Post by unstableequilibrium on Jun 1, 2016 20:01:34 GMT
A Sight to Behold - A Relatively Basic Random-ish Guide to Sight
By UE (unstableEquilibrium)
So, Sight. I've rolled this aspect around three times now, bouncing between it and Sound most of the time. The two aspects tend to be paired up a lot, despite their meanings being (at least in theory) polar opposites. One teaches you to take in as much information as possible, the other teaches you to focus it all down onto one key objective. So, without further ado, I'll welcome you to the psychedelic funland that is the FSZ.
Meanings: Vision, Focus, Understanding?, Links
Sight's most literal meaning is Vision - taking in information in a visual format. Sight players, similar to their opposite aspect, have a sensory boost to their choice of sense, this being eyesight, of 1*10^.612, meaning that a Sight player has vision around six times better than a normal player's, with further boosting of this as they become more skilled with the aspect and learn more abilities. Thankfully unlike Sound, this boost doesn't destroy the person's sense. Similar to Sound, Sight also offers an ability that lets you turn another form of information into a visual format, although unlike Sound it's a little more like a drug trip. They can also control what wavelengths of light that they can see - so for example, X-ray or infrared vision are all possibilities with Sight.
Said ability allows you to see, or in some cases interact with what's communally known as the Fuckoff Symbolism Zone, or FSZ. Said zone is a somewhat psychedelic land, where thoughts, threats, emotions and everything inbetween are all displayed as strange metaphors attached to or around their point of origin. If you've seen a cartoon where a raincloud comes above someone's head when they're sad, then that's kind of what the place is like. Really, cartoon-ish would be a good way to describe the physics and actions that apply there.
Sight is also about Focus. This means that you have to narrow down information, take specific objectives and focus on a singular action at a time. However, this doesn't mean that you should be lazy and only be doing one thing at once; this isn't the opposite of being overwhelmed, as aspects aren't always complete opposites. It's more like... instead of being overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information, you're blocking out everything else out and tunnel-visioning on a singular point with ridiculous intensity. Generally, the more focused of a target or objective that you use a Sight ability for, the more power that ability will have. This makes Sight players not always the best at telling when they're in danger from something unseen, but if they're focused on something then it stands very little chance of even being able to scratch them. This makes them very efficient when fighting bosses or, if necessary, taking down rogue players. However, skill of use with targeting - focusing on a concept or point in space rather than a single enemy - is what allows them to take down groups.
Following on from this, Sight also includes Links. However, unlike Mind or Coins, Sight is more about metaphorical links rather than logical progression or history / composition of an object. Sight players can map out how things are linked to one another and create a complete map of the situation to allow them to choose where to focus - kind of like an operation, you have to know all about the body before deciding where to cut. This combination of Focus and Links does make Sight players quite good at coding - obviously not quite as naturally skillful as Doom players, but with a bit of practice and usage of lessons learnt from the aspect (especially if you've played Sound before), a Sight player can do some things even better than Doom players can.
This combination also makes them incredibly good at deciphering prophecies - you'll often find your resident Sight player in their dream moon library or Frog Temple, glancing at the pages of a book and literally flicking through it before putting it back and adding to the session's timeline another prophecy. They just click - especially visual ones, such as those sprawled across the walls of the frog temple - and their meaning becomes rapidly clear. As a side note, this makes Sight players much more useful on Prospit, where they have access to the clouds of prophecy rather than the hard-to-decipher whispers of the Horrorterrors - that's much more of a Sound thing.
Note: Sight players have a strange and rather large buff to defense only for their eyes to prevent them being damaged from the improved vision. Sound also has this, but it's overwhelmed by the massive increase. You'd think this would be 100% useful, but unfortunately it tends to be rather painful for Seers of Sight when they inevitably become blinded as most Seers do. You do get huge buffs to your other forms of 'vision', though.
Note v2: Similar to Sound players, don't try to put your hands, face or any particular body part near a Sight player's senses without asking first or you're likely to find yourself anywhere from being decked in the face to half your body being missing, depending on how particularly twitchy that person is.
Sight 101: Basic Abilities
So, onto some of Sight's abilities.
The key things you need to know are to not turn on [Starry Night] until you have [Impression, Soleil Levant], as the former lets you see the FSZ while the latter brings you back to reality. This means you need the second to turn the first off, and if you turn it on without then you're gonna be stumbling around very confused for quite a while, as you can't actually see what's happening in real life. Instead, you get to see all the lovely symbolism of everything around you as an ogre smashes you repeatedly into the ground.
The Fuckoff Symbolism Zone is a little more obvious to notice for Sight than Sound in that you literally see the symbolism displayed in front of you. Instead of reading the entire situation by listening to a soundtrack, you find and solve individual issues by linking together or breaking problems apart. Using a quote from an older guide I scrounged up:
'The FSZ is sort of like a twisted fairy-tale religion version of the real world. Every entity within SBURB appears as an exaggerated version of what it actually is, including details that aren’t physical. For example: a knife that has been used to kill a person glistens with black blood even once it’s been washed off. The hands that wielded the knife are, likewise, bloodied - especially if the murderer is feeling guilty or denying it.
Okay, sounds easy, right? Basically a more visual Heart. New example: you alchemize two knives, use one to kill someone, and don’t use the second for anything. The first knife is bloodied as per usual - but, because the second is relatively untainted, it actually appears brighter, straighter and sharper than its counterpart. But, because it’s still the weapon of a murderer, there’s something sinister in its shine, as if the bloodied knife were reflected in the light off the weapon’s edge, compared to a knife made by a person planning to stop you (which is bright, pristine and totally unmarred), or a knife made by someone who has no idea who you are but plans to stop you…'.
The FSV zone is basically like what the world would look like if everyone's and everything's shinies took physical form. I'm still not sure if they're the same thing or not; Heart players find it much more difficult to do the Hearty Thing on things that have had something taken out of them, but they still get a whole shiny and the concept is still removed. It's weird.
Anyways, onto the actual ability list. Once again I'll go briefly over abilities already listed and then talk more on the unreported ones from the other guide.
Sight 103: Ability List
Essentially, Sight's abilities that allow you to access the FSZ and interact with it can be categorized into five separate tiers. Sort of. You've got abilities that will be effective at any tier, but there's generally a solid list of progression you'll have follow in your climb towards mastering your aspect's potential.
0: [Artistic Vision]
1: [Starry Night] and [Impression, Soleil Levant]
2: [Pantomime]
2.5: [Literally Metaphorical] and [Metaphorically Literal]
3: [Blue Pill] and [Red Pill]
3.5: [Henceforth] and [Whereas]
4: [Self Portrait]
4.5: [Lucid Daydream]
5: [Abstract Artist] and [Verisimilitude]
[Artistic Vision]: Allows for a brief look into the FSZ. Your real body will follow your actions, but you cannot physically interact with the FSZ. You look derpy as hell while using it. Only lasts a few seconds. You get this pretty early on.
[Pantomime]: You can now manipulate the FSZ using your real body - that is, to everyone else you'll look like you're waving madly at things that don't exist but in the FSZ you'll be able to snap the chains of someone's emotional issues and shit. Just, don't forget you are still moving around in reality, even if all you can see is metaphorical mayhem, so... try not to wander into a pack of Ogres, k? Requires pluck for each use.
[Literally Metaphorical]: Temporarily bring an item from the FSZ into the real world. Pluck costs vary widely depending on a huge amount of factors, but generally you can find some funny weapons in the FSZ. Ever wanted to strangle someone with their emotional issues?
[Metaphorically Literal]: And then we have the opposite, temporarily bringing a real-life item into the FSZ. Need something to help cut that ball and chain? Bring a blowtorch!
[Blue Pill]: Your body falls asleep, and you become what's known as a [Stargazer]. This form of yourself has its own inventory of FSZ items, and can freely interact with the FSZ - however, your real body cannot do anything while you're in the FSZ.
[Red Pill]: When you're in the same location as your real body, you can use [Red Pill] to reenter it, swapping inventories and waking up.
[Henceforth]: Brings your real body to the location of your Stargazer.
[Whereas]: Brings your Stargazer to the location of your real body.
[Self Portrait]: Has to be used while using [Blue Pill]. Allows your Stargazer to affect the real world; using the ability lets you see the real world, then any movements taken cost pluck. A lot of pluck. Your Stargazer's physical ability is limited; it weakens the less vision you have of your original body. So, if you place some clever mirrors... However, completely out of vision of yourself means it, well, doesn't work at all.
[Lucid Daydream]: Allows you to control both your Stargazer and your real body at once,
[Abstract Artist]: Lets you move yourself, and JUST yourself, into the FSZ. This means you only have one body while you're using it, until you return to the real world. Costs a ridiculous amount of pluck.
[Verisimilitude]: Lets you return to the real world. Minimal pluck cost.
Then for some more utility abilities:
[Point of View]: Mainly useful for Seers of Sight, due to the blindness that can and likely will occur. Allows you to see through any being or object's view that has 'eyes' and is looking at the same point you are.
[Blind Belief]: Temporarily shove a bunch of emotions into an object via pushing FSZ items into it, giving it boosts when it performs actions that would support the ideas placed into it. Each one above the first costs extra, but taking one large thing costs less than shoving lots of smaller things would - focus on singular objectives.
[Unshakable Resolve]: Permanently infuses an item, like Blind Belief. Carries a very high pluck cost and can only be used once per item; can be stacked with Blind Belief.
[Second Sight]: Scrying ability. See through the eyes of another person or object.
[Synaestheticorita]: A mouthful of an ability name that could literally just be called anything else that makes more sense. Switches your vision for another one of your senses and higher pluck costs can be used to grant you alternate forms, such as infra-red or telescopic vision.
[Telescope]: Psybuff. Focus on the long-term gain instead of the short term detriments.
[Microscope]: Psybuff. Lets people focus in detail on a particular memory or objective.
[Rose Lenses]: See positive things in the FSZ highlighted in pink while using the ability.
[Emerald Glasses]: See negative things in the FSZ highlighted in green while using the ability.
[Tinted Shades]: See a designated emotion in a designated colour while in the FSZ and using this ability.
[Found Waldo]: Find a specific target at any time. Further away costs more pluck to be more precise, but it allows you to easily find people during what would normally be carnage.
And finally, what everyone's (not) been waiting for, Beserk Triggers.
[Blur My World]: Reality and the FSZ temporarily merge. You get your Stargazer's and your abilities, and your opponents get weighed down by their problems! Also your allies. Also everything does. But that's fine, right?
[Printing Press]: Summons a fucktonne of weapons/tools/whatever's needed from the FSZ and pummels the real world with them.
By UE (unstableEquilibrium)
So, Sight. I've rolled this aspect around three times now, bouncing between it and Sound most of the time. The two aspects tend to be paired up a lot, despite their meanings being (at least in theory) polar opposites. One teaches you to take in as much information as possible, the other teaches you to focus it all down onto one key objective. So, without further ado, I'll welcome you to the psychedelic funland that is the FSZ.
Meanings: Vision, Focus, Understanding?, Links
Sight's most literal meaning is Vision - taking in information in a visual format. Sight players, similar to their opposite aspect, have a sensory boost to their choice of sense, this being eyesight, of 1*10^.612, meaning that a Sight player has vision around six times better than a normal player's, with further boosting of this as they become more skilled with the aspect and learn more abilities. Thankfully unlike Sound, this boost doesn't destroy the person's sense. Similar to Sound, Sight also offers an ability that lets you turn another form of information into a visual format, although unlike Sound it's a little more like a drug trip. They can also control what wavelengths of light that they can see - so for example, X-ray or infrared vision are all possibilities with Sight.
Said ability allows you to see, or in some cases interact with what's communally known as the Fuckoff Symbolism Zone, or FSZ. Said zone is a somewhat psychedelic land, where thoughts, threats, emotions and everything inbetween are all displayed as strange metaphors attached to or around their point of origin. If you've seen a cartoon where a raincloud comes above someone's head when they're sad, then that's kind of what the place is like. Really, cartoon-ish would be a good way to describe the physics and actions that apply there.
Sight is also about Focus. This means that you have to narrow down information, take specific objectives and focus on a singular action at a time. However, this doesn't mean that you should be lazy and only be doing one thing at once; this isn't the opposite of being overwhelmed, as aspects aren't always complete opposites. It's more like... instead of being overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information, you're blocking out everything else out and tunnel-visioning on a singular point with ridiculous intensity. Generally, the more focused of a target or objective that you use a Sight ability for, the more power that ability will have. This makes Sight players not always the best at telling when they're in danger from something unseen, but if they're focused on something then it stands very little chance of even being able to scratch them. This makes them very efficient when fighting bosses or, if necessary, taking down rogue players. However, skill of use with targeting - focusing on a concept or point in space rather than a single enemy - is what allows them to take down groups.
Following on from this, Sight also includes Links. However, unlike Mind or Coins, Sight is more about metaphorical links rather than logical progression or history / composition of an object. Sight players can map out how things are linked to one another and create a complete map of the situation to allow them to choose where to focus - kind of like an operation, you have to know all about the body before deciding where to cut. This combination of Focus and Links does make Sight players quite good at coding - obviously not quite as naturally skillful as Doom players, but with a bit of practice and usage of lessons learnt from the aspect (especially if you've played Sound before), a Sight player can do some things even better than Doom players can.
This combination also makes them incredibly good at deciphering prophecies - you'll often find your resident Sight player in their dream moon library or Frog Temple, glancing at the pages of a book and literally flicking through it before putting it back and adding to the session's timeline another prophecy. They just click - especially visual ones, such as those sprawled across the walls of the frog temple - and their meaning becomes rapidly clear. As a side note, this makes Sight players much more useful on Prospit, where they have access to the clouds of prophecy rather than the hard-to-decipher whispers of the Horrorterrors - that's much more of a Sound thing.
Note: Sight players have a strange and rather large buff to defense only for their eyes to prevent them being damaged from the improved vision. Sound also has this, but it's overwhelmed by the massive increase. You'd think this would be 100% useful, but unfortunately it tends to be rather painful for Seers of Sight when they inevitably become blinded as most Seers do. You do get huge buffs to your other forms of 'vision', though.
Note v2: Similar to Sound players, don't try to put your hands, face or any particular body part near a Sight player's senses without asking first or you're likely to find yourself anywhere from being decked in the face to half your body being missing, depending on how particularly twitchy that person is.
Sight 101: Basic Abilities
So, onto some of Sight's abilities.
The key things you need to know are to not turn on [Starry Night] until you have [Impression, Soleil Levant], as the former lets you see the FSZ while the latter brings you back to reality. This means you need the second to turn the first off, and if you turn it on without then you're gonna be stumbling around very confused for quite a while, as you can't actually see what's happening in real life. Instead, you get to see all the lovely symbolism of everything around you as an ogre smashes you repeatedly into the ground.
The Fuckoff Symbolism Zone is a little more obvious to notice for Sight than Sound in that you literally see the symbolism displayed in front of you. Instead of reading the entire situation by listening to a soundtrack, you find and solve individual issues by linking together or breaking problems apart. Using a quote from an older guide I scrounged up:
'The FSZ is sort of like a twisted fairy-tale religion version of the real world. Every entity within SBURB appears as an exaggerated version of what it actually is, including details that aren’t physical. For example: a knife that has been used to kill a person glistens with black blood even once it’s been washed off. The hands that wielded the knife are, likewise, bloodied - especially if the murderer is feeling guilty or denying it.
Okay, sounds easy, right? Basically a more visual Heart. New example: you alchemize two knives, use one to kill someone, and don’t use the second for anything. The first knife is bloodied as per usual - but, because the second is relatively untainted, it actually appears brighter, straighter and sharper than its counterpart. But, because it’s still the weapon of a murderer, there’s something sinister in its shine, as if the bloodied knife were reflected in the light off the weapon’s edge, compared to a knife made by a person planning to stop you (which is bright, pristine and totally unmarred), or a knife made by someone who has no idea who you are but plans to stop you…'.
The FSV zone is basically like what the world would look like if everyone's and everything's shinies took physical form. I'm still not sure if they're the same thing or not; Heart players find it much more difficult to do the Hearty Thing on things that have had something taken out of them, but they still get a whole shiny and the concept is still removed. It's weird.
Anyways, onto the actual ability list. Once again I'll go briefly over abilities already listed and then talk more on the unreported ones from the other guide.
Sight 103: Ability List
Essentially, Sight's abilities that allow you to access the FSZ and interact with it can be categorized into five separate tiers. Sort of. You've got abilities that will be effective at any tier, but there's generally a solid list of progression you'll have follow in your climb towards mastering your aspect's potential.
0: [Artistic Vision]
1: [Starry Night] and [Impression, Soleil Levant]
2: [Pantomime]
2.5: [Literally Metaphorical] and [Metaphorically Literal]
3: [Blue Pill] and [Red Pill]
3.5: [Henceforth] and [Whereas]
4: [Self Portrait]
4.5: [Lucid Daydream]
5: [Abstract Artist] and [Verisimilitude]
[Artistic Vision]: Allows for a brief look into the FSZ. Your real body will follow your actions, but you cannot physically interact with the FSZ. You look derpy as hell while using it. Only lasts a few seconds. You get this pretty early on.
[Pantomime]: You can now manipulate the FSZ using your real body - that is, to everyone else you'll look like you're waving madly at things that don't exist but in the FSZ you'll be able to snap the chains of someone's emotional issues and shit. Just, don't forget you are still moving around in reality, even if all you can see is metaphorical mayhem, so... try not to wander into a pack of Ogres, k? Requires pluck for each use.
[Literally Metaphorical]: Temporarily bring an item from the FSZ into the real world. Pluck costs vary widely depending on a huge amount of factors, but generally you can find some funny weapons in the FSZ. Ever wanted to strangle someone with their emotional issues?
[Metaphorically Literal]: And then we have the opposite, temporarily bringing a real-life item into the FSZ. Need something to help cut that ball and chain? Bring a blowtorch!
[Blue Pill]: Your body falls asleep, and you become what's known as a [Stargazer]. This form of yourself has its own inventory of FSZ items, and can freely interact with the FSZ - however, your real body cannot do anything while you're in the FSZ.
[Red Pill]: When you're in the same location as your real body, you can use [Red Pill] to reenter it, swapping inventories and waking up.
[Henceforth]: Brings your real body to the location of your Stargazer.
[Whereas]: Brings your Stargazer to the location of your real body.
[Self Portrait]: Has to be used while using [Blue Pill]. Allows your Stargazer to affect the real world; using the ability lets you see the real world, then any movements taken cost pluck. A lot of pluck. Your Stargazer's physical ability is limited; it weakens the less vision you have of your original body. So, if you place some clever mirrors... However, completely out of vision of yourself means it, well, doesn't work at all.
[Lucid Daydream]: Allows you to control both your Stargazer and your real body at once,
[Abstract Artist]: Lets you move yourself, and JUST yourself, into the FSZ. This means you only have one body while you're using it, until you return to the real world. Costs a ridiculous amount of pluck.
[Verisimilitude]: Lets you return to the real world. Minimal pluck cost.
Then for some more utility abilities:
[Point of View]: Mainly useful for Seers of Sight, due to the blindness that can and likely will occur. Allows you to see through any being or object's view that has 'eyes' and is looking at the same point you are.
[Blind Belief]: Temporarily shove a bunch of emotions into an object via pushing FSZ items into it, giving it boosts when it performs actions that would support the ideas placed into it. Each one above the first costs extra, but taking one large thing costs less than shoving lots of smaller things would - focus on singular objectives.
[Unshakable Resolve]: Permanently infuses an item, like Blind Belief. Carries a very high pluck cost and can only be used once per item; can be stacked with Blind Belief.
[Second Sight]: Scrying ability. See through the eyes of another person or object.
[Synaestheticorita]: A mouthful of an ability name that could literally just be called anything else that makes more sense. Switches your vision for another one of your senses and higher pluck costs can be used to grant you alternate forms, such as infra-red or telescopic vision.
[Telescope]: Psybuff. Focus on the long-term gain instead of the short term detriments.
[Microscope]: Psybuff. Lets people focus in detail on a particular memory or objective.
[Rose Lenses]: See positive things in the FSZ highlighted in pink while using the ability.
[Emerald Glasses]: See negative things in the FSZ highlighted in green while using the ability.
[Tinted Shades]: See a designated emotion in a designated colour while in the FSZ and using this ability.
[Found Waldo]: Find a specific target at any time. Further away costs more pluck to be more precise, but it allows you to easily find people during what would normally be carnage.
And finally, what everyone's (not) been waiting for, Beserk Triggers.
[Blur My World]: Reality and the FSZ temporarily merge. You get your Stargazer's and your abilities, and your opponents get weighed down by their problems! Also your allies. Also everything does. But that's fine, right?
[Printing Press]: Summons a fucktonne of weapons/tools/whatever's needed from the FSZ and pummels the real world with them.