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Apr 6, 2023 16:15
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Major Isoor posted:Wait, I missed this earlier - really?! Interesting... hopefully they eventually flesh out any remaining loose ends, seeing as the kickstarter for their last book was successful. Arrhythmia posted:What's been keeping me from the series is they wanted to make 12 "main line" books but have only gotten up to #7 Yeah, Into the Underworld was supposed to be book 12 but considering the book released five years ago was was only the seventh it probably won't be out for a long time.
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Apr 6, 2023 21:34
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insane anime posted:MAGE lol
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Apr 6, 2023 21:41
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Alright well, to avoid having to wait a while for the books, after talking to Drinkslinger I downloaded an old free Java version of the game, which has all but the most recent book. (Although there's no artwork, aside from the general maps. So I might need to retroactively add any relevant art to my posts once the books arrive) I've decided that I'll also start off in book 2 (the Merchant Kingdom of Golnir) and beeline for book 1 (Sokara) since a lot of people recommend doing that, so that you have a very slight experience edge early on - just to avoid being murdered immediately if possible, as that probably won't be too interesting to read. SO! Here we begin the tall tales and despicable deeds of Ableton Live.... ----- The approach of dawn has turned the sky a milky-grey green, like jade. The sea is a luminous pane of silver. Holding the tiller of your sailing boat, you keep your gaze fixed on the glittering constellation known as the Spider, the sign under which you were born. It marks the north, and by keeping it to port you know you are still on course. The sun appears in a trembling burst of red fire at the rim of the world. Slowly, the chill of night gives way to brazen warmth. You lick your parched lips. There is a little water sloshing in the bottom of the barrel by your feet, but not enough to see you through another day. Sealed in a scroll case tucked into your jerkin is the parchment map your grandfather gave you on his death-bed. You remember his stirring tales of far sea voyages, of kingdoms beyond the western horizon, of sorcerous islands and ruined palaces filled with treasure. As a child you dreamed of nothing else but the magical quests that were in store if you too became an adventurer. You never expected to die in an open boat before your adventures even began. Securing the tiller, you unroll the map and study it again. You hardly need to. Every detail is etched into your memory by now. According to your reckoning, you should have reached the east coast of Harkuna days ago. A pasty grey blob splatters on to the map. After a moment of stunned surprise, you look up and curse the seagull circling directly overhead. Then it strikes you – where there’s a seagull, there may be land. You leap to your feet and scan the horizon. Sure enough, a line of white cliffs lies a league to the north. Have you been sailing along the coast all this time without realizing the mainland was so close? Steering towards the cliffs, you feel the boat judder against rough waves. A howling wind whips plumes of spindrift across the sea. Breakers pound the high cliffs. The tiller is yanked out of your hands. The little boat is spun around, out of control, and goes plunging in towards the coast. You leap clear at the last second. There is a snap of timber, the roaring crescendo of the waves – and then silence as you go under. Striking out wildly, you try to swim clear of the razorsharp rocks. For a while, the undertow threatens to drag you down, then suddenly a wave catches you and flings you contemptuously up on to the beach. You wake to find you have been washed up on a beach. Cold rain lances down on the sea breeze. You are dazed and bleeding, but lucky to be alive. -----  After finding himself on the beach, Ableton takes stock of his possessions. He merely has his leather jerkin, sword and map on him, along with 16 measly shards. All his other possessions were lost at sea, along with the boat he worked hard (and maybe stole a little) to buy. With a sigh, he staggers up a narrow cliff path and looks out over the area. Judging from the landmarks, Ableton surmises that he's somewhere between the cities of Ringhorn and Metriciens. Nowhere near the great cities and islands to the east, that he was heading towards...  Ableton stows his map and looks around again, spotting both an old fort and a couple of huts by the coastline. With nothing better to do, he wandered over to the fishermen to try and find out more about the surrounding area. After spending a few minutes talking however, they weren't able to tell him much. Just confirmed what he already knew about his whereabouts and shared some old wives' tales about creatures under the sea. What's worse - these people don't even look to have anything worth taking! Not even conning these people from their few shards could cheer Ableton up today. Well, seeing as the hour is still early, Ableton figures he might as well take a quick look at the fort, before heading east on foot. Maybe he'll find something useful? He can't stick around long, though... these areas are rife with bandits and other ne'er-do-wells. *cough*Like him*cough* Ableton quietly and deftly moved up to the fort and peeked inside the fort. The courtyard was clear and appeared to be disused, so he entered and found that the main door to the crumbling keep was open, with a staircase leading down. Not wanting to push his luck by lingering, Ableton snuck through a door at random (right-hand one) and found a seemingly empty room, with crumbling walls. But after closer inspection, he found a small chest! Containing 300 shards, ring mail (his size, too!) and a compass. With his eyes boggling at his haul, he grabbed the gear and quickly departed the fort. Outside again, he donned the ring mail shirt and headed east, now somewhat pleased with himself. At least he's made something back on his endeavour, even if he needs to complete his journey on foot! So Ableton Live, the work-in-progress adventurer, traveled east along the dirt path. It took a couple of days to reach the city of Metriciens, however thankfully his trip was uneventful - only encountering a militia patrol, who told him all about the benefits of home ownership. (Gee thanks, way to rub in the fact that Abe's a homeless vagabond)  Now, newly arrived in Metriciens, he gazes around in wonder. Being a native of the western Uttaku, big cities aren't exactly a foreign concept. But the architecture here and the great plazas absolutely packed with traders were nevertheless a sight to behold! Not wanting to waste time, Ableton decided to make the most of his time in the city by asking around town for rumours and skulking about the back alleys to see what "opportunities" arise, after selling off his old leather jerkin. And waste time he didn't! Not only did he catch some rumours here and there, he also approached a man who had just failed to attract investors for a somewhat... "legally grey" transaction that he was looking to perform the following day. He only needed money -of course- in order to secure the deal. So, wary of being conned but also in dire need of coin, Ableton gave the man a hundred shards and (with a stern look) promised to be in touch the following day. However that night while Ableton was walking off a few drinks, he noticed an unattended wagon loaded up with some crates. After looking around and seeing a man who's probably the driver not far away, relieving himself against someone's front door, Ableton decided to slip over to the wagon and take a look inside one of the crates. Bingo! Gems! He grabbed as many as he could inconspicuously carry and snuck off before the driver returned. The following day, he met up with the "merchant" from the day prior and found that his promises of profits were actually genuine! Ableton doubled his hundred and then sold the stolen gems to a fence, resulting in his coin purse becoming rather heavy. He now has 661 shards, which makes up for the lost boat quite nicely! So, where to now? The intrepid Ableton Live can simply leave and head north-east towards a small town called Haggart's Corner, to continue his trek to Sokara. Otherwise, he can keep poking around for rumours or money-making opportunities, or go to the market to buy up on equipment for his journey, or stop off at the merchants' guild to deposit some of his cash. There's also a harbour in this city, where a ship could be purchased. However Ableton doesn't have enough to be able to buy a decent vessel and hire a reliable crew. Much like other cities there are some temples in Metriciens as well, which provide paid-for services such as blessings and resurrection deals. They mostly cater for those who worship their god/s (or will charge more of you aren't a follower) but it might be worth doing at some point. The main thing to consider is that when resurrected, Ableton will be brought back to life at the temple's location - so it's generally worth doing in the vicinity of where you're going to be adventuring in, to save on travel-times, etc. In case the information is desired, the temples in Metriciens are dedicated to the following gods: - Alvir and Valmir, the twin gods responsible for storms at sea - Nagil, the god of death - The Three Fortunes, depicted as a young maiden, a woman and an old crone Also, here's the buy/sell list for this city's market, for the record: 
Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 04:41 on May 11, 2023 |
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Apr 11, 2023 13:11
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definitely buy a rope, and maybe trade up to chainmail - or hell, splint
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Apr 11, 2023 13:51
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Agreed. Definitely time for a shopping trip firstMajor Isoor posted:What's worse - these people don't even look have anything worth taking! Not even conning these people from their few shards could cheer Ableton up today. I like the cut of this guy’s jib lol
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Apr 11, 2023 14:10
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poke around for money-making opportunities
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Apr 11, 2023 14:15
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definitely a shopping trip, i vote we trade up to splint mail nd buy combat bonus +1, plus a rope and some parchment. burns through all but 50ish of our money but then we're pretty well equipped. after that maybe stick around nd make some money?
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Apr 11, 2023 15:34
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Chain mail, combat bonus +1 concealable knife, rope, lantern.
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Apr 11, 2023 17:32
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Well, figuring he's on a lucky streak, our Ableton decides to look around and make an additional investment with some shady merchants. Before long, he finds that he's struck gold - literally! After investing another hundred, he's come back with three. Going off the back of success like that, he then decides to invest most of that on another enterprise, figuring that he'll at worst break even on the deal and keep some of his newfound riches. Unfortunately though, this "merchant" turned out to be little more than a trickster! Ableton went to visit him the following day and he claimed to have lost it all. Alas, no amount of shaking or threatening managed to get Abe his money back. So in light of this, he figured his time to move on has come. He sold his old gear and bought some splint armour, a +1 dagger, rope, a lantern and some parchment, before setting off to the north east with 39 gold shards to his name. However, on the eve of his first day out on the road, three well-equipped knights pass Ableton by, looking him up and down before stopping in front of him, blocking the road. After they dismounted, Ableton was able to get a good look at them. Over their plate armour they each wear a white surcoat, and their shields bear the insignia of Nagil, the god of death. The one in the middle speaks to Live, calmly and confidently. "We are pledged to Nagil." they say. "We count ourselves already dead and so we cannot be defeated in battle, for we have no fear."  They then bluntly offer to make Ableton an official initiate of Nagil on the spot, free of charge. It's... perhaps an offer that might be unwise for him to refuse, if these knights happen to be in a rather foul mood. He might be able to turn them down peacefully, however becoming an initiate is not without benefits, either. Normally it costs money to do so at the temple, plus services (such as resurrection) are cheaper for followers of the temple's god. However, this would basically lock Ableton into worshipping the powerful god of death - since although there are no doubt benefits to being faithful in the long run, if Abe happens to decide to renounce Nagil and follow another god later on... well, the 'defection' probably won't come cheap, one way or another. So, what will he do? Should Ableton accept the offer and join the ranks of these knights, or should he do his best to keep his distance from matters of faith, for the time being? (In case it matters, from memory there are no real obligations after joining, other than to...well, simply not worship other gods  )
Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 04:42 on May 11, 2023 |
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Apr 12, 2023 14:01
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Leadthumb posted:Chain mail, combat bonus +1 concealable knife, rope, lantern. Sadly, the closest I can get to a small knife is a dagger! (All weapons are the same though, stat-wise. It's assumed that you have proficiency with whichever weapon you select, rather than more rigid systems like D&D) Oh and seeing as votes were split between chain and splint, I flipped a coin. The bigger investment (splint) should be good in the long-term though I think, especially given that it was essentially bought with free money Also, although I'll add in whatever art I can get from the books into my posts, is there anything you think I should do, to make my 'proper'/CYOA posts stand out from my chaff posts, like this one? Like, bold text, or add something to the start?
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Apr 12, 2023 14:15
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Take their offer. What’s the worst that could happen?
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Apr 12, 2023 14:22
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take them up on the offer and bring death to merchants the land over
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Apr 12, 2023 16:33
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Sounds fair to me! Unless anyone has any objections, I'll accept their offer later on when I'm home. (Apologies for that rather small update btw - I didn't think we'd chance upon a potentially important decision right after leaving the city! It's a fairly rare event, from what I could see) Also, I added a basic stat page to the second post, seeing as an AI image generator eventually spat out a picture of a face that's not completely awful in every way. Happy to replace it if something better comes along, though Major Isoor posted:Ableton Live
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Apr 13, 2023 01:26
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Lol Ableton is looking good
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Apr 13, 2023 03:12
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That Little Demon posted:Lol Ableton is looking good haha yeah, a bit grouchy too! Looks kinda like the city guard arrested him and had a mugshot of him painted, a bit  Anyway, we'll see how it goes later. Just need to go a little further east into the kingdom of Sokara, then after that it'll open up some more - since that's the more level-appropriate area for us to adventure in.
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Apr 13, 2023 03:56
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That Little Demon posted:Lol Ableton is looking good
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Apr 13, 2023 04:34
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Figuring that he'd be better off making friends of these knights rather than enemies, Ableton accepts their offer as graciously as he can manage. Over the next ten minutes or so, they take him through the process of making a formal oath committing himself to Nagil, then drilling in the importance and principles of their now-shared faith to Ableton. Before departing on horseback, one of the knights turns and says; "Now, you can arrange for resurrection. Just go to one of the temples dedicated to our sweet lord Nagil, then tell the people there that you're a fellow initiate. Farewell!" After this surprise encounter with organized religion, Ableton felt he might as well hit the road, before more well-equipped preachers show up and decide to press-gang him into following their various gods, instead. So he recommenced his trek to the east, leaving the road partway to the village Haggart's Corner and cutting cross-country to the town marked as 'Wishport' on his map. When it came into view, he had to acknowledge that, despite being rather small, it was indeed a beautiful town; A cluster of picturesque houses located between sweeping fields overlooking the bay, perched atop stunningly white cliffs.  Walking through the main street, Ableton could see many fish being brought in from the coast, along with some oil, dyes and a few other commodities being packed and traded. For a man of his (somewhat dubious) talents though, there didn't really seem to be much of an opportunity for him to ply his trade. So after a quick lunch, he continued east on foot towards the Magwort Fens surrounding the estuary of the River of Souls. At first it was a rather uneventful trip, however as he started plodding through the fen itself, he head a rustling behind some nearby bushes. Not one to be taken by surprise, Abe drew his dagger and crept towards the sound... then... a large shape stepped out from behind it! "Ahh, just a warthog." Abe muttered to himself, chuckling while he started sheathing his dagger. But then, the warthog turned and noticed him - and with a squeal, it charged! Ableton, as good at dodging foes as he is at dodging responsibility for his misdeeds, managed to avoid it with a dive. He was then able to lunge at it and sink his dagger deeply into its neck. Then a few more times after it went down, for good measure... Then perhaps a kick, too.  The following morning, now with a full belly after eating his share of hog, he continued east. It was an uneventful journey, but now after crossing the bridge, he's finally in the As Ableton approached the ancient city's gates, he found it hard to avoid looking up at the row of hanged bodies, swinging in the breeze by the roadside. After looking at the signs hanging around the necks of them, it was clear they were rebels - or at least, suspected rebels... who knows if the general is simply eliminating his political rivals, under the guise of preserving the peace of the realm!  After the usual lecture about abiding by the local laws from the guards, Ableton was permitted through the gates and into Marlock City proper. Feeling it prudent to explore the city before deciding how to proceed in this foreign country, he decides to wander around exploring the city and see what kind of opportunities might await a skilled man such as he. After maybe half an hour of wandering, Ableton found himself approaching a trio of drunk guards. In fancier dress though, so likely to be officers or other troops above the rank-and-file. As he passed however, one bumps into him. "Ehhh, wha' do we 'ave (hic) 'ere, eh?" The one who bumped him sneered. Another of the drunkards decides to chime in; "Yeah, get outta here, ya fuckin' dog!" and gave him a shove. Now, Ableton may be cool and collected in most situations he finds himself in... But, drunk or sober, he really doesn't appreciate it when people insult him. Especially if it's some stuck-up piece-of-poo poo guard, who probably earns his shards by standing around scratching his arse all day. So naturally, our brave hero Live found himself unable to resist encouraging the men to rent a room in the nearby inn and copulate with one another, using very colourful language. Responding to the troubadour's comments with the expected punch, Ableton then dodged and spent the next few minutes brawling with these guards. As he's something of a seasoned street-fighter (mostly fighting while drunk, admittedly) and the guards were very much wasted, he found himself standing over three battered, unconscious guards. Live was bruised, but victorious. Instinctively, he knelt down and turned their pockets, earning himself 25 shards and additionally found some kind of officer's pass on one of them. Ableton figured that it would be... problematic for him to be found carrying it, but shrugged to himself and pocketed it anyway. He'll hang onto it for the time being, at least - since it might come in handy. And besides, Abe thought to himself with a wry smile; If the rest of the guards fight as well as these morons, he won't have much to worry about even if he's ever caught with it on him! Then, realizing that a small crowd of gawkers had assembled during the fight, Ableton rose from the bodies, stuck his hands in his pockets and proceeded to walk away as nonchalantly as possible, not looking anyone in the eye. (Well, on the plus side - nobody called for reinforcements. It doesn't seem like anyone else here is particularly fond of the city guards, either)  On his way to the Three Rings Tavern at the other end of town, Abe passes through a small district known as the 'Street of Entertainers'. As he walked down the road, a figure in the shadow hisses "Psst, come here, friend", ushering him over. Ableton throws a glance behind, then follows him into the mouth of an alleyway, to hear what this man has to say. "Want to try your luck in the gambler’s den? Just five shards and you're in, mate!" Knowing that he doesn't have quite as much loose change as he had a few days ago, he silently curses the lack of a gambling den in Metriciens and politely declines, advising that he'll have to come back another time. After arriving at the Three Rings, Ableton hires a room for the night and sits down in the front room of the tavern, looking around at the patrons. In amongst the crowd he spots an old troubadour -a kindred spirit of sorts- spinning a yarn about three heroes, a princess and a dragon. Not a bad tale of adventure and romance, Abe thinks to himself, however he prefers the version of the story he heard back in his hometown. This retelling of it mentions some local creatures called the 'Manbeasts of Nerech' however, which the old man personally (of course) tricked by soothing them with music, before making his daring escape. Abe waited by the bar and sure enough, after the old adventurer finished regaling his tale, he went over for a drink. Ableton shouted the man a round or two, in the hopes of making a good impression and loosening his lips - hopefully leading to the old codger giving him some useful information. After correctly assessing that Ableton is a fellow troubadour on an adventure, he happily tells our hero all about his life-long quest to find what he describes as the ‘Greatest Story Ever Told’. To cut a long story short, he mentions that the god Sig, in his aspect as the Divine Bard, passed knowledge of this to a mystic called Damor the Hermit. He lives alone in a lost cave, awaiting the day when he can pass on the story to the one who finds him. "I am too old now to pursue the quest - so I pass it on to you! I believe he can be found in the foothills of the Spine of Harkun, the mountains to the north. If you ever do what I couldn't, by find Damor, you will become one of the great troubadours of the ages!’  Now resting in his rented bed, Ableton wonders about what he should do and where he should go. There's still a little more exploring that can be done in the city, however it would appear that due to martial law being enforced here, less-than-legal opportunities in the city are rather slim. He could check in at the temple of Nagil, to see whether there are actually many perks to this 'religion' stuff. Additionally, he could always look for work around the city - there are bound to be some jobs that someone like him could do. Otherwise, he could hit the road. But if he does, where to? Should he stick to the nearby areas, or try to travel northwards toward where this Damor guy's apparently meant to be? Or head eastward and stick to the major towns and cities, for now? (Also, Ableton only has 55 shards at present, after his living expenses, etc.) Also, there's the question of the internal conflict going on... if, for some reason, Ableton eventually finds himself dragged into the conflict between the royalists and the army, what should he do? Help the rebels strike back against the army, or aid the army with finding where the heir is holed-up? Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 04:43 on May 11, 2023 |
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Apr 13, 2023 13:11
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So we worship Patrick Nagel now? Better go to the church and admire the aesthetics.
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Apr 13, 2023 14:16
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Find a Sig church and see if they offer greater divine assistance
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Apr 13, 2023 14:27
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finding Damor should be our highest priority. We must build up a legendary and honorable reputation, which we can then cynically use as leverage to rob the town blind. As for the royalists, nobles in my experience have a lot more gold (or shards) to be pried out of their anemic claws, so I'd gravitate toward situations that get us within swiping distance of the heir's pockets, and worm our way into his good graces.
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Apr 13, 2023 19:58
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Sub-Actuality posted:finding Damor should be our highest priority. We must build up a legendary and honorable reputation, which we can then cynically use as leverage to rob the town blind. This. Also as a bard we need to find the most annoying instrument known to man to get people to pay us to stop playing, like a busker
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Apr 13, 2023 20:02
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That Little Demon posted:This. Also as a bard we need to find the most annoying instrument known to man to get people to pay us to stop playing, like a busker bagpipes
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Apr 13, 2023 20:03
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Fungah! posted:bagpipes Lol yeah or a recorder
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Apr 13, 2023 20:07
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That Little Demon posted:Lol yeah or a recorder fife
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Apr 13, 2023 20:09
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OK, so we'll head to the temple of Nagil (I do remember seeing that in the city description, earlier - plus they're a pretty major god, so most places should have one of his/its temples) and then head for Damor's last known position, after seeing if there's a temple dedicated to Sig nearby. Just to check though, if there isn't a temple of Sig in the city, should we take the direct route to Damor, or take a detour to Yellowport on the way? Since if there's no temple of Sig in Marlock City, Yellowport would be the next likeliest place, I would imagine. Also yeah, instruments are good - they typically provide buffs to charisma, too. Unfortunately there haven't been anything available in the markets so far. (From what I remember after all these years, there are various flutes available ingame, as well as some other things like lutes or mandolins. Some other stuff too here and there, IIRC)
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Apr 14, 2023 01:11
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Major Isoor posted:OK, so we'll head to the temple of Nagil (I do remember seeing that in the city description, earlier - plus they're a pretty major god, so most places should have one of his/its temples) and then head for Damor's last known position, after seeing if there's a temple dedicated to Sig nearby. Take the detour, we have time I would imagine
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Apr 14, 2023 04:46
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That Little Demon posted:Take the detour, we have time I would imagine True, true. Might even be able to make a quick
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Apr 14, 2023 05:20
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Major Isoor posted:Also yeah, instruments are good - they typically provide buffs to charisma, too. Unfortunately there haven't been anything available in the markets so far. (From what I remember after all these years, there are various flutes available ingame, as well as some other things like lutes or mandolins. Some other stuff too here and there, IIRC) I don't know much about this game, is there a way to play music that controls people?
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Apr 14, 2023 05:21
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Leadthumb posted:I don't know much about this game, is there a way to play music that controls people? Oh god I hope so lol
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Apr 14, 2023 05:22
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Leadthumb posted:I don't know much about this game, is there a way to play music that controls people? Oh, regarding the charisma increases I mentioned, you mean? I don't believe so, unless the old troubadour's tale about the manbeasts is to be believed. I think the CHA increases for instruments is simply a basic stat increase, rather than anything spectacular. Could be mistaken though - maybe there's some sort of charmed instrument, but I would suspect not
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Apr 14, 2023 05:26
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Major Isoor posted:Oh, regarding the charisma increases I mentioned, you mean? I don't believe so, unless the old troubadour's tale about the manbeasts is to be believed. I think the CHA increases for instruments is simply a basic stat increase, rather than anything spectacular. Could be mistaken though - maybe there's some sort of charmed instrument, but I would suspect not I can't find a screen cap and this joke is just for me but *il palazzo from excel saga tossing his guitar to the ground and saying "this world is corrupt"*
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Apr 14, 2023 06:13
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Leadthumb posted:I can't find a screen cap and this joke is just for me but *il palazzo from excel saga tossing his guitar to the ground and saying "this world is corrupt"* lol
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Apr 14, 2023 06:37
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Setting out the following morning after a nice sleep-in, Ableton decides he'll head through town to the temple of Nagil. As he's passing through a fairly poor residential area however, he notices people rushing down the road, around the corner. Intrigued by this, Ableton follows - and after rounding the corner, sees a house caught alight! He stood transfixed for a moment, before turning to continue his trip. But in that instant before he moved, he felt someone tug on his hand. "Please, you've got to help my mother! She's trapped inside!" Ableton was just about to tell the person to gently caress off, but caught himself when he looked down and saw that the hand which stopped him belonged to a young girl. Letting out a sigh of frustration, as he found his heartstrings (which he didn't even know he had, at this point) being tugged, he made the painful decision to help this little brat. So without further delay, he gently pushed the kid to one side, then ran inside the house before his cynical brain had a chance to change its mind. With a heroic effort, He was then able to get to the woman. Scooping her up, he legs it for the door, staggering out into the cool night air with smoke and flame licking at his heels. The townsfolk let out a rousing cheer and the girl thanks her new hero profusely, for saving her mother. Later, after speaking to the woman, it's revealed that she is apparently a powerful sorceress whose experiments in fire magic went awry. Her name is Elissia the Traveller and she hands Ableton a pale moonstone. Elissia mentions that he can use the moonstone by rubbing it, then after doing so he will be instantly teleported to the vicinity of the sunstone - which she carries on a necklace. "I will be here in Marlock City. Whenever you are desperate and at the end of your tether, or you just want to get here fast, use the moonstone and you will appear beside me. I will do everything in my power to aid you, and then my debt to you will be repaid." Elissa tells Ableton solemnly, before he departs. Still somewhat disconcerted by the whole ordeal that he had found himself dumped into mere minutes ago, Ableton, now somewhat dirty from soot, pockets the moonstone and decides to continue with his original plan. Arriving at the temple of Nagil, he pokes around it for a while to admire the ornate sculptures, gargoyles and tapestries depicting souls' descent to the Underworld. After several minutes of this, Ableton happens to notice a scroll tacked to an otherwise-empty board off to one side. "Wanted: person of unusual resourcefulness. See temple warden." After reading the poster and raising an eyebrow at the strange and vague request, Ableton had to admit he was curious - people who are vague like this tend to seek discretion. And Live considered himself rather discrete...and on the plus side, religious groups like this tend to have rather full coin purses, so he might get a reasonable payday for whatever this is... Ableton decides to poke around and he found the temple's warden without much difficulty. When he mentions the poster and his, ah, particular skill set, the warden looks rather relieved and responds. "You see, we have had a rather unfortunate, umm… accident," he says worriedly. "In the crypt below the temple we sometimes experiment with the corpses of the dead - you know, the occasional zombie, part of the rituals in honour of the particular aspect of Nagil we revere here. Ordinary stuff. The problem, however, is that it would seem a ghoul has escaped from these pits and is now terrorizing the city at night. We’d rather someone like you sorted the problem out before the city militia got to hear of it. Destroy it and bring me the ghoul’s head." The business-savvy Ableton then asks about financial compensation, but is only met with vague promises of rewards, before the warden departed with another initiate who approached him during their conversation, apparently requiring assistance elsewhere. Shrugging to himself, Ableton figured he'd give this a look and see what he can get out of this man once the job is done. "Shouldn't be too hard, being only one ghoul" Abe mutters to himself as he leaves. Now that he has a juicy job, Ableton returned to his room at the Three Rings Tavern and racks his brain, trying to remember what he once learnt about the undead. (Being a self-proclaimed jack-of-all-trades troubadour, he prides himself on being able to deal with most threats, thank you very much!) Then, he remembered: Ghouls are known to eat the flesh of the dead as well as the living. They like to make their homes in crypts and graveyards and they never venture out during the day, as sunlight burns their disgusting and pallid undead flesh. Also -most critically- they cannot abide a powder of salt and iron filings mixed together. So with that, Ableton went to the market and spent 15 shards on the salt and iron filings. Since although he's good with a blade, it never hurts to have a plan B. After this, he made sure all his gear was prepared, then waited for nightfall... ...Then once night set in, Ableton began prowling the streets. Half on the lookout for the ghoul and half on the lookout for guards, as they probably wouldn't take too kindly if they catch an armed man wandering the streets. A few hours before dawn however, he approached a cemetery and found a young girl sitting by the gate, sobbing quietly. The silver-tongued Ableton was then able to convince her that he meant her no harm, then proceeded to ask why she was out here at night. The little girl responds between sobs, informing our troubadour that she was out placing flowers at the grave of her father, when a horrible monster came for her. Fortunately, she was able to run away and has hidden here since. She turns and points to a large tomb off in the middle of the cemetery, behind which the thing was hiding. Ableton then sternly tells the girl to go home and not stop or look back, no matter what she hears. Then he recommenced his hunt, sneakily deftly towards the tomb, dagger drawn. Suddenly, a foul stench fills his nostrils, and a figure rises up out of the shadows! Yellow eyes glow with feral bloodlust and the creature’s talons, encrusted with dried blood, reach for Live hungrily. He's found the ghoul! Not one to be caught unprepared though, he whips out his pouch of salt and filings! Then as quickly as he can, Ableton pours out a thin line in front of him. The ghoul immediately lets out a frustrated wail, stopping in its tracks before shrinking back slightly, now no longer prepared to charge straight for Ableton. Not inclined to lose his advantage, Ableton then quickly moves in a circle around the ghoul, pouring out a line of powder around the monster.  "Apologies for holding you up, as I'm sure you had a busy schedule for tonight!" Ableton says in a mocking tone to the vile creature, unable to stop himself from grinning at its misfortune. "Don't ah, lose your head though, I'll only need to keep you here a little longer, until sunrise." Ableton then perched himself atop a tombstone, then pulled out a half-empty bottle of booze he picked up from the tavern on the way here. While he waits for the sun, the ghoul made sure Abe knew it was angry. Making all sorts of shrieks and attempts to lunge at him - but it was never prepared to cross the circle Ableton created, surrounding it. When the sun finally rises, the ghoul's rotting flesh is rapidly burnt to a crisp. Ableton then hopped off the tombstone and worked at the spine with his dagger briefly, detaching the skull. After this, he begins leisurely walking towards the temple of Nagil, whistling a happy tune and casually tossing the skull between his hands. Although he was tired, it was a good day already - and it's only dawn! After arriving at the temple, an initiate notices the head instantly, ushering Ableton into the warden's office. "Ahhh, excellent! You did it - and so soon, too!" The warden exclaimed, taking the head and placing it carefully into a jar. Ableton was then passed a pouch containing 500 shards, then he happily departs the temple and heads off to the temple of Sig... and then maybe some celebratory morning drinks, with his newfound wealth. A little while later Ableton arrives at the Marlock City temple of Sig, then asks some of the initiates for any information they might know about this 'Damor' figure, the old bard mentioned. Unfortunately though, none of the initiates seemed interested. Some seemed to genuinely want to help but didn't know about it, while others just didn't seem to care. Ableton the monster-slayer then decides to take it up a notch, asking for an audience with the high priest. However, as he was nobody important to the temple, his request was bluntly declined. Well, it looks like Ableton has had an eventful day-and-a-bit! He now has 538 shards in his pocket and some weird teleportation stone. (Which...sounded like it was a single-use thing?) Before he leaves though, should Ableton do anything else - such as gamble a bit, or arrange for a resurrection deal? (Keeping in mind that a resurrection deal will return him to Marlock City, which isn't in a super central location. It's definitely good to have a resurrection up your sleeve, but if we're going to go to Yellowport anyway, it MIGHT be best to wait until then, perhaps? Or do you think it's better to be safe than sorry?) Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 06:24 on Apr 29, 2023 |
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Apr 14, 2023 11:12
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I was definitely torn on whether Ableton would help with the burning house, haha - but I flipped a coin and well, the rest is history. I think we got lucky with the ghoul thing too, since when collecting the quest reward there was a bit that implied that it was possible to catch a disease from it, if it had cut you! So I'm definitely glad Ableton passed the check necessary to remember the detail about the salt and iron - otherwise that might've been a much tighter fight...
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Apr 14, 2023 11:17
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Before I read any further, rub the moonstone to see if it’s a single or multi use item
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Apr 14, 2023 11:18
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herculon posted:Before I read any further, rub the moonstone to see if it’s a single or multi use item Oh hang on, I just checked the inventory - it's one use only. So it looks like it'll be a free ticket back to Marlock City from any troublesome situation, with maybe some free help from a sorceress thrown in. Not bad! Multi-use would've been nicer, but I guess that would be a little OP EDIT: Also, as we're initiates of Nagil, resurrection deals cost $200 compared to... $650 I think? Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 11:32 on Apr 14, 2023 |
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Apr 14, 2023 11:21
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Nice! I think we should gamble a bit before we leave lol
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Apr 14, 2023 12:40
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Definitely go gambling
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Apr 14, 2023 12:50
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Leadthumb posted:I can't find a screen cap and this joke is just for me but *il palazzo from excel saga tossing his guitar to the ground and saying "this world is corrupt"* lmao but also lmao tht you think other imps havent seen excel saga
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Apr 14, 2023 15:23
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