|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 03:32 |
|
|
Update 1: Gelligh Okay, welcome to Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark! We’ll obviously be starting a new game, and when I select that this pops up:  A big improvement that this game has is an easily adjustable difficult level with lots of different facets to mess with. All of these can be changed at any time from the camp menu, with no downsides for changing anything. Most of these options are pretty self-explanatory, though there are a few notable ones.  The main interesting one is the injury system, meant to penalize letting your characters get knocked out. At the default setting, it gives a unit that falls a 10% stat penalty until you let them sit out a mission. You can use an injured unit, though they won’t heal it after that battle and the penalty duration can increase if they fall again. You can adjust this to be anywhere from absolutely no penalty, to a permanent stacking 5% penalty per KO, to full on permadeath.  You can also adjust the number of enemies in each fight, going from the default setup to adding 1-2 elite guys. In my experience, even adding 1 extra enemy can really change how a fight goes and add a good bit of challenge.  For this LP, I’m going to be starting off with these settings, though I totally reserve the right to change them as I go. First things first, there’s a neat intro video that plays to give an overview of the world. If you want to watch it instead of reading the screenshots, it’s available here https://youtu.be/EeVpFJi9en0                So, we've got a corrupt order with complete and total authority. What could possibly go wrong?  After that, we cut to a clock tower in town.  Pan down to meet 2 of our main characters: Kyrie and Anadine. .jpg) I don’t feel I actually did all that much, though..jpg) Violent confrontation isn’t always necessary or desirable. Negotiation is an equally important skill for an Arbiter. Of course, you’re right, Captain. Are you sure Reiner knew the time we agreed to meet, Captain? Yes, he knows. But knowing Reiner, he’s probably… Did you hear that? I didn’t…[empty box]: Help, please! Anyone! It sounds like it came from the alley just ahead! Let’s go! They run to the nearby alley and discover a man backed against the wall, seemingly the one shouting for help.  Sadly for him, they arrive just in time to watch his attacker skewer him on a sword.    .jpg) What a bother. You, hireling, earn your coin for once and dispatch these interlopers. With that, a man steps out of the alley and everyone draws their weapons.   The fight starts with a typical mission name and objective,  And then there’s the deployment screen. The game gives us a few units to start with, but since I can only deploy 1 for this fight, I’ll just put out the first one and go over the others later.  Now..jpg) *You* are an Arbiter?! This is even more tiresome than I thought. Hireling, exterminate these pests for me and you will receive a tidy bonus!.jpg) At once, Lord Alphonse! As you wish. Yes, I see… I am ready, Captain! I’m sure you are, but why don’t we quickly review the basics, just to be safe?Here they have just a quick tutorial, going over the typical how to move and act in a turn. It’s pretty simple, and if you’ve seen Final Fantasy Tactics or any other game of this genre you know how they work. There is a handy FFX-esque indicator up top that displays the global turn order. It will update before you actually perform an action, so it's very nice to see whether you can do something safely or not. Now then, let’s deal with this scum. Kyrie moves forward to hit Alphonse, and then gets whacked in the side by Isamu. That’s still over a ¼ of her hp, so even the tutorial enemies can hit decently hard.  Fortunately for us, Virgil starts off as a wizard, this game’s equivalent to the black mage, and knows both the basic fire and water spells. Like most games, these have a small AOE that lets us hit both the goon and Alphonse.  Like so.  Alphonse moves to hit Kyrie in the side again, but leaves himself open to Anadine.  Who promptly takes out almost ½ of his max health and knocks him down.     On the victory screen, we receive Gold (GP), some Snakebite Oil for the game’s crafting system, and some Ability Points. Notable things are the bonus for “Kyrie Never Falls”, the Vicarious Learning, and the Total for All Benched units. The “Kyrie Never Falls” bonus is received by everyone whenever Kyrie participates in a battle, and it will grow as the story progress. However, I believe that if she ever gets knocked to 0 hp, then you lose the bonus permanently. It’s not a huge one, but it can be really convenient for getting through jobs faster. Vicarious Learning is a system where, whenever someone gains AP in a class, then a small amount of AP will added to the “Vicarious Learning Pool” for that class. The AP in this pool is applied to everyone on your roster, including anyone that you recruit in the future. This is super helpful for either bringing new hires up to speed or for letting units access higher tier jobs more quickly. By the end game, it’s totally possible to have enough AP in the pool to master 4-5 abilities in multiple jobs without ever actually fighting a single battle. Lastly, all units on your roster earn 50% of a mission’s AP in their primary class. While someone you never use will fall behind, this makes the injury system and having a few substitutes a lot more viable. After that, a man in a bright orange coat approaches  .jpg) What’s this? You didn’t tell me we were going to a party. Reiner, at last. Weren’t we supposed to meet an hour ago? We could have used your help with these thugs. No matter. This… gentleman kept us company, and now we will show our gratitude by providing him with a nice comfy cell. I am a lord, Lord Alphonse to be precise. As a nobleman of the realm, I command you to release me. Slaying an unarmed man, attempting to eliminate the witnesses to your foul crime, and now resisting lawful arrest. There are limits to the privileges of nobility. As you are about to learn. Hmph. An Arbiter and a simpleton, I see. Very well. Let us proceed with the farce if we must. Bring me to the Arbiters’ Chapterhouse for my “trial”.… Are you suddenly struck dumb as well as simple? The night’s chill does not agree with me. Make haste and escort me to the Chapterhouse, wench! Clever… I wonder how much sway the little lordling has in Illuster. Very little, I suspect. Gather our people and make everything ready. We move at first light. On it. She proceeds to bind his hands behind his back.  Simmer down, or I’ll pull out a gag next. No one bothers washing the gags in between prisoners, mind you. … Very well. What about the other one, Captain? Just a henchman. We’ll drop him off at the local Chapterhouse. No need to cart both of them all the way to Illuster. The Journey may be treacherous. We should stop at the local Guild here in Gelligh and hire more hands for the road. An extra recruit would go a long way! And here we are on the world map! There’s a good bit we can do before proceeding up the road to Illuster, but this is where we’re going to stop for this update.
|
#
?
Sep 15, 2019 22:59
|
|
|
Agh! This was gonna be my contrast LP after Ash of Gods! Good to see someone doing it though. The Kyrie never falls bonus is per battle, so if she goes down in Chapter 2 she gets it back in Chapter 3. Are you going to be allowing goons to submit generics?
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 02:13
|
|
|
That's... an interesting map. I really want to know wtf is going on in the southwest corner there.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 02:55
|
|
|
I've never been good at tactics games, so I'm reading this with interest as I'm probably never getting around to playing it myself.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 02:57
|
|
|
convenient timing for this LP; I bought the game two weeks ago. And stopped playing after a day or two. How do you 1) screw up thumb stick controls and 2) not have the ability to rotate the map? There are blind spots on some levels that you just can't do anything about. Otherwise, it would be a decent enough game, but those problems were too much for me.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 03:30
|
|
|
TheGreatEvilKing posted:The Kyrie never falls bonus is per battle, so if she goes down in Chapter 2 she gets it back in Chapter 3. Oh, I had no idea about the bonus coming back. Not sure where I thought I learned that. For the generics, absolutely! I'm going to open it up next update.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 03:32
|
|
|
Cool! This game looks great. Definitely gonna want to get it sometime when I have the cash.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 06:40
|
|
|
cokerpilot posted:That's... an interesting map. I really want to know wtf is going on in the southwest corner there. It reminds me of Indigo Plateau somehow.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 13:05
|
|
|
I've had this game on my wishlist for a bit.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 18:07
|
|
|
OOrochi posted:The main interesting one is the injury system, meant to penalize letting your characters get knocked out. At the default setting, it gives a unit that falls a 10% stat penalty until you let them sit out a mission. You can use an injured unit, though they won’t heal it after that battle and the penalty duration can increase if they fall again. This change is actually garbage. All it does is encourage running a trivial mission or two with a B crew if you do pick up an injury. Considering how areas are level-locked, it's easy to go somewhere you can't possibly lose. Better to just turn this one off IMO. NullBlack posted:convenient timing for this LP; I bought the game two weeks ago. And stopped playing after a day or two. How do you 1) screw up thumb stick controls and 2) not have the ability to rotate the map? There are blind spots on some levels that you just can't do anything about. Otherwise, it would be a decent enough game, but those problems were too much for me. Re: 2): hand-painted backgrounds. akkristor posted:I've had this game on my wishlist for a bit. It's good; get it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2019 18:58
|
|
|
ulmont posted:It's good; get it. But I just bought Fire Emblem: Three Houses. For now I must live vicariously through Lets Plays, for my wallet's sake.
|
|
#
?
Sep 17, 2019 02:04
|
|
|
This is a neat looking game, and a neat looking custom difficulty system. What are the RNG options?
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2019 05:39
|
|
|
ulmont posted:This change is actually garbage. All it does is encourage running a trivial mission or two with a B crew if you do pick up an injury. Considering how areas are level-locked, it's easy to go somewhere you can't possibly lose. Better to just turn this one off IMO. I totally understand this opinion, I just like that it gives some penalty to having your guys go down. I also like that it actually encourages having a B team, rather than just using the same 6 guys for every fight in the game. I also turned the level locking off, so while some areas might be easier fights, I shouldn't be able to just power through any spot without at least a bit of trouble. vilkacis posted:What are the RNG options? The only options for RNG are "Default" (a single 1-100 die roll) and "Weighted" (a system of randomization that is weighted in the player's favor). So if I had to guess, I'd bet it's not like true hit but more like Xcom, where the more times in a row you miss, the less likely you are to miss on the next roll.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 02:49
|
|
|
Update 2: The Crossroads And we’re back. Here on the map, we can see our next objective, the city of Illuster, is just a little ways north from Gelligh. However, before we start our journey there are a few things to do.  First up is a stop in the guild. Here, you can recruit new generics, change their appearance, and reset any character’s level for a fee. This game’s difficulty, like many others, scales off of the average level of your party, so if you don’t want to overlevel while training jobs or have someone who’s way higher level than the rest, you can use this to mitigate those problems. It’s not cheap though, especially when you reach higher levels.  Here’s the recruitment screen. Here you can determine what class your recruit will be, what level they’ll be (up to a certain point), and then customize their appearance with a fairly robust system. You can change a generic’s name and appearance at any time, so Thread Participation: If anyone wants to submit a character, please do so. I’ll be taking Names, Appearance (as detailed as you want), and General Job Direction (i.e. physical fighter, mage, healer, etc.). Over the next few missions, I’ll probably hire at least 5-6 characters to serve as subs for injuries or to fill specific roles. With that said, I just hire Jacobb as a mercenary for now and pop over into the shop.  There’s a bit of a neat touch in that every shop has a different merchant with their own portrait at the counter.  The stock obviously changes as you go, though I don’t believe that most shops ever update their wares. There’s not much here for now so I just buy a basic shield and hat for Jacobb and leave. Of note, though, is the box below the items that shows which jobs can equip what. As you can see, we’ll have quite a few jobs to work with as the game progresses.  Last thing to do before we move is take a look at the camp menu. Here you can see everyone in your party, change equipment, learn abilities, and change your job.  The equipment menu is pretty standard: 6 slots for some combination of weapon, armor, shield, hat, and accessories. Notably, there’s no limit on equipping accessories, so it’s totally possible to have a unit running around with 6 pairs of boots on if you want.  Next up are the ability trees. Rather than tie abilities to equipment or have everything open at once, each job has an ability tree to work down. You have to get one in each level to move onwards, and if you unlock all of them then you gain a mastery bonus that applies to every class. These bonuses can range from minor stat boosts to gaining slight innate elemental resistances, so it can be very worth it to stick with a class until the end. Especially since you’re also helping all of your other units gain AP in the class through vicarious learning.  Lastly, we come to the job selection window. Everyone starts off with the two basic jobs (Mercenary and Mender) and then unlocks other jobs as you learn abilities. The shadowed jobs are locked, but you can scroll over them to see what abilities they require to unlock. More jobs will appear as you progress and unlock jobs. I’ll be going over what each job entails in some separate posts at a later date. Also, there’s another nice feature in the top right corner: the growth rates. Each job’s growth rates are visible from the start, even for ones that are still shadowed out. Definitely a huge convenience if you’re trying to minmax or specialize a new recruit later in the game. In the future, I won’t be going into nearly as much detail about the between mission admin steps. I just wanted to show what would be generally going on behind the scenes. Still, with that out of the way for now, let’s get going to the 2nd mission.   Our party approaches a crossroads, with Alphonse still bound and in tow.  .jpg) Yes, I noticed..jpg) What’s happening, Captain? Stand back, Anadine.A group of unsavory characters step out of the background and approach.  But much friendlier Well met, friend! (Sigh). If you have business with us, out with it. Otherwise, step aside..jpg) Of course, I will make it quick for you. Hand over that nobleman traipsing along at your heels, and everyone else can be on their merry way, safe and sound. What a splendid idea! Quiet. Safety and soundness first, exactly my own philosophy! But first, tell me: just what is it you want with our bejeweled guest? Funny you should ask. From what I’ve been hearing lately, I bet you Arbiters wouldn’t mind a taste of this action yourselves, eh?… All right, here it is: this rich fop will pay us handsomely for his freedom. Hand him over and 20% of the fee is yours to divide amongst yourselves. No on need ever know an Arbiter was involved in our littler transaction. I get what I want, you get paid, and your reputation remains as spotless as Illuster’s peaks. Win-win-win. Is there a fourth “win” I’m missing? Well, what do you say? Do we have a deal? I dunno, Kyrie. Only 20%? Captain..? Enough. We haven’t the time to exchange banter with these fools.As for you lot… Attempted bribery, intimidation, interfering in Arbiter business. Serious crimes, the kind that should see every one of you decorating the trees. But get out of our way and I’ll forget I ever saw your faces. That is my final and only counteroffer. Signal that you accept, before I change my mind. Tch! Of all the doomy luck, we just had to run into the one clean Arbiter within a hundred leagues! Jump lively boys! It looks like we must ear our prize today. No survivors, no witnesses!  And with that, it’s time for a fight.  Half the party is fixed, so I just set the 3 generics up behind them. The only new units are Rainer who’s a scoundrel (this game’s thief), and Lana who’s a mender (aka white mage).   They’re spread out along the crossroad, but we’re facing 6 enemies today. Mostly basic mercenaries, but there are 2 of the wolflike Vangals, and one scoundrel who’s equipped with a crossbow for ranged attacks.  We start the fight, and as soon as Kyrie’s turn comes up, we get a tutorial on items. The big change this game has is that, while you do get a limited number of items per battle, they get refilled to the max amount after every fight. The pool and numbers start off pretty limited, but you can get both new items and higher stocks of items you already have as the game progresses. I’m a huge fan of this way since I usually succumb to the “But what if I need it later?” feeling in most games with consumables. In my previous playthrough, I ended up using them liberally and felt that it really opened up a lot of options I’d otherwise ignore. The battle continues, without any contact until  Well spied. If one of us stands directly upon it, that should keep it sealed against any new enemies. Agreed. But we must move quickly if we plan to secure it. They could strike at any moment.An environmental gimmick for the current battle is revealed. This one, like most others in the game, is pretty simple. At some point indicated on the turn order, the trap door will open and enemy reinforcements will come out. If there’s someone on top, be it friend or foe, then it won’t open and the reinforcements will be trapped inside forever. So not too hard to prevent, but it could definitely make the fight a lot harder if you don’t. The fight continues, and I get some light hits on the closest mercenary as the rest of the enemies close in.  I’m only making this to show off this move, and demonstrate why the AI loves to spam the ever-living hell out of it and any other move that moves the target. Currently, Kyrie’s basic attack would deal about 20 damage to this guy from the front. However, if I use forceful strike, then this happens:  Despite its lower modifer, it does more damage to the main target and hurts whatever is where the target would be shoved. This works whether there’s a unit or just basic terrain in the way and is an incredibly powerful way to weaken or take down multiple enemies at once. It also bypasses any reaction abilities or counters that the secondary target has, making it a good way to deal with extra dangerous enemies. Forceful strike is a pretty basic ability in the mercenary tree and the mercenary skillset is often used as a secondary skillset for the AI, so expect to see this happening to me regularly.  Afterwards, the battle proceeds and I set fire to some guys.  Move Anadine over to stand on the trapdoor waay earlier than I need to.  I nearly lose Jacobb to a crit from the scoundrel, but manage to get Lana a turn to heal him.  Virgil nearly takes out both Vangals with one cast thanks to their 50% weakness to fire. However, I manage to miss an 85% chance to hit and only take out one of them instead.  Because of that, the remaining Vangarl is able to weaken Virgil and the enemy mercenary takes him out with another crit. Definitely a pain, but nothing insurmountable. It just means that Virgil’s going to have to sit out the next fight.  Anadine weakens the leader merc for Kyrie to get the kill.  While Jacobb finished off the last Vangarl.  And then takes out the scoundrel soon afterwards  Anadine takes advantage of forceful strike’s bonus damage to kill one more mercenary.    And Kyrie, Jacobb, and Lana work together to take out the final mercenary. A nice bonus for items is that they can’t miss and always deal fixed damage, so they’re great for finishing off evasive or highly defensive enemies.  On the victory screen, we get a Heavy Crossbow (our first ranged weapon) and some more snakebite oil for crafting. We also get a visual of the injuries that were either sustained or extended during the battle.  Afterwards, Anadine and Reiner chat while Kyrie stares at the ruins of the nearby building. Soon, Reiner wanders over to Kyrie.  Burned down in a marauder attack last year. And no Arbiters nearby to prevent it. …You allude to that scoundrel’s claim about Arbiter’s taking bribes. Nothing but a desperate attempt to talk their way out of a fight. I don’t believe a word of it. And yet here we are, dragging that foppish nobleman around because we can’t quite trust the local Chapterhouse. That’s a long enough break. We need to keep moving if we’re to reach Illuster before nightfall. I’ll make sure everyone is ready. And with that, we’re put back on the world map. We could head directly up the road to Illuster, but before that there’s a new event available at The Crossroads that we’ll check out next update.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 02:52
|
|
|
Sure, I'll toss in a generic. It kind of surprises me that this sort of game doesn't seem terribly common on PC. Name: Sophia Appearance: Blonde woman Role: Mage
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 02:59
|
|
|
I've been playing the poo poo out of this game lately, and I can't recommend it enough. It's the right level of frustrating where it's deeply satisfying when you finally get it. Hey, OOrochi, I found something that the wiki is dead-wrong about. I intend to respect your wishes in regards to spoilers, but when you get to the item in question, can I bring it up then? Also, I'm gonna request that you make both a black person (Skin color 3) and a green person (Skin color 6) since the "random" button disappointingly won't.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 03:25
|
|
|
Name: Mongo Appearance: As massive a bald dude as you can make. With a dainty moustache. Role: Tank
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 03:40
|
|
|
Name: Azure Appearance: Woman, with generally blue clothing, Use Class Hat: Yes Role: Ranged attacker/sniper-ish role.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 04:04
|
|
|
Name: Hannah Appearance: Woman with colorful hair and clothing Role: Melee attacker
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 04:13
|
|
|
I don't have strong feelings about anyone's job, but I really care about seeing a character with six pairs of boots.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 04:15
|
|
|
Sure, let's go for this! Female - Selina Rogue type iwth preference for black outfits short range weapon (if they're in the game something like a rope or a whip or something designed for harrassment)
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 05:28
|
|
|
Ooh, this is neat so far. I'm a sucker for tactics-y games.  Anyway, I designed this guy for another LP, but that LP died young, and that made me sad. I'll throw the guy out for this one and maybe he'll do better! Eustace is a foppish fancily-dressed man with blond curly hair and a big nose. Ideally he'd be some kind of magical fencer - I'm hoping there's some way to make him primarily use a rapier or other pointy weapon and have him use offensive magic as a secondary ability. Clothing-wise, just make him look as frilly as possible.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 07:19
|
|
|
This game looks pretty cool. I don't know much at all about the current indie SRPG scene, so it's really nice to see games like this get spotlighted. Well, if we're playing as a Kyrie, we might as well draft Name: KD Appearance: Black, Male, and the ugliest/scraggliest facial hair available Role: Something that focuses for long range sniping, considering the recent ACL tear and the reduced athleticism that's gonna come with it Looking forward where this game goes and takes it's themes and gameplay!
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 07:27
|
|
|
Name: Bobby, any gender Appearance: just gently caress my poo poo up fam Role: Put on my robe and Wizard hat
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 08:29
|
|
|
Name: Snowsbury Appearance: A pompous fop of a fellow who should really get some sunshine. Largest, brightest clothing possible, especially any hats that may involve. Role: Mage. Zap, Freeze, Burn, the whole lot.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 09:58
|
|
|
Male Archie Formalish clothes, medium length hair Dragoon/spear/polearm Slaan fucked around with this message at 15:50 on Sep 19, 2019 |
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 11:43
|
|
|
Male Kyros A tall gaunt man Role: Mage, specializing in dark magic. Do you want us submitting portraits? The game can handle custom pictures.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2019 14:53
|
|
|
Some really great ideas coming in. Glad to see that people are interested!Veryslightlymad posted:Hey, OOrochi, I found something that the wiki is dead-wrong about. I intend to respect your wishes in regards to spoilers, but when you get to the item in question, can I bring it up then? Sure! Appreciate you asking, but I'm totally down to find out what people have gotten wrong. TheGreatEvilKing posted:Do you want us submitting portraits? The game can handle custom pictures. If people want to make them, then I'll definitely try and put them in.
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2019 01:05
|
|
|
Veryslightlymad posted:and a green person (Skin color 6) since the "random" button disappointingly won't. Marvin Green Skin Ranged attacks
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2019 01:23
|
|
|
Name: Junpei Gender: Male Appearance: Pale skin, black hair, green eyes. Clothing a black with red hints. Role: A fast physical class. If there's anything like Ninja, Assassin, Rogue, Phantom Thief, stuff like that. I don't mind being ranged, so Archer or Sniper or Gunman works, too.
|
|
#
?
Sep 20, 2019 01:38
|
|
|
I like the dialogue in this game already. It's just in the right medium between bland and overwrought. I remember this series of LPs of a series of old Spiderweb Software games with the most ridiculous, pompous writi... oh hi berryjon! 
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2019 05:44
|
|
|
JustJeff88 posted:I like the dialogue in this game already. It's just in the right medium between bland and overwrought. I remember this series of LPs of a series of old Spiderweb Software games with the most ridiculous, pompous writi... oh hi berryjon! And proud of it! 
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2019 06:46
|
|
|
Update 3: Illuster  Back again! As I said last time, and as evidenced by the exclamation point, there’s an event we can do before heading on to Illuster. So, we’ll check it out.  Hmm… I guess it can’t hurt, if we’re not in a rush. Thanks, Captain!Pop back in to the same ruined inn map from last time.   : But I also feel a bit sick. It will pass. When I was a child, I dreamed of becoming an Arbiter like my mother. I also dreamed of fighting alongside her, but never that I would be wearing her armor. The armor you inherited, but the position you earned. Watch this one for me, would you? Yes, Captain. Kyrie walks off to the left as Anadine approaches Alphonse.   The Court’s manner of dispensing justice is too costly – er, slow, for my taste. … I don’t understand. (Sigh.) That shocks me to my core. But what did he do to you? Let us just say he strayed from the rut which Fate had gouged out for him. I still don’t – Just like a pair of little girls I know, he interfered in the business of his betters, and quite soon afterwards paid the price for it. Perhaps one day you will explain to me how such a powerful lord came to be the prisoner of a pair of little girls. Hmph. After that exchange, the road to Illuster is clear (ignoring the cloud) so we finally head that way.  As we arrive, Kyrie and Reiner are leading Alphonse behind them.   And this particular package I wish to deliver personally. Ha! I half-guessed that was the reason. Greetings Arbiters! How may I be of service? Hey there, Guardsman! We’re dropping this prisoner off for trial, on several charges. But primarily murder. Murder is it? Shame. Not often this kind get brought in alive.(to the other guard) You heard the Captain. This one’s in for murder. Take him to the lower level and make sure he makes it safely to our darkest, dankest cell.  Alphonse starts moving behind the other guardsman, but stops. Hmph. I promise you will regret this entire charade, wench. And sooner than you think. Get moving, you!And I missed it, but the guard pops out from under the arch and drags him back in.  His arrogance is breathtaking, true, but no longer any concern of ours. Go on ahead, Reiner. I will file the charges. Apologies, Captain, but that will have to wait. The Immortals have convened a Council session, and by their order, all Arbiter Captains in the city must attend. Surely it can wait until I’ve formally submitted the charges? I want this done properly. I am sorry Captain, but it cannot. This morning’s edict was quite clear: this meeting is of the highest importance and all Captains must appear without delay. But don’t worry about the prisoner. He won’t be going anywhere any time soon. All right. Thank you, Guardsman. Come on, Reiner.From there, we pop into the fancy Immortal Council Chambers   As everyone knows, while each of the Council bears the title of Immortal, we are not quite as long-lived as that. Every so often in the course of our reign, one of our number is replaced by a younger prodigy. The new Immortal retains the title of his predecessor and adopts his colors. But he is nevertheless a new Immortal altogether. Is this going somewhere? Septimus… Yes, yes, I know. But important, nay critical, Immortal business awaits me. Nothing less would tempt me away from this congress, I swear. Naturally. As I was saying…There comes a time for every Immortal to surrender his mantle and step down. Now that time has come for me. Imagine a general *rabble* *rabble* sound effect and you get what’s going on after that.  … : Meaning I will have the opportunity to directly observe an Immortal relinquishing his power? How absolutely fascinating. Are you quite committed to this decision, Primus? As everyone knows, I am the oldest remaining Immortal, alongside Quintus. I was present on the day we brought down the Ancient Beast, and I personally scribed the founding tenets of the Immortal Council. What I’m getting at is this: it has been a VERY long journey, rewarding yes, but also tiring. And the time has come for me to step down. Our trusted Arbiter Captains are no doubt eager to hear what follows. Quintus, would you kindly do the honors? Me..?Yes of course, Primus. AS this situation only occurs about once a century it will be a mystery to most of you. When an Immortal’s time has come, a replacement is selected through a method called the Marked Pilgrimage. Every Immortal marks a candidate of their choosing. The details of the Pilgrimage are explained to the Marked, but as they are of no import to you, I shall waste no time on that. What should be of GREAT interest to the Arbiters however, is that each Marked is an Immortal candidate, and as such is bound by no laws for the duration of their Pilgrimage. You may render assistance unto them if it is requested, but must not otherwise interfere in their business. I believe that is everything.  Excellent. Captains, you are dismissed.And about half of the Immortals teleport out of the room, while the others stay and talk amongst themselves.  .jpg) I suppose the day must come for each of them, and he has been at it the longest. Though he does seem surprisingly fit, especially in contrast to Quintus. Ah well. There will be plenty else to worry us soon enough. From what I’ve heard about the Marked Pilgrimage, chaos follows closely on its heels. Wait, what’s this?  Because I don’t think it will agree with you. We’re here to see you returned to your cell, and promply. I can’t believe it. One of the Immortals has chosen YOU to be a Marked?! You are much sharper than you look I’ll grant you that. But indeed. Only the absolute finest are selected as candidates for the exalted rank of Immortal. It’s only natural my name would end up at the top of that list. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I must hasten on my Pilgrimage to Centina, and therafter my ascension to godhood. We’re just going to let him go? You heard the Council’s judgement. He is above the law now. Untouchable. No. I can’t believe he… that… him! … was made a Marked by the Council. I need some time to think on this.    And with that shocking twist, we’re back on the world map with Centina revealed to our southeast. After all that dialogue, I think I’ll just leave it here for this time and we’ll continue next update.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2019 23:58
|
|
|
Ok, neat plot hook. But how the heck did this guy get Marked? How? Why? When? And most importantly, how long before we get to smash his face in during the inevitable righteous boss battle?
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2019 00:13
|
|
|
That's a neat twist on that particular cliche of the rear end in a top hat skipping free; just imagine the sort of shenanigans someone of his ilk would get up to while bearing that mark!
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2019 00:19
|
|
|
I'm betting the Immortal in red is a bad guy, and Count Dickbag is his marked.
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2019 01:24
|
|
|
Ah, yes, the guaranteed way for a narrative to make the player hate a guy, even if they aren't evil, just give them the maximally  reaction to everything and everybody will want to punch that goddamn face in even if they're the game equivalent of God.
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2019 04:03
|
|
|
It just makes it feel so much better when you finally do get that punch in.
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2019 04:18
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 03:32 |
|
|
This is why you need to kill people like Algus early and often. Sure they're racist, classist and horrible people when they're young, but then they grow up into this.
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2019 06:43
|
|
