Flipz

Arthur returns to his previous strategy, but, realizing the futility of attacking from the back row, attacks from the front instead. OOC: Current actions: Cronk-Priest E, front row Tesni-??? >Alexis-Priest L, Light spell, Back Row >Alexis-Priest M, Light spell, Back Row >Arthur-Priest B, Healing Staff (WP:5, healing effect), physical attack, front row Haldor-???, Front row Gray-Heal ???, Back row

"Good idea, Cronk, I will switch back to the Cat O' Nine Tails for the added power, then cast a Lightning Spell from the Back Row, at the Priest that takes damage from Cronk's bomb flinches from the power of the holy blast."

Deciding not to waste any more Ether, Arthur Attacks Priest B from the Back Row with his Healing Staff. "Gah, why can't I get a freakin' shield?"

No, no, isit the Heroica RPG first! Welcome to Eurobricks!!

Ah, I got it, I was confused and thought Arasmyth was wearing the dwarf mask. That still doesn't explain why none of the others have removed their elf masks, though. EDIT: Elpis has a rare but tragically uncurable case of SORAS? Sorry, had to be done. Also, it has come to my attention that Finnegan is, philosophically speaking, the main character of Heroica RPG. (c.f. George Berkeley; also Jostein Gaarder, Sophie's World). That is all.

Please remind me why the heck that, given the Orc Spirit's Special, there are still two players wearing Elf masks and why Arasmyth took his off?!? You guys ARE aware that Petrified is effectively an instant KO that's slightly easier to cure?

TBW, I'd really suggest working on who the mother is, it's kind of important for both Lycan and his son. Here's some helpful cues to figure out who she needs to be (ask each of these questions in order, they build on each other): Starting with Lycan's son: What is the son's personality like? Who was such a major influence on his life that he turned out that way? What doesn't he have in common with that/those influence(s)? The answer to that third question will give you a few clues as to what the boy's mother is like. Continuing on, start with Lycan himself: What was Lycan like before he met the mother of his child? How did he change while he was with her? How did he change when he left her? Was the breakup by necessity (death, exile, separated by natural disaster, etc.) or was it by choice? Does he still have feelings for her? Why? (That is, what is it specifically about her that Lycan misses?) Does she still have feelings for him? Is/was she involved in the danger that faces their son? These are all questions that will provide clues to who she is as a personality. Once you know her personality, THEN you'll be ready to build her. Normally I say you can choose freely between designing a character physically (this includes stats as well as appearance, style of speech, and style of posing) and then letting their personality develop around that (Count Knyghton and Denarii are both examples of this) or designing a character's personality (what they think, feel, and want) and using that to determine their appearance. However, in this case we're dealing with a character whose primary purpose is to aid Lycan's character development, and that means you need to design a personality designed to further those developments before you determine anything else around them. Actually, neither of those is the "first" thing you need to know about a character. The real start of any character is purpose; that is, why are they there? For Knyghton and Denarii and countless other NPCs, the purpose is game-mechanical, which USUALLY (not always!) means you'll be starting with the superficial aspects and desiging a personality to fit them. For characters designed to promote character development, however, you'll want to establish a strong, thought-out personality, and then create superficial details (hairstyle, face, occupation, backstory, etc.) that are suitable to that personality. Note also that backstory is listed as a superficial "physical" detail. Even if the character is design-based, you NEVER EVER EVER want to START a character design with backstory. One specific event (i.e. U'Vires and U'Otherguy being former friends, or Boomingham's being frozen in time, or Sorrow becoming a Hero because his "father" was Sealed) is all right if you want that to be a "defining moment" in a character's life, but you really need to focus on where you're going before you deal with where you've been.

I've already thought up Arthur's "pre-existing" relationships (god, that sounds like a medical insurance questionnaire ). I can say with some confidence that, with the exception of Ellaria's being raped, Arthur's situation is waaaaaaaaaay more ducked up than most of the other Heroes here. The rest of this post has been moved to the Theatre, as it got too in-depth and would have clogged up this topic. TBW, please check the Theatre in about five minutes. Also, I'd really like suggestions from folks as to whether to split my Staff of the Cultist Battlemage into an artifact and a staff or not, and, if I split it, what KIND of artifact it should be.

OOC: Magnetic Mojo will still work even if the ordinary attack would deal no damage, correct? Never mind, just ran the odds, that wouldn't help. Arthur again Casts an Ice spell at Priest C. "Haldor, put me first in the Battle Order. I'll lose my ability to use magic next Round, but I have a Healing Staff, and I'm Lucky. Hopefully the QM will take pity on usand let Lucky aid the "real priest" selection roll my Luck will help me hit the true priest, and the rest of you can attack the same one I do."

I've been keeping out of this after a certain point because I was getting mad, and I decided to step out instead of saying something I'd later regret. Could you give me a day or two to decide on the staff? It really screws with my strategy plans, so I need to figure out what's more important. (Using an artifact slot is kind of a major thing, which is part of what makes special weapons more appealing in the first place--I doubt it'll actually happen, but I'd really suggest revisiting the Artifact limit, especially given how the Artifact store changes their avialability and value.) In the meantime, I'd really appreciate suggestions--whether or not I should keep the staff as-is or split it, and if I decide to split it what kind of artifact it should be (body wear, back wear, hat, accessory, pants, etc.). Also, do note that the balance comparison between Rangers with imbued weapons and Mages with gem spells IS a valid comparison. I don't know how this could be balanced (the Rangers certainly don't need to be nerfed), but it's something to keep in the back of your mind next time you're thinking about plans for the game. Overly explanitory explanation: Again, I'm not at ALL saying that Rangers need to be nerfed, I'm pointing out that as it stands, Mages are currently inferior to Rangers in several ways, ways that can't really be corrected by mere artifacts or weapons. There's probably an obvious balance tweak staring me in the face, but I'm too tired to see it right now, and besides, you know the balancing reasoning behind the system as a whole, so you're in a better position to see the change the Mages need made. I'm not demanding changes "right now" or anything, just stick it on your to-do list, OK? Thanks.

It was not clear to Doc, that's what I'm saying. He was the one to ask in the first place. *logs off for a while*

No, just the ones created with special abilities that are affected by this rules clarification. The weapon was designed a specific way, and this rules clarification completely alters how it works. I see no reason why altering it to remedy a QM's misunderstanding of the rules, at that QM's own request would be against the spirit of the game.

Doc asked if, since he created the weapon, he could retcon its type to be a broomstick so its special could work as intended. I'd kind of like to know the answer to that so I can fix it in my stats if need be.

I think you accidentally a word? And also, in Princess Panic, Sorrow fled, allowing the party to fail by negotiation rather than in battle.

Yeah, but the staff is a fail-safe; if I'm in serious trouble, but the enemy is also fairly weak, it lets me take a bit of a gamble and still have some shot at survival.

Arthur sighs with relief as the Nostrum takes hold; a tiny bit of luck and this battle would take a turn for the better. "Remember, everyone, the real priest might not be D anymore. Also, remember that they can't hurt us with their Free Hits for at least two more rounds." Deciding to, like the Priest, switch things up a bit, Arthur then casts a Lightning spell at Priest A from the Back Row.

Actually, the Cultist's staff special is that, if the enemy would K.O. the Hero, there's a 50% chance the Hero Flees instead of being K.O.'d (and possibly failing the Quest). To shamelessly copy your method of explanation ( ), Arthur tries to cast a lightning bolt at the enemy, but the enemy dodges it and swings his sword at Arthur. Arthur blocks with the staff, and it releases a cloud of black smoke that allows him to Flee.

Scrolls keep getting nerfed, though. Like I said, I get it for "attack" abilities, like the Lullaby Wand's sleep-effect, I really do. It's a matter of balance. But for passive specials, I don't see why a spell should affect things. (Specifically, the Book of a Thousand Creatures and the Staff of the Cultist Battlemage should keep their abilities on spell rolls.)

OOC: Since no matter how the debate ends now, the Cat O' Nine Tails is useless... Arthur, seeing that Haldor has Priest B covered, decides to help everyone out by drinking his Nostrum.

No offense, but that's really lousy. I mean, that makes Mages the ONLY class for which "unique" weapons are nerfed. Once again, this forces Mages to go on the hunt for ALL gems if they want to be effective in battle, rather than building up their abilities via unique weapons and scrolls and the like. I don't want a cool character who turns into a cookie-cutter character on the field of battle, I want a character who is unique both in-battle and out. Also note that this dramatically nerfs mages who have to fight undead--after all, most special-effect weapons are not imbued, and seriously, what mage would choose to give up spellcasting for a given element JUST so they can use a special ability on undead? It'd have to be a damn awesome special, and such a weapon would be a prime target for nerfing anyway. I understand weapons with offensive abilities (i.e. the Lullaby Wand with its Sleep-effect) and elementally-imbued weapons not having a special effect on spells, just for balance, but what about passive Specials (like the Cultist Staff's 50% chance of fleeing on a K.O. hit)? I don't see how that should be affected by whether or not I'm using a spell. It actually renders that awesome special ability useless, as no Mage would want to have to fight from the Front Row to physically attack with the staff if they were in danger of being K.O.'d; they would want to stay in the back, casting spells at full strength. Thus, the staff's special ability has NO chance of ever being used. IMO, it would work a LOT better if effects on weapons suitable for Mages would still work on a spell roll, or at the very least passive Specials on weapons (i.e. the Cultist Staff's flee ability, or the summon on Namyrra's book) suitable for Mages still work on spell attacks.

Same here. Exactly. If the weapon was not meant to influence the spell, why do we add WP to spell power, anyway--why don't spells just always do damage equal to Hero level? And that's why I was majorly confused when that happened--it didn't really make sense to me. Perhaps there is a solution--weapons useable by Mages still apply their special abilities to spell attacks, and weapons designed for other classes don't? That would sort of make sense... (even though it would still render the Cat O' Nine Tails rather useless to me )

Not to mention that Zeph says they DO deal Free Hits. >_< Yeah, definitely need that Nostrum, then, perma-Stun'll be the only way to survive.

That still makes them useless against undead. Which suddenly makes this battle a LOT harder.

"Think I'll save that for another day, then, and for now I'll use another Ice spell, back Row." OOC: Power before Encouragement should be 24 (15 + WP:9 = 24), which means current Power should be 48, which means 12 damage to all foes. OOC: Zeph, if the Cat O' Nine Tails' ability doesn't apply to spells, then Arthur will Drink his Nostrum, Back Row. If the ability DOES apply, please note that for targetting purposes he is targetting Priest B.

I think that means that Alanna should be affected by decay, Sandy. ... That would make pretty much all Mage-suitable weapons with special abilities next to useless, though...