Endgame

You could have Endgame as your QM, but really, what are the odds of that?

Woah, that is fairly impressive, Joeshmoe! that's actually an Easter Egg in of itself: That's what my notes have the pinned up notice as, though I cleaned up the grammar/syntax to make it sound better. Mostly just me seeing how closely people look into quest pictures.

Sorry, Kintobor, my tendency to hide excessive Easter Eggs led me to modify the Quest Pitches a bit.

Can't kick off a Progg Quest without some somnombulant human genocide.

~This Quest is for chosen heroes only. If you'd like to learn how to join, please refer to the Heroica RPG Rules & FAQ topic.~ Knowing they were to help the Proggs - whatever they were - the heroes retire to their chambers, the shade of night falling over the hall. Come nightfall, their employer would post up information regarding their rendezvous. Deciding to get some rest before embarking on yet another quest, the heroes chosen slip into a deep sleep... an unnaturally deep sleep. In their slumber, their normal dreams a slowly overtaken by a horrid sight... Nightmares plague the heroes throughout the night. Visions of a prospering city crumbling to a fathomless cloud of darkness, hordes of unidentifiable creatures lunging out form the shadows to attack the terrorified, yet faceless, civillains... Building topples and are engulfed in purple flames, the landscape getting ravaged. The detail of the vision was frustratingly vague, yet frighteningly vivid in other places... In the course of one short nightmare, they saw an entire city torn to pieces, reduced to ash, and swept away. Startling awake from their horrid nightmare, 5 heroes gather in the hall. These heroes were... The Party: Sgt Jon. Mcency (Pyrovisionary) 54 years old male human witch Level 18 *Dual Strike* *Immune to blinded* *Hastened* Power: 35 (18+17) Health: 35/35 (7+17+8+3) Ether: 18/18 Gold: 498 (70 owed to Brickington) Equipment: Demonic Scissors (WP:17, dual strike, Light, Darkness, Hollow (Potion) 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) Inventory: Duplovian Swift Halberd (WP:3, stuns on successful hits, Hollow (-) halberd), Duplovian Helmet of the Guard (SP:2, Immune to Magic and Healing), Mythril Shield (SP:20), Pheonix essence x3 , Potion x4, Grand Potion x5, Remedy x5, Nostrum, 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. Erdathcath Madilinas, 199 years old, Level 19.5 Druid Power: 29 Health: 33/33 Ether: 22/22 Gold: 349 Equipped: Tritech Handcannon (WP:13), Satchel of Awesomeness (Causes lucky-effect; bodywear), Mage's Muffler (protects from sealed) 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, 7 Mead, 10 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 petrify), Amulet of Optimism (Adds the confused-effect to all attacks; suitable to Erdathcath only; accessory) Elgar Gligin (played by Jedi master Brick) Level 24 2/3 Druid *Immune to Fragile!* Power: 34 Defense: 6 Health: 38/38 Ether: 24/24 Gold:706 Equipment: Mockthril Crossbow (WP:11 Permanently Deadly envenomed), Chainmail (SP: 2, Bodywear: half damage from Fire elemental enemies and double from Electric elemental enemies) Emerald Hood (SP: 4, headwear, protects from Fragile) Inventory: Fauxthril Longbow (WP: 5),Smoke Bomb, Bedroll, Emerald, Sapphire, Topaz,,Opal, Aquamarine, Spade, Pickaxe, 3 Potions, Needlessly Large Rod (Non-Artifact Item, Curses a random enemy. Usable once per battle.) Does not prevent free hits. Grand Potion (x3), Fireworks, Remedy (x2), Hide of The Regret (halves damage from undead; suitable for anyone, backwear), Tonic, Grand tonic (x5), Root beer (Restores 10 health, or can be used as a bomb against undead enemies for 20 damage. The Root Beer does not affect non-undead enemies.) , Ambrosia Name: Unknown. Most call him "Em," though his real name remains largely mysterious. Unknown age male human ranger Level 14.5 Power: 23 SP: 2 Health: 16/21 Gold: 285 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)[/font], Syndicate Cowl (SP: 2, Immune to Doomed effect) Inventory: Consumables: Smoke bomb, Grating Stone x2, Nostrum x2, Potion x5, Remedy x4, , Venom, Ice Bomb, Grand Potion, Mead x2, Quality Cutlass (WP:6, Dagger) 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), Bedroll, Shovel, Pickaxe,Bow(WP:5), 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), Ambrosia Jeaux Elmfyre (joeshmoe554) Automaton male, Evoker Level 15.5 *Blessed* *Transcended* Power: 26 (Level 15 + WP: 11) Defense: 0 (-2) Health: 23/23 (6 + 3 + 14) Ether: 16/16 (15 + 1) Gold: 167 Equipment: Divine Cannonade (WP:11; gives blessed- and transcended-effects to user; hollow; handcannon), Handy Suitcase (SP-2, use 2 Items; accessory), Enchanted Ring (Accesory, protects against Sealed) Inventory: Golden Handcannon (WP:9; lightning-elemental), Eminus (WP: 5; bow), Ranger's Quiver (WP+1; backwear), Topaz, Grand Tonic x2, Phoenix Essence, Venom x2, Smoke Bomb, Holy Bomb, Water Bomb, Bedroll, Bone x6, Turdwing (fly familiar; causes confused to one opponent whenever used), Grand Potion x3 Summons: Thunder Mode Referring to the questboard, the party sees yet another note posted ontop of the Quest 81 notice: QM Note: Welcome to Quest 81! You folks have 24 hours confirm - when you all do, I'll move you folks to the rendezvous point.

In the afternoon, a silence falls over the hall. The quiet is broken by the soft sound of crumbling tiles, the floor crumbling away beneath the questboard. A few tiles slide out of the way as an olive green gauntlet raises from the small hole created. It slides its claw along the ground, trying to find the questboard. Finally, it locates the board, and pins a notice to it. The matron of Heroica Hall notices the breach in the floor, stomping down the stairs, broom in hand. "Oh, and what do you think you're doing?" Scheherazade is about to whack the intruding arm into submission when it hastily retreats, quickly shifting the fragments of tiles back into place. A red glow and a burtst of heat can be seen from beneath the cracked tile, the burst of fire fusing the tile back into one piece. "Blasted underground hooligans.." Scheherazade mutters as she goes back to her saloon.

"No problem. Best of luck out there." I take a sip of my water as Hershey and Karie walk away.

I get the slightest sense of the cat showing me some biting sarcasm. "Erm... Sorry, Hershey." I took down the Croise and Haroka, and here I am, losing my nerve to a cat. Typical.

"Well, if Violetta trained her, Hershey probably isn't half bad at evading and the like." I bend down and pet the feline's head, the cat purring softly. "Have any tricks to show us, Hershey?"

"Why would that happen? Because she was previously seen with Violetta?"

I accept, the food with a nod, beginning to slwoly pick away. I look down at the cat, staring intently, wiating for me to fumble a piece of lettuce or the like. "Seems your Hershey is quite the little beggar. Are you just going to keep her in the apartment? I remember it being a bit cramped..."

Zepher, I'll try to get 46 and 48 to you soon. 48 will probably take quite a while, though - it's a monster.

Current Sign-Ups for Quest #81: Home Sweet Home: >Heckz Brutenhal (Eric Su) >Erdacath Madilinas (The_Customizer) >Johon (Bricksandparts) >Grimwald Gjinko (LordOfTheNoobs) >Elgar Gligin (Jedi master Brick) >Em (Emjajoas) >Jeaux Elmfyre (JoeShmoe) This is the last call for sign-ups! Quest #81 launches in 24 hours.

"Just a salad, thanks." I was thankful for the resolution of serious topics, at least for a bit - although things were quickly crawling back into the "awkward" territory.

Wow, thanks, Scorpiox - it means a lot! I had no idea this would've been so well so recieved. That spiel pretty much concluded Sorrow's backstory. I've touched upon his four hundred years of persecution, his father, and his faincee - Sorrow is a character of the present now, basically.

I was a bit stunned. What do I say? "...These similarities are starting to run deep, aren't they? Karie, don't be afraid to just let it out. I'm sure nobody will judge you. But I am glad to hear you found another person. I'm glad you found other people here to support you, to help you. I'll gladly be one of them, if you need me."

"And yet... You currently are in one. What happened? Karie, please don't tell me you're just trying to fill a void. That almost never works out. I always feared that if I did find someone else, I would always just see them as a replacement..."

I struggle to grab hold of my mind from Syntax, suppressing him so I could continue on with this conversation with my wits intact. "Sorry, it's... it's a habit. That's when I took the name of Sorrow, you knew. it's the day that started.. everything, really. The persecution, the constant harassment, the death threats. All for being undead. That day... Even eafter four centuries... was my darkest." I sigh, and begin again. "I never had another partner, you know. It just seemed so... futile, afterwards. Like I was trying to fill some void."

"Guilty. I sound guilty. I am guilty."

I breathe deeply. "We're not so different, you and I, are we?"

The child was most definitely is. I would imagine that an undead's accuracy is proportional to the time/effort/resources spent - Sorrow/Vitus's Necromancer spent almost a full week resurrecting him, and it paid off; he even made it about 4 years cutoff from his ether supply while being pretty much a normal human. So, to answer your question: Normal means.

Thanks a ton, Rumble Strike!

Sweet merciful batman that is a wall of text. But, Sorrow's greatest sin has come to light. And yes - that is why Sorrow despises ehter cores.

I sigh mournfully, gathering my thgouhts - trying to remember. The trauma of the events had reinforced the memories "Well, let us rewind about four hundred and eight years ago, before I met your great grandmother. Before I was Sorrow. Back then, I went by my true name - Vitus. I don't remember my last name. I don't know if I had one. When i was about twenty, my necromancer father was sealed - permanently. The rune was literally burnt on his back. With his power stolen from him, he grew a bit bitter... The abilities he worked years for, removed in an instant. The archmancer, one of the best necromancer of the century, would be forced to live among his powers, etherless. Of course, it also cut off his ether flow to me - what effects that would have on me were unknown. My father was the only family I ever really had, at the time. I left the settlement and set off in the world , trying to find a way to help my father. But I found something else as well, in the first few years; love. I courted Sarah, an artisan at Draida Bay. She knew I was undead, but it didn't matter to her; at the time, I still looked exactly like a human. Three years of dating later, I proposed to her... She said yes. She was pregnant at the time. We lived happily together for some time later, but then... it hit. The ether my body had stored inside itself depleted, and as I result, I began to decay. Acutely. I suddenly looked pale, sickly - my motor skills impaired. Sarah didn't care that her Vitus was decaying, but I did. I was vain, greedy. Decaying reminded me how artificial and fake it was, and could hardly stand it. Stumbling out of my sickbed while Sarah was at work, I decided to visit some of the shadier alleys of Draida. A monumental mistake, in retrospect... But so is the majority of what I've done. I need ether, and fast. And what do you know, there was a dealer in Draida. Ether cores, he sold - or sdome shoddy knock-off. I could never truly tell. Back then, snorting tonics was popular. The magic went right up to your head, and outclassed almost any drug. Fried brain cells about three times faster, but most of the addicts really didn't give half a damn at that point. I needed the Ether Cores for simply different, though. Had to slice the palms of my hands wide open, crush them, and allow the powder into my bloodstream. Rejuvenated me every day. And it was a daily ritual; I needed to do it to keep my appearance every day. There was no addiction by doing it that way. The only thing that kept me doing it was my own vanity and arrogance. Of course, like all drugs, the price grew higher and higher and higher. And as a daily occuranc,e it was expensive. Ludicrously. To the point where I drained Sarah and I's collective savings, had to work 3 jobs instead of 1; All so I could keep the illusion of being an actual human. My Sarah was not some complecant women; she had no fear of getting her hands dirty, and wanted to help the household in any way she could. Unfortunately, jobs were not widely availible at the time. The only job availible to her? Harlotry. We vowed to remain faithful for eachother as she headed out to the bars, every night. Little did she know I had already broken them, long ago. Even when she was selling her body to other men, unknowingly supporting my addiction, trying to do good for us, I continued to waste it all. Trying to hang onto the facade as long as possible. She'd come home bloody, bruised beaten, almost every night, and I could hardly stand it... But every day I kept buying the Ether Cores, and every night she would head back out to the city to earn what money she could. Eventually, Sarah grew suspicious. My lies of taxes and landlords were not nearly as convincing anymore. One night, she followed me to my dealer... And as I was purchasing, called out. The dealer didn't take well to the commotion, knowing his reputation was on the line. He pulled out a dagger, and planned to kill us both. I grappled with him, telling Sarah to run and hide. The dealer got a few good stabs in, but ultimately I wretched the knife from him, and slit his throat. I looked back down the alley, seeing my beloved Sarah in tears, my fiance crying. And I ran. Broke into our house, stole this hood, a relic from my old home, to hide my identity. Took all of my possessions, sold them in the dead of night, and left a bag of gold at our doorstep, hoping Sarah could climb out of debt with it. After I dropped off the gold, I slept on the alley, and came to a resolution over night: I had done nothing but hurt my beloved Sarah, and I wouldn't hurt her anymore. Come morning, I would be leaving Draida -- for good. And leave I did. Cloaked by my hood and black hoods, indistinguishable and decaying, I walked out of Draida. The heart wrenching thing? As I was leaving, I saw my Sarah, still in tears, reporting my absence to a patrolman. Hoping I'd come back. It was an agonizing decision at this point, my heart shattered to pieces and my soul weary... But I knew I couldn't stay with her. I wished her luck, she never knowing it was her fiancee telling her good luck that day on the street. With that terse goodbye, I left my Sarah, pregnant but hopefully financially secure." I pause. "As you could probably guess, she did give birth. And my son or daughter eventually had a child... Then my grandchild had a great grandhcild. son on and so forth. And... now, we're here." I place my head down at the table, my breathes sharp and labored, my heart getting worked up just telling the story. But now, the true story was out. I could only hope it doesn't condemn me.

"Not exactly a "need to know" thing, but I figured you'd want to hear about your history. Do you?"