[PT-??] The Eternal Hunt [v3.0.2]

[Hunter Orion 0]

The Eternal Hunt [v3.0.2]
This event will lapse on 18 July, 2359ET.

Spoiler [♬] Imagine a pitch black canvas that mirrored one's reflection just as well as glass. When left out in the open, during the night, such a spread of darkness would capture the many twinkling lights in the sky, even as its hue shifted from teals and greens to blues. Such was the majestic sight from Coral, had one taken their time to shuffle down to the lake for a midnight stroll. And it was against this backdrop that the Lake of Reflections had captured a constellation that shone brighter than the others, the fury of which laid within it was beyond celestial comparison. There was a slam on the wooden refectory table, a gloved fist in black. The halls of one of the sky's imperial palaces — Orion's domain — was alive with a feast that day, hearth burning alight with an intensity rivalling the Hunter's disdain. The others at the table each flinched during their partake of their meal. Only three select others seemed unmoved by his antagonism, with one of them, female, even bothering to spare him notice from her plate. "Can you believe it? No wonder our offerings have been scarce lately. With the way Cardinal's been shifting its elements around... One would think it's almost looking for a way to snuff us out!" Orion was positioned at the far corner, closest to the fire, with a mop that complimented that blaze by his side. His once kindly blue eyes were narrowed, squinted, sights set past his opposition, distant. The woman in his vision huffed, lion ears atop her head flicking.  "I can believe you're being a little brat when we're not in the mood."  "When exactly is anyone going to listen to me, Bellatrix?" The Hunter shoved a cube of steak into his mouth, before jabbing at air towards his sole responsive company, fork prongs dripping with sauce and fat. "Between our troops these days, it's either hunting or gathering with little for anything in between!" "You... are terrible at time management. A majority of our officials remain here anyway despite our need to send some of them out for food." "Well they shouldn't have to in the first place." The pause in between his words gave Bellatrix enough time for an eye roll and a dicing of her meal before Orion spoke again. "How many are you talking about when you say 'majority'?" The woman waved a hand. "Like sixty percent." "So I'll have to make two speeches anyway to let my people know about recent developments." Orion shook his head, pulling away from his meal to slump against the back of his chair. "No, no. This won't do at all. We sincerely cannot lose our faith from the people, the players..." Bellatrix was silent at his lament, save for a bored blink and a clink of her utensil against her plate. She raised her chin towards her brother. "Hey. Eat your food first." Orion groaned, but sat upright to comply. "You'll think of something," she reassured him, eyes returning to her plate and sizing up some roasted vegetables by the side. "I'm sure of it." "Yeah," he scoffed, cutting into his meal once again. "I'll think of something. I need to think of something. We need to come up with a plan. Cardinal needs to..." Four prongs sank into a stalk of broccoli just as Orion's voice faded into the clatter of dinnerware. Bellatrix gave it a big bite, before realizing her younger brother had gone quiet. A glance upwards — that distant look again, a faded presence from the man himself — and Bellatrix grunted in annoyance, raising a hand to wave in his periphery. "Hey, eejit." "—!" Before her fingers could make it into his view, Orion's gaze shot back up to his sister, focus returning to the present. And that slight scowl from earlier grew into an even greater smile. "Cardinal... just needs to change how combat works again." There are three things that greet each player as they wake up to meet the first few days of summer: A note sits in their inbox. A buff rests in their status bar. An alert pinpoints an investigation into their skill menus. The message to players reads as follows: "Greetings, fellow Aincradians! Hunter Orion here. Don't be alarmed. I'm writing today about an experiment I wish to conduct. You may have noticed a new icon in your status bar. If it's there, then my plan has worked. If not, ignore this message. I'll probably send another one out given the latter, either ways. I've made some changes to the combat system, if you'd take a look. Anyone wishing to help me out on this endeavor will gain a few tokens for their effort that can be exchanged for prizes in my home. You'll get there if you wish for it in your sleep. Feel free to drop by and say hello during this time period! If everything goes well, then most, if not some, of these changes will be made permanent. I suggest you try the alterations out in a quest or two, see how that feels. Plus, given my influence, I bet some of those creatures would be shaking where they stand at the sight of you! Just a hunch, of course. That's it from me for now. I'll be in touch if I need to. Take care, players! Orion, out!" Vanity: The Palace of Three Stars Spoiler You only see this palace in your dreams, during the occasion where Orion's Blessing is active in your status bar. All of them start off dark, from the black of night to a growing stretch of blue, above and below, a deep and rich midnight color. Stars come alive in tiny twinkles amidst the parallel sea, and each step a player takes in this galaxial realm sends ripples through the clear and desolate space landscape. Then the palace appears, at the turn of one's head. It looks to be imperial, traditional, decorated in red and whites, black and gold hues. The stone steps to reach it in the ocean are high, within a blink you advance past it, a warm toasty atmosphere inside to greet waking and dreaming visitors alike. Within, staff of various races bustle about, hauling cloth and donning armor, to and fro the different roads ahead. You intrinsically understand that wings to house staff are down the East and West corridors. Ahead, the building opens up to a beautiful Japanese courtyard in the open air. The gardens split into three ways again; the large door at the center of the East wing leads to a grand feast hall, with a brazen fireplace left attended to by small lizard aides. To the West, hot springs are open for company to bask within, cleanse themselves of the day's duties. Up ahead lies the throne room; Orion would not be present to grace your presence at all times, despite his lineage to the castle, but you know relevant faculty to his position await you should you have any concerns about your visit to the palace. There are some familiar faces walking about. Betelgeuse, Rigel; you're not sure how you're able to identify them, but their names come to you when you spot them, and vanish the moment you lose sight of them. Each celestial barely shoots you a glance if you had not attended Tanabata festivities, they keep you in their sights momentarily if you had. Did you? It's hard to recall in a dream like this. You know you can speak to them if you want to, but something about them is intimidating in these halls. Still, the want to try remains. Sleepiness overtakes you when your time at the castle is over; a few minutes to a few hours, it's hard for anyone to keep track of time in the haze. Objects in your periphery start to blur at the seams and muddle into colours given time. When you give into rest, you wake moments after. Any items traded at Mintaka's Treasury or small vanity items you'd collected through your visit remain in your inventory. These are the only physical traces players would have of the Palace of Three Stars in Aincrad; the rest remains a myth to the player base as far as most brokers are concerned. ★ Event Details: Orion's Blessing Spoiler Orion's Blessing "The Master of the Palace of Three Stars sends his regards." During the duration of the event, all players are invited to test out changes to the current 3.0 system. Please look to the following posts for more information on the skills available/changes made. Players will also have access to the Palace of Three Stars, which they may interact with in this thread. To participate in the event, players must create threads with the [PT] tag to differentiate them from the current 3.0 system. Players must then engage in 3.0 content (combat, combat-related quests) while altering their skills to fit proposed changes to the system. Upon [PT] thread closures, players will be awarded with mon tokens depending on the content engaged with. The current mon distribution is as follows: Thread closures: +1 mon Field Bosses: +1 mon Dungeons: +1 mon First Quest Completion in 3.0**: +2 mon * Mon rewards are additive. As an example, a closed thread that has completed a quest with the [PT] tag will reward players with 3 mon each. ** Quests that have been cleared in 2.6 may be cleared again in 3.0 for mon bonuses. If a player had taken [Guardian of Fire] in 2.6, they may complete it again in this event for mon bonuses. If a player had taken [Monkey King] in 3.0, they may not complete it again in this event for mon bonuses. Mon tokens may then be exchanged in this thread for a variety of rewards. See [Mintaka's Treasury] below for details. During the event, the 3.0 system abides by the following: Players will obtain loot from mobs slain with the [PT] system so long as the mobs meet loot minimum requirements. Quests cleared with the [PT] tag are considered canon. As the event continues, any additional changes and updates proposed to the system will be edited into this segment, logged within [Bellatrix's Agenda]. Staff wishes to remind and urge players with any queries to direct their questions to #ask-a-staff on Discord. Thank you very much for your co-operation. ★ Event Progress: Bellatrix's Agenda Spoiler In the throne room, Bellatrix's seat amongst the council is distinct, but unused despite the celestial being present in its vicinity. The lioness eyes each player as they walk in, back hunched, cross-legged upon a black metal safe and beside a small notice board crafted out of bamboo and rope. Anyone with a knowledge of cat behaviour knows that the batting of tails is a sign of anxious energy, and the woman is no different when players draw close enough, with intent to query her questions. Her knuckles rasp on the green wood beside her. "Check the board before you ask. I don't like to speak much. I'm shy." Whether the celestial lies is anyone's guess. Current phase of playtests: [Sword Arts] Staff is currently attempting to adjust the Sword Arts system so that cooldowns are removed from each Art use while attempting to incorporate some Extra Skills as individual Sword Arts instead. More information may be found [here]. The list of proposed changes to skills may be found [here]. When participating in this playtest, note the following: Weapon Skill Rank of all Weapon Types will be matched from 3.0 to [PT]. Example: If a player has 2HSS of Rank 3 in 3.0, they will have Straight Sword of Rank 3 in [PT]. Players with Weapon Skill Rank 5 in [PT] are eligible for playtesting with addons and shifts. These Addons and Shifts do not cost SP at the moment. Players may choose to activate and deactivate any number of these addons as they so choose at the start of every thread. Players may only choose one shift to playtest with for the duration of this event. Please remember to state which of these are active in a character's first post in a thread. When rolling for Sword Arts, use the technical name of the Sword Art in the roll's purpose. Example: An SA roll vs ‘Cave Golem’ would be written down as [ST-I > Cave Golem]. For the sake of not having a database with everyone’s SAs, mechanical terms are used for a more easily digestible system. Players who have completed quests listed under [Collected Sword Arts] in the Resource List below in 2.6 will unlock their respective Sword Arts during [PT]. This is in spite of Sword Art unlock requirements. Example: Players who have completed [Monkey King] in 2.6 will unlock [Shatter] in [PT]. Custom Skills are not usable during playtests. SAs of a lower weapon rank than your current may not be used. The formatting on the event page has been changed to more clearly reflect this. Projected phases of playtesting: [ █ █ █ █ █ ] pending list of updates. ★ Event Shop: Mintaka's Treasury Spoiler "I-I should've known Master Orion would've chosen to outsource his treasury funds, too..." The young girl sighs, tears nearly welling in her eyes as her hand grips tightly at the winter scarf around her neck. She turns from the room she examines into, filled high with gold and ornate antiques. Players may spot her at a set of thin double doors down the West hall, entry half-opened, stopped by her miniature figure and desk breaking traffic in the corridor. When her eyes are upon the red passageway, she'd watch travelers pass her by with the gentle kicking of short feet, the kid on a high chair. Mintaka is shy; any player's approach sends her in a minor panic, and she straightens her back, trying to look professional. "H-hi! Y-yes, we're trading goods for mon tokens here if you have any! Please examine our wares if you're interested! T-thank you for helping the Palace of Three Stars out...!" Players may make a post exchanging mon for items in Mintaka's Treasury. Posts should abide by the 150 word count rule. Please remember to attach the post link and item purchases for mon sent to the @Banker. ITEMS Nametag (x1) Allows its user to change the name and description of an equipment piece. 1 mon Cluster of Stars (x1) Changes the type of an item as long as its enhancements are applicable to its new type. 2 mon Reroll Ticket (x1) Allows a re-identification attempt on a single enhancement slot from a single piece of gear at a Merchant. 3 mon Platinum Key (x5) A single-use item that grants an LD bonus (+3) when opening a Treasure Chest. 3 mon Bottled Vigor (x1) Gain +(200 * Tier) EXP. Untradable; applied upon purchase. 3 mon Memory of Battle (x1) Double the bonus from Scents of the Wild totems for one thread. 5 mon Gungir's Shard (x1) Caches and expends a craftable consumable. The item to be cached must be submitted to a player's evaluation thread. Once confirmed, players may use the item to provide a buff to their characters once per thread. Other players can be affected by this item’s effects (eg. feasts, mass healing crystals), but the item cannot be used in combat. This item is tradable until an item has been evaluated on it. 10 mon One-time purchase per player. Hammerspace Backpack (x1) Adds +1 to the player's Battle Ready Inventory. In addition to this effect, all Battle Ready Inventory slots extend their item capacity by 2. A player may only benefit from one Dimensional Backpack or Hammerspace Backpack at once, the latter taking precedence over the former.  10 mon One-time purchase per player. True-Light Lantern (x1) When lit this simple brass lantern burns away shadows and deception, aiding in the connection of blows in the darkness. Negates the effects of low-light. Grants its user's party +1 ACC and +1 LD. A party may only benefit from one True-light Lantern at any given time. 15 mon One-time purchase per player.

[Hunter Orion 0]

Orion's Resource List

---

[WEAPON SKILLS]

Spoiler

►<<Weapon Type>> Skill
5 Ranks
Passive
Effect: At Rank 1, gain +3 DMG. At Ranks 2-5, +1 per rank (max of +7 DMG for R5 Weapon Skill). At Rank 5, unlock the ability to specialize in a Combat Shift.

Weapon Types:

• Dagger
• Sabers (Rapier)
• Straight Swords
• Curved Swords
• Polearms
• Hammers
• Axes
• Whip
• Claws
• Katana*
• Martial Arts**

*Unlocked after completing a Katana acquisition thread with Rank 1 in Curved Swords.
**Unlocked after completing the <<Breaking the Unbreakable>> quest.

►Addons for All Weapon Skills

• [Rank 5 Weapon Addon] Stamina
  • Passive
  • Effect: Reduces EN of all attacks by 2.
  • Description: After having used your weapon for many battles, it no longer causes strain on your body.
• [Rank 5 Weapon Addon] <<Weapon Type>> Ferocity
  • Passive
  • Effect: +2 DMG when using the weapon of your choice. 
  • Description: Become more vicious and ferocious with your weapon of choice.
• [Rank 5 Weapon Addon] Precision
  • Passive
  • Effect: Gain +2 ACC.
  • Description: After many fights, your vision is honed, allowing you to be more precise.
• [Rank 5 Weapon Addon] Focus
  • Passive
  • Effect: Decreases minor critical threshold by 1. Also reduces DoT thresholds by 1.
  • Description: You're more experienced with landing critical strikes. Some weapon effects are easier to activate than others.

►Combat Shifts per Player

• [Rank 5 Shift] ST Specialist
  • Passive
  • Effect: For the following Sword Arts, +3 to multipliers and +2 to EN cost; ST-I, ST-II, ST-B. No other Shifts may be taken.
• [Rank 5 Shift] AOE Specialist
  • Passive
  • Effect: For the following Sword Arts, +4 to multipliers and +2 to EN cost; AoE-I, AoE-II. No other Shifts may be taken.
• [Rank 5 Shift] TECH Specialist
  • Passive
  • Effect: For TECH Sword Arts, +4 to multipliers, +3 to EN cost. No other Shifts may be taken.
• [Rank 5 Shift] Rounder
  • Passive
  • Effect: +1 to all Sword Art multipliers. No other Shifts may be taken.

[SWORD ART LIST]

Weapon Skill Sword Arts

Spoiler

Rank 1

• [x4] ST-I (4 EN) | A single-target sword art.
• [x3] AOE-I (1 + 2 * targets EN) | AOE | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once.
• [x4] TECH-A (5 EN) | STUN | A single-target sword art that stuns an enemy.

Rank 2

• [x6] ST-I (6 EN) | A single-target sword art.
• [x5] AOE-I (5 + 2 * targets EN) | AOE | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once.
• [x6] TECH-A (7 EN) | STUN | A single-target sword art that stuns an enemy.

Rank 3

• [x8] ST-I (8 EN) | A single-target sword art.
• [x11] ST-II (11 EN) | A powerful single-target sword art. Only available for use when ST-I was used and successfully struck an enemy the previous turn or if ST-II had been used and had missed the previous turn.
• [x7] AOE-I (7 + 2 * targets EN) | AOE | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once.
• [x8] TECH-A (9 EN) | STUN | A single-target sword art that stuns an enemy.

Rank 4

• [x10] ST-I (10 EN) | A single-target sword art.
• [x13] ST-II (13 EN) | A powerful single-target sword art. Only available for use when ST-I was used and successfully struck an enemy the previous turn or if ST-II had been used and had missed the previous turn.
• [x17] ST-B (17 EN) | A devastating single-target sword art. Can only be used if the sword art used the previous turn rolled a natural CD9+.
• [x9] AOE-I (9 + 2 * targets EN) | AOE | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once.
• [x12] AOE-II (12 + 2 * targets EN) | AOE | A powerful sword art that strikes multiple targets at once. Only available for use when AOE-I was used the previous turn and successfully struck an enemy or if AOE-II had been used and had missed the previous turn.
• [x10] TECH-A (11 EN) | STUN | A single-target sword art that stuns an enemy.

Rank 5

• [x12] ST-I (12 EN) | A single-target sword art.
• [x15] ST-II (15 EN) | A powerful single-target sword art. Only available for use when ST-I was used and successfully struck an enemy the previous turn or if ST-II had been used and had missed the previous turn.
• [x20] ST-B (20 EN) | A devastating single-target sword art. Can only be used if the sword art used the previous turn rolled a natural CD9+.
• [x11] AOE-I (11 + 2 * targets EN) | AOE | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once.
• [x14] AOE-II (14 + 2 * targets EN) | AOE | A powerful sword art that strikes multiple targets at once. Only available for use when AOE-I was used and successfully struck an enemy the previous turn or if AOE-II had been used and had missed the previous turn.
• [x12] TECH-A (13 EN) | STUN | A single-target sword art that stuns an enemy.
• [x12] TECH-B (12 EN) | DELAY | A single-target sword art that, on a successful strike, applies [Delay] on the enemy. [Delay] is a status condition that reduces the enemy’s ACC by 1 for one turn.

Collected Sword Arts

Spoiler

• [x12] TECH-C (12 EN) | COUNTER | A single-target sword art that, on a successful strike, places [Counter] around the player. [Counter] reduces the final damage taken by its user by 25% (rounded down) for one turn.
  • Unlock Condition: Parry
     
• [x12] TECH-D (12 EN) | SHATTER | A single-target sword art that applies [Shatter] to an enemy for 3 turns. [Shatter] is a debuff that can stack up to a cap of 3. Each stack of [Shatter] removes -20 MIT from an enemy, down to 0, if it has MIT. 
  • Unlock Condition: Complete <<The Monkey King>>
     
• [x12] TECH-E (14 EN) | RESTORATIVE STRIKE | A single-target sword art that restores HP to its user (10% of its final damage dealt as HP).
  • Unlock Condition: Complete <<Cull of the Dead>>
     
• [x8] TECH-F (8 + 2 * targets EN) | AOE STUN | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once. All struck targets are stunned for one turn.
  • Unlock Condition: Complete <<Breaking the Unbreakable>>
     
• [x12] TECH-G (12 EN) | BURN | A single-target sword art that, on a successful strike, applies [Burn] on the enemy. [Burn] is a DoT ailment that deals [14 * Player Tier] unmitigated Burn damage for 2 turns.
  • Unlock Condition: Complete <<Gatekeeper of Fire>>

 

[Hunter Orion 0]

post reserved for future developments.

[Freyd 0]

Freyd nearly bowled the tiny child over while his eyes were drawn upward to the grandeur of Palace of the Three Stars.  It never occurred that he might stumble across a vendor in its wings, let alone one of such small bearing.  Her scarf looked like its was threatening to swallow her, and had already partially succeeded.  Between it and her oversized goggles, married with white hair on white skin with white eyes, she reminded him of some kind of critter that might have better belonged in a Nintendo game.

"Oh, uh... sorry.  Didn't see you. I-"

"H-hi! Y-yes, we'retradinggoodsformontokenshereifyouhaveany! Pleaseexamineourwaresifyou'reinterested! ThankyouforhelpingoutthePalaceofThreeStars...!"

The child's voice sped faster with every syllable and climbed in pitch until she was whispering in a squeaking fury at him.  Freyd barely caught a word of it, though he did manage to snare one.

"Mon?  Oh.  Mon!  That stuff that's been dropping lately, that nobody knows where to spend!"  He blinked a few times, while the NPC's head nodded so emphatically that it looked at risk of popping off.  Her goggles looked as if they remained still over her flopping mane, bobbling oddly on the girl's cartoonishly exaggerated motions

"Uh... I'll just... take some of these."  A raised eyebrow and flurry of transactions later, he found himself wandering the halls again, wondering what exactly had just happened.

***

Freyd buys:

Spoiler

1x Hammerspace Backpack (10 Mon) [202752]
4x Cluster of Stars (@2 Mon = 8 Mon) [all were consumed by the time I got around to tagging]
6x Nametag (@1 Mon = 6 Mon) [202753a] [202753b] [202753c] [202753d] [202753e] [202753f] 

Total cost: 24 Mon

Paid from (24 Mon):

4 Mon - [SP-PT-19] I Thought I saw a Puddy-Splat [Keep Calm and Ki'Raion]    
https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/20969-sp-pt-19-i-thought-i-saw-a-puddy-splat-keep-calm-and-kiraion/?do=findComment&comment=641827

1 Mon - [SP-PT-01] Zapstick Trials [BID]  
https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/20985-sp-pt-01-zapstick-trials-bid/?do=findComment&comment=642098

1 Mon - [SP-PT-09] Polishing off the Iron Knights  
https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/20998-sp-pt-09-polishing-off-the-iron-knights/?do=findComment&comment=642311

3 Mon - [PT/PP/14] Ending the Reign of Demon Kind <<Cull of the Dead>>
https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/20970-ptpp14-ending-the-reign-of-demon-kind/?do=findComment&comment=642551

3 Mon - [PT|PP|F23] Checking Out  
https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/20987-ptppf23-checking-out/?do=findComment&comment=642876

1 Mon - [PP-PT-01] ALL THE LOOTZ [BID] 
https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/20976-pp-pt-01-all-the-lootz-bid/?do=findComment&comment=642984

5 Mon - [PP-PT-F5] Diamond in the Rough <<Arabian Nights: First of Many>> 
https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/21005-pp-pt-f5~f23-diamond-in-the-rough/?do=findComment&comment=642759

1 Mon - [SP-PT-F26] When Everyone is Crooked, Tilt Your Head  
https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/21023-sp-pt-f26-when-everyone-is-crooked-tilt-your-head/?do=findComment&comment=642840

5 Mon - [PP-PT-F7] Never Had a Friend Like Me <<Arabian Nights 2: Unfinished Business>> 
https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/21019-pp-pt-f7-never-had-a-friend-like-me/?do=findComment&comment=642806

 

 

[Hirru 0]

This was the first time that the hunter was in such a weird place.  Everyone there seemed like they were top dog and were more important than him.  Even though he had never met any of them, he was somehow knew their names.  What sort of place was this that could beam such thoughts into ones mind.  The hunter thought about that last part for a second and remembered what Shield had said once.  Everyone had some kind of helmet on their heads in real life that was giving them sensations through some sort of wavelength that could be used and read by the brain, and read back into the machine to give them the movement in this world.  It was odd, but quite intriguing, at the same time.

Coming up to the event vender, she seemed a little skittish, but a little bundle of joy all together.

"Oh yes, I'll have one of those Gungnir shards and a set or two of the platinum keys please."

Hirru buys:

Spoiler

Gungnir Shard: 10 Mon
2x Platinum Keys (5): 3 Mon (per set)

Payment Due: 16 Mon

Accumulated Mon: 16

5 Mon from https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/21019-pp-pt-f7-never-had-a-friend-like-me/?do=findComment&comment=643016

5 Mon from https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/21005-pp-pt-f5~f23-diamond-in-the-rough/?do=findComment&comment=642759

3 Mon from https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/20970-ptpp14-ending-the-reign-of-demon-kind/?do=findComment&comment=642551

3 Mon from https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/21017-sp-pt-f22-what-do-you-call-paradise/?do=findComment&comment=642805

 

Edited July 27, 2021 by Hirru
Editing Mon accumulation for final thread and purchase of another set of Platinum Keys