OOC: This is a placeholder for Avahur's new thread with GM JohnA1nut.  :)

So you've just versed out of wherever it was you were. You are laying in the middle of a modern paved road. Around you are stalled, rusted out cars sitting on four flat tires. The cars appear to have been driving and the drivers vanished. They are in drive with the ignitions on. The road is cracked and broken. The buildings are dilapidated and in desperate need of repair. Windows are broken, it looks like the place hasn't seen maintenance in decades. You see monkeys swinging by on what's left of the power lines. An elephant ambles down the street off in the distance. There are no people anywhere. The world looks to be completely abandoned.

Your gear is laying around you. Across the street you see a mom and pop grocery store. Looking in the window, there are purchases sitting on the counter, the register is open. It looks like they were right in the middle of a transaction. The floor of the store is covered in feces and dead insects. Anything edible or perishable has long since rotted away.

I get up and then I look around.

This isn't the temple. Huh. Guess I lost. Can't speak with animals... or can I?  Well, I'll shelve that thought for later. Well, new world, new plans. Time to see if magic works.

I check myself to make sure all weapons are in their appropriate places; ammo in the bag on my back with the disassembled sniper rifle, pistol is in its holster on my leg, armor and cloak in place with sword easily accessible on my waist. I collect whatever gear may be scattered around and put it all in my duffel bag.

Magic. Fire first.

I channel a small amount of energy to my fingers and snap them, silently invoking 'flamma' to (hopefully) produce a small flame.  If that works, I dismiss it. I'll then cup my hands together and channel some energy to create water to drink. Afterwards I'll create a minor gust of wind and a small clump of dirt, going through the elements to make sure they all work; checking also to see if any are stronger or weaker than expected in this world.

If elemental magic works as expected, or even if it doesn't, I'll then target something fairly light (debris) and try to make it levitate. If that works, then I'll change its color temporarily.

After checking if magic works or not, I try to teleport myself a short distance (15-20 feet) away, away from animals and buildings.

If it works, great, if not, equally great.

I will spend about an hour going through magic and trying to teleport (I expect most of the time will come from trying to teleport, as my skill / success rate isn't currently the best).

After the tests are done I will try to locate a fairly sturdy looking tall building with an intact set of stairs. My goal is to get to the roof to get a better look of the surroundings.

---

OoC: So, I'll typically use green italics for thoughts and orange for out of context discussion; usually at the bottom beneath the hr tag.

One of my major goals is systematizing my 'energy'. At present, Avahur converts some of his energy to use magic; but energy is stamina, it's used to walk, run, fight, and so on. Avahur is in fantastic shape and can do pretty much everything, run laps around marathon runners, fight and use magic for a fairly long period of time (in my opinion), but so far it's 'use a small or medium amount of energy'.

I don't know how much energy Avahur has in total or the rate at which he regains it. I plan to spend some time in character for Avahur to figure this all out.

Edit: Removed lots of OoC text. Will be sending a PM with info.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:41, Wed 08 Nov 2017.

All of your magic works with some trying and trying again.

Going up into a building, you see absolutely no evidence of people anywhere. You seem to be completely alone in this world. All of the buildings are dilapidated and decaying. Cars are stalled out and not running. No people.

But just as you're about the head back down, there appears out of nowhere a young girl of perhaps 14. She's got long blonde hair, wearing a blue dress with white trim, white stockings and black pumps. Somehow you just know her name is Alice.

She waves at you and gestures for you to follow her. Then she steps backwards and disappears. Like going through a looking glass.

Huh. Don't see that every day.

I shrug and follow her, though I prepare to use levitate magic on myself just in case nothing is there, or there is and a drop follows it.  When I reach where she disappeared I'll tentatively wave an arm around the area to see if it disappears or if it feels like something is there.

If there is something there and it looks like my arm disappears or is indeed like a looking glass, I'll step through, magic at the ready.

So you put your arm through the spot where she disappeared. Your arm does disappear. It feels like you're moving through jelly as you step through.

On the other side, behind you, is a huge silvery dome. A half-bubble sticking up out of the ground. It's about a quarter mile in diameter and extends about a quarter mile into the air. There are other bubbles just like this at regular intervals here and there. They seem to mark crossroads and intersections.

Alice is standing there on the other side when you come through.

Looking around, you see people, men, women, aliens, every size, shape, clothing style imaginable. You see carts pulled by animals and flying cars alike. Off in the distance is a massive tower. Its base must cover several square miles and it extends into the air beyond your range of vision.

There are rows and rows of shoppes. It's like a massive flea market kind of place. Every building material imaginable is in use. From mud and straw to high-tech polymers. And every single person that you see has a tugging "That Way" feeling to them. A scriff vector.

Standing at the corner closest to the bubble is a man in a black trenchcoat and an impossibly large backpack. He's working at a blacksmithing forge.

Alice turns to him and calls out "Mister Magehammer!!!! I found one!!!!"

The guy looks up at you, then disappears from his spot at the forge. Then he's instantly standing three feet in front of you. He extends his hand to shake and says politely:

"I'm councilman Magehammer. Welcome to Verser World. What would you like to know?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:34, Wed 08 Nov 2017.

I look around as I walk through. I let out a low whistle.

Versers as far as the eye can see, this is obviously a hub, but judging by the rest of the world, there isn't much else. Why would someone want to stick around here? Well, I mean, I would stay here to practice, train, and experiment. That's long overdue, but that would take 30 years, tops. This isn't the byproduct of 30 years. Well, it could be. I don't have the skills or magic to do it, but I'm not sure what everyone else has... or how long they've been  a verser. It's been... 20 years? 30? 100? I don't even remember how long it has been since I've been a verser, but I'm willing to bet a few of these folks have eons under their metaphorical belts.  Give me an eon to hone my skills and I bet I could set something like this up. Maybe. No, probably not. Too many wars.

"The obvious aside, how did this setup come to be?  I haven't met anyone that can... survive long enough to set up a city, let alone be the councilman of one. Though I guess everyone doesn't have my luck? Also, when is the war? Every world I've been to has had a war either happening when I arrived or about to happen soon thereafter, I doubt my luck has changed. So, how did this setup come to be, when is the war and who is it between? Councilman." I nod respectfully when I address him.

Magehammer says "That's one of the many mysteries of Verser world. As far as we can tell, this world is a land mass of infinite size. It just exists. It's not in orbit of any sun. Light comes on for 16 hours, then goes off for 8 hours. No one knows where the light comes from. At night there are stars in the sky, but we've had versers fly millions of light years up into the sky. The stars never get any closer. The air never stops being breathable. Eventually gravity loses its grip, but that's it. Scouts have covered millions of miles of land. It seems to just go on forever. Each of the silver bubbles seems to link to a world where a verser had a devastating botch which destroyed all sentient life on the planet. That's actually the world you versed into. Alice checks them periodically to look for new arrivals. That one you were in belonged to Slider. Excuse me. Slidehammer. Versers have just been here. Some think God or whatever set it up as a safe haven for us to congregate. But your guesses and theories are as good as ours or anyone's."



He looks at Alice confused. "War? Why would you automatically expect a war to happen just because you arrived? That's a new one on me."

OOC) You asked for a war before the game started. Well, the referee knows things the characters don't. <Wink>



Since he's already addressed this, he tells you "Anything you could possibly imagine or want is here somewhere. Any skill, any tech or magic can be found here. If you look hard enough, you will find someone who wants what you have and who has what you want. Trading is quite commonplace. If you've got any media, books, movies, music etc. those can be traded for money at The Tower. My best advice to you is to head to The Tower. They can help you get situated. You can get a room there and a job until you can decide what it is you want to do."

Then he asks if he can have a look at your gear. Perhaps you've got something he would like to trade with you for.

"Mostly the society is anarchist. The Council is made up of the oldest and most powerful versers. There's me, Councilman Tadeusz, The Architect, Michael Di Vars, and several others on The Council. We mostly mediate disputes and keep an eye on things. But just observe common sense. Don't step on someone else's toes and they won't step on yours."

Lastly he says "I teach a wilderness survival class. The most important skill for a verser to have is the ability to live off the land. If you can live off the land, you can make a life for yourself on just about any world. It's free to attend. I'm teaching a class tonight as a matter of fact. You're welcome to join."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:05, Wed 08 Nov 2017.

"Nice. Since all my previous worlds I versed to had wars happening when I arrived or a major conflict happened soon after, I just assume that all my future worlds will include wars or a war in the near future. So, where will the class be held, and how do I navigate to it?"

After getting his response, I hand over / put the bag on the ground. "Take a look."

This sounds like an excellent place to hole up, learn some new skills, and polish up on a few of my own. Maybe I can find either a biometric device for body statistics or a magic that can compute and display my stats. I really need to get a handle on my magic and body output.

OOC) I need to make sure we are communicating here. Do you want a war? Is that what you want? Be clear there. I've already run this world once with a war. If you want a war, there will be a war. If you don't want a war, there won't be a war. It's just that simple. So do you want a war or not?

IC) Magehammer says "I sure hope there's no war brewing here. Could you imagine the weapons and magic that versers could bring to bear there?" And shudders.

But as far as his class and everything, he tells you:

"Head to The Tower. Walk or teleport or however you want to get there. They will have all the information about everything you might be interested in."



OOC) If you're willing to say that your Shurikens (19) are made from an exotic metal (And why wouldn't they be?) Magehammer will say:

IC) "Oh man, these are made out of mithril. That stuff is tough to find."

And he teleports back to his shoppe and returns with a 1 quart kettle that's made from a strange metal that kind of looks like iron but not quite. ORDO IN CHAOS IN ORDINEM is inscribed on the side.

"Just fill this with water, put it on a fire, and 10 minutes later it will be full of your favorite soup. And the best part is, even if it botches, it still usually produces some kind of food. You might end up with a hamburger instead of soup, but it's something to eat."

For all 19 of the shurikens.



OOC) This world literally has anything you could possibly ask for. There's more than three billion versers here. Just imagine the kinds of things they brought.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:17, Wed 08 Nov 2017.

"Oh, if a war broke out with versers as the main fighting force, on both sides, it would be awesome, and probably horrifying. I fully expect worlds to literally shatter apart."

I will trade the shurikens for the kettle.

Ordo in chaos in ordinem? Ordo. Like clan ordo. Ordinem... ordinance? Mandalorian ordinance in chaos? What? Probably not.

"Cool, so I'll head to the Tower and will probably see you later."

After saying goodbye, I head to the tower.

---

Yes, I want a war to happen, but again 10-15 years in the future. Brewing. This world should let me accomplish a few particular goals, but even if I train up a bit, how can I refine it if I don't have a way to put it into practice? War is good for that.

Also, I don't think it has ever been stated what my weapons and equipment are made of specifically, so, assuming the shurikens are mithril, then my ninja sword probably is as well. They came from the same world and ninja village.

Magehammer says "That would be bad."



So you do.



Magehammer says "Order Into Chaos Into Order. I'm an Order/Chaos mage."



OOC) I am going to list some of the shoppes you pass on your trek. This is being described on the assumption that you do not stop, and you just keep on walking. If you decided to stop at a particular shoppe, that retcons everything which follows that.

As far as landmarks, Magehammer's shoppe is not more than 20 feet from the bubble. The bubbles seem to be at intersections. There's traffic coming from four main directions to and away from it. Going around it, not through it.

So you start walking. You pass Magehammer's shoppe on your left. There's a sign out front of it. "Shovels, Axes, Scythes, Hand tools of all kinds!!!! Swords, Clubs, Knives, Weapons of every description!!!!! Free Blacksmithing lessons with purchase of complete blacksmithing toolkit!!!! And don't forget, they're magical!!!!" The shoppe does indeed have these items and more hanging up on display.

Then you pass Ray's Ray Guns. This time, Ray himself approaches you as you pass. He's dressed and speaks very much like a used car salesman. Speaking rapidly, he says "What kinda ray gun do you want? I got 1 gigawatt, 5 gigawatt, I got proton lasers and phaser rifles, solar powered and hand crank. I got heat rays, freeze rays, you name the ray, you can get it at Ray's Ray Guns!!!!"

Then you come to Mom's Bakery. An elderly woman with three adult sons are making cakes, pies, and other baked goods. One of the sons drops something, and Mom slaps him soundly upside the head saying "Watch it nincompoop!!!" Then she turns around to you and gives you a smile so warm it would melt a glacier.

You pass by a store selling clothing, and another selling electronic devices. Several restaurants and eateries. Any kind of food you can think of. Yes, even that really disgusting sounding one.

Basically, name the shoppe and it's somewhere in this line. For what are you looking at the moment? Specifically??

An eight year old girl walks past you. Long brown hair, tee shirt and jeans. She stops at Mister Magehammer's shoppe. And although you can't hear what they're saying, she hands him a cloth bag bulging with coins, and he hands her a Katana sword. Then she starts coming back towards you, sheathed Katana in hand and walks past you again going the other way.

Later on, you will see her using that katana fighting a Samurai warrior four times her size. But the little girl seems to be winning.

Off in the distance, you also see a ginormous skyscraper. The top extends into the clouds and you cannot see it. That's how tall it is.



OOC) Magehammer is a metallurgist. Not many people would be interested in the metal.

Blacksmithing is probably super useful. I've got quite a few skills, and while I don't mind being a generalist, I should probably focus on two or three core areas and let the rest fade away. Combat, divided into melee, ranged, magic. Utility, divided into Survival, Weapon and Armor creation (guns, swords, armor). Defense: Magical, Mental, Physical. Teleportation.

Not every world has magic, so I need to keep my pistol and rifle skills in moderate shape. Swords are almost universally useful, and even up against guns - if I master teleportation, it'll remain relevant. There are a lot of different types of magic, I will focus on elemental magic, for both attack, defense, and utility.

I don't always end up with civilization nearby.. my first world, the ice age, for example. Learning wilderness survival, as well as other climates and biomes is a must. I can't always rely on just finding a good sword, I need to create them to suit my needs and skill set. Armor is probably easier to find, but I should at least dabble in it. I need to be familiar enough that if I find a master I can efficiently order what I need that is reasonable.

I really need to up my defense so I don't die so often. Physical defense, magical defenses, mental defenses.  I have some thoughts for all of these, but let's see what I can find here.

Teleportation is really useful for both attack, defense, scouting, and pretty much everything else. It has no down sides, but it is difficult to learn and master.  I need to spent a lot of time on this.

As I walk to the tower and look at the shops on the way, I plan my path forward. Once I reach the tower I head in and try to find a clerk / information terminal.

---

Coolio. Also, I (think) I mentioned it before, but green italics = thoughts / unspoken words.   In the event some entity can read minds, detect surface thoughts, and so on, they are there. Plus, I feel it adds life to the character. At least, in my own thread. Threads with other players I'll keep the thoughts hidden, but if people start responding to my thoughts, well, up go the active defenses. I don't need another body-snatching incident.

Going into The Tower, it's huge. The base is several square miles. The doors are glass. But once inside, you see Black Panthers and Klansmen talking like old friends. Jews and Nazis in a restaurant having lunch together. They're united as versers. There are cavemen and spacemen and medieval knights. Cowboys and Indians. And several alien species. There's an information kiosk. The person behind the counter asks "May I help you?"



OOC) Sorry, I wasn't thinking about that. We're still learning how to react to each other. Just give it some time. We'll get our story straightened out.

I greet the person.

"Hi. Just arrived at this..." I look around and briefly motion to the surroundings. "place. If there's a basic care package for new arrivals, I'd like to request it. Or, if no such thing exists, then if possible, I'd like some form of a map of the area, a generalized 'lay of the land', and perhaps info on a guide if none of the above exist.

I also would like information regarding a place to stay, train, and experiment, while I am here. Please."

---

Yep, no worries, just a reminder. Things could get awkward otherwise.

The person in the kiosk smiles warmly and says "Yes sir, room and board are free. That's a 12x24 foot room, with a bed, bathroom, video unit and a food replicator. All free of charge. Anything above and beyond this does have a per-use charge."

Then she calls out "Carly Rae!!!"

And Carly Rae Jepsen approaches. She's wearing a white skirt and blouse and a blue cardigan sweater. Her hair is up in a bun and she's wearing glasses. She's obviously very shy and mousy. She's looking at the floor. She briefly raises her head to nod at you before returning to looking at the floor.

The desk clerk tells her "Take him to his room."

And Carly Rae looks up at you and says meekly "Follow me." before returning to look at the floor and walking away. She expects you to follow her.

OOC) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWNaR-rxAic In case you don't know who Carly Rae Jepsen is.



At this, Carly Rae brightens up a tiny bit and says "Mister, Mister Magehammer teaches a wild-wild-wilderness survival class. I attend it. I'm I'm going tonight."

Then she kind of stares off into space for a moment and says "Oh Mister Magehammer....." You can tell she's crushing on him.

But information about all of the services offered is available from the room video unit. It tells you what's available, what's free, what's charged and how much. All voice activated.

Hmm, she's cute, but not my type. This is a good setup. Room, bed, food.  Reminds me, I wonder how my son is, maybe he's among this mass of versers? Probably not. Oh, that reminds me as well, I've got an evil doppelganger running around out there. He tried killing Brian and he killed my wife. Well, wife on that world. What was his last name? Mol...mal? Mat...yes, Matthews. Andrew Matthews.

Once I reach the room, "Looks good, thanks.  Now, I need to acquaint myself with what is available. Good bye."

I look at the list of services offered and acquaint myself with the room, seeing everything that it has.

I wonder if there's a shower. I haven't had a proper shower in ages. Especially not one with proper technology.

---

Not sure if it matters, but Andrew was introduced in this thread: post 50 or so.
link to a message in "Worldwalker"

OOC) Wait till you see her at the wilderness survival class. Your opinion of her will likely change drastically.

IC) So you follow her to what you think is an elevator. You both step inside, and Carly Rae says "Two Hundred Ninety Sixth floor please"

The world tastes purple for a moment and you feel yourself cease to exist. Then the doors open and you're standing in a hallway that's lined with doors. Each door has a ten digit number on it beginning with 296.

Carly Rae tells you "M-m-more than a b-b-billion people live in The Tower. Your room number is your telephone number. Just-just dial the room number."

The doors each have a numeric keypad outside. Carly Rae enters a generic code that lets her access empty rooms. She tells you that you can reset the password to secure the door yourself.



At that, Carly Rae becomes assertive. She looks you in the eyes for the first time and says somewhat sternly "It's my job to show you the room."

She apparently takes her job seriously.

And unless you absolutely insist that she leave, she will follow you into the room. Once inside, she says "Lights on." And the lights come on.

"Everything is voice activated. Lights increase ten percent."

And they do.

"Lights decrease ten percent."

And they do.

"Video screen activate."

And it does. It shows a list of everything in The Tower. It also lists movies, music, and other entertainment options that the video screen has. The answer to the question "Is this available?" is "YES."

Then she says "Video screen deactivate." and it does.

In front of the video screen is a bed that folds up into the wall. She shows you how to unfold it.

The kitchen has a sink, stove and a dishwasher. And a food replicator.

Carly Rae goes to the food replicator and says "French Fries with mustard."

And there appears a plate with French Fries with mustard. They taste like French fries but kind of synthetic. Like they're made out of nylon or something.

After you sample some, she puts the plate back in the replicator and says "Recycle." and it all disappears.

"The food menu is available on the video screen."

Then she shows you the bathroom. Sink, toilet, bathtub/shower.

"Toilet Flush" and it does.

"Sink water on." and it does. "Increase temperature 10 degrees." and it does.

"Sink water off." and it does.

The shower has a handheld sprayer. It works just like the sink.

When she's finished showing you everything, the shy, mousy girl returns. She casts her eyes to the floor and says "En-en-enjoy the r-r-room. I'll be g-g-going now."

And she leaves.

Huh, nifty.

After Carly Rae leaves, now that I have a comfortable and reliable place to stay, I'll take the cape off of the armor so it doesn't get in my way and then start a vigorous exercise.

I take a hot shower, adjusting the temperature hotter 5 degrees at a time.

<idle shower thoughts>

More than a billion versers. Room number is phone number. Apparently fire does exist, but not in her everyday life?

After showering, I'll go to the video screen and have it start playing some music, on loop, while I wash my armor.

Huh, I have never washed any of my gear since I've gotten it. I have been going from battlefield to battlefield. While I have some time, let's remedy that.

I decide to wash all my sets of armor that won't be harmed by water, and create sand to sand wash the clothing that probably isn't good for water.

Once everything is cleaned, or at least, cleaner, I'll set them all out to dry as I go over them with air magic to blow dry them. I'll generate a flame to make it a hotter wind, but still ready to douse it all in water if something goes wrong and I accidentally set fire to the place.

I'll wait for myself to 'air dry' with occasional wind magic, and then get dressed in armor again, reattach the cape, and then head out, after firmly memorizing the room number, and turning off the music.  If a pad with paper exists in the room, I'll write the room number down and keep it with me, otherwise I'll just memorize it.

Once I leave the tower, I'll head back to Magehammer to inquire about blacksmithing.

---

Because it's a very tall tower, Climber's High seems appropriate. https://soundcloud.com/user-46...r-1/sets/fuuka-ost-1

OOC) Just curious, are you talking about Carly Rae there? Just wait till you see her at the wilderness survival class.

IC) All of your magic works. I'm just counting it as practice.



There's a pad of paper. What's in this room is free. Laundry service is available, but that's charged. You could get all of your weapons and armor cleaned for a price.



So you step into the elevator. There's a list of all of the places it will take you. After some consideration, you say "Lobby". The world tastes purple, you cease to exist, and the doors open. You're back in the lobby where you started.

It's a couple miles to walk to Magehammer's shoppe. When you get there, he's packing up for the day. He tells you he's about to go teach the wilderness survival class. Asks if you want to join. He teaches the class for free, but donations are always appreciated.

He tells you "There's one girl, Carly Rae, she's been taking this class for at least a century. Never misses one."

But asking about blacksmithing, he tells you that if you purchase from him a complete blacksmithing toolkit, he'll give you a week's worth of blacksmithing lessons. After that, he charges. All of the blacksmithing hammers he makes are magical. However, you must have at least 2@1 blacksmithing to do magic with them. The free lessons will get you to 1@3.

"I think you'd probably do good with a Chaos hammer."

If you want to join him at the wilderness survival class, he will put his hand on your shoulder and teleport you into a wooded area. There's maybe two dozen students waiting. Carly Rae is there. She's dressed in handmade leather clothing. She's got a number of stone tools on her belt.

And if you don't want to join him, he won't do that.

After entering the lobby.

It is weird to associate taste with a color, but it comes to mind anyway. So weird. I wonder what the science or magic... probably science, behind the elevator is...

When he mentions Carly Rae, "Yea, I met her earlier. She seems to fancy you."

I will join him, and I also inquire about currency.

"What passes for currency here?"

At this he laughs and says "Yeah, I know that. It's weird. Before I became a verser I couldn't get a date to save my life. Amazing what learning a little magic will do for you with the ladies."



"Things are worth what you and the other person can agree they're worth. Gold, silver and platinum are the three most common precious metals in The Verse and most people will take those. But I've been to worlds where copper and lead were the gold and silver. Whatever the other person will accept, pretty much."

OOC) And I'm waiting for a reply from Oak before we go any further.

Two Posts



OOC) It was an episode of Futurama. Fry says "Did everything just taste purple for a second?"

I got my reply from Oak. He said: "In terms of emphasis and description, think G-rated animated Disney movie.  :)"

I got in trouble for inappropriate content some time ago. That's part of the reason I didn't have group access. Just be mindful of that whilst playing.

I review the other versers in the woods and wait for the wilderness class to start.

---

Literal filler post.

OOC: This reply would probably make more sense in context.  It is in response to upcoming events in this thread, rather than previous or current events.  :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:03, Fri 10 Nov 2017.