Dannylonglegs

Oh, drat! I could have sworn that's what you were referencing. The spoiler's not necessary anymore I guess. DnD is, of course, Dungeons and Dragons, and Spelljamer is a campaign setting that was introduced in the second edition which revolved around fantasy space travel. Ultimately it came off as goofy at best, but it did introduce one of my favorite DnD villainous races: the Neogi. In the source material they are interstellar slavers, in control of the Umber Hulk race. They pilot ships that are styled off of spiders. Img1, Img2, Img3. One of the reasons I admire them so much as an 'alien' species is their creative yet believable life cycle. The Neogi are all single sexed and their society is based on slavery. Every one is either a master or a slave, and frequently both. When a master gets old, its neogi slaves inject it with a secretion. The old Neogi swells to a massive size and fills with eggs, its intelligence, falling to the level of the vermin it resembles in our eyes. After a certain amount of time, the eggs hatch inside the Neogi "grand master" and burst from its abdomen, killing it. The hatchlings then cannibalize on each other until the strongest and smartest are left. They are then slaves to the community until they have aquired their first umber hulk slave. It's delightfully vicious . The Neogi compare well with the similarly alien Illithids or Mind Flayers who had their own special niche in the campaign. While the Neogi were busy slaving, the Illithids have their own goals of true world (and space and time) domination. Don't even ask about their life cycle.

DnD Spelljammer much? ~Insectoid Aristocrat

A strong man with a slightly savage air crossed behind Sylph on the way to get a cork for the syringe he was holding. "I used to know a bit about those plants. Though that was all before I discovered the wonders of alcohol." he muttered to himself. Interested, Sylph shifted his position in response, facing the barbarian. The Barbarian began to rummage through his sack, apparently looking for something. Sylph waited. Finally, the large man pulled out a large book. Intrigued, the man walked back to his card game, mumbling. "Watch the game." Sylph muttered to his cloak in a language of silent screeches and empathy. "So shall I do." came the unhearable reply from his cloak, followed by a small brown bat discretely falling to the floor, crawling a safe distance from Sylph, and climbing up the wall to the rafters where it disappeared.

With a gust of air and a trail of mist, the wooden doors of Heroica burst open, allowing the wispy, but newly tailored figure of Sylph to enter the windy building. His aged brown cape with new patches billowed behind him, his sand green sleeves and dark foresty tunic rippling. His new dark green belt tails flapped over his dark green pants which were tucked loosely into his rusty boots. As always, his drab, luster-lacking metal animal-scull-like helmet concealed his or her face. In his hand was a long stick with a crook at the end on which he hung his small mixing pot. Despite the brightness of the sun outside, Sylph Solanum appeared to be shrouded in the umbrage of trees. He blew in and found himself a seat away from the card players. He turned his head in disgust at the game. He also took particular care to avoid the overzealous Cleric who was verbally assaulting the chap in grey cloaks. He sat down and asked for a cold cup of water, which he proceeded to sprinkle with a certain set of fresh herbs that he pulled from his satchel. He brought his face towards the mug and inhaled.

A haggard figure shambled into the market place in the morning, its cloak, dirty; its sleeves torn; the armour on its legs irreparably dented. Sylph Solanum found his way to the Potion Shack. "Hello Portia," Sylph said from beneath his grim helmet. "Yipes! What are you!?" She cried, upon seeing his battle-worn form. "You look like one of those creepy undeads I've heard come here at night!" "Calm yourself woman, I don't mean to fright." responded Sylph in a hushed tone. He looked around and noticed he was drawing unwanted attention. "I've been wearing these rags for too long it seems." He mumbled to himself. "Well, what do you want?" Replied the irritated woman. "I'll buy a floral bomb." stated Sylph. "All right, here you are." Said Portia as she reluctantly handed Sylph the bottle, and accepted 10 coins. (35 - 10 = 25 gold) After his unpleasant meeting with Portia, Sylph made his way to a tailor. It wasn't hard to find a shop that offered to mend his clothes for a nominal fee, which was covered by the sale of his leg armour at a scrap metal outlet. The tailor was a nice young woman with flowing blond hair and a well made dress of poor fabric. The walls of the wooden building were lined with rolls of cloth, as were the cabinets and drawers and chairs. Two small cats bounced their way through the towers of tinsel and wool, batting at loose threads and balls of string. When the tailor saw Sylph enter her domain, she raised her eyebrows with surprise. "Blessed Danab, you certainly are in need of my help!" She cried upon looking at the travesty before her. "Thank you for your assistance. I shall need new sleeves and pants." When she was finished fussing with his outfit, it was mid-day, and Sylph was back to 25 gold.

Yay!!! It's Bob... in space! Hopefully I can get into this and redeem myself for being too trustful! (I could use a little galactic paranoia ) Also, I hope Bob can forgive me for my lack of participation in his last Mystery Game. I can't wait for sign ups! ~Insectoid Aristocrat

After looking at the scum writeboard, I feel a little better about how epicly I failed in trusting Tammo. He's clearly a pro and had role claims all lined up to counteract my suspicions and introduced them 'slowly as he began trusting me more.' Damn. Very effective tactic. One to learn from. I really should have been more suspicious when you said there was "some reason not to lynch Lli." If I had stuck to my guns on that I might have escaped your illusions. Also, will we get to see the night actions? ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Well, that's what I was picking up the last few days. Tammo, no offence, gets a bit cocky when things come together. I noticed it at the end of Red Moon, and again near the end of this Mafia game. I thought it might have been because of what he referred to as "Yes, I can confirm that I'm about 98% sure the last scum/SK is between Foul/Aayla, so we're almost in autowin here." I thought he meant Town win, but, now I realize that he didn't... say... TOWN!!! That's hilarious! Yes, those PMs did me in big time. ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Myah myah myah, easy to see since day 4. Well, my hat's off to Tammo for pulling a hood over my eyes for nearly the entire game. His masterful manipulation and buddying up to me kept me completely in the dark, and trusting until two days before my death. At that point, I contemplated the possibility that He could be scum, and then tried to figure out the logistics of that, but I was blinded by all the false info he had been feeding me since day 2. I played completely into his hand, and as he told me in private: "you and Maccoco are probably my greatest allies at this point." If anyone were to look into our PMs, I'd look like a total idiot, and maybe I deserve that. I might have more to say, especially if others talk. ~Duped idiot Insectoid Aristocrat

I don't know. Thanks for catching that! Nice save! I changed my stats to accommodate the changes bonuses. ~Insectoid Aristocrat Reason for Edit: I redundantly worded things redundantly.

The creaking wooden doors of the Training Room crept open. A gust of cold midnight air and swirling fog swept in, light from the moon casting the figure of a caped man on the well-used wood and tossed sand of the floor. The powerful wind brought training equipment to life: hung punching bags swayed and light arrows noisily jangled together like chimes. A shield, loosely leaned against a rack of weapons, rolled to the ground with a soft thud. "Hello, who is it?!" Came the perky voice that could only belong to the Copper Fox, instructor of the room. Sylph Solanum made no reply, instead choosing to invite himself into the chamber. The Copper Fox met him within, wearing a robe as opposed to his daytime chest armour and undershirt. "You don't sleep very much, do you?" Asked Sylph in an amused way. "No, not really. And especially not when the moon is so close to being full" Replied the Jack of all trades, looking past Sylph to see the moon and the street while saying the last words, as if he were watching out for some unseen threat. "Looks to me like you don't either." Remarked the Fox shrewdly, his gaze returning to the bleak helmeted figure before him. "I find the night-time air invigorating." Commented Sylph. "Now, if you don't mind, I do have a reason to be here..." You wish to train in an advanced class, I know." Interjected Copper Fox. "What makes you think I'll let you train tonight? You barged in unannounced in the middle of the night, and haven't shown much politeness since." After quick contemplation, Sylph replied, "I apologize for my perceived impropriety. May we continue now?" "Sure thing sport," Chuckled the Fox as he took off his robe and began to reassemble his day-time attire. "So, what are you now, a rogue, a ranger?" Questioned Copper Fox, his muscled but scarred back exposed as he pulled on his white undershirt. "A Cleric." For a split second Fox almost looked surprised, but in an instant, his face grew an ironical smirk. "You don't say. Come to think of it, it's now pretty obvious because of all your holy symbols and preachy talk. " "I worship Nature." "So you're a cleric of Sylvania." "Yes." "So.... What's your plan." "Excuse me?" "Why'd you come here in the middle of the night.? What class do you want to advance in.?" "I wish to train as a druid." "Hmm," Remarked the Copper Fox in a serious tone. "I sense much darkness in you. More than I've felt in a long time of working with heroes. I'm not sure you have the dual spirit of a druid. Life and Death. Perhaps you might be more suited as a witch." "No. I shall once again... I mean, I shall make my master proud and advance in the arts of nature. I promised him such as I watched him die." "I'm more interested in that first thing you were saying, but all right. Let's go to the park, I'll show you how to commune with nature. If you feel you can devote yourself to nature and Sylvania properly, then, let us train you as a a druid. " "I am always devoted to Sylvania." stated Sylph cryptically as he reentered to sea of fog from which he was birthed. "That's not ominous sounding at all. " Mumbled The Copper Fox as he walked out the door, following Sylph. The two made their way to the park silently, Sylph's bat companion twisting through the air, making trails in the fog. The night was silent and starless, the large moon illuminating the roofs of the tall buildings which left the cobble stone streets obscured. A wolf howled. "Alright, we're here." Announced Copper Fox. "I see." Retorted Sylph as he ran his gloved hand almost lovingly over the knotted bark of an oak, growling disdainfully at the soot residue left on his gloves. "Since you're so observant, maybe you can identify these herbs." Said Copper as brushed his hand over a set of three different plants. "That one with the large white trumpet-like flowers and the thorny ball shaped seed-pod is a Jimson Weed. You should probably wash your hands before placing them in your mouth. That second one you pointed out is a mint of some kind." Getting closer, he grasped a leaf and rubbed it between his thumb and pointer fingers, then he brought his hand up to the slits in his mask around where one might imagine his nose resided, and inhaled. "dragon-pepper mint. Tasty and fragrant, but again, wash your hands before consuming. That last one is Mucgwyrt. Very useful in many potions and it repels insects. "Impressive, but let's get serious." Said Copper Fox, as he lead Sylph deeper into the forested area. When their training was through for the night, The sun was peaking over the trees of the park. "Very good." Said Sylph, his gloves scarred and dirty. He held his hands before him. "I can feel the power of Nature within me... Thou, Nature, art my goddess." Sylph began, speaking to the trees around him. "To thy law my services are bound." "Looks like someone's pleased with himself... Or herself. I really can't tell. This guys voice is rather gender neutral, the body shape is androgynous, and that mask is completely obscuring. I don't know what he/she is either." mumbled The Copper Fox to himself as he wandered back to his den, showing signs of heavy physical excursion. Sylph Solanum: Level 15 Druid unknown age, unknown race Power: 22 Health: 30/30 Ether: 20/20 Gold: 35 Inventory: Mockthril Rod (WP: 7), 2 Potions, 1 grand potion, 2 Tonics, Remedy, 2 Venom, Smoke Bomb, 2 Ice Bomb, 3 Water Bomb, 2 smelling salts, 2 fire bomb, 2 lightning bomb, Bedroll, Shovel, Pickaxe, Magnifying Glass, 8 Bones, Signet ring, Grand tonic, Canteen Passport (2 trips), Saber teeth, Scroll of Frailty, Strange potion 1 (1/2 full - Turns user into rabbit until it wears off/remedied ~ time span currently unknown)

Sylph Groaned at the reckless brawl drawing to a close in the bar. The noise of it and the fireworks had made his rest most uncomfortable. He pulled his head from a glass cup of green liquid with small flecks of leaves within--possibly a home-made tea--and turned his cloaked back to the table. He demounted his stool and made for the door. Some of the residents watched him stand, but most were too focused on the entertaining argument to watch Sylph Solanum glide out the door into the foggy evening air of the cobbled streets of Eubric Freeport.

I was wondering about that. What happened? It likely wouldn't have changed much, as Kadabra fell for the scum's ploy, but I was surprised you didn't show up today even though you said you would. was it a joke? ~Insectoid Aristocrat

You magnificent, slimy bastard! Although I did supect that you could be a scum at the end, I still trusted you. It is a really good thing that you killed me though, because I would have been all up in your grill today had you not! Well played my friend, well played! I should have recognized your behavior yesterday, you get cocky near the end of things! I thought it was because we were winning, but it was really just because you were! A+ manipulation! ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Thanks for letting me play, but it seems more like, I myself was played! ~Insectoid Aristocrat

I'm so bad with names. I usually associate characters with pictures and who's playing them. That's also one of the reasons I make up nicknames for all the characters Sylph interacts with.

A cool wind blows into the Hall as its doors swung open again, allowing Sylph Solanum to sail in. Sylph approached a stall in the corner, and sat down for a spell until he'd enter the training room.

The problem isn't that I don't like role-playing or that I think I'm bad at it (I don't think I am ) I was mostly just worried that my character came off as boring, static, too mysterious, or underdeveloped. I'm playing it slow with him, but I worry that I play it too slow. I definitely want him to get worked into his advanced class a bit before I reveal much about his backstory apart from the occasionally dropped dead mentor. Thank you for your feedback, and I'm not trying to bend-over backwards to become an outrageous roleplayer. Sylph isn't really, outrageous. He may snark sometimes though. Perfect! That's what I was going for! (Although, I hate to ask, who's Docken?) I've noticed. Exactly. Interesting. A flash back is a really interesting idea (and I do believe I did see yours and thought the same then. ) However I'm not sure I will use it, at least not for a while. (and I wouldn't want to steal your idea ) I'm not sure how else anyone will find out about the darker points in his past, although I can foresee a few. I would not want to present very much internal conflict at the moment either. I would like to keep up the mysterious stranger, and presenting too much info to the audience might jeopardize that. Wow, thanks! I'm pleased that my character isn't as boring as I thought. (Oh, and about you're character, I'm really glad that you went with a fanatical cleric! It is sort of the point of Clerics. )

That explains why I see dead people. I bet you show up transparent blue. ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Wonderful! I am a huge fan of Bradbury's work, and this is an excellent illustration of "the Sound of Thunder," and your Fahrenheit 451 reference is great too! Not only do I admire the dedication ( ), but the MOC is wonderful in its own rights, and I love how the downed T-Rex looks. (As a side note, it's a shame the movie of this film was so atrocious. If you haven't seen it yet, don't. It almost taints the genius of the book. ) ~Insectoid Aristocrat

First of all, I think this thread for the discussion of roleplay is an excellent idea! I've read a bit of what's been said and it's really informative. So, I'm not sure if I have been roleplaying for my character enough or properly. I like roleplaying, though I'm not fantastic at it, but my character doesn't really promote the kind of roleplaying that others seem to be able to spout out. The problem I think, is how secretive my character is. Not only is his race and gender unknown to the other heroes, but so most of his history. He knows fully well what he is and what his plans are, but he sees no reason to divulge his information to anyone. All anyone can tell about him, from how I've played him is that he's smart, and a bit cruel but occasionally polite, and overly careful. Also, what people do see of him is mostly a facade. Sylph feels it easiest to merely act polite to those he meets because he sees everyone as a potential ally or tool. He's a real psychopath, but I can't get that point across and stay in character. I also feel that his true identity may be too evil for Heroica. I'm so used to being the DM of my old DnD games that I prefer playing villains to heroes, but I know that villains and Heroes don't mix well. Does anyone have any ideas as to how I can make him more entertaining if you don't think he's entertaining enough?

Yes, I agree! Close-ups indeed! This is fantastic, and far from mini! Great job! ~Insectoid Aristocrat

Awww. But I'm greedy! Anyway, the puzzles are fun enough as they are! I just hope I didn't hinder anyone else's attempts to solve them. ~Insectoid Aristocrat

"Why thank you." (Players' note: Do we get XP for the puzzles? )

"Ah, thank you, Your reward is most delightful." Sylph says, bowing slightly. "Yes, let us leave, my friend. Once our leader distributes your reward to us, we shall depart on the Guild's boat."