Brickdoctor

Couple other things that might help other members answer your questions: Are you an MOCer or a collector? Do you care if the set already looks good or has good playability, or are you looking for something with a good variety of pieces that would be useful for building Star Wars? Do you have a particular era of Star Wars that you're more a fan of than the others? Prequels fan, Clone Wars fan, Original Trilogy fan...

"To be fair, I haven't seen the Veterans - other than the Copper Fox, nor have I really dealt with the Wolfgang in a quest. I'm just going off of the fact that the Wolfgang is an organization of thieves, gangsters, poisoners, and other felons. "A party left not too long ago to protect the Houses' leaders at the Foundation Day ball - I believe Master Guffington is there as well - and it was suspected that the Wolfgang might try something there. Hopefully there will be positive news regarding the leading criminal faction when they return."

I nod in agreement."And as long as it is not the end of Heroica. Perhaps it would even be for the better, if a just new power can be installed. I only hope that it is not a criminal organization like the Wolfgang that gains power. I've overheard heroes talking of siding with the Wolfgang to take down the six Houses and the Town Watch, claiming that the Wolfgang has the people's best interests in mind and is less corrupt than the other powers. I don't see anything good coming of that."

Equip the Cobweb Cowl, the Mail of the Renegade Commander lets me take Free Hits from enemies up to Level 92 without taking Damage, Counterstrike it to death. Mwahaha. Sandy said it is up to the QM to decide if stealing the loot changes the enemy's stats.By the way, this can also be countered with enemies that steal from a hero's inventory on Special Damage. We've had that before already, I believe. Hail, King Guts!

"That is good to hear. The Bonapartes have protected this city for over two hundred years; it would be catastrophic if their family were to crumble now. "I do believe I see your point. Heroica could and should be the force that is ready to keep the peace if the Houses fail, but some of us seem to be...distracted. Involved in battles on other continents, sitting around in the Hall consuming the free food and drinks. Many of our active heroes are inexperienced. I have faith in the Veterans' plans, but then I see a hero trying to pick a fight with a Cleric or jumping off a staircase and consuming rum in buckets. "I am unsure if you are proposing some sort of team, but if the need arises, I will be ready. I'm sure the XP would be pretty good if we had to fight whatever managed to take down the Houses." I laugh nervously. "Alas, that these evil days should be ours. That we should live to see what could be the end of these Houses."

OoC: Actually Alexander presumably followed me, heard me mention Black Knights, and decided to join the conversation."I was away in the Fields for quite a while, so I haven't gotten the chance to go out on a quest for any of the Houses in a while. Conflict seems to be escalating, though, with members of the Houses getting killed and going missing. I heard there was a temple of Zoot found under the city, and just recently Lady Wren tried to do something with a court of demons and summoning the god of Chaos... "The Town Watch doesn't trust us; the Wolfgang grow stronger. The Ziegfrieds lost the one prominent mage, I forget his name, who made a deal with a demon, and they lost Bluto to the Bog Witch Baba on a quest I went on. Seemingly omnipotent and immortal, she will be a threat if she comes to Eubric, of that I am certain. Hybros just came back from a quest to rescue one of the Ji Pei, and it sounds like that didn't go too well. I believe you went on a quest not too long ago to rescue one of the Bonapartes, right?"

Mmm, good point. What it comes down to, then, is that a precedent has been set for the sake of the plot, and I know I'm playing right into the hands of arguments with quotes about the power of the Force and I know that that same plot often dictates what can and can't happen in certain situations. And there comes a point where things just become ridiculous, and it's not a definite point nor are there any criteria for what is a ridiculous example of Force usage, but it's more of a common sense thing based on the reactions of the viewers. Saying it's "the power of the Force" is also kind of an excuse. And again this is not a defined point I'm referring to, but there comes a point when it becomes ridiculous to explain a feat using that excuse. Little inconsistencies, fine; I can understand that; let's move the plot forward. (And take for example the assembling of the Corellian system: a ridiculously massive project on a cosmic scale, but at least it was - or at least attempted to somewhat be - explained by a use of colossal repulsor technology by a past race of aliens, not by just saying, "Oh, unlimited power and will of the Force and stuff".) And by the way, perhaps where the 'power of the Force' is concerned, size really doesn't matter and the ability to destroy a planet is comparatively insignificant. I can accept that. I only ask that it be recognized that the power available to the Force user is limited, and that that limit be used to combine both the concept of the Force's unlimited power and the use of realistic (as much as can be said for a mystical power in a sci-fi saga) power by the practitioners.

Thanks for the review; it's the first I've seen of these new castle sets. I was excited to learn that we'd be getting castle and LotR sets at the same time. But sets like this in this theme are so...<insert that tiresome argument>, or at least it feels that way in the pictures. I don't know if it's the way all the bright colors were used, or the small building with the big prefab dragon, or the huge bright yellow banner and trim... it almost feels like a Duplo set to me, in stark contrast to the darker blues and greens we've seen in previous castle themes. I can't put my finger on the exact reason, but I think it might be the use of the multiple contrasting bright colors at the same time as the new more detailed style. The simple and the realistic combining to form something a little comical. With some of the older castle themes, the solid brighter color looked good with the simple print in one or two colors. But with all the big designs and fine details and the metallic trim all in black outlines, the minifigs seem too cartoonish to me. Maybe it's just me. The Dragon version has a lot of big prefab pieces, though. They are well-used, so it's a matter of whether you want a better looking set or a more versatile collection of parts for MOCing.

"That is an excellent point. But like I said, due to your Roguish background, you'd need to prove to the rest of the party your willingness to share the loot and use it that way."

"Good, perhaps. The best fit, perhaps not. You still have the tendency to Hide or Dodge, and I saw something about your stealing loot before the rest of the party can get their hands on it. I expect you'll still need to earn the trust of your fellow heroes - especially in proving that you won't take all the loot - before you can truly say you're good for the party and before you and other Black Knights become in-demand when forming a party, but it's definitely an upgrade over what you could do before the buff."

I wouldn't say I collect Jedi, but I do like having a variety of minifig parts for use in other themes as well as a Star Wars. Regular faces. And I like having them in yellow, too. (I don't mind Mace or Lando in reddish brown, but I don't like the fleshies.) Um, they're...kind of mostly parted out right now. Depends on where the new movies go. A big reason for all the new Jedi molds was the CW show. Before that most of these Jedi were minor characters or background characters in the movies, and at best they got one supporting appearance in a set or in one of the LEGO Star Wars video games. Ultimately the minifig selection depends on the sets, and the set selection depends on what Lucasfilm/Disney wants. But TLG has seemed to be trying to sneak in new minifigs lately. (And I'm sure the fact that they know minifigs can sell the sets has a lot to do with that.)

"That's probably true right now, actually. The only other knight I've seen active has been kicking down doors and falling off staircases before running off to who-knows-where with a bucket of rum. I was not aware people stored rum in buckets."I did hear a rumor from the Copper Fox that you might be getting a buff soon in the newest edition of his training manuals. Congratulations!"

"Ah, Master Holla, it's good to see you again. I was just speaking of heroes such as yourself, actually; there's a Black Knight here who for some reason seems to think he can deal Damage just as well as a Raider."I take a seat at the bar next to the Raider.

I wonder if Docken would get along poorly with Yasmar because the worst word in Docken's vocabulary tends to be 'MegaBloks', if Docken would get along well with Yasmar because he would probably always give the straight answer, or if Docken would get along poorly with Yasmar because he might also give an unnecessarily detailed C-3PO-type answer.

Considering that we already have seen the cave troll in Heroica and he's kind of similar, Yasmar could just be a type of troll.

Fair enough.

I like it. Maybe the stealing should be limited to "Steals the first item listed in the drops or n Gold (if Gold is listed in the drops)", though, so that a Black Knight isn't discouraged from targeting an enemy later in a battle after having rolled Arrogant Prick? The new Shield ignores SP, though.

Knights aren't really the type to get Gold either. Remember that Advanced Classes aren't supposed to be true combinations of two classes' abilities; they're supposed to take two classes and combine a few traits to create an entirely new class with new powers. Gold-gaining would not be inappropriate, but other Shields could work with the class, too. I have to agree; you shouldn't instigate a battle without consulting the other players, and you definitely shouldn't do it when you're not the Party Leader. Yeah, good lighting will help everything from webcams to DSLRs take better photos.

Yep, it's fine with me.

Could go with the armor piercing, backstabbing Shield, then. Maybe also inflicting Bleeding at the same time.

I PMed Sandy about this recently, actually; I believe healing is not affected by Encouraged or Weakened. (And it's also not affected by the enemy's being Fragile if you're healing Undead.)

Yes, it absolutely covers the "knightly quality". No other class is able to use shields or upgrade their SP. (without buying a new artifact or using a Bright Polish)

I don't think the Black Knight should buff anyone with any of his rolls. (And just himself Counterstriking is kind of underpowered considering that he could just buy the gloves.)

Throwing weapons combined with shields isn't really a perk for someone coming from Knight, since it's basically just a weaker Warden. I do agree that Black Knights should be able to gain at least a little Gold, but I don't think it should be combined with a Sentinel-type action. Doesn't fit the attitude of the character, and Sentinel/Guardian Angel/Aura are more passive actions, like the hero would be sitting back and tanking while doing it, not dashing forward and being able to grab some Gold from somewhere.