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Yeah, that sounds like a backstory that ends up with you drunk in a cannibal forest in the boonies. Nobody bats an eye at demons getting thrown around in the fight? I guess the arena holds down the worst of their power.
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Apr 20, 2017 01:38
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Covok posted:Has anyone pointed out how Star Wars (especially KOTOR) Jade Empire is?
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Apr 20, 2017 09:07
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Glazius posted:Yeah, that sounds like a backstory that ends up with you drunk in a cannibal forest in the boonies. Well, if the arena is able to capture demons alive to use for the fights, then it's reasonable for the audience to assume that if anything does go wrong, the arena staff will put it down.
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Apr 20, 2017 09:28
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Veyrall posted:I think there was a mafia stand-in in Kotor 1 as well. DMorbid fucked around with this message at 11:44 on Apr 20, 2017 |
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Apr 20, 2017 10:33
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There is a mobile port...
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Apr 26, 2017 09:22
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Covok posted:There is a mobile port... The mobile port from what I know actually isn't that terrible, but it's recommended that you play with some kind of bluetooth controller cause the touch controls do not translate well to Jade Empire.
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Apr 26, 2017 09:53
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Martian Buddy posted:I mean, it's weirdly worded but it's not too unusual for rereleased GOTY titles to have their accolades on the box art. What I mean is the wording makes it sound like they made Jade Empire, an award winning title, and 2 other RPGs of the year. Except one of those was actually Jade Empire. I think it was just clever marketing, to make it sound like they had 3 award winning titles but, when you drill down, it's just 2 and one of them is this game.
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Apr 26, 2017 15:00
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Episode 26: Golden Phoenix Last time, we won the Silver Division championship at the Imperial Arena and earned the favor of the Lotus Assassin Executioners. That means we have done more than enough to progress the main plot, but obviously we're not leaving the arena until we become the grand champion. That means working our way through the Gold Division, so let's get on with it.  Well, first we're gonna have to talk to Whirlwind some more. Maybe he's got more to say about his brother Raging Ox who, as you may remember, joined up with Kai Lan the Serpent many years ago and died via Whirlwind's axes (seemingly by accident, as Whirlwind was aiming for the Serpent and Raging Ox was protecting his boss).  Whirlwind doesn't have anything more to say on that subject, but instead he'll regale us with more tales of his exploits. Since this one is about clearing rats from a monastery, I expect at least sixty people died in the process somehow.   I convinced the monks to give me some of their sacred wine, and I filled the sacred pools. I figured if I could get the rats drunk they'd be so much easier to catch.Seems like a solid enough plan thus far, at least for Whirlwind.   It was just the rats. The poor furry buggers were just trying to get warm near the monk's fires after their swim in the wine! Not a good combination!umm   I mentioned there being some facial expressions that are only seen a few times, and here's one of them. Appropriately enough, your character usually makes this face while listening to Whirlwind's stories.    Right. I suppose that was surprisingly tame by Whirlwind's usual standards. We'll come back to him later, but I think at this point we should go meet up with Iron Soldier and ask him how it feels to be a former champion.  Yep! I'm glad he noticed!   Don't think that I'm going to forget that *you* were the one to take my division from me.Can't wait. Maybe next time he can even get a couple of hits in.   Do you actually need anything or are you just there to flap your gums?Nope, I'm good.  We only taunt our opponents after we've won, and even then it's only if they're assholes like Soldier. That said, having a chat with our next opponent might be a good plan, so we'll go see what the three guys in the other corner have to say.  Err, okay then.     You have come far in a short time. We have been watching you with keen interest.These gentlemen are the brothers Sung. We could ask them to tell us more about themselves, but it's not that important since Qui the Promoter can give us the short version. Let's just leave them for now and go ask Qui about the champion of this division.   I want to hear your thoughts on the Sung brothers. They're an odd triptuplet if you ask me. They were three of the best individual fighters to participate in the arena, but things changed after they fought together against the Ravager and lost. They're sort of a buffer: If the three of them together couldn't match the Ravager, only someone who can face all three will stand a chance against him. It cuts down on the number of injuries at the Ravager's hands. If you want to know more about them, you can ask the brothers themselves. Tell me about the Ravager. The crowd loves to hate him. He's vicious, he never talks, and he has no interest in the fans, but when he fights he's unstoppable. Right now, almost no one will face him, so it's rare that the Ravager steps into the ring. It's for the better I think. He tends to cripple people, despite the protective magic of this place.That's something to look forward to, then. I'd really like to know how these protective enchantments actually work, because they can't neutralize poison nor do they seem to stop the Ravager from causing serious injuries. So even though you don't die instantly when the Ravager crushes every bone in your body, you'll still feel the effects.  Your first match will be a rare challenge. There is a style that was banned from the tournament combat five centuries ago. You will face the Phoenix Unity style. What's so special about this style? That is something best discovered for yourself. Suffice it to say that if you stand against it, the battle will be memorable. If the style was banned, why am I facing it? I do not believe in outdated prohabitations. As you may see, this style is not "fair" for single combat, but it is a fair test of a master warrior‘s abilities.I thought Kai Lan the Serpent was the only one setting up dubious matches for us, but between this and the aptly named Pit of Pain I'm starting to wonder if Qui is all that much better. To be quite honest, I doubt this will be nearly as unpleasant as the Pit of Pain.  Let's go   Time to see what this Phoenix Unity is all about.  So far I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary, just some lady who fights with dual swords and Viper.   As you might expect, we make quick work of her. Surely there must be more to this?    Oh. Oh. Now I'm starting to get what the big deal is.  She probably shouldn't be standing at this point, but whatever.  Welp, time for round 2. This is not a Zelda miniboss fight, so there is no special trick to it. We don't need to find the "real" Phoenix Assassin and beat her, all six of them are equally real as far as the game is concerned and we need to take all of them out.  Fortunately for us, they like to make it quite easy by clustering together, meaning that we can do serious damage to several Assassins at the same time when we swing our sword.  Still want to be careful not to get surrounded, because the Phoenix Assassins can hurt us quite badly if they gang up on us. We have plenty of health and chi so we'll be able to take some hits, but obviously we'd rather avoid that situation.    Once a couple of the Assassins go down, the rest is a breeze.  So much for the Phoenix Unity style. Silver Phoenix needs none of your shadow clones.  That was exactly how I wanted your Gold Division matches to start. You need the people on your side before you can face the Ravager. I was going to do something different, but I've had a request from the Sung brothers. They said that there has been, ah... an affluence of the fates and a... a remergence of the planets.I hate when that happens. So?  Well, that works out for us.  Because he can't let us fight the Ravager unless he knows we can beat all three of these guys! Pay attention, dammit   Well, at least not before the gong stops ringing, at any rate. The brothers are ready if you are.Seriously, we went over this five minutes ago. Well, whatever. Time to fight the Sung brothers and see what they're made of.  We've got one brother with dual swords, another with Dire Flame and... I don't know what style the middle one is using. Never seen that before.  According to the wiki, Sung Bo's fighting style is called Monkey Paw. All the information on that wiki page seems to be sourced from the Jade Empire in Style mod, so I'm not sure if the style is actually called that in the game. It's obviously based on monkey-style kung fu (not that you can tell from the screenshots), so Monkey Paw is as good a name as any.  Sung Bo is the first one we take out, because he's the fastest of the three and can do a lot of damage with his monkey style. Sung Bu and his swords are just kind of there, and Sung Sui's fireballs are more a nuisance than anything else.   I don't think Sung Bu is going to appreciate his brother's Dire Flame skills very much after that. Getting enemies to hit each other with friendly fire is always fun.  Sung Bu doesn't last long after that fireball to the face, so now it's time for a magical duel with Sung Sui.  Or he could switch to a spear, that works too. Meanwhile, I decided to try out Stone Immortal, which hasn't been upgraded but is still fairly powerful. It does eat up a lot of chi at this point, though, and having chi strikes active doesn't really help.  I mentioned this when we first learned Stone Immortal, but the basic attack is more or less just throwing rocks at the opponent and it's not very exciting.  But of course, we can now do the same thing as those elephant demons!  Not that it helps us here, because opponents at the arena seem to automatically dodge this area attack every single time.   Better do this the old-fashioned way, then.  Defeating their combinated might has impressed the crowd immensely. If the crowd loved it so much, I think we deserve a raise. Surely this time he'll agree.  Can't break the rules to give us a bit of extra cash, but booking us in matches against opponents using banned styles is totally fine?   Well, up yours then, Qui.  To be fair, 1250 silver from that fight isn't that bad. Let's hear from our opponents and find out what they thought of that last match.   While the match invited the toothless donkey of unhappiness to our stable, we still praise your skills. We don't have a stable! That donkey's going to get cold! I'm sure the donkey will be fine, brother, or, at least, justifiably unhappy instead of randomly petulant.I think Sung Bu may have taken a few too many knocks to the head over his career. Well, never mind that. Qui, what have you got for us?  I'm going to hold an event so huge that it will rock the reaches of the Empire: the Imperial Engagement. The arena turns upon you.What, like the Pit of Pain?  You must stand against them all, and when you do, your right to challenge the Ravager will be indisputable.Oh, well, that's not so terrible. Bring it on.  Soldier thinks he might have a chance against us when he's got a bunch of other folks helping him. He still won't, of course, but I can see why he'd think that way.  How does this fight work? The concept is simple enough. If you can defeat your foe with exceptious alacricity, then you have a moment to collect yourself. If you tarry, then you will be swamped. How many opponents will I have to face? You will be facing all the champions you have dealt with already, and more.Well, all the champions aside from Crimson Khana, because depending on your choices she either went back home or is extremely dead.  Are you ready for me to finish the arrangements? If so, we'll get everyone set up.This should be interesting.  Another ogre? Well, they're easing us into this, I guess.  Here's how the Imperial Engagement works, then. We start off against this ogre, and we've got ten seconds until the next opponent comes in. Opponents will enter every ten seconds until we've gone through the whole roster. Since we obviously don't have much time to mess around here, I'm not going to do anything silly with Mirabelle or anything like that, I'll just use my most powerful style which is the Dragon Sword.  Down goes the ogre, and we have five seconds to spare. Not too bad of a start, although beating the ogre in that time isn't really that much of an accomplishment.   Hapless Han is the next to enter, and he manages to last the full ten seconds.  Okay then, now we're getting something a bit more challenging. We can handle the toad demon just fine, but doing it in ten seconds might not be the easiest feat and we should make sure we don't waste too much chi or focus on him.   We defeat the toad demon just as Iron Soldier enters. There is a few seconds between the timer running out and the next opponent actually showing up, so it's more like 15 seconds or so between opponents.   Soldier is easily dispatched and is nice enough to drop a chi pickup. Let's see who's next in line for a beating.  Well, this is going to suck.  I dodged that! Now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure I've never tried to block an area attack. I rarely block in general unless I'm fighting Lost Spirits. My extensive research (30 seconds on Google) indicates area attacks can in fact be blocked and I just never thought to do so because blocking is so slow and useless 99% of the time. will you please stop doing that  Eventually, the elephant demon falls and blocks our view of the next opponent. Let's find out who it is!  Right, it's Sung Bo and his weird glowy monkey style. We're getting a bit low on chi and focus thanks to our pachyderm pal over there, but we defeated the Sung brothers once already and we can do it again.  Sung Bo does a ton of damage if you give him the chance. That chunk from our health meter disappeared in about a second, as he got one combo in.  He also tries to heal on occasion, but we're not having any of that. Sung Bo goes down while we're waiting for the next opponent to make his entrance, and it's obviously going to be one of the remaining Sung brothers unless the arena throws us a real curveball.  It's Sung Bu, the dumb brute of the trio. I find him to be the least dangerous of the brothers, as he doesn't have any special tricks up his sleeve and just prefers to go full with his swords. Obviously, we still don't want him to hit us with those things. Down he goes, and Sung Sui hasn't even entered yet. Should be smooth sailing from here on out, one Sung brother does not pose much of a threat to us at this stage. We are still kinda low on focus and chi, but we'll manage.  Sung Bu was courteous enough to drop a small focus pickup, which makes our job just a bit easier. His brother starts off with Dire Flame, as before.  Let's fight fire with, uh, fire then, at least until we start to get low on chi.  The Dire Flame area attack is incredibly easy to dodge when we have this much open space to work with, and Sung Sui leaves himself open for our strong fireball in the process.  I decide to leave the rest of our chi for healing in case we need it, so we'll finish this fight with Leaping Tiger.   Huh, that's it? I kinda expected them to roll out some enemies we haven't seen before, but the Imperial Engagement really is just a gauntlet match against most of the arena opponents we've already fought.  The crowd loves you, and you have proven yourself enough in my eyes. No other fighter stands a chance against the Ravager. But you must think of your safety. The Ravager strikes with such power that even the wards of this arena may not be enough to save you. No one knows. His strength is almost inhuman, but we are sure he's no demon. Your match could end in death. It almost happened when Sung Bu faced him alone, and he was the last opponent to tackle the champion alone. The Ravager grows more fierce with each fight, as if time were making him stronger. If you face him, we may not be able to end the match in time.If we're strong enough to beat the arena's entire roster of fighters and a bunch of demons, I think we might have a shot against the Ravager. Let's go.  He's always ready. Since this is the big championship match, we get the elaborate main event entrance again. It's the same as before, except of course our opponent is different.  Welp, here's the man himself. We saw him earlier, of course, in Kai Lan's office.  That is an accident waiting to happen.   The Ravager is still taking things rather calmly. If I didn't know better, I'd think he doesn't even know what's going on around him. Meanwhile, Kai Lan is being his usual smug self in the Ravager's corner.  Oh, what is it now?  Well then, I guess we're no longer Kai Lan's favorite prospect.  I thought the Ravager was always ready for a fight, but Kai Lan apparently doesn't agree and wants to call off the match since we're not worthy.  Crowd: Phoenix. Phoenix. Phoenix. This chant, by the way, is hilarious. It sounds like they got about six guys chanting whatever ring name you picked, and it's the most unenthusiastic thing ever. Sure, the crowd here isn't exactly in the thousands, but the chant still shouldn't be that wimpy.  Kai Lan still isn't impressed. Can't really blame him in this case.  Crowd: Phoenix. Phoenix.   You have spoken, and I have heard. Your will be done! I give you... THE RAVAGER! Here he is, in all his yellow and orange glory. Let's just take things slow at first and see what the Ravager can do.  Well, first off, he fights with dual axes. This is very similar to the style used by the Black Whirlwind, but is actually a different one.  That was a bit close. Getting hit by those axes of his is probably best avoided.  The Ravager is also surprisingly agile for such a big guy.  He also really likes using area attacks. Since we clearly don't want to get close to this jerk, let's give Dire Flame a shot.  WHAT Qui lied to us! He said the Ravager is not a demon! Yet, the Ravager is immune to magic styles, which means he's 100% a demon! Only demons are immune to magic. Well, I guess clay golems are too, but I don't think he's one of those.  Well, fine. Let's just use our sword, then. The Ravager has a ton of health, as you might expect from such an opponent.  There's an attack we're definitely going to want to avoid.  Even his regular attacks aren't exactly weak, that axe combo of his does a whole bunch of damage. Still, that is something we should be able to manage without too much trouble. This fight is incredibly annoying for a whole other reason.  When I said the Ravager really likes area attacks, I meant he really, REALLY likes them. He uses them every time you get anywhere near him. I had 17 screenshots of the Ravager doing an area attack in this fight, and I'm pretty sure there was at least one more in the video footage. Now, like I found out while putting together this update, area attacks can be blocked, but with the Ravager they come out so quickly that you probably don't have the opportunity to block anyway.  Oh, and he heals himself when he knocks you down. Not every time, thankfully, but even once is enough for me.   Naturally, the Ravager is immune to our area attacks (doesn't even need to block) and retaliates with yet another one of his own when I try one on him. At least they don't do any damage.  There we go, he's almost finished. Just a couple more hits should...  dammit  Okay, now he's done.  As soon as we land the finishing blow, the game fades to black.   We managed to knock the Ravager's mask off to reveal... uh... a guy with a mustache and a terribly receding hairline? If you've been paying attention, you can probably figure out who this is, but we've never seen his face before now.  Kai Lan the Serpent and Qui the Promoter show up to, hopefully, crown us the Gold Division champion, although I doubt Kai Lan's going to hand us the title that easily.   Finally, Whirlwind hops the barricade and runs to... not us or Kai Lan, but the Ravager.   If the Ravager's fighting style or Whirlwind's behavior in that cutscene weren't big enough clues, there it is. The Ravager is Raging Ox, the Black Whirlwind's brother.  And so the Ravager was born. The perfect, unquestioning enforcer of my will, and I owe it all to you, Whirlwind.Kai Lan somehow used his sorcery to reanimate Raging Ox and turn him into his undead enforcer. How exactly he pulled that off is not clear, but there it is.   The Ravager is still down from the fight, but is starting to come to. Of course, it's doubtful he has any of his senses left at this point. He's no longer Raging Ox, just a mindless thrall doing the Serpent's bidding.    Whirlwind cuts down what was once his brother, possibly letting his spirit pass on (I guess the protective enchantments were disabled after the fight). At the very least, Raging Ox is no longer bound to Kai Lan.  For a brief moment, we can see an expression of sorrow and, most likely, regret on the face of the Black Whirlwind.   It almost immediately turns into anger.    I invoke the right of challenge! As an ex-champion, I will return and stake my claim upon this place. Tradition supports my right to this!Of course, Kai Lan doesn't know when to quit. He is still desperate to stop Wu from becoming the champion, and will do anything to achieve that goal.     So, stripling, what do you say? Are you prepared to suffer at my hands, or will you walk away and die the tenfold deaths of the coward?Well, if he insists, we can take him down just like we did his enforcer.  All you are, magician, is MINE! Certainly.  I don't think anyone asked for Kai Lan's opinion.  I mean, this is true, but we'll still let Whirlwind do his thing.  Then Black Whirlwind will have his vengeance. Preposterous. This oaf can't fight for you. They do have the right, Serpent. You substituted the demon in place of one of your Guild men. You set the precedent yourself. Let's get this over with as soon as we can.  Do you know how many rules and regulations that breaks? It's a mockery of the entire arena, and Kai Lan and his thugs are to blame! But you... you can stop him. I need you to see this through to the end. I need that man stopped before he destroys a thousand years of tradification!Did none of you guys ever begin to wonder why your champion fought exactly like Raging Ox and looked like his reanimated corpse wearing a mask? I know necromancy isn't exactly a commonly used form of magic around here, but you'd think someone at some point might have gotten curious even if you couldn't really ask anybody about this kind of thing with Kai Lan around. The reason we're glowing in this screenshot is that we learned a new style from the Ravager fight.  That is, we can now use his axes. Tang's Vengeance (named after Tang the Merciless, who tried to become Emperor after the previous one died without an heir, but was betrayed by his father who thought Tang was too violent to rule the Jade Empire. To prove dear old dad wrong, Tang used these axes to cut off the old man's head) is, apparently, often regarded as one of the best weapon styles in Jade Empire, as it has excellent damage output and reach. I don't remember if I've ever actually used these things myself, but I'll show them off once I've added those extra skill points in the editor.  You'd think we'd have won the championship by defeating the Ravager. That isn't the case, though, because as we saw we won't be recognized as the arena champion unless we beat up Kai Lan first. Of course, Kai Lan does actually run the joint, so if he says we're not the champion we will not be the champion until we do something about him.  All right then, let's see what the Black Whirlwind can do now that he is being controlled by a terrible player instead of terrible AI.  The Black Whirlwind's dual axe style is called "The Twins" and I remembered it being... not that great, but it actually is rather powerful and surprisingly fast too. I slightly dreaded playing as Whirlwind in general because he doesn't have a huge amount of chi to work with and has no focus whatsoever, but it turns out you can get surprisingly far by just spamming his basic A button combo.  Kai Lan is not a massively difficult opponent. He uses Viper and a couple of magic styles, and is also immune to area attacks because of course he is.  He likes to use area attacks of his own, but thankfully doesn't spam them quite as much as the Ravager did. I'm not sure which style's area attack this is.  Once Kai Lan's health gets low enough, he switches tactics and enters Channeling status to summon two horse demons. Kai Lan is invulnerable while channeling, so all we can do at the moment is take out the demons.  These are just standard horse demons, so the usual tactics apply.  Of course, they also explode on death just as before.  Now that the horse demons have been put down, it's time to fight the man himself once more. He's healed himself to full, which is a bit annoying but nothing a couple of axe swings to the face won't fix.  Spamming Whirlwind's combo fast enough will stunlock Kai Lan.  Eventually, we manage to whittle away Kai Lan's health.   Kai Lan's got no more dirty tricks up his sleeve, so down goes the Serpent. The Black Whirlwind has his vengeance, and Wu is now the grand champion.  I wish that I had another dozen fighters who could rise through the ranks with your alacricity! I will not dishonor you with a pairing to those who cannot match your skill. In time someone will come along, but I suspect your equal will not be manifestering any time soon. Should anyone appear to challenge you, I will let you know, but until then rest yourself. You've earned it! Spoiler: Nobody will appear to challenge us, so we are officially done with the arena fights. The Superior Warrior Gem seems like a rather disappointing reward for all of that work because we already have two of these things, but it's actually not the real reward. That'll come next, as Sweet Poison Lyn shows up to extend her congratulations on behalf of the Guild.     His power ran deep. He would have taken our organization even further down Gao the Greater's path had word of a new contestant not reached us. That top dialog option is incredibly dumb. Kai Lan was an evil rear end in a top hat and we're better off without him, and if he had lived he'd ended up in charge of the Guild and made them worse. Sure, they are still a criminal organization and a major one at that, but right now they're just kinda there and don't bother us except when some jerk like Gao or Kai Lan decides to act on his own. That alliance with the Lotus Assassins was all Gao's doing.  Let us just say that cooler heads prevail. The current sentiment in the Guild is that the Lotus Assassins have become more trouble than our alliance with them is worth. Thus we propose a truce. Your feud, or whatever it was, with Kai Lan died with him. The Guild will not trouble you or this place if you will not trouble us. We don't particularly care for the Guild, but we also don't want them pissed off at us so we'll just agree to the truce. We could demand payment, but Sweet Poison Lyn has something much better to offer us.  In observing Kai Lan, I had no choice but to watch the fights of Silver Phoenix. It was the most enjoyable aspect of the assignment. Your skills are amazing. We will *not* speak of this again. Consider me nothing more than Sweet Poison Lyn from this point on. This is what we get for never losing a fight at the arena. If you do lose a round at some point, you'll still receive a technique from Sweet Poison Lyn but it's obviously not as good.    We also get the last Iron Palm scroll and learn the style. I can't say I'm a big fan of Iron Palm, so even though I will show it off soon enough I won't be actually using it that much.  Oh, and here's what The Perfected Warrior does. +15 to Health and Focus is a solid upgrade.   Before we leave, we can chat with our fellow fighters one last time and bask in their admiration. Oh, and rub our victory in Iron Soldier's face just because.  No, your skills will just waste away with no challenges. I wonder if it'll be me, the Sung brothers, or some other upstart who brings you down.We have plenty of challenges ahead of us so we really won't have time to get rusty, no matter how much Iron Soldier might wish for that. Oh yeah, at this point we can also access Kai Lan's office and ransack it, but I forgot to do that until a bit later.  And with that, we are out of here. We're not quite finished with the Imperial City sidequests, though, so we'll take care of all that business before we head to the Lotus Assassins' fortress. ----- DMorbid fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Nov 12, 2017 |
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Apr 26, 2017 23:40
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You made that long fight against everyone seem so easy. So many styles to keep track of now, how many do we have?
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Apr 27, 2017 00:07
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Poil posted:You made that long fight against everyone seem so easy. As for our styles, let's see here... Martial: Legendary Strike, Leaping Tiger, Iron Palm Support: Heavenly Wave, Storm Dragon Magic: Dire Flame, Stone Immortal (Wei Shen also has Tempest) Weapon: Dragon Sword (upgraded from Fortune's Favorite), Mirabelle, Crimson Tears, Tang's Vengeance Transformation: Toad Demon, Horse Demon Other: Spirit Thief, Drunken Master I think that's everything we've got at this point.
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Apr 27, 2017 00:26
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Wow, that was pretty quality arena fighting. Even got Black Whirlwind some closure, which was nice. Are there bits where you can play your other party members like that?
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Apr 27, 2017 04:00
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Aww, did you miss the easter egg on the quest log screen when you're Black Whirlwind?
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Apr 27, 2017 05:39
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I remember editing some file years ago, so I could start with monkey paw style. It's quite fun and really strong. There's probably a mod for it now if you want to try it out.
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Apr 27, 2017 08:19
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Solis posted:Aww, did you miss the easter egg on the quest log screen when you're Black Whirlwind? 
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Apr 27, 2017 12:30
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You'll get the chance to show it again, in a more natural spot.
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Apr 27, 2017 12:51
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My experience with Whirlwind was similar to yours - sure, as far as AI party members go he's better than most at attacking enemies but that's not saying much of anything. Put him under the control of the player though and those axes suddenly get incredibly lethal.
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Apr 27, 2017 18:21
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Glazius posted:Wow, that was pretty quality arena fighting. Even got Black Whirlwind some closure, which was nice. Are there bits where you can play your other party members like that? I want to say yes, towards the end game, there is a part where you gain direct control over one or more party members. I may be mistaken though as it has been a long time since I played this game.
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Apr 27, 2017 22:51
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Let's try not to talk too much about late game stuff at this point. We'll get there eventually.
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Apr 27, 2017 23:08
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Psion posted:My experience with Whirlwind was similar to yours - sure, as far as AI party members go he's better than most at attacking enemies but that's not saying much of anything. Put him under the control of the player though and those axes suddenly get incredibly lethal. Still not nearly as good as the PC, but it would be a start.
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Apr 28, 2017 06:02
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Doc Morbid posted:I did! I had no idea that was a thing, or I'd have shown it. I even paused the game at one point during that fight, but didn't think to look at the quest log. It's been ages since I last played but I think it's a general rule in this game that you should check the quest log when you're not the MC. Not really sure if that counts as a spoiler but just in case.
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Apr 28, 2017 15:32
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Man I don't remember having done this questline back when I played this game. Or maybe I did, I do remember having a double-axe style I took with me to the end of the game, but I might have gotten Black Whirlwind's style somewhere? I dunno I haven't played this game since around 2010
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Apr 30, 2017 01:07
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Episode 27: WORDS Last time, we took on the Ravager and Kai Lan the Serpent and became the Imperial Arena grand champion (yes I'll put that video together any day now). We also helped the Black Whirlwind get some closure regarding his brother Raging Ox, as it turned out the Ravager was actually the reanimated corpse of Raging Ox that had been forced to serve Kai Lan. You'd think someone at the arena might have noticed their champion being the walking corpse of the previous champ, but maybe that mask confused them. They weren't really that bright in general. Anyway, now that we are finally done with the arena, it's time to go back to our party's camp and meet up with the Lotus Assassin Inquisitor.  Before we head back, there's still something we should take a look at.  This scroll listing the most recent arena champions has changed to reflect a couple of things. First of all, we've been added to the top of the list, although I'm not sure how they found out our real name because we sure as hell never told it to anyone around here. In addition, the entries for the Ravager and Kai Lan are no longer quite as positive as they used to be.  We still need to rob Kai Lan's office of its valuables, but that'll have to wait a bit longer because we're now back at camp and the Inquisitor has arrived. Obviously, he'll want to hear how our business with Judge Fang went, even though he probably already knows we succeeded.   My spies tell me that Judge Fang has resigned. Is this true? I have his resignation right here. You've done well. With Fang out of the picture, we can assign his post to somebody less difficult. Somebody pliable and easy to control. Somebody like Sheng. Sheng has no backbone; no will of his own. Things will go much more smoothly for the Lotus Assassins with a puppet like him running the Ministry of Harmony. You have successfully completed the mission I gave you. As your reward, we will allow you to begin your training as an Inquisitor of the Lotus Assassins. Looks like Minister Sheng is getting a promotion. Perhaps not in the best of circumstances, but I doubt he'll mind.  Report to the fortress at the far end of the Necropolis. The entrance is there, now that you are worthy of finding it. Make certain your affairs are in order before you go. I will tell them you are coming. Show them this seal when you arrive. Be mindful of your manners. Our trainers are not gentle, and they demand respect.Once we enter the Fortress, we'll no longer be able to complete sidequests in the Imperial City. As such, we're taking care of all that business before we go anywhere.  A new beginning. Your life becomes the Lotus Assassins. Death's Hand becomes your guiding spirit. The Emperor is your father above him. I wish you luck. Perhaps I will see you again. If you survive. That'll be that, then. Now that the Inquisitor has shuffled off, we should hold a quick meeting with the rest of the party.   And you've made doubly certain of it by aiding both the Executioner and Inquisitor. Very impressive. The way to the Lotus Assassin fortress is open. While Dawn Star is speaking here, Sagacious Zu sneaks off. Certainly not in the stealthiest manner ever, but we can't stop him even though we can plainly see what he is doing.  You have permission, so there won't be any trouble entering. It's only after we have the evidence against Death's Hand that they might notice something is wrong.  Yeah, uh, about that...   Where... where is he? Well, you should be more careful of who you trust. We have no clue where Zu has gone, but him deciding to sneak off like that doesn't bode particularly well. We should find him as soon as possible.  Zu would not turn on us. The Lotus Assassin fortress is in the far end of the Necropolis. They shouldn't give you any trouble. Just appear confident as you enter.Zu did not seem like he wanted anything to do with the Assassins ever again and Inquisitor Lim said Zu is to be killed on sight, so it's doubtful he's gone to warn them. Still, why would he skulk off like that?  By "now" we mean "in about two or three hours", of course.  I don't want you to think I have forgotten your needs. All right then. Having finished the Inquisitors' quest, we get the Inquisitor Seal and lose all the other crap related to the quest, since we no longer need any of it. Finishing a main quest also means our party members will have new things to say, so let's chat with all of them before we head back out.   I was sorry to hear about your town. You're a woman with a knack for finding trouble. I mean, he's not exactly the cautious type himself, is he?  There's something I've been meaning to ask you. Why? Seriously. Why are you doing this? Details aside, you're fighting the Empire as a whole when you oppose the Lotus Assassins, Death's Hand, or the Emperor's will. I know all about your village and your Master, and that explains some of it. What it doesn't explain is your drive, your strength. What gives you that? I'm not really a fan of any of these choices they gave us here. Where's the "I'm a Spirit Monk, and this is what we do" option?  I know you're going to follow Silk Fox's plans to find a way into the Assassins' den. It won‘t be easy, but I'm confident we'll succeed. It's what happens after you find a way in that has me worried. I can imagine that might just be the case. I knew men and women who were drawn to the Lotus Assassins. They went into that place to prove themselves, as you intend to. And the few who made it back out were... different. Different how? They acted like they didn't know us or just didn‘t care if we lived or died. It's hard to say if there's even a difference to the Lotus Assassins. I know you‘ll be fine. The Assassins will be lucky if you don't bring the place down around their ears. Just be sure not to tip your hand before you're ready. That's all in the future, though. We should keep at what we're doing. There's a lot left to tackle before we're done.I'm noticing Sky is no longer trying to hit on us, so I guess we managed to avoid triggering his romance flags. Speaking of romance, let's ask Henpecked Hou some more about his lovely wife! Specifically, why did he marry his wife if she is so difficult?   I was the tournament champion in Phoenix Gate when things spun out of control. My need for wine took its toll on my body. There are long periods I don't even remember. After one such period, I came to, having lost most of my clothes and all my money. I was destitute, and without the ability to buy more wine... I couldn't even fight! That takes some dedication.  Just like that l was back in the ring. After climbing my way back to the top of the tournament, my sponsor told me it was time to fulfill my end of the bargain. I guess you really owed him after that. Apparently the agreement stipulated that I must marry his niece. If only I had read the agreement more closely, I could still be shoveling... dirt in the creature cages. Alas, fate had a crueler path in mind for me. Let that be a lesson for you: always read the fine print, or you may end up with more than you bargained for!Err, okay then. Next question.   As I mentioned earlier, after becoming tournament champion for the second time, I was forced to marry my sponsor's nubile niece. *She* is the reason I no longer fight. My disapproving dove did not care for my drinking, or for my friends, or my fighting, or my friends fighting. She believed I should settle down, be more respectable. Hou! You need to learn to stand up for yourself. At first I ignored her rebukes and continued fighting, but I soon learned that she was not a woman to be crossed. Prior to one fight, my duplicitous daisy drugged my wine. I don't remember much of what happened next, which is fortunate. From what I hear it wasn't very pretty. Well then, that took a turn. I spent the next several months under the tender ministrations of my doting wife. Needless to say, when l was well enough to walk again I was more than happy to... settle down. As to why I became a bun master... well, it's a hard, thankless job that keeps me very, very busy. Very busy.Right. Yes. Now that is a healthy marriage if I ever saw one. Let's move swiftly on and see what's going on with Wild Flower and the demons inhabiting her. Wonder if she's all right with those two.    I... I don't know. The Guardian... he's always been with me. The other one, too. But they never really tell me why.... They say we have to be with you now. Why did you choose her? The amulet you carry had been hidden in the village by the last of the Spirit Monks, and the whole area flooded. Those remaining behind died and it was lost forever. But the dam had opened again and the water receded. I am bound to protect this amulet, but to exist in this world, balance is needed. With good, evil. With life, death. Of those who died there, I chose this one as my host. She was reborn through my power, and I within her. But balance required that my heavenly presence have an opposite. Remember how Dawn Star sensed something weird when we first met Wild Flower? You might've thought she was just sensing Chai Ka and Ya Zhen inside her, but Dawn Star's power specifically helps her sense the spirits of the dead (although I suppose she was sort of able to sense the Water Dragon's spirit as well). You might also remember Wild Flower getting very uncomfortable when she saw the water rise again and flood Old Tien's Landing, and now we know why.   Gah!  Don't talk to the little girl about the demons within her, got it.   Oh dear. Maybe we should've actually listened to that bit of advice.  What are you talking about? The girl is already dead. She's a walking corpse. She's nothing to anyone. What I want is the body. I need an anchor, and this little walking meat puppet can provide that. But Chai Ka gives me trouble. He's in my way. He's weak, but the girl sides with him. To take control, I need your help. And I‘m willing to offer servitude for it. Let's at least try to keep him where he is, shall we? We really don't need an evil toad demon running around, especially if he's going to take control of Wild Flower.  Sure. If we were doing a super evil playthrough, we might take him up on his offer, but that really only makes sense if you're playing a total fuckhead. As such, we're not going to let him out. Bye, Ya Zhen!  For the sake of the child, have no further dealings with him. He is stronger now; he might be able to force his way out, or be called. Resist him. Do not listen to him.Got it, for real this time. We can now use Ya Zhen as a party member if we wish, but we don't (I thought that happened after the last conversation, but it was actually this one). I believe talking to both Chai Ka and Ya Zhen at this point is required for completing Wild Flower's personal quest, so there is an actual reason why we're bothering the little girl. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's go ask the Black Whirlwind if he's got any more interesting stories for us, maybe something about his brother.  Nothing about Raging Ox, but this might be good.  The night of the wedding feast, I got more than a little drunk, and in the morning I woke up in the prefect's bed, next to the prefect's wife. Well, so far that's not too bad. Nobody's been killed yet, for one.  Apparently, I had just killed her sister's husband and was about to kill her sister. I tried to tell her it was an honest mistake, but she wouldn't hear it. It was always going to go there, wasn't it?  I killed them all swiftly. None of them suffered. Still, Meishan wouldn't leave with me; she kept crying and complaining about her family. Family life just isn't for me. Yes, I think there is a useful lesson for us all there... somewhere. Maybe. In any event, I love how you can always respond to Whirlwind's horror stories with this line.  Will you be heading to the Lotus Assassin fortress soon? When you are through there, the princess will take us to the palace. You've appeased both of the Lotus Assassin recruiters. What else could we possibly need to do? What do you think about what has been happening? As much as I think it is foolishly dangerous, you need to go to the Lotus Assassin fortress and find the information the Princess needs. After that she will take us to the palace. We are so close to Master Li. Just a little longer... I hope.Well, Dawn Star didn't have much of interest to say. At this point she usually doesn't, unless you're on the romance path. Speaking of which, we should take some time to hit on Silk Fox because we've got a couple of romance flags to hit before we head to the fortress.  Is there anything you wanted to discuss before I get moving? I don't understand. You have gained the favor of the Lotus Assassins with a fair amount of ease. What else is there to speak of? Is there something *you* are wondering? About me? I am Princess Sun Lian the Heavenly Lily. What more are you worthy of knowing? Tell me about your childhood. I do not remember ever being allowed to just be a child. My mother died when l was born, shortly before the end of the Long Drought and the fall of my uncles. I was in the care of tutors too afraid to punish me, and too ingratiating to teach me anything useful. I quickly found ways to sneak away from the palace. They dared not report my excursions for fear they would be punished. They would scurry around all day trying in vain to find me.  They never realized who I was. I'm sure they would have been terrified of the army storming in to rescue me. Most just wanted to be left alone. That life was exciting, but also useful. Even Lotus Assassins overlook the beggar on the street, but she still has eyes and ears. Tell me about Silk Fox. Ah, the shadow behind my public self. How else can a curious princess learn what really happens in her domain? I don't have time to interpret the veiled statements of advisors, so I became a thief, an assassin, whatever I needed to be. People will not speak to the princess; bad news kills the messenger first. Silk Fox knows how to persuade. That is how I learned about the activities of Death's Hand. I'm sure you find being Silk Fox exciting as well. There is a freedom in it. I have the resources to go anywhere and the secrecy to do anything. If I wished it, I could be quite carefree. But that is not what I have found in practice. Instead, I see how my father's reign has twisted, and I know I must do something. I really should've picked the bottom option here, because it disappears after the next bit of dialog. At least they did have some sort of an explanation as to why nobody seems to notice the princess being gone for extended periods of time.  It is filled with sycophants pandering to the fancies of my father, with little or no concern to their own dignity. It is... distasteful. I think you would do well at court. I can handle myself better than any of the fancy courtiers who attempt to match me. I know that someday the court will be mine to rule. When I succeed my father, there will be quite a cleaning-out. But with Death's Hand manipulating him, that day seems less and less likely. Welp, time for some BioWare romance dialog, everyone.  I have already shared something of myself. Can you tell me something about you? Is there anyone that you care for? We get a couple of opportunities to break things off here before we're locked in to Silk Fox's romance path, but obviously we're not doing that.  Wanting someone you can never have. Love you can never show in public. Such loneliness should not exist. I have contributed to that. The princess behaves as she should, reinforcing the very rules I despise, all to protect Silk Fox. Which one am I? I should not be ungrateful. Everything in my life is dedicated solely to making me happy, but I am at odds with so much. I am always behind a mask, not just when I am Silk Fox. I am not allowed to show an interest in politics, defending the Empire... or even spontaneous affection. Can you see the dilemma you represent? Not only is our deepening friendship prohibited by station, but by... so much more.  But you are another matter. When I look at you, I see someone I could know better than anyone. Someone who could understand... what I need. It frightens me how much you intrigue me. One last chance to get cold feet. If you pass this Charm check (which can be avoided if you picked certain options earlier), you're officially on the Silk Fox romance path. Since we didn't flirt with Sky, we shouldn't be getting any awkward moments down the line either. Well, more awkward than BioWare's romances already are in general. At this point you can also turn Silk Fox to the Way of the Closed Fist, if that's your thing (if you're playing a Closed Fist character, you probably want to do that to avoid certain problems later) and you choose the appropriate dialog options as well as pass another skill check.  You asked me about my first love. It was the Empire and its people. There might be room for another... given time and effort. How would the court react? You have the skill to be charmingly discrete, but a few people could use a shock, now and then. You and I will have much to discuss after we have restored my father. I am looking forward to it. There we are. We're now finished with our party member conversations for the time being, so now we can finally head back out to town and get started on those sidequests we need to complete before we enter the fortress.  First off, we've got Captain Sen and his bounties.     Admittedly, you don't resemble the ones described to me. but they're several days late. No doubt they'll blame it on the foolish ghost stories. It sounds like these mercenaries have just forfeited their job to me. I need help tracking down a pair of criminals. Are you interested in a little well-paying work? I'm interested. Tell me what you need done. These two scoundrels have eluded my best efforts, so I'm turning to bounty hunters. It's harder to run when your pursuers are not in a uniform. Thanks, Silk Fox. Let's hear about those criminals, then.  You've got a deal. A wise decision. The two criminals are Fading Moon and Creative Yukong. Fading Moon is an arsonist who was last spotted heading for the Necropolis. Creative Yukong has virtually disappeared, though we may be able to learn something from Lady Rento, the wife of the man Yukong bilked. She's in the Imperial Arena. I want to hear more about Fading Moon. Fading Moon is an arsonist. Her first fires were in the poor quarters, but her last one spread to the Market District gate. Last we heard, she had escaped to the Necropolis. Why was nothing done to catch her earlier? As I said, she confined them to the poor districts. She would have been impossible to catch in that rat's nest. More frankly, there isn't enough money to make it worth my effort.The Empire's finest, ladies and gentlemen.  The gates between here and the poorer districts will be closed for some time while repairs are underway. There's nothing particular about the scene of the crime, just ash. Let's hear the details surrounding Creative Yukong. Yukong fleeced some silver from Lord Rento, a powerful man in the Ministry of Harmony. Yukong is a master of disguise, and he has hidden himself somewhere in the city. Lord Rento is away on court business, but his wife informed me that she'd be in the Heart of the Empire in the Imperial Arena if we needed her. You could start there. What could she tell me? She knows the details of the theft better than I. Lord Rento was... reluctant to discuss them. Yukong could be anywhere or anyone, and Lady Rento is the only lead we have. We'll take Sky along for these quests, as he hasn't had much opportunity to show what he can do thus far.  Our first stop is the Heart of the Empire tavern, and that's Lady Rento right there. Let's find out what she knows about Creative Yukong.  Eh, it's not all it's cracked up to be.  I'm here to talk to you about Creative Yukong. Oh, poor Yukong. Captain Sen's still willing to do my husband‘s bidding and hunt him down, is he? I swear, my husband is insufferable. Yukong's a harmless aspiring actor who asked me if I would act as his patron. Since my husband was away from the city... again... I accepted and gave Yukong a moderate stipend. I thought he was charming.Uh huh. I think I see what's going on here...   My husband's a fool, but when he lowers his head, all I can do is let him charge and hope he rams something solid enough to slow him. How much did you give this actor? Probably less than my husband is putting forth as a bounty for poor Yukong. That young man doesn't deserve this. Do you have any idea where I could find Creative Yukong? I would wager that you'll find him in the Scholars' Garden. Yukong was going to try out for that new play. It‘s going to be put on soon in the Golden Way, I'm told. Should be exciting to watch.I'll bet. That must be the play that was mentioned by Bai the Outcrier when we arrived in the city, maybe we should check it out.  If you happen to find Creative Yukong, do go easy on him, would you? The poor boy did nothing wrong, and my husband is being unusually cruel to him. Good luck with your search! I have to get back to the estate. So much to do. Time to head back to the Scholars' Garden. It's just as well, we had some business to take care of in there anyway since we never officially completed the Outlander quest. We need to talk to the Minister of Culture and get a reward from him to actually mark that quest as completed, even though we already got the real reward from Sir Roderick when we beat him.  Never mind that, what's going on here?    Now go! Or perhaps you'd prefer for you and your mother be sent to work at the Wall?Wow, this guy is a dick.   We're definitely gonna have to do something about that.  Sky agrees as well. Let's go talk to Jinlin and find out what the hell that was all about.    I'm... sorry. I'm just a little upset. I... I'm Jinlin. Is there something you want? I saw what happened earlier. I'd like to help you. Thanks, but I need to find a way to kill spirits. Purveyor Shouji wants me to fetch an artifact from an emperor's tomb in the Necropolis, but it's filled with ghosts. The purveyor is... he threatened to sell my mom to slave traders if I don't get this artifact. I don't know what to do... I can't fight ghosts.Well, luckily we can. That being said, what the poo poo? Purveyor Shouji wants his money, so he sends this little girl to the goddamn Necropolis to find an artifact from a ghost-infested tomb? And when she inevitably doesn't get the artifact because she can't fight ghosts, the purveyor will sell her mom to slave traders? He's either a complete idiot, a raging dick, or both. Probably both.   I can't allow you to do this on your own. Thank you... you are very kind. My father would have liked you, I think. He was brave like you are. The tomb is over in the Necropolis. The door is locked, but I can sneak inside and open it. I just have to be careful not to alert the ghosts. If you really think you can get rid of the ghosts, I'll head over to the tomb and wait for you there. "Shortly" is of course a relative term...  I wish we could tell Jinlin that there's really no rush, but unfortunately that isn't an option and she's going to have to wait a while.   We missed this bookstand earlier, so let's take a quick look at it. Nothing particularly interesting or relevant, but EXP is EXP.  Near the entrance to the Golden Way, we run into this gentleman.   You're clearly not from around the Imperial City, and I need someone's help most desperately, someone unaffected by the politics of this place. What can I do to help? I am Incisive Chorus the Playwright. I'm sure you've heard of me, and if not, you have... er, now, I suppose. One of my productions has been touring the countryside and catching people's attention. We were asked to bring it into the city and perform here in the Golden Way. Wu the Lotus Blossom is a woman of many talents, but she's no playwright.  Oh no! Anything but that!   They've changed it from a commentary of man‘s inhumanity to man to a satire of the Empire. I tell you truthfully that they've lost the whole point of the piece!Yes, that is awful. Listen, we really need to get going, there are criminals we have to catch and a little girl who needs our help, so if you don't mind we'll just...  Well, I suppose there is that.  Of course I would pay you. In fact, I'd match... er... Well, this is odd. Something the matter? It‘s just that there's no "going" rate for female actors or whatever you'd be called. It's unheard of.  They deserve that much respect. I hear the bosom binding, pant stuffing, and whatnot is a far cry from comfortable.  I, myself, have pushed long and hard for realism; "verisimilitude" is the word they're throwing out these days. And what better way to avoiding all that unnecessary shirt stuffing? Alas, tradition often becomes a barrier blackened by short-sightedness that is not easily overcome. This can only go well.  I will gladly offer you the going rate for a leading man, just for a walk-on part! I need you to take a role in the play and read the role the... er, original way. You have a most regal bearing, so I expect you'd have no... well, no *major* problems, at any rate, acting the role of Lady Fourteen Flowers. Sky just wants to see us on stage, doesn't he?  You want me to play Lady Fourteen Flowers? That will be a bit tricky I'll admit. Certainly breaking with tradition, but if you tell them you‘re already in makeup, they'll... er, gloss things over. It'll be fine, I'm sure. I'm no actor. They wouldn't believe me! Oh, they will. It's a role practically suited to one of your... stature. It'll come to you as easily as pleasant scents on a spring wind. Sounds interesting. I'll do it. Hurry over to the large pagoda overlooking the Golden Way, and tell Phong that you're the replacement. They won't wait forever, so step quickly to it. Remember, you'll have to memorize your lines, no scripts on stage, of course. Also, make sure you read from this script. Now, good... no, you're about to perform so I shan't jinx it. Get to it!  Seems simple enough, and we're getting some nice Jade Empire lore here as well. I don't see much of man's inhumanity to man in this scene, but maybe that's more prominent in other parts of the play.  Now, before we get up on stage, we should go visit the Ministry hostel on the way. This is where Minister Sheng is staying and where we would've brought the turtle eggs if we decided to go that route in the Inquisitors' quest.  Sky, we already did that.   Or should I say Judge Sheng! At last, my triumphant return to the Imperial City! So many things to prepare. so many things to do. We could tell him the Lotus Assassins are just planning to use him, but by the time we're done with the Assassins' fortress I don't think Sheng will have much to worry about. That is, if things go the way they usually do for us.  Please excuse me. Judge Sheng really doesn't have the time to chat. I must make preparations for my transfer back to the Imperial City. I'm going to have to cut things here for now. Nothing much happened in this update aside from a hell of a lot of talking, but that's how Jade Empire is sometimes. At least we got all those  out of the way and can focus on other things for the next while. ----- DMorbid fucked around with this message at 14:56 on May 11, 2017 |
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May 11, 2017 08:58
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I still insist the Henpecked Hou is single and has deep issues with personal failure.
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May 11, 2017 09:11
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Every Bioware game in existence would be considerably improved by the excision of all romance dialogue and subplots.
PurpleXVI fucked around with this message at 14:40 on May 11, 2017 |
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May 11, 2017 11:03
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PurpleXVI posted:Every Bioware game in existence would be considerably removed by the excision of all romance dialogue and subplots. I dunno, I think the Garrus romance from the ME series was kinda okay, and thematically perfect in how Garrus and Shepard mirrored each other. Otherwise though? Yeah, maybe BW should just ask their writers to make official fanfics for their favourite characters.
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May 11, 2017 11:36
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PurpleXVI posted:Every Bioware game in existence would be considerably removed by the excision of all romance dialogue and subplots.  It could stand some serious improvement however.
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May 11, 2017 11:56
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PurpleXVI posted:Every
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May 11, 2017 16:05
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Uncharted
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May 11, 2017 21:53
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I'm just glad we let Judge Fang get some advancement for a change. He may seem a bit of an airhead, but his concern for the Empire's well-being is sincere.
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May 12, 2017 00:09
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Man, I hope we can keep getting Sheng promoted or at least see him keep being Sheng. He seems like a quality running gag.
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May 12, 2017 00:54
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Glazius posted:Man, I hope we can keep getting Sheng promoted or at least see him keep being Sheng. He seems like a quality running gag. By the end of the game, Emperor Sheng, the Long-Suffering.
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May 12, 2017 01:50
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Really Pants posted:Uncharted An interesting point. I was thinking about 'subplot' in the strictly optional sense, since it's the context in which it was raised, but yeah, I guess the ongoing issues in Nate and Elena's relationship do constitute a subplot since they're not directly connected to the treasure being hunted. Which invites the question - would the original statement be true if it only referred to optional romantic subplots?
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May 13, 2017 17:16
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Episode 28: Creative Pursuits Last time, Sagacious Zu seemingly decided he wanted no part of our plan to infiltrate the Lotus Assassins' fortress, so he sneaked off while we were busy chatting up Silk Fox. The fortress lies at the far end of the Necropolis, but we're not going there yet because we've got sidequests to complete.  Oh, and before I forget again, here's the Imperial City version of the main menu screen, complete with stretched logos as per usual. You only see these backgrounds when you quit the game and return to the menu, you just get the default Two Rivers background when you boot up Jade Empire. This is where we last left off. The first thing we're doing today is act in that play Incisive Chorus roped us into, so that should be exciting. We can just about see First-Degree Thespian Phong next to the pagoda to our left, so we'll go introduce ourselves.    You? You're the replacement? By the starry river, that is the best makeup job I've ever seen! We'll barely have to touch you up to play Lady Fourteen Flowers!As Incisive Chorus mentioned last time, practically all the roles in these plays are performed by male actors and a woman playing a female character (without first dressing up as a man) is unheard of. Plays in Imperial China generally featured both male and female actors in lead and support roles, but apparently that isn't how theatre works in the Jade Empire.  Did they give you a copy of the script when they sent you over here?Well yes, they did give us a copy, but...  I don't think we really want to show the original script to Phong since it's the one we're supposed to read from, so we'll lie instead. I don't think this dialog choice makes any difference whatsoever, but it makes more sense not to show off Incisive Chorus' script unless we have to.  The script's recently been revised, so even if you're familiar with the old version, read it again for the changes before you head on stage. Who revised the script? Well, a southern noble funded the location and travel for us, but wanted to make a few tweaks. We couldn't afford to miss the exposure. Our writer wasn't that happy, but we accepted the revisions and here we are. I'm sure your actor's guild told you that we have standard rates. We'll happily pay you the going rate for a lead, especially since this is short notice.Ah yes, the guild. Sure, they said something about that. Absolutely.  I'm sure it'll go swimmingly.  That said, maybe we should make sure what actually constitutes ruining the scene before we get up there.  Now, read that script over. Come talk to me when you‘ve got it and we‘ll get you into final costume and onto the stage. I'm still having a hard time believing that Thespian Phong actually thinks Wu is a male actor in costume, but never mind that. We've got the edited script, so we can now see how the lines have been changed from Incisive Chorus' original script.  Huh. Not exactly the work of a master satirist, is it? Let's put these scripts on the stand and compare them, then.  [It seems you have only a few lines for this scene. They are mostly reacting to the other actor. The scene reenacts a historical moment in the formation of the Jade Empire. There seem to be only six lines for you to remember, and on the scripts there are acting notes that should make it easy to remember the proper lines.]  [You examine the first page of the scripts, which covers the first three of your six lines] [Read the notes for the first line.] [Your line has you commenting that white banners are flying] White banners. Got it.   [You are responding to a question about the time of day, and in Incisive Chorus‘ script, you speak of the heavens sending a message at dusk and the night is coming on fast. In the edited version, the time is mid-day, and you would speak about "the Flower Guardians," an obvious dig at the Lotus Assassins.] Heavens send a message at dusk, night coming on fast. Right.   [As the acting notes direct, the key element lies in that a decision was reached on the edge of a great plain.] The edge of a great plain. Okay then, let's see the second half of the scene.   [In the script written by Incisive Chorus, the theme of the heavens reaching out to Emperor Tien is explored again, and your character comments that seasons change from place to place. In the edited version, your character comments that warmth can hide an icy heart; this comment leads to a thinly veiled condemnation of the Emperor.] More of that biting satire there in the revised version. We just need to remember that Emperor Tien gets a message from the heavens, and seasons change from place to place.   [In the script, the Emperor turned to the heavens themselves.] [Read the notes for the sixth line.][The sixth line seems the same across both scripts. Your character comments on how a shooting star traces a border across the sky.] Lovely. Let's get on with it.  I'm ready. Let's get the show on the road. [fade to black]   Ah, looks like we've got some of the "Flower Guardians" in the audience tonight, ready to haul us (or at least Phong) off if we read the wrong lines.  We'll be fine, though. It's obvious which lines we're absolutely not supposed to say, the main challenge here is remembering our actual lines.  This guy's character is named "Fortunate Puzzle". At first I thought it was Phong himself playing the role and doubling as the narrator, but when we see this gentleman's face we can tell it's a different person. We don't know what the actor's name is, so let's just call him Puzzle.  And the crowd goes wild, or something to that effect.   The arable lands to the south, all the way to the useless jungles, which were left as nothing for the Monkey King, are fused into the mighty Jade Empire. To the east, Sagacious Tien has spread his light to the very waters themselves. And, lo, to the west he found enlightenment among the Hills of the Six Holy Scrolls!Nice of them to namedrop the Monkey King there.    We've got a few options here. White banners is of course the correct choice, then there are a few wrong (but feasible, so hopefully you paid attention to the script and/or wrote down the important details) ones, and finally a comedy option. We're looking to get the best possible reward from this quest, so we'll stick with the correct choices.  Your arrival here is certainly welcome, as your kingdom is one of the most recent to join the Jade Empire. We have had word that the hostilities have ceased. Tell me, most gracious lady, when was this momentous decision reached? We've got one of the lines from the revised script here. It says the Flower Guardians "would allow nothing else", and the response from Puzzle is that he hopes "emperors of the future will know better to trust flowers plucked by the hand of death itself!" Of course, we'll stick with the original script.  Phong seems to be excited even though we're not reading from the revised script. If that is him, anyway. We know how few character models there are in this game.  But surely the might of the Jade Empire is unquestionable, and our will to victory unswayed. And tell me, most gracious madam, when the final blow was struck, where was our noble leader? Deep in the wastes of the north?  There has been nothing but the gentle drafts of spring here in the Imperial City for weeks! With such chill in the air, was this some time ago? "...You moron."   It seems to me that some part of your story remains untold. Do my questions block the truth? Tell me this, if nothing else, good lady. When the cry for peace rose up, who was it that our great Emperor turned to? Blah blah blah heavens blah blah  Wait! What word is this from the front? The Emperor sends word of his return. The Horselords are unconquered? But our forces were undefeatable! What happened to cease the expansion of the Empire, dear lady?Looks like somebody should've read that "Horse Lord Tactics" scroll we found earlier.  And that'll be it, I think.  And so our most noble Emperor saw a sign from the heavens. Our mighty armies poised to crush the Horselords and stretch the Empire to the ends of the earth, but we stopped. For now, even I see that there are limits to ambition, and overreaching those limits invites nothing but disaster! All praise the Emperor, for his wisdom is infinite! The play's finished. Let's see what our audience thought.  This is the Lotus Assassins' reaction if we don't read the revised lines. If we were to read those lines, the Assassins would talk about making a bunch of arrests.  The crowd loved it! Fantastic performance! You managed to hit every line perfectly!  I guess Incisive Chorus put you up to this, because I know I gave you the new script to study. Good for him. I believe I owe you an actor's fee. Enjoy. I'm glad you were here to fill in. We would have sunk faster than a bottomless boat without a solid Lady Fourteen Flowers on hand.  The performance wouldn't have gone on without you, professional actor or not. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have things I must attend to. 1000 EXP and 1000 silver is a decent reward, but since we performed Incisive Chorus' script we'll be getting a bonus from him.   I thought he was in the crowd shots, but guess not. Maybe those were just random scholars.  Fantastic! The scholars loved it. One's already asked for a copy of the manuscript. I'm sure there will be more. Perhaps as many as three! Here, I promised you this, and you should... er, have it! Yes. that's it. Enjoy, and thank you so much! Oh, so much to do. So many, er... copies to make! Yes! Ha! Err, okay then. If you performed the revised script, the play was massively popular with the commoners (instead of the scholars) and Incisive Chorus is utterly furious his art has been dumbed down for the plebs. He expects the play to make "vast amounts of silver, each coin falling like a weight upon [his] heart", and that just won't do. He's an artist, you see. He also won't give you any rewards if you did this.  Now that we got our stage debut out of the way, we'll head on over to the Scholars' Garden where Creative Yukong is supposedly hiding.  "Kongyu"? Very subtle.  Huh, he looks exactly like the guy who played Puzzle in the play. Lady Rento did say Yukong was going to try out for the role, but I don't think that was him and this is just another case of reused character models.    Not that you would understand such lofty matters.This is obviously Creative Yukong, and it should be easy to make him reveal his identity if we ask him about his scholarly pursuits.   Oh. Well, take it away then, Sky.  Very enlightening. Let's see what Sky has for him.    Does the shift towards more codified productions, with barriers established between the presented world and the actual environment, create a more immersive experience? That's what I thought. Where did *that* come from, Sky? He's not the only one who's had to spend some time in hiding in this garden. I, however, did my research. This is clearly Creative Yukong, though I'm not sure he's earned his name.There's a really dumb fan theory (is there any other kind?) about Sky being the real Creative Yukong. Apparently, since Sky knows so much about drama, has spent time hiding in this garden and says Creative Yukong might not have "earned his name", he's got to be Creative Yukong himself!  I have no clue where this theory comes from and don't particularly care either. Anyway, if we don't bring Sky along for this quest, we need to grill Yukong with our questions until he's stumbled through enough explanations.  I don't suppose running would do me any good? He really doesn't seem like a master con man in the slightest.  She agreed, but her husband flew into a rage when he found out, and now I have a death sentence on my head! It‘s not fair, and if you were a decent person, you'd help me get out of this city instead of taking me in. It's the only way I'll get clear of Lord Rento's wrath.  Not that anyone but Lady Rento will confirm that for you. Still, it should be apparent that I'm not some great confidence man.Well, this man is an idiot and it is rather likely he... uh, got creative with Lord Rento's wife when the Lord was out of town, but hauling him off to the city guard seems a bit extreme.  He's pretty harmless, so maybe we'll just help him out.   Let's see how this goes.  However, if I disguise myself as a mercenary and sneak past him. I might just get away, but you have to help me by distracting him. Just tell him that I've already escaped, and I'll get away just fine. I can't imagine what might go wrong.Surely nothing will go awry here, we've got this.   If we wish, we can still turn him in here. We promised to help him, though, so help him we will.  In the meantime, Creative Yukong is doing his best to get noticed by Captain Sen.    Despite Yukong's idiocy and the captain's promise of extra silver, we'll stick to the story.  For gently caress's sake just walk through the gates already    I'm rather tempted to pick the middle option here, but nah. We'll do this properly.  And that'll be that.  Before we leave Captain Sen, though, there are a few questions we should ask.  Is there a bounty on this "Scourge of the South?" Not as such. The Lotus Assassins want to deal with this traitor personally. I don't envy anyone who has attracted that kind of attention. I wonder if we're being told the whole story. Could this criminal be justified in their actions? There is no such thing. If the Lotus Assassins have identified a treasonous criminal, you can be assured that person is guilty of something or will be soon.Justice will be served, I'm sure. That's all we can do with Captain Sen for now, as the other bounty target he mentioned is in the Necropolis and it'll still be a while before we head that way.  There seems to be some sort of commotion going on in the Market District, not to mention a bright yellow arrow atop that man's head. Clearly, we should investigate.    Everyone I send for disappears. There are powers at work here that are beyond my means to control.  I am Prefect Jitong. It's my duty to ensure that convicted criminals in the city are sentenced appropriately. But there are... complications with my current trial. I have in my custody a suspected slave trader, Chandler Ling, but one of the high ranking ministers is trying to get him released, and he wants me to convict another man. The man they want to accuse, Scholar Songtao, is a friend of mine... and I'm certain of his innocence. I need you to find proof so I can present it to the Minister of Justice. All right... where should I start? If I can't prove Ling's guilt, I'll be forced to sentence Songtao... to death. But every time I ask someone to discover the truth, they disappear, or turn up dead. Our best lead is Zi Bao, the last person known to have spoken with Ling before his arrest. But Bao knows me and my men; he won't talk to us.Zi Bao? That name sounds vaguely familiar...   If you want to know more about Songtao, you should speak with him yourself. Tell me about Chandler Ling. Chandler Ling is a well-respected business man and merchant here in the city. Until recently, I had no reason to suspect him of any wrongdoing. When I investigated Ling‘s shop, I found a valuable knife that I had purposely entrusted to one of my men. A man who has since disappeared. Chandler Ling had a knife belonging to a man whose body couldn't be found. That was all the evidence I required. What is Zi Bao's connection to Chandler Ling? I have no idea. The two men were seen together before we arrested Ling. But I have no other information about Zi Bao. He spends most of his time in the Heart of the Empire Tavern, and he doesn‘t seem to have dealings with anyone else besides Chandler Ling. I know if I went to speak with him I would get nowhere, but you could speak to him without raising suspicion.The Heart of the Empire Tavern is at the arena. We actually tried to speak to Zi Bao when we first came in, but he just told us to leave him alone.   Whoever is behind the slavers must have a great deal of power. To remain that... invisible is a hard thing to do. I'll go find Zi Bao then. Good... look for him in the Heart of the Empire Tavern, it's upstairs at the Imperial Arena. Don't scare him away... if we lose him, we lose our last connection to Ling.Noted. We'll only threaten to break his legs after he tells us about the slave traders.  Here's another reason I brought Sky along. I thought he'd enjoy cracking some slave trader heads.  In the far corner of the market, we find the Gem of Foresight. This gem adds +2 to Mind and removes the focus cost for evading traps. It's nice enough, I guess, but not really worth sacrificing a gem slot for.  Well, here we are, back at the arena. Zi Bao's in the same spot he was before, so let's go say hello and find out if he's any friendlier to us this time around.     I'm a little busy right now. I've got a bowl of wine that needs drinking, so why don't you just find someone else to bother?Right, doesn't look like he's going to be particularly forthcoming with information, so we need to use our inquisitive skills to subtly coerce him to let something slip...  Or we can just straight-up tell him to take us to the slave traders.   That goes over about as well as you'd expect.   Leave me alone! I have nothing to say to you, so why don't you just keep moving. Welp, there goes the silver we got from Thespian Phong.  I might be able to take you there. You'll have to pay me now, and I'm not promising you won't get killed once we get there. That's fine. Let's go. It's your life, friend. No refunds either. Follow me.Zi Bao leads us down to the creature cages. Not much of a secret hideout, I think.    Now there's an unknown quantity in this little meeting. Just who are you?I think the boss of the slave traders has a unique character model, which I find a bit odd considering he only appears this one time.  Now that we are here, it doesn't really matter what we say. We're taking these punks down.  Zi Bao was a fool to bring anyone here. We can't afford anyone nosing into our affairs right now, and you‘ve heard too much.Nice, we haven't had a fight in a little while.      Wu is the Silver Phoenix, the grand champion of this very arena, and has fought her way through a horde of demons and Guild assassins. A bunch of two-bit slavers aren't going to pose any threat whatsoever.  I have an eye for raw talent. That helps when picking slaves, but it comes in handy in sizing up potential allies. Who are you, and why are you here? You're clearly too skilled to be one of the fools hired by Prefect Jitong, so what business--or grudge--do you have with us?  You're better than that. You've just shown me your strength. Any poor wretch who had the discipline to fight like you wouldn't let themselves be enslaved. Someone like you deserves to work *with* me, not oppose me. I have a friend who could use your help, and I'm prepared to pay for it. Seriously, why do these minor villains never shut up?   Let's show Cao Zeng how we handle slave traders. No, not with harmonic combos, those didn't seem to work on any of these guys. No, we've got another way to deal with this loser.  Now, I have mentioned that Storm Dragon is one of the best support styles in Jade Empire, and certainly one of the most broken.    You can change fighting styles during a combo, and Leaping Tiger and Storm Dragon are so fast that you'll stunlock enemies by tapping the A button and constantly switching between the two styles.   Cao Zeng can do nothing to stop us from doing this. I haven't been using this strategy because it kinda trivializes fights (which aren't that difficult on Normal in the first place), but I figured slave trader scum like Zeng deserved it.  Well, that should be the evidence we need to clear Songtao's name, but before we go hand the documents to Prefect Jitong we should take care of some unfinished business here at the arena.  Kai Lan's private chamber has of course been vacated recently, but his stuff is still in there. Now that we can freely access the Serpent's lair, we should see if we can find anything interesting.   Might still want to be careful, though.    Well, that last gem is a bit underwhelming, but Absolute Dedication (more EXP from human enemies but no powerups) and Gem of Irresistible Spirit (Spirit +2, Charm +2, Open Palm only) are pretty nice. So is Scales of the Serpent, a technique that adds +1 to Intimidation and +7 to health. That's all we can get from here, so now we can return to Prefect Jitong.  I spoke with Zi Bao and he took me to the slavers. He... took you there. That‘s incredible... that's remarkable. Well. what did you find? Have you discovered evidence that exonerates Scholar Songtao?  I guess this must be Chandler Ling, and he's not doing such a great job concealing his ties to the slave traders there.    And you, Chandler Ling, will come with me for sentencing. It will be quick and harsh, I suspect. This sort of thing will not be tolerated in the Empire.  And here's Songtao himself. I think we could've talked to him earlier, but there was really no point.    They're not here of course. Come and find me in the Scholars' Garden and I will be glad to show you what I have. I'll see you there. Goodbye, and thank you again.I guess we'll go see him in the Garden.  Sky, of course, heartily approves of our actions.  This quest is where you're supposed to get the Aura of Calm Gem, as we do here. However, you might recall that we already got one somehow when we were at the pirate lair. The gem we found there actually seemed to disappear from my inventory for a while when we got the "real" one, only to come back a couple of hours later. I don't know what the hell went on there because the Aura of Calm Gem is supposed to be unique and only obtainable through the slave trader quest, but I eventually ended up with two of these things. Well, whatever. We'll just run back to the Scholars' Garden.  We'll get to Songtao in a bit, but first we'll need to talk to the Minister of Culture in order to mark the Outlander quest as completed and clear it from our active quests.   We are all in your debt, but the Ministry of Culture is particularly so. Please, take this token sum of silver as payment. You certainly earned it. If we need to talk to this idiot to get rid of the quest we've already basically completed, he might as well pay us a bit of extra.    Heh. He said...   Ah yes, I see what's going on here.    Very clever, BioWare, thanks for this.  At least the rewards are all right. Speaking of rewards, let's find Scholar Songtao and check out those items of his.   Mostly generic trash gems, but Lucky Hand here is pretty cool. I don't buy it, though, because my current gems are more useful and we're not exactly hurting for money most of the time. We have one more sidequest left before we're ready to go to the Necropolis -- next time, we will find out what's going on at the Black Leopard School. ----- DMorbid fucked around with this message at 13:19 on May 29, 2017 |
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May 27, 2017 22:12
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That play plot was kind of interesting. There's just the right amount of ambiguity to it: was the script changed to try and draw attention to the Lotus Assassin's so that the populace 'wakes up' in regards to how they're pretty much controlling everything, was it changed by the Lotus Assassin's to stage a bunch of 'arrests' or was it changed by someone else to get them to do those 'arrests' and reap benefits from it? Interesting.
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May 27, 2017 22:47
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Oh gods, his face. 
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May 27, 2017 23:37
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I'm fairly certain the Lucky Hand gem would cause a long term economic meltdown if it's not actually literally unique in the Empire.
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May 27, 2017 23:59
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Doc Morbid posted:I don't think we really want to show the original script to Phong since it's the one we're supposed to read from, so we'll lie instead. I don't think this dialog choice makes any difference whatsoever, but it makes more sense not to show off Incisive Chorus' script unless we have to. He just complains that of course the idiots at the guild gave you the wrong version of the script, what else would you expect from them?
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May 28, 2017 05:59
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Veyrall posted:I'm fairly certain the Lucky Hand gem would cause a long term economic meltdown if it's not actually literally unique in the Empire. Well, you also need some kind of magic amulet in order to actually use these things. One so rare the Lotus Assassins would kill for it. Otherwise it's like crazy watered-down.
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Jun 1, 2017 00:37
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Maybe all spirit monks had amulets like it and had been causing problems for centuries and it was the real reason for them being wiped out.
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Jun 1, 2017 08:39
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I think the confusion with the 'acting is done by men only' is either confusing it with Kabuki (which is all- mature men due to women, and later young men getting banned from performing due to concerns about prostitution) or that some forms of Chinese Opera had started off as male only or it's more common to be all male.
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Jun 2, 2017 22:49
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