Heroica RPG - Quest Masters' Lounge

[Palathadric]

Fun quest to read, WaterbrickDown, as always.

Hoke was hilariously awesome running around and trying to be Mister Perfect and fix all the parties' mistakes and all. It was all so perfectly Hoke. However, I think you need to watch out a bit that you don't sideline the others. Not sure, how they felt about it or if I'm just seeing it from the wrong perspective, but it did seem like Hoke was a bit too imposing on them. Not sure how to describe it exactly.

The party didn't seem to have as much synergy as I would have liked to see.

[MysticModulus]

2 hours ago, Palathadric said:

Fun quest to read, WaterbrickDown, as always.

Hoke was hilariously awesome running around and trying to be Mister Perfect and fix all the parties' mistakes and all. It was all so perfectly Hoke. However, I think you need to watch out a bit that you don't sideline the others. Not sure, how they felt about it or if I'm just seeing it from the wrong perspective, but it did seem like Hoke was a bit too imposing on them. Not sure how to describe it exactly.

The party didn't seem to have as much synergy as I would have liked to see.

Hoke was indeed a bit to imposing, it could have been a more dynamic affair and I personally let Ezeran take more of a back seat because of it. Sadly the dynamic was missing and the interactions became bland.

Edited May 30, 2017 by MysticModulus

[MysticModulus]

7 hours ago, samurai-turtle said:

Quest 157 

Well where do I start...I kinda wonder if I even should of sign up for the quest. I feel a little burned out in general and I guess I won't sign up for anything to soon. (Not to mention some personal stuff I really need to take care of before I want to go on another.) And I guess it would not of bothered me if I was not picked to go on the quest. Not to mention Germ seem to get smacked around a little in this quest. 

I guess I put a thought or two on the other players.

Hoke - It seems like he is just annoyed with everyone in general. (I am wondering if I am just projecting something on to you.) 

Torald - He seems to know that he is not the smartest tool in the shed. (To me it seem like you did not even try to solve any of the puzzles.) 

Throlar - (For some reason I am drawing a little bit of a blank.) But I guess some will say it was good when you were freaking out over Lippi getting hurt. 

Ezeran - (I am getting the "blank" problem with you too. But I think you said you were busy.) Then their is the role playing with August in the last battle. I am not totally sure what to think about that, is it good or is it bad. 

I'll try and give my perspective at some of the things you commented:

- I honestly had a hard time understanding the things Germ said and did, he's so irrational and hard to pin point that it's hard for your character to relate and communicate with him. I don't know if this is an intention on your part or merely a symptom of him not fitting in in this context.

- Ezeran might seem a blank to you but it's quiet deliberate on my part:

1. He's normally an informal leader that takes the lead, when Hoke didn't listen to him he naturally fell back and let Hoke take command. Nothing strange about that really. 

2. This was an emotional journey for Ezeran in that he travelled to relevant regions to his past and connected with his father. This naturally has emotional consequences that he internalizes. Roleplaying in this respect is not only what is being said and being done but also what is NOT being said and done. So while the interactions with other RP:s are quiet low key this is still a pivotal quest to the development of him as a character. 

- Yes, I agree that Hoke seemed annoyed at everyone and seemed a bit imposing, but I would let UsernameMDM comment upon the issue because it could be a highly conscious role playing strategy. 

Edited May 30, 2017 by MysticModulus
grammar

[Waterbrick Down]

Well thanks again to those who participate in 157, you did make it a great quest for the most part. When the other council members and I started drafting potential quests based on the resolutions passed by the organizations, we wanted to make sure the outcomes of the quests had concrete results and really contributed to the overall story lines. We also wanted to keep things short so we purposefully drafter fairly straight forward quests. This particular quest excited me as it gave an opportunity to feature and expand on some of the locations that had only been named or just briefly touched upon. With that in mind I split the quest into three legs: harpies, refuel station, kappa.

Intro, first puzzle, and interlude 1:
Pretty straight forward, I wasn't expecting a lot of hassle and wanted to make sure that the goal of the quest was clear but still provide some options to the party. I also knew that I wanted to provide an NPC outside of Gioconda as she'd be wrapped up in the affairs of the ship and since Umbra had been featured more as an enemy rather than an ally in the past, it was a great opportunity to expand upon her character a little. The first puzzle was solved by most of the players and hopefully made up for some of the more difficult ones to follow.

The discussion among the party members concerning how to handle the harpies certainly helped define the personalities of the characters and I was glad to see the comradery displayed by the sharing of equipment.

The Harpies and Manticore Fight:
The sirens were some of my favorite NPC's to create and I really wanted to give them a little semblance of culture, beyond the standard hypnotic songs cause men to kill themselves. As monsters they really have a morality different from other cultures and it was interesting watching all of the conversations between the party members ensue. Throlar's bit of being the only one who could understand the sirens for a period of time did make for interesting writing and I'm glad the Party was some what divided on their approach to the situation at hand, it certainly made for some tense negotiations. Honestly the situation could have gone either way and I was prepared for the Party to either reach an agreement with the colony or completely wipe them out. I'm somewhat glad of the current outcome and hope that the colony gets featured again in some future quests.

The first fight while well meaning was certainly a cake-walk. I wasn't completely prepared for the amount of damage output a Paragon could put out and while I was excited to try out the new Quickened effect, it proved all for not. In hindsight, it's probably a good thing as it gave Hoke a chance to shine and showed me what steps I would need to take to create a more difficult challenge.

Interlude 2:
I'm a sucker for RP and am always a fan of how Zepher manages to fit such scenes so seamlessly into his narratives. I won't say they're perfect, but I was well pleased with the interactions between the characters, Umbra and Gionconda. I hope they gave opportunity to express what the character's thoughts were on the world that was changing around them. No big surprises, but seeing the character definition was really interesting on my part.

The decision to head for Wailing Wharf made things a little difficult on my part as I had to create a brand new town as opposed to use the existing map and pictures/NPC's from Salamanda, but in the end I'm very happy with how things went.

Wailing Warf:
From the onset of the town's creation, I knew I wanted to construct a village entirely built from the carcasses and pieces of giant sea monsters and I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out. As a fishing town, the Warf didn't have a lot to offer from an economical or rare sights standpoint, but what it lacked in those areas I hope it made up for in character. I purposefully left some areas unexplored as I'm a firm believer in collaboration and don't want to take up an entire setting to myself when there are so many other great QM's that have ideas of their own and can add so much more to it. With that said, I'm certainly glad that the Party decided to explore the shell tower. Originally I hadn't planned on the site being visited, but it gave me the chance to introduce one of my favorite NPC's and I'm sure Augusta will come back in later quests.

The shop was small, but intentionally so. As a short direct and to the point quest, it didn't feel fitting to include a grandiose shopping experience nor would it have worked for the actual setting of the Wailing Warf. It offered a minor sub-plot that the heroes followed up on and provided a little more flavor concerning the inhabitants of the town.

The Tipsy Tortoise was the crown jewel of the Warf and the numerous crew members were a pure joy to create. There are plenty of NPC's left if anyone wants to ever steal any of them. From the conversations amongst all the crews, to the bar fight, to Hoke's back and forth with Amelia, the whole bit was a lot of fun to play out and the scene itself was one of my favorites to build. The second puzzle (secret code word) was solved fairly easily by the group and it served to complete the sub-plot.

Hero? Battle:
I've been waiting a long time to include this little bit of story in the overall Heroica RPG and I'm glad it finally got a chance to be revealed (trust me there will be more to come). The reveal in game went perfectly and I'm glad the heroes were finally able to make sense of everything going on around them. As a battle overall, I knew I wanted to try something different from the standard battle in order to provide an equal challenge to all of the Party members. For a moment I thought it was going to be a TPK, but the players pulled through and I learned a lot about how positive effects on enemies can have a big impact on the difficulty of the fight. Overall I liked how this battle turned out and am glad Natnail as always escaped to fight and lose another day.

Leaving Wailing Warf and Interlude 3:
I really couldn't complain much about how the heroes wrapped things up at the Warf, they came to a logical conclusion regarding hiring guards and also secured a helpful ally (Hoke, don't forget about your job class traits). More dialog, the bits of RP between Ezeran and Augusta were great and some of Thorlars dialog with Umbra were really good. The forest fire before landing in Kappa-La was intentionally more RP oriented and free form in order to allow some of the party the opportunity to think outside the box.

Kappa-La and the Shrine Puzzle:
When I first started planning this quest I had originally thought that all of the Kappa would be adverse to any foreigners and things would play out like Pocahontas, but that conflict seemed a little too counter to the effects of some of the prior quests and would have also landed the Crescent Union squarely in "bad-guy" territory. Thus the idea of rival factions and traditional rebels lead by a scheming demon was born. Again details on Kappa-La and the Kappa culture were kept somewhat minimum as I wanted to provide opportunity for future QM's to expand upon. I was glad however to see the group creating a variety of differing relationships among the different Kappa leaders as it really helped to establish their perspective on the whole Eubric to Xu immigration prospect. Off into the jungle, I was surprised at how many failed the door puzzle. The riddle was intentionally worded in a somewhat vague fashion as "look for the number in the corner" isn't really a puzzle. Thankfully one of you finally managed to solve it.

Shrine Battle:
Final battles are not my strong suit and neither are villain monologues, so I won't claim that this was the best portion of the quest, but I was intentional in my battle design to provide a challenge. I knew in order to make sure everyone contributed to the battle that it would need to be on two different fronts in order to ensure that the highly armored PC's could be damaged and that the lowly armored PC's wouldn't get one shotted with a single attack. The idea was to encourage the groups to look at the most effective strategy to dismantle the enemy's defenses (mainly their Nimble effect). Unfortunately, I think there was probably some lack of communication and probably not the most effective tactics were employed resulting in the collapse of one of the fronts. It's a learning experience and thankfully the other front managed to make it through. The reveal of the demonic influence was intentional and I was glad it actually coincided with the loss of the rakshasa's last supporter. I've found the best villains are the ones that don't disappear after a single quest, so hopefully having something a little more reoccurring will allow for better development. In the end I'm satisfied with the battle.

Ending and Return to Eubric:
Not much to say here. The party wrapped things up nicely and established some meaningful relationships with quite a few NPC's. I'll be glad to see where this carries the story moving forward and can't think of much more that I could have asked from the quest.

On to players:
Throlar (Lord Duvors) - It has been really intriguing watching Throlar develop. You've have really fleshed out his diplomatic personality and I'm glad to see it in action especially in a party that was more prone to battle first and questions second. All of his interactions, from Umbra, to the crews at the Tipsy Tortoise, the conversations with the harpies, and his new friendship with Lippi, were enjoyable to write for and I can't offer too many critiques. With his current outfit he could create an interesting build mechanically so I'm curious to see if he sticks with Warden or changes classes eventually. Overall you were dependable and I was glad to have you playing along. 

Germ (samurai-turtle) - Germ seemed to have an off quest. He spent alot of time unfortunately either knocked out or just going along with the flow. There were a couple of times I wasn't even sure how to respond as it was difficult to tell when he was breaking the 4th wall and when he was actually discussing with characters. Also maybe I'm just ignorant to some of his humor, but there were definitely references I didn't understand. His little brawl with the captain in the Tipsy Tortoise did provide some action, but after being KO'd he seemed somewhat out of it for the rest of the quest. As a character it's really hard to figure out his personality outside of "generally annoyed at everything", he doesn't seem to have any goals. Your character is a very interesting one and has a lot of potential, heck he's a demon among heroes, I'm just not sure where you're trying to go with it. 

Torald (Alfadas) - I've now played with and hosted Torald a few times and he continues to be a favorite of mine. He is a consistent stereotype and that can be immensely helpful to a QM in order to setup a scenario because we know at least how one of the interactions is going to play out. He was a little more reserved in terms of participation compared to his last quest that I hosted but I still felt like he was a solid presence. With Ezeran somewhat removed from a RP perspective for the latter half of the quest it was interesting to see the split of the dynamic duo and I'd be interested to see how it effects him it if does at all. I think transitioning him into a Battle Mage really gives you an opportunity to change the dynamic of the relationship between the two of them now that he has access to magic. I'm excited to see where it leads. Due to being a lower level character in this particular party make up, Torald also spend a good deal of time on the ground and it really started to play out how he carried himself, I think if you use this to catapult Torald in how he interacts with magic, you'll end up with a pretty interesting character. 

Ezeran (MysticModulus) - I'm always worried about the way the symbiote will play out in a quest, because it is so weird it has the potentially to be extremely distracting. I think you've now mastered the balance of incorporating that aspect into your character without having it consume him. Ezeran's unfolding arc concerning his father was one that I really enjoyed seeing play out and am honored to have been a small part of that with Augusta. I really do look forward to watching him grow as a character. He's a somewhat competent mage now and I'd like to see him figure out his niche, whatever that may be. Through out the quest you did a really good job of balancing the character in terms of interactions, party leading and participation. I'm always glad to have you along and your place within this quest was quite memorable. 

Hoke (UsernameMDM) - As a participant of many quests, you've heard all the criticisms and encouragements concerning your character both RP and mechanically. Hoke is even more of a beast to try and manage on the battle field as a Paragon than as a Dragoon, but I'd like to think I game him some challenges. Hoke the character continues to play the straight man and the one in charge, that's his mantra and he does it well. The only caution I have for you is make sure you keep it somewhat in check when it comes to other player interaction. Quite honestly there were a couple instances where it was difficult to interpret who was the one being bossy, Hoke or UsernameMDM. As a player with a very powerful character you have the mechanical ability to wipe the floor with a lot of other characters, however always displaying that whether through constantly questioning another character/player's allegiance (here) or their ability to question your character (here) can easily be off putting to other players and discourage them from participating at all. You're always great to have along on quests, just make sure it doesn't become the "Hoke Show". 

19 hours ago, samurai-turtle said:

OK, a few things about the quest itself. The shop it seemed a little lack luster to me. (I did notice you use some pictures or items from Sericon & Coral.) Second thing the "door puzzle" if you couldn't tell I thought it was freaking vage. And I know I was not only one who thought so. Good thing Throlar figured it out. Last thing the battles , it seem like since Hoke killed off the manticores super fast. You made it seem the rest of the battles got bumped up some how. And I think the last battle show it a little, since half of the party got KO. 

You're spot on about the battle readjust, with more battles I think there could have been a better spectrum, but with only three it boiled down to: Easy, Medium, Hard. The shop as mentioned was intentionally scarce as I generally prefer on shorter quests to have items skewed towards loot as opposed to specialty shops. Items with stories attached to them tend to offer overall better to character's backgrounds rather than just equipment that they had custom created or tailored in a specific way, but to each their own. Sorry about the puzzle, it was vague on purpose and actually easier than the original puzzle I had considered which really did require counting every single corner of the shapes. 

14 hours ago, Palathadric said:

Fun quest to read, WaterbrickDown, as always.

Hoke was hilariously awesome running around and trying to be Mister Perfect and fix all the parties' mistakes and all. It was all so perfectly Hoke. However, I think you need to watch out a bit that you don't sideline the others. Not sure, how they felt about it or if I'm just seeing it from the wrong perspective, but it did seem like Hoke was a bit too imposing on them. Not sure how to describe it exactly.

The party didn't seem to have as much synergy as I would have liked to see.

Thanks. You're right in that the Party synergy on a whole was low, but I think that was more than likely due to the level gap as the individual interactions the party members had with either NPC's or one on one with each other were actually pretty good.

11 hours ago, MysticModulus said:

2. This was an emotional journey for Ezeran in that he travelled to relevant regions to his past and connected with his father. This naturally has emotional consequences that he internalizes. Roleplaying in this respect is not only what is being said and being done but also what is NOT being said and done. So while the interactions with other RP:s are quiet low key this is still a pivotal quest to the development of him as a character. 

I think Ezeran really exposed parts of himself that I wasn't expecting at all from the onset of this quest and I'm glad that they evolved the way they did. Augusta was a fun NPC to play and I'm glad for the role that she was able to fill in all of this.

Well that's about it, again thanks for coming along on this journey, it's been an enjoyable one. I'll be taking a hiatus from hosting for a little bit due to the brand new kid and having limited time for any extra activities, but I hope to continue expanding on a lot of the story points this quest introduced.

[samurai-turtle]

12 hours ago, MysticModulus said:

- I honestly had a hard time understanding the things Germ said and did, he's so irrational and hard to pin point that it's hard for your character to relate and communicate with him. I don't know if this is an intention on your part or merely a symptom of him not fitting in in this context.

I will admit I was all over the map. I also noticed it on my writing. Some times it is in first person perspective other times it is thrid person perspective. (When I noticed it, I kinda say "F" it mostly because I lazy. ) 

53 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

Germ (samurai-turtle) - Also maybe I'm just ignorant to some of his humor, but there were definitely references I didn't understand.

As a character it's really hard to figure out his personality outside of "generally annoyed at everything", he doesn't seem to have any goals. 

First off, you are right about being an off quest for me. 

Next thing, the "references" is Germ cursing. Now this might get a little "meta". Since the site turns all curse words into MegaBlocks. And for some reason it bugs me, I figured just self centered myself. So I just put in other "toy names" in for different curse words. 

For Goals, they are their. But I don't think anyone ask about them. And Germ is not going to just go into some "bad guy talk" spilling his guts out. (Or I just suck at this game. ) 

[UsernameMDM]

First of all, thanks again for the quest WBD!  I always appreciate it when you take Hoke along for the ride.

Quote

Intro, first puzzle, and interlude 1:

This is was a good puzzle.  It was challenging, but could be figured out if you tried.  For this portion of the quest, and every quest when there is traveling, I'd suggest a 'random encounter'.  It breaks up the monotony (role playing) of traveling  for those who are interested in action.  And let's be honest: every PC is interested in action.

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The Harpies and Manticore Fight:

I honestly still underestimate the amount of damage Hoke can do.  I enjoyed the harpies and trying to figure out what they were about.  They came out being sympathetic characters, especially given their backstory.

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Wailing Warf:

This scenario was COMPLETELY awesome.  I loved the opportunities to role play, and the tavern scene was a blast.  I purposely chose not to coordinate this via PM with the other PCs because I wanted an organic, free flowing role playing experience, and it was really enjoyable.  Although we traveled all over the town, I have a feeling we missed out on something (Glass blowers??? ).  I didn't feel justified starting a brawl with the merfolk, especially so when we found out about Madame Mihm's. 

Having to drag Germ around the town was kind of a bummer as we the PCs, at least in the group message, had no idea what he was doing.  Did something come of that ST?  Zombie Demom?

Quote

Hero? Battle:

I really enjoyed the challenge of this battle, but was a bit miffed whenever the penguin didn't drop the Tiger Balm for us to use.  Would have been super handy in this fight.  Would we have been able to track down the enemies?  Hoke wouldn't mind coming back to finish the job.

Quote

Kappa-La and the Shrine Puzzle/Battle:

I know IRL we spent a lot of time here, but it felt like an afterthought in game. I would have liked to flesh this scenario out a bit more, and I really think we should have got that random encounter with the jungle animals you mentioned.

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Ending and Return to Eubric:

Could've sworn we were in Xu!!!    I thought there were 2 separate conversations going on at two different places between those last 2 posts.   This part kind of miffed me because I wanted Hoke to develop a deeper relationship with Umbra and the Shadeaux family as a whole.  I guess me not realizing the geography made Hoke fall flat on his face.

Quote

Hoke (UsernameMDM) - As a participant of many quests, you've heard all the criticisms and encouragements concerning your character both RP and mechanically. Hoke is even more of a beast to try and manage on the battle field as a Paragon than as a Dragoon, but I'd like to think I game him some challenges. Hoke the character continues to play the straight man and the one in charge, that's his mantra and he does it well. The only caution I have for you is make sure you keep it somewhat in check when it comes to other player interaction. Quite honestly there were a couple instances where it was difficult to interpret who was the one being bossy, Hoke or UsernameMDM. As a player with a very powerful character you have the mechanical ability to wipe the floor with a lot of other characters, however always displaying that whether through constantly questioning another character/player's allegiance (here) or their ability to question your character (here) can easily be off putting to other players and discourage them from participating at all. You're always great to have along on quests, just make sure it doesn't become the "Hoke Show". 

Again, thanks for the quest.  I am hooked on WBD & Zepher quest, if anyone can't tell.  I honestly wasn't trying for this to be the Hoke show, but I think the roleplaying experience of a level ~60 vs the level ~20 & below really showed here.  To be honest, I was annoyed when some of the PCs refused to role play, asked for this to be sped up or that to be skipped, etc.  It's a role playing game, ROLE PLAY!  I tried to encourage the other PCs to act as if they were there; it's exactly what I was doing and do with Hoke.  However, I try not to fall into the 'Arthur Trap/Wall of Text' and role play mainly through narration.  I wish more players would do that on a consistent basis across several posts, in and out of battles, and not just once in awhile, and especially not in a page long post.  The bossiness was me just trying to keep things rolling when some PCs were KO'd outside of battle, or sulking around, not working on advancing the story.  That's a mix of me AND Hoke really.

Thanks again!

Edited May 31, 2017 by UsernameMDM

[MysticModulus]

1 hour ago, UsernameMDM said:

 

Again, thanks for the quest.  I am hooked on WBD & Zepher quest, if anyone can't tell.  I honestly wasn't trying for this to be the Hoke show, but I think the roleplaying experience of a level ~60 vs the level ~20 & below really showed here.  To be honest, I was annoyed when some of the PCs refused to role play, asked for this to be sped up or that to be skipped, etc.  It's a role playing game, ROLE PLAY!  I tried to encourage the other PCs to act as if they were there; it's exactly what I was doing and do with Hoke.  However, I try not to fall into the 'Arthur Trap/Wall of Text' and role play mainly through narration.  I wish more players would do that on a consistent basis across several posts, in and out of battles, and not just once in awhile, and especially not in a page long post.  The bossiness was me just trying to keep things rolling when some PCs were KO'd outside of battle, or sulking around, not working on advancing the story.  That's a mix of me AND Hoke really.

Thanks again!

I'm going to be blunt here: it seems you have a hard time tolerating that characters might disagree with your character or that people might choose to roleplay their characters by different means and by different standards than yours. WBD is right in that it is off-putting, I found it strange that your character thought of my character as a sociopath for critizising your characters not so subtle threats (isn't that ironic?). Your reactions were part of the problem you tried to solve! If you truly want to play a character that is "my way or the highway" then try not to be so rude in person! This quest was a terrific experience in many ways but your lack of tolerance was off-putting. 

[UsernameMDM]

Just now, MysticModulus said:

I'm going to be blunt here: it seems you have a hard time tolerating that characters might disagree with your character or that people might choose to roleplay their characters by different means and by different standards than yours. WBD is right in that it is off-putting, I found it strange that your character thought of my character as a sociopath for critizising your characters not so subtle threats (isn't that ironic?). Your reactions were part of the problem you tried to solve! If you truly want to play a character that is "my way or the highway" then try not to be so rude in person! This quest was a terrific experience in many ways but your lack of tolerance was off-putting. 

You admitted you lie in character, so there's the sociopathic part.  Could Hoke, or anyone else, trust you since Ezeran admittedly lies on a constant basis?  

And no, again, for the 100th time, Hoke wasn't threatening anyone at anytime.  He was merely saying if he really wanted it, he would have just taken it without asking any question.  Part of learning is asking questions, and who is Ezeran to tell Hoke how to handle a culture they have never encountered before?  Did you write the Wikipedia entry with scholarly citations on the Harpy culture? Why not just let WBD or the QM handle how the NPCs react versus guessing for him and cutting off another PC's role playing?

Again, I think it's the ~lvl 60 vs the ~lvl 20 & below mentality of the game that mirrors real life: the experienced vs the inexperienced.  The vets & the greenies, etc.  As a PC, Hoke is there to get a job done.  Ask every other PC and QM that has dealt with Hoke, and you will see it has been that since day 1.  Then add to that a couple of PCs who Hoke perceives to be counter-productive, so he acts.  

Just roll with it.  Play it out.  It's like Guts & Hoke in the Bridge quest (59?).  It's ok to butt heads.  Don't take it personally.  Don't fold your arms and pout in the corner.  Not everything is sunshine, rainbows, and hi-fives.  Maybe I (UsernameMDM) used Hoke and poked you (Ezeran) about to see how you would react.  Neither I nor Hoke know you as a person or a PC.  Play it out.  Role play.  Have fun.       

[MysticModulus]

7 minutes ago, UsernameMDM said:

You admitted you lie in character, so there's the sociopathic part.  Could Hoke, or anyone else, trust you since Ezeran admittedly lies on a constant basis?  

And no, again, for the 100th time, Hoke wasn't threatening anyone at anytime.  He was merely saying if he really wanted it, he would have just taken it without asking any question.  Part of learning is asking questions, and who is Ezeran to tell Hoke how to handle a culture they have never encountered before?  Did you write the Wikipedia entry with scholarly citations on the Harpy culture? Why not just let WBD or the QM handle how the NPCs react versus guessing for him and cutting off another PC's role playing?

Again, I think it's the ~lvl 60 vs the ~lvl 20 & below mentality of the game that mirrors real life: the experienced vs the inexperienced.  The vets & the greenies, etc.  As a PC, Hoke is there to get a job done.  Ask every other PC and QM that has dealt with Hoke, and you will see it has been that since day 1.  Then add to that a couple of PCs who Hoke perceives to be counter-productive, so he acts.  

Just roll with it.  Play it out.  It's like Guts & Hoke in the Bridge quest (59?).  It's ok to butt heads.  Don't take it personally.  Don't fold your arms and pout in the corner.  Not everything is sunshine, rainbows, and hi-fives.  Maybe I (UsernameMDM) used Hoke and poked you (Ezeran) about to see how you would react.  Neither I nor Hoke know you as a person or a PC.  Play it out.  Role play.  Have fun.       

Lovely contradiction in your roleplaying-philosophy: "Don't interfere in what my character is doing, he is more experienced than yours. . [...] Just roleplay and have fun!" 

Yeah it's great fun seeing more experienced players gracing their fellow less experienced players with such tender generosity and tolerance!

[UsernameMDM]

Just now, MysticModulus said:

Lovely contradiction in your roleplaying-philosophy: "Don't interfere in what my character is doing, he is more experienced than yours. . [...] Just roleplay and have fun!" 

Yeah it's great fun seeing more experienced players gracing their fellow less experienced players with such tender generosity and tolerance!

So role play it out!  Don't expect another player to stop their style because you object to it or don't understand it.  Hoke didn't stop Ezeran from being a liar when it suited him, or Germ from being KO'd and playing that out.

I'm not going to get into it with you.  I don't know if it's a language or cultural (just saw you're tagged in Sweden) or age thing, but you can have your hurt feelings if you want and focus on that.  

I've played fine this way with other PCs who could roll with the punches and have fun with it. Scuba, Flipz, WBD, Zepher, etc.

So play the game, have fun, focus on making your PC the best you can.

[MysticModulus]

Wow, so now it's because I'm swedish?  Degrading people because of their  nationality? Great contribution to the community buddy! I guess many of us are swedish then since I'm not the only one voicing this kind of feedback (see above). 

[UsernameMDM]

6 minutes ago, MysticModulus said:

Wow, so now it's because I'm swedish?  Degrading people because of their  nationality? Great contribution to the community buddy! I guess many of us are swedish then since I'm not the only one voicing this kind of feedback (see above). 

Yes, exactly.  Because you're Swedish. 'MURICA! 

Someone, please help me out.  No, it's not because your Swedish.  I think something is being lost in translation.

[MysticModulus]

Just now, UsernameMDM said:

Yes, exactly.  Because you're Swedish. 'MURICA! 

Someone, please help me out.  No, it's not because your Swedish.  I think something is being lost in translation.

Hey, you know what? I don't want to fight with you, I just wanted to tell you to consider what the others were saying because I truly believe that you are experienced and in my book that means a responsibility to try and include other players and not bickering with them and pulling the "I'm experienced"-card.

[UsernameMDM]

Just now, MysticModulus said:

Hey, you know what? I don't want to fight with you, I just wanted to tell you to consider what the others were saying because I truly believe that you are experienced and in my book that means a responsibility to try and include other players and not bickering with them and pulling the "I'm experienced"-card.

Who's fighting?  I'm laughing.  And no, not pulling the "Im experienced".  Just saying we are on different levels, and there's going to be a difference in role play, style, etc that comes from playing a game for 6 years vs 2 years.  15 quests completed vs 6.  There's a difference, and that's ok.

[samurai-turtle]

2 hours ago, UsernameMDM said:

Having to drag Germ around the town was kind of a bummer as we the PCs, at least in the group message, had no idea what he was doing.  Did something come of that ST?  Zombie Demom?

Well part of that is from I thought I might have internet problems. And then their is the fact, that I am thinking you are not just going to wake up in 5 seconds after you are KO. (I was thinking we were in town for a couple of hours.) Plus, I felt like I was hogging the spotlight and this was a good chance to let the others shine. (Which sadly did not seen to happen.) As for the "zombie" thing I thought it was more like sleep walking but thinking back on it, I was role playing some of his nerves were cut in his neck and in the process of healing. Plus, I guess I was not in the right mind set to play the game. 

P.S. @UsernameMDM and @MysticModulus stop fighting.  

@Lord Duvors & @Alfadas I would not mind to hear any thoughts you two might have. 

[UsernameMDM]

55 minutes ago, samurai-turtle said:

Well part of that is from I thought I might have internet problems. And then their is the fact, that I am thinking you are not just going to wake up in 5 seconds after you are KO. (I was thinking we were in town for a couple of hours.) Plus, I felt like I was hogging the spotlight and this was a good chance to let the others shine. (Which sadly did not seen to happen.) As for the "zombie" thing I thought it was more like sleep walking but thinking back on it, I was role playing some of his nerves were cut in his neck and in the process of healing. Plus, I guess I was not in the right mind set to play the game. 

Yeah, see, that needed a bit more narration.  I had no idea what was going on.  I'm glad you tried to do something different though.  Keep at it.

[MysticModulus]

Just now, UsernameMDM said:

Yeah, see, that needed a bit more narration.  I had no idea what was going on.  I'm glad you tried to do something different though.  Keep at it.

I agree, fun idea but I didn't get it at the time to be honest.

[UsernameMDM]

14 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

The first fight while well meaning was certainly a cake-walk. I wasn't completely prepared for the amount of damage output a Paragon could put out and while I was excited to try out the new Quickened effect, it proved all for not. In hindsight, it's probably a good thing as it gave Hoke a chance to shine and showed me what steps I would need to take to create a more difficult challenge.

I failed to mention that I removed the Coat Hanger and other armor from Hoke because I didn't want to punish the other PCs with fights they couldn't win because of Hoke's stats.  I think a GREAT way of balancing this out was the Hero? battle with reflective enemy levels.  I hope to see this more often with extreme level differentials in questing parties instead of multiple maxed out enemies focused on balancing for 1 maxed PC. 

[Palathadric]

Maybe I need to reread the quest (which I probably won't do anytime too soon, but hey  ), but I think the issue here is that Hoke is and always has been the "Mr Perfect" kind of person in the sense that he wants to do everything right and of course he assumes that his way is right. As a character, that makes him look down (in a sense) on others (Guts, etc.) who are not as noble/moral. This aspect of his character is a part of him that makes me (as a player) really like his character. I really did appreciate his role-playing in this quest.

However, something I realized when playing Monk Pretzel is that sometimes I need to play down his confrontational aspect in order that the party can actually accomplish something and get somewhere. In the last quest, as a character I really should have been more or less consistently trying to stab Vind in the back or anywhere else for that matter. With some people you can more or less play your character that way and both have a great time, but in the particular quest we were in, and seeing -Asphalt- (you can correct me if I'm wrong) as generally a sort of non-confrontational person, I decided that it would just hurt the fun of all of us players if I would play Pretzel that way, so I toned him down a little bit. I still had the remarks here and there and suchlike, but at least it wasn't all out party war.

With Hoke, while you played him great and, as I said, I absolutely enjoyed reading him, you also need to see that sometimes you need to tone his character down a bit in order to help the other players in the quest enjoy themselves more. The fact is that not everyone can have that same sort of relationship with Hoke as Guts had (One factor is obviously the fact that Hoke could have just about decimated the party with a flick of his wrist ) and therefore, you do have to adjust playing style a little bit to fit the players and characters whom you're playing with.

I like the surprise nature of just saying your part and having no idea what the next PC/NPC is going to say in response, but party out of character interaction can be very helpful. There's no point in playing this game if we can't enjoy it and sometimes someone's play style may just not be very compatible with yours, so it's a good idea to communicate about this before it gets out of hand and makes everyone frustrated. A good thing to remember is that no player is out to get you, we all want to have fun together, hopefully ( , ). If somebody says something in character that bothers your character, try not to let it translate into bothering you as a player and if someone says something out of character that bothers you, then just remember that there is a good chance that you are misunderstanding or misinterpreting what is being said. Always assume that the other players have good intentions, because, well, generally we do or at least we mean well.

By the way, I was talking about Hoke here, but a lot can be applied to other players/characters as well.

ST, you do need to watch out with your play style as well, I think, because frankly it seemed almost impossible for the party to communicate with Germ on any reasonable level. If you really enjoy playing the way, and you don't mind Germ being treated like he doesn't exist, then that may be fine, but just remember that the game is built on party interactions. So just make sure that you're doing your part to make the game enjoyable for those around you too and not just absorbed in Germ's world.

By the way, I wanted to say that Throlar really is and has been great. Certainly one of the best characters to read on this quest.

Torald is Torald and great fun. Sometimes, from your comments though, I get the impression that you are a bit bored. I'm not sure if that's just Torald talking or if you, as a player feel that you're not really being given a chance to shine. If the latter is the case and you feel sidelined by the other players, then just let them know and find a way of working things out better together.

We aren't always in parties with people that we are used to or have a good dynamic with, but we can do our part to make the game more enjoyable for the others around us, and I think that as we do, we will find ourselves enjoying it more too.

Sorry, I didn't mean for this to be so long. It's just the spirit of Arthur haunting us.

[UsernameMDM]

6 minutes ago, Palathadric said:

I like the surprise nature of just saying your part and having no idea what the next PC/NPC is going to say in response, but party out of character interaction can be very helpful. There's no point in playing this game if we can't enjoy it and sometimes someone's play style may just not be very compatible with yours, so it's a good idea to communicate about this before it gets out of hand and makes everyone frustrated. A good thing to remember is that no player is out to get you, we all want to have fun together, hopefully ( , ). If somebody says something in character that bothers your character, try not to let it translate into bothering you as a player and if someone says something out of character that bothers you, then just remember that there is a good chance that you are misunderstanding or misinterpreting what is being said. Always assume that the other players have good intentions, because, well, generally we do or at least we mean well.

I would have tried being 'softer' if someone would have asked.  I always have a PC only PM going during a quest, and, to my recollection, not once did any other PC say anything about toning Hoke down.  It's something I will take into consideration for future quests, but, at the same time, I like breaking PCs in. 

[Duvors]

I never really know what to say here, so I'll content myself with saying that I really enjoyed it and look forward to questing with all of you again.

[Flipz]

So, since the final Quest is started, I guess I'll start explaining some of What Might Have Been with regards to my Quests.  It's a loooooong story, so bear with me.

So a while back, I was looking at the game and seeing a ton of elements that were introduced but never really expanded upon.  Thus began a crucial element of my most recent QMing philosophy: building Quests around concepts and gameplay mechanics and loot that I really wanted to see in players' hands, and then work backwards from there to construct a plotline that would justify them.  At the time, my pet cause was the Weather system and Weather Mages, since if I recall correctly (I can't be bothered to do too much PM-digging for dates ), the Weather Mage class had been introduced but not given out yet; thus, I thought up the Circle of Tempestas, a Circle of Mages scattered across Olegaia who helped keep weather within reasonable limitations, and where that was impossible could at least take some of the sting out of the worst weather-related disasters.  Now, I originally had this idea back at the height of my My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic obsession, so my original concept had them outright manually changing the seasons, resulting in a Quest I did an outline for called Winter Wrap-Up.  Originally pitched as a co-host between me and Sandy, it would have involved three differently-leveled teams of three (a la Quest 66), who would have been temporarily re-classed into Weather Mages at the start of the Quest and given a set of three gems per team to divide between themselves (a la Quest 3).  Each of the three locations would have had a weather-related puzzle battle against environmental obstacles (i.e. snowdrifts, fallen trees, etc.) that would have been weakened by one of the weather types; however, before the battles took place, the parties would be approached by two of the city's factions and offered reputation if they managed to maintain one of the other weather conditions for the duration of the battles (i.e. the portion set in the Hovels would have involved setting a Dim weather to help Wolfgang agents escape a Town Watch raid or else a Bright weather to help the Town Watch catch the Wolfgang, though I don't remember the third gem I'd assigned that group); all battles would have been on timers, with success defined as a certain number of each obstacle removed, so the difficulty was deciding if you wanted to actually do your job and clear up the leavings of winter, or if you wanted to potentially sabotage your efforts in the main quest for some relatively easy faction rep.  If the party did well enough, everyone would get access to Weather Mage and rep with the Ziegfrieds, but if they all resisted the siren call of reputation, they would have gained access to a bonus battle against what was effectively a piñata of permanent stat-boosts (i.e. the party would get more boost drops the more damage they did) on a very short timer.

There was one big problem with the Quest however: it was extremely time-based, which meant I'd have to host it at the end of winter/start of spring, and I just did not have the time to do all of the necessary prep work (not to mention Sandy would have had to build a ton of sets to be ready by then).  Thus, I shifted Winter Wrap-Up to the back burner and instead shifted my focus to developing the Circle of Tempestas in preparation for that Quest.  Enter: the sprawling monstrosity that effectively ended my Heroica career.

It didn't start out too crazy: I already had Amara Jing from my Halloween Anthology quest, so I retconned her into a Weather Mage and a member of the Circle and (stealing from MLP again) made a new character named "Ditzi Dew", who would be the main MacGuffin of the Quest.  The pitch was similarly simple: Merryweather Ziegfried, Arch-Meteorologistrate of the Eubric chapter of the Circle of Tempestas, approached Heroica on the advice of her nephew Arthur and asked them to find her two missing Weather Mages.  How did it all go wrong?

Ambition.

My original concept for the Quest was something of a fun road trip into Baltarok (another lore element that, at the time of conception, was in serious need of a revisit).  Additionally, since I wanted to follow up on the Dual Dragoons storyline, I decided to make that trip happen by way of Duplovia, so players could get to revisit Darius Kaan and his subplot about finding Sirone Valishter's younger brother.  But then I realized that if I wanted that interaction to be at all meaningful, I'd need to lure in a few of the 104 group, and that meant making it a Diana quest.  That's when things started getting crazy.

Once I realized I needed Diana, that meant I also needed an angle for Wolfgang involvement.  While Diana's particular excuse of "infiltrating Heroica and cementing old bonds" would have worked, it felt flimsy to me, so I came up with the idea that a group of the Wolfgang's more criminal element had fled to Duplovia and were causing trouble, so the Wolfgang wanted them taken out.  I then realized that this was a perfect way to tie in Darius and make him maningful: Sirone's brother Arryn had been taken in by the Pact, and was being used for his "observational skills" (I'll be honest, I didn't have his specific talents super fleshed out ), and Darius needed Heroica's help to free Arryn.  "But wait," I asked myself, "why wouldn't he just outright hire Heroica for a separate Quest?"

I think you can see where this was going.

After a lot of development and secret plotting and coordination, the Quests exploded.  Let me try and simplify things as much as possible:

In Chasing Echoes, the first of the two Quests to launch, the Heroes hired by Darius would arrive in Newharbour, who would explain that Arryn had been taken by a group of Ex-Wolfgang ruffians exploiting him for his skills.  Darius had a partner on the inside (who, in fact, had financed Heroica's involvement), but he'd lost contact due to Arryn's sharp mind making passing info too dangerous.  After escorting the Heroes through a battle in an unusually fierce storm, they'd arrive in Duplovia, where they'd do a Professor Layton-style puzzle (specifically based on the lantern puzzles near the end of the second game) to do a full day's surveillance.  After a full day in the rain, however, they would become ill, forcing Darius to find them an inn for the next night on short notice; fortunately for them, however, he found one...the Inn of the Wayward Angel.  That night, at the height of the storm, the party would have had some insane nightmare sub-quests in PM customized to each of them (I'd tapped Endgame to handle the sets and some of the writing for this section).  The next morning, the Heroes (minus Darius) would have been taken to the Palace for questioning and met Eyric Rone, and after some discussion they would have been given a brief (read: one item per character) shopping opportunity before they had to meet up with Darius at a local restaurant he suspects is a front for the Pact.

At the restaurant, the group solves the latest coded message from Darius' informant, while also interacting with two of the servers, a pair of children named Delphine and Eireen.  When both children appear at the table at once (as soon as the puzzle is solved), however, Delphine would recognize Eireen as Arryn, prompting the Pact members disguised as patrons to pull their weapons and attack.  Grabbing Delphine to keep her safe (as the Pact was attacking her as well), the party would slip into the Pact's secret tunnel beneath the restaurant (a simplified grid battle where the entire party moved as one along a narrow track rather than the complicated mess of 118), where they'd gain unexpected aid from Darius' hidden informant...Walbartan.  At the conclusion of the battle, Walbartan would reveal the reason the Wolfgang are backing Darius (namely, that the Pact are a blemish on the reputation that Ulfric was trying to cultivate and that they thus needed to be taken out), and would officially join the party for a second track battle in the warehouse next door to the restaurant...which would have in turn served as the reveal of Darius' dragon partner Kreika, who was now a full-grown adult.  At the conclusion of a fight, the remainder of the Pact's leadership, with Eireen still in tow, would flee, forcing the Heroes to pursue; however, with the Pact being mounted, they would quickly outpace the Heroes, so while Darius tracked them by air Walbartan would take them to the Inn of the Wayward Angel to settle their tab and let them drop off the (underleveled) Delphine if they so wished.  Afterward, Walbartan would take the Heroes back to Newharbour in a rented cart and use an Artifact to Track Down where in town the Pact had fled.

Meanwhile, in Stormy Weather, Merryweather would have arrived in the bar, given the Heroes their mission, and then hung around while they looked for leads.  Diana, who'd joined the Quest based on a few rumors she'd heard (and wanting to meet up with Walbartan, who she'd heard was in Duplovia), helped the Heroes scout out some leads from the Inn of the Waltzing Dragon (including that the residents had been suffering from some intense and disturbing nightmares during the storm that heralded Ditzi's disappearance) before revealing what she knew: that Ditzi had been spotted stowing aboard a ship headed for Duplovia a few days before.  The party then would have had to negotiate passage to Duplovia; while I had three ideas in particular (with one, the Flouncy Phoenix, being the backup if no one else had a good connection), my plan was to just wing this section so that the Heroes were cashing in on their connections to gain passage.  After a battle at sea (re-used from unused 104 content), the party would arrive in Newharbour just in time to run into Darius, Walbartan, and the other Heroes.  Diana, being the murderhobo she is, wants a second shot at Darius, but Walbartan (and hopefully the rest of the party) would eventually manage to talk her down (though I did have "potential PvP?" in my notes for this section ).  The Stormy Weather party would give the Chasing Echoes party info on a ship they just spotted leaving the port on a course for Charis (and would let Chasing Echoes use the ship they'd chartered to get Stormy Weather to Newharbour in the first place), while the Chasing Echoes crew would pass on a tip they'd heard from a mysterious woman in the Wayward Angel, alerting them of a different Weather Mage of Water in Duplovia, who might know more about Ditzi's whereabouts.  With information, pleasantries, and a few threats exchanged, the two parties would part ways.

Chasing Echoes: the remainder of this Quest was a mess.  Basically, I designed a hugely overcomplicated open-world setting in Charis proper, with events and encounters cleverly rearranged and reused such that there were effectively two "paths" the Heroes would take that would eventually take them through most of what the city had to offer.  To vastly oversimplify: there were three main faction-like leaders the Heroes would be dealing with in their search for the Pact members: Count Blaise, a harsh taskmaster obsessed with purity, Count Eiffel, Elven politician currently in charge of general policing, and Count Fioretto, a jovial Ombrazzi party-thrower (and uncle of Syrio Fioretto from...I think it was 93?) who, as the Count who'd managed to snap up the most of the Shadeaux holdings upon their banishment from Charis, was the target of quite a few assassination attempts.  Highlights from this portion of the Quest would have involved:
*The revelation that Falana Wine is grown on a vineyard built atop an ancient graveyard, which was currently being damaged by Auntie Diluvian, a former Sister of Danab who'd turned to necromancy and gotten turned into a vampire (fun fact, the Shroud of the Tempest Namyrra got from Grogmas 2016 was originally intended as Diluvian's drop)
*An anti-undead group called the Diamond Coalition, whose agents the party could potentially piss off by inadvertently stealing their hat order from a local hat shop; said agents' code names were Double Diamond and Diamond Tiara, but their real names were Jasper and Pearl and they were blatant Steven Universe ripoffs
*The opportunity to either assassinate Count Fioretto or save him, which either way would result in having to fight off a mob of panicked partygoees whose clothes the party would receive as loot
*A were-cat drug dealer named Blaze, who was dating one of the Pact members
*Encounters with both the Priests of Mercutio and the Sisters of Danab
*A completely separate side-quest where participants could learn a *ton* of info about Charisian dragons and Dragon lore from a Dragon who'd turn out to be Miirym's mother, and where if the right people had participated there could have been some insane drops for Winged Warrior Siercon and/or dragon powers if I'd managed to draw in a Dragoon (I was specifically angling for Thormanil):
Elemental Master - [Dragonname's] [original element]-elemental breath attacks have a 1/6 chance of dealing the [appropriate Ethereal Gem effect]-effect; this chance increases to 2/6 when the Dragon is a Youngling, 3/6 when the Dragon is an Adult, and 4/6 when the Dragon is an Elder.

Alatreon's Fang - [Dragonname] may make a non-ranged, non-elemental bite attack; successful hits with this attack have a 1/6 chance of removing a random immunity; this chance increases to 2/6 when the Dragon is a Youngling, 3/6 when the Dragon is an Adult, and 4/6 when the Dragon is an Elder.
*Two possible unique Vindicator oaths, as well as a Vindicator's Seal (I was also angling to try and grab Vindsval):
Oath of Enmity (Vindicator’s Oath: After the targeted enemy damages an ally, the enemy immediately becomes Jinxed, and the vindicator becomes Lucky.)

Oath of Restitution (Vindicator's Oath: After the targeted enemy damages an ally, the ally gains Gold equal to the damage received.)
(all of the above was Sandy-approved, BTW, among an absurd amount of other items, if I find my full list I'll try and drop it into a separate post)

Eventually, the party would have figured out that Blaise was the one partnered with the Pact, hiding them due to their connection to his secret daughter Blaze.  Depending on who they killed/spared (both Blaze's boyfriend Ember and Count Blaise himself would have been killable), a number of different endings would have opened up, with the net result being that whoever got custody of Eireen (who at that point had been revealed as trans and thus preferring the name the Pact had given her) would give the party reputation: Shadeaux for Darius, Wolfgang for Walbartan, or a gold reward for Blaze if Ember was spared.  (There also would have been an experience bonus if the party brought Delphine with them and kept her alive long enough to hand her over to whoever they handed Eireen to).

Stormy Weather:
Jumping back to when the parties parted ways, the Stormy Weather crew would have the chance to visit the Newharbour Library (mentioned in a few Zepher quests), and learn that someone (possibly Ditzi) had been in the library when the storm hit, flooding the building and ruining the majority of the library's collection on ancient demons.  Once on the road again, they would have encountered a number of Pact stragglers chasing after the Chasing Echoes party, who'd attack them on sight for being Heroes.  In Duplovia, they would visit the Wayward Angel and learn the whereabouts of April Showers, a Weather Mage angling to become the Arch-Meteorologistrate of the High Kingdoms.  At April's home, they would meet April's rival, May Flowers, a Wood-specialist Weather Mage from Delfrin, who's in an argument with April over April's supposed overuse of her powers.  On her way out, May would complain that April hadn't told her that her old apprentice Amara was in town, alerting the Heroes that the woman they met in the Wayward Angel was indeed Amara; meanwhile, April would confirm that Ditzi was last spotted the previous day in the marketplace, and express regret that her own former apprentice (Ditzi) had not come to visit her directly.  No matter which lead the party decided to follow, they'd be stymied (at the Marketplace by the shops imminently closing and the shopkeeps only being able to tell them that Ditzi was headed west towards Delfrin and not why she was there in the first place, or at the Wayward Angel by the inn having mysteriously vanished).  Either way, May would approach the Heroes and apologize for her rudeness by helping them set up tents outside town (the tents being a roleplaying mechanic to last the rest of the Quest).  The next morning, the Heroes and May would head east along the road to Delfrin, but would be stopped by a bunch of washed-out bridges in a nearby village called Garran, where they'd meet...

Duplovia Quest part 3
Yeah, this was intended to be a surprise crossover with the Duplovia Arc by @Legonater .  His party and a number of NPCs would also be stuck in Garran, which would have had a number of puzzles and some unique shops (including a weapon type-changer for ranged weapons only and a unique crossbow-bolts system that Diana would have been using from the start, with May helpfully having a few Ethereal Emeralds the party could buy off her as one option for unique bolts).  After helping rebuild the bridges by solving some of the puzzles, the parties would travel together for a roleplaying scene before camping for the night at the crossroads between the road leading to Delfrin and the road leading to Baltarok.  After a joint nighttime battle together (of course), the parties part ways in the morning, the Stormy Weather crew having by this point figured out that to find Ditzi they just need to follow the trail of storm damage from the unnatural storm she seems to be causing wherever she goes.

After doing some stuff in Carn (I actually don't remember much, I think those notes are in a PM somewhere and PMs are a pain to search now so /shrug) and parting ways with May, the party would have been met on the bridge by an Orc NPC named Styrazt (a leftover from a previous scrapped Quest in Baltarok), an optional recruit who'd only join the party if one of the Heroes successfully lost to him in 1-on-1 combat.  (I bring this up because to this day I'm still proud of this subversion of the traditional Heroica encounter structure of "win battle, get reward", and want to brag about it even though I never got to put it into play. )  Whether recruited or not, he'd direct them to first a shoreline campsite (for another night in tents for roleplaying and rest) and then to Vim-Lhzar, where Ugroot would escort the party into Grishnod's court.  It would turn out that due to the "water-witch" coming to the town, the city was being inundated by a never-ending storm that was bringing constant nightmares, and the people had discovered and arrested Amara because of it; while Grishnod knew Amara was not the Weather Mage they wanted (she uses Wood instead of Water), he had no choice but to hold her, but offers to set her free if they can manage to dispel the storm.  The party would promise to set out in the morning, but upon failing to find an inn with open rooms to stay in overnight (and the storm making camping impossible), the party would encounter Golem Hybros (from 118), who would take them to the Wayward Angel's new location.  After some more roleplaying stuff (according to my notes I was angling for a party there of Kiray (duh), Warlen, Annie, Jinnipher, and possibly Bobby, in addition to Diana of course) as well as nightmare PM sub-quests for this party as well, the party would set out the next morning for Grazolag, the highest mountain in Baltarok and possibly the entire world.  On the way up, they'd find a legion of Orcish soldiers locked in an endless slumber, save one (Vinnier) who could be revived and who would reveal more information on a shrine at the top of the mountain where Ditzi appeared to be performing some sort of ritual.  The party would climb to the top to confront Ditzi, only to find out...

Angels and Demons
So remember Vaermina from 147?

...yeah, that was me.

While I was plotting out this Quest, I made up Vaermina as the villain and told Endgame about it in hopes he could have Charon name-drop her as foreshadowing.  Instead, he offered to have her cameo...which eventually turned into her becoming a full-fledged member of Immortalis' forces and getting introduced before her actual Quest.  Oops...? Originally the person Vaermina was turning into a Nephilim was going to be Ditzi herself, but between the timing of my Quest moving back and back and back, and Charon's character traits meaning he couldn't let Vaermina's victim live, the scene got changed to feature a random person rather than being direct setup for Stormy Weather.

Anyway, at the top of Grazolag at the party would finally find Ditzi, who would turn out to be the Nephilim of the Dark Angel Vaermina, who is trying to resurrect her lover, the ancient demon Nocturnal, who was banished to the moon a thousand years ago.  She planned to do so by using the Skull of Corruption (Nocturnal's recovered artifact) at Nopcturnal's Altar to siphon the souls of the citizens of Vim-Lhzar through their nightmares, granting the demon enough strength to break free.  Vaermina would send all of her slumbering minions--the Orcish soldiers, several Ice Drakes, and Ditzi herself--to battle the Heroes; when she was out of minions, she would transform their bodies into the beings from the Heroes' nightmares.  Once Vaermina was defeated, her sister Solaris would have appeared, banishing Vaermina to join Nocturnal in the moon.

I'll pause here to explain a few things.  Solaris was intended to be my one big contribution to Heroica lore beyond just the Circle of Tempestas; basically, as an angel of the sun, her main goal was to combat the Nephilim of Dark Angels by empowering mortals to fight them.  To that end, she would have offered Jinnipher specifically (and, more reluctantly, the other Heroes in the group in turn if Jinnipher turned her down) one out of a set of powerful soulbound Artifacts designed around the theme of resisting mind control and punishing enemies that used such abilities.  The idea was that, after making the pact with Solaris, said Heroes would go on their way, and if they accomplished significant feats that Solaris would approve of (i.e. by killing Dark Nephilim or powerful demons or Dark Angels), she would appear at the end of the Quest and give them another piece of the Solaris set of their choice.  The set was (self-edit: I found the pitch I gave Sandy, so I'll copy-paste the whole proposal here for posterity):

--------------------
Hero Title: Sentinel of Solaris (a la the cosmetic titles that Heroes have been awarded in the past)
Ability:
Sentinel of Solaris - Solaris is [heroname]'s Guardian Angel. While their defensive roll (Sentinel, Guardian Angel, Defend, Aura, etc.) is active, all enemies whose attacks are blocked/reduced/redirected take Fire- and Light-elemental damage equal to [heroname]'s Level, tripled if the battle is taking place in sunlight. Additionally, [heroname] cannot be possessed or mind-controlled while standing in sunlight.

The idea behind the ability is that, with Solaris as the guiding force behind the Sentinel's defense, she would take a more punitive style against her Sentinel's enemies; additionally, since Solaris is sun-themed, the sunlight ability is a small touch that gives both a mechanical boost (increased damage) and a roleplaying advantage that QMs can play with as they see fit (similar to the Crown of Sea Kings you dropped in the Fields from the Jade Kraken Threshold Monster).

In addition, the newly-minted Sentinel of Solaris would be allowed to chose ONE of the following items, with the implication that other QMs might award others in their own Quests for actions favorable to Solaris:
1. Solar Flare Helmet (SP:3, Power +3, user absorbs Burning damage as health and deals equal Burning on successful hits; headwear, suitable to Sentinels of Solaris only)
2. Solar Flare Breastplate (SP:9, +3 SP for each Sentinel of Solaris artifact worn, grants Aura of Honor (see Guardian Knight); bodywear, suitable to Sentinels of Solaris only)
3. Sash of Solaris (Bearer absorbs and deals Fire- and Light-elemental damage, and may share this ability with a number of allies equal to the number of Sentinel of Solaris artifacts worn; backwear, suitable to Sentinels of Solaris only)
4. Solaris' Touch (User may sacrifice half their remaining health to remove the Hexed, Confused, and Enamored conditions from an ally; the ally also deals Fire- and Light-elemental damage for 3 Rounds; handwear, suitable to Sentinels of Solaris only)
5. Solar Flare Leggings (User no longer deals Hexed, Confused, or Enamored, but their WP is tripled on any attack that would otherwise deal these effects; footwear, suitable for Sentinels of Solaris only)
6. Solaris' Standard (Bearer's Power is tripled if an ally becomes Hexed, Confused, and/or Enamored, even after the effect is removed (may only be triggered once per battle); accessory, suitable to Sentinels of Solaris only)
7. Shield of Solaris (SP:9, Immune to Hexed, Confused, and Enamored, shield SP is tripled against enemies that deal Hexed, Confused, and/or Enamored; shield, suitable to Sentinels of Solaris only)
8. Sword of Solaris (WP:9, Fire- and Light-elemental, deals triple damage (ignoring all immunities) against enemies that deal Hexed, Confused, and/or Enamored; elements may not be changed; greatsword/longsword, suitable to Sentinels of Solaris only)
9. Vindicator's Seal & Oath of Solaris (Vindicator’s Oath; whenever the targeted enemy attempts to deal Hexed, Confused, or Enamored to an ally, the Vindicator gains an immediate Free Hit against the enemy, taking place before the enemy's attack or Special; suitable to Vindicators who are Sentinels of Solaris only)

This gear is heavily inspired by the Dragon equipment from Endgame's Dragon Quests; powerful, but narrowly specialized, in this case making the wearer incredibly powerful against enemies that deal Hexed/Confused/Enamored, but just "good" against other enemies (also note that Solaris has a theme number of three, contrasting with her sister's theme number of 7; it's a plot point, but only a minor one ). The big difference from the Dragon sets is that instead of a set of Artifacts distributed across the entire party in one Quest, it's a set of Artifacts that's granted to one Hero across several Quests; after Stormy Weather is done I have no more plans for Solaris, but I'll ask other QMs to actively pick her up and use her, and grant pieces from the armor set as rewards to suitable Heroes for finishing side-goals and Quests that Solaris would approve of. This way, the entire set has SOME chance of all ending up on one character, and it gives other QMs a reason to reuse Solaris.   
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Anyway, after that finale, the party could either return to Grishnod and free Amara for a happy (well, less sad) end and some minor bonuses, or just head home for their promised reward and nothing more.

So yeah, that was the monstrosity that nearly killed me.  Looking back, it could have been really cool, especially if I'd gotten the party I wanted, but it was a stupidly large undertaking, so I'm not surprised it eventually overwhelmed me.  I also had a follow-up Diana N. Justus/Olivia Scelyn Quest involving the Diamond Coalition getting a hold of the Harvester remains from one of Endgame's quests and wreaking havoc on the Hovels, specifically involving them stealing Diana's sense of love, but those notes are all in my PM with Endgame and screw trying to look through that ridiculously-long monstrosity. Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed that look at What Might Have Been, and I'll see about finding that full loot list when I get a chance.

[KotZ]

Wow. That's really thought out and involved. That would have been a blast to see, but I'm sure ana bsolute nightmare for the QM(s). I'm kinda bummed Kiray didn't get to quest with Jinnipher, that would've been cool.

I do want to voice that I wish there were more cross-quests like you mentioned here. It would have helped Heroes meet up more in the world, but then it might have caused Olegia to suffer from a "It's a small world" feel.

[Palathadric]

Whoa, Flipz! You are amazing.  I wish I could have seen this happen or played a part in making it happen.

I totally understand why you burned out though. 

[KotZ]

Quest #158

Wow, the whole Tridentia arc is over. That's weird to thinka bout for me, as those quests have been going since I got back into Heroica after thoat weird mini-dark age (which really wasn't one, I was still buying and checking EB constantly, just couldn't get into Heroica). This one had been a long time coming, and I'm glad I was able to end it how it did, with the players and characters that it did. Of course, Vindsval beasically had a guaranteed spot for this quest, as he had been on all of them but one (and I believe he even was in Wine and Die-ne).

Regarding the set-up of this quest, the previous Tridentia one was essential to decide if it would be in Tridentia or not. If the previous quest failed, Calder Den would have invaded Tridentia himself to put down everyone, and the Heroes would have to liberate the island. Clearly that didn't happen, so the Tridentians took matters into their own hands and decided to go after Calder. One of the things I noticed once the quest was underway, was that people didn't seem to agree with William's idea to go after the Dens. That became one of the more challenging things to justify, but I think it turned out somewhat ok. The writing for allusions like Wilfred and Guy/Pal/Buddy were organic and unplanned. Mainly it was me trying to make the quest lighthearted after what seemed to be the doom and gloom of fighting a guy who had been terrorizing a town for who knows how long.

The turning of Jeremiah was always an option, but honestly I never expected it to happen, but it kept a running theme of the Dens: Calder Den II (From CMG) was pushed out by Calder Den. Then Jeremiah continued the change of the Den family. Calder Den, I was always going to be a fight (one that I thought would be harder actually). The fight actually would have been more challenging if the Heroes had used Rex for a bomb strike, as that would have forced the enemies to pull back to Den and defend him, making the people the Heroes fought in earlier battles be there rather than the fights that occurred. There also would have been a final fight in the inn if the bombing had happened, as the town guards would have noticed. If that was to happen, the Heroes would either fight the guards, or if Jeremiah was still with them/not dead, he would tell the guards to stand down.

Regarding the fights, this was the most challenging for me. As I've said, math has never been my strong suit, and there's been multiple discussions on here on how to make battles not be as challenging for QMs yet still be interesting for players. I don't have a good answer for that, I'm not sure if any of us do even after all these years aside from making battles harder and dropping loot that isawesome, which continues that cycle. For pictures, this was another one where I had to take pictures before moving. I also had a lot of things going on at this time, from finding a job, to the mafia game, to getting involved with BoBS, and I think this quest suffered for that, and I'm sorry it happened like that.

That being said, I am happy with how the quest went, and I'm honored  to have the last quest before the finale, even if it is just by luck.

Party

Vindsval- It was great to have you back for the final quest, seeing how you and Luke grew over these quests has been one of my favorite parts of Heroica that I've been involved with. You definitely took the leadership role and I'm going to miss Vindsval after #159 ends.

Petaldan- So young, so great. Man that loot you came in with is great. This is more on me, but I wished Luke and PEtaldan interacted more. That would have been fun to see. Great work again on Petaldan.

Addok-Zo- You found a acharacter you like! Unfortunately there's only #159 after this. I wish you could have kept to a character longer, but I liked Addok, even if he was a little quiet throughout the quest.

Ezeran- Partly why I picked you was to have a "good" sorcerer. The symbiont was something I had forgotten about when I picked you, and I'm glad it was such a consistent part for this quest.

Matthias- First, thank you for catching my mathematical mistakes. Second, thank you for being so involved with this quest. I really liked Matthias, and I wish I could have had him on quests earlier, or had Kiray quest with him. He became the de facto second in command, and if this game continued, I would love to see him take on a true leadership role.

Thank you again to everyone who participated and read, not just this quest, but Heroica as well.