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[ExKirby]

You see, this is what happens when I go on holiday.

I vote slum clearing.

[Shadowgandor]

[image]http://i.imgur.com/m1Jql.png[/image] *cough* I was thinking about my old days.
I was thinking that we should clear the slums and help that Ohlo guy.

[Phenixmirage]

So far this party has been a total sausage fest.  (Aside from Axel ) I'd like to throw my hat in the ring with a nomination for....

Lina Inverse, sorceress extraordinaire and dragon spooker! She could possibly be a fighter/MU but would more likely be a straight Magic-user, which could be an issue with the squishiness of low level wizards in 1st ed.

So an alternate option...

Aeryn Sun, former Peacekeeper officer and standing bad-ass (though she sometimes suffers from the Worf Effect)  She's a Fighter, of course.

LordBucket, I'm cool with either character, so pick whichever would work best for you. If I have to choose I'll go with Lina, as I love throwing fireballs.

[LordBucket]

Lina Inverse

Accepted.


We have enough votes and active players now, so roster bumps have taken place and I've begun work on Episode 5. I've added avatars and placeholders on the status page, but still have some graphics to do before I can start writing. Next update will probably be either tomorrow or Monday night.

[GlyphGryph]

I'm in? Already? Great! So what's the story here, people, someone summarize for me. Actually, you know what, never mind. I'll just go back and skim the thread. It's not that long, after all.

Ah, a fantasy adventure, eh? Alright, sounds good. One sec, let me get mounted up, and I'll be ready to go!

Hi ho, silver, away! Or should it be Hi ho, iron? Steel? It doesn't really matter, let's go blow some stuff up!

[LordBucket]

Episode 5a: A Changing of the guard

(Meanwhile, in a crowded Tokyo subway...)

: I still say this is a waste of our time.

: Oh, come on Ritsuko. Kyon's a good friend of mine. It'll be fun, I promise!

: I have more important things to be doing than this. So do you.

: Of course we do. But if we work ourselves to death 24/7, sooner or later something's gotta give, you know?

: NERV is still not fully recovered from Zeruel's attack. We should be at base, not engaging in pubescent fantasy games.

: The network is running again, so you've done all you can do, right? Now is time to RELAX. Do you have any idea how much effort it takes to stay sane while watching after Shinji? Do you have any idea how badly I need to get laid?

: Honestly I'm surprised you haven't consolidated those two tasks.

: *sigh* Not like I haven't tried. Besides, you know Shinji's still...in that thing, and there's no guarantee we'll be able to reconstitute his body. I need something to get my mind off all of that. Would you just do this for me, please?

: Ok, I'll go. I'll be your wingman. But don't ask me to pretend to enjoy it.

: Deal!


(Kyon's house: game night)

: Hello everyone, welcome to game night. Looks like we'll be missing a few players tonight.

: Yeah, sorry about that. Like I was telling Kyon, I've been busy lately and I don't think I'm going to be able to play very often.

: Yeah, we kind of figured.

: Sorry to disappoint.

: No worries. I called up some friends and I think we'll have some new players in here pretty soon.  In fact, I think I hear a knock on the door now. Axel, would you get that?

: Sure.



: Ouch!

: I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you!

: I think I'll be ok. Hey, you're even prettier than I am.

: Heh. Thanks.

: Misato, glad you could make it. And I see you brought a friend?

: Akagi, Ritsuko. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.

: It's Ritsuko then? Will you playing tonight, or just watching?

: Just watching, I think.

: That's fine, I'll just- wait. Where did Misato and Axel disappear to?

: They're making out on the couch in your living room.

: She sure doesn't waste time. And knowing Misato, she's probably already two or three beers on her way to passing out on my floor. That means we're down one player. Unless...hey, Ritsuko, since you're here, how about you fill in for Misato?

: Me? No, I'm-

: Don't worry, you can use the character I made for Misato. Let me just change the name...and let's see, Misato was 'chaotic good?' Yeah, better change that too. Ok, all done. Here's your character.



: But I don't how to play.

: Don't worry, you'll pick it up.

: My lady, if you have any questions or desire help with anything, please ask and I will assist you.

: Since you're offering, I do have something I'd like help with, actually. The third child's soul is trapped in an entry plug after having achieved a 400% synchronization with Eva unit-01, and his body has completely reverted to LCL. What I really need, is for someone to reconstitute his body to get him back to active duty and a way to achieve that kind of synchronization in the future without risking third impact.

: ...

: I think Sturm means with the game.

: Oh. I think I'll be fine. This game looks very simple compared to what I do most evenings.

: Hey, guys. Gimli just called and said he won't be able to make it tonight. That means we're down two, but with Ritsuko joining us you guys will finally have a  cleric, so it shouldn't be too bad. Let's go ahead and start with what we have.

[LordBucket]

Vote results
Raynor: Clear the slums
Sturm: Slums --> Cadorna's heirloom --> information about Phlan
Max: Clear the slums
Laharl: Sokal Keep!
Alex: Clear the slums

Current Party
 * Sturm
 * Raynor
 * Max
 * Laharl
 * Alex
 * Ritsuko
 * Hanz


Episode 5b: Someone Naked This Way Comes

: Alright boys, I think it's time we head back to the slums to finish what we started when we first got here.

: You're evicting people from slums? Classy game you kids play.

: Actually, my lady, this section of the town has been captured by monsters.

: That makes it so much better.

: Don' be fry-tend. Just hide behind Hanz' manly man muscles and you will be safe.

: As you pass into the slums, a few city watchmen nod in your direction and chat interestedly amongst themselves. You're not certain, but you think they're placing bets.

: I still don't understand why we're wasting our time here instead of capturing my fortress on Thorn island for me. But if we really must clear this wretched city block, let's go get Ohlo's potion first. I bet it's superpowerful and we can steal it!

: Not on my watch.

: Hmmph. Well, the reward for returning it better be something special then.

: Following Ohlo's directions from episode 3d , you make your way to the rope guild along the southern edge of the slums. The building is in slightly better condition than many of those nearby, but the door leading in has been torn from its hinges and placed up against the adjacent wall. Looking more closely, you see that the words "Keep Out" have been painted on the door, in blood.



: Different door graphic than usual. Apparently Kyon's graphic design budget has increased.

: And that sign tells me we may have company. Alright, boys. Let's do this.

: Stepping inside, you find yourself in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.

: Give egg to thief.

: Wrong game. Also, everyone roll a spot check, please.

: What's that?

: We roll dice to determine the success of our actions. A spot check is to determine whether we notice something. Here, roll this die.

: I make it.

: I rolled a 12. Is that good?

: Good enough. Ritsuko and Alex both hear a high pitched crackling noise.

: Where's it coming from?

: All around, and it's growing louder. Then, all at once a large ball of blue lightning materializes in front of you.



: I failed my spot check. Do I see it?

: I think at this point everyone sees it. Only briefly though, as a scant few seconds later the lightning ball disappears leaving in its place a cheerful, but very naked man standing in a small crater melted into the ground.

: Hello, you sexy people.

: Who the hell are you?

: Captain Jack Harkness at your service. And how shall I service you? *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*

: Looks like Misato cashed in too soon.

: Ordinarily I don't like it when people stare at me. Somehow I think I like the way you're staring even less.

: So now's my big moment. Here we go... *ahem* "Come with me if you want to live." Ha! I've always wanted to say that.

: What are you talking about. Who are you and why are you here?

: I'm Jack. And you're Raynor. And our friends here are Sturm, Max, Alex, Overlord Laharl, Hanz, and Sexy-ko Akagi.

: I see my fame preceeds me. You must be here to prostrate yourself before me and beg to serve in my army of doom.

: ...tantalizing as that sounds, I'm actually here in the rope guild because you guys asked me to come and save your lovely asses from the trolls sitting between you and Ohlo's potion.

: I damned sure didn't send you. I've never even seen you before.

: Completely correct! You "didn't" send me, and you've never seen me "before." However, you will ask me to come back and get you out of this mess with the trolls you're about to walk into.

: You're a time traveller from the future?

: Bingo!

: Did you bring high tech weapons? Machine guns? Tanks? Orbital lasers?

: Nope. Couldn't bring any for the same reason you and Raynor couldn't. Out of theme. But since I'm from a couple episodes later in the thread, I am fourth level, which should help.

: You don't have any gear with you at all?

: Those were the rules, only living tissue can travel through time.

: Really?

: Nope! I'm kidding! Of course I brought my equipment with me. I just wanted you all to see me naked. Aren't I awesome?



: I say we kill him.

: Agreed.

: And take his stuff.

: Agreed.

: Hold it boys, we're in no position to be turning down allies geared and ready to fight. Especially when they seem to know what we're up against. What was that about trolls?

: Four of them. Plus two ogres. Just around the next corner in a big room. Nasty creatures. Tough. And they regenerate completely within minutes of being hacked to pieces. The only ways to stop that are to either burn the bodies, or stand on top of them and physically keep the pieces from reassembling.

: Or just ignore them.

: These sound like dangerous foes, these trolls. Is there anything else you can tell us?

: Yes. When we do finally beat them they'll drop a set of gauntlets of ogre power that increase the wearer's strength to max of 18/100.

: Magic loot! Awesome!

: You're not the one who gets it.

: Damn.

: How do you know all this?

: From my point of view you people already did all this a week or two ago.

: Havin' a time traveller with us could be useful. Alright, executive decision boys, you don't get to kill him. He's with us now. Let's go skewer us some trolls.

: Oh, no. Not yet.

: Why's that?

: Didn't I explain that I'm here to get you out of this mess?

: Yes, surely that's why you came prepared to fight?

: Yes, but not yet. Seriously, don't go in there. When we first did this on my timeline we spent a good 15 minutes doing complete party wipes, restoring from previous saves, going in and wiping again. Trust me, you're not ready.

: What do you suggest?

: You're here to clear the slums, so clear the slums. There are still plenty of encounters to level almost everyone, plus some more armor upgrades to be had. There's also a huge pile of treasure in the northwest corner you can use to pay for the training costs.

: Jack, you're getting kind of spoilery there.

: We don't mind.

: Loots is good. What else?

: Also a plus 1 shield and a mage scroll just west of here. But no need to give you a complete list. Let's just go clear out the whole rest of the slums, level up and come back here when we're done, and then we can take out the trolls.

: Everyone ok with this?

: Yes.

: Definitely.

: Works for me.

[LordBucket]

Episode 5c: Trolling, trolling, trolling, keep the party trolling...

: Kyon, could we get a quick visual of what everyone looks like? We have some new people.

: Sure.



: Ok, boys. Lock and load.

: How about unsheathe and remove shield from back?

Que tournament fight music from the Karate Kid













: I think it's time.

: Returning to the rope guild, you see the door that Jack warned about.



: Oh, stock images, how we missed you.

: Gimli, kick it in.

: He's not here.

: Oh, right. Guess I got used to him bein' the one to do that. Jack, you wanna to take care of it?

: Gladly.



: The green ones are the trolls.

: OMG! WTF?!?!

: Ritsuko, you stay in back and keep us alive.

: Yes, everyone hide behind my muscles and watch to see how pumped up you could be.

: I'm totally ok with that.

: Yeah, meatshield in front.

: You too, Jack.

: Excuse me?

: Look at the stats:



: You have twice the hit points as some of the others. You and Hanz take the middle. Sturm and I will flank you on either side.

: I'm with Hanz, sandwiched between the two of you? I like your way of thinking.

: Charge!

: Alex and Laharl use their spells to take out the ogres, but the trolls are high enough level to be immune to your first level spells. You on the other hand, find yourselves extremely susceptible to their powerful attacks.

: TITS or GTFO.

: ...I'm wounded...



: Sturm is the first to fall.

: I've got him. He's alive, just unconscious.



: Laharl is the next to go down. Followed shortly thereafter by Hanz, but you do manage to take out another troll.

: I'm not really out of it. I'm just, resting. That's all.

: Hanz is down because Hanz keep puny little girlie mans safe. Trolls know how to pump you up.

: You can pump me up later, Hanz.

: See how I twitched? I'm totally still in the action. Just give me a moment to catch my breath. Oh, and look at that? See that little bit of movement down by my legs?

: I think that's blood dripping. Or maybe rats gnawing on your intestines after they fell out.

: Ritsuko, we need heals, babe. Don't quit now, boys. We're down three, but there are only two of them left.

: "Babe?"

: Lies. There are no girls on the interwebs.

: Remember that somebody has to stay on on top of the corpses of the two fallen trolls to keep them from regenerating.

: Seeing that they're at the disadvantage, and heavily injured, the two remaining trolls trolls retreat into the far corner of the room.

: Damn. Alright, Alex, see what you can do about those last two. They're almost dead, so you should be able to make quick work of them.

: I'm on it.

: Alex?

: Just give me a minute.

: Alex?

: DAMN!



: Damn it! Die you troll!

: lol noob

: I warned you about that.

: Suddenly I understand why Kyon chose the background music he did.

: Raynor, Jack and I are on the dead trolls. You and Max help Alex.

: Too late.



: That's ok, I'm standing on the one so he can't regenerate. Last one's all yours, Max.

: I rolled an 18.

: That's a hit. The last troll goes down.

: WTF? Pwned by noobs? Hax.

: YES! WE DID IT!

: You're unconscious. No talking.



: Wow. We lost half the party.

: And I'm out of heals, so I can't get them back on their feet. We need to get back to town.

: Agreed. We'll come back for Ohlo's potion after we're all standing.

: Hey, I think I found those gauntlets Jack mentioned earlier. Wow. I feel strong.



: Wowzers! I want those!

: No, those really should go to Max. He's the weakest amongst us. We gain more by maxxing his strength than yours. Now let's get out of here while we still can.

: You people hate me, don't you?

: You head back to town to heal up, then return.

: I like how it only takes one line of text to do that.

: Within minutes you find the potion vendor Ohlo described.



: Gimli, kick it- oh, right. I open it.

: ...what? Who are you? Customers? Or are you here to kill me?

: Kill you!

: We're here to pick up a potion for Ohlo.

: The man looks nervously back and forth between the two of you.

: This is a relief. I've been waiting for nearly a week for him to pick it up. Here you go.

: Within minutes you're back at Ohlo's front door with potion in hand.

: You have done well. Give me the potion and then I will give you your reward.

: Am I the the only one who heard that in Jafar's voice?

: What do you mean?

: This is totally a trap. He's going to try to kill us as soon as we give him the potion.

: Yeah! Let's keep it and kill him first and loot him. In...umm, the name of justice.

: No, Ohlo has done us no wrong. If he attacks we will defend outselves, but I will not draw first blood here.

: Ok. You go ahead and give him that potion. I'll hide in this corner over here.

: Here is your potion, sir.

: Thank you. Here is your reward.



: Wow. I totally did not see that coming.

: 350 gold worth of platinum, a piece of gold jewelry and a magic sword? What the hell was that potion we just gave him? Jack?

: No idea. In my timeline we gave him the potion but nothing ever came of it.

: You fools. We could have kept it, then killed him, and taken all that stuff. I need more magic artifacts to conquer the world, and you people are seriously not helping any.

: Honor is its own reward. We've done the right thing.

: Oh, yeah? How do you know? What if that potion gives crazy magic superpowers and that guy's a megalomaniac bent on taking over the world...from me?

: Oh, the horror.

: If that happens, then we'll deal with it. But for now all we can do is act righteously. I have faith that just actions lead to just rewards. We had faith in Ohlo's integrity, and no harm has come from it. Some individuals may choose evil from time to time, but treating others with trust and integrity always breeds greater good in the long run than is lost in the occassional act of greed or malice. Why do you think I travel with you, who states clearly your intent to take over the world? Perhaps someday you will act on it. And if you do I will stop you. But until that day you are my companion and I will protect you with my life. Est Sularus Oth Mithas. My Honor Is My Life.

: Your stupidity is your life.

: Let's not argue, boys. We've done well today. Let's get back to town and tell the council the slums are clear.

: You make your way back to town without seeing so much as a mouse.

: Your clearing of the slums will permits us to expand. Here is your reward:



: On the matter of commisions, I can offer the following: Sokal Keep on Thorn Island needs to be cleared. The council is offering a reward for books, maps, tomes, etc that provide information about Phlan before the fall. The reward is tied to the value of the information. Additionally, word has come from scouts to the north that a large band of nomads is travelling through the area. Their purpose is not clear, but their number is estimated to be nearly 200 men, women and children, nearly half of whom are armed and combat ready. This army must not be allowed to join forces with our enemies, and the council will pay to have this potential threat eliminated.

: They travel with children? Surely this is no army.

: It is if 100 armed men storm through the city looting and pillaging in order to feed and clothe those children.

: And you want us to kill them to prevent that? You don't even know they're headed this way!

: The council sees a problem and would like it dealt with. If you're not interested, surely other adventurers will be.

: I've heard enough. I'm out of here.

[Shadowgandor]

Yay update

[LordBucket]

Episode 5d: Back to the future

: This is probably a good time to call it for the night. Everyone pass in your character sheets and I'll see if anyone is ready to level again.











: Well, it's been fun. But now that the trolls have been dealt with, I'll be getting back to my own time.

: Oh, that's right. You're from the future.

: Where's your time machine?

: Right here on my wrist.



: ...that's really a time machine?

: Vortex manipulator, yes. They don't need to be big.

: Such technology...that would be very useful where I come from.

: Sorry, Sexy-ko, I'm not about to give it away. Plus, you'd have a tough time reverse engineering it. This is 51st century technology.

: ...there's a 51st century? Really? Humanity survives?

: It's a little more complicated than that. There are more dimensions available than just the four you're familiar with. This game we're playing is taking place in an alternate continuity from both yours and mine.

: Kyon? Is that true?

: Yes. What you do here won't have any effect on your native realities. You'll remember everything that happened, but you couldn't, for example, take any of the gold or gems you looted back to Tokyo with you. Jack's vortex manipulator is the same. It won't help you against the angels.

: I knew this was a waste of my time. Come on, Misato. Let's go home. ...Misato? Where's Misato?

: She passed out on the couch in the other room. Hey, Jack...could we travel back with you to the future?

: Sure, I could take one of you with me. I'm not going forward far. You'd catch up with me before long anyway.

: Speaking of which, when exactly do we meet up with you? From your point of view?

: No more spoilers, Jack. You've already told them too much.

Voting time What to do next?

 * Investigate Sokal Keep
 * Look for information about Phlan before the fall
 * Return Councilman Cadorna's heirloom
 * Find Cadorna's heirloom and keep it
 * Investigate the nomads (If you vote for this, also explain the manner in which you propose to deal with the situation: sneak in, assassinate their leader, frontal assault, kill them all, bribe them, negotiate, etc. Be creative.)

Optional
Does anyone want to travel forward in time with Jack? This is not a voting question that requires a party consensus. If you want to go back to the future with Jack, say so.

: Kyon-kun...*hiccup*

: Good morning, Misato.

: What time is it?

: It's nearly 3:00am. We just finished gaming for the night, and it's time to go home now.

: ...home? ...oh...I don't think I can walk...so...far.

: It's ok, Ritsuko. She can stay the night. I have a guest bedroom. By the way, what happened to Axel?

That JERK?!?! I got totally drunk and passed out on the couch and he didn't even do anything!!!

: ...why me?

[GlyphGryph]

I'm going to have to... spoilers? Spoilers? Bah! Kids, the [spoilers] weren't really that bad. A bunch of lizards... or dogs... what are those little bastards, anyway? Regardless, the [spoilers] were decent!

And remember, as long as you bring the box to the [spoiler], you'll be able to [spoiler] the [spoiler], and still get the [spoiler].

Still, we did the [spoiler] first, I think. Probably best to keep things linear until I rejoin.

[RAM]

*looks at map* We are behind the keep and it prevents access to the docks, it needs to be cleared.

P.S.
 This was a character-driven vote, as none of the other option involved hideous experiments on childr-  Ummm, what are our options with the nomads again?

P.P.S.
 What I meant to say was that it would be hilarious if we skipped Sokal keep completely in the interests of exasperating Laharl...

[Heron TSG]

>Return that thar heirloom! It's a quest!

[Phenixmirage]

  *peeks in* Cadorna is obviously a liar (he's a politician!) you guys should teach him a lesson by getting that heirloom and keeping it for m- I mean, for the good of the group. 

[LordBucket]

: what are our options with the nomads again?

: This is a roleplaying scenario. Let me know what you want to do and I'll try to find a way to make it happen. No need to be limited totally by game mechanics. For example, obviously time travel isn't part of the game, but it's easy enough to get the effect by importing a high level character then removing and adding a low level character of the same name. So like I said in the voting question: If you vote for this, also explain the manner in which you propose to deal with the situation: sneak in, assassinate their leader, frontal assault, kill them all, bribe them, negotiate, etc. Be creative.

For that matter, don't feel constrained by the voting options I give you. If you guys really want to wander off into the woods, or start killing townsfolk, or split up into multiple groups and do different things, or whatever, feel free to discuss it amongst yourselves and vote to do that.

Honestly, this thread is getting way less party participation than I intended. This wasn't supposed to be a choose your own adventure story. It was supposed to be more like collaborative fiction. A good dungeon master is always prepared to accommodate anything a party might choose to do.

: *looks at map*

: Note that the party doesn't actually have the map yet.

: remember, as long as you bring the box to the [spoiler], you'll be able to [spoiler] the [spoiler], and still get the [spoiler].

: Ahh, you've played Pool of Radiance, I see. Yes, I considered that, but given that [spoiler] is in the party it seems unlikely that [spoiler] would allow it, which is why I modded in a [spoiler] from the [spoiler]. Although the party does have a [spoiler] in it, so they could technically do what you suggest, you'll notice they haven't actually visited the [spoiler] so they don't realize it's even an option. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think they've ever even visited the zone it's in. Plus, since they haven't done the [spoiler] quest yet, it's not like they can casually just go over there and wander around. Personally, I think I played through the game completely two or three times before I ever even found out that it was an option, since [spoiler] is totally in the middle of nowhere, and not at all on the direct path you'd take if you were going for the [spoiler] quest. Plus, given what happens to [spoiler] near the end of the game, it never seemed like such a loss to simply [spoiler] the [spoiler] when you find it. Though I never really understood why [spoiler] was supposed to be a [spoiler]. It always seemed pretty contrived to me, based on that one [spoiler] in the early part of the game. And as long as it takes to get through the slums, it would be pretty easy to gloss over that. Personally, when I first played and the council issued the quest to [spoiler] I was pretty surprised.

In any case, worst that happens is the party only gets one. Though they are also random drops, though rare.

: Still, we did the [spoiler] first, I think. Probably best to keep things linear until I rejoin.

: Funny you should mention that. Yes, the sequence the party voted on is not possible in a straight playthrough of the game. I actually wrote in the [spoiler] quest prematurely, and when the party decided to do it, did some creative save/loading to gain access to it, took the screen shots, then restored from the old save and kept playing, then went back and completed it when the party could actually access it.

Again, the game is very moddable, and I'm good with photoshop, so don't feel the need to totally confine yourselves to what's intended to be possible by the game itself. The difference between "I negotiate a peace treaty with X" "I bribe X into doing what I want" and "I mind control X and breed his race for slave labor" is in the text and images that I make, not in which menu option is actually selected in-game.