Flipz

That too.

True that. I missed that Aranoc couldn't re-apply the curse, so that's good. I still think Johon should be immune to it, though. Almost, but not really (especially if it's done as 1/2 the enemy Level)--and remember, "Miss" rolls are superseded by three other rolls, which helps to balance the power. Besides, it's not the only class where a "miss" is arguably better than a "hit"--as a Raider, I'd rather roll a bunch of "Steal" rolls than a bunch of "hit" rolls.

I say have it be a regular Curse and let Johon be immune to it; he dropped good money on that Artifact, aftar all, and he deserves to have the immunity it grants him.

Arthur's eyes grew hazy and distant. He could...see...many things...as De'kra spoke, images drifted through his mind...some familiar...some not... Some, he felt, had connection to the small being's words, while others... "Wren...Caroline...Father..." Arthur was alone, a plane of purest white. A point of smoky black appeareed, rushing toward him before transforming into the city of Eubric--but darkened, under hold of some foreign force. As Arthur raced towards the city, it seemed to slide away from him, and tendrils of light began to emerge, from Heroica Hall, Zeigfried Manor, the Ji Pei Palace, The Invision Guildhouse, the Town Watch barracks...all the great centers of power, and even some he did not know. The light latched on to the city, driving off the dark...but under the pressure of their grasp the city began to crumble, and soon it all collapsed, a maelstrom of stone, timber, and masonry, all circling, swirling as if down a whirlpool to a great chasm that opened up the city, leading to a dark temple he had never seen and yet was instantly familiar...as the disassembled remains of the city swirled into the temple, they collapsed into a singularity of purest light... He was home. That much he knew, though the gates of the dark temple had not changed, the skies grew dark, a tint of violet emanating from the north, beams of green from the watchtowers to the east. He was a child once more, and his childhood friends stood with him. Did they dare press forward? Did they dare risk opening the doors of the forbidden temple? Arthur took a step forward, just as he had those many years before, and stretched out his hand...and as they had back then, the gates opened with a loud CRACK-- A beam of light shot forward, impaling the sphere of light from before. The trio turned, suddenly adults, and behind them stood Roni, hundreds of times larger than her true size. In her hand, she held a gilt scepter, a perfect orb of ruby at its tip. The light shot into the orb, and the child's eyes grew somber. With a look of grave pain and age far, far beyond the years of any mortal, she raised the scepter. An aura of red surrounded her...a tear ran down her face...Arthur raised his arms, a futile gesture to defend himself... Arthur suddenly awoke, arms still raised, his party standing around him. He looked at De'kra, a look of sadness and bewildered understanding in his countenance. "Yes, De'kra," he says simply, "yes." Arthur walks quietly and silently to the cargo hold, though to Thalion and De'kra there is something changed about him...something elusive they could not quite put their finger on, but something noticeable, familiar perhaps, nonetheless.

Excellent SHIELD, though as WBD said, Meditate is still a bit weird for the Shaman. I like this idea, but it does seem a little Ranger-esque. I, personally would have it go something along the lines of: "The Shaman transfers health from an enemy equal to the enemy's Level to the ally with the lowest Health, at the cost of one Ether." Yes, that could result in quite a bit of healing for a "Miss"-type roll, but to balance it out it's rather difficult to get via Nostrum-use, it isn't affected by Encouraged (though it IS lessened if an enemy is Weakened), and it would cost Ether even if the healing is unnecessary. If more balancing is needed, perhaps the amount should be one-half the enemy's Level. I can't think of a name right now, but Sandy's more clever withcoming up with names for things/people/places anyway.

Arthur nods. "Yes, though mostly of a personal nature. But I feel I cannot pry into your own affairs until I offer you the chance of sight into mine. And yet..." Arthur hesitates, but continues nonetheless. "Much has...much has changed since our last meeting. An acknowledgement of truths that I had long suppressed. I...there are truths...about myself...truths that may be difficult for you to accept. Are you certain you are willing to face them? You have long been among my closest friends among Heroes, but I would not burden you with such knowledge unless you are sure--unless you are willing--to accept it. I have glimpsed my Destiny, and it is of darkness as much as light. Are you prepared for this truth?"

Threed is the third main town in the game (Onett, Twoson, Threed...yes, it is a pattern ).

*cough*Earthbound*cough* Is Abydo a reference to Stargate SG-1? Nintendo games are curiously underrepresented as far as references in Heroica go.

And here I thought everyone's spellcheck was broken. You learn something every day! I, personally, will likely only go for a few of these, mostly impulse buys. That croc boat looks really neat, but it's just too expensive for my purposes, and it's just about the only large set I've seen so far that I've really liked.

Well, unless Ninjago gets one last minifig promo set (a la this year's Lou Ferrigno Hulk or the SW TC-14). If I had to choose between the two, though, I'd go with

Doc, is the Cloak of the Blue Assassin bodywear or backwear? If it's the former, De'kra can wear both it and the Cloak of Deception in one more battle, but if it's the latter I'll loan the Cloak of Deception to Barur and ask Barur to let De'kra wear the Ancient Crown (and try to Nostrum up De'kra so we have a shot at applying the Cursed-effect to all the enemies ).

"Hm. After much consideration, I think I'll keep this beauty, but De'kra can hold onto it for now--he's got the most Health out of us, and I'd rather not sacrifice my own defenses or my ability to cast spells--yet." "So, shall we return this rod to Knife-Tongue and commence our inspection, or do the rest of you have another idea on how to proceed?"

...this is going to be one hard loot distribution. (Begins running basic calculations when coupled with the Staff of the Cultist Battlemage...) Best 20 Gold I've ever spent! Hmm, these dice rolls almost make up for that rotten streak of luck in Dastan. EDIT: Oh, man, I really want to see Alexandre wearing this while Hastened, using the Staff of the Cultist Battlemage, and wearing Counterstrike Gloves, he'd be a friggin' tank! Just imagine, SP:13, first attack ignores SP (since he'd use the Sword of the Elven Blademaster for that strike), then he'd take the first two Free Hits: there's a 3/8 chance that at least one would miss him altogether and hit an opponent instead, IF they hit they'd be halved, IF they hit he'd counterstrike, and IF they somehow KO'd him there'd still be a 50-50 chance he'd Flee the battle instead.

"Arthur. Arthur Justus Regulus VII, Sorcerer." Arthur shakes Knife-Tongue's hand, and then glances at his scarf. "I asked because your scarf exudes a magical aura that seems somehow linked to fortune and misfortune. If I might offer a suggestion, I'd advise you to keep it in your pocket or somewhere else that's safe unless or until it becomes necessary for you to use it in combat. It may hold ill luck for you at present, but I have an inkling that its abilities may prove to be more advantageous to you in a fight." Arthur approaches Thalion. "Sir, Master Knife-Tongue here has offered us use of his Fishing Rod for a mere 20 Gold. I think we should have plenty of time left to inspect the cargo, the Bone-heads hardly give us any time to relax anyway, let's take the chance while we can. Who knows? We may even end up stronger as a result of the relaxation." I'll pay for the use of the rod, I'm just giving the others a chance to prepare and use consumables if they want to.

Though he had struggled greatly in comprehending the hobgoblin's words, Arthur finally felt he had understood at least most of the fellow's meaning. "Perhaps our Cleric could aid what ails you, at least somewhat. Still, I am glad to see you have found your path in spite of your difficulties. There are many in Eubric who would do well to follow your example." His respect for both the hobgoblin and Captain Illdria had risen immensely over the past few minutes. Still, his mind wandered back to the tidbits of tactical information that De'kra had shared, and to the hobgoblin's words about misfortune... "Sir hobgoblin--apologies if I missed your name, I don't believe we have been introduced formally--if I may ask, what is the story behind that scarf of yours? When, exactly did you acquire it, and from whom?"

Thanks, Skyrimguy. EDIT: more additions--I'll figure out how this guy talks if it's the last thing I do!

"Ever heard of the Lion Knights?" Arthur piped up. "They're an up and coming force, and they've got a sweet setup between here and Dastan--not to mention Bric'bay's small enough to fall beneath Bonaparte notice. Might be worth a look if the Bonapartes get too troublesome--I've run a few missions for the Lions, and they're certainly a lot more accommodating than the Boneys have been lately." Arthur then returns to trying to translate exactly what the hobgoblin had said. He idly wonders if Barur's healing skill might be able to repair the hobgoblin's impediment, at least somewhat.

A stray thought crosses Arthur's mind. Hmm...it would require QUITE the maneuvering, but it would be a valuable operation for Lord Knyghton, and for the Ji Pei as well...this will require some more thought.

The dwarf and the hobgoblin are the only ones that really seem like good targets based on what they drop, and I'd actually prefer the hobgoblin to fight on our side, since his abilities would compliment our own quite nicely. The captain isn't THAT strong, but her Special is nasty, and 40 Gold is just not worth it. EDIT: Man, that goblin speech is tough to translate. Here's what I have so far: "Well, I hail from Goboia. Ef to make my fortune, but I've found nothing but misfortune with them....but my problems are not fewawy mawf youwf, forgive my ramblings. I was fwamem in Eubric, and mawy here ifwik my wafe, and this impediment makes it no better. Momefhewef, Illdria finds my skills in navigation quife useful, so as long as I continue to pull my weight, I am welcome am I am pai weww. Uf faw I have found no reason 'o abamom hew o' the Magpie."

"Perhaps in a bit," Arthur says, "Once we've gotten better acquainted with you and the rest of the crew. Unless the seas are extraordinarily unkind to us, I think that 20 gold would not be an unreasonable price to borrow that fishing rod." Arthur slightly emphasizes his words, so as to make the translation clear to the rest of the party. Arthur's ears perked up at the Captain's mention of the Bonaparte trade monopoly--wasn't that one of the reasons for the riots in the Hovels?--but he decided to let Thalion keep talking without his interference. He returns his attention to the hobgoblin. "If I may ask, how did you come to join the crew of the Magpie?"

You know, someone in the Chima topic mentioned the idea of the Ninjago characters "crossing over" into Chima for a cameo or two. While I doubt it would happen to Chima (Chima seems too "isolated" for that), it would be really nice to see the Ninjago characters make appearances in other themes at a later time--after all, the Clutch Powers reference was cool and was a nice nod to the past (I, for one, wish he'd been more popular, it would have been a great way to promote cross-theme fanship, after all). Also, now that the series is over, is anyone ready to discuss things that annoyed them? I, for one, got rather annoyed after a while about how slow and "sticky" the fighting got, especially in the very end. By "sticky," I mean there was never really enough knockback to the ninja's attacks, it made them seem really weak and powerless--the enemies' feet seemed "stuck" to the ground. While that made sense while the ninja were de-powered by the loss of their Golden Weapons, once they got the elemental blades, I feel they should have gotten at least some of that back--and the Stone Army also got a lot less threatening at the same time when their attacks no longer tossed the Ninja around like popcorn. IMO, a ninja's fighting style revolves around lots of swift, dynamic movement--and for such dynamic characters, the Ninja sure seemed to stand in one spot a lot in fights.

I would not be opposed to this. Hopefully with Chima, the animators will be confident enough in their work to speed up the fighting a bit; so far the two seconds of swordfighting and the fight with all the energy bursts seemed decently fast, and the speeder-things look like they'll naturally focus on speed, so at present I'm fairly hopeful. The "sticky," slow fighting was one of the few things that consistently frustrated me with Ninjago (and indeed, with most animated TV shows), especially towards the end.

Pie, that is a gorgeous shot. I really like these NPCs, too, love the designs.

Arthur quietly and casually walks up next to the hobgoblin. "I don't suppose you'd like me to charge that rod with Ether, would you?" he says by means of starting a conversation.

Indeed! I must admit that part of the reason I'm letting Thalion lead the group right now is for more chances to see him in action.