Flipz

A great read. Seriously, I want to see Atramor and Tarn go off on another adventure together; GREAT interactions. Unfortunately, something in the BBCode is messed up; none of it is working at all for some strange reason.

I'm in favor of it, though I must say for the record that Zeph's version really appeals to the D&D side of me. That said, I know how much easier your system will be on the QM end of things, so I heartily approve.

Party NPCs??? Of course, the real reason I'm looking forward to it is seeing where the finale takes Arthur. I have a few ideas, but I doubt they'll come into play. At all. Relevant comic. Doc, I'm honestly shocked you didn't come up with this already.

"You seem a bit low on Ether, Sir Cronk. If you'd like my Grand Tonic, it's yours. Of course, the same goes for you, Gray Wizard."

"Sasha, if you wouldn't mind, I feel we would all benefeit if you let me have your Nostrum. I am one of the weakest among us, but if I am Lucky I may be able to Stun all of our foes. Take a moment to prepare yourselves, my friends. Once we pick this flower, I have no doubt that our greatest battle will be thrust upon us." After waiting a moment for Sasha's reply and for the others to prepare, Arthur steps forward and picks the Flower of Sybl. OOC: If Sasha agrees, please assume that Arthur drinks the Nostrum. Also, please note that Arthur will wait until everyone else is ready before picking the flower.

Hey, if Ranger throws his Holy Bomb, then Echo will be toast and Thormanil can target something else.

"The study of Chaos is the study of all things. But nonetheless, I will let Alexis find her own path."

Doc, welcome to my world.

In a case of extreme irony, Arthur, like Haldor, chose to remain silent during Haldor's tirade against his Master's former love. Does he not see that there was something beneath? Context is foremost in the ways of both Chaos and love. However, he merely offers one small insight. "In matters of Chaos, rarely is there just one cause to an end. Is perhaps love the same way? I sense there is more of this tale to be told." Arthur smiles reassuringly at Alexis, but says no more. As Tensi concludes her speech, Arthur speaks up again. "Aye, well said. Perhaps it could be said that 'good' and 'evil' are not end aspects of beings, but merely directions in which they travel; 'good' for those who travel towards their beacons in the gray and seek not to hinder us in our pursuit of our own, and 'evil' for those who try to stop us. To the Lady, then, some of us would be 'evil', just as some of us see her in the same way. But these are dangerous terms; they account not for the shifting of time, of perspective, of truth. Let us instead not judge, and instead let each seek their own way, their own happiness. For the only truly universal crime is that of harming the life and journey of others, and of that we are all guilty." Keenly aware of Tensi's alertness, Arthur attempts to use his telescope to ensure the group is not snuck up on as they talk.

Arthur nods. He did not agree with everything the Acerpusculum said, but he recognized the wisdom in much of it. Thinking of Tensi's words, he replied, "I do not fully know what fate I chose that day. Perhaps part of my destiny is to find out." As the sorcerer spoke these words, he once more felt an indescribable spark within him, and he reached for it. In his mind's eye he saw a hand, reaching out to him from the darkness, and in his spirit he chose to take it, to step forward, to embrace his destiny, even though he didn't know what it was. The reassuring tug of fate upon his spirit bolstered him, and confidence once more entered his step. His eyes glazed slightly, his attention no longer on things of the material realm. "Yes," he said aloud, unconscious of his own speech, "For that is a part of it. To seek those beacons in the Gray, and to light them for myself--and for others." He is about to speak more, when Cronk chooses to reply to the Gray Wizard. Still half in the immaterial realm, Arthur replies. "Wren has accomplished one great work of good, and continues to right up to this day: she has reforged Heroes. She has, through her own deeds and motives, incited the Heroes who meet her to reexamine their own. It is a wyrdly noble deed: to strengthen the good at the sacrifice of oneself, at the cost of one's destiny; to incite good to good through the practice of evil. She creates the means to her own defeat, but not merely her own; for many Heroes are better for having met her. It is a fate not meant for many, but a strange and wondrous choice. She cannot be judged; for though she may not fully see it, yet there is some part of her who knows this truth, and accepts it, and it is what allows her to embrace her fate. And yet, even so, she may be that which can have redemption; for though rare is the fate that does evil for good, rarer still is that which may accomplish this deed and return to light. The Lady is, truly, a rare soul, and one that should be celebrated, despite and because of her villainy." Arthur's eyes close, and when they flutter open again his presence is fully in evidence. "Like you said, Cronk, we would not know what light is without darkness. And so it is with the Lady Wren. We who have met her are more conscious of both our actions and their consequences, and indeed pay more heed to the very nature and morality of our world. That is Wren's Blessing upon us all."

I really, really wish people in Real Life were more like Cronk and Triad and Sasha and the Gray Wizard and Tensi.

Arthur listens as Tensi speaks her views. "Perhaps, then," he says, "you could say that I have lost sight of my beacons, and know not how--or if--I should relight them."

I know I've said it before, but it bears saying again: Zepher, you are awesome.

"I presume the Gray Wizard told you something of my past? Regardless, it is a tale that would be familiar to you--I am Zut'tau'ri, and thus, despite my people's futile claims to the contrary, a child of Zoot. I have seen now...Sasha, and Dastan, and even Wren herself, in her own misguided way, have shown me, Chaos does not have to be a force of destruction. The knowledge of the Tome of Chaos, burned deep into my mind, tells me this. And yet...destruction...devastation...it is all I see." Arthur pauses. "Triad, what Wren did to you was wrong. Forgive me for saying this, but I do not mean the betrayal. From the start, she had to betray the rest of you; it was her path, I cannot judge her for this. But you didn't deserve the fate you met. People should deserve their fate. They should earn it. And at once I judge Wren for this, and yet I pity her. For her choice was not wholly her own." Arthur walks forward a few more steps in silence, but the weight of the Acerpusculum's expectant listening compelled him to continue. "There is a part of me--a large part--that admires Wren. Whatever else she is, she has found her path, and walks it without doubt, without hesitation. To my view, she was misguided, but not irretrievably so; and even if it is not her fate to be saved, she knows her place in the struggle, and embraces it. She knows what needs to be done, and does it unflinchingly. But now..." Arthur struggles a moment for the right words. "I have lost a degree of respect for her. And that scares me, Triad. For that respect for her own force of will is what gave me the strength to defy her, and yet support her in my own way. Do you understand? Some would call the concept a 'worthy foe', but it goes much deeper than that. There is a kinship...a unity...among all users of Chaos. And, whether I hide from it or I embrace it, whether I choose to admit it or not, I am one. I have been from the day I opened that Tome, and I will be until the day I perish from this earth. It is not for me to decide whether or not I use this gift; it is a part of me, each and every day. All I can do is to decide what to do with the time granted to me. When I first chose to join this Quest, I had not a thought, nor a plan, but a destiny, a knowledge that I had a place in this tale, that the decision was the one I needed to make. But now, I find myself wandering directionless, even as I walk the only path appointed before me. I understand this. I clearly see that this path is the only way. And yet, I cannot help but wonder what I am missing, what crucial piece of my tale has yet to fall into place. And until I know, until I regain that complete confidence that each step I take is, if not the right one, the necessary one, I feel I am a liability to myself, to Heroica, and to this team."

Just to reiterate what I just edited into my story post: This particular memory is invisible to the Heroes, it is a memory being remembered by someone else. The first two flashbacks ARE visible to the Heroes, the current one is NOT.

Arthur grinned. "Perhaps that Confusion spell I sent at the Angel struck you instead, friend. I will let Haldor tell you the tale of our present; at the moment, the story I am preoccupied with is my own." Remembering the Angel's boast to Cronk, Arthur digs around the area, hoping to find the Somas the Angel had offered as bribe. As Arthur digs, he thinks about his story. Where was he within it? Near the beginning? Near the end? Near his end? He wondered what his place was--was he truly following in the steps of villainy, or would he, like Sasha, Mal, and the others, be another casualty to the power-lust of others? "No," he murmurs aloud. "I will not be a mere pawn. I am a player within my own struggle, and in that, at least, I am master of my own fate." Still, as he thinks of all that the Lost Party had missed, he cannot help but wonder what he himself had missed since his exile. His mother...Caroline...Vaygas...it had been nearly three years now. What events might I never live to learn of? Far away, in a city well-known to the sorcerer, another man was remembering exactly one such event... ---Two years, eleven months ago. Zut'tau'ri homeland.-- "Hey, honey." "..." "Vaygas? What's wrong, honey?" "This shirt is...wrong." "What do you mean?" "I envy you, Caroline. I don't know how you do it." "Do what, Vay?" "Shut it all out. Everything. Him, my father, the village--" "Sweetheart, if I don't shut it out, I'll go insane. You need to as well." "I try. I try and try and try. But everywhere I go, everywhere I look, all I see is him. Did you know that he gave me this? Back when we were kids? I wore it all those years...a symbol of our friendship...and then he... Damn it, it's happening right now. It's like he died out there, and he's come back--to haunt me..." "Vaygas, don't. Stop talking like that, you're not doing yourself any good. Look, Arthur's betrayal hurt me as much as it hurt you. More, even. But we have to remember the good times, not the bad." "...I wish I could. But...sometimes I wonder...did we...? I mean did he...? Is that what caused him to...?" "What? No. No. He never found out about...us. I'm certain of that." "Then he really did just...I'll be right back." "Where are you going?" "To do what I should have done the day we found that damned temple. I'm going back there and burning this, and everything else I have from those days. I wish I could burn him, but this'll have to be the next best thing. Don't wait up for me." The door slams, and Vaygas is gone. Caroline approaches the bed. Draped hapahazardly across it are the shirt and epaulettes of Vaygas' late father, the shirt wrinked from having been worn recently. Caroline looks to the heavens, her eyes brimming with tears. "My Zoot..." she cries plaintively, "what have I done?" OOC: PLEASE NOTE that neither Arthur nor any of you can actually see this memory; this one's for audience benefeit.

Well, it took six hours to render, but I think it's worth it. Endgame...I hereby present you with Heroica's first Killer QM Award. Enjoy. This is a wholly unofficial, unsanctioned award. This award was made and granted in fun; "Flipz" is not responsible for any and all reactions to this award. May cause inflated ego and/or the jealously of others, but probably won't. Do not view while driving or operating heavy machinery. Consult with a psychologist before developing an obsession or any other psychological complex over this award.

Screw damage being lost--I'm worried about experience being lost. In all seriousness, though, if you're Party Leader for a bunch of Heroes who are far beneath you in level (not targetting you specifically, Scuba, I'm using the general "you" here ), then your priority needs to shift from "gotta deal as much damage as I can" to "I gotta make sure the new kids don't die on me." As Zeph and WBD have both said in the past, it's more about responsibility for the party than priveleges for myself. Both good suggestions, though it should be noted that, unless conditional actions become more common (as, perhaps, they will, now that Sandy has officially stated they are legal), lower-leveled players might not think to use conditional actions; thus, it falls slightly more toward the higher-Level Heroes to look out for the "little guys".

In the latter case, it's a (player-originated) issue with the Battle Order, not a QM issue. When Heroes of such disproportionate levels are present in the party, the battle order should look something like this: Sample Battle Order High-level Knights (to soak up any Free Hits; in the current Q44 battle the Cannoneers automatically absorb Free Hits so this isn't that important). Low-Level Heroes (so they can attack the low-Level enemies BEFORE said enemies are KO'd) High-level Heroes who are not Clerics High-level Clerics (note how they are put BEHIND most of the party so they have a shot at healing Heroes who take damage this round, but BEFORE the injured Heroes) Any Heroes who are injured

OOC: Just to be clear, if I roll a SHIELD, it will affect the Angel instead of Alexis, correct?

"Alexis! Hold still--this may hurt a bit, but it's the best way." Arthur pulls out his Healing Staff and gingerly taps Alexis with it from the Back Row. "Tensi," he adds, "be certain you consult with Sasha this round, you two work best together."

OK, OK, you've proven your superior skill at interpreting the rules, I'll assume that you've looked things over and found them balanced.

I deal more damage than the average Raider? Not really. But as you say, it doesn't matter. You are correct about Black Knight, though; I do think that, since the gold issue has been fixed, the Raider's SHIELD ought to do more damage now, since it is somewhat outclassed by the Black Knight's SHIELD, damage-wise. That or Raiders could be given Counter.

Doc, WBD don't you dare try to make me choose between your Quests and Wren. I'll probably take a short break after this Quest is over, partly to roleplay a bit in the Hall, and partly so I can be sure I'm around when the final Wren Quest goes up. Also, I've been reading and re-reading the most recent posts in Quest 35...am I the only one who can't figure out Thormanil's plan?

Seeing that Haldor had put him early in the Battle Order, Arthur quickly returned the scroll he had been preparing back to his belt and cast a Darkness Spell at Aura B from the Back row.