Flipz

Arthur uses his Magic Compass to try and locate The Falconer.

Arthur glances concernedly at Miirym. "Something like that. Let's just say that Immortalis managed to hit an...emotional weak point." Miirym studiously pretends not to hear, muting her reaction enough that even Arthur himself is unable to read it. "I apologize for the rudeness, sir, but I would really appreciate getting out of this rain as soon as possible. Could you just take us to her hut? We can chat indoors." At Arthur's mention, Miirym starts and extends a golden wing over him. The shelter helps, but the wet environs are clearly uncomfortable for the ex-Mage, who shivers in spite of his grateful nod to the Dragon.

When they're being triggered by an item like that, they don't consume Ether unless the Artifact specifically states it does.

Pie, could we possibly get a non-edited version of that Augustus Bridge photo? For...reasons? ...actually, come to think of it, does the Augustus Bridge have its own wiki article yet? If not, it should.

Arthur blushes. "Yeah, sorry, that was a bit rude of me, wasn't it? But yes, the whole time Miirym and I spoke with him, I kept flashing back to the conversation Masson and I had in that room above the Albatross, the night everything went down. The déjà vu was incredible." He shrugs. "And afterwards I felt the same feeling of melancholy I feel now, like I could have talked him down but still somehow failed. It's most discouraging." "<You'll forgive me if I'm less enthusiastic about redeeming the brute,>" Miirym grumbles ill-naturedly. It seems like her grudge is now less violent, yet if anything even deeper than before. "Of course, Miirym. He hurt you, whether he's willing to admit it or not. You have every right to be upset with him." Despite his soothing words, however, Arthur's worry for Miirym was plainly apparent to those Diplomatic enough to understand the subtlety of his tone.

"<You underestimate what Heroica can accomplish. Our actions are small, but they carry enormous leverage, far more than they ought. We are one of, if not the most influential forces on the face of Olegaia. Without our organization, events will occur quite differently.>" "Whatever his reasoning, it isn't rational. He's not listening to reason, that's for sure. Come to think of it, the whole thing reminds me a lot of another nighttime visit from an opponent on a crusade...somehow, though, I doubt we're going to be redeeming him with the power of love." Miirym sniffs, a hint of pain disguised among the derision, just enough for the Diplomatic party members to perceive. "<He'll get no sympathy from me so long as he refuses to even listen to reason...>" Arthur quietly watches his charge with concern. She tried her best not to show it, but his experience with her told him how much her spat with Immortalis was costing her emotionally. At this point, he could only hope the great Dragon's refusal to change his ways would not leave a permanent scar.

"<Hmpf. That would have been useful information beforehand.>" "...It's for the best, all things considered." Arthur looks to the rest of the party. "I know exactly what future calamity Immortalis is afraid of. Miirym and I just spent six months reviving someone who will be crucial in fighting it. Unfortunately, he lacks faith in Heroica's moral fiber to not give in to it, and refuses to see Eubric as the solution rather than the problem. Which is a problem, because for all of its issues, Heroica is important; if the world loses Heroica, the rest of it will not last long, especially with the Darkness--capital 'D'--looming on the horizon." "<I have to wonder. How much of his rhetoric is really reason, and how much is him getting revenge for his children?>" "Somehow, I doubt even the dragon himself knows that answer." Miirym grunts moodily; clearly, whatever had happened in that vision had done little to improve her demeanor. She stares at the rubble for a few seconds, then flicks her tail violently in frustration. "<Arthur...>" "I'm on it, I'm on it," Arthur chuckles. "Come on. Let's puzzle this out together."

I just want to point out that since Torald and Ezeran are members of the Crescent Union, they cannot gain Ziegfried reputation and so cannot lose their Invision rep.

Yeah, I miss Actaeon, he's the only real 104 vet who's just dropped out entirely. I can think of exactly three active players who are part-Ranger: Dyric, Matthias, and Skrall. Everyone else has either left or switched out of their Ranger class.

Tell me, when was the last time the Bonapartes were on-screen in a rep-offering situation and were not total dicks?

I posted, I posted! Hopefully this means I won't be holding us up for much longer. *looks guiltily at planned drops* Okay, in fairness, my Dragoon "drops" aren't actually drops, they're NPC gear, but still. Actually, speaking of planned drops, what the heck happened to all of the Rangers? I go to all this work to craft some super-sweet but balanced Ranger gear and then all of a sudden I look and the Rangers have almost completely vanished. What gives?

I also can't help but feel like those greaves are in part inspired by the direction Arthur took his Blue Hand Shield.

I hope people aren't burned out on Dragoons, my Charis Quest has Darius as a major character.

I've got Quests for three out of those four factions lined up at one point or another (I can't promise Infiltrator availability yet, but if I get permission to I will offer it ), it's just that Pie sniped all of the high-level players who weren't already committed to 149 with Sandy. Still, I'm secretly relieved, since the Baltarok segment of my Diana Quest was kinda bare-bones, so now I can just play off of whatever happens in 150, and now that I'm delaying until post-150, I actually have the opportunity to take Miderun if Pie signs her on to it.

He's assuming the Union wins the war. Not an unreasonable assumption, if the Ziegfrieds are Ether-starved; the Bonapartes have a significant navy, but the Hinckwells seem to be better-geared for defense than offense whereas the Shadeaux are better-geared for offense and the Ji Pei and Guild bring with them significant resources and technology, specifically healing resources (via Potions and Chi Monks) and ignoring SP (Tritech technology). The Ziegfrieds are Sunwell's primary offense and primary means of countering Union assets, without their help the war suddenly becomes very one-sided, and so weakening them at all is a very quick way to speed up the progression towards war (since without the deterrent of "the Ziegfrieds will absolutely wreck stuff up", there's much less reason for the Guild to not push for open war).

To rub it in mages' and clerics' face how much the mages and clerics need them. Nah, in all seriousness, it seems like the Guild is fine with clerics, they just have a thing against mages.

Eh, I mean, I'd be more tempted to offer cheaper Tonics in Quest stores if the Guild had known competitors who knew how to make Tonics. But that's kind of how all Quests work in general, so...

That means all of the urls for that photo have permanently changed, likely due to a change in visibility permissions. You'll have to go back to the Flickr page for your avatar photo and generate a new sharing link.

Family is visiting for the weekend, so my posting will be even more sporadic than usual.

Hey, at least you don't have to deal with Warlen's damn boots, those things are a nightmare for bookkeeping.

Yeah, I definitely like the idea of it being an item-based class, makes it a little easier to hand out. I might be able to slip a test into my Diana Quest without too much alteration, no promises, though.

I've got two in the works, one for higher-level Heroes and one for mid-level Heroes.

See, I don't really see that as equivalent, since for those eight you have to give something up to make the switch to Prophet; you give up being half-Knight or half-Rogue or half-Barbarian to become 1/3 Cleric, 1/3 Mage, and 1/3 Ranger, although really it's more like 2/3 Cleric, 1/4 Ranger, and 1/12 Mage. Switching from Hunter or Assassin or Sorcerer or Mystic Knight or Paladin or Witch or Battle Mage or Shaman into Prophet isn't like advancing up a tier from Basic into Advanced, it's more like switching to a different Advanced Class and then advancing up a tier. To be clear, I don't think that Prophet should be grabbing abilities from the Advanced Classes other than Evoker, Druid, and Sage, and of course the respective base classes. (Although, that does bring up a thought...what if, instead of deliberate meditation, Prophet could summon elemental spirits? That would better represent the Mage side of the class, restoring the balance that way (sure, you CAN play it as "better Druid", but then you miss out on a legitimately useful aspect, just like you'd miss out on the great healing abilities by playing it as "better Evoker") while also eliminating its ability to be 100% self-sufficient, which allows QMs to Ether-starve it, so its power comes at a legitimate cost.)

"<You will refer to Arthur with respect or not at all,>" Miirym states simply. There is no threat in her tone, merely a warning of dislike. She says nothing more, merely watching the party carefully. She was beginning to see how the fractures in the party had begun, fractures that neither she nor Arthur would likely be able to repair. Arthur continues to pick his way past the puddles near the back of the party, too preoccupied with concern about the caves potentially collapsing to participate in conversation.

Fair enough, but then Hunter is half-Barbarian, so it's already a big shift in losing that. The three ACs you really have to look at for Prophet are Druid, Sage, and Evoker, since those are the three whose base classes make up Prophet; likewise, you kind of have to compare Paragon to Berserker, Raider, and Black Knight. I'd argue that Prophet does just fine in advancement from Evoker (since what you lose in the summon you gain in the healing abilities), but not so much in advancement from Druid or Sage.