so a critter with magical hands could hurt with a punch. but not normals.

>>74678
Holy weapons eh? Good thing I collect Icons and divinities!

I had an interesting childhood.

None of this changes the adorable nature of the soul devouring protagonist.

>>74685
Innately magical creatures may be able to injure her. A monk who enchanted his or her hands may also be able to do so. Either way, it's the magic that's hurting her, not the creature, so it has to be an enchantment that damages.

>>74688
Depends on the power of the god versus her current power. The icon of some secluded cult probably wouldn't faze her, but the symbol of a religion practiced across an entire continent would be an effective warding tool. There are ways she could kill someone who possessed one, though.

Either way, I'm glad you like her!

One 2013/08/04(Sun)11:31 No. 74690 ID: cf49fc
File 137564107532.jpg - (470.07KB , 1270x1625 , Saint George, Patron Saint of Monster Slaying, Fai.jpg )

It's the way her mouth is shaped. So cute~!

One, you are seriously making me picture someone getting attacked by Dionaea and just starring and going

"IT"S SO CUTE!!!"

Dionaea 2013/08/04(Sun)12:10 No. 74694 ID: 2964de
File 137564343230.png - (4.29KB , 299x300 , -002-oops.png )

>>74692
Followed by...

she's so sexy when she's kill someone

People seem to be enjoying the quest thus far. Here's some songs that I listen to while drawing updates:

Scissor Sisters - I Can't Decide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksYBhM-ALBQ
Bloodhound Gang - I Hope You Die: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpAtG744-hE
Voltaire - When You're Evil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWYCS6k1IOA
Pennywise - Anyone Listening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g36AR2apOLA
Soft Cell - Tainted Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeJkbqjQvnk
The Offspring - You're Gonna Go Far, Kid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_LxyhCJpsM
Lily Allen - The Fear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-wGMlSuX_c
Scissor Sisters - Filthy/Gorgeous: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4RcBZy2jZA
Lacy Rose - Creature of the Night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAgn2N4gMCc
Get Set Go - Die Motherfucker Die: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hci2kZ8DlJM
The Scarring Party - Follow It Down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdbPq4EnZuE (literally the only video I could find, shame, it's a good song)
The Roaring Girl Cabaret - Lion In The Streets: (another one that's hard to track down...)
Pocket Full Of Rye - (I Fear) There Is No Cure: (and again...)
Lhasa De Sala - La Maree Haute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onAq58mIsNc
Tom Waits - The Part You Throw Away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3DV99_kQ0o
The Quill - Go Crazy: (nada)
Vagabond Opera - Red Balloon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoISn-pjgAE
Ben Folds - All U Can Eat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gthZSjdqjj
And some others.

So, how does damage against demons work, is it only if they take a special blade to the head or heart....sort of area they will be banished or is it more of they take enough damage anywhere and get banished? Will limbs become temporary unusable or damaged if struck hard by something that can hurt them or is it more critical existence failure?

>>74938
Dionaea can be damaged by certain materials... sort of like a regular human? If she's stabbed by them it's severely painful and leaves scars and wounds. She can do a rough facsimile of bleeding out if the wound is too egregious. Most things that would normally be fatal to mortals, e.g. beheadings or bisectings, will banish her instantly, rather than just being an inconvenience. If she loses a limb or an eye or something to a cold iron/silver/magic weapon then the injury won't go away until she's banished. It's a little hard to explain.

There are things she can do to establish a foothold in this realm so that it's easier and faster for her to get back into it if she dies. As it is now, she would just have to look for another opportunity when the time is right to slip into the world like she did at the start of the quest. This could take thousands of years. Things she might look into in order to alleviate this include forming a cult, which can summon her back in a comparably extremely short amount of time and prevent her from losing all of her power when she comes back, or creating some sort of symbol for herself that would serve as a convenient entry-point for her, though she'd probably destroy it in the process.

How effective they are is really dependent on the scale and devotion to her. A simple summon ritual won't bring her back with as much power as a suicide pact. A pendant is less powerful and more likely to be destroyed than a large statue, and is less within her control as to when she could use it to re-enter. Since she does not have a soul, things like phylacteries are sort of out of the question, but there are many alternatives. Things like religion also have side benefits that would interest her in setting them up. Most of the things she could do are fairly high-profile, as well; demonic cults turning up would definitely alert any defenders of the realm, and adventurers would certainly be interested in retrieving a magnificent and valuable statue from whatever ruin she stashed it in for safe-keeping. These are just examples, though; with some imagination I am sure other things could be thought of that would be effective.

There will be an update soon. Just haven't felt up to it, and distracted by other things.

Dionaea 2013/09/02(Mon)15:06 No. 75833 ID: 486a23
File 137815956498.png - (5.41KB , 400x500 , -002-lobachevsky.png )

>>/quest/539061
Who made me the genius I am today,
The mathematician that others all quote,
Who's the professor that made me that way?
The greatest that ever got chalk on his coat.

>>75833


Yep, definitely the most adorable soul eating demon I have ever seen

>>75833
One man deserves the credit, one man deserves the blame, and Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name.

>>75833
Clearly you are the criminal mastermind of our age.

Next update will be on the 9th. I have something a little special planned (but don't get too excited :P).

>>75947
OH BOY!

DANG i won't be able to probably until wednesday. fuck it i'll just draw an update anyway. no one can stop me.

I have to admit, I really like her design and demeanor. Incredibly cute, fun-loving, amoral and driven towards acquiring her food source. Which just so happens to involve people dying. She's the best of everything. :3c

Also, a proper wiki page is now up, if anyone cares to look or (even better) keep it updated alongside the quest: http://tgchan.org/wiki/Age_of_Shadows

This was a thing. It has now resumed being a thing, and we're all the better for it.

Update will be forthcoming.

Still around?

I would be sad to see this quest die.

Oh I did not even notice these. I had computer troubles that delayed the update and then I didn't get around to finishing it until now.

Hooray!

Dionaea 2014/01/20(Mon)00:44 No. 79173 ID: e4e41e
File 139020744412.png - (74.38KB , 800x600 , 045-nonplussed.png )

If a mod could replace the last two updates with these reasonably sized versions that would be good.

Man. Dionaea has such womanly hips it's ridiculous.

>>79181
It's riHIPulous

>>79188
\/
>>74694

Hello, I would just like to state formally that I will not be finishing this quest. I apologize to anyone who followed or enjoyed it and thank you profusely for your time and acknowledgment. I highly recommend that you spend the time you would have on reading and suggesting in it taking a chance on a new quest you may have skipped.

>>84966
Aw, what? Why?

It's a pity, another one for the graveyard...And it seemed like it'd go the distance, too.

Do the people who used to read this quest still come here? Circumstances have changed, and I would consider bringing it back, but it may be hard to recapture that momentum a year later.

>>95607
pretty sure most of them are still here

>>95607
I'm still around! (Though my ID has probably changed 20 times in a year).

I think in general, the reader lifespan tends to outlive quest lifespan. I doubt I'm the only one who remembers.

This quest also wasn't that far along when it died, it's not as if there's a big background for new readers to catch up on if you get it pulled out of the graveyard.

>>95607
please.........

All right, well, just need a mod to take it out of the graveyard.

oh shit, that actually makes me really happy. Glad to see you back, man!

>>95625
I've moved it back into /quest/ - try to update soon; as quests are graveyarded automatically these days and I don't know when the next round of graveyarding happens.

Also, in the future, please just report the OP of the quest that needs reviving directly.

 

Found Dionaea's theme song

IM SO GLAD THIS IS BACK

Dionaea 2017/02/14(Tue)04:22 No. 108727 ID: bec5e8
File 148707492714.png - (20.15KB , 1200x1200 , -003-heart.png )

>>108696
Dionaea is happy to be back too!

If you enjoy the quest, it'd be great if you helped keep the wiki page up to date: http://tgchan.org/wiki/Age_of_Shadows

Dionaea 2017/04/16(Sun)01:32 No. 110698 ID: 3c0d31
File 149233153167.png - (15.21KB , 800x700 , masked one.png )

Here's a better look at the mysterious figure on the roof in the last update.

Who could they be?

Hrrm. I'm thinking someone who's talents make him something of a 'mirror' to Dionaea, myself. A speedy striker capable of devastating blows if he gets off his ambush, and probably...Not sure what would match the other abilities but some nasty stuff. Hopefully he can't outright cloak though!

Update's almost done. Sorry for the wait.

Dionaea 2017/09/18(Mon)14:04 No. 115794 ID: 6dda1b
File 150576864561.png - (19.06KB , 800x700 , -005-thecycle.png )

In case anyone wants to know, this is pretty much how it goes each time this quest slips into the graveyard. Thank you for coming back when I manage to dig it out.

I suppose it's only fitting that a quest about such power over life and death flits in and out of the cemetery!

its dead, again..... i liked this thing D:

hmm, I should update Age of Shadows

>>124722
I'm in favor of that
Not that I have any right to to demand anything, but since you are asking for opinions I will say this: I'm aways against interrupting and aways in favor of resuming abandoned quests.

>>124723
I wasn't really asking for opinions I just have a lot of free time now that all that's over

This quest started in 2013, it's never dead until I am

I do appreciate the comment, though! It's good to know I haven't completely purged Felaedri's fanbase

>>124725
You can’t get rid of us that easily!

>>124724
I'd be game

>>124724
I must apologize, somehow misread. I don't seem to understand anything anymore...

>>124733
you probably just saw 'I should' as 'should I'

Now all that's over, I have a lot of free time!

>>128506
Yay! You’re back!

>>128577
come on iron tail, does that look like a face that would ruin things for you?

>>128577
This update's gonna spill over into tomorrow, so this joke will have to suffice for today. But that should mean a double update tomorrow.

Don't let your dreams be dreams, kids. You, too, can start a quest, and finish its first chapter in just six years!

Anonymous 2019/03/24(Sun)11:14 No. 128672 ID: 101c3c
File 155345124711.png - (384.45KB , 680x508 , untitled.png )

and here's to many more chapters.

Next update will likely be on Wednesday, btw, to allow people to filter in and read the intro, and to give maximum time towards choosing the main character for the next little while, and also so I can do real life social stuff today and tomorrow.

Dionaea 2019/03/27(Wed)21:38 No. 128775 ID: 688dd6
File 155374788087.png - (17.24KB , 700x800 , -006-dead.png )

when will the government stop my sinful hand

Gonna take this weekend off. Updates will resume Monday!

Just wanted to say; you've got an awesome quest. Keep being cool.

>>129026
Thanks, that means a lot to me. Unfortunately, at the current rate of suggestions I won't be able to continue it. In my experience I get most of my suggestions in the first 3-4 hours after the update, and today I have not gotten any at all. I don't mind updating off a single suggestion sometimes but I can't really post anything off none. If there's no interest in the quest anymore I guess I can't run it.

>You can't cut back on suggestions! You will regret this!
Whoops!

>>129049
Take anything I say with a grain of salt, as I am both a novice quester and somewhat inexperienced with this board. But here's my two cents anyway.

The number of suggestions you receive per-day does not directly correlate to the level of interest in your quest. To speak form my own experience, I've had times where nobody suggests for a day or two, then suddenly I've got six suggestions. Many factors (readers busy schedule, home life, etcetera.) play into wether or not they are able to suggest. And sometimes, the day you choose to post an update a bunch of other quests also update, resulting in your thread getting lost in the noise. What I'm saying is, even if a ton of people are reading your quest, that doesn't mean a ton of people are going to suggest. You know what I'm saying?

Then again, as I've said, I'm not the expert. Hell, if I had a quest with art and characters like yours I'd be surprised if people weren't suggesting too.

To put it succinctly: people are interested in your quest, no two ways about it. If no one is suggesting, just don't post an update until they do. Or you know, don't. Not trying to twist your arm with twisty words.

>>129080
I am just trying to stick to a schedule. I update every day (the last week notwithstanding). The volume of suggestions only matters to my ego, but I need to have at least one each day.

>>129081
Ah, I see. Well then, disregard my previous suggestion.

Dionaea 2019/04/12(Fri)19:32 No. 129108 ID: 688dd6
File 155512274731.png - (16.26KB , 700x800 , -009-pilgrim.png )

>>/quest/929582

Some speculation, please add thoughts on missed/stupid points.
Niklous:
+ desperate
+ claim to nobility/war hero or something some generations back
+ loyal/desperate servants
+ seems to have learned lessons from being ruined

- ruined
- powerful enemies
- holdings known to enemies
- could be lying about everything and we probably wouldn't know.

Jakob
+ established
+ intelligent or backed by such
+ has all the contacts we want

+ can deflect cannonballs with his codpiece
- difficult to intimidate
- doesn't need us
- dangerous
- probably a big fan of the status-quot
- almost certainly lying about everything

Reinhold
+ personally and politically terrifying
+ knowledgeable and competent
+ Probably likes demons that are on his side
+ perfect Evil Buddy Cops material

= potentially "likes" demons

- very dangerous
- solo act?
- working for a third agenda

Our own team:
+ maide to order
+ minimal divided loyalties
+ low visibility, at first...
+ mostly compatible with Niklous

- incompetent until trained
- easily infiltrated without personal bother or empowering a flunky
- needs to find(or beat over the head and drag into a deserted alley) a niche in an established city
- potentially a bunch of fanatics who won't knowingly work for a demon even if it is the only source of food they are going to get.

My vote is to combine Niklous with a new band with a butler/maid theme that focuses on smuggling, spying, and information brokering. Recruited from the destitute and trained extensively. The first step would be to secure sufficient food and data to bunker down and get the training done. Probably set up some out-of-town farms for illicit goods and feeding our troops under the radar.

Dionaea 2019/04/20(Sat)21:45 No. 129187 ID: 688dd6
File 155582192912.png - (13.19KB , 700x700 , -010-burymewithmymoney.png )

http://burymewithmymoney.com/

Question: Why do the deities refuse to create an afterlife? Don't say "because their energy would run out anyway," because brain uploading is a thing.

>>129201
What makes you think that they don't?

Because that would imply that deities have redeeming features.

Can deities and demons be aligned? Like, if you had a soldier demon based upon "there could be something inhuman under heavy armour and we couldn't see it" and a deity of battlefields, would focusing faith in the deity at the demon actually strengthen the demon or something? On the grounds that they both support marching onto a field and killing a bunch of people in a semi-organised play-date so that they would have collaborative compositions.

>>129220
>Can deities and demons be aligned?
The difference between a demon and an evil deity is A) mass worship and B) an avatar in the mundane world. Both demons and deities are mortal concepts given life through belief.

>Like, if you had a soldier demon based upon "there could be something inhuman under heavy armour and we couldn't see it" and a deity of battlefields, would focusing faith in the deity at the demon actually strengthen the demon or something?
No. Worship is also very different from superstition. Worship feeds a magical being's power. Superstition can build up until it gives life to a new being. A place in a pantheon (or monotheistic religion) gives a deity a very defined structure; a name, an appearance, spheres, powers, etc.

Think of it like mailing a letter. Worship is addressed to someone specific, and that mail will only reach that person. Superstition is vaguely addressed, and can't be delivered, and those letters pile up until someone that fits the description is created to receive them.

There are more specificities but I'll reserve them for when Dionaea meets someone learned in such matters. I think it's more fun to find out about a setting through "living" in it, from its inhabitants, rather than Word of God. That said, I'll gladly answer questions that Dionaea would know so as not to pad out the updates with asking her yourself (the above being something she would know). She's a more trustworthy source than most on such topics, since she has been around for so long.

>Worship feeds a magical being's power. Superstition can build up until it gives life to a new being.
Ah. I was under the impression that holy-symbols could be an issue, but now can't find a reference. Is that a thing? If so, what is the mechanism for that?

>cold iron (different from regular iron; it's holy)
Is that an abstraction or is holiness a practical thing?

>>129229
Since deities are magic, holiness is also magic. Cold iron is, as mentioned in the first thread, just regular iron that's been quenched in holy water. Holy symbols have power because the god behind them disapproves of the existence of the demon. In the parlance of Dionaea's time, a "demon" is just a wholly or partially magical creature that is antagonistic towards established "good" religions. She wasn't born a "demon" but that's what she is classified as now.

Clerics and paladins and such get their power through their deity. Holy symbols and blessings are no different. They channel a tiny portion of a deity's power and influence through them. The effects depend on the deity.

So what happens if the "god" likes the demon? Or whatever "good" demons are named. How does Dionaea feel about collaborating with a less physically-inclined and more worship-based magical being. Does she know of any that might be collaboratively inclined towards her? Did we ever find out what Dionaeais made from? What her "cause" is?

>>129236
>So what happens if the "god" likes the demon?
Followers of the god won't be alerted to the demon's presence, and their power won't target the demon unless specifically diverted to that purpose.

>Or whatever "good" demons are named.
Probably angels?

>How does Dionaea feel about collaborating with a less physically-inclined and more worship-based magical being.
Depends on the collaboration, I guess? Dionaea wants to lead more than follow, though.

>Did we ever find out what Dionaea is made from?
Magic.

>What her "cause" is?
She discusses her origins in ITQ: >>129087

No update tonight! Too tired, not enough time to do what I wanna do for it. Will resume tomorrow!

Dionaea 2019/04/29(Mon)20:16 No. 129286 ID: 688dd6
File 155659419731.gif - (43.24KB , 700x800 , -011-attention.gif )

People seemed to have a lot of trouble understanding what was actually happening in yesterday's update, so I've put the panels of the tree falling into an animation in the hopes it will help people see the flow of movement better.

>>129286
Uh, still looks like the tree fell on him, but now I notice someone grabbed his arm. So this is another memory of Dionaea's, but she's in disguise.

I've run those weird filenames through the usual easy ciphers (roman, rot13) and come up empty. There's gotta be a way to make sense of them.

>>129287
you can see hands on the trunk pushing it from the other side, in the first frame. though I hadn't even caught the hand grabbing his wrist!

Mordhau is out (´・ω・｀)

Dionaea 2019/08/05(Mon)21:26 No. 130614 ID: 688dd6
File 156506560612.png - (10.00KB , 700x800 , 1565065533079.png )

content aware goblin

Thank you all for your patience.

>>/quest/942749

Yes, that disclaimer is my guarantee that neither of those things will happen.

>>130720
If we choose the side-adventure, will we return to Dionaea where we left off, or will she have been on her own for a while?

>>130731
Where you left off. If she were on her own then it would affect her story.

Yadda yadda life shit you know the drill.

Honestly though I had finished a good portion of the next update when I stopped last time. What kept me from continuing was an insecurity I'd like to ask anyone still lingering in this blasted wasteland of a discussion thread:

Are my updates too wordy? I'm really insecure about how much text I put into a single post, and it often ends up with me splitting it into like, five posts for an update, which I then have to draw 5 times as many panels for, and that is brutal. It was pretty much why I stopped more than anything (although work did pick back up). I feel like my updates have gotten wordier and wordier and I just can't stop filling them with dialogue, and I worry that turns people off of catching up on updates and people's eyes are just bouncing off my text walls. What do you guys think?

>>133686
I think it's an acceptable amount of words.

>>133686
I think more text is fine, as long as it's formatted to be easily readable. pacing is more an art than a science, but I wouldn't worry about it to much, at least imo.

Here's some specific examples beyond the one I got too anxious to post:
>>931071
>>930800
>>930579

>>133689
whups
>>>/graveyard/931071
>>>/graveyard/930800
>>>/graveyard/930579

It's fine.