I want to return my body to the age and appearance I had at 17. I want all of the physical attributes I had at that age restored. I want all damage done to my body since that time undone. (IE all the broken bones in Pearl Harbor, the steel plate in my leg, and all traces of being a smoker) I want to retain all of my knowledge and skills that I got after that. I want my body to forget what it is like to be a smoker, (because that was before I started smoking) but I still want to mentally remember it, so I don't pick that habit up again. Since I've also prayed away my psychosis, I don't want to have any traces of that left, because I had that when I was 17. Reverse the physical age of the body back to the age of 17, while retaining all of the knowledge and maturity present in the older self. Full restoration of 17 year old physical appearance, strength, stamina, flexibility etc, with no loss of mental skills gained since then. (So I would still know how to box, and how to drive, etc) Am I clear now? That's not the words I would be praying, but I figure this would be easier for you to understand.
It would be kind of like saying "If I knew then what I know now." Well, I want the body I had then, and the mind and skills I have now.
MJ, two posts
It occurs to me that age 17 is also before I got infected with Scriff. I don't want to start aging, and I don't want to stop versing, so I don't want the Scriff to be gone.
It also occurs to me that my animal magnetism, charisma and persuasion would probably increase marginally. I was a lot better looking at age 17 (who wasn't?)
A couple things here.
- I know that this is what you want; I wanted to know how you were going to state it.
To some degree, what you are doing is comparable to making a wish; it is making a wish within the context that the one you are asking is benevolent and will not attempt to cheat you--but it still means that what you ask, that is, the way you say what you want, is going to be one of the most important factors in defining what it is that you are understood to be asking. That means I need the words.
- I know that it is your hope to retain certain bod skills which you have learned since then, and it is going to be difficult to explain to you why that is contrary to what you are asking, but I'm going to have to try. You say that you "know" how to box. I "know" how to box, too, and how to fight in several martial arts styles--but I can't do them, because the knowledge I have is in my head. Those who are boxers, martial artists, acrobats, athletes, even typists, have the knowledge in their bodies. It's called neural memory or something like that, that the nerve pathways in your body already know how to do what you want. Typing is an example most people on the Internet understand. I didn't just think, "Hold shift, Press I, release shift, press n, press t, press e, press r, press n, press e, press t, press space". I thought the word Internet, and my fingers fired in sequence to produce that word. The memory of how to type is in my head, but the skill to do it is in my body. In the same way, you have in your head an understanding of how to box, but the skill to do it is in your arms and legs.
That means if you replace this body with one that predates that knowledge, your mind will know how to box, but your body won't. It would mean that you would have no skill at boxing, but would have in your head an example of how to box at the skill ability level you had before, and would use that to learn over from scratch.
That doesn't mean it's impossible for you to restore your old attributes, age, abilities, whatever, and keep your skills; it does mean that you're going to have to give serious thought to exactly what are you going to say in this prayer, so that you get what you want and not something else which is what you actually requested.
- Well, I think I'm better looking now than I was when I was seventeen, but then, you're entitled to your own opinion about yourself.
- And you are correct that the body you had when you were seventeen was not scriff-infected. Getting that body would be different from youthening this one, but youthening this body does not guarantee that it would be exactly like that one in all the ways you want.
--M. J. Young
Ug, we have been spinning the wheels too long. It's getting just a wee bit annoying.
MJ, I'm editing the post, and the prayer. There are some things that I knew when I was 17 that I wish I had now. I had 2 years of French in high school. I did not mark it on my sheet, because I actually remember very little of it. At 17, I could speak fairly well. Probably 1@6-1@7.
Dear God in Heaven. I ask that you reverse the chronological age of my body back to the age and physical appearance I had at age 17. I ask to have all of the strength and youth I had at that age, while retaining the knowledge and skills of my adulthood. EDIT: I also ask to have my abilities from youth that have been lost to time restored to the peak performance. (17 was also the peak of my electronics skills) I ask that all of the damage done to my body from injury, illness, smoking, and all other ailments and infirmities be reversed, back to the age I was then. I ask to retain my Scriff, and continue versing, so that I might continue to serve you.
Is that better? And BTW, having met you, and seen what you look like in person, if you think you're better looking now, I'd hate to see what you looked like as a teenager.... (joke, of course)
I'm also asking Pedro to pray for this with me. Having the strength and speed I had then could only be useful in fighting these demons, so he should be all for it. Is that a bonus? It's full body involvement, and praying for 20 minutes.
EDIT: Ah shit, I just screwed up the prayer again, didn't I? I just realized that asking for my skills restored is probably at least another day of questions and answers, isn't it? If there's a way around that, take it. If, for example, my skills are listed at their peak, and not just what I remember now, then that's fine. I might have had 2@1 electronics when I graduated, but "Use it, or lose it" as they say. Now, all I really remember is basic wiring, how to use a soldering iron, the basics. I could identify a resistor, as opposed to a capacitor. However, I couldn't do much about telling you if the capacitor was working or not. See what I mean? At 17, I had it more fresh in my mind. I also had below average amateur skills with a soccer ball. 1@4 at best. I was just thinking this might give me an edge if I kicked someone.
MJ, two posts
That thing you were saying about the skill of boxing being in my body, where are you getting your information? Or is that a rule in the game? I'm asking because all of the experiences that I had whilst boxing are in my head. The head controls the body. If there were something like that, it shouldn't take more than a day or two to reteach myself, because of the before-mentioned experiences stored in my mind. I've heard of that, some people call it muscle memory. I've also been told that it was never conclusively proven. Of course, I could be mistaken, which is why I'd like to know who told you.
MJ, is there anything in this world that resembles dice-based gambling? I'm sure there would be, in the taverns. Imagine having a TK pulse at a Craps table. Dice lands on 4+5, TK pulse it right before it stops, nope, I rolled a 4+3. This was an old Twilight Zone episode actually. A guy with psionic powers goes to a casino. It was funny.
Or even better, mind reading in a Poker game. Ever think about Star Trek the Next Generation's Poker players? You have Deana Troi would can read your emotional state, and tell if you're happy about your hand. You have Data, who can stack the deck, and who can memorize the order of the cards, and you have Geordi LaForge, who can see through the cards, and who can tell if a human is lying. Tell me, would you play Poker with these people? Yet, despite that, please note, Riker always wins. They're either suckups, or Riker is a damn good Poker player. Of course, occasionally you have Worf, who can and will beat the living daylights out of you if he caught you cheating. Maybe that's why they asked Worf to start playing.....
How would psionics in a Poker or Craps game work anyway? I mean would you have to roll for every hand, or could you just use a GE roll. A good roll you make a fortune, a bad roll you botch at some point? Just curious.
You spend twenty minutes kneeling and praying with Pedro, and you have a definite sense of the presence of God--but you do not change.
"It seems," Pedro says, "that God intends to use you as you are."
--M. J. Young
Damn, all that for nothing. Oh well.
"Well Pedro, let's get some sleep. Finish those boom sticks in the morning and head out for the castle. You do know where it is, right?"
When we wake up, go see Mr. Smith, and try to finish some of the boom sticks. Around lunchtime, go out into the woods to test them. Hang the bag of dirt from a tree by two ropes so it doesn't sway around too much, then bang it with a bang stick. It should completely decimate the bag. I would do it in a direction that faced more woods, preferably with a relatively heavy growth of trees to use as a backstop. I have no idea how far these pellets are going to travel, and I don't want to injure anyone.
MJ, two posts
Is there anything in this world that resembles dice gambling? I'm serious about that. A TK pulse at a Craps table could be a lot of fun.
The purpose of this is to try to train referees, so I was just thinking that I would tell you how I would handle TK pulse at a Craps table, if I were refereeing. It would depend on how they gambled. If they were making high-stakes bets and shooting the dice themselves, I would roll for each TK pulse. If, on the other hand, they stood back in the crowd, and just tried to make their own bets, without showing off too much, I would make it a bonused GE roll on their gambling luck, (One of the dice stuck at 1) and give a regular GE roll on whether or not they botched at some point. Would that be a correct way to handle that situation?
Just to be clear, the three of you working on these boom sticks yesterday managed to complete three in the afternoon. You should be able to complete at least one and if all goes smoothly another three before lunch, between four and six before the end of the day. Now, you said that you were going to "finish" them, apparently before "lunchtime". By my reckoning, you have the three you made yesterday, a good chance of having a fourth, a fair chance of having a fifth, and a slim chance of having a sixth. You bought twenty spears. Is this all you are going to make, or are we not communicating again?
--M. J. Young
Second post. Sorry--the gambling thing. The church in this country frowns on gambling, and so if there is any it's kept hidden from authorities and from strangers. There might be something happening somewhere, but it might be that these are all law-abiding citizens who wouldn't dream of going against the royal edicts.
--M. J. Young
I want to get started towards the castle soon. As in the next day. Finish as many as possible. Don't forget to test one at lunchtime. Having some as spears might also be useful. Maybe practice my staff.
Almost missed that second post. That's odd. In every medieval fantasy movie I have ever seen, there was always some extras playing dice in the background.
You didn't answer me on that gambling TK pulse at the Craps table. The purpose of this forum is to train referees, and I was curious if that was a proper way to handle that.
Oh, I didn't understand the question; sorry. You could handle it that way. Really, though, what you need to ask yourself first is, how important are these events to what is happening? I find it difficult to envision a situation in which someone enters a location where people are gambling and places bets, and we are not covering the action in detail--on what are you betting, how much, when. It's also made the more difficult by the fact that your chance of success with the TK pulse is going to vary not just with your skill but with the difficulty of the task and the bias of the universe. Thus for one character in one situation a 12 Good Enough might mean you made a few hundred dollars at it, while for another character or another situation that same 12 Good Enough might mean you didn't lose more than a few hundred dollars. Doing it by GE roll only, I would have to take into account
- The odds that the dice will come up right on the first roll;
- How clearly you can see them;
- Whether you can respond quickly enough that no one else realizes they had stopped and started again;
- Your chance of performing the skill successfully;
- The odds that your tap to the dice will result in a good roll.
That takes into account all the factors involved.
By lunchtime, the smith himself has finished another boom stick. You and William are still working on yours, and the smith has started another. If you stick with it, you'll have a total of five by for the day, but anyone who does not stick with his work now (who goes for this test in the woods) will not be able to finish another today. You have three from yesterday, so you have four now, three more started, and the smith will be able to finish his early enough that he can start and finish another, if he stays here.
Who is going to test this thing, and who is staying behind?
--M. J. Young
Well, I'd like to show it to Mr. Smith, William and Pedro. Why not?
"Guys, let's go out into the woods and test one. Who wants to come with me?"
It's up to them if they want to come or not. I'd like at least Pedro to see it.
Hang the bag of dirt from a tree by the two top corners so it doesn't swing too much. Facing into the woods and away from the town, and preferably with a heavy growth of trees as a backstop.
Does the stick survive the blast, so that it is reusable?
I am aware that you have made and used pipe bombs and soft-wrap bombs, as well as artillery. My inclination is that this new gadget is not really any of those things, and probably should be listed as a new skill--I'd make it Operate Explosive-tip Spears T6@1. However, I'm open to any notion you have that this is something you've already learned how to do and have skill in already.
I'm also going to ask whether you have any example or instruction in how to do this.
Otherwise, it will be your bias, your BRA, the world bias level, all against the bias of this skill, as the chance of you teaching yourself how to do this. That's all pretty strong numbers, and I suspect you'll succeed, but if you already know how to do this you might have a higher skill ability level (and this might be a new use instead of a new skill), which would mean a better chance of making it work later when it counts.
--M. J. Young
I have no skills at this. New skill.
You pull back and drive the spear forward hard at the sack of dirt. You catch the bottom corner, and the sack swings away some, but you still manage to make the point of the spear connect with the target point on the shell, and it explodes. Everyone jumps.
The shot scatters in very near a hemispherical pattern--hitting everything that is in that direction. The damage to the bag is minimal, although quite a few pellets penetrated it.
There is a moment of silence before Pedro, calmly, speaks.
"It is an interesting weapon. I should like to see what it can do to a demon."
The cage is badly deformed, and the tip of the spear is broken. It could be rebuilt more easily than making another from scratch, but you would probably want to move the frame to another spear, and it will take a couple hours to get it back in shape. It might be the way this particular one detonated. Shotgun shells were not designed for that kind of use.
--M. J. Young
"That wasn't a very good hit. These things can do a lot more damage than that. Let's get back and see how many more we can make."
If it would be easier to rebuild this one than to make another, that's what I'm going to do. Let's get as many made as we can. See what happens. How many do we have, total?
Not arguing, just asking a question. I would have thought that using this spear the way I did would have been a check against my eye-hand coordination. Not a skill at using a weapon. I'm not operating anything, I'm just stabbing with it. I would have thought that would be an eye-hand coordination check. Of course, I didn't write the rules.
MJ two posts
The reason that I asked about the TK pulse at the Craps table is that I could imagine someone doing that for hours. I just thought that it would be easier to count it as practice, and settle it by a few GE rolls as to what happened. Just thought I'd explain that.
John, I've had people do things for months--such as go to school. Having someone work the craps table with telekinesis for hours is nothing. Besides, if that's what he's doing, then that is what the game is about for that time. If he wants to walk into the casino and practice his telekinesis in influencing the outcomes of various games, that's fine, that can be practice. As soon as he places a bet, or someone he knows is involved, the outcome matters, and it is no longer practice.
Also, using a spear is a weapon skill check--a T3@1 skill in using a wedge. "Just stabbing with it" is a tech skill, and requires understanding of the concept of stabbing. Even just hitting it is a tech skill, since clubs are levers, one of the three essential machines. This is a much more complicated machine than that, as you are using an impact detonation system. Besides, a hand/eye check might tell me whether you hit, but it wouldn't tell me how well you hit in a way that converts to damage.
You took one of your four finished boom sticks for the test. By the time you get back to the shop, there's enough time left in the day that the smith could fix this one and you and William could get a head start on one each to finish tomorrow. As mentioned, if all three of you work uninterrupted all day, you should be able to produce an average of four a day. You had twenty spears, but this one is pretty badly damaged, so you'll be using a different spear for the rebuild.
--M. J. Young
It seems that we are still not clear about exactly how long it takes to make these boom sticks. I have 19 spears. Let's make all of them into boom sticks. All 19. I guess I haven't understood this yet. Make all 19 spears into boom sticks. Skip ahead in time until they are all made. Does father Pedro have any kind of metal working skills? (Hey, priests need to be kind of self-sufficient) perhaps he would like to help us make them. Skip ahead in time until I have 19 boom sticks. I want to get started towards the castle. That sounds a lot more interesting.
MJ Two Posts
Is there anything in this world that resembles weaponless martial arts? Any kind of fighting style at all? Preferably, grappling based. (I've been told that grappling and boxing are good mixed combination) Anything at all? I doubt I'm going to be around long enough to try to learn any of it, but what the hey.
Let me see if I can clarify the time. There are quite a few bends and joints that have to be made to get this to hold together, and the work has to be heated and cooled multiple times for each. The smith is of course better than anyone else at this, and he can easily finish one in the morning, and sometimes a second before the end of the day, and on a really good day he can squeeze in a third. You and William are about equal in ability, and it typically takes you well into the afternoon to finish one (each). On a bad day you won't complete it; on a really good day you might finish a second. Thus we have the incredibly improbable really great day on which the smith makes three and you and William each make two, and the incredibly bad day on which the smith finishes one and no one else finishes any. Typically, you produce four a day all together. Thus it will take about five days to make them all. You shorted the first day, because you sent the smith to buy the spears so instead of finishing three he only finished one, although you and William also each finished one, so it would have been a good day. You interrupted the second day after the smith finished one spear, and did not finish any others, although you and William would each have started one. You destroyed one (of the twenty) on that day. Thus on the third day you will probably have a better than average day--you and William each have one started and the smith is going to be able to repair the damaged one more quickly than make a new one--but even so by the end of the day you'll only have seven or eight total, and still need three more days to do the other eleven.
If there are any martial arts in this world, they're apparently not in this village or the others you've visited.
Everyone is surprised that you would ask Father Pedro if he also happens to be a professional blacksmith or metalworker. He has no such skills.
It winds up taking five more days to finish them all. This is in part because one of your regular customers has an emergency when the axle breaks on his farm cart, and it takes two of you most of a day to repair it (and the smith will not hear of telling his regular customers he can't help them in an emergency). However, Father Pedro is patient, and soon you have all in hand.
Are you taking everything with you, or if not what are you leaving where?
--M. J. Young
"Mr. Smith, it's been a pleasure working with you. I need you to do me a favor. (Hold up the white tennis shoes from Pearl Harbor) I'm going to leave these here with you. Hang them up in the shop somewhere. Remember when I told you about versing? If these suddenly vanish into thin air, it means I have versed out, and you are on your own."
Aside from that, load everything into my Radio Flier wagon and get started. Duct tape it down, if I have to. How are we getting there anyway? Am I towing the wagon behind my bike, whilst Pedro rides his horse, or what? "Any suggestions Father Pedro? Also, I assume you know how to get there, cuz I sure as Heaven don't."
Do you want to describe to me how you intend to tow a wagon behind a bicycle?
--M. J. Young
I've got 100 feet of nylon rope. I intended to tie the handle of the wagon to the back of the bike. I've done this before, towing friends around and what not. It works really well.
Laugh at this if you want to, but crosses are supposed to be effective against demons and vampires right? Well, what's my last name? Cross. Would that give me any kind of advantages? I mean if looking at a cross hurts a demon, then they should have problems looking at me. How would I know? Father Pedro, that's how.
MJ Two Posts
Earlier, I said that I have 3@10 ability at looking crazy. I was serious about that. You would have to see it in action to really understand the full scope of things, but I really do want to add that to my character sheet. It's a freak out. This skill has stopped me from being mugged on at least 2 occasions, and it is very effective in a scare situation. How do I justify 3@10 ability? Well, I've spent the last 29 years (Multiverser time) as a psychotic. If that isn't enough practice at it to justify 3@10, then something is wrong with the rules.....
You tie the wagon to the back of the bike, and you and Father Pedro head toward the city. The horse comfortably does about six miles per hour, which is a slow ride on a bicycle but fast compared to walking. It can of course go faster, but not for a full day.
You ask Father Pedro, "My name is actually John Cross. Do you think that would matter against the demons?"
He answers, "I do not know, but when you face them, tell them your name, and believe that God has called you to fight against them, and I think you might see a miracle."
The capital will be two and a half days' journey at your current rate. Father Pedro expects to spend tonight and tomorrow night in inns along the road, and reach your destination by noon on the third day.
--M. J. Young
Actually, 6 miles an hour is about my normal riding speed. Last time I rode 13 miles, it took me about 2 hours, so that would be cool.
"Father Pedro, could you teach me any magic? I don't believe in magic, but perhaps how to call upon God's power more quickly."
And MJ, you still have not said a word about the 3@10 at acting crazy. I'm totally serious about that.
I think that when you have opportunity to use the skill, we'll discuss it then.
"John, all the magic I know comes from years of prayer and study and devotion to God. If you wish for me to start teaching you that, I will be glad to do so; but there are no shortcuts to miracles."
You reach an inn, where Father Pedro arranges space on the floor of the common room and dinner for both of you at his expense.
--M. J. Young
"Pedro, where I'm from, I was a believer in God. I believe that demons can be exorcised by the power of Jesus Christ. I would actually do that, when I felt the presence of evil. (no joke) 'In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command the evil to leave this place and not return.' Would the demons be vulnerable to that?"
What's for dinner?
What does Pedro look like? What are his clothes like? Just curious.
"John, it is your faith in God that 'works' against the demons. If you are experimenting, that is not faith. Do I know whether the demons will flee when you speak the name of your God? I cannot know if you do not know. If it worked in your world, I do not see why it would not work in ours. Demons are not from your world or from ours; they are from outside the world. If you have a weapon that works against demons, I do not know why it would matter what in world you used it."
He wears dark but faded robes, stained in places, open over the chest to reveal a deep red vest with some brass or possibly gold decorations (not buttons, possibly clasps), and a broad-rimmed dark hat. There are fringes on the cord around his waist.
--M. J. Young
Dinner is the typical stew/gruel everyone eats most of the time.
--M. J. Young
I remember Kyler said something about no one wearing buttons. Why is that? Ask Pedro.
"Pedro, do you follow the Bible? (by that, I mean the same Bible that we follow) I'd like to take a look at your holy book to see if it is the same as the one I follow. Who knows if we are following the same God? That would be one way to find out."
I just realized that I forgot to bless the boom sticks. Use my 'bless weapons' skill in exactly the way it says. New use?
MJ two posts
"Pedro, how do you propose we get inside the castle when we get there?"
Kyler mentioned that there were no buttons because he has a keen sense for history, and buttons have not yet been invented. When you ask Pedro why no one wears buttons, he will ask what a button is. If you show him buttons and buttonholes on your own clothes, he will be more fascinated by the quality of stitching around the buttonholes, which must have taken a seamstress many hours to do the entire garment that way, and so been very expensive. Maybe kings and princes can afford such clothes, but most people could not.
Pedro does not have a copy of any of the documents that comprise their scriptures. Books are rare and expensive, copied by hand, and kept in secure libraries such as the one back at his monastery.
I think you realized that you forgot to bless the weapons too late. Your ritual specifies that you must do it in your established home; you are now traveling, and if you have an established home it's one day's journey behind you. You can attempt to create a new skill, or attempt to establish a new home, but I think you have to be somewhere for more than an overnight stay and a couple of meals to establish it as a home base.
Pedro says that when the two of you reach the castle it will be time to examine it and to pray about what steps to take. It may be that there will be a way of entering the castle; it may be that there will be a way of luring the demons outside.
--M. J. Young
Well, after dinner, up in the room, bless the boom sticks. Use the same skill, but change it so that it isn't in the established home base. Whatever the skill is, take out the "Established Home Base" part, and that's what I'm doing. Also ask Pedro to bless all of my weapons as well. The blessing of a priest could only be a good thing.
"Pedro, I need to know if we are following the same God. If you're not following Yahweh, then I don't know what good this will do."
Tell Pedro the story of Noah's Ark, tell him about the crucification of Jesus Christ, Samson, any other Bible stories I can think of. Quote whatever verses come to mind. Does any of this ring bells for him?
Are there any banks/jewelery stores where I can change my silver into gold and gems? Or do I have to wait until we get closer to the castle?
MJ, I realize I'm probably shooting myself in the foot by asking this, but it's bugging me. I highly doubt that all of my equipment would fit into a Radio Flier wagon. Or are we just kind of glossing over that to make the story flow better? I realize I probably shouldn't be asking, but it was bugging me.
MJ Two Posts
Not that it matters, but I just remembered that I threw a 30-06 casing into Mr. Smith's forge. Did he ever fish it out, or did he leave it in there? Since it was made out of brass, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it completely melted down to nothing in the forge, but I was just curious as to what became of it.
Are there any butchers? I remember an episode of Perfect Strangers, Balki was talking about making water balloons out of animal bladders. An animal bladder full of holy water could be an interesting weapon to use.
There are butchers. You do not know what became of the shell casing.
You definitely feel the power pass into the spears as you pray over them.
The stories you tell Pedro have a familiar feel to them, in that they sound like the sorts of things The Creator God would do, although he does not recognize them individually. Of course, he observes, the Creator God is so creative that we would not expect Him to do the same things in different worlds.
Pedro has never blessed more than one weapon at a time. He is uncertain how to approach the matter, but suggests that when you draw a weapon for battle, he will bless it then.
--M. J. Young
Well, any animal bladders that I got here would likely rot by the time I got to the castle, so I won't worry about it yet.
After breakfast the next morning, let's head towards the castle some more.
"Pedro, after this is over, I most certainly want to get back to Mr. Smith. I had an unfinished blacksmithing project that I wanted to complete. Let's see what happens. I have no desire to rule this place."
Well, let's get started. I believe we have a day and a half to go. Let me know when we get somewhere that I can change some of my silver into gold and gems.
Pedro is determined, and you push through beyond the villages. The capital is in sight when you stop on the other side of a valley, perhaps ten miles away.
There is a jeweler in this town--and this is definitely a town, not a village, with more homes and more inns and more shops, a lot of permanent buildings, stone-paved streets, several wells, and more--but he is closed by the time you arrive, so you'll have to see him in the morning. You get supper and mats in the common room once again.
--M. J. Young