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   Let’s Play Blades of Avernum!  What is this? This is Blades of Avernum, released in 2004 by Spiderweb Software. Spiderweb is an indie RPG company run by one Jeff Vogel, the self-described “cheapest bastard in indie games.” BoA is set in the universe of Exile, a massively successful (by indie standards) RPG trilogy in the 90s. In 1997, Blades of Exile, which allowed players to create their own scenarios, capped off the series. The trilogy was remade as Avernum 1-3 in the early 2000s. Finally, Spiderweb released Blades of Avernum. This game did so poorly that Spiderweb almost went down with it. What’s it about? The Empire controls the entire surface of the world. Depending on the current emperor, it rules with either an iron fist, or a steel fist. A massive series of caverns exists below. The Empire used these as a mass prison for dissenters, magic users, and the free-spirited in general. Eventually the exiles united, fought a series of wars, allied with an alien race even further below them, and threw off the yoke of the Empire. Now there is peace between the Empire and Avernum, and no one has heard from the cave aliens for a while. The corners of the world are not yet pacified, there’s need for adventurers, and we will be creating a band of four heroes(?) to fill that need. Where can I get it? Here. Vogel’s own site directs you to GOG, so that seems to be the way to go. The demo is available here. You may want to start with a more modern game; I recommend two. Avadon 2 is a more linear, character-based experience. Avernum: Escape from the Pit is the modern re-remake of Exile 1, with a lot more polish. Who are you? Why this game, of all things? I am the result of playing Spiderweb games instead of going outside for too many years. One of those games was Blades, and I want to give it some airtime. These games focus on gameplay and writing to the expense of graphics, so you will not be shaken to your core by its beauty. But Blades contains some greatness, some weirdness, some skullduggery, and shows off parts of the world we never get to see otherwise. How will this work? Blades of Avernum has four self-contained scenarios designed by Jeff Vogel, all of which I intend to play through. Once we finish that, there’s a small stable of BoA fan-made scenarios we might dip into as well. To do this I need four characters from the forums. Character creation post to follow. As the game continues, I will get input on big decisions. Stat allocation, equipment, and gameplay will be up to me. Unless y’all saddle me with an absolutely horrendous party, I will be playing on Hard difficulty. The series has a lot of lore, but very little is needed to understand what’s going on in BoA; I’ll explain as it appears. Spoiler Policy? None please! There's a lot of Big Plot Moments and we will get to all of them, I promise. Why wouldn’t I just read Berryjon’s ongoing LP of Blades of Exile? Good question. First of all, do read it. Read the Exile playthroughs also. They show off every detail of a unique old video game series. Blades of Avernum is a remake, meaning the three core scenarios have the same plots and setups as in BoE – but the game’s mechanics will be different, the goon-created characters will be different, the writing will be different (as we are different people), and there’s a fourth Vogel scenario created specifically for BoA that I’ll be playing through here as well. Between Berryjon's Exile series, TooMuchAbstraction's Escape from the Pit LP, the megathread, and my Avernum 5 LP, Spiderweb fans have spent the past decade infiltrating the LP forum. Soon half and more of the threads here will be ours. And then you’ll see, you’ll all see.  Table of Contents 1: Character Creation 2: Tutorial Halls 3: Fort Talrus 4: The Great Outdoors 5: The Sour Streets of Sweetgrove 6: The Dark Corners of Sweetgrove 7: Into the School 8: The Visitor's Quarters 9: Holding Cells 10: Storage 11: Administration 12: The Huge Cavern 13: Waste Repository 14: The Northern Vale 15: Miserable Marralis 16: Breaking the Bandits 17: Clearing the Vale 18: The FUNgal Cavern! 19: Blasting through Blinlock 20: Student Quarters 21: The Lecture Halls 22: The Opening Stone 23: The Library 24: The Experiment Halls 25: Loose Ends 26: The Cavern and theTower 27: The Fire and the Ash BackupDancer fucked around with this message at 12:31 on Oct 9, 2023 |
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Dec 4, 2022 03:41
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Dec 4, 2022 03:42
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The Brief Adventures of the Good Bard Bilson   “Oh boy! I love mornings, and it’s morning right now! Could this day get any better?” We are officially in the game! The bulk of the screen is taken up by the map, with North in the top right corner. Top left is the party; usually there will be four portraits. Blue bar is health. Red bars, when present, are spell energy. “Train” pulls up the skill menu. Green and red arrows change party order. Below that is the location and date. Bottom left is the inventory screen, with the character’s equipment on the portrait and the boxes on the right representing their pack. Bilson has pants, shoes, a leather jacket, a stone dagger, and some loose mushrooms in his backpack. Along the bottom row, the icons are, in order: Look, Mage Spells, Priest Spells, Wait (skips a round), Talk, Get (shows items nearby), Attack (allows attacking non-hostiles; will not be useful for a long time), Use Ability, Journal (in-game notes and recorded conversations), Menu, and Instructions (gameplay manual).  “I guess I should speak to the commander, but I’m so eager to get outside and feel the sun on my face!”Now the bottom left shows the minimap of the area, currently Fort Talrus. We are the red dot.  “Hello Commander! Care for a song?” “All business, I see! Why do you doubt my capabilities?” “Whatever a scrub is, I’m sure you’re just joking! No one has ever been rude to me before!” “Off I go to save the day!” “The world is beautiful, she is! Do mine eyes spy a field to frolic in?”Now we’re outside. Large distances between towns are covered by the outdoor map to give a sense of scale. The tent button on the bottom row is Rest, which uses one food, fast-forwards time, and restores HP and SP. Real ones know you can also pace back and forth to quickly restore your SP for free. If you hit the keys fast enough, the inputs get ahead of the game, and you can sit back and watch your party scrabble around for a while.  “Frolicking’s a little slim around these parts…maybe I can ask those short fellows in loincloths for directions to the nearest field of posies?”Brown group on the road is local militia. Pinkish group is goblins.   “Oh dear!”Now we’re in combat. Everybody gets a set amount of AP. Movement and inventory actions take 1. Attacking uses any you have left up to four. Bilson uses all four looking for his harp. Then the enemies get a turn.   “Now hang on, fellas, or possibly ladies, we can talk this out! Anyone care for a song?” When you're hit for more than whatever health you have left, your HP drops to zero and an unsettling cough noise plays. If you're hit again... “Oh dear…” So end the brief adventures of the Good Bard Bilson. If we wish to avoid his fate, we’ll need a party capable of survival in a harsh, uncaring world. BackupDancer fucked around with this message at 03:03 on Feb 14, 2023 |
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Dec 4, 2022 03:43
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Character Creation Party creation screen. Everyone has a Name, Race, Portrait, a character type, and statistics. Difficulties are Easy, Normal, Hard, and Torment. Hard seems to strike the best balance between needing to pay attention and winning enough to have fun, so that’s what I’ll play. It can be changed in-game at any time.  Prebuilt character classes. These are inefficient, so I’ll be running everyone as a Custom, but feel free to use this list for ideas. Races are Human, Nephil, and Slith. Humans are from the surface. As the Empire, they conquered and colonized the entire planet, then went to the underworld and took most of that over as well. Statistically unremarkable. Nephilim are also from the surface. Usually organized into tribes, they were almost completely exterminated by the Empire. A few survived in unpopulated corners and the rest got teleported to Avernum, where they lost another war to those humans. Now some live peacefully alongside humans, and the rest are in hiding. They get a Dexterity bonus and extra skill with ranged weapons, and a -10% XP penalty. Slithzerikai are native to the underworld. Most of them fought Avernum under the warlord Sss-Thss. After his death the hostile slith tribes have disbanded or gone (further) underground. Some are friendly to humans – but given that the young nation’s second existential war was with the slithzerikai, there is always some tension. They get a bonus to pole weapons and fire resistance, and a -20% XP penalty. Portraits:  Give me a row and a column for portraits. Row 3, column 4 would be the tan gal in green. Statistic descriptions are included below, but I’ll handle the nitty-gritty. All I need is general builds. How do they fight and/or otherwise contribute? I’ll do what I can to make your ideas work.  The Statistics screen. Everything has a cost that increases every two levels. This makes builds generally inflexible as the game continues. Hybrids are possible but weaker than focused characters. The Special Skills list is currently empty; these unlock after you get enough of their prerequisite regular skills. Parry, for example, requires investing in Dex and Defense. We will get many of these eventually. Bottom left shows an (inaccurate) resistance list. Top right gives art and a description. The art is by Phil Foglio. If you have played the Avernum re-remakes, yes, they use the same art as this game ten years their senior. Cheapest bastard in indie games. Bottom right is Traits, which we’ll get to. Below that is some character information that won’t come up much in the screenshots. Ideally, I want someone who makes potions, someone who picks locks, weapon diversity, and at least one Mage and Priest. I want to show off everything in this game! Stats:  Strength is for melee warriors. Other characters will need some for carry weight, but much less.  Dex is for archers and some good special skills. Also affects how soon you move, which can be good or bad. The dodge chance is a trap; you’ll get hit on Hard and Torment no matter what.  Intelligence gives spell energy and mental resistance. It might also increase spell damage, I’m not certain. You cannot trust Jeff’s descriptions of game mechanics, as years of testing on the Spiderweb forums has proven.  Endurance gives health and, well, endurance to magic and poison. Good for everyone, especially warriors.   These increase skill with either of the types of melee damage. Daggers, short- and long-swords do less damage but can be used with shields. Greatswords, spears, pikes, and halberds do more but leave the character vulnerable.   Bows and Thrown Missiles are the two types of ranged damage. Unlike in later games, both require ammunition. Slingshots are the exception, but are very weak. Therefore, these shouldn’t be anyone’s primary attack. Jeff would eventually get rid of ammo requirements for bows, and even later thrown missiles, to general celebration.  Strong, basic resistance skill.  Defense boosts dodge chance. Like with Dexterity, this is basically useless. However, Defense unlocks some good special skills. The encumbrance reduction is nice.  Assassination (rear end) seems to increase damage against lower-level enemies. Can be good for crowd control on warriors.  Mage spells are great for damage and summoning.  Priest spells lean more towards support, but some are very, very good for combat. They also tend to cost more energy.  Arcane Lore allows the party to decipher spellbooks and the like. Also increases passively with Intelligence.  Potions are debatably useful for almost the entire game, and then at the very end there are two which break everything.  Tool Use means unlocking doors, disarming traps, and occasionally rewiring machinery. Many good things are kept behind locked doors.  Nature Lore allows the party to find hidden paths and escape outdoor encounters. Very handy and necessary to complete a few quests.  First Aid works differently from later games. There’s a specific First Aid ability, that you use along with kits, to heal people. Could be good in a pinch, or you could just drink a healing potion.  Finally, Luck, which seems to work differently in every game. It never hurts to be lucky. Positive Traits: Here is where the fun begins  . Traits give abilities, skill boosts, or gameplay bonuses in return for an XP penalty. Some of these are very, very good. Lets you carry a lot more. XP Penalty: -10%.  Tool Use bonus. Great for dedicated thieves. XP Penalty: -15%.  You get to summon an animal once every day. Mages and priests both have summon spells, but warriors don’t. XP Penalty: -15%.  Extra mental resistance. Mental attacks are rare but hair-pullingly annoying. XP Penalty: -15%.  I think this works like extra levels of Arcane Lore? XP Penalty: -15%.  Makes you harder to kill. XP Penalty: -20%.  Now we’re getting somewhere. Frequent bonus AP and initiative. XP Penalty: -20%.  The spell bonus is nice. The encumbrance penalty reduction is amazing; mages with this can wear real armor. Also gives the ability to restore spell energy once per day. Essential for mages and good for priests. XP Penalty: -25%.  The extent of the combat bonuses is unclear, but they are strong. Also gives a handy Battle Frenzy ability. XP Penalty: -30%.  Gives a lot of bonuses. Free core skills. Extra carry weight. Three abilities: Call Spirit, which summons a shade; Regenerate, which heals you; Divine Aid, which gives AP, hit chance, damage, and maybe some other stuff. It might even do more. XP Penalty: -40%. Bad Traits Included for educational purposes only. These cause problems in exchange for XP bonuses and are mostly not worth taking.  Unclear. Looks bad. XP Bonus: +20%.  Increased susceptibility to disease, illness, poison, etc. Opposite of Toughness. XP Bonus: +20%.  Act later in combat and lose 1 AP, forever. Opposite of Fast on Feet, but worse. I will not take this. XP Bonus: +30%.  Take more melee damage. Could work on casters? XP Bonus: +30%.  Unclear, because no one has ever picked this. Appears to make a character useless and dead. XP Bonus: +40%. Overview That was a lot of detail. This is where the Goons come in. For your characters, I would like a Name, Race, Build and Backstory. Who are they? Where are they from? What do they care about? And most importantly, why did they become an adventurer? From this rude clay will I mold a BackupDancer fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Dec 6, 2022 |
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Dec 4, 2022 03:45
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I suggest the character Jeffogel Vogel, a Human, Row 4 Column 2, a mage with a bit of a sideline in priest spells. Backstory: got thrown into avernum by dabbling in magics he should not have... 
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Dec 4, 2022 03:57
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Did you deliberately time this to overlap with the BoE LP thread? If not, hell of a coincidence.
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Dec 4, 2022 04:05
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Watched! I will decline to suggest a character at this time as I am far more familiar with Exile's peculiarities than Avernum's.
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Dec 4, 2022 04:12
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JustJeff88 posted:Did you deliberately time this to overlap with the BoE LP thread? If not, hell of a coincidence. If you can believe it, I wrote out the entire intro post before I thought to check if Berryjon had picked Exile back up. berryjon posted:Watched! Hell yeah. BoA doesn't have dual-wielding, so that precludes a certain character's appearance. Quackles posted:I suggest the character Jeffogel Vogel, a Human, Row 4 Column 2, a mage with a bit of a sideline in priest spells. We're going to ruin this poor man's SEO.
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Dec 4, 2022 04:17
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BackupDancer posted:If you can believe it, I wrote out the entire intro post before I thought to check if Berryjon had picked Exile back up. I can believe that. I remember your A5 LP, and I was wondering why you didn't send it to the archives? I know that berryjon is a tough act to follow, but it should be preserved of course. berryjon posted:I will decline to suggest a character at this time as I am far more familiar with Exile's peculiarities than Avernum's. I, on the other hand, will decline to suggest a character because my ideas are always rubbish.
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Dec 4, 2022 04:35
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I forget why exactly, but Baldurk said it wasn't formatted right. I intend to figure that out, someday. And I can't promise to take every character, but 
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Dec 4, 2022 04:42
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BackupDancer posted:I forget why exactly, but Baldurk said it wasn't formatted right. I intend to figure that out, someday. And I can't promise to take every character, but Solomon Wednesday, slightly younger brother of Solomon Grundy. Top row, middle portrait of the mostly naked bloke. Big burly warrior with a bit of priest; favours big two-handed weapons. Unlike his slighly elder brother, loves hero-ing and such. Extremely well-meaning but as stupid as laundering a pair of socks while one is wearing them.
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Dec 4, 2022 05:31
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Well hello there! I was going to pull out a character I had lots of fun with in A3 for the Blades of Exile LP, but she'll work better here with the Avernum mechanics.  Gwen Ashfur, Nephil mage/archer. Row 5, column 2 for the slim nephil girl. Gwen is built for wits and speed. Hasting allies, slowing enemies, ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK! STR = no, DEX = yes, INT = very yes, END = meh. Some skill in archery, but Mage spells should be primary. She can pick up some tool use and nature lore, but doesn't need to be a dedicated thief if someone else wants to focus there. Must have Fast on Feet, can have Natural Mage and/or Nimble Fingers. Gwen is smallish nephil with quick wits and quicker reflexes, venturing out to see more of the world. And no, "Ashfur" does not refer to unfortunate spell backfires, thankyouverymuch (it was one time)! She tends to get more animated when excited - might have some level of ADHD.
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Dec 4, 2022 05:37
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Rosalind, a Slith rogue type, row 6, column 3. (It's not her original name, but she's on the outs with her people and humans can't pronounce slithzerikai names right anyway. Why "Rosalind" and not something simpler? Because someone made a face at it when she was picking out a human name, and it amused her.) Curious and interested in poking her nose into whatever, but also a bit aloof - mostly out of awkwardness and not knowing how to relate to these weirdo humans. Has no special opinion on the nephilim, and may in fact just see them as excessively hairy, pointy humans. Doesn't get along well with other slith, may have violated some cultural taboo or has just been an outsider too long at this point. Don't really have much of an idea on specific build. Whatever you think is appropriate for the rogue stuff, since from what I do recall from playing a couple Spiderweb games in the past, focused specialists are desirable when it comes to skill choices. Probably an archer unless you need another front-liner.
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Dec 4, 2022 06:20
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I'll be following along with this, going to put up a character as well. Pax, a Nephil using the row 5, column 3 portrait. Build: A sword and shield fighter by and large, with appropriate stats for such, and also focusing on potion making heavily. Some Nature Lore on the side, perhaps. And packing Toughness as his trait. Behind a calm and always slightly amused demeanor, the simply named Pax is a wild adventurer at heart. If he gets up close and starts fighting, you bet he'll spout off cheesy one-liners without a hint of shame. He's drank a lot of potions in his life, and decided it'd be more efficient to just make them himself. He might be a bit obsessed with it now. Being in a party of friendly adventuring peers seemed like a good life goal to have, so he set off to find one.
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Dec 4, 2022 07:34
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Wait, did Phil Foglio do the art for this game?
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Dec 4, 2022 09:38
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Commander Keene posted:Wait, did Phil Foglio do the art for this game? Yep, those are Foglio illustrations.
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Dec 4, 2022 09:48
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I don't have time for full character profiles but I'd like to see: -a Nephil played as close to an actual cat as possible. Lazy, impulsive, curious, easily distracted, swinging wildly between extremely cunning and dumb as a brick. Rogue probably makes most sense. -the suggested Jeffogel Vogel sounds fun. -this gang of idiots are going to need a cleric to act as exasperated mother/nurse/voice of reason, who will probably spend all her time wanting very much to smack everyone. -and I guess the fourth slot needs to be an actual fighter or everyone's going to die horribly.
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Dec 4, 2022 09:50
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Arthyl, a Slith bruiser. Likes good food and a warm spot in the sun. Became an adventurer because fighting is most of what he’s good at, and he wanted to see the world (and try new foods). Focused on melee damage, with some hardiness and maybe a bit of nature lore or something. Maybe elite warrior for a trait? Edit: Forgot portrait. Row 6, column 5, the very last one. NiftyBottle fucked around with this message at 01:38 on Dec 5, 2022 |
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Dec 4, 2022 11:46
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I would like to put forward the concept of Sammy the hang-dog brick poo poo-house of a Nephilim whose Total ineptitude is only outstripped by their can-do attitude and immense balls. Stupid is not so much an adjective for Sammy as a willfully chosen course so as to not have to deal with life. A pity that enforced, bloody-minded ignorance does not put food on the table, so adventuring we go!
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Dec 4, 2022 15:46
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Don’t have any character opinions, but looking forward to this; your Avernum 5 run was a great read. The BoA scenarios are all interesting. Will be a nice comparison to berryjon’s LP to see how things are different from the Exile era, plus the extra scenario for Avernum.
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Dec 4, 2022 18:45
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Going to close character submissions on Monday at midnight.
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Dec 4, 2022 19:52
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MagusofStars posted:The BoA scenarios are all interesting. Will be a nice comparison to berryjon’s LP to see how things are different from the Exile era, plus the extra scenario for Avernum. I'm looking forward to the differences! How Jeff handles A Small/Mild Rebellion after a few years difference should be very interesting. BackupDancer posted:Hell yeah. BoA doesn't have dual-wielding, so that precludes a certain character's appearance. Honestly, I felt that submitting Art would be far to egotistical, even for me. So instead, have this guy; Ailson the Alchemist, brother to Bilson the Bard. No, he's not a she, he's not Allison. Got into Potions Making to try and drown out his brother's taste in music, and is now trying to find out where Bilson went so he can at least know what sort of trouble he's in. Human Male picture, with the red shirt and grey pants. Points in Potion Making (obviously), Thrown Weapons of choice (eventual Razordisks, I hope), and has a Strong Will to see things through to the end.
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Dec 4, 2022 20:55
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Commander Keene posted:Wait, did Phil Foglio do the art for this game? Lets have Row 4 Column 5, some kind of barbarian girl named Zeetha in honor of the Foglios
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Dec 4, 2022 21:41
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Nihilarian posted:some of that art looks like it could have been directly lifted from Girl Genius lol
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Dec 5, 2022 07:48
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Zeke, human, row 3 column 3. White mage archetype, so intelligence and whatever spells help him keep his teammates alive, with maybe a secondary focus on strength (got that old-man strength). I'm not familiar with how these games play, so I have no specific stat/skill suggestions. Cheerful and avuncular, he sees himself as the shepherd of the group. Has an earnest desire to protect his teammates and wants to see the best in them. He's on the back half of middle aged, but he just needs to shake off some rust and he'll be as good as new. Being a friendly older man, he's a natural choice for when you want someone in the party to make a dumb joke.
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Dec 5, 2022 09:32
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Commander Keene posted:Y'know what? Seconding this. Thirding.
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Dec 5, 2022 13:52
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Sir Plusse the Slith Spearman. Cast out for being unbearably stupid, but has managed to survive thus far due to being extremely physically capable. Surprisingly good at Tool Use for a bumbling simpleton. Portrait: Extreme bottom-left (dark scales, wearing only a loincloth). Traits: Some combination of Strong Back, Toughness, and Elite Warrior, preferably one that doesn't completely neuter his progression. Fun fact: My first draft had him with Nature Lore, but I expect him to be so stupid that the mage's base value puts it higher than you'd get from the few points Sir Plusse wouldn't spend on becoming the ultimate murderblender so I switched to something that isn't completely superfluous.
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Dec 5, 2022 14:01
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That classic Foglio art is such a big part of the feel of these games. The Beastmaster lady 
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Dec 5, 2022 23:12
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"Flare" the Human Row 3 Column 1 Build: Mage (maybe priest spells), pure caster Natural Mage, Brittle Bones Backstory: Born in the Empire in some no-name farming village, Flare left home to become an adventurer seeking fame and glory. She's not really about all the mess actual adventuring requires, but she loves hearing people praise her afterwards. Prefers to be showy and make a scene over being cautious or careful, but can't take a hit. In a fight, she'll be running for the back yelling for people to cover her while she throws out fireballs.
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Dec 6, 2022 02:44
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Gwen, Jeffogel, Zeke, and Zeetha are in. Just started reading Girl Genius last night, so I don't know what Zeetha is like there, but "barbarian princess" is a good start. GG is good, drat you all for making me start it  First update to follow.
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Dec 6, 2022 18:57
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BackupDancer posted:Gwen, Jeffogel, Zeke, and Zeetha are in. Just started reading Girl Genius last night, so I don't know what Zeetha is like there, but "barbarian princess" is a good start. GG is good, drat you all for making me start it
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Dec 6, 2022 19:30
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BackupDancer posted:Just started reading Girl Genius last night You poor, poor bastard. See you in a year or so.
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Dec 6, 2022 20:48
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    …giddyap, jingle horse, jingle hmm hmm, hmm hmm hmm hm hm hmmmm…hmm hmm hmm hm hm hmm do do doo dooo… bum bum bumm jingle bell rAAAAAH! AAAAAIIIIE! … Who are you and where am I? I should ask you the same. What is this place? … …I’m Gwen. Jeffogel. And where are your pants? I just left the bath. I see. Since neither of us knows what is going on, we should work together to- -and the man said, ‘peg leg! Peg le-'woah! Who are you people? I am Jeffogel, and no, I have no idea why you’re here. Or why we are. Huh. But where are your pants? I was just in the bath, it’s not important. But maybe we could- -so I grabbed it and twisted unti-AAAUAGH! What! It’s alright, it’s alright, we mean you no harm! Put me down! Where am I? Who- We are Jeffogel, Zeke, and Gwen Ashfur. No, we don’t know where we are. No, we don’t know why you’re here. And yes, he’s not wearing pants. He just left the bath. …okay. I’ve gotta get back, I was in the middle of a great story. Then perhaps we could work together to… … Seems no one else is coming. Good. As I was saying, we can work together. I am competent with protective magic, and I take it by your sword that you can fight? I can. And these two look like mages. What’s that supposed to mean? No matter. Let’s get moving. I will lead. Psst! Jeffogel! Hmm? Take this. Oh, right. Thanks. Tutorial area. Secret passage leads to a teleporter out if you don’t want to be here.  We still have no idea what this place is. Strangely decorated, that’s what. My eyes hurt. Whatever. I tire of this. Mother of War, that hurt! Try putting on this cloak? Alright, Ashfur, but if the wall is still there I’m using you to break it down. Well, whaddya know. It had ‘cloak of passage’ stitched into the collar, that’s what. This is truly bizarre. Where in the world is this? Those woods look dense… No way through here either. We’ll have to go into that cave. I hate caves. Chin up! It’s damp! Ewwww. At least there’s evidence of habitation. Yes, and these torches prove that someone’s been here! That’s strange. Where do we go? Easy. Straight ahead. Hmm. My threat from before still stands. Ashfur, you’re good to have around.  Ooh, a box! Full of amber! What is amber? Crystallized tree sap, formed over a period of- It’s worth money, that’s what it is. 3 Amber at 80 coins a pop. Good stuff. -yes, that too. This wheel is unfit for the strength training of babies. You train babies? Never know when a snake will get into the cradle. Fascinating. Shall we continue? Goblin! Dumbass! Woah, you can talk? Goblin, I could snap your neck like a twig. Save it, lady. Everyone be civil. Goblin, how did you get here? Wait, who hired you? Where is this place? When- Let’s worry about that later. Suppose you opened the gate?  That was thoroughly unhelpful.It’s dark, so we use a torch. Darkness in BoA only limits what you can see; enemies can still attack from out of sight.  This cave can’t go on forever. Rat!! Oh, get behind me. That 90% is her hit chance. Wow, I’ve never seen bones turn into powder like that. And that is why we train our babies. Let us move away from the summoning circle in the mysterious cave. And who knows where that portal will take us. Before we step through… Yes? Well, we seem to make a good team. Perhaps we could work together to find employment? I like the idea, but let’s get out of this cave first. The main screen. Parties between scenarios are displayed here. Now we are at an oaken table with good beer at hand, I might as well be home! Let us talk. What’s there to talk about? Logically, we should all work together. After all, we want power. And glory! And loot! Ooh yes, and loot. And tales of adventure. Right, right. All that too. So why not work together? All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Then it is decided. Though I'm curious who all of you are. I’ll start. I’m quite a bit older than any of you. Once my kids grew up and left home, well, I got restless. I wanted to see the world. So I took my best robe and the slight ability with prayer I’ve developed, and stepped out onto the road. I was looking for companions when I saw a bright light and met all of you.  Lots of intelligence and priest spells, with a bit of strength as requested. Gave him Natural Mage, which is also good for priests. Party healer and potionmaker. I am Zeetha, barbarian princess. I am a fighter, and I love to fight. To see carnage before me. To hear the screams of my enemies and the lamentations of their spouses. To feel their vital fluids wash over my bare feet. To taste their- We understand! Please continue! - yes, alright. I was telling an extremely entertaining story in a bar much like this one, when I saw the bright light and found myself with you. Lots of strength and melee skill, especially with the Elite Warrior trait. She’s the party tank/threshing machine. I am Gwen Ashfur. It’s, uh, a family name. Which I have had all my life. Anyway. I’ve always been good with my hands, and with magic, and I wanted to see the world, and adventuring seemed like the way to do it, and I decided that one morning, and within ten minutes I was in that weird bedroom with you guys. Fast on Feet, Natural Mage. She’s the party archer/backup mage/lockpick. I am Jeffogel Vogel. Mage. I have always been…gifted. I was thrown into Avernum as a child after trying to see how large of a fireball I could summon. Our town was made of wood. Was. I became a janitor’s boy at the Tower of Magi, an apprentice, and finally a full-fledged mage. I have many theories about magic, theories that have estranged me from my peers at the tower. They encouraged me to seek employment elsewhere. I realized, who has more access to forbidden magic and hands-on experience than adventurers? No one. So I was taking one final bath in my quarters, when I saw first that bright light, then all of you. Any questions? Raw magical power. Gave him Natural Mage and Good Education, as it seemed to fit. He’s the main mage and backup priest, and will handle the arcane and nature lore. … Can I call you JV?Next time: a sleepy vale with a terrible problem.
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Dec 7, 2022 02:05
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puts on his old-man hat Tutorials? Why, in my day, we didn't need Tutorials! We read the manual and we liked it! takes off his old-man hat I eagerly look forward to how this all plays out.
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Dec 7, 2022 02:14
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All this talk about no pants and Ashfur is standing there in a tiny loincloth
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Dec 7, 2022 03:47
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Slaan posted:All this talk about no pants and Ashfur is standing there in a tiny loincloth That's true. Pants are a huge deal in the Exile series. I mean, where else would you get this? 
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Dec 7, 2022 04:43
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Slaan posted:All this talk about no pants and Ashfur is standing there in a tiny loincloth She has fur, her pants are built in for convenience. Everyone else is jealous. Also this incarnation of Zeetha is so far very true to her namesake.
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Dec 7, 2022 09:41
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I'm glad that you went with a caster-heavy party as those are, by and large, more fun. I hope that it doesn't make the game too hard as you are playing on an advanced difficulty level. I still really resent Jeff cutting the party size from 6 to 4. Going down to 5 would have been a cut, but 4 is an amputation and I think that it reduces the strategy, versatility and fun of party-building.
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Dec 7, 2022 15:48
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berryjon posted:
Manual? In my day, we bumbled around poking buttons to see what they did, and just attacked anything that moved! ...and then went back and read the manual/Read Me file once my reading level surpassed 3rd grade 
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Dec 7, 2022 21:51
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berryjon posted:Tutorials? Why, in my day, we didn't need Tutorials! We read the manual and we liked it! I tried to play Exile 1 for the first time a while back and boy, that's not an easy game to pick up. There were many, many horrible deaths to bandits. 
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Dec 8, 2022 00:15
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