Flipz

Suck it up and accept that a little unreality is the price for fair play (i.e. making sure that everyone else gets their fair chance to enjoy the game). It's also important to remember that one of the core rules of this game is that only the QM can initiate battles. Some QMs might give you some advantage for doing something clever beforehand, but just as many will penalize you for your impatience. Mechanically speaking, the pause before a battle exists so that all players who want to use consumables before the fight have an opportunity to do so; trying as a player to start the fight early is like saying "Hey, fellow players who live in a different time zone but might want to make some actual preparations for battle? Yeah, f**k you, you don't matter as much as my desire to just fight already." Even if fleeing is possible, just one attack from Thormanil KO's Namyrra--and even if she wakes up, every single enemy she faces (Thormanil, Pretzel, Farfarello) is immune to Darkness, so she can't use her army to KO them either. She literally cannot do anything whatsoever.

I'm pretty sure it was previously stated that fleeing is impossible in those tunnels.

Yeah. (Though I do think that part of the issue with the 135 situation is that, mechanically speaking, it is over already, and there's a certain amount of "if we're screwed anyway, just finish it already, no sense in watching us sit here and suffer" going on. But, like we've both said, that's getting a little ahead of things.)

As the guy who did 104, I think I'm in a good place to answer that. It depends on the situation. In 104's case, there were options such that the party could successfully side with any of the three combatants (Diana, Darius, Sirone), so when they came to a split, I allowed them to come to blows on an individual level. However, as someone (you or Pie, I think?) said about Arthur's betrayal in Quest 53, "if you're going to betray the party, make sure the people you're betraying them for will actually accept you"; if the people the players are trying to defect to legitimately don't want the help of the traitors (Arthur in 53, Mhinak in 136), then as a QM I'm going to have the enemies respond accordingly (i.e. "'You want to join me?!? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA' *stab* QM Note: Congratulations, you have now failed the Quest, unless your fellow players decide to rescue you."). On a more general level, it depends on the viability of the sides. If just one Hero wants to go off against their own party, I'm not going to go through all the effort to completely change my Quest to accommodate their attempt unless I'm DAMN certain it will make for an interesting experience (since, after all, it is a LOT harder to construct a satisfying experience for only one Hero than it is to balance for even just two)--and even then, odds are good that the other Heroes will catch up to and dispose of the outlier. In the case of a more even split (or a split where most of the party wants to betray the party NPCs while the minority want to stay with them), I'm more likely to rearrange my plans to let them duke it out, with the losers having to deal with the consequences of their loss. Again, that's just me, though--I'm a lot more willing to flex than most QMs. That said, both of those situations still depend on choice based on character and roleplaying. In case of Troll Attack mid-fight, I'd probably resort to QM fiat. That said, what are other people's thoughts on the difference between acceptable PvP and misconduct? In my view, an acceptable PvP scenario requires the consent of all sides, including the QM; initiating it without that consent is just as distasteful as a player trying to initiate their own battles or a player/QM killing another player's character without permission. That's just my own stance, though, so I'm interested in hearing other perspectives. I don't want to talk about 135 specifically for that reason, but I do think we can have a conversation on PvP and the player-QM relationship without being unfair to 135. Hell, there's value in the QM knowing that their players are upset; if we hadn't spoken up about our concerns on 103, we'd probably still be on it now. On the QM side, it does hurt, but it's invaluable in telling me what I need to change for later elements of the Quest before it's too late to do so.

Quoted For Truth.

Knowing Nur, he probably only picked one up in the first place with the express intention of somehow destroying it.

I don't understand why he doesn't sink the place himself; where does he get off complaining about Eubric when there's a continent of literal facists who are actively engaged in subjugating another race!

Where's a bunch of wizard-priests when you need them? Methinks that the continent of Spesialia/Fenario could do with a good sinking.

QM Note: Correct, since you cannot use ranged weapons. Next Round, however, you will be able to attack.

QM Note: I'll run the Round soon. QM Note: Sorry for the delay, I would have run this last night if I'd realized all the actions were in. Round 5 of Forest Fighting Frenzy Jinnipher vs. Baby Battle Ant Mob - Special Damage (Itty-Bitty Bombard - Jinnipher: 4-8=0 Fire-elemental damage) >Terry (Ice) vs. Ebony Scorpion Mob - Great Spell (Ebony Scorpion Mob: 10*2=20+6=26*2*2=104 Ice-elemental damage (KO!); Terry: -1 Ether) Boris vs.uses Remedy on Jinnipher (Jinnipher: negative effects removed) Torald vs. Itsy-Bitsy Spider - Special Damage (Cobweb - Torald: Bound) >Ezeran (Wood) vs. Baby Crimson Scorpion - Special Damage (Crimson Curse - Ezeran: no effect, already Cursed) Kheyli vs. Baby Crimson Scorpion - Miss (nothing happens) Mac Remedies Ezeran (Ezeran: negative effects removed) Terry poisoned by 2: -2 health Terry continues to output a ridiculous amount of damage, icing over three scorpions in one chilling blast. True to Mac's prediction, the rest of the party's fortune nosedives, with the ants Bombarding Jinnipher, the scorpion Cursing Ezeran, and the spider leaving poor Torald completely Bound in webbing, but it seems their bad luck seems to have come to a plateau as they emerge relatively unharmed, with Terry himself now the only one still poisoned. Three enemies remain. Current Weather: Lush (Doubles Wood-elemental damage, halves Wind-elemental damage) The Enemies Baby Battle Ant Mob *Mob 3!* Type: Vermin/Fiery Level: 12 (4*3) Health: 61/69 (23*3) Special: Itty-Bitty Bombard - Causes 4 fire-elemental damage regardless of row. Drops: (varies by roll): 1-2: 3x Fire Bomb 3-4: 2x Fire Bomb 5-6: 1x Fire Bomb Itsy-Bitsy Spider Type: Vermin Level: 4 Health: 36/48 Special: Cobweb – Causes the bound-effect. Drops: nothing Baby Crimson Scorpion *Attacks cause Cursed* *Immune to Poison and Cursed* Type: Vermin Level: 3 Health: 80/88 Special: Crimson Curse - Causes the Cursed-effect to the target. Drops: Crimson Scorpion Dagger (WP:5, deals Cursed; dagger), Poison Bomb (Deals 5 damage and the poisoned by 1-effect to all opponents when used) The Party: Terry Yelnats (played by Endgame) *Party Leader!* *Encouraged!* *Poisoned by 2* Level 6 Mage Health: 3/10 (5+5) Defense: 1 Ether: 7/10 (5+5) Power: 9 (5 +4) Gold: 23 Equipment: Grumpy's Staff (WP: 10), Leather Cap (SP: 1) Inventory: Ether Lash Wand: (WP 3 Wand, at the cost of 1 ether per WP the Wand becomes dual strike for one attack.), Cattle Prod Staff (WP: 3), 3x Potion, Remedy, Sapphire (Wind), Opal (Ice), 2x Bat Guano (can be thrown at an enemy to cause the Blind Effect), Bedroll Jinnipher Buchaire (JimBee) 76-year-old female Moon Elven Knight Level 6 Power Bonus: 0 Health: 5/15 Defense: 8 Gold: 115 Equipment: Brine Blade (WP:5, deals Poison 5; greatsword), Full Moon Shield (SP:5), Moone Mail (SP:3; bodywear) Inventory: The Beheader (WP:15, defies SP; greatsword), Vorpalis Conquerors (Power +0; goes up by 2 for every enemy defeated, drops back down to 0 if the wearer is knocked out or if the battle ends; footwear), 3x Potion, Grand Potion, Greater Tonic, 3x Remedy, Bedroll, Shovel, Letter of Recommendation Boris Bruhalv (Waterbrick Down) 38 year old male vampire Cleric *Immune to Stunned and Poisoned* Level 8 Power: 11 (8 + 3) Defense: 2 (2) Health: 16/16 (16) Ether: 12/12 (10) Gold: 103 Equipment: Simple Mace (WP: 3, mace), Rusty Chainmail (SP: 2, Immune to Stunned and Poison) Inventory: Defender's Ring (Accessory, Rolls of "Heal Less" become "Heal"), Scroll of Sleep (Enables casting the asleep-effect to the target, forcing them to miss its turn for three rounds or until woken up by an attack. Each casting has a 50/50 chance of success and costs 1 ether.), 2 Potions, 2 Remedies, Phoenix Essence, 4 Tonics, 1x Sleep Bomb, 3x Blind Bomb, Military Grade Fire Bomb (Deals 10 Fire damage to all opponents when used), Military Grade Dirt Bomb (Deals 10 Ground damage to all opponents when used), Military Grade Holy Bomb (Deals 10 Holy damage to all opponents when used), Military Grade Lightning Bomb (Deals 10 Lightning damage to all opponents when used), Floral Bomb, Bone, Grating Stone Ezeran Yavarr (MysticModulus) 42 year old human mage Level 1 Power: 4 Defense: 0 Health: 2/5 Ether: 4/5 Gold: 0 Equipment: Staff infested with demonic slime (WP 3) Inventory: 2x Potion, Emerald (Wood) Torald Waruelf (Alfadas) 20 year old male Human Barbarian *Bound (1 Round)* Level 1 Power: 4 Health: 6/8 Gold: 10 Equipment: Old and Rusty Greatsword (WP: 3) Inventory: Potion, Mead, Tiger Balm Kheyli (K-Nut) 327 years old female fairy Level 1 Barbarian Power: 4 (1+3) Health: 4/8 Gold: 0 Equipment: Barrager (WP:3 Greatsword) Inventory: 3x Potion, Mead Mac (takes suggestions) Has a 1/6 chance to grant Inspired Has a 1/3 chance to grant Encouraged Inventory: 3x Tonic, 3x Potion, Note: Mac does not deal or take damage from enemies and cannot prevent Free Hits. Party Leader, choose the order of action. All of you, choose your targets and the row you want to fight in. Also mention if you want to try to flee, heal or cast a magic spell, or if you want to use an item instead of attacking. Any enemy not targeted will get a Free Hit on the party after everyone has acted. Mobs get an extra Free Hit if there are more members of the mob than standing party members.

I wouldn't go that far. Foreshadow it, make it clear there's a traitor in the party--and give it from a credible source--and then watch your party tear itself apart from paranoia. Alternatively, better yet give all of the party members secret goals and watch them cause all kinds of problems for each other as they try to complete their mission without telling anyone else (and thus fail their personal mission). And note that the secret missions don't necessarily have to be different--imagine how awesome 135 would have been if everyone was a traitor and hsd no idea the others were, too! (...Now that I think of it, that kind of sounds like an awesome Mafia setup. )

Arthur catches the flagpole with a grateful nod, twirling the weapon once or twice to test its heft and balance.

Unfortunately, Lucky only affects actual battle rolls--if it doesn't affect Scroll use, I doubt it'd affect Sleep rolls. Even if Namyrra does wake up, she's screwed--she'll be instantly KO'd by the demon, Thormanil, and Pretzel (the latter two of whom are both Hastened and Lucky). Absolute utter best case scenario, Pretzel and Thormanil miss four straight attacks, Namyrra takes a Free Hit from the demon and wakes up with very little health, then Pretzel gets two more attacks in which to kill her before she can even act.

Just going to throw out there that, like any QM/GM/DM, I really value the relationship between me and my players--after all, it's the collaborative creation of a story that makes an RPG different from any other form of storytelling. One of the reasons I consider 118 to be a personal failure is that, by reason of the Shyamalan Twist, I had to not only withhold information from my players (which is normal for a QM), but I ended up having to actively lie to them, thus damaging that relationship and hampering our ability to collaborate on the story together. Like I said, just something that came to mind, not just from recent events but also because 118 was brought up to me a couple times recently and I've been looking back at it to see if there were any more lessons to be learned from it. In the meantime, I'm sure this topic is about to see a lot of use.

OOC: Notifying you so it's visible, Zeph, that I've edited which consumable Arthur has slotted into his hollow blade.

Can Namyrra survive a hit from Thormanil? That would let her wake up and drop an Incense...though given how much has been outright stolen from the 135 party, I'm not really sure how much of a point there would be to forcing their way forward. *Runs numbers* Never mind, party was screwed from the word go. Super disappointing, really.

"Always." At the mention of Natasha, Arthur spares the warrior a glance. "Lend her your wisdom," he says, nodding to Miirym, "should the worst befall me." "Hybros is right. The Emperor has right to choose his own champion. He asked for one from among us. That is a statement he makes for himself, an answer to Sven's jingoistic call. More than that, I have been a champion for Dastan before. Three years ago I was called to bring an end to the rebellion in this land. Apparently, I have still yet to finish the job." Arthur notes Purperal whispering something indecipherable to Hybros and pauses, then takes Hoke's hand on his shoulder and gently tugs it aside, indicating the duo of Dragoons should turn away from the prying eyes of others. "And if Dastanian blood is so important, Hoke...well, it may not be blood, but..." Arthur allows the red streak trickling down the inside of his arm, a sign of his injuries from battle, to separate from him and assume its true form. From the stream of inky blood emerges a spike-tipped blade, flowing forth into the twisted shaft of Zoot's Rebel, the weapon of Chaos glittering gold in the morning light. Arthur quickly catches the weapon, hefting it to hide its unnatural origin. "Zoot's Rebel was born here--in more ways than one--and it and I are one. And where that path led...I failed to stand up for them--Mallelio, Vipera, Phil--I failed them once before. You remember. I did not stand for them then. I will stand for them now."

...Hmm... All right, then, just to be clear: even if we have reputation with the Houses, we are not required to pick a side, yes? Because as a permanent, game-changing thing, I'm not going to just jump on one side if it's going to lock me down for two whole years, not without a significant amount of thought and planning, at least.

Arthur's not fighting Sven. Arthur's fighting Sven's champion. Which, given this is Dastan, it's probably going to end up being a Hero. Because Dastan and PvP go hand in hand.

I am hoping I'll win this. But if this is how Arthur dies, holy hell what a way to go out.

The Dragoon casts off the Medal of Glory, tossing it back to Hoke in the confidence-filled burst of power it had given him, as he equips the Unicorn Helmet in its place. He removes his Tin Gloves, tossing one to the ground at his feet in blatant challenge to Sven, before bending down to securely fasten his Tin Greaves. Miirym looks on worriedly. "<Arthur, are you sure this is wise? What if--?>" Arthur looks to Miirym, the fire in his eyes abating momentarily for her benefit. "This is how it should be. I will not fail. But if I do, turn to Vipera, turn to U'Daras, turn to Natasha. Their counsel will guide you." To her credit, Miirym tries to hide her fear, but smoke begins to trail from her nostrils once more, betraying her agitation. "<You speak as one who intends to die.>" "I do not intend it," Arthur replies, snapping his Ambrosia into the Hollow Blade of his Duplovian Swift Halberd. "But two people will enter the arena. One will live. That is the way of this land. Prudence says I should be prepared for it not to be me." Whether it was the presence of the Playthings, the Dragons, or the land itself, something strange had sparked within the Dragoon, a dark fire he had seemingly forgotten. Even as her partner radiates power, the faintest wisps of that fire began to burn within Miirym's spirit, a low anger beginning to grow in her belly. What is WRONG with this land?! she thinks, a black bitterness creeping up from her belly and into her heart. Vipera...wise cousin...you and the princess preach patience, as mortals fight and die for your sake. There is some wisdom to your words, even now, so I will be patient. I will wait. I will grow. And when I do, I will display my power for the mortal world, and it will bend to my will. Miirym seems to seethe with rage at the situation, and at her powerlessness to control it. "Believe me, old friend, I know this. I would not ask her to put herself in harm's way solely for my sake. I can, and I will, face this challenge alone." As, on some level, I always have been.

"Me," Arthur states without hesitation.

Any word on the next release coming out? I'd really love to have the updated part materials in by default.

Well, yeah, all the likable characters are ShadPiGuild, with the Ziegfrieds being the exception. Seriously, though, the Bonapartes have been general dicks to people (Heroes included), the Hinckwells have had a roughly even mix of dickish and non-dickish behavior towards Heroes, but that's countered by the Shadeaux's similar behavior. Meanwhile, the Guild and Ji Pei have regularly gone out of their way to treat Heroes well, with the people who've tried to criticize them generally being racist and/or anti-progress sticks in the mud. Sure, those two regularly make mistakes and go too far, but they've been shown to be genuinely good people at heart, whereas the Bonapartes have been shown to be genuine assholes at heart and the Ziegfrieds have been shown to be just plain out of touch with the rest of the world. Honestly, on an individual rivalry scale, I feel the only one that's even remotely evenly balanced is Ziegfried-Invision, and that's mostly because they're the Houses we've seen the least of.

"I'll give it my best," Mac replies, preparing to use his last Remedy on Ezeran. He glances to Terry. "Though maybe it'd be best if I wait until after Ezeran's attack? No sense in wasting a Remedy if he gets Cursed again, after all."