD

Find someone's HOUSE to stay in
- Same as INSULATED SHELTER
- Has the chance to have SUNSTONES or WARM BLANKETS or HOT FOOD
- Usually allows you to be WELL RESTED

No shelter, just a tent
- Weather breakdown: HQ TENT (+), WARM CLOTHES (+), WARMTH [YOU ++] [OTHERS +]
- You would have a 20% chance of getting sick
- Your companions would have a 40% chance of getting sick
- Chance of getting sick increases for each night you rest this way
- Your tent has a chance to break

AUTHORS NOTE: You're being presented with this challenge due to the EXTREME WEATHER, were it just normal snow, it would likely be a difficulty 3, which you could easily handle in just your tent. You also get double effectiveness from your WARMTH because you have it INTERNALLY and EXTERNALLY whilst others only feel it EXTERNALLY.

Edmango 2021/11/14(Sun)19:06 No. 1015174 ID: afe7de
File 163694556830.png - (9.07KB , 500x500 , p47.png )

> Town Gossip
You try to ask DRIFT about the kin in town and he says that that sounds like some real TOWN CRIER stuff he could get into. Unfortunately he has to go and prep for the BLIZZARD, so he says he can only tell you about one kin.

> Luck Check: GLUM PLUM
He starts talking about a young cloth girl called PLUM, but everyone calls her GLUM PLUM. He says that she's his INTELLECTUAL EQUAL, where he's good at LISTENING, she's good at OBSERVING. She's UNAWAKENED, but ISN'T THAT FAR FROM AWAKENING, becoming an adult, and discovering her COTTON-LINE. She typically does the ACCOUNTING for the various businesses around town since her PARENTS DIED. She lives somewhere in the [ABANDONED RESIDENCES] but can easily be found in the [TOWN SQUARE] if you're looking for her during the DAYTIME.

> Offer help
DRIFT bids you farewell, saying he’s good for now and appreciates the offer. You’re not sure if he does though from his expression. As you turn around to leave he whispers something that you barely make out. To be careful at night. He's heard some STRANGE NOISES, almost like a WEIRD DRAGGING, but imagines it's probably nothing since he CAN'T SEE VERY WELL at night. You try to turn back and ask for more details but he's dashing away with a much higher speed than before.

Edmango 2021/11/14(Sun)19:06 No. 1015175 ID: afe7de
File 163694559072.png - (36.32KB , 500x500 , p48.png )

> To the INN
You decide to not chase him and instead head back towards the INN. As you walk that way you notice footsteps leading towards the NORTHWEST, past the GENERAL STORE. You also notice something you missed before and that's that there are quite a few footsteps leading into the INN. They're fresh, but it's hard to tell which direction they came from.

You assume that one CLOTH-KIN you saw earlier has left to go somewhere else. As you step on the front porch you can already feel that it's a bit WARMER than before, but it's not melting the SNOW outside, strange.

The muffled sounds of around 3-4 voices sneaks through the crack in the bottom of the door. After a moment's hesitation and a look towards the GUARDHOUSE you open the door. A wave of WARMTH blasts towards you and KA XU and you hear a resounding, GET IN AND CLOSE THE DOOR.

You do so and notice a quaint little space. The tension of the COLD is no longer present. There are booths to the side, one of which seats two kin. You see a squat and goblinoid CLOTH-KIN with some thick eyeliner, they gesticulate wildly as they apparently weave a tale to an Ash with a deep ebony mask and hands. You notice that the joints of the Ash's hands have a light gold tint to them as they grip their drink which is apparently STEAMING and smells faintly of CIDER. Their eyes dart between you and the kin they're listening to briefly before settling on the goblinoid.

To your front there's a small table and you notice a tall woman whose description reminds you of MIMI. A few of her tentacles are on the desk and are reaching around for things behind her. To her front is a small CLOTH, smaller than most, her description reminds you of the one you just heard of from DRIFT and you assume her to be PLUM. The creaking of floorboards above you indicates that there's someone else here too, probably in a room.

The [MORNING] is almost over, what do you do?

AUTHORS NOTE: Whenever you reach a new area like this you can always ask for more details about specific things I’ve mentioned. Treat what you see when I describe things as your PASSIVE PERCEPTION, it’s just generally what you’d notice.

You’ll also notice that at the top of MAPS like these there will be little icons, each icon represents something different in the room, but it’s up to you to interpret what they actually are. [?]s represent things you don’t yet know of the space and sometimes there will be HIDDEN things in the room.

Ask if she is Glum Plum, and introduce yourself. You heard of her through Drift. You'd like to know a bit about the town, like good hunting spots, and jobs for beads if the weather is too bad for hunting. Also mention if she'd be free to talk a little more at town square a little later since we're planning on possibly buying a room here if she'll have us and have more questions about the town since we're newcomers.

Also, maybe Ka Xu can talk to the other two plush kins while we talk to Glum Plum? as long as we keep him in our line of sight, unless that's too dangerous.
Have him ask them about the town's history or ask to listen in on their story. We'll call him back after we're done talking to Glummy

I think we should start by talking to the granddaughter. We can start by renting a room for the night, and ask her a few questions. In general we should try to get a vibe on her, since we have reason to suspect she isn't entirely what she seems right now. Ask her for her thoughts on the town and the people in it. You should definitely mention that you heard a rumor about people vanishing, and see how she responds to it.

Ka Xu should talk to Plum while we're doing this. He's a big ol' softy, children probably love him. Even in a world where everyone's a plush toy, he has teddy bear energy.

>>1015195
I like this idea better. Ka Xu will be much closer to us when he talks to Plum in case something happens.

Make sure the two of us both ask who we're talking to about jobs in town we can work in for beads, and good hunting spots for when the weather is clearer.

Edmango 2021/11/15(Mon)16:46 No. 1015262 ID: afe7de
File 163702358468.png - (13.88KB , 500x500 , p49.png )

> Talk to MIMI and PLUM
You approach the desk with the scylla lady and small Cloth-kin. You catch the tail end of their conversation.

Plum: Thanks for fixing my… coat… Mimi
Mimi: Anytime Plummy! I got all these tenties so it makes doing stuff way easier!
Mimi: Want a HUG before you go?
Plum: Um uh, not today, ah, I think you have some uh
Plum: Uh customers uh.

Plum kind of stumbles aside before you even get near, seemingly afraid. A tentacle props up on her shoulder from behind the desk and she seems to calm down. You make a gesture for KA XU to talk to PLUM while you talk to MIMI. He’s SMALL AND CUDDLY, you imagine other young kin would love him, right?

He introduces himself and begins chatting away in that way he does, KA XU’s unbridled and somewhat childish enthusiasm seems to actually strike a chord with her and the two begin some idle CHIT-CHAT as you reach the desk and remove your hood.

You: Hi there!
Mimi: Howdy stranger! Welcome to Mimi’s! It definitely wasn’t called something else recently!
You: Uhh okay…
You: We were looking to rent a room, heard there was a BLIZZARD coming?
Mimi: Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaah
Mimi: Happens all the time!
Mimi: At least ONCE A MONTH I reckon, even when it’s not the SNOWY SEASON
Mimi: Though that’s just cause it’s so HIGH UP here.
Mimi: But it’s mostly a LIGHT FLURRY so we just take it as is.
Mimi: It’s 2 Beads for 2 nights, plus meals since the BLIZZARD is happening and I’ll need to RESTOCK after.
Mimi: Normally it’s 1 BEAD for 3 nights, no food, but times be rough
You: Yeah, let me just talk with my buddy in a bit, but before that, what do you think of this town?
You: It uh, seems like it’s on it’s last legs.

Mimi thinks for a moment, putting a normal arm to her chin as she ponders. She says that the place is kind of a dump, but there are some nice kin here. She’s sad to see it DIE OUT as it’s doing and is trying to save up some FUNDS to move on out of here, but her CRONE of a GRAMMY refuses to leave, or at least she REFUSED to leave, but has now just up and vanished you hear her mutter under her breath.

Edmango 2021/11/15(Mon)16:46 No. 1015263 ID: afe7de
File 163702360297.png - (10.90KB , 500x500 , p50.png )

You segue into asking about potential JOBS around town or HUNTING SPOTS, seeing as the storm hit. She thinks for a moment and says that SHE doesn’t have any work, but you could always try your luck at the MINE and see if you can find some WOOD. She chuckles for a moment before saying that there hasn’t been any there in a LONG LONG TIME, but that JACK the GENERAL STORE OWNER would buy some off of ya, heck she says she might have a job for you, given they’re a MASSIVE HOARDER. She doesn’t know of any hunting spots though since the town mostly FARMED and TRADED for food.

Lastly you ask about the VANISHING you heard rumors about. She says that it wasn’t a VANISHING, but a FREAK ACCIDENT. AN BOREALIA actually found IRAH’S BROTHER’S CORPSE mauled by some sort of PAPERLING in the FOREST LAST EVENING.

Mimi: OOPS!
Mimi: I wasn’t supposed to talk about that
Mimi: Please forget I said that.
Mimi: Irah’s been real shook up about it since they couldn’t find his hea-
Mimi: Dag nabbit I almost did it again
Mimi: I’m such a bimbo, my head could use some more stuffing sometimes
Mimi: Go talk to BOREALIA if you want to know more officially, I’m sure an ANNOUNCEMENT will be made TONIGHT

She says that you just missed SHAWN IRAH, the little CLOTH with the TWO BUTTONS on the side of his face. She gets a sort of misty eyed look on her face when she says his name. Though she does concede that her GRAMMY, DA CRONE, has in fact VANISHED as well now, but doesn’t seem TOO CONCERNED about it.

You take a second to pause and evaluate the situation. Your task was to come here and check on MIMI’S strange activities. As far as you can tell she just seems to be a kind of air-headed kin that wants to leave this place. Though you wonder why she seems not that concerned with that death. Mimi tells you that she only has ONE ROOM LEFT, had you gotten here any later it’d probably have been booked.

It is now the [NOON OF DAY 1], what do you do?

First, let's book a room. We want those Well-Rested buffs, so it's worth the two beads.

Next, let's observe Ka Xu and Plum's chat a bit, cutting in if we see a good opportunity to ask anything.

And finally, let's head over to the guardhouse and talk to An Borealia. We're going to be broaching a sensitive topic as strangers, so we'll need to respect her boundaries. If she doesn't want to talk about it, we don't talk about it. Just make it clear that we're here at Da Crone's request to try and figure out what's going on in town. She's a guard making efforts to protect the town, we should be able to trust her.

Yes, I'm biased because of Catalyst.

Aw, poor Irah

Yeah, get the room.

Also, I'm not sure how heavy cloth kins are, but if he's light enough, pick up Ka Xu and give him a piggyback ride on your shoulders or back.

Then ask if Glum Plum wants to walk and talk about stuff with you and Ka Xu as you head towards the Guard building.

>>1015195
I agree with this.

Get a room first since they sell out fast during storms.
It would be a good idea to get a feel for how involved in the disappearances we think Mimi is and get any information we can on the area while KA XU talks to GLUM PLUM.

Edmango 2021/11/16(Tue)19:29 No. 1015388 ID: afe7de
File 163711979144.png - (10.30KB , 500x500 , p51.png )

> Book a room
You decide to spend [2 BEADS] to book a room after a quick gesture to KA XU and his replying THUMBS UP. MIMI then hands you a STONE KEY, you can immediately tell it's made of HIGH QUALITY STONE, highly resistant to CHIPPING AND BREAKING. You're told that your room is UPSTAIRS and at the end of the hallway and that meals are served in the MORNING and EVENING, so you should come around then if you are hungry.

She then points to a side door that leads to a private outhouse area, it's fenced in but still outside so you can relieve yourselves. You notice there's a door behind her that says OFFICE written in CANON, you assume that to be her personal quarters. She also tells you that you can adjust the VENT in your room to change how much HEAT the sunstone lets in. You pocket the key into your cloak's TINY POCKET and check on KA XU.

You spent [2 BEADS]
- You're now broke
- You've booked a room at MIMI'S INN
- Come by at MORNING or EVENING to get a meal

As you begin to step away she also lets you know that you can feel free to come to her to redeem [1 PREMIUM HUG] for you and your companion. She’s been practicing and has been told that they’re THE BEST. You thank her and consider it for later.

> Listen in on KA XU and PLUM
You turn your attention as MIMI busies herself with something else, you notice she fumbles about from time to time with little STRING DUSTERS as you turn away.

The two are in rapt conversation about PLASTIC PLANTS and CANDY. KA XU is doing most of the talking and it's clear that PLUM is in over her head in the conversation but the way KA XU talks sometimes is really approachable if you've gotten to know him. She occasionally pipes in and mentions something about the CANDY CROPS outside of town and about how CANDY CORN COBS are a pretty stable one to grow even in this environment.

You cough a bit to get their attention and the same wariness you saw on PLUM earlier returns.

Edmango 2021/11/16(Tue)19:30 No. 1015389 ID: afe7de
File 163711983844.png - (11.68KB , 500x500 , p52.png )

You: Booked us a room, who's this?
Ka Xu: Oh thank the LOOM
Ka Xu: I was worried you were considering NOT staying in a WARM PLACE

Your expression turns to a pout as you think about how you very nearly did suggest doing that.

Ka Xu: Anyway, this is Plum!
Plum: Um, hello there miss... Cob?
Ka Xu: Like Candy Corn on the Cob yeah!
You: Actually it's like Cobbler...
Plum: Oh... sorry miss...
You: Want to walk and talk?
You: I wanted to talk to AN BOREALIA before it got too late
Ka Xu: But it's cold out theeeerrreeeee
Ka Xu: Fine, uh, Plum, want to join us?
Ka Xu: You said you were going in that direction anyway.
Plum: Uh, I uhh...
Plum: I don't want to be annoying...
Plum: I was just going to wait until you left to leave...

You and Ka Xu assure her that it's fine and the three of you step outside. The harsh cold assaults your senses and you're deafened for a moment as you step outside. The wind blows ominously and with a strength that wasn't present a short while ago.

You tighten your cloak to preserve heat and wander forward. In an act of joviality you decide to prop KA XU up on your shoulders. He's surprised, but in a moment chuckles and enjoys the ride. PLUM looks a little less guarded now. You imagine she’s willing to talk to you a bit more casually.

Get Plum's perspective on the town, and share some things about your own clutch that might interest her. Maybe just flat out ask if she knows anything about people vanishing recently. Nobody thinks to ask the children, but they might know!

>>1015389
Who is that on the roof?

>>1015389
Figure on the roof

Feeling of being watched. lets choose our questions carefully, we don't want cultists to target us if we act suspicious. Maybe ask indirect questions.

ideas for questions:

What does she like? Depending on her tastes, we could probably offer berry candies for her as thanks for listening to us. this will make her more comfortable to answer questions maybe, and become better friends with us. (might be too young for the wine)

Ask about Borealia, you want to get an idea on who she is so we know how to approach her. Is she looking for new hires?

if not, is anyone else besides the general store owner looking for hires, or does plum know of hunting places?

Ask about Plum's relation with Mimi and Mimi's grandmother besides being their accountant. It was nice of Mimi to fix her coat. Maybe ask how it got damaged in the first place? That might be important.

Ask about Irah, he was kind of staring at us earlier, and he wasn't dressed warm enough for the weather for some reason. (learning about the kind of person he is might help with talking with him later especially since his brother died recently, we don't want to offend him and ask the wrong questions. Don't mention his death, seems like Mimi is the only few who knows about it, and might scare Plum and get whoever is watching us suspicious)

What is north of town?

The roof thing looks like a cute bird!

Quick, look up at the roof!

You feel like you are being watched even with the gathering storm dulling your senses. Try to get a look at the roof without being obvious and ask questions to plum but keep it light.

Ask about the town and if PLUM likes the area, What does she like to do?

I like the idea of asking about what happened to her coat. It may have been something completely normal but would be good information either way and maybe help us get more of a feel from MIMI.

I also thing offering a berry candy as a thanks would help endear PLUM to us. It will be good to have friends who won't be suspicious of us.

Edmango 2021/11/17(Wed)18:22 No. 1015466 ID: 0838d6
File 163720216304.png - (13.22KB , 500x500 , p53.png )

> TOWN GOSSIP
You casually ask PLUM about the kin in town. She mentions in a quiet voice that mostly everyone she knew left town a while ago. She mentions that most of the ADULTS don't bother to talk to her unless they need her LOGIC AND MATHS skills. She kicks a nearby pebble in frustration.

The other UNAWAKENED TEENS treat her alright for the most part. MIMI has always been sweet and helps her fix her old clothing that has wear and tear from constant reuse since she’s kind of POOR. She points to a big patch on her WARM COAT, it has a little embroidered tentacle on it that you imagine is MIMI’S SIGNATURE. She mentions it tore the other week on a THORNY BUSH and that she gave it to MIMI so it would be fixed before the next BLIZZARD.

IRAH is okay she guesses, but she feels like something's been wrong lately ever since his BROTHER stopped by with some friends and then recently went missing.

You ask about IRAH’s bro and their friends and she remarks that his brother was an ASH-KIN named PHOENIUS, but their friends were rather plain looking CLOTH-KIN, one had a COOL SCAR, but they seemed really spaced out most of the time and left after a big argument in the INN. She got some BAD VIBES off of those CLOTH-KIN.

Other than that she talks briefly about a few AWAKENED ADULTS. DRIFT is incredibly annoying, but actually talks to her, so is one of the few ADULTS she enjoys talking to. MORTIFER treats her like an annoying child, even though she's been the one helping him manage his finances ever since he gave up on running the mine, which is FAR TOO LONG in her opinion. She remarks that a FOREMAN should know when to quit.

She mentions that there are some others in town but asks you about where you're from, her curiosity peaked. So you and KA XU share a bit about what it was like in your CLUTCH growing up, how they taught you a TRADE and you learned to HUNT. She goes wide-eyed at that and thinks it's super cool you can get food just by hunting and that you got to TRAVEL, she’s just lived here forever. She remarks the only other kin she knows that can do that is GYOB, but he keeps to himself over by the lake.

Edmango 2021/11/17(Wed)18:23 No. 1015467 ID: 0838d6
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Plum talks about how she usually COLLECTS SEEDS and knows of some good varieties that she feeds to the TINY FLYING PAPERLINGS that come around when it’s less cold. And KA XU says that he’d like to see them sometime, maybe some RARE SEEDS he could grow into some HERBS could be found.

> Perception Check: ROOFTOP
A cold breeze whisks past the side of your head and you turn slightly, your mind glazing over the conversation for a moment. A dark spot moves at the corner of your eye and you look up to the roof of a nearby ABANDONED BUILDING. The snow has built up on the roof, but not to a disastrous level. You see a small groove where something could have been, a potentially disturbed area, but aren't sure if it was your imagination or not. If something was there, it's either QUITE FAST, or QUITE STEALTHY.

Plum looks at you with a curious expression as you shake your head and turn to keep walking and talking.

> AN BOREALIA AND JOBS
You ask about WORK in the town and she just shrugs, saying there's barely anyone left. Your best bet is to just SELL STUFF to JACQUELINE the GENERAL STORE OWNER. She buys and sells most stuff, even has some things she's looking for. But PLUM says that she's... INTENSE and kind of SCARY for an ADULT.

She offhandedly mentions that you could go to the [WOOD MINE] in the NORTH if you're really desperate, but there’s no WOOD left as far as she’s aware. There might be some GOOD STONES or something that could get you A BEAD OR TWO up by the PEAK, but she got really torn up and sick the last time she went because she just doesn't know a way to avoid the brambles. But it might be wasted effort unless you can make them into a USEFUL TOOL that someone needs. She doesn't know much about stones though, so there might be NOTHING there. But to this your eyes SHINE, you might have a way to make money if someone has a specific TOOL they might need, but that’s only if you can find some STONES.

But then she gravely intones to BE CAREFUL, a slight crack appearing in her voice, there was an accident at the mine before, crushing her- she pauses at that, seeing you’ve arrived at your destination.

Edmango 2021/11/17(Wed)18:25 No. 1015468 ID: 0838d6
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You reach the door of the GUARDHOUSE and PLUM stands a bit away from you, she says that she's got to head out but it was nice chatting. You offer her some BERRY CANDIES but she recoils and says she only likes BITTER snacks before thanking you and walking off. You get the feeling she doesn't want to see AN BOREALIA for some reason.

You see her heading towards the [ABANDONED RESIDENCES] to where you assume she lives. Ka Xu dismounts and opens the door, excited to not be in the COLD. The inside is certainly INSULATED, but it's not as WARM as the INN. What greets you instead is the shocked expression of two ladies. One a rather large FUR-KIN that looks like a rabbit, she’s wearing a THICK SCARF, GLOVES, and BOOTIES and her nose scrunches at your entry. In front of her lies a CLOTH-KIN with a head that looks more FUR in nature, they’re wearing a BLACK dress with a thick, WHITE SCARF. The two gesture for you to shut the door and continue their conversation.

An Borealia: All I’m saying is that it’s VERY suspicious that YOU found the body, MI SNOW
Mi Snow: And all I’m SAYING An is that YOU are doing a LINT POOR JOB
Mi Snow: I can’t SLEEP at night, I’m irritable and frustrated and there’s a dosh garn BLIZZARD
An Borealia: I’m the ONLY ONE doing any guard work, I can’t catch everything!?!?
An Borealia: Especially when kin just wander off in the middle of the night!
An Borealia: I told everyone to stay INDOORS at night when PHOENIUS
An Borealia: Went missing a week ago, and then we had kin just RUNNING OUT OF TOWN
An Borealia: Directly ignoring me!!!
Mi Snow: Well maybe it’s because you’re a washed up GUARD or SHERIFF or whatever
Mi Snow: They know that you can’t do jack in a box for anyone!
An Borealia: I’m just one girl, I already don’t SLEEP much
An Borealia: I go out on WATCHES and I haven’t found anything!
An Borealia: Wait I was asking YOU questions
Mi Snow: I can’t handle not knowing what did this
Mi Snow: You saw the corpse, his HEAD was torn off
Mi Snow: and his ARMS were torn to shreds or eaten or whatever!
Mi Snow: Maybe you shouldn’t sleep at all, maybe then we’d be SAFE!!!

You see An Borealia’s expression darken, turn to frustration, then hopelessness as she sits there and looks down at the ground, defeated. Mi Snow picks up something on the ground, some sort of long rod and walks out. You see her move the mechanism around and it turns into something you’ve never seen, something protecting her from the snowfall. The door shuts behind you as you’re left with a solemn looking An Borealia.

The [NOON] is about half over.

>>1015468
This is the one person in town you can trust, so tell her about your quest. Offer to help with patrols. You think there was someone on one of the roofs a little while ago, actually...

Lets pick the poor rabbit's spirits up, and gain her trust.

Introduce yourself and Ka Xu, ask if she'd like something sweet or bitter as your condolences, and give her either some berry candies if she likes sweet, or a shot of the candy wine if she likes something bitter. This might make her more comfortable to talk with us.

Tell her you'd like to help patrol by doing secret undercover work for her to help her with the workload. If she asks why, just tell her that while you were traveling, you met Mimi's grandmother and she wanted us to investigate Mimi's odd behavior that she's been having a week ago. We think maybe it is related to the vanishings going on in town. If she says she can't afford our services, tell her she doesn't have to pay us as we're doing this as a favor for the grandmother, and we can just sell stuff for beads, like any stones we find.

Mention how you thought that Phoenius died due to a paperling attacking him according to Mimi, you also remember him getting into some kind of argument before going missing a week ago?

also ask if she remember the grammy having injuries before leaving town, since her legs looked cut up when we first met her (she could have gotten those injuries after escaping town, but could be a clue if she was injured in town). Maybe tell her how Drift heard some dragging sounds last night too.

Edmango 2021/11/19(Fri)18:33 No. 1015576 ID: 0838d6
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> INTRODUCTIONS
You and KA XU introduce yourself to the rabbit who nods and responds that her name is AN BOREALIA, the sole remaining TOWN GUARD and self-appointed SHERIFF.

She apologizes for the rather unfortunate encounter that you've borne witness to and her hopeless expression is immediately masked with immaculate professionalism. She then asks if there's anything she can help you with.

> OFFER A SNACK
You offer her some of your CANDY WINE, you remark that it looks like she's having trouble RELAXING. She REALLY wants some, and you can even tell that as you offer she's struggling with being professional and just immediately pouring a shot for herself. She then thanks you for the offer but says that maybe it would be for the best if she didn't have any until after her final patrol of the day. Unfortunately her body betrays her words as she’s already poured herself a shot and set it aside for later, eying it intensely.

> MENTION YOUR QUEST
You decide to cut to the chase and discuss your purpose for coming to the town. She hears your tale of talking to DA CRONE and finding strange things in the town, and that MIMI seemed different. AN BOREALIA remarks that she wondered where DA CRONE fled off to, but hadn't had the RESOURCES to go search for her further than just in the town itself, after all, no one in town is willing to be a GUARD so it's just her after all.

AN BOREALIA then pauses for a moment and considers if any changes have been happening surrounding MIMI and you can practically see her trying to go through the mental motions of collecting any information before fizzling out and replying that she's really not sure.

AN BOREALIA remarks that MIMI has been a bit more ENTHUSIASTIC lately, which is hard to do when you're already as enthusiastic as she was and this started around a week ago. Of course this was before she realized what actually happened with POHOENIUS, but even then she's never let DEATH bother her much, seeing it as more of RETURNING TO THE LOOM to help out her brothers and sisters that still remain.

She states that it's kind of creepy but not strange based off of MIMI'S airheaded character, and it might even be a blessing because she isn't as STRESSED.

Edmango 2021/11/19(Fri)18:33 No. 1015577 ID: 0838d6
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> JOB REQUEST - PATROLLING
You decide to offer your services PATROLLER or TEMPORARY GUARD, seeing that she's understaffed and that you are underfunded. She immediately beams with excitement but then after a few moments is saddened, mentioning that part of the reason no one wants to be a guard is that she's FLAT BROKE, and that the MINE isn't funding her duties, so she really does this FOR FREE out of a sense of DUTY and only spends her savings on FOOD and a tiny SUNSTONE she pokes at on her desk to keep at least the area around her WARM. She remarks it doesn't even heat up the whole building.

She says that if you do this she can work something out with JACK, and see about getting you a TRADE VOUCHER or something for an item at her store as JACK owes AN BOREALIA several favors. But it's really not a long term solution and she likely only has enough FAVORS to last till the end of the BLIZZARD.

You’ve been offered a JOB, it’s details are as follows
- Go on patrol ONCE A DAY, checking in with the kin along your route
- Handle MINOR DISPUTES between kin you come across
- Report SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES to AN BOREALIA
- Look for details on the death of PHOENIUS if possible
- Patrols take up a [TIMESLOT] and you can start them in the middle of one or at the beginning.

You will be paid in TRADE VOUCHERS that can be redeemed at the GENERAL STORE
- They are currently worth an unknown value
- You will be paid once after your first PATROL (should you prove competent)
- And then you will be paid based on your performance
- AN BOREALIA is unsure of how many of these she can get you, but says that she should have enough at the minimum to pay for your help DURING THE BLIZZARD

She says that she typically patrols twice randomly throughout the day so having someone take a patrol really eases her burden. But she also mentions patrolling AT NIGHT and how strenuous it is. She says that if you do this, you WILL LIKELY have to wander out during the BLIZZARD, and depending on it’s INTENSITY your patrol may take TWICE AS LONG when you do, but sees that you are well equipped enough to move from place to place that it shouldn’t be TOO MUCH of a problem.

Edmango 2021/11/19(Fri)18:33 No. 1015578 ID: 0838d6
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She pokes her head out a hatch you didn’t notice before, just big enough for her head and after a moment brings her head back in and shakes off the snow that just collected. Her nose twitches as she mentions it looks like the storm will be at its most intense AT NIGHT, at least for today, but she can’t tell much past that.

> KA XU'S THOUGHTS
You look to KA XU who has been remarkably silent and ask him for his opinion. He remarks that he guesses this could be fine. It'd give you an excuse to actually snoop around town. He's not fond of NOT BEING PAID, but says that maybe there's something good at the STORE. He also asks how long you want to do this GUARD thing, remarking that it’s probably fine to do while you’re completing your QUEST, but that he’s not too interested in doing this LONG TERM without getting some sweet sweet BEADS, as he’d rather EXPLORE or LOOK FOR SOME SEEDS.

He even remarks that you could take this job on your own while he does OTHER THINGS should you think that’s a good idea. You feel a stirring inside of you as you come to this choice and the warmth of your [ANCESTOR] stirs giving you a sensation and your [DESIRE] awakens as well, but they’re conflicting.

Your [DESIRE] thinks that you should TAKE THE JOB
Your [ANCESTOR] thinks you should not, but gets GOOD VIBES from AN BOREALIA

What do you do?

Let's not take this job. At best, patrol duties might make the people living here feel safer, and we might get early information on people going missing. But that isn't worth the time investment. We're better off focusing on our own investigation and talking to people as a pace we set.

Think of it like this. An will focus on keeping the people here safe, while we focus on identifying the cause of disappearances and eliminating it. We don't have the resources to spend on both, so we're gonna have to trust this bunny to handle the former. The sooner we get whatever evil is lurking in this town out, the sooner she won't need extra guards.

I say we take the job. The vouchers aren't half as valuable as the impetus it gives us for investigating. Plushies will be wary of us if we, perfect strangers, walk up and start asking questions without giving away what we're trying to uncover.

Maybe ask BOREALA which folks around town we should prioritize.

Speaking of, who was that saucy girl she had a shouting match with? (Mental note; she seemed pretty intent on deflecting the sheriff's questions without actually giving a straight answer.)

>>1015578
I say accept, but this is definitely only going to be for the quest's duration. This town is dying, even without people getting murdered, so sticking around without an exceptional job prospect would be stupid.

At any rate, we can't do it today. We need to explore the town. Probably go talk to that fisherman, or go to the overlook to get a good view of the layout.

This is a good temp opportunity. An Borealia has good experience that she's willing to teach at a discount, and you're expected to get paid even if you fail the quest.

That said, if the vouchers turn out to be near-worthless, quit on the spot. Build a reputation of being reliable but steadfast; if they don't pay you what you deserve, you're not going to be their wage-slave.

B. I think it would work better if we just patrol on our own without officially being guards, it'll give us the opportunity to leave town and search for stones to craft tools with, we did get the tool crafting skill, be a shame to waste it.

Plus, it'd make Ka Xu happy.

(if we do A, tell An that we'd think it'd be safer if we work for her undercover without people knowing we're working for her, and have people be more willing to talk to us this way. Let Ka Xu know it's temp, only until our quest is over.)

>>1015582
Don't take the job. It would be too noticeable and we don't want to use An's favors up. We won't be staying in this town after the quest is over, she will need the more than us. Also if other kin react like Mi Snow it might be more of a hinderance to be officially working as a guard.

Assure An Borealia that you will still be lightening her workload. Now you and Ka Xu will have more time and freedom to look for seeds and good stones while you are here investigating.

Edmango 2021/11/20(Sat)18:39 No. 1015671 ID: afe7de
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> INDECISION - TIED SUGGESTIONS
You're wracked with indecision.

On the one hand the job would give you a logical impetus to actually pursue your goal without arousing any weird questions. You could also gain some good experience as a guard and get a minor payout.

But on the other hand you want to explore the town today, and you get the idea that she'll ask you to go on patrol immediately if you agree. You also get the idea that you should maintain a REPUTATION of sorts as STEADFAST, but not a WAGE SLAVE.

You could go UNDERCOVER, but that also has problems of potentially being yelled at or no one trusting you either. You're already investigating, so maybe it's better if you just keep at that and she continues patrolling to protect her fellow kin.

Patrolling also means less time to go to the more obscure places like the [LAKE] or the [MOUNTAIN OVERLOOK]. AN BOREALIA notices your indecision and gathers the courage to speak up, her face flushes as she stutters through the words.

An Borealia: I-I-I I could also pay with my body
An Borealia: In HUGS or CUDDLES or even uh
An Borealia: SMOOCHES, but it's been a while.
An Borealia: I'm a FUR so I'm WARM and comfortable at night
An Borealia: It makes up for being a little colder then the INN right...
An Borealia: I uh, please, even if it's just one or two PATROLS
An Borealia: Even if my COTTON-LINE means I need less SLEEP
An Borealia: That’s not NO SLEEP, I've just been so tired lately.

You consider this further, there's a lot of town left to look through and you only really have the [EVENING] to do it while it's light out before the BLIZZARD makes it difficult to move around. You could always come back and take the job after. There's also that [GENERAL STORE] and it's right next door to check out. But the PATROL could also show you things you might miss or where everyone else lives. KA XU remains disinterested but is deferring to you as he doesn't actually have any ideas as to what the BEST move right now would be. The stirring inside you becomes a little more distinct, you try to parse what your DESIRE and ANCESTOR are making you feel.

[DESIRE] - Get JOB to get SMOOCHES, you’ve never gotten one of those before
[ANCESTOR] - Continue exploring the town

The [NOON] is almost over, what do you do?