Waterbrick Down

Alrighty, so 138. First off, you pulled of a fine quest Endgame, not your best maybe but I like the direction your heading with these quests a little bit more than your previous arcs, they're a little more relatible. I'm going to tackle this similar to JimB, please note any criticisms are meant to advance your own skills as well as the richness of the game. When we were plowing through the quest at the rate we did, some of the timing is understandable. Granted there were bits like the movement to the safe house and the whole segment with Sputnik that needed to be slowed down as they simply became "check a box off a list and move on". At those points, it's best to have the NPC's question the PC's, don't just spout information or naturally trust them, make us use our job traits. Once you do that it becomes more of a question of how do I get a person to do what I want as opposed to expecting them to do what I want. Concerning your narrations and it might be more of a personal preference, I found to be quite jarring and somewhat insulting. For example: As PC's it's our job to be as attentive or as oblivious to the actions and happenings around our characters as we wish, by essentially telling us that we should do something or feel/think a certain way about something is essentially what we discourage PC's from doing in their interactions with other PC's, so it shouldn't be really encouraged by QM's. Ultimately I feel it does a disservice to the PC's as well as the development of the NPC's. In full agreement here, the fog was something I wished you had played with more, giving us puffy was too easy. You had us scared of the fog at the beginning of the quest because of its effects but by the end, most of us had completely forgotten or ignored its importance. The choice between the Forest and Algon wasn't pointless because we were uninformed, but because it really didn't make a difference in how the story ended. One choice you didn't include was whether or not to go with Charon, honestly it felt like we were being forced to go down that route simply to allow you to expand upon a plot point that really didn't have much to do with us or have any real effect on the outcome of the story, we were essentially just humoring you so you could foreshadow some stuff. Bulk and Melody were probably the only PC's I wanted to know more about, the rest I really didn't have any reason to care about. They weren't forcing Skrall to get their help, they were essentially telling the Party what they needed to know or giving them the equipment they needed to advance the story. Not to say that that is a wrong approach, but it often leads to the situation we saw. Ah Gabriel, I liked him as long as he wasn't talking about how he was different or how he was changing. See my earlier quotes from him above. First rule of PC character development, don't talk about your development, show us your development. The points where he either asked us whether he was different or you as a narrator told us he was different were too much to make him believable. You've gotten something good there as an NPC and I think you made him unique enough from Mason, but show us how he grows and how characters have effects on him. Show us he's in love with Jinnipher, don't tell us. Zepher does a good job with this, it takes multiple quests and a lot of time, but you can see how his NPC's change over long arcs and it's a thing of beauty. The whole issue with prophets who are powerful enough to do something about their visions but don't do anything, is that they're boring. We've seen it before, it's a trope that's been beaten to death ad hominem, same with Charon and an all powerful group or force that works to make sure things "happen" like they're supposed to "happen". To do these tropes and groups well it unfortunately takes a lot of investment and collaboration and this goes back to my earlier criticism. You have to show us how this "group" or "force" impacted prior events, you can't just tell us. Telling us is really a cop out and some times an insult to other's work, especially when you're discussing events that other QM's planned and ran and did so with no intention of them ever having any connection to this "group"/"thing" that you've now said is a reality. If you say the war in Baltarok was authored by a "group" or overseen by some "force" than I as a QM am now obligated to somehow acknowledge this fact even though I never intended such a thing, because I want to be a nice chap and make things connected and making sense. Something to be careful with in future quests. Vorpalis was good and I think justified. One thing that unfortunately maybe wasn't clear was his actual deeds and is something that I as a player and Skrall as a character found hard to grasp. Did he actually wantonly destroy his own country or were his actions only limited to the followers of Faust, we never got good clarification on that and I think it's ultimately what led to Skrall's decision to almost side with Vorpalis. As Skrall saw it, if the Party had been present the day Faust had betrayed Vorpalis, there would have been no question of Faust's wickedness, but because of the muddled understanding of Vorpalis's motives and extent of actual destruction, the decision was that much harder. The one thing that struck me wrong, was when Vorpalis encouraged Skrall to stand with his group and deny his ideals, it felt more like Endgame was telling Skrall to join his party than the Dragon. Vorpalis was a conqueror not a masochist like his brother, his stupidity in the offer seemed out of character. Much better with the darker colors than rather than the green claws. I'm still not thrilled with LDD, but it's a preference I'm willing to overlook. You did great on the battles as always and I appreciated that you made Jinnipher a viable addition to the party with the weaknesses and such. I didn't feel there was too much of a spike with the Vorpalis battle, we still had quite a bit of resources left up our sleeve and I new once Skrall got a marking of the favored that he'd clean up pretty quickly so I was glad it didn't happen to soon. Overall, a good haul, nothing in particular was super useful to Skrall, but then again he's got a pretty niche build to begin with. I'm with JimB in that more consumables as opposed to other things, or gold, never hurts.Player analysis of my own: QM (Endgame): In summary, a good quest, as always great battles and for the most part a good plot. You've got a bit of work to do with your NPC's and getting your PC's to feel something without telling them, but overall you're definitely progressing with each and every quest. Jinnipher (JimB): I thoroughly enjoy Jinnipher as a player (most of the time, the times I don't are when I can't seperate Skrall's feelings for her) and thoroughly hated her as Skrall. Not in an angry way, but in a frustrated way which I think is good. Jinnipher has pride to equal Nerwen's but it comes out in a very violent way as opposed to Nerwen's haughtiness that's so subtle you'll miss it if your PC's IQ is too low. For a first quest she did somewhat dominate the stage in terms of story, maybe understandably, but it never felt like you forced it that way JimB. I think you're off to a fine start with her and hope Skrall will have the opportunity to work together towards a common goal at some point. Karie (Kintober): Second time questing with you and you were great as ever. I've liked how Karie has evolved over her time with Heroica, not in a boisterous way but in a slow and subtle manner. She's been more reflective which I think is something natural with all of the big changes going on in her life. She doesn't have the freedom to be as happy go lucky as she once was and it shows. Skrall really did feel that she was the only reasonable member of the Party and it saddened him that she didn't consider his point of view. I hope they'll have a chance to quest together again and patch things up. Fine job as always! Warlen (The Chosen Minifigure): You'll have to forgive me as I missed the part where Warlen went from mage with a talking skull to mystic knight with a blood lust, so it may have made interacting with Warlen a little difficult as I wasn't sure what his "shtick" was. Missed the bit at the end with Warlen having had a prior encounter with Vorpalis before, not sure if that's something canon or something you decided to tag on. If the former, then good for you, if the latter, then be careful about putting too much emphasis on it. It looks great for Warlen, but it can sometime feel forced or coming out of left-field for the rest of us. Definitely expand upon this inner turmoil thing you've got going, but be careful not to become a moping character who only talks about his inner turmoil but never does anything about it. I'd be happy to go on more quests with you and see where you take Warlen. Lind (Lind Whisperer): I'll be honest and say I had my doubts on how Skrall would interact with Lind, part of me thought Skrall would be the one shooting him and not the one having to protect him from the rest of the party. You've already gotten some pretty good advice from the rest of the group. Don't worry about replying to every post and be careful not to have Lind come across as a know-it-all even with "munchkin" knowledge. As others have said, you've got a good kernel to work off of, don't waste it being the guy with a solution or answer for everything. Skrall (WBD): I'll admit, the bits of the end were some of the hardest to play. I really wanted to not go against the party, to do the easy thing and just kill Vorpalis like Skrall's build was designed to do, but something in Vorpalis's story just wouldn't let me let Skrall do that. He isn't a heartless killer, or an overly emotional fighter, he tries not to let the present cloud his judgement of the past, he's tired and frustrated with the way the world is. I'm almost comfortable enough with Skrall that I can feel how much the slights and the judgments against him hurt him and its a weird place to be able to sympathize with your character to that degree. Now if I could only figure out a way to advance him mechanically, he's been stuck with practically the same build since Quest 31. Overall, this was a fun quest to go on, so good job to the rest of you players and to Endgame.

"You lot just going to stand their gawking? Keep out of the way, lots of heavy loads passing through here."

"Looks like sooner." Boris signs his name for Quest 141.

Skrall appraised the smith's fine handy work before dividing out the pieces. Loot: Skrall: Talisman, Moone Greaves Karie: Helm Lind: Netherwings Warlen: Diremail, Purgers Jinnipher: Beheader, Conquerors The ogre smiled, "Just like you?" With a chuckle, Skrall gathered his equipment and made for the center of the city.

"Really? Makes me wonder what that one'll be like."

"Agreed, sympathy only breeds pity, not change. If yer looking for adventure, you'd be hard pressed to find it in another city."

"Flisperer." The ogre continued to look out to sea. "Ya figured out what hat yer wearin' when we make port?"

"Haven't given it much thought." Skrall pulls a small flask out of his satchel and takes a drink. The ogre leans over the edge of the railing looking off to sea in silence.

"Aye, I'm all set."

"Well I guess yer free to hitch a ride back with us. By the way, are ya aware of any blacksmiths in the area?"

Boris makes room for Kheyli, "What, the whole white pallor and fangs didn't give it away? Yes, I was a Paladin of sorts, though my time wasn't spent on the battlefield but in the homes and business of this city. After my... turning. The order wasn't too keen of keeping me on, can't say I blame them. It's clearly written in the His teachings 'But ensure that you do not drink the life of another, that is their blood. And neither must you consume it with your meat.' Stanza twelve line twenty three of Fifth Torahal. It's been quite an eye opening experience, I still have the powers of a cleric, but I have not reconciled how Ennoc would still support me." The vampire pauses to take another drink, "And you? Fey are rare in this city, tending to remain in their hidden courts."

Boris smiled, clearly displaying his fangs as he shrugged off the withering vines. "Not at all, I used to make a fine living exorcising those things. I've become a bit more tolerant, but Ennoc is not always so."

Skrall kept his eye on the dragon until it was out of sight, he was uncomfortable with the beast no matter how benevolent he seemed. Upon returning to Mermont the ogre accepted his payment quietly but did not acknowledge Faust, "I'd first come to some sort of agreement between yer group and those that were loyal to the dragon, yer going to have a hard enough time if ya don't tackle that sooner or later. If yer puttin' someone in charge, I'd suggest ya send a representative from each group."

"And why not put a shirt over it?"

"For a nearly all powerful dragon, ya certainly have odd way of gettin' yer plans accomplished. Any plans next or are we done here?"

"Lind, now ain't really the time to be arguin' about philosophy."

"Good to know, any reason ya didn't think of stoppin' it yerself?"

Actually, he's closer to a winged serpent than either a dragon or a wyvern.

Skrall kept his voice in check, he knew when there was a time to fight and a time to listen. "You ever doubted it?"

Skrall looks on as the moon elf thrusts her sword. "It's done. Warlen, can you dispose of the body? Lind, blow off the rest of the mist as we go, I think it's time we returned to Mermont." The ogre gathered up the remnants of the dragon and made ready to head back to the capital.

OoC: Aim is WP alone not Level alone, Skrall should have done only 84 Damage "Lind, ya want to keep those claws busy with a bone, while the poison does it's work? Warlen and Karie can ya try yer frailty spells on the beast? Gabriel, fire away at the Vorpalis, keep back though. Jinnipher, he's all yers." Skrall drew back two arrows and fired at Vorpalis from the back row. Puffy switches to dousing the whole group. Battle Order: (and suggested actions) Karie Scroll of Frailty vs. Vorpalis Karie Scroll of Frailty vs. Vorpalis or if already Fragile Blazing Palm vs. Vorpalis >Warlen Scroll of Frailty vs. Vorpalis or if already Fragile Darkness vs. Vorpalis >Warlen Scroll of Frailty vs. Vorpalis or if already Fragile Darkness vs. Vorpalis >Gabriel vs. Vorpalis Jinnipher vs. Vorpalis Skrall vs. Vorpalis Skrall vs. Vorpalis >Lind Bone vs. Vorpalis Claws

Skrall focused the Mist machine on Karie and Jinnipher.

Skrall quickly swigs a grand potion from the back before firing again. "Gabriel, a shot at that wing, if ya please, though keep yer distance." Battle Order: Skrall Lind Karie Karie Warlen Warlen Skrall Gabriel Jinnipher

Skrall draws back and fires two arrows at the tail from the back row. "Try not to do that again Gabriel. Try and take a step back to focus on your lethality." Puffy continues to spray the Party. Battle Order: Skrall Skrall Lind Karie Karie Warlen Warlen Gabriel Jinnipher

Skrall gives Lind a questioning look, "And who's ancestors are ya plannin' on oppressin'?"