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Maple Leaf posted:I’m not sure what triggers it. It could be anything from me having lost the Rite, to the Rite having lasted twenty five minutes, to Rukey being used a little too often. I am pretty sure it's based on you using members a lot to force somewhat varied teams.
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May 1, 2018 18:55
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I always found The Fate to be a pretty difficult enemy team. When the AI wants to rush you, it can really rush you, and they seem particularly good at it. No shame in that loss, was a good game.
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May 1, 2018 23:05
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  Gfy  : Our next opponents, for the third time, will be Tamitha and the Essence. With any luck, she and Pamitha will finally find some common ground between them – and either way, if we prevail against her this time (and that’s a pretty solid ‘if,’ now that we’re thirteen-and-one), we’ll be guaranteeing the Fate a shot at the finals. : Very well, then, Reader. Once more you shall face Tamitha and the Essence when next the stars align. We may set course for the Spring of Jomuer at dawn. For now, please get some rest in the remaining dark of night. : We could, of course. But someone is in dire need of talking to us. : Oh, goodness, it’s been a dog’s age since we had a sit-down with Sir Gilman. I wonder what could possibly be on his mind right now. : You find Sir Gilman searching intently for something or other, his eye is shut tight, his brow furrowed in deep concentration.: You’ll have a much easier time finding whatever it is you’re looking for if you open the only eye you have, you know.: He acknowledges your presence in the most minimal way possible, and continues scanning the environment. : You shall have to forgive this knight’s impertinence to you, Master-Reader! For he is on the hunt at this time. : Using his acute sense of hearing, which is much more acute whilst underwater but shall have to suffice in this case, he shall track down a most-elusive character…. A character who has eluded this knight time and time again, and from whom this knight seeks to learn still-superior evasive strategies, applicable when next he may conduct the Rites! : Hold!! Is that--?: You have no idea to whom he is referring, when… : AAAUUGGGHH!! THIS KNIGHT HAS FAILED AGAIN!: Alas… Master Rukey, once more you have outwitted this poor knight, and outmanoeuvred him. Please… you must reveal the secret to your speed and cunning!: I’m sure having four times as many legs as you certainly helps. : Take it easy, chum, you’re not half-bad, yourself. Besides, I was getting pretty sick of running circles around all these slow-pokes before you showed up while we were out at sea.: Do you truly mean that, Master Rukey…? But, no, it cannot be… for this knight has nary seen ANYONE as deft and fleet of foot as you.: Certainly, it must be advantageous to possess four feet, whilst this knight has but one, if so it may be called! And yet! We all are born with necessary means, and we must all make do!  : NEVER! This knight deserves no break! Not while there is honor to be gained!: Whatever crime he’s committed must be pretty intense, if he refuses to let up on himself like this.: He is merely a wyrm. One of roughly eight billion of his kind. Thus, he must strive to be remarkable, and to exceed what is expected of him.: Guess what, chum, you went and did that already. I thought all you Sea-Dominion types were just a bunch of meat-heads who didn’t care nothing but a fight. But you’ve been downright decent! Even made me break a sweat a couple times out there, when I thought maybe we got somebody quicker on his foot than me. : Point I’m trying to make is… it’s been good having you with us. I always say, it’s worth having someone quick around to keep you on our toes.: For a moment, you wonder if Sir Gilman is about to weep. : Now, come on, you want to go another round, or what? There’s some good hiding spots outside where I can show you how we curs get the drop on unwary passersby. In a very honourable way!: …This knight would be most-honored, Master Rukey.: As the two of them head off to further train together, you catch notice of the Book of Rites there, in the wagon… the Rites, which so stress trust and reliance on one’s fellow exiles. The Eight Scribes likely did not envision Sir Gilman and Rukey, in particular, as conductors of their sacred tradition. Yet, perhaps theirs is the sort of kinship which they had in mind.: You think? Based on what we’ve read in the Book so far, the Scribes weren’t exactly a bunch of stuffed shirts, themselves. : Speaking of the Book, let’s give it a leaf or two. Gfy   : So, that’s the superstition surrounding the Isle of Khaylmer: the Book itself says that if, at any time, any Rite were to take place there, the cycle of the Rites will be on their way out.: I guess we’ll be finding out sooner rather than later, at this rate.  : Our next destination is south, towards the Spring of Jomuer, just a stone’s throw from the Cairn of Ha’ub. This will be the first time we’ll be revisiting the spring, so we’ll be getting a page or two for that, which is nice. : We pass by the Tempers on our way down. Ignarius doesn’t need any poo poo from me, he’s not a bad guy. : Lendel… Gfy : … he probably wouldn’t be that entertaining anyway. There’s only so much frustrated wheezing a guy can take before it gets a little uncomfortable. : Oh, hey, Dalbert. Good luck! Try to not let Flagging Hands get to you or Almer. : When we pass into Jomuer Valley, we happen across Barker and the Dissidents off in the distance. Now, for the most part, I don’t really have a beef with Barker – he’s pretty intense, but he’s not actively trying to gently caress the Nightwings over or anything, and he isn’t exactly a bad guy, he just wants to have a party.: That said, we haven’t had the chance to say hello in – goodness, twenty-one updates. It’s been quite a while since he last spoke! Maybe he’s just as eager to have a reunion as I am. : Barker notices your wagon at his flank there and begins to laugh. : Well, if it isn’t the Nightwings, flaunting their fancy little flying wagon, ay?: YOU THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN US, MATES, AY?!: Pah. You ain’t better than the dung I stepped in last night. Now, get on outta here, or I’ve a mind to leap on over there, and rip your gizzards out, you hear me?!: There’s a possibility I may have remembered Barker wrong. : As we come up on the Spring, we’re given two landing options, and a point of interest. The names Gluehive and Fallflat feel very nostalgic at this point; it doesn’t feel like so long ago, but in reality, it’s been months since we last visited this place.: The Spring of Jomuer has always flown forth from the crushed carapace of Bialanthius, the legend of whose demise is… a rather sordid tale. Perhaps you have already read it in the Book.: Fella was clearly crushed to death by a giant boulder. Seems pretty open and shut to me, Tariq.: Not all believe the Book exists, of course. Nor the Greater Titans, nor the Rites. I have encountered exiles believing that this titan perished quite by accident, rather than by a cunning trap laid for it by Jomuer Many-Mane. They took the titan for a common beast.: Scorpions that big are common? Lord have mercy!: …Perhaps the stars shine down upon out-of-the-way locales such as this one to ensure that they alone shall witness the proceedings.: Thankfully, Bialanthius was killed because Jomuer lured him into a trap. If Jomuer was as badass as Triesta Tithis, I’d be feeling very inadequate.  : Rukey is finally going to get his chance to shine! We used him just last Rite, against the Fate, while the last time we saw Pamitha in a Rite was against Udmildhe and the Withdrawn (which, by the way, also included Rukey, and he was voted in before her).  : Nobody’s in a talking mood right now and we haven’t unlocked any new pages. So… I guess there’s nothing keeping us from just getting to it, then. Let’s have a look around Gluehive.: You end up spending part of the day with Rukey, exploring the area surrounding your wagon. You learn this area used to be a swimming hole many years ago. : I knew some curs used to go swimming around here. Did some horrible things to their coats.: Your lasting memory of the place is standing by the shore, imagining the feel of the water. As you head back in silence, you consider which of your Vocations to pursue.: I’m smarter than some silly curs. I’ll be sure to take my coat off, first! : Rukey? : Rukey.: You find Rukey having just put back his Greentail family portrait. There is something of a wistful look in his eyes. Then, something comes over him, and he moves in close, lowering his voice.: Look, chum, I gotta level with you about something here real quick. Truth is that I haven’t been entirely up front with you about my family situation.: He hesitates a while, then…: We ain’t exactly quite as rich as I’ve been letting on…. I mean, we do just fine, and we got lots of money stored away, it’s just, mostly locked up in savings bonds, and….:  : He seems to catch himself in the middle of another tall tale and relents before you can respond, one way or another. : Always told her I’d make something of myself, you know? I was just a clerk in her shop. Things started getting tough for us, so, I started looking for all kind of different work.: Got in with some unseemly sorts, I guess, but the pay was real good. We took to shipping certain types of stuff down here, of all places. Flushing it straight down the river, watertight.: Who pays –: Ron?!: The pay was right. Mom was so proud of me! We were eating real good all the time.: …But… you can probably guess what happened.  : As for my Mom… she doesn’t know the half of it. My uncles told her I’m away on business. Not entirely untrue, I guess, but if she knew… it’d break her poor heart.: So… don’t know how else to put this, chum, but I want to get out of here. Get back to what I was doing back home… on the straight and narrow, though! I’d go straight this time for sure.: …Just don’t go telling everybody that old Rukey Greentail’s just a momma’s boy, OK? I got a certain reputation to uphold.: He quickly scampers out the door. His past has been weighing heavily on him, but you sense he was sincere about wishing to lead an honest life.  : While some of us are cast down for slights as small and simple as viewing the world through a different lens, or because they loved their family and trusted the wrong people to do right by them, or because they were born here, Rukey is a smuggler, and there’s no real way to mince that.: Sure, his intentions were innocent enough – he just wanted his mother to be proud of him, something a lot of us can relate to, I’m sure – but… I dunno, I like Rukey and all, but it’s kind of hard to get around him doing what he did. The listed motive, ‘self-gain,’ is even correct. Not even technically, just, it’s correct. If I were a juror on Rukey’s trial, I’d probably find him guilty, too.: What do you think? Rukey’s confessed that he’s a smuggler, sending goods to the Downside (which is a prison, remember), in exchange for money. Does his want to use that money to provide for his family absolve him of the fact that he broke the law? Does he deserve to be in the Downside? : While we mull that over, let’s take a look at our Vocations.: I have two tutoring sessions “banked” right now, so I don’t need to do that for now. The big debate here is, do I want to forage for something to sell to Ron, or do I want to study the Book so more? Both are very tempting.: Aside from the Feats of Glory, I haven’t been doing too much to earn some extra float – the Rites lately have been too intense for me to try and throw the Lucrative Contract or the Burning Promise onto someone, and instead focus primarily on just winning. However, on the other hand, Ron hasn’t really been offering me a ton of things that I might want to spend the money on.: I guess I’ll take the Book this time, but I’ll probably want to go foraging sometime soon, especially if Ron stocks something new. : Despite your growing knowledge of the Book of Rites, you yet struggle to grasp certain aspects of its teachings. Through greater understanding comes the Reader’s Influence. : The last thing we buffed with the Book was our Presence. Each stat can be buffed twice, and Glory must be buffed last between the four. I’ll cap off Presence this time, leaving us with just Quickness to start looking into before we can finally move on to buffing our DPS.: The texture of the pages of the Book, the foreign bindings… despite the volume’s age, it shows so little sign of wear. At times, the power emanating from it almost overwhelms you. Inspiration comes to you in a flash; whether from the Book or from within, you cannot tell. : This will help a little bit against those friggen’ Imps. They’ve been a thorn in my side since our recent match against Udmildhe. : This was a productive stop! We learned about Rukey’s terrible, sordid past and we gave everyone in our team a buff to their Presence. Let’s see Tamitha stand up to that!   Gfy : Nobody’s in a talking mood after that, but we did unlock a new page, like I had promised. We may as well spend the time and give the Book a look before moving on to Ron and, finally, our match against the Essence.Gfy   : Eww, the Spring is actually Bialanthius’s blood. After it was mixed with a bit of moonlight, it turned into ‘the freshest nectar ever tasted.’ Actually, is this supposed to be an allusion to moonshine or something?: Hey, Ron! You ever thought about bottling Bialanthius’s blood and selling it?  : I got some good new stuff here pretty recently, maybe you seen it before, maybe not, I dunno? : The new things in Ron’s shop are another scoop of Stardust, and a new Scribe Snuff. I still haven’t used the first one, so I dunno if I’m hurting for a second one, but hell, it’s good to know that it’s in supply.: I have 149 Sol to blow on anything in Ron’s inventory. I still can’t buy some of his most expensive wares, but just about everything in here is available to me if I wanted. Let’s see… : Star Serums boost any companion’s Quickness by four for the entire Rite. It’s a pretty great buff, and I think it might be the more useful one of the three. At thirty-five Sol, it’s agreeable, but it’s something I can only splurge on occasionally; I can’t hoard the stuff.: That said, Tamitha is probably going to be pretty light on her feet this match, especially if I go in with more Titan Stars. This could come in handy, I think.: With this, though, I’m not gonna spend any money on anything else. This one vial will do me plenty for now, I think, and I’d still like to hold onto my cash for the Next Big Thing.: Although, I’m starting to wonder when that’s going to be….  : We’re as prepared as we’re going to be. Let’s slap around some birds some more.: As you await the stars, a form dressed in the raiments of the Rites approaches you and Volfred. You at first presume it for one of your next adversaries, the Essence.  : Music: Will Of The Scribes: Beside you, Volfred starts, something you have never seen him do. You observe the colors that he wears, an inverse of the Nightwings. : Volfred Sandalwood. It has been a while. : No. This cannot be.: The demon unfastens his mask.  : You perished. I watched you fall. : You did. : I grieved for years. Yet, now you live.: I do. Although, these horns, they grew long ere I could walk again.: Unbelievable…. Then… why are you here now, Oralech?: For a guy that fell of a mountain, he’s looking pretty good, all things considered. Could use a haircut, maybe. : You know full well, Volfred. To reclaim what is mine by right.: The demon Oralech leaves without another word, just as the stars above burst to life, and seem to set the sky aflame.  : Hmm…: There was some discussion in the thread about what I should do regarding the Titan Stars going forward, particularly since my win streak is officially over. Some of us want me to turn off most of them, if not all of them; they’re more interested in the story and they don’t want to watch me struggle to overcome unfairly-balanced opponents. Others thought that, while it sucks that we lost, the previous match was entertaining as hell to watch, and the match couldn’t possibly have been more dramatic.: Personally, I’m all for a bit more of a challenge. The game’s been kind of easy up until the Fate (Udmildhe would have been a hurdle, too, if she had more than just Yslach). I’m not against using Time-Singer Harn, who’s bonus is pretty extreme, in conjunction with all the other stars.: However, what kind of bites me about my loss against the Fate is that, if Archbeast Sung-Gries and Endriga the Widow weren’t active, I would have won the match several times over. That 60 Pyrepoint difference is huge, and there’s no guarantee that my opponents won’t be using any Talismans to widen the gap further.: Also, Oralech is a new opponent. I don’t know what he’s capable of, or what allies he’s bringing in, or what. So, I think I’ll turn off those two Titan Stars and see how that goes for me.  : What happened to the Essence? The stars showed we were to face them. : They must have suffered a misfortune of some sort.: Tampering with the stars’ designs is not permitted, Oralech.: Cheating the worthy of their rightful liberty is not permitted, either, Volfred.: What’s this, now? You might have left that detail when last I asked, Fred.: You must know I took no part in that betrayal. Search your heart.: Oralech says nothing for a time. Then… : I have refused to wear them since. In show of solidarity, to you.: And to elude the Voice, I would suppose.: …Yes. That, too.: …I see. You were never very good at this, anyway.: Ooh, drat. You gonna sit under that shade or what, Fred?: We shall see if that new lot of yours is any better.: You cannot be serious… what sense is there in us standing against each other?: But Oralech puts on his mask, and stands ready.: I shall crush this lot of yours, Volfred…. You shall see that I am not so easily discarded, and you shall not deny my liberty, again. : Of course he has an Imp.: Reader… the adversary whom we face… Oralech… he is not one to back down. He was very experienced in the Rites, even at the time, and so… beware. There was no one in his day who could prevail against him, and he appears even stronger now. I wish I had more valuable advice to give, in this… I wish I had foreseen this.: Easy, aim for the legs. He said as much that they were broken for years; they can’t be all that sturdy. : Jesus Christ Oralech has fifty Presence. When we liberated Jodariel, she had twenty-three. He’s also as fast as Sir Gilman and he has as much Hope as Mae.: That’s nutty. They gave Oralech absolutely everything. Of course, uh, he’s also getting buffs from the Titan Stars…: …: At any rate, who do we bring in to play against Oralech? Rukey is still down with Banishment Sickness, so our options are Mae, Ti’zo, Sir Gilman, Pamitha, and Bertrude.: Lemme know in twenty-four hours, and we’ll bring that crew in to play against our most dangerous foe yet.: Unrelated, but us playing Oralech instead of Tamitha means that it's not guaranteed that Dalbert will make it to the finals. Tamitha can't move up or down, but Dalbert can still lose his next match, and he only has a one-point lead on Tamitha right now. It'll definitely be one of those two, but for which, it's completely in the air.
Maple Leaf fucked around with this message at 08:00 on May 5, 2018 |
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May 5, 2018 07:56
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If he is huge, we need to be fast. Gillman, Ti'zo and Bertrude
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May 5, 2018 08:01
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Of all the Titan stars the one I would consider permanently disabling is the one that gives the enemies bonus hope. As could be seen in the previous match, it warps the game like no other since it effectively eliminates a fundamental element of your playbook, that is to say banishing oponents.
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May 5, 2018 09:03
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Rukey is probably the only member of the crew who is down for an actual non-bullshit crime and not in service of some higher purpose. He's never been anything but honest and loyal while among the team, but it does make you wonder, if we let him go, can we really trust him? Especially since his family's wellbeing is a big motivator for him, which would presumably be threatened by him leading a revolution? But that's a worry for the future. Now we've got to face the Nightwings. I'll agree on bringing Sir Gilman, Ti'zo and Bertrude. We'll need their speed and flexibility. They're also about as good as our defensive options are right now with Jodariel gone.
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May 5, 2018 11:02
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Tenebrais posted:Rukey is probably the only member of the crew who is down for an actual non-bullshit crime and not in service of some higher purpose. He's never been anything but honest and loyal while among the team, but it does make you wonder, if we let him go, can we really trust him? Especially since his family's wellbeing is a big motivator for him, which would presumably be threatened by him leading a revolution? Of course, that crime was helping send supplies to the people in the downside sooo Even if it was criminal under the commonwealth, that doesn't really make it something that makes him out as dishonest. Besides the whole keeping-up-appearances compulsive lying, and presumeably whatever deceptions he might have had to pull to evade the law there, I guess.
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May 5, 2018 11:51
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Oh yes, it's time for Oralech to make his appearance! I've been waiting for this for a while; for some reason I seem to recall it happening much earlier, but my memories of the game are somewhat muddled. My reaction was pretty similar to the narration's. Those stats are pretty solidly in  territory, even when you haven't jacked them up sky-high with Titan Stars.On Rukey: I dunno that his presence down here is just. His crime was indeed a crime, as smuggling things into prisons typically is, and his motive was indeed financial gain. Leaving aside the justice of the Commonwealth, Rukey is by most standards a criminal, and deserves a spell in prison. But most stays in prison are of fixed duration proportional to the severity of the crime, with additional punishments (need for restitution in the form of damages, community service etc.) as need be. He may deserve a spell in prison, but not this prison - not when every sentence is 'life', and how long that might be depends on how lucky you are or how willing you are to indebt yourself to folks like Barker. Not when the parole board is the Super Secret Sportsball League, and only one lucky contestant gets to depart every season, and even that depends on the Nightwings getting off their Scribes-favoured asses and bothering to show up, like they apparently haven't been doing for God knows how many years prior to our assumption of the role. In light of all that? I'd say no, he doesn't deserve to be down here. Most here don't - Pamitha and Udmildhe are probably the only two we've met that do, on the basis of the threat they represent. Even Manley and Lendel's crimes, though undoubtedly deserving of punishment, don't merit indefinite incarceration in the Downside. --- Ti'zo should be our forward. Even if Oralech holds a grudge against Sandalwood, he might not have a hate-on for his other surviving compatriot. (It's highly unlikely that the imp had anything to do with Oralech's betrayal, whatever that happened to be.) Pamitha and Sir Gilman should be his backup. Despite Ti'zo's strength as a defensive player (and with Jodariel liberated so soon he's easily our strongest remaining defender), we won't win by playing hard defense, not against a monster like Oralech; we need people who can either juke him (Gilman) or ignore that monumental Aura by plowing through it (Pamitha).
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May 5, 2018 16:06
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JamMasterJim posted:If he is huge, we need to be fast. This sounds right.
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May 5, 2018 16:17
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Phone posting. Bold: Ti'zo, the hag and Pam
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May 5, 2018 17:17
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Tizo, Bertrude, Pamitha. You may need that valuable lesson XP again if you lose and Sir Gilman already got his!
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May 5, 2018 21:13
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Olive Branch posted:Tizo, Bertrude, Pamitha. You may need that valuable lesson XP again if you lose and Sir Gilman already got his! Your faith in our LPer warms my heart. But seriously, I think he's got this. Even with the Titan Turbocharger, Oralech and Co. can't be that bad, right?
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May 5, 2018 21:36
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vdate posted:Your faith in our LPer warms my heart. I do want Ti'Zo in there though. The only thing that can stop a bad guy with an Imp is a good guy with an Imp.
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May 5, 2018 22:15
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We shall counter their demon with our own... oh wait.
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May 5, 2018 22:33
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Olive Branch posted:Maple and I are buddies, it's my job to be the Chicken Little of "WE'RE LOSING THE RITES, WE'RE LOSING THE RITES!" On that last point, we can agree. Plus I want the LP to show off the comedy option that is a fully-upgraded Ha'ub's Wing at some point. Incidentally, do we know what Oralech's Glory is? One of his horns is in the way. For that matter, what's penalizing it? (I'm assuming something is; the number is red.) vdate fucked around with this message at 23:24 on May 5, 2018 |
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May 5, 2018 23:21
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vdate posted:Oh yes, it's time for Oralech to make his appearance! I've been waiting for this for a while; for some reason I seem to recall it happening much earlier, but my memories of the game are somewhat muddled. My reaction was pretty similar to the narration's. Those stats are pretty solidly in I agree that Rukey doesn't deserve to be here, but for a different reason. I don't even see his "smuggling" to be a crime at all. Bringing a knife into a prison so that a guy can kill another inmate or guard? Smuggling in drugs to be sold to street junkies? Procuring weapons for warlords? Totally bad. I would agree that those kinds of smuggling should be punished. Sending in vital supplies to a colony of exiles in a place that is trying to kill them? A place where even the smallest crime is essentially a death sentence? Helping the people down there is absolutely a good thing. That's a good thing. Rukey was doing good, even if he was getting paid the big bucks to do it. I most want to see what Gilman did though. I'm guessing he tried to take credit for his good actions in a battle, but a politicking superior got him tossed down there to get the glory for them self; and did it well enough that Gilman got tricked into blaming himself? Bertrude, Pamitha, Ti'zo
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May 6, 2018 00:17
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Knowing Gilman, he probably threw himself down here after not living up to his own expectations.
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May 6, 2018 00:54
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By my count, it looks like our lineup is Ti'zo, Bertrude, and Sir Gilman. Gilman and Pamitha tied at four each, but Gilman got there first.
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May 6, 2018 07:12
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Still phoneposting. Thoughts: The new opponent can't be good news at all (duh Captain Obvious) Sir Gilmann is obviously here for jaywalking. How did the people on this side pay Rukey, exactly? If money (valuables) can go upwards you'd think people could too (outside Pyreball I mean).
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May 6, 2018 11:52
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We know some things can flow the other way; the Messenger Imp appears to be able to carry small objects to a drop point close enough that people topside can recover them; that presumably includes Sol or the other valuables of the Downside. Alternatively, relatives of inmates might be using Messenger Imp drops to coordinate pickup, and paying for the contraband.
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May 6, 2018 16:21
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 : Before we get to brass tacks, I just want to get something out of the way first.: Our team, as decided by the thread, is Ti’zo as our forward, and flanked by Bertrude and Sir Gilman. Which is fine, but before we move into our match with Oralech – an opponent we’ve never met before and can’t afford to underestimate – I think one of us could use a bit of a boost. : This Wisdom Trace will put Ti’zo over the threshold for another level-up, giving him a perk to help us against this new opponent. So, let’s give it to him. We still have another one to spare, after all.   : The options available to us are the first-level perk Moon Sign; the second-level perk Titan’s Rage; and the third-level perk Inner Glory.: Inner Glory gives Ti’zo a straight +10 buff to Glory, putting him on par with Bertrude (before any of her own perks or Talismans). That’s actually really nutty, and Ti’zo having so much Glory would mean that he would be dishing it out almost as hard as Jodariel was. Which is crazy to think about considering how fast the little guy can move.: But… Ti’zo’s best position isn’t on offense. He can’t clear a way forward for himself with his Aura because he doesn’t cast it normally. Despite his quickness, his best position is on defense.: With that in mind, and against Oralech, I think the safer bet is to take Titan’s Rage. Ti’zo will be able to deny a significantly larger area around him with this perk, making him much harder to approach, no matter how large Oralech’s Presence is. : With that done, I do believe we have a date with destiny. : Not One Of Them – Gameplay : I am afraid so. I can only begin to imagine what he has been through all these years.: Reader. As you can see, Oralech and I, we have some years in common. A story for another day. I need some time to look at how all this affects our Plan.: Uh, it shouldn’t affect it at all, should it? What’s Oralech gonna do? He needs to get past us in order to get into the Commonwealth in the first place, and even if he does, who’s toes is he gonna step on to get in our way?: Reader sir. Oralech is a principled person. His freedom was denied him just when it was in his grasp. A doleful tale. Volfred shall tell you more of him in due time, of that I have no doubt…. For now, it seems the stars beseech you once again, outside.: There, deep in the infinite dark, once more you see a single star shining brighter than the rest.  : I think, like second Liberation Rite, we’ll appreciate who our opponent is this time.  : Our next Liberation Rite will be the only opponent this game to make a mark against us: Dalbert, his son Almer, and the Fate.: Although, if you check Dalbert’s win:loss ratio, it actually says that he lost his most recent Rite, but his win over us at the Isle of Khaylmer was enough to keep his lead ahead of Tamitha regardless. Talk about a stroke of luck there!: In some ways, it kind of sucks that we have to play against him. I mean, it was bound to happen eventually, but still, it means that either one of us has to stay down here, or he has to stay down here. Both of those options aren’t very fun. And Dalbert wasn’t fortunate enough to join the Nightwings; because of how punishing losing a Liberation Rite is for your favour with the Scribes, if Dalbert loses, it’s highly unlikely he’ll get a second chance again, especially if the Rites are on their way out. Gfy : Once more, then, unto the Fall of Soliam… excellent.: Our Plan proceeds at pace. We need but continue to make good on all such opportunities the stars present, so much as possible. Then, our ranks within the Commonwealth may yet grow strong enough that we shall sway the people toward our cause.: You know, if you haven’t been paying attention.: It shall be difficult. But the people have their hearts and consciences, and the Commonwealth has long since lost its way. : The burning of books, the outlawing of literacy… these are corruptions of the teachings of the Scribes. Together, we shall prove it, soon enough.: To be fair, if something could bestow supernatural powers on a person the way literacy can, I could probably understand wanting to put something of a limit on it.: …Volfred, sir… what of Oralech?: Volfred says nothing in response, at first, but then…: Oralech appears to have his own agenda, now. We shall have to try and keep an eye on him, although… our Plan remains the same.: Anyway… we have a mountain which we need to climb. Let’s all rest up a bit, if possible, this night. We fly at break of dawn. : My, that’s quite a bit of new content for the book. And… I guess I missed Unfathomed Plurnes in there somewhere? Whatever, better late than never, I guess. : Looks like Ti’zo’s got something on his mind. It’s been a while since we had a sit-down with him; maybe we can help him work through it. After all, he and Oralech go way back, too.: Ti’zo seems despondent following the confrontation with Oralech. : (Ti’zo is filled with mixed emotions at having seen Oralech again. Like Volfred, he thought for sure that Oralech had perished long ago.) : (Ti’zo is angry that Oralech acted so unfriendly with everyone.): You know, if you had approached Oralech with that sort of tenacity and energy, you might have had an easier time getting him to listen. Oralech seemed to respect you far more than Volfred.: Then, the little imp looks at you with sadness in his eyes, but says no more. He skitters up to the rafters. : Okay, I guess this isn’t a problem we can talk through. Which is fair; this might be one of those issues that the person might have a better (not necessarily an easier) time working through on their own. And Oralech doesn’t seem like the type to be reasoned with words, anyway – sometimes, you just gotta reason with a guy with your fists.: We unlocked a whole slew of pages for the Book, so let’s take a look at some of those before we embark for Mount Alodiel.Gfy   : You have to hand it to Underking Ores; he sure knows how to sell a story. He doesn’t know how to tell one, but if he were to come up to me and say ‘hey, read this awesome story about my buddy Gol Golathanian and how he killed a serpent the size of a large valley!’ I’d probably do it. : We have a Rite to get to. A very important one. : Like before, our journey back to Mount Alodiel is completely eventless. There are no triumvirates in the skies; there are none in the locales beneath us, having their own Rites; there are no more points of interest for us to examine. It’s an empty, listless journey up through Flagging Hands, the Sea of Solis, and Black Basin. : Mount Alodiel is starting to look like a rather familiar place, now. This will be the third time we’ve got to choose between Emperor’s Ascent and Emperor’s Fall.: And, let me guess: one of the options favours Pamitha?  : I’m pretty sure she’s three-for-three for being an option on our first stop on this mountain. But, as far as us actually going with her for our route, she’s currently one-for-three, because we had used Sir Gilman against Oralech just a few minutes ago. So, we’ll be going with him, through Emperor’s Fall this time. : Thus begins our third ascent to the Fall of Soliam. My agents in the Commonwealth report our Plan is proceeding. Let us strive again to liberate one of our own, and raise its chances. : It’s something of a sombre thought, but you can tell we’re approaching the endgame because everyone in our crew is starting to get all talked out. Despite our recent confrontation with Oralech and despite the fact that our next Liberation Rite is looming, nobody, not even Volfred, has anything to share with us right now.: We could read the Book some more, but, I figure, I might as well save that for later, when we hit the summit. No point in keeping Sir Gilman hanging. : With some time to spare after having landed, you join Sir Gilman on a brief expedition to the monument of Soliam Murr.: <Is an exile self-imposed still worthy of your blessings, O, good Scribes? This knight most certainly hopes so! His compatriots so yearn to once again be free that this knight’s heart goes out to each of them. Please, help him to help them…!>: Soon, you and he are finished paying your respects. You return to the wagon in silence, feeling as though Soliam Murr has shown you favor. You shall soon begin your ascent, though there is time as yet to pursue your Vocations.  : Speak of the devil.: Also, ‘self-imposed?’ That’s an interesting development: was Sir Gilman actually formally charged with anything? Or did he forgo the system and just… swim down the Sclorian River? Whatever the answer, the crime he committed must have been very shameful, maybe even embarrassing.: On that note, it’s probably him that wants to talk to us in the wagon. : How about that.: Sir Gilman is fuming in anger over something, so much so that you are hesitant to approach him. But, you approach him anyway.: EXILE IS TOO LIGHT A SENTENCE FOR THIS KNIGHT!!: Whoa.: He notices you then, and seizes up. He begins acting rather nonchalant, as though his outburst did not just transpire.: Oh! Greetings to you, noble Master-Reader! What brings you to this knight this afternoon? : Gilman has never not been intense, ever since we met him in the Sea of Solis, but now that we’re so close to our next Liberation Rite, and now that we know that his exile is self-imposed, an outburst like that was a little excessive even for someone like him. Maybe the Downside is starting to get to him?: Telling him to calm down sounds like an order, which he might actually be more receptive to acquiescing, being a knight and all, but it’s still kind of an aggressive thing to say – like I’m demanding that he calm down. It might be better to try and approach him from a more empathetic angle. : You maintain a gentle tone with him, and ask whether there is something he might wish to discuss. Sir Gilman perhaps could benefit from talking through his woes.: He stands there for a time, silent and dejected. But then…: Master-Reader, this knight cannot escape the horrors of his past. It seems that you would hear them. Then, you have this knight’s apologies ahead of time for burdening you further with his troubles.: You… are aware of where you are, right? The group you’re travelling with? : You are, of course, familiar with the Siege of Spiral Sanctum. For this knight… the memory of it is like a wound which will not close. This knight stood there on the front lines whilst the Highwing Remnants descended upon us. So furious was their assault that our chain of command was ruptured, instantly.: We of the Sea-Dominion, we require orders to perform our duty… without such order, why… we surely made a very easy target, there, that eve.: One by one, then two by two, they picked us off, becoming bolder, some of them, shrieking with laughter all the while. This knight, he saw his comrades cast aside like sea-flies.: How this knight survived, he does not know for certain, even now. Perhaps it was that he attempted to pursue, and to detain, his own knight-commander, whom you met, when you first met this knight.: That cursed Sir Deluge…! If not for his craven cowardice, the Spiral Sanctum, it might have held, at least a while longer. : And, as for this knight… he failed to catch his knight-commander… he must have looked a coward, too.: Thus came the time for penance, and this knight, why, he insisted on the only course of action reasonable. He insisted on the sentence to the Downside.: And, as you can plainly see, his wish was then fulfilled. How absurd, that he should re-encounter his old knight-commander here, soon after. Thus did this knight become obliged once more to Sir Deluge.: We took to the waters in the Sea of Solis, where soon, we met the Pyrehearts. A triumvirate exclusive to our kind. It was plain to see that they lacked wherewithal, and Sir Deluge, they thought he could provide it… the leadership they sought. And his was too much of a coward to decline.: As for this knight! Being of the Sea-Dominion, he had little choice but to comply…. Or so, at first, he thought! : With so little honor left to lose, and so much left to gain, it became eminently clear that this knight stood a better chance within your ranks than those of Sir Deluge.: And, there is little left to say. This knight cannot escape his past, and yet… he chooses to believe that he was spared that day not merely by coincidence.: …Perhaps Underking Ores yet has plans in store, in which this knight may play a part.: This knight, he clings, however vainly, to that hope.: He slithers away, his head bowed low. It seems best to leave him be for now. You sense he feels relieved at having shared all this.  : So, to recap: Sir Gilman hasn’t actually committed a crime. He was a frontline soldier, tasked with defending a location within the Commonwealth, when his platoon was ambushed and his superior, Sir Deluge, was too useless to try and rally. And Gilman took full responsibility for everything.: Frankly… I was expecting something pretty intense, as far as crimes go, for Sir Gilman to be so hard on himself all the time. But, honestly, him taking the brunt of the punishment for a crime he didn’t commit sounds like something he’d do.: Not a lot of people in the Nightwings (or, hell, in any of the triumvirates) deserve to be down here, but Sir Gilman literally deserves it the least. His listed crime is ‘none’ and his motive is ‘not applicable.’ Dude is just incapable of putting his own needs and necessities first. Which is an admirable quality, but, you know, you really should draw the line somewhere.: In a way, I’m kind of disappointed in Sir Gilman. If he were to ask me to exclude him from consideration at another Liberation Rite, I’d tell him to shut up, and he’d probably do it. : We can catch up on reading when we get to the summit. For now, I got some Vocations to think about.: We still have a Wisdom Trace banked, so I don’t need to do any tutoring this time around. It comes down to reading the Book for a buff, or to scavenge for something new to either use in a Rite, or to sell to Ron.: I chose to scavenge. It’s been a while since I did that; last time we had a Vocation, I read the Book, so we’re still ‘on schedule’ for that; and, frankly, I’d just like some more money to throw around. Mount Alodiel is a pretty important landmark in the Downside; surely it’s got something cool for me to find lying around? : Gleaming Frost will get me another Wisdom Trace, while Petrified Woods has vendor trash. The trash is what I’m here for, so: : Not a bad haul at all. The Feats of Glory, which are always active and will always provide a source of income (provided I complete them), can vary in difficulty and reward. This one flower will get me as much money as the previous Feat of Glory against Oralech four times over, so this should provide me a good, healthy chunk of float right there. : This being Mount Alodiel, there’s going to be a second fork for us to take. Let’s see who our options are this time.   : Let’s see. The last time we saw both of these characters was in our match against the Fate on the Isle of Khaylmer. Sir Gilman was our forward that match, flanked by both Mae and Rukey, but we had voted to put in Mae first. So, off we go to the cistern for the third time in a row.   Gfy   : <Thanks be to each of you, Eight Scribes, for it is you who have united us, together, in this, your most-sacred tradition! The path and the outcome are the same, is that not so? But, I need not ask, for I am sure of it! And so, I shall follow unflinchingly the path you have prepared for me…!>: Whoa now, ‘the path and the outcome are the same?’ The journey is the same as the destination? I…: … guess that’s correct, actually. In this case, at least. Everyone is explicitly working towards the endgoal of escaping the Downside, and that’s been the end-objective ever since the very first Liberation after the Scribes.: Soon, you and she are finished paying your respects. As you prepare to continue your ascent, you sense that Molten Milithe has shown you favor.   Gfy : You and your companions arrive again at the Scribesgate, before an archway carved of stone. : Shall we, Reader?: The minstrel leads you toward his counterpart, who seems unsurprised to see you all approach.: Yeah. We’re the Nightwings. We could have a perfect-zero record and we’d always show up here, because that’s how the Scribes decided their rituals would be maximally fair. : The exiles of the Nightwings… and you, again, Tariq. : Greetings, Celeste. Aye, we have returned.: The stars shine darkly these past nights. Nothing more than a portent of your arrival, is it?:  : …Likely nothing more. Now, they are ready for you.: Tariq, buddy, maybe it’s time you let this one go. : Wait…. You.: She points to Bertrude.: You are new amongst this group. You shall go first.: Please, do as she asks, Bertrude, madam. : …We are known throughout the Downside as Big Bertrude. We follow Sandalwood, for we are fond of him. He led us into exile, and he shall lead us out.: That was a particularly straight-laced answer. But then, I guess, all of them have been at Scribesgate.: The Gate Guardian acknowledges her, and motions for the rest of you to proceed. Everyone does so, as before, including you…. Once you all have declared yourselves, she regards you all for another moment, and beckons toward the mountain’s top. : The Eight Scribes bid the Nightwings welcome. Go forth with glory.: Thank you, Celeste.: …Until the summit, Tariq.   Gfy : Once again, nobody in our troupe is in a talkative mood. And unlike last time, there’s nothing to give any one of us a little boost to put someone into a mood. The only things to do here are to shop at Ron’s, and to read the Book.: So, might as well thumb the pages a bit.Gfy   : Of the eight storytellers in this Book, Ores is definitely my favourite. : I dunno if we’ll be buying anything from Ron this time around, but at least we have a pretty flower that he’s probably interested in.: Hey, welcome back, you guys, you know, I guess this is a pretty decent spot, for business, all the sudden? ‘Cause used to be, it was real bad up here, you know? I’d be here and just wait, and wait, and wait, and sometimes it gets real, real cold, like I was telling before, and stuff like that, so anyway, you buying anything, or what? : Oh! That’s new. : Oooooh, that sounds interesting! The wording on this is kind of vague, though. Where does the bearer return? Is it instantaneous? Is it once per game, or once per round, or forever? What’s the deal, here?: I think I can assume that this Talisman isn’t quite as strong as I hope it is, considering it’s only 45 Sol and I can’t level it up with Stardust. But, that said, the description has me curious! 45 Sol won’t be a terribly large amount after I sell the Golden Alodiel, so yeah, I think I’ll bite on this one.  : Let’s see how well it works against the Fate. Hopefully it’s not too lovely. Thanks for the sale, Ron! : That new page can wait. Now, we have a brand new Liberation Rite to begin. Someone gets to go home today. : Again you have reached the Fall of Soliam, where one among you can go free, provided you prevail against the Fate in the Liberation Rite.: Reader… we would ask a moment of your time.: We have to talk.: As darkness falls, the minstrel and Volfred pull you aside.: We have some news that is, depending upon how you look at it, potentially unfortunate.: So, then, it’s unfortunate.: The Lone Minstrel directs your attention towards the dark night sky.: The stars… are fading.: It is true. With the advent of the Titan Stars, visibly fewer stars seem to be shining than once you saw in the sky above. : The light of the stars… without it, the Rites would be unable to commence….: And, how could this be construed as ‘potentially fortunate?’ : Anyway, that is the bad news…. The good news is there are a lot of stars to go. How many Liberation Rites remain, I do not know as yet. The arithmetic is… complicated.: An estimation of the number of the stars… the rate at which they face… the accelerating rate at which we’re being summoned here. Anyway… I’ll work it out as soon as possible.: For now, I felt that you should be aware. We can inform the others in due time. At the moment, though, they have this Rite to think about. And so do you…. Look forth!: As the stars above begin to shine, Volfred’s words begin to sink in. It seems you have a limited number of chances remaining to liberate your companions. Including this one, now. : This sky is getting pretty crowded… : Hmm… that’s a pretty lovely advantage to give my adversaries, for sure, but overall, it’s not as intense as it sounds. Nowadays, if my opponents get into such a position that they can get a dunk into my Pyre, they’d probably toss it in and save themselves from banishment anyway. Them having this Titan Star active would suck, but I don’t think it’s necessarily as back-breaking as Limbless Arizech or Unfathomed Plurnes.: Well, may as well toss it on. We need to prevail with the stars active in order to unlock their pages, after all. We’ll see how intense this match against Dalbert will be with an advantage like this one.   : The Pyres burn, and each of the triumvirates is present and prepared.: I concur. The Pyres burn, and each of the triumvirates is present and prepared.: Then, anointed one of the Fate! Come forth, now, and declare yourself, and pay any respect you have unto your adversaries, the Nightwings.: Music: Glorious Tradition: The bent old cur, Dalbert, steps forward, and struggles for a moment with his mask.  : It is the greatest honor of my years to stand upon this sacred site, upon which the Eight Scribes first anointed these glorious proceedings. Nightwings! We are honored to be in your presence once more! : Father! They are our adversaries, not our hosts! We need not be so gentle with them! They shall do their utmost to keep you from your freedom!: Dalbert! Your son speaks out of turn. Control him.: …My sincerest apologies for his unnecessary outburst. Almer, please… we have worked toward this opportunity, and we must make the most of it.: He puts his mask back on. : My son and I stand ready to begin. : Of course he has an Imp.: As for you, Nightwings. You bring darkness with you. What have you wrought upon the stars?: Whoa, tone down the sass, there, woman. We could just as easily not show up at all, if you’d rather. Then, nobody gets anything.: Celeste… please… we do not know what is amiss here. The Nightwings have come only to see that the Liberation is carried out.: …Indeed. Then, make your choice, Nightwings. Who among you is to be anointed here?   : Once again, we are given the choice of anointing one of our own to be liberated from the Downside. To be absolved of all their misdeeds; to leave the Downside and its harshness; and to re-join civilization (such that it is, knowing the Commonwealth) on the other side.Who do we choose?  Rukey is a bit of a fast-talker and is quick to spin a tall tale about himself and his family’s financial and social standing, but the truth of it is that he loves his friends and family, particularly his mother, and is one of our hardest workers, often being the one to scrounge for goods whenever he has the opportunity. He’s a cur with connections… but with those connections come some debts. Rukey’s crime is that he was a simple clerk-turned-smuggler, sending illicit goods into the Downside in exchange for a king’s ransom, which he used to provide for his family. Now, all Rukey wants is to escape the Downside and reunite with his mother, and start his life over with a blank slate, to make better decisions. Do we anoint Rukey?  Mae has a spiritual connection with the Scribes and the world around her that nobody, least of all herself, can properly describe. She meets all challenges and peoples with a warm smile, a hearty dance, and some laughter, and she’s attuned to her companions so deeply that she shares in their misery as much as their happiness. She’s even taken to calling the blackwagon itself her ‘little brother.’ Her crime is vagrancy – she was simply seen as too ‘different’ to be accepted in the social graces of the Commonwealth, and when she wouldn’t adhere to their demands that she change herself, she was cast to the Downside, where they would no longer have to suffer her uniqueness. Do we anoint Mae?  Ti’zo is a simple imp that was born and raised in the Downside. He has been with the Nightwings since Volfred’s time, and is therefore more attuned to their practices and properties than anyone else in the triumvirate. Imps of Ti’zo’s intelligence and wit are very rare, and it’s been implied that Ti’zo is directly descended from Ha’ub the Swallow, the first Scribe and author of the Book of Rites, himself. He has committed no crime: as a native born in the Downside, he has no home in the Commonwealth and his only aspiration for freedom is to one day see the world beyond the Downside. Do we anoint Ti’zo? One of these three candidates must be the frontman for our triumvirate, although any of the rest of the Nightwings may also participate to help see their anointed companion gain their freedom. Should we succeed against Dalbert and the Fate, our anointed frontman will be permanently removed from the game. Twenty-four hours. Choose wisely. Maple Leaf fucked around with this message at 10:09 on May 12, 2018 |
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May 12, 2018 09:11
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While we made a promise to Rukey to be anointed (and here we can use Bertrude and Pamitha to support him with massive aura casts), I want to take a fourth option. Throw the Rite in favor of the Fate and let Dalbert go. The old cur could actually help the Plan in some ways with his traditional, pro-Scribe thinking for Jomeur. That said, I'd hate to separate him from his son, who's so devoted to him. I'd feel less bad if Mae could stay down here with him. We have a limited number of Rites, but drat it, we can afford to let one rival go.
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May 12, 2018 09:34
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Anoint Mae, win the rite. Her only "crime" is being a little different. e: I would kinda be on board with the whole throw-the-game plan, if Dalbert wasn't the one anointed. He's an old man, his son has his whole life in front of him, and the Fate aren't gonna get another shot at liberation in a good long while.
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May 12, 2018 09:44
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I'm going with Mae myself. I'm not a big fan of the throwing the game for Dalbert thing since he's a bit of a pushover. He's just kinda given himself up to fate rather than giving it due consideration. He's a great rule follower. I don't see that as being particularly helpful in The Plan. Don't get me wrong, Dalbert is a cool old coot and he's very likable and he's been nothing but respectful and he respects the rites. But life is gonna take more than that. Plus if The Plan works out, things will be improved...somehow. I'm not real sure what the outcome of The Plan is.
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May 12, 2018 10:02
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Anoint Rukey, a guy like him, with connections, can really do wonders for the Plan. It seems like Mae has been welcomed in far better company here than outside. She even found a friend! Keep her around.
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May 12, 2018 10:36
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Rukey, both because he's probably better equipped to help with the plan but also I'm not entirely sure how Mae would do after returning. It sounds like she was abandoned by her family so what's to stop her from just falling into the cracks again?
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May 12, 2018 10:40
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I'm not sure Mae would actually benefit much from liberation. Anoint Rukey, with Bertrude and Pamitha for solid back-up. I'd like to see what happens if Dalbert wins, but don't just throw the match. Instead, invoke Sung-Gries to give them a good chance.
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May 12, 2018 11:11
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Anoint Rukey, bring Bertha and Pam. Don't throw the fight! Dalbert is pretty cool but if he wants to leave he has to beat the crap about of us fair and square.
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May 12, 2018 11:57
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Olive Branch posted:While we made a promise to Rukey to be anointed (and here we can use Bertrude and Pamitha to support him with massive aura casts), I want to take a fourth option. I'm with Olive Branch, personally. Mae is not the only person who is down here for being...inconveniently different. If anybody has an argument for us to throw a match, Dalbert is it. That said, we could always just turn on all the Titan Stars instead of throwing the match! It made for some great Sportsball last time. But, as the game pointed out, we won't be the only ones to have learned from that match. Dalbert and the Fate will be bringing their A-game this time around - as is only right (or Rite) and proper. As with all other things, LPer, this choice is yours. You have only to see it through.
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May 12, 2018 13:52
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Anoint Rukey, with Bertrude and Pamitha. If we lose, this is probably the best team for it but still Don’t throw. I would have had we not learnt just this update that we have a limited number of people we can free. Before now it could have been done, but what if say there are only three freedoms left and we use one not on Rukey here? There might be more (with max being... I’d say four assuming we have yet to get our final Sap playable party member? Then you have three left for the last match, unless it’s five until final match and the reader gets involved directly somehow so we have the option of freeing ourselves), but having Pam or Rukey or Gilman get shafted seems...unfair. Shinji117 fucked around with this message at 14:23 on May 12, 2018 |
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May 12, 2018 14:19
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Annoint Rukey, give him Pamitha and Bertruda (the two most broken characters) as the team. No mercy 
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May 12, 2018 14:49
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Shinji117 posted:Anoint Rukey, with Bertrude and Pamitha. This. Also, holy crap Bertrude is absurdly good.
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May 12, 2018 15:24
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Shinji117 posted:Anoint Rukey, with Bertrude and Pamitha. I think this is the right choice. Mae doesn't really have anything waiting for her on the other side, and Ti'zo's a native of the downside, so his case is a bit less compelling.
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May 12, 2018 16:54
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It seems like things have been broken for a while, actually, if something let Oralech down. I wonder if we're going to find out more about that. ...I wonder who even has a motive to do so. Sandalwood seems pretty wrapped up in fixing the Commonwealth instead of helping its victims.
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May 12, 2018 17:22
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The fact that he could just hijack a rite and it still happened is an indicator of some serious systemic breakdown.
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May 12, 2018 17:33
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Glazius posted:...I wonder who even has a motive to do so. Sandalwood seems pretty wrapped up in fixing the Commonwealth instead of helping its victims. I figure he's trying to do the latter by doing the former. Life in the Downside could be a lot better with the assistance of the Commonwealth, for example, and we know it's not impossible to send supplies down the River Sclorian. But they've no incentive to do so as long as the government sees the Downside as a dumping ground for anybody who doesn't fit in. (In this respect, they're not too different from the Empire of the Exile/Avernum games from Spiderweb Software - although the Empire certainly was not run by those who made it out of that particular underworld.)
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May 12, 2018 17:36
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Can't help but notice that three of the Commonwealth's major systemic problems according to Volfred are forever war against a foreign threat, mass incarceration, and betraying its founding values.
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May 12, 2018 17:49
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Shinji117 posted:Anoint Rukey, with Bertrude and Pamitha. This matches my vote, as well. Dalbert is a good dude and all, but we've got a Plan to execute.
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May 12, 2018 18:18
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Anoint Mae. Mae seems like the most spiritual one of the group and can probably do some good proselytizing over on the other side. I otherwise have no vote on who gets to be in the team though. 
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May 12, 2018 19:38
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| # ? Jun 11, 2024 15:41 |
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First: Bertrude doin' work with that cover-piercing shotgun cast. The AI knows how cover works but it doesn't know how to deal with that. Gilman's sense of guilt and shame hits pretty close to home. He's lucky Deluge isn't more of a political animal or manipulative, because then he might have been able to convince Gilman and the Commonwealth that the rout at Spiral Sanctum really was Gilman's fault. But Gilman doesn't lack for self-awareness, at least. He's not deluding himself into accepting the blame, even if he pathologically desires the punishment. Speaking of self-awareness, Underking Ores's tale of slaying Unfathomed Plurnes ends on that note. If single-minded bombasticity is a common Wyrm trait, perhaps the self-awareness and self-deprecating humor shown by both Ores and Gilman is a virtue.  There are 40 copies of the Book. Assuming each triumvirate has a reader, that's enough to outfit 10 teams. But there are only 9 teams... until the True Nightwings showed up. The Nightwings are the final boss that everyone else must overcome. The True Nightwings are the final boss that Volfred's team must overcome if their plan is to come to fruition. We don't get a free pass. As to the current Liberation Rite, I do want to see what happens if the Fate win this one. But I'm sure Maple Leaf is loathe to just throw the match. But the Fate have beat him before. So I propose: go back and turn on ALL the Titan Stars, and let the Scribes decide who is worthy. Anoint Mae, Bertrude as Guard, and Rukey as Center.
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May 12, 2018 19:40
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