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Look at me go!
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May 20, 2018 19:48
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So how does one tell exactly when a comment page is filled? Do you just have to count the comments manually?
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May 20, 2018 19:52
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DGM_2 posted:So how does one tell exactly when a comment page is filled? Do you just have to count the comments manually? By default, there are forty replies per page. So you can look at the number of posts from the forum page, and determine how close you are or are not to a new page by simple division.
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May 20, 2018 19:59
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Episode XXII: Prequel Cliffnotes.jpg) So we didn’t so much leave Roger Bacon alone as he vanished from existence as soon as the scene concluded. That’s OK. We’re done in here either way. We’ll just keep in mind that Roger is skulking about somewhere in that library if we ever need him again. .jpg) .jpg) We still need to sort out that boss gated door upstairs. That seems important. So our next order of business is actually finding that boss and slaying it. There’s only one available direction left in the mansion main hall. So... .jpg) .jpg) Seriously. It’s not just me, right? That carpet is ugly as hell. Anyhow, the boss is chilling out on the other side of that door. But we’ve got business here first. See that big cumbersome looking machine? We have some business with that. .jpg) So remember that gramophone disc we found discarded in some backroom in the library? Probably not! I barely remember it myself. But we have been lugging around such an item for several hours and now it finally has a use. So let’s just slam that massive sucker in here and... .jpg) Filling the room with a “melody” is a very generous description. What plays can only be described as a 10 second loop of off-key ear abuse. I left the game idle for 30 seconds to record a clip and regret the dedication. Click below at your own peril...  New Music: Gramophone .jpg) More importantly, activating this nightmare melody opens a hidden drawer beneath the gramophone containing the last lengthy file in the game. Grab yourself a lore sandwich because we’ve got quite the text file to pore through ahead...  September 10th, 1895 Rain. With the monastery renovation completed, I have finally moved in with Ogden and Bessy. It's been a long road since I first procured the Émigré File. Even after referencing literature of all ages, the rendering of the text still remains a difficult task. Though it has been four years since I first laid eyes on it, never once has its enigma left the recesses of my mind. Contained in it are countless descriptions of the source of the energy that is the secret to life's existence -- the Druids' cryptic experiment taken from the ancient Celts and recorded by Alexander the Great hundreds of years before Christ. Branded a forbidden enterprise, it was kept hidden by the Vatican's cardinals in the depths of the Pope's quarters for a very long time. And now, I have it in my hands. I have reached Wales, the land referred to in the text. I will fulfill my wife Elaine's resurrection at this monastery, built by Saint Daniel Scotus. Of course, I am aware that my act could prove insolent in the eyes of the Lord. And however people may censure my actions, the love I have for my wife will never cease. I ask for you Lord, to turn your eyes away for a short while.  November 16th, 1895 Rain. The more I learn about this monastery, the more eerie the structure appears to me. Ogden mentioned that the hospice had been full of corpses at one time a few hundred years ago, and I have become aware of an oppressing sense of mortal sin as I walk through the underground passageways. I can feel haunting spirits everywhere. But according to the Émigré File, the power of such resentful spirits are considered the driving force behind reviving the Druid's cryptic experiment. I plan to fill this place with the all-consuming ire of these spirits. Even though I may burn in hell for these sins, If Elaine can be brought back to life, I shall have no regrets.  December 5th, 1895 Rain. I found out that the cauldron hidden in the basement held the key to the secret. Even though the book had mentioned it, the well-positioned trick door kept us from locating its whereabouts. The cauldron looks as if it is made of gold, but upon closer examination, the surface is so old that one cannot determine how long it has been in existence. I would guess that it is a prehistoric artifact made a few thousand, or maybe even tens of thousands of years ago and left to sit. We must quickly set up an altar and begin preparation for our ceremony.  December 16th, 1895 Rain. I ordered Ogden to acquire some livestock. 320 chickens and 43 pigs were purchased through a supplier in town. I arranged for ground transportation but the fog did not help expedite the undertaking. I expect to be busy as soon as the delivery arrives. Animal offerings are an integral part of the Druid's experiment. The cauldron must be filled with the freshest blood and flesh. This is where it begins.  February 24th, 1896 Rain. The third experiment. Still no response. Even though I follow directions and offer the proper prayers, there are no signs of the spirits gaining any strength. I must return to the book and reread some parts since I cannot proceed if there has been some misunderstanding of the text. Is there a problem with the way I conducted the experiment or are the offerings insufficient? Regardless, I need to think this over. Even though I may arrive at a terrifying realization, it is too late to fear anything now. I have come too far to be impeded by fear. I am sure Ogden will understand.  March 19th, 1896 Rain. Return from London. The specially-ordered carriage seems to be working very well. I have trapped three women in the baskets in the back. I lured some victims out of an alley in the east end, had them sniff some chemicals and pulled them into the carriage. But, since I was not used to my new role as an abductor, it took me more time than I had planned. I could not have done this without Ogden's help. I'm deeply grateful to him.  March 25th, 1896 Rain. I am still at a loss. I can't make up my mind. Even if I can bring Elaine back to life, are my actions forgivable? I balk when presented with this dilemma. Bessy has been taking care of the women I've kidnapped; it's better than them freezing in some corner of London. I hope this small gesture of kindness will be considered as a priori act of repentance. I wonder if my small kindness will have any significance when held up to the horrendous act I am about to commit.  March 31st, 1896 Rain. I must make my mind up. I must.  April 3rd, 1896 Storm. Dear Lord, I have without a doubt committed a crime no human should have committed. I conducted the Druid experiment using the flesh and blood of the victims. I sensed the incredible energy of the spirits culminate into one when I poured the women's remains into the cauldron. As I had thought before, it is human flesh that needs to be offered up to fully release the effects of the procedures. What a frightening, arcane process this is. The sounds of fury in the women's death screams have not left my ears. But I must go on. There is no turning back now.  April 12th, 1896 Rain. Once again, I perform the procedures. I once again round up four victims from London. Even though they are all old with barely a thing to live for, when I contemplate taking their lives, it leaves me sick to my stomach. It may be due to my doubts that the spirits did not rise to such a powerful strength as before. I may have to use a younger, more vibrant source of energy. The book says to fill the cauldron with energy of haunted spirits. I wonder how many victims the cauldron must swallow to be satisfied.  June 15th, 1896 Rain. I do not have enough victims. The saintly presence of Daniel Scotus inhibits us from claiming authoritative power. I have concluded that it will be necessary for us to offer many more lives before we are finished here. I have since found 35 more victims for seven separate experiments, but the spirits have not responded with much strength. For me to accomplish the resurrection, I am in dire need of the culminated strength of the spirits. I must come up with a way. I must come up with a more efficient way to produce my victims.  July 15th, 1896 Rain. I finally received the first shipment of my victims. Ogden was right when he suggested that we should offer the lord of the slave trade an enormous amount of money for this matter. He has no compassion for human life. The victims are not given much information and arrive at the monastery expecting a routine night's work. It is not necessary for us to go hunting for prey in town. With a few sugar-coated lies, there are plenty of people that climb right into the carriage. There is no one that will dare speak of what is to become of them.  September 9th, 1896 Rain. Poured the remains into the cauldron. The energy levels in the cauldron have clearly increased which makes me happy since it proves that I am heading in the right direction. It seems that lately I have become more efficient at performing the tasks required for the procedures. However, Ogden and I cannot expect to become much more productive as it is impossible for us to hire help since we must keep this matter purely clandestine. I have decided to place an order for a laboratory table from an equipment manufacturer in Manchester. It will take about a month to make but once we receive this, we will be able to manage many more experiments.  October 3rd, 1896 Rain. Butchered three bodies since morning. After lunch, we made repairs to the bell tower of the main church. After dinner with Bessy and Ogden, I butchered three more bodies. The lab table has proven its worth. The spirits have certainly increased in strength. At this rate, I may finish preparing for Elaine's resurrection before All Saint Day.  October 14th, 1896 Rain. Six bodies butchered in the morning. Five in the afternoon. One after dinner.  November 1st, 1896 Rain. How I have been awaiting this day. The day to conduct Elaine's resurrection ceremony has finally arrived. The cauldron is brimming with the remains of my victims. This monastery is now consumed by the energies of the preternatural spirits. Even a saint could not hold his ground against the powerful energy of these hexed spirits. I took Elaine's body, which had been preserved in chemicals for this very day, and placed it on the altar. I then began reciting the ceremonial chant. Elaine, you are still as beautiful as ever. I love you so much. Please forgive me for calling you back from the land of the dead.  November 7th, 1896 Rain. What is going on? I have lost all hope. All my efforts and dreams have been only an illusion. The tree of life that grew upwards out of the corpse, as if wrapping Elaine's body, was certainly the manifestation of the Druid's cryptic experiments that I had been seeking. If God is capable of creating beings out of nothingness, then this indeed is a man-made example of His work. But to my horror, the image of my resurrected wife displayed in a flower petal looked just as she did before, yet it lacked a human soul. Indeed, it was a monster. Dear God, is this the punishment you have chosen for me? What have I accomplished by victimizing nearly two hundred innocent people? My only hope in life lay in believing that resurrection was possible and dreaming of the day when my wife Elaine would join me here in life on earth once again. Now I have nothing but a cauldron full of blood and hexed spirits, and a soulless monster. Is this the end that has been awaiting me? Dear Lord, have you no mercy? I only have one path left to follow. I have lost too much. I cannot even find words to apologize to Ogden who has lent me his strength along the way. Now I only long to sleep in peace with my wife. .jpg) Boy... James, your pal Patrick was kind of a monster, huh? No comment on the 200+ murders he committed to resurrect the blonde waif he just couldn’t live without? When will people with dead loved ones stop turning to alchemy? You’d think after the first dozen times it went horribly wrong and the people came back wrong, word would get out that it’s a terrible idea that should not be attempted under any circumstances. Yet... .jpg) Thanks for all the hexed preternatural spirits the place is lousy with these days, Patrick. What a swell guy. Tune in next time as we take on something that is certainly not right, obtain a serial killer’s keepsake and maybe hear someone else’s side of the story with this whole alchemy business as Koudelka continues!    Patrick Hayworth Model – Spoilers: Patrick himself never actually appears in-game during Koudelka, but a couple models for him still exist. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 16:18 on May 21, 2018 |
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May 20, 2018 20:02
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Butchering bodies seems like such a chore.
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May 20, 2018 20:37
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poo poo. That was like reading the keeper's diary from RE1 only ten times worse. Although as much as I snickered that it serves him right being turned into a zombie when he talked about how he skipped out on feeding the dogs, Patrick makes him look like a saint by comparison. Even though Patrick remained sane the whole time and did this stuff for little over a year. Makes it worse the more you think about it, though no amount of remorse will exonerate him. I'm also thinking the people in Covenant got really lucky when they used it. And as bad as it turned out in For the New World, being the cause of the game's plot in that one and all, at least that one kinda worked in the end. Maybe it would have been completely successful if the plot anonymous duder there had been more patient and used it on his test subjects one at a time. The Dark Id posted:The cauldron must be filled with the freshest blood and fresh. Was this a translation error?
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May 20, 2018 20:44
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I admit, I wonder how Patrick managed to find a slave trader as the practice would've been outlawed over over 80 years, and the indentured servitude that's virtually the same as slavery would raise other issues. but can't let details get in the way of a good story.
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May 20, 2018 20:57
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Robindaybird posted:I admit, I wonder how Patrick managed to find a slave trader as the practice would've been outlawed over over 80 years, and the indentured servitude that's virtually the same as slavery would raise other issues. but can't let details get in the way of a good story. Just because something's illegal doesn't mean people stop doing it. Hell, there's estimated to be more slaves today than there was during the height of the slave trade. The Dark Id posted:The cauldron must be filled with the freshest blood and fresh. Sure you didn't mean "flesh"?
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May 20, 2018 21:25
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Robindaybird posted:I admit, I wonder how Patrick managed to find a slave trader as the practice would've been outlawed over over 80 years, and the indentured servitude that's virtually the same as slavery would raise other issues. but can't let details get in the way of a good story. I'm guessing the sex slave trade, via brothels. Lots of poor young women in London, a mix of natives and immigrants who wouldn't be missed. London's population almost doubled between 1850 and 1890, and it had over 4 million people. It hit 7 million in the 1910's. Very easy for a few hundred to go missing.
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May 20, 2018 21:30
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Robindaybird posted:I admit, I wonder how Patrick managed to find a slave trader as the practice would've been outlawed over over 80 years, and the indentured servitude that's virtually the same as slavery would raise other issues. but can't let details get in the way of a good story. Considering the way he talked and how he seemed to prey exclusively upon women, it seemed like he was going after victims of sexual slavery and prostitutes. He even seemed to be trying to assuage his own guilt by saying it was better than what awaited them.
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May 20, 2018 21:39
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Koudelka is genuinely hosed up in a proper horror story way.
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May 20, 2018 21:57
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Ogden and Bess were oddly cool with murdering people for all this.
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May 20, 2018 22:13
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Ogden told you why; he was able to tell himself all these people were 'lowlifes' who had it coming for Elaine's death, and also he was crazy as it was.
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May 20, 2018 22:14
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berryjon posted:By default, there are forty replies per page. So you can look at the number of posts from the forum page, and determine how close you are or are not to a new page by simple division. That makes sense, thanks. Incidentally, have you decided to let your Blades of Exile LP lapse permanently?
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May 20, 2018 22:17
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Kacie posted:I'm guessing the sex slave trade, via brothels. Lots of poor young women in London, a mix of natives and immigrants who wouldn't be missed. London's population almost doubled between 1850 and 1890, and it had over 4 million people. It hit 7 million in the 1910's. Very easy for a few hundred to go missing. Okay, that makes sense I somehow completely glossed over the sex trade.
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May 20, 2018 22:20
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 D...drakengard?
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May 21, 2018 04:18
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I was about to say "jack the ripper" but he apparently ended in 1891.
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May 21, 2018 04:51
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iospace posted:I was about to say "jack the ripper" but he apparently ended in 1891. And the ripper left bodies behind Patrick did not
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May 21, 2018 07:46
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So do you think he only wrote his journal entries on rainy days, or is the game just making a commentary on Welsh weather?Arkanumzilong posted:And the ripper left bodies behind Well, he sort of did, if they're all still mushed up in that apparently very large cauldron. Episode XXI The Dark Id posted:finally find a use for a key item you’ve probably all forget we picked up Episode XXII The Dark Id posted:quite the text file to pour through ahead... Someone pointed out the pour/pore thing in another episode, so figured I might as well bring it for consideration. Other people have mentioned the fresh/flesh thing. 2 and 3 here are also book text, and I don't know what's in-game typo and what's not.
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May 21, 2018 07:57
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With all the blood rituals and sacrificial souls that the Emigre Document seems to need for everything, I gotta wonder how many people Roger Bacon murdered for his immortality.
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May 21, 2018 09:08
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Shitenshi posted:poo poo. That was like reading the keeper's diary from RE1 only ten times worse. The area in-game even looks like the entrance hall to the Spencer Mansion, though that might just be because evil mansions generally look pretty similar
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May 21, 2018 09:27
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Schwartzcough posted:With all the blood rituals and sacrificial souls that the Emigre Document seems to need for everything, I gotta wonder how many people Roger Bacon murdered for his immortality.
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May 21, 2018 09:59
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Since the Fomor are already involved, I think I know whose cauldron that is...
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May 21, 2018 10:51
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Kavak posted:Since the Fomor are already involved, I think I know whose cauldron that is... Nah, man. This is Wales.
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May 21, 2018 10:55
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NGDBSS posted:He probably just figured out the simple variant that only needs three small sticks and 4 cc of mouse blood. You forgot the dribbly candles!  .
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May 21, 2018 11:49
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NGDBSS posted:He probably just figured out the simple variant that only needs three small sticks and 4 cc of mouse blood. Given the specifics, that seems like the rite he'd least like to pull off.
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May 21, 2018 11:56
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Neddy Seagoon posted:You forgot the dribbly candles!
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May 21, 2018 12:08
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I vaguely recall that that actually comes up in the Shadow Hearts series. Or does it come up here? I forget.
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May 21, 2018 12:36
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Zagglezig posted:So do you think he only wrote his journal entries on rainy days, or is the game just making a commentary on Welsh weather? I like to think it just rained for about a year straight, with the occasional break in the form of a storm.
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May 21, 2018 14:21
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Malachite_Dragon posted:I vaguely recall that that actually comes up in the Shadow Hearts series. Or does it come up here? I forget. Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 14:39 on May 21, 2018 |
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May 21, 2018 14:32
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Accordion Man posted:I think its outright stated that Roger figured out a way to use the Emigre Manuscript to make himself immortal without sacrificing anyone but he refuses to share the method so others can't abuse it. This makes Patrick sound like an even bigger dumbass. He tried the whole animal sacrifice thing, and when that didn't work he went straight to humans instead of consulting the recipe again. He probably thought that the ritual HAD to be evil since it needed animal sacrifices, and so it needed people.
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May 21, 2018 16:19
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Accordion Man posted:I think its outright stated that Roger figured out a way to use the Emigre Manuscript to make himself immortal without sacrificing anyone but he refuses to share the method so others can't abuse it. For most of the series its also established that when it comes to using the manuscript to resurrecting someone it will either end up creating an undead abomination or just fail. Shadow Hearts 3 deviates from this by having Johnny be the first successful Emigre resurrection. It still kind of hosed up even then. His sister is the first successful resurrection, sees her brother is still dead, and sacrifices herself to bring him back, leaving her an empty walking shell of hate energy, and him with the ability to turn into a hate energy super saiyan. It's elaborated on in other games, but the Emigre Manuscript does have other rituals not related to the resurrection of the dead, so presumably one of them is what Roger used. Hiroki Kikuta gave a more detailed backstory of the Emigre Manuscript's history on his blog - I really dig it; it's equal parts Voynich Manuscipt and the Necronomicon - and gives a bit more of Roger doing stuff, and ties it all in with the backstory of Nemeton monastary: The Celts inherit the rituals from the Formors (who are long since past), which are kept by the druids. Alexander the Great, with the help of a bilingual druidic scribe, oversees the documentation of the rituals, to be placed in Alexandria's Great Library. To document manages to escape the burning of the great library, and flits around the royal houses of Europe and Asia minor, earning it the moniker, Émigré. In the 6th century, with the spread of the Catholic church, and the booming trade in manuscripts, it ends up on the Isle of Lindisfarne, where it stays, quietly ignored, until the Viking invasion 300 years later. The Émigré Document is shipped off to Ireland, in a bundle of other manuscripts for safe-keeping, where it's found by Daniel, and Johannes Scotus Eriugena. Daniel reads its, and becomes inspired to consecrate the site of what is now the Nemeton Monastary - the Holy land mentioned in the text. Johannes, however, takes the book with him to France, where he his part of the French court. Following his death, it's collected with his other papers and stored in the Vatican. At some point someone realised how dangerous the text was, and stored it in the Pope's personal library. Hundreds of years later, it starts falling apart, so the Pope tells Roger Bacon to transcribe a new copy. He does it, gives the new copy to the Pope, and then goes on the run, ending up at Nemeton Monastary - again having read its mention as a "Holy land". He refurbishes the place (we've got him to blame for the puzzles then) to create a laboratory in which to experiment, and continue his alchemical works, jotting his Émigré Document notes down in a ciphered Welsh text. Papal forces find him, forcing him to flee - at that point he travels the world, and carries on his merry way until he seals himself in that little room years later. However, Alchemist duo, John Dee, and Edward Kelley try to seek out Roger's work on the Emigre document (not knowing it's in the Vatican), leading them to Nemeton, where they find his ciphered Welsh papers. They then rewrite this into what becomes known as The Voynich Manuscript. The real Émigré Document sits peacefully in the Vatican libraries until it's stolen in about 1890 - which then leads into this game. That's actually the diverging point for the manga sequal and Shadow Hearts too. --- I do like the mixing of fake history with actual historical stuff - it's just a shame that it's following the Yoko Taro method of barely any of this appearing ingame. Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 16:24 on May 21, 2018 |
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May 21, 2018 16:20
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amigolupus posted:This makes Patrick sound like an even bigger dumbass. He tried the whole animal sacrifice thing, and when that didn't work he went straight to humans instead of consulting the recipe again. He probably thought that the ritual HAD to be evil since it needed animal sacrifices, and so it needed people. Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 16:34 on May 21, 2018 |
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May 21, 2018 16:29
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Accordion Man posted:I think its outright stated that Roger figured out a way to use the Emigre Manuscript to make himself immortal without sacrificing anyone but he refuses to share the method so others can't abuse it. For most of the series its also established that when it comes to using the manuscript to resurrecting someone it will either end up creating an undead abomination or just fail. Shadow Hearts 3 deviates from this by having Johnny be the first successful Emigre resurrection. The also use it semi-successfully in Shadow Hearts: Covenant, which is to say it fails but without having to kill their now-abomination loved one twice for the price of 100 baby souls. As far as resurrection spells go that's a pretty good result. Kind of like trying to solve your problems with time travel, you are probably not able to fix the past but hey as long you didn't become your own grandfather or retcon reality to be all your fault.
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May 21, 2018 17:46
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BioMe posted:The also use it semi-successfully in Shadow Hearts: Covenant, which is to say it fails but without having to kill their now-abomination loved one twice for the price of 100 baby souls. As far as resurrection spells go that's a pretty good result. https://www.xkcd.com/349/
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May 21, 2018 21:17
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The Emigre Document probably fails to deliver on the ressurections because it's ancient knowledge. Nobody ever updated it.
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May 22, 2018 04:32
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NGDBSS posted:He probably just figured out the simple variant that only needs three small sticks and 4 cc of mouse blood. *bursts into the thread, foaming at the lips and wild-eyed* I GET THAT REFERENCE
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May 22, 2018 04:38
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NGDBSS posted:He probably just figured out the simple variant that only needs three small sticks and 4 cc of mouse blood. Let's not forget small rocks with holes in them.
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May 22, 2018 05:21
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BioMe posted:The also use it semi-successfully in Shadow Hearts: Covenant, which is to say it fails but without having to kill their now-abomination loved one twice for the price of 100 baby souls. As far as resurrection spells go that's a pretty good result. Doing the nasty in the pasty? Honestly, considering how that all played out in the end, I'd consider that one of the better time travel results. Time Travel: Generally a bad idea.
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May 22, 2018 05:59
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Speedball posted:The Emigre Document probably fails to deliver on the ressurections because it's ancient knowledge. Nobody ever updated it. Patch Notes 20,000.450.003 - Tweaked requirements, ritual now requires 2/3rds the previous sacrifices. - Improved blood processing. - fixed "Wandering Ghosts" bug. Damned souls and monsters to be fixed in next build.
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May 22, 2018 12:00
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