Pandora

"If we get a moment of respite, then I can pass on the Phoenix essence to another, however there's a distinct possibility that I might be required to do a bit of smiting with my Healing Staff. Let's see how things pan out." Nyx runs South with Galen, Luke and Alexandre, her years of setting things on fire allowing her eyes to be accustomed to the smoke.

OoC: I think my health should be 9 due to being blessed. I took ten damage the round before last, + 3 back for being blessed and then 17 damage this round, + 3 back for being blessed. So (30 -(7+14) = 9). "Friends, we will be overwhelmed in no time; it's 50:50 whether even I'll survive another round, and I'm lucky right now. There's no strategy or tactics in just blundering on to certain death. I agree we should retreat to the South with the aid of Galen's smoke bomb and in the hope that Luke will heal us and there we can regroup with some allies."

Congratulations! A big thank you to everyone who entered, there are loads of fantastically Friendsy avatars roaming the boards now, and also another big thank you to all of you who voted, too. And the winners are: First Place: Oky/ Okivia Joint Second Place: Praiter Yed and The Penguin ~~~~~ Oky gets first pick of one of these three exclusive Friends tags: and Praiter Yed and The Penguin will have to negotiate rights to the other tags in a gentlemanly fashion. *****Oky, Praiter Yed and The Penguin - please PM me your details so I can send you your other prize, one of these hard-to-get-hold-of Polybags: (image from Brickset) Congratulations guys! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For those of you who haven't won a coveted tag, you still have a chance to win your own copy of the above Polybag. Each week we'll randomly select a member who has submitted a Friendsified avatar, and if that avatar is still Friendsified then they will win a 30103 Polybag. If you've Friendsified your avatar and forgotten to submit the entry, or if you'd now like to Friendsify your avatar to stand a chance of winning a Polybag, please post your entry back in the original thread here. The raffle will run each week until the end of Summer of Friends, so best of luck everyone, and remember to keep your avatar Friendsified. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Raffle entries: agentofchaos73 Alasdair Ryan AllanSmith Angeli Artanis I badboytje88 Brickstarrunner Catanas Cecilie Cerator cimddwc CM4S darkdragon Darth Hagrid DarthNick Dazmundo dr_spock ER0L Etzel Ferrik Flying Ace Hammerstein NWC Himstone Holodoc Horry IAmWillGibson JackJonespaw - raffle winner first draw. Jebediahs just2good Kai NRG kboleen Kiel Kit Fisto Legonardo Davidy mordatre Mr Meleca natelite Oky - first place in the avatar contest. Pencil_42 Polish Guy Praiter Yed - joint second place in the avatar contest. purpleparadox Quarryman Redhead1982 Roger Rabbit Sandy scubacarrot slovakiasteph sonicstarlight The Blue Brick The Penguin - joint second place in the avatar contest. Vincent Kessels

Nyx glances around the ornate furniture and architecture of Emperor Alandri's quarters, and also glances around her allies as they make their preparations. She can hear the enemies outside, but their movements are not yet clear to her. With nothing left to do but wait, she leans against the back wall, eyeing the doorway, slips off her black leather gloves and works on filing her nails.

Thought I'd reply here; I feel bad enough about two OoC comments in one post. The maps are great, there's just a lot of characters there that I've not met before that I have to keep trying to remember whether they're NPC allies or baddies (and then which NPC - I spend a lot of time scrolling between the map and the character/player list). That's not a criticism of the map at all, I'm just hoping it will explain if I say something odd. It would be useful if we knew the stats of the baddies in their various positions, though, which I think is Rumble's suggestion.

"With the guys I've seen at the Hall, hell yes. " "Right, so, onwards to protect Emperor Alandri, then. I just wanted to hit someone, that's all. and I know, I know, there'll be plenty of people to hit..." Nyx continues to move North.

"But surely if we just keep moving North, they'll still come down to attack us, and we'll have nowhere to move to. We'll be backed into a corner with an advancing ambush. At least here there is hope for back-up and we stand between them and the throne room/the Emperor? And if we're trying to head upstairs, then we'll have to face them anyway, so why not start now. Or am I missing something? "

OoC: Is that a Rogue Lion Commander in the corridor with myself, Luke, Alexandre and Galen? Nyx thinks she sees an enemy in the room with her and her allies, and thus prepares to target him with Darkness magic from the back row, channelled through her Book. Her head is swimming with all the information from the heroes, and the recent explosion wasn't helping, so before she fires her magic she checks whether he is friend or foe, and should he be friend she'll move North with Galen and the others. OoC (again) Sorry, I'm finding the map tricky to interpret, so I've written a contingency just in case.

Funnily enough it was discussed some time ago that players who haven't played Mafia for a long time (or have only played a couple of games) would actually be encouraged to take part in a Mafia School game as a refresher, so you would be very welcome. The same would really apply here, however you're already playing Excalibur Mafia, so it's a 'no', sorry.

Good for you; do you think you should play another one?

The answers you seek are found in the Fabuland Builders Guild - Discussion thread. A good place to start a search when looking for answers to questions about FABULAND.

Nyx is running towards the stairs at full pelt, her stilettos clattering on the marble floor of the Hall and corridors, when she almost skids and bumps into Galen, Luke and Alexandre as they run back down the stairs. "Hi" she pants "uhm, so we're not going up?" Nyx squints up the stairs and glimpses swarms of the enemy beginning to organise themselves and trying to land a hit on the poor Rito. "Ah, ok, that's why." she grimaces "Yeah, there's a hell of a lot of them. I think Count Knighton's not far behind me but Phil won't leave the Emperor's side. The good Emperor that is, not the bad one. Probably. Anyway, what are we doing? Waiting for reinforcements, or waiting to see what (if anything) comes down the stairs? I'm reasonably convinced not much of us would come back if we rush forward, and those bits would probably just dribble down the stairs. Any ideas? Vipera, what does Skrall think? Should we stand firm here?"

So far we've received PMs from: Bioniclover Endgame (Chillax Darth Frodo ) Stormblessed Robominer Priority will be given to those who've never played EB Mafia before, or have only played one school game before, but if you feel you'd like to play as a learning experience then feel free to apply. (I honestly don't know if you're serious or not, so apologies if you aren't.) Then send us/me a PM answering the questions in the first post. Thanks for all the interest so far guys; keep 'em coming (so we don't have to give Chillax Darth Frodo a spot. )

Behave!

I'm going to have some stern words with your mother.

Thanks DD! Thanks, no it's from 3315: Olivia's House. Thanks Scorpiox, but I should make it clear that it's myself and Rick hosting, not Rufus this time.

Police Infiltration: A Mafia School Game In the happy town of Kirksville the citizens are mostly well behaved, but those intent on breaking the law are dealt with efficiently by the large police department. Unfortunately, the falling crime rates are not to everyone’s tastes, and in an effort to “represent their business interests” the local Mafia have had to resort to infiltrating the police themselves. As events take a turn for the worse for the Chief of Police, the station is forced into lockdown and the Police workers and the Mafiosos are forced to deal with each other in the most basic terms, as they fight for the future of Kirksville. Who can sign up? We are looking for 16 players who have never played a mafia game on Eurobricks or players who have only played in one of the previous Mafia School games (passed or failed). Players who have played in advanced games (excluding mafia veterans, i.e., players with a mafia tag) and feel like they could brush up on their mafia skills are welcome to sign up as well. Priority will be given to new players though. How to sign up Post in this thread and confirm that you are able participate on a daily basis for about a month from the start of the game (early August). If you're unable or unwilling to actively participate, please don't bother signing up. Next, familiarise yourself with the basics of the game of mafia by, for example, reading the Mafiascum Wiki. Be sure, at the very least, to read the Newbie Guide. Finally, send a Personal Message (PM) to Pandora and Rick (if you cannot send PMs to more than one recipient, i.e., if your EB rank is below Knight, only PM Pandora) and answer the following questions: When playing a Vanilla Townie, describe how you will attempt to find the Mafia. When playing a member of the Mafia, describe how you avoid being uncovered by the Town. Select one of the very common roles (with a night action) and describe how you would decide who to target at night. While there are no wrong answers to these questions, there are better ones, and they hopefully will help us select the most motivated players. Remember to send your answers to the hosts by PM and not post them in the thread. We are looking forward to introducing 16 players to the exciting world of EB Mafia!

Nyx continues to move towards Galen, Luke and Alexandre on the Northwest stairwell, who are in turn moving towards Flavius. "Keep going, I'm right behind you!" she calls to the heroes ahead of her.

Or some violent Cluedo/Heroica hybrid (or Clue of you're American). "It was Wren in the Conservatory with the Fish Biscuits." Does make me wonder about secret passageways, though.

"Then I shall do that, then. Do you want me to grab Phil and ask him to come with me? I still fear at leaving the Throne Room unattended, and I shall warn you that I cannot let Phil, Nikolai or the Emperor fall."

Nyx's mind swims with the information relayed to her by Vipera, and thinks a soundless thanks for Vipera's efforts in all this. She sees the enemies, and their positions, and sees two particular faces that stoke the flames within. "U'vries! Blackenord! Your blood will be on my hands before this is through, mark my words you bastards!" she shouts to the Palace at large. Nyx once more tries to focus through the rising rage. She asks Vipera to allow her to converse with Skrall: "Skrall, what would you have me do? I heard you say you wish me to grab Phil and join Luke, but it seems that plan may have changed? I want to beat that Blackenord's face in for what he did to me, and stomp U'vries into the ground for what he did to U'stus, but I.... can control myself. Do you wish me to wait, or to move to fight? I could really do some damage against those two though, thanks to eating my Dragon Scale and my Amethyst and Topaz. However, I'm wary of leaving the Throne Room unattended."

Yay, another Battle Mage! Welcome to the club Jeb, hope you like it, and prepare to get super-annoyed that your shield power is somewhat disappointing. I would use more consumables if I ever had enough gold to buy more.

Nyx grins and winks at Atramor as she gulps down the last of her Dragon Scale. That man had an unnatural attachment to that bird, however she was starting to wonder if there was more to that chicken than met the eye. She shrugs, she still thinks it would make good target practise for some fireballs. During all this she also listens attentively to the Ogre's battle plan, and nods along with the suggestions. The skills and items seem evenly weighted and distributed, and she feels encouraged that so a large a team has such a sensible leader. She notes the plan is for her to be stationed in the Throne Room and wonders whether the Emperor will let her have a go sitting on one of the Thrones, and also wonders if Nikolai will also be fighting with her. Nyx hears the little clicky runny thing talk and frowns. "I disagree. I've fought side by side with most of the Heroes here, and dammit they are all damn fine fighters. We are not on our own, we are all part of a team. Small teams part of one big team also part of the bigger team - the Heroes of Heroica. Thinking thoughts like that - that we might die alone - is just depressing and wrong. If you want to go into battle feeling like that, fine, but I expect to fight, and win, and I will do so in the knowledge that it is the right thing to do and that we're all in this together. Talk about a buzz-kill."

A big thank you to all of you who entered, there have been some wonderful entries. Once again, thanks to the staff who've also participated just for fun. How to vote: You have 3 points to distribute however you see fit. You may split your points between 3, 2 or 1 entries; for example: Phred 1 point Ricecracker 1 point Hinckley 1 point OR Rick 2 points Pandora 1 point OR Hinckley 3 points However, don't vote for us, choose from the following entries: The Entries: agentofchaos73 Alasdair Ryan AllanSmith Angeli Artanis I badboytje88 Brickstarrunner Cecilie Cerator cimddwc CM4S darkdragon Darth Hagrid DarthNick Dazmundo dr_spock ER0L Etzel Ferrik Hammerstein NWC Himstone Horry IAmWillGibson JackJonespaw Jebediahs just2good kboleen Kiel Kit Fisto Legonardo Davidy mordatre natelite Oky Pencil_42 Polish Guy Praiter Yed purpleparadox Quarryman Redhead1982 Roger Rabbit Sandy scubacarrot slovakiasteph sonicstarlight The Blue Brick The Penguin Vincent Kessels In a lot of cases people have published larger images in the entry thread, so have another good look through the Friendsify Your Avatar thread. The Winners will receive one of these three exclusive Friends Tags: AND they will also receive one of these: (image from Brickset) So get voting!

Thank you to everyone who entered! Voting is now open, so please go here to vote!