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Been on any quests, Goliath? Kid looks at the quest board. Seems there's an opportunity right there. Kid grabs a quill and signs up for quest #151.

I didn't introduce myself, did I? Kid extends a hand. Kid Reddson, adequate with a crossbow, fantastic with- Kid zones out, focusing on some bearded vampire a few tables away, then regains eye contact with Golaith. Forgot what I was saying. Huh. Kid shrugs. I shoot things. Also, I was less than an inch tall a few hours ago. Not fun. They can't? Do they actually not have feet? I thought Sudz was being clingy when he said he couldn't move.

So.. are you like a golem or something? What's an automaton?

They're an endangered species, just like the non-were variety. Also I'm pretty sure they wouldn't bite another victim unless they looked like bamboo.

I'm sorry I'm not as noble as you might want me to be, Petaldan.Kid looks somewhat apologetically at the child. Even though I think money is what makes us heroic in this hall, I really, really thought that capturing those men was the right thing to do. I'm not a monster, I guess. I have morals. He sighs. Kid puts down his mug and begins to do what looks like tracing invisible letters on the table, if those letters were all over top of each other and were all lowercase Ls. But now, thinking back, I dunno about that. The way Alphy looked at me as I left the place made me feel uneasy. Made me reconsider blind loyalty to clients. Maybe...maybe Marco was right about the Guild. Kid stares intently at nothing in particular, reciting the Mage's predictions in his mind. Maybe It's a good thing Marco got away. He snaps out of his brief moment of caring. But whatever, I got payed right? Kid tries to change the subject. How was Sudz doing? I liked that guy. Would've liked to say goodbye before I got knocked out cold.

Y'know, I don't think I've met this one before. Kid looks the metal thing up and down, left and right a couple times, then down again. It was covered with armor, yet no flesh could be seen anywhere. Also, it had hair growing overtop of a metal mask-looking thing, which did not seem normal. What are you?

Kid finally speaks up after his long period of silence.I mean, we're mercenaries. Let's be honest with ourselves. We're in it for the money. Kid chuckles to himself then takes a sip from his drink. No shame in that.

Yeah I agree that it shouldn't be like his one trait, and I see you're trying not to show it off.

Took me a while to get my thoughts down, but here it is. ahem Quest #149 In-Depth Review As a first quest, this was amazing. The environment (build wise) was simple, but the concept behind it just made each room magical. WBD obviously has a ton of experience in QMing, and it definitely shows in this fantastically built quest. The NPCs were creative, the circumstance was really unique (especially for a quest built for those in lower level), and the interactions with the other players was fantastic. This party really made the quest, and I would quest with any one of them again in a heartbeat. NPCs: Dr. Cula did not originate from this quest, but still his execution in this one deserves to be commended. He's jolly, but he has an agenda (as seen by the epilogue). He's just a fun and colorful character that's great to interact with. The golems were really interesting in their designs, and their whole longing for each other was interesting, although I thought it could have had a bigger payoff (I thought perhaps the two would chemically combine into a new substance or something which would fix the pipes, but whatever.) Marco was interesting mostly because of the questions he provided. The way he unexpectedly split the party was really fun to see, and I wonder what will happen when Cula and the rest of the union get their hands on him. Volatio was a lot of fun to watch (I say that a lot huh) with the way he got offended at everyone's perception of genies, his sucking up to Marco. Another colorful character for this colorful quest, really fit the environment. Quest: So many puzzles. Yikes. I'm bad at those, but I'm glad they were in there. Made the quest more than dialogue and fighting. One criticism I have is not entirely WBD's fault or really anyone's, but the final argument seemed dragged on a bit longer than it needed to be. I'm not saying this because it was boring or that I just care about fighting, but it reached a point where all the lines had been drawn, everyone knew who was where (except Ezeran's twist), but it kept going. We all knew everyone wasn't going to change their side, and we kept repeating the same argument(s) over and over. Again, no one's fault really, but that happened. Speaking of which, I think the climax had a lot of twists that could have been followed through with (for everyone). I think if I was going to have Kid drop out, he should have stuck to it for a bit longer. I think maybe if Ezeran had stayed on the other side Ezeran could have explained his whole "freedom has a price" thing a little earlier so that it didn't seem like he was switching back to the "capture him" side for no reason. And I really wish Timothy's whole thing with trying to push Marco into the portal trick had succeeded, my jaw hung open when I read that one. I loved it. But, QMs plan boss battles and drops, and if I had successfully followed after them, he would have to make a set he wasn't prepared for, so I totally understand. Good twist at the end, maybe this ties into this next quest you've been working on. The Party: Me: I thought Kid's general personality came across pretty well, although sometimes one thing he did conflicted with another. I've been trying to play him as sort of a happy but nonchalant, not to say apathetic, just not entirely worried of what others think of him or what's going on and doesn't care about possibly offending others. Deep down he's supposed to be a little self loathing, hating himself for failures or not doing good enough. The self loathing really came to play for me when he threw his crossbow on the ground, but I feel like I rushed his whole back into battle thing too much, and should have kept him down a few more turns, maybe strategically helping if he assisted later, and being more dramatically realistic. All in all, I like that he's not carbon-copying other characters, but he needs a lot more work, and I am open to suggestions. But enough about me, let's get down to the rest of this amazing party. Ezeran: From what I observed, Ezeran's always been a basic odd but wise wizard figure (not that that's bad in the least, we all start from archetypes), but near the end of this quest, we really got to see him develop a bit more into a darker character, not above changing his motives and end goals for some cash or other such rewards and being somewhat merciless when it comes to those who cannot pay. Ezeran is always entertaining to be around, and I feel like he may go through some major character changes soon. Oh, I almost forgot about the symbiont. I think the odd chest growth could factor in a little bit more to his character, not being too intrusive, but right now he seems just like a thing that is mentioned now and then, and he could add a bit more. Maybe as time progresses, give it more control over the body, perhaps have it grow, or maybe allow it to talk. Or don't. Those might all be horrible ideas. Torald: Everyone loves Torald, and he's a great questmate. However, he definitely could use some more character. Not sure if I have much more to add than what's already been said, except that I think Torald could be a little more loyal to the guild of invision. I mean he is, but he doesn't (at least in this quest) mention why. Being a warrior type, I imagine loyalty to be a strong thing in his blood, but he would also talk about how and why he feels the way he does about the guild/union frequently. I also really like WBD's idea of testing the friendship of him and Ezeran, as it would add more to both characters after they reunite (or don't). Wolfwind: Sorry you got banned, dude. If somehow he's able to see this or ever come back, I'd like to say that most of what he did just seemed to be him agreeing with everyone else, instead of forming his own opinions. But maybe he would have if he continued in the quest. I dunno. Godspeed. Hunkan: I've always liked Hunkan since the brief run-ins at the hall through the fields of glory, and I'm disapointed that I didn't interact with him very much this quest, as I feel like the two personalities could bounce off of each other very well. They're both from shorter races, both seem to understand that they're mercenaries more than heroes, and they're both a bit sarcastic. For example, Kid sees situation A and thinks "Hey, that's funny!" Hunkan sees situation A and says "Wow, that's stupid." (if that makes sense). So yeah, these two could have some funny interactions in the future. I really appreciated the fact that although Hunkan is a bit grumpy, he isn't emo, and he really knows what he's doing and sticks to the job. Although he stuck with the side of being loyal to the employers, he didn't immediately jump to the "surrender or die" thing that I did, which shows how rational he is. To sum up, he's grumpy, he's funny, he's rational, and I should talk to him more often. Petaldan: Petaldan's positivity and innocence is refreshing to be around, but in the big argument at the end he seemed a little judgmental. However, for the majority of the quest he was a lovable little kid who turns out to be wiser than a group of adults. I really like this twist of a character, and can't wait to see what he becomes. But as far as suggestions go, I think he should have a little more childness in his character. Every once in a while he giggles or something, but the more he mixes noble and wise with innocent and young, the more we like him. Timothy: Out of all of these characters, Timothy surprised me the most. He was a new guy that really wanted to take Wolfwind's place, so I was a little concerned that he would just be someone who would be hyperactive (not sure how that's possible online), but in fact, he seemed the most developed of the group. I honestly don't know why. I find it hard to sum up his character. He's not a mystery, he's not a stereotype, but something about him alway seemed tied to something, he really understands who his character is. This probably has to do with him already having an entire solid backstory actually written out, and although he didn't blurt it out in a flashback or anything, this really seemed to help him know who he was. Even though he wasn't constantly being depressed about his wife, I'm guessing having a hard copy of his entire story led to his successful role-play. Good job, dude. Well that's all of it, I think. I got a bit rambly at times, I think. I really liked this quest and can't wait to participate in a quest with the same questmates, the same QM, or a follow up story to this one, or even (and hopefully) all three. Good job to everyone all around, but especially to WBD for hosting. Glad this could be my first quest (excluding our infamous FoG run).

I've been throwing around quest ideas for a while, and I think I have a few ideas for a basic story. Feel free to contact me.

Kid finally enters the hall following his visit with his relatives. As usual, seeing his family of has left him exhausted and rather pissy. He comes to the hall to find a place where things make sense, a place where people are rational, a place with much fewer Leprechauns. A man Kid has never seen tosses him a bedroll and then disapears....Goodbye? Kid looks at the item in his hands. Another bedroll. Great. Kid grabs a drink from somewhere and sits with the group of his former questmates.

I'd like to say a thank you to WaterBrickDown for hosting my first quest. I'll post a more in depth review later.

Kid figures he might as well go back to the hall and drink until he forgets the entirety of this quest. Take care of Sudz, Alphy. Kid returns to the hall.

Kid wakes up coughing. We had them. They had no where to go, and we could have taken them easily. What the hell happened? Where'd they go?

I don't have an intended effect. I- I'm just weak.Kid looks at his crossbow, considering Ezeran's words. He was right, but a death sentence was still not the right way to go. Kid picks up his crossbow and loads it with a safer bolt. Fine. I'll keep fighting. But we aren't killing him. Kid repeats, but with non-lethal attacks.

Oh really? Well that just completely undermines my character development. Huh. So what do we make of this?

Kid points his crossbow at Marco, looking into the Mage's eyes. The man is battered, tired, bloody, but he still fights. He believed in something. He cared. Kid can't let him get away with what he's done, but should he end his life? I can't do it. I can't kill him. I thought I could, dammit, but I can't. There has to be some other way. Can't we take the crystals he got, and let him go without the tonic recipe? We'll still get the job done, and Tonics will still remain to The Guild, but- Kid gulps anxiously. What kind of hero can't even finish the job? What kind of soldier just stops fighting for the life of a single stranger? He has him in his crosshairs, he and the others can end it now. His finger quivers on the trigger. Kid throws his crossbow on the ground. His face collapses into his hands. He failed. I can't do it.

Kid whispers to his teammates: Are we really gonna finish him off? There's no way we can bring him in?

Kid repeats.

We can bring you to the town watch. A fair trial. You may even get your tonic recipe released, if the people so want it. Kid sighs, exasperated. I don't want to hurt you, but I can't let you escape.

It doesn't have to end like this. I don't want to kill you. Kid repeats.

Is that an order? I'll listen to orders. But don't count on just your words alone to keep me from doing the right thing.

We told them to come with us, or die. I don't want to kill them, but they are resisting arrest. We all killed an innocent salamander without hesitation, and you said nothing. and by doing that, we set free the wisps. But here we are, with a guilty man, and you want to let him go. You've already crossed the line of innocence.

So true heroes are the ones who just let criminals go?