[MU] - DECEMBER STORYTELLING / MEMORY SHARE

[lifeaftr_mods]

Something is wrong.

This may not very well be obvious, at first. The Storyteller is not present to put forth yet another diatribe, informative or apologetic, and the backdrop of guttering flame and sandy campfire is as present as ever...albeit briefly.



Those who tell their stories will start to notice something...odd taking place. Indeed, no matter how they intend to begin their tale, the land of Mu will immediately start to warp to accommodate it, or something utterly unlike it, until storytellers and listeners alike may find themselves in an exact recreation of a seemingly random memory, in the most stark and painstaking of detail. There is no altering the memory, nor is there any preventing it once it's begun to play - you will simply have to witness memories that are not your own this go around.

Furthermore, stories that take place in worlds other than LifeAftr will be, frankly, inevitable. Those memories, too, will be recreated, to be relived by the teller and lived by the listener.

---

It is time, once more, for you to tell a story...with a slight twist! This is, in fact, our first player plot, as provided by Dragon! The initial setting will be familiar for oldcomers, and newcomers will recognize it from the introduction they received in their dreams.

Yet for this Storytelling only, people can imagine whatever stories they wish, from both their homes and their time on LifeAftr, as long as they don't mind the fact that others will be reliving those stories in the form of an impromptu memory share.

Even those who prefer not to voice their stories aloud are not safe this time around. If the memory is recalled in essence, Mu will shift to accommodate it in full.

There is, however, a benefit to this: those who venture memories to be relived will receive both a befuddled apology from the Storyteller, who will assert that this was most definitely not meant to happen (they're the Storyteller, not the Rememberer!), as well as a tired promise that the relived memories will be worth two offerings each, as if in compensation.

Not that it counts for much, probably.

Comments

[shineinside]

"Well, for example, your best time at running a specific distance, or how many kilograms you can lift? For something like fighting ability, it's a lot more abstract, since all you could really measure it by is what kind of opponents you win or lose against."

[greatcleavage]

"So what's the difference between what I said and what you said? If with time and effort you improve your light encumbrance level from 58 pounds to 66 pounds, isn't that just effectively describing an increase in Strength score from 13 to 14, using a second-order effect rather than the primary mechanic?"

[shineinside]

"So... wait." Wait. She almost had this figured out for a minute. "Can you perform certain acts of strength because your strength is X, or is your strength X because you can perform those acts of strength? Wait, is there even a difference between those...?"

[greatcleavage]

"If you missed your foe because you rolled a 2, is it different from saying that a thousand variables, known and unknown, made you miss?" Roy said, building on that question. "They're abstractions, but in the end, they're the rules that govern us... acknowledged or not."

[shineinside]

"...I guess it's not. Maybe it's just a different way of looking at the same thing..." Roy's perspective was strange, but increasingly difficult to push back against.

"If your strength modifier is +2, does that mean that your attacks all do +2 damage?"

[greatcleavage]

Roy knew the rules. It was weird for other people NOT to know the rules, but that didn't make them inapplicable, right? "Not quite so simply. For example, crossbows and bows don't benefit, obviously, though a composite bow can be built with a higher draw strength to put more power into an arrow. For another, two-handed weapons have the necessary leverage and mass to derive greater benefits.""

[shineinside]

At this point, she had gone from confusion to curiosity. Weird as Roy's world seemed, it was really interesting.

"So there's strength, intelligence... how many 'scores' are there? What's your Strength?" The questions may slow down eventually.

[greatcleavage]

"Six different ones. We don't ordinarily discuss the numbers specifically, but..."

Roy glanced around, then leaned in slightly, the back of his hand bracketing his mouth to keep his voice for her alone. "If I said I was as strong as a frost giant with my belt on, and frost giants are known to have a Strength of 29, that might help."

[shineinside]

Yuka didn't know what a frost giant was, exactly, but it painted a picture of some pretty incredible strength. Where would that put her own strength? 20, 25? It's hard to guess without a proper frame of reference.

"Maybe that's why my enhance ability affected you so much. It seems to make Kyouko about twice as strong, so maybe it increased your Strength to a 58?" More likely, from a +9 to a +18 modifier.

[greatcleavage]

"More likely doubled the modifier," Roy said, inadvertently echoing the narration. "That is a remarkably powerful ability, by the way."

He was opening the door for her to explain more, because it did raise a lot of questions -- but without asking directly, in case she wanted to dodge said questions.

[shineinside]

She was still curious about Roy's world and its weird rules, but didn't mind changing tracks, either.

"It's useful, but it has a lot of limitations. I can only use it on one person at a time, and I can't fight or move around while using it. When I use it around here, it also has some extra limits I'm still trying to figure out - I think I can only use it three times per day now."

[greatcleavage]

"That seems in keeping with what I've heard from others as well," Roy said with a nod. "It also may not be entirely reliable, as I believe I mentioned back then..."