Flipz

"Do ya think we ought ta bow out of tha battle, then? I mean, Arthur's up on tha ramparts, there, he's got a clear shot at us even without tha crossbow. We can let tha troops handle it, perhaps, unless we get Skrall or Luke ta send him on a solo wild goose chase or somethin'." He pauses, contemplating. "Sir Alexandre, what're yer feelin's on means an' ends? I had a thought--why not send Arthur after that traitor tha others mentioned, Russel? Send 'im to tha Cultists, he'd slaughter tha lot of them. I mean, he's off his rocker an' wants ta attack us, but I think he's still loyal to tha thought o' tha mission. I don't think he'd betray us."

"Lass, I don't think he's going ta live tha' long. Not if he attacks us before then. 'Sides, you have every right ta interrupt, you're tha one he thinks is evil. I dinnae why, surely one kill-steal isn't enough ta warrant a death mark in any sane universe."

I find it hilarious that people now WANT me to give a big long speech after the earlier issues with overly wordy roleplaying. (Granted, the situations were somewhat different, but still irony. ) TBH, it'd be more in character for Arthur to just open fire to get your attention, BEFORe starting a big long chat. And at this point he's doubly convinced you're evil, so it won't be a warning shot, either. EDIT: So in other words, one round of combat, and then Alexandre would have to step in and use Diplomacy to pause the battle. Talking Is A Free Action stretches only so far, you know.

"I...I'm not sure. Tha shade seemed to've been a good influence, so I can see what ya mean, but...what're tha chances of us findin' them again in this wasteland? An' even if they did, why on Olegaia would they let us take tha Rogue with us? It's...I...look. I'm a simple man. I don' know a lot about philosophy an' morals an' magic an' whatever. I don' really know if Arthur's truly evil or not. He...blast it, I thought I knew 'im. But I didn't. Or at least, tha's what it seems like. I dinnae whether ta make heads or tails of 'im, whether he can even be saved, or redeemed, or turned, or whatever word ya wanna use fer it. I mean, I guess if he can be saved, then it'd be wrong ta just murder him. But I just don' know about tha' kind o' stuff. What I DO know is that Arthur is danerous. I mean, look wha' he's done to tha party. We're not a team anymore, we're a time bomb. HE'S a time bomb. Whatever we do, we cannae let him endanger us, or tha mission." Knyghton pauses to collect himself. "If ya want ta use non-lethal force, than fine, I understand, and I'll do me best to take up tha Pacifist ways of my friend Luke when I'm dealin' with him. But if push comes ta shove...if he refuses to come quietly, if it looks like he's going to take one of our lives, or the lives of our men, then I'll do what has ta be done. No matter how much I wish I didn't have ta."

Agreed. Players, be more active! It gets boring to watch when no one is posting and you're dead, so you can't start the conversation going again. Also, YOU need to join the writeboard as well.

"An' what does yer god say abou' Arthur, then? I cannae think of a god who'd approve o' tha change he's makin'. I'm not sayin' we should be conspirin' ta kill him, but...actually, now I think o' it, maybe we should. Not in cold blood or anythin', but...sooner or later, he's gonna snap. It's bound ta happen, we're not even halfway ta thrashin' tha Rebels and he's already on tha brink. I say we make sure we're ready fer when it happens. Agreed?"

I'm thinking more along the lines of using it to mess with the players' heads. We ought to take this into Rules & Discussion or the QM's Lounge if we want to discuss it further. Also, do you have an IC reply to Knyghton, or...?

OOC: As crazily unbalanced as that would be, the concept of temporarily switching classes mid-battle...hmm... *opens QM ideas file* *scribble scribble*

Come join us on the Dead writeboard!

OOC: Hey, if you can do that, I can summon a giant demon of chaos to fight you all, and I get to damage you with a Miss as well.

"All righ'. But keep in tha back of yer mind, innocence is a tricky business, really depends on yer perspective. Even if he is innocent now, which I doubt, he may not stay tha' way. Heck, he's probably got his own warped view of innocence, an' I know tha' Isabella an' I aren't part of it. Ya might ask him about it sometime, if he doesn't snap first." OOC: Thanks. Also, Doc, since this IS a filler battle, would that thing we discussed earlier be possible, or should it still wait?

Sorry, I guess a Rouge like yourself doesn't have the same steely nerves as a Rogue. Check your sig.

Oh, that's right! Hmm, Crozen with Wren...that would be interesting... Actually, just about anyone plus Wren becomes orders of magnitude more interesting.

Baba/Wren/Haroka, for sure. Though, before Atticus died, I kinda wanted to see him with Baba and Wren. Although, if any of the above end up dead eventually, Arthur could be tempted with that Soul Splice deal from OotS that Tanma was so worried about him trying...hmm... Who's Crozen Porthiar, again? I can't find him(?) in the NPC index, and I can't recall the Quest involving him?

Count Knyghton, who has been quietly nodding along with Alexandre and Isabella, now chooses to speak up. "Or we could always just use his own tactic, just randomly attack him and be done with it. He'd certainly be a lot easier ta deal with unconscious." Arthur sees Alexandre conspiring with Isabella and now Knyghton beyond his earshot, and his heart sinks. And so it begins. De'kra, I hope you are safe from the corrupting influence of the woman in your party... He drops his head sadly, and a tear ran down his face. Now Alexandre, too was lost to him, as he had already lost Knighton. "No more..." he murmurs. Seeing Skrall and Luke turn their heads at his sudden speech, he clarifies, "No more friends shall be lost to me this day. I will ensure it." He charges up a bolt of darkness, and prepares to launch it the moment the battle starts... OOC: Would it be possible for me to specify that, if Arthur gets a Magic Burst, it would hit Alexandre, Knyghton, and Isabella as well as the enemy troops? Because Arthur considers them his enemies; I don't know exactly what logic is behind the Magic Burst, but if it's his magic overflowing and bursting out of control then he wouldn't be able to stop himself for the sake of the party, like he usually does when choosing to attack the enemy instead of Isabella--and now Knyghton and Alexandre.

Am I dead? Am I dead? Am I--? Oh, wait. Yes. Yes I am.

In celebration of my 2,000th post and my rise to Duke-dom, I formally present...my first review! Well, it's summertime, which means it's time for something we've all been waiting for...brand-new sets! And to get us in the spirit of summer, the Collectible Series Surfer Dude, Surfer Girl, and Hula Girl are having a beachside barbeque in this special set--and you're invited! Join us for a day of sun, sand, surfing, and...chicken drumsticks. (Ah, well, not everything can start with an 's'. ) Set Name: CMF Beach Set Theme: Minifigures / Town Year: 2012 Pieces: 63 Minifigs: 3 Price: USD$14.99 (USD$0.24 per piece) Links: [bricklink] [brickset] [Flickr Set] Of all the minifigures from Series 1 and 2 that I missed, I most regret missing the Zombie from Series 1 (for obvious reasons) and the Surfer Dude from Series 2 (for his bare chest torso in classic yellow. Why do I need a bare chest? Um...no reason... ). I had originally planned on grabbing a S7 Ocean King for the bare chest torso, but when I saw this set in line at the checkout for the Anaheim LEGO Store grand opening, I just knew I had to have it. Well, I'm itching to open this, and I'm sure you are too, so let's have at it! The Box Unlike most sets, this box is made of clear plastic, with images printed on it. Here we have the GIANT!Surfer Dude riding a wave above...himself? Apparently, he and his friends are about to get rather wet! Back on the beach, the Surfer Girl is enjoying dinner and a show. (Some luau; where are all the other dancers? ) The Surfer Dude had better come ashore quick, before he misses the party! I must say, I really like the minifigs being packed in the clear plastic tray, visible for all to see. I know it hikes the price of the set up, but it looks nice, and harkens back to the earlier days when the flagship sets of each theme would often get a flip-up front panel, revealing a display tray underneath. Good times... The pretty sunset backdrop is nice as well, it really reminds me a lot of the old Paradisa sets I enjoyed so much as a kid. The back of the box repeats the beach scene from the front, but moves the surfer to a more reasonable scale and position. the time seems to have magically turned back to mid-day--what strange magic is this?! For some reason the Surfer Girl and Hula Girl have decided to write a bunch of safety and legal information in the sand--I don't know what made them decide to do that ( ), but it's about as appreciated as it always is. As you can see, I left the price sticker on, just to be sure I didn't mess up the box--it really is quite pretty. As I went to open the box, I discovered that the bottom had been taped; not only was the bottom flap itself taped shut, but the inner plastic tray itself was taped to the two inner flaps on the bottom, preventing someone from sliding it out the top without first addressing the additional adhesive. Perhaps pilfering pickpockets propmted this packaging puzzle. The Contents Inside, we have the clear plastic tray and...what's this? That gorgeous backdrop is removable?!? All of the other parts, as well as the instruction book, are tucked neatly away at the bottom of the tray, hidden behind the lower beach scene when the tray is in the box. Aside from the (incredible!) backdrop, we have three minifigures, pre-built, along with their accessories, the instruction booklet, and a bag of parts. The Minifigs The three minifigs included in this kit are as beautiful and handy now as when they were first released. From left to right, we have the Series 3 Hula Girl, the Series 2 Surfer Dude, and the Series 4 Surfer Girl. The Surfer Dude is, obviously, the main draw of the set, with his perfectly chiseled abs, wavy blond hair, and ruggedly handsome face... Er, um...I mean... The Surfer Girl from Series 4 is no less attractive; her swimsuit is surprisingly handy for sci-fi, and her face and hair are generic enough to be used virtually anywhere, yet both are still different enough from the bland "basic" female face and hair options that were overused for so many years. The Hula Girl, I feel, is underappreciated among the CMFs, just because she was a part of the much-maligned Series 3. Say what you will about the characters themselves, but I've found more uses for individual Series 3 parts than I have for any other Collectible Minifig Series to date. The Hula Girl's grinning face is full of personality and that unique LEGO Charm, and her hair comes printed with a nice flower design--a great way to add a little bit of extra character to a figure. And let us not forget the grass skirt, which opened the door to more cloth leg items (including the cloth kama in the recent Star Wars ARC Trooper battle pack), and the maracas, the uses of which are only limited by one's imagination; after all, unlike the Mexican's maracas, these are not printed with a specific design and are in a fairly neutral color. The Instructions The instructions have the same image as the back of the box. They are bent in half, as usual, but at least this time, there's an excuse--they literally wouldn't fit in the box if they weren't folded (or else they would obscure the pretty backdrop--neither option is particularly appealing). Note that the instructions show steps on how to build the minifigs, even though they come pre-assembled. Random instructions page--the barbecue grill is the most complex part of the build, and even it is extremely simple. I find it inordinately hilarious that a five-piece bench with two accessories requires three full steps to build--especially when the bananas don't attach to any connection points! The Parts The parts all come in a single plastic bag. Note that this is a softer, thicker plastic than most LEGO bags, but alas, it is not a resealable bag as I had initially hoped. Upon dumping everything out, we have a handful of pieces. Dark parts: Most of these pieces are fairly common, but they're nothing to sneeze at. It's hard to tell from the picture, but those grille pieces are actually pearl silver. There are also two turkey drumsticks that I forgot to include in the photo. Light parts: Again, nothing earth-shattering, but not that bad. I'm sure the white clam has been used a dozen times before, but it's the first one I've recieved, and the first clam I've had period since the Gungan Swamp from the first wave of Star Wars Episode 1 sets. Speaking of Star Wars, I can always, ALWAYS use an extra lightsaber hilt. The gray slopes are, of course, rather common, but they're useful for lots of things as well, so I'm not complaining. Pieces of interest: Naturally, the silver grilles are here, as is the clam; the tan 4x4 is here mostly because I have limited supplies of tan and thus am extremely appreciative when I can get my hands on it in almost any form. Palm leaves are palm leaves and the parrot is a parrot, these aren't the particularly rare parts you're looking for, move along. The log bricks are cool too, even if they aren't that rare. I also added the turkey drumsticks I missed before. The Build: The build was so simple for each of these that it would be a waste to show it; there's a grand total of five pieces in the entire set that aren't visible on the front of the package, and all but one of them can be figured out by mirroring the side of the grill that is visible. (If you're wondering, the yellow 2x2 goes in the middle of the grill, in between the clips at either end, the black 2x4 is placed atop them and the rest of the grill is built on top of that; it's not exactly hard to figure out with the set in your hands, though.) The grill is the most interesting and complex part of the build; it's not rocket science, but it is clever, given the limited number of parts. The rest of the furniture is so basic as to be beneath mention. Do note that there were NO spare parts in my set; I don't know if this is intentional, or if one 1x1 stud was somehow missed during packaging. It's not a big deal, either way. The Set At the end of the day (literally, if the backdrop is any indication ), we're left with a simple grill, a very simple rock/bush thing, and a rediculously simple bench/table/banana stand pedestal shrine. While the grill is oddly mesmerizing and fun to play with, the rest of the set is firmly within "meh" territory; my most interesting moment with the set was when I cast Hula Girl as Demonic High Priest of the Cult of the Cosmic Plantain, and had her attempt to sacrifice Surfer Girl to the Twin Banana Gods. Incidentally, I am no longer allowed to consume sugar prior to unboxing a set for review. Summary: Price: 7/10 - At $.24 per piece, this is a VERY expensive set as far as parts are concerned; however, when shipping and the like are considered, it's a great value for the Collectible Series minifigs. I would have liked to have seen some kind of play feature or another minifig (or even just some more pieces) for the price, though. Minifigures: 10/10 - Most people would probably put this lower because of Surfer Girl and Hula Girl, but I stand by my girls. Both are great minifigs who are really underrated, in my opinion. Playability: 3 4/10 - There just is not a lot to do with this set. If this were intended as a display set, I could understand it, but this is by NO means a display piece. 3 points for swooshing around the surfers on their boards, and a fourth "bonus" point for my impromptu play session. Build: 2/10 - I'm in a generous mood, so I'll give the grill/sacrificial altar some credit instead of ranking this a 0. Design: 7/10 - Despite the extremely rudimentary nature of the build, I have to admit it's designed well. Even the funky rock thing is a decent background element with a tiny number of pieces. Most of this stuff will probably see use as filler in backgrounds and such in the future. Speaking of backgrounds, the cardboard backdrop included with the set also helps its score here. Overall Score: 30/50 Overall, despite my complaints and the lackluster nature of the build side of the set, I feel this one was worth the price of admission. Surfer Dude is amazing as always, the grill is clever, the other two minifigs are quite decent, and if nothing else the rest is spare parts and/or filer for other builds. Pick one up next time you stop by the LEGO Store! Fun Stuff: Yeah...this is why they won't let me back in Hawaii. Demonic High Priest Hula prepares her virgin sacrifice...can Ozzyana Jones the Surfer Dude stop her?!

I haven't actually seen Atramor in action, but Witch in general is a REALLY good class. Auto-Poison on all attacks? A strikeback effect on Special Damage? Hexing the enemy on a Shield? These are not abilities to be sniffed at. The nerf to the Special Damage effect to make it a 50/50 chance DOES lower the appeal somewhat, but it's still nothing to sneeze at.

Wow. I knew the changes were bad, but... I'll still probably try to pick up a few of these, just because I could use an army of elves and mummies, the gorillas will be useful for Heroica metasimians, and the space villains' helmets and guns will still be useful. Honestly, though, that's...that's just disappointing. Or, because this is the Internet: [meme]"Son, I am disappoint."[/meme]

You do realize that fan is WP:2 above your current weapon, right? Even if you do intend to sell it, you should at least equip it for the rest of the Quest...

Yeah, but you're the only Heroica player who NEEDS nested spoilers to keep their equipment list to a reasonable length. Yeah, but his overloaded-ness was the entire point of his character. Alf's point is...uh... What is Alf's overall goal, anyway? I haven't been able to figure one out, not like the rest of the characters. EDIT: whoops, forgot to snip the images.

I regret missing the first two Series of Collectible Minifigures, but what I really regret missing are Fright Knights and the Crownie sets and Kingdoms sets. I only got into medieval themes around the time I discovered the Heroica RPG a few months ago, and am sorely regretting not paying attention to it all these years. I really wish now I'd spent my money on those instead of BIONICLE--sure, I LOVED the storyline, and the sets weren't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but I just don't have the "eye" for MOCing with them the way so many other people do. I don't think I could ever bring myself to get rid of them, but deep down I have a sort of guilty pang whenever I see one of those canisters--"someone else could be doing amazing things with that, and instead you've got them in a box in your room, gathering dust."

I saw that and worried if you were getting rid of her, then figured it was just an easter egg. B&P, you have an UNGODLY amount of weaponry. Which reminds me, I need to PM you.

I bought this set at the Anaheim LEGO Store grand re-opening (I'm actually preparing a review of it as we speak). It is rather cool, especially if, like me, you never got a complete Surfer Girl or never got the Surfer Dude period. I'll let you all wait until the actual review is ready before giving my full thoughts.