Endgame

"You seem awfully upbeat for being the "most malevolent door to ever exist", my fine lacquered friend. Tell me: If you can essentially just be walked around, what makes you so important? I'm sure you serve a vital function, I just don't know what."

"Libraries can be places of knowledge if stocked well, Heckz... Then again, a poorly stocked library might as well be a prison cell." I follow Heckz into the library.

I toss my Archer's Hat to Hawke, and the cloak to Sorsha. "Did... That statue... Just talk? Or am I hearing things?" Funny, I must've met atleast a dozen talking statues at this juncture. I guess I have just have to check now...

Our newbies should get a chance to shine, soon.

I don the Armor of the Croise. "If either of you want my scythe, hat, or cloak, feel free."

I look at the enraged child, taking a step back and preparing myself for a face full of chair. "This... Is getting ridiculous. Is this really what youth is like today...?" "Good idea." I grimace. "On both accounts."

Oh, the PM ones? I'll try to get them up soon.

I should have a pitch in tonight.

"...The fact that you have to specify scares me a little bit, Karie..."

"...There are kinds? And I thought I was staying up to date on science... Anyway, if we can't illuinate, I'd suggest dropping a bone or something side and trying to pull it out... Just to check if something is even there."

Player Analysis Sarge: Sarge always has, and likely always will be, aggressive. He will always have one party member on edge with him - but I think, compared to 47, you've toned it down to a very appropriate level. Sarge is beginning to get fleshed out - I realize that no one bounced off of your foreshadowing too well, but here is my advice: have Sarge bottle his emotion up. Save it for a catharsis, or series of catharsises. Humans supress their emotions, and it may be best to have Sarge do that, to a degree. I get the feeling that such behavior led to his cyncial nature and aggressive tone, as well as his staggering affinity for liquor. Also, the relation you forged with Fydelle was among my favorite parts of this quest - it was a pleasure hosting you. Erdathcath: Erdathcath struck me as headstrong - very headstrong. She has conviction, and she grips firmly onto her beliefs. Should you ever again come on an Endgame quest, I'll be sure to cook up a villain that puts those convictions to the test. She definitely has character, but seems a little unfazed by the events around her. I'd reccomend having the druid respond to the qusts events with a little broader of a spectrum of emotion, or making her constant confidence a more distinct trait. Right now, it seems a little ambiguous. Other then that, though, I like Erdathcath as a character. Em: Em has "silent but present" down pat, really. You can tell that inside his head, there is definitely a lot going on - but what he does and says doesn't always seem reflective of what he is thinking or feeling, and that makes for a very interesting character. However, you managed to balance out that aspect with the warm relationship with Solon's children (There is a reason they were all named after Roman emperors... they're practically royalty!), making Em seem all the more of a solid character. Em has been great, as always. Jeaux: Jeaux was a robot, and in this quest, it really did show. It say this in the best manner possible: his calculating and logical assesment of the situation, along with his lack of any substantial emotion, really make him seem like an automaton. However, the mention of Animutilav and his contrast with Nilrem still give him enough displays enough emotion to make him an interesting character: his usual lack of feeling makes his occasional show of emotion all the more interesting! It was great to host you again, and I hope to potentially build up Jeaux's interaction with The Regret and the Animutilav in the future. Jeaux and Sorrow are the postivie effects of the Animutilav, I'v enoticed - while The Regret is the incredibly negative one. Johon: Johon felt similar to Erdathcath: with a huge convcition in his worldview. However, he seems a lot more blunt and aggresive about it, not afraid to make it come to blows if he needs to prove himself right. This combination of anger and reasoning is a bit of an odd combination, but as long as you do it right, it can be very effective. You seem to be getting a lot better with it as time goes on - it gives my villains places to pick at, at any rate.

Patience, please! I have class now again, so I have a 7 hour deadspot on weekdays. (Also, a dentist appointment. Because that meme needs to come back. )

The quest I am going to send to Sandy either today or tomorrow will feature Shadeaux rep. Also: On the subject of the Finale. I have roughly 7 major battles planned for it... 1 of them is undeniably a boss, 3 of them fit into an iffy grey area of "boss" and "not boss", and another is my True Final Boss. I'll leave that last one to your imaginations.

It's funny, because he didn't even try, yet he had Karie pretty eager. Character analysis should come tomorrow.

I breath a sigh of relief as the plant is handed to me. This would finally fix it, wipe away the last of the actual pain from that night at th theatre. The glass would remain, but it wouldn't carry the same agony. Perhaps I'd even leave some emotional baggage behind when I get this Mummy Rot out of my hand. I give a slight bow, grateful. "Thank you. Thank you very much. Is there any compensation you'd like, Professor?" "Hey, you haven't exactly been upfront with me, on occasion." I quip. "The doctor? The one who gave me my life expectancy is named Dr. Aton. I trust him - My body and my mind current ymatch his predictions, and the numbers he gave. I plan on getting the remedy from professor Abbot's brother." "Lets head back, before they return to an empty room."

Ah, the loot in the abandoned apartment building: 3 Nostrums, 3 Smelling Salts, and 2 Jinxy Juices. I can see why it would go against Jeaux's character; I really should've gave a "take whatever you want" clause. Also, you missed a sidequest in there! If you managed to get both blast jellies, you'd be able to blow up the rock near the fountain and expose where the lost Progg child was, mentioned back at the food storage, I believe. You could've returned him to the commoner's quarter for a quick 400-500 gold.

Here's my general thoughts on 81: Not my best. If that's too short for you, then here: I feel as if this suffered from a problem similar to 46: 81 was a gateway quest, designed to bridge the gap from a previous quest to a much longer one. However, I made the exact same mistake I did during 46: I spent a huge chunk of that planning for 48 instead of the actual quest at hand. Obviously, 48 is leagues upon leagues superior to 46. I don't think 81 was nearly as bad as 46, but I still think it was among my worst. It wasn't the fault of the party, it was mine. I felt as if the quest was series of events just loosely held together. The events? Decent, some - some, good, and I did like quite a few of them a fair bit. However, the events were held loosely together, the party thrown from one place to another whenever I could update. Poor planning and pace really killed this one, I think. Pace was atrocious - I usually get it right, but this time it just flopped. The holidays, health issues, weather - just assorted issues really held this one up, and for that I really do apologize. Endgame quests are suaully synonomous with a breakneck pace - here, it was the opposite. Battles were typical Endgame battles. I felt Iris needed more health, but other then that... Choice. There was choice in the beginning - you could visit any single location you could want in the beginning, explore culture. (I especially wish you visitted the Commoner's Quarter: Think stone ziggurats mixed with Venice. ) You went for all the fairly mundane places, minus the bar. You could've fought the Oculoid horde. I failed to make that clear - failed horribly. How many you could destroy and then flee, you could net some decent loot. Nightmare sequences. There was 3 - 1 in the intro, 1 in the PM, 1 in the final act, the latter two interactable. The PM one I felt was alright, but I agree with Flipz on the final sequence. The Regret. He lingered too long, yes... But he hasn't revealed his entire plan yet. I have whole paragraphs - pages upon pages that remain obscured. We know he has the Lifespark, we know he has the Animutilav. That's it. How it'll all come together remains to be seen... But if you think it'll amount to a single splice using Animutilav, you'd be wrong. NPC deaths. Nothing else to sya her ebesides what has been said. Ayla, fair-ish, Jr, not. Players. Besides Elgar, you all were fairly active! I felt like you bounced off of the NPCs well, but each of you only really interacted with one or two heroes each.I'll do an idnviidual player breakdown later, but I have to say: Besides JediMasterBrick, you were all good players. 36/48 prior experience: The quest fell flat here, too. I feel as if it would be easier for the Syndicate, since it only has 45 pages of info to trawl through as opposed to 150, not to mention a third of the significant NPCs. The Progg Arc is pretty much over at this point, so knowing prior Progg history will only be needed a little bit - and it only revolves around one Prog gin particular. Thank you all for the responses - This quest wasn't my best, but my next two are already twice as well-planned as this one. My helath issues, travel, holidays and most weather have been resolved, so normal Endgame should return come next quest. Quest XX: Six Thousand Feet Under, coming soon to a Hall near you. (With Shadeaux rep planned. )

QM Note: My flight was cancelled yesterday, leading to an exhausting day long scramble for transportation home while being shepherded by the most unhelpful airline I've ever travelled on. I suspect that I've made some glaring errors with loot distribution, and if you see them, please don't be afraid to say so. "You deserve some sort of compensation for your efforts, Johon, Erdathcath. Perhaps you'd like these?" Solon hands Johon and Erdathcath a Mythril Shard. The Party: Sgt Jon. Mcency (Pyrovisionary) 54 years old male human witch Level 19 *Dual Strike* *Immune to blinded* *Hastened!* Power: 40 (19+17+2+2) Health: 9/42 (7+18+8+3+3+3) Ether: 8/21 (19+1+1) Gold: 725 (70 owed to Brickington) Equipment: Demonic Scissors (WP:19, dual strike, Light and Darkness-elemental, Hollow (empty) daggers), Witch's talisman (All attacks Cause the badly poisoned effect), Pegleg of Hastening (Permanent hastened-effect to the user; Immune to Blinded, suitable to Sarge only; footwear) Conspirator (WP: 15, causes Blinded) Inventory: Phoenix Essence, Potion x4, Grand Potion x3, Remedy x5, Venom x3, Deadly Venom, Smoke Bomb, Bedroll, Shovel, Pickaxe, Telescope, Magic Compass, Magnifying glass, Business Card, Bone x2, 2x Gold Ring (worth 15 gold; can be given to someone to make them enamored with the giver), Counterstrike gloves, Military Grade fire bomb Erdathcath Madilinas, 199 years old, Level 20.5 Druid *Lucky!* Power: 30 Health: 34/34 Ether: 14/23 Gold: 427 Equipped: Tritech Handcannon (WP:13), Satchel of Awesomeness (Permanent Lucky-effect; bodywear), Amulet of Optimism (Adds the confused-effect to all attacks; suitable to Erdathcath only; accessory) Inventory: Longbow (WP:7), Quick bow (WP: 6, Suitable to rangers, provides hastened effect for one round each battle), Helmet (+1 max. health), 6 Potions, 3 Grand Potions, 6 Mead, 8 Smelling Salts, 15 Venoms, 3 Deadly Venoms, 1 Super Deadly Venom, 2 Floral Bombs, 2 Ice Bombs, 2 Lightning Bombs, 1 Fire Bomb, 3 Smoke Bombs, 2 Water Bombs, 2 Holy Bomb, 2 Dirt Bombs, 2 Air Bombs, Grand Tonic, Bone, Skeleton Decoy, Bedroll, Shovel, Pickaxe, Telescope, Saber teeth, Scroll of Weakening, Ruby, Snake Eye Charm (protects from petrified), Mage's muffler (protects from sealing), Jinxy Juice, Grand Tonic, Love Potion, Blind Fury, Grating Stone, Jinxy Juice, Deadly Venom, Mythril Shard Name: Unknown. Most call him "Em," though his real name remains largely mysterious. Unknown age male human ranger Level 15.5 Power: 24 SP: 4 Health: 22/22 (6+14+2) Gold: 406 Equipment: Aquabow (WP: 7, Water-elemental), Anniversary Medal (Artefact/Accessory) (Power +2, SP +2, Max. Health +2, Max. Ether +2. The values will increase by 1 with each passing year), Syndicate Cowl (SP: 2, Immune to Doomed effect) Inventory: Consumables: Smoke bomb, Grating Stone x2, Nostrum x2, Potion x2, Remedy x4, Venom, Grand Potion, Mead, Ambrosia, Crystal Sovereign Weapons: Quality Cutlass (WP:6, Dagger), Bow(WP:5) Tools: Bedroll, Shovel, Pickaxe, Equipment:White Marksman's Hat (⅙ chance of Assassination vs. Flying monsters; Headwear), Gentleman's Hat (SP: 1, suitable for men, headgear. The wearer has a 1/2 chance to not be affected by (Asleep), Ranger's Quiver (+1 WP to all Bows/Crossbows), Iron Knuckle Armour (Body, foot, and hand wear. Counts as one artefact. Usable by knights and dragoons. SP: 10. Cannot be removed by enemies), Frost Helmet (SP: 3, ice immune), Potion x3, Mead Johon [AKA Alf Gregory] (Bricksandparts) 25 years old male human Barbarian > Raider Level: 26.66 Power: 38 Health: 14/41 (23+8+1+7+0) Shield Power: (5+1) Ether: ~/0 Positive effects: *Immune to:* (*Fragile*, *Cursed* *Stunned* ), *Natural Respite* Negative effects: (none) Gold: 3111 (0CB(50)) Equipment: Weapon - Sword of Decay (WP:8) - (once the target is inflicted with damage they lose a quarter of the power of the strike each following turn for three turns. the effect cannot be compounded with more strikes. Suitable to Mages, Knights and Barbarians.) Shield - None Artefact 1 (L1-9) - Heavy Armour - SP:5, protects from fragile-effect, suitable for barbarians and knights Artefact 2 (L10-19) - Hide of The Bleeding - restores 10 HP and 5 ether for every enemy the wearer kills, suitable for anyone Artefact 3 (L20-29) - Sticky Gloves - Increases the amount of gold stolen by 50% (rounded up), suitable for rogues and beast warriors.[ Artefact 4 (L30-39) - Artefact 5 (L40-49) - Artefact 6 (L50+) - Extra Artefacts: Helmet (+1 max health), Blessed Amulet – Protects from cursed-effect. Dog Statuette - (suitable for anyone, SP: 1, once named (Rover), speaking the name summons a dog almost certainly to tag along on madcap adventures and make snippy comments.), Scarlet Hood - +4 to power, immunity to stunned, Bravado Boots - 1/6 chance of being Lucky at the beginning of every battle Extra Weapons: Greatsword (WP:3), Focal Staff (WP:5, Focus Fire-Roll a 3 for 5 ether Suitable for clerics and mages),Gladius (WP: 15, Darkness elemental, 1/3 chance of Fragile on succesful hits), Stalker’s Mallet (WP: 8, usable by Knights, Barbarians, and Harlots. Has a 1/2 chance to seal the enemy),Lullaby Wand (WP: 6, causes asleep-effect), Lovelorn Wand (WP: 6, causes enamored-effect.), Scaridy Wand (WP: 6 causes afraid-effect.), Wand of Wrath (WP: 6, causes enraged-effect.) Tools: Shovel (1), Pick-axe (2), Magnifying Glass (1), Magic Compass (1) Consumables: Potion (2), Grand Tonic (1), Remedy (0), Mead (10), Smelling Salts (19), Nostrum 19), Venom (2), Deadly Poison (1), Trial Brew (1), Ambrosia (2), Ectoplasm (1), Mythril Shard Elements: Aquamarine (1), Emerald (1), Garnet (1), Opal (1), Ruby (1), Sapphire (1), Topaz (1), Diamond (2), Amethyst (2) Scrolls: Scroll of Sleep (1), Scroll of Blindness (1), Scroll of Sealing (1), Scroll of Confusion (1), Scroll of Frailty (1), Scroll of Weakening (1) Quest/RP/Misc. items: Blue Rose, Fifty Shades of Bley Jeaux Elmfyre (joeshmoe554) Automaton male, Evoker Level 16.5 *Blessed* *Transcended* *Immune to Sealing, Bleeding, and Confused* Power: 27 (Level 15 + WP: 11) Defense: 2 Health: 10/24 (6 + 3 + 15) Ether: 13/17 (16 + 1) Gold: 165 Equipment: Divine Cannonade (WP:11; gives blessed- and transcended-effects to user; hollow; handcannon), Enchanted Bracelet (protects from sealing; accessory), Automaton Armor (SP:2, immune to bleeding and confused; suitable to automata only; bodywear) Inventory: Eminus (WP: 5; bow), Serpenthead Shield (SP:2, causes poisoned by 2-effect to anyone physically attacking the user), Ranger's Quiver (WP+1; backwear), Topaz, Soma, Tonic, Grand Tonic x2, Grand Potion x3, Venom x2, Volatile Venom x3, Smoke Bomb, Water Bomb, Bedroll, Bone x6, Handy Suitcase (SP-2, use 2 Items; accessory), Turdwing (fly familiar; causes confused to one opponent whenever used), Amethyst and Diamond(Borrowed from Johon), Remedy x4, Smelling Salts, Jinxy Juice Summons: Thunder Mode "Thank you again for your service, heroes." "I'll bring you back up, heroes. Follow me." The party, tired from their previous bout and still shaken from their encounter with The Regret, makes their final pass through the widning caves of the Colony. It seemed almost devoid of life now, many of its civilians enslaved or hiding, in fear despite the threat passing. It seemed that when The Regret exitted, he withdrew the entire force with him. Fydelle looks at the battered and near lifeless Colony as the group treads through the Progg city one last time. Finally, they reach the same makeshift entry from where they started. "Well... We're going to have to perform a census or something, but the future for Proggs looks... grim. We number no more than 700, now. We are almost officially endangered. But it could've been worse, heroes. We all would've been puppets of The Regret, had you not came and helped us in our time in need. Especially after what we did in Luosh... I had my doubts about you heroes, but they have been pretty much resolved. Goodbye, and best of luck." With a jab of his tail, Fydelle causes the ground above them to crumble easily, and rearragned it into a step of sorts. The heroes climb out one by one... And step back out into the very alley they started in. They look up at the night sky for the first time in what seems like eons, knowing that... The Quest Was Succesful! QM Note: Epilogue coming soon! You may all return to the hall now. I'll have my thoughts up in the QM lounge soon... And I really must apologize for how long this quest took.

I'll have that description PMed to you soon, Scorpiox/Sandy: I just figured I could add a IC reason for Proggs only appearing just now.

The party hears a familiar metallic shuffling, along with five other soft brushing noises, all occurring at different intervals. Em heaves a sigh of relief as he sees who it was: Solon, and his five children. "Sarge, Johon, Erdathcath, Jeaux, Em, I-" His five multi-colored larvae sprint out in front of the now-ruler of the colony, yelping in delight. "Heroes!" "You're okay!" "You're in one piece!" "Your bodies are fully functional without any major injuries!" "And stuff!" "Where were they, Solon?" "They were all balled up in drawer, trembling. I'm so relieved, thank Ennoc that they're safe..." The party notices some moisture on Solon's face grids: whtehr from battle or tears of relief, it was hard to say. Everyone was leaning towards the latter. "Anyway... We Proggs have a lot to thank you for, heroes. Really. You got me out of my polotical slump, you saved the lives of every Progg still here, and prevented us from all becoming puppets - pawns, to be used and disposed by The Regret. We haven't seen the last of that demon. iI know that for a fact. But now... I have confidence in you, heroes. if there is anything you need, don't be afraid to ask. You're welcome to the colony, anytime. And here is your hard earned reward..." Solon passes the party 1000 gold to split! The children shuffle forward as well, bearing a weathered book: Progg History, Biology, Physiology, Culture and Cuisine. "For your Embassy!" "It has our history, medical healthy stuff..." "...and progg food!" "A complete and comprehensive guide about anything you would care to know about the colony and its shelled denizens!" "And stuff! You can drop it off at the Embassy and they'll add a summary and stuff daddy made." QM Note: Distribute the gold, and you're done here!

"Let's go... I've lost all sensation in this hand, for weeks now... Pretty soon, this thing will stop working. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about how close the amputation was, Karie..."

A sunset shimmer? Here? "Any chance we could head back there? Now? Karie I, uh, neglected to tell you this, but this thing is going in for amputation in two weeks if I don't cure it... And if that happens, well, doctor says it won't do much for my life expectancy."

Yep - it's based off of a boss fight from the lego movie video game. Apparently oppresive evil-doers are just my thing. I probably am going switch its inner core out to Dark Gray rather than Light Gray. When I get my hands on my Lego collection again, I'll probably try switching out the front face panel to a 8x8 plate instead - I just like the girder design too much. Thanks for noticing the little guys as well! I'm not too proud of the little trike one in the front, though - or his face, at any rate. He looks a bit derpy. Thanks for the comments and criticism, everybody - it's much appreciated!