1223.4 Once More Unto the Breach

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: In the Ruins of Bibracte
174

You're confused? So am I. Having trouble figuring out what you guys are doing, to be honest...

Look, that comment came about directly as to what was going on the Dimicatio, and basically how it applied here. But in the Dimicatio spells were being cast without words (and until I brought it up, no one was saying that they were shouting something at the end to get the spell to carry to the recipient, so how was I supposed to know what the intent was and what characters were doing, exactly?), which to me, suggested that there was an implicit understanding that Voice range wasn't determined based on the actual sound the voice could carry[1]. So if that was going to be the case, Perdo couldn't apply. Now that we have clearly established that Voice range is based on how far the voice carries, Perdo DOES apply, it must apply. When players start making assumptions and trying to game me, I'll take the assumptions and run with them.

So, yes, Perdo destroying sound in a room will cause any spell that relies on Voice range to fail. It has to, unless anyone wants to explain to me why it doesn't. My reasoning there was based on gamesmanship, where players were trying "beat" the SG. I don't play that way, until the players start playing that way. Decide how you want Voice Range to work. Meaning the sound must be carried to the intended recipient of the spell, or some range of about 15 paces/50 feet, whatever.

Getting whiplash? Good, so am I. You guys decide what's reasonable, and I'll just roll with it. You can't have both, you have to pick one or the other...

[1]Yes, but I could have reasonably presumed that they were shouting? I'm not going to play or SG like that. I want you guys to be explicit about what's being done. I dislike having to get into these discussions of the minutia when I have to fill in the blanks for you guys. If I fill in the blanks incorrectly, I lose. If I fill in the blanks because you guys forgot about something, well, that's not entirely fair, either, I might as well just lead you down a story that has no branching points, checking things off as you go along.

175

((Although the RAW on Voice/sound and spells is admittedly a bit bizarre, are we okay with continuing this thread under the current plan? Tranquillina's PeIm spell destroys all auditory species in the room, which I think still allows Isen to cast his Voice Range spell.))

176

Yeah, like I said, the Touch is fine with me to deliver a spell in this instance, and we can g with that for now. Now what.

177

So, did the giant fall asleep in his chair? And the giantess is sleeping soundly in the bed? And, what did we instruct Falko to do?

After about twenty seconds, Tranquillina's nausea passes as the vis within the giants stops registering on her senses. She takes the rope out of her pouch, inspecting the chain around the giant's neck from a couple of angles. Then she sponts a MuIm spell to change the appearance and feel of the rope to match the chain. ((Base level 2, +1 Touch, +1 Diam = level 4 spell. Sta -3 + Mu 9 + Im 10 + aura 12 = 28, enough to cast it non-fatiguingly. Finesse roll to get the look and feel right: Int 3 + Finesse 2 + stress die 2 = 7.))

Although Isen can't see her, he can see the rope/chain: Tranquillina waves it around, then points it at the chain on the giant's neck, hoping that Isen can move the items around.

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In case it isn't clear, in this instance, in the interests of moving the story forward, the giant is asleep, slumped over at his desk. His wife is still asleep.

179

Not really :confused: T-T
It's one of these bad times of the year

I thought he was going to stop sound from escaping the room :question:

For the record,I brought it up, since I was the one doing it. Thanks.

Note that the bit in the Mute flaw I was referring to in the following discussion would imply that actual sound is needed to "carry" your spells. Also, ain't your range influenced by low/booming speech?
Now, would PeIm affect this? I don't know. I can see a point being made either way, since magic can't enhance your voice range IIRC. I feel like this makes PeIm waaaaay too strong. Against an individual, it'd need to penetrate, but in a room? Makes head heart. Can't penetrate MR but will destroy species once they're outside of it??? :open_mouth:

Anyway, in doubt, she just needs to cast it right after Isen has cast his spell. He can do it with a very soft voice, after all. Hell, it's simple actually, even rules wise: If Isen has a better init, she casts it after him. Otherwise, she can hold her action to just after him.

He can't do it, IMO. Not without FFM.

Anyway, if it is good...
The magi can teleport back, while poor falko makes his way home. Now that they're together, Isen will spont a touch range, diameter duration, Intangible Tunnel to him, of level 05 (to carry spells up to level 20). He can spont it without fatigue. Once it is done, he'll cast The Silent Conspiracy, an mentally instruct Falko to go towards the wall opposite to the gate. Once there, if everything's allright, we can both spont a Part touch range lvl 10 PeHe spell to create a hole in the wall for him to go out, and cover this with a low-level "sight and touch" imaginem spell. That way, he won't have to risk the gates.

180

Then we need to figure out how to manage this story if you're going to be absent and it's not going to progress. As I said, this is a combat story, which I made very clear. What I didn't say, but should have been obvious is that it requires a certain amount of availability to progress the story.

He=Isen? Because, gerg, as Tranquillina cast the spell to kill sounds in the room. This was your guys plan, not mine, and I didn't see anything mentioned of controlling (Rego Imaginem) the sounds from escaping the room. If that was the case, you now have a giantess who is awake, and have to handle that. But I'm interested in moving this story forward, as it seems you are, below.

This is being discussed in the Table Talk thread. If you want to continue that discussion there, that's a much better place to do it than in the middle of a story.

Again, do it that way you have awakened the sleeping giantess.

Again, this is in the interests of advancing the story, if you want to discuss how to handle stuff like this in the future, I will reiterate that you should enter the conversation in the Table Talk thread. I said this is a one time deal, mainly to move the story forward, because your erratic posting doesn't lend itself for developing a comprehensive plan, and also because there is some serious concerns that need to be resolved about PeIm and sounds and how they affect magic moving forward. It's a good discussion to have, I just want to figure out how it works, and you should go over to the Table Talk thread and lend your voice to the discussion.

And not so fast. As we have the scene, Isen has just put the giant to sleep and the chain is around his neck. Someone needs to get the chain, somehow. No one has yet said how that is happening. And I have no idea what the rest of the stuff you're doing is intended to do.

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JL... It started in october... I couldn't have foreseen it would still be up by now (Last time I was in a combat story, with valerian and tria, it was over quickly), nor that I'd have that much work by now, nor that I would be ill on top of it all. Could you? We all had various problems at times, you included.
Whatever.

Sorry, She. Tranquillina. And dunno where I thought that she stopped sounds from exiting the room :unamused: :blush:

You're telling me that these giants are so light sleepers that the simple sound of someone softly incanting would instantly and assuredly wake her? :unamused:

ReTe base 4 to teleport an object up to 5 paces, + 1 touch = lvl 5.

Isen can spont it fatigueless. He'll teleport the chain out, the fake chain in.
Finesse for the one: 1d10=5 + Dex 1 + Finesse 6 = 12
Finesse for the other: 1d10=3 + Dex 1 + Finesse 6 = 10

182

That wasn't a combat story, and I never stated it was a combat story. I had some tactical elements in the story and called out rounds, but it certainly wasn't a combat story. I was extremely clear about this being the combat story, and the pacing here is falling to you. Jebrick and gerg can post faster so this story progresses whenever you move it. That's a pretty simple fact. We haven't even gotten to the meat of the story, and I'm not accusing you of anything, I'm just saying we need to figure out how to manage this story, or any story, if you can't post for a period of time.

What's the purpose of whatever? To state you don't care? Because that's the only use of that word that makes sense. If you don't care, then I can write this story differently.
I don't know your schedule, I don't know when your posting rate changes, unless you tell me, and yes, things do come up, and when I'm the one holding things back, I think I make it clear that I'm the one, and acknowledge the fact and then notify my fellow players when I can expect to be available. Sometimes I make a notification, like I'll be away for a weekend, but my schedule permits me to be able to post. I'm cautious about informing my fellow players.

If you, as you had thought you were preventing sounds from exiting the room, the situation would now be three people in the room trying to remain quiet and getting the giant to sleep and then getting the chain off. We could go with stealth rolls, if you'd like. I can work this anyway you'd like. But this is your plan, what you and gerg agreed to, despite you not understanding it. And I had already moved on from this point, but you wanted to discuss it more. Eye roll, indeed. You want to point out some potential flaw in the scene. The scene is what the scene is, and you and gerg discussed it and had a large part in shaping it. I can't win.

Where is Isen teleporting the chain to? To move from the giant's neck to Isen's hand?

Great, now what? Isen teleports back outside?

And I presume Tranquillina teleport's out, and Falko walks out. In the interests of progressing the story... everyone is back outside.

Now what are you doing?

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Tranquillina will extend her magic sensitivity towards the chain, to see what she can tell about it. ((Per 2 + Magic Sensitivity 3 + hate it when a simple die is 1 = 6. There, a nice low bar for Fixer to clear :wink: ))

184

Jacques keeps a watch around them. I would suggest that we get moving before they become alerted and send out someone looking.

185

Jacques will lead everyone away from the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief to a place further away that they can rest and plan.

According to Marcus, this chain will transport us to the volcano( also known as the Hall of the Fire Giant King) where he is being held and we must be ready for combat as soon as we arrive. We must also alert Marcus when we make out attempt. First, we need to figure out how this chain works. Second, I recommend that we do not contact Marcus until we arrive at the volcano. Mainly because we do not know if this chain will take us there or not.

186

"On the other hand," Tranquillina puts forward, "what if contacting Marcus is the only way to figure out how to use the chain? Even if we manage to learn ourselves, might we accidentally end up in the midst of the fire giants before we are ready?" She glances towards Isen as she says this, hoping he doesn't judge her a coward for the remark.

187

Good idea. Lets move away and let you rest then contact Marcus.

188

Tranquillina agrees with this plan. She is breathing heavily, not so much from the spells she has cast (which benefit greatly from the intense magical aura), but from the general stress of the situation in the giants' bedroom. Soon she is ready to put some distance between herself and the fort. She casts Unraveling the Fabric of Imaginem upon herself to remove the invisibility spell, now that she's back in the company of superior protection. She does the same for Falko, and also (if he consents and lowers his Parma) for Isen. ((automatic success, both for casting level and for what level of spell she can unravel))

Once they get to a safe and stable place, she can use Ignitio as an Arcane Connection to Marcus again, casting The Ear for Distant Voices to be able to hear whatever Marcus decides to say, as well as sounds in his vicinity. She does so with great boldness, knowing she might have to penetrate some resistance. "I suppose it is your task, sodalis, to communicate our questions to him once again," she prods Isen. ((She's casting an InIm 20 spell. Sta -3 + In 6 + Im 10 + words/gestures 2 + Mastery 1 + aura 12 + stress die 2 = 30. Penetration 30 - 20 + bonus 18 as before = 28.))

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To state that writing more on this would be a waste of both our time and that I don't want to get into a conflict with you over this, so I drop. If I must post, I prefer for it to be related to the game.

It is difficult to tell a precise schedule, because a lot of my work depends on whatever people drop on me. In one day, I went to "Everything's fine" to "too much work". But when this happens and I see I can't get back to "normal", I try to tell, like I just did above. It should be better now (or it would, if I wasn't ill), hopefully.

Yes. Sorry if it wasn't clear. I figured this was easier and stealthier than trying to take it "by hand".

Yes, you've got it right:

Isen listens to Tranquillina carefully
I doubt he knows much more about it than we do, but it costs nothing to ask. At worst, he might tell us of the most appropriate moment to come. As you say, appearing in the midst of giants could spell the end of our mission. The longer we can go unnoticed, the better. And once we are, we must make haste, and strike vigorously.

Isen gives a sideway look at Tranquillina, but says nothing.
He'll cast the same spell as before:
CrIm base 1 (sound), +1 clear words, +4 arc, +1 conc = lvl 15
Isen's total is Cr19 + Im02 + Sta02 + Aura 12 + Die 1d10=6 = 41/2 = 20

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((Marcus did say to contact him before you arrived, in any event, so he could coordinate and create a diversion.))

"Do you have it? I'll assume yes. The chain will stretch. Put everyone together and form a circle. Wrap the cord around you. It stretches when you give it the right command." Marcus sounds out a word, which is somewhat familiar to Tranquillina, but not quite (different Celtic tongue). "And then, making sure that you're all within that circle bounded by the chain, you speak the command word for transport, which is..." He says another word. "You'll be transported to a stone circle, and I'll have it surrounded with flames to obscure your arrival. I need a couple of your minutes from your mark. If anyone has wards against Heat and Flames, it would be highly advisable to use them on any and all who are coming."

191

I may be able to spont Ward vs Heat and flames but it will wear me out if I do it on each person. I would have to do Ring but it would be nice to have when going to a volcano.

192

When Tranquillina repeats what Marcus says to the others (since nobody else can hear him), she doesn't say the control words themselves just yet - just indicates that Marcus did say what the words were. She works on memorizing the two words, trying to connect them to likely cognates from her native Gaelic.

Tranquillina is useless with Ignem, so she doesn't offer to help with any wards. She says to Jacques, "I do not think we need to get there immediately. There is probably time for you to cast a spell several times, rest after each effort, and still be fresh when we arrive."

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((Jacques can't get to 50 for a spont Ward of heat and flames. Hoping that Isen can or we will have to wizard communion to do it.))