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Episode XX: Wrath or Love.jpg) The band is finally back together after that harrowing half hour of Koudelka’s ill-fated solo career. There’s just one minor issue with the reunion tour we need to address. .jpg) Apparently James and Edward just immediately ran from every single battle on Disc 3 thus far so their levels haven’t budged an inch since we last saw them. Edward, you’re supposed to be the party’s tank. How you going to show up having 500 less hit points than the party’s caster. You’ve barely got more HP than the goddamn support unit. poo poo's embarrassing, bro. .jpg) Short of just having Koudelka KO’d in battle intentionally and grinding up her companions, there’s very little way to avoid her outclassing her companions several levels at this point in the game. I suppose there’s a reason this game is named Koudelka and not Edward or James. Mostly because those would be terrible names for a video game. Plunkett, maybe but ehh... Father O’Flaherty is a no go. .jpg) Anyway, you’ll recall in her solo exploits the previous update, Koudelka completed the Vigna and Valna doll set. Since we’ve already explored everywhere else thus far (the Church is inaccessible thanks to the Gargoyle having collapsed the Library adjacent entrance) backtracking down to the caverns beneath Nemeton and those girls’ corpses is our new goal. .jpg) All things considered, taking in mind how heavily influenced everything in Koudelka (outside the battle system naturally) is on Resident Evil, there’s been shockingly little backtracking in this game up until now. Survival horror’s bread and butter is usually wandering back and forth ferrying some bullshit to open up doors to acquire other bullshit to unlock even more doors. So that’s been nice. Even this trek is maybe only 5-10 minutes of retracing our steps. .jpg) Anyway, back to just shy of where we began Disc 2 and the corpses guarding the Green Key. Now that we have the two dolls, we can select to hand them over to the pair of corpses. Handing these over eliminates the ghost dolls battle and the easy source of weapons/magic training they brought. So any skill grinding using the ghost dolls of the twins has to be done now. But once we’ve got our affairs in order, then... .jpg) Once you give them the dolls, Vigna and Valna stop moving. You’ve got the “Green Key.” It looks like Vigna and Valna are dead, again... .jpg) That’s quite the fancy key for a dungeon cell... .jpg) Which we’re going to use not two seconds later and immediately throw in the trash. Someone had to draw that ornamental key, transfer and compress the image into the game’s files, make an entry for it in the inventory and whatever else goes into adding an item. And poof. It’s there and gone in no time flat. .jpg) Oh well, no use lamenting misspent man hours on a weird nearly 20 year old game. Onward to new territory! It turns out the dungeon leads to... err... well, more prison cells. Who’d a thunk? This first new room offers absolutely nothing of interest. That cell in the back is just some background fluff. So let’s take the stairs up to... .jpg) OK. Still nothing... But behind the door ahead, surely there’s something worth the party’s time and effort backtracking half way across the monastery grounds. .jpg) Ahh... Well that’s different. We’ve found where they were keeping the Queen of Hanover’s bastard child. It’s a surprisingly nice quarters. I mean other than the door that makes you climb over an end table to enter the room. The door to the right of the entrance is “held shut by a mysterious force” aka we need to sort out a boss fight somewhere nearby. So let’s explore past the dinner table, where we find... .jpg) Suddenly, the furniture in the room starts to vibrate and space itself begins to twist.  Music: Incantation Again .jpg) .jpg) Aww hell. The dreaded haunted furniture plaguing the Welsh countryside for decades has reared its ugly head once more as a mini-boss. The gang needs to defeat the Possessed Chairs and Shelves to clear the way to confronting Charlotte. Sure, why not? .jpg) Charlotte’s poltergeist fueled furnishing is of much higher craftsmanship than the paltry ghost décor of the caretaker’s quarters from the early game. As such, it comes packing over 5000 HP each and a very strong resistance to physical attack. Sorry Edward, punching a chair to death is not going to solve our issues this go around. .jpg) .jpg) Fortunately for us, spectral furniture is no match for magical attacks and Koudelka can quickly bring this farce to an end with a casting or two of her spells. Strangely, this assortment of wooden fixtures is surprisingly resistant to being burned. Being frozen or torn asunder by the earth itself? Far more effective as it turns out. .jpg) In any case, this mini-boss is quickly dealt with by the gang. But we’re not through with our dealings in Charlotte’s Cell just yet. Depending on our earlier actions, one of two events now play out regarding the fate of Charlotte D’Lota. Music: ENDS .jpg) Remember back near the end of Disc 2 when we found those letters to Charlotte we found in that optional safe? You know, the one locked by a puzzle that wasn’t actually properly implemented and just solved itself? Do you also recall praying at the little brat’s grave in the previous update? Well, if we fail to complete either of those tasks then we get the bad ending to Charlotte’s subplot. Which now follows... .jpg)  <breathes heavily> Charlotte... Stop it. If you keep this up, you’re the only one that's going to get hurt. Oh *I* will get hurt? Ha! That’s rich. I’m already dead, idiot. I'm not fooling around. I don't want your pity. I've had enough.Koudelka stands up. .jpg) Charlotte, listen to me. I understand you. We're very similar, you know. Oh, are we? Looks like you’re alive and I am not. Looks like you got to grow and I didn’t. You can leave Wales at any time and I’ve been stuck here for... I’m not sure even sure how long because nobody taught me to count that high before cutting off my head! OK... Maybe that came out wrong... Charlotte, I understand you’re angry, but... You could never understand me. How could you? I've never been out of this place. I was born and I was executed. On the day I was killed, a priest came to me and said: “Dear Lord, please accept into your glorious kingdom this poor, sinful lamb...” I don’t even know a lamb IS! But I know I hate it. Just like I hate you and your stupid friends. Especially the old, ugly priest one. ...I’m a bishop, actually. Nobody cares! Tell me! What did I do that was so bad!? Is it my fault that I was born!? If I was born just to be killed, why did she have me!?.jpg) <steps forward and cups hands> Oh, I just... ...... ...My mother abandoned me too. I’ve been alone ever since I was a little girl, just like you. That’s why— That’s why, what...? That's why you “understand” me? That's why you're like me? Don't make me laugh. You're not like me. You're alive! What do you mean, you're alone? What do you mean you understand? Give me a break. What do you call those two other fools if you’re so “alone”, huh!? Oh... they barely count. I only just met them. Hey! Oh, Charlotte... I’m SO sorry. I want you to understand! I really— A curse upon you..jpg) ...... ...What? A curse upon you. <steps back> Charlotte... On you! On your friends! A curse upon you all. Screw you too, lady! Two curses upon you.Oh yeah? Come to the East End and try that, spook. You’ll be hexed twice over before you even hit the ground! I don’t know what that means either. But three curses upon you! You and your stupid haircut. H-Hey... My hair isn’t stupid....jpg) I will kill everything! Why don’t you all just die! Die! When everything is dead and gone, then we’ll be the same. Only then will you understand my pain. I know what it is to regret being born! I will kill you! Kill you! KILL YOU!Music: Incantation Again .jpg)  Aww, Christ! That escalated quickly... Remind Koudelka to never attempt negotiating with spirits in the future. She’d make for a terrible Shin Megami Tensei protagonist. Meet Charlotte’s Wrath, the boss encounter we’re gifted with for failing to calm Charlotte D’Lota’s vengeful ghost. This abomination comes packing 4761 HP. Which is less health than a floating chair we fought just prior to this... .jpg) .jpg) Charlotte’s Wrath only has one main means of attack and that is vomiting out a cloud of intestines at a single party member at a time. Since this is considered a magical attack, Koudelka (who Charlotte primarily targets because she’s mad pissed at our protagonist’s lovely attempts at comforting her) and James will completely shrug this attack off with minimal fuss. .jpg) Edward won’t be so lucky if he’s targeted. But the damage output still isn’t all that much even then. Charlotte’s Wrath also has a swiping poisonous physical attack. However, her mutated Resident Evil BOW form is incapable of moving from its position. So a party member has to get right up in her grill to get on the receiving end of that attack. .jpg) Which naturally Edward is all too eager to do. Unfortunately, Edward is all but useless here once again since physical attacks are barely damaging to Little Miss D’Lota’s newfound vengeful form. Edward actually has a kind of rough stretch with bosses for a bit that just decide they’re not going to get harmed by non-element damage for a time. .jpg) .jpg) But since diplomacy has failed, Koudelka’s back-up strategy of bombing foes to death with overwhelming magical attacks more than makes up for it. Being a big angry manifestation of a pissed child’s wrath, Charlotte is a Fire elemental creature. So a casting of Level 2 Geyser from our beefy sorceress Koudelka will nearly one-shot her. .jpg) You know, I don’t go out of my way to seek out titles where horrific things happen to children for videos games I LP. It just kind of keeps ending up happening that way... Again and again... Music: Level Up! .jpg) .jpg) Getting the bad ending to Charlotte’s storyline and battling with Charlotte’s Wrath is the only way to receive this accessory – the Star Brooch. This accessory grants +10 Intelligence, +7 Piety, +6 Mind and a whopping +18 Agility. It’s not a bad accessory at all for beating the poo poo out of the ghost of a child and sending her soul to Welsh hell or whatever murdering her again resulted in. Music: ENDS .jpg) That said, we did go to the effort of finding Sophia’s Letters and praying at Charlotte’s grave during the course of this LP. Performing both of these actions results in the good outcome to Charlotte D’Lota’s storyline. .jpg) In this path, after we defeat her haunted furniture we are treated to a FMV sequence instead of an in-game one. .jpg) .jpg) <walks forward> Charlotte, do you know what these are?.jpg) ...... Letters? Do you know what is written these letters? No. And even if I opened them, I never was taught to read... So... Oh. Well... Huh... That lessens the impact of this. Is it OK if I read them to yo— Quiet! I can do a thing... Ghost power. Don’t ask. This had better be good!.jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Charlotte uses her ghost powers to telekinetically open all the letters and sort of beam their contents into her mind which disintegrates them in the process. Look, ghosts are weird and play by their own rules. I’m not going to ask questions and we don’t have all day to watch her sit down and daintily open each letter individually and pour over their contents. .jpg) These are letters from your mother..jpg) My mother? Letters? There’s so many..jpg) Did you know that your mother was a Queen of Hanover? It seems that after you were born in secret, your mother was locked up inside Ahlden Castle. Well I do now. Wait... did you open and read all of my letters!? Just two or three. ...... Even while she was imprisoned there, she sent many letters to you here in the monastery. She never laid eyes on you, but she often imagined what you looked like. She dreamt of the day when she would be able to see you. Her letters never got to you... And she was never told of your death, so she continued to write you letters even after you died. Your mother loved you, Charlotte..jpg) Charlotte’s powering up her Ki aura dissipates. We will not be battling her wrath form in this timeline. .jpg) <sheds tears> What...? No! I can’t take this now!.jpg) She loved me? No... No! It’s too scary! This goes against the entire narrative I had! I’m going to have to rework everything. It’s too much! Too much!.jpg) <holds and shakes head> Hey, I feel warm... Wait... I feel ANYTHING!? That’s now how this works... Wait... Wait!.jpg) What’s happening? No! Help me! Now I forgive her...? She loved me...? I hate you! I hate you!.jpg) Don’t pray for me! You... You! <shrieks and vanishes>.jpg) ...... ...Was that good?.jpg) Charlotte... How does it feel to know you are loved? <sheds a tear>.jpg) And that’s it for Charlotte D’Lota. Since there’s no extra boss fight against Charlotte’s Wrath, our reward for doing all the optional bits is left on the floor where Charlotte was Raptured up to heaven. Or her soul was annihilated. It’s difficult to say where all that malice went at this time. .jpg) Avoiding Charlotte’s Wrath is the only way to gain this accessory – the Flare Brooch. This accessory grants +9 Vitality, +9 Intelligence, +8 Piety and +6 Mind. I kind of feel like the Star Brooch with the huge Agility buff is the better deal of the two options myself. But I suppose doing in a murdered little girl’s ghost like that is kind of a dick move. It’s worth noting that the Flare Brooch shows up in all of the Shadow Hearts games as an accessory. So I guess that’s the canonical outcome to Charlotte’s fate. The Star Brooch also technically appears. But unlike the Flare Brooch, the Star Brooch has a completely different look in the Shadow Hearts games. The Flare Brooch is identical. Also Brooch has stopped looking like a real word. So let’s move on! .jpg) .jpg) Now that Charlotte has been dealt with one way or the other, the mysterious force sealing the exit to her room has vanished allowing the party to continue onward. .jpg) And if we mosey just pass the massive pile of corpses down this corridor, we find the door opened by the Blue Key to Patrick’s mansion. We can just fling that into the pile of dead since it has no further use. .jpg) Wow, what a mansion! Tune in next time as Koudelka and the gang begin their investigation into Patrick’s living quarters, learn more about ancient texts and dabbling with the dark arts and other assorted frivolities as our adventure begins its third act.    Video: Charlotte’s Wrath Outcome (You should watch this.)  Video: Charlotte’s Release Outcome (You should watch this too.)   Charlotte D’Lota Concept Art – What’s with this sassy... lost child? The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 18:18 on May 17, 2018 |
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May 16, 2018 16:12
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So, literally the only effect of that subquest is, ultimately, what accessory you get, and whether or not you feel bad about yourself for (re)killing a kid? I'd have thought it would've been a secret requirement for the Goodest Bester End or something.
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May 16, 2018 16:22
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I like that Koudelka looks worse than Charlotte in that CG.
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May 16, 2018 16:55
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Involuntary and decidedly unwilling passing on is... Not what one normally expects from making a ghost come to terms with their death! Man, these games are just not very nice to kids!
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May 16, 2018 18:16
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May 16, 2018 19:15
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I can't remember what exactly can be found on that corpse pile, but it's possible to walk onto it (because gently caress the dead) and pick up something IIRC - not sure if it's useless health stuff, or ammo. But nothing madly exciting. As much as I like this game, they really didn't do very well with the FMV stuff; it's really stiff, and everyone looks like a ghoul because they make the eyes look too glassy. There's some moments where it looks not-too-bad, and the lighting and direction is pretty nice, but for the most part I prefer the ingame cutscenes - where they really take advantage of that smooth mocap. Probably because they spent time rendering Charlotte's room for that FMV, it also appears in an promo character image of Koudelka:  What is wrong with your wasp-like proportions Koudelka, holy poo poo - are you the monster? And that also appears as a small background easter egg in Shadow Hearts:  (The poster on the wall, just right of the hanging bar lights) Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 20:47 on May 16, 2018 |
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May 16, 2018 20:40
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You know, I've never actually seen Charlotte's bad ending before, so seeing a skinless congealed blood monster of a tormented child kinda took me by surprise.  Pesky Splinter posted:Not really, which is a great shame, and would be killer to see some of those monster concepts in non-polygonal form. This is a blessed post, thank you. One day if I ever learn a bit more Japanese, I think it'd be interesting trying to track down the Japanese guide, the light novel, and drama CD which I've heard about, but never see on the internet beyond mention of it. For reasons that you have mentioned, this game is just plain interesting to me and I'm scarce to think of a game like it.  If you desire to see the true depths of horror that Koudelka can provide, then behold the assholes of Wales in their true forms...    (Not like anybody would've gotten a chance to see any of the details in on the original PS release, but now you know that Edward is constantly looking to the right of something)
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May 16, 2018 23:01
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EagerSleeper posted:is a blessed post, thank you. One day if I ever learn a bit more Japanese, I think it'd be interesting trying to track down the Japanese guide, the light novel, and drama CD which I've heard about, but never see on the internet beyond mention of it. For reasons that you have mentioned, this game is just plain interesting to me and I'm scarce to think of a game like it. Seconded! It's pretty sad to see "Interesting Spiritual Character Koudelka" transformed into "Hot Kinda Gothy Girl Koudelka" at some point. Japan! 
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May 16, 2018 23:54
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 ...  ...  hi koudelka, i'm eternal lovechild roger bacon --- EagerSleeper posted:This is a blessed post, thank you. One day if I ever learn a bit more Japanese, I think it'd be interesting trying to track down the Japanese guide, the light novel, and drama CD which I've heard about, but never see on the internet beyond mention of it. For reasons that you have mentioned, this game is just plain interesting to me and I'm scarce to think of a game like it. The drama CD is a very weird abridged version of the game's plot, but with some extra scenes detailing Koudelka's trip to the monastary and flashbacks to her backstory. Short version from memory is she hitches a ride to Wales on the back of a cart, stopping off at some random abandoned house. There she meets a little girl, and then it turns out Koudelka was actually talking to a ghost, and the house burnt down, then Koudelka gets another ride to the monastary, has a flashback. Breaks in through a window, saves Edward. Together they encounter James. I think they're attacked by Alias, and then they meet Roger. Then the ending is completely different in a really bland way, which I won't comment on yet because we haven't got to that point. It's not great, it's just a thing that exists. There's no Charlotte, Ogden or Bessie, and all the actors have the extremes of hoarse-throat screaming, or complete, bored indifference. Haven't read the light novel, but going by the illustrations with it, it seems to follow the plot of the game. Probably. The Japanese and Chinese guides are kinda interesting, one of the Japanese ones has interviews with the developers, which is mostly stuff already mentioned in the thread, with the occassional little box with a behind the scenes thing. And then the concept art I posted. The Chinese one is very odd - they got access to the unfiltered art assets for the items, and weapons and junk, but also included the unused icons. And they have little primer segments on some of the actual historical topics the game goes into - Wales, Roger Bacon, alchemy, the Princess Alice disaster. And they have actual stats, and enemy drops and poo poo that, you know, people buying a guide for a game where it tells you zero of that would want to know? Compared to the US version where it's like "I'm sure you'll find this B Sword somewhere - its stats are 'slight increase to stats' - dunno where it is though lol". [e]:   Alias and Charlotte's Wrath textures - I like how they achieved the gross wet fleshly look for Charlotte with just white splodges to act as highlights Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 00:05 on May 17, 2018 |
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May 16, 2018 23:54
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http://mangakakalot.com/manga/koudelka There's also a Koudelka manga. It clashes horribly with the Shadow Hearts series, but I liked it. Edit: This manga is a sequel to the game, so there are spoilers. Andyzero fucked around with this message at 21:28 on May 17, 2018 |
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May 17, 2018 00:26
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Charlotte seemed so regretful there in her "good" ending. After being a hell spirit that wishes suffering on people for so long, being disarmed like that is almost like pulling the rug out from someone instead of actually helping them. Then again, the priest did call her a sinful lamb. Guess she's now being assimilated into Deus to meet with her compassionate and understanding mother...Miang. No wonder she was so angry. It's also my headcanon now that Charlotte's Wrath is the real version of the recurring baby monster for this game, not some random encounter. The Dark Id posted:You’ve barely got more HP than the goddamn support unit. She’s embarrassing, bro. I'm guessing you meant to say, "poo poo's embarrassing." It's weird to say Koudelka's embarrassing when she's both the main protag and has been kicking rear end with magic the whole time. And that, "the," shouldn't be in front of Sophia's Letters. Unless you meant to refer to it in the context of being a plot item, in which case, just add "item" after Letters. Shitenshi fucked around with this message at 01:49 on May 17, 2018 |
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May 17, 2018 01:41
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The Dark Id posted:She’s embarrassing, bro. She's embarrassing you? quote:It’s optional, so any final training using the ghost dolls of the twins has to be done now. quote:That said, we did go to the effort of finding the Sophia’s Letters Xander77 fucked around with this message at 03:30 on May 17, 2018 |
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May 17, 2018 03:27
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quote:Look, I are ghosts are weird. Missing a word? quote:I’m not going to ask quests and we don’t have all day to watch her sit down and daintily open each letter individually and pour over their contents. I think you mean "questions" here, and the second bolded bit should be spelled "pore".
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May 17, 2018 03:58
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Andyzero posted:http://mangakakalot.com/manga/koudelka Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 12:49 on May 17, 2018 |
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May 17, 2018 12:41
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Oh, dang, man, yeah, I should have said it was a sequel. Sorry. I do has theories about it, but I'll wait until the ending of this game. Andyzero fucked around with this message at 21:33 on May 17, 2018 |
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May 17, 2018 21:27
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Pesky Splinter posted:
help i'm laughing and choking at the same time. This is good avatar material along with James O'Flaty. quote:Oh god, it's McCree but from the 1890s and with a gun for a hat. (Also where the hell are you getting these high quality rips from?) quote:Some really cool information about the drama CD, light novel, and actually useful Chinese guide High-quality screaming and yelling with otherwise flat voice acting is the true "watching anime with subs" experience.  No but really, that's some really interesting stuff that was mentioned. I've already been through this game before, but seeing that it's a slight variation of the ending makes me wonder what part of it might be different because the light novel came out in conjunction with the game and was written by a separate author, or might have been written afterwards with some notes/help towards Kikuta's vision of the game.
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May 18, 2018 01:19
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EagerSleeper posted:(Also where the hell are you getting these high quality rips from?) Thanks to the LP, it's inspired me to have a quick runthrough, so I've been ripping some of the textures to see if there's anything interesting. There's not really much to say about most of them. There's a few coming up which are kinda interesting?
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May 18, 2018 17:28
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Episode XXI: Roger's Résumé .jpg) What is this...? Wow. What a mansion!Welcome to Patrick Hayward’s manor. We’ll be spending the bulk of Disc 3’s remainder scouring the depths of this mansion and its secrets, whatever they may be. It’s 1898, surely it doesn’t hold a secret .jpg) .jpg) The front entrance to Patrick’s Quarters actually leads back out to the central courtyard where Koudelka began this disc. From here, it is possible to retrace our steps back to the church and go fight the Gargoyle properly. Seems the party reunited has enough constitution to not immediately run for the hills. The Gargoyle is Koudelka’s optional superboss enemy. But doing that now with our current levels and equipment is... ill-advised, to say the least. We’ll tackle that at another time and disc... .jpg) For now, let’s enter the main mansion hall and begin our exploration. To the right of the stairs, next to the entrance to the mansion from the Charlotte’s Cell corridor, is this extremely cumbersome set of steps, clearly meant for some manner of giant being, leading to a door at the top. We’re going to go check this out first. .jpg) That carpet is hideous. If Elaine decided on this mansion’s décor, I’m glad she’s dead... poo poo's atrocious. Anyway, this hallway has a couple of doors on either end. We’ll investigate the one in the bottom left in a moment. We’re just going to make our lives slightly easier by heading through the top-right door first. Doing so unbolts it from this side. .jpg) This just leads to the top of the main hall’s staircase. The only other door up here is held shut by a boss battle checkpoint. So at least we know the direction of progress whenever the party forcefully exorcises another ghost or fights the Tyrant or whatever else might go down in this mansion. .jpg) The top of the stairs here is noteworthy solely because of a brief random battle the party encountered here. The enemy in question was just palette-swapped upgraded version of the Shadow ghost balls we’ve already seen. It died in a single magic cast. The enemy itself isn’t the important part. .jpg) What it randomly dropped was important. It’s a new piece of armor! We can finally equip James with something in that inventory slot, half-way through Disc 3 of 4. The (Air) Robe grants 5 Luck and a very respectable 16 PIE. Though James’s deficiency in stats is physical, not magical, so this robe is fairly useless overall. Still, it’s nice we could finally equip our third party member with a proper shirt some eight hours after we acquired him. .jpg) Doubling back the way we came, there’s more to this corridor. The door at the far end gives us the above prompt. Surely we’ll need to gather three or four emblems or maybe seek out a valve handle to sort out this troubling obstacle. .jpg) Oh... or we can just look at the statue directly to the right of the door, click a button and the door immediately unlocks. Well... I guess that works too... Tch. If you want to be boring about it. Back in my day if you weren't melting statues to obtain precious jewels within or remembering colored sequences of flashing lights to input at a latter time, a place wasn't even worth exploring. Alas... Let’s gather our party before venturing forth and enter to find... .jpg) Roger Bacon how did you manage to get in here? We had to make a full loop across half the monastery grounds through caverns, cut through a ghost child’s room and solve a very complex puzzle to get this far. And you just... walked in off-screen earlier? I’m calling foul. .jpg)  <cracks bones and searches through books> Hmm... I know it’s around here somewhere... <notices party approaching> Hmm... What took you so long?.jpg) Roger, I have a— <interrupts> Isn’t he the mummy from the coffin? Since when have you two been acquainted? Since when I was wandering alone after some certain brave gentlemen ditched me with a demon in a certain church... Oh... well. ...... <walks off>.jpg) I am no mummy! My name is Roger Bacon and I’m just like any normal old man. Hey! I’ve been around for twenty years and I have yet to run across an old man as abnormal as yourself. Hmm... Twenty years? Very impressive! You made it to the double-digits... Don’t hurt yourself now. I see... Well I have been around for more than six hundred years and I have seen plenty of ABNORMAL people just like myself! ...... <backs away off screen>.jpg) My dear old man... Might you be related to the great warlock, Roger Bacon, who made such a name for himself in the thirteenth century? <turns to James> Oh hoho! Yoooou are very knowledgeable! Hm. I am that warlock, Roger Bacon, that you speak of! You mean to tell me that you were born in 1210 and have remained alive and well until the present day of 1898? Actually... to be precise I was born in 1214. I’ve had enough birthdays. Don’t need to latch on a couple extra ones to my years, now do we? Hehe. ...... Koudelka, what type of a joke is this...? That’s my question..jpg) Well this is no joke! <starts stomping up and down cracking bones all the while> I AM the reputable Roger Bacon! Very well, then. If you were truly that Roger Bacon, then you’ll be able to tell me with whom and where you studied. Tch. That's easy. I entered Oxford in 1247 and studied under the tutelage of Robert Grosseteste. Although a good professor, I would not consider him to be a wise man. But don’t tell him I said that... Being dead for several hundred years, I don’t think that will be an issue. Dead as a doornail since 1253. Hehe... But I don’t know if you’ve noticed lately, being dead hasn’t stopped some from skittering around. Most irritating. But I digress... I penned my masterpiece Opus Majus as well as numerous other books on natural science. <silently walks back over and tries not to make eye contact with Roger>.jpg) <notices Edward and yells at him> BEING A VISIONARY PIONEER! ...... Hmm.... I must say that my work has influenced generations of work that followed. .jpg) <both lose interest and start looking through the pile of books> But alas, in hindsight, that work pales in comparison to the work I did copying the Émigré Document for the Pope..jpg) The Émigré Documents... I figured you would know about that book. Ohh... NOW he believes who I am. Hmph. Of course! It took me five years to copy the book in its entirety. I know everything there is to know about the book. Incredibly tedious to line the thing up on a bookshelf. The skull-shape is completely irregular. I don’t know what they were thinking...Koudelka wanders back over. .jpg) What is it about? Is it— Oh, it unravels the secrets of life that expand far beyond the largest field. It speaks... of the secret rituals conducted by the ancient race of Formors on... immortality. <gets in Edward’s face> The Formors would claim the lives of the resurrected as their own... O... K... What was a Formor, again? An ancient race! Were you not paying attention!? What...? Like a caveman? That doesn’t really explain the question. MOVING ON! They... reversed the laws of nature and the cycle of life. When the Druids took over the Celts, Alexander the Great penned the Émigré Documents in Greek for placement in the Great Library. Resurrecting the dead... It is true... <turns to Koudelka> Oh the Émigré Document has long been considered the most dangerous work of literature. ...... <wanders off-screen again>.jpg) It was safely guarded in the caverns of the Supreme Pontiff's quarters. But apparently, the book was not able to withstand the wears of time over generations and the Pope decreed that a new edition be created by copying the full text. That is where *I* came in... The Pope requested that I copy the book word-for-word. And when the work was finished... Apparently, I was supposed to be killed... Heh... Heh. BUT I AM NOT ONE TO BE DEALT WITH SO CARELESSLY! I secretly escaped and eventually I made my way to the sacred land referred to in the text of the Émigré Document. Heh....jpg) And the secret rituals...? Don’t tell me... You need look no further... than myself. And you succeeded... Hmm... Though I cannot perform the same on others... Yes! I have been able to escape the hands of death! But I have not been able to escape the roots of existence which are the seeds of change. My body... is not immune to change. You don’t say? You don’t look a day over seven hundred. Argh! I am ONLY 684, thank you very much! You can see by... my hideous appearance. Hmm... I’ve have had nothing to do other than roam the earth for the last three hundred years! Minus a hundred or so due to a nap that... heh... got out of hand, let us say... I've seen... all I can take... of mankind's cruelty. So... I returned here. For some rest. Heh. Well... hmm... Enough of this gossip! I've got some research to do, eh! .jpg) <squats back down with books and looks over shoulder at Edward> May I ask to be left alone...? <shrugs and wanders off> <turns over should to James and Koudelka> Hmm? Hm?.jpg) And with that we’ll leave Roger Bacon to his reading in peace. Tune in next time as we uncover more of the mansion’s secrets, finally find a use for a key item you’ve probably all forgetten we picked up a dozen updates ago and perhaps get a lore dump on Patrick Hayward’s use of the Émigré Document and how he totally hosed up everything. All this and more as Koudelka continues!  Video: Episode 21 Highlight Reel (You should always watch Roger Bacon chew scenery.)  Koudelka Manga Formor Art – The Author of the Émigré Document that appeared in the non-canon Koudelka manga. This ancient race never gets brought up again. As far as mythology goes, Formorians were a race from Irish folklore that were giant (in the literal sense) rear end in a top hat raiders that came from the sea or deep underground to stir up poo poo as an explanation for destructive forces of nature. They were similar to the Jötnar from Norse Mythology. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 16:18 on May 21, 2018 |
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May 18, 2018 19:04
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I hope I’m as cool as Roger Bacon when I’m 684
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May 18, 2018 19:15
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Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 684...
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May 18, 2018 20:28
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So were the Formor some weird undead hybrid creatures or just your garden variety soul stealing types? "Claiming the lives of the resurrected" sounds pretty darn spooky.The Dark Id posted:
Shitenshi fucked around with this message at 21:23 on May 18, 2018 |
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May 18, 2018 21:20
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I do wonder how Japan got into it's head that Fomorians are goat-people, between the manga art and SMT's Fomor being a fat goat man.
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May 18, 2018 22:47
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Robindaybird posted:I do wonder how Japan got into it's head that Fomorians are goat-people, between the manga art and SMT's Fomor being a fat goat man. Apparently from the "Lebor na hUidre", "Book of the Dun Cow". I say apparently because this is relying soley on second hand google sources - some of the Formorians are said to have to head of a goat and body of a man, others to have only one arm and leg, while some are apparently "beautiful". While, one of the more famous ones, Balor is a giant, with only one eye (that is basically the most destructive thing ever when he opens it - plants wither and die, or combust, blood boils, and then the land itself catches alight). So yeah, they're a pretty weird bunch.
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May 18, 2018 23:24
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Roger is one of the best parts of the entire Shadow Hearts series
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May 19, 2018 01:07
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I like him a lot when he's being a sassy old man showing the spring chickens what for and less when he's a dirty old man perving on the ladies.
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May 19, 2018 22:51
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When you get to 700 years old you'll find there's not much else holds your attention 
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May 19, 2018 23:08
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Pesky Splinter posted:While, one of the more famous ones, Balor is a giant, with only one eye (that is basically the most destructive thing ever when he opens it - plants wither and die, or combust, blood boils, and then the land itself catches alight). Wait. Balor Gaze? Boiling Blood? Oh loving hell, Disgaea.
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May 20, 2018 04:07
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Castlevania too, for that matter. Balor is about the only fomorian most media bothers to mention, when they get mentioned at all.
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May 20, 2018 08:08
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"So I told the Pope tried to kill me but I skipped town to Wales and became immortal!" *cracks every bone in body with every gesture telling story* I wonder how the actual Roger Bacon feels about being portrayed as a weird Yoda type dude in a story made by Japanese people. 
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May 20, 2018 16:39
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Nohman posted:I wonder how the actual Roger Bacon feels about being portrayed as a weird Yoda type dude in a story made by Japanese people. He's just glad they didn't make him a sex object.
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May 20, 2018 16:42
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I'm curious how Nimrod feels about being remembered due to his name becoming an insult thanks to a cartoon rabbit using it sarcastically.
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May 20, 2018 16:42
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BioEnchanted posted:I'm curious how Nimrod feels about being remembered due to his name becoming an insult thanks to a cartoon rabbit using it sarcastically.
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May 20, 2018 16:58
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BioEnchanted posted:I'm curious how Nimrod feels about being remembered due to his name becoming an insult thanks to a cartoon rabbit using it sarcastically. I sometimes worry the same thing might happen with Einstein.
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May 20, 2018 18:29
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At least X-Men tried to preserve his legacy - the most feared Sentinel in the Future storylines is an advanced version called Nimrod.
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May 20, 2018 18:35
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Get to a new page for a new update. This one is getting cluttered.
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May 20, 2018 19:08
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Honestly, Roger Bacon is top tier waifu material.
EagerSleeper fucked around with this message at 19:35 on May 20, 2018 |
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May 20, 2018 19:19
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I'll chime in to say that I'm enjoying the LP of a game that I'd never otherwise play? Not really into the survival horror genre, and even if this doesn't fall into that category (I honestly have no idea,) it feels like it. But TDI's commentary is always amusing.
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May 20, 2018 19:22
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I've just realised - we have a party of varied assholes solving Supernatural mysteries in the heart of Wales - are we watching the formation of Torchwood?
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May 20, 2018 19:32
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I have nothing interesting to say
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May 20, 2018 19:47
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Bo-Pepper posted:I have nothing interesting to say And yet here i am posting
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May 20, 2018 19:48
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