Flipz

"Hey, I can get Gold even if I'm not targetting an enemy that carries it. No skin off my back. Speaking of skin off our backs, though, you might want to rethink your strategy before you burn ours off--Kiray's Sentinel will not protect against elemental damage, only physical damage. If that bird spews fire again, we're all going to be feeling the heat." Dragonlord, in the midst of fending off more flying creatures that were attacking the captain, pauses to shout some advice to the party. "Don't forget that it won't defend against negative effects, either."

Hearing the name of Alfendi Lupine, Arthur wanders over to the bar and listens intently.

Shreeeshreeshree! <"Makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop...!"> The enraged and distraught animal seems too upset to be reasoned with. >Stealth Shadow vs. Plains Dragonling (back): SHIELD - Elemental Discharge (4*2=8/2=4 Darkness-elemental damage to all enemies (8 damage to Enraged Gryphon)) Kiray Nastayo (Sword of the Kin) vs. Tundra Dragonling (front): SHIELD - Sentinel (party protected from physical damage next Round) >Diana N. Justus (Ace Assassin's Crossbow) vs Bird of Prey (back): Lethal Aim (Bird of Prey: 3 damage (6, No Assassination)) Siercon (Lullaby Wand) vs. Phoenix (front): Special Damage (Empyreal Flame: 3 Fire-elemental damage to Hero party: Actaeon: 3/2=2 damage; Siercon: 3-1=2 damage; Germ: 3 damage; Warlen: 3/2=2 damage; Daeth: 3/2=2 damage; Kiray: 3-2=1 damage; Diana: 3/2=2 damage; Nicole: 3/2=2 damage; Stealth Shadow: 3/2=2-2=0 damage) >Nicole Telsa (Sonic Boom) vs. Enraged Gryphon (back): Damage (Nicole: No Dodge, 10/2=5 damage) The Demon Germ (Copper Dagger) vs. Forest Dragonling (front): SHIELD - Mug (Forest Dragonling: 3*3=9+1=10 damage to Forest Dragonling (KO!); Germ: 2*1.5= +3 Gold) >Actaeon Artus (Bow) vs. Cavern Dragonling (back): SHIELD - Tripleshot (3+1=4 damage to Cavern Dragonling, Marsh Dragonling, and Bird of Prey) >Warlen Melimane and Quarion (Darkness, Gold-Plated Bat Staff) vs. Lesser Roc (back): Great Spell (Lesser Roc: 3*2=6+1=7+5=12 Darkness-elemental damage; Warlen: -1 Ether) >Yuji Daeth (Slightly Sharpened Croaken Staff) heals Nicole Tesla (back): SHIELD - Miracle (All party members except Stealth Shadow: +7 HP; Daeth: -1 Ether) Free Hits: Mountain Dragonling VS Stealth Shadow: No Dodge, 3/2=2-2=0 damage Marsh Dragonling VS Kiray Nastayo: Dodge! Juvenile Hippogriff VS Diana N. Justus: Dodge! The party begins their battling experience with an excellent start. Stealth Shadow opens up with a mighty blast of Ether that is only slightly weakened by its distance from the enemies. Kiray follows up by assuming a defensive Sentinel stance in front of the party. Diana lets off a shot that barely clips her target as it flutters frantically around, while Siercon and Nicole falter, the latter taking a savage slash from the Gryphon and the former provoking the Phoenix into spewing hot flames across the entire party. Germ, meanwhile, proves that he has sufficiently bribed the random number goddess as he rolls ANOTHER 1, grabbing some golden scales from the Forest Dragonling as he ends its life, while Actaeon releases three arrows that bring two more dragonlings and the bird of prey to the brink of death. Warlen blasts the Roc with powerful spell of Darkness, while Daeth finishes the Round by patching everyone (except the automaton, who couldn't be healed that way but hadn't taken any damage anyway) back up to full health. "Good gods...I haven't had a Round like that in years!" "Perhapsss Mr. Daeth isss a Cleric of Mercutio." Stealth Shadow absorbs a hit with its armor, while Kiray and Diana are able to Dodge the blows aimed at them thanks to the automaton's shadowy aura. "Hey, watch it! I'm not just some meatshield, you know!" Ten enemies remain, but the party is at full health and protected from physical damage (including Free Hits) by Kiray's shield this Round. Enemies: Phoenix *Immune to Instant Kill* Type: Flying/Fiery Level: 4 Health: 60/64 Special I: Phoenix Pyre – The Phoenix reduces its health to one to bring back all defeated allies with full health. Used only after all allies have been defeated. Special II: Empyreal Flame - Causes 3 fire-elemental damage to all opponents. Used when there are allies standing. Drops: Phoenix Essence, Flameproof Armor (SP:1, immune to Fire) Enraged Gryphon *Immune to Instant Kill, Blind, Sealed, and Asleep* Type: Flying/Holy Level: 10 Health: 17/25 Special: Scream of Might: The Enraged Gryphon encourages one of the Dragonlings and makes one of the heroes fragile during the next round. Drops: 30 Gold, Sapphire, Scroll of Frailty Tundra Dragonling *Immune to Blind and Weakened* Type: Flying Level: 3 Health: 6/10 Special: Freezing Breath: Both the target and the hero next in the battle order take 2 Ice Damage and are slowed. Drops: 5 Gold, Dragon Scale Mountain Dragonling *Immune to Blind and Weakened* Type: Flying Level: 3 Health: 6/10 Special: Blazing Breath: The target and the heroes before and after in the battle order take Fire Damage equal to their SP x2 regardless of row and SP. Drops: 5 Gold, Dragon Scale Plains Dragonling *Immune to Sealed and Asleep* Type: Flying Level: 2 Health: 6/10 Special: Thundering Roar: All heroes have a 1/2 chance of being stunned for the current round. Drops: 5 Gold, Remedy Cavern Dragonling *Immune to Sealed and Asleep* Type: Flying Level: 2 Health: 2/10 Special: Challenging Gaze: All heroes have a 1/2 chance of being sealed. Drops: 5 Gold, Remedy Marsh Dragonling *Immune to Blinded and Weakening* Type: Flying Level: 3 Health: 2/10 Special: Acid Spray: The target and the hero before them in the battle order take 2 Wood damage and are Weakened. Drops: 5 Gold, Dragon Scale Bird of Prey Type: Flying Level: 6 Health: 4/15 Special I: Take to the Skies - The Bird launches itself into the sky to prepare for its next attack; its next hit will cause an extra 2 Damage, and until it lands that hit, it can only be damaged by ranged attacks (i.e. spells, bows, crossbows, handcannons, and throwing weapons). Special II: Fly Higher - Used only if the Bird has already Taken to the Skies; the Bird flies even higher, so that on the extra Damage is increased by one. Drops: Remedy Lesser Roc *Immune to Instant Kill* Level 5 Flying/Rock Health: 42/58 Special: Heavenly Flight – The Roc flies out of reach, avoiding all damage for the remainder of the round, and returns with 25 health restored and all negative effects removed from it. Drops: 2x Potion, 30 Gold Juvenile Hippogriff Level 4 Flying Beast Health: 37/41 Special: Aerial Assault – The Elder Hippogriff flies to the sky for the remainder of the round, avoiding all damage, and lands on the target for 8 damage at the beginning of the next round. Drops: 30 Gold The Party: Actaeon Artus (Actaeon) *Party Leader* *Dodgy* 21 year old male human Level 1 Ranger Power: 4 Health: 6/6 Gold: 5 Equipment: Bow (WP:3) Inventory: Smoke Bomb, Potion, Bedroll Siercon (Siercon and Coral) *Dodgy* Male, Age and species unknown Level 6 Mage Power: 14 (6 levels + 8 WP) Defense: 1 (Robe of the Magi) Health: 10/10 (5 base + 5 lvl) Ether: 10/10 (5 base + 5 lvl) Gold: 41 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 *Potion x2, Remedy The Demon Germ (Samurai Turtle) *Dodgy* ??? years old ; Half Demon; Male Level 1 Rogue Power: 4 Defense: 0 Health: 7/7 Ether: 0 Gold 8 Equipment: Wrench (WP:3, decreases the target’s level by 1; throwing weapon), Sticky Gloves (Increases the amount of gold stolen by 50% (rounded up), suitable for rogues and beast warriors) (Loaned by Diana) Inventory: Copper Dagger (WP:3; dagger), Venom, Potion, Bedroll Warlen Melimane and Quarion the floating skull (The Chosen Minifigure) *Dodgy* 17 Year old Male Half-Elf Level 1 Mage Power: 4 (9 for spells) Power Bonus: +5 for spells Health: 5/5 Ether: 4/5 Gold: 5 Equipment: Gold-Coated bat staff (Wp:3), Spellbound Gloves (Power +5 to spells) (Loaned by Siercon) Inventory: Potion, Amethyst (Darkness), bedroll Yuji Daeth (Daeth) *Dodgy* 34 year old male Croaken (Frog based race) Level 1 cleric Power: 4 Defense: 0 Health: 9/9 Ether: 4/5 Gold: 10 Equipment: Slightly Sharpened Croaken Staff (WP:3; staff) Inventory: Remedy, Potion Kiray Nastayo (KingoftheZempk), A Hero Who Is Actually Worth Something *Dodgy* *Sentinel* 24 year old female human Level 4 Knight Power: 7 Defense: 2 Health: 13/13 Gold: 5 Equipment: Sword of the Kin (WP:3), Scutum Shield (SP:2; shield) 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) *Dodgy* 17 years old female human Assassin Level 1 Power: 4 Power Bonus: +0 Defense: 0 Health: 12/12 Gold: 230 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 Nicole Telsa, Female Human Ranger (NPC, controlled by TheChosenMinifigure) *Dodgy* Level: 4 Power: 8 Power Bonus: +0 Defense: 0 HP: 9/9 Gold: 0 Equipment: Sonic Boom (WP: 4, Handcannon) Inventory: Toolkit (Repairs one automaton back to perfect conditon once. The robot must have some condition) Stealth Shadow (NPC, controlled by KingoftheZempk) Amethyst G.E.M. Automaton *Immune to all effects and Darkness* *Automatic Dodgy-effect to all allies Level: 4 Power: 4 Element: Darkness Condition: 17/17 Defense: 2 Equipment: Robot Circuitry (Accessory, SP: +2, suitable for G.E.M. Automata only), Stealth Shell (Wearer provides allies with *Dodgy*, having a 50% chance to avoid rolls of Damage, Counter, and Free Hits; suitable for G.E.M. Automata only)) 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.

Yes, that's the idea. In battle, she behaves exactly as any other player character would, which means sometimes she's going to make selfish calls or suggest choices that are best for her rather than the ones she's told. It's the Zepher style of NPC, particularly in the vein of Phil (whom I'd suggest my Questees should read up on to get a better idea of what I mean). As for that last bit...blame Quest 4. These enemies are all blatantly stolen and modified.

"All right, if the scientist's taking the gryphon, then I'm taking the Bird of Prey," Diana says, aiming her crossbow at the creature from the Back Row. "Actaeon, you're lucky I'm an Assassin--a Raider or a Sorcerer or even a basic Rogue would complain about having to attack something that doesn't drop gold. And leave something that's immune to instant kill for me next time--I can deal extra damage to them." QM Note: I'll run the round now. A couple things: Yes, that is correct--though if you attack from the Back Row, that damage will be halved, so in that example you'd only lose 1 HP. Just remember that if you attack with your dagger from the Back Row, the damage you deal to the enemy will be halved as well, whereas the Wrench can be thrown from the Back Row and still deal full damage. I'll interpret that as a conditional action--Daeth will heal the most endangered party member or, if no one is injured, he will attack the Juvenile Hippogriff from the Back Row. If that was not your intention, let me know and I'll edit--though either way it's good to keep in mind that conditional actions are possible. As I said, running the Round now.

QM Note: As a player, I've found that periodically listing who's targeting what is highly appreciated by players, Party Leaders, and QMs alike. That's just a suggestion, though. I assure you, however, that throwing the wrench will not cause it to be lost; it will always land on the ship and be retrievable as usual--that's only fair. I make no guarantees as to the reaction of NPCs, however--the only way to find out if you are right is to try.

QM Note: By all means, go ahead and try to talk to them! Normally talking is a free action and doesn't cost your turn, even if using a job trait (Diplomacy, Animal Talk, Intimidation, etc.) to do so.

Yeah, this time I'm with Pie and WBD--a good venom build is either a melee build or a Ranger build.

QM Note: Please make sure to state which row you're acting from. Also state if you'd like to cast a spell; for example, in this case it would be written "Warlen casts a Darkness spell at the Lesser Roc through his gold-plated bat staff." In addition to the elemental multiplier (which in this case would only apply to the gryphon), spells are ranged (they deal full damage from the Back Row) while attacking with your staff would be a melee attack (deals only half damage from the Back Row).

QM Note: You're controlling Nicole. QM Note: "Healing Nettles" heals the "Enemies" party; I've changed the wording for clarity. TCM got Nicole by virtue of Warlen having drawn her attention by asking about the value of the ship.

The most common issue here, again particularly with mixed-Level parties. Mechanically how it goes is this: Melee: Round 1: Rogue attacks with dagger from Back Row for potential of 2, 4, or 5 damage, with a 1/3 chance to roll Damage or Special Damage. Total damage range: 2-5 damage Round 2: Rogue attacks with dagger from Back Row for potential of 2, 4, or 5 damage, with a 1/3 chance to roll Damage or Special Damage. Total damage range: 4-10 damage That's assuming two attacks land; the odds of hitting both attacks are 1/4, leaving a 1/2 chance of the total damage range over both Rounds being 2-5 and a 1/4 chance of no damage being dealt to the enemy whatsoever. Throwing weapon: Round 1: Rogue attacks with throwing weapon from Back Row for potential of 4, 7, or 10 damage, with a 1/3 chance to roll Damage or Special Damage. Total damage range: 4-10 damage Round 2: Rogue retrieves throwing weapon from Front Row for potential of 0 damage, with no chance to roll Damage or Special Damage. Total damage range: 4-10 damage; however, if the first attack didn't land, the Rogue still has their weapon and can try to throw it again for the same odds as the first Round. This leaves a total 2/3 chance of the total damage range being 4-10 damage, with a 1/3 chance of no damage being dealt to the enemy whatsoever. The ranged Rogue has a 2/3 chance to deal more damage than the melee can with only one strike, and even if we assume the enemy is "safe" for a melee Rogue to attack from the Front Row (at Level 1, that means Level 6 or lower), let's look at how many rolls of Damage each Rogue can handle without being KO'd: Level 1: 6 melee, 6 ranged Level 2: 3 melee, 6 ranged Level 3: 2 melee, 3 ranged Level 4: 1 melee, 3 ranged Level 5: 1 melee, 2 ranged Level 6: 1 melee, 2 ranged Add to that that over two Rounds the ranged Rogue only risks rolling damage at all 2/3 of the time compared to the melee build's 3/4, and you have yourself a winner. Granted, it's a very small difference, but still, in minmax terms, this is the best you're going to get.

I disagree. Even if he wants a backup weapon, it's extremely likely he'll find one in his first Quest; daggers and longswords are ludicrously overcommon, especially those with special effects on them. Meanwhile, the throwing weapon will continue to be useful to him throughout his Heroica career, whereas a simple melee starter weapon is only worth the 15 Gold you can get from cashing it in. Besides that, throwing weapons are more interesting to play with and allow for more options than a simple "I attack X with Y until one of us is dead". A male human Rogue with a dagger or a longsword is a carbon copy of most Level 1 Rogues who have joined Heroica (many of whom are now listed in the Archives); a male human Rogue with a throwing weapon is, at the very least, a little bit different from the rest.

"Hm. I'll consider it," Diana comments, eyeing the Gryphon. QM Note: Although it doesn't matter for most of you since you only have one weapon, please state which weapon you're using to attack with; it will become important later in your Heroica career.

That's a party leader issue, though; Rogues retrieving throwing weapons should always be low in the Order so they're not taking Free Hits. I'd argue the "gap" from throwing weapons is kind of what Knights were built for in the first place: soaking up Free Hits. And let's be honest--in the current meta, barring a Level 1-oriented Quest like my own, who's going to make enemies that a Level 1 Rogue can safely attack from the Front Row? It's a weakness in design, but it's part of the meta: Quests are balanced more around the upper end of the Level spectrum than the lower end. Believe me, as someone who uses throwing weapons on a regular basis, they are VERY fun.

Eh, not really. The damage output is ultimately just as good as attacking from the Back Row (2 attacks in 2 Rounds at half strength versus 1 attack in 2 Rounds at full strength), but you only chance taking damage or Special Damage in one of those two Rounds. The only reason it's not been common is due to tradition and inertia, and because Daggers are so f*cking overcommon. Also: Wheee, first battle! Yes, it's a little complicated, but hopefully not too much so--ask me if you have any questions.

"UN-DER-STOOD." Stealth Shadow regards Kiray curiously. "MY AN-AL-Y-SIS SOFT-WARE CON-CLUDES THAT THERE IS A 87.151% CHANCE YOU ARE MORE AD-VANCED THAN I AM, BE-CAUSE YOU CAN RE-PRO-DUCE ME-LO-DI-OUS SOUND AND BEAR A PHYS-I-CAL LIKE-NESS TO THE CRE-A-TOR. IF WE MUST EN-TER COM-BAT, I WILL OB-SERVE YOUR AC-TI-VI-TY SO I CAN BET-TER PRO-TECT THE CRE-A-TOR. WITH THE PER-MIS-SION OF THE CRE-A-TOR, OF COURSE." Nicole suppresses a giggle. "You may." It appears that the Stealth Shadow would follow Kiray's instructions if the party encounters danger. Diana snorts. "I'm seventeen. All the boys my age are absolute prats, and if the older ones are any indication the future's not looking much better." "Yeah...if I'm being honest, that's the whole reason I agreed to participate in this disaster: to serve the greater good. We'll see if that works out." Diana looks out over the horizon again. It appears the conversation is over. The day moves on into night, and back to day again. Now a full day out to sea, the party sees little beneath them save for the occasional speck indicating a particularly large ship, which would quickly pass beneath them as the Bostonius continued its journey. At one point, Nicole remarks on the appearance of one ship that seemed to be heading in the same direction they were. "Observe how slowly they sail. Air transport is clearly the future of commercial travel, is it not? Think of all the dangers we've simply passed entirely by not traveling on the Bonaparte ship!" "Think of all the loot and experience we've passed entirely by not traveling on the Bonaparte ship." "You must admit, at the very least it's more convenient. We'll be in Drakencourt around midday tomorrow." Diana shrugs, not really wanting to argue. The ship sails on into the evening, and eventually everyone decides to rest for the night, in preparation of what was to come. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The party awakes at the break of dawn to find Diana, Nicole, and Captain Fragle already awake. The Stealth Shadow, not needing rest, had remained at the helm through the night. "You're up early," Diana notes of the Heroes. "It is good that you are awake. I believe you will find the sunrise most aesthetically pleasing." Dragonlord grunts. "Maybe." He frowns and rubs his eyes--apparently his night had been less than restful. "What's that blasted sound?" Before the party can fully gather themselves to investigate, a small, shrieking blur races for Nicole, claws outstretched. Diana reacts instantly, a quarrel from her crossbow instantly skewering the creature midair, sending it plunging to the ocean far below. "What was--?" "I don't know, but I think we're about to find out." Diana points to a mass of dark silhouettes whizzing towards them, directly in their path. "Wake Captain Fragle." "I've got it." The Dragonlord moves aft to awaken the captain. Diana throws a glance to Germ, and then to Actaeon. "I guess the 'greater good' can apply to the party, too." Before Actaeon can ask what she means, Diana throws a pair of orange gloves to Germ. "That's a loan, not a gift, you hear me? I'm taking those back the moment the fight's over." Diana has officially joined the party! Meanwhile, the Stealth Shadow approaches from the aft. "AC-TI-VA-TING DE-FEN-SIVE SUB-ROU-TINES! WE WILL PRO-TECT YOU, CRE-A-TOR." "I do not wish to be a burden to you, Heroes. I will help you fight as well." Nicole and Stealth Shadow have temporarily joined the party! With three new allies in tow, it appeared the Heroes would not have time to enjoy the sunrise, but would rather have to engage in combat--and for many of them, it would be for the first time. PREPARE FOR BATTLE! Enemies: Phoenix *Immune to Instant Kill* Type: Flying/Fiery Level: 4 Health: 64/64 Special I: Phoenix Pyre – The Phoenix reduces its health to one to bring back all defeated allies with full health. Used only after all allies have been defeated. Special II: Empyreal Flame - Causes 3 fire-elemental damage to all opponents. Used when there are allies standing. Drops: Phoenix Essence, Flameproof Armor (SP:1, immune to Fire) Enraged Gryphon *Immune to Instant Kill, Blind, Sealed, and Asleep* Type: Flying/Holy Level: 10 Health: 25/25 Special: Scream of Might: The Enraged Gryphon encourages one of the Dragonlings and makes one of the heroes fragile during the next round. Drops: 30 Gold, Sapphire, Scroll of Frailty Tundra Dragonling *Immune to Blind and Weakened* Type: Flying Level: 3 Health: 10/10 Special: Freezing Breath: Both the target and the hero next in the battle order take 2 Ice Damage and are slowed. Drops: 5 Gold, Dragon Scale Forest Dragonling *Immune to Sealed and Asleep* Type: Flying Level: 2 Health: 10/10 Special: Healing Nettles: All allies regain 1/2 of their total health and are relieved of any negative effects. Drops: 5 Gold, Potion Mountain Dragonling *Immune to Blind and Weakened* Type: Flying Level: 3 Health: 10/10 Special: Blazing Breath: The target and the heroes before and after in the battle order take Fire Damage equal to their SP x2 regardless of row and SP. Drops: 5 Gold, Dragon Scale Plains Dragonling *Immune to Sealed and Asleep* Type: Flying Level: 2 Health: 10/10 Special: Thundering Roar: All heroes have a 1/2 chance of being stunned for the current round. Drops: 5 Gold, Remedy Cavern Dragonling *Immune to Sealed and Asleep* Type: Flying Level: 2 Health: 10/10 Special: Challenging Gaze: All heroes have a 1/2 chance of being sealed. Drops: 5 Gold, Remedy Marsh Dragonling *Immune to Blinded and Weakening* Type: Flying Level: 3 Health: 10/10 Special: Acid Spray: The target and the hero before them in the battle order take 2 Wood damage and are Weakened. Drops: 5 Gold, Dragon Scale Bird of Prey Type: Flying Level: 6 Health: 15/15 Special I: Take to the Skies - The Bird launches itself into the sky to prepare for its next attack; its next hit will cause an extra 2 Damage, and until it lands that hit, it can only be damaged by ranged attacks (i.e. spells, bows, crossbows, handcannons, and throwing weapons). Special II: Fly Higher - Used only if the Bird has already Taken to the Skies; the Bird flies even higher, so that on the extra Damage is increased by one. Drops: Remedy Lesser Roc *Immune to Instant Kill* Level 5 Flying/Rock Health: 58/58 Special: Heavenly Flight – The Roc flies out of reach, avoiding all damage for the remainder of the round, and returns with 25 health restored and all negative effects removed from it. Drops: 2x Potion, 30 Gold Juvenile Hippogriff Level 4 Flying Beast Health: 41/41 Special: Aerial Assault – The Elder Hippogriff flies to the sky for the remainder of the round, avoiding all damage, and lands on the target for 8 damage at the beginning of the next round. Drops: 30 Gold The Party: Actaeon Artus (Actaeon) *Party Leader* *Dodgy* 21 year old male human Level 1 Ranger Power: 4 Health: 6/6 Gold: 5 Equipment: Bow (WP:3) Inventory: Smoke Bomb, Potion, Bedroll Siercon (Siercon and Coral) *Dodgy* Male, Age and species unknown Level 6 Mage Power: 14 (6 levels + 8 WP) Defense: 1 (Robe of the Magi) Health: 10/10 (5 base + 5 lvl) Ether: 10/10 (5 base + 5 lvl) Gold: 41 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 *Potion x2, Remedy The Demon Germ (Samurai Turtle) *Dodgy* ??? years old ; Half Demon; Male Level 1 Rogue Power: 4 Defense: 0 Health: 7/7 Ether: 0 Gold 5 Equipment: Wrench (WP:3, decreases the target’s level by 1; throwing weapon), Sticky Gloves (Increases the amount of gold stolen by 50% (rounded up), suitable for rogues and beast warriors) (Loaned by Diana) Inventory: Copper Dagger (WP:3; dagger), Venom, Potion, Bedroll Warlen Melimane and Quarion the floating skull (The Chosen Minifigure) *Dodgy* 17 Year old Male Half-Elf Level 1 Mage Power: 4 (9 for spells) Power Bonus: +5 for spells Health: 5/5 Ether: 5/5 Gold: 5 Equipment: Gold-Coated bat staff (Wp:3), Spellbound Gloves (Power +5 to spells) (Loaned by Siercon) Inventory: Potion, Amethyst (Darkness), bedroll Yuji Daeth (Daeth) *Dodgy* 34 year old male Croaken (Frog based race) Level 1 cleric Power: 4 Defense: 0 Health: 9/9 Ether: 5/5 Gold: 10 Equipment: Slightly Sharpened Croaken Staff (WP:3; staff) Inventory: Remedy, Potion Kiray Nastayo (KingoftheZempk), A Hero Who Is Actually Worth Something *Dodgy* 24 year old female human Level 4 Knight Power: 7 Defense: 2 Health: 13/13 Gold: 5 Equipment: Sword of the Kin (WP:3), Scutum Shield (SP:2; shield) 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) *Dodgy* 17 years old female human Assassin Level 1 Power: 4 Power Bonus: +0 Defense: 0 Health: 12/12 Gold: 230 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 Nicole Telsa, Female Human Ranger (NPC, controlled by TheChosenMinifigure) *Dodgy* Level: 4 Power: 8 Power Bonus: +0 Defense: 0 HP: 9/9 Gold: 0 Equipment: Sonic Boom (WP: 4, Handcannon) Inventory: Toolkit (Repairs one automaton back to perfect conditon once. The robot must have some condition) Stealth Shadow (NPC, controlled by KingoftheZempk) Amethyst G.E.M. Automaton *Immune to all effects and Darkness* *Automatic Dodgy-effect to all allies Level: 4 Power: 4 Element: Darkness Condition: 17/17 Defense: 2 Equipment: Robot Circuitry (Accessory, SP: +2, suitable for G.E.M. Automata only), Stealth Shell (Wearer provides allies with *Dodgy*, having a 50% chance to avoid rolls of Damage, Counter, and Free Hits; suitable for G.E.M. Automata only)) 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. QM Note: Welcome to the first battle! If you have any questions about the battle system, just ask, and I (or maybe the Dragonlord ) will try to answer them. KingoftheZempk and TheChosenMinifigure, please note that both of you control the actions of an NPC; please bold their actions along with your own.

Suggestion: instead of using a generic "long dagger", why not have your starting weapon be Playing Cards (WP:3, throwing weapon) ?

The Stealth Shadow considers Siercon's reply. "I IN-FER THAT THE STATE-MENT YOU SPOKE WITH LOW VOL-UME IS CON-FI-DEN-TIAL. YOUR SE-CRET IS SAFE WITH ME." Kiray sees nothing but ocean below, but does notice the Stealth Shadow approach her. "I OB-SERVE THAT YOU ARE PRO-DUC-ING MEL-O-DI-OUS SOUND. DID YOUR CRE-A-TOR IN-STALL A VI-BRA-TA-PHONE WITH-IN YOUR CAR-A-PACE? ARE YOU A MORE AD-VANCED MOD-EL THAN I AM?" "I AM SOR-RY, BUT THE EX-ACT FIG-URES ARE CON-FI-DEN-TIAL." Nicole overhears this exchange, and comes over to speak with Warlen. Dragonlord moves even further back to speak with the captain. "Even if the figures were not a company secret, it would be difficult to estimate the costs involved. Do you count the gold spent on research into new technology? What about the costs Mr. Legonardo in building his own airship, or the value of his advice to me in building my own? I recently met a Hero with a most fascinating handcannon, and I have incorporated some of what I learned into this ship's meager armaments while I was upgrading his weapon. How does one value that sort of exchange?" Stealth Shadow notices Quarion, and turns his questioning to Warlen. "IS YOUR SKULL DE-VICE AU-TO-MA-TED, OR DO YOU OP-ER-ATE HIM RE-MOTE-LY? HOW DID YOU FIT THE FUEL, JET EN-GINE, AND OTH-ER COM-PO-NENTS IN-TO SUCH A SMALL SPACE? SUCH TECH-NO-LO-GY WOULD PRO-VIDE A SIG-NIF-I-CANT TAC-TI-CAL AD-VAN-TAGE IN PRO-TECT-ING THE CRE-A-TOR."

You should see what my list looks like. Fortunately for the players (and me! ), a fair chunk of them are optional and/or cameos. And only one of the ones remaining (that I can think of) has an obnoxious speech pattern to type out!

I would pay good money for a decent spear that deals bonus damage to Ethereal and/or Undead, so I can slap a Diamond in it and be okay against Ethereal/Undead. (I'm considering putting it in my Stag Antlers, but that wouldn't help me if by some miracle I was able to go Winged Warrior.) It's funny, when I first joined Heroica, I cared a LOT about WP, then I stopped caring about attack power entirely to focus on Scrolls, then I went back to normal attacking thanks to Magnetic Mojo and later Overkill but still didn't really care about weapons, and now I'm back to caring about weapons (because they're basically a shot limit as a Skirmisher, and they give me my flexibility now that I can't use Scrolls anymore).

Pie, I think the Essence action should have gone through--healing actions/items still get used after the last hit of the battle. I'm about 90% certain the Essence would have gone through if it had been used on a party member, so it should have gone through on U'Reeka as well.

QM Note: The wrench is indeed retrievable; all throwing weapons are retrievable by default unless specifically stated otherwise.

"The Hovels are the worst scum-pit on the face of the planet, next to maybe the Babaleth Darklands or the continent of Xu. It's this tiny chunk of the city--but at least a fifth of the city's population are stuffed in there. Dad says it's more, says the Houses are lying about the numbers to make themselves look better. It's where everyone who comes to Eubric to catch a break but doesn't make it ends up. Everyone there lives in filth and poverty, and theft and murder are the normal standard of living. Certain people--Dad included--do their best to try to help them, but even when we sacrifice everything we have it's never enough. Meanwhile, the Houses sit on their fleets and warehouses and workshops full of profits and what do they do in response to this problem? They throw up their hands, throw up a wall--a literal wall, Actaeon!--and do their best to ignore it. It just makes me so...mad! And what do we Heroes do? We help them. At least there's a few Heroes sympathetic to the cause, but it's not a lot." Diana looks angrily towards the Dragonlord, then back to Actaeon. "You'd think seeing what the Shadeaux's doing to his homeland would force him to open his eyes, but he's too damn stubborn. He's the Houses' man, through and through. When the time comes, and Heroica has to make a choice, he's going to make the wrong one. And everyone is going to suffer because of it."

QM Note: Don't worry about it, we've all done that at first. Protip: if there's a blue LEGO piece next to the topic, that means there's new posts since the last time you've opened the topic; if you click on said blue brick, it will take you to the first post in the topic that you haven't read. I should probably mention, if you'd like to ask questions or chat with each other or any of the NPCs, now is probably the best time. I'll move things forward when the discussion dies down. "That's reassuring to hear. No, I mean it. It's just..." Diana sighs. "There's not a lot of people who get it, you know? People like the Dragonlord, that mage, my mother, they all live in this fantasy, think if everyone just stands around being lovey-dovey and holding hands or something the world's going to become a better place. And it's not. It's ugly. I've seen it." Diana looks away. "You ever been to the Hovels, Actaeon?" "I AM A-FRAID WE DO NOT. BE AS-SURED, IF A SER-I-OUS MAL-FUNC-TION OC-CURRED, WE WOULD ALL BE IN-CIN-ER-A-TED BE-FORE WE HAD A CHANCE TO FALL TO OUR DE-STRUC-TION." The automaton considers Siercon's strange appearance before posing a question. "FOR-GIVE ME, BUT I AM CUR-I-OUS: WERE YOU ALSO BUILT BY THE CRE-A-TOR, OR ARE YOU THE CRE-A-TION OF SOME-ONE ELSE?"

Kinto, I will begin work on a Zookeeper Expert Class immediately. Actually, on second thought, it should be called Shepherd, and should be offered as an EC by the Sheep Tribe...