IceHeart

Dragon Ball Z: Blood Lines

It does seem to be the case...well for fun I think I'll just pitch an idea here cause I don't want to go through the trouble of making my own thread.

I have this idea that kinda entered my head one day. You know how Zen-Oh-sama is pretty much a child who just likes to destroy entire universes on a whim because they got too boring or whatever. There were certainly more than just the twelve universes so what if there was a Universe where the angel in charge maybe got a little too attached to their Universe and so they didn't take too kindly to the King-of-all eradicating said Universe. Distraught over it's destruction the angel decides to try and find a way to take revenge on Zen-Oh.

Said angel would then go out, perhaps recruiting powerful beings from various Universes for their own ends. I haven't bothered to really nail down any details since I just wanted to see if anyone thought the premise was interesting. One nice thing would be that everyone would start out really powerful and so pretty insane fights would be in the works rather quickly.

Such a roleplay could potentially work for either side of the issue, being on the avenging angel's side and their attempts to find a way to bring the hurt to Zen-Oh, or of course being the people tying to stop these guys from devastating other Universes in their mad quest.

Just wanted to toss out a line since this one seems to have sunk before launch.

Overlord : Advent of the Gods

Gotta get through another day of work then I'll have some time to get things rolling in Dragonwing.

Overlord : Advent of the Gods

@13org@Thecrash20

Just outside Ikebode's Tower

As they had made their way to the tower the beast girl seemed to have warmed up to the strange man but the skeletal warrior was not so quick to trust him. The bright girl, especially in comparison to everything around her, was curious about how the Katze Plains came to be, to which Ikebode was more than happy to explain however before he could start any lectures, the giant skeleton decided to interrupt.

In his harsh, guttural voice, Spooky addressed the man. Not allowing his friend's question to be answered first. "You first tell us you seen many undead being created. By whom?". Spooky brought his blade to bear. Slamming it's massive figure besides the Man, the Sword's hilt standing just over Ikebode's head. Showing he was deadly serious about the questions. "Furthermore... What purpose does any of this serve? Why would anyone risk their life to conduct research about the Undead, besides if to destroy them? Especially one who has already seen how they are created..."

The sound of the blade seemed to catch some of the local Undead's attention. Adding a little more to the stressful nature Ikebode was probably feeling.

@Thecrash20

Having a giant blade slammed into the ground next to you was certain more than a little disconcerting making the somewhat expressionless man flinch a little. Still the man was able to remain relatively clam despite the stares several of the local undead sent their way in response to the sudden noise.

"From the young lady's question, I can tell that you are foreigners to this land. The Katze Plains are a well-known breeding ground for Undead as many years in the past this land was the battleground of many famous battles and wars. In fact, the norther parts of the plains are still used yearly in wars between the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire. The land is so filled with death that naturally Undead rise up in this land from the ground, corpses, and seemingly from thin air even at times. While dangerous, the plains also make a great source of resources and battle training for adventurers."

Ikebode coughed a little as he decided to cut the explanation short to get to the real questions asked by the giant.

"As for whom, while on occasion necromancers try out their hand in these lands, in general undead just come into being from the amount of death in the air. The general rule is that the more undead there are in an area, the more will naturally rise up. The more that naturally spawn will then give rise to more powerful undead will then in turn give rise to more undead which will help in the creation of stronger ones. The cycle is unending but, quite often adventurers make expeditions to reduce the number of undead to make sure there are never enough dense concentrations to give rise to extremely powerful undead. I have heard the rumor that a Death Knight was once created on these very plains but I have yet to see such an event with my own eyes. So forgive me for saying so, but meeting an Undead with such intelligence and power such as yourself is quite the event! Do you perhaps naturally occur over hundreds of years or were the result of some arcane ritual? I have heard of powerful mages becoming Liches but an undead warrior like yourself is quite the anamoly. If I could learn of your origin I am sure it would help my own understanding of exactly how powerful undead such as yourself are created."

Ikebode almost sounded hopeful but the sword next to him was still quite an alarming thing to be next too.

"In any event, I am sure you both wish for shelter so let me show you inside."

There was no door to the tower, as it had rotted long ago, but there was a ragged cloth draped over the entrance which could be shoved to the side to allow entrance and keep prying eyes out. Inside the tower it was not exactly clean, but one could tell the man did at least try to wipe down the rickety furniture and get rid of anything rotting or unclean. The inside had quite a few research notes, journals, bottles of various substances ranging from liquids to undead insects and rare materials. Quite a few old artifacts from the ruins had been collected and all around on the stone walls were wards and charms to keep the undead away so they would not bother the occupants inside.

"It's not well suited for guests I know, but better than traveling all night under constant attack."

Frokane's Mildly Politcal Hangout Thread

The worst thing about that article with the three kids getting killed is that it tries to make the kids seem like less of a threat because the only weapon they had was brass knuckles. I don't know about you, but there is only one real reason why anyway invading a house would have a pair of brass knuckles, obviously so they could use em if necessary. I see anyone with brass knuckles, you can bet I'd take them down from as far away as possible so as not to get my brains beaten out.

Also with a three on one scenario, even if they didn't have any weapons you could still easily get severely beaten or even killed in such a fight. A gun is a powerful weapon but doesn't mean jack if they can get to you before you can fire, there was no way the gun user could even think about trying to just shoot one in such close quarters, since any one of those guys, especially with brass knuckles, would have a good chance to kill him otherwise.

---

As for Universal Healthcare, basically it comes down to logistics. Some places have decent 'universal-ish' healthcare, but usually in that case, wait times can be too long to effectively help the people who need it. How money and resources is distributed in healthcare becomes a major issue as well, especially if the universal healthcare tries to care for patients with very rare illnesses that are extreme outliers on the normal medical market. How much goes toward general care? Intensive care? Experimental Procedures? Research? Etc.

The sad truth is that any healthcare system that tries to be Universal very quickly becomes bogged down with trying to do too much all at one time. One of the main things being not enough medical personal to go around to see to everyone's needs, especially more 'minor' issues that might have to be ignored altogether to make way for more critical patients. Red tape quickly becomes the bane of the industry and the people who want medical services suffer because of it.

Anyway, the US is way to large and unwieldy a place to try and put in a Universal Healthcare System. It would be much easier for each state to create plans based on their own special circumstances, though even then I'm sure quite a few towns and provinces would still have their own problems. Medical needs are different depending on where you go in the US.

The best Universal Healthcare anyone can invest in is to live healthfully and to try and prevent problems from happening in the first place. Preventative care is best care. Medical care is there for when you need it due to circumstances outside of your control.

Overlord : Advent of the Gods

@Stern Algorithm@BurningDaisies@13org@Thecrash20

Katze Plains: A Chance Encounter

When Spooky revealed his helmet and face, the strange man's suspicions were confirmed without a doubt. The tall being in front of him was indeed, the strongest and maybe even the most intelligent Undead he had ever seen. The fact that this Undead was traveling along with a living being and was certainly too powerful to be under anyone's control, meant that this tall warrior was indeed a sentient Undead.

The man was ecstatic at such a find, but his calm face kept that emotion from showing. He also made sure to listen to what the beast girl was saying. He brought a painted hand up to his chin, making his bone necklaces and bracelets rattle around. The girl asked an obvious question which the man was more than happy to respond to.

"A fair question to be sure. My name is Ikebode Rathorne, I am what you might call, an Undead researcher who currently lives in this infested wasteland." He motioned to the whole of the foggy plains with his free hand. "I have lived here for many years as a way to better understand the driving forces behind the Undead that continuously rise up in this area. In all my years though, while I have seen the creation of many a powerful undead, I have never seen such a fine specimen before." The comment was of course directed at Spooky.

He then noticed the girl was having difficulties blocking out the scent of his anti-life detection bomb. He reached into his clothes and brought out some strong smelling herbs in a small bottle, to prevent the smell from leaking out, and handed it over to her. "This will help you deal with the smell, forgive me it is not often I deal with the living or beastmen who have particularly strong senses."

The man turned to point in the distance at what appeared to be a dark tower in the mist. "There is a ruin over there where I make camp, it is protected by wards to keep the Undead away so I may do my research in peace when required. I am sure my large friend here will have no trouble with them. You can rest there for the night and be on your way at daybreak." The man started to show them the way, after some walking, they would arrive at a partly demolished tower that had been part of an old outpost.

Along the way the party would seen random Undead roaming around and the remains of other structures from a time before the Katze Plains were associated with Death.

---

DragonWing Center Town

The group soon got on their way to get Danielle some new clothes. It turned out to be a bit more of a hassle than they had hoped due to a few reasons. First was it appeared that the currency was different from what they had, thankfully they were able to find a place to exchange their game currency for some normal currency and it appeared that the YGGDRASIL coin was worth quite a bit due to its weight. Second was, Danielle had absolutely no experience buying women's clothing and especially not putting them on. Underwear proved to be extra tricky as well since there was little that could accommodate her well-developed body.

Thankfully, with the help of some female advice as well as the skills of her servant who seemed to know much more than a man should about such things, Danielle was able to put together some outfits that were modest yet aesthetically pleasing. Her new outfit consisted of a white dress with a cross-laced, black bodice on top, and some new white stockings and white shoes. Danielle purposefully tried to make the outfit simple so as not to draw much attention, but because of her looks and proportions it could only cover up so much.

With that little nightmare out of the way, and a few other side trips, the group made it to the magician's guild. It was one of the more high-class looking establishments in the area with decorative carvings on the outside depicting myths and dragons. Aside from the detail work though, it was a building of solid construction due to the contents it contained. Magic casters could be seen in the area discussing recent events and trying to figure out what spell they should try to master next. There were plenty of more normal folks as well, who were either there to buy useful scrolls to help out with work, or even just to get a look at people who dabble with things they could never use.

While there were people doing things here and there, the magician's guild was not the most lively of places, the adventurers' guild had the monopoly on that. Magical scholars and researchers were mostly likely to visit this place and so aside from the odd conversation among energized magical scholars, most were content to just do their business or read quietly. This was more of a place for learning.

"Let's learn what we can here and then we'll need to secure lodging for the night. We are certainly lucky the auto-translation from the game still works for conversation otherwise we would really be in trouble. Unfortunately our translation services don't seem to extend to the written language here." Danielle squinted at the sign above the magician's guild which had a bunch of symbols that didn't mean anything to her.

"I don't suppose anyone has one of those translation devices from the game do they?"

---

Underneath the streets of the capital, several beastmen traveled silently through the underground. These were beastmen who had managed to sneak into the capital undetected, they consisted of mostly rat types and other smaller beastmen that tended to be good at infiltration. They had made good maps of the underground so far and now knew where all the best exit points were. Mapping of the street level went a lot slower since only a few of the beastmen were able to disguise themselves as humans.

Their goal was to figure out a way to enter into the palace and to incapacitate the queen. If they could accomplish this task then they would no longer have to fear their enemy resorting to Wild Magic to defeat the invaders. A weasel beastman cracked his neck as he looked at the crudely drawn map in his hands by the light of his dim lantern.

"We need to make a move soon before our operation is discovered, even if we can get close enough though, we'll still need to find a weakness in their security to find a way in." The weasel grumbled as he put the map away carefully to not let anything happen to it. "That, or we need to somehow lure the queen outside..."

Frokane's Mildly Politcal Hangout Thread

Genetics is a tricky business especially since if genes are too similar for too long the defects tend to pop up and weaknesses get magnified. If certain genes are selected for their great effects and are used almost exclusively, the genetic structure will start to degrade and new defects will form, forcing people to change genetics after a certain time before the defects eat away at any of the advantages those genes give someone.

Genes need diversity to effectively combat defects that start to appear in narrow gene pools. If everyone starts to rely on a small set of super genes, soon humans will become too similar to themselves and unless they keep around other 'inferior' genes, genetic problems will soon take hold in future generations. Then people will start to complain that previous generations used up all the good genes too much so now future generations can't use them anymore.

Humans are really good at screwing things up, so I certainly have a lot of fears of what could happen to the human race if genetic manipulation becomes mainstream. There is a good chance some problem will pop up down the road that scientists did not realize would happen after manipulating DNA for so long that will become impossible to fix and potentially lead to the extinction of the human race. There would have to be a heck of a lot of research done on the subject before I would even think about directly manipulating what effectively makes up a person, with human hands or even robotic ones.

Dragon Ball Z: Blood Lines

Well in the Dragonball universe there are strong humans, but the problem with humans is that in Dragonball, power is tied directly to Ki. Mr. Satan is strong for a human but as he has never figured out how to use his own Ki to boost his own power and abilities. So few pure humans have figured out to use and control their ki and the humans that can never seem to go to the same lengths of training as other characters.

In general it does seem that humans have a harder time increasing their abilities naturally and increase in power at a much slower rate then other races but I don't think we've ever seen a human at 'full' potential, if there even is such a thing in Dragonball. So in order to keep up with other races, humans do tend to have to go to extremes to boost their own powers through genetic manipulation, modifying their own bodies to become androids or cyborgs, using mystical items to boost their training and base energy, etc. Another possibility that might be less intrusive on the body then the android or cyborg route would be injecting nanomachines into the body to boost ki production and enhance the bones and muscles.

I think the dragonballs should not be used as a way to 'unlock' or 'boost' humans but rather they should find their own way to increase their powers.

Well as you can probably tell, I'm keeping an eye on this.

Overlord : Advent of the Gods

@Thecrash20@13org

Katze Plains - Undead Ambush

The two Undead groups came together as their targets became one. Because of Spooky's height, it was hard for any of the undead to reach the beast girl. The lunar blade spun around them at regular intervals, cutting down opponents of both flesh and bone. The creatures tried to gouge, gnaw, and stab the giant skeleton warrior, or just ignored him to try and reach the girl on top but Spooky easy smashed them to pieces when they came close.

The Death Hounds growled, sensing they had missed their chance for some choice meat as it was now high above them on the giant's shoulders. Still, two tried to attack from different angles. One got its timing wrong and was sliced through by a lunar blade, the other managed to try and tackle Spooky to the ground so the Undead could swarm them, but it was like hitting a brick wall and quickly enough that hound also met its end. Soon enough the Undead were starting to thin out, however new groups started to emerge from the mist, attracted to the sounds of battle.

Yes all the Undead were weak, but they made up for it in sheer numbers and the more low-level undead concentrated in one spot, the higher chance of stronger undead appearing increased exponentially. No doubt it had been a while since this section of the Katze Plains had been razed by adventurers trying to keep the Undead population in check.

"While you appear to be able to fend for yourselves allow me to assist you." A flat sounding voice, almost monotone, spoke up from nearby. A shrouded figure revealed itself and it hurled a flask full of a dark-colored solution. The flask smashed into the ground and strange vapors, with the smell of sulfur, engulfed the 'stacked' warriors. The smell was repugnant but the effects were immediate.

The nearby undead suddenly just lost all their interest in the two. Ignoring the many carcasses around them, the undead started to stumble about without purpose, their previous drive completely forgotten. Even the remaining two Death Hounds took one sniff, sneezed a few times, then scampered away into the fog.

The shrounded figure stepped forward, but made sure to keep out of range so as not to alarm them too much. The figure swept back the hood of its cloak to reveal an unknown man whose face was covered in dark paints of black, gray and brown, no doubt as a way to blend into the bleak surroundings. The figure also wore quite a few accessories, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and the like all fashioned from bone. The man looked like he might have been the shaman of some cannibal tribe removed from all society.

"Please do not be alarmed, though, if I may suggest that before the effects of anti-life detection potion wear off that you stay the night? If you decide to trek on regardless you will not doubt face a lot stronger and more numerous foes than before." The man stated that matter-of-factly without so much as a blink.

"Of course if you were not together I am sure this one would have no problem getting through." The strange man stared at Spooky, probably aware of his unique identity. The man did not give off a threatening atmosphere, but his appearance certainly didn't fill anyone with feelings of safety and warmth. He had not given them a name yet, no doubt waiting to see how they would respond.

---

@baraquiel@BurningDaisies@Stern Algorithm

Dragonwing - Inside the Capital

Well, now that they were inside and away from the guard things would be a lot easier. The super loyal NPC, Lexus seemed eager to visit the nearest temple at the behest of his maker, as his fanatacism seemed to know no bounds, it was not hard to imagine something going wrong, course Lexus was not her NPC so Danielle was not about to do any babysitting. December seemed set on visiting the nearest magician's guild, if the city was anything like ones in YGGDRASIL then there was certain to be one and the information there would no doubt be useful to acquire.

"I've some business to attend to with the local Magician's Guild. They are the most likely ones to have the information I want. Did you two want to join me?" December asked Danielle and Himitsu.

Danielle was about to answer when something unexpected happened. Danielle's divinity noticed the presence of Abares when the god made contact with her. To anyone without a divine aura or the ability to detect such beings, nothing would appear out of the ordinary expect for maybe a person spacing out of a bit, but to Danielle the other god's aura felt abrasive and intrusive.

Danielle recoiled a little as she was able to 'hear' fragments of the other god's message to Himitsu but nearly as soon as the presence appeared it was gone. Still unsure of what had just happened, Danielle was still able to listen to Himitsu as she told them she would basically just follow them for now.

"Right, right the magician's guild sounds like a solid plan. But!" Danielle decided to strike an unnecessarily dramatic pose for good measure. "Before anything else happens I am finding the nearest clothing shop and getting myself some proper attire! You two can go there together first will I get a little shopping done, or can can come with me first if you like, but we'll meet up there regardless. If we're gonna be here for a while we better learn as much as you can."

Danielle nodded to herself and her npc servant spoke up. "Please leave all of the packages to me." He put a hand over his chest as a sign of complete respect and servitude. Danielle could not help but cringe on the inside.

"I doubt I'll need to do that much shopping...Well, time to butter up some shopkeepers if our money doesn't work here...I really hope I don't have to though." Danielle sighed, cracked her neck for good measure and proceeded to walk to the nearest market place.

---

Former Dragon Kingdom City: Taroosa

Beastmen warriors of various types lounged, feasted, sparred, and basically did whatever the heck they wanted. Drunk on victory and full of fresh meat the beastmen warriors were quite lively and energized. Taroosa was merely the lastest town to fall to the strength of the beastmen. Fresh human meat was plenty and while they had dined quite heavily on their enemies, many of the people, especially the tender women, were caged as supplies and delicacies for further feasts.

For Xerchark Bonebreaker, he could not be content with the pitiful resistance the city had put up. It was clear by how easily its defenses were crushed that the Dragon Kingdom's armies had decided to abandon the town in order to conserve their forces. There had been no glorious kill, no champions to fight against, it had been a mere slaughter. Unlike many of the bother warriors who enjoyed the mere act of hunting down prey, for Xerchark Bonebreaker there was little point unless there was an opponent to enjoy battling against. Most humans he fought against just were too fragile to put up any real resistance.

He had heard of a great warrior from the Re-Estize Kingdom, one who was known as a warrior-captain amongst his people, Gazef. Now that was a warrior he wished to face in battle but in order to get there he would have to conquer the Dragon Kingdom first. There was little doubt they would be able to keep pressing into the Dragon Kingdom's territory but the closer they got to the capital, the stronger the defenses would become, he just hoped those defenses would actually prove a challenge.

Screams of pain out be heard from one of the alley ways which caused Xerchark Bonebreaker's ears to twitch. Annoyed, he walked into the alleyway to check the commotion. In it, he saw a hyena beastman biting into the flesh of a still alive woman, blood everywhere. The hyena snarled at the intruder, until he saw who it was and quickly changed his tune.

"This is my...oh! Champion Bonebreaker! If you desire a taste then please, be my guest!" The hyena cowered before Bonebreaker while offering the dying, screaming and gurgling woman to the champion.

Xerchark growled in response. "I only wish to dine on the flesh of the strongest of enemies, I have no desire to feast on the weak." To silence the commotion he crushed her chest beneath his heel, instantly killing her. "Now enjoy your spoils of war." He said spoils like it disgusted him and walked away, leaving the hyena behind with the fresh corpse.

There were rumors of an inside job with the enemy capital, so maybe it would not take too much longer for them to give the Dragon Kingdom the finishing blow. He just hoped it would not cause all of the strong opponents to leave, he had also yet to clash with the rumored adamantium adventurer team that had been thwarting some of their advances, that would be a glorious battle if he was ever given the opportunity.

Overlord : Advent of the Gods

@13org@Thecrash20

Katze Plains

As beings purely working on instinct alone, the Undead were not smart enough to realize just how underwhelming they were despite their decent numbers. Any that attacked Spooky useless stabbed and clawed, their weapons not even scratching the powerful tank of a fighter. While they were cut down like wheat before a scythe the skeleton warrior was fairly slow in his attacks and so did not destroy all that many unless they were clumped together.

The low level undead were of course, focused on Nyna. The undead closest to Spooky attacked him of course, but the rest started to crowd around Nyna who's mobility was being hampered by the mud and of course was full of life. As one of the Death Hounds was promptly executed by flying blade, the nearby death hounds who still had some animal instincts, quickly became weary and bolted in all directions, attempting to get at her from multiple angles like a wolf pack.

For Spooky there were about 10 lesser zombies, 10 lesser skeletons, and one unsure Death Hound that wasn't finding his smell to be all that enticing, trying to swarm him. For Nyna 20 lesser zombies, 30 lesser skeletons, 5 greater skeletons who had some heavier equipment, and four death hounds who were planning to rush in as soon as they saw a chance. There was also one suicidal enemy called a plague rat that was basically a little pus filled bomb of diseases that liked to feast on rotting flesh. The plague rat was weak but would explode upon a hard enough blow and spread it's diseases over a small area. This creature wanting a fresh meal rocketed through the legs of the approaching skeletons to try and take a bite out of the beast girl.

A shadowy figure under the concealment spell, Greater Shroud, started walking from it's home in the ruins of an abandoned tower. It had been watching the two strangers for a while with interest and saw how the two were very easily managing the undead that were attacking them. Perhaps they were adventurers, like the ones that so often pillaged the plains as a way to make quick money. In any event they were no ordinary travelers and there was something about the tall one that peeked the figure's interest, an unholy power that enticed the darker senses.

Trying to keep to the rubble as much as possible, the figure made their approach stealthfully in order to get a better look at the travelers.

Overlord : Advent of the Gods

Well I'll be hitching a plane ride soon, so I don't know when I'll be able to get back on there, good chance I'll be gone for a day or two while I get settled in my new flat. Until then, think and plan.