Sandy

A splendid job, Zepher! You've seen an amazing effort without anyone even asking for it, and the result is a very interesting read. The articles make the changes this game had gone through very concrete. Aside from a few name spelling hick-ups, your recaps and analyses are spot on. This game originated when Dragonator and a group of other Game Forum veterans started to plan a new RPG for the forum. A multitude of ideas were thrown about, many going in the direction of adapting Dungeons & Dragons for forum purposes. Then came I with my humble idea of a simpler game that would be accessible to everyone - not just tabletop RPG players. Taking elements here and there - the Heroica boardgame, the card game Munchkin, videogame RPGs such as Final Fantasy, fantasy literature in general - the first version of Heroica RPG was born. I then hosted the Test Quest with a few choice Fellows (a couple of which are still actively playing the game), and seeing how the rules worked in practice gave form to the version published here a year ago. But this was meant to be a community project from the start, and although not everyone's ideas could be taken into account, you players have shaped this game immensely - as Zepher's article shows. I haven't felt right to call this my game for a long time. This is our game now, I'm just here to ensure it runs smoothly and doesn't get out of hand. My day job is a kindergarten teacher, so it comes naturally for me.

~A new quest has been posted on the Quest Board (#45 by Khorne)!~ A man in a bat-winged helmet stepped into the Hall, and posted the chosen heroes for the quest pitched by the Shadeaux. Participants to Quest #43: Protect My Brother ~ Dak Shadeaux, Level 15 Black Knight (Darth Nihilus) ~ Sylph Solanum, Level 15 Druid (Dannylonglegs) *Party Leader* ~ Johon, Level 17 Raider (Bricksandparts) ~ En Sabah Nur, Level 18 Battle Mage (Jebediahs) After that, a clucking chicken sprinted in to deliver news on who would be the first to enter the Fields of Glory. Participants to Unlimited Quest: Fields of Glory (Note: The sign-ups for this quest will restart after the current party has left the fields.) ~ Tesni Hightribe, Level 23 2/3 Berserker (Peppermint_M) *Party Leader* ~ Alexis Fenral, Level 20 2/3 Evoker (Masked Builder) ~ Jess Islanti, Level 19 Assassin (Sisco) OoC: Both quests will launch over the weekend. Ellaria watched all this take place while leaning on the railing at the top of the stairs. She was unsure how it had happened, but it pained her that her two good friends had gotten in on an argument over her. Alexis and Althior had tried to hide it, but she knew it was because of the dinner last night. "Is this a curse?" she muttered to herself. "Does every good thing I touch turn into dust?" But Ellaria knew she could not afford to wallow in self-pity or sink into depression. She had to give her everything if she ever hoped to find Elpis again.

CURRENT SIGN-UPS: Quest #43: Protect My Brother (Sign-ups close tomorrow!) 1. Dak Shadeaux (Darth Nihilus) 2. Nagure (Costy) 3. Raven Ashcroft (Raven Brickroft) 4. Durkon (RPGer) 5. Dreyrugr (Vash the Stampede) 6. Sylph Solanum (Dannylonglegs) 7. Johon (Bricksandparts) 8. Monk Pretzel (Palathadric) 9. Sir Christopher Daggerfall (Fred Fred Burger) 10. Siercon (Siercon and Coral) 11. Eric (Khorne) 12. En Sabah Nur (Jebediahs) Quest #44: My Best Friend 1. Althior Emorith (K-Nut) 2. Dak Shadeaux (Darth Nihilus) 3. Nagure (Costy) 4. Raven Ashcroft (Raven Brickroft) 5. Durkon (RPGer) 6. Dreyrugr (Vash the Stampede) 7. Johon (Bricksandparts) 8. Cinna the Dark (darkdragon) 9. Erik Tyrvarr (Myrddyn) 10. Mizuki Kimura (zakura) 11. Monk Pretzel (Palathadric) 12. Namyrra Uq (Quarryman) 13. Sir Christopher Daggerfall (Fred Fred Burger) 14. Siercon (Siercon and Coral) Unlimited Quest: Fields of Glory (Sign-ups for the first party close tomorrow!) 1. Althior Emorith (K-Nut) 2. En Sabah Nur (Jebediahs) 3. Dak Shadeaux (Darth Nihilus) 4. Nagure (Costy) 5. Durkon (RPGer) 6. Johon (Bricksandparts) 7. Namyrra Uq (Quarryman) 8. Siercon (Siercon and Coral) 9. Tesni Hightribe (Peppermint_M) & Alexis Fenral (Masked Builder) & Jess Islanti (Sisco)

As you see, another new topic has been posted for the purposes of this game: the Hero Statistics. All vital character statistics should now be moved from signatures and profile pages to that topic. Only post a direct link to your stats to your signature. Biographies and other information that is not important gameplay-wise should still be kept in your own "About Me" pages. I hope this topic will be as useful tool for everyone as it was planned to be. And thanks again to Darkdragon and Peppermint_M for coming up with this in the first place. What would I do without you guys?

Ellaria Arbour (Sandy) 26 years old female human Alchemist Level 36 *Immune to Fire* *Three rolls for Mixture* *Transfer poisoned and bleeding upon being hit* *No Free Hits for 3 rounds* Power: 56 (36+20) Defense: 6 (1+5) Health: 57/57 (9+35+10+1+2) Gold: 224 Equipment: Mythril Mallet (WP: 20, wood- and darkness-elemental; Hollow [-]; hammer), Rubber Gloves (For Mixture, the die is rolled three times instead of twice, and the highest two results determine the created item; suitable to alchemists; handwear.), Robe of the Magi (SP:1, suitable for mages, clerics, alchemists, chi monks, decamon drafters, necromancers, regulators, scholars and weather mages; bodywear.), Spider Helmet (SP:5, passes poisoned and bleeding effects to the enemy when the wearer is hit; immunity to fire; headwear), Spirit Robe (Renders wearer invisible to the enemy for the first three rounds of battle so they do not take free hits; backwear) Inventory: Weapons Ignis Fatuus (WP:13, permanently poisoned by 15, fire- and lighting-elemental staff), Sylvania's Crossbow (WP:10, wood-elemental crossbow), Pan Flute (WP: 7, instrument), Wizard's Staff (WP:1, fire-, wind-, water- and earth-elemental staff), Wormtail Whip (WP:15, earth-elemental, whip) Artifacts: Ranger's Quiver (WP: +1 to bows and crossbows, suitable for rangers, beast warriors, infiltrators, and winged warriors; backwear), Robe of the Archmagi (SP:3, Max Ether +5, protects from sealing; suitable for mages, clerics, necromancers, scholars and weather mages, bodywear), Cherokee Rose (Doubles potency of both incoming and outgoing restorative consumables and healing; suitable for Ellaria only; accessory.) Spell Items: Scroll of Inspiration (Inspired for rest of battle, 10 ether, 50/50 chance) Scroll of Sealing, Scroll of Frailty, Scroll of Weakening, Serenade of Water (Causes Water damage equal to the minstrel's level to all enemies per round for as long as the song is sung. Costs 10 ether per round. Battle Song) Consumables: 7 Grand Potions, Health Core, 4 Tonics, Diluted Arc Tonic (Restores 10 ether to all allies), 3 Grand Tonics, Ether Core, 2 Hyper Arc Tonics (Restores full ether to all allies), 2 Elixirs, Arc Elixir (Restores 60 health and 15 ether to all allies and removes negative effects.), 2 Remedies, Neutralizer, Tiger Balm, Phoenix Essence, Last Resort (revives all knocked allies to 1 health), 3 Meads, 2 Smelling Salts, Nostrum, Soma, 2 Mulled Wines, 2 Smoke Bombs, Blind Bomb, Seal Bomb, Holy Rain Bomb (Causes 20 water-, wind- and light-elemental damage to all enemies), Baffle Bomb (Causes 15 damage and confused to all enemies), Bad Breath (Poisoned by 1-effect to all enemies), Feather of White, Demon Repellent, Ancient Bone (Can be thrown at monsters to distract them for 3 rounds. Worth nothing, except in magic shops where it is worth 50 gold.) Tools etc.: Bedroll, Shovel, Pickaxe, Telescope, Magic Compass, Magnifying Glass, Chemistry Set (Allows the user to use Mixture outside of battle, costs 2 Gold Bars/un-modified roll, suitable for alchemists; tool), 7 Gold Bars *Ether reserve: 42/42 (5+35+2)

HERO STATISTICS Since the beginning of Heroica RPG, the rules have stated that players should include their hero statistics into their signature. This has caused some problems along the way, but now it is about to change. Darkdragon and Peppermint_M came up with a suggestion to have everyone post their character information into one topic dedicated only to stats. And this topic is it! No more overly long signatures because of this game, no more searching players' profiles for the information, no more messing around with footnotes. This topic is meant as a tool for players and Quest Masters alike. All vital information under one header, which can be easily searched and updated. But please, use this topic only for your character statistics. Biographies and play history and reputations etc. should remain in your profile page. Please post your character information to this topic in this exact format (note the changes to the old format): [Picture] Name (Player Name) Age Gender Race Class Level *Permanent effects* Power: 0 (Level + weapon power + artefact boosts + permanent boosts) Defense: 0 (Shield power + artefact boosts + permanent boosts) Health: 0/0 (Basic health + level bonus + class bonus + artefact boosts + permanent boosts) Ether: 0/0 (Basic ether + level bonus + class bonus + artefact boosts + permanent boosts) Gold: 0 Equipment: (Main weapon + main shield + equipped artefacts as limited by level, category and suitability) Inventory: (Other weapons + other shields + other artefacts + gems + scrolls + consumables + tools + other items) For the sake of clarity, this is the format that should be used in all quests for all characters. You can remove the lines that don't concern you (e.g. defense or ether) or add information if it's crucial to your gameplay (e.g. list of spirits for Evokers), but otherwise, please stick to this format. If you are still unsure how the statistics should look, please look at my character information for an example. After you've posted your information, please post a direct link to it to your signature. To get the link address, click on the number on the upper right corner of your post (marked with a #). List of Hero Statistics: Actaeon Artus (Actaeon) Addok-Zo Obbex (Goliath) Alexander Vandangant (Wedge 09) Alexandre le Chevalier (Capt.JohnPaul) Alexis Fenral (Masked Builder) Althior Emorith (K-Nut) Annienal Anavir (Kintobor) Arthur Justus Regulus VII (Flipz) Atramor Gibbin (CallMePie) Avalanche (Dragonfire) Bartholomew Docken (Brickdoctor) Blizzard (Rider Raider) Bobby "Young" Bucks Jr. (Zepher) Boris Bruhalv (Waterbrick Down) Calamity (Scubacarrot) Cedric (wiz) Cinna the Dark (Darkdragon) Cree (Pedguin) Darksten (Comrade Commander) The Demon Germ (samuraiturtle) Dyric Rone (The Legonater) Ellaria Arbour (Sandy) En Sabah Nur (Jebediahs) Eric (Khorne) Erik Tyrvarr (Myrddyn) Ezeran Yanarr (MysticModulus) Grimwald Gjinko (LordoftheNoobs) Guts Holla (Scubacarrot) Heckz Brutenhal (Cutcobra) Hoke Ablesword (UsernameMDM) Hunkan Silvertoss (BountyBeast) Hybros (JimBee) Jeaux Elmfyre (joeshmoe554) Jess Islanti (Sisco) Jinnipher Buchaire (JimButcher) Johon (Bricksandparts) Jon "Sarge" McEncy (Skyrimguy) Karie Alderflask (Kintobor) Karl (bionicle_fanatic) Keliim the Cruel (Mencot) Kheyli (K-Nut) Kid Reddson (dum) Kiray Nastayo (KingoftheZempk) Lawrence Boomingham (Zepher) Leofwein Twynam (Capt.JohnPaul) Lind Whisperer (Lind Whisperer) Matthias (nstickney) Miderun (CallMePie) Monk Pretzel (Palathadric) Mortimer "Em" Mahzan (emjajoas) Na'im Thamir (Enceladus) Nalguz the Infinite (Robert10ant) Namyrra Uq (Quarryman) Nerwen Calmcacil (Chromeknight) Petaldan Parfenius (Palathadric) Purpearl Berthadhiell (Purpearljellyblob) Quintessa of Heartland (Sandy) Siercon (Siercon and Coral) Skrall (Waterbrick Down) Sorrow (Endgame) Sylph Solanum (Dannylonglegs) Terry Yelnats (Endgame) Tesni Hightribe (Peppermint_M) Thalion Dwinlas (-obelix-) Thormanil Nihai (swils) Throlar Wineghilm (Lord Duvors) Torald Waruelf (Alfadas) Vindsval Half-born (Asphalt) Warlen Melimane (The Chosen Minifigure) William Harkenshire (Fred Daniel Yam) Zannaqim (Flipz)

You can rant in-character in the Lottery topic, sure. The banana bladerang is a throwing weapon, it just works differently.

This is exactly why I have asked QMs to stick with the basic weapon types, to little avail. Simply put, weapons that do not fall into any basic weapon type (except those that can be equipped by all classes or only by a certain character) cannot be used by the Expert classes. Redefining is possible to a certain extent, but nobody should change their weapon type completely. A stick cannot become a sword, for a crude example. If anyone has a problem about this issue that they feel they can't solve themselves, please consult me through PM.

Greedy, much? The prizes (apart from the Ganrash polybags) are not actual, material items, so if someone does not want them or forgets to add them into their inventory, that's their loss. The lottery is over, and the prizes have been divided. If you did not win anything, there's no way to change that (until next year, maybe). Sorry.

The tags were given by the admins for the purposes of this event only, I merely designed the tag and told them the list of people who I'd like to give the tag to. I don't have a say whether future QMs and contributors will ever get a tag of their own. It is up to the admins. So please don't ask for a tag, or expect to get one. And certainly do not offer to host a quest just in hopes of getting a tag.

The Dragonlord held up a crystal bowl that was filled with slips of papers. "That seems to be everyone who is eager to participate. Without further ado, let us begin the lottery. Miss Valentine, would you be so kind and draw the names of the winners?" "Certainly, Sir Dragonlord. I will make sure everyone gets their prizes instantaneously!" The wizard woman started drawing slips of paper out of the bowl, announcing the prize and it's winner one by one. Health Core – Restores full health. "Haldor Skovgaard (Scorpiox)!" Ether Core – Restores full ether. "Sorrow (Endgame)!" Phoenix Incense – Revives all knocked out party members to full health during a battle. "Dyric Rone (The Legonater)!" Amethyst – Enables darkness-elemental spells. "Alexander Vandangant (Wedge09)!" Aquamarine – Enables water-elemental spells. "Dak Shadeaux (Darth Nihilus)!" Diamond – Enables light-elemental spells. "Benji Carvenhall (Flare)!" Emerald – Enables wood-elemental spells. "Nerwen Calmcacil (Chromeknight)!" Garnet – Enables earth-elemental spells. "Lawrence Boomingham (Zepher)!" Opal – Enables ice-elemental spells. "Tesni Hightribe (Peppermint_M)!" Ruby – Enables fire-elemental spells. "Erdathcath Madilinas (The_Customizer)!" Sapphire – Enables wind-elemental spells. "William Harkenshire (VolcanicPanik)!" Topaz – Enables lightning-elemental spells. "Arasmyth RuGard (Kadabra)!" Scroll of Blindness – Enables casting the blinded-effect to the target, making it unable to use a physical attack for the next three rounds. Each casting has a 50% chance of success and costs 1 ether. Usable only by mages and clerics. "Atramor Gibbin (CallMePie)!" Scroll of Confusion – Enables casting the confused-effect to the target for the next three rounds, during which it has a 50% chance of targeting an ally instead of its opponents. Each casting has a 50% chance of success and costs 1 ether. Usable only by mages and clerics. "Arthur Justus Regulus VII (Flipz)!" Scroll of Frailty - Enables casting the fragile-effect to the target, causing it to take double damage for the next three rounds. Each casting has a 50% chance of success and costs 1 ether. Usable only by mages and clerics. "De'kra (Tanma)!" Scroll of Sealing – Enables casting the sealed-effect to the target, making it unable to use a special skill for the next three rounds. Each casting has a 50% chance of success and costs 1 ether. Usable only by mages and clerics. "Alf Gregory (Bricksandparts)!" Scroll of Sleep – Enables casting the sleep-effect to the target, forcing it to miss its turn for three rounds or until woken up by an attack. Each casting has a 50% chance of success and costs 1 ether. Usable only by mages and clerics. "Erik Tyrvarr (Myrddyn)!" Scroll of Weakening - Enables casting the weakened-effect to the target, halving its level for the next three rounds. Each casting has a 50% chance of success and costs 1 ether. Usable only by mages and clerics. "Tarn Valco (Rumble Strike)!" Mythril Shard – One quarter of a full Mythril ore that is used for mythrilizing weapons. "Sarick Lanse (Xarrzan)!" "And now, the main prize goes to..." Anniversary Medal (Artefact/Accessory) – Power +1, SP +1, Max. Health +1, Max. Ether +1. The values will increase by 1 with each passing year. "Cinna the Dark (darkdragon)!!!" There were cheers and cries of disappointment in the crowd. The Dragonlord silenced everyone with his aura of authority. "Congratulations to all of you who have won, but hold on! There are three more prizes to be dealt. King Kimthomsen of Ganrash is an old friend of Heroica, and upon hearing this event of ours he sent us three miniature models of his homeland. Miss Valentine, please continue the lottery so that we will see who are the three lucky champions that will get their hands on these much coveted collector's pieces." "Very well, Sir Dragonlord. The winners are..." 3x Miniature Model of the Ganrash Region "Skrall (Waterbrick Down)!" "Xander Unth'or (posades)!" "Nyx (Pandora)!" "Congratulations to you, too. Enjoy your prizes. The rest of you, unfortunately I've got nothing for you, but better luck next year. I announce this lottery closed!" OoC: Congratulations, indeed! Everyone who won RPG-prizes, you can add them to your inventories immediately. The three lucky ones who won the Ganrash polybag (courtesy of the fantastic KimT), please PM me your address so I can send them to you as soon as possible. If you're curious, the raffle was executed so that I printed out everyone's names and cut them into slips which I then folded. Then I randomly picked up the slips one by one, with no way of knowing who would get the prizes. Anyway, hope everyone had fun with this event! The anniversary celebrations will continue with the upcoming quests.

If you read the class description of the paladin, it says you can use anything a knight or a cleric can use. So that's a yes. However, if you change your class, you will lose the ability to use that item, since you will abandon the "clerical" side in you.

ATTENTION! The 1st Anniversary Lottery ends today. You have about six hours to send in your sign up for it, if you haven't done so yet.

The quest was cancelled, so everyone returned to the form they were before the quest happened. It's too bad nobody wrote any sort of conclusion to the quest, but I personally don't want to spend time covering up other people's screw-ups.

OoC: You can only haggle when selling artifacts to Fabian. You have to buy the items at their marked price. Otherwise the only thing I would have time to do is haggle with you guys over every single potion.

Ah, I see. But it makes no sense that metal could be extracted from a forged weapon, so it's still a no.

Here are the four updated advanced job classes, as promised. The only thing changed in them are the Shield-skills, but I ask everyone to pay attention. The changes I made are as follows: - The Witch's "Hex" was clarified in the circumstance that the Witch chose to heal instead of attack. In that case the strongest remaining enemy will be hexed. - The Battle Mage, Sage and Mystic Knight now cause chosen elemental damage with their shield-skills, instead of random. If no element was chosen (ie. the hero chose to attack physically or heal), only then the element will be randomly selected from those available to the hero. - The Battle Mage and Mystic Knight got a boost in their shield-skill power. The "Spellblade" now deals damage equal to three times the weapon power added to level, plus elemental damage with the same power. The "Spellspin" now deals 2-12 chosen elemental hits, whereas it used to be 1-6 random elemental hits. Hope you like and approve these changes! I apologize, I wasn't trying to be hostile, but you did give suggestions and make assumptions over something you haven't even seen in action yet. I'm more than grateful for any feedback about the Unlimited Quest, as there might be gaping holes in it that I failed to even take into consideration, but please wait until you see the system I've made for it. Are we cool?

No, and why would you want to do something like that, anyway? You can only mythrilize a specific weapon or shield once, and that weapon has to be renamed to "Mythril [whatever]". Simple as that. Please don't criticize something you know nothing about. All will be clear once the "Fields of Glory"-topic is posted. I've made the system so that it cannot be endlessly abused.

Fabian smiles, and nods. "You've got yourself a deal, Good Friar." Fabian hands over 30 gold and takes the Viking Helmet and the Arm-Mounted Shield from Monk Pretzel.

Congrats on your new Heroica tags, quest masters and other people who have contributed topics to this game (those of you with too many tags will be contacted separately)! The idea and execution came from our lovely admins, who despite not playing in this game are all rooting for its success. I tried to keep this under wraps until the tags were dealt, but of course some of you saw through me immediately. But there's more surprises coming for these festivities, just you wait and see... You will see Phoenix Incense very soon in another topic.

Ellaria looked up at Haldor with despair in her eyes. "The window was wide open, so obviously someone came in that way and grabbed Elpis, but I found no traces of climbing or any ladders nearby. And I was with Spriggan the whole day, we had just the usual customers. Old and poor people, but honest ones. Just ask around and keep your eyes open, that's all I'm asking of you." Ellaria hesitated for a moment. She did not want to burden her friends, but just seeing them there made the pain easier to tolerate. "That sounds... lovely. I'd love to, thank you." She smiled at them all. A forced and thin smile, but a smile nonetheless.

Great job, both darkdragon and Endgame! I would be happy to have you hosting quests again. You two are prime examples of how differently a quest can be created and managed, and still make it successful. You both deserve all the praise you're getting in this topic, but don't forget to take in all the constructive criticism as well.

No, rolling a "shield" should result in a shield-skill, no matter what the original action was. If no enemy was chosen, the first enemy in the order will be targeted. I will make the discussed adjustments a little later for Battle Mage, Sage, Mystic Knight and Witch.

Many Shield-skills do not deal damage, and not every class can be useful in every scenario, otherwise what would be the point of switching classes at all? Having 1/6 chance of instant kill is a great power (as the Guffington Quest proves), so it has to have its downsides as well.

OoC: Bricksandparts, I listed your character as Johon, since I'm unsure which name you want to use for him. Just say if you want to keep "Alf Gregory" as the official name. CURRENT SIGN-UPS: Quest #43: Protect My Brother 1. Dak Shadeaux (Darth Nihilus) 2. Nagure (Costy) 3. Raven Ashcroft (Raven Brickroft) 4. Durkon (RPGer) 5. Dreyrugr (Vash the Stampede) 6. Sylph Solanum (Dannylonglegs) 7. Johon (Bricksandparts) Quest #44: My Best Friend 1. Althior Emorith (K-Nut) 2. Dak Shadeaux (Darth Nihilus) 3. Nagure (Costy) 4. Raven Ashcroft (Raven Brickroft) 5. Durkon (RPGer) 6. Dreyrugr (Vash the Stampede) 7. Johon (Bricksandparts) Unlimited Quest: Fields of Glory 1. Althior Emorith (K-Nut) 2. En Sabah Nur (Jebediahs) 3. Dak Shadeaux (Darth Nihilus) 4. Nagure (Costy) 5. Durkon (RPGer) 6. Johon (Bricksandparts) Ellaria did not know what to answer. These were the same questions that she had gone through in her head ever since she saw the empty crib. "Oh Haldor, I was just downstairs, working at the apotechary. When I returned to check on her, she was gone. And I have no idea who here would hold a grudge against me! Unless her f... no, her conceiver came all the way from Tumpkin Village after me. But why would he do that? He didn't know I was pregnant when I left. He had a family of his own, why would he care about some bastard girl? I don't understand any of this..." Ellaria buried her face into her hands.