Lord Warrior,
While devising, training, and supplying my mercenary organization ("Fuck Off Or Die", or F.O.O.D. The acronym is intentional, I ask you focus your attention elsewhere. I assure you that we have only success as our goal), I have found a serious problem that any military active in Felarya should be able to cope with, if it is to have any hope of success in carving a swath of world for itself (which I believe cannot make things worse, at the very least. Some claim that Felarya's soil can tempt creatures to partake in the vore. I wonder if maybe it doesn't tempt people to attempt conquest as well? There IS a pattern after all). I have also found a new, latent, inherent danger in this world; I make a plea now, pay attention.
Felarya itself contains a colossal amount of treasure. The Jewel River alone makes gemstones nigh-inviable as currency in Negav; thankfully, precious metals stay relatively rare. Gold-based currencies will stay effective, but more portable forms of wealth may suddenly become nothing but trinkets. For you to get in an idea, relatively close to Negav, there are two mines close to each other, one of diamonds, and one of dreamstone (formally known as ascarlin). Also, hunting or military equipment is extremely expensive, for obvious reasons, despite its limited usefulness. Therefore, my time as Grandmaster of F.O.O.D. has taught me not just to search for every possible advantage to protect the lives of the men and women who trust in me for their chances to save lives, but also separate wheat from cinammon (My misuse of the metaphor was intentional here), and find every single possible advantage that can be thought of, but specially, afforded. Felarya's got another defense against invading forces: hyperinflation. I don't believe a large-scale invasion is a good idea unless you've got a solid supply line prepared, and your supplies are going to be paid for with something else than spoils of war. For everyone else who wishes to stay alive in this world and has the opportunity to prepare themselves (which is the only advantage F.O.O.D. has found), here are my two cents on how to spend your two cents.
So far I've found the following items that may assist you, if you need to arm yourself before walking into the wilderness. Note, however, NOTHING will guarantee anything. All F.O.O.D. mercenaries are aware of this fact and embrace it. Not even predator assistance will guarantee your survival. I'm sick of seeing people burdening them with their survival (even if I cannot hold it against them; I accept people will do what they have to, both ourselves and predators). But I'm digressing. You should keep in mind the following.
-Civilian issue flamethrowers are rarely brought into Felarya, but there's a secondhand market. While founding F.O.O.D. I depleted the local supply. Note, however, most of them required thorough maintenance, sometimes stripping down and rebuilding, before being any use. Flamethrowers are excruciating weapons capable of area denial attacks, and even the smallest contact will set off a reflex that they share with us, even if the gag reflex is unreliable: they will pull their hands out of the fire and leave themselves vulnerable for a moment while they extinguish it. Think carefully if you wish to press the attack there, or flip a coin. Some predators will leave if you press the attack, some others will return blows.
NOTE: Flamethrowers have been known to function as perfect trump cards against unwary fairies at small sizes. For that reason, we're holding back on their use against them, preferring to use them only against carnivorous plants and other giant predators. Being too effective has a chance to garner us retaliation. While I don't know if there's enough evidence of the existence of the so-called "Guardians", even Negav as it is exists as a tremendously vulnerable spot. All it takes is be an alliance of misguided souls, like the ones that commonly leave Negav looking for treasure, to leave the city completely vulnerable. We should thank the guardians no predators have decided to act on the idea just yet. We're going to try not to make things worse; maybe we're being too conceited to pull any punches, but better safe than sorry. There's also a secondary but slightly more realistic risk that fairies decide it's worth being prepared against flamethrowers, and that would make things worse for every human in Felarya.
-With sufficient practice, a whip CAN incapacitate a fairy. This is my favored weapon against them in one-on-one confrontations. The sonic boom is painful on itself, the wounds are excruciating, and you can lash their back from the front relatively quickly and even from cover, if you've got some way to determine their position. Note, however, this stops being the case if you're shrunk, or if the fairy decides to start the confrontation big.
-Conversely, let me say this CANNOT be stressed enough. DO NOT GO FAIRY HUNTING. Fairies have HUNDREDS of weaknesses. You, on the other hand, have ALL of them. Fairy hunting is a dangerous job best left to well-prepared (and unattached) individuals. Human hunting, on the other hand, is a relatively safe hobby ubiquitously practiced by youngsters. DO NOT MAKE YOURSELF GAME.
-That said, it takes no particular talent to bring down a fairy, and I look down on people who think their ability to hurt them gives them a fighting chance against any other giant predator. A fairy can easily get rid of most weaknesses just by appearing at maximum size. And they know it. So don't prepare to fight a size-shifting humanoid, because when you're expecting them to be small compared to you, that's never the case. Always plan for giant predators.
-Any rifle that has any chance of actually hurting a giant predator will NOT, I repeat, will NOT be available. The only weapon I've been found consistently accessible in price has been the break-action single-barreled shotgun... which is dirt cheap almost everywhere, though here I suspect it's only cheap because the double-barreled model is more popular. However, the range at which a shotgun can cause any damage at all to a predator is limited to bayonet range, and even then only for smaller range predators who don't surpass thirty feet yet. There have been reported instances of kensha beasts taken down using only shotguns: I find that suspect, but it could be just me. I personally suggest assault rifles to distract a predator, but I don't recommend aiming for the eyes. I recommend aiming for the ears with supersonic rounds: sonic booms are impossible to avert and extremely distracting.
-Ironically, the best weapon against giant predators is the laser pointer: extremely useful, with a swift learning curve, and relatively cheap. I arm every F.O.O.D. member with one of those. With no eyes and no ears, thanks to assault rifles and laser pointers together, single predators are relatively easy to chase away. F.O.O.D. can't run away, but this is not an ideology issue like some rumors go. It's because it's impossible to protect our charges if we scatter; were our charges to be irrevocably lost, we'd have no objections to the better part of valor.
-One good contingent defense so far against giant predators is lube. Please, keep reading, don't snicker just yet. So far our tests have proven intimate oil helps keeping nekos from being grabbed effectively, and makes it possible for most subjects to escape a predator's clutches repeatedly, even if it's something of an obstacle to running away effectively. However, F.O.O.D. cannot make effective use of this; smooth skintight suits are too expensive, and the next best option, while free of charge, makes the subject so protected unable to bear arms (not to mention that we wouldn't make someone run around naked and oiled in the jungle unless we had absolutely no other choice, and we were absolutely sure it would work). For wizards, it may be a viable alternative, but F.O.O.D. insists any nonmembers have some CERTAIN means to escape if possible, and this alternative is also incompatible with carrying scrolls of teleportation. Okay, now you can snicker.
-Giant predators are NOT the only threat in Felarya. Mundane threats do still exist; I believe shotguns, assault rifles, and having about three armed backups a safe distance away (from ten to twenty-five feet) will do the job with bears, hippos, and most species of predatory felines, except maybe ligers and tigons, if they are stronger in this world than in ours (even then, ligers and tigons are in theory at least as rare as hydranagas, which are themselves as rare as triplets conjoined at the hips, in a world looking as healthy as this! I've never even seen an asthmatic naga here; the most twisted thing I've witnessed was a naga acting seemingly with an hormonal disorder, too horny for her own good, but she's lived a hundred years on her own without me noticing and will certainly live for another hundred whether I believe it possible or not. The results of that encounter were not dirty by the way: that would've been really inappropriate. Maybe she wasn't horny, too, maybe it was just my dirty mind, come to think of it, calling her a skank might've been unjustified). I recommend assault rifles, always with silencers and subsonic ammo: even if some stopping power is lost, you can always just shoot more bullets at a close target. Also single barreled shotguns over double barreled models even if it's a break-action model, for they're easier to supress, and a shotgun's low velocity rounds keep the sound relatively low for its stopping power. The last thing you want in a gunfight against a mundane threat is the noise calling a Felaryan threat to render your victory meaningless; always move quickly after a gunfight, but never sacrifice stealth.
-A predator will usually disable an individual by catching him. If you're about to be caught and carry one of the weapons that can hurt them, throw it at a partner in the time you have left. This may seem counter-intuitive, but think of it this way: it's never you who hurts the predator, it's your weapon. Make sure the predator doesn't get her, so she can save your friends, or else it'll be able to eat everyone at its leisure.
-Even predators who haven't got a taste for manflesh (yet) will try you just to see what it's like. Don't trust any of them. If they claim to be friendly and they really are, they'll understand your position and leave you alone unless they need something. Those are rare occassions, however; what could predators want from you, aside from the obvious? Stay alert, but don't warn them you'll be! You'll only annoy them.
-Vehicles tend to be conspicuous, awfully expensive, easily tracked, and you can't bring backups. I recommend prescinding of them at any opportunity.
-Carnivorous plants are a problem, but there are ways to deal with them. A staggered formation will help minimize the damage, and a chainsaw or flamer will do the job, most of the time. WATCH OUT for the poisonous creeper, for it can kill you before you get to do anything. An antidote for its venom must be delivered immediately for any hope of success; I recommend keeping atropine autoinjectors close to hand, just in case you meet one. If that's not possible, then watch out for spiky vines within a radius of 100 feet, and try to stay covered from head to toe. If you haven't got access to an armorer, contact sports equipment could do the job. If that can't be, then just pay attention and hope you're lucky: they're rare anyway, their accuracy isn't the best, and their spikes aren't too penetrating. Rope will help you save people from earth mouths. DON'T THROW EXPLOSIVES AT THEM! They don't make silencers for dynamite! The only thing that could make you more conspicuous than a bombarded earth mouth is a drunk elephant flying a four-winged airplane above you, writing in smoke "YOU ARE HERE". Gravediggers might warrant explosives, however... most other plants are susceptible to safety in numbers the way giant predators are not.
-A small mirror will be of considerable help peeking around unseen. They're relatively cheap, too; even a plastic mirror will do.
-Magic itself has been confusing to understand, even partially, but I can assure I am satisfied with what I have found. My personal pick is thaumaturgical magic. I will not disclose the source of my powers, but my personal favored elements are earth, time and illusion. My personal picks are highly anecdotic; just in case you really want to, here they are.
My personal favourite spell is one of my own devising, a time-illusion hybrid, I call it "Battlesight Zero". With a moment's thought I create an illusion of five minutes to spread amongst as many as twelve people, thus granting 25 seconds for everyone if used at maximum strength and spread. Albeit the illusion lasts 25 seconds, it takes place in an infinitesimal fraction of second and is collective: all are seeing the same thing and each other. I use this to grant my soldiers a moment to collect their breath, say their prayers, decide their strategy and let the initial panic out of their system. This, and not my time magic, is my greatest weapon, though none has ever found this out. In theory, I could use this spell to confuse a predator temporarily and scramble its perception of the battlefield, but I've never tested it outside of a willing target, and it probably wouldn't work, not reliably at least. That is about the full extent of my combat magic.
Ironically, magic's cost is relatively low in Felarya compared to everything else, given it's a very magical dimension to say the least. I'm not an expert in magic, only an(other) expert in being creatively sadistic. Find whatever works for you, and be creatively sadistic with it. Nothing else will put predators off faster. I recommend plant- or animal-based nature magic if you can somehow learn it: though I don't use it myself, I assume there can't be anything more useful. Nature in Felarya is exceedingly powerful, and the ability to detect or employ a carnivorous plant to your advantage can save your life very often.
-Test and maintain your equipment. Sight in your rifles, there are manuals on how to do that, defrag your hard drives, make sure every exhaust and every vent is unobstructed, and otherwise baby it and keep it in tip-top shape. Eight hours of work before starting a trip can make a difference.
-Don't trust everything to your equipment. Knowledge, stealth, and nerves of steel are your best friends. Not any amount of firepower, neither technological nor magical.
-Knowledge is important. There are libraries, there's plenty of books you can consult. Taverns are full of experienced people, the Adventurers' Guild in Negav contains the right people to talk to: any of them can tell you more than I'll ever be able to. So if you read this, DO go there and DO ask all you can, because no matter how much you think you've learned with this, there'll always be more to learn. The price of a few beers to loosen their tongues, flattering them a little, whatever you need to go through to get firsthand information is very little compared to the price of your life.
Other places to ask would be Safe Harbor in Tolmeshal, which has plenty of weathered travelers, and is defended by (I'll withhold my opinion on the topic out of respect) a predator by the name of Jade. A safe place to ask for advice (though it's a legend) would be the Academy of Sentinels in Mist Ocean. Theoretically, in Kortiki you could ask fairies, but I wouldn't recommend that. Fairies' worldview is radically different from ours, and their advice may not be too useful to someone who can't fly and maintains a consistent size, not counting the risk they mislead you, or think you're too cute asking all those questions and decide to give you your first (and last) Felaryan kiss. I only expect the worst, don't let me scare you. Always ask someone else if you can. All in all, all safe places contain people who got there before you did.
-Stealth is twice important. Not being spotted will help you survive more than anything else. You can never be fast enough, so don't even bother, unless you've got very powerful magic. Be stealthy, not fast. Keep in mind, however, that predator sense defeats all kinds of stealth: if you see a predator before it sees you, find out in which direction is it going, and get away!
-Split-second judgement and nerves of steel are thrice important. If there's anything you have to lose, don't come into Felarya unless you're absolutely sure it must be you who comes. They say there's a fine line between determination and insanity: both sides have their advantages, don't worry about crossing it, just make sure you know which side you're on at the time. And never be fazed. By the time you've met a predator, you already took your life into your own hands. Begging for your life may or may not help, most likely not, can't hurt to try. But what can hurt, and WILL hurt is hesitating and panicking. Agree first on where you draw the line, where will you consider someone doomed, where will it be okay to abandon each other. Believe me. It's not pretty, but it's necessary. Hesitation is the first killer in Felarya.
Locust, Grandmaster of F.O.O.D.
P.S: I've made mistakes myself, so don't take everything I say at face value. I have created signs which convey some barebones information on how to survive Felarya, and spread them all over the world. Some magic protects them from fairy eyes (the most likely to both find and read the signs), but I'll be honest, if any clever predator capable of reading ever finds one, it'd be a pathetically easy task to tweak them into deathtraps (by either altering their contents or waiting on the way to the safe spot), or use them as a template to create deathtraps, which I'm glad wasn't done before, and could be my fault if it starts. I hope it isn't a smug predator as well if that happens, because if it tells its friends, it'll probably become a continental phenomenon. And that'd just make me the king of idiots, for no other idiot has ever managed to make Felarya a worse place. Maybe I worry too much and the phenomenon won't spread. Maybe predators will just add graffiti on top and use them as bulletin boards. Maybe someone will pay a million skevols for one of my signs one day, considering them some kind of art. Maybe all of the above. I've got problems telling my good ideas apart from my bad ideas.
I'm thinking about using my stone magic to create hideouts, but after creating signs and only considering the danger in hindsight, I wonder if maybe I shouldn't think twice before creating hideouts as well, wait until I've got the right amount of resources to make sure they will perform as intended and won't be susceptible to predator tweaking. Honestly, I doubt I'll ever have enough power: they tell of a powerful mage who tried to link key locations in Felarya using portals and failed. Me, trying to link several locations per general zone, with portals, being only a weak thaumaturge and a pennypincher, is simply unthinkable. Then again, it's my prerrogative as human to find a way to accomplish something, and I will. I've got all the time in my life to think how to, and I keep detailed records to make sure others can continue the thinking after the inevitable happens to me.
I'd been thinking I could try to find an extradimensional place and try to make portals from there. If I ever figure out how did Organization XIII do with their Dark Corridors being just ten weird-armed nuts in a cool house that came from God Knows Where, I'd love to start out immediately. It feels worthwhile now to accept sending a task force to protect those researchers who wanted to go to Miragia; the weaker dimensions there could help us create portals, and thus save lives. It'll have to wait until I've got a perfect plan against the resident predators, sadly... you wouldn't believe what I've read on a local giant naga. I don't believe it myself, I just assume it's true because the reverse would be good news. I'm working on a strategy, anyway. She wouldn't see landmines coming, ever, I'd hope. Then again I probably won't be able to afford antitank mines ever, and even if I did, they'd only stop her for so long.
If we can find a dead torkudas, once hollowed out and treated against planar moles, its unbreakable shell would probably make a convenient stopover base. If we can't... I'd rather we didn't kill one. Those things have as much right to live as we do, not to mention they're exceedingly dangerous. But their husks are so convenient... I wonder if this is how predators feel about us too? Because, frankly, I'm opposed to this idea I just had only on principle, I don't really feel there's anything wrong about it.
Subject: Locust's Two Cents (Of D.O.O.M!) 
Wed Dec 30, 2009 8:00 pm
