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sullat
Jan 9, 2012

FairGame posted:

Humans and varl fought bloody wars against one another.

Eventually the gods were like, "stop fighting you assholes" and created dredge so that man and varl would have a common enemy, as the dredge were too strong for either side to vanquish independently.

The two sides took a long rear end time to form an alliance, and both sides blame the other for the arrival of this virtually unstoppable enemy.

Add in the fact that varl live for centuries, and varl remember what ACTUALLY happened. Whereas dredge are just fairy tale boogymen to most living humans, and interlinked with "the varl made the dredge happen."

Plus Ludin is just kind of a dick.

So are the gods, apparently.

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Fat Samurai
Feb 16, 2011

To go quickly is foolish. To go slowly is prudent. Not to go; that is wisdom.
Hakon is drat good at counting

Jack2142
Jul 17, 2014

Shitposting in Seattle

FairGame posted:

Humans and varl fought bloody wars against one another.

Eventually the gods were like, "stop fighting you assholes" and created dredge so that man and varl would have a common enemy, as the dredge were too strong for either side to vanquish independently.

The two sides took a long rear end time to form an alliance, and both sides blame the other for the arrival of this virtually unstoppable enemy.

Add in the fact that varl live for centuries, and varl remember what ACTUALLY happened. Whereas dredge are just fairy tale boogymen to most living humans, and interlinked with "the varl made the dredge happen."

Plus Ludin is just kind of a dick.

Eh I wouldn't comment if you weren't the OP, but I disagree with some of this interpretation.

Gologle
Apr 15, 2013

The Gologle Posting Experience.

<3
One of the devs for the games took an active part in the previous LP done of the first game and gave us the background for the gods and their role in things. It was just one god being a dick and the other god who made humans accidentally starting ragnarok for the gods early.

FairGame
Jul 24, 2001

Der Kommander

Jack2142 posted:

Eh I wouldn't comment if you weren't the OP, but I disagree with some of this interpretation.

Go for it, dude. So long as it’s not a spoiler, by all means lemme know your thoughts.

A lot in this game is painted in broad strokes and it’s quite possible my interpretations are wrong.

Or maybe it’s stated explicitly somewhere and I still screwed it up.

I will have, at the very least, the Frostvellr stuff up tonight so those of you who’ve wanted to talk about it will be free to do so. I’m trying to get as far as the major thing but there’s a LOT of talking surrounding that.

FairGame
Jul 24, 2001

Der Kommander

PART 8: THE LONG ROAD TO EINARTOFT

This game really likes cliffhangers. Remember how last time, Hakon's party reached Grofheim, the varl capital, only to find it a fiery ruin?


Well, we don't get any immediate closure on that.


Instead, we're back to Rook. Who previously had bashed his way into Frostvellr, seen that it was hosed up, and then left after kinda murdering the gatekeepers.


: Is this really necessary?
Stuck outside the city walls, you've been fighting against the dredge when you have to and moving between hiding spots when you can.

: If we do nothing, the people in there are going to die.
You crouch near a building you know has survivors hiding inside. Dredge are making quick work of the walls.

: We can't keep throwing ourselves at any dredge that wander near these drat refugees!
: We're already here!

: What choice do we have?
: Leave. Get the caravan and go, right now.
: Not yet. We need to help here.
Iver growls, but leads the charge, bowling over the nearest dredge and taunting the rest.
: Come on, you stony bastards! Nothing else I'd rather be doing right now!
...so basically, Iver was 100% right: if you stay outside the walls of Frostvellr, you're gonna get clobbered by dredge. Iver and Oddleif are kind of playing devil/angel on Rook's shoulders here. Except it's more pragmatic/benevolent, in a game where playing the hero gets you killed more often than not.
Still, we're already here, and Rook's team with its archers tend to do really well against dredge.

It'll be nice to get ourselves some more renown, anyway. Too many level 1s in this group.


That 13/19 dredge is a major threat. The 11/16 in the far corner not so much; he'll be picked apart by archers before he can get close to our spawn point.


We start the battle by running away from the major threat. Oddleif traps a tile so that when the 11/16 dredge comes to poke Iver, he instead takes an injury and loses his turn.
The axe brother can still do damage with bloody flail even if he takes a nasty strength hit, so he's gonna deal with the 2 big guys up top.


Enemy AI is utterly predictable when you give them only 1 target. Oddleif's trap works like a charm.


Alette doesn't like fighting humans, but she's really drat good against dredge. She scores enough kills in this fight to jump straight from level 1 to level 3.


Rook's "mark prey" ability is devastating when you've got archers in range. Puncture procs on their attack.


I get a little sloppy on the cleanup, and both Hogun and Rook take injuries. Hogun's is worse--4 days. Rook counts as an archer even though he can fight in melee, and it's just a 2 day injury.


All told though, a solid effort.


I know I said we were done with endless battles on snowfields. And, in fact, we are: these fight backgrounds have houses!
And we could always listen to Iver and bug off immediately. But helping people is THE RIGHT THING TO DO, DAMMIT.
You hurry to follow her. Sure enough, a boy has stranded himself on a rooftop. Dredge mill around below. As you approach, they spot you.


We bench our injured unit in favor of his brother. Rook can stick around. Mark Prey and armor break don't require high strength.


Largely the same enemy composition as before. Much easier fight, though, since all those 2x2 guys will just get in one another's way, and I can armor break plus use splinter to wear things down to the point that a good puncture will end them.


Hell, I don't even need to use stone wall on Egil yet.


Egil is built SUPER defensively, so it's important to get him kills when you can.


Alette's "thread the needle" active is difficult to make work, but when it lines up it's pretty handy!


2 maims, 1 kill.


I let Rook go down again. Injuries don't compound, so he has another 2 day injury instead of a...2 day injury.


Piece of cake.


In the distance, you think you hear shouts. From further up on the hill a group of people saw you fighting the dredge and are calling to you. Nobody else seems to have noticed.
Look at our clansmen count here as compared with the end of the last Rook chapter, by the way. We're growing our caravan (and the number of useless mouths to feed) by being heroic!


This is actually difficult, you see, because...
: You can do this, Iver.
If you didn't know Iver so well, you'd find him quite terrifying right now. He looks like he's about to lose it. Still, he bends and behinds to hoist the crumbling wall on his shoulders. Grunting under the exertion, you hear a shriek behind you and see approaching dredge!


Only Iver can lift the wall, so we have to protect him this battle. Which means our biggest weapon is out and we have to field a wounded Hogun.


Ugh, slingers. They got a special introduction in Hakon's last chapter. Here they just kinda appear, and they can immediately start doing strength damage to our archers--our biggest weapon.


So instead I sent Egil out to draw fire. Let the slingers expend their willpower on him while I deal with the easier units down below.


That kid tanks like a goddamn champ.


Mogun gets the benefit of +2 armor from this shield wall as well as some extra damage from bloody flail. He chops the stoneguard down a bit.


This is why I hate slingers. At some point they're gonna get past your front line and start raining nasty damage on your archers.


Which costs Alette an injury.


I misjudge enemy movement and waste a trap. Egil also gets maimed in the bargain.


Still, it's well in hand and Egil finishes it off.

Finally, the refugees are able to pull the body out of the rubble and Iver lets the heavy wall crash to the ground unceremoniously around him. The man has been long dead, and they look on solemnly. "For your trouble," an old woman tells you. She puts an odd gold medallion in your hand.



Well, now we have the Calabilla, which is the real reason we do that series of fights. It's a rank 5 artifact that gives +1 willpower and +1 armor per turn. It's awesome.
: Thought there were a lot more of us than this.
Surveying the rest house you're struck by how many wounded and missing clansmen there are.
: Only going to be less over time. We can't keep fighting off dredge and hope they'll pass.
: We're not getting in that gods-forsaken city, I know that.
: The dredge have all been heading south, that's not an option either. Wyrmtoe's the only thing that makes sense. They won't follow us across the wastes.
: If there's really no other choice. Why are you so insistent about Wyrmtoe?
: I know someone there who can help us...if we're lucky.
: OK, get everyone up. We're going to make a run for it.
Within a short time, you're ready to leave.


This is also something I wasn't expecting. In earlier versions of the game, you started this chapter with 3 days of supplies, wholly independent of what you ended the previous chapter with. Now, it seems like your supplies from the end of the previous chapter roll over. Which is great, had I known that. Because, uh...


The rate of exchange in Frostvellr SUCKS.


I can't have my caravan starve, though, so I burn a hefty 36 renown on enough supplies to get us across the wastes. I hope.
I also spend 6 renown on that Svalinn Dust, which gives a flat +2 armor. Handy.


Someone else shows interest, though. From the gates of Frostvellr, a group of fighters are rushing toward you, a cart stacked high with supplies at their rear. You ready yourselves for trouble when one of them shouts "Hold!"


So...this is Onef. He's a playable character, and probably the most hated character in The Banner Saga (well, part 1 anyway).

Going to spoil some stuff for you all here. Seriously, DO NOT READ THIS SPOILER IF YOU ARE EVER PLANNING ON PLAYING THIS GAME FOR YOURSELF.

Ekkill (the twitchy redbeard guy in charge of Frostvellr) and Onef have a history--Onef's his brother-in-law. Onef acts like the reasonable one and says Ekkill's crazy and evil, and will always give you a chance to gently caress over Ekkill. The supplies he has here are stolen from Ekkill. Ekkill will now starve to death without them, along with the rest of Frostvellr.

Had we stayed in Frostvellr at the end of the last chapter, Ekkill would attack us at the start of this chapter. Onef is in the group of attackers, and if you spare his life he takes you to Ekkill's secret stash--which basically puts us right back to where we are here. Onef offering to join with some fighting men, and some supplies.

If you take Onef along, you get a bunch of fighters and enough supplies to cross the wastes without having to spend all your renown at a terrible exchange rate.

Ekkill, realizing he's going to starve to death, gives chase. You have the option to kill him, take him captive, or have him and his men join you. The whole time it seems like Ekkill's the bad guy and Onef's the reasonable one.

Then, in the penultimate chapter, Onef decides he wants to be leader and stabs Rook and drags Alette into the woods, where Alette kills Onef in self defense. Onef kills Egil who's trying to defend Alette, though. Ekkill kills a shitload of the mutineers and reveals that Onef was calling the shots all along. Ekkill was just kind of beaten down after Onef murdered Ekkill's sister.

Basically, Ekkill and Egil are mutually exclusive, and Onef is a dickhead who will ALWAYS betray you. You'd have no way of knowing this the first time you play, and I'm only going to refuse Onef (and his valuable supplies and fighters) because the previous LP of this game took Onef in.

Anyways, gently caress Onef he's a dickhead and now he's gonna die.







Read the spoiler above if you're curious as to why I'm not listening to Alette and refusing what seems to be perfectly good fighting men and desperately-needed supplies.


Having just spent the last little while fighting dredge, this is far more dangerous. Onef (11/11 backbiter) is the most dangerous unit on the board, though the shieldmaster in the far corner is no slouch.)


Sorry, Alette. You're not getting the "Innocent" achievement. But hey, had we taken Onef in you'd have killed him offscreen...


The rest of the fight is uneventful. This poor bastard gets to -32 HP as he gets hit with 0 armor by everyone in the crew thanks to Mark Prey.



And that's that. Anybody who wanted to talk about their own gameplay experience in Frostvellr is now free to do so.



Of course, we do still only have 10 days of supplies as we cross the aptly name wastes. There's...nothing out here.


Nothing at all.


And we also have the misfortune of getting the blizzard random event. It'll cost us time we don't have to look for survivors, but I built a couple days' buffer into my supplies. We can do it. Barely.


Still, not everyone makes it back, and morale goes to negative (-1 willpower) for the first time in the campaign.


In the middle of the wastes, there's a godstone.


They welcome the caravan, mingling and swapping stories with the others while you rest. They have almost nothing of value to trade, but their leader approaches and offers to let you join in their tribute.



Rook indulges in their weird ritual and gets some Gullenfryi for his trouble.


After some rest you continue on. The sun god worshippers are keen to stay, so you pack your things and return to the road.


In the middle of the wastes, dwindling food supplies...morale drops to the lowest possible.


As if on cue, some vultures begin circling us.


We join her in shooting.


Morale improves somewhat, but it's not a 5-point scale. It's I think a 100 point scale with 5 bands. Our morale improvement isn't enough to get us out of the lowest band.


Without Onef's men, we really need more fighters. And if they're half as badass as Oddleif, we're in good shape.
We can always use more fighters,' you tell Oddleif. "If Alette is any proof, you know how to train someone with a bow." Oddleif gives you a smile. She heads off to some of the women in the caravan, showing them the vulture she shot down.


I just have horrible luck with random events out here in the wastes.
One of the strangers approaches, saying, "We've run out of food. Any help would be welcome." His hard eyes reveal nothing of his intentions.


I really can't spare it (and they are, in fact, bandits, who will steal your poo poo if you let them in.) So I just give them a meal and move on.


Nobody should have to starve to death.


Of course, now we're at 2 days of supplies and we're about 2.5 days outside of Wyrmtoe. Have I doomed us to starvation deaths?


Thankfully, no! Don't care what this is, we'll eat it!
Many clansmen follow your lead, gathering as much as you can, while others continue eating and collecting. Later that day, a few fruit-stained peasants stumble around with drunken grins. Apparently the fruit was fermented, not poisonous.


The fermented fruit gives us a modest boost to our supplies. It's enough to get us to Wyrmtoe. Barely. Like...hours to spare.


I was looking at the day clock as Rook narrated this. Would we get into town before supplies hit 0?


Seriously, that's like 6-7 hours before we take starvation deaths.


Welcome to Wyrmtoe.


: Well, I'll be damned.
: Krumr. It's been a long time.
: Yeah, it has. So what brings Yngvar to Wyrmtoe with his very own village of humans?
: Bad news. Dredge are coming down from the north. We barely made it this far.
: That is dire news. Come on, we have food. We'll discuss more in the mead house.
As you follow the old varl into their meager town you catch him quietly saying "If it were anyone else..."


: I've talked with the warriors here. I'll be honest with you. Half want to go north and find out what happened at Blotsbalkr. Some think we should go to Grofheim instead. And none of them are happy you're here.
: What do you think?
: If I had it my way, I'd stay here and let the dredge come. But you made this a problem, didn't you? We can't feed this many people for long, even if they don't eat much. This is a varl town, most of us take care of ourselves. You've got women, children...
: We could pitch in...make this place liveable.
: It doesn't work like that. These varl are here to get away from civilization, not make one.
: It's Krumr's call. It won't be long before dredge are here, too.
: No, it won't. If there's one thing we should do it's tell Jorundr what's going on.
: Who's Jorundr?
: Varl king. Well, as close to one as we have. Yngvar, where'd you find these people? Stay here and rest, but once yours are ready to go, we do. I'm going to see off those who want to head north. But I'll join you to Grofheim.
: More travel? No...we've already come so far.
: Stop the pouting, girlie. Even if Jorundr won't listen to a tired old varl like me I have a feeling they'll pay attention to your friend Yngvar, here.
: They'll listen to Iver?
: Hah, he hasn't told you? Of course he hasn't. Do what you need to, but don't be long.


Our caravan is in a sorry state. No food, little renown, and desperately poor morale. We need to rest, but we can't really afford to do so. So let's talk to Hogun and Mogun instead.


: Just take it easy for a while! People are noticing.

: Oh, they've noticed, have they? We're on the edge of dying daily and you want me to take it easy? Gods, I should be plowing twice as many fields! You understand?
: Don't get us thrown out of this caravan, Mogun. It's not just you who suffers!
: Right, so you get married? Have kids? Now I'm supposed to settle down too, yeah? What happened to...
The two brothers clam up as you approach.
: That's right. I've got a kid to take care of. Cool your head, Mogun.
Hogun departs, leaving Mogun looking awkward.
: Rook, what brings you around?

: Just heard yelling. Came to check it out.

: You come running every time you hear yelling? Must be why you look so tired. Look, it's not secret. I like women, Rook. They like me. They like the scar. Feh, forget it. Listen, all this? All this death? Every night, half the caravan cries itself to sleep. Pathetic. Come on, Rook. Be honest. This is good living. Half the world just tilling soil 'til they keel over. What kind of life is that? We're lucky. You could go your whole life with no goals, no purpose, nothing to fight against but boredom and hunger. I'm glad for all of this.

: I'm not sure I agree.

: Look at it like this. We're fighting to the death almost every day, yeah? You can curl up in a little ball of fear. You can go hide in the woods eating nuts and appreciating leaves or some nonsense. Or you can enjoy the struggle. Know which one I pick. Anyway, just so you know, I'd never go for Alette. Promise you that. Or Oddleif. All yours.
: Uh, appreciated, Mogun.
You depart, unsure whether your opinion of Mogun changed for the better or worse.

Let's go talk to Krumr next. He's been calling Iver "Yngvar" and surely there's a story there. Also note that Krumr is one of the varl that Ubin mentioned who might be older than Ubin.


: Krumr, can you spare a moment?

: Mostly no. But I'll try.
: I never had a moment to thank you for your hospitality.
: Consider it done, then.
: So...who is Yngvar?
: Hah! I'm not surprised he never told you. I'm just surprised he can stand being around anyone at all. Your friend was one of us, long ago. I mean, the dredge-bashing type. He was called Yngvar then. And if you want to know why he changed his name, best ask him yourself. I'm too old to peddle in gossip.
: How did you get all these varl to follow you?
: Respect, young one. After the second great war, wasn't much left for me to do, so I started training other varl to fight. Got tired of that, made a place in Wyrmtoe. They still come calling, even with no wars to speak of. Seems like that might be changing though, don't it?
: Any wisdom on fighting dredge?
: Depends how much you know. They're all armor. Tap 'em hard enough though and it'll shatter. Line up a whole row of slag and they'll explode on each other all the way down. You get in a big brawl, half your time is spent setting them up for it. And if you see one bang his axe like a tuning fork, try to kill him quick. Sometimes the slag he's calling won't even show up.
: I bet you have some incredible stories.
: I might. I might. Or I could be the most boring varl you ever met. Depends how much you like killing dredge. Ask me again someday, might tell you about the time we filled a dead yox with whale teeth. And why.
: I'd best leave you to your business.
: I suppose you should. Take care, friend of Yngvar.


I'd love to buy that worldhook (+2 armor break), but I really can't afford not to spend all my renown on supplies. Which is what I do.


We rest a couple of days. Not enough to heal up everyone, but enough to get the archers back to full strength, and perhaps more importantly get our morale out of the gutter. For now.


Krumr joins along with some varl and 20 supplies. It's enough to stretch our stores to 10 days' worth.




This is a bad random event even if you don't rob him. People are mad because you don't rob the farmer and consign him to death. People are mad if you do rob him. At least that way you get some supplies. But we don't seem to need supplies too badly right now and Rook's not a monster.


I'm just full of bad random events. I think maybe they're tied to morale? We post some extra guards.
To deter any further theft, you discretely place some trusted guards by the caravans. You hear a few people casually point out the extra manpower, but nobody seems to raise an alarm for now.


As day 95 winds down, we approach another godstone.



"A blessing!" shouts one of the men in your caravan, holding up what looks like a silver coin. "It's a fish scale," he says, pointing out the rainbow pattern that shows in the sunlight. Soon, a curious child has found another hiding in the snow, and then a third is discovered. "Perhaps they'll bring us luck," you overhear, and before long the caravan has become obsessed with gathering the shining scales.
We can let them take their time or cut them off. Taking their time takes...a while. Like 3 days of sitting at the drat godstone, eating supplies and gathering scales. However...
By the end of the second day, the scavenger hunt still continues unabated, and even you are starting to feel something in the back of your mind, like you need to have one of the scales. You shake it off, uncertain to let this continue. It's another day before the fervor calms down, and you think there must have been something unnatural about it, because when the last scale was found the obsession suddenly stopped.


I'm really not sure if this was worth it. We get the Godscale, a rank 5 artifact that gives +1 aggro and +3 armor. Great for Egil who you want drawing aggro. But that assumes we can get him to rank 5 and actually use it. In the meantime, we eat up almost all our remaining supplies and morale plummets as everyone gets demoralized looking at our dwindling stores.
: Rook, come here.
Oddleif motions for you to join her, where she shows you a small group of women bearing bows and arrows--those women she has trained to fight.

A group of men from the caravan approach. "Listen here," says one. "Practice all you want, my wife isn't fighting dredge!" The other men agree in chorus. "We don't want to see a battlefield full of dead wives and daughters!"
Yeah, guys? Well tough poo poo; I need the fighters.
: Train more archers.
"To be honest," says Oddleif, "this was already harder than I expected. I don't know how many more would really take to it. But the more people who can hold their own, the better." The men continue to complain. The women return to camp not just as clansmen, but as fighters.
We lose 25 clansmen and gain 25 fighters. I think it's a great trade.


OK yeah, at this point I'm convinced you get more negative events when morale is poor. I've never had this bad of luck before, but I almost always have Onef and Ekkill, their soldiers, and their supplies with me.
: Explain yourselves.
"Ragni chooses my daughter on his own," the insulted mother says. "But this one thinks I have something to do with it." Launching herself forward, the first woman flails wildly, shouting, "Liar!" The women are separated and eventually calm down, but you worry this is far from over.


Day 100, almost out of supplies when we see a conflict in the distance. It takes almost a full day to close to it.


Oh hey, it's Fasolt.


Rook is ALSO good at counting! But he's not as reckless as Hakon.


We're going to take this easy.


The Gullinfryi, by the way, is just a crit chance item. Crits are nice, but in a game where kililng an enemy isn't always a good thing, I tend not to use items with it.
This battle will be Krumr's debut.
Krumr has the same "heavy impact" passive as Hakon and the warhawks from the other caravan.
His active, though...it rules. But he has to be leveled up.
His skill is called "Forge Ahead" and he can target a unit and make it act next in the turn order. Meaning in this instance, if I wanted 2 straight turns for Alette, I could make that happen.
At rank 1, Krumr can only do it to adjacent units. At rank 2 he gets a decent range. At rank 3, he gets infinite range.
He's an extremely good unit with great stats and we need to do our best to get him leveled up.


Rook's caravan really needs a warhawk. Bersi or Gunnulf in the upper portion could just walk forward and tempest those slingers into uselessness.


Instead, what we end up with is an enormously bloody battle in which we take shitloads of injuries. Alette, Egil, and Krumr get most of the kills, though, which is good--we need them to level up.


Yeah, no way. If you try this and fail, by the way, one of the axe brothers dies. I think Hogun. If you didn't recruit them, then I'm guessing it's another opportunity to kill Egil.


I really wish we could have done the extra wave. We don't really have 20 fighters to spare.


: Isn't this a drat curiosity. This is the second time I've been sent to find a varl who is headed in my direction with humans in tow.
: What are dredge doing up here?
: Gods, does nobody know what's going on around here? They leveled Grofheim to the ground. We've been losing ground for days. Jorundr's in Einartoft now. They sent me to gather Krumr and the rest from Wyrmtoe, when we ran across this bunch of slag. And there's a lot more where they came from. Is this all the varl you've got, Krumr? What've you been doing, eating each other?

: Many went to Blotsbalkr. Are you tellng me Grofheim is completely gone?
: And Vognir's dead. Slag on our heels. The varl you sent off north are probably dead. The world's ending. Come on, this is old news. We're gathering in Einartoft. That's where we need to go right now. Wait.
Fasolt takes a long moment to look out over the caravan of men, women and children behind you.
: Not them.

: We just saved your rear end!
: Little one, you have no idea how many slag I've butchered in the last few weeks. I don't get in fights I can't win. That includes men who invite themselves into Einartoft.
: Dammit Fasolt, who cares about that? What in the depths happened at Grofheim?
Before Fasolt can reply, a low rumble grabs your attention, growing louder by the moment.


: GO! Don't stop until you reach Hadrborg!


The mountain in the background splits in two.


And behind it, we see...something enormous sliter through the split mountain.


It's there only a split second, and then obscured by the crumbling mountain and snowfall. The caravan continues its mad dash to godstone Hadrborg.


Our caravan, terrified out of its mind by whatever it was it just saw, arrives at the godstone to see varl building fortifications.


: Hold up. We're going to have a talk.


: You're still standing. Well, most of you. Rest up. Then move on.
: A mountain just sank into the earth, and some...something is out there! And you're just going to send us away?
: I don't know who you are, but you're not going to Einartoft. There's a couple hundred varl here who will back that up.
: Where are we supposed to go? Back the way we came? We're stuck between two mountain ranges. In one direction, a few thousand varl. In the other, an army of dredge and whatever caused that quake!
: Einartoft is a varl city. This shouldn't be news to a varl.

: Give it a rest, Fasolt. Don't you recognize who you're talking to?
Surprise suddenly flashes across Fasolt's face. The other varl are starting to come closer, now. You hear "Yngvar" being whispered between them.
: I think this might be the one person you want to let into Einartoft.
: You're...

: The humans come with me. All of them.
Fasolt glances between Iver and Krumr before stalking away, pushing past the mob of curious onlookers.
: Iver...who are you?
: Some other time, Rook.




Suddenly there's a lot of activity. Word comes from below to retreat to the next village over, and you soon see why. A black shadow is sweeping down the valley from the direction of Grofheim, where the quake, or whatever caused it, has obliterated the mountainside.
On closer inspection it's a veritable ocean of dredge, more than you imagined possible. In their midst is a towering giant of a dredge, blood red from head to toe. You gather your things in short order and join a good many varl, leaving the godstone behind.



We get Iver's old belt, the Farthingjord. It's awesome. Rank 4 artifact with +3 armor break.



Another not-great random event that I think can only get an outcome that isn't actively bad, rather than give you a positive effect.


We hit a small village before reaching Einartoft. Iver helpfully lets us know we'll need 3 days worth of supplies to get there.
"Dad," says Alette, appearing at your side. "I liked old Iver." Somewhere in the back of your mind you feel the same way. You focus on preparations instead, realizing that you may be one of the first humans about to set foot in Einartoft.


The exchange rate here is incredibly good. But...dammit, with only 10 renown we have to buy supplies only and I have to ignore that worldhook. Again. Gotta keep moving. Not enough supplies to putter around.





Next time: Einartoft, the last varl city.

Gologle
Apr 15, 2013

The Gologle Posting Experience.

<3
OOOH gently caress, that was incredibly bad luck there, not only with the events but with the double Worldhook. The game gave you two chances to get that amazing item but you couldn't. Worldhook is seriously amazing, and since it only requires rank 2 it's also useful for just about everybody.

I never played on Hard, and reading this LP I don't think I ever will. The battles were hard enough for me on Normal, Hard would be just brutal. For reference, playing this section on normal my first time, I think I had a little over 10 days worth of supplies and only 1 or 2 injuries and good morale. My subsequent playthroughs, now that I knew what I was doing, it was even more days, more people, and no injuries, yadda yadda, you get the point.

Sankara
Jul 18, 2008


That part with the mountain splitting in half and the snake is very exciting in action.

TheGreatEvilKing
Mar 28, 2016





The noun above is kinda spoilery.

Also the first time I played this I ended up going "yay reasonable party man" only to learn that maybe you shouldn't trust people with the actual, no-poo poo "backbiter" class. One of the best trolls in any RPG, when you're conditioned to think 'partymember === good'

RedSnapper
Nov 22, 2016
Does Krumr ever tell us the whale teeth yox story?

Jack2142
Jul 17, 2014

Shitposting in Seattle

FairGame posted:

Humans and varl fought bloody wars against one another.

Eventually the gods were like, "stop fighting you assholes" and created dredge so that man and varl would have a common enemy, as the dredge were too strong for either side to vanquish independently.

The two sides took a long rear end time to form an alliance, and both sides blame the other for the arrival of this virtually unstoppable enemy.

Add in the fact that varl live for centuries, and varl remember what ACTUALLY happened. Whereas dredge are just fairy tale boogymen to most living humans, and interlinked with "the varl made the dredge happen."

Plus Ludin is just kind of a dick.

Random backstory thoughts.

1. Yes the humans and Varl did fight bloody wars, however it wasn't the gods that interceded and stopped the fighting. It was the Menders (Like Eynvid that Hakon picked up) and a Varl warrior named Karl. Not really that they were being invaded by the Dredge that came later. The first Varl King Einar then lead them north to go fight the Dredge instead of humans. This is likely what Ludin is talking about...

2. The Dredge then kicked the Varl's butts, and they had to turn to the menders and humans for aid to drive back the dredge. They then built the towers like ridgehorn, Grofheim etc. The Dredge were supposedly banished to the frozen north.

3. The Humans were created by the Loom Mother before the Varl, she also supposedly taught the menders how to do magic. She also created most living things, thus why they are able to reproduce and aren't all giant dudes with horns. Hadborg created the Varl and he made kinda lovely knock off versions of the Loom Mothers creations. Another god whose godstone we have not seen created the Dredge, and based off the fact there are so many compared to the Varl he did a better job of it possibly rivaling (surpassing) what the Loom Mother did.

4. The gods went to war before any human well before any human was alive. Most of them died, some maybe survived kinda like in KoDP and were sort of separated from reality/mortal plane. Its kinda implied the war spilled over from gods getting in fights over their creations. The sun stopping is not really tied to the gods dying as it stopped as mentioned right before the game started, and the gods died or disappeared at least a human lifetime ago so there are no human living memories of the gods. However the Varl were "forged" by Hadborg down to the "last Varl" which also means they have been dying out for ages, and each Varl we lose is irreplaceable.

5. Ludin is also right. :colbert:

6. There are more details that will be revealed in later games, while Stoic has Bioware refugees... the explanation for things happening in Banner Saga is much much better than Bioware gave in Mass Effect. There isn't necessarily a truth... but there are some strong hints/inferences, that can be pieced together.

related to the Frostvellr stuff...

Also I know why you didn't take Ekkil, but he was one of my most liked units... dude is a badass even if he is crazy.

Jack2142 fucked around with this message at 07:34 on Sep 12, 2018

ArcadePark
Feb 4, 2011

Damn it, It's all your fault!

Jack2142 posted:

Random backstory thoughts.

blah, blah

5. Ludin is also right. :colbert:

blah blah


That's all anyone needs to know

Nuramor
Dec 13, 2012

Most Amewsing Prinny Ever!
I remember from the last LP something about a guy who warns you about men with helmets. Was that the optional one you didn't activate for this?

FairGame
Jul 24, 2001

Der Kommander

Nuramor posted:

I remember from the last LP something about a guy who warns you about men with helmets. Was that the optional one you didn't activate for this?

Yep.

I think we will see him in the second game, though. Pretty sure the game doesn’t check to see if he was enabled in BS1, and since he doesn’t have any death conditions in that game you can kind of handwave “he was among your clansmen offscreen the whole time and now he is playable.”

Jack2142
Jul 17, 2014

Shitposting in Seattle

FairGame posted:

Yep.

I think we will see him in the second game, though. Pretty sure the game doesn’t check to see if he was enabled in BS1, and since he doesn’t have any death conditions in that game you can kind of handwave “he was among your clansmen offscreen the whole time and now he is playable.”

Yeah he pops up after the first mission and its pretty much that.

Ibblebibble
Nov 12, 2013

End of the world, eh? Gonna bet that Jormungandr just broke out of a mountain or something.

Mechanical Ape
Aug 7, 2007

But yes, occasionally I am known to smash.
Which party composition is recommended for fighting a Great World Serpent?

some plague rats
Jun 5, 2012

by Fluffdaddy

Mechanical Ape posted:

Which party composition is recommended for fighting a Great World Serpent?

You need a bearded greek guy and his kid

Gologle
Apr 15, 2013

The Gologle Posting Experience.

<3
You'll want a Kratos for sure, with an Atreus for support and sub DPS. I recommend a Mimir for pointing out weak points.

double nine
Aug 8, 2013

alternatively a thor backed up by a green guy and a guy wielding a phalanx shield.

FairGame
Jul 24, 2001

Der Kommander

PART 9: LENDING A HELPING HAND


Our caravan arrives in Einartoft, which is brimming with varl armies ready for battle.
BGM: Walls No Man Has Seen


: All these warriors...another great war is upon us. It is the third time I have seen such a thing. There are far fewer of us now than there once were.
Krumr heads up the stairs to the great hall, and returns shortly after speaking to some varl.
: What did they tell you?
: By all accounts the dredge are coming here. Looks like they plan to end the varl for good this time. This place will become a killing field soon. They say the prince of men is here. They've got a mender, too.
: Prince Ludin is here? From Arberrang?
: In any case, we'll be given no audience today. You remember the last time you were here, Yngvar?

: It's Iver. Yeah. I remember it.
: What now?
: We find somewhere to rest. I'd recommend keeping your people out of trouble while you're here, Rook.
: In fact, keep them invisible. Jorundr won't be happy you're here.
You're shown to quarters, but could wander the city while you wait for an audience. You feel like you could sleep for a week straight.


So...here we are in Einartoft. 2 days of supplies left. Which is about to be 1 since we have to rest.


Rook inexplicably is invited to the council meeting.


Hey, it's all the dudes from Hakon's caravan! ...except Griss.
: Enough, Eyvind. The bridge stands. Find some other way.
: Greetings from Wyrmtoe, Jorundr. I've brought an ally.
: Who are these people? We don't have time for games.
: Wait...I recognize you.


: Yngvar among us again? Is this what the end of the world looks like?
Jorundr steps down from his throne to get a closer look. In the light you spy deep wounds on the varl king.
: It was my last option. You look like death, Jorundr.
: The Sundr came through Grofheim. All of them. Or we would still be there.
Editor's Note: It'll be explained in a moment, but Sundr are essentially superelite dredge. Instead of names like "grunt" and "stoneguard" they have actual names.

: A few thousand varl remain. Bellower has been following us since Grofheim.
: That is what he does. What will you do?
: Remain. There is no better place for us than here. We make our stand in Einartoft. But even if Einartoft falls, the varl won't be wiped out. Hakon is taking our best warriors to Arberrand, as we were discussing.
: I'm not going, Jorundr. We're needed here.
: This is not a debate...
A messenger bursts through the doors, cutting the tension. He says a Stonesinger has been cutting a path across the bridge.
: Gods, can we not have a moment's respite? They should not be here already!

: A Stonesinger is with them? Let me bring down the bridge as I said, it will buy us...
: I said the bridge stands, mender! I say it again to you, and the prince of men, and the whole mender council, were they here! I will not say it again! Hakon, you go to Arberrang! Eyvind! Do not even touch that bridge! Am I understood?
: You are. Then I'll confront the singer myself.
Nobody tries to stop Eyvind, but many follow as he leaves the great hall.


: What is that thing?
: A stonesinger. As clsoe as the dredge come to menders of they're own. I've only seen one before. It didn't go well.
: Can Eyvind win this?
: I don't know. Think we'll find out.
: We should help him.
: Listen to me, Rook. You will probably die here. And so will everyone else who steps on that bridge. Look at your daughter. Are you prepared for that?
: You're not doing this alone, Iver.
: I won't stop you. Fight like it's your last.
Editor's Note: You can decide not to fight here, and instead you'll play the next battle with Hakon's crew. Hakon's crew is...not great given the enemy composition, and Rook's party is at 0 renown. We're going to starve to death if we don't get renown to buy supplies. Pragmatism, as much as heroism, puts us on that bridge.


The good news! Eyvind's playable! And also he's level 5 and you can allocate his stats however you see fit. He also can use the Calabila and get +1 armor and +1 willpower per turn.
The bad news! This fight loving SUCKS and I don't have the renown to promote Krumr, who teams VERY well with Eyvind at higher levels.


We max out Eyvind's willpower and armor. He's 1 point shy on strength, but he's a wizard. He's not gonna be fighting anything. Or be anywhere near the front lines.

Eyvind is the only character of his type in The Banner Saga. He has TWO separate active abilities:
1.) Mend: He can select ANY allied unit on the board (regardless of distance) and immediately heal its armor for 1/2 of Eyvind's currenet willpower, rounded down. So with a max 12 willpower, he can heal 6 armor. Extremely handy.
2.) Arc Lightning: This is a ranged attack that requires him to be within 6 tiles of his target. He does damage to THAT target, and then lightning jumps in a diagonal. If any unit--allied or enemy--is immediatetely diagonal to the struck unit (meaning it has to be corner-to-corner), it will ALSO take lightning damage, at +1 whatever the previous target took.
Lightning can jump as many times as there are diagonals.

Get a good group of diagonals and you can neuter and entire board with Eyvind. Stuck Krumr behind him in the turn order and you can have Eyvind strike 2 times in 3 turns and absolutely just rain destruction on people.

It's awesome.

BGM: Strewn Across a Bridge

This fight is either easy or AWFUL depending on what the stonesinger (the 11/14 guy in the yellow scarf) does early on. Sometimes he wastes his time. Sometimes he makes your life miserable. He...did the latter in this battle.

The 23 strength dredge scourge is also a problem, and needs to have his armor whittled down before we can make him manageable. Had we brought Oddleif we could've made this easier.

So...Stonesingers have 3 abilities: 2 actives and a passive.
The passive, "disease strike," poisons any unit that gets hit by the stonesinger, causing it to take 1 strength damage per turn until it dies or the fight ends. Worse still, any allied unit that is adjacent to the diseased unit ALSO gets the disease. It's awful.
Active 1 is called "Rupture," and it turns dredge into bombs. Any dredge with < 8 strength will EXPLODE, doing its remaining armor damage as strength to adjacent units. Very dangerous but I've never actually seen a stonesinger use it in this game.
Active 2 is EXTREME bullshit and incredibly dangerous. It's called "umbrage," and takes 2 turns--1 to start casting, and 1 to finish. But if it's cast, ALL units allied to the stonesinger take 2 armor penalty and gain a +3 strength bonus that can go over their max. Look at how many ranged units there are on this map. If he boosts them, they will be able to rain down melee-strength ranged attacks on our crew and it will decimate us.
Oh, and you can cast umbrage as many times as you want.
The boost does go away if you kill the stonesinger, and will also kill any unit who is only alive BECAUSE OF the strength boost. But your best bet is to kill the stonesinger.


Naturally, the stonesinger immediately starts casting umbrage. Meanwhile, that monster dredge maims Egil through his stonewall.


I have to spend all my time working on the monster dredge to the extent that the stonesinger gets his cast off. This battle just got MUCH more dangerous.


Rook marks prey this guy who goes down HARD.


Alette basically one-shots him after Iver does decent strength damage.


Note this inferno slinger who now has 13 strength. If Egil weren't here this might well be a wipe. It still might be a wipe.


Archers with this much strength should be illegal. And the damned stonesinger keeps retreating out of harms's way.




Eyvind gets off an arc lightning to trivialize the 1 melee dude left and wound the slinger diagonal.


But, like...I can't do anything about this. Krumr gets maimed FROM DOWNTOWN BOOM SHAKA LAKA.


Hey, remember how much you hated umbrage! Well guess what he's casting it again! And it'll take less time to cast now that there are only 5 enemy units.


They've got like no armor left but who needs armor when you can one-shot me?


This archer has 11 strength left AFTER taking 4 damage from a lightning strike.


Umbrage doesn't work for the stonesinger himself, but he still puts Iver down.


And Rook.


Remember how I said that Eyvind would never melee? Well...this was the easiest way to hurt the stonesinger.


It's not enough, though--Krumr goes down like 1 turn before the fight would've ended.


Alette kills the stonesinger, and the flame singer dies due to only being alive thanks to the temporary strength bonus granted by umbrage.


Of course, now the dredge Sundr, Bellower, is here.


Iver tells a dumbfounded Rook to grab Eyvind and run. And then...


A wounded Iver squares off against a 21/21 Sundr in blood red. This isn't looking good.


Indeed, Iver agrees.


Bellower has too much armor to do damage against. Iver breaks him, but this is a lost cause.


Bellower also regenerates armor AND health each turn. He drops Iver to 1 hitpoint.


He then uses his special move, "quake and despair," which is the worst move in the whole game.
It does -1 armor and -1 strength to ALL units, and there's nothing you can do about it. Oh, and it chooses 1 allied unit to be stunned and miss its turn. Oh, and he can use it whenever he wants.
Oh, and since Iver's the only allied unit, he's by default stunned and loses a turn. Which means Bellower can strike him down easily next turn.


Which he does. Iver, our mighty varl and Rook's best friend, tries to block the strike, but instead his arm is torn clean off by the blow. He falls to the ground.


Well...yeah, that's one way of putting it.



I'll say this for Eyvind: he's incredibly brave.


Eyvind could barely handle a stonesinger; not sure what he's gonna try against Bellower, but then...


:krakken:




That giant thing we saw before? You all mostly guessed it was a serpent. But now we know for sure. And the dredge are apparently as afraid of it as we are. If nothing else, it gives us a chance to collect Iver and run like hell back to Einartoft.


We're brought back to Einartoft where we can talk to Eyvind. But before we do so...


OK game you clearly want to give me a worldhook and I'm buying this. I also spent the remaining 6 renown on 18 supplies. Enough to hold us over a couple more days.


: Can you save...

: Yes. Probably. Give me silence.
Nearly three hours pass silently as Eyvind plies his trade. Flesh slowly forms and closes across Iver's torn frame.
: That...is as much as I can do. He should make it...
: Thank you.
The mender looks exhausted, leaning heavily against the bed.
: When was the last time you slept?
: A couple...days ago...I'm ok. Just need to sit.
Before you can catch him, the mender crumbles to the floor.


Cheerful, that. Iver's lost an arm and is at death's door, and our newfound wizard friend just passed out from exhaustion.

BGM: Weary the Weight of the Sun

The next chapter opens somewhere we've seen before: the ruined tower of Ridgehorn. Except...the woman who was dead next to Eyvind is very much not dead.
Oh, and the serpent is there.


I don't know what this means. Anyone?


You also realize that a monumental serpent is speaking to you now. Your last certainty was that you died some time ago...and that it is about to happen again.


The serpent tries to exsanguinate Juno, but she...has a shield spell, I guess?


: Frustrating.
You are slow to understand the serpent. It speaks in a language that recalls very ancient memories of words you learned long ago.
: If you are not going to die, I suppose we must speak instead. Who are you?

: My name is Juno.

: You are a Juno? It means nothing to me. Maybe I have asked the wrong question. What are you? What is your purpose?

: I am a mender.
: Mender? Ah, Valka. Now the picture is forming. Do you not know me, Valka?
Though your memory is still fuzzy, you're certain you know nothing about an enormous serpent.
: What do your prophecies say? The gods gave you prophecy. Fate. Destiny. Is there no child coming to slay me with a magic sword? Are there no stars in the sky fortelling this disaster? Do you truly not know?
: The gods are dead.
: Dead? How is that...are you a god? No. The gods are silent and before me stands one who knows not what they have done. Listen carefully now, for I will give you a prophecy.
: I am the end. Do you understand? This world, and this tapestry, I would devour. It is my purpose. But I cannot. Instead, now comes a wall of night to consume your pitiful world.
: Wall of night? The dredge?
: Dredge? Stone men marching across a long bridge? No. It is darkness. The egg white that has turned black. I am meant to devour the tapestry itself, not idly witness the dusk smother this rock.
: I am incomplete! A worm crawling through a dung field! Because of you! Who are you to take my destiny? What are you?!! RETURN WHAT IS MINE!


He tries to kill her again, with similar success.


: Eyvind...
: Ju, Juno? You're alive...you're alive! How?! Where are you? Wait, where am I?
: Asleep, I presume. Or unconscious. I am in Ridgehorn, I think. A serpent was trying to kill me, now I'm talking to you. Time is moving strangely. I've lost swathes of memories. But I found you. For a short time, at least. The serpent said something about a long bridge. So I took a guess.
: It came after you? We saw it at Einartoft. Are you ok?
: It tried to turn me to ash after we spoke. I'd be surprised if that's the last we've seen of it.
: It could tear the land apart or crush cities if it wanted. What do we do?
: It gets worse. A prophecy of the gods that I've never heard of.
: There are still prophecies out there?
: It was vague. Sounded like that serpent was supposed to swallow the world. Instead, some kind of darkness or nothingness is seeping from the north. It devours whatever it touches.
: That would explain why the dredge are swarming on us like someone kicked an ant hill.
: Eyvind, are you in danger?
: You could say so. Bellower is here. The varl are holding him off, but not for much longer, I think. Of all the Sundr, why the immortal one?
: Bellower. That is the worst of luck. I would have you come to me, but...we will have to do this the hard way. Listen closely. I will return to Strand and find passage down the Red River. You must leave Einartoft and meet me in Sigrholm.
: Juno, we'll never make it to Sigrholm. Bellower is about to overtake us. The varl won't listen to a thing I...
: Find a way. Do whatever it takes. I will not be able to contact you again before Sigrholm. Go. And Eyvind?
: Yes?
: I love you.

So...I guess that's the next step in our journey, but we have to get out of here safely first.


: You've spent a lot of time next to him since he passed out.
: Just keeping an eye on him. It's not like that, dad. He saved Iver. He might save the rest of us.
: Can he hear us? He just moved...


: How long was I...?
: You were out for a couple days. How do you feel?
: Juno! She's alive! I need to meet her in Sigrholm.
: Hold on, slow down. Who's Juno?
: She's my mentor...on the mender council. She contacted me.
: Contacted you how?
: She's not like most menders. What happened here since I passed out?
: The varl are holding the dredge back, just barely. Bellower has disappeared. Iver is still out of it. Jorundr sent Hakon, Ludin, and a couple hundred varl away to Arberrang. I don't know how long we'll be able to hold out here.
: Rook, I need your help. Take me to Sigrholm. Juno is going to meet us there.
: Sigrholm? That's got to be a week away, at least. And just abandon Einartoft?
: Maybe, or...No, I could destroy that god forsaken bridge myself. That would delay the immediate threat, but...Jorundr will never agree to it.
: I need to understand a few things, Eyvind. What's going on around here? That serpent? Bellower?
: Look, I know things are...it's...it's a long story. How well do you know history?
: We're from a very small town in the woods.
: I'll keep it short. You know how men and varl were made...the Loom-mother, the other gods. In the first great war, the armies of men and varl hated each other. They fought bitterly for land and dominance.
: Then one of the gods created the dredge, and they were such a threat that unless men and varl set aside their differences, they threatened to wipe out both races. So they did. They ended the war, pushed the dredge into the north, and formed an alliance that has held ever since.
: The second great war began generations later. The dredge rallied their forces, defeated the varl who watched the borders and laid wate to unsuspecting settlements throughout the world.
: They were led by Sundr, powerful dredge warlords and weavers, like Bellower. He was there in the second great war. Humanity was on the brink of extinction when the inner circle of menders went forth, and finally sent the Sundr and the dredge deep underground. For the most part, the dredge haven't tried to return since. Well...until now.
: Those menders were called "Valka." Juno wasn't there herself, but she's from their bloodline.

: So another great war has begun.
: If I didn't think the world was ending it would be incredible. Ancient history is playing out before us.
: What about the serpent?
: That's another story. I...there's nothing in the mender's libraries about that thing.
: It must have something to do with the dredge returning.
: That seems likely.
: What do we do about Bellower?
: I can't stop him. But I believe Juno can. That's why we need to go. We could just leave...

: And let the varl die to give us a head start?
: It's not my first choice. I've done everything I can on my own.
: Why won't Jorundr bring the bridge down?
: I can't completely understand it myself. The last time I mentioned it he made his mind very clear. He'll let the city, and the rest of the world, fall before that damned bridge.
: You said you could bring the bridge down yourself? How?
: Not by myself. I could blast it apart, but this bridge wasn't made to fall. It'll take time, and concentration. That's why I need your help. And the varl will try to stop me. It could mean holding off both the dredge and the varl.
: I need time to think about this.
: I understand. Be quick, Rook.
: There has to be some way to...I can't believe the varl would be so stubborn!
: Speak to Jorundr yourself. He's in the great hall. Maybe you'll have more luck. Or maybe he'll put your head on a spike. Rook, I hate to put this all on your shoulders but I've got few friends here. Come to a decision quickly. Either way, we can't stay. We have to make it to Sigrholm. Juno will know what to do.


:siren:VOTE TIME
So...there you go. We need to get to Sigrholm, but our current situation is pretty desperate. Do we:
1.) Abandon the varl to their fate and make a break for it?
2.) Try to hold out a while longer in hopes that Iver recovers and can offer guidance?
3.) Try and bring down the bridge RIGHT NOW
4.) Try and hold out, but if things get shittier try and bring down the bridge?

TheFlyingLlama
Jan 2, 2013

You really think someone would do that? Just go on the internet and be a llama?



2.) Try to hold out a while longer in hopes that Iver recovers and can offer guidance?


this feels like the copout answer which is usually the worst answer, which hopefully means it leads the the most problems

FairGame
Jul 24, 2001

Der Kommander

None of the choices are good. Some are just less bad than others.

Zanzibar Ham
Mar 17, 2009

You giving me the cold shoulder? How cruel.


Grimey Drawer
So the Dredge are going south to escape The Darkness? I figure trying diplomacy wouldn't be worth it since everyone with authority likes fighting too much, and nobody's gonna believe this anyway since it's coming from some guy who got the info in a dream from someone they know is dead.

Guess I'll vote for option 2, because Iver mostly seemed to have good ideas?

ultrafilter
Aug 23, 2007

It's okay if you have any questions.


Run like hell

Gologle
Apr 15, 2013

The Gologle Posting Experience.

<3
2.) Try to hold out a while longer in hopes that Iver recovers and can offer guidance?

Also WOW 3 WORLDHOOK SPAWNS???? I've never seen someone so lucky before. I would consider that to be in the top 3 best buyable items in this game, and you got it 3 times in a row. I've never seen something like that before playing this game.

sullat
Jan 9, 2012
1. Bugger off

Dong Quixote
Oct 3, 2015

Fun Shoe
The Varl are a dead end anyway.

1

TheGreatEvilKing
Mar 28, 2016





1: Jorundur won't be leaving, any of the varl who wish to are free to come along but it's a doomed cause.

Varl are kinda boned by the whole no reproduction thing.

Jack2142
Jul 17, 2014

Shitposting in Seattle

3. I have never actually done this and want to see what happens.

Fat Samurai
Feb 16, 2011

To go quickly is foolish. To go slowly is prudent. Not to go; that is wisdom.
Oh, hey, Jörmungandr. It seems pretty cool and chatty for a world ending behemoth. Probably confused because it’s out of a job with Thor dead and all.

Nuramor
Dec 13, 2012

Most Amewsing Prinny Ever!
It's kinda funny. The massive, world-destroying serpent is mad because something else is destroying the worl and THATS IT'S JOB, GODDAMMIT.

some plague rats
Jun 5, 2012

by Fluffdaddy
2. Hold out to the bitter end. Die fighting or die running, know what I'd choose

some plague rats
Jun 5, 2012

by Fluffdaddy

Jack2142 posted:

3. I have never actually done this and want to see what happens.

FairGame posted:

: Not by myself. I could blast it apart, but this bridge wasn't made to fall. It'll take time, and concentration. That's why I need your help. And the varl will try to stop me. It could mean holding off both the dredge and the varl.

I'm assuming the consequences will be dire

wedgekree
Feb 20, 2013
2

Also in fairness aren't Vikings all about hopeless battles to the end?

ArcadePark
Feb 4, 2011

Damn it, It's all your fault!

wedgekree posted:

2

Also in fairness aren't Vikings all about hopeless battles to the end?

We are not Vikings



Well the Varls are, but not the humans

Omobono
Feb 19, 2013

That's it! No more hiding in tomato crates! It's time to show that idiota Germany how a real nation fights!

For pasta~! CHARGE!

Nuramor posted:

It's kinda funny. The massive, world-destroying serpent is mad because something else is destroying the worl and THATS IT'S JOB, GODDAMMIT.

Yeah, it plays with expectations a lot.
End of the world is coming, Ragnarok is upon us, the World Serpent has awoken. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

Then it turns out Jörmungandr has no idea what's going on, this is not how Ragnarok is supposed to go, what have you moron monkeys and monkey-oxen done?

Zanzibar Ham
Mar 17, 2009

You giving me the cold shoulder? How cruel.


Grimey Drawer
Hopefully the poor innocent World Eater doesn't get framed for this Ragnarok mess-up like War was for the botched Apocalypse.

Ibblebibble
Nov 12, 2013

Jörmungandr is like a baby that just woke up due to a loud noise but instead of crying at the top of his lungs or making GBS threads his diaper he's knocking over mountains and fighting witches.

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Sankara
Jul 18, 2008


The Nothing from The Neverending Story is ready for round two! Is Alette's imagination powerful enough to stop it?

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