Zepher

"This one at the very least. If we're going to fight, let's get it done with." Boomingham whispers to Thalion. "Are these Bat-Eared chaps a species now... or... what?"

The groupings are obvious to me too. I think you see them too, but you don't like that we've figured it out. It's the same exact group voting today as yesterday. You all bully any opposition into submission (not in a mean way, you just quiet it with numbers, you're all being very polite, I'm sure Mr. def is super proud of us Earthlings ). I really wish other Earthlings would say something. I think both you and I know agree that most everyone, whatever their side, is saying next to nothing. But yes, my vote for Nightshroud stands. Why are you defending him? He has offered LESS explanation for ANY of his actions that Chromenight has. Why not go after Nightshroud? Is he one of your buddies?

"Does it matter particularly which human turned frog this little guy is? Let's just go ahead and save him. Now, everyone, weapons at the ready."

Vote: Lil' Nightshroud (Nightshroud99) I'll offer as little explanation for any of my actions as he does. I think that the scum is about to over-power a very inattentive and inactive town. Don't go with the bandwagon today. I don't think Chrome's lists are bull. I think that a scum wouldn't put that much thought in. And I think they match up with my analysis pretty well too, so he seems town to me. Townies, look back at some previous days, actually think, please. The scum are very quietly strong-arming us.

Became the apothecary. And I actually changed it to a random enemy from the page too .

Why are we grasping at straws like this? We're really talking about if TBW capitalizes stuff? What happened to vote analysis, or behavior analysis. This is wasting our time. And it seems like you're doing it intentionally. It's interesting that you mention that Endgame was capitalized and mentioned twice. It's the same exact thing Hinckley just said to me in private, Redblade. Any reason you two are in contact? No one else noticed it, and it certainly didn't seem noticeable to me. Why is no one else outraged at Nightshroud's pop up and do something unexplained attitude? You know who kept the voting between Pally and Peanuts even yesterday? They are the ones who kept it so that Pally was always one vote ahead of Peanuts. In this order...: Redblade, Hinckley, CallMePie. I'm not liking those three. Will anyone else please give some thoughts?

Thank you for your continuously kind words all. I am happy that a story that I so enjoyed telling was enjoyed by others. I have a few more notes. a) None of you complained too much alone. With a party of ten if you all complain about 2 of the 10+ battles, that's about 20 complaints. So, it was none of your faults, just got to be a lot of complaints over all. Don't feel guilty! I was just trying to spare future QMs. b) A quick final story from my point of view: I rarely think about the quest when I'm out and about (well, not rarely, but not too heavily). The Felton as a Chaos Beast Demon was something I purposely didn't figure out for a long time, because I wanted to write it as if he were normal. I stumbled upon the idea early in Quest 19 (he WAS always meant to die, but only then did he become a possible Chaos Beast). The idea was to give the false Felton a long dying speech, saying he too had thoughts and feelings, even if he was just a creation. I scraped that due to time and story structure, but the idea appealed and I sort of transferred it over as a possibility for the real Felton. But I kept it up in the air. About two days ago, the day before I wrote that final Wren post, I sat down to lunch with friends, and my head just suddenly said: Felton HAS to be a Chaos Beast. And so he was. Player Critique Cronk – I didn’t originally plan to make you a PL (Skrall was my original choice for the job), but you were the one who spoke to Bennetton, and since he got to pick, he picked you. I’m so happy he did. You and Wren go way back (you were the first person to fight a Chaos Beast). I’m glad Cronk is in this game. He is unique and genius, and really genuine. He’s got pain and he’s still funny and loving and has real true morals. I maintain that you are one of the best players out there. What’s more, you really follow the story. Cronk appears sometimes to be a bit simple, but you are not (I’ve given you this note before) and it makes me so happy that someone as smart as you puts in the time to following these crazy stories I think up. Your strategy of using your high SP to fight long battles safely from the back row was very sound. A Paladin with counter-strike could survive this way alone for a long time. I also don’t know if you know this, but you are the reason Chaos Beasts exist. You fought the first one back in the side-quest I hastily threw together for you at the end of Quest 7 so you’d have something to do. All in all, I think Wren and Cronk had a long and successful relationship, and I’m thankful you came along for so much of it. Nyx – I have a problem hosting both you and Cronk. I am INCREDIBLY affectionate towards your two characters… and I finally noticed this quest how much it bled over to the NPCs. Poletad idolizes you, Felton and Hans trust you, XX and you have your thing- I was in the middle of writing praise for you from Zane when I deleted it because I just thought it was too overwhelming (if you go back and read the post where he says he’s not surprised Zee beat you… that was originally the other way around). Not EVERYONE can like Nyx. That being said, I love her. You are smart and original (much of my praise for Cronk can be applied to you, and vice versa). You follow the storyline and remember your relationships with my massive host of NPCs. It is LOVELY to host you. I will try to warn you when XX is back, but fear not, he’ll return more than once. I’m sorry things ended rockily between the two of you, but isn’t it more exciting this way than a perfect love story? I also think Nyx may be the character I most often forget to deduct ether from… *shrug* Atramor – The praise for my crew has got to keep on coming, right? Atramor, gotta love this fellow. He’s a good person to give the group an edge. I’ll still always remember the time he got Tarn to throw the Bomb XX, it remains one of the grandest moments in Heroica history in my mind. But, onto this quest. Between squabbles with Thothwick, standing strong in the cemetery with Thothwick, going to save Triad, scaling the side of a tower after watching a murder, fighting the Court of Demons, battling your demonic chicken… Atramor just does epic stuff. He just does. I think Atramor somehow got some of the greatest battles and moments in the quest- you said that you kept seeing NPCs dying, and that’s because some how you kept being given the pivotal quest moments. CallMePie, I fully expect to host and quest with Atramor way more. Final piece of praise while I have you: your story with that chicken demon of your’s is the BEST PACED side story in Heroica- it is still being revealed, but is not AT ALL intrusive EVER. It’s literally the perfect example. Thothwick – Thothwick is a great character. His politeness is a perfect choice in comparison to some of the other characters. He’s just a mild-mannered ape trying to make his way through this world, doing the best he can. Sometimes you seem to get a little quiet, but I figure it sort of fits his personality. I’d like a FEW more reactions out of you, and a FEW more references to Hoptet, but other than that, you’re always a great player. You make many references to previous quests: my favorite moments for you were the battle with Atramor against Zee, and EVERYTHING once you got into the temple itself. I also enjoyed the number of times you rolled Hide. It’s a kind of silly ability to roll that many times in most cases, but it helped you out a lot in the final battle. I want to take Thothwick on more quests some time, see if I can’t push his buttons more in a smaller group setting. Alexis – Very quiet this time around. I think that you are a pretty good roleplayer, and as I’ve said in the past I don’t mind quieter characters (Thothwick and Hoke are both relatively quiet, generally, and I love them). It didn’t seem so much a choice for you though; so much as you just didn’t have much to say. I liked the switch to Assassin, but I advise trying to not do planned roleplaying, and just see where the story takes you. I don’t know. When you do roleplay, it’s always a good time. As for your relationship with Arthur: here’s my advice. I have a stinking suspicion that Flipz thought it up :P. That’s fine and good, but take it into your own hands now. How does Alexis really feel about Arthur. I’d actually advise you and Flipz to plan less and allow for more natural interactions. Glad to have you along as always, hope you made enough gold! Haldor – One of the MANY characters who have blossomed over time. Everyone compares Haldor to Haldor of Quest 19. I also prefer this Haldor better, but I don’t think we need to discount the other Haldor. Haldor has just grown up. He was once a flirty, macho young man, and a year in Heroica has turned him stoic. He’s just aged quickly. I think it could be something fun to play with. Let him still let his juvenile side poke through time to time, but let his stoic side always win out. Haldor is wise, strong, Nordic… I love everything he does. He reacts very well, has strong convictions about other characters, and really is powerful now. He is turning into a great leader, but allow those past sillier interactions still be weaknesses. Great, great job. I hope to have you along again soon. Skrall – What to say? Skrall is way up there on my favorite characters list. He is outrageously unique, very sad but not in the same tragic past way that most of the character have. He’s just, old. He reminds me of a more gung-ho King Lear or a less delusional Willy (Death of a Salesmen). He just is dried up. He doesn’t know what to do with himself except to keep doing something. It’s very sad, very convincing, very normal. I’m sorry that Wren didn’t give him a direction, but I keep rooting for him to find a direction. Maybe I’ll design a quest for him. He’s one of the characters I really want to host a private quest for. I think it was extremely fitting that you killed Wren. There was something about you and her that clashed. I think it was Skrall’s noble sadness and sadness- it doesn’t seem it, but it is sort of the antithesis of her reckless passion and love for the world. Your philosophy on roleplaying is my favorite as well. Just play your part, let the story effect you and let yourself effect the story, but don’t steal the spotlight. You follow your own advice superbly. Hoke – Hoke is quiet. I love it. I’ve given you the same notes (post-19) but really, he is just a simple man. I think it’s required that we have some of those. That being said, he really blossomed this quest. He can be simple and still have convictions. He has a real love for Vipera that is a really interesting character choice. He likewise sees the world very black and white: bad dies no matter what their reason for evil is. I love that too. I’m so so so glad that you came back for this quest, and hope that you’ll stick around again! Arthur – Arthur is a roleplay based character, and it shows. You’re very dedicated, and I love it. As others have stated, you sometimes end up stealing the spotlight a bit. I think Skrall put it best: just see how the story affects you, and react. My main advice to you is actually this: don’t plan ahead. At all, really. Not with other players, not with the QM- just see where the story goes, and see how Arthur reacts. Don’t write out long posts, just respond with small responses, and then see what people say, and respond again. That being said, you had same great moments. You interacted with Chaos often and well. Your change of heart when Wren hit you over the head was perfect. I would tell you to play off of it… but I don’t feel the need to, because I know you will. Finally, like I said: you saved me this quest. Well, ruined me first with all the trades, but then saved me by helping me out with them. The players of this quest owe you a huge debt. Dyric – Last but certainly not least. Everything you did this quest was superb. Dyric grew, roleplayed a lot, responded well, played nice with others (NPC and PC alike), made friends, made enemies, made convictions, maintained his backstory, factored in past events and current events… the list goes on and on. You were one of my favorite parts of this quest. I’m interested to see where your relationships take you, and where these events lead Dyric. Thank you so much for being such a great player. The Monster Quest Notes Please note, some things have indeed changed. You can also see that I wrote many of these notes before the Lost Party was written, because my cast list still lists Triad and Bal as "Ranger" and "Rogue" and Bennetton hadn't received a name yet. CAST OF FINAL WREN QUEST Allies Hans McColt Felton Poletad Vipera Phil Gray Wizard Ranger Rogue Mallelio Johnny Everyman Lieutenant Cadet Gnash Enemies Wren Vonnetate Sphinx XX Court of Demons (5) Party -Party -Poletad, Hans, Felton, McColt, Vipera, Phil, Mallelio Intro McColt, Felton, Hans, Poletad, and the remainder of the Lost Party arrive in Eubric, hot on Wren’s trail. They meet up with Johnny Everyman, who has secured them a meeting with a Lt. of the city guard. The Gray Wizard departs to talk to Byblos and figure out Wren’s plan, while the others advance to the Town Watch Garrison. The Lt. refuses to help at first, focusing efforts instead on a group of men called Mephisto’s Fist. A Bomb XX is brought in by a suicidal Pongcanis, and the blast is absorbed by Bal, killing him. Felton paints the situation vividly, and the Lt. agrees to help. [interlude by JimBee] Phase 1 (Hans, McColt, Poletad, Triad, Lt., Recruit) The Gray Wizard informs the heroes that he has figured out Wren’s plan. Below the city is an ancient temple to Zoot. Scattered throughout the city are a series of spires of the temple, which poke through the surface. Wren is trying to pour chaos into these spires, as it will make Zoot’s entrance into the world stronger and better. The Gray Wizard enlists’ Felton’s help try to figure out where the other spires are, and sends the party with a huge entourage off to the first spire. Johnny Everyman tells the heroes he will stick by the Lt. for fear that the enemy will be over-whelming. The Lt. prepares to send troops to warn the houses and tell citizens to remain indoors. Spire A – Hopefully defeated. [Triad Park] Party v. 6 Chaos Beasts Walking Back Talks – McColt (Hoke, Dyric, Skrall) Bennetton (Cronk, Nyx) Hans (Alexis, Arthur) Gnash (Thothwick, Haldor) Triad (Atramor) [interlude by Rumble Strike] Phase 2 (Hans, Poletad, McColt, Recruit, Phil) Mallelio, Phil and Vipera arrive. Vipera sends a message via her normal means, alerting the heroes that she has arrived and they have found four more spires. Mallelio goes to protect one that they don’t think Wren even knows about (Sycamore hid them), and the Ranger goes to protect another. The heroes are asked to choose between the last two – attack one of them, or attack them both with split forces. Phil also promises to make his way to their position, and Everyman is sent to guide him. The Recruit forces Bennetton to go back to base. Spire B – +5 SP [Hinckwell Store] Party + 2 Town Guard v. 2 Pongcanis Archers, 2 Pongcanis Warrior, 2 Pongcanis Clerics Spire C - +250 Health [shrine to Mercutio] Party v. 2 Bombsters, 10 Chimera Guards [interlude by Endgame] Phase 3 (Felton, Poletad, McColt, Phil) Phil and Everyman join the heroes, and Vipera calls out three more spires. Spire D - +15 Level [Apothecary] Party v. Zane, 4 Experts Spire E - +250 Health [The Hovels] Heroes + Gnash v. Zander, Magician, 2 Masters, 4 Apprentices Spire F - +5 SP [The Cemetery] Party v. Zee, 6 Ancient Dead, 4 Recent Dead Each Spire will have a different member of the renegade Court of Demons, a small four-person cult started by people who have seen Chaos in Eubric and elsewhere. It is revealed that THEY know the entrance to the Temple. The Gray Wizard says that he knows an informant who will know where they are. He takes the heroes to them, leaving the rest in the ramshackle place they’ve set up base. [interlude by Etzel] Phase 4 (Gray Wizard, Vipera, Felton) The heroes delve into Gray Wizard’s past…. Yata yata find informant. Lt., Everyman, and McColt go to hunt down the Court. [interlude by Russel] Phase 5 (Vipera, Gray Wizard, Felton [Mallelio/Ranger]) The Captain Bennetton, McColt, Gnash and Johnny Everyman go to prepare a raid on the gang’s lair. Vipera reports with dread that the heroes have reached a terrible place in their quest. Wren has made her movement known, for a change, and is marching on the spires that house Mallelio and the Ranger, along with one of the four main spires. The heroes must decide which to save, and Vipera warns that splitting troops will probably not work this time. Spire G – +250 Health [south Tower] Party + Triad v. 2 Chaos Beasts, 4 Pongcanis Archers, 4 Pongcanis Warriors Spire H - +15 Level [Observatory] Party + Mallelio v. 3 Bombsters, 10 Chimera Guards, 2 Chaos Beasts Spire I - Spire I – Gives Lucky Effect [Edge of Guffington Manor] Party v. 8 Chimera Guards, 4 Archers, 2 Clerics [Mallelio and/or Ranger are sent back to the Gray Wizard to be healed.] [interlude by Scuba] Phase 6 (Poletad, Hans, Phil, Vipera [McColt, Lt., Everyman]) Vipera now tells the heroes that McColt, Everyman, and the Lt. have been jumped themselves. Wren has betrayed them, meeting with the leader before they could stop him. Wren has used the opportunity to send XX to another of the main spires, and a few Chimera guards to minor ones. The heroes must pick who to go face. Vipera cautions against attacking XX AND facing the Court, saying the forces will be too thin-spread. Court Party + Gnash, McColt v. Mis, Magician (1/2 health) 4 Apprentices, 3 Experts, 2 Masters Spire J - Gives Hastened Effect [The Sewers] Party v. 3 Pongcanis Warriors, 2 Pongcanis Clerics Spire K - Gives Immunity to Blinded and Hexed [The Sewers] Party v. 4 Chaos Beasts Spire L - Gives Immunity to Stunned and Sealed [The Sewers] Party v. XX, 2 Bombsters, 10 Chimera Guards [if not saved at the Court, the Lt., McColt, and Gnash are killed. If saved, the Lt. dies anyway, and Everyman flees, wishing the heroes luck.] [interlude by BD] Phase 7 (Poletad, Hans, Phil [McColt, Triad]) [if still alive, Triad rejoins the party.] XX visits the heroes and wishes them luck, explaining his job is done and he is fleeing the city. He tells them the location of three minor remaining spires, and two major remaining ones. He also tells them that Vonnetate’s Pongcanis’ are marching on one, and the surviving Fist members is leading a group of Cultists on the other. He tells them, finally, that Wren did not tell him the entrance’s location, or he’d tell them. He then flees. Felton and the Gray Wizard grow terrified that they are out of options. They decide instead to only research the entrance to the Temple, so they will be able to ascend and fight Zoot where he appears. Spire M v. 3 Chaos Beasts Spire N v. 9 Chimera Guards Spire O v. 4 Apprentices, 2 Experts Spire P v. Vonnetate, 2 Pongcanis Clerics, 2 Pongcanis Warriors, 2 Pongcanis Archer Spire Q v. Surviving Court Members, 2 Experts, 4 Apprentices Phase 8 (Felton, Vipera, Hans, Poletad, Phil, [McColt, Triad, Mallelio]) The heroes have gathered the entrance to the Temple of Zoot is in the sewers, and so go there. They run into Donny Dozenhands, who has made short work of the Chaos Beasts, but tells the heroes that the Gray Wizard has been taken by Wren. The whole gang meets up and marches on the temple, only to be greeted by a host of Chaos Beasts. Party v. Supreme Chaos Beast of Life, Supreme Chaos Beast, 2 Master Chaos Beasts, 6 Chaos Beasts Phase 9 (All Surviving) The heroes ascend into the temple of Zoot and fight the Chaos Beasts, Sphinx, Wren, and Zoot himself, in the body of the Gray Wizard. Party v. Sphinx, Wren, Chaos, 4 Chaos Beasts Conclusion A void rips open and Zoot begins to stretch his hand out. Chaos starts to pour through, but Felton plunges forward and breaks the spell by tossing himself and Wren into the void. The heroes emerge victorious. All surviving NPCs go their separate ways [interlude by Gufington] Court of Demons [Court of Demons] (+2 City Watch) Spire M - +15 Level [Embassy] (+1 Lion Knight) Spire N - +5 SP [The Docks] Spire O - +250 Health [Glassblowers] Spire P – Gives Passive Special “Brute Force” (Vonnetate) [The Fishmarket] Spire Q – Gives Passive Special “Eye of the Gods” (Court of Demon Members) [Paladin Shrine] (+2 4th Battalion Forces) Allies City Watch Guard Base Health: 14 Weapons: Daggers, Longswords, Greatswords, Throwing Daggers Job Trait: Strength in Numbers – Receives a +2 bonus to attack before multipliers for every other City Watch Guard in the battle. Shield: Guarding the Guards – Any free hits delivered to the Guard next round are null. Also, deals damage equal to their power. All other attacks function normally (Critical Hit is Critical Hit, Damage is Damage, etc.) Frog Paladin Base Health: 1 Weapons: None Fighting Style: Honorable – Outside of combat, Frog Paladins may gift ether or health to other players. For every 1 ether/health gifted, the receiver gains 2 ether/health. Shield: Croak – Critical Hit: Deals damage equal to three times his level. Hit: Deal damage equal to power. Miss: Ribbit – Restores ether to the party equal to ¼ his level. Damage: Takes damage equal to the enemy’s level. Special Damage: Hip-Hop – Has a 2/3 chance of avoiding the foe’s special damage. Chaos Regulators * Additional Health: +12 * Job Trait(s): See Below * Battle Style: Chaos Defenders are deeply troubled by the force they are sworn to fight, and so switch between Chaos and Order. *Weapons: Axes, Daggers, Greatswords, Hammers, Longswords, Staves, Shields ORDERED: Job Trait – Order: Deals Light Elemental Damage, Diplomacy: Defenders often times must work with others to stop chaos. Calculating Mind: The Chaos Defender may use 1 item in addition to other actions in the first round of each battle. 1. SHIELD: Internal Conflict – The Chaos Defender goes through inner conflict, changing their battle style. They become Chaotic. While making the change, the Chaos Defender halves their opponent’s current health. 2. RALLY: The Defender attacks the enemy with a power equal to their weapon power added to their level. The party rallies and are safe from free hits the remainder of the round. 3. HIT: The Chaos Defender attacks the target with strength equal to their weapon power added to their level. 4. OPTIMISM: The Chaos Defender is safe from free hits the remainder of the round. 5. DEFENDED DAMAGE: The Defender takes damage equal to the enemy’s level minus the Defender's SP. 6. SPECIAL DAMAGE: The Chaos Defender is struck by its opponent’s special skill and takes damage minus the Defender's SP. CHAOTIC: Job Trait – Order: Deals Darkness Elemental Damage. Intimidation: Chaos Defenders can scare others into helping them to prevent chaos. Wild Mind: The Chaos Defender may deal a free unblock-able hit (equal to WP+Lvl) to one enemy in the first round of each battle in addition to other actions. 1. SHIELD: Internal Conflict – The Chaos Defender goes through inner conflict, changing their battle style. They become Orderly. While making the change, the Chaos Defender brings the opponent to half of their current health. 2. CHAOTIC STRIKE: The Chaos Defender feints and slips past the target to hit a random enemy with strength equal to (WPx3+Level). The random enemy is not considered targeted by the Chaos Defender. 3. CRITICAL HIT: The Chaos Defender attacks the target with strength equal to (WPx2+Level). 4. PESSIMISM: The target is jinxed for the following round. 5. DEFENDED DAMAGE: The Defender takes damage equal to the enemy’s level minus the Defender’s SP. 6. SPECIAL DAMAGE: The Chaos Defender is struck by its opponent’s special skill and takes damage minus the Defender's SP. Vipera – Every turn, has a 1/3 chance of giving target the Gift of Dragons (Lucky and Blessed Effect). Alternatively, has a 1/6 chance of Reviving target. McColt – Every turn has a 50/50 chance of giving target any of the following effects: Encouraged, Hastened. Alternatively, has a 1/6 chance of Inspiring target. Phil (NPC) 
 Level 22 Dastanian 
 Power: 37 Defense: 0
 Health: 23/23
 Gold: 50
 Equipment: Dastan War Hammer (WP: 15; Fire, Earth)
 Inventory:
 Mead x2 Shield – Strikes the enemy with a terrific hit, halving their current health.
 Critical Hit – Attacks with WPx2 + Lvl Gray Wizard Level 27 1/3 Cleric Power: 39
 Health: 35/35 
 Ether: 31/31
 Gold: 0 Equipment: Old Stone Staff (WP: 12, Light Elemental)
 Inventory: Tonic, Speck of Gray Triad
 Level 22 2/3 Ranger
 *Immune to Effects* Power: 37 (43)
 Health: 28/28
 Gold: 0 Equipped: Acerpusculum Blade [Acerpusculum Shuriken] (WP: 15 [21, Retrievable], suitable for rangers/rouges, unable to channel magic), Cowl of the Acerpusculum (Headwear, User is Immune to Status Effects)
 Inventory: None Enemies Bombster Level 34 Fiery Humanoid *Immune to Burned* Health: 350/350 Special: Slash and Scorch – Gives hero the burned and bleeding effects. Deals 8 damage to hero for remainder of battle. If healed to full health, deals 3. If remedied, deals 0. Drops: Fire Bomb, 60 Gold Advanced Chimera Guard Level 20 Mechanical *Immune to Slowed and Sealed* Health: 80/80 Special: Savage – Deals 40 damage to the hero. Passive Special: Quick Cogs – The Chimera Guards are hastened for the first round of combat. Drops: Nothing Chaos Beast Level 32 Demon Health: 500/500 SP: 5 Special: (Determined by a second dice roll) Chaos: 1 – 20 Damage, 2 – 40 Damage, 3 – +1 Level to Self, 4 – 15 Damage to Self, 5 – 7 Damage to each Player (Regardless of row/SP), 6 – +1 WP to Hero’s Weapon Pongcanis Cleric Level 16 Bestial Humanoid Health: 430/430 Ether: 4/4 Special I: Miracle - The Pongcanis Cleric restores the health of all allies by 50. Special II: (Used if ether depleted) Meditate – Restores 1 ether. Drops: Tonic (Staff, WP: 4) (4 Bones) Pongacnis Archer Level 24 Bestial Humanoid Health: 324/324 Special: Triple Shot – The Pongacnis Archer deals 24 damage to the first three enemies in the BO. Passive Special: Back Row – Takes ½ damage unless from ranged attack. Attacks ignore row. Drops: 3 Gold (Precision Bow) Pongacanis Warrior Level 32 Bestial Humanoid Health: 436/436 SP: 4 Special: Defensive Strike – The Ponganis Warrior deals 15 damage to all opponents and is protected from all damage the following round. Drops: 4 Gold (Pongcanis Sword, WP: 7, Pongcanis Boots, SP: 2) (Pongcanis Brew) Ancient Dead Level 20 Undead Health: 150/150 Ether: 3/3 Special I: Special II: Drops: Bone Recent Dead Level 24 Undead Health: 215/215 Apprentice to the Court of Demons Level 22 Dark Humanoid Health: 156/156 Ether: 3/3 Special: Ether Drainer – Drains 3 ether from target. Costs 1 ether. Passive Special: Lust - This Apprentice wants to prove himself. When doing damage to heroes that are of higher level than him, he will defy SP. Drops: 4 Gold Expert of the Court of Demons Level 26 Dark Humanoid *Immune to Instant Kill* Health: 305/305 Ether: 5/5 Special I: Ether Drainer – Drains 3 ether from target. Costs 1 ether. Special II: Insane Fervor - Cuts himself multiple times to show Akkaba he’d do anything for his blessing. Enemy is encouraged for the next round at the cost of 10 health and 1 ether. Note: Specials alternate. If ether is depleted, nothing happens. Drops: 12 Gold, Potion Master of the Court of Demons Level 32 Dark Humanoid *Immune to Blind, Stunned, Sealed, Bound and Instant Kills* Health: 464/464 Ether: 7/7 Special I: Ether Drainer – Drains 3 ether from target. Costs 1 ether. Special II: Insane Fervor - Cuts himself multiple times to show Akkaba he’d do anything for his blessing. Enemy is encouraged for the next round at the cost of 10 health and 1 ether.
 Special III: Creepy Croak - The Master gives a mighty croak, and doubles his health, at the loss of 20 health from each party member. Costs 1 ether. Passive Special: Ether something or other (Endgame) Note: Specials alternate. If ether is depleted, special damage will count as normal damage. Drops: Health Core Magician of the Court of Demons Level 10 Humanoid *Immune to Negative Effects and Instant Kill* Health: 800/800 Special: Ravenous Hunger – Drains 10 ether and 10 health from the hero, disregarding row/SP. Passive Special: All AoE attacks/effects only effect the person the hero is targeting. Drops: Ether Core, Health Core, 200 Gold Zane, Jester to the Court Level 32 Humanoid Demon *Lucky* *Immune to Instant Kills* *Immune to Sealed, Blinded and Jinxed* Health: 440/440 Special: Jokes on You – Zane inflicts the cursed, fragile and jinxed effects on the hero. He also steals half of the hero’s current gold, which becomes irretrievable. Passive Special: Taste of Your Own Medicine – Gains all boosts and immunities of anyone targeting him for the round. Drops: Nostrum x2, Remedy x6, Jester Hat (Artifact, Headwear, Hero is immune to any one thing their target is immune to) Zander, Prince of Power Level 34 Electric *Hastened* *Immune to Instant Kills* *Immune to Slowed, Stunned, Sealed, Bound & Blinded* Health: 656/656 Ether: 12/12 Special I: Electric Field – Forms an aura of electricity around Zander that causes 15 lightning-elemental damage to the next five attackers that score a hit against him. Uses two ether. Special II: (Used if Electric Field is in effect) Electrocute – Instantly KO’s the target. Uses one ether. Drops: x4 Lightning Bombs, x2 Topaz Note: If ether is depleted, special damage will count as normal damage. Zee, Queen of the Undead Level 40 Ice *Immune Instant Kills* Health: 520/520 Ether: 16/16 Special I: Helvetia’s Kiss – Zee deals 10 ice-elemental damage to the entire party, disregarding row and SP. This costs 1 ether. Special II: (Used if ether is depleted) All of Hel’s Wrath – Deals 30 ice-elemental damage to entire party. Passive Special I: Miracle of the Court – Negative effects inflicted on Zee last only one round. Passive Special II: Undying Love – At the end of each round, at the cost of one ether, Zee revives all fallen comrades at 0 health. They become SOULLESS. They cannot again be killed until Zee dies or runs out of ether. Passive Special III: Human Shield – All attacks directed at Zee are redirected to a random ally as long as said ally is not SOULLESS. Drops: Phoenix Incense, Zee’s Staff (WP: 12, Successful hits deal the hexed ability except against the undead), Opal Mephisto, King of Demons Level 42 Ancient *Immune to Instant Kills* Health: 980/980 SP: 10 Ether: 3/3 Special I: Soul Eater – Mephisto eats the hero’s soul. The hero is sealed until the end of the quest. Cannot be remedied, ignores immunity. Uses one ether. Special II: Mind Eater – Mephisto eats the hero’s mind, instantly KOing them. Used if no ether remains. Passive Special I: Miracle of the Court – Negative effects inflicted on Mephisto last only one round. Passive Special II: Soul Sucker – All heroes targeting Mephisto lose one positive effect of their choice at the end of the round. Drops: Amulet of the Court of Demons (Artifact, Accessory, Negative effects last only one round on user), Amethyst, Diamond, Opal Note: If ether is depleted, Mephisto will attack normally on special damage. Vonnetate Level 46 Bestial Humanoid *Immune to Instant Kills* Health: 650/650 SP: 7 Special: Backbreaker – Vonnetate breaks the hero’s back. The hero is fragile until the end of the quest. Cannot be remedied, ignores immunity. Passive Special I: Warrior’s Might – Vonnetate pierces SP. Passive Special II: Warrior’s Roar – All heroes targeting Vonnetate become enraged for the remainder of the battle unless remedied. Drops: 340 Gold, Chains of the Pongcanis Chief (Artifact, Bodywear, Hero pierces SP if attacking from the front row, Enemies disregard SP if hero is in the backrow, Suitable for Rouges, Knights, and Barbarians), 2 Pongcanis Brew Supreme Chaos Beast of Life Level 20 Ancient *Immune to Negative Effects and Instant Kills* Health: 1200/1200 Special: Chaotic Life (Determined by another roll) – (1) Heals self by 100 (2) Heals all Allies by 100 (3) Heals all Allies by 50 (4) Heals all Allies by 25 (5) Heals Hero by 5 (6) Heals all heroes by 5 Drops: x6 Zoot’s Cookies, x2 Phoenix Down Note: Free Hits/Damages count as Special Damage Supreme Chaos Beast Level 20 Ancient *Immune to Negative Effects and Instant Kills* Health: 800/800 SP: 10 Special: Chaotic Death (Determined by another roll) - (1) Damages hero for 20 damage (2) Damages all heroes for 15 damage ignoring SP and row (3) Damages all heroes for 20 damage (4) Damages all heroes for 10 damage (5) Damages self by 50 (6) damages whole party by 20 Drops: x6 Grand Zoot’s Cookies Note: Free Hits/Damages count as Special Damage Sphinx Level 20 Humanoid *Immune to Negative Effects & Instant Kill* Health: 600/600 Special I (Used if Health 600-401): Lion’s Claw – Deals 25 damage to hero. Special II (Used if Health 400-201): Lion’s Roar - Burns all heroes for 3 damage, and gives all burned effect, causing 3 more damage at the end of each turn. Special III (Used if Health 201-1): Lion’s Mane – If targeted the following round, the hero targeting them receives 5 damage regardless of row/SP, no matter what is rolled. Drops: x2 Dragon Scales Wren Level 0 (+4 each round) Ancient *Immune to Negative Effects and Instant Kills* Health: 0/0 (+40 each round) Ether: 0/0 (+2 each round) Special: Warp – Each round a special is randomly selected from all specials used by Court of Demon Members, Vonnetate, or Sphinx. Costs 1 ether, plus any additional ether cost already outlined. If out of ether, nothing happens. Passive Special I: Warp – Each round a passive special is randomly selected from all specials used by Court of Demon Members, Vonnetate, or Sphinx. Passive Special II: Chaotic Power – Wren will be either Encouraged, Lucky, or Hastened every round. Passive Special III: Chaotic Love – Wren cannot be damaged until “Chaos” is defeated. All attacks that would damage her are null. She may still deal free hits if not targeted. Drops: ??? (1)Special I (Used if Health 600-401): Lion’s Claw – Deals 25 damage to hero. (2)Special II (Used if Health 400-201): Lion’s Roar - Burns all heroes for 3 damage, and gives all burned effect, causing 3 more damage at the end of each turn. (3)Special III (Used if Health 201-1): Lion’s Mane – If targeted the following round, the hero targeting them receives 5 damage regardless of row/SP, no matter what is rolled. (4)Special: Backbreaker – Vonnetate breaks the hero’s back. The hero is fragile until the end of the quest. Cannot be remedied, ignores immunity. (5)Special I: Soul Eater – Mephisto eats the hero’s soul. The hero is sealed until the end of the quest. Cannot be remedied, ignores immunity. Uses one ether. (6)Special II: Mind Eater – Mephisto eats the hero’s mind, instantly KOing them. Used if no ether remains. (7)Special I: Helvetia’s Kiss – Zee deals 10 ice-elemental damage to the entire party, disregarding row and SP. This costs 1 ether. (8)Special II: (Used if ether is depleted) All of Hel’s Wrath – Deals 30 ice-elemental damage to entire party. (9)Special I: Electric Field – Forms an aura of electricity around Zander that causes 15 lightning-elemental damage to the next five attackers that score a hit against him. Uses two ether. (10)Special II: Electrocute – Instantly KO’s the target. Uses one ether. (11)Special: Jokes on You – Zane inflicts the cursed, fragile and jinxed effects on the hero. He also steals half of the hero’s current gold, which becomes irretrievable. (12)Special: Ravenous Hunger – Drains 10 ether and 10 health from the hero, disregarding row/SP. (1)Passive Special I: Warrior’s Might – Vonnetate pierces SP. (2)Passive Special II: Warrior’s Roar – All heroes targeting Vonnetate become enraged for the remainder of the battle unless remedied. (3)Passive Special II: Soul Sucker – All heroes targeting Mephisto lose one positive effect of their choice at the end of the round. (4)Passive Special: Taste of Your Own Medicine – Gains all boosts and immunities of anyone targeting him for the round. (5)Passive Special: All AoE attacks/effects only effect the person the hero is targeting. (6) Immaculate Chaos Chaos Level 30 Ancient *Immune to all Negative Effects (EXCEPT: Blinded) and Instant Kills* Health: 600/600 SP: 2 Special: Azazot Feeds – Deals damage and drains ether equal to the hero’s level. Passive Special I: Explosive Temper – On rounds 1-5, drains that much Health and Ether from each party member. Repeats sequence at 6. Etc. Passive Special II: Immaculate Chaos – Every round, spits out a Chaos Beast determined by a roll: 1-3: Chaos Beast 4: Master Chaos Beast 5: Chaos Beast of Life 6: Chaos Beast of Death Passive Special III: Brute Force – On even rounds, Chaos pierces SP. Passive Special IV: Demon Eyes – On odd rounds, Chaos drains 8 ether from all party members. NOTE: While Wren is alive, Chaos loses 2 levels and 20 health every round. While Sphinx is alive, Chaos gains 3 levels and 30 health every round. Drops: Zoot’s Plaything, x4 Chaos Beasts BOOSTS: +5 SP, +250 Health, Hastened, +15 Level, +5 SP, +250 Health Heroica Hall Floor Level 25 *Counterstriking* Health: 300/300 SP: 30 Special Damage: Floor – This is a floor. Nothing happens. Passive Special: DRAINAGE ELI - Drains 2 ether per round. Drains 2 health per round. Note: Bombs ignore SP of Heroica Hall Floor. Chaotic Wren Level (Chaos Final Level + Wren Final Level) Health: (Chaos Final Health + Wren Final Health) SP: 12 Special: Warp – Each round a special is randomly selected from all specials used by Court of Demon Members, Vonnetate, or Sphinx. Costs ether costs already outlined. If out of ether, nothing happens. Passive Special I: Warp – Each round a passive special is randomly selected from all specials used by Court of Demon Members, Vonnetate, or Sphinx. Passive Special II: Chaotic Power – Wren will be two of the three (Encouraged, Lucky, or Hastened) every round. Passive Special III: Explosive Temper – On rounds 1-5, drains that much Health and Ether from each party member. Repeats sequence at 6. Etc.
 Passive Special IV: Immaculate Chaos – Every round, Chaos spits out a Chaos Beast determined by a roll:
 1-3: Chaos Beast
 4: Master Chaos Beast
 5: Chaos Beast of Life
 6: Chaos Beast of Death Passive Special V: Chaos in Eubric – At the end of the round, anything can happen. Good luck. Note: Defeating Wren will destroy all the Chaos Beasts. Chaotic Things (roll for two at the end of the round): 1) Summons a monster for the following round: (random quest, random page number, and first enemy) 2) 10 damage to all heroes 3) Chaotic Burn -100 damage to Wren 4) Lose and Gain –Wren goes up 5 levels and gains 100 health. Add a gem/100 gold/a bone to her drops. 5) Wren Swap – A hero and Wren switch spots. Wren is treated as a party member, and the hero as an enemy. 6) Weapon Swap – Two heroes randomly switch weapons. If they are unsuitable, they may not be used. Shops Hinckwell Goods -Potion 10 -Tonic 20 -Remedy 25 -Ether Core 40 -Grating Stone 120 *2 in stock* - Glass Blowers -Hollow Blade Service 400 Guild of Invision -Nostrum 25 -Smelling Salts 15 -Meads 7 -Paralyzing Venom 45 (x4) -Decaying Venom: 85 (Does 3 damage and subtracts 1 SP each round) (x3) -Plague Venom: 160 gold (Does 15 damage and -1 SP per round.) (x3)

You can make it a Grand. Yay for clerical failures. I think it means you have two. I sometime can't perfectly combine every item, so chances are I just failed to put them in the same place. Chances are high his "Diplomacy" won't work here, then. That's why we have different traits.

- Gotta bounce! [A comment I made OoC in Heroica when I did indeed need to bounce (I had class!!). It's a saying! From Corny, I suspect.]

:laugh: I meant more the roleplaying aspect. Great item names. The changing parties line at the end = funny because it is painfully true. And actually the trading artifacts part too. Updating a party of 16 is something I will never. ever. do. again. Flipz, I'll thank you officially tomorrow, but you were a great help.

Boomingham watches the frogs jump around but doesn't understand a word that they're saying. "Damn mages. What a ridiculous quest. Ranger, pick your favorite. Or, Hel, just pick them all up and we'll carry them back and turn them all into humans. Can't hurt to have a few extra previously-frog humans marching around. I'm going to go deal with these big baddies coming up." Boomingham downs a mead. "Thalion, Sancho, Sorrow, Batboy, hows about you come with me while the Yeti and Ranger pick up the frogs. They can join us if the fight gets too challenging."

Are you even trying to add anything to the conversation?

I particularly liked in the speeches (just re-read them myself) the idea that the villains all knew each other too, and probably had talks just like you heroes did.

Well, clearly I'm willing to die for the role . That actually goes without saying. Why do you trust CallMePie more? Please, tell me. It intrigues me that you vaguely state that you trust him more without offering any reasoning, particularly because you said it was VERY IMPORTANT that it land on the right side. So, what's the reasoning?

Okay, side-quests posted, hopefully they'll give some insight on some character's (Nyx/Pandora's interaction is awesome, at least read it for her!!). And that is an official wrap on Quest 53. Character analysis tomorrow, and then we'll be done for good.

Here I am being a studious little Zepher. The two (three) side-quests. Hope you enjoy them... I think they're in chronological order? Side Quest #1 - Arthur's Demons Side Quest #2 - Nyx's Love Story Side Quest #3 - Arthur and Wren (Then there's a bit of OoC where I tell Arthur he needs to navigate the sewers on his own if he wants to do some free-play ).

OoC: I'll be posting any and all side-quests tomorrow, along with character critique in the QM Lounge. Wednesdays are a busy day for me. Note that this does not include trades after final loot distribution, you may keep track of that for yourselves. The Party Cronk Level 30 Paladin *Party Leader* *Counterstriking* Power: 46 (+2 due to cookies) Defense: 16 Health: 48/48 Ether: 8/31 Gold: 232 Equipment: Beast Skewer (Lance; WP: 12), Ennoc's Blessing (Shield, SP: 9), Paladin's Armour (Suitable for Paladins, +5 SP, +2 Max Ether), Counterstrike Gloves (After the wearer is struck by a Free Hit, they counter with strength equal to their level), Elaborate Helmet (SP: 2) Inventory: Zoot's Bane (Suitable only for Cronk; WP: 12, Light), Twin Broadswords (WP:21, dual-strike, user is unable to use a shield), Ennoc's Gratitude (Artifact, Accessory, User Perma-Blessed, Requires Light Weapon), Sword of Bashing (Longsword; WP:5), Bedroll, Shovel, Holy Bomb, 3 Stakes (WP:1 to each of them), 2 Remedies, Bennetton's Seal, Topaz, Health Core, 2 Lightning Bombs, Bloody Pointy Stick (WP: 1), Health Core, Phoenix Essence Alexis Fenral Level 28 2/3 Assassin *Hastened* *Immune to Blinded and Fragile* Power: 37 Defense: 3 Health: 47/47 Gold: 4501 Equipment: Cat-o'-Nine-Tails (WP:9, damage divided between all enemies, Suitable For Rouges), Quickdraw Quiver (permanent hastened-effect), Ring of Sight (protects from blinded), Lieutenant's Helmet (SP:3, protects from fragile) Inventory: Mockthril Longbow (WP:14, ranged), Flute of the Magi (WP:3, asleep-effect), Diamond, Tonic, Mead, Venom, Fire Bomb, Lightning Bomb, Pickaxe, Shovel, Bedroll, Magic Compass, Magnifying Glass, Holy Bomb, 2 Remedies, 2 Somas, Carrot, Fifty Shades of Bley, 2 Lightning Bomb, Venom, 2 Health Cores, Potion, Grand Zoot Cookie, Phoenix Essence Haldor Skovgaard Level 25 2/3 Shaman *Immune to Weakened, Blinded, and Fragile* *Natural Respite* Power: 41 (+2 gloves) Defense: 7 Health: 8/43 Ether: 7/35 (+4 cloak) Gold: 254 Equipment: Zoot er Isen (WP:14, Ice and Light Elemental, Suitable only for Haldor), Pugilist's Gloves (+2 Power, Weakened Immunity), Heavy Armour (SP:+5, Fragile Immunity), Ethereal Cloak (SP:+2, +4 Ether, Blinded Immunity) Inventory: Heavy Metal Rod (WP:12, Water Elemental), Bear Claw Gloves (WP:8, SP:+2), Paper Doll (Hexed immunity), Shovel, Pickaxe, Bedroll, Potion (x4), Remedy (x4), Venom, Scroll of Sealing, Aquamarine Nyx Level 25 2/3 Battle Mage *Natural Respite* Power: 39 (+1 Heels) Defense: 3 Health: 33/36 Ether: 14/35 Gold: 91 Equipment: Zee Standard (Staff, WP: 13 Ice Elemental, Necromancers Raise Enemies with 2 extra levels), Robe of the Archmagi (SP:3, Max. Ether +5, protects from sealed-effect), High Heels (+1 Power), Inventory: Book of a Thousand Creatures (WP:14, each roll has a 1/6 chance to summon a creature to aid the hero), Explosive Staff – WP: 12 (Does 1/2 damage to all enemies on a successful hit (normal damage to targeted enemy) and 1/2 WP damage to self on a roll of 4 (disregarding SP/row)), Dawnstar II (WP: 9), The Fishstick (WP:7 Double damage while on ships), Healing Staff (WP: 5), Ruby (Fire), Amethyst (Darkness), Topaz (Lightning), Sapphire (Wind), Emerald (Wood), Garnet (Earth), Aquamarine (Water), Diamond (Light), Opal (Ice), Potion, 3 Tonics, 2 Grand Tonics, Ether Core, 2 Bedrolls, 5 Bones, Remedy, Shiny Helmet (+1 max health), Monkey Bar (all minions, pets, summons etc are Hastened), Fire Bomb, Scrap Metal, Smoke Bomb, X2 (May be combined with a bomb to get it to ignore SP), Grand Zoot's Cookie, Sandman's Parasol (Immune to Asleep and Fast Asleep effects) Skrall 80 year old Male Ogre Hunter Level 25 1/3 *Favors Goddess and Beast Enemies* *Immunity to Fragile* *Natural Respite* Power: 32 Defense: 8 Health: 38/38 Gold: 278 Equipment: Precision Bow (WP: 6, Aims become hits), Hunter's Quiver (Bows and Crossbows +2WP, allows Hunters to favor two types of enemies, back wear), Heavy Armor (SP: 5, wearer is immune to fragile effect, body wear), Tricorne (SP: 3) Inventory: Hunter's Crossbow (WP:11, +4 vs. Beasts), Smoke Bomb, Grand Potion, Potion, Minimizing Dust, Lucky Doubloon (Grants "Special Guard"), Grand Zoot's Cookie, Topaz Atramor Gibbin Level 24 2/3 *Deals Badly Poisoned* Power: 36 Health: 50/50 (+3 cloak) Defense: 0 Ether: 0/26 Gold: 277 Equipment: Ratsbane (WP: 10, absorbs 2 health on successful strike, fire, ice, earth, wind elemental), Witch's Talisman (Suitable for witches, Posioned Hits become Badly Poisoned Hits, accessory), White Cloak (Suitable for clerics, +3 maximum health, backwear), Counterstrike Gloves (When hit by a Free Hit, immediately deals damage equal to level, handwear) Inventory: Sword of Ancestral Hatred (WP: 6, gains 1 WP every kill made with it), Staff of the Elven Warlock (WP: 5, wood elemental), Heavy Flail (WP: 5, deals the Fragile effect), Topaz, Amethyst, Fire Bomb, Bomb XX (Deals 30 damage to all enemies and 10 damage to all heroes, all damage ignoring SP/row), Shovel, Pickaxe, Grating Stone, Health Core, Pongcanis Flail (WP: 6), Grand Tonic, Amulet of the Court (Negative Effects last one round), Emerald Thothwick Level 23 Black Knight *Damage Undead* *Immune to Stunned* Power: 37 (33 Ranged) (+2 due to cookies) Defence: 10 Health: 38/38 Gold: 409 Equipment: Banana Sabre (WP: 12, Heals Metasimians when used on them), Skull Shield (SP:6; immunity to darkness-elemental damage; suitable to Black Knights only), Black Knight's Armour (SP:4, protects from stunned-effect), Cultist's Hat (regular attacks do Damage to Undead), Inventory: Sabre (WP:10), Shuriken (WP 8), 1 Bedroll, 1 Telescope, 1 Potion, 1 Bone, Venom, 2 Health Cores, Grand Zoot Cookie, Saphire, Dragon Scale Hoke Ablesword Level 22 1/3 Mystic Knight *Damage Undead* Power: 37 Defense: 12 Health: 15/40 Ether: 1/22 Gold: 233 Equipment: Vintul (Great sword: WP 15), Steel Buckler (SP: 10), Warrior's Treads (SP:2, Health +1), Cultist Hat (damage vs undead), Chains of the Pongcanis Chief (Hero Pierces SP if fighting from Front, Enemies ignore SP if hero fights from the back row, cannot be removed in battle) Inventory: Opal, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Aquamarine, Amethyst, Diamond, Topaz, 4 Potions, Remedy, Smoke Bomb, Bedroll, Pickaxe, Shovel, Grating Stone, Nostrum, Ether Core, Fire Bomb, Scrap Metal, Ether Core, Grand Zoot Cookie, Scroll of Frailty, Scroll of Weakening, Dragon Scale, Zoot's Plaything (Special 3/4 Edition) Arthur Justus Regulus VII Level 21 2/3 Sorcerer, *Immune to Sealed* Power: 29 Health: 33/33 Ether: 21/31 Defense: 3 Gold: 1942 Equipment: Sir Roderick's Sword (WP:12, Longsword), Robe of the Archmagi (SP:3, Max Ether +5, Immune to Sealed), Scarf of Misfortune (Wearer deals the Jinxed effect on every third round, accessory), Jester's Hat (Wearer may choose to gain one immunity from targeted enemy) Inventory: Weapons: Staff of the Cultist Battlemage (WP: 7, 50% chance of Fleeing upon being KO'd; suitable for Mages and Clerics), Hollow Blade Dagger (WP:6, hollow-blade [nothing stored]), Staff of Ennon - (WP: 5, Light-Elemental, Restores 2 ether on a roll of 2, 3, or 4), Healing Staff (WP:5; heals instead of damaging), Healing Staff (WP:5; heals instead of damaging), Spider Leg (WP:8, doubled against flying enemies; spear; unsuitable) Artifacts: Ancient Crown (First successful strike of battle deals Cursed-effect), Cloak of Deception (Free hits against the wearer have a 1/6 chance to be redirected to a random opponent), Lens of Speed Reading (Accessory, Allows a scroll to be read in addition to a normal action. Suitable for scroll users.), Gems: 2x Opal (Ice), 2x Amethyst (Darkness), 2x Topaz (Lightning), 2x Diamond (Light), Garnet (Earth), Ruby (Fire), Aquamarine (Water), Sapphire (Wind) Tools: Bedroll, Telescope, Shovel, Magnifying Glass Scrolls: Scroll of Blindness, Scroll of Confusion, Scroll of Sleep, Scroll of Frailty, Scroll of Armor Sundering (Reduces target’s SP by 5 and has a 50/50 chance of success), Scroll of Poisoning (Grants target’s weapon the Badly Poisoned effect for one battle at the cost of 5 ether), Scroll of Luck (Grants target the Lucky-effect for one battle. Costs 10 ether.) Consumables: Potion (x2), Remedy, Noxious Venom (When used on a weapon, the weapon deals the Badly Poisoned effect for the duration of the battle and the Confused effect for the next three rounds, for the duration of one battle.), Zoot's Plaything Dyric Rone Level 20 1/3 Assassin *Lucky* *Immune to Bound and Slowed* Power: 32 (+1 due to cookie) Health: 1/32 Defense: 0 Gold: 3365 Equipment: Briar Bow (WP: 11; wood-elemental), Loaded Die (permanent lucky-effect; accessory), Sticky Gloves (Increases amount of gold stolen by 50%; handwear), Winged Sandals Inventory: Double Chain Whip (WP:10), Throwing Knife (WP:4, ranged, retrievable), Longsword (WP: 3), Aquamarine (Water), 4 Potions, 4 Grand Potions, Elixir, 2 Remedies, Mead, 2 Venoms, Smoke Bomb, Skeleton Decoy, 2 Mythril Shards (2/4 of a Mythril), Silver Ore (Worth 60 gold), Bone, Grand Potion, Aqua Gear (Adds water-element to physical attacks and protects from water-elemental damage, accessory), Diamond, Phoenix Essence

I'm sorry, I meant Pirate Dave. Damn Earthling faces. I try to keep track of you us by telling if you we wear hats or hair... but sometimes it gets a little confusing... Where is everyone?! Why is no one saying anything?! Gurgal catch your Gulmech? I mean... cat got your tongue? What are anyone's suspects?! Any trends? Anything? Interesting to note: Lil' Peanuts and Lil' Pally were very close until a little bit into the voting period. They were neck to neck until Lil' CallMePie and Lil' Hinckley and Lil' Rick put Pally over the edge, leading to a bandwagon that way as opposed to the other way. Not MUCH to go on, but since no one else is saying anything what so ever.... thought I'd look at it. It hinges much on Lil' Peanuts' alliance too.

Drats. Of all the dead Earthlings so far, Lil' Cecile was by far the most pingy to me, but looks like I was dead wrong with that one. And the votes yesterday were scattered. I doubt they'll do us much good. Was there anyone who voted for Pally AFTER the vote seemed to swing in the direction of one of our other nominees? I'd still be willing to place my vote on Nightshroud today, or Trumpet, or Peanuts... any of the people voted for yesterday, really. We need to get our act together. Inaction is a bad action. We need something to discuss. Therefore: Mayor: Lil' Zepher (Zepher). Who wants to run against me?

I love the Dragonsworth character and outfit... but has he appeared at all? I thought I was following very closely (my nose is even smudging the glass!!!!) but I haven't seen him actually crop up yet!

Still working on character critiques, but will respond to a few things. Lots of stuff to respond to: Felton was always scripted to die because he was the antithesis of Wren. I will actually make a longer post explaining how I came up with his ending, but no, there were NO HINTS. Purposely. He just was going to die. It was not something you could control, or know about. I'm interested that no one has talked about that twist. Felton was a Chaos Beast. What do people think about that as a story device? How does that make you feel? If there were hints, they are these: Felton and Hans both have by far the least "back story" of all the NPCs I created. Felton never mentions really interacting with people or things before the Arena, only alluding to vague back story. The Chaos Replica of him in Haddon proved it could be done. It also explains why he was so rattled from that point on in the quests: he saw the heroes cut down a Replica just for being not "real". His distrust of the Gray Wizard, a different God than his own, also stemmed from that. Mallelio isn't a fighter, really. He's a teacher. He came because he likes you guys, but taking him into combat isn't good for his health. He rallied the Dragon Knights for the end of the Drakencourt, and helped expel Emperor Brunt, but he's really not a fighter, you're right. You're not supposed to like him for that. Hans was added to that list before he died. He will not reappear. XX, Poletad, Vipera, Zane and Everyman are the five who will do important things in future quests, most likely. Improvisation is impossible while I'm at college. Improvising is important, planned story is important. I try to keep a healthy mix. Thank you for the feedback, Flipz! I put thought into things. There is a reason he had to split her in half. I did try to throw in the Master of Regret and The Court of Demon detours to help break it up, along with the Mallelio and Triad saving phase, but yes, too many spires, agreed. It was anti-climatic on purpose. Wren was a complex villain (I know others disagree, but I find her to be). She is racked with inner conflict and, ironically, chaos. She really just is obsessed and deranged with the idea of seeing this beauty she has found in the world forever. I wanted to leave it open - does she get to see the beauty forever? Where did she disappear to? Is it death? Is she in the realm of Chaos now? Is she happy? Is she sad? That's for you to decide. Death would be too easy for both her and Felton. I agree. I think a rereading of the quests as a whole now would answer a lot of questions for some people, but who has time for that. I wanted to include everything. I tried to have NPCs reference past events when they were relevant to help everyone keep track of things, but I agree, it was confusing at points. Thanks for the feedback and praise, JimBee!!

Nothing notable. She's kind of pathetic.

Final "official" party listing tomorrow, but for now we're done. Thanks all.

This is a monster post. Skip to the parts that you want to read, if need be. I won’t be offended, I just have lots to say. Personal Notes: I wish I was better at running battles. You were all very courteous with all my mistakes, but I hated having to slow up the quest due to my own ineptitude. A party of 16 is too much, it was hard to memorize all your traits, abilities, and artifacts. Even so, I really profusely apologize, not because you made me feel like I had to, but because I feel guilty on my own. The length of this quest was about one month longer than I intended. I apologize for that as well, but still feel that we clipped along and that, for probably about 90% of the time I stuck to the 24 hour rule. THE QUEST Firstly, I hope you all liked the story. I had fun with it. There’s a lot of it, and I’m happy to leave it behind, but I’m also very happy with it as a whole. I think each installment worked well. It was a lot of fun. A fun score-card, from my opinion, for the victories through-out the 5 quests (it has a nice ebb and flow): Quest 7: Wren Victory Quest 19: Tie/Slanted Towards Wren Victory Quest 30: Hero Victory Quest 38: Wren Victory Quest 53: Hero Victory The photography and sets of this quest I was mostly pleased with. Not the best, not bad. I liked some more than others- the Court of Demons I thought was particularly weak, but oh well. I tried to stay true to the style of architecture we’ve seen in Eubric so far, and I feel I accomplished this. I will publish the sets you didn’t visit later. The story of this quest was a fun one for me. There was a lot of repetition (get to and close the spire) but I think that the NPCs and side plots made it well paced. I hope you all agree- I tried to give you something new to do at each spire, even though the basic goal remained the same. I stressed about how to tie together all the stories I’d already told about Wren- how al the different NPCs would behave, etc. I think that in the end I did a pretty decent job, I’m happy with the results and it felt like one big family reunion to me. I didn’t want them to all show up at once, because I thought that would be overwhelming, so tried to figure out how to pace them out, and again feel like I did a decent job. The spire mechanic was another way I tried to have built in choices. You, as players, basically helped to build the final big bad, so you chose some of the traits and powers it would have. I’m very pleased with the technique. The Court of Demons was included so that we’d have some new blood in this quest. Their function and name changed a lot in planning- originally they were called the Brothers Zoot, there was two of them, and they were aligned with Wren from the beginning of the story. I changed them to Mephisto’s Fist after Quest 44 came out (this whole quest was drafted before 44, but as you can tell, there were quite a few changes made after it had concluded) but remained aligned with Wren. I finally changed them to the Court of Demons and made them not aligned with Wren, and some of them not even aligned with Zoot. The final change I made was making the Magician a follower of the Ancient Gods who had screwed over the rest of the Court. I liked that backstory a lot, and helped me to introduce the Ancient Gods better. Other than that… well, there’s not much to say. The story worked as I wanted it to. I’m pleased with it. I want to hear what you think, and if you have any questions! THE NPC’s STATS: Number of NPCs: 23 3 of which had no possibility of dying [Vipera, Master of Regret & Johnny Everyman] 8 of which had no possibility of living (assuming you did not fail the Quest) [Felton, Gray Wizard, Bal, Bennetton, Wren, Sphinx, Mephisto & The Magician] 14 of which were casualties [Felton, Gray Wizard, Bal, Bennetton, Triad, Wren, Sphinx, Mephisto, Magician, Zander, Vonnetate, Zee, Gnash, Hans] NPC Fun Facts: -XX is not named after the band by the same name. XX was the working title I gave him while I try to think of a good name, but it stuck. I heard of the band a few months later. -Wren was originally going to be a man until about a day before Quest 7. There are a few times in Quest 7 when I mistakenly refer to her as male. -The NPCs who were made up on the spot were my favorites – Zane’s backstory was not pre-planned, and the same is true for Poletad. All of the Court of Demons members were supposed to die if defeated, but I felt the quest was getting a little stale, so I threw MYSELF a twist and kept them alive to see what happened. I’m happy I did. The Magician was always supposed to be shadowy and have given their souls to the Ancient Gods. She wasn’t really part of their group (because she had always planned to betray them), a clue given to by a lack of a wanted poster for her. -Felton was going to die at the end of the final Wren quest from his introduction at the beginning of the first. -The Gray Wizard was always intended to be one of the Ancient Gods. -There are lots of clues and references to later NPCs, as with all of my quests. Wren talks about the Gray Wizard having a brother in town at the beginning of the quest, when Bal dies. The Gray Wizard also burns Bal instead of burying him (you can see the urn in the background of some of the Barrack shots), in hopes that it will protect Bal’s soul from his brother. -I know you guys hate him because he keeps almost dying on you, but I have a soft spot for Phil. He’s very noble in my mind. Probably one of the most noble NPCs I made while still being fleshed out and having clear faults. I also just enjoyed Dastan. I also love Poletad, Zane, and XX… and pretty much everyone else. -Donny Dozenhands was supposed to appear in a brief cameo in the quest, but he was scrapped because I thought his part got too complicated. -FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: XX, Zane, Poletad, Vipera, Phil, Ella, Malellio, the Master of Regret, McColt and Hans should all reappear at some point in quests hosted by me. They’re not quite done, though some of them will be playing FAR smaller roles from here on in. Finally, a GREAT game, the WHO KILLED WHO of Quest 53: BAL was killed by a PONGCANIS SUICIDE BOMBER (The blame can rest with XX, Vonnetate and Wren) TRIAD was killed by VONNETATE BENNETTON was killed by MEPHISTO ZANDER was killed by ZANE MEPHISTO was killed by ________ The MAGICIAN was killed by BENNETTON VONNETATE was killed by HOKE and DYRIC ZEE was killed by NYX THE GRAY WIZARD was killed by WREN and CRONK SPHINX was killed by WREN was killed by SKRALL and PHIL and FELTON FELTON was killed by FELTON PLAYERS: Players – I’m very happy with this group. I’ve loved hosting you all individually in the past, and I loved to have you all together. You’ve got a rapport with the NPCs already, and with each other, so it felt like a lovely family reunion. I told Cronk and Skrall both that I’d miss hosting you all, and I mean it. You guys were really and truly great. Only Negative Group Feedback – I was told that NEARLY every battle on this quest was impossible. They were not, it turns out. Heroes are tougher than you think – it bothered me particularly when you complained before even trying the battle. It started with the first round of meeting the Court, where you didn’t follow my suggestion and still won 2/3 battles and came close to winning the third. It happened for a number of other battles after that. How many times did you guys lose a battle after that?! Nearly never. QMs will get tougher, because you have gotten tougher. This was meant to be a challenging quest, but you should all feel accomplished now that it’s over, because you actually beat some challenging battles. This made this quest genuinely unpleasant to host at times, something I’ve never experienced before in Heroica, and something I hope to never experience again. Just don’t assault your loving QM next time. Personal player critiques will be up tomorrow.

The battles are over, the dead are buried. The heroes head back into the city. They make their way down to the docks. There a ship awaits, a red hull, a dragon on the front. It is clear who it is for. "Lady Nyx, you have saved my life literally countless times. I cannot thank you enough. It saddens me greatly that we have lost so many along the way. I shall never forget the first time that you, Tarn, and Poletad came to save me from Sphinx on that hill. Now, only hours ago, we watched his demise below your proud city. You will forever be a friend of Dastan. Come visit us some day. The same goes for you, Atramor. Make sure that Tarn gets that letter, and give him my regards. Poletad, I am sorry for your lose. I wish there was more to say." Mallelio bows to all the heroes and boards the ship. "The battle was well fought and well won, heroes. I am tired for the first time in a long time. I think I will rest. Cronk, you saved me far back in the arena. I am not one for speeches, mushy or otherwise, but know this- a warrior's death is a proper death. I knew Felton and Hans as long as you did. I am struck by what Hans said to me when we first saw each other once more in Dastan. There are few things in life that are true joys. True, honest, loving allies are among them. He told me it was the only thing he was sure of. The only thing he believed in. He would have never thought twice about dying. He would do it again, as would I, as I'm sure all of us would. We see evil, we stop it. Have a heavy heart, Cronk, but not longer than you need to. And all of you heroes, remember what Mallelio said. You are always welcome in Dastan." Vipera flies to lick Hoke's cheek, than Skrall's. She flies up high and hovers as Phil boards the ship. Her message is simple. <My heart is with you all, brave heroes. Until we meet again. And we will meet again.> The ship sets sail. The heroes walk a few piers over and find a dinky boat heading towards the High Kingdoms. McColt pays his toll. "Heroes, you are very brave. You have served proudly. You saved my city of Haddon nearly a year ago, last winter. Now I have had the distinct pleasure of saving your city alongside you. Dyric, remember, if you ever head North, visit Haddon. I will be there. I have travelled to the Valley of Ennoc with you, and many places other. I have seen Eubric the ever changing city. Now, like Victor, I think it is time for me to return home and rest." The heroes follow the hopping Poletad to the edge of Eubric. He looks out on the path. He, for the first time in the entire time the heroes have known him, speaks in a somber voice. <Thank you for your words, Dyric. I travelled with Felton and Hans since you saved me in Haddon, Skrall. It has been almost a year. I grew to know them both very well. I remember one night, while we were sailing from Dastan to the Valley of Peace to meet you heroes, we all stayed up to talk. Hans didn't ever learn Froglish too well, but he still tried his best. That night he told Felton and I about his mother. He said that she believed that the world was a good place. He said that he had long thought that the bad had outweighed the good, but that he had recently learned that while there were more bad things than good... what is the saying? Quality outweighs quantity. He told us that he loved life. Felton sighed and admitted he did too.> <After Hans fell asleep, Felton took me up on to the deck. We watched the water and the stars overhead. Felton told me he loved life. I understand now what it meant to him. I never knew- he- wasn't human. But I think in many ways it didn't matter to him. He told me then that he didn't ever try to spread anything. He just wanted to live life as it was. I don't think he spread Chaos, I don't think he spread Order. He told me something then, perhaps knowing what would happen. Let the past be the past, let the future be the future, live not it fear, for the present is beautiful. And so, as both of them would of wanted, I'm off to whatever is next!> Poletad hops up, kisses Nyx on the cheek, then does the same for Skrall. He then hops down the road. The heroes trudge into the Hall and are greeted by an irritated Scheherazade. "Oi, its you lot. I haven't seen you since the day after Grogmas when you blew out our floor. Lucky for you the Hall has ways of repairing itself. Even so. Well, I suppose you'll want to retake your vows, and then you'll be wanting booze. Sit down." She goes to get booze, but then looks back at them. "Wren is gone," she simply confirms for them, and then walks off towards the bar. The heroes can finally relax. [iNTERLUDE - GUFFINGTON MANOR] "Are you still playing with your toys you're still playing with?!" demands U'Ordiussum. "It is no toy," says the matter-a-fact Sayyip, Doc Daneeka. "This is the personal project that Guffington asked me to monitor." "Oh, yes, I know, I know. What does your monitor say? Please tell me there is nothing of import. I am so worried about Master Guffington as it is. I don't want him to fret. Let's not bother him tonight, whatever it is, he's already gone to bed so let's not bother him tonight." "There has been a dip. The energy is all gone." "The energy... all gone? What does that mean?" "It means whatever the source of power has fled the city." "Oh dear, Guffington will not be pleased. He had such a keen interest. Do we have to tell him? He's so worked up all the time as it is." "We will wait until morning. He will want to know. We may go on an adventure soon. You will need to pack your bags." "Oh dear, oh my, poor Master, oh dear oh my." [iNTERLUDE - CONCLUDED] [iNTERLUDE - BELOW EUBRIC] "On and on and on it goes." [iNTERLUDE - CONCLUDED] FIN