Flipz

In that case, I'd remove "up to" from the description, since normal consumables won't increase health/Ether beyond maximum anyway. (I do think my way woul;d be better, though. )

@ Flare: Equilibrium Tonic - Converts up to 20 health to ether Not a horribly bad item if I do say so myself, considering that health restoration is cheaper than Ether restoration and that for a Cleric of Erdy's level, 1 Ether can easily be converted back into much more than 20 HP. Oh, really? That seems kinda unnecessary--not to mention the "up to" wording implies it would stop at 1 HP.

Ah. In that case, yeah, the exact portion of the HP lost should be reduced.

I partly try to not quote in case there are people who don't want other Quests spoiled for them (I.e. Baltarok), even though it's sometimes confusing. In this case, though, I was talking about 104. Also: quoting is a pain on mobile.

The first two are venoms already, though, and I thought the wave sword gave the user cursed, not the other way around?

Are there any ways to deal Cursed nowadays, though? I think the only permanent way to deal it was my crown, which is gone now. It's more overpowered as-is. Besides, there's exactly one weapon that can deal petrified and it's only a 1/6 chance. Not to mention that lots of Immune to Instant Kill enemies are immune to Petrified as well.

*sigh* That was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make, even though I knew it was coming--and on top of that, a really emotional scene for a character I really liked. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go sit in the corner and cry now. Zeph allowed Dyric to join late in the early portion of 53. *goes back to crying*

QM Note: A few notes: *When using items, be sure to specify Row, since you can still be hit by Specials that hit all heroes. *When a Hero is revived, they regain full health and can act as soon as they are revived, meaning Actaeon can still attack this Round. >Kiray uses Phoenix Essence on Actaeon (back): (Actaeon: revived with full health) >Mallelio heals Germ: No Heal (nothing happens) >Daeth heals Germ: Heal More (Germ: 3*2=6+2=8 HP restored; Daeth: -1 Ether) >Warlen drinks Potion (back): (Warlen: +10 HP restored) >Siercon (Lightning, Lullaby Wand) vs. Tarban (back): SHIELD (Magic Burst of Lightning: Tarban: 8+7=15-2=13 Lightning-elemental damage) U'Voros (Dastan Halberd) vs. Tarban (front): SHIELD (Sentinel: Party protected from physical damage next Round) >Germ (Wrench) vs. Tarban (back): Damage (Germ: 12/2=6 damage) >Diana (Ace Assassin's Crossbow) vs. Tarban (back): Lethal Aim (Assassination!!!) >Actaeon (Bow) vs. Unarmed Pongcanis Warrior (back): With their original leader down, Kiray rallies the party while she tends to Actaeon. Mallelio fails another healing, but Daeth uses up his last Ether to restore Germ to full health. Quarion quotes a commercial slogan, causing Warlen to hear a as his health is restored. Revitalized, the party prepares to strike back, with Siercon frying Tarban again while U'Voros prepares to shield the party from the rebel's wrath next Round. Daeth's healing saves Germ's life, as the half-demon is ravaged by Tarban's claws, but Diana retaliates, her exploding bolt ensuring that Tarban's most recent strike would be his last.THE BATTLE IS VICTORIOUS! All party members except Siercon, U'Voros, and Mallelio gain a full level of experience; U'Voros and Mallelio gain half a level and level up! Siercon feels the effects of the Trial Brew fade as he gains two levels! The Party: Actaeon Artus (Actaeon) *Party Leader* 21 year old male human Level 3 Ranger Power: 6 Health: 8/8 Gold: 30 Equipment: Bow (WP:3) Inventory: Smoke Bomb, Potion, Dragon Scale, Remedy, Bedroll, Scroll of Frailty Siercon (Siercon and Coral) Male, Age and species unknown Level 9 Mage Power: 17 (9 levels + 8 WP) Defense: 1 (Robe of the Magi) Health: 13/13 (5 base + 8 lvl) Ether: 4/13 (5 base + 8 lvl) Gold: 76 Equipment: Lullaby Wand (WP:8, deals sleep-effect; wand), Robe of the Magi (SP:1), Inventory: *Sylvania's Cowl (Artifact, Head Wear, Animal Talk), *Diamond (Light), Scroll of Sleep, Bedroll, Topaz (Lightning) (borrowed from Mallelio), Scroll of Sealing (borrowed from Mallelio) *Potion x2, Remedy, Dragon Scale, The Demon Germ (Samurai Turtle) ??? years old ; Half Demon; Male Level 3 Rogue Power: 5 Defense: 0 Health: 3/9 Ether: 0 Gold 28 Equipment: Wrench (WP:3, decreases the target’s level by 1; throwing weapon) Inventory: Copper Dagger (WP:3; dagger), Venom, Potion x2, Remedy, Dragon Scale, Bedroll Warlen Melimane and Quarion the floating skull (The Chosen Minifigure) 17 Year old Male Half-Elf Level 3 Mage Power: 6 (11 for spells) Power Bonus: +5 for spells Health: 7/7 Ether: 2/7 Gold: 20 Equipment: Gold-Coated bat staff (Wp:3), Spellbound Gloves (Power +5 to spells) (Loaned by Siercon) Inventory: Potion, Amethyst (Darkness), Sapphire (Wind), bedroll Yuji Daeth (Daeth) 34 year old male Croaken (Frog based race) Level 3 cleric Power: 6 Defense: 0 Health: 8/11 Ether: 1/7 Gold: 15 Equipment: Slightly Sharpened Croaken Staff (WP:3; staff) Inventory: Remedy, Potion x2 Kiray Nastayo (KingoftheZempk), A Hero Who Is Actually Worth Something *Immune to Fire* *Secondary Party Leader* 24 year old female human Level 6 Knight Power: 9 Defense: 3 Health: 13/15 Gold: 5 Equipment: Sword of the Kin (WP:3), Scutum Shield (SP:2; shield), Flameproof Armor (SP:1, immune to Fire; bodywear, suitable for anyone) Inventory: Potion, Banana (Restores full health when eaten), Chaotic Bomb (Causes 100 elemental damage to all opponents), Bedroll Diana N. Justus (NPC, Uncontrollable/takes suggestions) 17 years old female human Assassin Level 3 Power: 6 Power Bonus: +0 Defense: 0 Health: 11/14 Gold: 301 Equipment: Ace Assassin's Crossbow (WP:3, crossbow), Belt of the Ace Assassin (Successful Assasination rolls on enemies immune to sudden death deal an extra Aim instead. Bodywear, Suitable for Assassins only.) Inventory: Potion x5, Mead x3, Smelling Salts x3, Nostrum x3, Remedy, Sticky Gloves (Increases the amount of gold stolen by 50% (rounded up), suitable for rogues and beast warriors) Mallelio (NPC, Uncontrollable/takes suggestions) Level 18 Sage Power: 19 Health: 30/33 Ether: 18/25 Gold: 15 Equipped: Wooden Staff (WP: 1, staff), Inventory: Remedy, Potion x2 U'Voros (NPC, uncooperative/controlled by QM) *listens to Kiray* Level 12 Knight Power: 19 Health: 21/21 Defense: 7 Gold: 37 Equipment: Dastan Halberd (WP: 7), Not-so-fashionable Shield (SP: 7), Secondhand Cloak of Deception (Backwear, Free hits against the wearer have a 1/6 chance to be redirected to a random opponent) Inventory: Grand Potion Daeth spends one Ether to restore Germ to full health. Before the party can celebrate their victory, however, they spot a vicious-looking Pongcanis swordsman standing over a familiar orange figure on the steps of the palace. The party rushes to engage him, but not before he manages to throw a bag of strange dust into their faces, causing both amphibians to begin coughing and choking and clouding the rest of the party's vision enough for the Pog to get away. Looking down, the party barely manages to recognize the severely-mauled form of Nemor. "Her*cough*oes. I'm sorry I *cough* could not *cough* reach the palace." "Save your strength, Tethar*. We will bring you back to the palace for healing." "No-*cough*. Must...home. Healing of...*cough* *cough* poison...my people. *cough* our healers...know..." Nemor devolves into a fit of coughing and wheezing, any further words she had unintelligible amongst her gasps. Next to her, Daeth appears to be in a similar state. Mallelio expends two Ether attempting to heal them both, but to no effect. He looks to the Heroes with alarm. "U'Voros, quickly, you must go to the Tethusial Quarter and fetch their healers. We will bring them both into the Palace--it is time we showed the people of Dastan we care for their kind as much as we do all citizens of Dastan. Now, who will help me carry them inside?" "I will." Tarn and Ella stand at the doors of the palace, the ex-Hero rushing down the steps to their side. He picks up Daeth almost effortlessly as Diana helps Mallelio lift the frail Tethusial Nemor. Both men disappear into the Palace for some time. Around thirty minutes later, U'Voros arrives with three robed Tethusial, and he and Ella escort them inside. A few minutes later, an exhausted-looking Mallelio steps outside. "I have done what I can for them, but Nemor's wounds are severe and both of them are gravely ill. The Tethusial healers told me that the dust the Pongcanis used was responsible, a toxin designed to kill amphibious races. They then told me that Nemor and your friend Daeth would be best served if I left." Mallelio looks away. " "U'Voros has left the party! Daeth has been removed from the Quest! What will the party say to Mallelio? *Comrade, used to refer to someone who has earned the speaker's deepest trust The Party: Actaeon Artus (Actaeon) *Party Leader* 21 year old male human Level 3 Ranger Power: 6 Health: 8/8 Gold: 30 Equipment: Bow (WP:3) Inventory: Smoke Bomb, Potion, Dragon Scale, Remedy, Bedroll, Scroll of Frailty Siercon (Siercon and Coral) Male, Age and species unknown Level 9 Mage Power: 17 (9 levels + 8 WP) Defense: 1 (Robe of the Magi) Health: 13/13 (5 base + 8 lvl) Ether: 4/13 (5 base + 8 lvl) Gold: 76 Equipment: Lullaby Wand (WP:8, deals sleep-effect; wand), Robe of the Magi (SP:1), Inventory: *Sylvania's Cowl (Artifact, Head Wear, Animal Talk), *Diamond (Light), Scroll of Sleep, Bedroll, Topaz (Lightning) (borrowed from Mallelio), Scroll of Sealing (borrowed from Mallelio) *Potion x2, Remedy, Dragon Scale, The Demon Germ (Samurai Turtle) ??? years old ; Half Demon; Male Level 3 Rogue Power: 5 Defense: 0 Health: 3/9 Ether: 0 Gold 28 Equipment: Wrench (WP:3, decreases the target’s level by 1; throwing weapon) Inventory: Copper Dagger (WP:3; dagger), Venom, Potion x2, Remedy, Dragon Scale, Bedroll Warlen Melimane and Quarion the floating skull (The Chosen Minifigure) 17 Year old Male Half-Elf Level 3 Mage Power: 6 (11 for spells) Power Bonus: +5 for spells Health: 7/7 Ether: 2/7 Gold: 20 Equipment: Gold-Coated bat staff (Wp:3), Spellbound Gloves (Power +5 to spells) (Loaned by Siercon) Inventory: Potion, Amethyst (Darkness), Sapphire (Wind), bedroll Kiray Nastayo (KingoftheZempk), A Hero Who Is Actually Worth Something *Immune to Fire* *Secondary Party Leader* 24 year old female human Level 6 Knight Power: 9 Defense: 3 Health: 13/15 Gold: 5 Equipment: Sword of the Kin (WP:3), Scutum Shield (SP:2; shield), Flameproof Armor (SP:1, immune to Fire; bodywear, suitable for anyone) Inventory: Potion, Banana (Restores full health when eaten), Chaotic Bomb (Causes 100 elemental damage to all opponents), Bedroll Diana N. Justus (NPC, Uncontrollable/takes suggestions) 17 years old female human Assassin Level 3 Power: 6 Power Bonus: +0 Defense: 0 Health: 11/14 Gold: 301 Equipment: Ace Assassin's Crossbow (WP:3, crossbow), Belt of the Ace Assassin (Successful Assasination rolls on enemies immune to sudden death deal an extra Aim instead. Bodywear, Suitable for Assassins only.) Inventory: Potion x5, Mead x3, Smelling Salts x3, Nostrum x3, Remedy, Sticky Gloves (Increases the amount of gold stolen by 50% (rounded up), suitable for rogues and beast warriors) Mallelio (NPC, Uncontrollable/takes suggestions) Level 18 Sage Power: 19 Health: 30/33 Ether: 4/25 Gold: 15 Equipped: Wooden Staff (WP: 1, staff), Inventory: Remedy, Potion x2 Party Leader, please divide the spoils of battle. Mediocre Pongcanis Brew (Grants the Encouraged and Enraged effects when consumed) Robe of the Dastanian Pongcanis Champion - (Wearer gains Power +3 while on the front row or SP:3 while on the back row; bodywear, suitable for barbarians and mages) 45 gold What will the party say to Mallelio?

What the hell, Diana (and party), where are these rolls when I'm the player?

Nuuuu Zakura hasn't given Hybros my drumsticks yet! ...is definitely not what I just shouted out loud a moment ago, prompting very strange looks from others. Also, Yaaay anniversary! Can't wait to see what pops up. ...geez, Masked, it's like you didn't even read 53.

I take back everything positive I've ever said about or in defense of Assassins.

QM Note: I'll go ahead and run the Round with Warlen physically attacking the Unarmed Pongcanis and using samuraiturtle's previously stated autoroll actions; TheChosenMinifigure, samuraiturtle, if you feel these choices are not what you would do, tell me and I'll re-roll them with the corrected actions. Actaeon, I'm not 100% sure if by "everyone else" you were including yourself, so I went ahead and rolled with you attacking; the same thing applies for you. QM Note: Seeing as the Unarmed Pongcanis was Assassinated and Tarban is immune to damage, I had the rest of you stop attacking rather than taking the unnecessary risk of going after him. "I will do what you suggest is what I will do, but when I am able I will attack Tarban if it is ever possible." >Actaeon (Bow) vs. Unarmed Pongcanis Warrior (back): Special Damage (Unwise to Upset a Pongcanis: Actaeon: 5 damage, Knocked Out) >Germ retrieves throwing weapons (front) (weapons retrieved) >Diana (Ace Assassin's Crossbow) vs. Tarban (back): SHIELD (Grim Reaper: 6,1 [unarmed Pongcanis Warrior: Assassination!]; Diana: 12+9= +21 gold) Kiray (Sword of the Kin) vs. Unarmed Pongcanis Warrior (front) does nothing: (nothing happens) >Siercon (Light, Lullaby Wand) vs. Unarmed Pongcanis Warrior (back) does nothing: (nothing happens) U'Voros (Dastan Halberd) vs. Unarmed Pongcanis Warrior (front) does nothing: (nothing happens) >Warlen (Gold-Coated bat staff) vs. Unarmed Pongcanis Warrior (back) does nothing: (nothing happens) >Mallelio heals U'Voros: Heal (U'Voros: 1+17=18 HP restored; Mallelio: -1 Ether) >Daeth heals Warlen: No Heal (nothing hapens) The party begins to bicker, their teamwork shattering into a million pieces. Too distracted by yelling at Diana and Kiray, Actaeon suddenly feels the wrath of an upset Pongcanis as it picks him up and slams him to the ground, knocking him out. Diana, meanwhile, continues to overachieve, perhaps not noticing that the Hero she had been trying to prove herself to was now unconscious. Her shot misses Tarban, but catches the Unarmed Pongcanis as it rushes towards Kiray, exploding the creature into messy, hairy gibs. Diana grabs more gold from the remains now splattered across the alley, as Kiray and U'Voros try to use their shields to protect the party from most of the mess. Germ scoops up his wrench before too much fur and blood can get on it, and Mallelio finally manages to heal U'Voros. Only Tarban remains, and he is no longer protected, but there are only two more Rounds before his reinforcements arrive. The Enemies: Tarban the Rebel *Immune to Weakened and Fragile* Type: Humanoid/Beast Level: 12 Health: 51/75 Defense: 2 Special I: Angered Slash - Enraged, Tarban swings at his target, pushing the target back as part of the Afraid effect. Tarban's increasing rage raises his Level by 1. Special II: Call for Help — Tarban summons a random Pongcanis warrior to join the battle in 5 Rounds. If the battle ends before the Pongcanis arrives, the Pongcanis will flee instead. Special III: Headbutt - Tarban gets in close and headbutts the target, dealing 3 Damage ignoring SP, but also taking damage equal to the target's Hit (ignoring SP) to himself. The target drops their weapon and shield and must spend a turn picking them back up. Special IV: Defensive Strike – Tarban deals 5 damage to all opponents and is protected from all damage the following round. Passive Special: Leader of Pogs — Every fifth Round, Tarban will summon a random Pongcanis warrior to join the battle. Specials determined by separate die roll Drops: 40 gold, Mediocre Pongcanis Brew The Party: Actaeon Artus (Actaeon) *Party Leader* *Knocked Out* 21 year old male human Level 2 Ranger Power: 5 Health: 0/7 Gold: 30 Equipment: Bow (WP:3) Inventory: Smoke Bomb, Potion, Dragon Scale, Remedy, Bedroll, Scroll of Frailty Siercon (Siercon and Coral) *Trial* Male, Age and species unknown Level 7 Mage Power: 15 (7 levels + 8 WP) Defense: 1 1 (Robe of the Magi) Health: 11/11 6/6 (5 base + 5 lvl) Ether: 8/11 5/6 (5 base + 5 lvl) Gold: 76 Equipment: Lullaby Wand (WP:8, deals sleep-effect; wand), Robe of the Magi (SP:1), Inventory: *Sylvania's Cowl (Artifact, Head Wear, Animal Talk), *Diamond (Light), Scroll of Sleep, Bedroll, Topaz (Lightning) (borrowed from Mallelio), Scroll of Sealing (borrowed from Mallelio) *Potion x2, Remedy, Dragon Scale, The Demon Germ (Samurai Turtle) ??? years old ; Half Demon; Male Level 2 Rogue Power: 5 Defense: 0 Health: 5/8 Ether: 0 Gold 28 Equipment: Wrench (WP:3, decreases the target’s level by 1; throwing weapon) Inventory: Copper Dagger (WP:3; dagger), Venom, Potion x2, Remedy, Dragon Scale, Bedroll Warlen Melimane and Quarion the floating skull (The Chosen Minifigure) 17 Year old Male Half-Elf Level 2 Mage Power: 5 (10 for spells) Power Bonus: +5 for spells Health: 3/6 Ether: 1/6 Gold: 20 Equipment: Gold-Coated bat staff (Wp:3), Spellbound Gloves (Power +5 to spells) (Loaned by Siercon) Inventory: Potion x2, Amethyst (Darkness), Sapphire (Wind), bedroll Yuji Daeth (Daeth) 34 year old male Croaken (Frog based race) Level 2 cleric Power: 5 Defense: 0 Health: 7/10 Ether: 1/6 Gold: 15 Equipment: Slightly Sharpened Croaken Staff (WP:3; staff) Inventory: Remedy, Potion x2 Kiray Nastayo (KingoftheZempk), A Hero Who Is Actually Worth Something *Immune to Fire* *Secondary Party Leader* 24 year old female human Level 5 Knight Power: 8 Defense: 3 Health: 12/14 Gold: 5 Equipment: Sword of the Kin (WP:3), Scutum Shield (SP:2; shield), Flameproof Armor (SP:1, immune to Fire; bodywear, suitable for anyone) Inventory: Potion, Banana (Restores full health when eaten), Chaotic Bomb (Causes 100 elemental damage to all opponents), Phoenix Essence, Bedroll Diana N. Justus (NPC, Uncontrollable/takes suggestions) 17 years old female human Assassin Level 2 Power: 5 Power Bonus: +0 Defense: 0 Health: 10/13 Gold: 301 Equipment: Ace Assassin's Crossbow (WP:3, crossbow), Belt of the Ace Assassin (Successful Assasination rolls on enemies immune to sudden death deal an extra Aim instead. Bodywear, Suitable for Assassins only.) Inventory: Potion x5, Mead x3, Smelling Salts x3, Nostrum x3, Remedy, Sticky Gloves (Increases the amount of gold stolen by 50% (rounded up), suitable for rogues and beast warriors) Mallelio (NPC, Uncontrollable/takes suggestions) Level 17 1/2 Sage Power: 18 Health: 29/32 Ether: 17/24 Gold: 15 Equipped: Wooden Staff (WP: 1, staff), Inventory: Remedy, Potion x2 U'Voros (NPC, uncooperative/controlled by QM) *listens to Kiray* Level 11.5 Knight Power: 18 Health: 20/20 Defense: 7 Gold: 37 Equipment: Dastan Halberd (WP: 7), Not-so-fashionable Shield (SP: 7), Secondhand Cloak of Deception (Backwear, Free hits against the wearer have a 1/6 chance to be redirected to a random opponent) Inventory: Grand Potion Party Leader Secondary Party Leader, choose the order of action. All of you, choose your targets and the row you want to fight in. Also mention if you want to try to flee, heal or cast a magic spell, or if you want to use an item instead of attacking. Any enemy not targeted will get a Free Hit on the party after everyone has acted.

"Will do."

"Say, Alex, think you could take a moment to check out the Dining Room while I lug this stuff downstairs?"

Of course there's a base cost for every spell, it's 1 Ether. If you use all your Ether up quickly at the start of the fight, you'll have none left to cast with later on--melee dual-strike weapons don't come with a shot limit. Moreover, there's no need for someone to lose Ether on a Damage or Special Damage roll because they're losing health instead. Besides, it just makes sense for the definition of a spell to be a magical effect cast from the user's Ether. Scrolls are focused through the Scroll itself rather than the weapon, so it makes sense that those wouldn't be dual-cast, but things like Sleight of Hand and Magic Counter are cast from memory through the user's weapon just like spells are, so it makes sense for those to be affected by dual spellcasting. Yes, that would mean that an Evoker could potentially summon two spirits on a SHIELD, but again, why is that a bad thing? Unintended, sure, but "unintended" is not a synonym for "bad".

Arthur returns to the wine cellar with the books and the globe. "Well, that's it for me. We'll want at least one person down here at all times, might as well be me. See you guys whenever throughout the night."

"Hey, leave her alone! Not her fault all the boys around here seem to be power-hungry pigs." Diana levels her crossbow at Tarban and fires. "I'll handle it, at least I've got a shot at Assasinating this loser I think."

Why not? It costs extra Ether for each attack (2 Ether for dual spellcasting + 1 Ether for first spirit + 1 Ether for second spirit = 4 Ether per Round, assuming the user isn't hastened), and it would actually be interesting to see more than one spirit out at once. Spellcasting is different than physical attacks. It comes at a cost, regardless of whether it does damage. Letting it affect more targets at a greater Ether cost seems perfectly fair--not to mention it being wasted if the user decides to double-attack something (I.E. Sleight of Hand would double-cast on the same target, but it'd be 2 Ether for the exact same Confused-effect).

"Re-lax, I can do this! Believe in me for once, 'Dad'." Diana's last word drips with bitter sarcasm as she pulls the trigger on her crossbow. >Actaeon (Bow) vs. Pongcanis Axeman (back): SHIELD (Tripleshot: All enemies: 3+2=5 damage; Tarban: 3+2=5-2=3 damage) >Germ (Wrench) vs. Unarmed Pongcanis (back): Critical Hit (Unarmed Pongcanis: 3*2=6+2=8 damage, Level -1; Germ: wrench thrown, must be retrieved) >Warlen (Darkness, Gold-Coated bat staff) vs. Pongcanis Axeman (back): SHIELD (Magic Burst: All enemies: 3+2=5+5=10 Wind-elemental damage; Tarban: 3+2=5+5=10-2=8 damage; Warlen: -1 Ether) >Diana (Ace Assassin's Crossbow) vs. Tarban (back): SHIELD (Grim Reaper: 5,5,1 [Pongcanis Axeman: Assassination!]; Diana: 12+10= +22 Gold) Kiray (Sword of the Kin) vs. Tarban (front): Miss (nothing hapens) >Siercon (Lightning, Lullaby Wand) vs. Tarban (back): Spell (Tarban: 8+7=15 Lightning-elemental damage; Siercon: -1 Ether) U'Voros (Dastan Halberd) vs. Tarban (front): Special Damage (Defensive Strike: Actaeon, Germ, Warlen, Daeth, Diana, Mallelio: 5/2=3 damage, Siercon: 5/2=3-1=2 damage, Kiray: 5-3=2 damage, U'Voros: 5-7=0 damage) >Mallelio heals U'Voros: No Heal (nothing hapens) >Daeth heals Siercon: Heal More (Siercon: 3*2=6+2=8 HP restored; Daeth: -1 Ether) The party starts off well again, with Actaeon batting the enemies back with a volley of arrows and Germ's wrench smashing into his opponent's face. Quarion's biting gives Warlen an opening to charge a powerful attack, but the energy that bursts forth is wild and unconstrained and ends up coming out as the wrong element. Diana lets off a volley of arrows of her own, one of which explodes, blowing the axeman's head clean off his shoulders. Diana shields her face as she darts between the enemies, plucking hidden pouches of gold from their belts. Siercon electrocutes Tarban, but he stumbles back, causing Kiray to miss; furious with the turn of events, Tarban swipes furiously at the party and then steps back to recover, protecting himself from all damage for the next Round. Mallelio fails to heal U'Voros, but Daeth manages to heal Siercon. The Enemies: Tarban the Rebel *Immune to Weakened and Fragile* *Protected (1 Round)* Type: Humanoid/Beast Level: 12 Health: 51/75 Defense: 2 Special I: Angered Slash - Enraged, Tarban swings at his target, pushing the target back as part of the Afraid effect. Tarban's increasing rage raises his Level by 1. Special II: Call for Help — Tarban summons a random Pongcanis warrior to join the battle in 5 Rounds. If the battle ends before the Pongcanis arrives, the Pongcanis will flee instead. Special III: Headbutt - Tarban gets in close and headbutts the target, dealing 3 Damage ignoring SP, but also taking damage equal to the target's Hit (ignoring SP) to himself. The target drops their weapon and shield and must spend a turn picking them back up. Special IV: Defensive Strike – Tarban deals 5 damage to all opponents and is protected from all damage the following round. Passive Special: Leader of Pogs — Every fifth Round, Tarban will summon a random Pongcanis warrior to join the battle. Specials determined by separate die roll Drops: 40 gold, Mediocre Pongcanis Brew Unarmed Pongcanis Warrior *Immune to Weakened and Fragile* Type: Humanoid/Beast Level: 9 Health: 32/55 Special: Unwise to Upset a Pongcanis - The Pongcanis attempts to rip the targets arms off. 5 Damage ignoring Row is dealt, there is a 50% (1/2) chance that such Damage ignores SP as well, a 25% (1/4) chance that the target's weapon, shield, and any Handwear or Accessories are unequipped, and a 12.5% (1/8) chance that the target is instantly Knocked Out. Drops: 5 gold The Party: Actaeon Artus (Actaeon) *Party Leader* 21 year old male human Level 2 Ranger Power: 5 Health: 4/7 Gold: 30 Equipment: Bow (WP:3) Inventory: Smoke Bomb, Potion, Dragon Scale, Remedy, Bedroll, Scroll of Frailty Siercon (Siercon and Coral) *Trial* Male, Age and species unknown Level 7 Mage Power: 15 (7 levels + 8 WP) Defense: 1 1 (Robe of the Magi) Health: 11/11 6/6 (5 base + 5 lvl) Ether: 8/11 5/6 (5 base + 5 lvl) Gold: 76 Equipment: Lullaby Wand (WP:8, deals sleep-effect; wand), Robe of the Magi (SP:1), Inventory: *Sylvania's Cowl (Artifact, Head Wear, Animal Talk), *Diamond (Light), Scroll of Sleep, Bedroll, Topaz (Lightning) (borrowed from Mallelio), Scroll of Sealing (borrowed from Mallelio) *Potion x2, Remedy, Dragon Scale, The Demon Germ (Samurai Turtle) ??? years old ; Half Demon; Male Level 2 Rogue Power: 5 Defense: 0 Health: 5/8 Ether: 0 Gold 28 Equipment: Wrench (WP:3, decreases the target’s level by 1; throwing weapon) Inventory: Copper Dagger (WP:3; dagger), Venom, Potion x2, Remedy, Dragon Scale, Bedroll Warlen Melimane and Quarion the floating skull (The Chosen Minifigure) 17 Year old Male Half-Elf Level 2 Mage Power: 5 (10 for spells) Power Bonus: +5 for spells Health: 3/6 Ether: 1/6 Gold: 20 Equipment: Gold-Coated bat staff (Wp:3), Spellbound Gloves (Power +5 to spells) (Loaned by Siercon) Inventory: Potion x2, Amethyst (Darkness), Sapphire (Wind), bedroll Yuji Daeth (Daeth) 34 year old male Croaken (Frog based race) Level 2 cleric Power: 5 Defense: 0 Health: 7/10 Ether: 1/6 Gold: 15 Equipment: Slightly Sharpened Croaken Staff (WP:3; staff) Inventory: Remedy, Potion x2 Kiray Nastayo (KingoftheZempk), A Hero Who Is Actually Worth Something *Immune to Fire* *Secondary Party Leader* 24 year old female human Level 5 Knight Power: 8 Defense: 3 Health: 12/14 Gold: 5 Equipment: Sword of the Kin (WP:3), Scutum Shield (SP:2; shield), Flameproof Armor (SP:1, immune to Fire; bodywear, suitable for anyone) Inventory: Potion, Banana (Restores full health when eaten), Chaotic Bomb (Causes 100 elemental damage to all opponents), Phoenix Essence, Bedroll Diana N. Justus (NPC, Uncontrollable/takes suggestions) 17 years old female human Assassin Level 2 Power: 5 Power Bonus: +0 Defense: 0 Health: 10/13 Gold: 281 Equipment: Ace Assassin's Crossbow (WP:3, crossbow), Belt of the Ace Assassin (Successful Assasination rolls on enemies immune to sudden death deal an extra Aim instead. Bodywear, Suitable for Assassins only.) Inventory: Potion x5, Mead x3, Smelling Salts x3, Nostrum x3, Remedy, Sticky Gloves (Increases the amount of gold stolen by 50% (rounded up), suitable for rogues and beast warriors) Mallelio (NPC, Uncontrollable/takes suggestions) Level 17 1/2 Sage Power: 18 Health: 29/32 Ether: 18/24 Gold: 15 Equipped: Wooden Staff (WP: 1, staff), Inventory: Remedy, Potion x2 U'Voros (NPC, uncooperative/controlled by QM) *listens to Kiray* Level 11.5 Knight Power: 18 Health: 15/20 Defense: 7 Gold: 37 Equipment: Dastan Halberd (WP: 7), Not-so-fashionable Shield (SP: 7), Secondhand Cloak of Deception (Backwear, Free hits against the wearer have a 1/6 chance to be redirected to a random opponent) Inventory: Grand Potion Party Leader, choose the order of action. All of you, choose your targets and the row you want to fight in. Also mention if you want to try to flee, heal or cast a magic spell, or if you want to use an item instead of attacking. Any enemy not targeted will get a Free Hit on the party after everyone has acted.

Nono, normal dual-strike doesn't affect spells, because spells don't usually transmit weapon effects; for the purposes of Alpha and Omega and other Artifacts that affect spells, however, the easy definition is "class roll that costs Ether=spell", with healing as an obvious and easy exception.

Eh, Ether=Spell is simpler and easier to remember.

It's OK, I don't think anyone can understand B&P's mechanics. (B&P, you might ought to take that into consideration in the future. )

"Actually, I'd prefer to take on Tarban. Better to take out the guy before he can summon reinforcements if I can manage it. Leave the unarmed guy for Germ so he can Mug him to death." Strangely, Diana does not remark on Tarban himself. She had remained uncharacteristically silent during the previous conversation as well. Was there a reason? "I will do my best to stop Tarban I will try my hardest."

Actually, given that rolling 4 or 5 more than once ends the game, the only winning combinations are 6666, 46666, 56666, 64666, 65666, 66466, 66566, 66646, or 66656, making the true odds 14/7776, or 1/555.428571429. That's actually much better odds than I expected--but still. Do or do not, there should be no "if you're ridiculously lucky". (Yes, I got it wrong before, I forgot the proper way to deal with probability: choose the number of desired outcomes and set them over the total number of possible outcomes, which in this case is the total number of possibilities for up to five dice rolls which is 6*6*6*6*6.)

Feedback on 95 since it's (I HOPE) ending in a day or two: I've probably followed Quest 95 a lot closer than most people have for a few reasons--high among them that B&P actually asked my advice on a few things at various points, and that the Quest featured Hal and Luosh, two elements I enjoy quite a bit. Here's my take on your Quests, B&P: You try so many new ideas all at the same time that it stops being Heroica anymore. Instead of observing and adapting and putting your own unique spin on the base format that all of us have worked with for the past three years, you go off in such a completely different direction that no one knows how to handle it. UsernameMDM puts it best: I think the same holds true for most of us, actually. Look at 93: despite all of its flaws, the Quest was still mostly true to the Heroica format, with a different twist each time. Look at the weather mechanics in 100, or the disarm-ment in 108, or even the many gimmicks in Quest 48: every time, it's still Heroica, just a little different. But not every battle or every Quest has to be totally different. Look at 91, or 59, or even 83. None of those Quests were particularly mechanically complex, and yet all of those have been very well recieved because they featured memorable stories and characters. Heroica isn't about hitting things until they're dead, it's about interacting with and playing interesting nuanced characters--in many cases, some of the nuance comes from or is influenced by the Heroes' mechanical abilities, but at the end of the day who they are is more important than what they've done. There's some truth here, but I want to direct your attention to your most successful Quest to date: Quest #22: Winter Problems. That Quest actually had some decent, well-balanced loot; the only truly crazy thing was the Jo-No Tree Seed, which was clearly the result of making something up at the last minute without really thinking about the consequences. Here is a handy-dandy list of almost everything you dropped that Quest--it's a lot better than what I had in mind when I started planning 104, I'll tell you that. I can't recall anyone complaining about your loot in 22--that's a good thing. Sometimes it's better to be understated than overstated. That said, you are capable of some really good ideas--for example, your Scrolls (and the effects!) of Weakening and Frailty, which have become staples of the community. On the other hand, some of your stuff in your later Quests ended up completely under-powered to the point of uselessness--such as your Regeneration potions, which are utterly pointless in comparison to the Blessed effect we already have. I think overall, you just try too hard to be "different", and sometimes "different" isn't a good thing. You don't have to reinvent the wheel, you know. Let's move more into 95 specifically. First of all--the parkour. Both times you used it, it did nothing but slow everything down unnecessarily. This isn't Assassin's Creed--Heroica doesn't work at the split-second pace that makes something like parkour so fun in video games, and when we've tried to operate with that kind of speed (CAT), it didn't work out well because people kept getting screwed over by timezones. This problem was exaggerated by the sloooooooooooooow pace of updates, from both you and your players--it seemed like no one involved was really interesed in continuing at several points. (I mean, this Quest has been going on for six freaking months, for gods' sake!) I do think a lot could have been improved by putting more polish into the story. The basic premise wasn't too bad--"an evil corporation secretly poisons the villages of the land while disguising their actions through decoy robberies, which the Heroes end up hired to investigate." The promise was that it was so drawn-out and updated so infrequently that no one could remember (or care) what they were doing--why did they have to go into the pharmacy again? Why had they decided to sneak inside instead of fighting their way in? I honestly couldn't remember no matter how many times I re-read. Part of the problem was that there were way too many inconsequential choices--"do we go in the front door or try to find a window?" "Do we take the right door or the left door?" "Do we order a tuna sandwich or a salami wrap?" They weren't choices, since the players weren't given any meaningful information about the decisions they were making--and once the decisions were made, it didn't seem like the result they got would have been any different than if they'd taken the other choice. Case in point: you gave the Heroes the chance to go after Quin-whatever, but instead of letting them victoriously claim the antidote and the bad guy as reward for their extra work, they got...the exact same thing they would have had if they'd stayed behind, minus a little bit of extra money and loot. A lot of these choices--and a lot of these battles, really--seemed like they were there just for the sake of being there, resulting in a lot of unnecessary tedium. This was exacerbated by the huge number of bland, uninteresting characters--there was no reason for these Heroes to be here other than "I'm being paid", because none of the NPCs were authentic enough for the players to invest in them. What should have been a fast-paced rollicking stealth adventure turned into a months-long grind because there was no sense of urgency, because nobody cared. This, coupled with the dearth of updates, killed your Quest. And yet you kept dragging it out, even after the players and the bystanders told you they weren't interested. It ultimately proved that there was nothing at stake, because you dragged them along the railroad line of plot regardless of what anyone else said--even when you brought Benji in, instead of using the injection of new life into the Quest to rush forward to an exciting ending ("the Heroes happen to stumble across the bosses and have an unexpected opportunity to kill them!" or "the Heroes have set off an alarm and the bad guys get away, leaving behind one last group of guards guarding the antidote!"), you dragged things out until he lost interest as well. Bottom line: this was a decent idea that was poorly executed. In the end, it missed the point of Heroica and tried too hard to be something else, and thus alienated players and spectators alike. My advice IF you try to host again: Keep It Simple, and REALLY put more into your characters and story. Make a Quest that's worth getting invested in.