Flipz

Unfortunately the Lens and Monkey Bar are both Accessories; for now, I'd recommend using the Monkey Bar, Quiver, and Helm. "A trinket Nyx picked up in Dastan, I believe."

Also, the Humble Indie Bundle 7 is out, and it includes a game that I think all Heroica fans would enjoy: Dungeon Defenders! This version includes ALL DLC for the game, and best of all--you pay what you want!* There are also a bunch of other cool games included in the bundle (including The Binding of Isaac and its DLC), but Dungeon Defenders is the highlight for me. *To get Dungeon Defenders and Legend of Grimrock, you have to pay the average paid price or more, which is currently at US$6.39. That's still a whole lot less than the cost of the games and their DLC, though!

Wait, WBD, is that Scroll only usable by basic Clerics and Mages? If so, that'll definitely affect how much I offer Boomers for it and the Scroll of Recklessness.

Indeed. Hey, WBD, you may want to re-read my Q53 post, I ended up making a minor change you may appreciate...

"Very well, the Spider Leg is yours to use, Miss Nyx. Would you care to borrow Emperor Brunt's crown as well?" He finds it strange; mere months ago, this woman was a legend to him; one of the Test Questers of yore. Yet thanks to Wren, they now spoke as equals. "Froglish is a difficult language, is it not? Skrall attempted to teach me some of it many months ago, but when I tried to speak to Sir Poletad in Ennon, he thought I had completely lost my mind. I hope to learn it well before this Quest is over." Arthur calls over to Poletad, "<Mr President, this is all I Poletad to improve Froglish?> Er, let me try that again... <I want to say, Poletad, I Froglish still, are you?>" Arthur smiles at Alexis as she walks over, a warmth returning to him that had all but vanished since the journey to Ennon. "Perhaps, Alexis, you could help me learn?" He puts his arm over the Evoker's shoulder as he continues. "While we are on the subject of swapping gear, I think that Atramor would be best suited with your Explosive Staff; he would still have the same odds of poisoning all our enemies, while Master Rone could use Alexis' Cat O' Nine Tails for a shot at Assassinating all enemies on every attack of his."

Eh, I've lost hope on any good ideas on CuuSoo ever being made as-is; as much as I love Space Marines, they just have no chance.

"Triad, has the Gray Wizard mentioned how many of these doors there are to be found?" I suspect I already know where the last shall be found...

Hey, Heroica's got that, too. We have at least two homosexual couples (that I can think of off the top of my head) and a major NPC who's pretty much openly gay. If this were truly accurate to medieval thinking, they would all be dead now. It's my view that fantasy (and make no mistake, both Heroica and Game of Thrones are "fantasy," not "medieval drama") is really just a way of layering the medieval imagery of knights and castles and sorcerery over lessons and stories that need to be told to the modern world. Both Heroica and Game of Thrones would go over VERY differently with their audiences if they were set in the modern world...and there are definite parallels to be found in both, if one takes the time to look...

Dear god...Zeph, have I unwittingly stolen another plot point from you for Arthur?

*cracks knuckles* Here we go...game on!

OOC: Arthur curses his unpreparedness. He had known something like this would happen, but even his readiness had not been enough to save Bal. "I owe you my life, brave one. Your sacrifice shall not be in vain." Arthur turns his eyes to the heavens. "Know this, Wren! There is no throne. There is no godhood. There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe Heroica shall fall and maybe Zoot shall rise and myabe the city shall be flooded by Chaos and maybe it's all too much for us but it's all...on...you. Because if we can't protect this world...you can be damned sure we'll avenge it!" Arthur draws his energies to him, his posture and bearing smoothing while his eyes grow sharp with focus. "And so...it begins."

Arthur raises his eyebrow in appreciation, but says nothing. He remains on guard, and chugs a Nostrum, just in case.

That would be Real!Flipz bleeding through. I tend to pontificate in real life, too.

No, first person that says 'Twilight' gets insta-banned. Oddly enough, all the items I have that QMs say they hate, I end up never using afterward because the circumstances never lead to the need for it. I think the last time Arthur actually ended up using his Healing Staff was the Splinter Battle, and then only because he couldn't do anything else that would have been useful. (Speaking of which, I find it VERY interesting that one of Endgame's enemies has a Counterstrike ability, another great example of showing the Heroes what it's like for the enemies that have to face down the Counterstriking Heroes. ) Arthur's not fighting, per se, he's just stating his beliefs. And then everyone criticised him for it. That's OK, I'm hoping he can be runner-up to Atramor in the "most-hated Hero" department. It doesn't matter, I already know that when the Zoot's Plaything drops, there will be Hero blood spilt over it.

Arthur turns to the rest of the party. "Might I suggest we allow Master Ablesword and Sir Cronk to handle this? Their Diplomacy would better match even my oratory on the matter." Arthur turns a wary eye upon the Gray Wizard; something was off about him, something almost...too far off. He remembers the record of the Quest to Haddon, and of Wren's tricks there, and he resolves to keep a wary eye on all of their allies. He quietly walks to the windows and looks around, using his Magnifying Glass and Telescope to see if anyone was eavesdropping.

"I heard rumors of a dark-skinned man riding a horse who sells potions of odor control; the rumors say he is a trainer of 'memetic' proportions, whatever that means. There's also a possibility, for Cronk at least and perhaps Haldor and Alexis as well, that they could train with some of the Paladin Order. There, too, may be the possibility of training with the Zeigfrieds, though for the non-Ether-using members of our party, that particular venue may not be as helpful for them as they might like."

Arthur lends Hoke his Cloak of Deception, and proffers his Ancient Crown as well. "You seem to have a nice hat already, but seeing as you can already damage undead with your spells, perhaps you'd like to take this crown for a spin? If you're lucky enough to pull off a Spellspin as a fight starts, you could Curse the entire group of enemies!" He unstraps the Spider Leg from his back as well. "Haldor, Skrall, Nyx? Any of you want to hold on to this for a bit? It's not much, but it'd wreak havok upon any aerial minions of the Lady." "Madness? I think not. The decay we see all around us? That is madness. That...is Order! You see, Master Rone, this city and its people have not given in to the Chaos. Had they done so, the city would not be at strife. No, this is a world that defies Chaos, even as it sinks ever deeper within it. Once they stop fighting what holds them back--once they stop fighting themselves--they will be at peace." "You fail to see the true nature of the use of Chaos--you make the same error as the Lady. You believe that the use of Chaos is the exercise of control--a laughable concept. The old Regulus--the one you claim to have held reason--believed otherwise. He was wrong--I was wrong. Chaos cannot be controlled any more than the sea or the storm--sure, ambitious mages may exert their own energies over it for a time, but none can command the full, universal force of any element, even for a moment. Like a fire, it may be set into motion, but control of it is merely illusion. The craft of Chaos is not that of control--it is the ability to adapt, to accept what is uncertain, to live with the rhythm and change of life. Don't you see? The man who masters such craft--that man can survive anything, and find peace within to boot. It is not meant to be a force of destruction, or might over others--it is a force of life, of strength within. THAT is the true power of Chaos." "And as for your kingdom--pray tell, was there still a force of authority governing the land after you were cast out? That is Order, turning upon itself. Were those who cast down your land true adherents of Chaos, they never would have rebelled in the first place--they would have found way to shape the world from within. Only the misguided use Chaos in its raw form, and they are indeed the most destructive and depraved the world will ever know. They are fools, however; they act in Chaos, simply to attempt to set up their own vision of Order. They are kin in spirit to Roderick, the misguided young Hinckwell Knight who joined with Wren to betray the Gray Wizard, Triad, Bal, and Sasha seven years ago. He, too, sought to establish Order through Chaos, and he, too, met with a dire fate, but not before causing great pain and grief to all the world. Wren herself is, in part, a legacy of his error, for had he had the wisdom to guide her, her fate might have been more like to my own, and we would be facing a new era of enlightenement, rather than an imminent apocalypse." "But Sir Cronk speaks the truth. The time for words is over. The time for action has begun." "Speaking of action...where is Bal, anyway?"

That despite all our knowledge and intellect, we're still animals, and we often make dumb choices based on animalistic instinct. (The urge to procreate, of course, being one of the stronger ones, but another inconvenient illogical animal instinct is the urge to lash out at others when we're hurting (physically OR emotionally), even if they just want to help; that's a great instinct when, in the wild, predators will often hunt down the injured, but not so much when we need other people to help us.) Those instincts are HIGHLY valuable to learn about when one is creating realistic characters, however, because these instincts drive--well, pretty much everything.

I still say slow it down a bit if you can. Try to find the contrasts in Lycan--in what ways does his slightly more aggressive nature actually make him gentler? Stuff like that is what makes characters three-dimensional and interesting. --------------------------------------------------------- A while back, Zeph mentioned he keeps a list of Heroes who have affected Boomers most in his life. For Arthur, that list would look something like: *De'kra *Haldor *Tensi *Atramor *Skrall *Alexandre *Cronk *Althior *Triad *Wren

Consoling a friend of the opposite sex (or, if one is homosexual or bisexual, the same sex) should generally not be done by taking the person to dinner--or at least, not to a one-on-one dinner. Even worse is that he broke a date with Alexis to do it. Althior should've organized a group effort to comfort Ellaria, WITH Alexis' permission AND support, if he didn't want to set off Alexis' jealousy reaction. I mean, heck, if I had a girlfriend and she took some other guy out to dinner, I'd be at least a little jealous, no matter what reason she'd have for it--it's only natural. Knowing there's a good reason =/= feeling the reason is good. Besides, consoling someone you find physically attractive while one or both of you are attached can be risky enough anyway--the concept of "grief sex" exists for a reason, after all. Random Question Time! What novels and/or plays have had the biggest influence on your character(s)? Comic books/manga are fine, but let's try to focus on written literature if possible.

It's a hard truth to accept, but once you accept it, a lot more of human behavior makes sense--or rather, the nonsense of it becomes more understandable. Tom Stoppard once called sex "the attraction Newton forgot" in his play Arcadia, a play that exemplifies some of the ways that logic and illogic, science and art, numbers and nonsense, all go hand in hand. (In fact, Arcadia is an excellent companion read to the Wren Quests, along with the book Sophie's World. Both, of course, are necessary reads to fully understand the mind of one Arthur Justus Regulus VII, as well as that of one human college student who responds to the moniker of "Flipz". )

"Ah, I see familiar paths in this party...as there were in Ennon, and in Dastan. Glorious, if inefficient. Perhaps the threads of destiny shall spin themselves into a different pattern this time around." Arthur makes eye contact with Haldor, simultaneous approval and reproach within his eyes. The Sorcerer leans back against the wall, practically basking in the Chaotic energies the party sent forth. He nods to McCafferey, indicating the Metasimian and the Norseman. "I suspect you find this as satisfying as I, though no doubt for different reasons, do you not?" "To answer your question, Metasimian, as to my unorthodox beliefs...well, first, my tale of my past was rather long, so I'll forgive you this time for failing to acquaint yourself with the details." Arthur's eyes flashed towards Haldor once more, this time unmistakably saying 'remember?', as to invoke the memory of the past. "To make a long story much shorter, my people did indeed prohibit the use of Chaos, over a generation ago; however, when we were children, two of my friends and I rediscovered our land's Temple and took our first steps down that path. When we nearly destroyed our homes, we quickly recanted, but the way of Chaos is not easily relinquished. It guided our steps, and indeed as I so recently discovered, all of us three have returned to our ways--though I alone truly embrace it as the way it truly is." He grins. "You see, the way of Chaos is not, as you might think, one of pure evil. Handled properly, it is about living in harmony with the rest of the universe, riding its ebbs and flows, trusting in the uncertain, and freely pursuing Beacons in the Gray despite the obstacles, or the costs...you see, as the remnants of the Lost Party can attest--" at this Arthur indicates Triad and Gray "--life is, in fact Gray. We are all struggling through life, as if through a heavy mist that obscures all. We light for ourselves Beacons within that Gray, toward which we must travel if we are to truly find our place, to truly be at one with ourselves and with the universe. It does not matter which direction we are traveling compared to others, what way they call 'right' or 'wrong'. These things, if they even exist for all people, are completely unknowable as universal standards; whatever distinctions we see are rules we have applied to ourselves. There are only two directions, and we can only define them as they relate to us: towards our destiny, or away from us. We cannot live by abitrary standards applied to us by others, for their beacons are not our own, their causes not ours even if we share a common faith or goal. The only truly universal crime is to interfere with another's journey--which, even then, is perfectly allowable if their path is directly counter to our own--as we shall do to Wren, whose path has driven as many away from their beacons as she has towards them. We must shape the world as we see fit, moulding it to our own image of the way it ought to be. For me, that means lighting the way for the world to live in harmony with itself, by helping others to light their own beacons, as Wren has done for me--for beacons may be lit by opposition as much as by alliance. Always remember that--though she must indeed be stopped, and has caused much harm, she has done great things in this world. Terrible, yes--but great." "Of course, not all of my truths are shared by the Lady--nor, I suspect, do I share much with this Court of Demons. The Lady wishes to see herself God of Chaos in Zoot's stead, while the Court is likely to desire power from him. Both fail to see that the gods are not beings, but forces of power beyond ordinary conception--divine, yes, but sentient? Not in truth. Zoot is the cosmic force of Chaos, alienated in legend from the other gods not due to evil, as many prescribe to him, but by simple nature of divorce from the world at large. You see, in time before thought, before memory, the world was one. All was joined in Chaos, in darkness, in uncertainty. There was Unity of all, as beings performed their one Duty: to seek their Destiny, and to aid others in doing the same. But, as the world evolved, and society began to grow, the world was changed, and some things that should not be forgotten were lost. The foreign force of Order and privelege sprang up and tore at the heart of the universe, much as many percieve Chaos to do to Order today--Order is, after all, naught but the Chaos of Chaos. The hearts of the people were darkened, as duty became a dungeon, destiny a doom, and unity a commandment, not a covenant, not a choice. Their paths became prisons, and their spirits were bound in chains. At that time, Chaos was exiled from the so-called 'civilized' world, a cosmic power ripped from its rightful home and banished to the realm of the heavens. As the world so systematically rejected disorder, rejected uncertainty, rejected doubt, it is no wonder that the personification they applied to such things would be branded a force of evil, rather than the one thing that can heal the myriad broken lands of this world, this reality, this universe." "You see, many seek to repair this city, seeing its disarray and wild, unchecked, unruly nature as evils to be cleansed. I do not see such a fate as 'repair', nor, I suspect, would the people of Eubric were they forced to actually endure such a fate. The Bonapartes have failed to learn this, to their peril, as they continue to oppress the powerless and attempt to inflict Order on the masses who clearly desire none of it. No, the healing this land needs is not a change to the way it is, but a way to embrace it as it exists; to teach the masses not to suppress the Chaos that suffuses every aspect of life, but to live with the Chaos that is already there amongst them." Meanwhile, after lending Alexis his remaining Scrolls and his Lens of Speed-Reading, Arthur equips the Scarf of Misfortune, its tartan pattern complementing his usual clothes rather well. "Oh, and Master Ablesword, I would like to come to an agreement wherein I might purchase that Scroll of Weakening before the Quest is over. Feel free to broach the subject at any time. Did anyone want to borrow my Cloak? Perhaps you, Master Ablesword, or you latecomer--oh, hello Master Rone. I hardly recognized you there."

Wow, MegaBlokin' LONG-megablocks post there! I guess Arthur's back to form. Also, wow, I guess Althior's taking the fact that Arthur's with Alexis pretty well...

I'm having sudden visions of the Minecraft Twilight Forest mod. We already have liches and nagas, now we just need hydras and fire swamps and we'll basically have the whole dimension within Heroica. Also, as to the "missing" players: Jebs ragequit after Sandy wouldn't let him steal the Scroll of Luck, Xarzzan was, I think, one of his friends, and Kadabra and BL are brothers and they seemed to be going through a rough time IRL around the end of 35. Interestingly, with Xarzzan inactive, Zeph how has every single Healing Staff in existence except Xarzzan's in his Quest. Also, wow, this party is going to be awesome! Allow me to start chanting early: PvP! PvP! PvP! PvP! EDIT: Can't wait to see Haldor and Dyric vs. Thothwick and Cronk. OR all four vs. Arthur!

Oh, really? *begins thinking of a way to make fun of that in-character* Or in some cases, we make dumb choices just to fail to 'achieve procreation' anyway.