Flipz

Quit stealing all the ideas from my Quest line's finale! :mad: (Well, OK, it's not exactly like that (actually not even remotely, in terms of being an intentional encounter on either side), and it's only a segment of the final Quest that gets the Heroes used to certain finale-only mechanics, but still! )

"If you get any more information on this character, or your troops decide to engage them, let me know--I still owe those bastards for what they did to us in Eubric last Grogmas." "Who's your friend, by the way?"

Yay, I finally get to quote my favorite book of all time! Thanks, for the unexpected opportunity, Zeph!

Arthur bows with a flourish, sweeping his hat from his head in a grand gesture. "A bagatelle, Lord Boomingham." "Forgive me, sir," Arthur says to Arthur diplomatically, "for not introducing myself properly. My name is Arthur--Arthur Regulus, Hero of Heroica, at your service. Now, given that you, too, seem to be in pursuit of the vile Pongcanis monsters, perhaps you could enlighten us as to why they were inside the city rather than outside of it?"

"Hmm...say...you wouldn't happen to be the farmer who aided several of my fellow Heroes all that time ago, would you? A Cleric, a Barbarian, a Knight, two Mages, and a Rogue, passed this way looking for the Lion Knights?"

Ohhh gosh, get ready for some Who's On First action soon if this guy interacts with us for any length of time...

So, in other words, "The Anti-Zepher Boss".

While we're on the subject of Expert Classes: after stealing one of Endgame's Ether-based ideas and reworking it, I'm working on a counterpart class that's not Ether-based ("counterpart" because for lore purposes they will be gender-locked; thus, one class from the faction for males and one for females). Both classes are based on a risk-reward strategy, where an increase in strength (and it can be dramatic) carries strong risks to those who let things get out of hand. Of course, neither one is connected to the Priests of Mercutio...because every time I try to build something that would make sense for them, it comes out being either massively underpowered or massively overpowered (Bound has no effect on enemies, Petrified is OP, Slowed vs. one enemy is underwhelming, Slowed vs all enemies is suitably powerful but boring, anything involving Gold is just too nuts to mess with for fear of rage, etc. etc. etc.). I even considered just making a nutso OP class and making it an NPC class, but it never really came together, so I scrapped it.

Hehe, it seems like Dragoon is THE single major balancing factor of the Medal of Glory.

Perfect, means I don't have to worry about overleveling!

"It may not be the most heroic idea, but...I hope the Pongcanae make us use force." Arthur pours a Remedy over himself to put out the flames and follows Nerwen, figuring he'll have time to heal himself later.

Allow me to Remedy that for you (like I did through all of Quest 70--looking back, at least a quarter of my non-Scroll actions must have been "uses Remedy on X" ): behold, a playlist of all of the songs from Spring Awakening (do see it live, though!): Also, PERFECT song for Lucky Chant:

Actually, I'd prefer Those You've Known for Dirge of the Phoenix, it's absolutely perfect for that function. (Actually, that might be a good Arthur song... ) If not, though, All That's Known would be a good Esoteric Melody. In any case, you have to use I Believe for Angelic Aria. It's just too fitting. I'm also trying to figure out where Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind can be slotted in. ...I may have a bit of a fixation on Spring Awakening. I guess I can try for some good songs from Sweeney Todd later. Also, request: At Christmastime, you switch all the songs to Christmas carols. Ooh, Mama Who Bore Me (reprise) would be a good Angelic Aria if done live...not so much in text, though.

Arthur buries the poor merchant, setting the head back in its proper place. "May the Dragons set fire to your heart and fly it away," he says, performing the Dastanian rite of death. He looks up to the others. "Shall we risk knocking, or would it be better to make our own path in?"

Arthur growls. "Pongcanis. Beheading was too good for that bastard Vonnetate." He looks ready to charge after the group, but restrains himself. "We'd be doing an awful lot of people an awful lot of good if we could get rid of that lot. Permanently." It was more than apparent from his tone that his attitude toward the creatures was personal. "I'm going to dig a grave for that poor fellow they murdered. Those who wish to help, can."

Embodiment is different than stereotype, though--Hoke and Thothwick are by no means stereotypical, yet they truly embody their respective Advanced Classes. Likewise, Guts is in no way a stereotypical "pillaging Raider", but at the same time the change to his class marked a suitable and recognizable change to his personality, which meshes well with the embodiment of "Raider-ness". I guess I'm saying that in some ways Advanced and Expert classes are becoming...routine. They don't seem to mark any real turning point in the characters' lives, they're just "that thing you do after two to four Quests". I mean, not that there's anything wrong about that, but at the same time, it feels...strange, I guess. Like we've lost something. I feel that way about the roleplaying in Heroica in general as well. Maybe it has something to do with filling in the blank corners at the edges of the map, but it sometimes feels like there are very narrow roads for characters' roleplaying. When I re-read Quest 4, it struck me how freely the characters roleplayed--heck, De'kra had a whole scene with an NPC with Tomas and Cinna, and they rolled with it. Nowadays, Tanma would get yelled at for such a move, and that's a shame, in my view. Most Quests have become more about the story of the Quest, rather than about the story of the Heroes ON the Quest, and Heroica has lost something for it. Sandy's Quests (with the possible exception of Quests 3 and 44) have always managed to sit in that perfect sweet spot between the two where it manages to be about both, which is why he's still the unmitigated king of QMing. Dragoon will likely be Arthur's final class at this point as well, as with Wren gone (and not ascended to godhood) Prophet no longer works for Arthur. Then again--Chi Monk, or even Sage... Making decisions for Arthur is a lot harder when I don't have him on/included in any sort of arc. (Another reason why he ties in to so many, Scuba--keeps me from being completely lost. )

"Hmm...a dear friend of mine bought a cloak here in Brobric that allows him to sneak ahead and assess the enemy's capabilities before his party has to attack. Do you own such a cloak? If not, I would be happy to buy one for you, if they are available."

It's interesting...in the beginning of the game, there were a fair number of characters who fully embodied their base classes and nothing else...then the Advanced Classes came out, and the vast majority of the Heroes out there really seem to embody their Advanced Class. That doesn't seem to be happening so much for the Expert Classes; Alexis hasn't been roleplaying much thanks to the Fields, Althior still embodies "mage" more than Necromancer, and Cronk and Docken aren't even bothering with Expert Classes. Benji is pretty much the only Hero who's truly adapted to become the embodiment of his Expert Class--and maybe Thormanil, if he really manages to capture the essence of the class. Furthermore, class switching from Advanced Class and beyond seems to be becoming more and more common--what once was Benji's unique quirk has become the norm. Even I've changed Advanced Class now, and I'm planning to do multiple swaps during my Expert Class phase. What does everyone think the reason for this is? Is it a lack of finality due to the existence of the higher tiers, or is it just something about the Expert Classes that don't lend themselves to embodiment the way that, say, Druid or Paladin do? And what could be done to improve the "weight" of each class?

I'm with you on that one...fortunately, I'll (hopefully) be one step closer soon... *rubs hands together excitedly*

"Then we'd best make sure our changes are for the better." "Unless there is anyplace in this city where we can further prepare ourselves, I think it would be best for us to move on." "Oh, forgive my rudeness in not asking, Lady Ahvialyn, but what sort of skills do you possess? Are you, perhaps, skilled in stealth?"

For easy access, here's the pic Jebs did of Akkaba:

I'd really appreciate that. You know it's a bit nuts when I can't follow it. Agreed, I wouldn't say "personalities" so much as traits (both metaphysical and emotional) that they embody--for instance, Mercutio values cleverness and ingenuity, because he embodies those traits. (Of course, whether that's a literal spirit with power over such things or just a religion of priests who encourage such traits in their followers is up to interpretation.) Double-edged sword, though: Arthur SHOULD know that stuff, but I don't. Awesome. Any chance I could get a preview of Mercutio?

"Do you know who is in charge of Keveak's troops now that he is dead?" "I wonder if we should try to remain separated, at least when we first arrive in town. That way we can potentially investigate rivaling factions without arousing suspicion."

Eh, depends on who owns the rights. Hank Pymm is one of the few comic book names I knew even before the first Iron Man film came out. I'll be a bit disappointed if I don't get to see him in the MCU.

I'm in the same situation as Kinto, unfortunately. That's actually not a bad price for Mythril, considering it's all four shards at once and the fact that most people will want to save it until their weapon/shield is fairly well upgraded anyway.