Flipz

Count Knyghton sees Isabella has not yet taken an action. "Miss Isabella, would ya mind takin' Pikeman B? I'll join ya in attackin' him." True to his word, Knyghton attacks Pikeman B from the Back Row with his Crossbow. OOC: WBD, mind putting Poletad and Luke before Arthur? Best to get the potential healings in before he attacks.

*sigh* Why do all of the new Scrolls have to be unique items? I'd love to see them used more, but with so few of them being put out, it also means that they will be used less. (Not to mention how hard it makes it to become a Scroll mage, like Arthur plans to be.) TL;DR, love the scrolls, but I don't like the limited availability. My two cents.

Heroes rapidly depopulate any place they visit, it's in their nature.

Wow...seriously? There will be words once the conclusion is up. (Note: this is in response to the game, not to the discussions, and certainly not to you, CM. )

Arthur sees the Chaos Beast and knows it is time to match his power against Wren's. "Skrall, take Pikeman B. I'd appreciate a heal, but I know there are other targets in need of it." With that, Arthur pulls out his Opal and unleashes his first Ice spell in weeks against the Chaos Beast of Dastan, fighting as usual from the back row.

"I was going to have you take the commander because you have the Shield Power to take the hit, but since Sir Poletad appears to be able to heal himself, I'll instead seal the commander from the Back Row. You can take a pikeman if you wish, just be sure to coordinate with Hans so we don't leave one untargetted." OOC: I'm going to be at the Disneyland Cars Land preview all day tomorrow. WBD has control of Arthur and Knyghton, to add extra insanity let's all give WBD control of our characters, so one player has control over the ENTIRE party While this would be very epic, I just realized that Zepher knows some things about Arthur, and his different perspective might help set Arthur back on track; with that in mind, Zepher has control of Arthur. Waterbrick Down, you have control of Knyghton, and if Zepher's too busy, you can control Arthur as well. I still think it'd be hilarious if WBD had control over the whole party, though.

"Isabella, you take the Chaos Beast, since it can't touch you. Luke, Heal Count Knyghton, I'm going to heal Sir Poletad, Back Row, with my Healing Staff. Alexandre, you take the commander, Hans and Poletad can take the pikemen--but stay in the Back Row, Poletad--we can't risk you going down again." Arthur mentally cursed both injured party members for their clumsiness; didn't they know they can't waste time on healing this early in the fight? Count Knyghton decides to do nothing, waiting patiently in the Back Row for healing.

I have the same problem with you that you have with Vol; I'm keeping myself in the dark about Dastan. From what I've seen, you have a pretty good idea about who De'kra is and where he's going, and you usually do an excellent job of playing him. You seem to be doing a pretty good job as well; you have a very Docken-esque "silent badass" thing going on, with a bit of "mysterious stranger" on the side. Playing a character with secrets is a rather hard thing; one of my problems with Arthur is that he's keeping secrets about his past, and that there are secrets about him that he himself does not know. When you have a secret, it's only going to be revealed if someone else brings it up; usually this means getting the QM to throw you a bone (that is, explaining privately the secret(s) you want revealed and asking for an opportunity to reveal them if possible) or else privately asking another player to take action that will lead to the secret's unveiling. One lesson I'm learning the hard way is this: a secret only develops character if the audience knows it's there. Using Arthur as an example, I was motivating a lot of Arthur's actions based on Caroline and other things in his past (BTW, did ANYONE notice the Portal reference? ), but...no one knew about them. And so, even though, internally, his actions had a semblence of reason attached to them (Step 1), there was no frame of reference for anyone to understand why they were reasonable for him (Step 2). Now, I obviously don't want to reveal everything, but the reveal to the audience about Caroline in the flashback felt like a good move. Do keep in mind, it is possible to reveal things to the audience without revealing them to other characters; you don't want to do it all the time (it's internal conflict, after all, and shouldn't be OVERused), but it is a good technique for establishing things about your character that wouldn't otherwise come out. And of course, I'm still finding my way with Arthur on the very same issue, so whenever you see me fail epically...don't do that. I don't really have a frame of reference for Daxus; not that I haven't paid attention, but that he's not really differentiated himself from a basic Rogue yet. Define him a bit more clearly in your mind, and get to know his traits, including those that would be slightly odd or unusual. As an example, Mizuki is in most respects a "basic" Rogue, but she loves hot chocolate. It's a small quirk, but it adds a LOT to the character. What's unusual about Daxus? Does he brush his hair with a fork? Does he only eat beef that's been dipped in honey? Was he secretly forced to take ballroom dancing lessons as a child, a skill that (to his chagrin) he has retained to this day? Flesh him out a bit that way and he'll take on a life of his own. When your character seems to be choosing their own actions, you're on the right track. Some of my advice for Daxus also applies here. Some notes specifically for Harkenshire, though: he seems to take delight in destroying things; it's an unusual choice for the normally nature-loving Rangers, why is he like that? He also doesn't usually think to use Nature Talk unless prompted to do so by the rest of the party; why? This is the next step; once you determined a few things that make your character a more believable person, you need to figure out why they have those traits. This is getting a bit into the Backstory topic I haven't discussed yet, but to put it simply: if Real Life, our Backstory determines our traits. When making a character, we go the other way around; their traits determine what their backstory needs to be. A fair amount of Arthur's backstory sets him up to be a Sorcerer, because that was my intention for him when I wrote it; while "turning" from darkness seemed a reasonable choice for him, in truth it defied his backstory and his ultimate end, and so it must be undone. With William, you have an opportunity for a loose but detailed backstory, defining specific events in his life but not "aiming" for a specific outcome. This will allow him to develop organically, not "locking" yourself into one path, while at the same time having that specific base of backdrop that is essential to character development. To reiterate: there are two kinds of backstory: "locked," completely defined stories that lay out a specific path for the character to follow, and "loose" stories in which specific influences are known and defined, but that are open enough to allow spontaneous development. Both are useful in their own way; it's a matter of preference which one you'll choose. A word of caution, though: "locked" backstories ARE more difficult, because you have to wait for the next event that will "trigger" development, and you never know when that will be, which means you may have to pass up options that don't fit your character; "loose" backstories allow more freedom in development, and allow for more opportunities for the character to surprise you. Also note: backstory does not necessarily have to be explained in-character; passing references to it, a casual thought or remark, can be enough to justify it to the audience; see Noodle Incident for examples of this. I leave you with one last word about ALL incidences of character development; generally speaking, you want to show, don't tell. Don't tell us how your sister's boyfriend beating you up when you were little made you fearful of black-haired men, show us your fear. Even if someone asks you to explain, only talk about the cause ("My sister's black-haired boyfriend beat me up when I was little"), not the effect ("so I'm afraid of men with black hair").

"Skrall, focus on the Humanoid enemies, it'll be most useful for all of us. I'll Seal the commander from the Back Row, nobody else target him, except for you, Skrall, that Heavy Crossbow should really help with him. Knyghton, take that Chaos Beast from the Back Row with your Crossbow. Everyone else should target a pikeman; we can deal with the Chaos Beast after they're gone."

Yeah. That's actually what I intended for this Quest to do for him, but it seems like I've taken a step back. The attempted suicide had to happen like that, but I think the recovery was a bit too quick, and it's taking him in a direction I don't like. Hmm...idea. I'll have to mull it over and chat with the QMs, but it's definitely one way it could go. Of course, it'd be WAY easier to run if Wren just set it up, but that's just my lazy side talking, it'll be MUCH better if it's set up naturally and any Wren-induced stuff is icing on the cake. Yeah. Crazy's supposed to be a transitional stage, I think I took a step backwards from it though. Don't want to go back, so I need to make a leap from "good with odd moral choices" more towards a darker personality without going through "crazy" again. I find it VERY intriguing that you seem to be trying a similar thing with Atramor. I have a feeling that Atramor could be quite beneficial to Arthur's development once I get past these current hurtles. He is a bit of a jerk, but the hypocrisy I'm trying to generate doesn't seem to be reading. I think I may be leaning on backstory a bit too much (hopefully revealing a little more of it will help, the flashback with Caroline really felt right, as did Arthur's first interaction with Wren that was more than two words). OK, I think I know what I need to do. Sorry, WBD, looks like that costume suggestion will have to wait for another time character!

No, not rude at all. It was all specific, constructive, and VERY helpful. I'll address the rest in the Theatre topic. Oh, and yes, this one WILL be indexed as well...as soon as I decide on formatting.

I'm in the same boat. Glad I'm not alone! The Heroica Theatre has more details, and would be a good place to discuss. Honestly, I'm really excited by these great crossovers, and I'm kicking myself hard because I'm failing so badly on the roleplaying side. I feel like I really owe the other players and QMs, Zepher in particular with regards to this particular crossover, for my poor roleplaying. I'd really, REALLY appreciate advice and feedback on how to repair and/or fine-tune my roleplaying here.

"Hello! It's me, Bilbert Wigglepike again! This time, I'm here to chat with you about the Heroes of Quest 28. Now, I, ahem, for reasons of pers--I mean, national security, I can't speak directly about the events involving the three-way turf war among Eubric's criminal underclass. Blasted protection fees are high enough as it is, *grumble grumble*... However, I can point the way to someone who can. I will, however take the risk and point out one particularly exceptional example:" "Here, the (ex-)Paladin Lawrence Boomingham has eliminated a class feature (indeed, the one that differentiates him from an average, Ether-less Knight) in the name of staying true to his own nature. This is a great example of a technique we have yet to demonstrate here at the Theatre: Role-playing even when it hurts. Norse Cleric Haldor offers another excellent example of this earlier in the Quest:" "Haldor allowed himself to be effectively Knocked Out, missing out on the battle experience and rewards, because, as a Norseman, he found it dishonorable to fight them, once again making a sacrifice in the name of staying true to himself. Truly he plays his role well." "In fact, you know what? Just read all of Quest #28: The Breakthrough. The Quest itself is entertaining and informative, but it is a veritable goldmine of excellent roleplaying. I highly recommend it to all. " "This is Bilbert Wigglepike, reminding you that Character Counts!" And now, in a non-Bilbet fashion, I'd like to ask for some help. Lately, I've been less than satisfied with Arthur's characterization and roleplaying. I can't seem to figure out what I'm doing wrong, though, likely because I'm too close to the situation to have proper perspective. Perhaps some of you have a few suggestions? I am considering all options--yes, including the more "permanent" ones, if it becomes necessary.

"Wait...save two peoples' lives...you're talking about two of the Emperors, aren't you? One of the Emperors was declared a traitor...he's a Chaos user, isn't he? And he wanted the other emperors out of the way. You want the other Emperors alive so they can hinder your rival Chaos user, don't you?"

Ninjago is confirmed for next year, but it will be replaced by something else in 2014. Of course, all this assumes that the world won't end anyway on December 21st of this year.

Arthur thinks back to Caroline, but dismisses the thought. If she could betray me to the elders, she's no better than Wren. Or is it that Wren is no worse than her? A thought of his own drifted through his mind, and he mentally stamped it out with swift virulence: How about me? Turning his attention to the task at hand, and hearing Wren's news about the dragons, Arthur nods. "As I suspected. Emperor Alandri's reluctance to assign a Dragon Rider to our aid made it clear that there were none left. Even more the reason to fly to their aid." Arthur considers the situation carefully. "Back home in Zut'tau'ri, my father assembled the Gate by combining similar enchantments from across the multiverse, layering enchantment upon enchantment upon enchantment until the Gate ritual was strong enough to use regularly. By combining many magical forces, we broke past the miniscule imaginations of the limited-minded wizards who made them and made their power our own. Are there other enemies of the Cult, or of the Chimaera, foes we may bend to our cause?" Thinking back to another encounter, he adds, "And who does the infamous Russel work for? I assume you've heard of him, he recently proved to be a great cause of trouble for another group of Heroes in Dastan. You'd like him; he almost managed to get us to fight each other." "Don' act like ya weren't as eager ta fight them as they were ta figh' us. I'm jus' glad Cronk an' Skrall talked 'em all down." Count Knyghton appeared irritated at having been left out of the conversation. Arthur rolled his eyes. "Ignore him, he's been moody ever since I ate the Tethusial."

I've had a string of songs recently where it's a song/artist that I've sworn to myself to hate and then I hear the song and can't help but like it. Case in point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWAdb1vgoik I feel such shame.

You want Wren around while there's intra-party friction? That can be arranged...

"Skrall, she's right. You can't stop Chaos, you can only change who's using it. It's what Heroes do all the time, and they don't even know it--nor, usually, do the enemies they stop. "Order" is an illusion, a random pattern of Chaos all the more dangerous because it pretends not to be. Look at the Houses of Eubric, at the Lion-Brobric war, at the gang wars between the Wolfgang, the Blood Paw, and the Metasimians, and tell me it's not so. If you want to stop Wren--and if what you've told me is true, then it makes sense--then you'd better have a candidate in mind to take her place." Turning to Wren, he continues, "Neither of us has any love for the Lion Rebels, yes? So why don't we just trick them into fighting the Chimaera with us? Kill--literally--two birds with one stone. Furthermore, the great beast is an ancient rallying point for the Lions, so once the illusion is lifted, their spirits will be crushed, making them easy prey."

OOC: Damn it, stupid graduation ceremony. I'll be back late tonight. Don't do too much without me! Capt. JohnPaul, the stuff between the --------'s was a flashback, not visible to the rest. "You...you're..." Arthur swallows and says to Skrall, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but...I have to agree with Wren; we need to stop the chimaera."

I just want to say that I would TOTALLY take Chaos Defender for Arthur--it would REALLY suit him well.