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Either Harkenshire, or the nameless Imperial Pikeman that Skrall kept stealing a helmet from.

Didn't you accidentally call me William in one of the battle orders? Why is everyone calling me William?! :cry_sad:

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Didn't you accidentally call me William in one of the battle orders? Why is everyone calling me William?! :cry_sad:

It's okay, I used to mistake William for Sir Glorfindel. :laugh:

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WHO. IS. WILLIAM?! *huh*

William Harkenshire, Ranger. VolcanicPanik's character. Was with us on Quest 17. :poke:

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You can't use it and I don't think 4 damage at best to each enemy is as effective as you guys think. :tongue: And I've got money. :classic:

Probably true, but I still like it. :tongue:

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I was thinking about the behind the scenes thing I did for that one picture, and I had a lot to say about the way it was set up, so I decided I wanted to try something: commentary on the sets I built. This is going to be a long post; let's see how much I remember...

Also, Photobucket, unbeknownst to me, applied some ugly compression to some these for seemingly no reason. :sceptic:

Flashback: Isaac Shawe Presents the Dagger

This one's from Quest 4, and you can tell it's old when you see that the ground is studded. I was still getting the hang of building sets and building them quickly at that time; stonework was done with traditional bricks and the floors weren't tiled over. At this time I was also very inexperienced in use of Photoshop; the nighttime lighting was very inconsistent, and the glow applied to the torch is small and concentrated because I did it by Gaussian Blurring some orange that I'd added with a hard brush instead of applying an Outer Glow to a 'core' painted in with a soft brush like I do now.

Flashback: Lord Keveak Enters the Elven Hall

This one's a little better, but, MegaBloks, that floor is dusty! You can also see that I didn't push some of the tiles down all the way, and there's a bit of white showing through in the bottom-left, because this was just the set in front of a white backdrop. (nowadays I put something dark like an extra row of bricks or a piece of black paper behind walls that are supposed to be solid) I've also applied a ridiculous amount of Surface Blur to this photo. :sick:

Flashback: Isaac Shawe Sells Weapons to the Lions

I was still experimenting with how I wanted to present these scenes that the heroes weren't seeing first-hand. In Quest 4, you can see that I had some very simple sets - even simpler than my other ones - for these scenes, and I went with the white vignetting. In Quest 17, I did the completely white background, which is the same presentation I used for the Legend of the Chimera at the beginning of the Dastan Quests, and, as I got better at making larger sets faster, I went with the normal scenes for the end of Quest 31.

Flashback: Sir Lawrence in His Office

This was the first set I made for Quest 17, and I've used the same basic techniques for pretty much every scene since that involves grey stonework. I originally started using that technique for one of my Castle builds. The bed in this photo is also raised off the floor by one plate's height, something that I now realize I forgot to do for the beds in the hospital wing scene at the end of this quest. (31) I also used two differently-colored clips to hold the torches in this photo - one dark and one light bley. I think I did that to make them fit in to the stonework better, though now I always use dark bley clips for that to make it clearer that the clips are metal torch holders, not part of the stonework itself.

Flashback: The Catapult Mount at Night

This was the second time I'd done the curving stone walls in a quest, after I'd built the set for the Armory. (at Bric'Bay Fort) It was also the first time I'd done the battlements, and not just a wall, and I was worried that the thickness of the walls would be unrealistic or that the support structure would be visible, so I made it nighttime when the heroes visited to mask that. At this time, I was also still using that cheese-wedge moon. I still like it, but it throws off the sense of scale, so I've abandoned it for a simpler moon made in Photoshop.

Observant readers will note that the picture above is entitled, 'Quest31-5', and the picture coming up is entitled, 'Quest31-7'. The missing 'Quest31-6' was the scene where the heroes first met Count Lewis and Luke, removed to make the introduction of Quest 31 shorter.

Flashback: Lord Davril Approaches the Fort

More vignetting here, this time to make it look like this was being seen through a telescope. I do wish I hadn't done that, and just gone with a normal head-on view of the enemies. Lord Belril (the necromancer with the yellow Palpy face) was also one of my favorite minifigs - MegaBlokin' K-nut on his Horse killed him too quickly. :tongue:

Flashback: Lord Normorn Ends the War

This was the pure-white background style I used at the end of Quest 17 and in the Legend of the Chimera to present scenes that the heroes weren't experiencing. I think it turned out well in the Legend of the Chimera, which was a story that no one knew the exact details of, but I don't think it worked as well here, in an event that was recent.

The Heroes Arrive at the Fields

Ooh, the sheep! I'd named Quest 31 "Lions and Lambs" to refer to the fact that it marked the coming of peace for the lions, but I did try to get some literal lambs in there where I could. The sheep are a design by tbone_tbl. Also, the pikeman seen here is the one Flipz named 'Simbad'.

The Heroes Meet Lady Leofwena

The sky in this picture is too dark, there are no clouds, and you can see the sky underneath and behind the horse because I forgot to add in a plate there to extend the horizon. :laugh: Nevertheless, I'm proud of this shot, because it shows the exterior of a building that manages to incorporate a lot of my favorite techniques into a small package - the Derfel Cadarn-style foundation, the half-stud offset wattle and daub, and those wooden arches that I also use in a lot of my interior shots. The greatsword is held to Lady Leofwena's back by a piece of a kneaded eraser. I've used that to hold together so many things. It's an eraser made of clay, and it sticks things together really well, but it comes off just as easily, and they don't really dry up. (or at least mine hasn't in the several years I've had it)

The Mage Creates the Chimera

This was the first of the pictures I made for the Legend of the Chimera, so I hadn't finalized the presentation. This one differs from the others in that the opacity and blurring of the background objects, while those of later pictures are all the same color and are all sharp silhouettes.

The Lions March on Drakencourt

That mage's staff was a pain to assemble. It's only two pieces, but it seemed to take forever to get that piece of 5L pneumatic tubing onto the handle of the Heroica moon staff. You can also see from this angle that that mage was originally a keychain. We've also got the old Kingdom of the Lion uniforms here, which are the Crusader torsos. Those would have one more appearance later in the quest as Cultist uniforms. I also gave the King pearl gold arms to be golden armor underneath.

The Dragon Knights

Not much to say here. Just some Dragon Knights. These are pretty much the same soldiers I've used as Avalonian soldiers for the few MOCs I've made for the Guilds of Historica.

The Dragon's Commander Slays the Lion's King

There's more kneaded eraser here, anchoring and supporting the king while the commander leans agains the king with his sword supporting him. The background for this shot is two groups of pikemen clashing. You can't really tell with the main characters in the foreground, but the pikemen on the right are charging in like the inexperienced Lions they are, and the pikemen on the right are just waiting for them with their pikes outstretched.

The Lion Mage Falls

The mage and the pikeman were shot separately for this shot and composited so that the spearhead could be in the mages back instead of just pressed up against it. The mage was angled so that the wound wouldn't be visible to the camera, so no complicated Photoshopping was required.

The Heroes Meet Sir Leofard and Sir Lyonel

This is the inside of the house seen earlier, and they're obviously two different sets, since the inside of the exterior model is filled with support structure. There was no back wall to the exterior model, so the only thing that had to match up was the chimney, and I could do whatever I wanted with the rest of the set as long as it stayed small enough to look like it could fit in the exterior set.

The Heroes Meet Admiral Thraune

Admiral Thraune was basically Commodore Largus, redesigned to wear a Lion's uniform with a new face. I changed the hat so they wouldn't be too similar. I also like this shot because you can better see the inside of the fireplace, which was hidden behind Sir Lyonel's cape in the previous shot. The fireplace is sunk into the floor, but it's hard to tell because it's so dark inside.

Count Lewis and Luke Join the Party

The cannon in this shot is one I've used for a while, inspired by a design by Sly Owl. Also, note that the Lion sailor here has a normal Pirates torso, while the Lion sailors in the conclusion have Lion torsos - I hadn't decided what uniform they were going to wear at this time.

Emperor Alandri Greets the Heroes

Not much to say about this one. It was a really simple set up.

Emperor Alandri's Library

This was my first try at the Dastanian architecture. I stuck with this design for the rest of the quest. While in-universe, it isn't the same, the sword on top of the chest is the same build used for Lord Normorn's quarters in Quest 4. I was also really happy with how well the simple design of the bookends turned out.

The Troops in the Field

My first try at the clouds. They turned out okay. The shapes of some are weird. Also, look! It's the Teuthisal head that looks like chicken! :wacko::laugh:

The Teuthisal Attack

I did think that it was a little strange that Lady Leofwena was so easily taken out the fight. Clouds got better here.

Emperor Alandri's Library, Attacked

I tried to arrange the things in this shot to make it look like Emperor Alandri survived only because he held off Lady Leofwena with that sword long enough for her to decide she needed to get out. I guess the emperor is okay in one-on-one combat, but not when it comes to being pursued by an army.

The Army Prepares to Leave

The clouds are getting better. I also did a little filling in of the spaces between the fence and the ground in Photoshop. That Lion Commander has a rather prominent role in the earlier battles, but he sort of disappears later on. I guess I forgot about him and went back to using the pikemen. :blush:

Lord Calibor and Lady Leofwena

Lord Calibor was a simple minifig, but he was one of my favorites. Also, it look me twice as long to get the pneumatic tubing off the moon staff as it did to get it on, and then I had to get it back onto the sun staff. :laugh: I used some basic Photoshop-rendered clouds here for the smoke, with some extra layers where I wanted it to be thicker, and then masked out the parts where I wanted the two enemies to show. Also, just as all Lions have names starting with 'L', Lord Calibor's starts with a 'C', from 'Cultist'. :grin:

Fort Drakon

I tried to take the technique I used for traditional stonework, and add some weathered tan areas in. I think it turned out pretty well. Also, first really clear shot of one of Alandri's Imperial Pikemen. The three emperors all have different uniforms for their men. (mostly based on what pieces each of us QMs had)

The Battle of Fort Drakon

First appearance of the Rogue Lion Knights. I debated whether to give them a more unique uniform, but I couldn't think of anything, and I figured the darker versions of the standard Lion uniforms would work well. I actually took this shot before the previous one where the heroes are welcomed to the fort. Slightly better view of the walls here.

The Aftermath of the Battle

Nothing really special here. I just took the previous set, added the closed doors, and tipped over a barrel of swords.

The Intruders in the Armory

First appearance of another party, and first time the heroes are told to go to another thread. Foog is the only other player clearly seen here, because he's the one I could build the most of. Cronk and Xander were chosen because of how recognizable they'd be with only a part of them showing.

The Battle Outside Fort Drakon

This one was really, very simple, but it's also one of the times when you get to see all the rebels in action together - Rogue Lion Pikes, Teuthisal Spears, Teuthisal Crossbows, Pongcanis Swords, and Pongcanis Barbarians.

The Chaos Beast Ambush

This is one of the few times I used an official set. The building is part of the Kingdoms Joust, fitted to a piece of wall done in the Dastan style. This is also the first appearance of the new moon made in Photoshop instead of the cheese wedge moon. Also, I got to make my own Chaos Beast. Yay! :grin_wub:

Drakencourt's Hall of Arms

I imagined that this would be a long gallery, a corridor with different shields hung on each wall. I think this is also the first appearance of the Boar's Head shield in any Heroica quest.

The Door to Roland's Wing

Thus began the biggest scene of improvisation in my QMing career. As such, it's really just a wall with a door in it with two of Roland's Imperial Pikemen guarding it.

The Door to Roland's Wing, Part II

I think this might be the only time in my quests where you see one of those doors open. Also, I've used that face from the Hazmat CMF for a couple other wounded minifigs in Heroica. It's got more of a distressed look, as opposed to the cartoonish terror of the standard scared face. A dying Hinckwell guard uses it in the conclusion of Quest 4, and a dying Lord Davril uses it in the conclusion of Quest 17.

Sir Loren and Sir Laurant

This was the one I explained earlier in my previous Behind-the-Scenes post, so there's nothing really to be said.

The Hospital Wing

This was one of the few sets with a floor that had a definite pattern to it. The beds here are five studs long, as compared to the bed from the beginning of the quest in the flashback to Quest 17, which was four studs long. This was the first time I actually had to have a minifig lying on one of those beds, and I realized that my previous design was too short. :laugh: You can also see a pair of Phoenix Essences, a Mead, a couple Remedies, and a couple Elixirs lined up along the far wall - I'm surprised that none of the heroes asked if they could take those. :laugh:

Sir Leonard's Quarters

This is the first scene in the new Bric'Bay Castle, and the first scene in a while where I've used a large window. (built to show the worker in the background building part of the wall) The scroll on the table was copied from a technique I saw in an MOC by Sirens-of-Titans, and a (simplified) copy of the plans of Bric'Bay Castle is Photoshopped onto the scroll, though it's hard to tell from this angle.

The Docks of Bric'Bay

This was one of the largest sets I built. That half-completed wall in the back is quite long. The longboat is almost a direct copy of a design by Dread Pirate Weasley. I had planned to put some sheep in this scene, but there wasn't enough space to get them in and show the other details I wanted to show.

Sir Leonard Plays Heroica RPG with Luke

One of my favorite pictures. :wub: I love the way the moonlit clouds turned out. I wanted to depict Sir Leonard doing something fun, like playing a game, so I decided he'd play Heroica. The game shown here isn't really any one game. It's got the miniatures of traditional tabletop RPGs and the board game by TLG, it's got the character sheets of traditional tabletop RBGs and this forum game, and it's got the die which is from the board game by TLG. (Sir Leonard is playing a Knight, which is obvious; Luke's character sheet has the image for the Sage on it, but you can't really tell what he's playing)

The Great Hall

This was the biggest overall set I built. You can see the 4x4 and 1x8 tiles that I had to start using in the foreground when I started to run out of tiles. I brought back all of the important living NPCs other than Sir Leonard for this shot: Count Lewis, Luke, Sir Lawrence, Sir Leofard, Admiral Thraune, Lord Normorn, and Commodore Largus. That noble in the black cape and glasses with the cane is the Baron Lueius that was mentioned; he'll probably be appearing in a later quest. :wink: The other two new nobles are currently unnamed. This is also the only picture of my three quests with the chandelier design that uses the hands for candles instead of the cones, and has rope strung through it.

Bric'Bay Castle

Not a build, but I do want to comment on it. I tried to take Bric'Bay Fort and turn it into a fortress that would be the home of nobles in addition to soldiers. It's a big castle, so I'll probably depict it still under construction for another quest or so.

The Lion Farmer

This is supposedly what everything in the three Lion quests led up to: a Lion farmer working the fields. I also finally got some more of those sheep in there. I think this is also the only time I've used the fence that was only two bricks tall instead of three.

Heroes

Ah, the ending picture of all my quests. I've thought it looks too artificial for a while now, but it seems to fit in as the picture that signals the end of a Brickdoctor quest, so I'm keeping it. I did make a slight improvement here in that I used Refine Edge in Photoshop to get rid of the jagged look of screenshots from LDD. Speaking of the LDD models, Arthur's neck piece for some reason wouldn't let me put his head on, so I took one picture with the neck piece on the torso and one with the head, and Photoshopped them together. On the other hand, Isabella's hair went on without a problem, even though it collides with her cape in LDD. :wacko: Skrall's hat has to be attached in LDD with a stud and thus sat too high, and was lowered in Photoshop.

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Awesome Brickdoctor. I'm going to start my Behind the Scenes.

First, I'll start off to say, Princess Panic's cast was made by only 15 minifigures. Here's all the figs, different characters were made by switching heads, bodies, etc.

img_2066.jpg

For making sets, some came out really bright, so I put random objects over the set to make it darker and reduce hotspots on minifigs.

img_2065.jpg

This and this:

floor1.pngtown.png

Were actually double sided/back to back sets.

And some work in Photoshop, this current picture came out kind of pixely, so I blur it.

townwip.png

A glimpse of the pain I went through. My respect for the Dastan QM's went up a million points It later would be over 30 layers.

mapwip.png

Since you didn't go through the gateway, you didn't see these guards.

gateway.png

Also, here's a mistake I made:

towerprison.png

princess1.png

See what's wrong? I accidentally tore down the set before I took both sets of pictures. The same room is not the same. :laugh:

img_2067.jpg

That's it for now! :classic: Maybe I'll post a tutorial on making my inferior square map. :tongue:

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BD, you know I adore your pictures. Your characters are awesome looking and... well dressed, for lack of a better word (they're outfits are always fitting/make sense). I love particularly the scenes of the Lions farming, namely because they have awesome brick built animals, AND that's what Lion Knights are supposed to be doing. :thumbup: Beautiful shots, one and all. I also enjoyed all of the Dastan architecture we created - I think we all looked at each other's builds and stole pieces from them, so in the end we actually created a distinct style that held true throughout the Quests, though of course your's were the most beautiful. :tongue:

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John Paul, the only change I would've made would be to make the images a little brighter. I tried the dim look in Quest 4, and even though it's probably more historically accurate, it just doesn't look as good. Your map was nicely done, too; the color and texture was certainly better than mine. (even though hex maps are clearly better than square tiles :poke: )

BD, you know I adore your pictures. Your characters are awesome looking and... well dressed, for lack of a better word (they're outfits are always fitting/make sense). I love particularly the scenes of the Lions farming, namely because they have awesome brick built animals, AND that's what Lion Knights are supposed to be doing. :thumbup: Beautiful shots, one and all. I also enjoyed all of the Dastan architecture we created - I think we all looked at each other's builds and stole pieces from them, so in the end we actually created a distinct style that held true throughout the Quests, though of course your's were the most beautiful. :tongue:

Thanks, Zeph. :blush:

Though I do have to say that all my animals are, well, normal, and there already existed designs for them, unlike that Chimera you had to make. :grin:

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Though I do have to say that all my animals are, well, normal, and there already existed designs for them, unlike that Chimera you had to make. :grin:

That Chimera I had to hide behind fog. :laugh: I'm posting the side-quests now. Hopefully the mysteries of them will be more clear now that everything is done. Atramor, for example, just opened a ton of mysteries in his side-quest, all of which were answered WAY down the line. FUN FACT: See find the ending quote in the Atramor Side-Quest. One of the NPC deaths was heavily alluded to. See if you can find it!

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FUN FACT: See find the ending quote in the Atramor Side-Quest. One of the NPC deaths was heavily alluded to. See if you can find it!

You brought U'Vires back just to fulfill that, didn't you? :laugh: Cool reference. :thumbup:

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No, you killed U'Vires before he could come back to fulfill that. It was supposed to be him all along. Zepher plans his quests down to important dialogue. :laugh:

Edited by Zepher

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No, you killed U'Vires before he could come back to fulfill that. It was supposed to be him all along. Zepher plans his quests down to important dialogue. :laugh:

That's what I meant; you brought U'Vires back from the technically dead to fulfill his prior obligation to die. :tongue:

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That's what I meant; you brought [him] back from the technically dead to fulfill his prior obligation to die. :tongue:

*begins contriving reason for someone to use that sentence in-character* :laugh:

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Well, that's the last of them. Here are my final thoughts (well, I'll have more to say later but for now...)

Overall, I had a blast hosting Quest 29. Doing the tri-pronged Dastan quest was really something unique, and I'm glad we could pull it off. Thank you so much Doc and Zeph, you guys were awesome. I couldn't ask for a better team, and you two really helped me keep things going during the quest, when I thought I was going to lose my head among all the confusion.

And thank you players for embarking on this four-month long quest. I hope it was as much of an experience for you as it was for me. I know you guys were confused as hell for some parts, and sometimes so was I. :laugh: But I thank you all for sticking with it until the end.

Nerwen/Chromeknight: You were absolutely fantastic. Nerwen really showed more of her true colors in the quest, not only at the end but all throughout. I loved it when you had her help out random citizens of Dastan, rather than, for example, steal a drunkard's coinpurse or call the guards on the dockworker. There were a lot of other times of great roleplaying too, but I couldn't mention them all now. :laugh: And I said this to you already, but again, great work with Denerii. You created a character I never could have as an NPC. Well done, I look forward to seeing Nerwen in future quests. :thumbup:

Galen/Fugazi: I was thrilled to have a returning Q0 player in my quest. And you did great, too. Roleplaying Galen's failures in battle was really interesting to read. I also loved your interaction with Cronk and Nyx, in particular. I hope you're here in Heroica to stay!

De'kra/Tanma: I know you were really confused at times, and I apologize for that. But you did great with what you did understand, and you stuck with it. Some of De'kra's roleplaying moments were a bit weird (i.e. I didn't understand them, it seemed like they related to a Bionicle story), but when you and Arthur met at Fort Drakon I was excited to see what would happen. You two didn't disappoint. An extended roleplay session was kind of what we were looking for when the quests met for the first time (met, not overlapped). Thank you for playing!

Sarick/Xarrzan: I'm glad I made you party leader. I felt that you hadn't really had a chance in Quest 21 since it was cancelled after a week or two, so I wanted you to have another try. You were active and I felt that you divided loot equally, so that was good. I kind of wish you had roleplayed a little more, though. Since Quest 13 I felt that Sarick's character has much potential, but unfortunately I didn't really notice any substantial changes in the naga. The end was interesting, when he tried to decapitate Roland, but I felt it was sort of out of the blue. I had expected you to return Dragon's Heart to Galen after that, but I kind of forgot the roleplaying after the Constance battle, and why he would not want it (still not sure what's going on with that). I hope we see some of this decision's effects on Sarick in the future. Again, I wish you would've been a little more "into" the game, especially during the final battle and with Flavius, but you were plenty active. Thanks for playing! :thumbup:

Cronk/CorneliusMurdock: I think I got exactly what I expected with Cronk in this quest. Cronk is kind of a quiet and simple guy, but in important moments, like deciding Roland's fate, his true virtue shines through. I suppose I would've liked to see some more interaction with other characters, but I know you had some major life experiences during this quest. Being "gone with the wind" and your newborn child. Despite all this, you manages to stay active at all times, which I really, really appreciate. Thanks for playing!

Xander/posades: Xander definitely reminds me of Docken. Quiet, but focused on the task at hand. And never forgetting loot and XP. :laugh: I appreciate your efforts in staying active, and I hope to see you in more quests. Not much else to say I'm afraid, but you were great. :thumbup:

I'm sure I'm missing things, about the quest itself, but any comments, questions, or confusions you guys want to mention (includes bystanders and other Dastan questies, too!) will spark my memory. Also, I appreciate any feedback you care to give. :sweet: I know there was railroading and a lot of confusion, but let's hear it!

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Those Dastan Quests were brilliant! They were truly a joy to read and follow. Lots of great RP'ing by the players and storytelling by the QM's :thumbup: . Brickdoctor, I've said it before, but I'll say it once again. Your pictures are just so gorgeous and crisp. They really draw a person into the world you've created.

Well done to all of you! My utmost respect for the QM's, what a tiring task this must've been for you.

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Well, that's the last of them. Here are my final thoughts (well, I'll have more to say later but for now...)

I want to thank you JimB (and of course Zepher and Brickdoctor) for a thoroughly enjoyable quest -- I had a great time following the turns and twists of your plot, there never was a dull moment! I'm a little sad that it's over, and I look forward to more quests with you guys, both QMs and players. :thumbup:

(Sarick) I had expected you to return Dragon's Heart to Galen after that, but I kind of forgot the roleplaying after the Constance battle, and why he would not want it (still not sure what's going on with that).

:laugh: I roleplayed being of two minds about the sword, because at that point in the quest Galen was quite ready to give it all up and return home -- or to his personal business anyway. He was pretty depressed, he had abandoned his personal quest in order to find riches and glory in Dastan but that was not happening, so the sword posed a new dilemma -- would he use it to help Dastan, or would he turn it away and leave the Empire. Sarick's decision to keep the sword of course derailed the internal conflict -- and at that point I seriously considered leaving the quest, as it was the only proper in-character reaction! But of course, I would have missed all the fun and it wouldn't have been a nice thing to do to JimB. :grin: So I let it slide, and abandoned the characterisation for a while. :blush:

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Sarick/Xarrzan: I'm glad I made you party leader. I felt that you hadn't really had a chance in Quest 21 since it was cancelled after a week or two, so I wanted you to have another try. You were active and I felt that you divided loot equally, so that was good. I kind of wish you had roleplayed a little more, though. Since Quest 13 I felt that Sarick's character has much potential, but unfortunately I didn't really notice any substantial changes in the naga. The end was interesting, when he tried to decapitate Roland, but I felt it was sort of out of the blue. I had expected you to return Dragon's Heart to Galen after that, but I kind of forgot the roleplaying after the Constance battle, and why he would not want it (still not sure what's going on with that). I hope we see some of this decision's effects on Sarick in the future. Again, I wish you would've been a little more "into" the game, especially during the final battle and with Flavius, but you were plenty active. Thanks for playing! :thumbup:

Cronk/CorneliusMurdock: I think I got exactly what I expected with Cronk in this quest. Cronk is kind of a quiet and simple guy, but in important moments, like deciding Roland's fate, his true virtue shines through. I suppose I would've liked to see some more interaction with other characters, but I know you had some major life experiences during this quest. Being "gone with the wind" and your newborn child. Despite all this, you manages to stay active at all times, which I really, really appreciate. Thanks for playing!

I'm sure I'm missing things, about the quest itself, but any comments, questions, or confusions you guys want to mention (includes bystanders and other Dastan questies, too!) will spark my memory. Also, I appreciate any feedback you care to give. :sweet: I know there was railroading and a lot of confusion, but let's hear it!

I don't understand your comment about Sarick needing to change substantially since his first quest. Like you mentioned he's only really been on two quests. Other than gaining levels, my char didn't change from his first quest to the end of his second. Cronk's always been virtuous. Docken's always been Docken. Sarick is motivated by the rights of reptiles. He bonds with them so it's natural for him to bond completely with a sword that has a dragon spirit in it. Don't see why you consider his final actions "out of the blue" either. I see a lot of chars celebrating how they whooped the other team of PCs and blew 'em up good but it was Sarick who made the right decision by siding with Constance. He's been in the right since then. An evil needed to be put down for good and his blade wanted revenge. His comrades passed on an item so he kept it. S'not his fault others are indecisive about something that he can use for his future class pathway.

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S'not his fault others are indecisive about something that he can use for his future class pathway.

I didn't say it was... and by substantial, I meant roleplaying incidences. I just noticed that he didn't really interact with other characters so much as state his battle actions. And I'm not saying it's a necessary thing to, some people play more for battles than roleplaying. My feedback wasn't, and isn't meant to be critical, just suggestions or things I've noticed.

@Foog: I agree, leaving the quest would have been a little overboard for roleplaying. :laugh:

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Lately I've been reading up on a series of amazing roleplaying articles by John Fourr, and I recently discovered his compendium of what he calls "5-Room Dungeons," which in terms of Heroica are basically short-length Quests with their own self-contained storyline. You'll have to subscribe to his newsletter to download the whole resource book (though the subscription is WELL worth it, you get a TON of RPG resources as well as a fantastic roleplaying tips newsletter), but here is the basic setup for a 5-Room Dungeon:

"Room" One: Entrance and Guardian

It's called a "room," but really the word "room" refers to any encounter that advances the plot, no matter how many physical locations in which it takes place; likewise, the "dungeon" doesn't have to be a dungeon at all, so long as it's a string of self-contained encounters. Anyhow, the first "room" of the "dungeon" introduces the setting and provides a reason why the "dungeon" has not been explored and completed by other Heroes already. While a literal guardian (i.e. giant monster, enemy guards, etc.) is always a possibility, this could also refer to some manner of trap or puzzle that must be circumvented to gain access to the "dungeon." The entrance should grab the players' attention and draw their interest, energizing them for later rooms.

"Room" Two: Puzzle Or Roleplaying Challenge

With the players riding high from their early success, Room Two gives the QM a chance to switch up the pace and trip up the unwary Heroes. If Room One was a puzzle of some kind, you may want to make Room Two a combat challenge of some kind (i.e. in the process of solving the puzzle lock on the door to the Wizard's Tower, the Heroes made so much noise that they attracted several waves of the guards his experiments have produced). This is usually a good spot for a mini-game or two, and it's also the ideal spot to lay down some subtle clues that hint towards future rooms.

Note that there should be a series of experience-yielding encounters as part of Rooms One and Two, as Room Three marks the "end-game" of the Quest; very rarely will there be more than one or two experience-yielding encounters in Room Three and beyond.

"Room" Three: Trick or Setback

This room has one objective: tension. Turn the tables on the Heroes, completely altering their perspective and making them change their approach to the Quest. Some simple ideas: A traitorous NPC shows their true colors; the Heroes dispatch a "villain" who turns out to have been holding back and even greater evil; the Heroes reassemble an artifact they've been working all Quest to complete, only to discover that the artifact itself is only a portion of an even greater artifact they must now rebuild; on the verge of discovering the true identity of a villainous mastermind, the Heroes trigger a smoke bomb trap that leaves them all Blinded.

Room Four: Climax, Big Battle or Conflict

A.K.A. "The Part Where The QM Nearly Dies of Exhaustion." :tongue: This is the big, climactic moment of the Quest; depending on what fits your story, you may want a "Final Battle," or you may want the Heroes to solve a puzzle or other challengs like the one you gave them in Room Two, only this time the stakes are much, MUCH greater. Whatever the case, this is the Room your Quest will be remembered for, so make it count. :wink:

Room Five: Reward, Revelation, Plot Twist

In this Room, all the lingering plot threads get wrapped up, and if you're looking to start a series of Quests this is where you dangle a sequel hook that will lead to the next Quest. Some QMs (i.e. Brickdoctor) will allow a short period of player roleplaying and then provide a narrative epilogue to tie things up, while others may throw in one last (small) encounter, like choosing what to do with a captured prisoner (Quest 29), deciding whether or not to accept an enemy's offer (Quests 6, 13, 33, etc.), or tying up some other plot thread (crowning the new Emperor in Quest 30). Be warned: if you offer the party a choice between a final fight or some kind of non-combat resolution to the situation, the most natural choice will be to avoid combat; dramatically speaking, the non-combat choice is usually the most appropriate at this stage.

To give a better idea of how this system works, I'll analyze a few completed Quests using this structure.

Quest #19: Let's Start A Riot (by Zepher)

"Room" One: Entrance and Guardian

The Heroes arrive in Haddon, learn of the situation from Hans and Fake!Felton, and go on a couple of missions for the pair.

"Room" Two: Puzzle Or Roleplaying Challenge

Some of the later missions fall under this category, including several of the clues to the identity of Fake!Felton. Poletad and Vipera joining the party somewhat mark the beginning of this phase, but its end is somewhat intermingled with Room Three; the encounters with Vonnetate and Haddock characterize the sort of feeling intended for Room Two, but this takes place after the party loses Jess and Hoke.

"Room" Three: Trick or Setback

This phase, though intermingled with Room Two, starts when Jess and Hoke are lost at Frederick's camp. The revelation that the Rebels are the bad guys is THE major plot twist of the Quest. If you want to get technical, Room Three starts for Jess, Hoke, and Vipera when they are kidnapped, while it doesn't happen to the rest of the party until well into the War.

Room Four: Climax, Big Battle or Conflict

This one's fairly obvious: it's the War. However, unusually for a 5-Room Dungeon, this Quest is better remembered for Room 5; this is mostly thanks to Zepher's prodigous plot-writing skills.

Room Five: Reward, Revelation, Plot Twist

From the point that the party decides to side with McColt and the Haddon Town Guard, this phase has begun. Again, unusually, there are two battles AND a major role-playing event; again, this is because Zepher is a master at his craft. :wink: And alternate interpretation is that Room Four does not truly end until the last battle of the War, thus putting the start of Room 5 at the point when Wren appears to the Heroes; while this is a better illustration of the concept of Room 5 (scenarios like dealing with the two Feltons are common for this phase), it's not quite accurate in my opinion. I suppose you'll have to form your own opinion on this. :wink:

Quest #33: WANTED! Violetta the Cat Burglar (by Sandy)

"Room" One: Entrance and Guardian

This is straightforward: meeting Patricia, questioning Kayla, and defending the Hinckwell residence.

"Room" Two: Puzzle Or Roleplaying Challenge

Again, straightforward: defending the Zeigfrieds.

"Room" Three: Trick or Setback

Kayla's disappearance, battling the traitorous Guards, and learning Violetta's identity.

Room Four: Climax, Big Battle or Conflict

The boss fight with Violetta.

Room Five: Reward, Revelation, Plot Twist

In this case, siding with the Wolfgang and retrieving the stolen artifact.

Remember, even though a Quest may follow the formula in a straightforward manner, by no means does that make it "bad" or "unoriginal"; the formula exists because it is a VERY GOOD formula. :wink:

Quest #36: The Voracious Vault (by Endgame)

"Room" One: Entrance and Guardian

Meeting Aayla, entering the Vault, and the first couple of battles round out this phase.

"Room" Two: Puzzle Or Roleplaying Challenge

The puzzle corridor marks the start of this phase, and it continues right through the Juggernaut battle.

"Room" Three: Trick or Setback

Part one of the Death Progg battle.

Room Four: Climax, Big Battle or Conflict

Room Four starts when the Death Progg burns off the Proggsbane in his system and begins gassing the Heroes. What follows may very well be the most awesome single-enemy boss battle in the history of Heroica. (Notice that "room" four takes place in the very same physical room as "room" three--remember, "room" is just a convenient term! :wink: )

Room Five: Reward, Revelation, Plot Twist

The death of Daxus, and the nice epilogue. Note the sequel hook in the Death Progg's disappearance!

I hope this helps you all in desiging your own Quests; it's certainly changed the way I look at writing mine! :wink:

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Well, that's the last of them. Here are my final thoughts (well, I'll have more to say later but for now...)

Overall, I had a blast hosting Quest 29. Doing the tri-pronged Dastan quest was really something unique, and I'm glad we could pull it off. Thank you so much Doc and Zeph, you guys were awesome. I couldn't ask for a better team, and you two really helped me keep things going during the quest, when I thought I was going to lose my head among all the confusion.

And thank you players for embarking on this four-month long quest. I hope it was as much of an experience for you as it was for me. I know you guys were confused as hell for some parts, and sometimes so was I. :laugh: But I thank you all for sticking with it until the end.

I'm sure I'm missing things, about the quest itself, but any comments, questions, or confusions you guys want to mention (includes bystanders and other Dastan questies, too!) will spark my memory. Also, I appreciate any feedback you care to give. :sweet: I know there was railroading and a lot of confusion, but let's hear it!

Big thanks to the QMs for Dastan, but especially JimBee! I hadn't really computed that we'd been on the quest since late April!

I sometimes felt the middle dragged, but that could be because it was winter here and all of life was dragging...

It became apparent after a while you had a different philisophy to the others regarding drops from battles, tending to have less artifacts/weapons and less cosumables (perhaps counterbalancing not burning them either!). I don't know if it's better or worse, just different.

I've said before that often Nerwen feels like seperate person that I'm meeting at the same time (or slightly before) everyone else. This quest gave me lots of opportunities, it's gratifying that the effects were appreciated. As for the rest of my team, so much love for them all. I feel like I didn't get to interact with Galen and Cronk as much as the others, conversly having Nyx drop in for the Rito battle was a blast, I think she and Nerwen hit it off quickly.

I'm still reading the other quests (man that Arthur guy is a chatterbox!) and it'll be interesting re-reading #29 when done.

Thanks again, especially for Denarii (who had fun with Skrall and De'kra!), I hope Nerwen gets to see her again!

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By my count, the Voracious Vault is more accurately a 20 room dungeon. :tongue:

That "room" system is interesting, but a bit confusing. :blush:

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