Etrian Odyssey V: It's not a phase, Mom, my real name is Thunderclap Fencer

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Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth (世界樹の迷宮Ⅴ: 長き神話の果て/Sekaiju no Meikyuu V: Nagaki Shinwa no Hate, lit. "Labyrinth of Yggdrasil V: End of the Long Myth") is a first-person dungeon crawler RPG developed by Atlus, released in Japan on August 4th, 2016, and due for release in the US and Europe in Fall 2017. It's the fifth main entry in the Etrian Odyssey series, and the seventh overall (not including Etrian Mystery Dungeon). Much like the previous games in the series, EO5 is all about exploring pre-made dungeons with characters you create yourself, while evading deadly FOEs on the field and occasionally running into a random encounter that's capable of smashing your party into a fine paste. Also cartography.

EO5 is more of a return to form after EO3 and EO4 experimented with giving you more things to do outside of the Labyrinth, which were...shall we say, of varying degrees of fun. In EO5, there is nothing to do but explore the Labyrinth and do sidequests, which are almost all based around going back to areas you've already explored. The plot's also extremely minimal, almost mirroring EO1, in that you get some bits and maybe a side story, but all of the actual plot is saved for literally right before the final boss. This return to form's also shown in the class designs (gameplay, not visual), which eschew the class-mixing encouraged by EO3/4 subclassing and EOU/EO2U Grimoires and instead have each class be pretty much self-contained.

Hold up. Not out in the US or Europe yet? I don't know Japanese! Alternatively, I am in the future after the game came out in the US and Europe, and I'm wondering what this subheader is about!

Lucky you, then, because this is a translation LP! I don't know the first thing about Japanese either, so I'm going to be joined by Clarste and alcharagia, who are doing the roles of translator and editor, respectively.

Clarste and alcharagia aren't just going to be helping behind the scenes, though--they'll be joining me fairly frequently as co-commentators.

About the future thing: this LP was started a year before EO5 came out in English, and was done entirely via fan translation. There are parts that will differ quite heavily from the official version, so bear that in mind.

Co-commentary? You mean varying up BBCode, which ends up looking ugly as hell?

Nope. To distinguish who's talking at any given time, we'll be using some wonderful portraits drawn by my friend oB2Ko Mario.

Ragnar

Clarste

alcharagia

Is this gonna be another narrative LP like EO2U?

You know it.

Why are all the music track titles really simple?

Because the OST wasn't out yet when I prepared the images, so I just opted for really simplistic titles. I like the link images smaller, anyway.

Speaking of the music, each track has two different versions--the normal one, and the FM synth version (think the Sega Genesis and EO1-3). Clicking on the left of a link image brings you to the normal version, while clicking on the right brings you to the FM version.

Table of Contents

1st Stratum
Update 0: Adventure's Outset
Update 1: Nameless
Update 2: Creepy Crawlies
Update 3: Eventualities
Update 4: Useless Crayfish
Update 5: Stoneborn
Golem Overview
Update 6: Grow! (Nameless vs. Golem)

2nd Stratum
Update 7: Rockface Rumble
Update 8: Swammerdami on the Rocks
Update 9: The Labyrinth Before Time 7: The Great Neckbeast Migration
Update 10: Something Important Happens
Update 11: Trumpeting Intensifies
Update 12: Unexpected Baboons
Update 13: The Strongest Link
Update 14: E2M5 (Alternatively: MAP10)
Hippogriff Overview
Update 15: Princess and Mage Make Technicolor Bird Cower in Fear (Nameless vs. Hippogriff)

3rd Stratum
Update 16: Dad Was Proud, He Didn't Care How
Update 17: Agitating Skeletons
Update 18: Half-Life Full Life Consequences Joke
Update 19: Haunt/Reality
Update 20: Haunted Hall
Update 21: I Already Used The Levelord Message Joke
Update 22: Explorers' Abbatoir
Undead King Overview
Update 23: Night of the Living Dead (Nameless vs. Undead King)

4th Stratum
Update 24: Uh
Update 25: Shiny Entertainment
Update 26: Lizard-kun
Update 27: Current process: SEKAIJ5
Update 28: Memes
Update 29: Mauthe Doog
Update 30: Teleporting Noise
Update 31: Stay Crystal, Dragonboy
Crystal Dragon Overview
Update 32: No Eyes Blue-and-White Dragon (Nameless vs. Crystal Dragon)

5th Stratum
Update 33: Harisuzume no Naku Koro ni
Update 34: Waiting For Ragnar to Play
Update 35: Clarste's Asleep
Update 36: Harisuzume no Naku Koro ni Chiru
Update 37: Kinu's Got the Hacksaw
Lord of the Primordial Darkness Overview
Update 38: Nobody Told Me About id (Purpose) (Nameless vs. Lord of the Primordial Darkness)

6th Stratum
Update 39: My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada
Dryad Overview
Update 40: Beautiful Fighter! Dangerous Dryad (Nameless vs. Dryad)
Update 41: The Innocent Devil's Song
Oliphant Overview
Dragon Zombie Overview
Update 42: All the World's Fish Kneel Before Their Master (Nameless vs. Oliphant and Dragon Zombie)
Update 43: Sugar Mama
Update 44: Rage Awakened ~The Origin~
Lamia Overview
Update 45: The Real Queen of Snakes (Nameless vs. Lamia)
Update 46: C'mon, Let's Go Home...
Star Devourer Overview
Final Update: ...To the Planet That's as Cool and Blue as Me! (Nameless vs. Star Devourer)

Classes
Common Passives
Fencer
Dragoon
Cestus
Reaper
Warlock
Necromancer
Hound
Masurao
Shaman
Herbalist

Mechanics
Ailments and Binds
Races

Rea fucked around with this message at 10:28 on Nov 15, 2017

# ¿ Oct 14, 2016 03:46

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 17:26

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Guild Nameless's Roster

Illusionary Fencer: Alexis (Submitted by blizzardvizard)

quote:

Alexis is the forty-seventh prince of a kingdom from a far, far away continent. He was to marry the thirty-second princess of a neighboring kingdom in another one of their families' endless list of political marriages, but this particular princess turned out to be a bit of a rebel. She ditched him on the wedding day without so much an explanation or an apology. Later that he found out that she had grown dissatisfied with her caged and dictated life, so she escaped to Aeolis to become an "adventurer" and scale its giant tree--Yggdrasil. Even later on, he found out she had perished inside the dungeon.

He may not know her name, or have seen her face, or...know much anything about her at all, but Alexis has his honor. He would not let the murderer of his bethrothed go unpunished. There's one problem, however. He did not know who or what, exactly, killed the princess, and deducing that is definitely an impossible task. But then the answer dawned upon him - it was not the monsters that killed her. She could have died to the boars, the cat-birds, the legs-in-a-pudding, but it would never had happened... without the challenge that the tree presents.

And so, he ran away from his home of sixteen years and got on a ship to Aeolis. (He was silently pleased at how dramatic it was to leave his pampered life just like the princess did.) Armed with a decorative sword he took off the palace walls and about three weeks' worth of fencing lessons (that he took before he got bored of it, as princes do), he's going to duel the killer of his lover to the death...the entire Yggdrasil Labyrinth.

Thunderclap Fencer: Iseria (Created by alcharagia)

quote:

The third of seven noble sisters, Iseria is royalty of a small, matriarchal island nation whose primary export is politically arranged marriages to princesses.

Okay, actually, it's its lucrative spice trade, but the joke is there among many traders who note the frequency with which the nation's princesses are mailed out to become brides to other nations' dashing royalty. They have a lot of them, relatively speaking, and you'd be surprised how many arranged marriages suddenly fall through.

Such was the story of Iseria's marriage to a Prince Something-Or-Another, after his other betrothed died shortly before the marriage was made; King Something-Or-Another, father to the prior, had "a Dad moment, ahahaha!" and immediately went and got his son another lovely bride.

Struck hard by middle-child syndrome and hardly first in line for the throne, Iseria's patriotism yet burns hot within her soul; she dons the ancient ritualistic garb of her peoples' ancestors dating back hundreds of years at all times, and drat your sacrilege! A self-fashioned environmentalist, she has a history of disappearing for weeks at a time because she needed to take a swim off to another nearby island to "catalogue" its flora, fauna, and exactly how worth it it would be to declare it a part of their territory. She claims her all-green eye is proof positive that this is part of her lot in life.

Displeased by the marriage at first, Iseria was given the greatest of outs when Prince What's-His-Name dashed gallantly off to the Labyrinth, of all places, to avenge his prior betrothed. Iseria, ever impulsive, was shortly behind; her goal in the Labyrinth, twofold.

First! Catalogue the greatest untouched biome in the ntire world, and do it in a way that nobody can deny your keen natural eye!

Second! Do not lie meekly down and become a sacrifice for another nation! Prince I-Can't-Remember would not take Iseria as his wife- she would take him as her husband, and drag him back to Queensland to take the less-vaunted-but-still-important role of Vice-Queen!* She would become Queen and guide her great nation to even greater heights, or die trying in an environmentalist's paradise!

_{*Vice-Queen is a gender-neutral title. "Kings" are as foreign an idea as a memorable Brownie character.}

Dragoon: Sasha (Submitted by Efe)

quote:

"Hey, you! Yeah, I'm talking to you, the adventurers! How about I offer you a once-in-a-lifetime chance? Picture yourself, all geared up and ready to make your mark on the labyrinth. Treasures, excitement and more await! But hark! Our of nowhere, you find yourself surrounded by all manner of vile creatures; golems, dragons, even the dreaded forest deer! Why, the threat alone has been enough to scare off lesser adventures, and taken the lives of too many others. But fear not, my fellow explorers, for I have a solution that will benefit us both. For a price that I'm sure we can negotiate later, you'll be blessed with the services of the legendary (but not really) Dragoon, Sasha! With my stalwart shield to protect your fragile lives, and you doing all the actual hard work, the untold riches waiting in the labyrinth are but mere steps away. So, what are you waiting for? A free pass through the terrors that menace all treasure hunters doesn't come around so often. Hire me, and you have my word that our adventures will be met with resounding success!"

Cestus: Cecil (Submitted by BlackPersona)

quote:

Cecil was the third born son of his noble family, destined to never stand out from his elder brothers with regards to his inheritance. He was a listless youth that barely succeeded in anything they introduced him to. Fencing, art, mathematics, dancing, etiquette, nothing stuck to him... until they finally introduced him to music. It turned out he had a magnificent ear for music, and in no time at all he began to become a budding virtuoso. There was no instrument he could not work into a wonderful song, and, indeed, he was naturally proficient in every instrument he laid his hands on. As a young adult, he was already well known far and wide for all the music he composed. He was such a refined gentleman that he was always on demand for every royal dance and ball.

Unfortunately, on his way to yet another party, his caravan was attacked by a horde of Cutters and Bloodbears. Only Cecil managed to barely escape from the attack, with a scar across his chest to show for it. Ever since then, the world assumed that he was dead. They couldn't be more wrong.

Ten years later, a man claiming to be the musical composer of old emerged from the forest, very much covered in bear blood and bear fur. He had a deranged eye and a rather booming voice, quite the contrary to the soft-spoken, slim Cecil of old. No one could get quite a straight answer from him - his answer changes every time they ask. However, there is without a doubt that he does have the same talent as the old Cecil, complete with composing music with his fists (Did you know punching the skull of a bear just right makes the same sound as C-Sharp minor?). And now he's arrived in Aeolis to show off his art. Just... don't let him get too into showing it off, because he might go into a frenzy.

Reaper: Raven (Submitted by Dr. Fetus)

quote:

Tired of his home life and not being taken seriously, Raven set out to explore the Labyrinth to make a name for himself. He took one of his tools he frequently used at his home, and decorated it to make it seem shiny and cool. An awesome weapon means the wielder is awesome too, right? And can't forget the awesome looking outfit too. But despite all his attempts to seem all cool and edgy, he comes off as pathetic or adorable to other people, much to his chagrin.

�I'm not a farmer! I'm the deadliest and coolest assassin around! ...That happens to know a lot about crops and cute little animals-and why are you laughing!? Stop petting me on the head!�

Warlock: Kaelin (Submitted by Aniodia)

quote:

Have you ever met someone who's incredibly smug, for seemingly no reason? Not just smug, but so smug, you just want to punch them in the face? The kind of person who just oozes smugness from every pore, even if they're not trying? That's Kaelin. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he had everything he's ever needed handed to him, the family servants only feeding more and more into his superiority complex. Even when he went into training as a warlock, it was all but a folly to him, nothing more than a minor dalliance to while away the time. The fact that he actually had the talent to back up his braggadocio took a couple of his classmates by surprise, but it was all fun and games for Kaelin.

When the city of Aeolis opened its gates to the multitudes of explorers' guilds, Kaelin had spun a yarn about how he was going to be the first to the top, and how it was enough of a foregone conclusion that no one else should dare try. Only once his bluff was called did he realize the enormity of his task, and even then, the self-confident Lunarian walked with a swagger in his step the likes of which couldn't be matched (or so he thought). Now if he could just avoid the rest of these commoners on his way to the top, he'd be all set.

Necromancer: Lanzon (Submitted by Txn)

quote:

Who doesn't like to have a marvelous body? Working as a model was what he lived for, not because of the amount the artists paid him just to pose, but for being immortalized in the endless work of painters and sculptors from all over the world. But those days are a thing the past.

Lanzoni, the one who loved being the center of attention now lies hidden from the world, his body now covered in scars.You see, having an excellent physique attracted a lot of people but also attracted those who were envious, and those scars are the painful reminder. Alone, his only company was the whispering wind that flew to his window, or so he thought.

One day, he realized that those whispers were not from the wind, but from the dead. Somehow, he could hear and talk to them. Spirits that came to talk to him despite his scars, some even talked about their days exploring ancient ruins, and a few just talked about spending hours looking at the paintings and statues made in his image. That day, he found a new calling, the path of the Necromancer.

With a renewed spirit, he set forth with one goal in his mind, being the most fabulous Necromancer that ever existed. Who knows, maybe he can even recover his tanned body. Yikes dude, you need some sunlight.

Hound: Gram (Submitted by mischievousart)

quote:

Gram's always wanted to go on a grand adventure, but life seems to keep getting in her way. First, her parents needed help on the farm, then she was looking after her siblings and cousins, then there were children of her own, then GRANDchildren...

Now that everyone's finally grown up and there's other, younger people to put in charge, she's finally taking the chance to follow her dream. Who needs a boring quiet retirement when you can have adventure? No stinking monsters or silly youngsters who want her to slow down are going to get in her way, you hear me? NONE.

Masurao: Jana (Submitted by oB2Ko Mario)

quote:

Jana hails from a traveling circus, known far and wide for its feats of wonder and awe. Following in her parents' footsteps, Jana began learning card tricks at the age of 3, eventually mastering sleight-of-hand by the time she learned how to read and write. She continued to learn all sorts of mind-boggling tricks that, eventually, she became a headliner for the circus. Her most famous tricks involve her swords, featuring the most death-defying stunts any circus-goer has ever seen. From coffin-stabbing to near-decapitations, Jana garnered much attention for her stunts; it wasn't long before rival magicians tried to outperform her and upstage her acts. One day, one such rival uncovered the secrets to her magic, and in a bid to ruin her, he exposed everything about her stunts. Ashamed, Jana left the circus, but never gave up on her sword tricks. While she now works as a sword-for-hire, the Magnificent Jana never lost her magical touch. The stunts she's capable of doing now make her older magic look like cheap parlor tricks, and it's rumored that she incorporates such stunts in her mercenary jobs as well. Come one, come all, and see the most amazing swordplay on earth!

Shaman: Mio (Submitted by Endorph)

quote:

Mio used to be a normal girl in a country called 'Japan.' In Japan, she was a nerdy student with few friends, poor grades, and few interests outside of her favorite games and buying fan-comics about fictional characters in romantic relationships. Truly, hers was a pitiable lot.

Until one day, in the middle of the night, her 3DS began to glow! Reaching out towards it, she brushed her fingers across the screen - and was sucked into the world of the game! Overwhelmed, outmatched, and out of her depth, she is forced to rely on the good will of those around her, hoping that the labyrinth will unveil the truth of why she was brought here, and give her a way to get back home. And also hoping that her guild is filled with cute boys.

... That's her story, anyway. Nobody's really sure if it's true or not - or frankly, what she's even talking about when she explains it. She might just be weird. True, she can actually kind of fight despite everything, but maybe she got bumped on the head during training. And she seems weirdly fascinated by all the non-Earthrun races, but she could just have a bit of exoticism going on. Either way, she tries not to go on too long about all that. Not that many people seem to buy it. She's more than happy to go into great depth if someone does buy it, though! Especially, you know. A handsome man of about her age, maybe a little older.

Please buy it.

Deeply Compassionate Doctor (Healer Herbalist): Dosen (Submitted by Level Seven)

quote:

There goes a legend of a treasure sleeping in the depths of the labyrinth. A treasure so great, mere words cannot describe it. A treasure that incredible led to Dosen trying (and failing) to sneak into the labyrinth long before it was officially open to the people. The one time he managed to make it inside, the first monster he ran into (or more accurately, an bird's shadow) sent him running for his life. Realizing going alone would be crazy, he took the time to learn survival skills (he just read adventure novels). Now armed and ready with what medicinal knowledge he possesses (read: whatever was in that book he found in the trash last week), he'll let others do all the hard fighting while he provides aide. Whatever it takes to get that legendary treasure.

Unfortunately, this so called legend came from his village's drunkard, so maybe he should learn to stop believing everything people tell him.

Innocent Poisoner (Smoke Herbalist): Magda (Submitted by Rangpur)

quote:

Born to a Lunarian clan who took astrology extremely seriously, Magda has an elaborate depiction of her star sign, the Dinogator (may he frolic forever in our hearts) tattooed on her back. To be born under such a sign marks one as an exceptionally dangerous warrior, a destiny the typically meek and unassuming Lunarian girl thoroughly failed to live up to until she bought a second-hand Smoke Herbalist starter kit from a passing Brownie caravan. Magda's ancestral homestead is currently the thaumaturgical equivalent of a Superfund site, an incident she hotly denys was her fault, blaming it instead on 'that gormless bint, who couldn't tell the difference between (unpronounceable compound) and (equally unpronounceable compound, but with a silent 'W').'

Whatever the case, her family made it clear she should pursue her destiny... elsewhere. Anywhere, really, so long as it was very far away. And so she came to Arcadia. Truthfully, she'd much rather BE a Medic--hence the outfit, purchased secondhand from the same caravan. Unfortunately the closest she's come so far is a poison so toxic it caused her patient to vomit out the tumors afflicting them. But if she has the chance to practice her craft under real-world conditions as part of the Nameless guild (who haven't been around long enough to know of her reputation), surely her wish to become a great healer will be within reach, right? RIGHT?! Dinogator, spiritual patron of great destroyers, smiles knowingly.

Ghosts: A, B, and C ("Submitted" by Poltergrift)

quote:

Just a note: imagine all this with the approximate emotional tone of Telenovela.

The ruined heiress Alicia Rosette was deeply in love with Barnaby, the "gentleman" thief, and abandoned her family and legacy to be with him, but Barnaby only wanted to use Alicia for her family's inheritance and -- once it became clear that she was no longer the favored candidate for family head -- abandoned her for greener pastures and more fortunate ventures. Twisted with rage, Alicia contacted the sage Charlotte to learn the art of necromancy and obtain her revenge on Barnaby. The sage complied, but conditional on Alicia binding Barnaby's ghost to the bones of his hands and feet, and bringing them to her -- for a ghost made with such a grudge would become a powerful resource. Alicia agreed, and abandoned her family name and all but one letter of her first to the darkness, receiving further mastery of the necromantic arts; from then on, she was only known by her shadow name, "A."

"A" hunted down her former lover; flush with wealth and drunk on his success in infiltrating the (then closed-off) Yggdrasil Labyrinth for rare, illegal medicinal herbs, Barnaby was known as the mysterious thief Monsieur "B" to the people of Aeolis. In the process of fighting his way through the Labyrinth, in order to combat the monsters, Monsieur "B" embedded vials of poison into the bones of his hands and wrists, allowing him to kill with a mere touch. Confronted by "A," Monsieur "B" was chased, dismembered and killed by "A"'s phantasmal army, but -- in the last moments of his life -- managed to flick his embedded syringe out from his finger. Taking it in her triumph, to bind his ghost, "A" pricked herself, and received a slow, incurable dose of a rare and lethal Brownie poison.

Knowing her time was short, "A" took the bones of "B" to the sage Charlotte to fulfill her deal, in the hopes of receiving aid in waging war on the family that had rejected her. On arrival, however, her bound ghosts heard that Charlotte was a servant of her family, deployed in secret to ensure "B"'s death and trick "A" into returning gratefully to the Rosette family. Filled with rage and drunk on the death in her veins, "A" set her ghosts on Charlotte, detonating them, down to the essentia level, all at once, inside the sage's meager hut. As they both lay dying, "A" took her revenge on "B" and Charlotte: she ripped away Charlotte's name, to eternally prove her power over life of death, and bound all three of them together. Locked together, "A," B" and "C," necromantically entangled, forgetting themselves and their lives, remained in the ramshackle remains of the sage's hut for thousands of years, all bound to their bony fingers -- locked together forever.

Then a popular dancer found the pared-down bone bits, mistook them for dancer's bangles and hooked them to his waist. He was not entirely thrilled to learn that there were ghosts living inside them.

Fanart

blizzardvizard spent a day of Inktober to draw Jana, complete with magician's top hat.

These were not part of Inktober, but are just as fantastic, nonetheless.

These wonderful bits of art were drawn by off-SA fan Olivine Arc. Check them out!

Rea fucked around with this message at 22:47 on Nov 6, 2017

# ¿ Oct 14, 2016 03:46

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Update 0: Adventure's Outset

Well, not much else to do but start.

(Fun fact: the background changes between day and night based on what your 3DS's clock is currently set to. For example, because I recorded this footage when my 3DS's clock was around 8 PM, it's night time.)

Contrary to EOU and EO2U, EO5 goes back to only having two difficulties, ala EO4. Whereas the easier difficulty in EO4 was more akin to giving the player a bunch of conveniences as well as adjusting damage by 50% in the player's favor both ways, EO5's Basic is the baseline difficulty, with Advanced adjusting a whole bunch of values out of your favor.

I'll be going with Advanced, incidentally.

(Music stops here.)

(Any time Japanese text shows up, the dialogue transcriptions below will include translations of that text.)

At the heart of the great continent of Arcadia is the city of Aeolis, located at the foot of Yggdrasil.

https://zippy.gfycat.com/VictoriousDecisiveGalapagosdove.webm

(No GIFs this time around, sorry.)

Yggdrasil is a gigantic tree reaching up into the heavens that has been an object of worship since ancient times... For this reason, no one approaches the tree; in fact, it had been forbidden by order of the council that governs Aeolis. ...However, at some point, they released a proclamation: "To all adventurers on the continent of Arcadia: come to Aeolis and challenge Yggdrasil."
From the populous Earthrun came the deft and dextrous fencers, the mighty cesti, the impenetrable dragoons, and the reapers who fought from the darkness...
From the tall towers of the Lunarians descended warlocks who had mastered the elements, and necromancers whose research had led them to call upon the living dead...
From the Therians, in the mountains, came hounds, who communicated with animal life, and masurao, who carried the blood of valiant warriors and an undying fighting spirit...
And from the Brownies, living humbly in the plains, came herbalists, whose natural remedies were second to none, and shamans who communed with ancient natural spirits.
Seeking adventure, they all gathered in this town, their chests swelled with pride. You, too, are an explorer who set out for Aeolis, your heart gripped by the exciting proclamation. You have but one goal: to challenge the labyrinth of Yggdrasil, and explore its unknown forests. If you've made up your mind, then let the adventure begin!

Not much we can do besides go to the Explorers Guild. Can't even access the Options menu right now.

(The telop says "Armor-wearing man.")

Y'know, this town used to be full of promising young talent. Explorers with ambition, who risked their lives for the sake of adventure. Nowadays, it's nothing but riffraff; lowdown punks who don't wanna get hurt, so they're fine with living hand to mouth. ...New around here? If you're fixing to challenge Yggdrasil, you'd better make yourself a guild, and gather comrades who share that ambition of yours. ...So that is what you're here for, then. Let me welcome you. Whoops. Forgot my manners. Name's Edgar. I'm the head of this here Explorers Guild. Good to meetcha, I suppose.

Making a new guild?

Hard to demo stuff without saying yes here.

Great. Guess it'll need a name, then.

For the sake of this demo update, I'll just be using the guild I usually use for my personal playthroughs. Excuse the name, it was created when my friends and I were all idiot preteens.

TFKrew, huh? That's a name whose reputation you'll have to make yourself. You won't be hailed as a hero for nothin'. Next up, you gotta recruit explorers for your guild. Exploring the forest by your lonesome might as well be suicide. Startin' with at least 5 people with different tricks'll probably do you well. You can only have up to 30 people in a guild's roster. Give a good, hard think to who you choose as comrades.

30 is more than plenty, we'll need maybe 15 or so at most.

Character creation should be familiar if you've played any other Etrian Odyssey game before, but EO5 introduces a couple of twists into the mix. Firstly, this isn't a class selection screen--no, this is where you pick a race for a character. In a series first, EO5 divides up the class roster amongst four different races, all mentioned in the Yggdrasil pan.

In addition to this, a character's base stats are no longer solely reliant on their class--their race determines the bulk of their stats, with some additional modifiers coming from class specializations, which we won't see for a while.

Speaking of stats, anyone familiar with past EO games might notice that the TEC stat is missing. In EO5, it's been split up into two discrete stats: INT, which determines magical damage, and WIS, which determines healing amounts and magical defense. I assume this was done not only to make what stats control what more intuitive to people coming from other RPGs, but also because TEC was probably a nightmare of a stat to balance due to how much it controlled in previous EO games (magic damage, magic defense, healing amounts, disable infliction/resistance in EO3-EOU).

Speaking of stats, here's a short summary of them:

HP: Health Points. If a character's HP reaches 0, they die. Certain skills on some classes consume HP in addition to TP.

TP: Technique Points. Analogous to mana or MP in other RPGs. Needed to use every skill in the game.

STR: Strength. Determines damage for STR-based skills, which nearly every physical damage skill falls under.

INT: Intelligence. Determines damage for INT-based skills, which basically every magical damage skill falls under.

VIT: Vitality. Determines how much damage a character takes from enemies--higher VIT equals less damage.

WIS: Wisdom. Plays a role in determining how much damage a character takes from INT-based attacks, and is used for calculating non-fixed healing.

AGI: Agility. Determines when a character acts in a turn, their accuracy, and their evasion.

LUC: Luck. Determines a whole bunch of things, including accuracy and evasion, but is primarily used for disable infliction rates and resistances.

With all of that in mind, let's go over each of the races:

Earthrun:

quote:
The most populous race of Arcadia. Residing all over the continent, they have the most classes to choose from. Though generally average in most ways, they boast high Vitality.

Earthrun possess physical stats ranging from decent to great--their HP and VIT are the highest of any of the races, and their STR's pretty good too. They also have the best LUC of any of the races, making them better at inflicting and resisting disables, among other things. Unfortunately, their TP, INT, and WIS are all pretty bad (they actually have the lowest TP of any race), meaning that they need to watch their TP pretty closely, they make for really terrible spellcasters and healers, and they take more damage from magical attacks than other races on average.

Lunarian:

quote:

Tall and thin magic studying race. A race that's long studied magic in the frozen land of Sidonia. Perhaps because of that, these thin people have exceptional Intelligence.

Lunarians are the offensive spellcasting race. Their STR and AGI are sub-par, and they have the worst HP and VIT of any race, but their INT is through the roof, and their WIS and LUC are nothing to scoff at. This, pretty obviously, makes them really good at dishing out burst damage with magical skills from one of their classes, and through...some other means for the other class. Just don't expect them to be very quick, or be able to take hits.

Therian:

quote:

Warrior race with the blood of beasts. A people that hail from the deep forests of the mountainous land of Yamato. Said to be descended from beasts, their incredible Strength and Agility make them peerless warriors.

Therians are the agile physical damage dealer race, similar to Ronin from EO1 and 2. I'd say their job is entirely, y'know, dealing damage, but one of their two classes is more akin to a support that can occasionally contribute some damage. They do offer the best damage-dealing class in the game, though, which is augmented by their incredibly high STR and AGI. They have okay HP, TP, VIT, and LUC, but nothing spectacular. They suffer from even worse INT and WIS problems than Earthrun, though, so they make for even worse spellcasters and take even more damage from magical attacks.

You might recognize the name "Yamato" as another, more old fashioned name for Japan. However, in this case it's written as "Mountain Capital". Honestly, I wasn't sure if it was meant to be a place name at all, at first, but it became clear that it's the fantasy-Japan of this setting, where all the katanas come from.

Brownie:

quote:

Small, friendly race close to nature. A small-statured people who make their homes in the Great Plains. They worship Mother Nature, and can make medicines from plants or call upon divine power.

(EO5's romanization of Brownie is closer to "Bronie," but like hell am I gonna be calling them that.)

Brownies are a somewhat odd race dedicated entirely to supporting. They have the absolute worst STR and LUC of any race (the LUC part is more relevant than you might think), and pretty bad HP (just a little more than Lunarians), but actually decent everything else--they have the highest WIS of any race, and their VIT's not too far off from Earthrun. Their INT's pretty good, too.

Note that in addition to their stat differences, different races have access to totally separate trees of racial skills. Especially important are the racial Union skills (essentially limit breaks, they'll be explained in more detail later), some of which are powerful enough to completely change your strategy.

Informative, no? Let's move onto the main event, however: the classes.

Earthrun classes:

quote:

Front Row Evasive Attacker

Swordsmen who dodge attacks with nimble movements while attacking with chained strikes.

Fencers are a combination of dodge-tanks and supporting attackers. Dodge-tanking should be fairly simple to understand just from the name, but supportive attacking might need further explanation: about half of their basic skillset and one of their specializations are dedicated to Chain skills, which are slight retoolings of the elemental Chaser skills that Landsknechts had in EO1/2/U/2U. And yes, I said Chasers, not Links from EO4--Chains are sadly not as easy to use as Links.

I personally prefer using Fencers as dodge-tanks, but Chains aren't bad--they're easier to set up than Chasers ever were, and can deal really good damage even with only 3 Chains per turn. Hell, you could have two Fencers in a party, one for dodge-tanking and one for Chains, and it'd actually work out pretty well.

Y'know, before we go any further, how about we actually try making a character? That sounds fun.

Oh lord that's a big change from previous EOs.

One of the major selling points of EO5 during its pre-release phase was the expanded character customization. In EO1/2 and U/2U, you had a choice of a select amount of portraits, and that was it (2U DLC excluded). EO3 introduced palette swaps for each portrait, and EO5 carries on that feature. However, now, you can also adjust a bunch of other things about characters--specifically, their hair, eye, and skin color, as well as giving them a voice (we'll get back to that).

Customizing hair and eye color is actually pretty in-depth. There's a couple of presets for each, but you can also manually set RGB values for both the primary and in-shadow colors.

Meaning you can do dumb stuff like this.

Eye customization works much like hair customization does, with one exception. See that "LR LINK" checkbox?

Turning it off enables heterochromia!

Skin customization's more limited compared to hair and eyes, but you still have a decent amount of options here.

Worth noting that skin colors change between races--Lunarians have a ton of weird, alien-looking skins, for example.

And lastly, voices. You have a selection of 20 voices per gender, each labeled with an archetype. Note that voice selection isn't restricted based on portrait or race--you're free to, say, put one of the annoyingly high-pitched female voices on the large angry Cestus.

Here's samples of each of the voices. (Any audio oddities are Premiere's fault. They don't get in the way of anything, anyway.)

As for what each archetype translates to, along with what their sample translates to:

quote:
1: Hot Blooded; "Let's do this!"
2: Youth; "I'm going!"
3: Confident; "Let me show you how it's done."
4: Somber; "Time to go?"
5: Rascal; "Here I go!"
6: Military; "Go!"
7: Intellectual; "I'll be going."
8: Cowardly; "Why me?!"
9: Calm; "I'm going."
10: Gentleman; "Let us proceed."
11: Gentle; "Let's go."
12: Nihilistic; "Let's start this."
13: Samurai; "Advance!"
14: Invigorating; "Let's give it a shot!"
15: Polite; "I'm going."
16: Cocky; "Here I go!"
17: Cold; "I'll go."
18: Excitable; "It's party time!"
19: Apathetic; "Guess I've got no choice..."
20: Rough; "Let's do this, you bastards!"
21: Tomboy; "Let's go, everyone!"
22: Domineering; "I'm going!"
23: Soldier; "Let's show them how it's done."
24: Princess; "Let's get going, everyone!"
25: Lively; "I'm psyched for this!"
26: Feral; "Roar!"
27: Meek; "I'm going!"
28: Airhead; "I'm goooing."
29: Composed; "I'm starting."
30: Cheerful; "All right!"
31: Boyish; "Just leave it to me!"
32: Hag; "Well aren't you eager?"
33: Serious; "Winners make the first move!"
34: Cool; "I am going."
35: Old Fashioned; "Might as well give it a shot."
36: Timid; "I-I'm going!"
37: Stubborn; "Leave it to me!"
38: Cruel; "Do I really have to?"
39: Taciturn; "...I'll help."
40: Sexy; "Let's get this started!"

If you're boring, you can also choose to give no voice to a character, but why would you do that? Having some noise in battle is always fun, as long as it's not some of the more irritatingly high-pitched ones.

It's the Jouji Nakata customizer of my dreams

Also something of a weird change coming from the English versions of EO, names are limited to 6 characters in the JP versions. It's probably not that restricting if you're typing in Japanese, but it can be a pretty big pain trying to spell out a name in English.

Well, that was a fun detour. How about we get back to classes?

quote:

Front Row Defense Specialist

Dragon knights who boast of wearing heavy armor as tough as dragon scales. Can also bombard with their cannons when not defending.

Dragoons are basically Protectors from EO1/2 and/or Hoplites from EO3 after being given a bunch of spit and polish, and some okay offensive capabilities. Their primary job is keeping the party alive via damage mitigation (and some semi-unreliable tanking if you feel like it), but as their description mentions, they also have a couple of offensive skills to use on turns where you don't feel a shield skill is necessary.

It's really hard to go wrong with a Dragoon, honestly, assuming you have a party that isn't overly defensive.

Making history: The first time a Dragoon has ever actually been exciting in an RPG.

quote:

Front Row Technical Attacker

Warriors who fight with their tempered fists. Can disable their enemies with precise strikes to their weak points.

Cesti are combination damage dealers and disablers, and one of my favorite classes to use. In EO1/2/U/2U terms, think Dark Hunters, but a little less good at inflicting binds and with far lower variety of ailments, in exchange for which they gain fun combo skills and skills that both drain their HP and become better as their HP goes lower (both of which are their own specializations). Binds are incredibly powerful disables, and having a class that can inflict good damage (or at least amplify it on other classes) while inflicting them is a massive plus in my book. Much like with Dragoons, I find it really hard to go wrong with using a Cestus.

Note that despite the bit in the description about "tempered fists", Cesti actually use gauntlet-type weapons. Brass knuckles, etc. So there's no weird unarmed attack scaling to worry about. Not many other classes can do binds at all, so when you throw in their excellent damage potential, it's hard to imagine a party that wouldn't be improved by adding a Cestus.

I hope you know which portrait to pick.

quote:

Front Row Debuffing Attacker

Users of a mysterious force known as miasma, with which they spread disease and frailty to their enemies. Their peculiar style reaps their foes with large scythes.

Reapers are kind of a strange class. They're debuffing damage dealers with some options for inflicting ailments as well. The description mentions miasma, and that's for good reason--their skills almost entirely focus on one particular thing, Miasma Weapon, which is essentially a state you either manually trigger or can passively activate through a few skills. In a way it's almost easier to describe them through their specializations: one focuses on damage and ailments, while the other focuses on debuffs and supporting other party members.

Moving onto Lunarian classes:

quote:

Back Row Elemental Attacker

Users of an ancient school of magic. They freely command the elements to attack.

Alchemists, Zodiacs, Runemasters--whatever you want to call elemental magic attackers, Warlocks follow in their footsteps. They are all about inflicting magical damage, usually of the fire, ice, and volt variety. EO2, EO3, and EOU experimented with giving them access to physical damage, but none of those worked out. In EO5, however, Warlocks do actually have a specialization that gives them magical cut, stab, and bash damage, and they're not actually garbage this go-around! How about that?

Fuckin wizards, how do they work?

The downside to Warlocks is that Lunarian stats mean they're incredibly fragile, and it's really easy to end up with a useless Warlock that's bled dry of TP really quickly in the early and midgame if you don't invest your skill points right.

quote:

Pet-based Jack of All Trades

Summoners who command the spirits of the dead. A jack of all trades who can attack, defend, or support.

The title and description really do sum Necromancers up quite neatly. Their skill trees are kind of all over the place with all types of skills, with one consistent theme: summoning, using, and expending summons. Necromancers are one of two summon-focused classes in EO5, and one of three that can summon overall (Dragoons have two summon skills that aren't crucial to their function). They can be a little finicky to use due to that fact, but they do make up for it by being able to fill quite a few roles at once.

Unlike in EO3, pets in this game go into special pet slots in front of the front row. There are three of these pet slots, and unlike the other pet classes Necromancers are encouraged to use all three of them at once. This can mean that they don't play nice in some party set-ups. The summons themselves will attack random targets each turn (or randomly do nothing, sometimes), but mostly they exist solely to be sacrificed by the Necromancer's spells. Both Hound and Necromancer pets can be summoned out of battle, so you don't have to worry about summoning 3 ghosts every single battle.

get dressed you loving corpsehugging hippies

Shifting over to the Therian classes:

quote:

Pet-Based Ranged Attacker

Veteran hunters skilled with a bow. Good at making combined attacks with a falcon or wolfhound to bind their foes.

Hounds are the other summon-focused class. They operate a little differently from Necromancers--instead of working with multiple disposable summons, Hounds summon either dogs or hawks, both of which almost function a little like autonomous party members. Dogs focus on healing while hawks focus on damage. This isn't to say that the Hound themself is just a vehicle for the summon, though--they can contribute a little extra damage with their bows, and Therians' high STR means it's not totally insignificant.

You can name your Hound pets. Technically, they're actually part of your guild, in that you can see them on the guild management page. There's only one dog and one hawk per guild, even if you have multiple Hounds in your party. Luckily they can share, and pets that have received multiple commands on the same turn will act multiple times. Pets have their own separate stats, so even as a Therian with low WIS, Hounds can make decent healers. On the other hand, this also means you can't increase their stats with equipment.

Wanna pet that dog

quote:

Front Row Offense Specialist

Experts who cleave their foes in two with the razor sharp blades known as katanas. Masters are able to wield multiple katanas at once.

Masuraos are almost direct parallels of Ronin from EO1/2/U/2U--aka hard-hitting damage dealers that are also very fragile compared to other classes... Except the last part doesn't apply as much to Masuraos, because they have not-awful VIT and access to heavy armor, so unless you go with the 4-sword specialization (we'll talk about that when we get to specializations), they're not as fragile as you'd expect. Meaning that they're big physical damage dealers without too much of a downside. They don't do a lot outside of inflicting damage, though.

And lastly, Brownie classes:

quote:

Back Row Support Specialist

Mediums who communicate with the invisible spirits, and can call on their blessings to heal or buff.

Shamans are really kind of strange and unwieldy. They have the standard buffs you'd expect from a buffing support class, of course, but the rest of their skills all operate on manipulating buffs they themselves or the entire party have to put down various effects, such as dispelling specific elemental resistance buffs to reduce all enemies' resistance to that given element for one turn.

quote:

Back Row Healer

Doctors who make medicines from herbs. Can also use those herbs to poison their foes.

It wouldn't be an EO game without a Medic class, would it? Herbalists can function exclusively as old-style Medics if you want, and they're really good at that job. However, they also have access to Smoke skills, which attempt to inflict an ailment (with lower-than-average base inflict rates), and apply a debuff to enemies that reduce their resistance to that ailment. As I mentioned earlier, Brownies have really terrible LUC, so inflicting ailments with a Brownie Herbalist is an exercise in frustration. However, there's a way to create a character that can make good use of Smoke skills, which we'll see in a few updates.

"This is a class Brownies use. They're terrible at using half of it." Race equality!

And there we have it, a guild of 10 misfits ready to demonstrate the combat system, because I'm saving all the other tutorial stuff for when we actually have a real guild.

I'm gonna roll with Dragoon/Cestus/Reaper, Necromancer/Hound for now. I wouldn't necessarily use this party in an actual run because of the Necromancer and Hound kind of stepping on each other's toes, but eh.

You can totally beat the game with both a Hound and a Necromancer in the same party. Don't let the Man tell you what to do.

What if you combined them. What if you had a ghost dog. I'm gonna sell this idea to Atlus.

https://zippy.gfycat.com/SoupyPresentAfricanparadiseflycatcher.webm

Starting a battle plays this effect.

I'll save full enemy writeups for the actual first update.

Note the blue thing with Japanese characters above the front row--that is a dog that I had the Hound (Jib) summon in the field. It's also why Jib is missing TP.

The battle UI's undergone a massive overhaul compared to previous EO games, but all the basic functions are still here. In order, you have the following commands:

Attack: Attacks with your equipped weapon.

Skills: Lets you use skills.

Defend: The character will not act on this turn, in exchange for taking 50% less damage from all sources and reducing their chances of being disabled.

Items: Lets you use consumable items.

Switch: Lets you swap party members' positions. Summons cannot have their positions swapped.

Union: Lets you use Union skills. We'll see those very shortly.

Escape: Attempts to end the battle immediately. Disabled if the character's legs are bound.

Ned's only skill is Line Guard, which reduces all physical damage taken by a row for one turn. Line Guard functions almost exactly like its counterpart in EO3, with the exception that the damage reduction is the same for both rows.

Glock, meanwhile, initiates the Union skill Double Attack, with Ned cooperating, on the left Roper.

Union skills can be initiated by anyone with a completely full Union gauge, and require a certain number of party members to cooperate. When a Union skill is used, all participants have their gauge drained to 0, and the Union skill is used at the start of the turn. In Double Attack's case, it requires two participants, who both will basically do normal attacks on the targeted enemy.

Note that only the character who initiates the Union skill needs to have a full Union gauge: all participants are drained, but they can still participate with 0. If you plan it right, you can use, say, a 4 person Union skill two turns in a row. No one can partipate in two different Union skills on the same turn though.

Party members using Union skills can also take actions as normal. In Glock's case, he'll use Arm Break, which inflicts bash damage while also attempting to bind the target's arms, on the left Roper.

Yorsh sets up a Double Attack on the right Roper, with Jib cooperating...

And will use Scythe of Numb Stasis for her normal action, which'll deal cut damage to one row. If she had the Miasma Weapon state, it'd also attempt to inflict paralysis.

Heavy will use Ghost Summoning, which consumes a bit of his HP to create a ghost with some slight bonus HP.

Jib's only skill is Dog Whistle, which is useless right now, so he'll just attack.

https://zippy.gfycat.com/RegularDisgustingFoxhound.webm

Spending two characters' Union to get two extra normal attacks on one enemy is pretty decent for the earlygame.

These two did it, too.

Like Clarste mentioned earlier, pets have their own special row, if the dog didn't give it away already.

This battle shouldn't take too long.

Line Guard looks like that when it activates. Enemies hit really drat hard early on, and Line Guard can often be the difference between life and death for a character.

Early enemies hitting hard in an Etrian Odyssey game? I don't believe you.

The dog has its own passive AI--every turn, it'll provide a small amount of healing to whichever party member has the lowest amount of absolute HP at the start of the turn. This can include itself.

Easy enough.

Anyone still alive at the end of a battle gets EXP, enemies drop items, I'm sure you could assume this information.

Well what if there's some redneck out there who still thinks that RPGs are in the age where spiders drop gold coins? Maybe they'd be confused by the fact that you're just getting items instead, Ragnar. Think of the elderly and the sheltered here.

And that should do it for this demo update. Next time: we actually start!

# ¿ Oct 14, 2016 03:47

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Hey, kids! Can you guess what time it is?

That's right, it's time for the post that explains how to submit characters for the LP's narrative! Rolls right off the tongue.

Anyway, there's some things you should know about character creation that were glossed over in Update 0. Firstly, you are not limited to a class's portraits for selecting a portrait. That might sound strange, but hear me out.

Each race has a set of two generic portraits that you can use for any class in that race--you actually saw them already in pretty much every screenshot, but here they are again:

(From top to bottom: Earthrun, Lunarian, Therian, Brownie.)

In addition to these generic race portraits, you also have a selection of twelve DLC portraits--six different types, each with two versions:

(Fans of Etrian Odyssey might recognize the fourth, fifth, and sixth sets of DLC portraits--they are, respectively, Protector 2, Medic 2, and Gunner 2 from EO1/2.)

Anyway, yes, character submissions. The same rules as EO2U apply: pick a class, a portrait, give the character a name, and provide a bio of whatever length you want. However, because of how character customization works in EO5, you can also provide:

Hair and eye colors. We'll take either presets the game gives, descriptions of colors, RGB values (ie. 155 Red, 0 Green, 155 Blue), and even hex color values if you're feeling spicy (#ff88aa).
For hair, you can specify if you want a specific color for either section (lit/in shadow) or if you just want the shadow portion to be a darker version of the primary color.
For eye colors, you can specify if you want the character to be heterochromatic--if you do this, you should (obviously) also give what other color you want. You can specify what eye should have what color, too, if you really want. If you don't, I'll just pick an eye at random.
For skin colors: see the images below.
For voices: see Update 0 for the list of voices and samples.
For names: because we are limited to 6 characters for names here, you can either write out the name you want and we'll do our best to convert it to katakana, or you can give a name that's already in Japanese and I'll try my absolute hardest to not screw up inputting it.

Lastly: you're free to submit however many characters you want, but please limit yourself to just one character per class. In addition, if one of your characters is picked, the rest are disqualified.

Skin colors:

Earthrun, Therian, Brownie

Lunarian

Hair/eye presets:

Hair

Eyes

Just for convenience, here's all of the class portraits again:

Fencer

Dragoon

Cestus

Reaper

Warlock

Necromancer

Hound

Masurao

Shaman

Herbalist

And, for posterity, here's all the early submissions from the EO2U LP:

quote:

Now come, Samurai. Put on a good show...

(BlackPersona)
Name: Nolan
Class: Dragoon
Portrait: 3B, except with 3A's whiter/grayer hair.
Voice: Somber

Nolan is an experienced explorer from an older time, who actually did manage to make a good name for himself. The people that did know him knew he retired after a few good years as an explorer. The people that knew his rumors know him as one of the best protectors across the lands. The people that met him after his retirement will say that he's a funny man that pretends everyone is his son (especially when he's drinking... which is often). Not many people can say why he's suddenly back in the exploring business, though. All they know is that bright spark that was in his eyes before suddenly became a bit duller than usual, and his laughs are more hollow than they were before. The people that knew him, though, they will shake their heads and sadly turn away, without an answer. When asked, he will say that he wants one last journey before he dies, with his shield in one hand and his sword in the oth-

"...Wait, where'd my sword go?!"

Name: Shin
Class: Masurao
Portrait: 3B, Skin: 4th, bottom row, Hair: 5th, top row.
Voice: Confident

Shin was the best swordsman of his age group, easily the ace Therian warrior in his tribe. He picked up the sword as soon as he was able to walk, and managed to make a name for himself at the young age of 15. He wandered around the mountains of his home and bested every swordsman he found, and, with it, his ego inflated heavily. A few years later he managed to be known as one of the swordsman in his land. So with this reputation and confidence, he left the mountains to find stronger opponents. Unfortunately, being so used to the swordsmanship that Therians utilize, Shin found himself humiliated more often than not against the other ways of sword-fighting, especially against those drat Fencers. Soon he was the laughing stock of most swordsmen outside of his home. Undaunted and still overconfident, he left for Aeolis after hearing the announcement for challenging Yggdrasil. Not to actually challenge the labyrinth, moreso to understand how these Earthrun swordsmen manage to beat him so handily (he thinks it's their hair, but he wouldn't admit it). But, hey, if he could pick up some glory too, that'd be just as expected.

Name: Emma
Class: Fencer
Portrait: 4A, Skin: bottom, 3rd. Eyes: brown
Voice: Cruel

Emma's first, last, and only dream was to be a princess. She dreamed of all the parties she would attend, the princes that would woo her, the gifts that she would receive. She would be the belle of the ball, and everyone would fight over her, just to have one dance! The delicacies would be fanciful, amazing, and she would have the prettiest dress, and all eyes would be on her... She'd eventually marry a prince, and settle down somewhere, maybe somewhere close to Armoroad or Tharsis, in her own private castle, with hundreds of her attendants waiting on her every hour of every day... But she would still be the most beautiful dancer in all the lands, and she'd dance every night with her beloved prince...

...Yeah... Turns out dance lessons aren't exactly cheap for a farmer's girl. They weren't exactly poor, per se: they lived comfortably enough, and Emma even had a decent education. The problem came later on, when she and her father found an injured man in the forest. After delivering him to the were allowed to attend a ball after they delivered an injured noble to the local doctor's. From there, Emma became fascinated with the richer life of the upper crust, from their table manners to their more refined dances. When that single night ended, she became obsessed with emulating that life. She would spend so much time buying random things that caught her attention, from odd little sculptures she insisted were much more refined than the average person could acknowledge to plays of romance and love. Soon she was demanding money from her father to take the dancing lessons and etiquette classes and, and, and...

Well, let's just say that she may or may not have singlehandedly bankrupted her family. She did turn out to be a natural talent at dancing, but everything else that Emma insisted on learning she was a poor hand at. And it wasn't as if her family was going to help her reach her dreams. That was when she heard of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth, and all the riches and fame she'd get if she could conquer it. Well, she figured that she'd just latch onto a guild and see if she couldn't get her own riches! She was a pretty decent farm hand, at least, and all that dancing helped her be light on her feet, too, so she'd be able to help along the way, maybe. Draw attention from the monsters, and they'd not hit her. Hopefully. And hope that no one was watching her skin every animal they found. Gotta get that money in somehow, right?

She's totally not desperate, nope, no sirree.

(Kemix)
Name: Ritz
Class: Hound
Portrait: 1B (Keep the white wolf if ya can)
Voice: Hag

A wild, violent murderess of the woods, she had long since learned to commune with nature as well as bloody it if it got too close to her with their fangs. She brings about a wolf she raised from a pup to help her fight, and up until being found for the guild, had avoided overly populated areas and stayed away from people in general. She might be young, she speaks with age and wisdom far beyond even her years, even for her species. She was found on the outskirts of town and convinced to join in the climbing of the tree in an attempt to keep one's barrings within the labyrinthine tree. Though she communes with animals...she does have this penchant to misunderstand, for better or worse...mostly the latter. Also, don't touch the ears, one of two things will happen; A. You pacify her for the time being or B. you wind up pulling back a bloody stump.

"How cute, look at that luxurious fur...lets not bloody it too much, I needed a new blanket."

(Dr. Fetus)
Name: Raven
Class: Reaper
Portrait: 1A, except with black hair and black eyes.
Voice: Intellectual

Tired of his home life and not being taken seriously, Raven set out to explore the Labyrinth to make a name for himself. He took one of his tools he frequently used at his home, and decorated it to make it seem shiny and cool. An awesome weapon means the wielder is awesome too, right? And can't forget the awesome looking outfit too. But despite all his attempts to seem all cool and edgy, he comes off as pathetic or adorable to other people, much to his chagrin.

�I'm not a farmer! I'm the deadliest and coolest assassin around! ...That happens to know a lot about crops and cute little animals-and why are you laughing!? Stop petting me on the head!�

Name: Wanna
Class: Herbalist
Portrait: 4B
Voice: Airhead

Once a renowned professional in the medicinal department, Wanna lost her medical license because her crippling addiction to herbs got in the way of her job. After that, she lived out on the streets for a good while, feeding her herb addiction in the meantime, while annoying the townsfolk severely with her stream of consciousness ramblings. She was viewed as a waste of space and a complete nuisance by the townspeople, and so they made a suggestion to her that she should explore the Labyrinth, where she would hopefully die or just be gone for a good long while, never bothering them again. She agreed, not really understanding what she was agreeing to, because she was high as gently caress at the time. She doesn't mind sharing her herbs with others. In fact, she's a little too generous with them, to the point of giving others overdoses. Though she tends to get snippy with people who demand for more after that. She also wishes that those stupid monsters would let her smoke her herbs in peace.

Name: Gabbo
Class: Shaman
Portrait: 1A
Voice: Invigorating

A poet at heart, or so he claims to be. To everyone's annoyance, he has no idea when to stop talking. The worst part is he never speaks like a normal person would, always talking in poems, riddles, iambic pentameter, limericks, and excessive use of rhymes. Though he loathes puns. Gabbo set out for the Labyrinth to get more inspiration for the written arts. He thinks he's blind, but in reality he just needs a haircut.

(Level Seven)
Name: Duke
Class: Cestus
Portrait: The correct one (3B), with red hair and orange eyes.
Voice: Rough

A former prize fighter banned from the arena due to his disregard for the rules in the ring and for the amount of brawls he was involved in outside of it. He tries to stay calm but once somebody/thing tries to pick a fight with him, nothing can stop him till the offender is a wreck. In an attempt to put his habits towards a better purpose, his trainer pointed him toward the labyrinth where such tactics are a key for survival.

"They aren't broken yet? Well, Let Me FIX THIS PROBLEM!"

Name: Non
Class: Shaman
Portrait: 1B, darker green hair than the default color
Voice: 11 (Gentle)

Non has lived as a wanderer for as far back as Non can remember. Non has sometimes lived in a town and sometimes lived in the wild. Non has lived with people and left them when it was time to. Non has lived with animals and left them to meet new animals. Non's latest trek brought Non to a town that wants to explore the unknown. Non wants to wander in a place Non hasn't seen yet. Non speaks in the third person for no reason, Non just does.

(Grashbar)
Name: Sheila (シーラ)
Class: Dragoon
Portrait: 2A, base colors.
Voice: Soldier

Ex-soldier who left the military for glory, Sheila has already attempted to explore the labyrinth. Keyword being attempted. Sometimes solo, sometimes in a guild, all in failure. She's decided to give it one last attempt before she begrudgingly accepts the offer to return from her former superior. She doesn't like talking about her missing eye (Don't play with knives at a young age folks... Actually just don't play with knives.)

(AweStriker)
Name: Nille (ニーユ)
Class: Warlock
Portrait: 4B, ice blue skin, light purple hair, black eyes
Voice: Domineering

The latest in a long line of sorcerers passing a title from master to successor in the style of the Dread Pirate Roberts, Nille is much more vocal than any of her predecessors, willing and ready to prove to the world that magic conquers all.

(Aniodia)
Name: Anya
Class: Fencer
Portrait: 1B.
Skin: first row, fifth
Hair Highlight: 214, 73, 73
Hair Shade: 151, 21, 23
Eyes, top: 46, 192, 239
Eyes, bottom: 198, 242, 228
Voice: 29([Composed)

The second child of a moderately well-to-do tradesman, Anya was not quite spoiled, but had a bit more leeway with her parents than her older brother had at her age. As is wont to happen in situations like these, this led to a life of boredom punctuated by various thrill-seeking (and often illegal) activities. After one particularly destructive incident, her parents had little choice but to send her off to a military school in the hopes of instilling discipline.

Surprisingly, it worked, and Anya returned home as a young adult, formally trained and disciplined to a T. In the meantime, however, she found that she wasn't much of the darling of the family, what with two younger siblings now running about. Leaving home to find meaning to her life, she heads to Aeolis to challenge Yggdrasil. Seems there might be a bit of that old thrill-seeker left...

Name: Kaelin (カエリン)
Class: Warlock
Portrait: 3A
Skin: first row, first
Hair Highlight: 102, 111, 178
Hair Shade: 101, 48, 99
Eyes, top: 120, 165, 167
Eyes, bottom: 81, 107, 92
Voice: 03 (Confident)

Have you ever met someone who's incredibly smug, for seemingly no reason? Not just smug, but so smug, you just want to punch them in the face? The kind of person who just oozes smugness from every pore, even if they're not trying? That's Kaelin. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he had everything he's ever needed handed to him, the family servants only feeding more and more into his superiority complex. Even when he went into training as a warlock, it was all but a folly to him, nothing more than a minor dalliance to while away the time. The fact that he actually had the talent to back up his braggadocio took a couple of his classmates by surprise, but it was all fun and games for Kaelin.

When the city of Aeolis opened its gates to the multitudes of explorers' guilds, Kaelin had spun a yarn about how he was going to be the first to the top, and how it was enough of a foregone conclusion that no one else should dare try. Only once his bluff was called did he realize the enormity of his task, and even then, the self-confident Lunarian walked with a swagger in his step the likes of which couldn't be matched (or so he thought). Now if he could just avoid the rest of these commoners on his way to the top, he'd be all set.

(Tyty)
Name: Teyla (テイラー)
Class: Reaper
Portrait: 4A
Skin Tone: 3rd, first row
Hair light: 146, 76, 60
Hair dark: 86, 50, 52
Eyes: Red
Voice: 21

Orphaned as a child, she and her brother grew up together on the streets of the Earthrun capital. While her brother trained to be a dragoon in the militia to support them, she learned the ways of miasma from reapers traveling through the city. Remembering strange dreams of being a princess sailing the waves, she aspires to climb Yggdrasil to claim a wish for her and her brother to have fortune to live on and to hopefully find a meaning behind those dreams. Bubbly, eccentric, and snarky, she comes up with weird plans and has a tendency to get into trouble. She has a bad habit of being a bit overly self-sacrificial, and sometimes gets caught up in weird fantasies.

Name: Jill (ジル)
Class: Cestus
Portrait: 2A
Skin Tone: 4th, first row
Hair light: 214, 42, 60
Hair dark: 132, 0, 42
Eyes: Green
Voice: 22

The daughter of a well-off family, from a young age she was trained in the way of the dragoon.... Though she hated the stuffiness of military school, and instead chose to wander the lands and improve on her martial arts. She dropped out and spent most of her teenage years meditating under waterfalls and punching trees. Capable of punching down an entire forest on her own, she looks to scale yggdrasil and find the treasure on top, having heard legends that the person who reaches the peak will become the world's strongest. She looks to complete her art with the world's strongest punch. Stubborn, cocky, and likes punching things. She has a knack for mechanical things.

(GeminiSun)
Name: Amelie (アメリー)
Class: Cestus
Portrait: Generic Earthrun female
Skin Tone: 4th, bottom row
Hair light: 1st, top row
Hair dark: 4th, bottom row
Eyes: 2nd, bottom row
Voice: 8 (cowardly)

Life is hard when you're Amelie. All she ever wanted was to go into medicine and become a chiropractor; indeed, she had a real aptitude for it, demonstrating exceptional grasp of the theory. If she'd ever been able to go into practice, she surely would have done well for herself and left many people much happier and healthier. However, Amelie has... a little problem with controlling her strength. It was never confirmed whether she broke somebody's spine in her practicals, but... Well, at any rate, Amelie's trying to make the best of things. With her chiropractic knowledge and exceptional strength, becoming a Cestus and exploring Yggdrasil seemed like a natural fit. Too bad she's not a fan of combat...

Name: Kaede (カエデ)
Class: Hound
Portrait: 1A
Skin Tone: 2nd, first row
Hair light: 4th, top row
Hair dark: 4th, top row
Eyes: Unlinked; one eye grey, other eye bright aqua preset
Voice: 39 (taciturn)

It's not as hard as you might think to make your way in the world when you're blind from birth - even in the sight-heavy role of a bow hunter. Of course, being a Therian helps; those big ears aren't just for show! What helps even more, Kaede has found, is forging a magic link between yourself and your loyal hunting pets, so that you can literally use their eyes. It's a little strange sometimes, she'll admit, but there are plenty of advantages. The loving gaze of her wolfhound is better than any mirror for making sure her camouflage is in order (or, when she ventures out of the forest, making sure she doesn't look like a disaster), her falcon's aerial perspective is incredibly useful for getting the lay of the land and helping Kaede line up her shot, and... okay, she'll admit it. It's great fun to mess with people who don't think you can see them. A girl's gotta get her laughs somewhere.

Name: Momoka (モモカ)
Class: Masurao
Portrait: 1A
Voice: 29 (composed)

Blah blah ancient and noble warrior clan, yada yada deadly rivals, yakety yak revenge for the family honor, blibbity blah proving her worth in the Yggdrasil. Look, let's get one thing straight here - Momoka does not care about any of that poo poo. She just really loving loves swords. All she wants to do is have a lot of swords and use a lot of swords and do the awesomest possible things she can do, with swords.

(blizzardvizard)
Name: Jude
Class: Necromancer
Portrait: 1A
Skin Tone: 4th, top row
Hair: White/default colors
Eyes: Grey
Voice: 19 (Apathetic)

Jude recently graduated from Sidonian Magic Academy's Necromancy school, and the thing with Sidonian Magic Academy is - it's goddamned expensive. Oh, there are scholarships and bursaries, sure, but only Warlocks really ever receive them, since the kingdom doesn't want to encourage the whole 'probably using the life energies of your dead loved ones to make explosions' business. But since young and edgy Jude decided being a Warlock was too mainstream for him, today's Jude has to deal with a student debt amounting to tens of thousands of Entals. (This is why you don't make life choices while going through a phase. He'd note it down for the future, if he still thinks he has one.)

Now Jude's quite good at the necromancy thing, in fact, he's one of the top students in his (admittedly pretty small) class, but there's just not a lot of demand for people who can explode ghosts into poison clouds, compared to conjurers of flame and lightning. Sadly regret and disillusionment don't pay the bills, so now he works as a waiter at Melina's bar. It's pretty reliant on tips, but turns out the patrons quite dig the scarred look, so he's been making do. At least that's some silver lining to all of the organ selling. (God, he seriously should've become a Warlock.)

While working at the bar, though, he saw an influx of 'adventurers' coming to the city to explore the giant tree dungeon, and those who made it out alive came back with all sorts of treasures in their hands... and buying equipments that cost more than his yearly school fee... which gave Jude an idea. Surely some adventuring group out there could make use of his talents in combat. Melina's a good boss, but with his current income he'd still need three lifetimes, at least, before being able to pay his debt off. And hey, fighting monsters would be a nice way to release all of his pent-up frustrations. He knows the dangers, but if he ends up getting mauled by a giant squirrel or something, well... that's another way out, too.

(FriskyBoat)
Name: Dak
Class: Herbalist
Portrait: Herbalist 3A
Skin Tone: Row 1, Column 5
Hair: Row 1, Column 3
Eyes: Row 1, Column 2
Voice: Meek

Generally cheerful and bright, Dak is nonetheless a skilled healer who knows the value a talented doctor can bring to an adventuring party. While his patients would swear he was trying to kill them at the time, all of his remedies have turned out to ease the pain and suffering of those who have sought him out. Despite his skill, he still lacks the necessary funds to properly treat his sister, Dis, who has lived her entire life bedridden. He has chosen to take up the sword (or his herbs, as it more often is) to collect the necessary ingredients for his sister's convalescence. Polite, friendly, and cowardly, Dak has faced his fears and is determined to do what is necessary to help his sister.

(theshim)
Name: Aurora
Class: Warlock
Portrait: 4A
Skin: First row, third
Hair: First row, fourth
Eyes: First row, fifth
Voice: 29

You know the typical JRPG villain, who has decided the world is too far gone and must be destroyed? That's Aurora. In her meddling in the cosmic nature of the universe, she came to the conclusion (she insists it was a prophecy) that she should destroy all that is. She also knows she isn't up to the task (yet), so she seeks to better herself in the trials of the labyrinth to attain the ultimate power of destruction. Hates alchemists for stealing the name Eschaton for their lame and ineffective formula.

A bizarre person at the best of times. Aurora is weirdly easy to get along with once you get past the whole "destroying everything" bit, and is supremely confident in her "prophecy" and in her power being able to overcome anything. Actually quite helpful and sensitive to her companions. Shrugs it off when said companions may try to convince her not to destroy all of creation. Likes fruit, especially tropical fruit. Hates cheese and all things pink.

(mischievousart)
Name: Gram
Class: Hound
Portait: 4B
Skintone: 6th, top row
Hair: 5th, bottom row
Eyes: 3rd, bottom row
Voice: 25 (Lively)

Gram's always wanted to go on a grand adventure, but life seems to keep getting in her way. First, her parents needed help on the farm, then she was looking after her siblings and cousins, then there were children of her own, then GRANDchildren...

Now that everyone's finally grown up and there's other, younger people to put in charge, she's finally taking the chance to follow her dream. Who needs a boring quiet retirement when you can have adventure? No stinking monsters or silly youngsters who want her to slow down are going to get in her way, you hear me? NONE.

Name: Caleb
Class: Herbalist
Portrait: 3A
Skintone: 2nd, bottom row
Hair: 3rd, top row
Eyes: 6th, top row
Voice: 15 (Polite)

Caleb is all about finding and growing new and different kinds of plants. The stranger they are, the more he loves them. He quickly became one of the most notorious gardeners in the city not because he wins contests (though he almost always gets an honorable mention), but because his more interesting specimens tend to have a mind of their own in ways that land him in the constable's report. Uh, several times a month. He puts up signs up for the dangerous ones, really, it's just that the plants seem prefer those to their trellises.

(Pyro Jack)
Name: Cassie
Class: Herbalist
Portrait: 4B
Skin Color: Second row, first
Hair Color: 202, 57, 75 (highlight) 141, 7, 26 (shade)
Eye Color: 113, 86, 151 (highlight) 164, 79, 164 (shade)
Voice: Cruel

Herbalists are generally helpful, gentle and kind. Cassie is not one of those types and is definitely not your typical Brownie. Forced into a position that she loathes with a passion and having to deal with idiots that throw themselves into danger drives her to drink, drink and drink until she's mumbling underneath a table wondering why she didn't become a Necromancer or something. Bluntly rude and completely willing to take funds to fuel her drinking problem, it's no surprise that her teammates don't like but unfortunately for them, they have to deal with it because she's the only reliable source of mending wounds in the beginning of their journey and she is willing to rub it in their faces of that fact.

Name: Corvus
Class: Reaper
Portrait: 3B
Skin Color: First row, 6th
Hair Color: 105, 109, 177 (highlight) 55, 58, 101 (shade)
Eye Color: 250, 180, 123 (highlight) 199, 98, 69 (shade)
Voice: Cocky

Corvus (real name: Johnathan) didn't initially wanted to be a Reaper, he wanted to be a Troubadour but his sense of style and his taste of music were too different from normal Troubadors that he didn't get the job. At least Reapers get a cool outfit and a sweet scythe to go with it, which is fine by him... Probably one of the friendlier adventurers despite appearances.

Name: Florete (Floret because of the small space)
Class: Fencer
Portrait: 2A
Skin Color: First row, 5th
Hair Color: 170, 101, 96 (highlight) 110, 67, 73 (shade)
Eye Color: 73, 182, 121 (highlight) 45, 91, 68 (shade)
Voice: Lively

Florete is a legendary warrior who braved a Labyrinth, solved its mysteries and vanquished terrifying beasts! There's nobody that can beat her in battle, leadership and everything else!

At least, that's what the real Florete wishes to be real. Like almost every child that lives on a farm, Florete desires nothing more than, making a name for herself, having an adventure and becoming famous for it. Maybe it's because of bored of the farmer's lifestyle, maybe it's that she heard tale of guilds succeeding in traversing the various Yggdrasils or maybe it's that her dad named her after a sword because he couldn't think up a name for her. Regardless, when she heard of Aeolis now allowing adventurers to step foot into their Yggdrasil, she grabbed what she needed and headed to fufill her dream.

Name: Vega
Class: Dragoon
Portrait: 2A
Skin Color: Second row, 2nd
Hair Color: 216, 172, 254 (highlight) 148, 118, 173 (shade)
Eye Color: 164, 79, 164 (highlight) 99, 38, 98 (shade)
Voice: Soldier

Vega is a veteran explorer who traveled around the world to see the various labyrinths and mazes from the ruined world not for fame or fortunes but, disturbingly enough, for the sheer thrill of fighting dangerous creatures and especially against FOEs. One such fight that she'll never forget was against a Dinogator who gourged out her eye and she paid the creature back with it's death. Why does she love to feel the adrenaline rush against deadly battles is unknown but to her.

(Wonderslug)
Name: Morris
Class: Necromancer
Skin: Top row 2
Hair: Bottom row 5
Eyes: Top row 4
Voice: Excitable

Morris's business cards used to say "troubadour," but his gigs--mostly kid's birthday parties and senior centers--always seemed to end the same way: with the unwelcome appearance of a troupe of ghastly spectral backup dancers, followed shortly by his speedy exit from the venue trailed by projectile party favors or tubes of denture adhesive, or in extreme cases actual torches and pitchforks. Attempts to spin this as part of the act were met with, at best, stony silence, and all efforts to prevent it from happening at all were futile.

It was not until he was fleeing a tavern near Armoroad that he encountered a wandering zodiac who took an interest in his problem. After weeks of poking, prodding, measuring, and divination she informed him that, by pure happenstance, nearly every facet of his being, from the hour of his birth to the proportions of his body to his mean resting heart rate to the mineral composition of his hair, was cosmologically (and funkadelically) attuned to the primal rhythms of life and death. The merest hint of a waggle of a groove thang was sufficient to set up sympathetic vibrations in the ether powerful enough to yank the slumbering dead back into this world, filled with a fearsome need to shake their moneymakers.

Faced with this explanation of his repeated failures, Morris reluctantly shelved his dreams of bringing joy to children and retirees and restyled himself as...the necrodancer.

(Poltergrift)
Name: Paige
Class: Shaman
Portrait: A4, with pale eyes -- think "blind seer"
Voice: Old-Fashioned

Sure, Paige has the Sight--or clairvoyance, or ESP, or future vision, or whatever else you want to call it. Especially acute Sight, no less--which is sort of the problem. Cosmic-class prophecies are so deeply alien to the daily life of a Brownie in a quiet Plains town as to be irrelevant--who cares whether "the moon will be as blood, and the seas as ash, come the day of the King in Yellow, blessed be his name"? Paige wanted to win bets and avoid getting hit by carts, not to foresee the end of civilization in a parallel reality or to witness the birth of a curs�d star whose hideous name was Wormwood. Like, if it's not going to turn the seas into blood this century, we probably don't need to stockpile water, you know?

By means of a variety of material foci--Zener cards, tarot cards, talismans, the occasional blank piece of card stock just to keep the Gods guessing--Paige has managed to significantly narrow down the range of her Sight, albeit just to "continent-sized" instead of "all time and space." She came to Aeolis to make her fortune on minor foretelling (Brownies don't need all that much in the way of prophecy) whilst refining her card-based fortune-telling to a science, only to discover something curious: her visions had stopped concerning themselves with anything but events inside Yggdrasil. Convinced that the Labyrinth was the key to her divine science--and somewhat concerned that the end of the world might've suddenly become way too local for comfort--Paige managed to convince a local explorers' guild to hire her on, ostensibly as a "geomancer" for avoiding spiritual troubles, but mostly as a good-luck charm... as a person, Paige likes gambling (especially on cards), seeming more mysterious than she is, and big dinners.

Name: Sette
Class: Fencer
Portrait: B4, with hair the same white as her torso and eyes the same red as her... skirt thing
Voice: Soldier

Everyone has heard tell of the legendary Knight of the Arc--the vigilante, tied to no country, but as impermanent as the wind, a dashing and romantic figure, who dispatched a thousand armed soldiers in a single night...

Well, everyone except the Knight herself, who kind of remembers all those guys being drunk and having to "fend off" -- i.e. make threatening motions at with a small saber -- a few morons who mistook her for an enemy combatant. The next morning, someone was found dead by unrelated means, and the blame was laid on her head, but Sette was always fairly good at not getting caught. Her evasion of said guards likewise grew in the retelling, partially due to guards who didn't want to admit they'd been outrun and outwitted by some rando fencer. Two weeks of the rumor mill grinding later, Sette was a folk heroine called Lancetta, the D'Arc Knight, a master of four-sword style who had stolen and refined to perfection the esoteric techniques of the mystic East (although opinion was divided as to whether she also fought by strapping guns to her feet and performing high-impact gun-based martial arts).

Sette is kind of understandably wigged out by this, but over time, she's grown into the "folk heroine" role; in fact, she claims it's improved her handling of the sword to know mythographers are industriously writing papers about her, not to mention that her old weapons will probably sell for a mint once she's old and gray. As for the Labyrinth... well, is unbelievable fame and fortune in battle against unrelenting monsters something any self-respecting heroine could stay away from? No, and that means Sette's going to have to go too.

(Dark Flame Master)
Name: Ren
Class: Cestus
Portrait: 4A
Skin Color: Second row, 4th
Hair Color: Preset, row 2, 2nd
Eye Color: Preset, 1st row, 4th
Voice: Timid

Ren is the warm, kind and motherly sort. She is somewhat shy around people she doesn't know and has a tendency to stutter when she's nervous. Don't let that fool you, though, when the chips are down she can punch her way right through a solid brick wall. She picked up this talent while hunting for her own ingredients in the wild, as she's a cooking hobbyist at heart. Really, really wants to pat a Therian on the head to see how soft their ears are.

Rea fucked around with this message at 07:42 on Oct 15, 2016

# ¿ Oct 14, 2016 03:48

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

BlackPersona posted:

Still forgetting to list voices as part of the character submissions, Ragnar?

It just wouldn't be something I make without some glaringly obvious error I forget about later, huh?

Fixed.

Rea fucked around with this message at 04:03 on Oct 14, 2016

# ¿ Oct 14, 2016 04:00

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that. DLC portraits can be used for any race. You can use the Medic 2 portrait for a Brownie Herbalist, for example.

If I'm gonna be honest, I'm surprised people haven't been using the DLC portraits. When I first showed them to Clarste, his opinion was basically "everyone's going to use these, they're too good." :v:

# ¿ Oct 14, 2016 17:10

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

...Aw, crap, I forgot to mention: we need a guild name, too. Same thing as character names: either give us something in English and Clarste'll translate it, or give us something already in Japanese and I will spend forever hunting-and-pecking the correct characters.

Also, the initial party vote. Almost forgot that too. Just vote for whatever 3 classes you like.

Also one minor thing: if your character isn't picked, don't be too sad! You'll get another chance when specializations roll around, because I'll be adding more characters to have one character for each specialization (minus one specialization I find kind of pointless). Any characters that aren't picked here will be auto-entered when specializations roll around unless the authors specify otherwise.

How many more characters, you might ask? ...Um, well, 8. Plus another character that won't be picked now, but will show up soon after 1F.

And people thought 15 was a lot of characters for EO2U. :v:

Lastly, if you're one of those Twitter users and feel like having another method of being informed when an update goes live, I might as well put this thing to some use after registering it back in 2009. My Steam profile's also on there if you feel like having me babble at you.

Rea fucked around with this message at 02:53 on Oct 15, 2016

# ¿ Oct 15, 2016 02:44

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Pollyanna posted:

Voting for Nameless!

Not sure what to think of the game yet. I'll have to wait until it comes stateside, but let's hope it's good.

I mean, the fact that I'm doing an LP of it should tell you my opinion of it.

In all seriousness I really do like EO5. It takes the series away from some of the bad JRPG habits that the Untolds were slipping into, like RNG-reliant core mechanics (you could ignore them in EOU, but Grimoires were mandatory in EO2U) and serious problems with number inflation. I also far prefer the class specialization system to Grimoires and even subclassing (both the EO3 and EO4 versions).

# ¿ Oct 15, 2016 05:48

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Hey look I'm switching things up in order to encourage more variance in some classes that don't have as many submissions WOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

For EO5, we will be staggering announcing what characters win over the weekend to Monday maybe, announcing one at a time. I feel like doing this because there's some classes that soared from a really low amount of submissions near the end of EO2U to an incredibly high amount (Fencer went from 1 submission to 5 in a matter of days) and I kind of want to divert anyone that's thinking about writing any characters towards classes with less submissions.

And the first winner of this arbitrary non-contest pseudo-judged by us three and some of my friends is:

Mio (submitted by Endorph), who will be our initial Shaman.

(I'm posting images so that people that submit characters can look over them and make sure they're fine--especially standalone/cropped portraits, since I have to manually do those in Photoshop.)

quote:

Mio used to be a normal girl in a country called 'Japan.' In Japan, she was a nerdy student with few friends, poor grades, and few interests outside of her favorite games and buying fan-comics about fictional characters in romantic relationships. Truly, hers was a pitiable lot.

Until one day, in the middle of the night, her 3DS began to glow! Reaching out towards it, she brushed her fingers across the screen - and was sucked into the world of the game! Overwhelmed, outmatched, and out of her depth, she is forced to rely on the good will of those around her, hoping that the labyrinth will unveil the truth of why she was brought here, and give her a way to get back home. And also hoping that her guild is filled with cute boys.

... That's her story, anyway. Nobody's really sure if it's true or not - or frankly, what she's even talking about when she explains it. She might just be weird. True, she can actually kind of fight despite everything, but maybe she got bumped on the head during training. And she seems weirdly fascinated by all the non-Earthrun races, but she could just have a bit of exoticism going on. Either way, she tries not to go on too long about all that. Not that many people seem to buy it. She's more than happy to go into great depth if someone does buy it, though! Especially, you know. A handsome man of about her age, maybe a little older.

Please buy it.

Rea fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Oct 16, 2016

# ¿ Oct 15, 2016 06:16

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Poltergrift posted:

Which classes are still low on characters?

Hound and Masurao only have three characters.

# ¿ Oct 15, 2016 07:33

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

I switched away from Tindeck because the site's very clearly barely-maintained at best and actively abandoned at worst. It was up for sale for a while this year and ran into some issues where some pages were hosting malware around a month or two ago, so I decided to play it safe and switch to Clyp.

# ¿ Oct 15, 2016 07:40

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Since I have to go run some errands in a bit, might as well announce another class.

Raven (submitted by Dr. Fetus) will be our initial Reaper.

Also, the next class to be decided, which was chosen by asking Hivac to pick one from the classes with the most submissions, will be Fencer.

quote:

Tired of his home life and not being taken seriously, Raven set out to explore the Labyrinth to make a name for himself. He took one of his tools he frequently used at his home, and decorated it to make it seem shiny and cool. An awesome weapon means the wielder is awesome too, right? And can't forget the awesome looking outfit too. But despite all his attempts to seem all cool and edgy, he comes off as pathetic or adorable to other people, much to his chagrin.

�I'm not a farmer! I'm the deadliest and coolest assassin around! ...That happens to know a lot about crops and cute little animals-and why are you laughing!? Stop petting me on the head!�

Rea fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Oct 16, 2016

# ¿ Oct 15, 2016 18:24

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

After some pained deliberations on our part about disqualifying a good submission because of the author winning another one...

Alexis (submitted by blizzardvizard) is our first Fencer.

Through a very scientific process, Clarste has determined that the next class we decide on will be Dragoon.

quote:

Alexis is the forty-seventh prince of a kingdom from a far, far away continent. He was to marry the thirty-second princess of a neighboring kingdom in another one of their families' endless list of political marriages, but this particular princess turned out to be a bit of a rebel. She ditched him on the wedding day without so much an explanation or an apology. Later that he found out that she had grown dissatisfied with her caged and dictated life, so she escaped to Aeolis to become an "adventurer" and scale its giant tree - the Yggdrasil. Even later on, he found out she had perished inside the dungeon.

He may not know her name, or have seen her face, or... know much anything about her at all, but Alexis has his honor. He would not let the murderer of his bethrothed go unpunished. There's one problem, however. He did not know who or what, exactly, killed the princess, and deducing that is definitely an impossible task. But then the answer dawned upon him - it was not the monsters that killed her. She could have died to the boars, the cat-birds, the legs-in-a-pudding, but it would never had happened... without the challenge that the tree presents.

And so, he ran away from his home of sixteen years and got on a ship to Aeolis. (He was silently pleased at how dramatic it was to leave his pampered life just like the princess did.) Armed with a decorative sword he took off the palace walls and about three weeks' worth of fencing lessons (that he took before he got bored of it, as princes do), he's going to duel the killer of his lover to the death... the entire Yggdrasil Labyrinth.

Rea fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Oct 16, 2016

# ¿ Oct 15, 2016 21:21

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Sasha (submitted by Efe) shall be our first Dragoon.

Next up on the chopping block is Necromancer.

quote:

"Hey, you! Yeah, I'm talking to you, the adventurers! How about I offer you a once-in-a-lifetime chance? Picture yourself, all geared up and ready to make your mark on the labyrinth. Treasures, excitement and more await! But hark! Our of nowhere, you find yourself surrounded by all manner of vile creatures; golems, dragons, even the dreaded forest deer! Why, the threat alone has been enough to scare off lesser adventures, and taken the lives of too many others. But fear not, my fellow explorers, for I have a solution that will benefit us both. For a price that I'm sure we can negotiate later, you'll be blessed with the services of the legendary (but not really) Dragoon, Sasha! With my stalwart shield to protect your fragile lives, and you doing all the actual hard work, the untold riches waiting in the labyrinth are but mere steps away. So, what are you waiting for? A free pass through the terrors that menace all treasure hunters doesn't come around so often. Hire me, and you have my word that our adventures will be met with resounding success!"

Rea fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Oct 16, 2016

# ¿ Oct 15, 2016 23:35

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

"...Farewell, explorers of the Labyrinth, brave Guild ...!"

Doesn't have quite the same punch to it.

(We're just gonna write out the guild name in English if it's less than 8 characters. Same with character names.)

# ¿ Oct 16, 2016 00:45

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Junpei posted:

Question: Will you be deciding specializations when they unlock or will you tell us to decide?

Each specialization will have its own character--aside from one of the Masurao specializations, which I'll detail why when the time comes.

# ¿ Oct 16, 2016 03:15

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Kaelin (submitted by Aniodia) is our first Warlock.

I know I said we'd do Necromancer next but we're debating on what to do with a character whose name goes beyond 6 characters (Clarste would really rather just have names in English then have to guide me through inputting everything). Txn, if you're reading this, do you insist on sticking to Lanzoni's name, or can one under 6 characters be used instead?

quote:

Have you ever met someone who's incredibly smug, for seemingly no reason? Not just smug, but so smug, you just want to punch them in the face? The kind of person who just oozes smugness from every pore, even if they're not trying? That's Kaelin. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he had everything he's ever needed handed to him, the family servants only feeding more and more into his superiority complex. Even when he went into training as a warlock, it was all but a folly to him, nothing more than a minor dalliance to while away the time. The fact that he actually had the talent to back up his braggadocio took a couple of his classmates by surprise, but it was all fun and games for Kaelin.

When the city of Aeolis opened its gates to the multitudes of explorers' guilds, Kaelin had spun a yarn about how he was going to be the first to the top, and how it was enough of a foregone conclusion that no one else should dare try. Only once his bluff was called did he realize the enormity of his task, and even then, the self-confident Lunarian walked with a swagger in his step the likes of which couldn't be matched (or so he thought). Now if he could just avoid the rest of these commoners on his way to the top, he'd be all set.

# ¿ Oct 16, 2016 04:01

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

As if earlier didn't give it away, our first Necromancer is Lanzon (submitted by Txn).

Coming up later this evening: Cestus and Hound.

quote:

Who doesn't like to have a marvelous body? Working as a model was what he lived for, not because of the amount the artists paid him just to pose, but for being immortalized in the endless work of painters and sculptors from all over the world. But those days are a thing the past.

Lanzoni, the one who loved being the center of attention now lies hidden from the world, his body now covered in scars.You see, having an excellent physique attracted a lot of people but also attracted those who were envious, and those scars are the painful reminder. Alone, his only company was the whispering wind that flew to his window, or so he thought.

One day, he realized that those whispers were not from the wind, but from the dead. Somehow, he could hear and talk to them. Spirits that came to talk to him despite his scars, some even talked about their days exploring ancient ruins, and a few just talked about spending hours looking at the paintings and statues made in his image. That day, he found a new calling, the path of the Necromancer.

With a renewed spirit, he set forth with one goal in his mind, being the most fabulous Necromancer that ever existed. Who knows, maybe he can even recover his tanned body. Yikes dude, you need some sunlight.

Rea fucked around with this message at 05:28 on Oct 16, 2016

# ¿ Oct 16, 2016 05:09

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Rangpur posted:

Torn between running screaming from the thread to avoid spoilers--it's an EO game, the maps are the spoilers--and sticking around to see how all the stuff we've been hearing about works in practice. Either way, I'm probably not going to follow this one too closely to preserve at least some of the mystery, so there's little point in submitting a character. But I would very much like to see a Hound, Cestus & Reaper in action, under the banner of Guild Chuunibyou (中二病) (which seems only appropriate, given the thread title, and also several of the chosen characters so far ).

You could always just tune in for the boss updates and scroll down without reading until you see the boss music link image. :v:

# ¿ Oct 16, 2016 05:17

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

quote:

Gram's always wanted to go on a grand adventure, but life seems to keep getting in her way. First, her parents needed help on the farm, then she was looking after her siblings and cousins, then there were children of her own, then GRANDchildren...

Now that everyone's finally grown up and there's other, younger people to put in charge, she's finally taking the chance to follow her dream. Who needs a boring quiet retirement when you can have adventure? No stinking monsters or silly youngsters who want her to slow down are going to get in her way, you hear me? NONE.

quote:

Cecil was the third born son of his noble family, destined to never stand out from his elder brothers with regards to his inheritance. He was a listless youth that barely succeeded in anything they introduced him to. Fencing, art, mathematics, dancing, etiquette, nothing stuck to him... until they finally introduced him to music. It turned out he had a magnificent ear for music, and in no time at all he began to become a budding virtuoso. There was no instrument he could not work into a wonderful song, and, indeed, he was naturally proficient in every instrument he laid his hands on. As a young adult, he was already well known far and wide for all the music he composed. He was such a refined gentleman that he was always on demand for every royal dance and ball.

Unfortunately, on his way to yet another party, his caravan was attacked by a horde of Cutters and Bloodbears. Only Cecil managed to barely escape from the attack, with a scar across his chest to show for it. Ever since then, the world assumed that he was dead. They couldn't be more wrong.

Ten years later, a man claiming to be the musical composer of old emerged from the forest, very much covered in bear blood and bear fur. He had a deranged eye and a rather booming voice, quite the contrary to the soft-spoken, slim Cecil of old. No one could get quite a straight answer from him - his answer changes every time they ask. However, there is without a doubt that he does have the same talent as the old Cecil, complete with composing music with his fists (Did you know punching the skull of a bear just right makes the same sound as C-Sharp minor?). And now he's arrived in Aeolis to show off his art. Just... don't let him get too into showing it off, because he might go into a frenzy.

It's a twofer!

Gram (submitted by mischievousart) is our first Hound, and Cecil (submitted by BlackPersona) is our Cestus.

# ¿ Oct 16, 2016 08:01

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

We're coming to the end of the list of characters.

Dosen (submitted by Level Seven) is gonna be our healer Herbalist.

Just Masurao left.

Initial party results are:

quote:

Fencer: 3
Reaper: 3
Necromancer: 3
Dragoon: 3
Cestus: 3
Masurao: 2
Hound: 2
Shaman: 2
Herbalist: 2
Warlock: 1

Rea fucked around with this message at 09:33 on Oct 16, 2016

# ¿ Oct 16, 2016 09:23

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

And to finish off the initial characters, Jana (submitted by oB2Ko Mario) is going to be our Masurao.

I'll be back home in around 6 hours or so, at which point I can start recording the first actual update. Hooray!

Initial party vote results are:

quote:

Fencer: 5
Reaper: 5
Necromancer: 4
Dragoon: 4
Herbalist: 4
Cestus: 4
Masurao: 3
Hound: 3
Warlock: 3
Shaman: 2

I'll be leaving that open until I get home.

What I won't be leaving open, though, is guild name voting--seems pretty clear to me that Nameless won by a pretty big margin.

Omobono posted:

Question, can hounds work as single healers in this game, or do you need a ~~gnome~~ ~~Bronie~~ Brownie class for that?

I've been using a dog-focused Hound on my second playthrough (independent of the LP) and it's worked out pretty well. Hell, on my first playthrough, I went without a healer at all for 3 strata and 2 stratum bosses and it worked out just fine.

# ¿ Oct 16, 2016 19:46

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Hey! Anyone who had their characters accepted, why not add me on Steam? It's always fun having:

a) someone to bounce narrative stuff off of for second opinions

and

b) someone to babble about LP stuff to

Also remember that I'll be using this Twitter thing to post when updates go live, in case SA isn't enough.

# ¿ Oct 16, 2016 20:45

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Final initial party results are:

quote:

Hound: 6
Herbalist: 6
Cestus: 5
Fencer: 5
Necromancer: 5
Reaper: 5
Dragoon: 5
Masurao: 3
Warlock: 3
Shaman: 2

...Well, uh, hm. By completely arbitrary decision from me, the initial party will be:

Dragoon, Cestus, Reaper, Hound, Herbalist.

# ¿ Oct 17, 2016 01:39

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

blizzardvizard posted:

Hope you guys don't mind some uh, preliminary fanart. It's Inktober and I wanted to draw something.

Something something why did you go for the skimpy bunnygirl

I've already gone ahead and put that in the 2nd post!

Also, to paraphrase the creator, he saw bunny ears and couldn't resist doing something related to magicians and/or circus performers. :v:

# ¿ Oct 17, 2016 21:10

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Mechanics: Ailments and Binds

Ailments and binds have been a key part of the Etrian Odyssey series from the very beginning, and EO5 is no exception. Ailments and binds can very easily swing fights--even a single bind on a single party member or enemy can be the difference between victory and loss. That can be said for ailments in most RPGs, though. What makes EO different is that it doesn't make it impractical and/or impossible for the player to inflict disables on bosses and FOEs; in fact, disables are often the preferred method of making said enemies considerably easier to deal with, and a party that's completely devoid of being able to effectively inflict disables is at a massive disadvantage compared to the opposite.

As for infliction mechanics, they're relatively simple. Every enemy has a set of resistances to disables, much like they do for damage. Remember that "resistances" means "multipliers," effectively--an enemy with 150% resistance to paralysis, for example, multiplies paralysis infliction chances by 1.5x. A 0% resistance, on the other hand, means "complete immunity." For stats used in calculating infliction chances, EO5 takes after EO2U and solely uses LUC. The way LUC is actually used beyond that is unknown, but it's generally safe to assume that an inflictor having lower LUC than the inflictee means the base chance will be reduced, equal LUC means no adjustment, and higher LUC means the base chance being increased.

Each time an ailment/bind is inflicted, that enemy gains 30% resistance to that given bind/ailment for 8 turns--a mechanic known as "accumulative resistance." Accumulative resistance was introduced in EO3 as a way to compensate for ailments/binds becoming much easier to inflict compared to EO1/2. Accumulative resistance basically means that it becomes harder, if not impossible, to chain-disable a given enemy, and if you inflict a disable they're innately really resistant to (usually 25%), you just straight-up can't inflict that disable again until the accumulative resistance runs out.

Now that that's out of the way, let's discuss the actual ailments and binds themselves! These are organized based on the ailment hierarchy, from lowest to highest. An ailment that's higher on the hierarchy cannot be overwritten with one that's lower. Binds are exempt from this hierarchy altogether.

Blind: Blinded entities have their accuracy heavily reduced, and their evasion completely disabled when not being attacked by other blinded targets.

Skills that inflict blind:

Vision Thrust (Fencer Basic) (50% to 80% base chance)
Scatter Feathers (Hound Spec 1) (40% to 70% base chance, uses hawk's LUC)
Dark Smoke (Herbalist Basic) (35% to 55% base chance)

Blind is one of the more unreliable and, dare I say it, boring disables. Lowering accuracy and disabling evasion is nice and all, but it's just not exciting. Also, it's unreliable, and it's almost always a serious mistake to assume that a blinded enemy can't still be a threat. On the other hand, having a party member be blinded pretty effectively shuts them down, since you should always assume a blinded party member will miss.

Poison: Poisoned entities take damage at the end of every turn. The damage is based on the skill's base damage, and scales based on an unknown factor (in EO2U, the scaling was based on level). Poison damage cannot be reduced.

Skills that inflict poison:

Scythe of Cruel Poison (Reaper Spec 1) (40% to 70% base chance, 150 to 440 base damage)
Poison Bomb (Necromancer Basic) (60% to 95% base chance, 60 to 360 base damage)
Poison Smoke (Herbalist Basic) (40% to 60% base chance, 40 to 280 base damage)

Poison is almost always far deadlier to our party than it is for enemies, although that mostly depends on which poison skill you're using and what enemies you're using it on. Scythe of Cruel Poison's actually an example of a really good poison skill, since 440 base damage means it ticks for a lot once your Reaper starts getting more and more levels--it's really drat good for bosses with adds, and hell, even inflicting it on bosses themselves can rack up quite a bit of damage. Poison Bomb's more useful for random encounters, due to its higher base chance but lower base damage. Poison Smoke is really "eh" between its low base chance and low base damage.

Paralysis: Paralyzed entities have a 50% chance to not act on a given turn. If that enemy fails to act, their evasion is disabled for that turn.

Skills that inflict paralysis:

Corkscrew (Cestus Spec 1) (40% to 60% base chance)
Scythe of Numb Stasis (Reaper Basic) (40% to 70% base chance)
Ghosts summoned by Necromancers inflict paralysis with normal attacks (unknown but low base chance, uses ghost's LUC)
Paralyze Smoke (Herbalist Spec 2) (35% to 55% base chance)

Paralysis is unreliable now that we don't have the "no action chance is now 99%" from EO2U. It's still decent, don't get me wrong, and it's not too heavily resisted by EO5's monster roster, but don't plan on the enemy losing all of their actions until it wears off. Paralysis when inflicted on your party members is a slightly bigger deal, since that can seriously screw with your action economy, and a support losing their turn can be a major problem.

Panic: Panicked entities will only perform normal attacks. The attacks can be on opposing entities, allies, or themself.

Skills that inflict panic:

Scythe of Wicked Chaos (Reaper Spec 1) (30% to 50% base chance)
Menacing Howl (Hound Spec 2) (25% to 40% base chance, uses dog's LUC)
Bungling Smoke (Herbalist Spec 2) (27% to 40% base chance)

Panic is extremely dangerous for both the player and the enemy, for reasons I really shouldn't have to state. The only real difference is that panicked enemies, depending on how hard they hit normally, are still very big dangers, just less big dangers than before.

Sleep: Asleep entities will not do anything. Taking damage will dispel the sleep ailment. If the damage is STR-based, it will be multiplied by 1.5x.

Skills that inflict sleep:

Hypno Cannon (Dragoon Spec 2) (50% to 100% base chance)
Death's Judgement (Reaper Basic) (passive; 100% base chance, 10% to 30% activation chance)
Mist Slice (Masurao Basic) (40% to 90% base chance)

Sleep is pretty dangerous for both the player and the enemy, although quite a bit more for the player. Not only do asleep targets lose one or more turns, but taking amplified damage from STR-based sources can very easily kill a player character. For enemies, sleep's effectiveness mostly comes down to "how quickly does the sleep inflictor act", since you, fairly obviously, want to take advantage of the bonus damage. Sleep inflictors that act too fast basically just make enemies waste one turn, which isn't that great.

Curse: Cursed entities will take half of any damage they do as backlash damage. The backlash damage cannot be resisted, but also counts as the original damage type (for conditional drop purposes). If a cursed entity kills someone, they do not take backlash from the fatal damage.

Skills that inflict curse:

Curse Cannon (Dragoon Spec 2) (40% to 80% base chance)
Scythe of Exorcism (Reaper Basic) (40% to 70% base chance)
Curse Bomb (Necromancer Spec 1) (65% to 100% base chance)

Curse is almost useless for the player due to how much damage enemies have to do kill us--half of that ends up being a pittance. Curse for the enemy, however, can SERIOUSLY screw us over, especially if it happens early in the turn and I queued up damage skills on damage dealers.

Petrification: Petrified entities cannot act at all.

Skills that can inflict petrification:

Alter (Warlock Spec 1) (50% to 90% base chance)
Gravestone Binding (Necromancer Spec 1) (25% to 60% / 40% to 110% / 55% to 160% base chance)
Smoke Solid (Herbalist Spec 2) (45% to 75% base chance)

Petrification is a 100% complete disable, and incredibly dangerous for both the player and the enemy. Yes, it did get heavily reworked to be an actual ailment instead of glorified instant death, and it replaces curse (EO4) and fear (EOU/EO2U) as the highest ailment in the hierarchy. It's an absolute pain to inflict due to how powerful it can be--Alter requires that you wait 3 turns after casting before it hits, Gravestone Binding's base chance depends on how many ghosts the Necromancer destroys to cast it, and Smoke Solid requires that the enemy have a Smoke debuff.

Death: It's...death. Do I really need to explain it? Instant death is a special type of "disable"--it still uses the ailment infliction formula, but has no place in the hierarchy, and will instantly kill an entity, regardless of their HP or endure effects. All bosses in the game are immune to instant death.

Skills that can instantly kill:

Scythe of Death (Reaper Spec 1) (25% to 50% / 100% to 250% / 250% to 350% base chance)
Zombie Powder (Necromancer Spec 2) (40% to 80% base chance)

Instant death is near useless for the player unless you're doing some fun cheese strategies with Zombie Powder. For the enemy, instant death, in EO5, is basically almost always brought out as a way to ensure that the player dies to skills that only come out when they've screwed up. It's incredibly rare, even compared to past EOs.

Stun: Stun is a special disable. It has no place in the hierarchy, and only lasts for one turn. Enemies that are stunned before they take their turn do not act. Enemies that are stunned after they take their turn, effectively, are not affected.

Skills that can stun:

Rockfall (Warlock Spec 1) (20% to 30% base chance)
Stun Shot (Hound Spec 2) (35% to 65% base chance, uses dog's LUC)
Smoke Spark (Herbalist Spec 2) (50% to 85% base chance)

Stun is...interesting. Its effectiveness depends entirely on how quickly the user can act before their target. For enemies, anything they do that can stun usually has some stupidly high speed modifier. For the player, all of the skills listed there have higher speed modifiers, but Warlocks and Herbalists have to contend with their base races' low/semi-low AGI. Stun Shot, on the other hand, is a 200% speed modifier on a race and class that's already super quick to begin with.

Inflicting stun is another problem, though, since most bosses have 10% resistance to it.

Head bind: Targets that have their heads bound cannot use skills that require the head. Reduces the bound entity's accuracy.

Skills that can inflict head bind:

Cross Counter (Cestus Spec 1) (depends on attack source; 50% to 100% base chance)
Flicker (Cestus Basic) (30% to 50% base chance)
Clinch (Cestus Spec 1) (20% to 67% base chance)
Hawk basic attacks attempt to inflict head bind (unknown but low base chance, uses hawk's LUC)
Flying Talon Strike (Hound Spec 1) (25% to 50% base chance, uses hawk's LUC)
Sky Dive (Hound Spec 1) (65% to 120% base chance, uses hawk's LUC)
Three-Stage Strike (Masurao Spec 2) (6% to 12% base chance)

Head binds affect basically all INT-based attacks, as well as some support skills. Head binds are usually incredibly crucial for some bosses (the 3rd Stratum boss can literally do nothing but basic attacks if you bind its head), and quite a few FOEs. For the player, head binds sting a little less than they used to, since Herbalist healing skills use the arms instead of the head now.

Arm bind: Targets that have their arms bound cannot use skills that require the arms. Reduces the bound entity's STR.

Skills that can inflict arm bind:

Cross Counter (Cestus Spec 1) (depends on attack source; 50% to 100% base chance)
Arm Break (Cestus Basic) (30% to 50% base chance)
Clinch (Cestus Spec 1) (20% to 67% base chance)
Windstorm (Warlock Spec 1) (20% to 30% base chance)
Hunter Shot (Hound Basic) (30% to 50% base chance, uses dog's LUC)
Three-Stage Strike (Masurao Spec 2) (6% to 12% base chance)

Arm binds are quite a bit more dangerous for the player than they were in previous games, due to the fact that they shut down every damage dealer (except for Warlocks), and now also disable Herbalist healing skills. They're about the same for bosses as before--that is, arm binds shut early bosses down really hard, but lategame bosses start having a lot more head-based skills while still having some dangerous arm-based ones.

Leg bind: Targets that have their legs bound cannot use skills that require the legs. Reduces the bound entity's AGI. Disables the bound entity's ability to escape.

Skills that can inflict leg bind:

Cross Counter (Cestus Spec 1) (depends on attack source; 50% to 100% base chance)
Liver Blow (Cestus Basic) (30% to 50% base chance)
Clinch (Cestus Spec 1) (20% to 67% base chance)
Hunter Shot (Hound Basic) (30% to 50% base chance, uses dog's LUC)
Foot Pierce (Hound Spec 2) (25% to 50% base chance)
Three-Stage Strike (Masurao Spec 2) (6% to 12% base chance)

Leg binds are slightly more dangerous than they were in previous EOs due to the fact that they now just full-on reduce AGI (meaning that they affect accuracy as well as turn order), but there's still the big problem of "very few skills for both the player and the enemy use the legs."

Rea fucked around with this message at 04:57 on Oct 23, 2016

# ¿ Oct 18, 2016 02:25

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Genuinely no clue how that happened. It's fine in both of my source files.

Fixed it, in any case.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2016 02:47

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Rangpur posted:

Incidentally, does Panic still negate evasion in this one or did they nerf that?

I'm fairly certain it does, but I haven't checked entirely. Inflicting panic on bosses is an exercise in absurd frustration now that Creeping Curse is gone.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2016 03:30

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Update 1: Nameless

Making a new guild?

We're not getting a shot at Yggdrasil until we make a guild, huh?

Hurry up and sign the paperwork, then!

Not so fast, you two. Nothing's getting signed until we come up with a good name.

Names are important for first impressions, and first impressions are important for everything!

A name that leaves a mark, huh?

Simple.

It's...ethereal. Mysterious. I like it.

Is it "dark," too? Maybe even "ichorous?"

N-no! It just sounds cool. _{...I'm gonna have to remember "ichorous," that's good.}

A name that's also not a name... It's perfect! Everyone's gonna remember that!

Okay, what's next? Personal information forms?

Fine, there's mine, done.

Well, someone's in a rush! Let me register ol' Falz, here.

Whaddya mean I have to put down my real name?! Raven IS my name!

Hmm... Is it possible to divert a portion of guild coffers to me automatically?

It's been a long while since I last had to write my name.

Well then, seems like we're all set? Any other advice, Mr. Edgar?

The ban may've been lifted on exploring Yggdrasil, but you're still going to need council permission. Once you finish up here, head over to the council building.

A sound idea.

The telop says "Town Crier."

You there, are you a new explorer? You just came out of the Explorers Guild.

And?

If so, then, as the town crier, I have something to tell you. New explorers must report to the Council to receive a mission. Think of it as test to have the town officially recognize you as explorers. If you plan to work here as explorers, then you have no choice but to take it. If you understand, then head to the Arcadian Council.

That's what we were fixing to do, but thanks anyway.

The telop says "Earthrun royalty."

This is the Arcadian Council. This is where each of the continent's four races send representatives to watch over Yggdrasil. You are all new explorers, yes?

Indeed, Your Excellency.

_{If that's not a big shift in tone, I dunno what is.}

_{Royals always buy the biggest amounts of the most useless things.}

I am Remus. I respect your courage, but I first hope that you'll be a positive influence on the city's well-being. Accept the mission whenever you're ready to begin activities as an explorer.

Aeolis certification exam!

You need the approval of the Arcadian Council to explore the Yggdrasil Labyrinth. Enter the first floor of the Labyrinth, map it, and bring back samples of Yggdrasil's roots and soil!

The mission is to investigate the Labyrinth. For this purpose, we will provide you a map.

Obtained

Map of the Labyrinth!

As you fill in the map, I want you to collect two items from the 1st floor: a sample of Yggdrasil's roots, and soil from a specific point.

A new area has been marked on your map!

This box shows where the items we need are... Well, I mean, kinda. That box encompasses pretty much all of 1F.

This task is meant to evaluate your aptitude for exploring, so keep calm, and follow the directions, and you'll be fine.

Sounds simple enough.

We'll get going, then.

...I like to think I'm a good judge of character, so... I sincerely hope you'll come back unharmed, and prove me right.

Talking to Remus just has him say this:

Your map should show the area in question.

Leaving prompts this dialogue:

Oh, there's something I forgot to mention. You should visit the market before heading out for your first mission. You should be able to find anything you'll need there.

...Apparently by "you should visit," Remus meant "you are not going anywhere until you go shopping."

The telop says "Brownie boy."

Welcome to the store! Huh? Haven't seen you around before.

I'm pretty sure most of us just got here a few days ago.

Seems safe to assume that girl with the glasses is a new arrival, too.

Well, welcome to town then! I'm the shopkeep here, Ceric the Brownie.

I came here after hearing the rumors about the Yggdrasil Labyrinth. I mean, there's all kinds of never-before-seen stuff in there, right? Figured I could make a killing by dealing in it.

Ah, a man...uh, maybe boy...a person after my own heart!

So if you ever see anything like that, bring it to me!

Most EO games give you 500 en to start. EO5, however, only gives you 300. Most stuff is cheaper to compensate, but crucially...

Medicas cost the same as always: 20 en. If you stock up on even 5 of them (the usual amount), you're really not gonna be left with much to outfit your party, and trust me, armor is very important in EO5. Characters will die very, very quickly if you try to go in with just the stuff you start with.

Anyway, yes, actually buying equipment. Same deal as in previous EO games--you select a character and a slot, buy something, and can immediately equip it. Hit the shoulder buttons to cycle through characters, and X to buy stuff for characters not in the active party.

Veterans of EO, however, might notice two new numbers just above equipment--magic attack (MAT, though I call it MATK), and magic defense (MDF, though I call it MDEF).

You rebel, you.

As part of Atlus's continuing efforts to have EO's numbers and stats make more sense to newcomers, you are now shown abstractions of how hard your character hits/is hit when using/taking INT-based attacks. Contrast with previous games, where you were given no indication of how hard TEC-based attacks would hit or hurt.

This also means upgrading weapons for spellcasters is important! In previous EO games, it was generally a really good idea to just stick to whatever weapon gave the highest TEC bonus for a spellcaster, since ATK didn't affect TEC-based attacks at all. Less importantly, EO5 also makes it so that armor affects magic damage again--this was the case in EO1-4, but was changed for some reason in the Untolds, where the only stat that affected magic defense was TEC.

All of the ATK and DEF stats are pretty easy to calculate, incidentally--ATK is the sum of your STR and weapon ATK, MATK is the sum of your INT and weapon MATK, DEF is the sum of your VIT and total armor DEF, and MDEF is the sum of your WIS and total armor MDEF.

I buy 3 Medicas in case Dosen runs out of TP somehow, and outfit everyone as such. Note that for Dragoons, to actually use their shield skills, you need, well, a shield. Dosen also gets some Leaf Sandals because boots increase action speed.

Leaving triggers this.

Right, right, before you go to the Labyrinth, you've gotta find a nice inn to stay at. If you're gonna be in this neighborhood, I recommend Genetta's.

Sounds like a nice, family-run place.

It's a good a choice as any.

Let's stop by the bar first.

Aren't you a bit young to be drinking?

...Yes.

Let's make sure everyone else knows where we're gonna be lodging, though.

The telop says "Lunarian woman."

My my, is this your first time in here? Fresh explorers, maybe?

Is that just the automatic assumption for new people around here?

This is the Witch's Twilight Tavern, a bar that mediates requests for explorers. I'm Melina, the tavern's proprietor, and it's wonderful to meet you, kids.

I can only show requests to guilds that have passed the council's test, though. Why don't you go and complete the mission first?

We're only here to check on our comrades, don't worry.

Are you dullards finished with all that tedious paperwork?

No, because we need everyone else to--

Yes, yes, now please just go file that so we can begin.

And you didn't file this yourself...why?

So he could be pompous and look like he was ahead of you.

...You're quite good at giving the game away, I'll give you that.

Oh, here's my stuff.

No mention of you being far-away royalty, eh?

I didn't see a place to put it. I don't think it matters much, anyway!

I suppose you'll be needing my forms too, no?

Are, uh... Are these old drawings of you part of the form?

Doesn't the Explorers Guild require a visual reference?

Nnnnnnnnno?

Oh. Well, keep them, then. Consider them a gift from me~

...'Kay.

...Is that a gift? A suggestion? Maybe I should've sat closer...

Um, Mio?

Waaaaagh! U-um, sorry, here are my forms!

...Th-thanks, love. Mind if I ask why you're at a table by yourself?

Um... I...like being alone?

...Okay then! What's with those circles and lines, by the way?

Nothing! Nothing! Drawing practice!

Oh, you like drawing? Watercolors or oils?

Uh, is digital an option?

Hm. Is it safe to be practicing sword tricks like that in here?

Heck if I know! All I know is I'm having fun, and people are watching!

Heh, can't deny that most of the bar's impressed.

...Oh, yeah, my forms are right there, on the table!

Well then, seems like that's everyone's guild forms. Let's go book some rooms at the inn before we go into the tree.

Talking to Melina just has her say this:

You want work? Sorry, but I can only give work to explorers who have cleared the council's mission. Try checking back when you're done.

The telop says "Smiling woman."

Welcome baaaaa--a customer?! Eh? What? Oh, I am SO sorry! Hiii, my name's Genetta! If you're looking for somewhere to stay, well, then, you've come to the best where to stay!

The inn's mostly the same as in previous EO games, with some additions.

a) It's where you store items again, now that there's no guild house like the Untolds.
b) Guild Card management has also been moved to the Inn, although it's locked right now.
c) The clinic for reviving/de-petrifying party members is gone. Petrification is no longer persistent (I'll talk more about that in the disables mechanics post), and death is automatically cured by sleeping at the inn.

Talking to Genetta right now results in this:

Time to get going and head out into the Labyrinth! If you're totally wiped, though, don't push it. Just stop back here for a bit!

I couldn't agree more, at least with the "time to head out" part.

The Forest Entrance is a bit different from previous games. Entering it just brings us straight into the stratum selection, for one.

And selecting a stratum lets us select a floor to start on! EO5 removes the Floor Jump feature of the Untolds, and lets you start from whatever floors you've completed and reported to the Council.

"What's that about reporting to the Council?," you may ask. Don't worry, all in due time.

VIDEO: Intro: 1st Stratum - Guardian Forest

The floor subtitle reads:
"The first step on a legend-chasing adventure"

Well now. How's all of this fit inside Yggdrasil?

I'm more curious for how it got here. Shouldn't this all be filled with, y'know, wood?

It's very peaceful in here. Quite different from the forest of bears...

C-calm down, Cecil.

Ooooooh, I gotta take extra detailed notes down. This place would be perfect for a non-exploration guided tour!

As you survey your surroundings, you find yourself surrounded by unfamiliar vegetation and the reflections of clear spring water bubbling up from underground. Even a single step into the Labyrinth makes its atmosphere clearly distinct from the town, and carries with it a refreshing aura which soothes your mind and body. However, you must not forget the dangerous nature of this forest. After all, you have already taken strides in learning to combat this danger. Your basic training as an explorer has granted you 3 skill points.

Ah, right, skill point allocation. For once, I didn't get ahead of the game.

Those of you coming from the Untolds might notice that the skill trees in EO5 are considerably pared down from those games--they fit on a single screen, much like EO4. It also, by extension, has far less skills than those trees. This is because these are only the Basic skills, however--we'll unlock Master skills once we get specializations.

You might also notice the arrow pointing left and the tab saying "Race."

Each race has a selection of passives and Union skills they can invest in. They all only cost one skill point to invest in, so it's generally worth just dropping a point in something useful as early as possible.

Many of them also passively raise your stats in addition to their other effects--the exact bonuses scale with level--which tends to make each of the races even more specialized than they were already. Since, you know, a Therian would have more STR boosting racials than an Earthrun.

Accordingly, on every character, I put a point into their "Grace of" skill (the name varies based on race). What this does is it gives characters a small chance (I'd put it anywhere from 10% to 25%, the skill data doesn't say) to restore ((TPCost / 5) + 1) of a skill's TP cost. Any TP restoration at all is good stuff, especially in the early game, where skill TP costs are a much higher percentage of a character's total TP pool.

For Sasha, her remaining 2 skill points go into Line Guard, which can target either row, and reduces cut, stab, and bash damage to that row for one turn--32% reduction at level 2, specifically. It's a core skill for Dragoons throughout the entire game. Also, note that unlike the EO3 version, the damage reduction is the same for both rows--it's not reduced if the Dragoon isn't in that row.

Cecil's remaining 2 points go into Arm Break, which deals melee STR-based bash damage to one enemy, and attempts to bind their arms. The bind chance isn't that great at lower levels (it's only 30% from levels 1-4), but it still deals slightly more damage than a normal attack for only 3 TP--159% at level 2.

I often lay awake at night wondering how a broken arm recovers in 2-4 turns.

Nobody in Etrian Odyssey has bones, it's just cartilage.

Raven puts one point into Miasma Weapon, which consumes, at level 1, 40% of his current HP to put him into the Miasma Weapon state. The state itself does nothing passively, but enables secondary effects on some skills (for the Basic tree, it only affects Scythe of Numb Stasis and Scythe of Exorcism), and is required to use some Master skills.

His other point goes into Scythe of Numb Stasis, which deals melee STR-based cut damage to one row. If Raven were to be in the Miasma Weapon state, it'd also attempt to paralyze the targets. At level 1, it deals 150% damage and has a 40% base paralysis chance.

Gram's two points go into Hawk Whistle, which summons a hawk. The higher the level of Hawk Whistle, the higher the hawk's stat multiplier is--at level 2, it's 1.03x.

Both of the animal whistle skills cost an absurd amount of TP for their level: Hawk Whistle costs 25 at level 1. And you'll notice that Gram only has 45 right now. While it costs more than half her TP, ideally you'll only need to cast it once per dungeon run since the hawk isn't exactly squishy.

And, lastly, Dosen's two points go into Cure Herb, which restores one party member's HP, and Refresh Herb, which cures one party member of status ailments. I mostly want to level up Refresh Herb to learn Resurrection Herb.

The door in front of you is sealed by some mysterious force and doesn't budge an inch despite your best efforts.

It seems resistant to being punched, too.

You might need some kind of key to open it.

We'll find that key much, MUCH later in the game.

At the end of a path encircled by trees, you find a thickly-grown patch of grass. Nearby are chicken footprints and signs that the grass has been pecked at. This could very well be a chicken's feeding ground. You keep this in mind and continue your explorations.

...I loathe chickens with a passion. If I see even one of the wretched things, I'm slicing its head off.

Is this just part of your act?

Why does no-one take it seriously?!

You lay on the deep voice too thickly.

Are those...fish, below the water's surface?

Looks like it. Anyone know how to fish?

Why not go spear-fishing, with that...bayonet, I think you called it.

The bayonet's just for show. I'd rather not drop this thing in the water, anyway.

This is a new type of gathering spot--a fishing spot. If anyone in our party knew Fishing (it's a race skill that Earthrun, Therians, and Brownies can learn), we'd be able to get some fish food items from it.

As you easily proceed through the verdant paths in the Labyrinth, a curious sight meets your eyes. It's a lone guard, watching over a group of chickens, cheerfully scurrying across the ground. The guard had been talking to the chickens in a soft voice, but calls out to you when he notices your presence.

Welcome to the Yggdrasil Labyrinth, explorers! The council's told me to help out new explorers like yourselves.

He also happens to mention that he is raising the chickens. You may ask the friendly guard something, or simply go on your way.

...What's with the chickens?

These babies are Labyrinth Chickens. They lay the tastiest eggs my buds've ever tasted once every 3 days. The eggs taste better if they get exercise and good feed, so they get to run around in the Labyrinth once in a while courtesy of yours truly.

The guard says all this with a smile. It seems he's raising these chickens by choice.

Putting the chickens aside, I'd think introductions are in order...

You stop walking and exchange greetings. The guard responds with a smile.

Ahh, so you're called Nameless.

So, what are you stationed here for?

Ever since the proclamation, plenty of explorers have come to challenge the Labyrinth, but a lot them end up treating it like a field trip, and getting themselves seriously injured. If you don't want that to happen to you, step carefully and check your surroundings before moving on. By the way, do you know how to draw a map? If not, I could give a quick explanation.

I've mapped plenty in my day. I think we'll be plenty fine.

Great, if you know how to draw a map, then we can move on to the real issue. Okay, listen carefully. The giant roots you'll need for the mission are near the center. And the soil for the investigation is in the northwest. You can get it from...ehh, right about here...

...And that's enough advice. The rest is up to your skill and the whims of Lady Luck.

With that, the guard waves his arm cheerfully and returns to watching his chickens. You continue exploring the Labyrinth with the hints he gave you.

Walking acorns with eyes.

The Labyrinth's off to an interesting start.

I hear there's even boars that eat these things to grow strong deeper in!

R-really?

Hehah! No.

Ghost Acorn
HP: 104
STR: 20
INT: 13
VIT: 18
WIS: 13
AGI: 10
LUC: 9
Drops:

Normal: Hard Acorn. 65% chance. Sells for 5 en.
- 5 needed to make Acorn Vest (+10 DEF, +10 MDEF).
- 1 Hard Acorn and 1 Chipped Mudstone (1st Stratum Mine 1) needed to make Studded Glove (+5 DEF, +6 MDEF).
Conditional: Cracked Nut (Kill with physical damage). 70% chance. Sells for 7 en.
- 1 needed to make Fire/Freeze/Shock Oil (Adds fire/ice/volt to one party member's normal attacks for 5 turns).

Damage Resistances:

100%

150%

100%

100%
Disable Resistances:

100%

150%

100%

100%

Ghost Acorns are about as basic as it gets. Literally all they do is either attack or defend.

Note how their HP is considerably higher than most early random EO encounters though. That's sort of a theme with EO5's early game--everything has considerably higher HP than in previous games, while your party doesn't really hit as hard.

aw, nuts

("Sasha used Line Guard!")

Alright, then, just stay behind my shield! I guarantee no _{okay maybe some} harm'll come to you!

("Gram used Hawk Whistle!")

Ah, there you are, Falz.

("Cecil used Arm Break!")

I'LL TURN YOUR SHELLS INTO PIANO KEYS!

_{Oh, crap.}

No need to worry, dear, I'm perfectly fine.

I will cull _your souls.

IT SOUNDS MORE CONVINCING WHEN YOUR VOICE DOESN'T CRACK!

_{Yes, sir.}

Now that everyone's used some TP, I decide to use Magic Heal.

Magic Heal restores 3% + 6 of every party member's maximum TP. It's incredibly useful for prolonging Labyrinth explorations early on.

Ghost Acorns can take a while to die when they're defending.

("Hawk attacks!")

If you don't issue a specific command for the hawk, it'll just attack a random enemy. Its normal attacks have a chance to inflict head bind, which can be nice.

One turn of more of the same later:

(Received: 1 Hard Acorn, 3 Cracked Nuts.)

Nothing to it.

Is it wise to brag about defeating acorns?

("Obtained Strength Ring.")

Not that bad of a find. Strength Rings increase one party member's STR by 8 and HP by 10.

I put it on Gram.

Another chicken spot.

("Found 1 Mossy Ore!")

1F, D5 Mine Point

Mossy Ore: 51% base chance
- 1 needed to make Ore Scythe (+23 ATK, +23 MATK, VIT Up 1, Bronze x3).
- 2 needed to make Stone Coffin (+18 ATK, +24 MATK, HP Up 1, Bronze x3).
Chipped Mudstone: 34% base chance
- 4 needed to make Breastplate (+16 DEF, +11 MDEF).
- 1 Hard Acorn (Ghost Acorn) and 1 Chipped Mudstone (1st Stratum Mine 2) needed to make Studded Glove (+5 DEF, +6 MDEF).
- 1 Cone Fang (Mad Dog) and 1 Chipped Mudstone (1st Stratum Mine 2) needed to make Kopis (+21 ATK, +19 MATK, AGI Up 1, Bronze x3).
Darkened Augite: 15% base chance
- 1 needed to make Analysis Scope (registers one enemy in the Codex).
- 1 needed to make Simple Scope (reveals FOE positions for a few steps).
Ambush Chance: 0%

Gathering points make a return yet again, and while the way they work personally isn't changed much from the Untolds, gathering skills are. Each race has a gathering skill--Lunarians get Chop, Therians get Mine, and Brownies get Take. Earthrun get Woodland Gathering Skills, which acts as all 3 at once.

Exactly what type of bonus each skill gives, I don't know, but to my knowledge, each skill initially rolls for an activation chance. If that succeeds, the character then rolls for each of the drops from the gathering point once, with some kind of bonus being added to each chance. Note that each character (and the initial gathering) can only find one of a given material. The initial gathering can only find one material at all, too.

Lastly, gathering ambushes are still a thing. This first Mine point can't result in an ambush (it'd be pretty dickish if it did), though.

Balloon Flying Squirrel
HP: 106
STR: 22
INT: 16
VIT: 15
WIS: 14
AGI: 17
LUC: 11
Skills:

Balloon Drop: Uses the legs. Deals 180% melee STR-based bash damage to one party member. Has a 50% speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.

Drops:

Normal: Fluffy Fur. 60% chance. Sells for 7 en.
- 1 needed to make Soft Mocassin (+3 DEF, +8 MDEF).
- 3 needed to make Fluffy Bolero (+9 DEF, +14 MDEF).

Damage Resistances:

100%

150%

100%

150%
Disable Resistances:

150%

100%

150%

I hate squirrels. I almost always have at least one attempt at the first mission end in a reset because these assholes one-shot someone from full or near-full HP with Balloon Drop, almost always in the back row.

Having the squirrel start in the back row is a serious blessing, since it means that it can't hit the back row, and trying to hit the front row will result in a damage penalty.

The squirrel's weakness to stab also means that Gram and the hawk hit it pretty hard.

...Hey, don't look at me. I'm not expected to hit things.

Thank you for taking time out of ineffectually hitting things to actually patch me up.

I could just...not patch you up next time you're hurt.

_Sorry.

Didn't know monsters could just deflate like that.

(Received: 1 Fluffy Fur, 1 Hard Acorn, 1 Cracked Nut.)

Stepping on this tile triggers this event automatically.

As you proceed, you come across a path that's muddy with spring water. It seems countless explorers have passed through, as you can see numerous footprints and traces where people fell into the mud. Looking around, you discover a pile of long, thin branches about 10 feet to the side. You might be able to use these branches as walking sticks to prevent slipping in the mud. On the other hand, such thin branches might immediately break under your body weight. You must decide how you will proceed.

Our options are:

Use the branches as walking sticks

Cross the muddy path with no assistance

Turn back

Well, that's not even a question, no? Even if those sticks're thin, crossing the mud without them's gonna end with someone slipping.

I, uh, just bought these clothes. I'd really not want to get them too muddy.

Same for me. You don't wanna know the lengths you need to go to get a Fencer's outfit when you're not one.

Is there any particular reason a saleswoman offering guarded tours would want a Fencer outfit?

Trade secret.

If we're done discussing clothing, shall we cross?

Thinking they'd make good walking sticks, you pick up one of the branches and try stabbing it into the mud. It sinks into the mud, but it you can feel it reach harder ground underneath. Using the sticks you support you, you walk through the mud very carefully to avoid slipping.

...After a long while, you successfully make it across with no harm to yourselves! You take a moment to bask in your marvelous victory before returning to your exploration of the forest.

Explorer's first trouble

Successfully used your wits to cross a narrow path with muddy footing!

Ah, here's a fairly major change. Remember the in-Labyrinth events from past EO games? They're referred to as Adventure Episodes now, and they give EXP rewards at the end. Effectively, what this means is there's basically no reason to ever back out of an event. Even if something bad happens, you'll still get extra EXP at the end of it, so why not?

(Trying to back out of the mud event would just mean we'd take a step back and the game would tell us we can't go any further without crossing.)

Chicken.

As you walk through the Labyrinth overflowing with greenery, you come across a large turtle basking in the sun at the edge of the water. You find its uneven sun-bleached shell and the way it sometimes stretches out its neck without moving to be somehow charming. As you gaze at the turtle, you notice what seems to be a coin buried in the mud in front of it.

Ooh.

Curious, Raven reaches out to grab it, but the turtle moves its head in response. It seems to be wary of you reaching towards it, and is attempting to threaten you. You may continue to reach for the abandoned coin, or give up on it and leave.

Let me handle this.

As Cecil reaches out, the turtle responds by stretching it neck out and staring at them.

Our choices are:

Go from the right

Go from the left

Go straight for the center

The obvious choice would be the right.

Cecil swiftly reaches out from the right! However, the turtle is faster! Far more agile than you had imagined, the turtle bites Cecil's hand!

Ouch. Listen, turtle: I don't have much patience for this. If you'll just let me take the coin...

Cecil reaches stright down the center! However, your choice was naive. The turtle easily snaps at your hand!

As Cecil shrieks in pain, you get the feeling from the way it looks down on you that the turtle is laughing derisively.

Oh, that is IT!

Yes, Battle 1 does actually start playing here.

Apparently you won't be able to pierce the turtle's defenses with a frontal assault! As explorers, you decide it's time to get serious about snatching this coin!

I'm the one with the shield. If you'll just give me a minute...

Our choices are:

Feint right and go from the left!

Feint left and go from the right!

...Take a deep breath, and calm down.

This turtle's smarter and quicker than it looks. Give me a little bit to think...

As the battle heats up, Sasha stops to take a deep breath and calm down. Raven, who'd been watching quietly until now, interjects.

Look, uh, that turtle might be heavy, but I don't think it can do much if we just move it.

They point out that you could just move the turtle and pick it up safely.

And let the monsters have victory over us? You're not paying me for that!

Sasha agrees that this would be good idea, but thinks that doing so would mean admitting defeat!

Our choices are:

Continue the battle!

Just move the drat turtle.

C'mon, we've bothered this thing enough.

As Raven suggested, you all pick up the turtle by its shell and gently set it down on a nearby rock. The turtle moves its head in surprise at first, but once it realizes it's still in the sunlight, returns to its basking. All that remains is the coin glittering in the mud. Sasha lazily reaches down to pick it up.

("Obtained Yamato Copper Coin.")

It appears to be a kind of copper coin still in use in the Therian country of Yamato, known as a Yamato Copper Coin. Feeling a strange sense of defeat, you pocket the coin and continue your exploration.

"The Yamato Coin and the snapping turtle

You found an old coin in the mud, and while it was a close battle with the turtle, you successfully obtained it!"

The coin itself is an item that has no purpose other than to be sold. Also, you can totally beat the turtle, although I don't know exactly how.

As you proceed through the Labyrinth, you come across a muddy path. The mud appears to go all the way up to your knees, but you can see something shining ahead of you. You may attempt to cross the mud to investigate the shiny object, or simply turn back.

Our choices are:

Proceed carefully

Force your way past

Turn back

Haste makes waste, kids.

Nothing is more important than safety. You proceed carefully, step by step. While you almost trip over a tree root, you reach the other side without incident and approach the shining object. On closer inspection, it seems to be a Nectar dropped by another explorer. You put it in your bag and return to your exploration with renewed focus.

("Obtained Nectar.")

Nectars do the same thing they did in previous EO games: revive a dead party member at 20 HP. Don't think I really need to tell you that they're invaluable.

"Haste makes waste

You wisely determine the best way to cross, and successfully reach the other side sinking into the mud."

Also: our first level ups!

Cecil puts his point into Fishing, so we can use the fishing spots.

Sasha puts another point into Line Guard, which now reduces physical damage by 34%.

Raven puts another point into Scythe of Numb Stasis, which now deals 156% damage.

Gram puts a point into Animal Therapy, which provides a small amount of free, passive healing, while either a dog or hawk is summoned. The heal amount is a little bit of a mystery, but I'm fairly certain it's a base amount plus an unknown amount of variance. The base heal is 1 HP at level 1, incidentally, and scales up to 35 at level 10.

Throw in the dog's actions though, and Hounds can be a way to keep your party topped off with no TP cost whatsoever.

Dosen levels up Refresh Herb, which just lowers the TP cost by 2.

Rea fucked around with this message at 09:11 on Oct 18, 2016

# ¿ Oct 18, 2016 09:04

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Update 1 Part 2

Roper
HP: 112
STR: 24
INT: 15
VIT: 17
WIS: 15
AGI: 11
LUC: 16
Skills:

Entangle: Uses the arms. Attempts to bind one party member's legs, with a 70% base chance. Has an 80% speed modifier at all levels.

Drops:

Normal: Thorny Vine. 75% chance. Sells for 6 en.
- 1 needed to make Shortbow (+19 ATK, +17 MATK, AGI Up 1, Bronze x3).
- 2 needed to make Thorned Bandage (+24 ATK, +16 MATK, VIT Up 1, Bronze x3).

Damage Resistances:

150%

100%

150%

100%

100%
Disable Resistances:

100%

150%

100%

100%

Ropers serve to be both a nuisance and to screw over early dodge-tank Fencers. They literally don't do anything besides attack and try to bind legs, though.

The dangerous part of this encounter is the Balloon Flying Squirrel in the front row, though.

Okay, hitting our Dragoon is the best possible outcome with these things.

Also, here's Animal Therapy in action.

Nothing much happened there.

("Obtained 1 Labyricanth!")

Our first food item. Labyricanth restore a small amount of HP when eaten.

As you tread a path through the roots, which are so colossal it seems their origin is far beyond vision, a cluster of said roots comes within reach. Do you recall the council's request? They requested a sample of the tree's roots. Given the opportunity, it seems appropriate to take a sample from this cluster. You hack away and carve for yourself a hunk of root, placing it in your bag to take home.

("Obtained Yggdrasil Root!")

One down.

("Obtained Nectar.")

Not gonna say no to one of these things.

I went back to town since there's a certain random encounter further up in 1F that can seriously screw me up, and I wanted a chance to save.

Hi, welcome, howdy! I've got deals today you won't want to miss...but wait a second! I'm pretty sure that you've been to the Labyrinth and back, am I wrong? Then, before we start exchanging ental, I should give you one of these!

("Obtained Bronze Ingot!")

Here at my store, I can forge up your weapons to increase your attack power! You can do it if'n you happen to have any Ingots, like this one, on you, so by all means, give it a try! And even if you don't have an Ingot, you can also susbtitute in the materials used to make the weapon. Sell the materials to me and I'll keep track of them- how convenient!- so don't worry about keeping track, just keep 'em coming!

Forging in EO5 is a neat replacement for the forging system in EO3/4, and I'll discuss it more later.

Thorned Bandage (+24 ATK, +16 MATK, VIT Up 1, Bronze x3) is made from 2 Thorny Vines (Roper).

Shortbow (+19 ATK, +17 MATK, AGI Up 1, Bronze x3) is made from 1 Thorny Vine (Roper).

Ore Scythe (+23 ATK, +23 MATK, VIT Up 1, Bronze x3) is made from 1 Mossy Ore (1st Stratum Mine 1).

Fluffy Bolero (+9 DEF, +14 MDEF) is made from 3 Fluffy Furs (Balloon Flying Squirrel).

Soft Mocassin (+3 DEF, +8 MDEF) is made from 1 Fluffy Fur (Balloon Flying Squirrel).

Fire/Freeze/Shock Oil (Adds fire/ice/volt to one party member's normal attacks for 5 turns) is made from 1 Cracked Nut.

As tempting as it is to upgrade weapons right now, that's a big chunk of our funds.

As you proceed deep in the forest, you reach the end of a small path surrounded by thicket. It's a bit dark, but as you search the thicket you find a filthy sack that must have been dropped by an explorer. You may reach for it or simply ignore it.

Hey, why not?

You pick up the sack and find a 100 en coin inside.

("Obtained 100 en.")

As you thank your luck, you hear the thicket shake violently, so you grab your weapons! This seems to have been the correct choice, as you're attacked by unknown monsters!

Wagh! N-nice doggy! Pet-pet...

Pet it at your own risk.

Mad Dog
HP: 222
STR: 32
INT: 17
VIT: 22
WIS: 21
AGI: 18
LUC: 14
Skills:

Intimidate: Uses the head. Reduces one row's physical defense by 30% for 4 turns. Has an 80% speed modifier.

Drops:

Normal: Cone Fang. 100% chance. Sells for 14 en.
- 2 needed to make Madfa (+20 ATK, +16 MATK, HP Up 1, Bronze x3).
- 1 Cone Fang (Mad Dog) and 1 Chipped Mudstone (1st Stratum Mine 2) needed to make Kopis (+21 ATK, +19 MATK, AGI Up 1, Bronze x3).
- 1 Cone Fang (Mad Dog) and 1 Pierced Fang (Ice Bat conditional) needed to make Ice Bat Fang (+26 ATK, +30 MATK, Cold Wave, Bronze x4).

Damage Resistances:

100%

150%

100%
Disable Resistances:

100%

150%

100%

150%

100%

100%

Mad Dogs are the Great Lynxes of EO5. If you don't have a Dragoon, this thing will 100% one-shot someone, partially because of Intimidate, but mostly because they just hit rally hard to begin with. Even with a Dragoon, make sure your party members are at full HP, or else bad things will happen.

Fencers can also dodge them, obviously, but it's still risky and nerve-wracking.

Maybe I should've put a point into Flicker, just to have a chance to stop Intimidate.

Eek!

Ready to give up on the edgy act yet?

Why me?!

loving OW.

(Received: 1 Cone Fang.)

Mad Dogs can be seriously bad news when combined with other enemies.

I decide to start building Gun Mount, so Sasha puts a point into Material Guard, which reduces fire, ice, and volt damage by 30% at level 1.

I'm building for One-Two anyway, so Cecil puts a third point into Arm Break, which bumps the damage to 168%.

Raven levels up Scythe of Numb Stasis to level 3, which unlocks Scythe of Exorcism--a skill identical to Scythe of Numb Stasis except for inflicting curse instead of paralysis.

Gram levels up Hawk Whistle to 3, which unlocks Hawk Arrow, which deals stab damage to one enemy with splash damage, and then has the hawk attack adjacent enemies, and Flash of Both Wings, which deals stab damage to one enemy and has the hawk attack the row that enemy was in.

Dosen levels up Refresh Herb to 3, which unlocks Resurrection Herb.

While proceeding through the overgrown Labyrinth, you stop as you notice that you've arrived at the point where the council wants to investigate the soil. As you look around, you see a beautiful array of colorful flowers and grasses, as well as signs that the soil has been dug up in several places. As far as you can tell, the soil varies by location, and some soil is easier to dig up than others. You'll need to bring back one of these soil samples for your investigation.

Our choices are:

Take the hard-looking soil

Dig up the soft-looking soil

Look around carefully

No sense taking the easy way out. Let's get that hard soil.

You take out a small shovel and stab it into the ground. ...Your collective exertion is truly a feat to behold, and your combined efforts eventually strike deep into the heart of the earth, rewarding you with soft soil. The council will certainly approve of your mighty success.

Whenever this sort of thing happens, you should probably assume that the other option would have led to a fight.

("Obtained Labyrinth Soil!")

With this, you've safely obtained both necessary samples. However, you still need to finish mapping the desginated area. You return to exploring.

There's just a bit of the upper area to map out, so I go do that.

("Obtained Soma.")

Somas restore 80 HP to the party. Useful for emergencies.

I finished mapping the rest of 1F off-screen, so let's turn the quest in.

It seems you've completed your task without incident. With that, you're full-fledged explorers. Please don't grow big-headed from just this, though. There are many dangers in the Labyrinth for which proper care must be exercised. Now, would you please hand in what we asked for?

Here.

("Handed over Labyrinth Soil and Yggdrasil Root.")

Thank you. And in turn, I'll give you this.

("Obtained 500 en.")

Mission EXP, as is customary since EO3, is worth a boatload.

Now that you're explorers, I can only assume you'll be staying in the city for the time being. Use that money to make the necessary arrangements, and I hope for your support in the future. Oh, that's right, one last thing. You'll be exploring Yggdrasil in the future, so if you make any discoveries in the process, could you report them to the Council? You won't go unrewarded, of course. You're under no obligation, though; we'd like your reports, but it's all up to you.

Hey, if it pays, why not?

This is what the Registry option is for--we can report the following things to Remus: completed floors, encountered monsters, and items. Monsters and items are automatically registered in the Monstrous Codex and Item Compendium--don't worry, we're not back to the DS EO method of making you check those at the government building--but reporting them to the Council means that Remus'll give us rewards at certain completion percentages. He also gives us a reward for every stratum's worth of maps we finish.

...I spoke longer than I expected to, but that'll be all.

...Well, I said every stratum's worth, but for completing 1F, we get four Yamato Copper Coins.

Here's what we get if we talk to Remus right now.

I've heard of a fish that lives in the labyrinth known as the Labyricanth. Apparently, experienced explorers tend to fish them up as a food source. Why not try it out for yourselves?

We've fished one up already. Don't think any of us want to eat raw fish, though!

Also, Remus has some words for us upon leaving.

Could you hold on for a moment? There's one last thing I forgot to mention. It seems there's something important for exploring that's sold in the market district. You should head to the market for the particulars. ...With that, stay safe.

I just decided to go down the town list in order to get everyone's dialogue. Genetta starts talking as soon as we enter the inn.

Oh my gosh! It's the new customers! I just heard that you cleared your first mission! I'm ridiculously excited, you don't even know how great this is! I guess this means that now you can start really taking on Yggdrasil? Please please pretty please keep staying here while you're exploring, pleaaaase?

W-well, there's not many other places around here...

Your inn's in a convenient location. I'm confident we'll be lodging here for our exploration.

I mean, I'm not lonely, or anything, I mean, I DO have other customers. You've seen them, right?

Can't say that I have.

Well, I guess that makes sense, you did just get here and all! And I mean they're all explorers like you, so I guess if you met anywhere, it'd be in the Labyrinth. Ohhhhh man, this is per-fect! You get to become besties with a bunch of other explorers while you're staying here! You HAVE to tell me some stories! All of the stories, even!

What follows is a tutorial on Guild Cards. Get them through StreetPass or by scanning QR Codes, same stuff as always.

...Okay, our Guild Card's slightly screwed up.

(I had to start the new game from an NG+, and loaded in one of my finished save files.)

I'm not posting the bottom half because it's spoilery.

Welcome back! Hehe, I already heard from the Council. Congrats on clearing that mission! So to cut to the chase, you've got permission to buy Ariadne Threads now. An Ariadne Thread lets you pop back to town from the Labyrinth at a moment's notice. Every adventure needs one or two of 'em. So you're heading back to the Labyrinth after this, right? Then buy one and test it out!

Ceric's not kidding here. Now that Floor Jump is gone, Ariadne Threads are really important again--always make sure you have one on you.

I buy one, and then talk to Ceric.

Gosh, that was fast! You're back already?

I dunno if I'd call that "fast."

Did you find anything that made you go "I've never seen that before?" If you did, could you sell them to me?

I also offload some drops.

Kopis (+21 ATK, +19 MATK, AGI Up 1, Bronze x3) is made from 1 Chipped Mudstone (1st Stratum Mine 2) and 1 Cone Fang (Mad Dog).

Madfa (+20 ATK, +16 MATK, HP Up 1, Bronze x3) is made from 2 Cone Fangs (Mad Dog).

Acorn Vest (+10 DEF, +10 MDEF) is made from 5 Hard Acorns (Ghost Acorn).

Studded Glove (+5 DEF, +6 MDEF) is made from 1 Hard Acorn (Ghost Acorn) and 1 Chipped Mudstone (1st Stratum Mine 2).

I upgraded Cecil's armor to an Acorn Vest to demonstrate something: EO5 returns to the EO4 method of ALL item purchases consuming materials.

Also upgraded a bunch of weapons. A blue background on a weapon's icon means it can be forged.

Might as well demo forging while I'm here, too. You have two options for materials for forging: either one purchase's worth of materials, or an Ingot.

Ceric's out of materials for the Thorned Bandage, so I could upgrade it with a Bronze Ingot instead.

Bronze Ingots are worth one purchase's worth of materials.

Silver Ingots are worth three purchase's worth of materials.

Gold Ingots are worth five purchaes's worth (a full upgrade) of materials.

Upgrading the Thorned Bandage by one level would buff its ATK and MATK a little, as well as activating level 1 of VIT Up. The stat up passives work a little weirdly--they have 10 levels internally. Tier 1 stat ups (one arrow) go from levels 1 to 5, Tier 2 stat ups (two arrows) go from levels 3 to 7, and Tier 3 stat ups (three arrows) go from levels 6 to 10. What do those levels actually do? You'll see in the eventual Forging mechanics update.

This Guard immediately talks to us after exiting the shop.

So you're all with Nameless, right? I've got a message from the Guildmaster, Edgar. "I've got something to tell you now that you're official explorers. Come to the Guild." Well, that was it. He didn't tell me what this was about, so you'll have to ask him yourself at the Explorers Guild. Anyway, I've gotta get back to my patrol, so if you'll excuse me...

Well, that sounds important.

I went to the bar first, though, because I could not read the message and forgot about what's going on.

Oh my, did you finish the job already?

Yeah. See? This Ariadne Thread's proof.

Let me tell you how requests work, then. We take all kinds of requests here. Requests for materials from the Labyrinth, for example, or monster extermination, or the like. The difficulty varies widely depending on what's required for the job, so I won't be telling you about all of the requests. The further you get into the Labyrinth, though, the more- and harder- requests you'll be able to take. After completing them, you'll earn yourselves a reward. If you want to be a big star, it might be best for you to keep up with requests as you explore.

Quests quests quests. Omnipresent in the EO series since the very beginning. It's in your interest to do them, since not only do they give EXP and (sometimes) useful rewards, you'll need to do them for access to some postgame bosses, too!

Those two quests at the bottom are the DLC grinding quests, which I'm not taking yet.

#1: Request from a craftsman:

Oh, you took that request? *chuckle* I love kids who work hard. Now, let's get down to business and discuss the details. Listen carefully. This one's from a craftsman in town. They want you to mine Darkened Augite. Mining in this case means going to one of the mining spots in the Labyrinth and digging up minerals. If I recall correctly, there should be some on the 1st floor, so try checking there. Also, this will go much easier if you have someone who knows the Mining skill with you. Make sure you know it before heading out into the Labyrinth.

Mining, or Woodland Gathering Skills, either or.

#2: Acorn gathering:

So you want to take that request? *Chuckle* You really are hard workers. This request came from the neighborhood restaurant. They need three Hard Acorns, so they'd like it if you could pick some up from the Labyrinth. It seems like they're dropped by monsters called Ghost Acorns. They're not very strong, but be careful when you fight them. The Labyrinth is more dangerous than you might think, after all... By the way, it seems like the shells you're gathering are going to be used to decorate an acorn cake.

Easy enough.

#3: Adventure preparations:

This request is from the merchant Ceric. Ceric has a stall open on the street, the Brownie Child. I'm sure you've checked it out at least once, right? In any case, he wants some raw materials so he can make the equipment his shop sells. As for what materials he wants in particular, you'll have to go to his store and ask him directly. Okay then, do your best.

Again, easy enough.

And we move onto bar patrons!

Also, I'm going to have to preemptively apologize, but due to the nature of portraits in EO5, I can't give the bar patrons unique portraits--it'd be far too much work for how many there are. Sorry!

#1: Brownie with a basket of berries:

Brownie: Hello! Are you all explorers? I'm Dale, from a berry orchard a little ways out from Aeolis. I often come to town to sell the Labyrinth Berries I've harvested. I'd love it it you bought some to take with you in the Labyrinth. So if you ever want some, just give me a shout.

Talking to Dale again brings this up:

Dale: Hey, hello there! Today I've got Labyrinth Berries for sale.

I've heard Labyrinth Berries are quite nutritious. I don't see why not.
Dale: Pleasure doing business! Here're your Labyrinth Berries! I'm just glad to be helping out explorers!

("Obtained 4 Labyrinth Berries!")

Dale: Well, I'll be leaving now. I do have other markets to get to. May fortune let us meet again.

Dale shows up from time to time with some generic lines about selling berries. Berries are actually pretty good in the long run, and Dale is a major source of them, if you want to start stocking up early. Seriously, berries are great.

#2: Gentleman with a prosthetic leg:

Gentleman: Oh my...pardon my rudeness, but are you all new arrivals in the city? Explorers perhaps?

Good guess.
Conice: My name's Conice. Some call me a walking dictionary, but I'm just an old fool who managed to escape death. But however you choose to think of me, feel free to ask me anything. I'll answer to the best of my ability, no more and no less.

Conice is the tutorial guy. I have no need to talk to him further.

#3: Earthrun girl in charge of rations:

Girl: Hello, explorers. Have you been making sure to always carry an Ariadne Thread when exploring? It's important to be able to get home in emergencies. Without one, you just have to resign yourself to death. Well, that's what my brother told me anyway, after he forgot one and came home all beaten up.

#4: Chubby novice explorer:

Novice: Man, the Labyrinth is great. You can always fish up something to eat, and if you search carefully there's fruit and stuff too. If you carry around food that you've found, you can eat it to recover your stamina when you're tired. Saves money on food too. Two birds with one stone!

#5: Dark-skinned male Dragoon:

Dragoon: *scoff* Who're you supposed to be? Some first floor newbie who thinks the Labyrinth is all sunshine and rainbows?

For your information, we just cleared the first floor. We're not total newbies.

That...doesn't sound much better.
Dragoon: Those mutts they call Mad Dogs are the worst! After they use Intimidate, even a Dragoon like me can end up on death's door! You be careful if you ever run into one! If it intimidates, use Guard or some other skill that works.

Talking to Melina gives this:

So you're back from the Labyrinth? And how was your trip?

Aside from that _drat dog nearly biting my head off, kinda fu--ahem, boring.

At first glance, it might seem like a peaceful, even hallowed ground; but really, in truth, its jaws are always wrapped around your throat, ready to snap in an instant. That's just the way of things. It hasn't been very long since the council lifted the ban on entry, but plenty of explorers have already gone missing. You be careful out there.

Oh, you're back, Nameless? Looks like you're a bunch of genuine explorers now. But remember: that's just step one. Lotsa big shots chicken out now and never get anywhere. Remember that. ...Ah, I'm missing the point. Since you're official now, you can Change Classes.

Oh? We're listening.

Classes are, basically, the skills passed down by the various races. Obviously, each race has classes that are inherited from their own race, that they're good at naturally. But here in Aeolis, the four races have an arrangement. To help conquer the Labyrinth, they're willing to teach their skills to the other races. So if it suits your fancy, you can be a Lunarian Cestus, or a Therian Reaper, or who knows what, no matter your race. That said, the skills each race has inherently can't be taught. Keep that in mind. ...I'm going on this ramble, but you'll learn better from doing. Just test whatever suits your taste.

What Edgar just said boils down to this: we can now change characters' classes. For anyone above level 5, this comes with a 5 level reduction cost. It's as simple as it sounds: you can change someone's class while keeping their portrait and race. There's...not really a lot of useful applications of this in practice, though. Basically every class is tuned to its race's specific stats. A Lunarian Cestus, to use one of Edgar's examples, would be godawful, since they'd have bad HP, bad VIT, and horrible STR.

There's one case where I think changing class is useful, and that's a Smoke-focused Herbalist. This is mostly because Brownies have loving awful LUC, meaning inflicting ailments is a pain in the rear end. Class changing an Earthrun (for maximum LUC) or Lunarian (for far more TP and WIS) into Herbalist is the way to go if you really want to make use of Smoke skills.

Here's Edgar's post-first mission dialogue.

You guys were Nameless, right? Well, looks like you can get started exploring Yggdrasil. Now, I'm not a nosy guy by nature, but I have advice for you. You should change up your party composition based on what you're doing. The more you do, the smoother you'll explore. Say, keeping your gathering folks separate from your fighting team. Specialize, is what I'm saying. Or don't. It's up to you. Just remember I said that if you run into a wall.

Keeping a separate gathering team is pointless in EO5 since the gathering skills only take 1 point to max out. Believe me, though, we'll be mixing up our party a LOT.

Also, I'd like to take this time to point out that your hawk and dog are technically part of your guild. You can't do much other than rename them, but it's still a neat touch.

Hm... A bird and a dog... What other game have I played that I could name these two after... Aha! I know! Battle Network 6! Remember? Cybeasts Falzar and Gregar! I'm sure those'll--

...Oh. Right. Summons are limited to four-character names.

Welp, I guess we're rolling with a dog named Greg now.

Going back into 1F allows me to take on a pseudo-quest from the guard.

Now accustomed to walking through the Labyrinth, you come across the same guard taking care of chickens that you met during your previous mission.

You're Nameless, right? Oh good, I'm glad you cleared the mission. It was kind of worrying me...

The guard shows you a smile as he waves, but his expression is clearly troubled.

Something bothering you?

As you ask him, the guard responds gravely.

Well, ah, you see...a few of my chickens went missing. They...probably went deeper in...to find food. I really wish I could go look for them, but my job is to sit right here and give advice to new explorers. I can't just leave whenever.

Huh. What a dilemma.

You may offer to search for the chickens on the anguished guard's behalf, or take your leave of the chicken affair.

Oh, fine, we'll look for your stupid chickens.

Don't think I've ever seen anyone with such a heated vendetta against fowl.

Try growing up on a farm.

I did, sonny.

When you say this, the guard's face turns to exultation, and he clasps your hand in gratitude.

I think there are 3 missing chickens! Oh, I really hope you can find them before any monsters find them. But...uh, they might be tough to catch without someone who's good at Animal Husbandry.

That's not just flavor text, we do need someone who knows Animal Husbandry as part of their race skills.

Having said this, the guard excitedly and profusely offers his thanks as you return to the Labyrinth to look for the chickens.

It was at this point that I realized the notification in town and this thing in the Guild Card menu meant that I'd received a Guild Card from StreetPass.

Specifically, from my modded 3DS, with...the same save file that I used NG+ to start this run on.

(ExtData encryption fuckery. Don't ask.)

Phew, what a mouthful of an update, huh? Next time: chickens. Also some quests. Maybe even a bit of 2F.

Rea fucked around with this message at 09:18 on Oct 18, 2016

# ¿ Oct 18, 2016 09:04

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Speaking of class change, we need a submission for our Smoke-focused Herbalist! The same rules as initial submissions apply, but because they will be Lunarian (by decree of me), you are limited to Warlock, Necromancer, Lunarian generic, and DLC portraits.

Also, if you already had a character be accepted, you can't qualify for further character submissions! We wanna give other people a shot.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2016 09:23

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Clarste posted:

Can we also vote on pet names now? That would make sense to me.

But I like Falz and Greg.

In all seriousness, yeah, vote on dog and bird names.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2016 09:42

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Level Seven posted:

Greg and Falz are fine names for PETs.

Good for the team that they found a use for the copper coin, unlike a certain crayfish. Also, it's bugging me you aren't coloring in the water.

If a non-door or non-stair tile can't be walked over, I don't color it in.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2016 17:46

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

The reference is Megaman Battle Network 6, where the focus of the game's plot is on two Cybeasts--digital programs that just kind of ruin everything--that take the forms of a giant bird (falcon?) and a giant wolf--Falzar and Gregar, respectively.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2016 21:51

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

In EO3 and EO4, LUC was actually doubly as important as AGI for dodging.

Poltergrift posted:

Just a note: imagine all this with the approximate emotional tone of Telenovela.

The ruined heiress Alicia Rosette was deeply in love with Barnaby, the "gentleman" thief, and abandoned her family and legacy to be with him, but Barnaby only wanted to use Alicia for her family's inheritance and -- once it became clear that she was no longer the favored candidate for family head -- abandoned her for greener pastures and more fortunate ventures. Twisted with rage, Alicia contacted the sage Charlotte to learn the art of necromancy and obtain her revenge on Barnaby. The sage complied, but conditional on Alicia binding Barnaby's ghost to the bones of his hands and feet, and bringing them to her -- for a ghost made with such a grudge would become a powerful resource. Alicia agreed, and abandoned her family name and all but one letter of her first to the darkness, receiving further mastery of the necromantic arts; from then on, she was only known by her shadow name, "A."

"A" hunted down her former lover; flush with wealth and drunk on his success in infiltrating the (then closed-off) Yggdrasil Labyrinth for rare, illegal medicinal herbs, Barnaby was known as the mysterious thief Monsieur "B" to the people of Aeolis. In the process of fighting his way through the Labyrinth, in order to combat the monsters, Monsieur "B" embedded vials of poison into the bones of his hands and wrists, allowing him to kill with a mere touch. Confronted by "A," Monsieur "B" was chased, dismembered and killed by "A"'s phantasmal army, but -- in the last moments of his life -- managed to flick his embedded syringe out from his finger. Taking it in her triumph, to bind his ghost, "A" pricked herself, and received a slow, incurable dose of a rare and lethal Brownie poison.

Knowing her time was short, "A" took the bones of "B" to the sage Charlotte to fulfill her deal, in the hopes of receiving aid in waging war on the family that had rejected her. On arrival, however, her bound ghosts heard that Charlotte was a servant of her family, deployed in secret to ensure "B"'s death and trick "A" into returning gratefully to the Rosette family. Filled with rage and drunk on the death in her veins, "A" set her ghosts on Charlotte, detonating them, down to the essentia level, all at once, inside the sage's meager hut. As they both lay dying, "A" took her revenge on "B" and Charlotte: she ripped away Charlotte's name, to eternally prove her power over life of death, and bound all three of them together. Locked together, "A," B" and "C," necromantically entangled, forgetting themselves and their lives, remained in the ramshackle remains of the sage's hut for thousands of years, all bound to their bony fingers -- locked together forever.

Then a popular dancer found the pared-down bone bits, mistook them for dancer's bangles and hooked them to his waist. He was not entirely thrilled to learn that there were ghosts living inside them.

Also I wasn't even really planning on giving the ghosts personalities but you single-handedly convinced me, congratulations

Rangpur posted:

Name: Magda
Portrait: DLC Medic 2
Voice: 27 (Meek)
Hair: White
Eyes: Red
Personality: Born to a Lunarian clan who took astrology extremely seriously, Magda has an elaborate depiction of her star sign, the Dinogator (may he frolic forever in our hearts) tattooed on her back. To be born under such a sign marks one as an exceptionally dangerous warrior, a destiny the typically meek and unassuming Lunarian girl thoroughly failed to live up to until she bought a second-hand Smoke Herbalist starter kit from a passring Brownie caravan. Magda's ancestral homestead is currently the thaumaturgical equivalent of a Superfund site, an incident she hotly denys was her fault, blaming it instead on 'that gormless bint, who couldn't tell the difference between (unpronouncable compound) and (equally unpronounceable compound, but with a silent 'W').'

Whatever the case, her family made it clear she should pursue her destiny... elsewhere. Anywhere, really, so long as it was very far away. And so she came to Arcadia. Truthfully, she'd much rather BE a Medic--hence the outfit, purchased secondhand from the same caravan. Unfortunately the closest she's come so far is a poison so toxic it caused her patient to vomit out the tumors afflicting them. But if she has the chance to practice her craft under real-world conditions as part of the Nameless guild (who haven't been around long enough to know of her reputation), surely her wish to become a great healer will be within reach, right? RIGHT?! Dinogator, spiritual patron of great destroyers, smiles knowingly.

(TBH, I'm not sure my color choices would look in practice since the character builder wouldn't load the DLC portraits for some reason. If they're too eye searing, feel free to adjust them in the event my character gets picked. Greg & Falz seem like fine names in any case, though I think I'm missing the reference.)

Also also this is who we'll be going with for Smoke Herbalist. I'll get the initial portraits ready in a bit

# ¿ Oct 19, 2016 01:18

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Double Plus Undead posted:

So, can you import your save from EO4 to get a bonus in 5 or did they not follow through on that?

Nope. I don't think anyone knows what's in the extra data EO4 lets you write to the SD card, either.

Anyway here's Magda.

# ¿ Oct 19, 2016 01:47

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Update 2: Creepy Crawlies

Uuuuugh... What is that horrible noise...?

Oh, good morning, Raven.

...First of all, the sun's not even up yet. Second, where did you get that solid block of wood?

I fashioned it out of some of the trees on the first floor.

And why is it in our room?

Large, sturdy blocks of wood make for excellent boxing practice.

...Please just let me sleep.

Clarste reminded me that, since I did the entirety of 2F in one go, I never got a chance to show the 2F dialogue. Here it is:

quote:

Sometimes, in the Labyrinth, you can set up a campfire and start cooking. Make sure you have ingredients so that you can do that thing!

So us Brownies come from the Great Plains of Crus�, where we're always on the go. Maybe it's 'cause the plains connect us to all sorts of places, but our families just naturally got into the whole merchant thing. I mean, y'know, I've got family like anyone else, but I only see 'em a couple times a year. Y'know, Brownie holidays and the like.

Every so often, you'll find a monster in the Labyrinth that you can't possibly beat as you are now. When that happens, you should run away. In the Labyrinth, if you must have one quality, it's caution, not courage.

Reached the 2nd floor, eh? Not bad, for beginners. Way I heard it, a fifth of the guilds who started along with you then gave up on the 1st floor. More than a few lost their lives. That's the meaning of challenging Yggdrasil. Go in half-hearted, and you'll die without accomplishing anything. Never forget that.

Is your exploration of Yggdrasil going well? We have guards posted on the 2nd floor, so that even citizens are allowed to visit it. If you run into one, why not have a chat? I'm sure they'd be willing to help you too.

So, what's this I hear about a bright young upstart looking for a guild?

Oh, right. This Lunarian girl--well, she said Lunarian--was directed to us after she asked if any guilds had open spots.

Uh, aren't there other guilds with a lot more open spots than ours? Why us?

Seems like she was directed to us because...other guilds desperately shooed her away. Oh, joy.

Now, now, boys, don't be rude. Let's at least meet this girl, shall we?

Um, hello.

Hello, dearie. I'm assuming you've already gotten a look at our roster.

Y-yeah.

Why the shyness? Come now, we're very welcom-- Urp!

Cecil?!

Oogh... W-what is that horrible stench coming from your bag?!

Some compounds I'm looking into.

You're an Herbalist, right? I'm sure that "stench" is fi-- Uuu...ugh...

Oh dear.

...I'm going to assume you're the "Innocent Poisoner" I've heard so much about back in the plains.

I take issue with that name!

What, the "innocent" part? Because "poisoner" isn't really up for debate.

Oh, quiet. Think about it: if our senses of smell react this badly, imagine how monsters feel!

Meet Magda, our Smoke-focused Herbalist. She won't be joining the active party just now, but given my personal playstyle, I'll probably be pushing for her very hard later on.

(Floor subtitle: "Cooking around the campfire")

As you walk under the overgrown vegetation, you find an open, room-like area with signs of an old campfire. Looking closely, you see that that there are still glowing embers within the ashes. You may reignite the fire if you like. You might be able to cook something over the campfire.

We just ate breakfast no less than 30 minutes ago.

Couldn't hurt to cook something for the journey, though.

Let me, gentlemen and lady.

Sasha moves their face close and begins blowing on the embers. The weak embers gradually regain their intensity... It seems you have successfully lit the fire.

Our only option right now is to cook any Labyricanths we have.

Which gives us an equivalent amount of Roast Labyricanths. Cooking food basically consumes one type of food to make a better type of food.

There are also more complicated recipes later on. Personally I like to save up my ingredients for those, but on the other hand they practically throw fish at you early in the game, so why not?

So how long until the fish try to kill you?

We're out of cookable food, so we're booted out of the campfire menu and back to exploring.

Sneaky _bastards!

Oh my... Should've brought...some blankets...

Ambushes are back, yep. And hey, our first death! Had to happen sooner or later.

Ice Bat
HP: 123
STR: 17
INT: 24
VIT: 16
WIS: 16
AGI: 19
LUC: 12
Skills:

Cold Wave: Uses the arms. Deals 150% ranged INT-based ice damage to one party member. Has an 80% speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.

Drops:

Normal: Cold Wing Membrane. 65% chance.
- 1 needed to make Leather Hat (+8 DEF, +6 MDEF).
- 3 needed to make Leather Shield (+10 DEF, +4 MDEF).
Conditional: Pierced Fang (Kill with stab damage). 90% chance.
- 1 Pierced Fang and 1 Cone Fang (Mad Dog) needed to make Ice Bat Fang (+26 ATK, +30 MATK, Cold Wave, Bronze x4).

Damage Resistances:

100%

150%

100%

150%
Disable Resistances:

100%

150%

100%

100%

As Gram just so aptly demonstrated, Ice Bats are annoying because Cold Wave can one-shot drat near everyone in our party this early on. With the Ropers in play, as well, good luck killing the Ice Bat before it hits someone.

The other somewhat interesting thing about Ice Bats is that Cold Wave is one of, if not maybe the only, INT-based attack skills that uses the arms instead of the head.

Just gotta do this, and... Presto! Instant magic-resistant shield.

Meet Material Guard, the replacement for Fire/Ice/Volt Wall (known as Antifire/Anticold/Antivolt in the DS EO games). It doesn't fully nullify attacks like those skills did, but it does protect against fire, ice, and volt all at once.

...It didn't do much on this turn.

Hoho, thank you. I'm not quite ready for that just yet.

There we go. Material Guard cuts Cold Wave from one-shot level down to "manageable."

(Received: 2 Thorny Vines.)

The Ropers died without much incident.

(Received: 1 Ripe Lotus Fruit.)

1F, F4 Take Point

Brown Tuber: 53% base chance. Sells for 16 en.
- 1 needed to make Therica A (Cures all binds on one party member).
- 1 needed to make Therica B (Cures status ailments on one party member).
Ripe Lotus Fruit: 22% base chance. Sells for 20 en.
- 1 needed to make Medica II (Restores 100 HP to one party member).
Skunk Cabbage: 25% base chance. Sells for 50 en.
- 1 needed to make Nectar (Revives one dead party member at 20 HP).
Ambush Chance: 3%

Buncha important consumables here. Thericas are gonna be pretty important all game, Nectars are extremely important until we can get Nectar IIs (which isn't until the 6th Stratum), and Medica IIs are satisfactory, as far as healing consumables go, for at least the first two strata.

As you proceed along the overgrown path, you run into a lone girl resting in the shade of a tree.

Oh, well hello there! Hehe, are you new explorers?

It's almost uncanny how everyone's able to guess that.

The monsters up ahead are much stronger than the ones on the first floor, so you should really be careful.

Yep, we already ran into one of those Ice Bats. It did a number on Gram...

Continuing with a friendly smile, the girls steps out from the shade.

Oh, my name's Lily. I'm a Necromancer.

I guess showing off chests is just standard Necromancer fashion.

I'm surprised that Mr. Leather Thigh-Highs is talking about fashion.

I've been waiting here for a while, kind of wanted to see some new explorers, you know? So now that I have, I...should be going, hehe. I'll get weird looks if I don't. It was nice meeting you!

Nice meeting you too, dear.

The girl who calls herself Lily politely excuses herself and heads off into the forest. You remember her advice and steel yourselves to head deeper into the 2nd floor.

There's a food gathering point here (a new type), which gives Labyrinth Wheats, but we need someone with Woodland Gathering Skills to actually use it.

As you walk down the narrow animal trail, you find a guard in the thicket, moving restlessly. If you're interested in interpersonal contact, you could call out to him.

Hey! Something the matter?

BWAAAAAAHHH! ...Oh, ahahaha, it's just explorers. Here I thought I'd been found by a monster. Hey, so check this out; my friends, is this not the singular greatest thing you've ever laid eyes upon?

Near the boasting guard is a massive beast, caught in a pitfall. Based on the layout of the area, it can be assumed that the guard set up a trap.

That is quite the impressive trap. Nicely done--

As you congratulate him on his success, though, the beast leaps out of the trap and attacks!

Charging Boar
HP: 370
STR: 30
INT: 19
VIT: 23
WIS: 22
AGI: 22
LUC: 18
Skills:

Reckless Charge: Uses the legs. Deals 130% melee STR-based stab damage to one party member, with splash damage. Has an 80% speed modifier and 99 base accuracy.
Devour Ally: Used when a Ghost Acorn is in the battle. Deals 50% melee STR-based bash damage to the Ghost Acorn. Increases the Charging Boar's physical attack by 100% for 4 turns. Has a 30% speed modifier.

Drops:

Normal: Branched Tusk. 90% chance. Sells for 22 en.
- 2 Branched Tusks and 1 Chipped Tortoise Shell needed to make Hakenbuchse (+25 ATK, +23 MATK, VIT Up 1, Bronze x3).

Damage Resistances:

100%

150%

100%

100%
Disable Resistances:

100%

150%

100%

150%

100%

150%

150%

Charging Boars and Ice Bats both mark the point where not having a defensive support (either a dodge-tank Fencer or a Dragoon) will seriously start to bite you. Reckless Charge can seriously damage one party member and leave anyone adjacent to them hurt as well, although not nearly as much.

A Dragoon doesn't wholly negate damage, but they make it very, very manageable. Even a Reckless Charge wouldn't do much with Line Guard active.

Charging Boars aren't too big a problem, so long as you can kill them before Reckless Charge and its splash damage build up.

...As you defeat the attacking monster, the guard turns to thank you.

Dagnabbit, sorry about that. I guess the drat thing was too big for my trap. Ooh, that said though, yours truly still gets his trophy!

With a chipper air to his movements, the guard brandishes a knife and begins butchering the monster right in front of you. ...Dumbfounded, you watch as he dresses the beast with the speed and skill of a professional. Eventually, he presents you with a lump of flesh.

Here, as thanks for saving me. If you like meat, you should eat it!

("Obtained 5 Animal Meats!")

"Power of the wild

You splendidly fended off an attack by a monster big enough to break a trap. To the victor go the spoils."

At levels 5, 10, 15, and 20, characters gain access to one new Union skill, and a few more racial passives.

Everyone in our party had two skill points to invest (because I forgot to use the level 4 skill points), so the Earthrun characters (Sasha, Cecil, Raven) put a point in Woodland Gathering Skills.

Sasha levels up Material Guard to 2, which increases its fire/ice/volt reduction to 33%. I just need to level up Healing Guard to level 2, and then I'll get access to Gun Mount.

Cecil puts a point in Flicker.

Raven levels up Miasma Weapon. Firstly, that reduces the current HP cost to 35%, and increases the speed modifier to 140%.

Secondly, it unlocks three passives: Preemptive Weapon, which gives a chance to use Miasma Weapon at the start of a battle; Endless Shroud, which gives a chance to use Miasma Weapon when using a debuff skill; and Death's Judgement, which gives a chance to inflict sleep on one enemy whenever the user loses HP (either through damage or self-inflicted HP loss).

Gram puts one point into Target Arrow (bottom), which deals 118% damage to one enemy, and attaches a debuff that both reduces that enemy's physical defense by 10% for 4 turns, as well as forces summoned dogs/hawks to target that enemy.

She also puts a point into Flash of Both Wings, which deals 80% damage to one enemy, and makes the hawk attack the target's row, dealing 200% damage.

Dosen puts a point into the Animal Husbandry, so we can get the chickens, and Resurrection Herb, which revives a dead party member at 10 HP.

Shortly after you arrive on the new floor, you run into a group of smiling explorers.

Oh, hello.

Introducing themselves as TFKrew, they remind you that you need to stay vigilant, as this is just the beginning.

That is...quite the odd name.

They recommend learning the skill Woodland Searching Skills as they pull some wheat out of their bag to show you. Apparently, if you're good at searching, you'll be able to find even things like this.

("Obtained 5 Labyrinth Wheats!")

And with that, the party from TFKrew wishes you luck and begins to leave. You say your thanks and return to exploring.

Remember how I mentioned how guilds and characters from Guild Cards you have registered will sometimes show up in the Labyrinth? This is the first example of that. Most of the time this happens, you run into the other guild, and they give you some food items. Nothing really fancy happens, but it's still kinda neat. It also makes the Labyrinth feel less...empty, I suppose? Yes, let's go with that.

Tomodachi... nanda? Tomodachiiii! Huaaaargh!

(If you don't have any Guild Cards registered when you start an event, you run into a guild named Blaze, whose mascot character is a default Fencer 3. Sapph is Guild TFKrew's mascot, so she's the one that represented us. After the event, Blaze gives you their Guild Card.)

"Explorers' advice

You ran into another group of explorers and listened to their advice."

Mandatory Adventure Episodes, like this one, don't give much EXP.

As you proceed through the expansive, waterside Labyrinth, you come across a solitary figure facing the water and dangling a line. Covered from head to toe in jet black armor even while holding a fishing rod, you recognize him as Edgar, the Guildmaster. When he notices your presence, Edgar turns to face you without letting go of his rod.

Oh, it's you lot. Well, good to see you putting effort into this. Keep on.

Seemingly satisfied with this one-sided declaration, he turns back to his fishing. You were surpised to see him suddenly show up during your exploration, but you can ask him some questions if you like.

Is there anything you need right now, Guildmaster?

Anything I want? Well, hm.

The Guildmaster stares at his fishing line in thought for a while before suddenly continuing.

Lately, I've been gettin' sick of having nothing for dinner but fish, day after day after day. I caught some birds already, but I don't have any ingredients to cook a bird properly. You got any Labyrinth Honey? I've been looking for it. ...Not for free, of course. You've got my word that you'll get something back for it.

Don't believe we've gotten any yet, nope.

You'd love to give the Guildmaster his Labyrinth Honey, but you don't have any.

This, uh, might be obvious, but what are you doing?

...What am I doing? What does it look like I'm doing? Fishing.

Yeah, um, _sorry.

Always been a fan. Doesn't just kill time, y'know, fishing feeds you, keeps you tense, teaches patience. Lots of virtues to fishing. Endless training.

How's the fishing today looking?

Could be worse.

As he says this, you notice a basket behind him filled with enough fish to be called a huge haul.

Well, we've got the rest of the floor to explore. Bye, Guildmaster.

Nice seeing you, Nameless. The Labyrinth may be cruel, but that's what forges you into something better.

A pleasant breeze blows through the Labyrinth as you find a Labyrinth Berry flower in a large clearing. Looking closely, it already has fruits, and if everyone works together you could gather quite a few berries.

Well, they don't look poisonous...

("Obtained 3 Labyrinth Berries!")

With more than a little excitement, you begin to harvest the berries. Absorbed in the task of picking them one-by-one, you nearly fail to notice that there are an awful lot of acorns in the area. While you get the feeling that there's something unnatural about this, you still manage to obtain a lot of berries. However, there are even more still on the bush. If you like, you can continue harvesting them.

They're just acorns. Even if they're Ghost Acorns, we can handle them.

You return to picking the ripest berries. Engrossed in this task, you once again fail to notice the acorns squirming unnaturally underfoot... By the time you realize this, you are being attacked by dreadful monsters!

Even when I'm being ambushed, three Ghost Acorns are nothing.

After repelling the swarm of Ghost Acorns, you find that another group has already gathered!

This one isn't even an ambush.

Somehow managing to fend off the Ghost Acorns, you check the berries you've picked.

("Obtained 3 Labyrinth Berries!")

You feel like you already have plenty of berries, but if you like you're free to pick even more.

...Uh, does anyone else hear snarling nearby?

Let's quit while we're ahead, shall we?

Going any further with this not only results in a 35 HP and 10 TP loss, it also throws you into a fight with 3 Mad Dogs. That is not a fight I can win, no matter how hard I try.

Pretty sure I beat them. Helps a lot if you can put them to sleep and deal with them one at a time.

Despite the abundant berries, you return to your exploration.

"Berry gathering and acorns

You found a berry field in the Labyrinth and, after dealing with an acorn attack, gathered berries."

I'm pretty sure the Adventure Episode EXP changes based on how far you go in the event.

("Obtained Medica II.")

As you stop to admire the grand lake, you find a small pond surrounded by rocks. You assume it's an artificial pond created by your predecessors, because poking between the rocks is a pipe carrying clean spring water. You may drink the clear water collected at the pond.

I'm feeling a bit parched.

You scoop up the water and pour it down your parched throats. It has a gentle taste.

You consider the other explorers who must make use of this pond. It wouldn't be right to drink too much water, but there shouldn't be a problem if you limit it to once a day. You make a note of this location and return to your exploration with renewed energy.

Pretty much every EO game has at least one of these "once-per-day HP and TP restoration" spots.

(Received: 1 Brown Tuber naturally, 1 Brown Tuber from Raven.)

1F, E5 Take Point

Brown Tuber: 26% base chance. Sells for 16 en.
- 1 needed to make Therica A (Cures all binds on one party member).
- 1 needed to make Therica B (Cures status ailments on one party member).
Ripe Lotus Fruit: 59% base chance. Sells for 20 en.
- 1 needed to make Medica II (Restores 100 HP to one party member).
Skunk Cabbage: 15% base chance. Sells for 50 en.
- 1 needed to make Nectar (Revives one dead party member at 20 HP).
Ambush Chance: 5%

That...thing in the back is freaking me out.

Myconid
HP: 193
STR: 26
INT: 18
VIT: 21
WIS: 17
AGI: 14
LUC: 21
Skills:

Petrify Spores: Uses the arms. Attempts to inflict petrification on one row of party members, with a 50% base chance. Has an 80% speed modifier.

Drops:

Normal: Massive Mushroom Cap. 70% chance. Sells for 11 en.
- 1 needed to make Lactarius Staff (+18 ATK, +27 MATK, TP Up 1, Bronze x3).
- 1 needed to make Petrify Gas (40% base chance to inflict petrification on all enemies).
- 2 needed to make Uchigatana (+28 ATK, +18 MATK, AGI Up 1, Bronze x3).
- 2 needed to make Mushroom Ornament (Immunity to petrification).
- 1 Iron Caterpillar Horn (Crawling Venomous Bug) and 1 Massive Mushroom Cap needed to make Crawler Knuckle (+39 ATK, +27 MATK, Poison Fang, Silver x3).

Damage Resistances:

150%

100%

150%

100%

100%
Disable Resistances:

100%

50%

100%

100%

Myconids can be pretty serious issues even with a well-constructed party. Remember that petrification is a complete disable, and doesn't reduce damage from physical sources this time around. Combine that with the fact that shield skills stop working if Sasha gets petrified, and one unlucky cast of Petrify Spores can put me in a really bad situation.

Uh... Can this be fixed with herbs?

What kind of amateur do you take me for?

(Received: 1 Fluffy Fur, 1 Massive Mushroom Cap.)

Never mind, doesn't look like we needed it.

We might not have needed it, but please, fix that quickly next time.

All those nights, spent curled up, terrified, hiding from the bears... That was not all too dissimilar...

As you proceed through the 2nd floor, you come across a lone girl sitting on a convenient rock. She notices you and walks up to you with a smile.

Good work, everyone! This place isn't too dangerous in the grander scheme of things, but still. You can't let your guard down here.

You must be quite skilled to act this relaxed.

You're perplexed by how relaxed she seems in this harsh Labyrinth, when suddenly she reaches her hand into her bag... She takes something out and hands it to you.

I've got a present for you! The Labyrinth is pretty dangerous, so I'm sure it'll come in handy. I hope you like it!

("Obtained Nectar.")
("Obtained Ariadne Thread.")

We already have an Ariadne Thread, per Ceric's recommendation, but still, thank you.

Aw shucks, I just felt like doing it. Oh, but I'm still glad you liked it! And I'm also glad that you seem like good people.

Just so you know, the other dialog option was to stare blankly at her. She thinks you don't trust her, but forces you to take the items anyway.

Having said that, Lily picks up her things and begins to walk away. You watch the strange girl as she skips into the forest, waving her hand at you. If you wish to keep going, you can continue your exploration.

Shortcuts in the 1st Stratum are...distinctive.

# ¿ Oct 25, 2016 02:54

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Update 2 Part 2

...Stop. There's something here.

As you pass through the door, you sense a fearsome presence from the path ahead. You look around.

Oh, come on, what could possibly be here that we haven't seeeeaaaaAAAAAAGH!

Those of you with keen memories and ears might recognize the "crisis" music in EO5 as a remix of Unknown Threats from EO3.

You quickly find the source of the presence, wriggling eerily.

It is a huge caterpillar, the likes of which you've never seen before. Luckily, it doesn't seem to recognize you as prey, and makes no effort to approach you. However, based on its intimidating presence, you doubt you could easily take it on. If you value your lives, you'll take careful note of its movement and finda path around it!

Oh, gods, it's giant and has horns and it's slithering and eeeeeeeeeewwww!

Caterpillars used to eat your crops too, huh?

That thing... It's precisely the size of the blood-stained BEARS...

C-Cecil, c'mon, please, don't fight that thing! My shield can only take so much!

D-don't let it get any closer! Those people at the bar said it emits a poison aura...!

It wouldn't be an EO game without FOEs, would it?

Did it actually take us this long?

For those of you not familiar with the series, FOEs (short for Field-On Enemy in Japan, Formido Oppugnatura Exsequens in the US, and some other Latin phrase in Europe) are one of the core features of the Etrian Odyssey series, and arguably the feature that sets it apart the most from most other dungeon crawlers. FOEs, in the field, are basically walking obstacles that force you to either take a path around them, or solve some puzzle to progress. Walking into an FOE on the field will trigger a battle with them.

In battle, FOEs are pseudo-mini bosses. They're pretty much always way too strong for you to take on as soon as you see them (early and midgame, anyway), since they have far higher HP than normal enemies, deal way more damage than normal enemies, and usually can do really dangerous things that normal enemies can't.

This is lost in translation for the English versions of these games, but in Japanese FOEs tend to have purely descriptive names. As in, it's pretty obvious that whoever came up with the name has no idea what they're looking at and just tries to describe it as best they can. They generally refer to both their appearance and how they move. The best example of this I can come up with are the bat FOEs from EO2. In Japanese they're called something like "Flying Rats That Sniff You Out" which indicates A) the writer doesn't know what a bat is, B) they don't know what echolocation is either, and C) that the enemy will attempt to "sniff you out" while you're hiding from them. Frankly, I think it adds a lot of flavor to monster book: you aren't biologists, so you're not concerned with giving things proper names. You're just swords-for-hire reporting what you find to the Council.

"gently caress IT'S THIS THING. GOD CHRIST IT KILLED JIMMY. JUST RUN. JUST RUN RIGHT THE gently caress AWAY GOD DAMNIT WE CAN THINK ABOUT NAMES LATER"

For the sake of simplicity, since some FOE name translations can get ludicrously long, I'll be referring to most FOEs by arbitrary nicknames, probably based off their internal model/script names. For Crawling Venomous Bugs, I'll be referring to them as Crawlers.

I'm showing this graphic from the FOE tutorial because the fact that the visible party members in it are dead is funny to me.

Oh, and the weird orange sun icon in the title bar is a reference to how FOEs looked in the field in the DS EO games--floating orange balls of lint, rendered as sprites.

Crawlers have a pretty simple movement pattern--they just patrol a line of tiles back and forth, turning around once they hit a solid obstacle, like a wall.

Here, all we have to do is just wait for this one to turn around after its first patrol down.

After that, we can take this side path to get around it.

There's another Crawler not too far from the first one.

Here, we have to wait for it to pass us here, and then move down that small corridor before it can catch up.

You stop as you suddenly smell the stench of an animal and hear a cry like "ook!" A short ways ahead of you, you see a small monkey in front of the creek, engrossed in fishing. Despite its small frame, it is still a monster--you can take it by surprise, if you wish. You can choose to either observe it from here, or to attack before it notices you.

Let us observe before we fight.

After watching it for a while, you see that the monkey is having trouble. Its repeated attempts to catch a fish all end in failure, and you doubt it will succeed anytime soon. If you feel pity for it, you can give it one your own fish. But it bears repeating: this is a monster. No matter how much you may sympathize with it, it is likely to attack you anyway. With that in mind, you carefully consider your options.

If I could read this on the fly, or if I'd just cross-referenced what was on-screen with my translation files, I would've chosen to give the monkey a Labyricanth, because I like it when you can be nice to monsters. Unfortunately, my mind blanked a little, and I just chose the second option coming up--attack it from behind.

For the record, if you give the monkey a Labyricanth, it runs away with the fish, and you don't get into a fight. It also unlocks an event on the next floor that results in you getting an item. Welp!

Aha!

SUFFER NOT A MONSTER TO LIVE!

You silently ready your weapons and sneak up to the small monkey. Hoping to get it while it's distracted by the fish, you bring down your weapons!

Forest Monkey
HP: 160
STR: 24
INT: 24
VIT: 22
WIS: 23
AGI: 26
LUC: 25
Skills:

Monkey See, Monkey Do: When another enemy performs an action, the Forest Monkey will perform that same action. Has a 500% speed modifier.

Drops:

Normal: Bent Claw. 65% chance. Sells for 14 en.
- 1 needed to make Amud Staff (+23 ATK, +24 MATK, WIS Up 1, Bronze x3).
- 2 needed to make Scramasax (+32 ATK, +28 MATK, HP Up 1, Bronze x3).
- 1 Steel Rabbit Tooth and 1 Bent Claw needed to make Bunny Sickle (+30 ATK, +30 MATK, TP Up 1, Bronze x3).
- 1 Crimson Carapace and 1 Bent Claw needed to make Red Shell Coffin (+35 ATK, +38 MATK, Freeze Break, Silver x3).

Damage Resistances:

100%

100%
Disable Resistances:

100%

150%

100%

100%

Forest Monkeys on their own are almost pathetic. Forest Monkeys with other enemies, however, can be really drat dangerous, since now every enemy essentially deals double damage to you. This can be a really serious problem when doing up against, say, an Ice Bat and a Forest Monkey, and the Ice Bat uses Cold Wave.

I almost feel bad for the monkey, honestly. The battle only took one turn!

Having defeated the young monkey, you continue exploring.

"The little fisher

You got the first strike on a careless monster and easily dispatched it."

One last Crawler. Just start crossing that corridor once you're behind it.

As you walk through the trees, you suddenly come across a manmade stone wall.

Upon inspection, it appears to be quite old. It is chipped in places, and moss covers ancient writing. If you're curious you can approach it to study it in detail, or you could ignore it and move on.

I...don't see any way forward, besides where that wall might be blocking.

Let's take a look at the writing, then!

You stand before the stone wall and once again take a look at it. It seems to be blocking your path. You are unable make sense of the unfamiliar characters carved into it.

...Hey, don't look at me. I know a lot about herbs and miscellaneous greenery, not about ancient languages!

Hmm... These symbols are unlike any language I've ever studied.

Well, now what? I doubt Mr. Punch there can break the wall down.

If we had a Lunarian in tow that knows the Detect Magic racial passive, we'd get a considerably different bit of dialogue.

quote:

...However, [Character] can tell that these characters are hiding something with magic! Using their ability to detect magic, they see through the illusion and examine the true characters written underneath... The writing discovered through Detect Magic states the following: "These magic walls shall be as a barrier sealing off the Labyrinth. Upon touching the golem, the illusion shall be dispelled and the path opened." Apparently, this is some sort of device to prevent entry. If you wish to pass, you'll have to find these golem it mentioned. You head out to look for it.

You stop your movement along the narrow path when you notice something in the thicket.

...What the hell is this thing?

It's...weirdly cute.

You must make a decision before this adorable statue.

What are we supposed to do with this stupid-- Waah!

Yes, the narration calls it adorable.

You try gently touching the statue... It suddenly propels itself backward and falls over! At the same time, you hear a loud noise behind you, coming from the stone wall. Has the barrier been lifted? Perhaps you should go back to check.

Well, what do you know?

Excellent job, Dosen.

Y-yeah, sure. That was 100% on purpose.

What used to be a wall has lifted up to reveal a staircase! It seems the wall and the statue were both part of a mechanism to hide the way forward. You expect that if you find anything similar in the future then pushing the statue should have the same effect. You should take this to heart and advance to the next floor.

"The labyrinth that surpasses human knowledge

You've shed light on the bizarre mechanism and take a step into a new world."

Sasha's point goes into Healing Guard, a thoroughly useless skill. It reduces physical damage to the caster only and restores their HP. I guess it has some use if you're doing Dragon's Roar tanking, but I still heavily prefer damage mitigation.

Cecil levels up Flicker to level 2.

Raven puts a point into Miasma Weapon, which now only eats 30% of his current HP, and now has a 160% speed modifier.

Flash of Both Wings now has Gram deal 82% damage, and the hawk 207% damage.

Cure Herb now has 115% healing power, compared to level 1's 100%.

Incidentally, note that the "items you need to turn in a quest are marked with an exclamation point" feature returns from EO2U.

So, you want to report in for the request?

We have more acorns than we know what to do with. Please, just get these things out of our pack.

Well, the request this time's classified as a delivery. So, first of all, I need to confirm the goods... Yup, looks like you've got everything you need. Well, with that, you've completed the request. Even beginner explorers new to handling requests like your group should've found this simple, right? Requests are sorted by difficulty and offered to explorers depending on how far they've proceeded through the Labyrinth. The higher up you go, the more difficult the requests you'll be entrusted with. And of course, the rewards you'll get will scale to match. But once you reach the upper levels, most of the requests become truly dangerous. Try not to take on anything you can't handle. Now then, I'm sure you're waiting for your reward. Well done. I hope to see you again.

I always wondered what reason there was for Thericas in the English versions of EO just being referred to as A and B. Turns out it's because the English versions apparently can't do alpha and beta characters!

3F bar patrons.

#1: Therian hunter:

Hunter: Hello, nice to meet you...right? Based on your appearance, I'm guessing you're explorers? I make my living in the Labyrinth too, as a hunter. The name's Jamie. I'm renting a room from the proprieter here to sell the Animal Meats I've collected. If you're adventurers too, maybe you'd like some? Just let me know if you ever feel like buying any.

Talking to Jamie again results in this:

Jamie: Hello, Nameless. I'm selling Animal Meat now. It's 2 for 100 en, interested?

Never hurts to have more sustinence.
Jamie: Well, thank you! Here you go.

("Obtained 2 Animal Meats.")

Jamie: That's all I've got on me for today. I'd better go resupply. Until we meet again.

#2: Dark-skinned male Dragoon:

Dragoon: *scoff* What's with you? You're telling me the third floor is a piece of cake?

Nobody said that.
Dragoon: Well, have you ever seen a Charging Boar eat a Ghost Acorn?! They get even stronger! If you ever seen 'em together, for the love of the gods, kill the Ghost Acorn first!

...Hold on! You said that wasn't true! You lied!

And what reason did you have to believe me saying "no?"

#3: Black-clothed man hiding his face:

Man: Hey, you from that new guild, Nameless? I'm an information broker. Call me Hansuke. I specialize in info about conditional monster drops.
Hansuke: For example, did you know that Ice Bats drops something rare when killed with a stab attack, like a bow? I'll let you have that one for free: go test it out for yourself. Nothing's more important in this business than trust. And the more business I get, the more things I hear, so be sure to stop by now and then. I'll be waiting...

Too bad I have the game data formatted and at my fingertips!

#4: Female shaman lying over a table:

Shaman: So I took one of those requests to gather rare materials, but no matter how times I go back there I just can't find any... It's, like, impossible... So I'm thinking, maybe I could find them if I had someone with a gathering skill? *sigh* I'll bet...

Basically a hint that you can't find rare materials unless you have someone that knows a gathering skill for that gather point type.

#5: Purple-haired lady Fencer:

Fencer: Oh, I believe you were from Nameless, correct? I wonder, have you encountered this curious beast? It was like a bear, but with the head of an owl... And it seemed quite insistent on chasing out anyone who enters its territory. We managed to get past it by paying close attention to the map...but I must admit, my heart skipped a beat while it was chasing us. It was like something out of a horror novel.

Anyway, yes, quests.

#1: Your first gathering:

That request is from a pharmacist in town. Sounds like they're out of ingredients because of all the explorers in town these days. In particular, they'd like you to gather a single Skunk Cabbage. They grow on the 2nd Floor of the Labyrinth. Be careful, though; you won't be able to gather them without someone who knows the Taking skill. You don't need to fight at all for this one, so it should be relatively safe. If only they were all like that...

#2: Angler's understanding:

That request is from a fishmonger in town. Apparently the market's getting less fish these days due to the decline in fishermen. So the requester is hoping all the explorers in town can make up the difference. That being the case, they want you to fish up 1 Labyricanth from the Labyrinth. Be careful though: you'll need to have someone who knows the Fishing skill in your party.

We've done this plenty of times.

#3: Sunlight, moonlight:

That request is from a Lunarian man named Thaddeus. Sounds like he just wants a particular item. This isn't a combat request, but apparently it's something that can't be acquired through ordinary methods. Actually, why not just get the details from the man himself? He should be waiting for you around the bar somewhere.

#4: Rare breed hunter!:

...Oh, that one? Come to think of it, that was from the Council. Have any of you heard of rare breeds?

No, but anything that has "rare" in the name has my attention!

I suppose that's no surprise. As the name implies, they're quite rare. Rare breeds are something of a mutation that sometimes occurs among monsters. Unlike normal specimens, they sparkle, are stronger, and move incredibly fast. The request this time is to kill one of those rare breeds. This is also an effort by the Council to make sure that rookie explorers get the proper experience. It's true that rare breeds are stronger than ordinary ones, but by this point you should be more than capable of dealing with that. The rare breed you're hunting this time was apparently spotted on the 2nd Floor. Specifically...here.

Thaddeus the Lunarian:

Thaddeus: Would you be the guild who so kindly accepted my request?

Yep.
Thaddeus: My sincerest thanks. Regarding the request, I'd like you all to acquire two stones; a Sunstone and a Moonstone. My understanding is that both may be found on the 3rd floor of the Labyrinth, and that they both emit a strange energy; the Sunstone in daylight, and the Moonstone at night. You have my thanks, and I'll be counting on you.

And, before we go, Melina's 3F dialogue.

My, you've already reached the 3rd floor?

Reached it, yes. Explored it, no. Hopefully we'll be done with this stratum in...a few days?

My, such gusto. But the Labyrinth is much more dangerous than it seems you think it is. Don't be bull-headed. That's recklessness, not courage.

And we're immediately back here because I had already finished Angler's understanding.

So this is the fish you caught? Okay, I'll handle the delivery. So, how was it? Did this request awaken your latent appreciation for the joys of fishing?

...Not really?

You can eat the fish you catch, so it's pretty useful for explorers too. Might as well make you of all the fishing spots you run into along the way. ...Oh, right, I have to give you the reward too, don't I? Good work out there.

("Obtained 5 Labyricanth!")

Our reward for catching a fish? Five more fish.

Good lord even standard trips to the shop unlock tons of junk early in EO games.

Ice Bat Fang (+26 ATK, +30 MATK, Cold Wave, Bronze x4) is made from 1 Pierced Fang (Ice Bat conditional) and 1 Cone Fang (Mad Dog). Not the worst purchase in the world if you have a Shaman--Cold Wave lets them attack a little when they don't need to be buffing or using items.

Lactarius Staff (+18 ATK, +27 MATK, TP Up 1, Bronze x3) is made from 1 Massive Mushroom Cap (Myconid).

Uchigatana (+28 ATK, +18 MATK, AGI Up 1, Bronze x3) is made from 2 Massive Mushroom Caps (Myconid).

Leather Hat (+8 DEF, +6 MDEF) is made from 1 Cold Wing Membrane (Ice Bat normal).

Mushroom Ornament (Immunity to petrification) is made from 2 Massive Mushroom Caps (Myconid). Could potentially be useful for the 1st Stratum boss, since that has party-target petrification.

Medica II (Restores 100 HP to one party member) is made from 1 Ripe Lotus Fruit (1st Stratum Take 2).

Therica A (Removes all binds from one party member) is made from 1 Brown Tuber (1st Stratum Take 1).

Therica B (Removes ailments from one party member) is made from 1 Brown Tuber (1st Stratum Take 1).

Petrify Gas (40% base chance to inflict petrification on all enemies) is made from 1 Massive Mushroom Cap (Myconid). This is, honestly, the least convoluted method of inflicting petrification, but a 40% chance is unreliable at best, even with LUC-heavy characters.

Here's Ceric's 3F dialogue:

Remember what I told you about the Great Plains of Crus�? Every few months the merchant families have a big get-together in a huge city called Zepharia. Us Brownie merchants aren't considered adults until we come back with something, like, wow! "I've never seen that before!" Eye-popping newness. Once I get that special something, I'll get to join in the getting together too, so I've got high hopes for you guys!

I don't actually need to use the inn yet, I'm just here for Genetta's dialogue.

Whoa, you're on the 3rd floor already? Then get on over to the southeast plaza. You can get some fresh-baked loaves of bread over there, courtesy of yours truly! It'd be super great if you tried it!

Um, you mean town plaza, right?

I'm confident she's smart enough not to venture into the Labyrinth alone.

After that, on a whim, I decided to upgrade Sasha and Cecil's weapons, since we had spare materials left over.

Gotta check in with Edgar, too.

3rd floor, huh? Seems you're a little better than I gave you credit for. But the 3rd floor has some real monsters on it. I wonder--what'll your reaction be, when those monsters are breathing down your neck? That'll be the moment that really decides your fate.

Oh, that's an easy answer: SMASH THEM RIGHT IN THE FACE.

Cecil, dear, maybe you shouldn't start to rage out when we're in town.

I mentioned that Remus gives rewards for Monstrous Codex and Item Compendium completion, and here's one of them. We have 10 things logged in the Item Compendium now, which he gave us a Bronze Ingot for.

And before we go take care of the chickens because I drat near forgot to do that again, Remus's 3F dialogue:

Say, did you know that, long ago, Yggdrasil was embroiled in the fires of war?

Vaguely? I remember hearing about that when I was little, but I never got any details.

Oh, well. It's just an old legend. Maybe most people don't know it? It's...a touch of a long story, but I'm willing to tell it if you don't mind.

Shoot.

Very well. This is a story passed down through the royal family, speaking of an era so long ago it could be called a myth. Long ago, there was a man, who came to be known as a Mad King, who had aims upon the legendary power of Yggdrasil, and used his mighty armies to invade other countries in the hopes of obtaining it. His hopes were that his military might would be sufficient to secure the power of Yggdrasil. But...his methods were truly abominable. Forests were burnt to the ground. Villages were raided and plundered into oblivion. Troops were stationed so thickly that no other nation or race could even dream to approach.

"Mad King" is right, dear lords.

Naturally, the rest of the world's leaders were incensed, and sought to forcibly evict the troops of the mad king with the force of their own militaries. This led to what is now known as the legendary Great War. A long period of seemingly endless battle ensued, at the end of which the mad king and his troops were routed, and forced to retreat to their homeland. It was after that, I believe, that the Lunarian Puppeteers installed their golems at the foothills of Yggdrasil. It was probably a measure to protect Yggdrasil from anyone else who had aims like the mad king's. And they did protect it...so much so that Yggdrasil became forbidden territory nobody could enter. But now, over the centuries, the Puppeteers died out, and the golems' power has waned. The leaders of the four races held a conference and decided that since the barrier was weakening, now was the time to reopen exploration of Yggdrasil. The one change was that it wouldn't be armies in the labyrinth, but talented private explorers.

Huh. Well, that's as good a reason as any to open up a holy site.

...So...keep up the good work.

It was at this point that, after having shut off my recording 3DS for a bit, that I remembered I still had to find the chickens. Now that Dosen knows Animal Husbandry, we can catch them.

At the end of a path encircled by trees, you find a spot where the grass grows thickly, along with a group of chickens. These must be the Labyrinth Chickens the guard mentioned. You're free to either reach out to grab them or leave them be.

Alright, carefully now...

Dosen sneaks up behind the chickens and swiftly grabs one before they notice!

Heh, gotcha!

You have now caught 1 of the chickens. You will have to search the rest of the floor for the other 2.

I already showed off each of the chicken spots, so let's just report in to the guard.

Now accustomed to walking through the Labyrinth, you come across the same guard taking care of chickens that you met earlier. When he sees you, his dour look changes into one of unbridled joy, and hurriedly jogs over.

Oh! Oh, you brought back my chickens! Oh, thank goodness!

Upon seeing his chickens, he repeatedly emotionally expresses his gratitude. After he takes the 3 chickens, he presents one back to you.

("Obtained Labyrinth Chicken!")

UM.

He tells you that "if it's too much trouble to raise it on your own, you can always just leave it at the inn."

I don't want any of these things anywhere near me!

I...don't think we have much of a choice by this point.

Though baffled by this chicken-for-chicken exchange you've been roped into, you nonetheless take the offered chicken and leave.

Genetta starts talking as soon as we enter the inn.

Whoa! Where'd you get that chicken?!

We found some lost chickens, and the owner...gave us one of the lost chickens as a reward.

It doesn't make any sense to us, either.

As long as you have a chicken, she'll lay eggs every so often! You can use 'em in all sorts of recipes! But you're explorers, huh? You can't exactly take the chicken with you into the Labyrinth, can you? I mean, she can't fight... Probably.

You'd be surprised...

Oh, I know! Why don't you leave her here with me?! I've already got all these cats anyway! Another chicken or two won't make any difference to me!

Ssssssssssure. I don't see any downsides, I guess.

It's a deal! If she lays any eggs while you're in the Labyrinth, I'll hand 'em over next time you spend the night here! And if you're not here, I'll just eat 'em myself! I love omelettes!

...

...C-C'mon, that was a joke! Obviously! I would never... Ha ha ha...

Well, that just happened.

Next time: 3F.

This is actually the only way to get eggs in the entire game. So if you miss this one quest, say, because you can't read Japanese, you'll miss out on everything that uses eggs, which isn't insignificant.

Rea fucked around with this message at 08:14 on Oct 25, 2016

# ¿ Oct 25, 2016 02:54

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Also, two floors means it's time to swap out the party!

I have no strong opinions on who I want for the next party since we're still early enough it doesn't a matter a ton, so vote ~~your conscience~~ for whoever you feel like seeing!

Alexis

Sasha

Cecil

Raven

Kaelin

Lanzon

Gram

Jana

Mio

Dosen

Magda

Vote for a maximum of three characters, once per character. I'm knocking down the max amount of votes for now since our guild is pretty small, and will be until specializations.

# ¿ Oct 25, 2016 03:00

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 17:26

Rea: Apr 5, 2011; Komi-san won.

Current results:

quote:

Alexis: 5
Mio: 5
Kaelin: 4
Jana: 2
Magda: 2
Lanzon: 2
Cecil: 1

...Inconclusive at best.

# ¿ Oct 25, 2016 05:15

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Etrian Odyssey V: It's not a phase, Mom, my real name is Thunderclap Fencer

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