Sandy

Byblos scratched his chin. "The Porthiars...? I do remember there being a very wealthy family of that name mentioned in the annals of Eubric, but surely their influence waned a long time ago, even before the time of Heroica. I do not know anything else about them, I apologize." "Ah, Madame Rouge Doux! Always a pleasure to have you for a visit. You've been an upstanding member of our organization for such a long time, after all. Of course I will take this document under closer inspection. You know me, dear Adeline, I cannot say no to a new piece of information, hehe." The librarian gazed longingly as the adventuring socialite dashes out of the library as fast as she arrived. Now there was a woman to his liking!

The librarian raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Vampires?! Well, there certainly are many stories related to those children of the night... You must know the usual dribble about sucking blood, transforming into bats, being vulnerable to sunlight and shunning garlic. I don't know how much of those is true, but vampires certainly live among us. We might not notice them even if we walk by them, but the bodies with bitemarks that are sometimes found from the gutters are proof enough. This is a dangerous world we live in, Mr. Gibbin, full of perils, and that is why organizations such as Heroica are direly needed."

Yes, I've been thinking that there have been many powerful families that have fallen during the years. The Hinckwells have been around at least as long as Heroica, but The Shadeaux and The Ji Pei have gotten a foothold in Eubric just recently. The art of alchemy isn't very old, either, in comparison to magic.

Yes, they're two different things, although both are supernatural phenomena. Hence there's a rivalry between the alchemists and the mages. Alchemy is more scientific, dealing with metals, potions, brews, explosives, herbs etc. But I trust WBD's quest will introduce everyone to the world of alchemy better.

After visiting Heroica Hall, Ellaria decides to take a stroll at the Marketplace. First, she bids farewell to the Snake Staff, her very first weapon, as she sold it for 15 gold. Then she went to Anwyl Smokebeard's Smithy, and asked the blacksmith to upgrade Ignis Fatuus to WP:10 for 100 gold. Now Ellaria had 82 gold left, so she decided to go splurge at Portia's Potion Shack. She bought 2 Tonics for 30 gold and three bombs (Water, Ice and Lightning) for another 30 gold. The remaining 22 gold she decided to save for later use.

Of course you can skip your turn, if you so wish.

As more of the important factions are getting revealed, I will now have to emphasize the animosities between the houses in power. The rivalling houses are: The Hinckwells >< The Shadeaux The Ziegfrieds >< The Guild of Invision The Bonapartes >< The Ji Pei (The Wolfgang >< The Town Watch) This means you cannot have good reputation with two rivalling houses. If you have a good reputation among the Hinckwells, yet you sign into a Shadeaux quest and earn their respect, you will lose your reputation among the Hinckwells. This does not matter much at this point of the game, but it will become more important in the later state, when the rivalries start to grow even steeper. Having good reputation with one or more of the houses should make it easier for you to get into a quest pitched by those factions, as you become somewhat of a "house champion" to them. Later on, you will get certain gameplay bonuses from siding with one of the houses. This is why I've encouraged new quest masters to give improved reputation as rewards in their quests.

Thank you, cralegoboy, for a job well done! I know you went through a lot during this hosting duty, but you pulled it through! Now I'm off to find a new quest with my awesome fiery staff (which matches perfectly with Ellaria's outfit, btw).

Ellaria has a wide grin on her face. She doesn't remember the last time she felt this happy. "Thank you, Tarn and all you guys, for sharing this experience with me! We weren't down there very long, but already I feel like I've grown so much..." She then turned to the quest-giver. "I hope those awful sounds won't bother you after this, good sire. It turned out this cave belonged to the long-lost Porthiar family, whose descendants tried to revive their long-gone matriarch Crozen. Luckily we were there to restore her back to the peace of the grave. Anyway, if you or your family ever needs me again, I'll be at your service."

~A new quest (#11, hosted by Waterbrick Down) has been posted on the Quest Board! The profiles of those who completed Quest#5 have been updated!~ Ellaria returned from her quest proudly carrying a brand new staff of fire. She paused at the Quest Board, and saw three quests posted into it. "Hmm, I've been intrigued by the guild of alchemist this entire time I've been in the city, so I guess I'll sign into Quest#11: A Matter of Principle." She then started to hum a happy tune as she climbed up the stony staircase. She hoped to see her new-found friends at the Saloon - especially Tarn Valco, whom she had grown to respect during their mutual quest.

Sorry, no. I'm going to bed now, so there's no use trying to persuade me, either.

Of course there's a Mage/Cleric hybrid as well. The fifteen advanced classes include all possible mixes of the six basic classes, after all.

Correct! The colors in the border and in the names reveal the mix (you can see the original color for each class from the rules).

Just to whet your appetite, here's a sneak peek on 3 of the 15 advanced classes, one option for each of the six basic classes. Yes, I know I'm evil for teasing you!

Cleric is only a basic job class. I've reserved the revival skill to a certain advanced class, you see? Besides, in my opinion getting knocked out should actually feel somewhere, not be a minor nuisance that's easily fixed.

Out of a sudden, the party finds themselves outside the cave, right back where their journey began... Eran Hinckwell inquires about the shovel the party found from the cave. Ellaria turns to Tarn and gives them an urging nod and a smile. OoC: You forgot to increase my maximum ether after the last battle. I now have 6/9 Ether.

~Final three deities related to Eubric have been added to the list. All players are free to make up more.~

Ellaria decides to rename her new staff as Ignis Fatuus, "the fool's flame", after the foolish woman she got it from. It is a powerful piece of equipment, indeed... "If I may chime in, the gems can be used by mages to cast spells, but also imbued into weapons for elemental effects or sold for 50 gold. Maybe you should give the gems to those who do not have elemental weapons yet?" Ellaria starts to look around. She was unsure if they had searched the entire cave already. If they had, they should probably return to Eran Hinckwell with the shovel he asked for.

As the battle draws to a close, Ellaria falls to her knees. She never thought fightning monsters could be so draining... Someone extends a hand to her. She looks up and sees Tarn smiling down to her. The barbarian helps Ellaria up and hands her the Fire Staff dropped by the Porthiar matriarch. "T-thank you... for this, and the kind words... I am just glad I could be of help." Ellaria takes a firm hold of the staff, almost leaning against it. She feels a great power stirring inside the pole, making its whole shaft humm... OoC: Just checking, is the Fire Staff innately fire-elemental? Also, do I return to carry the torch now?

CURRENT SIGN-UPS FOR QUEST #10: 1. Alf Gregory, Level 1 Barbarian (Bricksandparts) 2. Namyrra Uq, Level 6 Mage (Quarryman) 3. Dyric Rone, Level 1 Rogue (The Legonater) 4. Haldor Skovgaard, Level 4 Cleric (Scorpiox) 5. Atramor Gibbin, Level 7 Rogue (CallMePieOrDie) 6. Sir Glorfindel, Level 1 Knight (soccerkid6) 7. Arasmyth RuGard, Level 1 Mage (Kadabra) 8. William Harkenshire, Level 1 Ranger (volcanicpanik) 9. Erdathcath Madilinas, Level 1 Ranger (The_Customizer) 10. Alexandre le Chevalier, Level 1 Knight (Capt.JohnPaul)

I actually do own Rotta the Huttlet (and what a cute little fellow he is!), but I don't have the torso you used. And I ran out of brown capes...

Oh, Shady! Nothing could ever come between us!

The double-headed eagle is the crest of Durmstrang, a rival wizarding school to Hogwarts in the Harry Potter theme. I bought the shield separately from Bricklink, but it originally came with this set: The deer is the crest of the Forestmen from classic Castle, of course.

Your answer:

The pictures in the first post of Heroica Hall have been updated. Now the place looks much livelier. I'll post them here for quick viewing pleasure. I'm definitely looking forward to this!