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Follow Rask, steal if it's good stuff, and be suspicious but not hostile.
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Jun 2, 2019 22:47
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Yeah, Tenner dying is about what I expected from that. Welp! Stunning! Had to find that out through trial and error, since yeah it does not in fact appear to be mentioned anywhere in the game itself, but if an enemy unit has not yet gone during their round, stunning will remove their turn and prevent them from going (until everyone on the enemy side goes and the next round starts, of course). If they've already gone this round, then it does nothing. Still, can be very useful if you want to lock a specific unit down and can finagle the turn orders to do so.. Gonna skip voting on directions, and instead vote for no on stealing and yes on aggression. It's the apocalypse, I'm pretty sure the world's full of bandits in torn leather jackets whose corpses we can fund ourselves from.
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Jun 2, 2019 23:12
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Nick Buntline posted:Stunning! Had to find that out through trial and error, since yeah it does not in fact appear to be mentioned anywhere in the game itself, but if an enemy unit has not yet gone during their round, stunning will remove their turn and prevent them from going (until everyone on the enemy side goes and the next round starts, of course). If they've already gone this round, then it does nothing. Still, can be very useful if you want to lock a specific unit down and can finagle the turn orders to do so.. May I quote you in an update? You are a hero for doing that.
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Jun 2, 2019 23:16
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:May I quote you in an update? You are a hero for doing that. Sure, go ahead. Happy to be of service!
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Jun 2, 2019 23:23
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Nick Buntline posted:Sure, go ahead. Happy to be of service! Done! Added it to the warrior writeup. Carry on voting goons, there are still characters to kill!
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Jun 2, 2019 23:26
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Follow Rask. Information is key here. No stealing. Chill out with strangers. Let's not rush to kill more people.
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Jun 4, 2019 03:53
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If voting is still open, we should chase Rask (the
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Jun 6, 2019 20:11
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Voting is open till Saturday.
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Jun 6, 2019 22:54
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Follow Rask, Don't Steal, but Walk With An Aggressive Stick
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Jun 7, 2019 00:45
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Voting is closed! We have decided to follow Rask, not steal, but be aggressive. Update up soonish.
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Jun 8, 2019 18:11
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Follow that man! By popular demand, we've decided to follow Rask.  Naturally, we're gonna explain the map first. First, strixes. We have a count at the top, and traversing the three routes eats a number of strixes equal to the amount under each number at the bottom - so the stone bridge takes 22 of our 122 strixes. The red symbol at the top is game difficulty - we will be discussing this in Hopper's chapters. Morale is I believe averaged across all your characters. Anyway, time to follow Rask!   We end up at this watchtower. Starting with the center icon, which is to examine this corpse pile.   : Krieger grows pale at the sight of the slaughter. "poo poo! These're the guardsman who were chasing after Rask, the whole dozen of 'em. I recognize their uniforms. What kind of monster did this? The poor bastards had wives and children...": You examine the corpses. "Masterful work. They were each slain by a single blow. Either to the neck, or between the ribs... Look, there's the weapon-stuck in one of the poor sods. The handle's broken. It's Rask's axe.": The captain's eyes widen in realization. "I'll be damned if it isn't Rask's! Used to hang on the wall in his shop. Remarkable piece, I've never seen another like it. But why would he butcher the corpses?" We decide to bury the guards. Looting them causes a morale hit for the team, so screw that. : With your limited manpower, burying twelve bodies would take too long. Therefore, you decide to leave the poor sods as they are.: You think for a moment, then ask Krieger to help you. Together, you turn the bodies face-down, sparing your companions the gruesome sight.Checking out the tower next:  Breaking in the door! : Despite the efforts of your companions, the cursed door holds fast. It seems to be the sturdiest part of the tower.We try climbing through the window.  Send Hode, why not.  drat, Hode, impressing the main character's daughter. You're moving up in the world. : Silence sets in, only to be interrupted by a muffled cry. You rush to the door. A moment later, you hear the latch sliding aside, proving your fears unwarranted. Your soldier emerges-his face pale.: Inside lay the corpses of the Jeranian guards. They've been stabbed, but with the entire detachment lying dead in front of you, it's hard to tell by who. You examine the narrow embrasures in the walls, but it's unlikely that the guards were shot-there are no bolts or arrows in the bodies.We get the option to loot, which I pass on because I'm pretty sure it lowers morale.  We get the option to inspect the south and west roads after examining the massacres.  : The mysterious hoofprints make you uneasy. Soldiers from Odalah or Jerana would have stopped to check on the guardsmen. Unwelcome visitors to Berkana can only mean trouble.Checking on the west road gets us this:  : You feel frustration at failing to intercept Rask-or even pick up his trail. You share the disappointment with Krieger.: Krieger spits. "Rask is as good as gone now, the bastard. I'm sure he went further into Gebona, where you can ride for a day and not come across a single settlement. Lately, even the robbers have sort of died out. There's nothing for us there.: You begrudgingly agree. "Well, I hoped for good fortune, but it didn't come. We've no other choice but to head to the menhir in Dynford village." I elect to take the secret path to waste less strixes.  Hey, it's that guy who's wife we didn't insult! I elect to say hello.  Now you all voted not to rob people, so we won't be doing that. We will not be telling him about strixes, either, because that causes him to raise his prices. gently caress that. We will, however, be seeing what he has for sale.  Some new things! The purse is what I go with. The emerald gives +7 energy at the expense of some health, the Merchant's Bracelet gets broken down for 20 strixes, and the cards are special.  You can't just buy cards, unfortunately. You can only buy 2 of the 3 paralysis fragments, and stunning comes default on our 2 warriors. The Miraculous Healing card has 5 pieces and restores everyone's - us and the enemies' - health by 15, and the Rush of Vigor card does the same but for 10 energy instead of 15 health. We ride off into the night. The map pans suddenly and we get this message.  Who the gently caress are the Frisians? Keep reading to find out! Another question we can ask is, how do we know this? We don't have any sorcerers in our party who can tell us. It would have made sense if the merchant told us, but he seemed pretty out of touch and isolated. You get this message no matter what route you take, so   : Krieger raises himself in the stirrups, glares at the traveler and shouts: "Well, if it isn't Ramlin! Wait, you knucklehead, you! Don't you recognize your commander?": Taken aback, the lad hunches his shoulders, but then sighs in relief when he recognizes Krieger. "Hello, Captain Krieger. What brings you here? I'm on my way home...Not that far off, in fact.": Krieger squints to scan the nearby houses. "Your village isn't going anywhere, and your horse needs some rest anyhow. You'll ride the poor thing to death, you bonehead. Get off before it crushes you.": Ramlin gets off the horse, and the exhausted animal collapses. You give the young guard a scornful glance and dismount in order to talk to him.  Dialogue menus!   : Did you notice anything strange on your way? : The footprints, maybe. Lots of 'em. Looks like a party on horseback-larger than yours. I didn't see them even though I rode without rest, but my guess is that they're heading for our menhir.: We noticed that too. I can't imagine what company this could be. It's too big for a Berjanan patrol. Could it be bandits? I hope they don't find their way into your village.: Never seen any bandits in these parts. We're not rich, and there are several bows and lances in every home. They'd lose more than they'd gain. There's also a watch around the menhir, and they would come to our aid.: Alright, we'll deal with those mysterious horsemen later.: How did you manage to ride for so long? : So, are you a sorcerer or not?: Nah, I wouldn't call it sorcery. Just a small hex, if you will. A lot of monks from the Temple of Divine Retribution can heal people, too...What the hell, devs? This isn't low magic at all! If you can meet random dudes on the street who can do magic, have magic healing stones scattered across the land, and can buy Magic the Gathering cards that shoot lightning bolts you are not in a low magic setting, I'm sorry.  : Don't drag monks into this. Their power comes from the gods. The Temple wouldn't like what you just said.: (Comfortingly) Thankfully, we are not in the Northern Kingdoms, and there's no inquisition here, Krieger. Vandils can observe their customs, even if they understand gods differently.: Well, we have to set out. : Just go already. Nobody's accusing you of anything. Visit your grandma or return to the watchtower-we are too preoccupied to care.This is where the weird Russian translation angle comes in again. "Preoccupied" is just not a strong enough word for this situation, I'm sorry.  : "The villagers must've gathered near the sacred stone," Flitt says. "It's a holiday after all!": You agree, relieved. Indeed, villages near the menhirs traditionally hold spring festivities. Lost in thought, you don't immediately notice someone addressing you.: Flitt calls to you again, pointing to the road. There's something smoking there, and scavengers circle the black plunes. You slow down to take a closer look.  : Scorched and torn asunder, these people died without making a sound, their mouths choked with dirt. Severed limbs lie nearby. You turn around, slowly. Gleda stands nearby, clenching the hilt of her sword. The others stand further back, frozen in place.: Gleda sobs. She's petrified-unable to get a word out. Feeling sick, she runs off on stiff legs.I really have to question why Gleda is always the one affected here. Are we to believe those young men in the guard saw this on a routine basis? They seemed more like a friendly local small town police than a hardened homicide investigation squad. : You order your men to help Gleda and keep their distance. A low whimper draws your attention. You notice a pregnant woman struggling under the corpses. She's suffered severe mutilation and won't last long without aid. We help the pregnant woman out. : You wade through the corpses and pull the woman out from under the pile. Your companions come to your aid. Your group lacks a healer, and it's pointless to return to the village-these corpses are all that's left of it. Seems you'll have to bring the woman to the menhir. That menhir isn't looking so good... : You stop your company at the bridge. Suspicious figures stand on the other side. The watchmen's bodies hang nearby, close to the blood-soaked menhir. : You draw your sword. "They've noticed us. Be on your guard! These aren't fools, they've gathered near the bridge. We'll have to dismount. Don't swarm a narrow path like this, you'll only get in each other's way! Gleda, look after the wounded girl!": You order some of your companions to get to the bridge and the others to guard the rear. It feels as if the Enses want you on the bridge so they can bring it down. Naturally I ignore Thorn's advice and stack up on melee guys like a moron. I thought Fisk was wounded, you see.  I immediately gently caress it up, but it gives me a chance to show off something.  You can restart any fight from the menu if you screw up. I...may be making use of this in the future.  Despite clearly going down in the last fight, Fisk doesn't have a wound. There'd be a little red skill on his portrait if he did. I send Thorn in again anyway, because I'm angling to be the first and only member of the Ash of Gods multiplayer championship hall of fame. You can see Krieger got the CASH MONEY BAG at least.  The game always reshuffles your deck before a fight. It looks cool, at least.  Because we're on the lowest difficulty, those three doofi in back just kinda stand there while we beat the nearer two doofi to death.  Pump them full of shafts like French knights at Crecy. You'll notice the archers are far enough back that I have no compunctions against using their health draining moves. Even though the Shirtless Wonders over here have weird telekinetic swords that can lash out to about 3 squares, they still can't hit the archers and get shafted to death.  The rear end in a top hat in the back is an Ense Sorcerer, who can heal their guys. It's moderately annoying. Two of these guys tend to start a circlejerk where they sit there and increase each other's health. They don't have any firebolts or anything. Ense warlocks, on the other hand...  Thorn goes down and takes an injury. I decide not to reset so I can feel like less of a punk.  The gang uses the buff they get on Thorn's death to murder the crap out of the last guy. Remember, though this is heavily ripped off Banner Saga, there is no pillage, so the last enemy gets a turn for every one of us.  Murdering enemies gets us more strixes, which is why I recommend killing everyone you meet in this game. We also get cold hard cash. Don't think too hard about where the Enses stored it. It's at this time that I realize people still don't have enough XP to level up, and this is the last battle of Chapter 1. Oh well, we have sheer numbers and Fisk's maybe bugged resilence.  Gleda tries to calm him down, while you listen to his jumbled account of what happened in the empty village. Judging by the blood stains, some of the bodies were thrown in the river, and some... he goes silent. You turn your attention to the menhir.  It's...kinda looking bloodstained. We get an option to talk to Ramlin or a mystery survivor, but I missed that screenshot alas. We'll talk with Ramlin.  : (Shrugging) I don't know. Seems like they savor pain and death. In any case, we've purged this pace of abominations, and we'll kill any more of them we find. Now you might be thinking, "Gee, TheGreatEvilKing, you should let us vote on this so we can decide whether or not we're going to screw you out of having a wizard". That's too bad. Not only am I not having a vote, this decision doesn't actually affect whether Ramlin joins or not. You can get 8 strixes from ruining Grandma's locket, or you can give Ramlin a loyalty boost. I choose the latter and don't take the locket. : {Looking at the locket) Some battles are won by sorcerers, not swordsmen. Though wielders of magic are warriors too, in a sense. Your grandmother's amulet is strix-encrusted, that explains a lot. Keep it. Now, if you're ready to fight and follow orders, you can come with us. Anything else you want to say?No Thorn, don't make me transcribe more screenshots.  : How did you come by magical cards? They're heavy, like lead...and hot to the touch! And you say you don't want to be a wizard?! : Do you even realize what they are?: What's there to realize? Grandmother said that these cards aid those who wish to use magic-or shield themselves from it-but have no shamanic power of their own. They're Qimran, and the Qimra themselves are said to be descended from those abominations.: (Examining the cards) I've heard of them, wasn't expecting they'd suddenly gain power. I won a couple myself. Who could have guessed that ancient trinkets would be of use?: The Reaping's started, Thorn. What used to be superstition and legend is now manifesting through magic. You must've noticed that some items are displaying special properties. The cards are no exception.: What use are your cards?: (Shrugging) You can normally figure out what a card does by the picture. They're not for wizards, remember? They're for those deprived of such power, so each carries a clue. Easy as falling off a horse. Grip the card tightly and use your will to direct its power.: They're useful-no arguing that...but I'm more at ease with a sword at my hip. You can't scatter an enemy squad with a hand of cards.: Who knows! I've never used them myself, but it's possible that a card might trump a weapon. Everyone can use them- it's worth remembering.: Why are some broken?: They're not broken, just... incomplete. I remember when my grandmother got hold of a handful of shards. She assembled her picture, and then the shards sort of...glued themselves together.: Do you suggest I hunt for these shards everywhere I go?: It's up to you. People have always collected fragments of these cards. Even though they have no idea of their true value, using them as amulets and souvenirs. That's why you'll find many merchants selling them. Same with items that contain strixes.: Thank you, but it's time we left. : I expect you to do more than just stand there.: If you can cast proper spells-do it. And thank you for the plaques. I have a feeling we'll need them.  : Everyone runs around looking for clean water and rags. You don't remember feeling such pressure even when commanding a company of soldiers. After all the effort, you're finally rewarded with a baby's cry.: Gleda looks at you woefully. "The baby's safe, but we couldn't help the mother. She'd gone through too much. I'll search the supplies of the watch, maybe I can find some milk, but we need to find a safe place for the baby. We shouldn't delay.Next up, our mysterious survivor.  : (Enraged) Curses! So that's why they soaked it in blood! drat witchery! Pieces of poo poo... Thanks for the warning in any case. And why in Terminum are you just sitting there-aren't you glad to be saved? : (Confused) Honestly, I can't even stand straight. I had already given up hope... but I am truly grateful, make no mistake! My name is Vai. I'm a wandering monk. My prayers from the gods will be on your behalf from now on, in every temple in Berkana! "Why did they let you alive"? Who got that past an editor? : Why did they let you alive?: The abominations didn't kill all the villagers right away. Some were captured and forced to dig a mass grave-until it came their turn to die. The menhir was showered in blood. I'm all that remains.: Why'd they need a grave? They didn't bury those they slaughtered on the other side of the bridge.: I have no idea. I think they just wanted to torture us for as long as they could. They made it as painful and as horrifying as possible.: Those fiends! Putting so many to the sword, all in a single day! And the grave... We'll have to make use of it, I'm afraid.Note that Thorn is not swearing here. "Fiends" is a pretty mild word to use, to the point where it's become meaningless. You can argue how accurate fantasy characters using modern day excretion based expletives is, but that's a debate for a different update. I want us to see more Thorn before I start delving deep. : How did the watch manage to miss a whole mob of adversaries and captives? : So...that's what those prints were. The gods truly saved our necks. We could've just as easily ran unto them on our way here.What the hell, writers? You spent the entirety of the first chapter establishing that Thorn hates the gods and trusts in men and steel. I suppose you could say he was speaking for his audience, but he was visibly pissed when Vai mentioned prayer. Who the hell knows.  : All dead. None were spared-not children, nor the elders.: Show me your neck. Are there any marks on it?: (Agitated) So, this plague's gotten to you too. Let me tell you something-you know those rare gems called strixes? They fight off the corruption, but only for a time, until they burn out.: We've heard about it already, thanks anyway. So how did you come across the strixes and learn of their properties? : Vai, you're the luckiest person I've ever met. The gods must be keeping you alive for some higher purpose.Again, when did Thorn get this faith in the gods' salvation? He was literally cursing them a few minutes ago. He was cursing them before Liki died and he became a murderer. Is he just trying to butter up Vai? Did a different writer pick up this part? : You've already told me what I needed to know. : We'll just have to try another menhir. The Enses couldn't have smeared blood on all of them, could they? There's a menhir on the way to Ursus, with a small stockade around it. Perhaps the watchmen there will be able to beat the abominations back.: Let me come with you. I have to get to the temple in Ursus and tell the abbot what I've seen. At least I won't be alone for half the journey if I join your company.: Well, I can't just leave you alone now, can I? Just know that you must obey my every order without question if you wish to stay with us. Also, it would seem they've left us a couple of horses. How nice of them... Thus, we got a warlock and a monk. Note Thorn has an injury because he went down, this lowers his max HP and energy. We'll talk about Ramlin and Vai next time I can make them fight.   : Before you can say a word, Gleda speaks up. "Dad... Why didn't you let me go on the bridge, Dad? Am I a bad fighter? Or were you going easy on me during training?"Well, you blow off all your health to attack.  We call Hode to the witness stand because he impressed Gleda with his mad climbing skills.  Thanks Hode. : You can tell that Gleda is taken aback by all the praise and decide to seize the moment. "Grab your stuff, all of you! The child's going with you, Gleda. There's a squad of Enses prowling about, so get back in those saddles, everyone! Make haste! Next update: New protagonist! A country of assholes! Attractive redheaded women! Probably one of the most important votes in the entire game! TheGreatEvilKing fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Jun 9, 2019 |
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Jun 8, 2019 23:06
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Lo Pheng and the Terrible, No-good, Rotten Country of Assholes : The kingdom of Frisia. The town of Wodan.: A procession approaches the city.  Meet Lo Pheng. He's the mysterious third protagonist I wouldn't shut up about, and is probably my favorite of the three because he kicks rear end in combat and he doesn't put up with as much stupid bullshit as the other two. More on that later. : You are a bodyguard of the highest rank-a warrior of the Shadow Clan. Your client, Count Pelko Soturi, shows you off like a golden belt buckle. It makes no difference to you. In the end, you are loyal to your clan.: The streets are full of gawkers-city dwellers and villagers who brought their whole families to the festival. However, Temple inquisitors, no mere itinerant entertainers, preside over the ceremonies.   I wonder if that redheaded woman will be important in any way? Nah.    : Remain impassive: The count notices your lack of reaction and balls his small fists in anger. : No need to fret, Count. The third legion is already on the march. You should let fate do the work when considering the command of three legions. Other commanders might suffer from falling sickness, or their tents could be attacked by bandits. Do you follow me? : (Surprised) Does the Temple... permit such tricks of fortune? And how should I pursue a fate such as this? Will the Temple advise me?Count Soturi is really awful at this intrigue thing, isn't he? I'd also love to see a fictional conspiracy where people just avoid the euphemisms and straight out say they're going to murder people. This never happens.  : Listen in: (Lowering his voice) If the Eikons are as adept as they say, then here is your solution. Your bodyguard will do anything you wish-unless, of course, it's not in his contract.: Everyone knows that I have an Eikon in my service! They'll know it was me. Besides, I do not want to lose a bodyguard of his caliber. They say an Eikon is worth fifty Frisian warriors. Moneywise, that's certainly true. I'm not sure what the deal is here, exactly. If Nakoma can just pardon people for mass murder in broad daylight, then why is Pelko so worried about being caught? Lo Pheng, I assume, is good at sneaking around being from the Clan of Shadows and all. The answer is that Frisia is a country run by idiots and assholes, and we'll get to why shortly.  You are absolutely still. A premonition touches you like a breeze, but your inner peace is undisturbed. You are always ready for whatever may happen. : Nod: A satisfied grin blooms across the count's face. He has interpreted your nod as a bow it seems.: : This day last year, two murderers were tortured to death in the city square. This year brings many more victimes, but they look nothing like murderers... I make the executive decision to talk to the redhead girl. Hopefully we will have more luck than Charlie Brown.  : More women stand behind the red-haired girl, but she alone watches you. You remain calm and impassive... even when she calls out to you in Eikon.: The red-haired girl is definitely not Eikon - if she were, you would have been forced to abandon your service and save your kin. Nothing else can interfere with your service to Pelko Soturi, who pays you so well. You know, I'm not sure why she's wearing one unconnected sleeve, and I'm not sure I want to know. : You remain silent. Your inner peace is absolute. : So what? : Think of the law of the clan! If a Reaping begins, you shall serve your clan only! You should fight the Reapers wherever they appear! The law of the Shadow Clan binds you to oppose the Reaping and the Reapers! Do you remember your duty?She knows the Shadow Clan laws and Eikon tongue...are we sure she's not Eikon? : No one understands what the red-haired prisoner is screaming about, but the guardsmen dare not shut her up. Nakoma's eyes are daggers. She knows something she should not. Still, none can foretell a Reaping! : I heard your words.: You may think me foolish but, please, be vigilant. To your client, you're just fodder... much like us.: You remain silent. The warrior's code of the Shadow Clan prescribes inner calm-otherwise you are useless. They receive substantial sums of money from count Pelko Soturi.Yea, this is the third story they didn't quite get enough Kickstarter money to finish but were good enough to add anyway. Some of the writing could have used another pass.   Chatting up the executioner. I'm sure he's a conscientious man trapped in a job he doesn't want...right?  : The executioner checks the steel spikes protruding from the wall and then looks into a tin box. "Augrin! Damnation, why did we drive this herd to Wodan? You can only hang ten people at a time here! Do you mean to drive the rest back?" We peek into Augrin's bag.  : Mel giggles. "I remember your collection. What should I cut off that's different? Noses perhaps? As for the grand cause... I'm happier arranging smaller affairs. Smaller and sweeter.": Augrin laughs. "Don't tell me! I saw you drool-slicing a wench from breast to crotch, just to see her guts spill! Just wait for it. You'll soon have it your way. We'll slay them by the hundreds!"  : Mel rubs his hands together. You wonder why anyone would drive prisoners toward war. Usually, it would be the opposite.These guys are evil, but not in a fun or interesting way. I'm gonna take a completely unfair example from literature and bring up Shakespeare's Iago. Iago is a bad dude who is out to do bad things because he hates Othello, but ultimately he's interesting because he deceives Othello and plays on his paranoia. We care about Othello because he's a good man tragically destroyed by his paranoia and wracked with guilt over the horrible poo poo he did listening to Iago. We do not care about Mel and Augrin, because while they are assholes they have yet to threaten anyone we care about. I suppose you could jump in and point out they're probably going to get their hands on poor Reet, but they're just evil for the sake of evil. They're not interesting, and while Mel's love of cutting open women is horrible it's not something you couldn't find in a newspaper on a Tuesday. Furthermore, ashofgods.com posted:This is a novel that shows you that no conflict has a right or a wrong side because even your enemies have mothers and children. Huh? There is nothing sympathetic about Nakoma, Augrin, Mel, or Soturi. They're not interesting. Soturi is a coward sucking up to Nakoma to get power he doesn't deserve, Nakoma is so powerful he can throw away his soldiers on a whim and just excuse murder in the street, Augrin and Mel are petty thugs who want to inflict harm on people because . The best that can be said of this sequence is that it's to show how inured Lo Pheng is to all this, as we are going to get into why Lo Pheng's inner peace is so strong. These guys are evil and degrading, but we don't see how low the pit goes for individuals, just for masses of people we have no reason to care about.  : Nakoma nods in your direction. "Did you ever torture a man from the Shadow Clan? Burn him with hot irons, cut his sinews? They say these men feel no pain."  We show that Nakoma what for! : Show Nakoma that you've heard everything: You meet Nakoma's eye and place a hand on the hilt of your sword. The Temple servant smiles. : Nakoma pats the old man on the shoulder. "Soon you shall see everything for yourself. All we need is to spill some blood... a great deal of blood in the proper place. Wodan is only the beginning, Augrin..."  : Give me a name.: A couple of officials wish to do away with me. Three of us seek command of the legions, but only one shall prevail. If you do not stop them, you'll soon have no client left to protect. : A threat may not be obvious.: Are you worried about the contract? Fear not-you're carrying out my orders.: I want to test you first. There's a wench who dared scorn His Holiness. The red-haired scum mocked him all the way to Wodan. Kill her, and if I become commander of three legions, I will double your pay. : I can slay anyone.: Is that the only test?: No, but the next one will cost you nothing. When you put the girl out of her misery, the guards will attack. Kill them too. Several runaway prisoners will add to the confusion, and nobody will blame me for the turmoil.: Because they will blame the Shadow Clan? DECISION TIME! Do we kill Reet? On one hand, our client is paying us to and our client's will must be honored by the laws of the clan. On the other, we know the Reaping's already begun. If Reet is right about our laws then we don't owe Soturi jack poo poo and we need to go kill Reapers and check in with our kin. Choose wisely, goons. This decision may affect the storylines of all three protagonists. TheGreatEvilKing fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Jun 9, 2019 |
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Jun 9, 2019 06:45
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Even outside of the Reapening it sounds like primary loyalty is to the clan, and this buffoon seeks to scapegoat them to curry favor with a grade A jerk. Do not kill her
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Jun 9, 2019 08:18
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:
Kill Reet
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Jun 9, 2019 14:33
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Don't kill Reet also why does Pelko Soturi have the only Finnish-derived name (literally Fear Warrior) around?
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Jun 9, 2019 15:38
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:Morale is I believe averaged across all your characters. Anyway, time to follow Rask! As far as I know, Morale and Loyalty are two separate things. It makes a certain amount of sense that everyone could be convinced Thorn is their best chance of surviving, and still believe that chance to be 0, it is the apocalypse and they are all going to die horrible, inevitable deaths. re: the Enses staying back, I think they have an AI pattern where they try to stand at the edge of your movement and use a counterattack stance? In the hope that'll you rush someone forward like an idiot to be killed by their friends? Alternately, it might be a difficulty thing, never tried the higher ones myself. And yeah, Lo Pheng is extremely cool. Honestly, I wouldn't have know about him being "unfinished" if you hadn't said anything - it just comes off as him being very focused on his goals, and perfectly willing to cut the Gordian knot and many people's necks to get there. Also, FYI, you hit the emoticon limit in both posts with all the use. Might want to get a generic talking portrait instead.
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Jun 9, 2019 17:25
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Xander77 posted:Mixed up portraits. Vai's been hanging around the menhir and not the pile of women corpses across the bridge. I can update the update with this if you feel it's needed, I have to go back and fix anyway.fluffyDeathbringer posted:also why does Pelko Soturi have the only Finnish-derived name (literally Fear Warrior) around? No idea. Mind if I quote you when I update the character section? Nick Buntline posted:As far as I know, Morale and Loyalty are two separate things. It makes a certain amount of sense that everyone could be convinced Thorn is their best chance of surviving, and still believe that chance to be 0, it is the apocalypse and they are all going to die horrible, inevitable deaths. Well, you just saved me a visit to the tech support fort. I saw that the emoji js function was throwing errors, wasn't sure if that was a hardcoded limit or a bug SA was going to fix. Open to suggestions on a humorous talking head! Morale gives a stat boost/penalty so I assumed loyalty was factored in, but I'll have to play around.
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Jun 9, 2019 17:38
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:Mind if I quote you when I update the character section? go for it
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Jun 9, 2019 22:38
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I am tempted to kill her to allow this idiot control of the legions. Under his command, they'll certainly be less effective. But no, gotta stop the reapers. Don't kill Reet.
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Jun 10, 2019 04:38
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:
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Jun 10, 2019 06:54
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Hell no.
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Jun 13, 2019 02:55
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Voting is closed, we will not kill Reet Update tomorrow!
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Jun 15, 2019 21:28
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Don't Fear the Reaper I see how it is, goons. It's OK to kill an old man, but you all voted to spare the cute redheaded girl. I'll show off what happens when you don't in the Fuckup Run I plan to do after we finish our current goon-led run.  : I shall slay any sent to kill you, however many there are, but I am no executioner.: (Cunningly narrowing his eyes.) Well, Eikon, remember this-Pelko Soturi always gets what he wants, regardless of what's written in some contract. You'll see.  We elect to watch the prisoners. : The prisoners at the foot of the wall can barely stand. Few men, only the very old and the very young, remain. The mostly female crowd falls to the ground, horrified at hearing the anguished cries of an old man being tortured. Then the redhead begins to sing. We get the options to 1) Look at Pelko Soturi 2) Look around for Nakoma 3) Look at Augrin I choose to look at our good buddy Pelko. We're literally being paid to watch him, after all. : You turn to face the count. Sweating and gasping with anger, he presses his palm to his chest, saluting the spread-eagled girl on the wall as though she were primarch of the Temple of Divine Wrath.: Guardsmen's helmets are removed, sharp blades are lowered. Prisoners and onlookers weep uncontrollably. You know that a Temple service cannot end in an execution-it is forbidden. As this thought forms, a Reaper appears.I actually like how Reet comes up with a clever solution to - oh, poo poo, did the narrator say Reaper?  Oh. poo poo. Remember how in the prologue the only way to stop those assholes was for those 12 weird shadow magic guys to stab themselves?  Lo Pheng doesn't give a gently caress!  We are given command of Lo Pheng and thrust into combat with one of the 5 Reapers, one of the most deadly creatures to walk Terminum. Let's talk about his skills, shall we? : Those of you who have played this game are probably laughing their asses off at how threatening this Reaper is to Lo Pheng, because Lo Pheng is a BEAST. While other characters get lovely passives like buffing the team when they die or getting 3 defense on killing an enemy (Krieger), Lo Pheng's passive skill is twofold:-Lo Pheng is immune to knockback -When attacked by an adjacent enemy, Lo Pheng counterattacks back at his full attack strength. That's it. While other characters have to gently caress around with passives and cooldowns to get counterattacks, Lo Pheng just kinda shows up and has it always on for free. We can discuss his active skills, but really they're all powerful attacks that gently caress people up. His basic attack, Stone-Piercing Gaze, shreds a foe's attack stat, deals damage to health, and gives Lo Pheng energy. He gets a ranged energy drain attack, an AoE that hits the 4 squares adjacent to him for 30 damage (which will kill all the soldiers onscreen), and an incredibly powerful attack named "Way to the Altar of the Gods" that will one-shot any non-Reaper enemy in the game at the cost of lowering his defense. He's got two defensive cooldowns. One is Dry Tar on the Lips, which gives Lo Pheng energy and makes his opponents attacks go directly to health. It's good because Lo Pheng starts with 0 energy (but builds it up by murdering people) but it's completely overshadowed by his other defensive passive, Cloud Tower. Cloud Tower makes you completely invincible for a turn. Specifically, it gives Lo Pheng 42(!) defense, and won't end the turn when used. Because of how Ash of Gods calculates turns, this means you can turtle up by firing off Cloud Tower, burning your entire hand of battle cards buffing Lo Pheng, and watch as idiots suicide themselves into the invincible Eikon and get counterattacked to death. The only move I've seen in the game that can get damage past Cloud Tower is...Way to the Altar of the Gods. You might be noticing that Way to the Altar of the Gods' defense penalty is only 9, and yes, you can combine Cloud Tower with Altar and do a crapton of damage while being nigh-impossible to kill. Lo Pheng is probably the best character in the game.  The two archers have an unfortunate encounter with a Sudden Abyss and die.  This idiot walks out to get shanked by the Phengster.  There's a marked contrast by how the dialogue talks up our heroes. In Thorn's chapter it's kind of grating because he's not nearly as good as the dialogue makes him seem. He's not bad and has unique abilities, but he's not gonna cut down armies of guys unsupported. Lo Pheng, on the other hand, absolutely will. That dialogue about Lo Pheng being worth 50 Frisian troops? Yea, it's turn 3 and he's already killed 4 guys. What I'm saying is, Atraakh is dead. He just doesn't know it yet.  Here Atraakh tries to hit Lo Pheng, and gets completely shut down by Cloud Tower. The AI is smart enough to hold its powerful attack in reserve, and Atraakh fucks up Lo Pheng pretty badly here after I had to move. But he didn't kill him and Lo Pheng got the counterattack here.  This guy wanders up but is not nearly hardcore enough to take out Lo Pheng and gets brutally mutilated for his troubles.  Seeing that the Reaper is lost Lo Pheng kindly points him in the direction of the local altar. It's fatal.  The Reaper apparently having mystically bonded himself with his soldiers proves fatal as Atraakh turns to stone and the soldiers all die. There's a neat animation of Atraakh's body crumbling.  : Your eyes meet Reet's. She has been a hard nut to crack. Two swings of the sword is enough to cut the ropes binding her. The moment you set her free, she rushes to the other prisoners. What follows is not your responsibility. Your road leads to the Isle of Shadows now, but first, you need to overcome the strange weakness.: Many generations of warriors lived their lives knowing that if a Reaping comes, they will have to oppose the Reapers. Whoever cuts even one of them down should bring news of it to the Shadow Clan. Your service to Pelko Soturi is over. Next update:: Bells! Ominous churchmen! Curses! Bad ideas! A vote!
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Jun 16, 2019 18:14
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...Well. I see Lo Pheng lives up to the hype.
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Jun 16, 2019 22:32
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Man, Hopper and his 11 buddies should have just saved up to hire an Eikon. Was that a proper Reaper? Doesn't look like a lot of people fell over dead. If it was, was that Nakoma or another one?
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Jun 17, 2019 00:09
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Hypocrisy posted:Was that a proper Reaper? Doesn't look like a lot of people fell over dead. If it was, was that Nakoma or another one? This gets "revealed" later in the game, but yes, that's Nakoma. Hopper mentions in the prologue he ran into Atraakh in the guise of a Temple servant, and Reet basically tells us that Nakoma is a Reaper. And yes, that's one of the 5 from the prologue.  Take a look to Dorpkhal's left. TheGreatEvilKing fucked around with this message at 04:35 on Jun 17, 2019 |
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Jun 17, 2019 02:08
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:This gets "revealed" later in the game, but yes, that's Nakoma. Hopper mentions in the prologue he ran into Atraakh in the guise of a Temple servant, and Reet basically tells us that Nakoma is a Reaper. Yeah, I remember that but I didn't expect him to just transform in the open like that but I guess Reet forced his hand.
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Jun 17, 2019 04:58
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Hopper Rouley and the Totally Not Evil Churchman Last time, we played as the mighty warrior Lo Pheng and completely chumped one of the main villains of the game about an hour in. This time, we follow Lo Pheng as he -  Aw, gently caress! I mean, yay. This is a family-friendly LP!  : What could this backwater Odalan town have done to incur the gods' wrath? Why Albius? There are dozens of other towns that look exactly like it. Is there some secret motive? You're filled with an overwhelming sense of foreboding.See that curse power replacing the strixes? We're going to get to that in a few updates.  I'm going to interrupt the narrative here to dispute the resistance claims. Albius is Thorn's hometown, and he did indeed confront Dorpkhal, but he didn't do much to resist him. He just kind of sat there, didn't get injured, and then ran off too late to save his wife. Lo Pheng, on the other hand, fought and defeated Atraakh, saving Reet and the other women in the process. Guess which is better?   : A vagabond, drat it. Why is it never a damsel? Hey, daydreamer! Snap out of it! Do you have paperwork? All right, let's see.Meet Mushom. He likes women. He would like you to know that.   : Nothing-until you let me into the city. I'm no baron, either. Call me Hopper. You sound like a Jeranian, commander. This is, presumably, a major choice, and we get to another feature of the game. No one actually knows what a lot of these choices do. Hell, even on Steam someone was asking how to avoid a particular bad ending, and the dev didn't know. Let me repeat that. The dev didn't know how to avoid the bad ending. : The kingdoms of Berkana are still peaceful, I hope.: (Shrugging it off) Of course! We're not attacking, we're helping a neighbor. The local Burgomeister sent a carrier pigeon, so we... wait, what business is it of yours?: None whatsoever. It's just that I didn't know Jeranian pigeons are so valuable that they'd be kept by the Burgomaster.: (Looking around) What does this have to do with pigeons? Now I'm confused. The Reaping has almost begun here! : Why do I smell burning human flesh?: Does it stink? Really? I don't smell a thing. Gotten used to it, I suppose.: Gotten used to it? What took getting used to? Should I turn tail and run?: Is there anywhere to hide? Anyhow... A monster appeared. It sealed the gate and used its-whatchacallit?--magiciary, or sorcering. The folks in town started beating each other to a pulp. It wore off, just like too much drink does. That's when we came to the rescue.: (Smirking) The nobles fear the plague, so we're burning the corpses. Almost everyone in town has ulcers on their necks, but the Temple servants are applying some kind of ointment to relieve the pain. It seems as though the Reaping has begun, but with slower momentum. : Do you replace the bell ringer often?: You don't like the tune? Doesn't bother me. I've gotten used to it. Or are you after the job?: I'd consider if, if the pay's decent-but I don't like the noise. Hasn't the bell ringer gone deaf yet?: (Shrugging) The locals say that if not for the ringing bell, there'd have been many more corpses by now. Looks like the ringing brought some of the crazies to their senses. Not instantly, but the sound broke through whatever was clouding their minds. As for the bell ringer... not my responsibility. : So is this the Reaping, or not?: What else could it be? I can't be sure, but I trust my gut. The Reaper, the plague, the signs... it all fits.: Oh my, you've seen a Reaper?! Every ancient manuscript I've seen says that everyone collapses in the presence of a Reaper.: Manuscripts! What do I care of your manuscripts?! When the Reaper came, the townsfolk fell flat on their faces. Some passed out, but this one merchant was sharper than the others. He saw something. Do you think our detachment coming here was a coincidence?: I admire your effort, Mushom. You say you're a talker, but really haven't said too much. You've been listening intently this whole time, but I've nothing to hide. I am what I am-a scribe, a book lover, and a healer. A Jack of all trades, really.: That's enough chit-chat for now.: I agree, I don't have all day. You're not a beautiful lass, so we're done chit-chatting. Welcome to Albius. Not pictured: guards. : Not with defenses as good as mine! Thing is, I have orders. If I were to see a scribe at the gate, I am to send them to Cardinal Coronzon. Why, well, that's none of my business.: (Pondering) Did you say Coronzon? I used to know a man by that name.: (Nodding to the guards) If you're the cardinal's good friend, you might have better luck that our prince. They don't get along, you see. My men will escort you. Goodbye for now.  : You arrive at Town Hall with an escort of guards. One of them-a tall, hulking man-stays behind as the others leave. He sizes you up, then points to the entrance of a nearby shop. He obviously wants you to go there. The ear-splitting peals of the bell make you wonder how the cardinal stands it. Naturally, we're talking to him. He called us a nerd! : You face the giant warrior, smiling your friendliest smile.  I thought the latter was funnier.  : (Smirking) No thanks. I like my horses sturdier. Still, yours is a funny one. How'd you even manage to train it? You must not be short on patience.: Look after her, Ake, and you shall see that I pay my debts.: I haven't lent you a thing and I'm not gonna. Your horse ain't going anywhere, and neither are you. You're not leaving town till[sic] you've spoken to the cardinal. He and the prince argued about that, actually. Treeg's glum because the Temple seized the right to inspect all scribes and mages coming to town. We get the options to go to the bell tower, go to the gate, annoy Treeg, or go talk to the cardinal like Ake wanted. Naturally, I go harass royalty. What could go wrong?   : (Irritated) Who are you? I've been told that a certain scribe has arrived in town. Would that be you? A healer and a wandering sorcerer with a license? Hopper Rouley... Your face looks familiar. Have we met?: (Bowing) We met in your palace, Your Highness. About three years ago. I has[sic] just earned my scribe's license. I spent a whole year going through your archives...  We take the middle option. No one knows what this choice does either. : I don't care, as long as I don't freeze my rear end off. Just tell me, scribe... healer... whatever-why in Terminum are you in Albius?: I am telling you, Your Highness, it's not a matter of my absent-mindedness, just pure curiosity. It's truly a great feeling-seeing everything for yourself... and then writing it all down.: Aren't you afraid of getting entangled in the chaos? Don't you see what's happening in town now? You can't be that foolish. You are a scribe after all. Why didn't you just run away and not look back?: I would be ashamed of myself for shying away from such misfortune. I am a healer, after all, even capable of some magic. And magic definitely played a role in this. Perhaps I can be of assistance?: (Contemptously) I don't believe in do-gooders. Sorcerers are powerless against the Reaping. As for Temple healers-I've got those in spades. Not much help though. Besides, nobody even cares about some ancient scrolls with all the madness going on. You're not quite sane yourself, scribe. : If you're as clever as you scribes pretend to be, tell me this-was the bell ringing during the last Reaping? And if it was, how did they stop it? Is there a clue in your scrolls about how to silence it?: It did indeed toll, but differently... and not for days. I mean, how do you even keep this up? Anyway, stopping the bell is child's play. Just get the chimesman off the drat thing.: (Disappointed) Do you have any idea how many men I lost in Town Hall? I don't need a scribbler, I need soldiers. So much for your usefulness. Go visit the Cardinal, and see if he can find you aught to do.We are unceremoniously dumped outside again.    : So here you are, Blance, And I here I was, thinking not a single fly would come to this pile of dung.The music immediately starts dropping minor chords and male choir all over the place. It's kind of hilarious. : We have two flies now, including you. And, once again, you're a cardinal, Coronzon?: So you're a vagabond again. They told me you now call yourself Hopper. I liked "Blance" better. I've always been amazed by your passion for changing names. Only Amma stayed Amma. Your coming here is no coincidence, is it? What else did she predict? Decisions lie before us! What should we tell this eminently trustworthy man?
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Jun 20, 2019 02:28
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1 Hopper seems the type to lie about that kind of thing.
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Jun 20, 2019 07:34
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2
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Jun 20, 2019 08:33
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2 think he already knows we ventured to meet her
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Jun 20, 2019 20:49
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You should post the Soundtracks of this game... Its mesmerising.
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Jun 20, 2019 21:03
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Its a crime to go through this LP without posting the soundtracks of each chapter, they are all in youtube.
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Jun 20, 2019 21:11
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Savy Saracen salad posted:Its a crime to go through this LP without posting the soundtracks of each chapter, they are all in youtube. They sell the soundtrack and I've seen a few videos pulled for copyright. I agree the soundtrack is good, but I can't guarantee my links will be stable.
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Jun 20, 2019 22:01
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Huh. So it sounds like Rask might have been an Umbra too. Guess that explains how a merchant killed all those guards chasing him. #3. Let's get to it.
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Jun 23, 2019 00:57
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2
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Jun 23, 2019 19:18
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Voting closed, we're going with 2
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Jun 23, 2019 22:31
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Hopper Rouley and the Separation of Church and State You all voted for option 2.  : Does that mean she hasn't lost her clairvoyance?"I was worried it was behind the couch" : As you can see, that's how it is. The Reaping's also started in Frisia-not just here. That's not your doing, is it Coronzon?: Of course not. You don't think that we've sided with the Umbra, do you?: We're all Umbra. Amma is, and so is Rask. He got away, from what I've heard. Who came to Albius?: Are you saying you don't know, Blance? I'm surprised. You should have seen the one responsible for all this.: Something hides these events from my sight, but I did catch a glimpse. It seems there are two mortals. One here, one in the North. They resisted the Reapers, an unprecedented feat. The one in the North, if I am not mistake, has even managed to excarnate him. : You'd also feel it if an Umbra were killed... Disembodiment only. A Reaper's already attacked him twice-not in full force, for some reason. I couldn't tell exactly, but he's lost his body again.I hate this lazy storytelling trope where people explain that their villains aren't using their full power and got defeated, but are of course able to re-appear at full strength and explain why that fight didn't matter. This also looks to be a reference to events that haven't happened yet. Go, editors!  Down the line. : What is it you can do yourself that I can't?: (Grimacing) Answer my questions. There's something odd about this Reaping. It's waning. You think I'm hanging around here for fun? It's because of all this ringing-like it's suppressing the Reaping. For whatever reason, I don't think it's anything to cheer about. If it could hinder the Reaping, it could spell trouble for us too!Reapings aren't very common and there aren't that many of them. For that matter, how do we know this isn't normal and the last two have been anomalies? : So that's what's been bothering you. Truly, there's some magic to all of this, and we need to get to the bottom of it. Maybe I'm no match for you or Ananael, but I don't believe for a moment that you're surprised.: The first legions of Frisia are closing in on Berkana. Gebonans wreak havoc on the Ashen Wasteland. Gells have been sighted in the Vandil Forest. The moment we show any weakness, the Pallians are going to be at our throats. We were ready for war and the Reaping, but not for this sorcery! Who the gently caress is "we"? Is he speaking of the Temple? Remember, Coronzon here is part of the Temple of Divine Retribution, not to be confused with the Temple of Divine Wrath in Frisia who are more blatant about being evil than Coronzon here. They're very similar, but retribution implies punishment for wrongs committed rather than Nakoma's explanation of a Temple that instills only anger. Regardless, he was talking about the Umbra a moment ago, and they don't seem to have any problems blending in with human society or real need to care about politics. : Will you offer help in return? Yea, if the music didn't give it away Coronzon is kind of a bad guy. : There are enough murderers at large as it is. Although, you're one of them... Still, doesn't the thought of saving someone please you, even a little?: I'm afraid our notions of pleasure don't match. But I hear you. I hope you'll allow me to weigh decision about any requests we make with my own scales [sic, and huh?]. If so, then we have a deal.Translation: I'm not doing poo poo I don't want to do. I think? This game's English gets really mangled at times. : Shouldn't we be helping each other?: Spare me your chuckling! If only we'd turned Frisia into a graveyard when we had the chance, we could have avoided all this.This begs the question, how the hell did Frisia stay the same for 700 years? Go back to the intro and you'll see Frisian troops that look exactly the same as their present-day counterparts getting sliced apart by Hopper and friends. Did they let the Temple of Divine Wrath alone after defeating the Reapers that day? Clearly there's not a huge natural barrier if three legions can wander in willy-nilly. Normally I dismiss worldbuilding as the last refuge of those who have nothing to say, but expecting me to believe that a country lasted for 700 years and was exactly the same is pushing it. Roman civilization lasted hundreds of years, sure, but went through tons of upheavals such as the transition to Empire and the rise of Christianity. Frisia 700 years ago supported the Reapers for...reasons...and Frisia today supports the Reapers for....reasons. The current state of Frisia is so hilariously backstabby and inept it's a wonder it holds together at all, and I suspect we're supposed to believe Nakoma is holding it together through sheer personal power (being a Reaper) and heading the church (no Frisian character ever proclaims their faith or indicates a belief in the gods). Remember, this is supposed to be a morally grey epic about how your enemies have families and children. : Naturally, once we're standing in the middle of a graveyard called Berkana.  : Enough dawdling. Tell me what you need.: It's not that simple. A merchant named Padagang supposedly saw a woman of profound beauty before the Reaping began, but no one else did. Then he saw the retired Captain of the Odalan guard-Thorn Brenin-with his daughter. They were talking to a Reaper. Note the imbalanced scales by Coronzon. This would be better symbolism if Coronzon was pretending to be friendly, but his side of the conversation has been entirely about his personal fears, prejudices, and desires to commit genocide. Hopper even calls him a murderer to his face and he just rolls with it.  Down the line. : Is the young prince in need of rescue?: Thorn is sentenced to death. A Reaper left his mark on the town gate, and our dear Chirlan broke it down when he escaped. The Albius guardsmen were clearly a bit traumatized. Then Thorn goes and hacks them all to pieces. Treeg's worried about his son, and he wants blood. : Is Thorn aware there is a prince in his squad of soldiers?: Should I care? I don't give a drat about the prince. One of Thorn's companions is his bodyguard-some lad called Sopp. His head will be removed from his shoulders the moment any harm comes to the prince-and he knows it. He'll go to great lengths to prevent that. Thorn is much more inquisitive. : Where could Thorn be headed?: (Wincing) Thorn will race from menhir to menhir until he realizes that the Reaping has corrupted them all. He's already visited the first nearby one-even tangled with some Enses there. I don't know where he's headed. The next menhir can be founded on the outskirts of Ursus.: Enses are dangerous foes. Thorn's able to go toe-to-toe with them-he didn't earn the rank of captain for nothing. There's hope he still lives. Being accompanied by such a commander will keep the Prince much safer too.Guys, Thorn is cool and good. Where are you going? Respect Thorn! : You still have not explained what it is that you need.: I want you to stop that incessant bell. It's not just Albius that's been affected by this magic. The bells toll all through Berkana now-all by themselves. Not a chimesman in sight. All because of this one here. The Reaper didn't appear anywhere else but here.: Why should I care, Coronzon? I'm not unraveling someone else's enchantment. I need this body, and I've got enough problems as it is. I'll do without your help. Maybe you should get to the top of the town hall tower by yourself.: I couldn't unweave this mysterious spell! Among the Umbra, you have the highest affinity for magic. Give me some advice, at least. Several people have already perished in that cursed town hall. The bell's magic saps the mortals' will and forces them to climb ever upwards! But we're different! Why are we doing this? We owe Coronzon nothing, he's a crazy murderer who rants about genocide, he's explicitly said he's not going to return the favor, those guards can't really stop us and are just under orders to bring us to the cardinal, not stop us from leaving. I get characters aren't rational, but literally everything in the game is telling us not to trust Coronzon. Hopper even called him a murderer and was making cracks about him turning into a Reaper! There's no reason to placate him and we got the information we need. Let's just leave and talk to Thorn.  That's not a leave option.  : Blood is smeared on the pavement. It looks as if it was more than an ordinary fight. The squeaking of a door makes you turn around. Several gloomy, towering figures exiting one of the houses stop when they see you. Large sacks on their backs betray that either one of them is moving out or they're common marauders. It seems like it's the latter. The thugs throw their loot to the ground and draw weapons. We fight the thugs. This is a good time to talk about Hopper. : Hopper will always fight alone. Even though he will later travel with other characters, the writers will contrive some circumstance to get them out of the way so that Hopper can solo everyone. This is an incredible advantage that makes playing as Hopper easy before we factory in his incredibly silly ability selection. He has:-a single target attack that gives him loads of energy -an AoE that butchers everyone near him Then he can unlock: -a free attack that deals 10 energy damage to a random target, and doesn't end turn -an HP or energy drain attack that deals a ton of damage -a hit-all fire blade attack that has a cooldown, but you take so many turns it really doesn't matter. -a passive that gives him 2 attack whenever he kills a dude. This means that rather than having 1 character being a challenge, you can either slaughter everyone with powerful AoEs and at the slightest sign of trouble gently caress off and run into the corner and wait for your global attack to come off cooldown. He can't use battle cards, but battle cards are mostly RNG bullshit and you have the tools to auto-win every fight, so who cares?  Hopper is just as lethal as Lo Pheng. He relies on energy drain rather than Cloud Tower to survive longer fights, but trivially slaughters these thugs. We're getting to the main reason why he's worse than Lo Pheng, so enjoy Hopper murdering these dudes while you can.   That's...not an option to leave. : On your way to Town Hall, you're joined by Coronzon. You examine the staircase and concede that it is indeed enchanted. Luckily, the spell doesn't affect Umbra. As you try to make sense of the intricate spellcraft, Coronzon creeps up from behind and shoves you forward!: You rush up the stairs-against your will. This sorcery is affecting you, even though it shouldn't. You must turn back...but you can't. Your feet heed you not.I can't believe the untrustworthy guy betrayed us!  We kill them all. It's the same as the thug fight. Spam Circular Hit.  Well...yes. The problem I have with this entire sequence is that Coronzon immediately comes off as untrustworthy to both us and Hopper. There should have been something here about how Hopper and Coronzon are friends, or the things they did together, or hell, write Coronzon as a smooth-talking con man instead of a blatantly evil raver discussing genocide. You'll note that Coronzon never really gave an answer for "why should I do this" and Hopper really has bigger poo poo to care about. : You muster up the courage and grab the rope, losing your footing as the bell tower crumbles. Everything goes black-all but a message burned into your mind. "Follow the guiding one. Collect the seven parts of wisdom. Read and be saved."Cryptic bullshit, everyone's favorite part of the fantasy genre. This is the game telling us how to get to the best ending. Naturally, I will be leaving this in your hands, goons. I did it on my first playthrough but screwed up my second.   Yup. This is what that "curse power" on the map alluded to earlier. Every so often the curse builds in strength. We get a choice as to what to do about it, which I'll have us vote on when it comes up. Suffice to say a high curse power mangles poor Hopper's stats - but we don't really care, because that just makes battles take longer while we kite everyone and spam his AoEs. : (Melodramatically) You scoundrel! I drag you from the rubble and what do I get in return? Have you lost your tongue, or have you no gratitude? The town hall bell tower is no more. You've brought it all down... somehow. The store's still in one piece though. And the tolling has stopped.: That kind of magic is out of my league, Coronzon. I can only tell you that it definitely kept something horrifying at bay. It still does, but now with my help. See my hand? This unknown sorcerer must have had both hands blackened!: Or could it be a sorceress? No matter-a being capable of such magic can assume any form. The spell hasn't broken, and that's no ordinary curse on your hand. The bell must have been a decoy, then, but I don't understand the enchantment's purpose.Coronzon may be a genocidal maniac, but he wants female representation in media now, dammit! : How should I know? If not for the bell tolling the people of Albius might have slaughtered each other. Damnation! It's your fault I got caught in this enchantment, along with gods know who else. What if this blackness spreads to my heart?: Hasn't happened yet... Enough with the weeping. A pompous nobleman is headed your way. You met my request, so I owe you one. However, if you want to ensure my good will, I'd suggest you find Thorn and bring him to Opacum. I want to have a look at him. Oh, here comes Prince Treeg! You get absolutely no points for guessing who in the squad "Ho" is. What I do want to point out is that Albius is in Odala, not Jerana and Thorn served the Odalan crown. What is a Jeranan prince doing in a backwater village in another country? : Excuse my insolence, Your Highness. I only wish to understand. First, I hear about a girl of profound beauty; now there's talk of some hag. And what of this dream? Does it pertain to your orders?: I dreamt of a terrifying hag who foretold your arrival. She tried to soothe me-said you'd help. Don't grind your teeth, Coronzon. Respect the Jeranan Crown!: You demand respect for the Crown, yet you show none for the Temple. All these dreams and prophecies are pure heresy! Oh, and forget about Thorn, he's not your subject. It's not up to you to bring him to justice. Decisions lie before us! Do we support the church, or the state? They're both assholes.
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Jun 24, 2019 01:26
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The options thus far: 1. The game is terrible about explaining who the gently caress all these people are and how they relate to each other. Part of it may or may not be a terrible translation / "it's all explained in my supplemental novel, which I'm going to assume people read for some reason". 2. Having played the game before, the LPer doesn't really notice when the game runs ahead of itself and throws out names and concepts at though we're supposed to know who the gently caress these people are. 3. I'm not paying attention. Gonna go with "all of the above" here.
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Jun 25, 2019 17:26
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Xander77 posted:The options thus far: Oof. Sorry, I've been rear end deep in dev diaries trying to figure out when to introduce them. Do you want me to explain stuff, or just ask Flippy the coin?
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Jun 25, 2019 18:44
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