Flipz

I would like to officially ask Sandy to add the stores from Quest 11 to the Marketplace. The prices, etc. might need to be changed, but there's just too much good stuff there to miss.

"Hey...spare wood! I bet this will come in handy for building the catapult, and perhaps some other traps as well. Althior, with your permission, I'd like to take the wood for later." Arthur then looks for anything that would be suitable for a mage.

"Yes, I agree, we chould at least try to build the catapult."

"Hmm...you know now that I think of it, if we decide what floor or floors we want to be on, I could ice over the stairs and ladders to make it hard for the elves to reach us. Do you think that would work, sir?"

De'kra has it, though I don't know if Arthur would think to check it. My thought was, assuming the Quest took multiple in-game Days, Arthur would check the book at the end of the Day, and if De'kra had written him about his Quest during that time, I'd allow myself to read the thread to that point. I guess he could send a direct message via PM, but...how would De'kra (or any of you) know that we needed to set up traps at the fort? That said...suggestions welcome.

I would do that, but I'm a mage not a rogue. I guess I could use Wood magic for that, but I only have ice. A lot of good that'll do against humanoid Elves.

"Hmm...well, even if we don't crush them, the fallen trees would serve as a defensive barrier, something else the elves would have to get past. I doubt it would delay them for long, but every minute helps. Also, if we're willing to let some elves get close, we could drop the trees on their seige weapons. Those are universally slow and clumsy, if those pass through the trap, they would undoubtedly be damaged, if not destroyed outright. "What was this fort's original purpose, if I may ask? Perhaps there is something in its design we could exploit to injure or trap our opponents. I doubt we could kill them outright without engaging in combat, but surely we can skew the odds in our favor, right?"

"Sir, how far are we from the nearest civilian settlement? Would it be (relatively) safe to set fire to the woods near the West wall, thus denying the elves the benefeit of cover? Even better, would it be possible to weaken the trees, attach them to some sort of tripwire--actually, no, our Party Leader's Emerald or Sapphire could do that job--and thus crush the invaders beneath the falling trees? "Is that a double porticullus? That is, two gates separated by a small enclosure? (Sorry, I forgot to check that as we passed inside.) If it is, we could leave the gates open, assign someone to wait until a group of elves has entered the enclosure, and trap them all inside. "Does anyone else have any thoughts?"

"I still don't trust these guys' bosses, but I doubt the people here mean us any harm. At any rate, the Brobric have proven themselves to be hostile to all, and are the more serious threat. I am prepared to head out. "Make no mistake, though, Largus. I'm not doing this for you, or for the Lion Knights, or the Hinckwells, or anyone else. I'm doing this because your bosses were either too greedy or too incompetent to avoid a war, and innocent people are getting caught in the crossfire. The Brobric need to be stopped. But in my eyes, you're just as responsible as the Shadeaux for letting them get out of hand."

Didn't some characters get a permanent +1 boost to Power, tho? I seem to recall that happening to several players, not sure if Althior or Xander were among them.

OOC: OK, good to know. I think I'll continue his line of thought though, I'm setting up a potential shift in Arthur's attitude for later. -==IC: Arthur==- "Hmm. Well, greed is one explanation..." A thought struck him: If they're greedy and secretive, and they really wanted a monopoly on Eubric's food supply... "It simply strikes me, sir, that if it weren't for the Brobric Elves and their aggression, an armed force of Lion Knights, publicly unaffiliated with the Hinckwells, would be very well suited for a...what euphemism do you business moguls use for it? A 'hostile takeover' of the competition." Arthur has a sudden feeling of moodiness and unease. He wondered what the cause might be. Nonetheless, his piercing gaze toward Largus does not falter.

"If I may ask...why did you not announce your alliance with the Lion Knights and your agricultural plans publicly, when they first arrived? All of Eubric could have benefited from striking deals with the Knights, and it would have made it much more difficult for the Shadeaux to move against you."

-==IC: Arthur==- Arthur walks over to Althior and coughs lightly. "Excuse me, Althior, but may I borrow your other WP:5 weapon? It's the same WP as the Healing Staff I procured for us, and it would help me to be more effective in fights." He stops to consider for a moment. "Actually, if any of us have extra weapons that would help out the weaker party members like me, we should let them borrow them."

The main thing I like about the D&D system for god is the "All Myths Are True" approach. Because of that, no character's beliefs can ever be "wrong," but at the same time it avoids the problams of the "all gods are different manifestations of the same universal divinity" approach. (I also like that it provides a legitimate reason that gods would want their followers to convert others.) Explanatory link for "All Myths Are True": http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AllMythsAreTrue

-==IC: Arthur==- Arthur looks around to see where Althior got to. He intends to pull the Party Leader aside for a moment before they cast off.

OOC: Well, you have to sit down and actually write the stuff in it...which would be kind of hard to do in combat. Even if you chose to skip all of your turns, you'd be busy dodging the fighting, and the writing would pretty much be gibberish... It'd be more useful for puzzles, figuring out riddles, catching people in lies, etc. But even then, something akin to the interference with Magic Compasses could come into play. This is intended more for character development, and for sharing IC knowledge back and forth with people in the Hall while on a Quest.

OOC: Arthur's Gold should be 0. Also, Althior should have a Healing Staff (WP: 5, healing effect, usable by clerics and mages) that we're renting from Alf.

OOC: I really like OotS, but I lean more toward Planescape Survival Guide and Darths & Droids.

-==IC: Arthur==- "Ah. Yes, I have a question. Aside from the Brobric Elves, are there any other perils we should know of?"

Basically, a being becomes a god by gaining enough worshippers; their faith in the god is what grants the god their strength relative to each other (once they reach the point where their divine power is self-sustaining, that is). All of the gods reside in the various Astral planes, and though two given gods may share the same alignment (Lawful Good, Chaotic Neutral, Neutral Evil, etc.), they are in a competition for followers. At best, two identically-aligned gods are friendly competitors; at worst (especially for Neutral- and Evil-aligned gods), the gods may instruct their clerics to encourage holy wars against followers of the other deity. The gods of the various pantheons (Greek, Norse, Elven, the Chinese Zodiac creatures, etc.) are groups of gods of various alignments who have agreed to work together in a sort of mutual compact. There is still competition between the members of the given pantheon, but there is rarely any war between followers, and the pantheon generally maintains a near-"monopoly" of worship in a geographic area (and are well-represented abroad as well). In addition, some gods and demigods focus their attention primarily on other Planes and Universes, but will still grant their followers power if they travel to the "main" planes. (If a given god/pantheon is particularly aggressive or territorial, this can spark cosmic conflict, but this is rare outside of the Lower Planes governed by Evil-aligned gods). In times of great crisis that threaten the existence of the multiverse, large groups of gods may gather together to combine their divine resources to combat the effect. I'd recommend reading Planescape Survival Guide, it explains things much better. (As an added bonus, the author writes a second webcomic, Harry Potter Comics, which is made entirely in Lego!)

On the table of the bar, addressed to De'kra, is a small, wrapped package attached to an envelope. Inside the envelope is a letter: To De'kra, The time has come, I now depart on my Quest. I thank thee for thy advice and companionship, and your view of the Houses. Surely thy advice shall prove a boon to me and my fellow heroes on this quest. I dearly hope that we shall meet again, and, perhaps, someday Quest together. If ever you find yourself in need, you need only ask, and you shall have my aid. This book is magically linked to one I carry in my posession at all times. The words you inscribe within shall appear in my book, and vice versa. It is my hope that, even if I cannot be there in person, my words may be of some aid to you. Fare thee well, De'kra, bringer of righteous shadow. May our paths cross again soon. --Arthur Justus Regulus VII

A question: do the gods of the RPG world follow the same deity "rules" as D&D/Planescape?

Wha--? the only follower of Ennoc I know of is Ellaria. You guys want to kill Ellaria? Sandy's character?! I've deliberately avoided reading in-progress Quests, with the exception of Quest 8 (because it will be done soon and I would have forgotten to read it otherwise) and Quest 14. Once we actually start the Quest, I'm going to roll a die, and assign myself a [Current Level] in 6 chance of successfully using a scry spell to see what's happened on the other Quest(s). If it succeeds, I'll read the Quest topic for as far as time allows me; if it fails, I will resist the temptation. This way, I can avoid Arthur accidentally learning things through out-of-character knowledge.

"If you say so." Arthur downs a third ale. "If he doesn't get his act together, though, he's going to get slaughtered. That's why i made up that story about the Brobrics being in league with chickens, thought it might scare him into being a little more serious. Althior may be a little harsh, but he's got it right: we're walking straight into a warzone, and, as the wise De'kra pointed out, we can't be sure of trusting anyone, not even our own employer. A cavalier, 'I want to go out and kill something' kind of attitude is a good way to get yourself killed out there. Being a hero isn't about just battles and riches and glory. There's more to it than that. We seek to protect the innocent, right the wrongs of the land, and boldly face what no one else dares. And sometimes, that means using your brain instead of bashing someone else's in." OOC: I think Althior's a bad influence on Arthur.

-==IC: Arthur==- "It's not just you. I think it's just because we're getting so close to our time of departure. I think once we actually get moving, things'll get better...so long as Spag manages to keep his mouth shut around Althior." And me. Arthur frowned, and downed an ale. The patron it actually belonged to frowned and signalled Schezerade to bring him another. "I don't know what it is about that Grumpkin, but man does he get on my nerves." Just as the orc bartender sets down the other man's drink, Arthur reaches out and picks it up, still looking at William. "I've never met a Grumpkin in person before, are they all that...irritating?" A man sitting at a table across the way sees the man next to Arthur grow redder and redder. He gets up and brings his just-delivered drink over, but right at that moment Arthur leans back in his seat and... *CRASH!* "Oh, sorry sir, it's this blasted staff--" "GREAAAAAAUGH!!!!" The man next to Arthur, now wearing the contents of the other man's glass, jumps up and storms out of the bar. His would-be friend chases after him, presumably to calm him down. Arthur returns his attention to William. "Man, what's his problem?"