Flipz

Arthur opens his mouth to answer, but then... "...erm...based on that...I'm going to take a wild guess and say that I'm not okay. Because I'm pretty sure I'm suffering from some form of amnesia, halucinations, insanity...or some combination of the above." Arthur stares hard at Alexis, his eyes screwed up as if straining to remember. "You are Alexis, right? And we are deeply in love...right? I'm not halucinating that part, am I?" he asks worriedly.

As the blow came for him, Arthur had one thought on his mind: Son of a-- Blackness. Weightlessness. Something hard. Something broke. His skull. A thought: I'm going to see Father again... I'm going to see Father-- I'm going to see-- I'm-- ... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arthur's eyes fluttered open. Behind Alexis--No! Not her, too?--he sees a figure, male, glancing concernedly at him. "F-father...?" He blinked his eyes, his blurred vision clearing slightly. It was Dyric. Alexis was saying something. With effort, the sounds turned into words, and the words into ideas. He shook his head to clear it. Bad idea. Pain wracked his body--even Phoenix Essences could only go so far in their healing, it seemed. But at least he was alive. And he could remember now. Wren... "That bitch!" Arthur whirled, sword in hand, to give the goddess a taste of her own betrayal--only to find her standing calmly with the rest of the party, and Nyx with the Beasts. "...The hell?" Thinking better of his instinct to shake his head again, Arthur squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. Still there. "Is there...uh...something I should know about, here?" he asks Alexis, with some confusion. And then the answer came to him, as a whisper on the breeze. Chaos... it said. Arthur scowled. "I'm starting to lose my taste for this merde, if you'll pardon my Charisian." Without orders to follow, he casts a quick Light spell at Chaos Beast I from the Back Row through Sir Roderick's Sword.

No, no, I understand you're annoyed at this particular spot in the Quest, and not the whole thing. But this is the way Zeph operates. Usually, players like you and me like the strategizing that Zeph's style requires, but I'm saying that, at this particular moment, his mechanical style (puzzles in battle) is in operation at a much higher level than normal, and at that high a level it's not very engaging for most of us. I probably should have made that clearer from the start. And of course, it's only a minor thing, it's not really harming the Quest as a whole in any way!

This is how Zepher Quests operate. There is no such thing as a "good" decision on a Zepher Quest, one way or another your choices (and battle actions, and that one minor enemy you targetted in a battle two Quests ago, and that random comment you made back in the Hall when you first joined) always come back to bite you in the @ss. Zepher Quests are the closest you can get to a "hardcore" Heroica experience, with the exception of Jebediahs' Quest 35. The payoff, of course, is great roleplaying opportunities, but if you're not really into those already a hardcore roleplayer and/or the situation isn't specifically prompting things for your character, then things can get awkward and/or patience-trying. It's a matter of different playstyles, and it really seems that this Quest has been really, really difficult for some players' playstyles. Zeph's tried his best to keep switching things up, but with a group this large it's just not possible to keep everyone engaged, and that's what's happening here; some players, like Pie and WBD, are thriving on the mechanical difficulties, while some, like you, CM, and Pandora, (and, I have to admit, me to an extent) are getting frustrated by them. Likewise, some players (Scorpiox, Legonater, WBD, and I) are thriving on the roleplaying options available here, while others (again, you, CM, and Pandora, though correct me if I've misread you) seem to be irritated by the roleplaying and still others (Professor Flitwick and Masked Builder) are just sort of fading into the background because the roleplaying choices here are not overly interesting to them. That's the true downside of a large party, even moreso than difficult battle calculations. TL;DR, when selecting a party the players' general playstyle matters, as it affects who will be engaged by your content and who won't be--and the larger the party, the more likely people will end up left out and/or minimized. On a tangental note, I'm getting sick of seeing enemies that are immune to ALL effects--poison immunity in particular is very loathsome. Endgame has proved that it's more than possible to have a challenging boss fight even when the enemy is suffering a constant amount of damage each Round; said damage is a nice Anti-Frustration Feature that helps retain a sense of progress without imbalancing the fight.

I blame you for my confusion, then.

Yes, it heals the party according to the Spellspin mechanic.

Roleplaying didn't do a damn thing for Arthur, what makes you think it'll work out for you?

Zeph, does Wren Swap end at the end of a Round, or is it permanent? That makes a HUGE difference in strategy. Also, if a Hero is KO'd as part of the enemy party, can they still be revived using Phoenix Incense? Also, CM, just put Wren at the top of the order, so she has to absorb all the Free Hits.

I wouldn't count Arthur as dead just yet--there's always the chance the party will have to use a Phoenix Incense to revive fallen party members, and if that happens Arthur will be back up and ready to fight his enemy...but I'm not sure if I see that happening. If Arthur ends up dead, I may just have to focus on QMing for a while, since I have no plans for a new character. From the description of Guardian Angel and how it's worked in the past (and the way Zepher thinks), it prevents all damage and effects to allies (save for existing poison and poison-like effect damage). I'm pretty sure Wren can't be harmed this round, unfortunately. See above for my idea of how it works.

I think that's the point. You could try attacking Wren with a Healing Staff...won't cause too much harm either way. Thought: I wonder if it's just a way to screw up AoE SHIELD rolls? I.E. Wren is part of the party, so she's safe from being attacked (even by the rest of the party) due to Guardian Angel, but if Hoke rolls a Spellspin against the enemy Chaos Beasts, he'd take out Nyx as well.

That would be me. I broke the entire concept of the Acerpusculum Blade/Shuriken just by being a mage. You'll notice that, when we finally saw Triad's stats, the shuriken had been altered to say "cannot be used to cast spells". But yes, the throwing weapon is not thrown. In fact, as I understand, can't throwing weapons be used as a melee weapon, with the normal Row penalties anyway?

Oh god it's going to be another Capt. JohnPaul vs. Sorrow cross-Quest QM war, isn't it?

Q58ers, don't forget that Hestia can use gems. Quest 30, I think.

They were from the finale of Dastan, they were dropped by ex-Emperor Roland Emeraldo, who was JimB's NPC.

Yeah, this is why I think Zepher's upgrade items idea has merit.

Say, if the Quill Pen is a retrievable weapon, shouldn't Nemo be using that and Hestia be using the ship-in-a-bottle (which to me seems more like a wand) based on weapon use for Advanced and Master classes? Also, thank you so much JimB for reminding me how disturbingly creepy the Legend of Zelda series is if one takes half a second to think about it.

Passive Special: You keep using that word - Permanently removes 5 SP and 10 max HP everytime the target or the player controlling them says "Bah, roleplaying!" anywhere.

Maybe that's the idea of the character.

"..." "...I see. Well, we will know the truth in a few short minutes." Arthur continues to shield Alexis, being careful not to impede the Heroes in any way.

"Wren will not harm me. I have not earned that fate. And even if I do die, Alexis will remember me as a man of my principles. I cannot--will not--live as a traitor to everything I've worked for." "Heroes, listen to me. You know me. You know what I stand for, what I've stood for ever since Ennon. You know I want good for this city, even if you disagree with my methods. Would you, then, have me betray those principles by attacking my best hope for achieving them? How would that be better than staying out of the way? My words bring you no harm, and I have already pledged that I will not harm you. How is staying out of the way, harming no one, healing your allies a betrayal?"

Yes. He's deliberately trying to maintain his cool (as he has been for the latter freaking half of the Quest, save for that one outburst after Nyx insulted him [again]) so that the others will recognize he is trying to be reasonable. Obviously, it's not working. I mean, seriously, he's not attacking them, he's not running outright, he's actually offering to heal them...what the hell is wrong with the Heroes?! Arthur's been a Chaos user since 38. And he's blatantly stated this over, and over, and over, and over. I don't get why the Heroes are surprised. At all.

Nice touch that the Chaotic Regulator is the one who held the others back, Zeph.

"Your proposal has great merit. I accept." In a mixture of defiance and faith, Arthur stands in the Front Row, shielding Alexis with his own body (doing Nothing). Just realized, we don't want to Jinx Alexis, in-character or out.

Arthur stands contemplatively. The words of Skrall and the conviction of Haldor had moved him in spite of himself. But he could not turn his back on the force of salvation for Eubric...could he? He shook his head. "I cannot see the future at this time. Therefore, I must make the best judgements I can, deciding my actions as I go along. We will see what is in store, and we will see who is correct about Wren: me or you. And then we will make new decisions. That is the way of life. That is how it must be."

Then put Hestia fully in charge, or the daughter in charge, or someone else. As long as neither of the brothers are in power, but it's still someone the fleet will accept as a commander. "Nemo or Reno" is a choice that will end badly both ways--you need to find SOME kind of Third Option for the best outcome.