Paracosmic

After being away for...probably about a year, I've decided it's time for me to start playing Niche again (I think when I left the bears were just revealed, so it's definitely been awhile). I've decided I'll do something like the Royal Family challenge. I'm also adding something based on the Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews, namely the power system (I love these books -- the next one can't come out too soon). Mostly I just want to see how the power thing plays out over time. I'll be keeping track of that with pedigree trees. Settings: Blind Genetics, Unlock All Genes, Starting on Tiny Green, Mutations determined by RNG Rules: Gem colors correspond to power rank: Green = Prime - Has first dibs on permanests. Always royalty. Alphas. Orange = Significant - Alphas Blue = Notable - Betas Pink = Average - Betas Yellow = Minor - Omegas Gray = Negligible - Omegas Nichelings can only mate within their power rank. Wanderers have random power ranks. An offspring's rank is determined when they are children. I'll be using RNG to determine which rank they have. A given nicheling has a 70% chance of inheriting their parents' rank, a 25% chance of having the rank below their parents, and a 5% chance of having a rank above their parents (except if their parents are Green -- then obviously they just maintain their rank). Nichelings are monogamous and mate for life. This just makes it easier for me to keep track. A nicheling may have no more than three litters. The eldest, highest-ranking offspring of the ruling couple takes over as king or queen when their parents die. If there is no offspring to take over, the eldest, highest ranking sibling of the king or queen takes over. If these nichelings do not have a mate, they must choose one as soon as possible. The first few posts I'll really just be testing the system out and making adjustments as needed.

@Flower @Clover - I'm interested in adopting Cracker Eater Topaz!

I think so? I don't speak Finnish, so I'm not sure, but I got several translations to agree, and a quick search gets me some comparable recipes.

Yes! This is where I really learned of it -- before that I'd heard of it in a book series I read as a kid, but never really understood what it was.

@Aetherskye - This makes much more sense. And here I was like, "This is a cool yellow nichelet -- let's name her after lemon meringue, because I just ate a lemon meringue donut."

Eve - The Nomadic Nicheling Now this island, Eve thought, was perfect. First and foremost -- and the reason her parents would've hated it -- it was warm. That was, admittedly, why she had come this far south. As much as she loved her family, she just couldn't stand the snow. And this island, out of all the islands she'd come to, had absolutely no snow. When she'd glimpsed it across the bridge, she'd thought it was all snow. She'd approached it with trepidation, waiting for the air to turn cold. But it hadn't, and now she saw that what had looked like snow was actually sand. And that sand was hot. Finally, finally, she'd found a place warm enough for her. White sand that burned the paws in the middle of the day, long grass that was always cool on the paws, even a fruiting tree. It took her a few days to figure out how to crack them, but she finally did, carefully working the hard shell off to get at the soft insides. Yes, this was the perfect island. Occasionally travelers would stop by, bringing news from other islands. Perhaps one day one of those travelers would stay for more than just a few days. But for now, she was happy as she was, a young nicheling on her tiny tropical island. --- Author's Note: Eve has Nimble Fingers! That helps a lot, because my pre-Tiny Green island has no rabbils and no stagmoles. Unfortunately, the coconuts have a tendency to bean my poor nichelings in the head. @Aetherskye @Skysplash8 - Not sure why you guys have latched onto Meringue, but okay. :p

@Basil - Yeah, that transition is rough on a lot of people. Just don't get mono. It makes everything five hundred times worse. I've actually been recovering from a weekend on the night shift and from being sick the week before. Good luck with exams! I like Tiny Green, too -- but then, it and the Story Mode beginner islands are the only ones I've played so far. :p

@Basil - Thank you! It's been a busy week/weekend IRL, but I should be back to playing soon -- I really need to pick my tribe for Tiny Green. :\

Aetherskye

Adam - The Lone Nicheling Sometimes Adam thought he'd been born to be alone. There'd been a time -- a long time -- when he'd hated it, when the days seemed pass endlessly, everything the same as it was the day before. But that time was long past. He'd made a life for himself in the wilderness. He'd learned how to hunt, how to make shelter, how to grow up, and he'd done it all on his own. Being alone didn't hurt like it used to, in those first few years after finding himself alone and abandoned. He was proud of it, proud of his ability to make a life for himself without anyone else around him. So when he left the island, making his way slowly across the sea bridge, it wasn't because he was lonely. No, Adam wasn't capable of loneliness anymore. He was happy being alone, thrived on it. No, it was something about the island. There was something that just wasn't right about it, even after all this time. The realization had come upon him suddenly, after years of contented living on his island. One minute he was hunting rabbils and the next he'd stopped suddenly, let his prey escape. Something was missing on his island, something indefinable. He didn't have words to describe it -- it just was. And as soon as he'd had that thought, he found he couldn't leave it alone. So he left his island. As he crossed the bridge, he didn't know where he was going. He just knew that wherever he ended up, it just had to be more right than the place he'd just come from.

@Aetherskye - Ah! Fair enough. Things seem pretty intense in that section -- my tribe definitely has much to live up to. 😛

@Aetherskye - I'm using a (solo) roleplay game as a tool to help with my writing. So it's not roleplay, it's fanfic -- that's why it's here and not in roleplay.

I've been obsessed with this pen-and-paper game Microscope Union recently. And what better way to experiment with it and family trees and whatnot than by playing Niche? This is less of a playthrough log and more of a series of short storylets that may or may not be in chronological order. Hence its presence in the fanart forum. If this is in the wrong place, please let me know. I wasn't sure where else it would fit, since it's not really roleplay -- it's fanfic. Introduction The tribe split slowly. There were too many differences in power, too many nichelings who wanted a voice outside that prescribed to them by birth. The schism grew inexorably closer, until one day, everything fractured. Locus was at the crux of that fracture. She didn't start the war, not really. She didn't do what history said she did. Notes: And we're off! If you really want to know the rules I'm following, let me know. But that's not really the point of this exercise. It's the stories, after all, that make a history. The goal is to create an actual story, not relying on lots of screenshots and whatnot. Edit: I made a pedigree chart! I'll probably modify it so I can track immunities, deaths, and whatnot. Here's a link, for those of you who don't want spoilers.

@Lurkily - I have no words. 😛 --- 4 - Arya's Era Continues (A.K.A. - Where's the Rain?!) Since there aren't any eligible pairs to lead the tribe, Arya and Chess remain in power. Chess hopes for calm children. Meanwhile, Roro receives his truename, Silver. Draia teaches Silver to hunt rabbils... And crabbits, of course. "They're not friends," she explains to the sheepish Silver. "They're food." Meanwhile, little Dukduk and his father ponder the new kits. First, the omega twins, Kirku and Dukvanduk. And then the little beta male, Dukvanta. Chess isn't so sure about the twins. "They look like they'll be trouble," he says. Memeis, newly dubbed Mouse, volunteers to look after them in their adventures. She's never quite grown out of them the way the other children have. Then, one day, Eve passes away. The clan mourns. She's practically been mother to the whole tribe this whole time. RIP Eve. D': (Her mutations were Pattern Shape D and White Fur.) The tribe mourns. Kirkuta receives his truename, Bane. The twins are particularly affected. What will they do, now that their mother is gone? "We're all family here," Arya tells them. "All of us. You'll never be alone, not really." Dukvanro starts to cry. And then comes the day when the tribe is out of food. Marigold prays for rain. Meanwhile, Adam thinks the sea might have the answer to the crisis. His venture doesn't pay off for long, but the tribe is hopeful. Dukvanro receives his truename, Charlie. Because tell me he doesn't look like a Charlie. The twins thrive under Arya and Chess' care. Though they're little attention-hogs at times, much to Dukvanta's consternation. Dukvanta has inherited his father's disposition. He's perfectly content to quietly stay out of whatever trouble the twins see fit to get into next. It's a little easier when his little sister, Koko, is born. "We should take her on adventures with us!" Kirku exclaims. "Not until she's older," Arya admonishes. Chess and Dukvanta shake their heads. Here's hoping the new kit won't get into as much mischief as her eldest brothers...or the twins, for that matter. Adam, the father of the tribe, dies one rainy day. RIP Adam. D': (Adam's mutations were Chestnut Brown Fur and Black Eyes.) The whole clan mourns. Even the life-giving rain isn't enough to soothe the tribe. Ayra gives her third son his truename, Dorian. It's the first naming ritual that Adam hasn't been present for. It really is the end of Adam and Eve's era. The clan rejoices at the birth of a new tribe member: Rota. This is Arya and Chess' last kit as the alpha pair. Little Koko, endlessly curious yet not quite adventurous as her uncles, is fascinated by the new kit. Meanwhile, Dukvanduk has found a friend. Raven, a one-winged melanistic nicheling. With cracker jaw! Cast out of her nomadic tribe for her inability to fly, she readily joins the tribe. She offers the gift of acorns, which she alone can easily prepare. A good number of the acorns are just offshore. Foolishly, Silver tries to follow, and bites off more than he can chew. This was my fault, actually. I didn't realize the water was that deep. Arya and Chess announce the new alpha pair, surprising the rest of the clan. Despite her friendship with Bane and the other older boys, Mouse has fallen in love with Dorian. They petition for mating rights and accept their appointment as alpha pair. The clan rejoices. And I was too impatient to wait for Rota to get out of the nest. TBC.... --- That was a long one! Raven came along at just the right time, though the tribe started to recover pretty well after Adam's rain. (Yes, the tribe named it after him. Clearly, he died to give the rest of the tribe the chance to live. Really fun making this kind of mythos.) Anyway, stats on Adam and Eve: I don't know if Eve died of starvation, but I don't think so -- she was already on her last day, which I didn't realize at the time. And I just realized I didn't get her birthday, either -- I think it was a couple days before Adam, judging by the gap in their deaths. Neither of them took any damage. Adam and Eve had five children from four nests: Arya, Marigold, Draia, Charlie, and the twins, Dukvanduk and Kirku. They were alphas for three nests, omegas for two. They had six grandchildren from Arya and her mate, Chess: Silver, Bane, Dorian, Dukvanta, Koko, and Rota. They didn't live to see their third grandson, Dorian, take over the tribe after Arya and Chess retired. As alpha, Adam was always on the lookout for his home. He never gave up on that dream, though Eve did finally convince him to settle down with his family here on the Tiny Green. They were happy there, chasing around their children and spoiling their grandchildren. May their legacy long continue. --- Next up is Dorian's era. I was really surprised at his match with Mouse, since storywise I might have picked her as Bane's mate instead. I also might start clearing out the island in preparation to leave for the next one. Let's see how this works out!