MT 179 - The Void King’s Houseplant
Guar was alive, just Paralyzed and missing two-thirds of his health. A quick tap from Pio cleansed the debuff as she went past on her way to Baltae, picking her way carefully between the spikes.
Baltae was trapped beneath the rubble of the pillar and wall he’d smashed into. Guar had to move several stone blocks to reach him, some larger...
2024-09-22 02:49:04 +0000 UTC View PostMT 178 - Nottagator Rematch
The Littans spent the hour recovering and I chatted with Grotto about the upcoming political quagmire our party was about to become involved with.
[The Diplomacy intrinsic would give you a natural advantage. You will not be able to rely entirely on Etja to carry the weight of public relations. As the party leader, you will be subject to signifi...
2024-09-21 01:08:11 +0000 UTC View PostMT 177 - Delicious in Delve
Guar had an entire kitchen in his inventory. Not just a camp cookout kitchen, either. The man pulled out an entire wood-fired stove, a six-foot length of stainless steel cabinets topped with a prep counter, a wall covered in hooks and hanging cooking implements, a water cistern with a rotary pump, and a three-stage commercial sink for cleanup. He also la...
2024-09-18 23:58:31 +0000 UTC View PostMT 176 - Strategy Meeting, but Dressed
Grotto’s Delve had been pretty informative. Although I’d done plenty of research into Delving and had opportunities to train and speak with other Delvers through the Ravvenblaqs, I’d never seen how another group handled Delving firsthand.
In fact, seeing another group in action at all was extremely rare, barring...
2024-09-17 04:30:32 +0000 UTC View PostMT 175 - Planar or Spatial? The Subtle Nuance of Portal Magic
All is not lost for the Littan party! Nottagator’s merciless combo may have looked ruinous, but Sgt. Guar had Shielding granted to him by Captain Pio. On top of a health pool that I have judged to be close to 2000 and liberal use of his defensive buffs, Guar is not yet relieved of his living role in this mortal combat!...
2024-09-13 00:58:55 +0000 UTC View PostMT 174 - The Raaaaage Caaaaage!
The Abyssal Atrocidile Titan was four times the size of the Atrocidile I’d fought during my Creation Delve. The creature’s pale flesh was covered in rows of translucent scales with the texture of poorly maintained fingernails. Two humanoid arms reached out from the water and dug thick fingers into the cavern’s stone floor as though it were made...
2024-09-12 18:56:36 +0000 UTC View PostMT 172 - Surprise Mimicry
The next section of the Delve was a dimensional maze. The hallway ended at a T-junction, each side of which led to a crossroad with 3 more potential paths to choose from.
[There are 40 potential junctions. When a path is chosen it will lead to 1 of 3 additional junctions, with 1 junction having a 66 percent chance of being selected, the second ha...
2024-09-08 00:21:58 +0000 UTC View PostMT 172 - Littan Excellence
“Has the valiant sacrifice of Alfalfa’s pack earned us anything?” I thought to my familiar.
[I assume that is your designation for the Alpha, but yes. Aside from determining that this group possesses skills more advanced than an average gold party, it has also resulted in the acquisition of additional mana to use how we wish....
2024-09-06 19:04:43 +0000 UTC View PostMT 171 - Gold Standard Delving
I didn’t think too hard about Grotto’s request for me to join him in watching randos invading my dimensional space. I simply grumbled my acceptance and was teleported to a part of the Closet I’d never seen.
It was a tight space, about the size of a small bedroom, with a miniature Delve obelisk atop a pedestal at its center. There were no d...
2024-09-03 14:30:47 +0000 UTC View PostMT 170 - Reality Anchor
By the time we reluctantly left the hot spring, it was still early enough that a vampire would have only just begun to think about climbing into their coffin for the day. Given that Hiward was far to the west of us, it was even earlier in the kingdom. We didn’t feel enough time pressure to interrupt anyone’s rest to make our reappearance, which gave us a...
2024-08-31 23:39:53 +0000 UTC View PostMT 169 - Strategy Meeting, but Naked
We splished, we splashed, and soon enough the world's obligations swam back around. We had critical information to pass on about Brae’ach and the avatars, an upcoming meeting with one of the world’s superpowers, and urgent appointments to make with our barbers and cosmetologists.
However, first and foremost were a pair of family ...
2024-08-29 17:09:52 +0000 UTC View PostMT 168 - Pool Party Farewell
My knowledge of Japanese hot springs was assuredly lacking, as my understanding primarily came from anime and a couple of late-night internet rabbit holes. I’d done my best to make it as authentic as possible, although it was impossible for the ‘spring’ to be naturally sourced since it had been artificially constructed in a pocket dimension.
MT 167 - Breakfast Invitations
When we’d approached the portal we were knives out and ready for a fight. We had several strategies mapped out depending on what we found on the other side, ranging from a full dump of our most aggressive skills to a heroic version of run the fuck away.
We appeared in a room of rough-hewn stone and mortar, the ceiling supported by pillars asce...
2024-08-25 13:47:00 +0000 UTC View PostHowdy!
Here are the level 12 character sheets for the core party up through the end of the Descent.
If you're someone who's read the level 6 sheets with a keen eye, you may notice one or two abilities were replaced. These are things that were never used or mentioned in text, so they got altered to something useful/more in line with the characters.
The only significant change t...
2024-08-24 18:57:14 +0000 UTC View PostMT 166.5 - Everyone Else’s Skills and Evos
Hey, let me take you aside for one moment. I know, I know, that’s a hell of a cliffhanger to take a step back from, but I thought you might be curious about what everyone else picked for their skills and evolutions at the end of Deijin’s Descent.
Now, maybe you’re saying “Arlo, you’re the big MCE (Main Character Ext...
2024-08-23 04:20:08 +0000 UTC View PostMT 166 - Escape
“Arcane Geometry is good,” said Varrin. “Gaining a library of mana shapes usually takes years, and shapes are often limited to specific skills.”
“The secret Ravvenblaq knowledge emerges,” said Xim. “Are we being inducted into your dark family cabal? Do we need to take oaths of silence, or be branded with a mana-woven tattoo?” She cocked her hip...
2024-08-20 17:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostMT 165 - The Good, The Bad, and The Arousing
Having chosen my skills, I took the time everyone else was spending looking over their options to review my evolution choices. First up was Speed 20.
Speed! Chooseanevolutionbutdon’tthinkaboutittrustyourgut!
1) Bolt: Your sprinting speed is doubled, which also applies to flight. Wheneve...
2024-08-20 15:09:52 +0000 UTC View PostMT 164 - Hickory-Smoked Skills
Three minutes passed wherein we were treated to increasingly unhinged solicitations for outdoor grills. The first was a simple affair that used a ruby chip and a fire weave to generate flames that “ruined raw meat precisely how humans liked it ruined.” This went on until we were being offered a grill the size of a small city which was “perfect f...
2024-08-18 05:02:58 +0000 UTC View PostMT 163 - Phase Two
GLOBAL SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT
The wording of this announcement has been modified to adopt the predominant terminology in use by the current generation. Please see your index for additional information on terms of art.
This notification is being delivered to all Delvers in World Region 001. This notif...
2024-08-16 01:07:39 +0000 UTC View PostMT 162 - Brae’ach the Unifier, Part II
Three of the hands in Avarice’s shadow danced, their fingers shifting into complex hand puppets. Images shifted before us, showing Brae’ach in Unity’s cavern, standing before the gleaming monolith. There was no outward sign that he’d been affected by the avatar. The man simply stood there, bronze skin melding into the tenebrous hollo...
2024-08-12 16:29:26 +0000 UTC View PostHello all.
I've been on the backfoot this whole last week. Rather than continuing to push everything out a day late while I scramble to get back on track, I'm going to reset and have the next chapter out for Monday to get everything on its 'normal' schedule. The chapter's ready to go and will be up in the morning.
I'm going to try and get out a 'make-up' chapter some time in the ne...
2024-08-11 23:41:38 +0000 UTC View PostMT 161 - Brae’ach the Unifier, Part I
Who was Brae’ach? Why was he rampaging across Timagrin? Why did Avarice believe he threatened the entire world? To answer these questions, we had to understand the natural conditions in Davah, its history, and the culture of its people.
Avarice’s version of the story was long, providing a lot of context for Brae’ach ...
2024-08-10 03:39:17 +0000 UTC View PostMT 160 - Dread Star II
Levels. The ultimate goal of most Delvers and a significant source of their power. Levels granted stats, stats made you stronger, and everybody loved getting strong.
“Do we care that much about the levels?” I asked, which evoked a number of different responses from my party members.
Nuralie looked dumbfounded, Etja furrowed her brow in c...
2024-08-06 17:37:36 +0000 UTC View PostMT 159 - Arbitrage
A flash of lightning pulsed within the clouds over Timagrin. It was timed to perfectly accent the end of Avarice’s claim that she could give us information on a world-ending threat. The view above was an illusion, so the entire display might have been orchestrated. Even if it was, I appreciate the effort on Avarice’s part. I wouldn’t begrudge anyone some fl...
2024-08-03 22:08:47 +0000 UTC View PostMT 158 - System Addendum #4 has had 2 versions released today simultaneously.
One version (Unrated) contains highly graphic descriptions of violence, going beyond what has been seen so far in the series.
The other version (Theatrical) contains descriptions of violence that are more in line with what has appeared in the series.
There are notes at the top of each post with ad...
2024-08-01 17:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostNOTE: There are 2 versions of this chapter that I am publishing today at the same time. This version (Theatrical) contains the typical depictions of violence that has been present in the series so far. The other version (Unrated) contains graphic descriptions that are more explicit and potentially disturbing compared to what has appeared so far in the series.
I am also re...
2024-08-01 17:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostWarning: Graphic depictions of violence
NOTE: There are 2 versions of this chapter that I am publishing today at the same time. This version (Unrated) contains graphic depictions of violence that are more explicit and detailed than what has been seen in the series so far. The other version (Theatrical) contains descriptions of violence that are more in line with w...
2024-08-01 17:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostMT 157 - An Offer You Can't Refuse
“Monkey bread!” said Etja.
The woman called Avarice raised an immaculate eyebrow at the outburst and looked over at our resident mage. My focus was fully fixed on our host, but I understood the seemingly nonsensical phrase. Multiple party members were mentally compromised, myself included.
Being made aware of a mental debuff wouldn...
2024-07-29 14:26:36 +0000 UTC View PostMT 156 - Need Before Greed
This is the part of the story where I try to make Varrin’s recovery a nail-biting tale of the big guy riding the razor’s edge of life and death while the rest of the team combined our skills to save him moments before he slipped away.
I’ll save some time and admit that it wasn’t that exciting.
We were worried, true, but Varrin’s stat...
2024-07-27 23:03:26 +0000 UTC View PostMT 155 - Splitting Souls
“Oh, is this a riddle?” asked Etja. “I’m not very good with riddles.”
“It is not a riddle,” said the Icon.
I waited for the Icon to keep talking, but it didn’t say anything else.
“Hi,” I said. “I’m Arlo, and from left to right–your left to right–this is Shog, Varrin, Xim, Etja, and...
2024-07-25 12:09:49 +0000 UTC View Post