CMP

It's like Dastan all over again.

Atramor shot a look at McCafferey, who merely blinked in response and took up a perch on the balcony's railing, remaining there. He then makes sure his daggers are all stowed and his coat is pulled shut, then pours himself a glass of wine, holding it somewhat casually while opening the door.

It's a fascinating phenomenon. NPCs seem to place value on their own lives (and eachother's). They really need to learn their place as meatshields and MacGuffins.

The party hits a small antechamber. The beam of light passes from the ceiling of the room down to the floor, and through a glass disk beyond. Three separate stairways lead downward, all of them just as shrouded in darkness. "Wait...I've seen this before, when the shades were interrogating me. They were taking...they took the others down here, and split them up." He frowns, thinking. "The shades are mentally connected, so they'll know when breach one of the paths." "In other words...when we go down one tunnel, there's a good chance they'll take the hostages from the others and fall back. If that's the case...we need to decide if we'll split up or not. We'd have the advantage of surprise and potentially save everyone right now, but obviously we'd have a more difficult time against whatever we find." The Party Hybros (JimButcher)*Hastened* *Immune to Cursed, Asleep, Blinded, Confused, Fragile, Weakened* *Immune to all elements* 53-year-old male imp Assassin Level: 30 Power Bonus: +1 Defense: 0 Health: 45/45 Gold: 949 Equipment: Sword of Ancestral Hatred (WP: 44.33, gains 1/3 WP every kill made with it, light-, darkness-, fire-, ice-, and wind-elemental; longsword), Golden Armor (user is permanently hastened and cursed, fire-, water-, earth-, wind-, wood-, ice-, lightning-, darkness-, light-elemental, grants immunity to Sleep, Blindness, Confusion, Frailty, and Weakening; bodywear), Cloak of the Red Assassin (Chance of Assassination is 1/3, suitable for Assassins; backwear), The Black Hat (Suitable for anyone, grants Intimidation, immune to darkness and cursed, headwear) Inventory: Zoot's Reaper (WP:15, earth-elemental; scythe), Clock Cog (WP:14, retrievable), Banana Bladerang (WP:9, damage all, retrievable), Justice (WP:8, causes blinded-effect, dagger), Twin Kunai (WP:6, dual strike, daggers), Spinning Bolas (WP: 5, deals the Slowed effect, but the effect is removed when retrieved; retrievable), Wrench (WP:3, decreases the target’s level by 1, retrievable), Cloak of the Blue Assassin (SP:1, suitable to Rogues; backwear), Sterile Gloves (grants immunity to poisoned- and bleeding-effects, handwear), Sticky Gloves (gains 50% more gold, suitable for Rogues, handwear), Minuet of the Forest (Causes Wood damage equal to the minstrel's level to all enemies per round for as long as the song is sung. Costs 10 ether per round. Minstrel Song), 14 Potions, 12 Grand Potions, 17 Health Cores, Tiger Balm, 15 Remedies, 2 Neutralizers, 3 Elixirs, 3 Phoenix Essences, 2 Deadly Venoms, 3 Smoke Bombs, 3 Holy Bombs, 6 Nostrums, 3 Meads, 3 Mulled Wines, Minimizing Dust, Bedroll, Shovel, Skeleton Decoy, Bone, 4 Mythril Shards, 3 Pumpkin Bombs (causes stunned-, poisoned-, asleep-, blinded-, sealed- and confused-effects to all opponents when used), x2 Gold Rings (Worth 15 gold; can be given to someone to make them enamored with the giver), Pauldrons (suitable for knights, dragoons, and skirmishers, SP: 2, accessory), Fenghuang Essence (After being consumed, automatically revives the target with full health once when knocked out; cannot revive targets that are already knocked out), Baron's Epaulets (Suitable for short heroes, grants Command over short NPCs), Ancient Starbeam Dagger (WP: 12, damages undead, double WP from dusk until dawn, breaks after one use, throwing weapon) Monk Pretzel (Played by Palathadric) *Immune to Fragile* *Counterstriking* *Regenerating* 463-year-old male "hermit" Paladin Level 28 Power Bonus: 0 Defense: 22 Health: 18/49 Ether: 28/37 Gold: 936 Equipment: Dual Staff (WP:8, Ice, Lightning, Fire, Wind, Light; dual strike; staff), Mythril Shield (SP:20), , Ethereal Cloak (SP:2, Max Ether +4; backwear), Counterstrike Gloves (handwear), Magic Viper Skin (heals 1 health to wearer each round of battle unless knocked out; accessory) Inventory: Heavy Flail (WP:5, causes fragile; mace), Flying Cross (WP:6; Darkness; broomstick), Steak (WP: 1; instantly kills vampires on successful hits; suitable for all), Impervious Shield (SP: 5; grants immunity to Fire), Heavy Armour (SP:5, Immune to Fragile), Duplovian Helmet (SP: 2; Immune to Magic and Healing; headwear), Bumble Fanshirt (SP: 1; Vermin with level less than half of the wearers are scared and won't directly attack the wearer; bodywear), Soothing Slippers (meditation restores 5 ether; footwear), , Shackles of War (accessory), , Amethyst, Scroll of Sealing, Scroll of Blinding, Scroll of Arc Sleep, 3 Potions, 7 Grand Potions, 5 Tonics, 2 Ether Cores, 7 Remedies, Neutralizer, Grand Elixir (Restores full health and ether to target and remedies all negative effects), 3 Phoenix Incenses, 2 Smelling Salts, 5 Venoms, 5 Deadly Venoms, 2 Paralyzing Venoms, 3 Smoke Bombs, Fire Bomb, Holy Bomb, Military Grade Fire Bomb, Bedroll, Pickaxe, Magnifying Glass, Telescope, Magic Shovel (will always find something when used, limited to three uses per quest), 10 Bones, Raw Meat (+5 max. health upon consumption), Strategist's Shako (+5 power while in the front row, +5 SP while in the back; headwear), Archaic Starbeam Blade (WP: 15, damages undead, double WP from dusk until dawn, breaks after one use, longsword) Jeaux Elmfyre (joeshmoe554) *Blessed* *Transcended* *Immune to Sealing, Bleeding, and Confused* *Party Leader* Unknown age automaton male Evoker Level 17 Power Bonus: 0 Defense: 2 Health: 25/25 Ether: 18/18 Gold: 615 Equipment: Divine Cannonade (WP:11; gives blessed- and transcended-effects to user; hollow; handcannon), Enchanted Bracelet (protects from sealing; accessory), Automaton Armor (SP:2, immune to bleeding and confused; suitable to automata only; bodywear) Inventory: Eminus (WP: 5; bow), Ranger's Quiver (WP+1; backwear), Topaz, Soma, Smelling Salts, Tonic, Grand Tonic x2, Grand Potion x2, Remedy x4, Venom x2, Volatile Venom x4, Jinxy Juice, Smoke Bomb, Water Bomb, Bedroll, Bone x6, Handy Suitcase (SP-2, use 2 Items; accessory), Amethyst, Experienced Turdwing (Deals the confused and poisoned by 1 effects on an opponent when used, fly familiar) Summons: Thunder Mode Em (emjajoas) Unknown age human male Warden Level 16 Power Bonus: 4 Defense: 19 Health: 34/34 Gold: 6 Equipment: Aquabow (WP: 7, Water-elemental), Anniversary Medal (Artefact/Accessory) (Power +2, SP +2, Max. Health +2, Max. Ether +2. The values will increase by 1 with each passing year), Iron Knuckle Armour (Body, foot, and hand wear. Counts as one artefact. Usable by knights and dragoons. SP: 10. Cannot be removed by enemies), Fashionable Shield (SP:7) Inventory: Consumables: Smoke bomb, Grating Stone x2, Nostrum x2, Potion x3, Remedy x3, Venom, Grand Potion x3, Mead x2, Ambrosia Weapons: Quality Cutlass (WP:6, Dagger), Bow(WP:5), Aging Starbeam Blade (WP: 9, damages undead, double WP from dusk until dawn, breaks after one use, longsword) Tools: Bedroll, Shovel, Pickaxe, Equipment: White Marksman's Hat (⅙ chance of Assassination vs. Flying monsters; Headwear), Gentleman's Hat (SP: 1, suitable for men, headgear. The wearer has a 1/2 chance to not be affected by (Asleep), Ranger's Quiver (+1 WP to all Bows/Crossbows), Syndicate Cowl (SP: 2, Immune to Doomed effect) Wally (NPC, controlled by JimButcher) 11 years old male gnomish Artisan *Immune to Blinded, Fire, and Light* Level 15 Power Bonus: 0 Health: 35/35 Gold: 0 Equipment: All-Purpose Wrench (WP: 15, damages undead, hammer), Neat-o Goggles (Immune to blinded, light, and fire, accessory, suitable for Wally) Inventory: Telescope, Magnifying Glass, Bedroll Soryx Dourskull (NPC, controlled by Palathadric) *Favors Dark* *Counterstriking* *Immune to Darkness, Ice, Hexed, and Confused* 43 years old male wereviper Hunter Level 22.33 Power Bonus: 0 Defense: 16 Health: 37/37 Gold: 26 Equipment: Vanquisher (WP: 23, light, ice, and lightning elemental, greatsword), Darksteel Armor (Suitable for anyone, SP: 6, max health +3, immune to darkness, hexed, and confused, bodywear), Counterstrike Gauntlets (Suitable for Soryx, SP: 7, if the wearer is damaged by a Free Hit, they counter with strength equal to their level), Frost Helmet (SP: 3, ice immune) Inventory: Dastan Dual Axes (WP: 7, 1/6 chance to seal dragons, dual-strike, axes), Cracked Starbeam Dagger (WP: 10, damages undead, double WP from dusk until dawn, breaks after one use, throwing weapon)

Atramor sipped the wine on the table to see if it was worth anything or had any positive effects on it. He then tried to look through the keyhole to see the interior, or at least if it was locked or not.

The aged books all have elvish titles, and there's nothing underneath the shelf. There's nothing but darkness down the stairs, currently. Pretzel's pick turns up nothing but moist earth. It seems they really were buried.

Sure thing. Scuba/Guts I was really, really happy with how the situation affected Guts. It was interesting to see how Baltarok utterly broke him at one point, and even though he recovered quickly, clearly it changed him, as it seems to have with many of the heroes. He was a good party leader, unless there was another one in the party, in which case I'm surprised PvP never took place. He took the typical Guts approach to most of the problems thrown at him, going for the simplest, most straightforward solutions most of the time, whereas Dyric and Haldor seemed far more concerned with the consequences of their actions. I really liked his interactions with Tarvalk. Angry bald guys with no time for any crap get along well, it seems. You were easily the most active player, and really help keep the quest moving. Legonator/Dyric I was intrigued to see how Dyric would take working against the Kingdoms, and he seemed pretty disturbed near the end when he had to actually take up arms against his fellows, but the fact that he went through it shows his obvious determination towards completing his goals. He was really a stabilizing element to the party. He had a good grasp of the two sides' relationship, even though he seemed to keep his distance from aligning himself too closely with the orcs' cause. It was interesting to see him somewhat conflicted like this. Scorpiox/Haldor Haldor easily had some of the best character interaction in the Quest. I already brought up his awesome conversations with Bastala, and he really let his heart drive most of his actions, which is consistent with what we've seen previously in the Wren Quests, but I feel like he really start shouldering the problems of the orcs on his own, and of course his drive to be responsible for what happened there as a result of their actions led to his staying there, which I feel was a really good way to put him on hiatus. He would always go out of his way to try and do the right thing even while Guts kept rolling on doing the practical thing, which I thought was pretty interesting. Swils/Thormanil You remind me a lot of JimB. You just have this insane grasp on how Quests work and how things are going to pan out. And you haven't hosted one yet. Your relative inactivity in the middle didn't bother me all that much. When Thormanil spoke he either had a pretty hilarious observation to make or complex battle strategy to explain. I'd really like to see you characterize Arx some more and delve into their relationship further, I feel like he got some good experience early on and I'd like to see that developed further. Thormanil himself is more interesting than I think most people give him credit for. I haven't forgotten his last stand at the end of Quest 35. He's a pretty likeable and amiable character, but when it comes down to the decisions that matter....he's a somewhat disturbingly callous about peoples' lives. It feels like an inverse on a lot of characters. I find it pretty cool. CJP/Alexandre Alexandre is pretty likable for a Black Knight. He might need to brush him on his diplomacy, but he knows what he's fighting for and how to get there. I feel like you were a little inactive and he didn't weigh in on some of the bigger decisions, but he's generally an even-keel character anyway. He's a good ally to have, but doesn't seem to take the lead as often as he could. Making his voice heard louder and more often would be constructive to his character. Masked/Alexis I was pretty disappointed in your activity to be honest. At first it seemed like you were making a comeback from that enormous trip to the Fields, but she didn't end up doing all that much over the course of the Quest. I though she did a good job in the diplomacy minigame - despite the mistakes I thought the interactions themselves were interesting, which honestly I value more anyway. She is also a complete powerhouse when it comes to combat.

"Mortimer, Purple, might be best if ya' helped them out with the fire." Atramor turned away from the burning alley (the explosion framed in the background, obviously), unfazed by the destruction the bomb had just unleashed, and headed into the alley next to the club, tossing the kobold ten coins. "Ya' never saw us, mate." He then led the way up the drainage pipe, after ensuring the guards were occupied with the fire, McCafferey fluttering up to the top alongside him.

Wally looked down as Jeaux pushed the spheres further. "I think you're right...this combination looks kinda like a solar ecl-" The golden sphere quarters slid open further, and the chain was lodged underneath one snapped, sending Wally stumbling backward off of it. Underneath the sphere was a glass disk, which immediately was shot through with the beam of intense white light from the ceiling. A tremor shook through the entire tower. Soryx looked back and forth rapidly, nearly losing his balance as an enormous splintering sound echoed through the room. The window through which the heroes came in began to move - the gap leading into the sewers slid upward out of sight, replaced by rank, muddy earth. The motion stopped after a minute, as did the tremors wracking the tower. Soryx walked over to the window, examining the earth briefly. "Whatever we just did activated...something." He ran his armored finger across the earth that now filled the window. "And whatever it was seems to have broken the tower we're in, and sunk it. We're at least a hundred feet underground, heroes." "Damn. Now my prison gets to be my coffin, too?"

I think it suits him, honestly. His relationship with Bastala was really interesting to write for, and it really fit that he stayed behind to help her out. Quest 88 had most of the twists in this trilogy. Orcs don't have time for all those politics. They yell at eachother and call it a day. The middle did slow down a bit. The bird filler was a bit longer than I expected, but I fully anticipated the battle with Gor would take some time. And then we had to get things synchronized with Quest 90. I felt things picked up during Imaestym though, which was really the intention, to speed things up and keep the action moving into the final battle. This party turned out even better than I suspected. Guts was Guts, and I'm glad we got to see more of Thormanil's character. Dyric was of course the stabilizing element, while Haldor seemed to have the best grasp of what the party needed to do and how to get there. I loved seeing your interactions with eachother and the NPCs. :thumbup:

The white sphere aligns with the mark on the brown sphere, which is aligned with the mark on the golden one, if I was unclear. The golden sphere slid open even further, as the beam of light above brightened as well. Wally tugged at the chain. "Almost got it..."

Atramor heads down a nearby street, ensuring it was close enough to where the guards could hear, and plants the Bomb XX halfway inside the nearest unoccupied alley, pulling his hat low over his brow as he leaned against a wall a short walk away, waiting for the guards to come investigate before heading back to the alley next to the club.

That was for if one of the sides succeeded. The heroes never really got pushed back so it never came into play. The problem is that PvP mechanics are bad. Really really bad. Throwing them into the already convoluted mechanics of the bridge battle would've been a disaster. When push came to shove, I realized none of you guys were above killing eachother to get the victory you wanted faster. So I kind of had to dissuade that. Crimson Crown has their hands in everyone's pie, but their motives will probably become more clear in a future quest.

More than I wanna see that random crap in Mos Eisley or hear the songs in Jabba's Palace and the Ewok village.

Jeez. That's a lot of text. I had a lot of fun hosting this Quest, yeah it was stressful at times, and I flubbed some of the more important mechanics, but I feel like it was a fun ride for everyone. Hopefully. I have been planning a Quest heavily involving orcs for a year or two now. I had Tarvalk together for god knows how long. But I never really got anywhere since I couldn't work my current story into it, it didn't even take place in Baltarok. But Zepher messaged me and WBD about another triple Quest, and I thought multiple perspectives would do such a story more than one ever could, so I brought up the idea and we all worked the hell out of it. And I think it worked out well. I love how there was always friction between the heroes. They'd been through so much trying to fulfill their goals that when two of them had to make a hard choice, there was always going to be some difference of opinion. I can't help but completely disagree with this. I feel like the three of us as QMs wanted to give as much important choice to the heroes as possible. Those choices affected everything that happened. I sure as hell did. I actually took inspiration from Quest 30 in this regard. If the Quest 89 party had failed any of the tasks assigned to them, the Quest wouldn't've ended. The clans would simply fractured. Succeeding in the political puzzle actually determined whether Karstaal would live or die of his wounds later. Choosing between Gor and Marga determined what kind of troops they sent to the final battle, but also would have dire ramifications for Baltarok in the future. Marga technically led the clan, but Gor was more agreeable. And it looks as though the heroes chose him, despite the difficult position it would put him and his allies in later. There was Mint/Hamilton, saving David or getting to the Nords, sparing or killing Bastala, and if they had tried the heroes of Quest 89 actually could've stopped Tarvalk from killing Speros. The fact that they didn't even try I feel lends credit to just how much Baltarok changed them. And then of course after the bridge battle they had to get the Kingdoms and orcs to agree to terms that prevented war. I loved how everyone was utterly sapped of hope at the beginning of that. Both sides were at least as embittered by that battle. But in the end, they managed to give peace between the orcs and Kingdoms a real chance, and that's thanks to the heroes. Maybe it wasn't as free-form as Dastan (though honestly I think you're thinking more in terms of Quest 31 alone rather than Dastan as a whole, in Quest 30 things were relatively straightforward), but I feel like the heroes had a more tangible impact. It was more difficult obviously because we were basically pitting the heroes against one another at certain points, but I feel the entire situation has more impact that way. So I guess I'll divy this up into slices. Eubric I hope that prologue ended up being somewhat relevant. I was glad to see how eager some of you were for information on Baltarok (I had a LOT of it) but I wanted to make sure I could stretch it out a bit, so I gave it in bits and pieces up until the Clanmeet. And then there's Olmstyr. I realized early on it would probably be best if the heroes had him along as a guide. But I've done few Quests with long-term NPCs. My worst fear was making the Quest all about him, a somewhat recent problem in other ones. Mostly he was there to keep the heroes connected as to what the hell was going on. I hope he was likable enough. He's mostly just a regular dude, but not tied down by tradition enough to know when Baltarok needs help. More of the Magpie is always fun. I liked all the interaction between my heroes, Zepher's heroes, the crew, and the guides. The fight went over pretty well, and the friction between Guts and Hoke and Gocklo and Olmstyr was pretty cool, though dividing the loot took more time than I would've liked. If you hadn't saved Attina things wouldn't've gone over as smoothly with the Magpie during the final battle, but I was pretty sure this one was an easy choice. Musalnav Swils called it. Good concept, crappy execution. I thought you'd spend more time listening and talking than just guessing alignments. I tried to broadcast the alignments as well as I could - I made sure to make it very clear Tarvalk had good reason to wage war on the Kingdoms - but I guess it didn't even really matter since you just started guessing and there was nothing stopping you since I didn't plan for it. In my defense though, I did accurately predicate screw-ups would probably cause the most people to leave the Clanmeet. I secretly hope this was more due to lack of participation than poor mechanics. On second though it was probably both. I spent a long, long time working on this minigame, I knew a battle wouldn't fit at all and I thought using the basic D&D alignments was pretty smart, but I couldn't figure out how to make it work. I hope you got a decent enough look at each person's thoughts and intentions though. They'd come in use later trying to figure out why the orc leaders made the choices they did. Also, your success or failure directly contributed to if Clan Musalnav would lend you its support, and if Karstaal would survive later. I liked Dyric giving more character to Garohn than I possibly could've thought of. His role was minimal but his interactions gave him some good character. Thormanil's more of a speaker than anyone gives him credit for. Haldor's discussions with Bastala were easily my favorite though. She'd be a somewhat important character, but mostly in Quest 90. She served as a cool miniboss in the final battle though, and thanks mostly to his characterization with her got an even larger role at the end. I tend to drop/add/focus on characters depending directly on how people interact with them. That's the whole reason Quest 98 exists. The avian battle was pure filler. I considered using some mechanic because you were on a moving cart but this was just coming off that spectacular failure of a minigame. I thought you'd just load Alexandre up with some more defensive artifacts, but an Ambrosia worked just as well. I didn't consider how much of a pain in the megablocks that roc would be, but you got it done. Aj-Kahr The avian battle bothered me mostly because I knew you had a huge, grueling battle coming up shortly anyway, and it was already a little longer than I would've liked, but I think it worked out alright. I liked the short breather between battles taking place on an unstable mountainside. For all of Guts' complaining I feel like it was balanced well enough. Six super buffed heroes can make short work of ordinary battles, but I managed to maintain the difficulty this battle was supposed to have anyway, so that turned out well. The choice between Marga and Gor was interesting. It did not have as direct of an impact on the Quests as much as all the other ones. I even told WBD and Zepher it wasn't going to be majorly relevant at the moment. It was more 'crazy bitch with all the power' or 'hardened warlord forced to rebel'. Two difficult choices. Gor's will have more consequences in the future, I'll promise you that. Irlaz Flipz mentioned how disjointed the thing at the gate was. If I remember right WBD was kind of behind and Zepher had a filler battle going on, so it was a matter of evening things out, and I wasn't online when WBD got his heroes to the gate. It was kind if important they meet inside the city for the glorified game of Where's Waldo. Which I feel worked well enough, it wasn't a big puzzle. Purpearl I think was the hero there. The battle worked better than I could've hoped, I was nervous about such a level gap, but the vines served their purpose and the heroes ended up successful with minimal casualties. That was all Quest 89 needed. But who they'd be getting their support from depended more on Quest 90.. Imaestym/Tarokin I hope I managed to get across just how crushed Olmstyr was here, and the atmosphere of just how screwed the city was. I liked the brief friction between Tarvalk and the heroes in the beginning, and how it ended with him lending them his full support in addition to dragging an army out to destroy the Kingdoms. Just some interesting growth there. The battles were pretty easy. The Pilgrim and Jaret will be elaborated on in another Quest. Like I said before, you guys could've spared Speros, but it never even seemed to occur to you, which was interesting. It seemed like you really taking to heart just why the orcs hated the Kingdoms so much. I'm hoping everything Hamilton said here was relatively in-character for him, but I suppose only the Quest 88 heroes and Zepher would know if it did. I feel like the orc's reaction was pretty much justified here, something that was very important to all of us as QMs. Everyone's reaction to everything had to be justified, but at the same time there would have to be some obvious conflict. That's where we wanted to set ourselves apart from Dastan. There, it was somewhat easy - the heroes work together with them and their allies to defeat the Lions and their followers. In Baltarok it was a matter of figuring out just who your ally was and how far they'd go to be your ally. The lines blurred between all three of the Quests. The Final Battle The mechanics were more convoluted than they should've been, and at times we weren't on the same page as to how certain things were ruled, plus the less experienced heroes had a lot of trouble even being relevant. It was stressful, but not as how I would've hoped. Honestly, to a point, this battle wasn't even meant to be as fun as the others. You were all supposed to go and hell and back holding off TWO armies at the same time. It was supposed to be long and grueling. If the mechanics were better, maybe it would've been a bit more enjoyable, but I feel like we were successful in making it seem pretty hopeless at times. This was the climax of three different Quests, after all. Maybe it was rough, convoluted, and difficult. But now you can say you've killed two armies. I liked the ending. The orcs have been renewed and have hope for the future, the Kingdoms are just tired and defeated. A lot of friction, and a lot of misery, but things are finally over. A lot of people died to get to this tenuous resolution, 250 years in the making. And still nobody even knows if it'll be worth it. Above all, I hope the heroes felt like they accomplished something. Of course not all of it is going to be GOOD, but I hope they feel like they've brought some change to this corner of the world, to both the orcs and to the Kingdoms. And for the hell of it here's the orcish dictionary as it stands thus far. Most if it was made up as I went along. Credit for the foundation of it goes to Lord Duvors. O makes things plural. U if it ends in O already. Adjectives used as prefix to noun. (Noun)-Sha for possessives. Ai, male descendant, son, grandson, etc, Ait, father, grandfather, etc. Aj, memory. Al, female descendant, daughter, granddaughter, etc, Alt, mother, grandmother, etc. Aln, haven. Amor, ever. Anar, here. Ash, may. Azh, will. Anh, is. Avh, yet. Arau, dirt/earth. Av, center. Azt, back. Bal, land. Bast, thought, Basta, thoughtful. Cal, come. Caz, in. Calm, with. Col, go, Coz, out, Colm, without. Dal, of. Di, you, Dir, your, div, their. Dol, be. Durm, red. Dyr, weapon. Dyraz, spear, lance, pike. Dyruul, sword. Dyrok, ultimate weapon. Ei, and, Et, or. Erun, truth, Eruno, truthful. Gaush, conquest. Gau, conquer. Gaun, conquerer. Gaushrahk, domination. Giv, dark, Givrahk, shadow. Gir, bright/light, Girahk, sun. Grog, give. Ir, our. il, my, iln, mine, iiv, us. Laz, might. Kan, health, Kon, favor. Kanvy, healer. Kahr, suffering. Karst, clever. Keld, long. Keldn, eternal. Kol, help. Krahn, speech. Kuun, human-kind. Kuai, man, Kual, woman. Mar, battle. Markrah, battle-cry. Mas, thanks. Mauw, drink. Meld, avian. Meldn, bird. Melda, bug(s). Melv, arrow, projectile. Mesh, celebration. Mez, test. Mouw, water, liquid. Murdigh, happy. Muz, safe. Muzn, save, Muzr, safety. Myvr, plant. Myvrin, tree. Myvrau, farm. Myvrahk, nature. Nal, rash. Olag, Olegaia. Olm, home. Okuul, heart. Oshuul, blood, oshuule, bloody. Orocund, orc-kind. Oroc, kin, Oro, like. Ral, maiden, female. Rahk, essence. Rok, god. Sar, fool, Sarl, foolish. Sarkuun, insult. Ser, single, sole, one. Sor, not. Staal, hero. Styr, protector. Sty, protect. Suul, beast. Suuln, demon. Suulrahk, spirit beast. Tan, to. Ta, war. Tar, warrior. Tir, soldier. Tirn, leader/general. Tra, hunter/predator. Teruul, forward. Trav, silence, Trov, silent. Val, brave Vahl, mighty, Valhs, small, weak. Vohl, glory, Vohln, glorious, Vohlan, glorify/bring glory. Yreg, hail. Zak, bad, evil. Zar, death, Zark, die. Zol, no

"Yeah, yeah. Ask Hybros, I can do stuff, make stuff, fix stuff. I'm also pretty smart - for example, I think these spheres are supposed to represent the sun, Olegaia, and the moon. And I think you forgot those swords..."

Final stats here. The Party Alexandre le Chevalier, Orc-kin (Played by Capt.JohnPaul) *Immune to Stunned, Slowed, and Bound* 20 year old elf male Black Knight Level 27.33 Power Bonus: 0 Defense: 14 Health: 45/45 Gold: 350 Equipment: Sword of the Elven Blademaster (WP: 10 ;ignores SP, +1 gold per successful strike, Poisoned -10), Cross Heater Shield (SP: 10), Black Knight Armor (SP:4, protects from Stunned effect.), Winged Sandals (Protects from bound- and slowed-effects; footwear) Inventory: Potions (6), Bedroll, Smoke Bomb 3x, Fire Bomb, Feather Duster of DOOM (WP: 1), Eyepatch (Headwear: 1/2 chance to prevent blinded-effect. Costs 20 gold. A hero cannot equip more than 1 eyepatch) Deadly Venom x5, Tome of The Regret, Volatile Venom x3, Mead x2, Grand Potion 3x, Emerald (Wood), Mulled Wine, 1 fine Montresorian Wine, 4 Grating Stones, Dapper Hat (Headwear, wearer has a 1/6 chance of becoming encouraged at the start of each battle), Remedy x2, Crimson Venom (Causes a weapon to deal the poisoned by 7 and cursed effects for the duration of one battle), Heavy Armor, Neutralizer Dyric Rone, Orc-kin (Played by The Legonator) *Immune to all elements* *Steals 50% more gold* *Lucky* Level 26.33 Assassin Power Bonus: 0 Defense: 3 Health: 38/38 Gold: 2115 Equipment: Requiem (WP: 20; wood, light and darkness-elemental, ranged), Lucky Die, Tricorne (SP:3, Water, Wood, Earth, Ice, Fire, Wind, Lightning, Light, Darkness - elemental) Sticky Gloves (Increases amount of gold stolen by 50%; handwear) Inventory: Double Chain Whip (WP:10), Throwing Knife (WP:4, ranged, retrievable), Aquamarine (Water), Diamond, 4 Potions, 4 Grand Potions, Elixir, 2 Remedies, 2 Meads, Nostrum, 2 Venoms, Smoke Bomb, Skeleton Decoy, 3 Mythril Shards (3/4 of a Mythril), Silver Ore (Worth 60 gold), Bone, Winged Sandals, Bedroll, Shovel, Banana (Restores full health to target), Diamond Lamp of Summoning (1/3 Uses Left), Tonic, Nordic Stomach Guard (SP: 3, Immunity to Ice and Water, Bodywear, Suitable for Barbarians, Regulators, and Beast Warriors), 1 Military Grade Light Bomb, 1 Military Grade Darkness Bomb, Cosmic Essence, Mulled Wine, Soma, 2 Bones, Crimson Venom (Causes a weapon to deal the poisoned by 7 and cursed effects for the duration of one battle), Magic Compass, Tarok's Wrath (WP: 20, 1/2 chance to instantly kill orcs, dagger) Thormanil Nihai, Dragonslayer, Orc-kin (Played by swils) and Arx the Hatchling *Immune to Darkness, Wood, Asleep, Confused, Fragile, Weakened, Blinded, Bound, and Slowed* Level 37.75 Dragoon Power Bonus: +1 Defense: 8 Health: 60/60 Gold: 1823 Equipment: Dragonsbane Lance (WP: 20, triple damage to enemies with 'Dragon' in their name, lance), Wooden Shield (SP:5, Null Wood), Bright Armor (SP: 3, Null Darkness), Winged Sandals (Wearer is immune to bound, slowed, asleep, confused, fragile, weakened, and blinded effects)., Medal of Glory (Wearer gains triple experience, accessory) Inventory: Weapons & Shields: Gladiator Trident (WP: 11, Spear, causes bleeding effect), Thundering Totem (WP:9, lightning, axe), Tongue on a Stick (WP:1, Miss -> "Aim"), Frozen Saber (WP: 9, longsword, Stuns enemies), Shishkebab (WP: 16, darkness-elemental, dual-strike, lance), Sword of the Warrior of the Light(WP: 14, Light Elemental, Meditate becomes hits, longsword) Artefacts: Trickster's Mask of the Gender Swap (Accessory), Trickster's Mask of the Weredog (Accessory), Trickster's Mask of the Elf(Accessory), Aqua Gear (Wearer deals and is immune to water elemental damage), Sticky Gloves Consumables: Smelling Salts, Deadly Venom(2), Remedy (2), Jinxy Juice(1) (Q35), Fire Bomb(2), Milk(1), Potion(2), Venom(3), Lightning Bomb, Smoke Bomb(2), Ice Bomb(1), Bones(3), Water Bombs(5), Mead, Neutralizer (1), Aquamarine, Emerald, Garnet, Opal, Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond, Amethyst, Elixir, Crimson Venom (Causes a weapon to deal the poisoned by 7 and cursed effects for the duration of one battle), Emergency Essence Misc.: Pickaxe, Shovel, Amethyst, Grating Stone, Teleportapple Guts Holla, Orc-kin (Scubacarrot) *Immune to Weakened, Fragile, Asleep, Confused and Blinded* *Immune to all elements* *Party Leader* 44 year old male human Raider Level 31.75 Power Bonus: +4 Health: 45/45 Defense: 4 Gold: 1680 Equipment: Twin Sai (WP: 10, dual strike, dagger), Dancing Shoes (Wearer dances well, in the turn after a miss is rolled, the wearer can act twice. +Immunity to Asleep, Confused, Fragile, Weakened and Blinded, + Immunity to Darkness, Light, Fire, Air, Earth, Wood, Lightningand Ice Elemental Damage, footwear), Pugilist's Gloves (2+ Power, Immune to Weakened, handwear, Crocodile Armour (+4 Defense +Immunity to Water Magic, bodywear) Inventory: Stag Antlers (WP:10, Intimidation, halberd), Lifestealer (WP: 32, Ice, Darkness, Light, attacks restore 3 health, dagger), Ambrosia 3x Mead, 22x Grand Potion, 4x Health Core, 2x Elixir, 10x Remedy, 5x Smoke Bomb, 5x Deadly Venom, 2x Neutralizer, Shovel, Telescope, Magnifying Glass, Pickaxe, Bedroll, 4x Mythril Shard, 15x Grating Stone, Crimson Serum (Grants Mutated Effect for one battle.), Arc Elixir, Blessed Amulet, Beholder's Eye, Agni Bomb, Gold Chalice, Gold Bar, Black Pearl, Crimson Venom (Causes a weapon to deal the poisoned by 7 and cursed effects for the duration of one battle), Smelling Salts, Topaz Haldor Skovgaard, Orc-kin (Played by Scorpiox) *Immune to Stunned, Weakened, and Blinded* 34 year old male human Nord Shaman Level 32.5 Power Bonus: +6 Defense: 2 Health: 53/53 Ether: 43/43 Gold: 291 Equipment: Dualis Sceptres (WP: 13, darkness-elemental, Dual-Striking), Ethereal Cloak (SP: 2, +4 Ether, Protects from Blindness), Scarlet Hood (+4 Power, Protects from Stunning), Shamanic Plate (Max. Health +2, Max. Ether +2; Blood Ritual does double damage to the target; suitable to shamans only; bodywear), Pugilist's Gloves (+2 Power, Protects from Weakening) Weapons: Zoot er Isen (WP: 15, Ice and Light Elemental), Bear Claw Gloves (WP: 8, SP: 2) Artefacts: Ognar's Beard (+8 power, wearer enraged, headwear, suitable for men), Heavy Armour (SP: 5, Protects from Fragility), Consumables: Health Core (x2), Potion (x4), Remedy (x7), Venom, Grand Tonic (x4), Ether Core, Grating Stone, Elixir, Crimson Venom (Causes a weapon to deal the poisoned by 7 and cursed effects for the duration of one battle) Inventory: Scutum Shield (SP: 9), Shovel, Pickaxe, Bedroll, Scroll of Sealing, Scroll of Sleep, Emerald Alexis Fenral, Orc-kin (Masked Builder) *Immune to Blinded* *Counterstriking* 20 year old female elven Harlot Level 43.8 Power Bonus: 0 Defense: 0 Health: 72/72 Gold: 908 GP: 9 Equipment: Cat-o'-Nine-Tails (WP: 20, damage divided between all enemies, Suitable For Rouges), Ring of Sight (protects fromblinded), Counterstrike Gloves, Medal of Glory (Artefact/Accessory - Mark of true talent that allows the wearer to gain triple experience from battles) Inventory: Steel fan (WP:20, ice-, lightning-, and darkness-elemental), Death's Whip (WP:11, on successful hits there is a 1/6 chance to cause double damage), Quickdraw Quiver (permanent hastened-effect, suitable to Rangers), Healing Staff (WP: 5; healing effect), Staff of Ennon (WP: 5, light-elemental, Restores 2 ether on a roll of 2, 3, or 4; staff), Electro Gear (Adds lightning-element to physical attacks and protects from lightning-elemental damage, accessory), Smelly Hide (Suitable for barbarians and beast warriors, half damage from beasts and humanoids on Damage, bodywear), Aquamarine (Water), Diamond (Light), Sapphire (Wind), Topaz (lightning), Fifty Shades of Bley, Bedroll, Magic Compass, Magnifying Glass, Remedy, 2 Somas, 8 Water Bombs, 2x Lightning Bomb, 2x Fire Bomb, 3 Dirt Bombs, Smoke Bomb, 4x Venom, 2x Deadly Venom, Health Core, 4x Potion, Grand Potion, Nostrum, 9 Meads, 3 Smelling Salts, 9 Remedies, 7 Grand Potions, Skeleton Decoy, 8x Bone, Deadly Venom, 2 Kraken Fangs (grants hastened- and reinforced-effects when consumed), Silver Ore (worth 60 gold), Demon Repellant (Makes the user impervious to direct attacks from demons during one battle. Consumable), Winged Sandals (artifact; footwear; protects from bound and slowed effects), 2xTitan Heart (Grants encouraged- and inspired-effects when consumed), Mulled Wine, 2 Grating Stones, Lieutenant's Helmet (SP:3, protects from fragile), Crimson Venom (Causes a weapon to deal the poisoned by 7 and cursed effects for the duration of one battle)

The Magpie freed its ropes from the bridge once all heroes were aboard, and turned sail, sliding off out of the river under the rising sun as the bridge stood silent vigil in the background. Each and every hero had contributed to the fate of two countries. The bridge remained standing, though stained in blood. The orc and the High Kingdoms had a grudging peace now, though the costs of that peace were high. Whether it was worth it in the end...that would be for them to decide. Imaestym was rebuilt, quite quickly thanks to the newfound trade as a result of the bridge. It become the undisputed heart of Baltarok, to the orcs, and to those who ventured there. It remained a cultural center for years to come, and ushered in a new era for Baltarok, thanks to the efforts of Karstaal, Olmstyr, and Bastala, with the constant assistance of Haldor. The orcish garrison at Augustus Bridge, headed by General Gor, warded off any potential trouble. Few would risk angering the newly united Baltarok. With two small armies standing guard, the bridge became a link between the human Kingdoms and the orcs, inspiring trade and friendlier relations. Tarvalk worked day and night to secure the freedom of as many slaves at they could, and welcome them back into their ancient, renewed home. A new era came to the north. An era that would've impossible, if not for the intervention, negotiation, and mediation of the heroes of Heroica. The Party Alexandre le Chevalier, Orc-kin (Played by Capt.JohnPaul) *Immune to Stunned, Slowed, and Bound* 20 year old elf male Black Knight Level 27.33 Power Bonus: 0 Defense: 14 Health: 45/45 Gold: 350 Equipment: Sword of the Elven Blademaster (WP: 10 ;ignores SP, +1 gold per successful strike, Poisoned -10), Cross Heater Shield (SP: 10), Black Knight Armor (SP:4, protects from Stunned effect.), Winged Sandals (Protects from bound- and slowed-effects; footwear) Inventory: Potions (6), Bedroll, Smoke Bomb 3x, Fire Bomb, Feather Duster of DOOM (WP: 1), Eyepatch (Headwear: 1/2 chance to prevent blinded-effect. Costs 20 gold. A hero cannot equip more than 1 eyepatch) Deadly Venom x5, Tome of The Regret, Volatile Venom x3, Mead x2, Grand Potion 3x, Emerald (Wood), Mulled Wine, 1 fine Montresorian Wine, 4 Grating Stones, Dapper Hat (Headwear, wearer has a 1/6 chance of becoming encouraged at the start of each battle), Remedy x2, Crimson Venom (Causes a weapon to deal the poisoned by 7 and cursed effects for the duration of one battle), Heavy Armor, Neutralizer Dyric Rone, Orc-kin (Played by The Legonator) *Immune to all elements* *Steals 50% more gold* *Lucky* Level 26.33 Assassin Power Bonus: 0 Defense: 3 Health: 38/38 Gold: 2115 Equipment: Requiem (WP: 20; wood, light and darkness-elemental, ranged), Lucky Die, Tricorne (SP:3, Water, Wood, Earth, Ice, Fire, Wind, Lightning, Light, Darkness - elemental) Sticky Gloves (Increases amount of gold stolen by 50%; handwear) Inventory: Double Chain Whip (WP:10), Throwing Knife (WP:4, ranged, retrievable), Aquamarine (Water), Diamond, 4 Potions, 4 Grand Potions, Elixir, 2 Remedies, 2 Meads, Nostrum, 2 Venoms, Smoke Bomb, Skeleton Decoy, 3 Mythril Shards (3/4 of a Mythril), Silver Ore (Worth 60 gold), Bone, Winged Sandals, Bedroll, Shovel, Banana (Restores full health to target), Diamond Lamp of Summoning (1/3 Uses Left), Tonic, Nordic Stomach Guard (SP: 3, Immunity to Ice and Water, Bodywear, Suitable for Barbarians, Regulators, and Beast Warriors), 1 Military Grade Light Bomb, 1 Military Grade Darkness Bomb, Cosmic Essence, Mulled Wine, Soma, 2 Bones, Crimson Venom (Causes a weapon to deal the poisoned by 7 and cursed effects for the duration of one battle), Magic Compass, Tarok's Wrath (WP: 20, 1/2 chance to instantly kill orcs, dagger) Thormanil Nihai, Dragonslayer, Orc-kin (Played by swils) and Arx the Hatchling *Immune to Darkness, Wood, Asleep, Confused, Fragile, Weakened, Blinded, Bound, and Slowed* Level 37.75 Dragoon Power Bonus: +1 Defense: 8 Health: 60/60 Gold: 1823 Equipment: Dragonsbane Lance (WP: 20, triple damage to enemies with 'Dragon' in their name, lance), Wooden Shield (SP:5, Null Wood), Bright Armor (SP: 3, Null Darkness), Winged Sandals (Wearer is immune to bound, slowed, asleep, confused, fragile, weakened, and blinded effects)., Medal of Glory (Wearer gains triple experience, accessory) Inventory: Weapons & Shields: Gladiator Trident (WP: 11, Spear, causes bleeding effect), Thundering Totem (WP:9, lightning, axe), Tongue on a Stick (WP:1, Miss -> "Aim"), Frozen Saber (WP: 9, longsword, Stuns enemies), Shishkebab (WP: 16, darkness-elemental, dual-strike, lance), Sword of the Warrior of the Light(WP: 14, Light Elemental, Meditate becomes hits, longsword) Artefacts: Trickster's Mask of the Gender Swap (Accessory), Trickster's Mask of the Weredog (Accessory), Trickster's Mask of the Elf(Accessory), Aqua Gear (Wearer deals and is immune to water elemental damage), Sticky Gloves Consumables: Smelling Salts, Deadly Venom(2), Remedy (2), Jinxy Juice(1) (Q35), Fire Bomb(2), Milk(1), Potion(2), Venom(3), Lightning Bomb, Smoke Bomb(2), Ice Bomb(1), Bones(3), Water Bombs(5), Mead, Neutralizer (1), Aquamarine, Emerald, Garnet, Opal, Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond, Amethyst, Elixir, Crimson Venom (Causes a weapon to deal the poisoned by 7 and cursed effects for the duration of one battle), Emergency Essence Misc.: Pickaxe, Shovel, Amethyst, Grating Stone, Teleportapple Guts Holla, Orc-kin (Scubacarrot) *Immune to Weakened, Fragile, Asleep, Confused and Blinded* *Immune to all elements* *Party Leader* 44 year old male human Raider Level 31.75 Power Bonus: +4 Health: 45/45 Defense: 4 Gold: 1680 Equipment: Twin Sai (WP: 10, dual strike, dagger), Dancing Shoes (Wearer dances well, in the turn after a miss is rolled, the wearer can act twice. +Immunity to Asleep, Confused, Fragile, Weakened and Blinded, + Immunity to Darkness, Light, Fire, Air, Earth, Wood, Lightningand Ice Elemental Damage, footwear), Pugilist's Gloves (2+ Power, Immune to Weakened, handwear, Crocodile Armour (+4 Defense +Immunity to Water Magic, bodywear) Inventory: Stag Antlers (WP:10, Intimidation, halberd), Lifestealer (WP: 32, Ice, Darkness, Light, attacks restore 3 health, dagger), Ambrosia 3x Mead, 22x Grand Potion, 4x Health Core, 2x Elixir, 10x Remedy, 5x Smoke Bomb, 5x Deadly Venom, 2x Neutralizer, Shovel, Telescope, Magnifying Glass, Pickaxe, Bedroll, 4x Mythril Shard, 15x Grating Stone, Crimson Serum (Grants Mutated Effect for one battle.), Arc Elixir, Blessed Amulet, Beholder's Eye, Agni Bomb, Gold Chalice, Gold Bar, Black Pearl, Crimson Venom (Causes a weapon to deal the poisoned by 7 and cursed effects for the duration of one battle), Smelling Salts, Topaz Haldor Skovgaard, Orc-kin (Played by Scorpiox) *Immune to Stunned, Weakened, and Blinded* 34 year old male human Nord Shaman Level 32.5 Power Bonus: +6 Defense: 2 Health: 53/53 Ether: 43/43 Gold: 291 Equipment: Dualis Sceptres (WP: 13, darkness-elemental, Dual-Striking), Ethereal Cloak (SP: 2, +4 Ether, Protects from Blindness), Scarlet Hood (+4 Power, Protects from Stunning), Shamanic Plate (Max. Health +2, Max. Ether +2; Blood Ritual does double damage to the target; suitable to shamans only; bodywear), Pugilist's Gloves (+2 Power, Protects from Weakening) Weapons: Zoot er Isen (WP: 15, Ice and Light Elemental), Bear Claw Gloves (WP: 8, SP: 2) Artefacts: Ognar's Beard (+8 power, wearer enraged, headwear, suitable for men), Heavy Armour (SP: 5, Protects from Fragility), Consumables: Health Core (x2), Potion (x4), Remedy (x7), Venom, Grand Tonic (x4), Ether Core, Grating Stone, Elixir, Crimson Venom (Causes a weapon to deal the poisoned by 7 and cursed effects for the duration of one battle) Inventory: Scutum Shield (SP: 9), Shovel, Pickaxe, Bedroll, Scroll of Sealing, Scroll of Sleep, Emerald Alexis Fenral, Orc-kin (Masked Builder) *Immune to Blinded* *Counterstriking* 20 year old female elven Harlot Level 43.8 Power Bonus: 0 Defense: 0 Health: 72/72 Gold: 908 GP: 9 Equipment: Cat-o'-Nine-Tails (WP: 20, damage divided between all enemies, Suitable For Rouges), Ring of Sight (protects fromblinded), Counterstrike Gloves, Medal of Glory (Artefact/Accessory - Mark of true talent that allows the wearer to gain triple experience from battles) Inventory: Steel fan (WP:20, ice-, lightning-, and darkness-elemental), Death's Whip (WP:11, on successful hits there is a 1/6 chance to cause double damage), Quickdraw Quiver (permanent hastened-effect, suitable to Rangers), Healing Staff (WP: 5; healing effect), Staff of Ennon (WP: 5, light-elemental, Restores 2 ether on a roll of 2, 3, or 4; staff), Electro Gear (Adds lightning-element to physical attacks and protects from lightning-elemental damage, accessory), Smelly Hide (Suitable for barbarians and beast warriors, half damage from beasts and humanoids on Damage, bodywear), Aquamarine (Water), Diamond (Light), Sapphire (Wind), Topaz (lightning), Fifty Shades of Bley, Bedroll, Magic Compass, Magnifying Glass, Remedy, 2 Somas, 8 Water Bombs, 2x Lightning Bomb, 2x Fire Bomb, 3 Dirt Bombs, Smoke Bomb, 4x Venom, 2x Deadly Venom, Health Core, 4x Potion, Grand Potion, Nostrum, 9 Meads, 3 Smelling Salts, 9 Remedies, 7 Grand Potions, Skeleton Decoy, 8x Bone, Deadly Venom, 2 Kraken Fangs (grants hastened- and reinforced-effects when consumed), Silver Ore (worth 60 gold), Demon Repellant (Makes the user impervious to direct attacks from demons during one battle. Consumable), Winged Sandals (artifact; footwear; protects from bound and slowed effects), 2xTitan Heart (Grants encouraged- and inspired-effects when consumed), Mulled Wine, 2 Grating Stones, Lieutenant's Helmet (SP:3, protects from fragile), Crimson Venom (Causes a weapon to deal the poisoned by 7 and cursed effects for the duration of one battle) That's all, folks. I'm really glad to have hosted all of you over this gigantic quest. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, etc, overall, I'm happy with how things turned out and I hope you all had fun too.

"W-Wait, you're just gonna leave me here?" It's impossible to tell if the sphere or chain was linked into any kind of trap.

The regulator stows the Smoke Bomb in his coat and seeks out the nearest abandoned building, McCafferey's eyes sliding back and forth curiously.

"Aye, I'll head up the pipe once I get back. Skrall, could ya' lend me a Smoke Bomb?"

Looking back at the hall, a female werelion would be the third non-human or elf female character. There are exactly two right now.

Good to see you'll be coming back eventually, Rumble. There are no female lion faces in Chima, and there was a werelion captain in Quest 66 from Terra Chima.

I'm really glad to see them crop up. There are so many terribly underused races. Although they're supposed to have horns.

Aren't you supposed to be hosting a Quest or something?