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  To skip ahead to our hero's character sheet and update links, please turn to post two Hey! So, I was wondering earlier about buying a Fabled Lands CYOA book or two and going through it in a thread, getting feedback on what kind of direction you imps might want me to take, when decisions, etc. come up. (Never done a Let's Play/group CYOA style thread though, so I'll probably either post about decisions too much, or too little... let me know which!) I then pitched the idea to the two Larries and neither of them said it was a bad idea, so here we are! Anyway, in an attempt at demonstrating that I'm a responsible adult with self-control and not in any way like TLD who blows heaps of money on IZ social experiments... I blew a (small-ish) heap of money on the whole run of eight books, including the 'new' one that was released in 2018.  Fabled Lands is a CYOA book series, that also features dice rolls and a character sheet with stats and an inventory, etc. - so it's kind of a middle ground between regular CYOA books and PnP RPGs like D&D.SO! When these books arrive between 15-20 days from now (courtesy of Book Depository, which is going defunct by the end of month FYI), I'll post about it and start the adventure. If there's actually any interest in seeing what the character gets up to, I'll post about what happens on the adventures and get feedback whenever decisions on where to go/what to do arise. No stress either way. In the meantime though, what area(s) do you think I should start in? This is a list of the books, with information on their respective starting areas - keeping in mind, you can travel between books/regions: The War-Torn Kingdom This is the one I've played before, so I remember a bit about it. Start in the titular war-torn kingdom, called Sokara. The game takes place right after a civil war, where the monarchy was overthrown by the army. It's a fairly standard/western coastal region with some more common tropes like a big coastal city (Yellowport) that has sewers with rats and other horrible creatures in there, etc. Cities of Gold and Glory Start off in the region of Golnir. I'm not 100% on what the cultural theme for this place is. Supposedly a prosperous region - from what I can find it seems...kinda like an idyllic version of Britain and/or France, with a focus on commerce. From what I gather it has much more fairy tale vibes, compared to the more 'gritty' country of Sokara. So I imagine it'll be similar to Toussaint from the Witcher books/games. Over the Blood-Dark Sea Swashbuckling on the Violet Sea, between the two main continents! Can't do much without a ship so this isn't really a good book to start in. It's more of a 'transitional' book from what I recall, where you go from your origin country -> this book -> your destination, if travel involves crossing the sea. Nevertheless, there's still adventure on the seas - whether it's encountering monsters or pirates, finding buried treasure, going to coastal/island cities here and there, etc. The Plains of Howling Darkness As the title suggests, this book is focused on the Great Steppes in the far north. Grasslands and tundra, much like Mongolia and central Asia. This book is pretty closely linked to The War-Torn Kingdom and The Court of Hidden Faces, as they're neighbouring regions and some quests/raids etc. can involve crossing the border. The Court of Hidden Faces The nation of Uttaku. This is themed after the Byzantine Empire, before...well, its eventual collapse. It used to be the seat of power for the entire northern continent (Harkuna) however these days they're more of a regional power, roughly equivalent to Golnir and Sokara. There's a lot of intrigue and backstabbery for/against the nobles and the like here, similar to its real-world counterpart. There's also some mask/masquerade stuff going on in their culture, too. Supposedly there's an old run-down castle somewhere that you can rebuild and claim, however you can also just buy houses in any book/region, too. (I assume repairing the castle will cost a fortune too, so that's probably something to look at later on, at best) Lords of the Rising Sun This book is set on the isles of Akatsurai, which is essentially a direct rip-off of feudal Japan. At the time of the book's events, the region is gearing-up towards civil war between the shogunate and the emperor. I checked online and it doesn't seem like an all-out war starts during the book's events, so you cannot enlist in the army and fight in 'proper' pitched battles and the like. However you can still perform quests and covert ops, etc. for either side, to help one or the other gain an edge in the lead-up to the war. There are also other Japanese-themed creatures and the like, that quests involve. The Serpent King's Domain This is the new book from 2018, after a big hiatus from their last release in 1996. I'm not sure about starting off in this region as there are a bunch of new systems (like, some new secondary magic system, that might involve weird spiritual magic?) but I'm sure it'll work out either way. This book takes place in the southern continent of Ankon-Konu, which is essentially South America, with it's dangerous fauna and large swathes of rainforest. Judging from the map it seems like there might be some less-forested areas too, similar to the rugged terrain of Chile, etc. down south. The Keep of the Lich Lord This book is kind of a standalone adventure on an evil island that can be slotted into an ongoing campaign, or played separately if you really want. From what I can gather, this area can be accessed from one or two of the books set in the northern kingdoms. Here's a map of the world, for reference:  NOTE: Books for the western continent, the south western isles and I believe the western part of the southern continent don't exist yet. So at present we're unable to go to those regions Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 04:55 on May 10, 2023 |
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Sir Ableton Live Class: Troubadour Rank: 5 Deity: Nagil, the god of death Titles: King's Champion Kills: 33 Deaths: 0 Properties/Assets: - A concealed room in the Yellowport sewers Current Goals: - Notable Accomplishments: - Entrapped and slew a vicious ghoul, which had been terrorizing the citizens of Marlock City - Was abducted by cannibal cultists of the southern god 'Badogor' and later escaped, butchering his former captors in the process - Infiltrated the ratmen settlement in the Yellowport sewers and assassinated their king, casting the remaining ratmen into disarray - Tracked down and slew a rare and dangerous beast called the gorlock, near the village of Blessed Springs - A prophesy was revealed by Damor the Hermit, claiming that Ableton's life will be widely considered 'the Greatest Story Ever Told' - Rescued a group of prisoners from the manbeasts of Nerech and killed the manbeasts' master in a duel - Assassinated the provost marshal on his second attempt, after being caught and escaping enslavement in the mines - Infiltrated the Citadel of Velis Corin and opened the gates at night, allowing the besiegers to assault it unhindered - Robbed one of the richest men in the world, then later fought him at sea. ----- The story so far... Shipwrecked in Golnir and the trek east (Part 1, Part 2) Street-fights and ghoul-bites in Marlock City (Part 1, Part 2) Rats, cannibals and robbers in Yellowport (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) Courting the merfolk and traveling to Venefax (Part 1, Part 2) The case of the Man-eating Blood-Thursday Gob-gobbler Blessed Springs and the legendary gorlock (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) The search for Damor the Hermit A daring rescue beyond the Eastern Marches (Part 1, Part 2) Seeking out the royalist rebels (Part 1, Part 2) Ghost hunting in the village of High Therys Assassinating the provost marshal of Yellowport (Part 1, Part 2) Penetrating an impenetrable fortress (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) Robberies, muggings and murderers in Yarimura (Part 1, Part 2) A battle at sea Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 14:07 on Jun 11, 2023 |
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Apr 5, 2023 12:41
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Not sure if this is best suited for Imp Zone or the Scholastic Book Fair TBH, but seeing as this little pet project (assuming anyone cares and therefore this actually happens online, rather than just...me doing it normally) will no doubt take longer than the standard life of an RSF, I figure having it here in IZ is probably the way to go. Plus imps are the best posters as a general rule, so I figure IZ is a safe bet!  Drinkslinger posted:Definitely start off in book 1 - the rank you start at corresponds to the number of the book, so Book 1 means you start off at Rank 1, and so on. If you start at a later book, you’ll be completely OP when you come to one of the earlier-level regions. Wait, really? There's no way to play in, say, the steppes at a low rank? Interesting. Supposedly you can start in any region and go wherever, but yeah I guess I'll have to look into potential workarounds for the rank thing you mentioned, if people want to see one of the later books off the bat Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 05:33 on Apr 13, 2023 |
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Apr 5, 2023 12:53
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Palme posted:Battle frontier 2.0 Yeah I mean, I probably should've waited closer to the package arrival date before I posted, I agree. But hey, I might not be a veteran at this kind of thing, but I'm not gonna flake out on anyone! I might not blitz through game content quite at the rate TLD does (because man, how does he not burn out?!) but this should be something I can steadily get through and post about. It seems very feasible to me, personally (famous last words, I know)Drinkslinger posted:You could always just start in Book 1 and then travel to the steppes Hmm, true - I just thought, too: If I play a bunch in book one and then die, I could always just start in the next book, rather than replaying the original. That way it's new stuff and starting a rank higher, so that I'm not going over old material or playing as a rookie adventurer again Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 13:06 on Apr 5, 2023 |
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Apr 5, 2023 13:02
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P-Mack posted:Cool! When I was a kid I went through all of Joe Dever's Lone Wolf books, which were kind of a similar thing where you had a pnp style inventory and combat system on top of the CYOA format. Sounds like Fabled Lands is a little more sandboxy though. Ohhh, interesting! That's cool - I'll have to check that out EDIT: But yeah, this certainly isn't even a blip on the radar compared to other ongoing threads like IZWF. But if anyone wants to relive their CYOA days (or want to live them in the first place, due to not having any prior exposure to them) I'm more than happy to try and plow through each/most of these books and see where the adventures lead us! One other thing though, is how people think I should play the character (like, do-gooder who accepts any quest to help people, doesn't betray anyone, etc., vs someone who is cut-throat and doesn't care who dies, as long as he's paid) as well as what class to use. Speaking of which, here are the classes: - Mage - Priest - Rogue - Troubadour - Warrior - Wayfarer All of these are fairly standard class archtypes. The wayfarer is kinda like a ranger, the priest is akin to a cleric and the troubadour is basically just a bard. So they're pretty much aligned with standard D&D-esque classes that most RPGs use. Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 13:48 on Apr 5, 2023 |
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Apr 5, 2023 13:22
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Sub-Actuality posted:one always lies, and one always tells the truth... which is which?? hahaha! Well given the solution to that is "cut one's head off and ask the other if they're dead to see if they're the liar", Jeff has already completed step one for me
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Apr 5, 2023 14:41
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BTW, please accept my sincere apologies for posting this so early on. My brain was telling me to wait a week at least, so that there's less of a gap between posting and the books arriving... but my heart always says  Don't worry though; this isn't gonna end up like a certain other thread someone mentioned in here. Even though I definitely did the unwise thing and posted this now rather than later, it's happening! On the plus-side at least, Book Depository -despite being a thinly veiled moneymaker for Bezos- is generally pretty quick to ship stuff to me though - often arriving a little before the lower end of their ETA timeframe. So hopefully (/unless they're flooded with orders due to being shut down) I'll have it in two weeks or less, otherwise it'll be sometime in the third. I'll bump this once it arrives and go from there. In the meantime though, in addition to my earlier question about class preferences etc., are there any thoughts on a name for our
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Apr 5, 2023 16:13
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Plebian Parasite posted:My vote is also for Ableton Live the Troubador due to Ableton Live's extremely high quality product that enables the creativity of musical communities everywhere. Make your one perfect take with Ableton Live. Hmm, this is doable - especially that name.  A troubadour who travels around advertising and selling his services! (Perhaps also speaking in third person a lot, as well)
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Apr 5, 2023 22:31
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super sweet best pal posted:Always hated exploring a new place only to find an entrance to the Underworld, for which the actual book doesn't exist. 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. Either way, it looks like our adventurer will be Ableton Live, troubadour extraordinaire! As per Drinkslinger's advice, I think starting in book one is probably the way to go. Adventure around the city of Yellowport and the nearby forests for a bit to gain some experience, then see where our feet take us. Now, the hard part... waiting for these bloody books to arrive. I'll jump onto this as soon as they get here (again, hopefully before long as per my previous orders from this store over the years) and aim to get the first updates of the adventure quickly underway, to make up for lost time
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Apr 6, 2023 12:50
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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 Oh, very interesting! I know the western continent hasn't been done yet, but that's very curious... I wonder what else they have/had planned, other than that and the underworld. Hopefully once their Steam game catches up, they'll start releasing more books again
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Apr 6, 2023 14:52
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Sub-Actuality posted:absolutely this lol. in fact as a general directive, gamble at every opportunity An excellent choice, sir! I'll make sure we don't blow through too much though, just so we at minimum have enough for a resurrection deal later
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Apr 14, 2023 17:28
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Plebian Parasite posted:*every imp simultaneously* oh is there sports betting? hahaha yeah, seems like gambling is popular! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, what with Impo coin betting being massive here. (For good reason, though!)Also, apologies for not keeping the quick pacing going - funnily enough, my weekend has been busier than my week, so far. Hopefully I'll get the gambling and travel done tomorrow. I have some other side-project stuff I need to work on ASAP too, though, but we'll see - should be able to make it work
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Apr 15, 2023 17:38
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After his unhelpful visit to the temple of Sig in Marlock City, Ableton figures he has some shards burning a hole in his coin purse, courtesy of his newly-discovered fellow devotees of Nagil. (He must admit, he's still a little skeptical about religion, but well, it at least has its perks!) So without delay, Ableton made his way back to the Street of Entertainers and spoke to the shifty-looking doorman to the gambling den. "Ah, yer back eh? Five shards door fee if yer want in." Our casino connoisseur, Ableton Live, promptly hands over the required shards, then proceeded to strut straight into the hazy, smoke-filled gambling den, like he's done this a hundred times. (Because well, let's face it - he has. Although he's never been to this one before, gambling dens in Harkuna are all the same to him: Opportunities) Ableton sits at a table and then spends a little while playing dice with what appears to be some dock labourers in dire need of a bath. After a few winning rounds, Abe decides to call it quits before his luck turns. He doubled his initial 20 shards, and hey, he's starting to feel a little parched anyway. As Ableton pushes back his chair with a screech however, he hears a loud whoop and a holler: "By the Three Fortunes, I’m hot tonight!" Trying to appear nonchalant, he casts his gaze over towards the source of the sound: A thin, pasty scholar, looks like. And after taking the last round's winnings, the excitable bookworm's coin purse is bulging. And better yet, it looks like he's calling it a day as well. Ableton, knowing a ripe opportunity when he sees it, casually delays his departure another thirty seconds or so by pretending to be listening to a nearby conversation. After this, he quietly slips out a short while after the bookworm left, then starts following from a short distance away. However, Ableton quickly noticed that this mark wasn't noticed by him alone - two thugs are ahead of him, looking like they've got the same idea! As the scholar passes by an alleyway, blissfully unaware of his assailants, the two thugs quickly close the distance and grab him - pulling him quickly into the alley! Ableton mutters a curse to himself, before making a dash to cover the last distance to the alleyway. As he rounds the corner, he can see that the scholar is cowering on the ground, with the two thugs looming over him. Abe decides to make use of the element of surprise, by springing forward and striking the two with a flurry of blows to the backs and side of their heads, as the thugs attempt to spin around to contend with their new foe. However, quick as a fox, Ableton dishes out a black eye to one and a broken nose to the other, sending them quickly scurrying off. Now that the interlopers have been dealt with, it's Abe's turn to stand over the feeble man. But as he casts his eyes downward over the poor sap, his stern expression turns to a mixture of pity and disgust. As the man is not only shielding his face and whimpering, but it would appear that he's also relieved his bladder. All without receiving a scratch from the thugs, beforehand. "Look... Just... get out of here, OK? The way you were acting earlier, it should come as no surprise that someone wanted to follow you and take your winnings" Ableton advises the young man, with a sigh. Allowing a juicy target to just slip through his fingers, like this...? He must be getting soft. "Thank you, thank you!" Exclaims the scholar. He pulls a vial of yellow dust out of a pocket and hands it to Ableton. "I recently found this at an ancient archaeological site I have been studying," he says. "I believe it needs to be thrown into the holy waters at the village of Blessed Springs. Although... what happens then, I have no idea." The scholar, now realising the state of his pants, somewhat sheepishly thanks and apologises to Ableton for the hassle, then runs off. Pocketing the yellow dust, Abe figures his plans for the immediate future are decided. Head east in the direction of Yellowport, then head north to where Damor is supposedly holed-up. And maybe stop at the Blessed Springs on the way. (Hopefully that scholar has actually given him something useful...) So with that, Ableton departs the eastern gate to Marlock City and has an uneventful trip to the city of Trefoille. Upon arriving at Trefoille's outskirts however, Ableton has a rude shock - his map showed this as being a large city! But now, it's nothing more than a terrifying vision of apocalyptic destruction. It had once been a thriving crossroads settlement, but now it's nothing more than a burnt-out ghost town. Spending a few minutes poking around, he finds that there's nothing here. If anything had survived the initial razing of this place during the war, thieves picked whatever was left clean, not long after. Not wanting to spend more time here, Ableton continues east towards Yellowport. As he starts nearing his destination, the cobbled road's condition noticeably improves - looks like this area is fairly well-kept by the military of these parts. In the distance though, Ableton spies a man heading towards him. As they start to close the gap however, five or six figures -bandits, it would seem- jump out from concealed positions around him, weapons drawn! However, the lone figure executes a series of movements -almost faster than the eye can see- and his sword flashes in the sun. Moments later, the bandits are all lying dead or dying around him.  As Ableton closes the gap to him, he stops to compliment the mysterious stranger on his fine swordsmanship. The man, a grizzled veteran of many campaigns, regards Ableton with steely grey eyes and says, "I have learned much of the arts of war in my time, it is true." "Say... would you happen to have the time to impart some knowledge of your exceptional skill, upon an adventurer such as I?" Ableton asks, trying his best to butter the man up. He looks our troubadour up and down with a critical eye, before letting out a quiet scoff. "No, you're not worthy. Piss off!" And steps past Ableton, continuing his journey without another word. Somewhat taken aback by the no-nonsense response, Ableton does the same.  During Ableton's approach, he checks his map again, noticing that the river by Yellowport is called the 'Stinking River'. As he reaches the bridge at the edge of the city, he realises that the river's name is very, very literal. The place absolutely reeks of sulphur, brought down on the river by the merchants' guild from some mines up near the Lake of the Sea Dragon. Now that the sore-footed adventurer has entered Yellowport, he notices that the name of the city is unfortunately just as literal as the river's. The massive quantities of sulphur has seemed to give every aspect of this city a faint yellow hue. Setting aside this distasteful aspect of the city however, Ableton recalls some of the details about the place, which he heard about in Marlock City. Essentially, Yellowport is the second largest city in Sokara. It is mainly a trading town, and is well known for trading sulphur to various sorcerers and the like, as well as for exotic goods from distant Ankon-Konu, way to the south. Now that he's here, Abe decides to have a look around. With his first stop being the temples, he's annoyed to find that there's neither a temple for Nagil, nor one for Sig. Seeing as it's starting to get late, Ableton decides he'll check in at the Gold Dust tavern. Then as he did in Marlock City, see if he can loosen some lips with drink and listen to what rumours are said. After around an hour of drinking and chatting, Abe gets into a conversation with Pyletes, a kind old priest of Molhern, the god of knowledge. After a while, the priest decides to change the topic. "Many years ago, the Book of the Seven Sages was stolen from us," he croaks. "I've recently heard news which suggests that the scorpion men are in possession of it. I need a young adventurer like yourself to travel to Scorpion Bight and return the book to me. In return, I can show you how to improve the skill of your choice." Figuring that Scorpion Bight is on his way, Abe gives a fairly non-committal response, that he'll take a poke around if he has time.  Now that he's here in Yellowport, should he explore the city at night? Wait for morning and explore then? Or not dally and instead set off early tomorrow, for the north? Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 13:10 on May 8, 2023 |
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Apr 17, 2023 15:05
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That Little Demon posted:Glad to see we made some money Yeah, it was a painful decision to play the long game and not just reach for the guy's purse for some more cash, but Abe's already probably on thin ice with the guard (at least, the ones he beat up ) so it's probably better for him to maintain the illusion of benevolence, for the time being. Hopefully this weird powder stuff will actually be useful - if so, it might even be better than the cash the guy had on him
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Apr 18, 2023 03:42
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After spending some time at the Gold Dust tavern, Ableton decides to head out and see the sights around town - preferably after dark, when there are fewer guards around. After walking around town a little before sundown, Ableton finds himself approaching a large, well-decorated granite building; The merchant' guild, he presumes. Figuring this might be a good opportunity to find out whether there's any work that might interest him, Abe steps inside and asks the most well-dressed official in the room about any problems that might require a deft hand, or perhaps a closed fist. The man instantly changes his expression from one of disdain (he's a very important man who doesn't appreciate interruptions) to a look of excitement, before explaining that his name is Vernon and he's the guildmaster here. And, as luck would have it, there's a problem an adventurer like Ableton can help take care of! A problem... in the sewers. The guild's rotund representative spends a few minutes detailing the nature of the city's rat infestation to Ableton. Apparently, they're normally not much of a thread, but recently they've formed a large group and are raiding the guild warehouses at night. "We need an adventurer like yourself to destroy their king," explains the guildmaster. "Without a leader like him, the ratmen are so disorganised that they wouldn’t be able to hold a feast in a larder! We will pay you 450 Shards if you succeed." Vernon then mentions that the closest access point to the sewers is via an old well in the poor quarter of town. Ableton, despite the very...unhygienic nature of the mission he's been offered, decides to accept the mission. If nothing else, it gives him an excuse to sniff around the city at night, (and the guild warehouses, at that...) so perhaps he might be able to kill two birds with one stone? Assassinate this so-called rat king and swipe some merch. Not a bad night's work, in Abe's honest opinion! Without further delay, Ableton thanks Vernon for his time and steps out into the gathering darkness - possibly smiling a little more than a man who's about to enter a sewer ought to. Live decides to make his first stop the warehouse district, en route to the poor end of town. Since he might be able to catch the rats out on the streets, which would hopefully rule out the necessity of a trip down into the sewer. As Ableton approached the warehouses however, he heard a muffled cry for help from a nearby alley. Too dark to see far, Ableton hesitates for a moment and draws his dagger. Then, grudgingly deciding to investigate, he advances slowly into the alleyway, muttering to himself. "If this is another scholar in distress, I swear to the gods-" Before Ableton could finish his sentence however, a net was cast over him from the side! Spinning around and trying to resist, the troubadour glimpses a face painted with white bone dust and big red circles around their eyes, right before a blow to the back of the head knocks Ableton out cold. Ableton later wakes up in what looks to be an old disused warehouse, still ensnared in the net. Reaching for his dagger on instinct, Ableton finds that he's been disarmed! Looking around reveals that, sure enough, his dagger and gear are all in a pile nearby. Several men then approach Ableton. He examines them as sees that they're dressed in furs and robes that are adorned with hundreds of multicoloured feathers. Each man wears a necklace of animal skulls and has his teeth sharpened to needle-like points. "Hello," the leader says reasonably. "We are the Unspeakable Ones - it is our way to eat people in sacrifice of our god!" He points to a squat wooden idol of a grossly fat half-man, half ape with ivory needles for teeth. Ableton notices the name ‘Badogor the Unspoken’ inscribed on a plaque at the base of the idol. "'Badogor the Unspoken', eh? Can't say I've heard of him. Is he an ancestor? I must admit, I see the resemblance" Ableton jeers, gesturing at the leader. "DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME!" shouts the cannibal. "Or you will be forever cursed!" Live then notices a large cauldron of boiling water in the corner, into which another cultist is tossing herbs and garlic. He stares at their captive and licks his lips. "Tough choice. But out of being eaten or cursed, I think I'd pick the curse..." Live mutters, glancing around for a means of escape. While looking around, he overhears snippets of a conversation between some of the other cultists. It would appear that these people are from the jungles of Ankon-Konu, traveling the world to find more sacrifices. Lovely. Well, not intending to allow himself to become their meal, he decides he only has one card to play. Ableton then starts yelling "Badogor!" time and time again, while struggling ferociously from the net. The cultists all gasp or yell, while clapping their hands over their ears. "Aargh!" Howls the leader in a fit of rage. "Stop your blaspheming, you heathen devil!" Luckily, during this scene of confusion, Ableton is able to free himself from the net! He then dives over to his gear, grabbing his dagger. Turning to face the cultists, he lunges, screaming the name of their god over and over while doing so. Completely unprepared for this turn of events, most of the cultists are quickly cut down. Receiving a few scrapes and bruises, Ableton is able to cut down the leader's group, before sticking his dagger in the leader's belly. Ever a supporter of poetic justice, Ableton gives the large cauldron a shove, tipping the boiling water out over the dying man. Shortly after, Ableton finds himself leaving the abandoned warehouse to the fading sounds of the cannibal's screams. As Ableton continues through the district he notices a woman approaching, clad in a leather coat. Feeling a little battered already, with a mission still ahead of him, Ableton doesn't seem interested whatsoever in trying to push his luck by putting his pick-pocketing skills to the test. However, just before the two passed one another, Ableton noticed her giving him a very enigmatic, yet somehow familiar look... With lightning-fast reflexes, Ableton spins and grabs the woman's wrist, before she can cut the strings to his coin purse with a small knife! Grabbing her with both hands, the highly annoyed Ableton Live spins her around, about to express his anger with some colourful words. But as she turns to face him, he couldn't help but be taken off-guard by her cocky, swashbuckler's grin. "Hey, you’ve got good reflexes!" She says. "I'll be honest, most of the street scum around here are too drink-sodden or dimwitted to notice the loss of a few shards... Say, do you want to earn some real money? I could use the assistance of someone who's actually on the ball, for a change!" So, does Ableton postpone the rat-hunt, to instead pursue this woman's offer of working as a duo? As far as he's been able to tell, this rat problem has been around a while, so the guild likely isn't going to mind waiting another night or two... plus he's uncertain if he'll be able to take this woman up on her offer later on, if he ever actually happens to encounter her again. But... should he trust someone who just tried to steal from him, moments ago? (He had to admire her confidence, though!) Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Apr 18, 2023 |
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Apr 18, 2023 14:47
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Deciding that if he caught her out for trying to trick him once, he could do so again should the need arise. "Well... Alright. But no more funny business with my coin purse." Ableton sternly warns the woman. "Hah, don't worry about that - I've got no plans to steal from a man with your skills," she replies. "By the way, the name's Lauria. Follow me and I'll take you to the place - I've been casing it recently, and now seems like a good time to take a, uh, 'closer look'." She then leads Live stealthily through narrow, winding cobblestoned streets to a town house standing at the back of a small tree-lined square. After glancing around for passersby, Lauria quickly jemmies open a ground floor window and the two of you are promptly inside. "Alright. You’ve got the easy job," she says. "Stay here, keep low and be on the lookout. The stuff we’re after is upstairs, so I'll go up and see if I can lift it." Without further delay, the thief quickly and quietly proceeds upstairs. gently caress that, Ableton thinks to himself. If she's up there on her own, there's no telling what she'll pinch for herself, without telling him. So he might as well take a look around himself, while keeping an eye out. With that decided, our bold burglar quietly pokes around the downstairs area he's in, to see if he can find any hidden panels or false floors. After a few minutes or so, he finds a false book on a nearby bookcase - it's simply a wooden box designed to resemble a book. And opening it up, Ableton sees an ornate verdigris key. Intrigued about what it unlocks, Ableton glances around, before noticing that it's been a while since Lauria left. Concerned about this fact, Ableton returns to the stairs and quietly hisses her name a few times, to no response. gently caress! Ableton thinks - if she's gotten herself hurt...or worse yet, caught, he might really find himself in hot water! So, after slipping up the stairs, Ableton quickly looks around. There is no sign of Lauria, but Abe does, however, find an open trunk and a nearby window with a knotted rope dangling from it. So, she found the treasure and then made her escape, leaving him behind as a decoy, to face the music. Sticking his head out the window to see if he can spot where she went, his situation worsens. "There’s a thief at Master Talanexor’s house! Quick!" That's Lauria's voice, off in the distance, somewhere. gently caress. This isn't the last she's heard of Ableton Live, he'll make sure of that! After descending the sheet rope and dashing around a corner, Ableton assesses his options. There's not a lot to be done about Lauria at this stage, but he needs to make himself scarce. Deciding that sticking to his original mission of tracking the rat men might be a good idea after all, so that he'd at least have an alibi in case anyone noticed him in this area during the night. So with that, he finishes his trip to the old ell, which is thankfully not too far away. Thankfully, the rest of his trip is uneventful. Wanting to get this whole ordeal over with ASAP, so that he can pretend this night never happened, Ableton climbs down the old rope in the well, down into the depths below. Finding himself in a dank, dark and very smelly tunnel, Ableton is grateful that he had prepared during his travels, by buying a lantern. After lighting it, he proceeds further into the darkness, dagger drawn. Following the old dank tunnels, running with rivulets of foul water, takes him deeper into the unknown. Ableton prudently marks the twisting passages with chalk as he moves, so that he can quickly find his way back to his entry point. Before long, Ableton reaches a large, rough-hewn cavern. Before he can properly survey his surroundings however, he's startled by a nearby sound! Glancing around, Ableton notices that the sound came from a concealed door, which is currently sliding open! Thinking quickly, Ableton douses his lantern and dashes over alongside the doorway, pressing his back against the mossy wall. Moments later, the door finishes opening and a large, manlike rat steps through it. Not wanting to risk being seen by it and losing his advantage, Ableton slips behind the foul creature and plunges his dagger into its neck, a spurt of blood spraying his hand in dark viscous blood. As he slides the dagger out of the ratman's neck however, he hears the scuffle of feet. Turning to see what's behind him, Ableton spots another ratman - charging right at him! Rolling to one side, he's able to dodge the slash of its claws. Springing forward and slashing the ratman in its side, the beastman lets out a gutteral roar and takes another swing at him! Anticipating this however, Ableton ducks back to miss its swing, then lunges forward to stab the ugly creature in the neck. Noticing that one of them has a pouch hanging around its neck, Ableton empties its contents to find 15 shards and a note. Reading the note, he learns that it appears to be a crude invitation; "Parti! Kitchuns. Tonite. Rank and file rats only - no offsirs and no king allowed!" Keeping this in mind, Live quietly follows this newly-revealed tunnel, as it looks to be a promising lead. And sure enough, after a few twists and turns our sewer spelunker finds himself facing a fork in the tunnel, with a door at either end. One marked "KITCHUN", the other "THROWN RUM". Deciding to forgo using his newly-acquired party invitation, Ableton slips inside the rat king's throne room. Looking around, he sees that this room beyond the door is a curtained alcove, through which he can observe the room beyond. It is a long, low hall - clearly an ancient Uttakin temple, from a time when the Masked Lords of Uttaku ruled all of Harkuna. But now for some reason, it has found itself connected to the Yellowport sewers - and under new ownership, it would seem. Sneaking as far forward as possible without risking detection, Ableton surveys the room. A cheap wooden chair has been placed on the large, ancient altar to act as a throne. On it sits a large and extremely ugly ratman. He has a tacky amulet around his neck and a rusty iron hoop for a crown. Four ratmen are kneeling before him, grovelling. (Apparently the king is named Skabb, Ableton hears. A flattering name, to be sure)  Deciding that it's an opportune moment to slip closer to the so-called 'king' while they're distracted, Ableton slips from shadow to shadow, slinking ever closer to the ratmen... Then, once he was confident in his positioning, Ableton the rat-catcher lunged forward and slit the rat king's throat! Now, standing before the four prostrate rats with their king's blood forming a pool at the base of the altar, Ableton watches the rats look up in terror, before fleeing from the kingslayer. Deciding to take the king's shoddy copper amulet as proof of the kill (seeing as his rusty old 'crown' broke on the stone when the king fell), Ableton glances around in case anything else of interest is around. Spotting a small chest in the corner, Ableton sheathes his dagger, cracks his knuckles and picks the lock. Inside, he finds 60 shards, as well as an old scroll... of Ebron, looks like. But. But! The one thing in the chest that lights Ableton's eyes up is a fine quality mandolin! He's played similar instruments before, so this nicely fills the void left by his instruments lost at sea. While departing the sewer, near the well he entered through he notices what looks to be a small little room concealed by pieces of rotting wood and other debris. Moving the wood, he slips through the gap and finds himself in a nice little space, considering the fact that he's... well, in a sewer. Ableton figures he could use this spot as a hideout in the future, as well as a cache for items. (Which might be handy, given that his pack is full...) Climbing the rope and heading back to the Gold Dust, he washes himself and sleeps until the late morning. After waking up, he strolls over to the guild hall, eager to get this rat business over and done with. As he arrives, the guild master notices him and excitedly rushes over. "Ah, Adrian was it? Did you do it? Is the rat king dead?" "Ableton," Ableton replies dryly. "And yes, I tracked him down and slew the rat king late last night, along with a couple of others." Live hands Vernon the rat king's copper amulet, as proof of death. "The amulet of King Skabb, eh! Well done, indeed! Thank you again, for your services to the city!" Vernon replies, handing Ableton a pouch containing 450 shards. After departing the guild hall, Ableton makes sure to keep an ear out for news of last night's robbery. He doesn't hear anything about it, so at least it would appear that nobody saw him. Now that it's morning and he currently has no commitments in the city, what should Ableton do? Explore the city a little more, for any other opportunities? Or leave and head north? Also, he now has a little over a thousand shards! Surely more than he's ever had before! Should he deposit some at the merchants' guild, or stash it safely in his sewer hideaway, or just hold onto it all? Additionally, he now has a full pack of items. Should Ableton drop anything off in his hidden cache, perhaps? (I'm not sure if we're likely to need the scroll of Ebron anytime soon - hard to say. Same for the officer's pass, perhaps? Hmm) Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 06:28 on Apr 29, 2023 |
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Apr 19, 2023 11:52
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herculon posted:Was there a temple in town? If so, pay for the resurrection service. Then, check out some merchants before heading north. Oh, there is, however it's not one of Nagil's. So there's no discount rate - it's full RRP for Ableton, here. 800 shards for resurrection at the war god Tyrnai's temple. (Compared to the ~250 at Marlock City's Nagil temple. I could always duck back I suppose, if saving money is the preferred option) And here are the goods btw - forgot to post the earlier: 
Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 12:26 on Apr 19, 2023 |
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Apr 19, 2023 12:22
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Feeling that he's somewhat more encumbered than he's used to, Ableton leaves 500 shards and the scroll of ebron in his secret hideout in Yellowport. After this, he wanders down to the harbour. Asking around, he finds out that there's a boat heading out to Marlock City today - ten shards for the trip! Figuring he could use the break from walking, Live decides to sail back. Returning to Marlock City after an uneventful trip, Ableton decides to make this a quick trip. Stopping off at the temple of Nagil, Ableton forks over 200 shards to ensure that he's resurrected here, upon death. Ableton then uses most of his remaining money on a set of fine quality lockpicks, then sets off east on foot, towards Yellowport again. This time though, Ableton decides to stop off at Shadar Tor on the way. Since while he was in Marlock City, it was mentioned that it's a good destination to see... On the topic of rumours, he also heard word of the royalist rebels having a presence up north in the Coldbleak Mountains. (...If he's still determined to help the royalists for money and favours, perhaps he could go there at some point? Once his to-do list is a little smaller, anyway!) Upon arriving at a Shadar Tor, Ableton sees an ancient pillar of jumbled rock -pitted and weatherbeaten- standing atop a cliff’s edge overlooking the sea, like a broken finger pointing up at the sky. Seagulls sing their song of desolation overhead. As Ableton approaches the pillar, he reasonably assesses that due to the age of the runes etched into the rock, the Tor dates back to the earliest periods of the Shadar. The Shadar being, of course, a race that ruled Harkuna so long ago that they are shrouded in myth and legend. Barely anything is known about them these days, so naturally they're heavily romanticized by poets and the like, Ableton muses.  Deciding to take a look around, Ableton takes a closer look at the runes. After having a quick look-over, he shrugs, not quite knowing what he expected by coming out here and looking at some old rock etchings. Deciding to go to the beach for a quick wash and relax before continuing, Ableton follows a path down to the stony beach. As he put down his pack and approaches the water however, a splash of water hit the side of his face! Looking around, Ableton noticed the source, just as it spoke to him. Mermaids! "Come, come to us..." one of them called to him, in a soothing voice. Fixated for a moment before coming to his senses, Ableton angrily responds to the beautiful figure. "How can I come out to you? I would drown in the sea - or is that your goal?" "Don’t you know?" Sighs one of them. "The kiss of the merfolk gives the power to breathe underwater to one of your kind for a short time!" The mermaid replies calmly while the others giggle, as if trying to sooth a petulant child. Our brave Ableton then remembers the stories he was once told as a child, about the beauty and gifts of the merfolk - but also of the trickery some of them get up to. Unable to resist however, Ableton gives in and asks for a kiss. "Oh no!" The mermaid cries out, "A kiss is not so easily won! You must tell us a tale to stir our hearts - then we may reward you." Ableton then clears his throat and spins a tale of tragic love between a merman and a human princess. The merfolk are so moved by it, that they shed briny tears. And one of them plants a languorous kiss on Ableton's lips, before taking his hand and they lead him out into the water. Sure enough, Ableton tentatively inhales a lungful of water and indeed finds that that he can breathe underwater now. For the moment, anyway. The merfolk continue to lead him into the depths, swimming playfully around him all the while. However, just as our story's submerged star starts thinking that he's in heaven with these mermaids, suddenly, a hideous form looms out of the depths! From what Ableton can see it appears to resemble something like a giant squid, but it carries a spear in one of its many tentacles and wears rudimentary armour. Great black eyes shine with an implacable alien intelligence. The merfolk rapidly dart away in terror, leaving Ableton alone with the creature. "gently caress!" Ableton yells - or at least, attempts to say, in amongst the bubbles escaping his mouth. Ableton draws his dagger, with a look of desperation and sheer dread in his eyes, at the sight of the creature. The vile-looking creature shoots towards him with terrifying speed! Ableton slices it as he tries swimming to one side to dodge its attack - he cuts it, but the creature cuts Live's arm in the process. As it rounds on Ableton however, our beleaguered brawler grabs one of its tentacles near its base, using it to help hold him in place as he shoves his dagger deep into its side! The creature is still alive though - and after letting out a horrid, almost impossibly loud shriek, another of its tentacles grips Ableton around his throat, starting to strangle him! Ableton swings his dagger around, desperately trying to hit the tentacle and force it to loosen its grip. He succeeds, but the squid-like creature then slams into him, forcing the air from his lungs. Not only that, but the thing starts releasing ink too, causing Ableton's field of vision to start rapidly diminishing. With one more, desperate swing, he makes contact with it, piercing its eye - and behind it, its brain! With another shriek, it thrashes for a few seconds, knocking Ableton away, before abruptly going still - slowly drifting in the water. With his heart pounding, Ableton waits another minute or two, checking his wounds and looking around for other predators. When the ink dissipates, he swims over to the creature to take a closer look. After stabbing it again to make sure, Ableton figures he'll try to get something out of this poo poo-stain, seeing as it ruined his chances with the mermaids! So with that, he pulls some coral jewelry that he guesses he could sell for 15 shards, then cuts the creature open and takes its ink sac. A few minutes or so later, Ableton breaches the surface of the water not far from where he entered with the merfolk. And typically, they're nowhere to be found. Now very bedraggled and quite sore, Ableton dries off a little, before hitting the road once more. Passing through the burnt-out city of Trefoille again, Ableton eventually reaches the city of Yellowport once more. Not long after arriving in the city however, some guards approached him. (Which Ableton doesn't recognize... hopefully if any of them were the guys he beat up the other day, they've forgotten his face!) After they give him some spiel about owing some kind of tax or other, Ableton (determined tax-evader that he is) decides to spin these revolutionary soldiers a story, in order to try and weasel out of this so-called obligation. So with that, he spends some time giving these men what's possibly the best sob-story he's told. Telling a yarn about how his poor brother (a mercenary in Grieve Marlock’s personal guard, no less!) lost his legs in the fight to overthrow the old tyrant of a king, and that Abe has been spending all his money on looking after him. It was such a rousing and relatable tale for these soldiers, to the point where two of them were brought to tears by poor Ableton's plight. Apologising profusely, they even handed him 15 shards, to help with his brother! Hah! After rounding a corner and wiping away the crocodile tears, Ableton smirked - he'd almost feel sorry for those guys, if they weren't guards. While en route to his hideout in the sewers under the poor quarter, a poor beggar wearing nothing but tatters approaches him, beseeching him for money. Not inclined to give away that which he only just worked hard to con from the guards, Ableton instead offers to give the man a blessing, proclaiming that he's an adept in the priestly arts. (Well, although this isn't entirely true, he did learn a thing or two about these processes in order to better conduct scams involving fake blessings. So Ableton felt that it was only a half-lie, at most. Surely!) So, while passing his hands over the old beggar and muttering the appropriate words, Ableton suddenly felt a warm glow in his chest! After dismissing heartburn, the thought to himself - could it be?! Could he have miraculously gotten it right?! And not merely enough to look simply 'close enough'?? The beggar then cries out, "A cloud has been lifted from my mind! The curse is dispelled! I remember all!" He then clasps Ableton's hands, "My name is Akradai, the Azure Prince of the Horde of the Thundering Skies! I am a nomad of the steppes!" "I was cursed with madness by Shazir of the Ruby Citadel. But now, you have cured me!" The man says, now starting to weep with joy. "I am forever in your debt! Seek me on the steppes and I shall reward you!" As the man got up and ran off, Ableton was speechless. What a strange, strange man. In light of what... Akradai, was it? So in light of what this Akradai fellow just said, Ableton honestly wasn't sure if he made the situation better, or if he simply snapped what was left of the poor man's mind. Nevertheless, if it's true, he'll remember the name - having an ally in the steppes might come in handy some day. With that, Ableton finishes the trip to his hideout, sleeping the night and stashing the ink sac there for later use. (Seeing as nobody in the market wanted it. It might be sought-after by an alchemist or wizard, Ableton suspects) So now that Ableton is back in Yellowport with a resurrection deal and has had some...unexpected encounters, he has 93 shards in his pocket, 500 more in his cache, along with some new lockpicks in-hand. But does Ableton travel north-east to Blessed Springs and beyond via the road through the town of Venefax, or should he try to save time by following the Stinking River north, then cutting cross-country to Blessed Springs directly? (And is there anything else that Ableton should consider doing, before departing?) Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 06:39 on Apr 29, 2023 |
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Apr 23, 2023 14:12
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I'm definitely glad we've got the resurrection deal and that teleport stone now, though. I was worried we'd need one of them for the fight with that sea monster, (since Ableton was taking penalties for both attack and defence, for being underwater) however he got lucky with a real nice attack in the second round, so it swung the fight around, a bit. Anyway, hard to say which route will be best both will have sights to behold, I'm sure! The road might have bandits etc, although I'm sure the countryside will have some challenges of its own. And once we've taken care of our outstanding business, if you guys are keen still, we can seek out these royalists, to see if they're able to afford Ableton's services. After all, nobles tend to have a lot of cash, as Sub mentioned
Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 14:32 on Apr 23, 2023 |
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Apr 23, 2023 14:29
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Well, I just remembered that barges go downriver from the mines near the lake, so perhaps it might be an idea for Ableton to go north via the road, then whenever he eventually comes back south (assuming he does, for reward money and whatnot!) he could potentially go to the river and follow it, in case there's an opportunity to hitch a ride, or something? ALSO, I've been wondering about how to best break up posts a little more. I've been trying to stop at major decision points, however sometimes there's a fair gap between them. (I'll also try snd break sections up with any available artwork too, once the books arrive) So I was wondering about potentially stopping at a pause/resting point in the story, like after going back to the beach after his underwater fight. Just to make it somewhat easier for people to get through. As a result, I asked Sub about his thoughts on it, and he reminded me of the existence of cliffhangers, haha So I could potentially have stopped at the aquatic ambush for example, then continue the next day, for example.But what do you all think? Is there a preference for having shorter posts, (using either/both of the above two methods/examples) or would you rather I stick to pausing at major decision points, even if it makes for mostly longer posts? Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 00:32 on Apr 24, 2023 |
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Apr 24, 2023 00:27
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herculon posted:I think the posts could benefit by being shorter. A lot happens in a single post. I think both examples to shorten it are fine. Maybe stop after a scenario ends, and also before a big fight Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I originally expected this trip/update to be pretty brief, but well, stuff ended up happening anyway! That last post probably could've easily been split in two I think, really. With the ambush being the cut-off point between the two.So I think that, unless anyone disagrees, I'll keep the updates shorter and also (once the books arrive) try and have a piece of the game's artwork accompany each location we visit or enemy we face, whenever the art is available. Just to help break it up a little more, as well. (I'll also go back and put some into each of the old posts as well, since those updates definitely need breaking up a little with pics, IMO)
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Apr 24, 2023 02:09
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Deciding to travel north via the main road, Ableton grabs an additional 50 shards from his stash and hits the road. It's a well-kept road and Ableton encounters nothing more than a couple of military patrols, so he made good time on his trip to Venefax. Upon reaching Venefax however, he was immediately struck by just how strange the village looks. All the flat-roof buildings are connected directly to one another - but what's more, none of them have doors! As Ableton walks closer to the town, one of the local farmers passed by. Ableton, wondering what the hell was going on here, asked why the village was built this way. "Oh, we had to build it that way, for defensive purposes," the man replies. "You see, the scorpion men in the south-east used to raid our village quite frequently. But they cannot climb, so they can’t get inside the town!" Hmm, fair enough.  Deciding to poke around the place before moving on, Ableton climbs up a nearby ladder and moves through the village, taking in the sights. Being a man of the people (and of the drink) Ableton's first stop is the Scorpion's Sting tavern. Sitting in the rooftop seating area, Ableton spends a few shards on some drinks and spends time relaxing and talking with the locals. Wondering about the scorpion men, he asks one of the older peasants about it. "Ohhh, they’re vicious, evil devils," says an old peasant. "Like huge scorpions they are, save they have the head and shoulders of a man. Intelligent, too. Cunning. Forever seeking to pillage our town, but thankfully they can’t climb up the ladders!" A soldier from the local militia speaks up, "They hate fire, too. All we have to do is sit atop the town, and pepper them with flaming arrows. They can’t stand that for long, so they generally don't cause much damage these days. Mind you, things are getting bad - it seems like they’ve got themselves a sorcerer now." A young man, blind in one eye and paralysed down one side, says, "They got a terrible sting as well - their venom did this to me..." pointing at his eye and side. After this, Ableton continues his trip around the village, going through the market. Not much is available, however there's some scorpion antidote available for 100 shards, as well as climbing gear for another 100 shards. Everything else is pretty limited, compared to Yellowport and the other major settlements he's been to. Before long though, a small boy bumps into Live, then shouts "Help us, help us! The Man-eating Blood-Thursday Gob-gobbler has got my little sister!" Somewhat bemused by the pipsqueak, Ableton replies, "Surely, you mean 'blood-thirsty' not 'blood-Thursday'?" As the boy's mother, a flaxen-haired beauty, catches up with the kid. "Oh no," replies the young mother, "the Man-eating Blood-Thursday Gob-gobbler is so named because it hunts only on Thursdays!" After speaking to them for a few more minutes, Ableton learns that the boy’s name is Mikail and his mother is Lynn. Her husband is away in the army, and her young daughter, Haylie, was taken by the beast last Thursday. Apparently, several other people have also disappeared, never to be seen again. Not much is known about the 'Blood-Thursday Gob-gobbler' though - nobody knows if it's a human, a scorpion man, or something else entirely. Mikail then begs Ableton to help them, once more. Bemusement long since turning to slight concern, Ableton considers whether or not he should delay his trip to help these villagers, or simply move on and leave these people to deal with it themselves. So, what should Ableton do, here? Also, keep in mind I went for the mid-ground between the two money posts - he's got 140 shards on him, at present. Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Apr 29, 2023 |
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Apr 25, 2023 04:01
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After tossing up his options, Ableton decides to help the village. Since well, if a monster has a name as underwhelming as 'Man-eating Blood-Thursday Gob-gobbler', how fearsome could they really be? So after pledging his assistance, Lynn offers to allow him to stay with her and Mikail free of charge for a couple of nights until Thursday. On Thursday morning, Ableton wakes up early and surveys the surroundings for around an hour. Spotting nothing, he heads out of town, heading towards an old farmhouse a little way out of town, which she had mentioned the disappearances occurring near. As Ableton headed out of the town though, he spotted a man he met during his stay -Fourze the master of the market, no less!- walking in the opposite direction to the farmhouse. Deciding that this was very odd given the fact that the other townsfolk are in a panic about Thursdays, Ableton changes direction and tails the man. After trailing him for quite some time, it becomes apparent to Ableton that the man is simply taking a detour to the farmhouse Lynn mentioned - presumably to avoid suspicion. After reaching the farmhouse he goes inside and Live creeps closer and peers inside, to see what he's doing in there. Lo and behold, two rough-looking thugs are helping Fourze get into what is obviously supposed to be a monster suit! It appears to somewhat resemble a giant hairy toad, made of various animal hides stretched over a wooden framework, which the wearer dons. So much for the dreaded Blood-Thursday Gob-gobbler! Deciding to end this right here and now, our vengeful vigilante hides by the door. Five or so minutes later, the thugs emerge from the door. Slipping behind one and slitting his throat, the other thug reels around to fight Ableton! Being used to fighting foes more dangerous than some bumpkin with a knife, Ableton simply lunges forward and stabs the man in the belly, before he can do more than open his mouth in surprise! Turning his attention to Fourze, Ableton sees that he's desperately trying to get out of his suit while hobbling away. At the sight of a hardened adventurer who had dispatched two armed thugs with ease, he surrenders and confesses his misdeeds. His plan was to terrify people with the monster disguise in order to keep them away from the farm. Since he and his men had been kidnapping villagers and chaining them in the cellar below, then selling them to a slaver from Caran Baru as labourers in the slave mines. Ableton then instructs Fourze to lead him to the cellar. Here, he finds Haylie and several other villagers - bound and awaiting transport, it would seem. Fourze then turns to face Ableton, as the latter cuts the prisoners' bonds. "Please, don’t hurt me," he begs, "I’m only trying to make a few Shards!" "What, by selling your own people into slavery?" Says one of the villagers, giving him a dirty look and a good kick. After escorting the villagers and a now-bound master of the market back to Venefax, Haylie rushes into her mother's embrace. After turning Fourze over to the local militia, Lynn then takes Ableton along with her family back to her house. "This chainmail is all I have to give - it's been in the family for generations. Thank you!" a tearful Lynn says, as she pushes the old chainmail shirt into Ableton's hands. Ableton graciously accepts the gift - not a bad reward for a few free days of food and board, alongside a minor scuffle! Ableton, takes his leave from the reunited family, heads out and continues north. On his way out he asks one of the guards about what will happen to Fourze. Apparently, he'll be facing the magistrate soon - and will likely end up being sentenced to slavery! Ableton can't resist smirking at the poetic justice of the man's fate, as he hits the road once more. (NOTE: I couldn't buy any scorpion antidote unfortunately, as I was locked into doing/not doing the mission. And now that Abe has the chainmail -which he can't sell at Venefax, as they're poor- his inventory is full. There shouldn't be any scorpions up north, at least)
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Apr 25, 2023 13:24
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Sub-Actuality posted:lmao at “blood-Thursday” Ah, I beat ya! Yeah I suspected it would probably be something lame compared to things like the ghoul and ratmen, with a name like that! It was probably concocted by Fourze himself, in a shoddy attempt at giving it a memorable/infamous name.Also, I should note that this time it's not Ableton being rather... 'thirsty', that resulted in Lynn being described as 'a flaxen-haired beauty'! That's purely the book, this time around. That being said, I'm sure Ableton probably felt the same way as the author, the way he failed a check and was suckered-in by the mermaids earlier
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Apr 25, 2023 14:07
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Drinkslinger posted:Was it a normal farmhouse, or did it have doors in the roof as well, as with the other buildings in/near Venefax? Oh yeah it was actually a normal one, oddly! From the description it was a way up the main road (direction we're heading now) so perhaps it's a little way outside the usual range of the scorpions? Either way, I suspect this isn't the last we've heard of the scorpion men... there's probably a quest somewhere, about going in there. Seems like it might be a risky proposition though EDIT: But yeah, it is an interesting town design. Makes me think of those north African towns and cities with similar flat-roof buildings and entrances up top. (Like in Morocco, I think?) But just... in some dreary wartorn European country, instead. It'll be interesting to see what any artwork for it is like, once the books arrive! Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Apr 25, 2023 |
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Apr 25, 2023 22:56
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Autisanal Cheese posted:Great thread, major! Oh, interesting! Can't say I've heard of those books, unfortunately. (Young me probably would've played the hell out of 'em!) Seems like the mid- to late-'90s were a real hotbed of releases, for CYOA books! Hopefully they go through a bit of a renaissance at some point, since modern CYOAs would probably be real good. Who knows, though - once I eventually go through each of the Fabled Lands books, I might need to look into a new series to delve into at some point
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Apr 26, 2023 06:35
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Ableton continues his trek north, towards Blessed Springs. From what he's gathered from talking to the locals at Venefax during his stay, this route is frequented by pilgrims and other religious types, along with sickly folk who hope the holy spring water will help with whatever ails them. While walking however, Ableton hears a loud jabbering sound from behind some bushes - sounds like someone yelling jibberish. Not overly concerned about what people get up to in their free time, Ableton continues walking past. But then - out bursts what looks to be a pilgrim! A... very much insane pilgrim, at that. The pilgrim, with his matted hair and unkempt beard rushes towards Ableton, swinging his staff wildly! Live, somewhat disturbed by this occurrence, had enough sense to dodge the man's swing - aimed at his head, no less! Highly annoyed by this, Ableton decides that mincing words won't help and draws his dagger, then lunges forward and slashes the man's throat as he raises his staff to swing it a second time. After cleaning his dagger on the ex-pilgrim's body, he examines the body. Not seeing anything wrong (and nothing of value, either. Just a heavily frayed robe and the old staff he was wielding) Ableton shrugs and decides to move on. What an odd man...hopefully there aren't many other lunatics about. At last, Ableton arrives at the village of Blessed Springs, nestled between the foothills at the southern end of The Farmlands. Walking through the main street of the town, Ableton sees that this place looks to be something of a hotspot for travellers and pilgrims. Everything about the town seems to revolve around the supposedly sacred springs. Somewhat dubious of this, but very much curious about this yellow powder he's carrying, Ableton approaches a gateway to the fenced-off springs. There are two militiamen standing by the entrance, as well as a priest in fine blue robes, sitting at a desk in front. "Thirty-five Shards to enjoy the divine spa, good sir or madam," the priest says, without looking up. Damned grifters, extorting people into seeing water of all things! Ableton grumbles to himself, as he tosses the shards onto the desk. "This better be worth it..." After entering the spring, Ableton had to admit that it looked quite impressive - beautiful, even. There's a find a wide pool of bubbling, bright blue water. It gives off a strong invigorating scent, almost like crushed pine leaves. Unable to deny that he's somewhat nervous now, he glances around, pulls out the vial of powder and removes the cork stopper, then tosses the contents out over the water. With a startling flash and some smoke, Ableton finds himself face to face with an old white-beared, bespectacled man dressed in long ornate robes - and he's levitating over the water, at that! Before Ableton can do more than stare in shock, the old man speaks. "Thank you, thank you. That worthless apprentice of mine. Pah! Can you imagine - I clearly instructed him to throw the dust into the holy waters but the idiot couldn’t even be trusted to do that!" The old man then explains the situation further, advising that he is known as Oliphard the Wizardly. He can be found in the (now-razed) city of Trefoille. What's more, as a reward for Ableton's services, he's willing to use magic to enhance one of Abe's attributes!  So, which attribute should be increased? Here are the attributes at present: Charisma - 7 (including +1 from the mandolin) Combat - 4 (including +1 from the +1 Dagger) Magic - 4 Sanctity - 3 Scouting - 3 (including +1 from compass) Thievery - 5 (including +1 from lockpicks) Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Apr 29, 2023 |
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Apr 26, 2023 12:15
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Scouting's been fairly useful, it's true - same as charisma. We've been lucky with scouting rolls so far, but that could always change... I don't think sanctity or magic are likely to be too useful for Ableton, but any of the others should be good picks
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Apr 26, 2023 14:44
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