Brickdoctor

OoC: I spend 5 Health to retrieve a Potion.

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 ) Thanks, Zeph. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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! 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. 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. 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'. 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! 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Skrall's hat has to be attached in LDD with a stud and thus sat too high, and was lowered in Photoshop.

I think it was just that there were a lot of factions involved. I'm not even sure how some of them got into the storyline, but Zeph pulled it all together into one incredible outline, and I just nodded my head and said, "okay". As for Alandri's Library, I'm not a huge fan of fantasy, so I don't think I know enough about those topics to write anything about them. If someone else has a better idea of how to create a fictional process for performing such magic as was described in the books, feel free to expand on them.

I knew it! I can only recall two off the top of my head - Poletad and Pillus - but I did notice that. A somewhat less prominent naming tradition of mine is that in addition to all having names that start with 'L', all Lion Knights whom I've taken the time to give last names to have last names starting with a 'C' or a 'K'. (Kniveton, Comanye, Knyghton, Knoseley, Clibburne) The only exception is Admiral Mathias Thraune, whose name is different for obvious reasons, but his backstory states that he wasn't originally a Lion Knight, but an artist from Uland. (another reference there to Thrawn, with the interest)

I had a nameless Lion Pikeman of no significance who has never appeared again (then again, he looks just like all the other pikemen, so who knows...), and Flipz named him Simbad. Come on, the least he could've done was picked a name that started with an 'L'.

I was reading this and I realized - I decided to kill a weak, nameless orc who didn't deserve to die in the arena, and because of that, a barbarian followed me out of the prison and became Emperor of Dastan.

...and that is why Photoshop was created. The key is having all your layers grouped, organized, and named so that you can easily rearrange all those avatars.

For me, the first Round I ran was terrible, but it got better as I got used to handling that many enemies and heroes. I did this on a smaller scale in Q17, so I had an idea of how to go about running one of those Rounds. Converting all the heroes to the standard stat format was a pain, but once I did convert them, it got easier to run the Round and keep track of all the effects that were in effect.

Oh, okay.

What, you didn't like my totally original and creative name, Greatsword of Lion Nobles? I'm glad to hear that. Because of Flipz, Count Lewis has become an unforgettable NPC who's almost a full-fledged hero, and I'd love to see Luke become that, too.

I think WBD did, and now Zeph is using it. Considering that those are my last two QMs, I have a suspicion that there's a conspiracy that invented that rule just for me. I have a bad feeling about this.

Yeah, as it turns out, there is such a thing as SP overkill. It's only 1 Damage, though. In my case, being a Back Row class to begin with, I can usually take around forty hits.

Most QMs now apply the rule of at least 1 Damage dealt, no matter how high SP is. It's the only reason I've taken any Damage at all on the quest I'm on.

There were only supposed to be three hex map battles, with only one of the last two hex map battles outside the walls of Drakencourt. I got carried away advancing the storyline, and had to throw in that last battle so that you'd arrive at the palace at the same time as the other two parties. It resulted in a nice roleplaying opportunity with Sir Loren and Sir Laurant, though. There were originally also only two hex map battles: the search for Lady Leofwena, and the final battle. Then I threw in the battle with the Teuthisal and Pongcanae so that you would already know what you were doing when you got to the search for Lady Leofwena.

Okay, Quest 31 is over! Self-critique: I felt like the pace was much improved over Q4 and Q17, but I also felt that I might have railroaded you guys too much. Maybe that's just because I was used to the huge amount of freedom I had given the heroes I had previously QMed. There were some things I know you wanted to do that I would've loved to let you do, like improving Drakencourt's defenses, but I couldn't let you or you would've ended up waaaaaay behind the other Dastan quests. Other Dastan QMs: You're awesome. We all know that I'm not that great when it comes to storylines and roleplaying, and were it not for Zeph and JimB outlining the intertwined storylines, I'm sure the plot of Q31 would've been a lot simpler. (My style is generally to think up a new mechanic that I wanted to use and build a storyline around it, so if this hadn't been a Dastan quest, you the players would probably have just ended up fighting a lot of the hex map battles.) Players: All of you were a pleasure to QM. WBD, you seemed to have everything organized and planned out, especially when it came to the final battle, and I thought you were the perfect Party Leader. John Paul, you did your part, and I think you did a good job almost stepping into Flipz's role when he was unavailable. Dharkan, I do wish you had been a little more active, but I think you definitely got more action this time around, and I hope that you had more fun in this quest than you did in Q17. Flipz, I know there was a lot more you wanted to explore, and, again, I think I railroaded all of you too much, but I think you made the best of what I could allow you to do. Thanks for questing with me, and thanks to all the players who've participated in my Lion Knight Trilogy. I am probably going to take a break from QMing, while I work on some other things (such as LDD RCB 5). For now, the Lion Knights' story is concluded, and they'll probably appear as supporting characters for at least one of my quests before I decide to host again with them as a main faction. I have a rough outline of what I want to do for my next quest, and I'll probably work on expanding the stories of one of my other factions/groups, such as the Brobric Elves, the Teuthisal, or the Mopags.

It's an artifact.

"Very well. Thank you, once again, for your service, heroes. All of you have earned a good reputation with the Lion Knights. "Oh, and, one more thing. Master Arthur, Sir Alexandre, Miss Toboso: this is your second quest with us, and no amount of Gold could repay you for what you've done to assist us. Once you reach Level 30, come visit us here at Bric'Bay, and we'd be happy to teach you the ways of the Skirmisher." The Quest is successful! "Farewell, heroes." Luke and Count Lewis Knyghton have left the party. Skrall (WaterbrickDown) Level 21 Hunter ***Party Leader*** *Favors Humanoid Enemies* Power: 41 Defense: 0 Health: 34/34 Gold: 349 Equipment: Greatsword of Lion Nobles (WP: 20; User is Slowed) Inventory: Hunter's Crossbow (WP: 11; +4 vs. Beasts), Heavy Crossbow (WP: 8; Knock-back), Smoke Bomb, Zoot's Cookie, Zoot's Plaything Alexandre le Chevalier (Capt.JohnPaul) Level 15 Knight Power: 23 Defense: 10 Health: 23/24 Gold: 377 Equipment: Sword of the Elven Blademaster (WP: 8; ignores SP), Cross Heater Shield (SP: 7), Mail of the Renegade Commander (SP: 3; Damage of all Free Hits is halved; suitable for Knights and Barbarians) Inventory: Potions (4), Tonic, Remedy, Smoke Bomb, Fire Bomb, Bedroll Isabella del Toboso (Dharkan) Level 13.5 Rogue Power: 22 Defense: 1 Health: 18/19 Gold: 541 Equipment: Fauxthril Dagger (WP: 8), Cloak of the Invisible Elf (SP: 1; untargetable for first 2 Rounds of every Battle) Inventory: Golden Dagger (WP: 3), Twin Broadswords (WP: 20; user may attack two enemies in a Turn, but may not use a shield; suitable for Knights), Venom, Potions (7), Tonics (5), Remedy, Phoenix Essence, Fire Bombs (2), Dragon Scales (2), Bedroll Arthur Justus Regulus VII (Flipz) Level 15 Mage Power: 22 Defense: 1 Health: 16/21 Ether: 10/19 Gold: 358 Equipment: Staff of the Cultist Battlemage (WP: 7; 50% chance of Fleeing instead of being KO'd), Robe of Magi (SP: 1) Inventory: Arthur's Staff of Elven Necromancy (WP: 5), Healing Staff (WP: 5; healing effect), Opal (Ice), Amethyst (Darkness), Topaz (Lightning), Scroll of Sealing, Scroll of Blindness, Scroll of Confusion, Scroll of Sleep, Scroll of Frailty, Potions (2), Grand Tonic, Tonic, Mead, Bedroll, Shovel, Telescope The wars were over. The Brobric Elves were defeated. The Rogue Lions were defeated. The Lion Knights had reestablished friendly trade with the Empire of Dastan through Emperor Alandri. From their docks at Bric'Bay, they could export a small but growing amount of their crops to Dastan. With the Lions now able to defend themselves and their holdings on Uland, Sir Leonard decided that it was time to retire. He realized that the Lions still needed a leader with military experience, but also that the nobles would want one of their own to lead them, now that they were not in a state of war. With that in mind, Sir Leonard appointed Count Lewis Knyghton his successor, the leader of the Lions, and the first Lord of Bric'Bay. Count Lewis began building a permanent settlement for the Lions, centered around Bric'Bay Castle, from which they controlled their share of the Eubric Plains, exported their crops and livestock all over the Free Islands, and maintained a professional army. The Lions finally were able to settle down and do what they had come to Uland to do, but they could not have done so alone. Not without the help of… Heroes.

Oh, I see. I don't have that problem, because I tile or plate over everything.

I've built pretty much every set in my three quests on a 16x32 baseplate, and the overhang never really gets bigger than 32x32. You don't need a lot of space; it's the camera angle that matters.

"Ah, yes, the ceremonial greatsword of the Knoseley family. Once they were a powerful house of warriors. Their manner bordered on barbaric, but they were one of the few families to have success in the littler battles fought with the Empire of the Dragon. Lady Leofwena was the last of their line, though she is related to another living noble, Baron Lueius Clibburne. I doubt that any of us could wield that sword effectively, it is so large."

I attack Id from the Back Row with my Briar Bow.

You'd better stay in the Hall until I can come to collect my Gold! You could always give the Gold to someone else before you leave on a quest and ask them to give it to the hero you owe it to, though. (just don't entrust it to a Rogue. )I'm glad it worked out so well for you. I really just created it as a weapon that would make sense for the enemy to have.

QM Note:Just to make sure you know, we're not quite done yet. I'll wait for the other heroes to have a chance to talk to Sir Leonard before I post the conclusion, with Luke's corrected stats.

Bidding farewell to Emperor Alandri, the six of you return to the underground dock where the Lion fleet is anchored. Before you board the Chimaera, you return the Standard Issue Crossbows to the Imperial Army. You settle in as the soldiers of Dastan dip their oars into the water of the cavern, slowly but surely towing the ships out to sea. As your voyage comes to an end, you notice that Admiral Thraune has not returned the fleet to the harbor in Eubric from which it first set sail. Instead, you realize that he's taken you around to the northern side of Uland. The Chimaera glides towards a bay, and you see the towers of Bric'Bay Fort on the horizon. The flagship docks at the mouth of the Bric'Lin River, and you can see that men have been working hard to restore the fort. You see new walls rising and old towers restored. A Lion Pikeman runs down to meet you on the newly-built docks of the fort. "Count Lewis, Master Luke, heroes, welcome to Bric'Bay! We're currently in the process of restoring and expanding the fortifications, but Sir Leonard's quarters are mostly finished, and he'll receive you there." You follow the pikeman through the construction site to the North Tower. Where the Armory once was, there now is a high-ceilinged hall, and you ascend to the second floor, where the Officer's Quarters have been rebuilt as rooms clearly intended for nobles. The pikeman opens the door to one of the rooms, and motions for you to enter. You see Sir Leonard standing in front of a large window, through which you can see the men at work on the walls of the fort. "Welcome back, heroes! Admiral Thraune has already related to me the events that occurred in Dastan. Most unfortunate that our losses were so heavy, but, you got the job done. I didn't realize that Sir Loren had grown so powerful." As he speaks, Sir Leonard opens the chest in the corner and hands each of you bags filled with your rewards of Gold, 250 each. Skrall (WaterbrickDown) Level 21 Hunter ***Party Leader*** *Favors Humanoid Enemies* Power: 41 Defense: 0 Health: 34/34 Gold: 349 Equipment: Greatsword of Lion Nobles (WP: 20; User is Slowed) Inventory: Hunter's Crossbow (WP: 11; +4 vs. Beasts), Heavy Crossbow (WP: 8; Knock-back), Smoke Bomb, Zoot's Cookie, Zoot's Plaything Alexandre le Chevalier (Capt.JohnPaul) Level 15 Knight Power: 23 Defense: 10 Health: 23/24 Gold: 377 Equipment: Sword of the Elven Blademaster (WP: 8; ignores SP), Cross Heater Shield (SP: 7), Mail of the Renegade Commander (SP: 3; Damage of all Free Hits is halved; suitable for Knights and Barbarians) Inventory: Potions (4), Tonic, Remedy, Smoke Bomb, Fire Bomb Isabella del Toboso (Dharkan) Level 13.5 Rogue Power: 22 Defense: 1 Health: 18/19 Gold: 541 Equipment: Fauxthril Dagger (WP: 8), Cloak of the Invisible Elf (SP: 1; untargetable for first 2 Rounds of every Battle) Inventory: Golden Dagger (WP: 3), Twin Broadswords (WP: 20; user may attack two enemies in a Turn, but may not use a shield; suitable for Knights), Venom, Potions (7), Tonics (5), Remedy, Phoenix Essence, Fire Bombs (2), Dragon Scales (2), Bedroll Arthur Justus Regulus VII (Flipz) Level 15 Mage Power: 22 Defense: 1 Health: 16/21 Ether: 10/19 Gold: 358 Equipment: Staff of the Cultist Battlemage (WP: 7; 50% chance of Fleeing instead of being KO'd), Robe of Magi (SP: 1) Inventory: Healing Staff (WP: 5; healing effect), Opal (Ice), Amethyst (Darkness), Topaz (Lightning), Scroll of Sealing, Scroll of Blindness, Scroll of Confusion, Scroll of Sleep, Scroll of Frailty, Potions (2), Grand Tonic, Tonic, Mead, Bedroll, Shovel, Telescope Luke (controlled by Waterbrick Down) Level 21 Sage *Pacifist* Power: 26 Defense: 0 Health: 36/36 Ether: 19/28 Gold: 0 Equipment: Arthur's Staff of Elven Necromancy (WP: 5) Inventory: Wooden Staff (WP: 1), Diamond (Light), Bedroll Count Lewis Knyghton (controlled by Capt.JohnPaul) Level 16 Engineer Power: 17 Defense: 0 Health: 23/23 Gold: 0 Equipment: Spatha (WP: 3) Inventory: