Question 19

[Blackhoof]

As long as he only turns objects into other objects in the physical realm, i see no issue.

 

Although personally i think the objects should revert back to normal after a few hours, as in Calamity it was made clear that most creation Epics can only create temporary objects .

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

@Kobold King, I learned something. Namely, that the US Park Rangers use "Code W" to refer to a wimpy hiker who asks for emergency medical attention but doesn't need it. 

I can think of one retrocog who fits the criteria.

[Voidus]

5 hours ago, breakingamber said:

This seems to create more questions.

Let's say he finds a patch of sod. Can he turn it into God or mod? I find that a bit OP.

If he finds a mitten and turns it into a kitten, does he control the kitten, or is it just an ordinary kitten? What would the size of the kitten be?

You also said he can switch around letters. Does that mean he can shift around letters like an anagram and turn a Boeing into a big one, whatever that is?

This Epic seems very interesting and fun to play, with a lot of imagination, but we need more clearly defined boundaries.

That would go against both the non-obvious resolution rule (What exactly would a mod be?) and the size/energy restriction.

Nope, he provides no additional information or control, the object is changed based on a kind of idealized form of the word he is changing it into with some elements of randomness.

Switching letters is part of the generic profile as a possible ability at that level, this Epic can't do that, sorry for the confusion there.

 

2 hours ago, Blackhoof said:

As long as he only turns objects into other objects in the physical realm, i see no issue.

 

Although personally i think the objects should revert back to normal after a few hours, as in Calamity it was made clear that most creation Epics can only create temporary objects .

This is more transmutation than creation

[Kobold King he/him]

2 hours ago, TwiLyghtSansSparkles said:

@Kobold King, I learned something. Namely, that the US Park Rangers use "Code W" to refer to a wimpy hiker who asks for emergency medical attention but doesn't need it. 

I can think of one retrocog who fits the criteria.

"My arm! My poor arm! It's going to rot off of me! Pleaaaaaase heeeeeelp meeee..."

-Backtrack, upon encountering poison oak.

 

Will try to get something written soon, guys. I think Deathwish is up next in The Dalles? And Vondra too? I've let myself get confused again...

[Voidus]

15 minutes ago, Kobold King said:

"My arm! My poor arm! It's going to rot off of me! Pleaaaaaase heeeeeelp meeee..."

-Backtrack, upon encountering poison oak.

 

Will try to get something written soon, guys. I think Deathwish is up next in The Dalles? And Vondra too? I've let myself get confused again...

Confirmation that Backtracks official codename in the Dalles is Code W?

[Edgedancer he/him]

22 minutes ago, Voidus said:

Confirmation that Backtracks official codename in the Dalles is Code W?

Does someone else want to call him Wacktrack now?

[Fatebreaker he/him]

On 8/23/2016 at 5:34 AM, Voidus said:

As am I, and thanks again for gathering the soul of Cthulu so we could do so. Don't know that I would have been able to gather that while also juggling parenthood. 

No problem, harvesting the souls of the Archaic crepuscular Archdeities is quite time consuming and I had some experiments I wanted to perform on one anyways.

As for the Dalles, it would be one of the group either reacting to the fact that Taylor is an epic or initiating the fight with Quicksilver.

[Voidus]

1 hour ago, Edgedancer said:

Does someone else want to call him Wacktrack now?

Waaaaaaah!cktrack

[Quiver he/him]

Hey, random thing wanted to pitch to you guys.

So.. Lyla started as a joke. Me writing about Lyla Heartstrings, hahaha, pony. Which is why Lyla is a fangirl, the same way Lyra is for humans. The hoodie is actually a shoutout to that, the same way the photography is to the idea of "evil Jimmy Olson"...

But. I was reading, and...well. Idea occurred to me.

What if there is a dash of Harley Quinn?

After all, both characters are, essentially, fan girls for very bad people. The difference would be that Harley has outgrown and rejected her idol (Joker) while Lyla never got a chance to with hers (Koschei) so now she clings to anyone that's in that same epic mould as him...

I dunno. Random thoughts, I guess.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Quiver

[Edgedancer he/him]

@Quiver Almost everything starts as a joke and just as much ends up being much more disturbing than you might have thought.
Now, the comparison is certainly apt, especially if she does get a new Epic to attach herself to. Really the question is how much you want to integrate this into her character arc or you know, just let her develop as things progress.
This also made me wonder just what an Epic would have to do to make her act like a proper cheerleader.

[Spoolofwhool]

New around here. You ask here about joining a topic with your epic?

[Edgedancer he/him]

26 minutes ago, Spoolofwhool said:

New around here. You ask here about joining a topic with your epic?

Yup you're in exactly the right place. Tell us your idea for an Epic and we'll give you feedback. Also, are you already familar with any of the topics?

[Spoolofwhool]

13 minutes ago, Edgedancer said:

Yup you're in exactly the right place. Tell us your idea for an Epic and we'll give you feedback. Also, are you already familar with any of the topics?

I read over the start of the stickies, mainly the rule one. I started looking at the flow of some of the actual story threads. 

I have a preliminary idea for an Epic, though I'm still fleshing it out. Mainly balancing how it works with making sure it isn't too overpowered.

Edited August 27, 2016 by Spoolofwhool

[breakingamber he/him]

19 hours ago, Quiver said:

Hey, random thing wanted to pitch to you guys.

So.. Lyla started as a joke. Me writing about Lyla Heartstrings, hahaha, pony. Which is why Lyla is a fangirl, the same way Lyra is for humans. The hoodie is actually a shoutout to that, the same way the photography is to the idea of "evil Jimmy Olson"...

But. I was reading, and...well. Idea occurred to me.

What if there is a dash of Harley Quinn?

After all, both characters are, essentially, fan girls for very bad people. The difference would be that Harley has outgrown and rejected her idol (Joker) while Lyla never got a chance to with hers (Koschei) so now she clings to anyone that's in that same epic mould as him...

I dunno. Random thoughts, I guess.

This makes me think of the Autumn Glass Fan Club meme, and the Winter Glass meme. Could a non-Epic become an Epic even in a "no new Epics" tolerated area? It would make the Dalles much more interesting, with Vondra probably not knowing her weakness. If she had ice and snow powers... Oh my god that would be awesome. Elsa would have severe competition.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

9 minutes ago, breakingamber said:

This makes me think of the Autumn Glass Fan Club meme, and the Winter Glass meme. Could a non-Epic become an Epic even in a "no new Epics" tolerated area? It would make the Dalles much more interesting, with Vondra probably not knowing her weakness. If she had ice and snow powers... Oh my god that would be awesome. Elsa would have severe competition.

It could be interesting, but "no new Epics" means "no new Epics."  Furthermore, I like Lyla as a non-Epic. It adds an interesting layer to the story. 

[Voidus]

Yeah it'd probably be better if Elsa just became a more active character.

[Blackhoof]

And stopped trying to get herself killed. :P

 

[Edgedancer he/him]

14 minutes ago, Cognizantastic said:

I still can't tell if the character is supposed to be delusional or actually from Frozen. Judging by how her creator's second character is supposed to be from another planet, I'm kind of worried that it's the latter. 

Seeing how anyone else will just ignore it, it's kind of delusional by default.

[Comatose he/him]

14 minutes ago, Cognizantastic said:

I still can't tell if the character is supposed to be delusional or actually from Frozen. Judging by how her creator's second character is supposed to be from another planet, I'm kind of worried that it's the latter. 

I think the explanation Elsa gave (or my head canon version of her explanation) is that Elsa was originally an Epic with Ice powers who was brainwashed by an Epic with Disney-fication (for lack of a better word) powers for the purpose of recreating Frozen.  Then stuff happened and she escaped but now has reality issues?  What do others recall?

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

1 minute ago, Comatose said:

I think the explanation Elsa gave (or my head canon version of her explanation) is that Elsa was originally an Epic with Ice powers who was brainwashed by an Epic with Disney-fication (for lack of a better word) powers for the purpose of recreating Frozen.  Then stuff happened and she escaped but now has reality issues?  What do others recall?

That was the explanation her creator decided on, yes. 

[Voidus]

3 months this time, we're seriously losing our touch.

[breakingamber he/him]

Well, the Question Thread is really old. Happy 100th birthday!

[Edgedancer he/him]

Just now, Voidus said:

3 months this time, we're seriously losing our touch.

To be fair, there's more space per page now.

[breakingamber he/him]

 

 

What a pug. 

Edited August 27, 2016 by breakingamber

[ShadowLord_Lith he/him]

Sorry this came late guys, but I came up with that power senario you always ask for. I'm gonna count it as backstory. Any questions?

Spoiler

 Athan walked through the city in a daze, surrounded by buildings that were full of oddly shaped holes and dripping liquid metal. Cars were everywhere, and barely recognizable people lay all around him, some cut in half, others crushed or ripped apart. Several had thousands of tiny holes in them and were still bleeding. He was surrounded by a strange coppery mist that tasted of iron, it moved with him and he could feel it as he walked. It stretched about two feet away from him and never stopped for anything. He kept searching to find someone who could tell him which epic had caused this disaster, who had killed his family, who had robbed him of his life. Then he felt someone in the distance, about seventy yards from where he was, someone was alive and moving. Athan started running, maybe this stranger would know who had done this monstrosity, maybe this man would bleed for him.

Athan ran on, wondering where that dark thought had come from, until he realized he was almost behind the man. He slowed and called to him. " Hello?" His voice was scratchy and hoarse, like he'd been gurgling nails for an hour. The man froze and then turned around. Athan knew instantly that the man was an epic, from the knee-length trench coat fringed at the bottom with blood, to the shoulder-length chocolate-brown hair that he wore in a ponytail behind his head, to the accent that he displayed when he smirked and said, " You've got a lot'a nerve show'in up round 'ere mate," the smooth British cockney fit him well, and put shivers in Athan's bones,"Oi thought oi was all to me lonesome, and then you show up 'n ruin I'." He sighed putting up his fists in a boxing-style move, "All roight then let's ave a go." He bobbed waiting for Athan to do something.

When all Athan did was grimace, eyes widening in horror, he froze again, this time looking confused. " What's wif you?" He asked, " You ain't do'n it proper." He put down his fist and walked towards Athan. "What koind'a gent jus' up 'n stands there not attacking or nufin? He asked getting close enough to touch Athan's iron mist.

He cringed back and the man stopped. " All roight," he said folding his arms, a look of annoyance on his face. " what's wif you? You ain't jus gon' Stan' there when I kiw you, is ya? Cause oi gotta lots a kill'n ta do, an' this place ain't got anyone. Oi mean, really! Oi came all the way 'ere for some fun an' Oi get me chance tak'n away boi a little goi loik yoursewf." He tapped his foot and Athan stared at him wondering why this strange man wasn't attacking. Then he, hesitantly, spoke. " I'm not an epic. Why did you call me one?" The man snorted and changed his accent, it was closer to Athan's own now. " I'm not an epic? Seriously? What about that mist you got covr'in ya?" Athan was taken aback, and he started thinking about the mist, and how he sensed the man and the mist, and he grew horrified. " you mean...?" It was a whisper now. The man grinned " Yep!" He was back to the cockney, " An' you killed all a this lot before Oi even got 'ere!"

Athan fell to his knees shaking. " No." It was a whisper, and then louder, " No, no, nonononononononono!" He tilted his head back at the sky and screamed, something in him snapping like an arm bent too far back. " Nooooooooooooo!!!" Anguish flooded him, he was the one who had killed them; Eros, ma'mia, papa, everyone was dead because of him. He felt his mind strain under the agony he felt.

He couldn't bear this, he wanted it, needed it, gone. He felt his powers shiver and flicker as he remembered each death he had caused. His memory of his entire life, flawlessly detailed, each image a clear crisp picture, was forever frozen in his mind. He roared at the epic who had caused him this pain. He felt a stream of powder flow from his palms and surround him, the mist thickening until he was encased.

'No!' He thought as the swirling cloud enveloped him. 'I will live!' The mist slowed and then stopped leaving silence in its wake. He took a hesitant breath, and tried to escape the nightmare that was surrounding him. " ya know wha'," said the man, grinning cruelly, " Maybe oi'd be'er stay. All this bone would be fun to crush beneath moi feet. Ya know, for moi dance practice."

The man hadn't moved. Athan felt his grip on reality slipping, and the world tilted as though at an angle. " You know what?" Athan asked with a chuckle, anger and insanity building inside him like a bomb nearing the final countdown. Powder was still streaming from his hands, forming piles at his sides. " I think I'll give you a show after all!" He stood and, roaring with laughter, made the entire cloud of mist solidify into an iron shield and, separating it into lance-like projectiles, he shot them at the man. The man grinned and reached out a hand, stopping the missiles inches from him. Athan ran forward, liquefying the metal as he went, grinning as well. Some epics couldn't handle liquid metal very easily, some couldn't at all.

As the metal turned watery, the other man started to lose control and the metal grew unsteady in his hands. 'Good to know,' Athan thought to himself as he neared his opponent, 'Now his weak points are showing through, use them!'

Almost without thought, he reacted to a car thrown his way, jumping onto and then over it to land behind the object, on the ground. He wondered how he had reacted so fast, and then realized he was thinking of three things at once, one line of thought focused on all his physical needs, running jumping, reacting, while another planned out what his body needed to do. The final one was just for thinking, and right now he could think only of this mans death or severe injury.

He was on top of the man now and he suddenly stopped, twisting right, turning all his momentum into a backwards kick from his right leg. The man tried to stop it but barely managed to raise his arms in time.

Athan's kick knocked the man backwards, a bone in his right arm somewhere cracking audibly, and Athan didn't stop. As his leg came down his fist came up and left hooked the other mans face. Another snap, his nose this time. He was bleeding now, and dazed. Athan grabbed the mans throat and raised him an inch off the ground.

After a minute, he dropped the man. The man cringed away from Athan. Athan glared at him " Who are you?" The question was quiet but forceful and the man cringed again.

"I call myself impersonation," he whispered, a Californian accent this time, " and I steal the appearance, voice, and powers of whomever I kill. I can copy powers, but I only keep them if I kill them permanently. I-" " Was planning on taking me next, weren't you?" Athan's voice was still quiet, though it was now a monotone. " Why didn't you strike? Why did you wait?"

The man hesitated, then spoke. " I have to see every power the epic has, used, or else I can't take 'em when he dies." "That won't happen with me," Athan said, " I've got some purely mental powers, apparently." The man slumped looking defeated, in fact every thing about him spoke of defeat, his eyes, his posture, even his breathing was submissive. Athan narrowed his eyes, something impersonation had said clicking into place.

"Change back." Impersonation glanced up sharply, stiffening. " What?" He asked in a whisper, fear beginning to show in his eyes." I said," Athan repeated, "Change back. To your original form. Your a shapeshifter, what's your resting form?"

Athan knew of shape-shifters, they weren't common, not overly so, but he had met three of them before, two of them had a resting state, their original form, what they looked like when they weren't shifting their shape. This man had one too, apparently. He stared at the ground for a moment. " Please no." He whispered. Then impersonation looked Athan in the eye. " Please don't make me, I don't want to!" Fear was apparent, it ran in waves down his spine and his eyes didn't show any hint of anything other than fear, and this time, Athan believed it.

"Why!?" It was a harsh question and the other man froze, staring at Athan. His eyes lost focus as though arguing with someone in his head, and then he gave in, crumpling to the ground. Flesh wriggled and skin shrank, clothing warped and morphed. Hair and eye color changed, and countless details realigned until a twelve year old child, blonde haired and pale skinned, lay in front of Athan, weeping.

The boy wore a hoodie, jeans, and a pair of Nikes on his feet. Athan walked over to him and picked him up, letting him weep into his shoulder as he walked away from the ruined city, his mind warped and bent from his rampage. He knew this child's pain, or had at one point, and now He would take care of him.

As Athan walked away from the city he thought about his name. 'Athan is dead,'He thought, 'Long live Ironforge, moulder of lives.' And He made stairs of iron towards the sky, into the distance.

 

Edited August 27, 2016 by ShadowLord_Lith