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I just got a *ree copy of this game, but I already have it so here you go: P446Z-6YQML-N4MH*
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Mar 11, 2020 03:35
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sebmojo posted:I just got a *ree copy of this game, but I already have it so here you go: P446Z-6YQML-N4MH* Someone grabbed this.
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Mar 11, 2020 04:18
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ulmont posted:For an extensive rebuttal to Erebus, check here: https://acoup.blog/2020/01/17/collections-the-fremen-mirage-part-i-war-at-the-dawn-of-civilization/ This is fascinating. Thank you so much for the link to this blog. I decided to read the background material on the Spartan Mirage. I had thought the agoge was ridiculously harsh. I hadn't made the connection to the deliberate creation of child soldiers/terrorists. I will not think of Sparta in the same way ever again. I look forward to the thorough debunking of theory of the rise and fall of civilizations as put forward by Erebus, Robert E Howard (great writing, but very much of the "civilizations are weak" crowd) and many others.
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Mar 13, 2020 01:51
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Kacie posted:This is fascinating. Thank you so much for the link to this blog. Glad you enjoyed it! And yeah it's pretty fascinating how both the Spartan and Fremen myths are just later creations to reveal more about their authors than any real truths.
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Mar 13, 2020 04:45
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ulmont posted:Glad you enjoyed it! And yeah it's pretty fascinating how both the Spartan and Fremen myths are just later creations to reveal more about their authors than any real truths. Yeah, that blog has been a great read. Thank you for linking it!
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Mar 13, 2020 23:34
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Oh no! I'm so upset I caught up on this thread, this game has been incredibly fascinating and you've done a great job in LPing it, rudecyrus.
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Mar 16, 2020 10:57
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Erebus was talking more about the "cycle of history": an idea that was very popular in the modern era that was basically defined as civilization rises->golden age->dark age->new Civ rises. Barbarians can be a cause for a dark age, but so can crop failure, disease, infighting, and so on. Writers became obsessed over this because they feared Western Civilization was headed for a dark age collapse: racial tension was the big new fear, along with the usual rants about moral implosion. Unsurprisingly, it's all a load of croc: historians spent over a century looking for a way to view history scientifically, hoping to find constants that can be shown as sure-fire proof civilization was about to burst into flames, and of course they LOVED it when non-Anglo Saxons were involved, but it turns out pretty much every empire either failed in its own unique way, or because of crop failure/disease, which can't be predicated in any useful way. Meanwhile, Western Civilization has pretty much taken over the world (everyone wears business suits, at least *pretends* to be democratic/egalitarian, English is basically the world Lingua Franca, and so on,) so whoever was supposed to destroy it hasn't been doing a very good job.
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Mar 16, 2020 21:17
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thetruegentleman posted:Erebus was talking more about the "cycle of history": an idea that was very popular in the modern era that was basically defined as civilization rises->golden age->dark age->new Civ rises. Barbarians can be a cause for a dark age, but so can crop failure, disease, infighting, and so on. Pretty much. The blog that was linked a little earlier (which is an extremely pro click, by the way) goes into exhaustive detail about the whole idea and the beliefs that inform it. In short, the "hard times create hard men, who overcome those made soft by civilization" theory is stuffed to bursting with ignorance, uncritical examination, lies of omission, profound reasoning errors, racism, and general disconnectedness from reality. It reminds me of the "those Asians are reproducing out of control and will doom us all" narrative, which is similarly garbage (and not to be confused with climate change, that's a whole other thing.)
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Mar 16, 2020 22:03
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Part XXI: Loose ends I forgot to show a branch of conversation at the Ordu camp, so here it is.  : Tell me of your people.   It's more or less "our people strong, your people soft." Whatever!  We need to deal with Mack the Knife. He's a pain in the dick and can bring you down to 0 HP in seconds. His attack pattern usually consists of throwing a net at you, then running in and stabbing you to death, relying on his high chance of hitting you with Bleed and multiple critical strikes. Luckily, he doesn't have much health and his armor is nonexistent, so I'm taking my new blue steel shamshir and ramming it up his rear end.      3v1, but this is a breeze compared to the encounter at Harran's Pass. The one with the hammer should be targeted first.   By this point, I'm hitting around 20 points of damage on criticals and Bleed is stacking up to 15 points of damage per turn. It's still a bit of a grind to kill these guys, but nothing too hard.  Three more bite the dust.  We're holding off on the champion until Ganezzar.  Instead, we're sticking the big power module we have in the doohickey in the Slums well room.   This is one of the locations we could have accessed from Zamedi. It's probably a mistake to look in the tank, but I'll do it anyway.       I don't want to know anything about these procedures, thanks.   Reading the scrolls lets us grab one of the canisters. Its use will become apparent much later.    Aw, thanks for the uplifting message, game.   The canister is in a strongbox next to the machine.  Using it will raise our Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution by 1. I'm going with CON because more HP is always good.  Owie.   Hooray!  Here's a merchant I missed at the Temple. He has an extremely metal skull collection.    Don't touch the merchandise! : Where did you get it?  Simmer down and take my money.  What a weird device. Maybe Clemens would know what it does.  : Ever seen anything like this? Yes, we're really doing this.  I have the utmost confidence.    Despite what Clemens says, there isn't an impact to gameplay now that we have no depth perception.   And it's permanently grafted to our skull. Great!  Soundtrack: Teron II Making a stop in Teron, something I couldn't do until the main plot of this act was resolved.  A bunch of tents have popped up around town.  We're here to pick up a sidequest from Aemolas, since our Word of Honor is high enough.   : How much is there? Whoa. : The wasteland has been kind to you, Aemolas.  : I'm in.  Off to find hidden (and likely stolen) treasure.  Parley!  : Yes. : Why should I tell you? : And then? Hmm... nah.    There are eight guys to fight, but they're using basic equipment.  Barely a scratch.  Heck, we've got enough money. I'll be nice and split it with Aemolas.   Another good deed done. We only had to kill eight people to do it!  Back in Maadoran, we meet Kemnebi, the guy Basil told us about several updates ago. : I was just curious about what line of work you were in. Okay, be that way. : Are you Kemnebi?   : Whose mortality?  He's tight-lipped about the job, but gently caress it, the promise of killing fools is enough for me.  : Yes. : Are you killing raiders? Are you some kind of militia? : How do you know about the botched raid? : How much money are we talking about? Kill raiders, get gold. Simple.     We've been tricked.  : Who are the Hundred Swords?   gently caress it. : I'm in.   It's time for a big brawl. Almost 20 combatants shedding blood on the sand. A true battle in every sense of the word. It's boring! The enemies can't do dick against us, so this encounter consists of waiting like 30 seconds until everyone else's turn is over, then advancing, taking a swipe at an opponent, repeat.   Thank Christ that's over.  Let's get our reward.  Son of a bitch. Gracchus better have a good explanation.    Oh. That's okay, then. Oh wait, I have an automatic rifle, so your crossbow is useless to me. Where's the loving "slit his throat" option?   drat it Kemnebi, this stuff is beneath me! Where's the mountain of gold I was promised?  : Do you have any more work for me?    Fascinating. Can I get something out of this exchange now? : Is there anything you can teach me? Good enough.  This lovely gentleman is hanging around the inn. : Nice spear.  Time for another sound decision.    Kadmos wouldn't be a problem, except he's a filthy spear user and therefore 100 times harder than he should be.  Thanks for almost killing me, fucker.  One more place to go. Remember the tablets?      Good. Glad that's cleared up. That's all for Maadoran. In the next update, it's back to the side playthroughs. Next Time: King of the assholes
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Mar 17, 2020 02:02
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Welp, so much for a super bionic eye.
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Mar 17, 2020 02:17
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rudecyrus posted:Next Time: King of the assholes I think we've met everyone, more or less, on the op banner at this point.
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Mar 17, 2020 18:25
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Hypocrisy posted:I think we've met everyone, more or less, on the op banner at this point. Not yet!
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Mar 17, 2020 18:53
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Part XXII: Everyone involved in this plot sucks The Commercium is flexing on Gaelius now. No doubt Gaius Goonius will play a role.    Strabos, who looks like a cross between John Goodman and Joe Ligotti, is the guildmaster of Maadoran, making him the de facto leader of the Commercium. He's more or less a mafia boss.  : Why do you need a fresh face?    Ah, the "replace competent ruler with useless relative" gambit. I hope you don't end up with a Joffrey Baratheon, Strabos.   We have three people to talk to: Lady Lorenza, Lord Senna, and Legatus Pavola. We've met Senna and Pavola before. : I have a few questions. : What can you tell me about Maadoran? : What does master Linos think of your plan? Strabos isn't very helpful.  Here's the guy with the badge in the Palace District. What if we try to buy it from him? : Can you sell me your badge?  : You used it, didn't you? I'm not paying for you. My share comes to 125. Take it or leave it.  tfw you have a high Trade skill  Let's try the badge.   What, you thought that would work? You idiot. You utter simp. It's never that easy. : I want to talk to Lord Gaelius.  Showing the map does nothing. We're not seeing Gaelius, period.  Anyway, our first stop is Lord Senna.     As you can see, our dialogue skills are getting a workout. Don't try this unless you have a 6 in Persuade/Etiquette/Streetwise.   I'm... not sure what the differences are between the two options. The outcome is the same, regardless. : I'm only looking for what's best for the city, my lord. A man destined to rule this great city should posses a lot of qualities, but I believe that it is the willingness to listen to well-meant counsel that will set him apart from all others.  Done.  Next is Lady Lorenza, who lives across from Senna.  She sounds charming. : Thank you for receiving me on such short notice, my lady.  : I'm well versed in history, my lady. House Calani ruled Maadoran for centuries until House Aurelian took it by force shortly after the Great War. I hope that one day your city will be restored to you. : I represent the guild, so I don't stand alone. : I wasn't given much choice in the matter.  Christ, it's always "me me me" with you people. : Do you really expect me to? : To make a name for myself and see where it takes me.  Impatience of youth? You look to be 25. Passing the etiquette and lore checks earlier makes this one easier. : You have two options here. Make a deal with Strabos and share the power or refuse to come to an agreement and watch Gaelius tightening up his grip over your city. I know that I'm just a lowborn and could never grasp the full extent of your concerns, but where I come from, something is always better than nothing. Success! Before we leave, we can ask Lorenza a question.  It's a bold conversation opener. : They say you killed your five husbands. : Are you saying you didn't? Yeesh, I can't believe men are still trying to marry her. : What happened to husband number five?    #girlboss  Last on the list is Pavola.   I admire his bluntness. : I thought it was customary to think of the enemy of your enemy as your friend. Pavola may secretly be the wisest character in the game.  : We want what you want -- a Lord who isn't a a fanatic, but a reasonable man, a man with an open mind, a man we all can deal with.  Aaaand done! Huh, that was easy.  : About the conspirators... : Legatus Pavola, Lady Lorenza Calani, and Lord Senna. Oh god, there's a catch.  Of course you did, you rear end in a top hat. : Who's Darista? Language!  : Does it mean that Gaelius knows?  Maybe da Boatmen should have dere kneecaps broken in da back of a chariot. lets go Blues baby love da blues  : What stops me from selling you to the Boatmen?   : Unless he thinks he's saving it.     We're not going to Pavola, since getting the guards triggers a fight when Hamza shows up.  : Yes.  Not much to do in the villa except talk to the servant.  : Yes.  : You want a name? Strabos. It's his plot. I have nothing to do with it. Oh come ON. : So, Gaelius will let him get away with it? Well, he did broker an alliance between two Noble Houses, a Legatus and the most powerful guild in Maadoran, so I'd say he's somewhat of a threat. True, I played a significant role  , but c'mon...At this point we can: 1. Fight, which is stupid. 2. Convince Hamza to kill Darista. 3. Convince Hamza to kill Lord Massalus. Option 3 seems the safest. : I want a better deal.  I'm tempted to sell out these dickheads. : Lord Massalus.  : Have you ever laid eyes upon a noble who didn't want more power? Wait, really? Wow.   : You don't seem to be worried. : I'm still surprised that it's so easy to kill a man like Gaelius.  : Why are you doing it? He's doing it in the name of equality : No lord would ever accept such beliefs. "By the gods, I WILL recieve an invitation to the annual fish fry!" : How did you become a guildmaster? You don't seem like most merchants I've seen.   Like I said: mafia boss.  RIP Gaelius.   : I want to talk to Lord Serenas. Master Strabos sent me.   Talent really does skip a generation.  Settle down, Lord Fauntleroy. : I beg forgiveness, my lord. My master is nothing but the humblest of your servants. His service was indeed his duty and does not require a payment, but I was so certain that your first official act would correct your uncle's mistakes that I assumed that you'd reward his loyalty and dedication.  : It seems like neither of them is suitable for the task. You need someone who will do what needs to be done, without bothering you with insignificant details or "bickering" with the others. Someone like my master. : And that's precisely what makes him a perfect candidate. Running the city is a job. You know the noble-born better than I do. Where would you find one who's willing to work day and night, going over the balance sheets? When am I gonna be magistratus?   : I talked to Serenas... : Congratulations, you're the new magistratus. While Lorenza and Senna were fighting and putting more pressure on Serenas than he could handle, I convinced them to give the position to you. : What does the report say? : And what do you think? Lordships for everyone!  : What can you tell me about Athanasius? : If he's such a problem, why not just kill him? Yeah, I don't think I want to work for Strabos anymore.   Next Time: Things get bloody rudecyrus fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Oct 16, 2020 |
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Mar 22, 2020 07:20
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I'd back Gaelus just to see Strabos screwed over.
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Mar 22, 2020 08:31
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what happens if you can only get 2 or god forbid, none of the co-conspirators? also i wish lorenza was in more of the playthroughs
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Mar 22, 2020 09:26
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You can totally get Hamza to kill Darista by convincing him he's saving the guild's traditional neutrality. Hamza is an insanely good assassin, but he's kind of a patsy, which is sort of the game's theme when it comes to characters who are awesome at stabbing and not much else. Also if you tell Strabo 'I too believe men are equal' he yells at you, a lot. It's pretty funny.
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Mar 22, 2020 11:58
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Am I missing something or is that chapter way shorter if you're playing for the Consortium? The previous character bodded all over the world and made deals with barbarians and investigated alien tech, while our consortium character just spoke to a few people and arranged an assassination.
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Mar 22, 2020 13:21
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The entire game is much shorter as the Merch. You can finish the game in about 2 hours. E: Also, some of it is that there are a limited number of sidequests in the game and all player characters can theoretically try to do most of them, so they're redundant and don't need to be shown off mostly. It's probably my main complaint with the game, since I ended up doing them on most playthroughs since I wanted whatever SP I could get. Night10194 fucked around with this message at 14:13 on Mar 22, 2020 |
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Mar 22, 2020 14:09
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rudecyrus posted:making himthe de facto leader of the Commercium.
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Mar 22, 2020 14:42
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I like to imagine all of this going on right before Alt Octavia god nukes the city.
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Mar 22, 2020 17:48
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man the commercium are *assholes*
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Mar 22, 2020 19:03
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Gaelius seems...surprisingly OK considering he's an AoD NPC though? He's not super great as there's rampant poverty in Maadoran that he has neither the ability nor inclination to fix, but his ideas of "let's not gently caress with the ancient technology we don't understand" and "what if we had a non awful empire" puts him head and shoulders above most of the rest of the cast.
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Mar 22, 2020 19:08
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:Gaelius seems...surprisingly OK considering he's an AoD NPC though? He's not super great as there's rampant poverty in Maadoran that he has neither the ability nor inclination to fix, but his ideas of "let's not gently caress with the ancient technology we don't understand" and "what if we had a non awful empire" puts him head and shoulders above most of the rest of the cast. True, but I hope he's got some other successor in mind than his nephew. Otherwise everything he achieves is gonna slip away when he dies.
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Mar 22, 2020 23:36
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Part XXIII: Traveling salesman When we last saw Gaius Stabbius, he was going to Maadoran because the Boatmen guild in Teron had been wiped out. Maybe he'll have better luck here.    : Yes, I was. In retrospect, Neleos was a bit of an idiot. : It was all we could do. The Guards broke the treaty, we couldn't let the insult stand.  Peacekeepers, eh? I guess it makes sense if you're a believer of "death solves all problems." : I couldn't care less how "proper" you think things are done here, it all eventually devolves to people killing each other over scraps and titles. As long as I'm on the living end of this arrangement, that's as "proper" as I need things to be.  Don't you hate it when people laugh at their own jokes?  : That's what they said about Neleos. : Better? Working for Gaelius has its perks. : Who's Gaelius?   The game implies Darista is ugly now, but her portrait shows otherwise. Seriously, she's a 9 out of 10.  : I'm ready to work. Oh hey, looks like the stolen treasure has come up.  : I'm in. What's the plan? : We're stealing from thieves now? I thought we were assassins. Okay, geez... : You're working for Gaelius now? : I'll talk to Hamza then. Several invisible men, it seems. : How are we going to take the gold out? : Who's Levir?  The logic of this is questionable. Levir is a loving thief sitting on a pile of gold -- why would he let us take it?  : Disguising ourselves is the only way in?  Next to Hamza is this guy, who totally stole my name. : I don't have many options at this point.  Thanks, Cyrus! This will come in handy in our current quest.  : Yes.  We don't need no stinkin' guide!   Can we pull this off?  Yes, we can.   Invisible men and women. The only point of interest is this brick wall.  Let's take a closer look.   Sir, I'm selling this fine dagger...   This guy is no big deal. My dagger can pull off critical strikes fairly regularly now.     What? You mean Levir isn't going to let us waltz out with the gold? Who could have predicted this!   Let's try to find this hidden tunnel. We can talk Levir into letting us go, but he'd want us to do a job for him in return and I don't feel like getting mixed up in that bullshit.  Nothing here.  Ah-ha!  We'll try the crafting option.  So long, Levir.    Okay, we lost a lot of people, but at least we get a big pile of gold.  Let's chat with Hamza. : So, are we working for Gaelius now?   : How long have you been with the guild?       : Any tricks of the trade? Hamza is arguably one of the "best" characters in AoD. Sure, he's an assassin who's killed countless people, but he's loyal, which is more than I can say for most of the characters.  : Do you have any work for me?  Now this is a job I'm looking forward to. : Mind if I ask you a few questions? : Last time I killed a high profile mark, all hell broke loose.   : Surely there are some causes worth fighting for?  There's something poetic about the Boatmen being formed out of the remnants of the Emperor's personal guard, only to end up working for a man who wants to be emperor.    Darista had some bad luck when it comes to joining mercenary groups. : Vultures?  : You mentioned the business side?  We'll see about that.  : Another job for Gaelius. The Boatmen used to be independent... I wonder how many times Darista has to listen to guild members moan about working for Gaelius. Anyway, time to stop loving around.  : I'm ready to take care of Lorenza.  We can't sneak in, so we'll take the direct approach.  Good sirs, are you interested in buying a quality dagger? It's very sharp!   Nothing outside, so let's go in.  : A job's a job.  We could join forces with Lorenza, which means killing Darista. Frankly, I'd rather chew broken glass. : Your life.    Okay, now I'm fighting a bunch of scantily clad women. This fight can get out of hand quickly, so make sure to brings bombs/nets/whatever you can to even the odds. It goes without saying that antidotes are a must.   I got unlucky and took some critical hits, so...  Ow. Death Count: 43  Things go smoother the second time.  Eat cold steel, Lorenza.  Lorenza and her ladies-in-waiting have some good stuff we can sell.    Three guesses as to who that someone might be.  What the gently caress? Even Octavia didn't get a private audience with Gaelius!  Looks like he's decided to take care of that nephew problem.   : And if there isn't? : What do you know about the conspiracy? Who's pulling Serenas' strings? : How many men are guarding Serenas? How good are they? I heal myself and prepare for the next quest.  There's an option to impersonate a guard, but I'm not taking it since it means getting into a fight. : Yes. Do or die time.   Hope this ring works.  Phew.  : My message is for your ears only, my lord. Lord Meru insisted on it. Moron.  Yes, I have the message written on this dagger...      I guess murdering a lord is the next step up from murdering nobles.   For a bunch of skilled assassins, the Boatmen can't handle a mob.   Being unleashed like a plague sounds loving badass. : So, what's with Meru's madness?   And with that, this part of the story comes to a close. Next Time: Pain rudecyrus fucked around with this message at 16:46 on Oct 12, 2020 |
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Mar 26, 2020 05:02
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The Boatmen consistently don't do well in the fluff when they're forced into straight fights. The Guard, the mob, etc. To me the entire Boatman story is about how laughable their supposed creed in the beginning was. "Oh, it's not personal, we're not really involved, we just work for whoever." doesn't really fly when you're being tasked with committing the assassinations of important commanders and politicians. It's simply not a job where one can be neutral. Someone's going to take it personal no matter what you thought of it, and you're always going to be involved, not really aloof. The Boatmen will always be someone's tool, Darista is just smart enough to see it and try to get a good bargain for it, in my opinion.
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Mar 26, 2020 05:17
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As much as I love the idea of being Fantasy KGB, working for the Boatman makes it clear just how much of a patsy you all are. Night10194 posted:The Boatmen will always be someone's tool, Darista is just smart enough to see it and try to get a good bargain for it, in my opinion. She's making the best of a bad situation, but if Gaelius doesn't like having a major power of murderers form under his rule, then the Boatmen will have nowhere left to go.
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Mar 26, 2020 05:40
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drat, the developer really hates Assassins doesn't he? It's just a constant stream of getting owned or being owned.
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Mar 26, 2020 15:02
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i really enjoy how the various guildleaders/employers of each city present a different angle or perspective on the world and how they're forced to work for and against the other people in their area. the only two characters that are really similar are strabos and linos and even then their background and scope are wildly different. its nice that there isnt just 'generic bad rear end leader of assassins" in each city or whatever. and even given the player character, a generally supercompetent badass no matter what their job is, they can still gently caress up a well-intentioned plan and die as a result theres also fun comparisons between the teron guild masters being aggressive vs the madoraan ones being more reserved a common complaint about this game is that the writing is deliberately grimdark to the point of being annoying but whatever its weaknesses in that regard it definitely does a lot of other things right Hypocrisy posted:drat, the developer really hates Assassins doesn't he? It's just a constant stream of getting owned or being owned. i mean, 'we can take money to kill whomever we want and nobody should get mad us' in a world where people are constantly killing and betraying each other does sound a little too good to be true and believing in it makes them suckers Verviticus fucked around with this message at 06:05 on Mar 27, 2020 |
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Mar 27, 2020 06:01
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The Boatmen as an institution are effectively something that could only exist in their 'traditional' form in the absence of any of the major powers making big moves or stabilizing anything. They mistook 'we live in a post-apocalyptic hell-world without larger political organizations that will try to monopolize force' for 'People are totally cool with our schtick'. At the moment, the world is changing; the Imperial Guard, Gaelius, and the new faith in Ganezzar are not content with the old status quo that allowed masterless murderers to operate as a 'neutral' party, and all those things can and will either get the Boatmen to work for them or turbo-gently caress them.
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Mar 27, 2020 06:10
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The assassin is also a tool of violence, and the game has been quite clear that if all you can do is violence than you are fit only to be a tool in the hands of others. Of course, the corollary that if you are incapable of violence you will be hilariously destroyed by street thugs if you're stupid is also true.
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Mar 27, 2020 07:43
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Part XXIV: The greatest battle Last time we saw Gaius Brutus, he'd been arrested and sent to Maadoran to answer for the crime of killing Lord Antidas.  As you'd expect, Gaelius enjoys the theater of the trial. : My Lord, it is the Imperial Guards who were attacked. Our only crime was to defend ourselves from an unprovoked attack.  : We were sent to notify Lord Antidas that the Imperial Guards have invoked the Charter. : The Charter's provisions are very clear. If Lord Antidas had issues with them, he should have sought the counsel of his peers, not attacked the men who were doing their duty. : I didn't judge Antidas. The Charter did. If memory serves me right, it was written by men whose blood was as noble as yours, my Lord. Yikes, this isn't going well. Time for the last resort: dialogue skills! : Another month and we'd have lost Teron to raiders. Would you consider it a better outcome? Would the interests of House Aurelian, as well as those of the lords of this city, have been served better, if raiders were allowed to turn Teron into a stronghold, from which to attack Maadoran? We fail, of course.   Gaelius, you magnificent bastard.  : An axe. t : How about a shield? You can also shove the snarky commentary!  The game neglects to equip the items, so I have to waste AP doing it. Age of Decadence!  Not that it matters. The fight consists almost entirely of me blocking their blows.  Uh, thanks?  We've got nothing but the dinky axe and shield, a neurostimulant, a bronze sword, and a tunic. Carrinas mentioned smuggling our inventory to Maadoran -- maybe the local fort has it.  This day gets better and better! : Well, he did succeed...  Not the best call, Pavola. : What happened? : Back to peace and quiet? That's all you dream of?   I feel so honored.  Is everyone in the Imperial Guards a sarcastic douchebag?  Vitus is just outside.  : Do you have my things?  Much better. Off to Strabos.  I regret this already.  : I can assure you that I'm as happy about it as you are. Well, my stats are weighed in favor of a combat build, so I like to think so. : That's me. Don't flatter yourself.  Night falls. I spend a few seconds looking for something to click on until I realize I need to talk to Strabos again.  Has Strabos been sitting here for hours? Did he have us follow him to the shitter?  : I thought the Boatmen would send more men.  It's tempting to let Hamza kill Strabos, but we need his information. Sorry, Hamza.  Hamza, as you'd expect, is pretty tough. He starts out by entangling you, then inflicting you with Poison and likely Bleed. Healing draughts and antidotes are a must.  We win in the end.    : And Gaelius hopes to control them? : You seem to know the Ordu well. Add rank hypocrisy to Strabos's list of flaws.  : How do you know all that? Hamza has nothing noteworthy on him, so I left that part out.  : Yes.  Hooray...  : My orders are to hold the pass against the Ordu. I'll require your best weapons and armor.   : What do you mean "just for show?" No wonder the Imperial Guards hate the Ordu -- their presence means the former has to get off its rear end and do something.    I've heard of sea water and oil being used for quenching, but piss and blood? What loving maniac thought that up?  Off to Harran's Pass.  Is "Bass" pronounced like the fish or the musical instrument? : I expected a bit more. "Disappointment" is the word of the day when it comes to the Imperial Guards. : What about the Ordu?  It's raining heads! Hallelujah, it's raining heads!    : Was it necessary? Seriously, the Guards are making the Boatmen look well-adjusted.   : No.   A simple "please" would do.  Okay, off to the Ordu camp.  Instead of being nice, we're going the opposite route. : Who are you to question Lord Gaelius? Now that you've agreed to serve him, you will do wise to remember your place. : That of any vassal, of course. You and your men will be given food and lodging in exchange for faithful service and obedience. You will lead your man as their khan, for as long as my lord is pleased with your service. If not, another will take your place. poo poo. Nothing we say will work.    These two can be tricky. Stacked bleed effects are likely. The biggest obstacle is their agility; my THC is only around 60%.   Luckily, I can block most of their attacks and I die only once. Death Count: 44  Sure, why not. Poisoning isn't beneath us.  Usually we'd have to pass a Sneak check, but since we don't have to be subtle anymore, it's an automatic success.   : What are you going to throw at them? Boulders?  Poisoning the well gives us time to make adjustments to our armament.  Our alchemy isn't high enough to change anything, but we do have a robust Crafting skill.  That's all we can do.   Quite a few men on our side, but who know how many Ordu will show up?   Gulp.  There are about 15 Ordu warriors. Tough, but not impossible.    are you loving kidding We don't have to actually fight 100 people. Most are static models.  The fight went easier than I expected. My first playthrough was death after death after death, but this was relatively smooth. Belgutai should be the first target since he poses the most danger.   Hey, we're winning! Albeit at a snail's pace.  Hi Thorgul!  We're pushing the Ordu out of the fort!   Reinforcements! It's about time.  If you convince the Ordu to leave, Carbo gets upset and calls you a big sissy.  Oooh, we're gonna meet the big cheese. Let's talk to Bass first.   Oh good, another tyrant. : And if you're not?    I want to stress that Gaelius is the best of the bunch when it comes to leaders in this game. Strabos is a greedy and amoral thug, Antidas is a mediocre ruler with delusions of grandeur, and Paullus is a dictator. We don't know much about Levir and we haven't met Meru yet, but their chances of being likable are slim. loving Darista inspires more confidence.  What have I gotten myself into?  Next Time: First world problems
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Apr 3, 2020 01:39
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It should have been kind of obvious from early on that the Imperial Guards are a bunch of brutal, fascist assholes.
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Apr 3, 2020 01:57
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Night10194 posted:It should have been kind of obvious from early on that the Imperial Guards are a bunch of brutal, fascist assholes. Can't really blame them, since all the stories talk about how awesome things were when there was only one ruler and one army.
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Apr 3, 2020 17:20
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Like most people in this game, even when they're huge assholes most people at least have actual reasons why they're being huge assholes. Often wrong reasons based on learning the wrong lessons, but reasons that make sense for people to have. But I think the Teron innkeeper of all people summed it up well. "They go around talking about 'restoring the Empire'. Even if we all agreed that was best and we should do it, the loving thing isn't a broken pot, you can't just glue it back together again and everything will be exactly like it was."
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Apr 3, 2020 17:29
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Part XXV: A jarring heist Please excuse the delay -- I've been working out some personal problems. Anyway, we're playing as Gaius Impuratus again and we've arrived at Maadoran after stealing Antidas's treasure hoard. We need to meet with Levir, the head honcho of the Forty Thieves. : Why can't we go with you? : How do I know we can trust you? Well, if Aziz says he's okay...  If you remember, we need to go through the Slums to get to the Temple. We could tell Leon to gently caress off, but there's an amusing incident if we go with him.  Remember getting accosted by the slum residents? We're going to ditch Leon here.  Nah, don't think so.   : gently caress off. I'm working for Levir. lol That's one problem out of the way, but there's a much bigger one to come...  Hermon and his thugs.  : My name's Gaius Impuratus. My capture software hosed up here, but Hermon's a member of the Forty Thieves and he lets you through without a fuss. If only that was a loving option in the other playthroughs!  I like that we're telling everyone to eat a dick. I'm getting tired of being a doormat. : I'm Gaius Impuratus. Ask me what the gently caress I want one more time and I'll cut your tongue out.    Surprise surprise, Levir's another sardonic prick. : Why is it a problem? : What are you saying? We shouldn't steal? Eh, he has a point. In hindsight, stealing a shitload of gold from a lord is a bad idea. : Who's spreading these rumors? Fuckin' Linos!    A jar? : That must be some jar, to be worth more than gold to you. Excuse me, I think Jeff Bezos would disagree! : What means more? Ah, more ancient technology. : It takes more than having all the missing parts to get the machine working. Few loremaster have the skill. : What does the machine do? Thanks for being cryptic.    Use elevator, go to basement, get jar, touch nothing else. Seems simple. : Will a jinn come out if I rub the jar? : And if it doesn't?  : Sure. Naturally, having high numbers in sneak and lockpick helps.    Nothing personal, ma'am.   Looking for the crank feels like a safer bet.   Yay!   Sadly, there isn't a "Gaelius's father comes back from the dead" subplot.  There's nothing here save for these chests.  This looks like the jar we used in the weird machine to improve our stats. Seems Levir is doing something similar.  Don't touch the other chests. They're trapped and filled with poison gas. You can get some gold, but it results in the permanent loss of 5 HP and you need to fight the guards on the way out.  : About the jar...  : I think I know what this jar is.  Gee, now I feel bad for Levir. Funny how having a terminal illness makes you re-prioritize things in life. Not enough to stop being the guildmaster of a thieves' guild, but hey, no one's perfect.   The thief playthrough turned out to be much longer than I thought, so we'll take a break here. Next Time: Familiar faces
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Apr 14, 2020 21:39
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One thing I appreciate about Levir: He's a dick in a lot of ways, but if you're good at your job, knowledgeable, etc? He definitely has your back. He sets out consequences pretty clearly and doesn't do surprise betrayals.
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Apr 14, 2020 21:58
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rudecyrus posted:Please excuse the delay -- I've been working out some personal problems. Its fine, everyone has.
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Apr 15, 2020 00:29
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I fully support worsening relations with the Commercium at all possible opportunities. Everyone in Teron is desperate to do big things while everyone Maadoran is annoyed at the idea of anything changing. drat, now I wish there was a Praetor run. Well, I suppose Octavia is a Praetor. Hypocrisy fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Apr 15, 2020 |
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Apr 15, 2020 03:46
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Heyo the game's now at a 75% discount on Steam! so about $5ish
Synthbuttrange fucked around with this message at 12:03 on Apr 20, 2020 |
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Apr 20, 2020 12:00
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Part XXVI: Candygram Look who it is!    Levir? A sweetheart?   : Levir keeps everyone in check but he doesn't really govern the Slums. Not the way he should.   : So you want to be the Mistress of the Slums? Manage it for Levir? : What did Levir say? Nice to see a familiar face, but we need to find Isandros.  As much fun as it would be to smoke hash, drink wine and get our gently caress on, we've got important business. : I'm looking for Bassar.   Oh, great. : Why?  : Rejects?   gently caress.    Despite what Bassar says, there isn't a time limit. We're free to do whatever the hell we want. First, let's get some info from Isandros. : Where can I buy some supplies? : Where can I hire some muscle? Remember these vague directions. : Can I ask you some questions? : Are you working for the guild? : What can you tell me about the city?  I dunno Isandros, your attitude might change next time a plague sweeps through. : The Trades? : So, you're a free man working for Levir? : You mentioned that the Palace District is off limits. Why? Hire mercenaries to kill you? : What do you know about Bassar?  As I was going through the Trade District, I found a house I never interacted with before. Inside was this guy:     : I'd like to learn something from you, master Tireslas. loving scholars...   : The High Lords came to our aid because we couldn't defeat the Demons on our own. Everyone knows that.  : Lectio facilior? : The Qantari demons and the High Lords are mentioned too often to be nothing but fiction. You cannot deny their existence simply because it doesn't fit into your big picture.  Well, this one didn't wither and fade so much as combust, but at least he has a positive outlook. Then I spend the next ten minutes wandering the Slums looking for people to hire. I went to the Temple and put my cursor on every NPC until I found this shitter:  He's not far from Isandros. I could be stupid, but maybe "Talk to Rusty over there," are better directions than "Ask around."  : I'm with the guild.   : I might be able to help you, but I'll need more men. At least ten.    Time for some charm. : hosed? Oh no, my friend. You've got it all wrong. I'm going to kill the Boatmen and then I'm going straight to Levir to get my reward. If only you had the balls to stand there with me, when I do it... What do you think Levir would say to you? Bingo!  Let's try patriotism. : Today you do not fight for me! You fight for yourselves! For your home! Eh, good enough.   Let's talk to Aziz first.   Thanks, Aziz. Lucius is next.   There's a better way. : Too risky. Let's do it my way. Instead, we're going to leave a package on their doorstep.    Attack, Rusty!  RIP Rusty.  The fight is much easier now.  Against all odds, I hit someone with my crossbow. It's very effective! With Lucius and Aziz on our side, the fight is over in a few turns.  We'll find out what Levir has to say next time. Next Time: Finishing up
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Apr 28, 2020 03:31
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