Flipz

"I'll take a Crossbow as well, if ya don't mind." Count Knyghton takes his gear and follows Alexandre.

"Really? I'd like to have one available to me, just in case I run low on Ether." "The rest of you do what you wish, I'm staying up here." OOC: Experience gain will be the same regardless of which option is chosen, correct?

Can I just say how HARD it is not to look at Quest 29 again? I have a reflex to open all topics I've replied to here when I log in, and, well... I believe the phrase is, "Damn you, muscle memory!"

"Pikeman, would the spells from my Gems and Scrolls have sufficient range to hit the Archers from here?" "Yer scarin' me, Mage, with yer sudden ability fer good ideas. I think I know what yer gettin' at, and I think it's a good one." Count Knyghton says. "Arthur an' perhaps Skrall could take tha top o' tha wall, ta blast things from afar. Luke'd stay up there as well, I know he can heal at range. Skrall, ya might want ta loan tha' sword of yours ta Alexandre fer tha time bein', so as ta give him a bit o' extra melee power; he, I, and Miss Isabella should divide ourselves between commandin' tha troops and wadin' right in ta battle." His plan explained, Count Knyghton pulls Skrall aside for a moment. "Tha' shade is a profoundly good influence on Arthur. We run across them again, you bring him with us, if ya have ta bind 'im and carry 'im over yer shoulder. He's back ta tha way I remember 'im, mostly, but ya never know what'll set 'im off."

Arthur reluctantly bids farewell to the other Heroes, leaving De'kra with some final words of advice: "Stay safe, De'kra. And be wary of the elven Cleric, I do not trust her. May the winds of destiny be at thy back!" Count Knyghton also says his goodbyes, and afterward both Arthur and Knyghton return to their own party.

I believe I meet the reuirements and would like to join the Academy!

"I'm glad of tha', Alexandre. If yer stayin', then I'm definitely stayin' ta protect tha fort." "Count me out, I'd rather find Russel. Skrall, will you join us? I don't know how much luck we'll have without your tracking skills." "As much as I hate to agree with him, Arthur's right. Without Skrall leadin' ya, ya don't have a snowball's chance out there." Hmm, snowball's chance...and Arthur IS an ice mage... he thought.

OOC: Unexpectedly able to post this morning before I leave, but same takeover strategy is still in effect. "Wait, you were in the cultists' home caverns? Would it be possible for you to give us directions on how to get there?" "In light of this new information, I think I will boldly decide to follow Russel, unless no one else chooses to defend the fort." "Yer on yer own on that, mage. I'll follow ya ta tha Emperor if ya decide ta go talk ta him, but otherwise I'm stayin' ta defend tha fort."

OOC: Going to bed, and going to be gone most of the morning tomorrow. Until then, Brickdoctor Tanma has control of Arthur and Count Knyghton unless he ends up in a different group than Arthur, in which case WBD will gain control. If for some reason both WBD and Tanma are in a different group from Arthur, CorneliusMurdock will take control.

YES! That's what I was thinking of. Thanks for finding it! The question still remains, though, Sandy: do you have a designated style in mind for each House or are you just building what looks good? (And make no mistake--it all looks AWESOME! )

Hey, great review! Hmm...I'm on the fence about this set. On the one hand, I NEED a glow-in-the-dark horse (or two! or three! ), but on the other, the rest of the set is a little...meh. Hey, could you help me out, and put the CMF mummy arms on this new mummy and give us a pic of the result? If it works out, I can justify buying this set, if not...well, there's always Bricklink.

That reminds me, Sandy, what general architectural "style" would you say each of the Houses has? The Hinckwells, from what I've seen, seem to have more of a traditional "castle-y" style, whereas the Zeigfrieds' mansion has that style (I can't think of the name) with exposed wooden beams on the inside and walls made out of a plaster-like or adobe-like material (again, Wikipedia is failing me here, mostly because I don't know where to start from. ). Do you have specific archiectural styles in mind for them, or do you mostly just wing it?

EB has been really slow all day today, and from 8:00 PM Pacific time to about 8:11, I got a "Internet Explorer Cannot Display This Page" error; the site came back for about a minute, but when I tried to refresh it tool amost 20 minutes to load. It seems to be fine now as of 8:32 PM or so.

Having seen a rune on the papers sticking out of Cronk's pack, Arthur quickly whips out his own notes and frantically begins making copies. "Sir Cronk, wait," he says. "Back in Emperor Alandri's palace, Lady Leofwena tried to steal the basin in which the ancient Chimaera of Lion Knight legend was created, as well as a series of books that had come with it. She stole a book about transformation of Mopag root, a book about bringing people back from the dead, a book about creating chimeras, and a book about archaic languages. None of those books were with her when we killed her, so I think the cultists now have them. I think they're trying to resurrect the Chimaera, and, if my suspicions that the Empire no longer has tamed dragons are correct, the Empire will have no defense against the Chimaera if they raise it. I want you to have my notes from those books; they're broken and incomplete, but they may prove useful in the future--especially if those documents I see you have are related to the Cultists." He handed the copies of his notes to Cronk. "I wouldn't mind having a copy of those cultist notes as well, but I understand if you feel we don't have time for me to make a quick copy. Though, if you notice, I am a very fast writer," he says, indicating the notes he had just made. "If I may make a suggestion, perhaps only one or two of us should deliver the weapons, while the rest stay here together and fight off the Rebels. I myself would be willing to deliver the weapons for you, so long as De'kra or Skrall or Cronk came with me. Just don't chase after Russel and/or the Cultists without me; they banged me up last time we fought, and I mean to return the favor--with interest," he adds menacingly. He sees De'kra nearby, and gives himself a quick shake. "Does that sound like a good plan to the rest of you?"

The admin on another site I RP at calls it a "post spree," and it's encouraged so that the plot can keep moving at a decent pace. Granted, the TBRPGs there are a little different from Heroica (notably, there are no stats or battle rolls or anything), but still. Well, you could always come whack Arthur on the back of the head, even though it would provoke instant and unstoppable intra-party PvP. I understand the feeling of boredom and restlessness, but I experience it when people aren't roleplaying with me. I like being able to interact and post more than once or twice a day, it helps me develop and plan my character. I'm an active roleplayer and player in general (as even a cursory glance at the Mafia games I've been in will reveal ), so when I get a chance to interact, I take it. Furthermore, actual roleplaying is integral to how I approach RPGs; some people enjoy Heroica purely through the stats and the battles and such, and that's fine by me, but pure PvE fighting just isn't enough for me--I need a little meat on the bones, and to me that's roleplaying and character development. EDIT: (Disclaimer: I don't mean to imply that the QMs aren't doing enough; on the contrary, many QMs do a fine job of providing roleplaying in additon to the battles. A Quest that was nothing but battles would be boring, but most of the QMs I have seen more than understand that, and accommodate accordingly. ) While I admit that my character development has been a major theme of the Quest, I disagree that the Quest has "morphed into my own story." The plot that is there hasn't exactly been the type to bring itself to the forefront, like Doc's previous Quests; the side-story with the Cultists was a step towards increasing the focus, but still this time has had fewer non-battle interactions than Doc's last Quest. Most of the "official" side of this Quest has been, well, battles--EXTREMELY well-done battles, to be sure, but just battles nonetheless. As I said before, straight up battles--even epic, Brickdoctor-level battles--aren't enough for me, I need roleplaying "meat" as well. I was overjoyed when De'kra showed up. It doesn't seem to make sense on the surface, but Tanma and I have "chemistry"; we somehow instinctively know exactly what points to hit and catch to trigger further development. Althior and Atramor are the same way; their characters may be rivals, but just the same they manage to hit those roleplaying "triggers" for each other. Some players have that sixth sense for each other, some do not; I'm grateful that Tanma does, and that we had a chance to interact again, because it allows me to let Arthur develop naturally and spontaneously, rather than feeling I have to plan out his slow fall. (And yes, it is still possible, if unlikely, to change his path, but after that last battle in Quest 31 it basically would require him to either never meet Wren or else to watch De'kra or Atramor die [for good] at her hand; since neither is likely to happen, his transformation to Sorcerer is almost assured, though there's still a chance that someone could figure out the right things to say to him at the right time. Luke's advice has been very good, but the timing of it is still somewhat distanced from the time when it'd be most needed. ) In my view, a good Quest will respond to the characters who are on it and their character development, though it should, of course, respond to all the players, not just one. Of course, that requires the players to take actions that the Quest can respond to, which is honestly one of the hardest things to get right in roleplaying (apparently, I haven't gotten it right yet, as it's disturbing the other players). Really, though, I'm adhering to my own roleplaying philosophy here; I'll explain in a moment, as it's somewhat related to your next point: The problem with just talking in PM is that it cuts off all of the other players from an opportunity to interact. My philosophy is that ANY story (including roleplaying) is not about the plot as much as it is about the characters who interact with that plot. Professional screenwriters have a saying that "There are only 12 plots in the world, and they've all been done a million times," or, to put it more succinctly, "There are no new plots." If you're relying on plot alone to make an interesting story, you're doomed to failure; not only is a completely new plot virtually impossible to do, but even with such a plot it will be flat and boring without interesting characters. What makes interesting characters, though? I have a big project that will be ready in just a couple of weeks that will go over it in detail, but it can be boiled down to one thing: interaction, and specifically, conflict. One of the things I personally liked about the last battle was Alexandre talking with Arthur. It was interesting to me to find out that Arthur does want to keep Alexandre as a friend, but that he's prepared to sacrifice that friendship if it gets in the way of what he sees as his destiny, but only if it's absolutely necessary. He doesn't know how far he's willing to go to keep that friendship if Alexandre starts to turn against him, and I'm very much interested in finding out. In all my roleplaying, I try and leave little cues, little places where aspects of Arthur's development might be a useful starting point for aspects of others' roleplaying. I call it "generous roleplaying": playing so that the other charactes have an opportunity to develop from their interactions with you, just as you develop from your interactions with them. Roleplaying generously is, in my opinion, part of being a responsible and respectful player in the game full of other people. I do agree with Tanma, that I really would have liked you to come to us privately first, and asked us to tone it down a little; I know that I would have tried to tone it down a bit, and to point out places where Alexandre could jump in to the interactions (the development "triggers" I talked about earlier). If you did not want to come to us privately, I would have preferred an in-character admonition to get back to the task at hand, or something similar, rather than a public, OOC speech like this. In-character, there's that veneer of "remember, it's the character speaking, not me" that might have smoothed things over a bit, and, depending on how it was said, it might have helped to establish something really surprising and/or interesting about Alexandre's character. Granted, I am a heavy roleplaying sort of person, so I really look hard for places to develop mine and others' characters, but I still think you are a good roleplayer when you're focused on that, and you could have pulled it off. If anyone feels I have "derailed" either of these two Quests, I apologize, and I will endeavor to keep Arthur's character development at a more appropriate "volume". If ANYONE, at ANY point in the future has a problem with my roleplaying, please bring it either to me or the QM via PM first and/or post in-character about it before publicly divesting the problem here in Rules and Discussion. I'd appreciate the chance to fix things before it becomes a problem.

I'm just stopping by for a minute, I have to go to dinner, but I just wanted to let you know I DID read this, and I am working on a response. I will post it when I get back.

"Nicolai, how far off are the approaching Rebels? Would the other Heroes be able to make it back to the palace without getting attacked by the Rebels? I feel it is a very bad idea for us to split up right now." "Yer makin' sense again, Mage. Let's hope it lasts. How many rebels ARE there, anyway, Master Nicolai?" Count Knyghton then turns to De'kra. "Back at Bric'Bay, Arthur mentioned ya have a cloak of some kind, lets ya see tha strength of tha enemy. Went on an' on about how much he wanted one. Cloak of the Elven Spy, was it? Would ya mind usin' it now, ta scout out tha strength of tha enemy troops?" OOC: First I get the names mixed up, then I mess up Knyghton's accent? Sheesh!

And from a more selfish perspective, if he does do it again, it's another chance for more loot and experience for another team of Heroes. ...I scare myself sometimes...

I say let him. It'll satiate the OMs' collective thirst for blood PvP. EDIT: Well, at least until I find a good point where it would be convenient for the OMs and in-character for Arthur to attack Isabella and now Nerwen. (Sorry, Chromeknight, our characters in everything just seem destined to conflict! )

"The Nether isn't a separate Plane, it's...for lack of a non-arcane term, it's a "different side" of our own. It's difficult to explain--" Count Knyghton interjects. "Yes, yes, I'm sure we'd all be fascinated by your messin' about with tha arcane arts, but we need to focus on tha here and now. I'm open to going anywhere I'm asked, but I feel that we ought ta fight this one out together--after all, tha enemy's on tha way now, better to fight them here from the defensible fort rather than on tha open plains. We've brought our own troops with us, as well, so there's that advantage as well. If you help us fight off tha enemy, we can ensure safe passage back to tha Emperors. It'd be good ta meet the Emperor you've been working with, as well--a lack of commnication almost set us against each other, I think if we both go back we migh' be able ta get them both in tha same room, so they can coordinate their orders a bit better." Arthur notices some papers sticking slightly out of Cronk's pack. "Cronk, what are those?" he asks curiously.

Arthur nods. Here was another Rogue who was confirming his new hypothesis. "We have a Hunter in our party. Skrall seems to have a bead on Russel; if he can track Lady Leofwena, the traitorous cultist spy among our ranks, then he can certainly catch up with this "Russel" fellow. I say we all fight together, drop the wepons off for your Emperor, and then take out the infiltrator. Our mission is to take down the Rebellion as best we can, and I feel it is in our parties' best interests to stick together, at least for now."

OOC: Quite possibly. You might be on to something there. Arthur nods in understanding. "I know of a similar realm, it's called the Nether. We use it for fast travel, and to mine for some of the fantastically rare and valuable substances that exist only there. There are many dangers, though, and it is a place of exlie for the druly depraved." "This 'Karzahni'...he sounds like a Chaos user. Eerily so. Do you think...is it possible he had an apprentice? Or that he is otherwise related to Zoot?" Arthur was becoming more and more intrigued by the possibilities. "If it is this "mask" that is interrupting my familial magicks...well, I don't think I'd mind getting my hands on it..." At this Arthur frowned. "You said that without mask, your people lose their strength. So where is your mask?"

Arthur stared at the image with an unhealthy fascination, but it was a gaze of new discovery, not recognition. "I've never...seen...what is that?" He asks in wonder. "Is that Abraxas? It certainly looks demonic..." A thought springs to his mind. "Hey, is that thing the reason you lost your memory when you first came to Heroica?"

You need to add a step in there for gaining a Lucky Die, Arthur's hit with his Amethyst a grand total of twice all Quest.

I brought that upon myself.