[Invention lore] Chrono-Scribe

[Dishonored (2) Jindosh Clockwork Autograph by Artstation]

“Paper burns, Stone breaks, Metal bends. Sound and Air can be shaped and captured”

Concept

A common issue is that we found ourselves in a state of loss of significant history. Books burnt, stolen or even misplaced. However, through the ages we discovered new ways to protect our archives and books. Sometimes even covering our books with athin treated leather coverings, or using plastic to cover them from any form of natural erosion. History is left in the care of people who only truly care about it, and history is usually told through the biased voices of prior witnesses who saw it all begin and end.

Through the discovery of severed alchemy and clockwork, we were capable to manipulate and create something vastly better than a book or scroll. Using the concoctions of these two alchemies the first Chrono-scribe, was created. 

Explanation

The Chrono-scribe is an alchemy invention that allows the user to mix the concoction; Humming in a bottle (severed alchemy) and Animii/clockwork to acquire the right parts to create and make the invention work. It is main function is to allow the individual to hear an amplified version of the stored voice from the item through a vocal module which is amplified by two bronze shaped, goat like hollow horns, or a single one. One can also lower and raise the volume by inserting circular leather strips to lessen the air waves that come out of the Chrono-scribe.
 

The Chrono-Scribe requires [1] Vocal module, [1] Audio Module, and [1] gear heart as per any animii creation and one already spoken into, a slate shaped item or fitting shape, depending on how one builds the scribe itself. Upon so, they will need a phial of Lifeblood [1] to power it, they must also have a fitting shaped item made from Aurumn or Silver, treated with humming bottle concoction to inset into the scribes input.  Once inserted, a small hammer will cause the fitted item to begin speaking into the Audio module, and the voice or sound will repeat the words through the note box. Upon so, the user can add circular leather strips to lower the volume or clog the horns to stop the sound from coming out. The original tone itself will be amplified upon being played.

(If the item was spoken into in a quite tone [#q], then it will be amplified to a normal tone [#rp])

Redlines
 

Credits:

Redresult- Feedback
Eahkaj- Feedback
PrinceJose270- Feedback & Consulting
Halfrait- Feedback
Ewdrawings- Feedback-Consulting

_Helmet_-Feed back & consulting
 

A woman depicted harvesting silk from a spider’s web.

IN A WORLD IN WHICH giant spiders can be found in many a cave, spider’s silk is a highly useful, and obtainable resource. Essentially a highly durable fabric, the Arachnoid’s Cloth is a luxurious and somewhat protective iteration of casual wear. 

SPIDER’S SILK IS MOST USEFUL when woven into a cloth. It may be used to make the finest of clothing, highly effective bandages, and may also be used as a sort of ductile or extremely durable string. The latter of which might be used as bow strings, or within mechanical devices.

PROPERTIES

An artist’s depiction of the silk being packaged into bolts.

Toughness

REFINED SPIDER’S SILK IS A quality material with some quirks. It is highly resistant to slashing attacks, though given its flimsy nature, does little to stop the force behind such attacks, merely converting them into bludgeoning strikes of equal force. Stabbing & piercing attacks may easily penetrate spider silk cloth, so long as the point is sharp. For example, if a hefty man struck you right on the forearm with a longsword, instead of losing that arm from such a blow you’d end up with a fractured or broken bone.

SPIDER’S SILK HAS A FEW weaknesses to note. Firstly, it is highly flammable, and is useless against fire. Secondly, Argentum, due to its anti-arachnoid properties, will cut through Spider’s Silk with no resistance, ignoring its durability against slashing damages. 

Response to Water and Wounds

SPIDER’S SILK NATURALLY CONTRACTS WHEN it gets wet. This, combined with tightly weaving properly refined material, makes it somewhat waterproof. This allows it to smoothly cling to one’s body and make swimming easier.

AS A RESULT OF ITS reaction to moisture, another useful quirk of Spider’s Silk is its effective ability to patch wounds. It has been observed that when used as bandages, the fabric contracts around the wound and effectively staunches bleeding. However, due to the tightening of the fabric, this would restrict the movement of the limb until blood flow can return to normal. Effectively, this will allow the silk bandages to work as re-flavored tourniquets.

ADDITIONALLY, REFINED SPIDER’S SILK IN the form of string may be used as a highly durable suturing thread. Wounds stitched with this thread will not re-open unless directly snipped through.  

REFINEMENT

A woman depicted weaving the silk thread into fabric.

Harvesting

WHILE SILK IS PLENTIFUL IN spider dens, only recent pieces of webbing spun from cocoons may be harvested and used to its fullest effects. This is most easily achieved by baiting the spider with a creature of proportionate size, such as a dog or human. Send them into or near the nest, & wait for them to be taken away. Once this is done, the spider will wrap the lure in a thick casing of fresh silk, which will then be capable of being effectively harvested and used in crafts should you steal it from its weaver.

ONCE THE CREATURE IS FREED from the cocoon the creature has been ensnared in. This may take some effort as the silk is exceptionally difficult to cut. In any case, once the cocoon is claimed, it must be submerged in hot water. This will cause the silk to constrict, but the stickiness that held it together will vanish; allowing one to unravel the creature and place the silk where it may dry off. Luckily, most spiders don't immediately kill their prey, so it is likely the bait will be able to survive this encounter unless killed by the spider’s venom. Moreover, the size of the creature which was entombed decides how much potential silk you may acquire. The larger the creature which was captured, the more silk. However, how well the silk is extracted may affect its yield and quality.

Refining Process

REFINING MUNDANE SILK IS NO easy task, and requires the skillful hand of a prodigious tailor or weaver. Spider’s Silk is an even more complicated process. Through heavy trial and error, a method was created.

1. Firstly, one must stew gislocinovi, or any regent containing the alchemical symbol separation, into a saturated tincture via a cauldron of boiling water. At this time, dyes may be added, though the color will always be somewhat pale. 

2. Then, the raw silk harvested from the fresh cocoons must be placed into the cauldron. Stir until the strands separate from each other. 

3. Whilst the tincture is still boiling, take a ladle, stick, sift, etcetera through the gossamer strands, gently pulling them out from the water and laying them on a smooth surface to dry. 

4. Once dried, the silk strands may be fed into a spindle and spun into thread. This thread may be used on its own, or used in a loom to create bolts of fabric. 

PATCH NOTES IN COMPARISON TO THE OLD POST:

PURPOSE

Spider’s Silk has a lot of potential, but at the moment isn’t very useful for how tedious it is to collect, as well as the lore page being highly confusing. I hope that this rewrite will be able to make the material more usable. 

CREDITS TO:

@Apotolofo - Writing

@SlitheryC1 - Writing

@Cheese - Formatting

     A basic spring consists of a steel wire which has been bent around into a helical or coiled shape using methods either done by hand or forged into said shape. In order to achieve spring quality steel, one must create quenched and tempered steel or any variant as strong or stronger than the above mentioned quality of steel. By strengthening the steel, one may make it resilient enough to bend and then “spring” back into its original shape with a force that varies dependent on the stiffness of the steel as well as the thickness of the steel. Because springs wear out easily, they may have a few uses before they begin to buckle from the pressure of repeatedly compressed and decompressed, however this negative would likely be outweighed by the many more positive applications of this invention. The simple explanation for how a spring functions is that when force is applied to it, it will throw some of said force back out once the compressing outside pressure is released. Creating springs from other metals could be considered, but is likely impossible without the usage of alloys. Unfortunately, due to the limitations in the size of tools and technology, the smallest effective size of a spring possible of being made would be little under an inch tall and half an inch in width. 

Capabilities

     Whilst the humble spring has a plethora of potential applications, there are a limited number of practical uses that the basic spring can be used for. By attempting to create a spring out of a mundane steel, one might find they have made what is known as a slinky. Due to the far lesser stiffness of normal steel compared to that of spring grade steel, the thin design of a helical spring can still distribute force evenly, but it fails to measure up when faced with compression. Little more than an oddly shaped wire, the slinky could be quite entertaining when pushed down a set of stairs as it consistently carries the force applied to it from end to end. In terms of the aforementioned practical uses of the spring, one could make a shock absorption pad to prevent doors from damaging walls when flung open. In terms of the niche combat role that it could fill, one could find a spring implemented into their crossbow to increase the force without increasing the recoil. Spring loaded mechanisms and other complex machinery may be a bit too far away from our grasp, but the usage of a basic spring is a game changer in some fields of work or even in daily life.

Restrictions

As mentioned previously, tiny springs smaller than an inch in height and half an inch in width is simply not possible given the current tools and technological limits of this day and age. In order to even begin making a spring one must know how to refine or reinforce steel, as well as be knowledgeable in the handling of steel. Due to the sheer power of creations that could be made using the spring, it is recommended that one must apply via the forums in order to use springs in their role play. Springs also have a small number of uses before they break due to their relatively new discovery lending them not much research in the way of making them better. The smaller the spring, the sooner it breaks.

Purpose

By adding springs, this pushes the tech limit slightly further without exploding into an era of industrial revolution or clockwork nightmares. Springs in their simplest form bring what no other lore piece can really bring to the table for the time being, and that’s collective progression, not just in terms of per say the invention of a gate, but more along the terms of the lightbulb. It lays the groundwork for others to be built upon. One could not simply invent the lightbulb and then suddenly have efficient means to power it as we do with switches now. When the lightbulb was invented it took time for it to become completely practical in every day life, because not everyone has stable electricity, and some even still used torches or candles to light their way despite the superior product existing. By adding the spring, we aren’t thrust into a new time, but we have a sense of general progression that could not be achieved otherwise.

Wiki Page: https://wikia.lordofthecraft.net/index.php?title=Cretzer_Craps

Craps is that dice game you see a lot in movies - where they do that cliche thing with the dice by making the hot chick blow on the dude's hand before he rolls. It's also featured in The Road to El-Dorado, where the main characters use loaded dice to continually roll sevens. Normal craps requires a lot of rolling from each player and tends to spam the chat, so this simplified version I call "Cretzer Craps" should do the trick for a fun and simple way to win or lose your vote money on gambling.  Here's how it works:

Standard bet is five minas or an equivalent item if you're penniless.

Each player has two dice (or they can share a pair of dice), this is represented by the number 12, for the amount of faces on each dice combined. 

Roll the dice by typing /roll 12

If you roll a 7 or 11, you automatically win - no need for other people to roll.

If you roll a 2, 3 or 12, you automatically lose - you sit out until someone else wins (or if it's two players, you lose and the other wins.)

If you roll a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, you don't win or lose, but must allow the other players to roll before coming back to your turn.

If you roll a 1, just roll again - cause it's impossible to get a 1 with two dice.

And that, my friends, is Cretzer Craps.

Battles of Might, with Brawn and Steel have determined the rise and fall of nations since the earliest renditions of society...

But the most ancient conflict of all? The Battle of Wits."

-Valmir Synalli (in an attempt to coerce his defeated Chess opponent into another game), Haelun'or C. 1570.

The game 'Chess' is of muddy origins with timeless sets found in scholarly buildings, religious temples and political seats amongst all of the intelligent races. Alongside such, naturally, many cultures have come up with their own explanation for where it came from:

Many Tribesman and Shamans of Krugmar for instance share in the belief that Krug himself invented the game with the assistance of Vuka (the spirit of Warfare) shortly after Iblees lay his curse upon he and his descendants, so that those that came after him could learn the value of strategic combat and keeping a level head on the fields of battle, in a failed attempt to counter their savage bloodlust.

Amongst the Brathmordakin of Urguan's descendants there are rumours that Yemekar sculpted the first Chessboard to do battle against Khorvod in an orderly manner, without disrupting the essential balance of his creation. Others suggest it to serve as a measurement of a Golem's mental ability (a Golem able to beat its master at chess is either a marvel of runic technology or a sign of a troublingly unintelligent Golemancer).

In seats of high nobility in the many tenuous kingdoms of Man, the game is said to have originated as a flexible Battle-Map to plan for the conflicts that brought down the first Holy Empire of Oren. More narcissistic humans on the other hand have explained it to be "a way for houses too poor for bannermen to wage war on eachother". 

And amongst the Elves explanations differ, some Druid of the Mother Circle suggesting it to have simply been discovered amidst the ruins of the destructive mage-factions that fell in the Great War which began the first Druidic order. Other suggest Malin to be its inventor, for it to be used as a means of honing the mind lest it dull from the strain of eternal life. Another explanation offered by the scholars of Haelun'or is that one of Larihei's followers introduced the game as a means of testing the cognitive ability of young mali'aheral so that they might be deemed prepared for the shock of a Voidal connection.

Whoever its maker and whatever the initial purpose claimed for the game, amongst all peoples familiar Chess still follows a similar set of rules and pieces. It is played upon an 8x8 check pattern square board and there are two sides, begging each with 16 of the same pieces of two separate colour variants:

• 8 x Pawns, generally the smallest pieces which occupy the full line furthest from the player they belong to at the start of the game. On the first use of each pawn it may move two spaces forwards, then one space forward at a time. Pawns can take pieces one space diagonally forward left or right of them, though cannot take pieces directly forwards of them.
• 2 x Rooks, generally shaped akin to watchtowers or small castles, which occupy the furthest rear-left and rear-right spaces to the player they belong to at the start of the game. Rooks can move up to 8 spaces forwards, backwards, left or right (though not diagonally) at a time and take opposing pieces within reach of those restrictions. If a Rook is to advance to the far side of the board from where it began, it can be exchanged for any new piece of the player's choice besides a King (substitute pieces sometimes being necessary for duplicates).
• 2 x Knights, generally shaped akin to a mount or a humanoid riding one which occupy the second furthest rear-left and rear-right spaces to the player they belong to at the start of the game. Knights can move 3 spaces forwards, backwards, left or right then 1 space either left or right of the original 3 at the end (though no more or less than this) and possess the unique ability to pass over other pieces in their paths.
• 2 x Bishops, generally shaped akin to a religious leader or the headwear of a religious leader atop a vertical pole which occupy the third furthest rear-left and rear-right spaces to the player they belong to at the start of the game. Bishops can move up to 8 spaces diagonally forwards or backwards left or right at a time and take opposing pieces within the reach of those restrictions.
• 1 x Queen, generally shaped akin to a political matriarch or the headwear of a political matriarch atop a vertical pole, which occupies the rear central space of the player's side's colour (a player using white pieces, for instance, would place their queen on a white space, assuming the sides to be black or white). A Queen can move up to 8 spaces diagonally or straight, forwards, backwards, left or right at a time and take opposing pieces within the reach of those restrictions.
• 1 x King, generally shaped akin to a political patriarch or the headwear of a political patriarch atop a vertical pole, which occupies the rear central space of the player's opposite side's colour (a player using white pieces, for instance, would place their King on a black space, assuming the sides to be black or white). A King can move 1 space diagonally or straight, forwards, backwards, left or right at a time and take opposing pieces within the reach of those restrictions.

If a player's own King is ever 1 enemy move away from being taken (pieces being taken by enemies landing on the same square the piece previously resided on in their turn), the enemy must declare 'Check'. Once 'Check' is declared, the player's move in response must be dedicated to taking their King out of 'Check' by either moving it, taking the enemy piece posing the threat or blocking its path if possible. If a player cannot get them self out of 'Check', the pair will declare 'Checkmate' and the enemy (who got their opponent's King cornered) wins. In a scenario where this becomes impossible to be achieved by either party (due to a lack of pieces) the players will declare 'Stalemate' and the game will end in a draw.

(This is not a meme, please let my chess RP make a shred of sense in the LoTC universe) 

(a similar depiction of what a bridge ballista would look like)

Background Lore

Several months before war was officially declared on Norland, the Dwarves knew that armed conflict was inevitable. They had the numbers, and the resources to bring to the fight to their enemies, but a seemingly unsurmountable problem stood in their path. The island fortress of The Krag. In preparation of attacking this seemingly impregnable bastille, scores of Dwarven engineers were assigned to develop an efficient means of entry.

Experiments ranged from explosives, to catapults, to highly dangerous prototypes of flying machines, but all seemed too expensive, or too inefficient to meet the needs of their current dilemma. That was until, the suggestion was made to think of a redesign of an old favorite, tried and true for hundreds of years.

Old blueprints created by Nalro Grayhammer, the greatest ever dwarven engineer where dug up from engineering books within the vault of the great library of Kal’Omith. These blueprints, the first concept of the bridge ballista, were originally made to be used in the siege of the Shadow Castle during the dwarves attack on Oren, however were scrapped for a more simple approach through the use of just bombarding the walls. These blueprints were eventually put into use by the current Master Engineer Ogdan Frostbeard, in preparation for the attack on Norland.

Thus the Vath-Kahrkrumm (Wall Attacker) otherwise known as the bridge ballista, was put into production. An incredibly useful, yet fickle machine, it utilizes the same mechanics of an ordinary ballista, but instead of bolts it launches two powerful anchors made of black steel meant to be driven into the stone walls of a mighty fortress. In the wake of these anchors follows a bridge, made of rope and dubiously unsafe and flimsy wooden planks. Although strong enough for several armored dwarves to walk across at a time, the fragile bridge is prone to swaying in high winds, and can be easily broken through by a prepared defender.

The reliability of this war machine is low at best, and it is often prone to misfires, or simply not reaching it’s intended target. However, by time constraints and the expertise of Dwarven engineering inspectors, it was deemed ready for battle.

In Game Operation

Each ballista is mounted on wheels and is mobile, however only has the potential of one shot. Loading it and firing it is the same as a normal ballista, however after it’s first shot has been fired, it cannot be reloaded. If a shot does manage to hit, the siege moderator should worldedit a bridge of appropriate length to the target location. If defenders manage to hit the bridge with a siege weapon, it should be destroyed, and any on it at the time should fall or be damaged once the bridge is removed.

Suggested Rolling Stats

Perfect: 19-20

With a perfect shot I would suggest that the bridge land right on it’s target, with perhaps only a one block difference of high or low.

What a perfect attempt would look like:

https://i.gyazo.com/fad9a73a3c1a251c8846651eed7b538e.mp4

Good: 16-18

With a good shot, I would suggest the bridge land within the general area of it’s target, perhaps 3-5 blocks off in any direction, requiring the need to deploy ladders to reach it’s intended location.

Fair: 12-15

Although not terribly far off, a fair shot should land somewhere around 6-8 blocks from it’s target.

Bad: 9-11

Essentially a miss, this shot will land nowhere near it’s intended target, but may still be useful with a bit of ingenuity.

Fail: 1-9

The mechanism fails, causing the bridge to fire down into the trench, or the mechanism fails entirely.

What a failed attempt would look like:

https://i.gyazo.com/011688bc01bf1b9beaf8c4e9093fbaaf.mp4

What it looks like within minecraft:

This lore is not set in stone by any means, and we are open to suggestion for changes that may help this piece get accepted. If any player or LM has an opinion or suggestion to make this happen, please do not hesitate to reply or message us.

A collection of constellations shaped in a bow, hammer, sword and axe, tools and weapons associated with the four brothers, the group of constellations in conjunction with each other are always northwise.

Hammer of Urguan

 Sword of Horen

Axe of Krug

Bow of Malin

Stars making up these constellations are especially bright, distinctive enough to be recognized in the night sky.

Ooc: Just a bit of world building, can be used as an rp way for navigation whether it be land or sea. 

So here's your average spinning wheel.

And here's the minecraft version that I have two of in the server right now

Naturally, I'd rather use a fence gate and a carpet over top as the body of the spinning wheel, but you'd have to MC Edit the levers on the sides, which is near impossible in the server as a non-staff member.

Now I was thinking this could perhaps be actually made into one of the many crafting stations in the server, but if not, It's always good to have it implemented as official lore canon. 

There really isn't much to explain about it, so I'll keep this post brief. 

-Introduction-

          During my characters recent life he has come across the conundrum that fitting his ship with sizeable trebuchets and using them would be nearly impossible. The sweeping of the heavy counterweight alone with the ship being so high off the water could potentially capsize or compromise the righting of the ship. Additionally, during this event the trebuchet could potentially fall off the ship. It is because of this that my character solely uses ballistas on his vessel. The firepower of ballistas is somewhat lacking, however, even when simply attacking other vessels. This is primarily because only a handful of heavy ballistas can be deployed due to their size. The answer my character came to was to attach explosives to the ballista bolts and light a fuse to ignite the explosives well after it had landed and come to rest.

-Design-

          The design of these bolts is nothing that impressive or complicated in design, and that is what makes it so useful. First, a hole is bored just after the middle of the bolt to a very slight angle. Then, another hole is bored that meets up with the one just bored a bit of a ways away from the first. This is where a jacket of explosives will be placed. Once it is fitted the fuse will go down into the hole and out of the other a safe distance away from the actual explosives. The explosives will then be secured to the bolt using two tightly bound leather belts. Finally, the bolt is loaded into the ballsta, ready to fire. Just before firing the bolt's fuse is lit and is allowed to burn until it recedes into the hole. This is to protect it from any water, air, or other contaminants that could potentially put the fuse out. The bolt will either bust through or stick into whatever it was shot at. The fuse will burn into the explosives and they will explode causing additional damage.

-Storage-

          The explosive jackets, although not immediately sensitive to water, need to be stored in a dry and cool place. It is because of this that these jackets will be stored in a chest and only be brought out when a fight is assured. The installation of a jacket onto a bolt if both are prepared would only take a little over a minute for someone used to doing so. They are also stored in a chest this way to avoid saboteurs and other risks of the explosives exploding while still aboard the ship. 

-Risks-

          As you might expect, there are certain risks involving the use of this ammunition, the most obvious being explosive hazard. Although this has already been touched on it should be noted that this ammunition, once fully prepared, is a serious hazard. The bolts would commonly be stored together, and should a serious flame or explosion reach them then an explosion capable of significant destruction would occur. This is a serious risk when employing these weapons. Not only that, however, but it is perfectly acceptable that there would occasionally be a dud among bolts fired. That said, there is a 10% chance of the bolt not exploding once it has reached its target. 

-Advantages-

          These bolts, when everything goes correctly, are capable of significant destruction rivaling or even exceeding that which is able to be done using a large trebuchet. Although, being ballistas, they still aren't capable of the range of a trebuchet. Thus, they would not be as useful as one might expect during a siege.

-Summary-

Pros:

-Allows around the same destructive power as a large trebuchet

Cons:

-Generally hazardous to use

-Have a small chance of not exploding

-More expensive than a normal ballista bolt

-Needs proper preparation and storage to be used safely and effectively