The Legonater

Bellanotte plays the rapid march from the back row . Feeling the old, familiar shape of Requiem in his hands, Dyric set his aim upon Obsidian Wyvern A and B from the back row. When was the last time it saw action, Baltarok? An age and a day had passed since then. It felt good to hold the old bow once again. Once upon a time, it had been named for a noble man fallen in a fight with a force beyond comprehension. Then, it was the most monumental day of Rone's life. By now, many such moments had come and gone. He let arrows loose against the massive draconic shapes in the burial chambers of a Founder of Heroica, and it was simply part of the job. Yet another impossible situation down, a few more to go.

Bellanotte sings the Rapid March once more from the back row. Dyric fires three shots into Vermillion Wyvern A with the Crossbow of Incessant Warmongers from the back row, then drops the crossbow and snatches Requiem off his back, firing at Obsidian Wyvern A. Press them on, we've almost got them!

Damage was done to the Speckled and Vermillion wyverns, should they not be grounded?

Bellanotte plays another rapid march from the back row. When Dyric is brought back to his feet, he quickly falls, catching himself against the massive crossbow. These dragons pack an awful punch. I don't know if I've tasted dirt this much since Wren. We need to tighten up. Dyric fires at Hunter Wyvern B (Hunter A, Vermillion A) from the back row

Dyric is still down, right? Not complaining, just making sure I'm tracking with the plan.

I more meant go for one of the hunters, because Dyric needs to target the second Vermillion in order to hit the Obsidian dragon down. Limit the free hits a bit. My bad. Bellanotte plays the Rapid March from the back row.

The only downside is that Minstrel affects only work on a round-to-round basis, at least, that's what it looks like from the wiki. Though it should be able to buff up Althior. Also, Atramor should change his second target; since Dyric can't wound the Obsidian dragons, it doesn't make sense for him to focus on them. Also, I'm curious WBD, how are you rolling assassinations for the crossbow? In 139, it looks like Zeph rolled for every individual hit, are you just rolling for the target? I think both have their logic, I just want to be aware of what you're thinking so that we can plan accordingly. Bellanette, keep going! Dyric switches his stance, trying to bring down the last two wyverns in the air. He loads six more bolts, and from the back fires at Vermillion Wyvern B (Vermillion A, Obsidian A), and Speckled Wyvern B (Speckled A, Hunter A).

Whoops, somehow missed that I was revived. Bellanotte, let's try that again. Bellanotte plays the rapid march from the back row. Dyric fires at Speckled Dragon B (Speckled A, Hunter A) and Vermillion A (Hunter B, Vermillion B) from the back. Atramor, depending on how this goes, should Bellanotte make the party a little luckier next round, or do we keep going for speed?

Alright, let's bring 'em down. Bellanotte, move to the back and play that rapid march. Towards the back of the group, Rone drops to one knee, balancing the massive Crossbow of Incessant Warmongers on top it. He fires at Hunter Wyvern A (Speckled B, Hunter B) and Obsidian Wyvern B (Obsidian A, Speckled A).

I don't think Heroica has a BARD class. Atramor, I suggest putting Bellanotte towards the top of the Battle Order. She can sing the rapid march, which will give us enough time to stop those dragons from getting any free hits in.

Dyric still has four more Mythril than he should, and is missing this from Grogmas:

I agree. Dyric hefts up the lid, locking it back into place. Let's go. To the Ziegfrieds it is.

Sounds good, I don't think we have reason to investigate the other graves. I'm assuming we're leaving the body here, and coming back for it? There's no sense hauling it around.

I'll believe unsubstantiated claims when I see them. The Eubric Herald has an agenda, there's no way the Houses simply all fold at once. Until we figure out what they're motive is, I'll take their news with a grain of salt. Rone looked down at the long-dead Dragoon. These fake veterans are portraying themselves as the most legitimate form of Heroica. They are playing judge and jury, and will leave Eubric defenseless. The only way we can stop them is to de-legitimize them, and having the Golden Dragon walking and talking with us will do a lot to serve that purpose. This is dark, uncharted territory - I get that. She might not be willing to help us at all. But the least we can do is try.

It's a shame you don't have a knack for necromancy anymore, Althior. For a long, long time, the Heroes take in the sight, considering their next move. Finally, Rone tentatively lifts his head. Here's what I say. We take a vote. Anyone opposed to the potential desecration of the corpse of one of Heroica's founders, speak up. It's perfectly understandable. Otherwise, if we're all still inclined, we go through with it. And I think I know who may be able to help. Bellanotte, I heard there were some accusations thrown at the Ziegfrieds. Have they moved shop, and if so, would you know where?

Dyric passes a wry grin to Atramor, before returning to the situation at hand. I suppose you have a point, but I still don't get the intention. Why go through the effort of reviving a Veteran, and then faking the body? Surely an empty grave would be all the evidence they need? No, I think this is the genuine article. Hel, are we really doing this? That seems... unethical. Like we're disturbing something sacred. Rone gives a long look to the still body. They needed to be as sure as they could be. ...Give it a shot, Hoke. If it doesn't work, I still say we have our findings. Anyone disagree?

Some lockset you got there Atramor. I might give that another look-over if I were you. Rone peers into the sarcophagus, fighting through the smell. Well, I'll be. Certainly looks like the Golden Dragon to me. C'mere, Matthias, take a look. Do you see any signs of tampering?

So I figure I might as well share my two cents. Obviously, the Duplovia arc had a bit to go. I really like the ideas I had for it, the core themes and direction, but in the end, I didn't really feel like I had the QMing chops to tell the story I wanted. This is all while my own interest in the game was waining, so my interest in sitting down and crunching numbers for a few months wasn't really that high either. I received an offer for someone to co-quest, but at that point, I simply wasn't feeling it. Which is a shame because, once again, I really liked the core idea. It evolved a lot from what it had started from, and would likely evolve more, but the story as it is is pretty strong. The Duplovia arc started from a question of what would heroes do if they were hired to work for people who were, effectively, the bad guys. I wanted to see the Hero's motivations challenged, and I wanted them to see the impact that Heroica was having on the larger world. Duplovia and Delfrin were going to change and shape in reaction to the heroes, and hopefully in ways that would shake them Most of the quests had only the most basic outlines, but the first one was 99% ready to launch. I'll try to abbreviate it as much as I can without losing the essentials. Deception in Delfrin: Chaos in the Crossfire: The Heroes are called on by Duplovia to defend them from a full-scale assault from Delfrin. My goal was something along the lines of Quest 17 with Delfrin's forces moving through the city, and the Heroes will run through to different key locations after the forces break through the doors. The path with eventually lead inward to the castle. The Market Guild will make an appearance again, helping defend the Marketplace. During the quest, the Prince of Delfrin will appear as a recurring boss, and when the Heroes finally kill him there will be a significant moment where the Delfrin forces mourn his passing. At the end, a Norgh force lead by Uglrukh and the Archer tunnel up around the castle and storm inside. Not expecting the Delfrin force to get so far, Somoril has planned his escape, slipping out with the Archer. Begrudgingly the Heroes will have to let him slip away while they defeat the last of the Delfrin force at the castle gates. Warfare in the West: The quest opens with a scene of Somoril's force (the Archer, Dovanna, Uglrukh, the Mage, Princess and Morcrass) wandering north of Duplovia following the previous quest. They run into a combined force of a couple small kingdoms, led by McColt, ideally. There is a major conflict and McColt has to retreat. Eyric and Quellir recruit the heroes, having assembled a small army to stop Somoril once and for all. He has stepped forward to seizing the area and is moving on Garran. Notably, the Princess of Delfrin is next-in-line with the Prince dead. The first part of the quest is the heroes helping stop the assault on Garran. During this, Quellir may be killed in a fight with his old protoge Dovanna. After they save Garran they move towards Delfrin, which Somoril is in the process of taking, using the Princess' influence. The bridge is up, forcing the heroes to go on an expedition on their own to lower it. After that, they move in on the palace. Once there, they arrive just in time to see Morcrass murder the King. Somoril and his group reveal themselves. Somoril tries to recruit the heroes, showing his hand. He believes that with their history, Delfrin and Duplovia will always, always return to war, as all the kingdoms do. His goal is to completely take over, ruling the entire High Kingdoms with an iron fist and establishing true peace. Eyric comments that there's no way he can possibly maintain that sort of control, where Somoril insists that the Heroes have given him just the idea. He will set up his own version of Heroica with his own veterans; Archer - the Ranger, Uglrukh - the Knight, Dovanna - the Barbarian, Mage - the Mage, Princess - the Cleric, and Morcrass - the Rogue. Somoril's pseudo-Heroica will act as a military police, insisting that's all that Heroica's become. Our heroes decide to prove him wrong. The Final Battle is them against Somoril and his Veterans. Final Thoughts I really love the image of major villains through the arc standing together as a Dark Heroica. We really hadn't gotten that sort of villain in Heroica yet, and I think it would provide a really thought-provoking idea. Heroica is affecting the world, and in this case, giving them some very dark ideas. The heroes would be forced to consider what Heroica would look like in the wrong hands, and if their hands are really so clean. After all, in numerous instances, they will have been directly involved with Somoril's plan. The Duplovia arc would be a discussion on the nature of Heroica, and some of the ethics of being a hero.

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Do you really think someone would go to all the trouble of planting a fake body in the Dragon's grave? Someone is meddling, sure, but to what ends?

Rone heard the voice, and slowly glances back over his shoulder, weapon still pointed to the tomb. A body proves that the Golden Dragon they have is fake. Other signs of disturbance may prove that the Miracleworker revived her, though his survival is a whole separate matter. At this, Rone remembers who he's talking to. Matthias, you have a bit of a new lease on life, as it were. What do you make of all this? Ancients Veterans appearing out of nowhere?

Watching Hoke move for his weapon, Dyric tensed up. Following suit, the assassin unslung his massive crossbow and dropped to one knee.

Here goes nothing. Let's open it.

As you wish. Rone untwists the bomb, letting it spark in the darkness. He turns to the party. Don't gather too close, now. Dyric grins, and lobs the fire-bomb into the mess of roots, ducking around the corner.

Rone rises to his feet, content with his findings. By all means, have at 'em.