Let's Save Daria! Let's Play The Lost Heir Trilogy from ChoiceOfGames

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achtungnight: Oct 5, 2014; I get my fun here. Enjoy!

Avalerion- Yeah. Thinking I could catch Thuja's wrists with my near-Maxed Unarmed is what led a previous character of mine (Bill the Monk) into a downward spiral here. Now that my memories have returned after looking up Bill's stats, I think his main triumphs didn't come till LH2 and 3 where he had Ki and better stats.

You are correct regarding blind runs. If you play this game after being used to Lucid's previous titles where you're told what Stats you need to succeed ahead of time, having to guess can and will trip you up bad. Later on it gets worse with multiple Stat Checks.You need to pay attention to every situation's descriptive text.

The Magic Shield can also block Thuja's attack if you bother to buy it, along with later attacks in the LH Trilogy. It's worth the price if your Stats for avoiding damage can't keep up. I think I'll be buying it for my next Devices-oriented Thief (Liza had that build first life, got screwed here without the Shield). But Renata should be fine without the Shield like most diverse attack characters I've played are (fingers crossed).

Companion Mooks Strategy- That doesn't work in every RPG. Sometimes the Boss can keep spawning Mooks. Thankfully that isn't the case here. And yeah, Thuja dodges and you waste your turn if you aim the Cloak's Magic at him. A good strategy for the entire trilogy is to focus on the most immediate problem at each point and try to note the ones where you have no Option to avoid or lessen the damage beforehand, then plan for them in repeat runs. You also want to develop diverse Skills, especially in combat. It's good replay value, I'll admit.

I'm surprised nobody speculated about what the Cloak of Spiders Magic does. Then I remembered I gave it away when we grabbed the Cloak before.

Web Guards! posted:

Recalling what Sister Geri told you back when you acquired the Artifact, you have already guessed what the Cloak's tutorial Magic intends.

You push your Magic through the Cloak, aim at the Guards, and...

A large mass of sticky webbing explodes from your hands! You fight to control it as you aim the web at the Guards and not your friends. Karla and Theo only blink for an instant, then quickly dispatch the immobilized Guards near them as they attempt to fight their way free. Karla stabs the female Fighter again with a second Dagger blow, ending her life. Theo drops his hammer and grabs the male Fighter by the throat, then slams him into the wall headfirst. He is dispatched via cracked skull- he may be only unconscious, you aren't sure. Next round, you have more immediate concerns.

The webbing dissolves quickly and you fall from the ceiling as the Magic from the Cloak wears off. You land abruptly on the stone floor, spraining both wrists as you attempt to break your fall. To make matters worse, you are quite certain that there is no more webbing Magic left in the Cloak of Spiders.
(Magic +3 to 79 and Health -25 to 75/100)

The enemy Mage Guard did not have an immediate opponent. He shrugs out of your Web after it dissolves, then pulls a Demon Stone from his Runebag.

- "Yana, I call thee!"

A Demon covered in porcupine-quill spikes appears. You are still recovering from your injury and cannot react quickly.

Your Companions have no such limitations. Karla quickly draws her Bow now that she has room, nocks, then fires an Arrow, hitting the Mage in the throat before he can finish commanding the Demon to attack.

- "Slay...Ack!"

The Demon immediately vanishes back to its home Plane when its Summoner dies. You can only guess what it might have done if it had stuck around.

The Dagger attack earlier kills one Guard. It is indeed free and you can use the Guard to break your fall, avoiding injury. Meanwhile Theo and Gale can both knock out Guards here if they're present (one for Theo, two for Gale). Jess can also get one Guard with an eye beam Soulburn. Karla is useless in tight quarters, and I think Petra is also. I changed things with Karla because I'm writing smarter more badass Companions in addition to the Princess and I want to show off alternate methods of success throughout the run.

I also showed off a few things above that can happen here if you don't kill all three Guards yourself as Web Magic does in the canon game. Thus Theo succeeding with the choke.

The Spiky Demon mentioned above is a real in game monster too. It will shoot its quills at you and cause you damage whether you attack it or the Guard who Summoned it if you leave that Guard alive (Attacking the Guard is an easier check then attacking the Demon but requires ranged attack to avoid damage from the Demon's attack, Magic uses a force ball spell). The Guard flees after you kill the Demon (only takes one hit, but it damages you) or it damages you (Guard dismisses it and Thuja calls you out of the Cell as below). Killing the Guard instantly removes the Demon, avoiding Damage. Attacking the Demon still damages you even if it succeeds.

You can only get a hit on the Guards here with a Dagger, Unarmed Choke (Bill again found out the hard way he couldn't pass the Check), or an Artifact like the Cloak giving you its prearranged advantage. Nothing else works because of the tight Cell. If Thuja wins here, you black out, wake up briefly and watch your lower Relations Companion kill Thuja in an appropriately heroic manner (you can watch that on your own by screwing up), and then a surviving Guard kills the Companion before you black out again, then you wake up outside Vernex. Hence why I had a Guard knocked unconscious above- the scene may still happen and it implies the Companion killer was one of Thuja's three subordinate Guards.

No Character I've had in this situation has ever gotten through this entire encounter unscathed. Something always does me damage- fall from the ceiling, Spiky Demon, a Guard's attack where I forgot to buy a Dagger or back when I didn't know I needed one, Thuja hits me before or after the Guards are down... it's a rough fight. Might be possible if I can remember all the possible injuries, but I'm not that good.

Let's at least see if we can handle Thuja.

Fight Setup posted:

Thuja watches in silence while his underlings are dispatched. You get to your feet with Theo's help, then wave him and Karla back once you are standing. You then address Thuja, attempting an apparent parley.

"I think you're just following Zusak's orders. Let us go and you get to live."

Thuja shakes his head.

- "Sorry, Princess. Zusak and Selina have two things in common. They're both incredibly smart and they don't tolerate failure."

"Well, maybe you can at least tell me more about Zusak's past before you kill me, or why he killed my parents."

Thuja shrugs.

- "Sure, but I can only tell you what he's told me regarding his motives. He said killing your parents fit his larger design and he wanted multiple plans to both ensure they died and we were able to access their Vault and steal that Stone, then put Daria in chaos while avoiding retribution from the law. Selina's poison, my mercenaries, his Demons... all were plans Zusak had to kill your parents. If one plan didn't work, he was ready to use another. He's great at work on the fly and with big plans, Selina too. Me... I'm not so much on long range plans. But I can improvise."

"What's his larger design?"

- "I don't know. Just that it's some strategy to give us all power from that Stone he wants. He's never told me all the details. Back when we Adventured together, Zusak was obsessed with gathering Demon Stones. He never sold them, wanted to find out what they did instead. Magic was his build at first, but when that didn't work out for us... he decided to study and plan instead. He joined the Consortium and learned about Demon Stones, buffed up on Som'Reth History... I was away at the time training as a Weapon Master while Selina was in Brightwater amassing political connections. We were doing both those things already, Zusak just called us back and recruited us as allies once he made his plans. I don't know if or where Zabrina fit into his plans, she was already dead when Zusak first brought me in."

- "How did Zusak's wife die?"

Theo has picked up on your tactic by now. He knows you have no intention of sparing Thuja, even if it were possible. While you talk, Karla is stabilizing Sister Geri with her Nature Skills. You wonder if your Mentor will in fact be ok. Your wrists are also recovering. You hide them behind your back, cracking your knuckles in a Monk method Sister Geri taught you to restore their function while you talk to Thuja. If it works, you will be able to cast Magic and punch again effectively within a few minutes. But you need to keep Thuja distracted long enough first.

Thuja answers Theo's question.

- "That's another thing I don't know. Weapon Mastery took me a while to attain and then I did some Adventuring on my own. By the time I got back to Vernex, Zusak had graduated the Consortium courses and Zabrina was dead. Their son was too, I don't know how that happened either. All I knew was afterwards, Zusak was suddenly bent on some grand design. He got really good at Summoning and controlling Demons. The last High Chancellor of the Consortium took Zusak under his wing and groomed him as a protege. Then he died of some wasting disease and Zusak..."

"I can put it together. Where's Selina fit in?"

- "Once he learned of her connections, Zusak wanted her to help take over the government, allow his planned new laws regarding Demon Summoning to get passed. Selina did lots of favors for various Nobles who disagreed with your parents to get herself political connections- she was doing that anyway for her own advantage before Zusak brought her in but she decided the plan worked out for her as well as anyone. Same for all the Nobles who ended up working with us. That includes Uddo, Bandar, and a few others. Eddan came in after I brought in his Army Commander, my old war buddy Viers... that was after your parents died, though, or maybe Eddan was already with us before. I'm not sure. Selina got her original Noble title because your mother admired her apparent drive to help other Nobles. If she had known Selina really was just doing it for her own personal advantage..."

"Obviously she didn't. Did you want to kill my parents, or were you just going along with Zusak?"

- "I want the power he's promised me. And he's my boss. I'll do whatever he wants of me, even if I don't like it. I don't like torture, but I will hurt you if I must. You should have died back at the Castle seven years ago. Surrender now, Princess, for your own good."

"Not happening. You'll be forced to kill me."

- "You forget I need you alive to open that Runebag without erasing its contents. I may not care about telling you as much as I have, but I'm not dumb. I also saw how you used the tight Cell to your advantage a moment ago. I think I'll prove to you there's no way you're getting out of here."

He steps back from the door and grins.

- "Your Mentor is dead. I know how hard I hit her. That Archer's Nature won't suffice to save her. Come on and try to get out of that Cell, Princess. You can watch her die in there first, or attempt to get past me now. It will make no difference."

Karla shouts from where she is tending Sister Geri.

- "He's right about these wounds! Theo, can your Nature help me save Geri?"

Theo hesitates. "Try," you tell him. "I want to pay Thuja back more for hurting her."

- "I hope you can kill him. If not, Karla and I will team up to finish the job."

"Thanks."

You step out of the Cell while Theo goes to help Karla tend Sister Geri. You think your wrists are recovered enough.

Thuja smiles, misnterpreting your calm expression.

- "And now, you die, Princess."

Thuja twirls his axes about him with magical speed. As he steps forward, you notice how his rune-covered Belt glows and shimmers, causing him to move faster and faster. He stands outside of the Cell waiting for your strike, and without his Guards getting in his way, he has lots of room to move.

Thuja smiles as you consider attacking him.

- "We're past talking now, Princess. Give me that Cloak and Zusak's Stone. Otherwise, you die slower than the old woman."

He twirls his axes, and you know he will strike as soon as you act.

Two possible strategies come to mind. Either you can get close to Thuja and strip off his Belt using a Grease spell, or you can hit him with a large Fire Blast so wide he can't possibly dodge it. Each method is risky and may expose you to damage from his axes. However, your Perception and Suno's advice from back in Elmvale tell you that either strategy willl probably succeed.

1. Take a hit and move in close to the axeman.

2. Attempt to cast a wide-spread Blast of Fire at Thuja.

I think I can do both these things here. The Checks are higher, though, fighting Thuja at full power and outside the Cell. Either method will damage us too, I'm pretty sure. I know both options require another hit afterwards- I'd like to get at least one more Magic and one more Unarmed bonus from this battle. The Magic is my only option now, there's no Unarmed option, another reason I punched Thuja before. There is an Unarmed option after you take off the Belt if you can survive the greater hit for Option 1.

IIRC, using Option 1 does more damage to us but is very embarassing to our enemy if we can then get the Belt off him once we're close. Grease Magic, Agility, and Strength are all possible methods. You get a free hit immediately after Thuja loses his Belt- and removing it lessens further Checks for the remainder of the battle. You may have guessed we get the Belt if we win.

The Fire Blast does 25 damage to Thuja if it succeeds, we take an equal damage hit, then a Companion with high Relations runs in and distracts Thuja again for us same as Sister Geri did earlier. We get one more chance to strike Thuja for 50 damage, then we're screwed if we fail the Check we choose- Thuja knocks down one Companion, we get a false or really high Choice to hit Thuja again, then both our Companions tackle Thuja if we fail while we black out. Lower Relations Companion is then killed by Guard after killing Thuja as above and the other Companion flees Vernex with our unconscious body. I'd like to avoid that.

There are also various Class special attacks available in this battle starting her. A Thug can grab the Cell's Chamber Pot and fling poop in Thuja's eyes at the above Choice, creating a free hit same as if we get the Belt off (I am not kidding, play a Thug character and you'll see). Archery can hit Thuja here too, and maybe high Blades (I can't recall my last Blades character).

If we can survive this round, next round more methods open for damaging Thuja. A Sage can study the Belt and deactivate its Runes while our Companion distracts him, creating another free hit (this may require high Arcana instead of or in addition to a Sage, Sages usually have high Arcana anyway). A Monk who talked to Sister Verilia or her male counterpart can use a Ki Strike (Bill didn't survive past this round, but I saw the Ki Strike Option during one of my test runs for Renata which is why I had Sister Geri teach her Dim Mak back in Elmvale, I just can't remember whether I picked Balance or Unlock Secrets with Verilia during that run- either may be required- and if it was here or at the subsequent choice the Option appeared. I'm using Dim Mak to kill Thuja anyway even if we can't actually do a Ki Strike- Thuja is going down in a thematic way.

). You can also hit Thuja with high Magic, Archery, or Blades while he attacks your Companion next round. Never tried with Unarmed. It probably works too if it's high enough.

I can't remember all the Checks involved in either the "Get Close and Grease" and "Blast with Fire, then Attack while Distracted" methods, but I think I can pass them all. Which method sounds riskier and more fun to you?

Current Thuja Health 50, Renata Health 75. Tomorrow afternoon- hopefully- Thuja is going down. :black101:

# ? Dec 7, 2017 04:11

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 12:02

Avalerion: Oct 19, 2012

Moving in close is definitely more badass and more "monky".

# ? Dec 7, 2017 08:30

SimplyUnknown1: Aug 18, 2017; Cat Cat Cat

Use magic. Getting in too close might put us in even more danger, and we don't have as much health as i would like.

# ? Dec 7, 2017 17:51

achtungnight: Oct 5, 2014; I get my fun here. Enjoy!

I think I want to show off the cheap but dangerous method of beating Thuja first. It's pretty badass. I can totally do the other way, too, though- I need to retcon a couple things with Renata for best effect in LH2 so I'll show it off at a later update via time travel with Dr. Brown again (not Doctor Who, I couldn't pick which Doctor Who I wanted to use and Dr. Brown works fine). Don't worry, I'm not doing that till after we kill Thuja the first time, I'm also not retconning again afterwards. This LP has gotten crazy enough.

I'm mainly doing retcon to get back some Gold I spent in LH1 on things I won't be using, Gold I want for LH2. I also need to set up a scene for later with Jess- I'm doing something with her a lot of Jess fans might appreciate when it plays out. Not saying more.

I also need to say this.

I think after Renata's run finishes, I want to do a new LH Trilogy LP thread and actually run the game with a voting audience as I planned in the beginning. Writing Fanfic and thinking about the game events as I wrote this LP has given me a huge appreciation for how much open-endedness Lucid worked into the canon text. You'll see more of it as Renata's story continues, then after we're done with Renata (and my earlier mentioned next planned lottery voting LP of Tin Star, I have to let time fade memory just a bit and try out the lottery vote system

), I will start that thread. I think this series is good enough people will still be interested years after it comes out. I hope I'm right. Renata's run- and any other fanfic character runs I end up doing to show off other open-ended developments in LH I might do by my own volition or request- will then stand in the SA Archives or another site's archives as examples of badass LH LPs. Later, we goons will have the chance to do our own by our will.

I'll talk more about these plans at the end of this update. First, let me wrap up some LH1 action.

Thuja KO posted:

You smile at Thuja. "That Belt of yours is quite an advantage... can I have it if I defeat you?"

- "You'll have to get it off me first."

"Ok."

-Take a hit and move in close.

Thuja hits you as you charge him. Thuja's axe is swift as it digs into your side. You grit your teeth against the blow as you feel blood running down your legs.
(Health -50)

Thuja raises his other axe. You have seconds to act.

1. Ram your dagger into Thuja's side.

2. Hit Thuja in the face with your elbow.

3. Grab Thuja's belt and try to pull it off.

4. Try to unbuckle Thuja's belt and pull it off.

5. Cast a grease spell on Thuja's belt and try to pull it off.

You can get free close range hits here but I don't think they do enough damage to beat Thuja. Using the Check I know works to remove the Belt...

Grease! posted:

You speak the incantation quickly, and see the slippery grease appear across his body. It doesn't take very much effort to grab the Belt and slide it down his legs to the floor. Thuja is so surprised by your action he does not resist.
(Magic +3)

Thuja's movements slow down immediately. His pants also fall, revealing the traditional white underwear covered in hearts enemy Brutes usually wear.

- "You... I can still beat you without my Belt!"

"Let's see."

You step backward, then lash out and...

~~1. Throw your Dagger at Thuja.~~

2. Push Thuja backward.

~~3. Use Magic to throw Thuja backward.~~

The axeman is still adjusting to his lack of speed as he is violently pushed off his feet. His head strikes the ground with a sickening crunch.
(Unarmed +2)

Thuja rolls over, stands up, and growls.

- "It'll take more than that!"

"How about this?"

You sweep in and hit Thuja with the Dim Mak technique Sister Geri taught you before she died. Without his Belt, which he never bothered to practice without wearing after he acquired it, his axe attacks are too slow to hit you. Thuja gasps upon your strikes impacting and then collapses again. He glares at you one last time, then his eyes close. You ease him to the Dungeon floor, then take a breath and step away.

The large axeman is dead. He had brought in the Mercenaries that allowed your Castle to be attacked and your kingdom to be torn apart. Selina may have been the one who poisoned your parents at Zusak's bidding, but it was Thuja's Mercenaries who made it all possible- or at least the cover-up afterwards. Perhaps your parents will rest a little easier in their graves now that the man is dead.

You pick up his Magical Belt and put it around your own waist, watching as it shrinks and stretches to magically fit your body.
(Gained Belt of Speed

Thuja's Artifact has no special bonuses other than extra options in future games, but it is a nice prize. Nicer is that we got to save a Companion because we killed Thuja. Too bad we can't save our Mentor too.

Mentor Death posted:

You are wounded from the battle with Thuja, but you'll live. You return to your friends whom you left behind in the Cell.

Theo smiles when he sees you.

- "I was watching when I could. I was ready if you needed help."

"I'm good, but thanks. What about Sister Geri?"

- "She's conscious, but..."

Sister Geri coughs as you kneel at her side. She smiles and takes the hand you place on hers.

- "Renata, I saw the beginning of your fight with Thuja... and the end. I am proud!"

"I only used what you taught me, Sister."

- "Go to the Eye of Heaven, learn more. Remember the Nemesis Ritual. Supreme Sensei Hamato... said it was key... to the future of Daria. You must defeat... Selina and Zusak. Avenge your Realm. Also, go back to Elmvale when you can. Find my letter. Find my dau..."

She struggles to say the next word, but it will not come out. You wait and hope. Finally, Sister Geri sighs, clutches your hand, then speaks again.

- "Remember your prayers, Renata. Remember... Find Stanton, find our... remember..."

Sister Geri's eyes close. Her body then fades away and vanishes, as those of old Monks sometimes do. You think you see a blue outline of her spirit standing beside the body for an instant, then that too disappears. Your friends stand over you.

- "I'm sorry... She was my friend too."

- "Renata..."

"I think she knew this was her time. She always told me everyone has a time to die." Despite your attempt at staying strong, you cannot stifle a tear.

You wipe your face, then stand up. "We need to get out of here."

After gathering themselves and looting the defeated Guards, Karla and Theo turn to you, ready for escape.

- "Not so fast!"

I promised something special with Brahl earlier.

BTW, Summoning him against Thuja (you have to do it when Thuja kills your Mentor) is a great first attack for a Demon Summoner character. It doesn't kill Thuja outright, but it will injure him. That's provided you can control Brahl of course (needs 50 Willpower). Not sure if Xi'atta or Zon'ch can also be used somehow. Tyborr doesn't do you any good since 80 Willpower is not possible until LH3 and Dan'daa just plain sucks.

Be Careful Summoning Demons! posted:

You spin to see that the Guard Theo knocked unconscious is standing up. He is also pulling a Demon Stone from his Runebag. Theo and Karla are about to attack the Guard, but you wave them off. While they stand confused, you address the Guard.

"I recognize you now. You let us on the Ferry earlier. How about another Bribe? I have two more Demon Stones that are useless to me."

- "No thanks. The bounty Zusak will put on your head is more tempting. Brehl, I Summon thee!"

The huge horned Demon appears. Theo and Karla gasp, but again you wave at them not to attack.

"Remember me, Brahl?"

- "What are you doing? Brehl, kill them all!"

The Guard is shocked when the Demon turns around and glares at him.

- "That's not my name, fool! You're mine!"

The enemy Guard's eyes turn glassy and he is Possessed! Brahl flexes his claws, then smiles at you.

- "This is your favor. Choose his fate."

"He'll lead us out of Vernex, saying we're his prisoners. You can help him escort us for cover, then kill him."

- "Ok, but after this, you never Summon me nor my brothers Xi'atta and Zon'ch again. I'll take our Stones back with me to the Demon Plane so we will be free."

"No problem. Three less Demons for our enemies."

Theo and Karla nod at your plan.

- "Good plan, Renata! We can't exactly fight our way out of here."

- "Yeah. If the Guards don't believe we have enough escort, we can just make like Zusak's Invisible Demon Rale'Run is around too."

A voice from the Cell's door addresses you.

- "I had a backup plan, in case you need more Guards."

The old Assassin is standing outside your Cell. With him are several other Assassins from his local Guild.

- "I got help from my Guildmaster in case you needed it to escape. Sorry, we couldn't rescue your other two friends who were captured. A scientist we met said they'll both be okay, though. He's waiting for us across the lake."

- "Scientist? What's a scientist?"

- "I don't know. But he told me he knows about the future. Maybe he's some kind of Seer."

"Is his name Dr. Brown?" you ask. "Am I about to time travel again?"

- "Yes, he did say something about that."

"I had a feeling."

You decide to explain about Dr. Brown to your friends later. Escape is more important at the moment.

Together with your various allies, you flee the Dungeon Compound. Nobody stops you as you exit the building, finding yourself on the dark streets of Vernex.

Your friends express surprise during the escape.

- "Where are all the Guards? It's like someone called them off or something."

- "Let's not ask questions. Let's just get out of here."

It's almost too easy as you board a ferry to leave the Compound. The Guards on the other side of Lake Vernex confront you, but accept Albert's explanation that you are a prisoner transfer. They ask no questions; they are only worried about people entering the city. You go to the local Stables and hand one of the sleepy-looking stable hands your tokens. They bring out Lump and the other Mounts you left behind. Without a word, you saddle up and ride away.
(Gained Lump and Lost Mount Token)

On the outskirts of the city, Albert agrees to take charge of Gale and Jess's Mounts and see that they are returned someday after you rescue your friends, as you hope to someday accomplish. He also agrees to see that Sister Geri's elderly gray mare is given a good home now that its owner has passed on. Theo and Karla take back their Horses. Albert departs from you with his fellow Assassins, leading the other Mounts away.

Brahl kills the Possessed Guard as you promised he could, then turns to you. You place his Demon Stone, Xi'atta's Stone, and Zon'ch's Stone, all of which you will have no further use for, in the Demon's open palm. You are keeping the mildly glowing Demon Lord Stone Zusak wanted so badly, hoping you can keep it out of Zusak's hands.

"Keep these Stones safe, Brahl. Destroy them if you can."

- "I can and will. Thank you. As soon as I go back to the Demon Plane, my brothers and I will be free. And perhaps one day, as foretold by the Great Prophecy, you will free us all."

You frown at the Demon. "Great Prophecy?"

- "Yes. Our Seer O'Kall spoke to us before the Som'Reth took her away. One day, she said, the Demon Queen of Daria will come and free us all!"

A terrible smile appears on Brahl's face. Brahl disappears before you can protest his words. You know that you are not the Queen of Daria yet, nor are you a Demon, but you have a bad feeling you will find out what Brahl was talking about later in your life.

Your escape from Vernex is unbelievably easy. I have wondered about that for a while. It is one of many things that has made me think about these games and realize their brilliance as I wrote this LP.

I could have easily had someone else rescue us here after we beat Thuja. Maybe even a Duke we asked for help earlier! Or I could have gone with my original plan, the second half of which was...

Zusak let us go! posted:

In the highest tower of his Complex, unknown to you, Zusak has been observing your escape through his Crystal Ball. Kut'Seen, Rale'Run, and another Demon you have not seen before stand next to him.

- "You let them go, Master? Why?"

- "I want to see how the Princess grows. I want her to see what I am doing to her Realm, the power I will gain. Perhaps one day it will tempt her to my side, or maybe she'll be more of a challenge if we ever meet again."

- "I see. Should we not monitor her, though?"

- "Of course we should. That's your job, Rale'Run. Watch over the Princess and report back to me reguarly so that I know everything she does. If I find the chance to kill her, I may take it."

- "What about me?"

- "You I'm holding in reserve, Kut'Seen. In case I need someone to easily defeat the Princess or her Companions. You're practically invulnerable, so you're best for that."

The third Demon growls at Zusak.

- "What are you doing, Zusak? This isn't part of our deal!"

- "I am altering our deal, Bla'kaar. It was in the contract we agreed to after you spared my life. Read the contract again if you like, I worked on it with several very good lawyers!"

The Demon mutters.

- "Bla'kaar, I want the power of a god among Demons, as you have promised me. I am not backing out of our deal. The Princess's survival is part of my plan. I can use her to remove anyone else whom I no longer want as an ally, just as she removed Thuja for me already. I can also use her to test out my tools and allies as my power grows. I have already promised Selina that."

- "Fine. I suppose, as a Demon, I must approve of your devious nature. But you had best be keeping to our deal!"

- "I know very well the terms of our deal. Do not forget in whose blood the deal was signed."

Zusak turns back to his Crystal Ball, watching you after he dismisses his Demons. He shrugs to himself when he sees you giving your Demon Stones to Brahl. He then turns away and looks at a picture of his family.

- "Lachlan... I'm sorry. I do this for you, all of it. Zabrina... Please understand. We will be together soon."

He touches his finger to the picture as the scene fades.

We'll get some answers about this scene in LH3. It's one of many original bits the game allows. Bla'karr is a canon LH3 character.

Back with Renata posted:

You stand on the shore of Lake Vernex. Theo and Karla are about to discuss your future with you when Dr. Brown jumps out of the bushes.

- "Renata, you must come with me, we must go back in time. We have to fix the future! I have been there."

"The Future? Is everything okay?"

- "Yes, the future is just fine. Except a few things, just a few... like your friend. We have to do something about your friend!"

"Which friend? Gale? Jess?"

- "I will explain everything, but I must be careful. The future is very unpredictable, very hard to change. You should not always mess with history!"

He waves at his DeLorean.

- "Please, Renata, come with me now, just you. My car only has room for two. We will fix your past to best address your future, Renata. Theo and Karla, please wait here for us. It will only be a few minutes for you before we return."

Theo and Karla nod after you explain Dr. Brown's time travel machine to them. They agree to wait for you.

You then get in the DeLorean with Dr. Brown and it speeds away back in time.

Ok, I need to say some things. We haven't technically finished LH1 yet with Renata, but I am pausing this LP now. I think doing it here like this may have been the wrong idea. I didn't entirely plan for everything, my imagination and frustration got control of me as I wrote, and I think keeping Renata's story on SA may or may not work out for the best. So I want to either get assurances from fans that I am wrong, or suggestions about another format for the LP. I am pausing for that now. I am also allowing fans to talk about the game in the thread if they like, things they might want to see me show off that I haven't already talked about. That is all fine. I will provide what answers I can to various questions and so forth. I can mention what certain characters and character Classes can do at various points too.

There are some issues I need to address while this LP is on hold. First, the retcon previously mentioned. I mapped out my plans for Renata last night, both canon and original, and there is a lot of stuff I need to fix and address in the future to do things properly as best I can with the story I want to write for her. Making it up as I go and posting it here is just not working out as best I hoped.

The main issue is game mechanics and screwups. I do not want to screw up at certain points. I also do not want to make Renata too much of a Mary Sue character either- if you don't know what that is, reference the Gary Stu bit earlier in the LP or look it up. I know such characters have their fans, but writing one is a crapshoot and I am not really sure I want to do such a thing. I can embrace it, but I am not sure I should.

Other issues- SA is not a fanfic site IMO. Fanfic LPs are rare here even if a few do exist. There is also lack of feedback and people just do not want to vote or speak up about anything, or so it seems. My muse needs feedback for food. I am grateful for the attention provided by all fans so far- especially my regulars Avalerion, FoolyCharged, Anakha, Luckyellow, SimplyUnknown1, etc. and my inspirations Lord Cyrazhax etc. but this LP is just not working out in its current format with its current level of apparent attention. So I am stopping it here unless convinced otherwise. I will do one of the following though, if enough people argue that I should-

1. Take Renata's story to a Fanfic site such as Fanfiction.Net or another site someone suggests. Novelize the LH Trilogy there as best I can with her as main character, making obvious as best I can how I am running the game with Renata and putting canon vs. original text in different fonts. Include pictures if possible. Post links on this thread before it closes and also give out links to fans who ask. I can also novelize an Evil Run with the Monster or Villain Endings as opposed to the Hero Ending Renata would get and link that here if fans want that. I can do such stories after Renata's story ends.

2. Do the above on SA as a Fanfic LP in the vein of other such LPs that have been on this site. Start a new thread showing off Renata as a character and all my plans for her run. I will make that thread a Fanfic LP from the beginning and continue it as such. Saying it was otherwise before has gotten confusing for people, I think. I may allow fans to vote on various developments if I can find good opportunities, otherwise I will proceed with my own plans. I can also do other character runs after Renata in the same thread or their own threads as seems best. I have ideas about Evil Prince Kai the Rune Warrior / Priest of the Unknown / Priest of Noct who will end up with the Villain Ending; Princess Nadia the Sage / Necromancer / Vampire Lord who ended up either a Villain or an Evil Martyr ; and Prince Hidoh the Uncaring, Evil Thief and eventual Blademaster who will trash his Relations with all possible companions as best he can and end up with the Monster ending as is proper for such an incompetent idiot. I can also attempt to novelize my previous characters if people like.

3. Continue Renata's story in this thread, making it up as I go before I do a formal novelization of everything. If I do a new thread starting over, I will remove the time travel but make it obvious where I retconned and I will make my plans clear from the beginning. Or I can keep the time travel if fans prefer. It's up to fans. I'll just summarize the time travel in the next update if fans prefer I continue Renata's story on this thread.

If I keep Renata's story on SA, I will always allow suggestions from fans for how it should proceed between updates and other forms of feedback / review. I will also put it in a format that can be put on the LP Archive easily someday. My last LP of Howl of the Werewolf was not in such a format, and it disappointed at least one person.

Even if I don't continue the LP here on SA, I can also answer questions about the Lost Heir games, discuss Classes and other things, post pictures of stuff we might see later I intended to use as a collage... whatever fans want. I can even spoil planned future developments in my fanfic if people ask me- using PMs, not public tags!

I can also do other LPs. The lottery voting run of Lost Heir earlier mentioned, my lottery voting run of another game I have planned, whatever inspiration hits. I'll do one of those if fans would prefer it to continuing Renata's story, or I will continue her story instead.

I am leaving this LP paused to discuss all of that until next Wednesday night at least. Please let me know what you would prefer. This message is intended for all regular thread readers and commenters, lurkers, admins, people I might attract with a link on the CoG forums if they'll allow it, anyone... I hope many will respond. Thanks in advance. Later for now. -AN

achtungnight fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Dec 7, 2017

# ? Dec 7, 2017 19:59

achtungnight: Oct 5, 2014; I get my fun here. Enjoy!

Before anyone asks, here are Renata's current stats, pre-retcon-

Stats posted:

Renata the Adept Monk, Lost Princess Heir of Daria

Health: 100%

Specialized Training:
Monk Levels: 2

MORALITY:
Good: 70% Evil: 30%

ABILITIES:
Agility: 43%
Charm: 52%
Endurance: 33%
Perception: 67%
Strength: 26%
Willpower: 23%

SKILLS:
Archery: 3%
Devices: 9%
Magic: 82%
Blades: 3%
Stealth: 16%
Unarmed: 64%

KNOWLEDGE:
Arcana: 61%
Geography: 46%
History: 66%
Nature: 48%
Religion: 74%

RELATIONSHIPS:
Sister Geri: 100%
Theo: 100%
Gale: 100%
Karla: 96%
Jess: 55%

INVENTORY
- a pouch on your belt containing 364 Gold
- a Spellbook
- a Dagger in your sleeve

A backpack containing:
- a black Runebag with 1 mildly glowing Demon Lord Stone in it
- a Rope
- a water skin
- flint and steel
- a sleeping roll

You are riding:
Your Mount, a stubborn Mule named Lump.

You are wearing:
- the bone Necklace of Nature around your neck (+20 Bonus to Nature)
- the Gem of Seeing in your pocket (+20 Bonus to Perception)
- the Cloak of Spiders over your shoulders and down your back
- Thuja's Belt of Speed around your waist.
- your family Signet Ring, on a chain, around your neck (+3 to All)

Please read and respond to the previous update. Thanks.

# ? Dec 7, 2017 20:03

Sighence: Aug 26, 2009

I vote Start over as a lottery-style LP with a new character. We know the system and we know how this author does his checks. Now it's little different from rerolling in any modern RPG game after figuring out their mechanics.

# ? Dec 7, 2017 21:39

anakha: Sep 16, 2009

Novelization sounds interesting, and that might free you up to LP other stuff.

anakha fucked around with this message at 23:12 on Dec 7, 2017

# ? Dec 7, 2017 23:10

FoolyCharged: Oct 11, 2012; Cheating at a raffle? I sentence you to 1 year in jail! No! Two years! Three! Four! Five years! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Somebody call for an ant?

Just do what makes you happy. As long as you're having fun we probably will too.

Although I maintain that any theoretical large reptiles being clung to by humans should be named Steve in honor of the man that made it hip.

# ? Dec 7, 2017 23:59

achtungnight: Oct 5, 2014; I get my fun here. Enjoy!

Early voting results are good. I�m still giving it a week though before I make my final decision. And as FoolyCharged voted, I will ultimately be doing what makes me happy. Right now I�m leaning towards the bolded Choices below.

1. Continue Renata�s run of the Lost Heir Trilogy as a Massively Multiplayer Crossover Fanfic novelization of the games with crazy twists that actually work as best I could include them in the style of Ernest Cline�s novel Ready Player One, Newbiespud's Friendship is Dragons, and TheSinisterMan�s Harry Potter, Prince of Slytherin Fanfic Series (click links if unfamiliar)? YES / NO

2. Restart Renata�s LH run in a new thread that is clearly a novelization fanfic LP as described above? YES / NO

3. Publish the run here on SA vs another site? YES/NO. I know this site will support pics and I can work with the formatting. Other sites I�d have to explore these issues. I can always advertise and link here if doing other sites. I want to do it here though because I started here and I like the place. I also may want votes now and then on certain things, both game mechanics and original content. I'll shoot for thread updates once a week or so as I have LP chapters complete. Maybe once every two weeks if things get complicated. I want to make updates really good.

4. Start a new LH LP thread on SA with Lottery voting, firm deadlines of about one day give or take an hour on all Decisions, nothing mandated, only canon game text no Fanfic or pictures, minimalist best judgment spoiler policy, all these rules firm drat my patience? YES/NO (Pics and original text are lots of work to include and distracting plus they excite my imagination and that will need to be avoided in such a thread as described here I think.)

5. Start the thread described above NEXT WEEK vs LATER after Renata�s run concludes. If I do it later I�ll do another game first in the same style as mentioned previous item, I�m intending to do a Wild West CYOA called Tin Star. I can do LH before that if preferred. I�ll consider another LH run after the first concludes, or I can then do Tin Star instead after the first run or after the second run if doing LH first.

Please let me know what you think of all these ideas. I�m giving the final decisions till next week, Wednesday at the earliest, for consideration. I�ll try to check in here at least once a day and answer questions, post teasers and game reviews, etc while I make up my mind.

FoolyCharged- Steve is an excellent name. The Croc�s gender isn�t specific IIRC so it will work. I�ll try to post the scene of Renata & Karla acquiring the Crocodile as one of my fanfic teasers later on tonight. Your attention is appreciated.

achtungnight fucked around with this message at 04:14 on Dec 8, 2017

# ? Dec 8, 2017 01:48

Arcturas: Mar 30, 2011

I haven't posted much, but I've enjoyed following your prior werewolf-hunting CYOA LP and this LP convinced me to pickup the Lost Heir games (though I haven't really gone through because I get frustrated when I goof). I'm enjoying watching you break down the mechanics and explain everything, but I think your personality and preferences are setting you up to be disappointed. I think the problem is that you're trying to write fanfiction and also LP a game, both at the same time. That's doable, but it's a niche sell, so the viewership is a little lower. If you just wanted to show off the game, you might get some more feedback. Ether showing it off by just doing what the voters say, or doing it as a "here's how the game works" and going through the various mechanics over time.

More important than all that, though, is a question about speed of feedback. It feels like every time I see an update, I go, read the update, and by the time I think about posting a vote, you've already gone and written the next two or three episodes. Or taken the first two votes as determinative and made a call. That worked fine in the wolf-hunting LP because you had a plan for how you wanted to show off the game (go everywhere, do everything) so the players just doing whatever hit first went totally fine. But I think SA LPs work better with a slower pace. If you need voting, two updates a week is probably about right. LPs that don't require voting can do well with more frequent updates (for instance, screenshot LPs of games). I totally understand that's hard to do for a CYOA where each vote leads to only a small amount of game movement, and you really want to show off the whole thing ASAP, but it's just hard to get participation every single day. For instance, I only really have time to check the forums once a day (I can check on my phone more often but no way in hell am I phone posting).

All this is to say: I'm having fun reading. I hope you are having fun. If not, it's most important that you're still enjoying yourself. Do whichever you like.

# ? Dec 8, 2017 04:46

achtungnight: Oct 5, 2014; I get my fun here. Enjoy!

Arcturas- Good to see you again. I'm glad I inspired you to pick up the Lost Heir games, that's awesome. I'm also glad you've been enjoying this LP along with my previous work.

I agree with everything you said. It seemed carefully considered. I appreciate that. The problem with this LP is exactly what you said- I'm trying to do too much and I didn't really have a plan when I started. Thus things have kind of imploded after my personality messed things up. I'm still having fun, I just think viewers (and I) would have more fun if I refined the LP format and kept it in a coherent style from the beginning vs what ended up happening. Thus my current plan to restart it as a novelization fanfic that shows off the game as you described- a "here's how the game works" and going through the various mechanics over time as we progress through heroine Renata's story. I'll include original elements throughout and make it evident what's canon and what's not- this is how I best write, as I've learned from experience. I may request votes at times, but I will ultimately control the flow and make each decision. I will also control the pace better for quality. I did not have the Discipline & Patience stats (talking LH mechanics here, please indulge me) required to do this before. I want to develop such stats, max them out if I can. Get me? Not having these stats at high levels is harming my life in many ways.

My current plans for developing these stats- aided by SA hopefully- are to:

1) do a fanfic "how the game works" LP of Lost Heir with Renata as main character as already described. Updates will be slowed to one every one or two weeks (I will judge the pace required) and addressed for quality and continuity, then presented as story chapters. I'll collect feedback in between. I am working on the outline for game mechanics I want to include, decisions I want to make, and original elements such as the pictures I have been posting, the Nemesis Ritual subplot arc (spoiled below to some degree), and so forth. When I have that outline done for at least the first game of the LH Trilogy, and it's coherent with my plans, I'll begin the LP. That's still a while away. I hope to start it with the New Year.

2) do a seperate thread with a minimal spoilers lottery voting run of LH that is all canon text, no pics or fanfic, as earlier described. This may happen alongside the Fanfic run described above or not (probably will). This is what I intended in the beginning, adjustments include lottery voting and firm update schedule I will follow. I think such a thread might be popular here, I just didn't give it a proper chance. That was my own drat fault. I wanted to repeat the "go everywhere, do everything" plan of my Werewolf LP, but that just won't work for these games. I learned that the hard way. Renata's run will come as close as I can get to that with her character and other characters I include and expand as featured in previous updates. The seperate thread described here will feed my need for attention on a regular basis and allow fans of the LP style described to have the kind of format they'd prefer. Maybe some fans will be attracted to my fanfic by the lottery thread and vice versa. I'd like that too.

- At some point, I am also planning to do a lottery CYOA thread of Tin Star, a Wild West CYOA I don't know as well as Lost Heir and am not quite as enthusiastic about- though I still think it's a great game and story- in a similar format to my LH run described above. I don't want to do more than one lottery CYOA LP thread at a time, though. So should I do a game I love first, or did my attempt at this botched LP make it better that I wait to let memories fade and poor judgement mistakes be forgiven? That is what I'm questioning here. LPing is a learning experience for me. I want to get it right.

I appreciate all feedback on doing so. There are several issues to address. We'll cover them during the next week or so. I have hopes, dreams, and plans.

Here's the Crocodile Teaser scene I promised earlier. Enjoy.

LH2. Karla gets an Epic Mount posted:

As Princess Renata, you are traveling across Daria to assault your enemy Selina's Castle. You have paused in your marching to explore a Swamp near the village of Dobbton. You are hoping to find a mystic Arcane Tattooist who lives in the Swamp. Theo, Gale, a Guard Captain you met in Brightwater, and Karla are with you.

The wetlands seem to continue forever as you swat bugs, pull leeches from your skin, and wade through the stagnant water. You are a few days away from the Army when suddenly Theo vanishes under the water with a large splash!

1. Use your Gem of Seeing to find your friend.

2. Dive into the water to save him.

3. Call out to him.

4. Give up searching.

You swim toward the splash and peer through the murky water. You see Theo pinned to the muddy swamp floor by a large scaly creature! His hands are beating ineffectually at the thick green skin of the monster.
(Perception +2)

You recognize the monster as a Dire Crocodile, an enlarged version of the normal animals that lurk in Swamps such as this.

1. Cast a spell to instill fear into the Crocodile.

2. Swim to the Crocodile and use your Ki Strike upon it.

3. Jump onto the beast and pull it off your friend.

You dive onto the enormous Crocodile's back. It is still busy with Theo, so you are able to wrap your legs around it and grip its head. You pull back with all of your weight, angling the creature's head upward. It releases Theo and then bucks you off. Luckily, instead of fighting you, it swims away into the murky water as Theo gasps for air.
(Unarmed +3 and Strength +3)

You help Theo reach the surface safely. Meanwhile, Karla pursues the Crocodile. Instead of shooting it with her Bow, she leaps into the water beside it and reaches out her hand. The Crocodile responds to Karla's Ranger Animal Kinship and does her no harm.

- "Hey, Renata, Theo! I'm keeping this Crocodile. I want to ride him. I think I'll call him Steve."

- "Karla, just so you know, I think that is a terrible idea!"

You disagree with Theo, though he has your sympathy, and allow Karla to keep the Crocodile. Hopefully it will somehow be an advantage for her.

A voice from the shore calmly addresses you.

- "That was close."

You look up to see a small woman standing among the ferns. She is wearing rough brown robes and stands in bare-feet at the water's edge. You see that every inch of the woman's body is covered with colourful tattoos.

This has to be Sophie, the Arcane Tattooist (actress Rose McGowan). You meet her, then ask...

- "Can you give everyone in my Army a Magical Tattoo?"

- "Do you have any idea how insane that sounds?"

Unbolded content was game canon text, Bolded was my original fanfic, real game Options were underlined. I did all the Perception and Unarmed actions above because I was actually playing with my previous character Bill, not Renata, and edited him into Renata (who's still quite a ways from this). Bill had max Unarmed and Perception, so he was able to do all that he did. I hope the same will be true of Renata when she gets to this point.

Original Plans for the Crocodile in the fanfic include having it fight a terrifying Hellbeast (no pic ready at this time) while Karla and her future husband must battle the Hellbeast's Dark Knight rider. Meanwhile, Renata must fight some cavalry allied with the Dark Knight alongside her army. I intend for the sequence to resemble a fantasy world version of the real life historical Battle of Nagashino. Renata will be emulating Nobunaga in that fight while Duke Eddan falls into the role of Katsuyori Takeda and gets curb-stomped via Renata's superior tactics. Later in LH3, the Crocodile will be used as a seperate defense vessel to help protect our ship from a pirate ship. A certain famous Disney pirate will fall off the ship during the battle and the Crocodile will eat his hand and the clock it is holding. Captain Hook will then escape but the homage will be fulfilled. I'm not sure what other things I could do with the Crocodile yet. There are no cool unique opportuntities to do stuff with it in the canon game that I've found and that was disappointing. I hope people will like the expansions.

I also need to address whether I should do mock original vote choices at times. Stuff like the following scene. Note- this scene is entirely original, although it does openly spoil a few canon things for LH2. I hope it is enjoyed, especially by fans of the characters Selina, Jess, and Lump. Original Options are underlined.

LH2 Original End Boss Fight posted:

As Princess Renata, you are trapped in Selina's Castle in Tornassa. Selina, your Nemesis, took this Castle over after killing its previous owner Duke Uddo via backstabbing disguised as marriage negotiation. You are currently attempting to reunite the Kingdom of Daria under your rightful rulership by leading an army to conquer and subjugate the parts you do not control. The former duchies of Dumain and Eddan are already in your hands, and Uddo will follow once you defeat Selina and capture her Castle. Bandar is an afterthought that will be addressed later since its governing Duke is weak.

The Siege of Tornassa Castle has been incredibly difficult for you. Before your campaign culminating in the Siege, you decided to cut war spending to ease painful taxes Selina had placed on your people. You tried to compensate by recruiting several allies for your army- various demihumans, your Royal Consort Theo's Norgan Barbarian Clan, and raw recruits you picked up during your marching. The interplay of doing this amassed several Army Delays and frustrated your Army's General. But he is handling his frustration because you are his Queen.

Of more immediate concern, you broke into the City of Tornassa through its wall, fought your way to the Castle, and upon reaching it were confronted by Selina and her Chief Minion, the dreaded Red Wizard. Upon confrontation with Selina, you engaged her in battle and learned that she had been transformed into an older stronger more Evil version of the practical Monk/Seer/Magic-User/Princess you are. This happened via a dangerous arcane rite known as the Nemesis Ritual that Selina activated to defeat you and help her take over Daria. A strange human named AchtungNight who called himself an "Author Avatar" appeared in your Army's main camp one evening during the Siege of Tornassa and filled you in on everything he could regarding the Nemesis Ritual.

The Nemesis Ritual, AchtungNight said, is not actually an arcane rite. It is in reality a "computer code virus" that was released into the very natural and Magical fabric of Daria by an angry "hacker fan of the Creator God Lucid" who was disappointed in "Lucid's games" for some reason. AchtungNight is working on Lucid's behalf to shut down the Nemesis Ritual and get rid of it before it upsets and confuses any more Lost Heir series fans. However, he has been forced to get your "in-world" help in this task because of how extensive and insidious the Nemesis Ritual is. The main thing it is doing is expanding the "canon plot" of your character's game life by creating a Nemesis character for you and nearly every single one of your allies within the enemy faction opposed to your ruling Daria. You and your allies are constantly forced to defeat these characters as you progress through your life. Some are "game canon expanded", some are "original products of the Nemesis Ritual inspired by popular characters from outside the Lost Heir universe". All Nemesis characters are extremely dangerous, as they require action from both their personal Nemesis character and an ally to permanently defeat.

You don't understand everything AchtungNight has told you. It is very confusing and clearly not all centered in your world's laws of physics and Magic. He insists things will work out for the best eventually. You have decided to have faith in what he has told you. Maybe... hopefully... your world's code will be repaired and the Nemesis Ritual will be erased.

For the present, you must defeat your Nemesis Selina. She has already nearly killed you several times during the Siege of Tornassa. The deadliest instance thus far was when she revealed that her minion the Red Wizard was actually your friend Jess, corrupted by Selina's evil Decision Maker influence and an addiction to her mystical Red Poison. Thankfully, you were able to keep yourself from killing Jess and keep her from killing you, although you were knocked unconscious for a time. Now she is back on your side, or so you hope. She told you she had made a false defection to Selina's side to protect herself and help you defeat Selina. You hope she was telling the truth.

Right now, Jess is elsewhere in Selina's Castle, battling her own personal Nemesis. You are meanwhile chasing Selina up the stairs of the Castle's highest tower. It is taxing even to your Monk Endurance, but you have eventually reached the top.

In the room at the top of the tower, Selina stands before a large window and a door bound with iron. She smiles coldly at your entry and addresses you.

- "My fellow Princess! Welcome! Glad you could finally catch up with me."

"Surrender, Selina," you say. "I am really getting sick of dealing with you. Please, surrender. I'll make your death quick."

- "Come now, Princess. You have already lost the Siege of Tornassa. True, your Army beat mine through the canon game mechanics, but you were defeated by my Red Wizard, so you lost. It does not matter that she didn't really betray you. You lost. Right now my demihuman allies- whom I held in reserve to defeat your demihuman allies- are decimating your Army, aided by the great historical Chinese warrior Lu Bu, who is a game mechanic the Nemesis Ritual created to make sure your Army was defeated here if you lost the Siege of Tornassa. Zusak's Demon Army will also be here eventually to seal the end of your Army even if they somehow defeat my reserves and Lu Bu. You have lost, Princess. Give up. Accept your fate. You have lost."

"I cannot accept that. I will reunite the Kingdom of Daria, defeat you, and save my people. It does not matter that I am losing this Siege."

- "Are you still trying to win? Fine, I'll indulge you a while longer. But know this, you will not defeat me here. Also know this, I have corrupted more than one of your friends to defeat you."

"Who could you have corrupted besides Jess?"

- "Why, the Mount you gave up to make your diplomacy faster! Your former Mule, Lump, is now my Red Mule!"

Selina waves her hand and the door beside her opens, revealing a large freakishly stunted Mule. Her eyes are bloodshot and rimmed with rage. You recognize your old friend Lump, the Mount you so casually gave up when you thought a Horse would be better for you in the long run. Lump is glaring at you now, apparently corrupted by Selina and eager for revenge!

-"Lump... no..."

- "Yes, Princess! Lump is mine, and you are not long for this world. Kill her, Red Mule!"

Lump advances towards you, moving in front of Selina between her and you. You...

-Consider attacking your former Mount.

Such an action is not in your character. You loved Lump even though you gave her up. You cannot find it within yourself to risk killing her. It does not matter that she is apparently your enemy now. Instead you must...

-Accept your fate as Lump decides.

Lump stares at you. You stare back. You try to make her remember without words all the good times you gave her when you were together. You plead with her that Selina is wrong, that she needs to be strong enough to overcome Selina's Evil reconditioning.

Selina picks up on what you are doing.

- "That won't work, Princess. My Red Poison works better on animals than humans. Sure, your other friend was a false defection, but Lump is mine! I have fed her Red Poison every day since I bought her from the trader to whom you sold her after Zusak's Demon Rale'Run told me about it. She could not resist because she was nothing more than an animal! Now she will kill you. This I command!"

-"Lump... please..."

Lump locks eyes with you for a moment, the longest moment of your life thus far. Then, as you hoped, she suddenly lunges backwards, not forwards! Not at you, but at Selina! Lump bucks Selina with her hind legs, knocking her away!

Selina screams as she is knocked back and crashes out the window in front of which she stood. She falls from the tower. Hoping she will not survive the fall, you...

1. Leap out the window after Selina and engage her in an Unarmed Freefall Battle while you both descend.

2. Stand on the window ledge and fry Selina's falling body with your lightning Magic.

3. Scream orders to your Army below you to intercept Selina and make sure she is dead, hoping they will be able to hear and understand you.

4. Let Selina fall.

(Aside- any one of the above Options would end with Selina dead and Renata triumphant. If we did Option 1, we would then teleport back to the room at the top of the tower to retrieve Lump after breaking our fall with Selina's dead body. Afterwards, we would learn Lump is too weak from Red Poison resistance and withdrawal to serve as our Mount again. But at least she forgives us for abandoning her and we check her into the same rehab facility we put Mazrim in earlier after Gale captured him and brought him before us to judge his fate. We then lose the Siege of Tornassa, nothing we can really do about that. But at least we got to beat Selina in an epic way. Our General made the mistake of pursuing Lu Bu and was killed by him. But AchtungNight was able to delete Lu Bu from the Lost Heir code before he could do any more serious damage. You can guess the rest or wait for my actual fic.)

Did y'all like that? If you don't want me to include such things in the fanfic thread later, I can drop the plans. Maybe. Such things definitely won't be in the lottery LH thread I have planned. These fanfic bits will just be me having fun and resolving original elements my imagination forces me to work into my LP. Kind of similar to what 9-Gear-Crow did in his LP of White Knight Chronicles. That was another inspiration for this. Don't know if I can pull off the same quality, but I want to try.

I'm going to keep thinking about it. Let me know your thoughts please.

I'll try to post some reviews of LH1 and its sequels tomorrow night. Maybe some pics I haven't used yet too just to tease people. We'll see.

# ? Dec 8, 2017 07:38

Avalerion: Oct 19, 2012

Being familiar with the game already probably gives me a different perspective on this stuff, so just going to second this:

FoolyCharged posted:

Just do what makes you happy. As long as you're having fun we probably will too.

# ? Dec 8, 2017 08:18

achtungnight: Oct 5, 2014; I get my fun here. Enjoy!

Ok, I have made some decisions regarding this. I think most people are waiting to see what I will do rather than try to sway me. That's fine, I am somewhat unpredictable.

So here's my current decision- what I think will make me happy.

First off, this thread will stay open a while for comments and then close. I am stopping Renata's current run here. I had fun with it and I know others did too, but for the big picture it is best we stop doing things they way they have been done here. This is my choice as GM.

Second, I will start out the new lottery voting run of Lost Heir I have discussed here next Wednesday December 13 around 1700 CST. All will be welcome to participate under the new guidelines, to which I will stick. You can wait to see what those guidelines will be, though they were somewhat discussed above. I will use that thread to allow SA goons to freely explore and play the Lost Heir games, subject to lottery voting. I hope it will be enjoyed.

Third, I will play through Tin Star and other games (I'm considering doing T-Rex Time Machine at some point, but I need to actually play it first) in the same way after Lost Heir's first run is concluded and if we're not ready for a second run immediately afterwards. I think it best I start this off with a game I know more intimately and enjoyed more than other good games, their quality notwithstanding. I need to prove myself to readers and to myself.

Fourth, regarding the fanfiction run of Lost Heir for Renata, I still want to do it. I think I may have some fans now and I'll get more. SA is the only site I've found that will support doing it the way I want to do it. So unless someone with authority tells me it's an outright bad idea in a way I can accept, I'm attempting it here if I attempt it at all. When I am ready (outline for first game and the first chapter of Renata's story prepared) I will lay out in a new thread how I will be doing such an LP of Lost Heir, playing Renata, addressing canon vs. original content, what stats I want to max out, etc. I then will welcome all interested readers to visit such a thread to experience a great game played in a badass expanded way that will hopefully entertain people. This thread and the lottery system free play thread will advertise for each other, but I will do my utmost to avoid bleeding between the two. I think I can do it, with the help of my fans. If it doesn't work out for whatever reason (no time means I need to abandon it, it's getting to be too much for me, etc), I think fans will understand. Or maybe they'll stick with me and we'll end up with something awesome... or awful. :laugh:

In both threads, and in all my future actions on SA and the rest of my life, I will endeavor to do things right, learn from my mistakes, and keep moving forward. I appreciate all help given to me on that path.

Before we close the thread, I want to do a few more things.

First, I want to review Lost Heir 1. We never got to 2 or 3 here, so I'll hold off on those unless people want me to talk more about them. I won't post pics either, even though I do have some great pics for Demons, Elves, Mer-People, and other game creatures and scenes we have not yet seen in the LP. I want to hold those in reserve for my fanfic run after it starts. I would love to discuss them and the original plans for each, but I think it better to hold off unless people make a request. Let the games speak for themselves. Let the fanfic do the same. Teasers are great, but better with full context, right? So you'll get that context later. If not from me, you can play out the games yourself and find your own best context. As long as you're having fun, all is good.

To review Lost Heir 1, I give it an overall 4/5. The one mark off is for things that were an obvious learning experience for the author and not done right IMO. This includes the way all the training options in the Winter at Elmvale sequence were presented, some of the morality stuff, and a few other things I've talked about already during the LP. There are also the bugs in the game, some of which are still being found years after it came out (see the Mischief Shrine event earlier). Some of the game's demerits can be excused as replay value, others it's a judgement call. I think playing through the games to learn most of the mechanics is a good thing to do, but not all players may have the same interests. Is this good or bad? You decide.

Regardless of demerits, Lost Heir 1 is an excellent setup for the second part of the series. It's also a wonderful story and it only gets better. Participate in the threads mentioned above or play the games yourself. You will see.

I welcome all readers of this thread and all fans of Lost Heir 1 to post their thoughts on the game, starting now. Spoilers are open for the future games too. I'll check in when I can and when I'm ready to close the thread, I will let you know. Same for advertising the threads mentioned above.

# ? Dec 8, 2017 19:06

Avalerion: Oct 19, 2012

Other than the story itself being fun and just the kind of epic fantasy I enjoy, I appreciate how this series embraces the gamey-ness, like you have actual classes and prestige classes, the skill failures always giving you the numbers of the check encourages trying out different builds, and the skills themselves are also pretty straightforward instead of something vague or symbolic like "Rightness" or "Guts".

# ? Dec 8, 2017 19:32

achtungnight: Oct 5, 2014; I get my fun here. Enjoy!

Second thing I want to do is plug other great LPs and walkthroughs of the games I found during my research for this LP during the past few months.

A good video one I found recently is Lucas Anderson's YouTube walkthrus of LH1 and LH2. This LPer gives some great unexpected advice for the games, including a way to Romance Bran/Brinn as an Evil Character in LH2 and still get them to help you find the Nobles against you in the Diplomacy Section without Relations penalties after you deal with said Nobles (use Threaten, not Beat Up or Kill, there may be a Charm check but you want Charm anyway regardless, it's an awesome stat). I hope he does LH3 one of these days.

There is a thread on the CoG Forums started by NeoHeartless and continued by others where posters can contribute Guides for various characters. The Squire/Ranger Guide here can easily help you Max Blades & Archery by the end of the first game and also give you a good score in Magic to up with a Priest Level in LH2. Then you can get Dragon Rider. I used that for Princess Rynn (playing as the heroine of the Drakan games I mentioned before) recently. My Princess Alicia Bard build originally came from here too. There are also great guides for Assassin/Druid, Vampire/Necromancer, Thief/Ranger, Paladin/Demon Summoner, and other Classes, some of which I've used in the past. All these will give you great ways to complete the games.

Please feel free to post your own beloved walkthroughs and LP if you have any.

I would be very remiss if I did not post a link to Lucid's Facebook Page discussing his past and future project games at some point. So here you go.

One more thing- I want to invite fans to post the craziest thing they've ever discovered in Lost Heir, tried to do in it, seen done in it, or done related to it. Mine is probably this LP.

A close second is this- A good friend of mine named Ben (he doesn't post here but allowed me to share this story) has tried to play the games as various historical figures. He succeeded well with Genghis Khan (Squire/Ranger Build for high Blades and Archery, also Thug levels for Threats once his skills were up) and Teddy Roosevelt (high Unarmed and Archery as a Thug/Ranger), then not so much with Joan of Arc (I made some suggestions about achieving the Paladin Class better and he's trying again now). His next project is Gandhi (high Charm and Stealth, Monk/Priest Levels, as non-violent as possible). I'm not sure how that's going to work out, but I give Ben points for trying- maybe if it goes wrong I'll suggest he flip over to Civilization Gandhi instead of Historical Gandhi. I've also suggested he try to play as Batman (Thug levels for Unarmed plus threats- we all know Batman likes those- plus high Devices and Stealth through Thief Levels). He's taking it under advisement, adding it would be difficult to slip in good Knowledge abilities and Archery to simulate Batarangs. But maybe one day it could work.

Post your own stories if you like.

achtungnight fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Dec 9, 2017

# ? Dec 9, 2017 04:14

achtungnight: Oct 5, 2014; I get my fun here. Enjoy!

Alright, well, I will let this thread drift back on its own for now. It was a good learning experience and I had some fun, I think a few fans did too.

Next week look for the lottery voting restarted run thread as promised. I'll try to have it up on Wednesday. Renata's run to show off game mechanics and fanfic will come when it is ready, it may come slowly as I find time to plan, outline, and write it in the quality I want. I hope both are enjoyed. Again, thanks to all readers and voters, regular and otherwise.

I'll finish my last post (that I currently foresee) here by putting up a link to a song that has inspired me to write Renata's run. I consider it her theme song. Earthquake, by Cardinox, is the song. Enjoy.

# ? Dec 9, 2017 17:07

Arcturas: Mar 30, 2011

Please post links to any new threads.

# ? Dec 11, 2017 05:48

achtungnight: Oct 5, 2014; I get my fun here. Enjoy!

No problem. I�ve been reconsidering however and it will be too confusing for me to do two LPs of the same game in two different ways at once. So I�m just going to do Renata�s run as fanfic narrative when I have it ready followed by other characters� runs to show off different side quests, classes, etc. I will seek votes for stuff to show off throughout even though I�ll ultimately make each decision- it will repeat some material from this thread but finish all three games. Interest is appreciated.

I�ll try to get the opening post and first chapter of the new thread up later this week.

# ? Dec 11, 2017 10:14

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 12:02

achtungnight: Oct 5, 2014; I get my fun here. Enjoy!

New thread can be found here Enjoy!

# ? Dec 14, 2017 01:09

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Let's Save Daria! Let's Play The Lost Heir Trilogy from ChoiceOfGames

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