Emjajoas

"Petrified? Mummifying? I've certainly never made anything like that," the smith replies, confusion colouring his face. "I'm not sure where you could find a blade like that, either. A rare property, that." "A-afraid not," he mutters. "I've made instruments before, but I don't usually put them on display. They don't sell as well as my blades." "I've boxed it for you, friends. It's fitted with a lock; I followed the Overwatch Captain's commands. You know where to find him, yes? The Tower near the outskirts of the City?" "We know the way," Marcellus assures the smith. Barus shuffles his feet, eyes darting back and forth between the weapons, nothing more than Marcellus' shadow. The smith leaves the room, returning quickly while dragging a metal chest along the ground. It looked heavy. Marcellus makes a gesturing motion with his head. Barus wraps his hands around each end, picking it up-- with great strain. They haul the chest outside, placing it on the paved walkway, Barus rolling his shoulders. Marcellus, lips drawn into a tight frown, turns to the heroes. "Are you really going to march into the Overwatch Tower and deliver this...package? I don't doubt your strength, heroes, but if they're not expecting you..."

Battle Order: Mortimer VS Right Claw B with Blazing Bow from Back Row Alice Heals Johon from the Back Row Masson chugs back a Grand Potion from the Back Row Octus VS Left Claw A with Spectral Claws from the Back Row Punii VS Right Claw A with Tiny Tail from Back Row Royce Cour VS The Eternal Reaper with Darksteel Greatsword from Back Row Daranza the Fifty-third uses his Bottled Barrage from the Back Row, allowing Boomingham, Johon, and Daranza the First to do double damage Boomingham VS Tail A with Frozen Saber from the Back Row Boomingham VS Tail B with Frozen Saber from the Back Row unless he takes damage, in which case he heals himself Johon VS Apex Tail with Muckracker from Front Row Johon VS Right Claw A with Muckracker from Back Row unless he doesn't get healed, in which case he chugs back a Grand Potion Daranza the First VS Right Claw A with Light Spell(Diamond) from Back Row Daranza the First VS Left Claw A with Light Spell (Diamond) from Back Row Karie heals Apex Tail with Oculoid Palm from the Back Row Jeaux VS Left Claw B with Light Spell (Diamond) from Back Row

"You had asked about the Overwatch Captain's order," the clerk mutters. "And if you're interested in these colourful things, I... suppose I could part with them. They're all WP:10. They're all imbued with gems; that's where they get their colour. The red swords are all fire, the white are all ice. Orange are earth, blue are aqua. Green are wood. The bladed fans are my pride-- forging them wasn't easy." The smith clears his throat. "But for, ahem, friends, I'm willing to part with any of them for 200 gold." The smith then gestures towards the two sets of armour, his voice becoming more nervous. "And these are... Ahem, my finest armours. Both are SP:5 and have a diamond imbued. The Diamond really brings out the lighter tones, giving it a nice.... white.... colouration."

"If this is a win-win for you, why bother trying to make us lose?" Mortimer shakes his head, raising his shield again. "Tch. Lie down and die if that's what you want. Humanity as a whole is a stain, but each individual is a treasure. Even your minions, to some degree, understood as much. You're a child, Regret. Quit throwing your tantrum and sleep."

I didn't know 96 had done something similar, or I definitely would've consulted it before putting up my own. And yeah, I made a couple big mistakes with the Smithy that I had to fix right away-- Really sorry for the inconvenience to all the questees, but hopefully I'll be able to make it up to all of you. It's definitely a service I'd like to go back to someday, but I'll definitely be more organized next time I explore it.

QM Note: The percent chance of effects are only for the forging; it picks one effect based on a die roll and applies it to the weapon. The only roll QMs have to make for it is the 1/6 chance of that effect applying on successful rolls. "Unfortunately, due to, er, time constraints on a few orders, it seems I will only be able to forge weapons for you from scratch at the time being. That's what I'm best at, so it takes the least amount of time, you see. Perhaps if you should ever return, more of my services might become available, friends. I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience. To top that off, I'm afraid I work on commission basis only; I don't have anything lying around that I could sell you."

"I suppose that tiny brain has to find ways to compensate," Mortimer adds, hopping backwards and raising his shield as debris flew around him. "Throwing a tantrum wasn't a good one, though."

"Any time you want to get a Magical Vortex going, Alice, we could use the healing," Mortimer mutters bitterly, drawing back an arrow and firing, his chest heaving, breaths coming short. "Damn monster." Battle Order: Mortimer VS Right Claw B with Blazing Bow from Back Row Alice Heals Johon from the Back Row Masson chugs back a Grand Potion from the Back Row Octus chugs back a Grand Potion from the Back Row unless Alice rolls Magical Vortex, in which case he attacks the Left Claw A with Spectral Claws from the Back Row Punii uses a Health Core on Royce from the Back Row unless Alice rolls Magical Vortex, in which case he attacks Right Claw A with Tiny Tail from Back Row Royce Cour VS Left Claw B with Spectral Weapon from Back Row Daranza the Fifty-third uses his Bottled Barrage from the Back Row, allowing Boomingham, Johon, and Daranza the First to do double damage Boomingham VS Tail A with Frozen Saber from the Back Row Boomingham VS Tail B with Frozen Saber from the Back Row unless he takes damage, in which case he heals himself (unless Alice rolls Magical Vortex, in which case he attacks regardless) Johon VS Right Claw A with Muckracker from Back Row if he is healed. He uses a Grand Potion from the Back Row if not healed. Johon VS Apex Tail with Muckracker from Back Row Daranza the First VS Right Claw A with Light Spell(Diamond) from Back Row Daranza the First VS Left Claw A with Light Spell (Diamond) from Back Row Karie heals Jeaux from the Back Row unless Alice rolls Magical Vortex, in which case she attacks the Apex Tail with Oculoid Palm from the Back Row Jeaux VS Left Claw B with Light Spell (Diamond) from Back Row

That's definitely something I'll keep in mind in the future. This was something I wasn't originally planning to do, and the idea just kind of dawned on me as being something that would be cool to do-- that being said, there is no excuse for not consulting you beforehand and I'm really sorry for making a mess of things. I'll fix it up again and hopefully it'll end up being an okay thing instead of a game-breaking thing. Again, very, very sorry, and thanks everyone for your patience.

So would something along the lines of "A random effect will be chosen by die roll and applied to your weapon; the effect will have a 1/6 chance of applying on successful rolls" be a better option than the ones I have now? Or perhaps offer a choice between a few for a lot more gold than I originally thought would be fair?

QM Note: Some concerns were raised about the forging system; I'll be working through some of its kinks and discussing things with everyone, and will "take orders" and figure stuff out as soon as I'm done with that. My apologies! QM Note: Things should be sorted out now. I'll only be offering the custom weapon forging; my apologies for both the inconvenience and the wait. I'm sorry if some of you are disappointed; I wasn't organized enough and ended up making a mess of things. Hopefully the rest of the quest makes up for it. Sorry.

You raise some valid concerns that hadn't come to mind when I was working through this. I'll take out the extra SP to artifacts and the bought immunities and consult with Sandy about the chance to inflict effects on the weapons. Would you recommend a price hike on some of the weapon effects as a quick fix of sorts? And I'd like to apologize in advance for any problems I have caused/will cause with this. I thought it might be a cool idea to do; I hadn't thought of the negative repercussions game-wise and that's all on me.

OOC: I'll wait and post a battle order after we get that round sorted out, what with Jeaux being lucky, the Right Claw being stunned, and Boomingham dealing Back Row damage.

Alright, editing the DOTs accordingly. 80 gold for a stack of poison:1, 400 for a stack of bleeding:5. Sound fair enough? Sorry, 121ers, its too late to cheat the system now. Should've acted faster.

What would you recommend as a base for Poison:1, then? 20 gold? 25 gold? I was afraid of making it too pricey; I originally had both Bleeding:5 and Poison: 5 at 100 gold but changed it after my friend said it might've been too expensive.

What would you recommend for revisions? A Cap on the DOT effects?

Smithy's Comprehensive Pricing Guide, a Guide to the Best Smith's Prices: --Upgraded weapons/shields cost the power they are before the upgrade times 10. If you have a Weapon with 13 power, it will cost 130 gold to upgrade it. --Imbuing Gems costs 50 gold. --Crafting a Weapon is a little different. In order to craft something, a base must be used: the base is a WP: 5 weapon of your choice. It starts off at 50 gold. Next, we add in an effect. The cost of effects are as follows: a) A stack of Bleeding:5 costs 400 gold. Bleeding comes in stacks of five, and you can buy up to bleeding 25. b) Poison:1 and each additional stacks costs 80 gold. Poison can be fine-tuned; you can have anywhere from 1 stack to 25. c) A random effect will be chosen by die roll and applied to your weapon; the effect will have a 1/6 chance of applying on successful rolls. This will cost 150 gold. Limited to one Effect per weapon. At this point, we figure out if you have any gems you want added. I can imbue gems you have for 40 gold, or imbue gems I have for 90. Only one gem per blade, however. Next, we figured out what Power you want your weapon. Because we're starting from scratch, I can upgrade the basic WP: 5 weapon to WP:6 for 40 gold. The WP:6 can be upgraded to WP:7 for 50 gold. The last step is giving this weapon a name. However, these weapons are Soul-Bound. They will be yours, and yours alone. That is why the name is important.

"Mmm. I can upgrade the Power of weapons and imbue gems. I suppose if people are speaking so fondly of me... Well, perhaps I could give fine folks like you a bit of a discount. Say, perhaps, ten gold off of every upgrade? However, when forging my own blades, I can give them effects-- but when I craft a weapon, I make it for someone. They'd be Soul-Bound-- and expensive. Well worth the price, I assure you. The weapon cost depends on what power you'd like it to have and what kind of effect you want. Bleeding is my most popular; poisoning is also easy. Both will apply on every successful attack. They get more expensive the higher numbers. I can craft a chance to stun, cause fragile, weaken, or blind. They'll have a 1/2 chance. My least popular are a chance to seal and a chance to slow; I'm afraid they aren't my specialties and will only have a 1/6 chance to affect successful attacks. With the shields, I do the same, but they grand immunities to those things instead of causing them." "As far as improving the SP of Chestplates, I can do that relatively easily. The price, again, depends on the SP of the artifact after the upgrade. I can only work with metals, as well-- I'm no tailor, cloth isn't my strong point." "I can craft your Mace into a Staff, but the process is difficult to maintain as I must melt down the weapon and reforge it from scratch. It won't cost as much as buying a new weapon, but it will cost you nonetheless-- perhaps around half price?" "As for what the Captain left behind, it was the remainder of his Weapon's shipment. He had, hmm, a few blades he had commissioned... I believe there were eight total? I'll box them up after I work on any of your orders-- you can bring them to him if that's what you're here for."

"I craft the finest weapons in the Low Kingdoms. I can imbue weapons with gems, upgrade weapons, and, for the right price, can forge a weapon just for you. The same rules apply to shields, as well. I can also craft armour, upgrade armour a little, and imbue gems into artifacts. Imbuing things costs 50 gold, upgrades depend on how much you need it improved, and forging a weapon, shield, or armour is a negotiated price. If you've a weapon you don't need, I am willing to buy it, or, if you'd prefer, use it as a base upon which to craft you something. Not a bad deal, my friends. Quite a good deal, in fact. Would any of you like to talk numbers?" "There is beauty in a fine-crafted weapon, my friend. I merely make that beauty more apparent. I normally cater to the City Guard and the Overwatch, but the boring brutes don't usually want colourful weapons. I don't mean to speak ill of them, only their... taste." "Notable guests..? Hmmm. Nobody out of the ordinary. I met with one of the Overwatch Captains; he came to pick up one of his orders. That forgetful troublemaker ended up leaving behind half the shipment-- not that he could carry it on his own, mind you, but he didn't say when he would return to get it. Someone you were supposed to meet with, though..? Hmm..."

"Hm. If that is what you want, I suppose Barus and I could tag along." "I-I'm safer with you than on the streets." "The city guard probably doesn't know. T-the only reason I know is because they all l-live in the same area as I do. I'm n-not very w-well-off, and saw some I-Ironwill uniforms on some people who were staying around there. I don't think they had a h-home... I haven't seen them recently, though..." "And the only reason I know is because I was sent here looking for them. Word may travel fast in the slums, but word has a hard time reaching the City Guard. Nobody trusts the Overwatch. They don't answer any questions, but often they're as blind as bats as far as the inside of the walls are concerned. Recently, their focus has been on the outside." "An excellent question," the cloaked figure replies truthfully. "One I don't have the answer to. As far as I know, they deserted here, thinking that within Ovalen's walls would be the safest haven." Glancing between the heroes, Marcellus gestures down the road with a nod. "I can show you the way to the Smithy, if you're ready to move on." Receiving an affirmative, he leads the way, Barus a dark shadow at his back. Soon, they reach a small building-- a larger building stands next to it, windows open all around, head emanating from it. It was no doubt the forge itself-- however, Marcellus directs the heroes to the smaller building, pointing towards the sign that simply read "Smithy." Entering the building, the heroes are met with an array of colourful weapons-- the crafter no doubt had a flair for colour and drama. They are greeted with a low bow from a jovial man bellowing a hearty welcome. "Welcome, welcome! You've come to the best Smithy in the city, my friends. What can I do for you today, hm? A commission, perhaps? You don't look like you come from these parts; did you hear tales of my great forging feats and travel across the lands to reach my smithy?"

OOC: sure thing. Fixed it with that in mind.

OOC: If you attack tail A, you have a chance of lowering the End of Turn Spell or whatever to 0/7, meaning he takes 100 damage and his SP gets lowered by 10-- so it's worth it to hit it anyways.

"I work for the City Guard," the man replies, calm slightly, his shaking more contained. "They sent me home for the day, though I c-can prepare you a meal there if you're hungry..." "The Ironwill... are an army. An opposing army. From the next city over." Sighing, Marcellus continues. "They were afraid that men were deserting here in fear of the brewing war-- or worse yet, had been captured and questioned. No doubt such an act would result in bloodshed. If they were in uniform, perhaps they are who I am searching for. That would also explain the missing uniforms. Hm." "If you find out who's responsible, I will lend what aid I can--including my pay. Should the City find out about my affilation with the Ironwill, it would turn out bad for both kingdoms. And... Golem is... accurate enough," Marcellus nods. "He's not one for words, but he's handy in a fight and, hm, loyal to a fault." "All I know is that men are missing and the Ironwill told me some made their way here. I just arrived; tension between the Ironwill and here makes for long travels. The bodies were a passing rumour-- apparently one that's true, if what your Assassin says is correct."

Does it? Thanks; I had no idea. I'll keep that in mind.

Battle Order: Mortimer VS Right Claw B with Blazing Bow from Back Row Royce Cour VS The Eternal Reaper with Darksteel Greatsword from Back Row Masson VS Tail A with Darksteel Zandatsu from Back Row Octus VS Left Claw A with Spectral Claws from Back Row Punii VS Left Claw B with Tiny Tail from Back Row Alice Heals Johon from the Back Row Daranza the Fifty-third uses his Bottled Barrage from the Back Row, allowing Boomingham, Johon, and Daranza the First to do double damage Boomingham Heals himself from the Back Row Boomingham VS Right Claw A with Frozen Saber from Back Row Johon VS Apex Tail with Muckracker from Back Row Johon VS Reaper's Tail A with Muckracker from Back Row if he is healed. He uses a Grand Potion from the Back Row if not healed. Daranza the First VS Right Claw A with Light Spell(Diamond) from Back Row Jeaux VS Reaper's Tail B with Light Spell (Diamond) from Back Row Karie Stunned! Karie VS Apex Tail with Oculoid Palm from Back Row if no longer stunned!