Heroica RPG - Quest Masters' Lounge

[Shoker86]

Great quest Endgame, i really enjoyed it a lot. Only the part when Arnulf puts chloroform after i said he don't want to do it, becouse it's against plans i have for Arnulf.

[Endgame]

Gah, I'm sorry, Shoker! I didn't see your eidt/misinterpreted your post as wanting to do the deed. I fixed it, though, I hope Joeshmoe doesn't mind his character did the chloroforming.

Jeaux, had you fought The Stealer, you would've faced something like this.

"You chose wrong. Feel The Harvester's wrath!"

The Stealer of Senses, Level 38 Humanoid

They would literally be The Stealer's stats for his later enocunters with higher-level heroes. He wasn't meant to beat: if you got TKO'ed against him, Ian and his pals would burst in with a smoke bomb of their own and they would all escape. If you smoke-bombed, a pretty much a similar ending would occur, though slightly less severe - in the end, cowardice would always cause the worst damage. You pretty much got the worst possible ending.

Thank you for all the compliments, everyone! The Apprentice and The Stealer came out far better then I had imagined, and I'm happy The Stealer will have more quests to develop.

I felt I was slightly stingy with the loot, however.

Edited March 2, 2013 by Endgame

[joeshmoe554]

I'm good being the bad guy. Like I said, from what Jeaux knew at the time, he made what he considered to be the best decision for all involved.

I felt I was slightly stingy with the loot, however.

I had a nagging feeling we may have gotten an extra potion or two somewhere so I looked back over the quest. It seems we started with 6 potions, got 4 from battles, used 11 and had 2 left over. So I wouldn't worry too much about there being a lack of loot.

[Capt.JohnPaul]

Ok Kintober, I found it. I think it sounds pretty fun and simple, a great combination. If you can make the pictures look really spooky, I think it would be good.

[Kintobor]

After Endgame's tough decision's from the previous quest, I wanted something more simple and yet still fun for the party. I'm uploading a few of the enemies right now just for a teaser. They'll be up shortly.

[Endgame]

Hey, tough decisions are fun - they test a character's limits!

I'll have a full analysis up by tonight.

[Kintobor]

I haven't said anything about your quest yet only because I want to hear what you have to say about it first.

And yeah, tough decisions are fun, but this quest is more or less a break from the heavy things that happened in yours.

That's not to say their won't be decisions in mine, though.

[Shoker86]

I felt I was slightly stingy with the loot, however.

Loot was really good in my opinion

[Kintobor]

I'm debating on the title for my quest. I've pinned it down to "Grim Grinning Ghosts" or "Going Ghost". If you get the second one, congrats you win a cookie. Any thoughts?

Edited March 2, 2013 by Kintobor

[Brickington]

I like Grim Grinning Ghosts, it sounds very catchy.

[Cutcobra]

Your quest idea seems really fun Kintobor but I don't think fighting undead is a very smart choice for newbies like me who are not clerics.

[Kintobor]

Don't worry Eric Su, undead make up only a portion of the battles. There will be vermin as well as beasts, and I intend for the undead to be a little easier to handle.

[Endgame]

Okay, full analysis of 56 a-go-go!

A Method To My Madness

Every battle in this quest was designed to only to steadily rise in difficulty, but introduce more Heroica mechanics as well. They were structured as so:

Battle 1: Basic battles, some stays effects.

Battle 2: Harder, more enemies, more status effects, slightly more complicated specials. Introduced SP.

Battle 3: Harder still, even more enemies, more status effects, complicated specials, passive specials, more SP.

Battle 4 (skipped): Not every battle can be won!

56's battle was made to steadily ease you into the more complicated mechanics of Heroica.

Now then, a major part of Heroica is the story, so I put more of a focus then usual on this one. I really wanted to develop the villains, The Stealer and The Apprentice into lovable/hate-able characters with their own backstory and quirks. The Apprentice's arrogance/madness/creepiness was developed upon fully in this quest, but The Stealer has far more to him then what has been shown; it just won't be revealed as rapidly as The Apprentice's character. Besides this focus on storytelling and backstory, I also wanted to establish a theme of taking you heroes down a notch. The world of Heroica can be a belittling one, and I really wanted to emphasize on this trait. Even in the ending there was no truly perfect option: it was either your failure or the guardsmen minds that was going to be destroyed. I hope throwing you into a cell, torturing and brainwashing you, and making you do a favor for a criminal accomplished this well enough.

Player Analysis

Jeaux: I always found the idea of an automaton hero intriguing, and hosting for you was a blast. I find both the concept and development of your character very interesting, and you made a good party leader. You proved well-fit for forming strategies and distributing loot, and you pulled your party through - even without a cleric!

Brickington: Brickington was a fun character to watch, what with his desire to safeguard his party (despite the fact you never rolled a sentinel! ). Seeing those darker shades of him come out when you were going to do The Stealer's favor was interesting as well.

Em: Em was a bit of a quiet character. He didn't develop too much during the course of the quest, but he had personality and you were active. Not all heroes need to develop so quickly anyway, sometimes having your first quest just to establish the basics can be a good move.

Arnulf: Once again, sorry I initially botched your character's motives at the end. Arnulf is a good character, and seems to still have a few facts and stories hidden within him - secrets like those keep those who watch your character intrigued, so good move there.

Karie: Hoo boy... Kintobor, Karie proved to be a great counterpart to The Apprentice. I feel you both developed eachother quite nicely, and you helped me flesh out the sadistic Apprentice far better then I could've initially. Seeing the dynamic between you and that green-clad jerk form was incredibly interesting, and I'm sure many others would agree. The show-biz theme you seem to be focusing on for Karie right now seems to be equally intriguing, so I'm incredibly interested to see where Karie-Quinn () goes.

Overall, you were all great- active, attentive, and great RPers to boot. I couldn't have asked for a better party, and I'm happy I got to introduce you to the realm of Heroica. Have fun out there!

[Kintobor]

(applause)

Well done! I must say, I'm incredibly pleased with the quest, and with my fellow team mates. I really have to thank you Endgame for creating a character who will certainly leave a lasting footprint on Karie. Then again, I left a lasting boot print in him, so... yeah. You don't know how freaked out I was when the Apprentice landed that Special on Karie. My mind exploded with both down right hatred for the botched roll, and sheer brilliance from a storytelling perspective to watch the Apprentice get what he wanted, and being able to role play that was truly memorable. I must thank you for the wonderful quest, Endgame, and I hope to be under your wing for another one of your romps in the near future. I think this quote fits nicely for the overall theme of the quest:

(sarcastic) Wow. Bravo. Champagne. Cheers. High-five. Slow clap. You got the damn power core, didn’t you? (beat) You’ve been warned, the kid gloves are coming off. Tighten up the big-boy pants because things are gonna get really bad for you Vault Hunters.

-Handsome Jack, Borderlands 2

Edited March 3, 2013 by Kintobor

[Brickington]

I'm glad you liked my character! But if I had to do over, I would have changed my mind on the last decision.

[Emjajoas]

For the record, Handsome Jack is one of the best villains of all time.

Anyways, I'm having trouble figuring out where I want to go with Em, so I'm just kind of trying to take it slow and lay a decent foundation for now. D;

[Kintobor]

Amnesiacs are always fun. I'm still waiting for that talk, by the way, so if you want to come over and just say "I don't know who I am." I can roll with that. I got some funny things I can quip about when it comes to characters with memory loss. Sometimes it takes a while to flesh out a character, and despite the trope having been done to death, and it gets old if everyone does it, it hasn't, so when you think you have a part of his past plotted down, put it in, and work from there.

And yes, Handsome Jack is a great villain. He has a diamond pony. Cause he's rich!

[Kintobor]

Here's a sampling of a few of the vermin involved in Grim Grinning Ghosts:

Dire Rat

Level 5 Vermin

HP: 12/12

Special: “For there are no cat’s in Eubric!”

The Dire Rat sings a song of his people, healing his comrades by 4 hit points.

“And the roads are paved with che-ese!”

Drops: Potion

Illuminating Widow

Level 3 Vermin

HP: 9/9

Special: “Now you see me!”

The Illuminating Widow disappears for a round to recover 4 health.

Drops: Tonic

Angry Arachnid

Level 4 Vermin

HP: 11/11

Special: Seriously Ticked Off

The Angry Arachnid bites the opponent for 6 damage.

Drops: Remedy

So that's only a sampling of some of the vermin involved. Feedback?

Edited March 3, 2013 by Kintobor

[Endgame]

Since I am assuming that the heroes you will be recruiting would be on the 1-5 level scale, Encouraging the entire enemy party is an incredibly dangerous special(Heck, it almost always is.) - almost a bit too dangerous in my mind.

Other then that, I like it.

[Kintobor]

Right, so I'll have him heal his allies by 4.

Alright, one more sneak peek and then it's off to work on this some more.

Geoffrey, The Gentleman

Level 6 Dark Humanoid

HP: 30/30

SP:1

Special: Don’t Close Your Eyes

Geoffrey shocks a person so badly they can’t see, causing the Blindness effect.

Drops: 25 Gold, Potion (2), Gentleman’s Hat (Sp: 1, suitable for males, the wearer has a 1/2chance to avoid the Asleep effect)

Gus, The Traveler

Level 5 Dark Humanoid

HP: 33/33

Special: Don’t Try To Hide

Gus looks at the hero with his haunting eyes, causing the Slowed effect.

Drops: Handy Suitcase (SP: -2, suitable for anyone. The hero may use one item instead of two. See, I told you it was handy!)

Ivan, The Prisoner

Level 4 Dark Humanoid

HP: 35/35

Special: Silly Spook May Sit By Your Side

Ivan appears out of thin air, scaring the hero and most likely turning their undergarments a lovely shade of yellow. The hero is now Afraid.

Drops: Ball and Chain (WP: 4 Usable by Knights and Barbarians. Has a 1/2 chance to Stun the targeted opponent. I’ve got nothing clever for this one.)

Feed back?

Edited March 4, 2013 by Kintobor

[Brickington]

These are great are great! When do you think you'll do this quest?

[Kintobor]

Since there's a lot of people loafing about the hall who have been waiting to go on a quest, I hope within a few weeks. I want to fine tune somethings and ensure that the enemies are a decent challenge.

[Brickington]

Also make sure the loot is heavy.

[Waterbrick Down]

Right, so I'll have him heal his allies by 4.

Alright, one more sneak peek and then it's off to work on this some more...

A few thoughts, first off I think you've got a pretty good cast of enemies. Be careful with the undead with lower level heroes, remember they can only be harmed by elemental weapons, spells, bombs, or healing, 3 of those 4 are nearly nonexistant with the newest group of heroes. A few options are to make sure you drop the necessary drops before hand, have a friendly NPC cleric join the party, or consider making them of the "dark" type instead of "undead".

As to the suitcase, I wouldn't mind too much seeing it in the game. Currently there are only two other perma-hastened items and one is exclusive to rangers. Of the three main positive effects, hastened isn't too bad, but again such items can have bad reception with other QM's, remember you may enjoy hosting a permenantly hastened PC, but there might be some other QM's who won't, just look at the history of the Lucky Die as an example. If you want to add some balance to the item consider having it have actually negative aspects to counter it positive aspects, for example being SP or Health or Ether: -2, or perhaps 1 ether is expended up every other round the item is equipped. The flail is alright, % effects tend to be more balanced than weapons with perma-staus effects. Overall, things are looking good.

[Kintobor]

I intend for a friendly NPC to assist the party with a few things. And thank you for the advice on the Handy Suitcase. I actually like that better than the one I used. I have plans to throw a couple of bombs at the party, and I like the Dark idea better actually. Thank you Waterbrick Down!

Edited March 3, 2013 by Kintobor