Heroica RPG - Quest Masters' Lounge

[Palathadric]

My other big complaint was the Shadow Sister... why was she there? What purpose did she serve? It's a danger with those of us with bigger stories to tell, and it's something I struggle with also, but it's my belief that behind a rare hint and poke, every event in a quest should serve THAT quest, not some other one. It felt like it was setting something up, but never came back, so it was a day or two of cameo with no pay-off.

I have to agree that I didn't really care for that part of the quest either. The Shadow Sisters are awesome, but Irene...is it?... being there and her interactions with the heroes just seemed a bit forced and for no real reason. Although perhaps things would have been different had the heroes responded differently.

Otherwise, I liked the battles, although maybe it was just me seeing it from an outside perspective, but it didn't seem to have much in the way of a storyline. I don't know, it just seemed a bit different from your other quests.

[Kintobor]

Thanks for being honest guys, I appreciate the feedback.

Now that it's finally wrapped up completely, thank you for the quest Kintobor. You already know where you can improve, but I will agree with my questmates who have said that it was dragged on for only two battles. It would have been nice to have some other sort of dialog or something to keep it interesting (the puzzle and encounter with your NPC were very brief). I liked the character interaction between the party, even if it was sparse. Some sort of situation to keep that going would have been nice as well.

There wasn't a whole lot of plot either, and that would be totally fine if the quest took only a month or so. I like short quests and you don't need a big plot to make them happen, but you do need punctuality. I'm guilty of this too, for having been gone for over a week in January and sometimes forgetting to post my actions otherwise. However, it also helps if the QM is engaged to get the players engaged. Maybe that had to do with the quest consisting mainly of dice rolling, because I haven't seen such a problem with your other quests (Grim Grinning Ghosts was a great read, and I've casually followed your newest one so far).

Overall, I think better planning and punctuality would have resulted in a much better quest, but I was glad I went on it. I'm also very grateful for the NPC interaction for Hybros at the end. Hopefully if you continue planning your Bonaparte quest you will take this experience into account.

I tried to get some dialogue with Irene showing up, but my intentions with her fell through with what wound up happening during the last week. It was hard for me to get engaged with the amount of things going on at Christmas, the Power outage, and then eventually my grandfather suddenly passing away. At that point, I just wanted to wrap things up. I was tired, exhausted, and I just wanted to move on. I'm glad you found the quest enjoyable, and I hope you got what you were looking for with the interactions between Dr. Don and Dr. Raph. I hope you pay attention to 94, JimB, it's going to get pretty crazy really shortly. The Bonaparte quest is still a way's off, but it's much different in tone. As it stands, it's a hunting expedition for a giant sea monster of sorts. It won't be for a while, but it'll be interesting to say the least with some curious characters.

Kint, same as everyone else. Punctuality. But it's already been said, so that's all I'll say on that.

I felt a better structure could have helped the quest - I liked the Wolfgang fight a lot, but the Hinckwell one seemed unnecessary story-wise and didn't add nearly as much RP. My other big complaint was the Shadow Sister... why was she there? What purpose did she serve? It's a danger with those of us with bigger stories to tell, and it's something I struggle with also, but it's my belief that behind a rare hint and poke, every event in a quest should serve THAT quest, not some other one. It felt like it was setting something up, but never came back, so it was a day or two of cameo with no pay-off.

Some sort of "Boss Fight" would have helped a lot too. I feel like we didn't really accomplish much of anything, truth be told. Get mcguffin A from Point B to Point C and fight random group of mercenaries D and E? Random events are good, but they generally should have some structure mixed in. I'd look at WBD's 54 - we had a randomish fight at the docks, but only because we needed to GO to the docks for the bigger story. We had a fight outside the tailors, but that's because the tailor itself was a goal. There was more than Point B and C, you know?

BUT, as always you served up a nice quest and I'm very thankful. I greatly enjoyed the Wolfgang fight, and I really love when Boomingham runs into the Wolfgang as a whole because I don't think he knows exactly how he feels about them or how to deal with them. I'm glad you let me severe an arm, and I hope it comes back later. The characters in the first fight were great, the characters in the second fight seemed great but never got the chance to shine. It was a fun time, and hopefully I'll be back some time!!

When I decided to throw Irene in, I intended you guys to run into Maude and Helga outside the Tritech headquarters. They would've offered you money if you ratted out Irene. But that never came to be after what had just happened in my own life.

I was trying to get across how valuable and influential the item was that these two houses would send out groups of people to retrieve it for keeps. Oh well, I intend to bring back Nicole eventually, maybe with a full quest involving her, but it won't be for awhile.

I'm glad you enjoyed the Wolfgang battle! Some of my favourite NPC's were in that group. Lupine the Third is probably still out there, mulling over his hand, along with Daniel Collins (who first showed up in 71) and Pinkamena (who is definitely showing up again. If a party decides not to kill someone, they wind up becoming a Chekov's Gunman. ). I'm glad you were along, Zepher, and I hope to dish out a better serving whenever you decide to go on another quest with me.

Some of those "Friendly" faces you met will be showing up in some way shape or form down the line. You'll be seeing Irene and her Shadow Sister's again for sure, and maybe even the infamous burglar himself, Alfendi Lupine.

Here's some of the references that were spruced throughout the quest.

-Lupine the Third is loosely based off of Lupin the Third, famous anime thief.

-Pinkamena was based off of Pinkie Pie from Friendship is Magic, straight down to her party cannon.

-Fujioko was based off of Fujiko from Lupin the Third, who's generally always in some disguise or another.

-The werenewt was a nod to Dannylonglegs's whole newt schtick in 62. We miss you Danny!

-The sheet music the Tritech scientist's gave you is ocarina songs from Ocarina of Time. I also learned playing this that Sandy has never played a Zelda game.

[Pyrovisionary]

Right then, Quest #81!

It lasted 5 months, had 3 battles and furthered the Oculoid plot in numerous ways. I wrote up a long post which basically said a few things in far too much text so I'm gonna shorten it to these:

-No crossroad decisions effecting the next period of the quest.

-Iris' life choice was a lose-lose choice that didn't effect the heroes in the short term, and they'd have been better off not making it, hence Sarge's trying to kill Iris himself, to prevent Regret from gaining power.

- The quest was very on the rails, just like every FPS campaign since CoD 4. We only got the power to act when it didn't effect the quest or was necessary to progress the story.

Such as the time with the regret. Whatever we did, It. Didn't. Matter. Honestly, the only power we had was to prevent Iris' death. We couldn't walk away, or do anything of the sort because it would be detrimental to the story. We should have been able to walk away (Or something akin to that.)

- Delays. I don't really mind but they held up the quest at the time.

-The quest felt as if it were meant for the party members of #48, or people who had read all it's 160 something pages. Such as the Ayla Commerz revelation. Only Johon and Puuni were effected, the rest of us just.... Well, didn't post, or gave condolences.

However, the NPCs were great, apart from the regret, who I felt was rather cliched. Just about every villain I've met in this game is trying to create a perfect world, they're perfectly nice people but the ends justify the means for them. Nonetheless, I loved Solon, Fydelle, Puuni, Siri, Jetorix, and all the other assorted NPCs.

Also, most taverns in this game are just alchohol stores but the Progg bar was brilliant. I loved the drinking game and generally it was a load of fun. On that point, even though the quest had a few faults, it was a load of fun! So thank you very much for hosting it!

Now onto the PCs

Johon:

Sarge and Johon clash. Alot. And It's quite fun having sarge argue with people. So I must congratulate you for putting up with his awful behavior throughout the quest.

Em:

He was mostly quiet but wasn't afraid to voice his opinions when he thought it right. You pull that off very well, and it's original and interesting.

Erdathcath:

There wasn't as much interaction as I'd have liked between Sarge and Erdy, but there weren't many places in the quest to just roleplay so... Anyway, Erdy's brilliant, continue!

Jeaux:

Surprisingly, at least for me, Jeaux was the one who agreed with Sarge most frequently, so I must thank you and so must Sarge. I liked Jeaux's interest at the Amilutav (Or however you spell it) and I can't wait to one day know Jeaux's past.

Sarge:

I did a small roleplay thing after the battle with Jetorix but If I'd known that there was another battle to come I'd have waited till then. Sarge hasn't really reacted to his illness much, and after the Iris battle I tried to have him have a bit of an epiphany, and become incredibly Bitter, resentful and angry. But because he's a bit like that anyway it's hard to notice. Anyway, I'd have like for him to resort to violence with Johon, but with the battle system taking precedence over Rp, he couldn't have just stabbed him or headbutted him or something. So I didnt really get anywhere but he's drunken two crystal Sovereigns so I may aswell have him getting very drunk back at the hall.

Edited February 22, 2014 by Pyrovisionary

[Emjajoas]

81 was a really well-organized quest, imo. The NPCs were great, and the overall plot was pretty decent as well.

My only two "problems" with the quest were that I felt we didn't get enough chances to RP/interact with eachother/the Proggs, and we didn't get to explore the Progg Colony as much as I would've liked. The map had quite a few tourist destinations, as it were, and I would've liked to have had Em visit them all if possible. :P

Other than that, I felt the loot was really good; I felt the enemies were well-balanced, and I thought the party members were great.

Johon: Wasn't really around you too much and we didn't really have a chance to interact, but I like Johon and I'm looking forward to questing with you again.

Erdathcath: Well fleshed-out and a good leader; it was a real pleasure to have Em fight alongside her. Although Em doesn't interact much, your words did make an impact on him. Real pleasure questing with you.

Jeaux: I always enjoy questing with Jeaux. It could just be the "robot charm," but I really like having him along on quests. Keep up the good work.

Sarge: Oh man. I have a kinda love/hate thing going on for Sarge. On one hand, he's a real tool-- on the other, I love it. He's real different from most of the other heroes I've quested with and it's really nice to have a chance of pace. Amazing character, imo; keep up the amazing work.

Em: Although Em doesn't interact too much with the party, he is always paying attention and making little mental notes here and there about what people say or do-- he may not talk, but he's building relationships in his own strange way. I could've roleplayed a lot better, but I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with Em yet and I'm still getting the hang of playing as a quiet character. Still, really liked questing with you all.

[Flipz]

One thing I noticed about 81 was how little the Heroes seemed to interact with each other and the other NPCs. Endgame thrives on players who don't know how/when to shut up (*cough*Johon*cough* *cough*Arthur*cough* *cough*Karie*cough*), and the absence of that was very prevalent in this Quest--Erdathcath and Elgar were both very quiet, and not in an Em sort of way. (For reference, Em is quiet but still present--it feels like the character is quiet, not the player, making it a choice rather than a consequence of inactivity. Case in point, his silent attempts to locate Solon's children.) This was particularly noticeable with the blacksmith from 48--I could practically feel Endgame's frustration as he dropped rope after rope for Elgar to grab on to and got nothing back in response.

Advice for Endgame:

I will agree with the critique that the Heroes were expected to know a lot of details from 36 and 48. One thing that would have helped, I think, would have been to walk the players through it a little more--show them a museum or hallway in which that era of Progg history is illustrated, or a Progg female mourning her sons lost in the war, etc. etc. etc. Some backstory was given, but it was mostly in the form of infodumps from Solon and other characters, rather than through extended interactions that the Heroes can walk through themselves. You've already established the dream sequences in this arc, use them. Show them the night that 48 took place--from the perspective of the Proggs. Make them fight the 48 party in a dream, witness the fall of the Death Progg and The Regret, see Aayla meet Punii in 36, let them experience the history for themselves so that when further developments related to that history take place, the Heroes are emotionally invested not just as players who might or might not be following your overarching plot, but as characters who have a personal stake in the events happening. You've been lucky so far in getting Karie and/or Johon on every one of your Quests since 48, but you can't rely on always getting Heroes with a connection to your storyline. And above all, show, don't tell.

On a similar note, I feel like the transition between "follow-up to 48" and "foreshadowing for the future" was really abrupt. Given how disjointed the party was, it might have been a good idea to split them up individually and given them each a different experience in the interim between those two main sections of plot. Let Em spend some time playing a mini-game with Solon's children, let Jeaux talk more with Solon about Antimutilav, let Johon help Beatrice take care of Punii, let Sarge and Erdy...erm...well, actually, they sort of already had their moment with the drinking game, while everyone else sort of just stood around with nothing to do. But the point is, this would have again given them an opportunity to become emotionally invested in the colony, giving the later events more of an impact.

Problems with villainous actions and the dream sequence: first of all, you made a huge mistake here: you killed off multiple characters without giving the Heroes the illusion of being able to save them. Aayla...sort of works, for me. I was going to criticize you for making Siri look too similar to Aayla, but then wrote it off as LDD having a limited part/printing supply...but in any case, there was an impression that maybe if the Heroes had worked out her identity sooner, they might have been able to save her. (Obviously, plot-wise, that wouldn't have worked, but the illusion was there.) Aquos Jr., though, had no chance, and I have a problem with that. Pull a 93: give the Heroes a Round of combat--one Round--to defeat (or Steal from) the Oculoid holding Aquos Jr., or else he's killed. Make the enemy Levels, numbers, and Specials harsh enough that they will not get a second Round, and let the consequences play out from there. There's a stigma against them due to the way the system works, but unwinnable battles CAN be a valid storytelling technique, so long as you make it clear that the loss will not result in a Quest's failure.

This ties into the dream sequence: it was, clearly, Unwinnable By Design (Fission Mailed, if you will). Good. Now speed it up, make it faster. You let Johon mouth off WAY too much, you should have "killed" him sooner. I realize you wanted to wait for the other players to have a chance to speak up, but in this case it would have been better to let things play out before they have a chance to get back online and try to stop it--it gives the players the feeling that events are spiraling outside of their control, and the shock and helplessness their characters felt would have felt very real to them as well. (It's part of what makes Mafia so stressful--use it sparingly, both so your players aren't overwhelmed and so that it retains its effectiveness as a QMing technique.) As it stood, though, the pace flagged during that sequence, badly.

Problems with The Regret: I have a similar problem with The Regret, actually. He stuck around too long, and tolerated too much guff from the Heroes. In this case, I think slowing down and holding off on Johon's replies specifically (because he was the one doing all the talking) might have helped some of the other players engage a little more--though it also could have been a valuable chance to conspire with some of the players via PM the way you did in 48 with Johon and Sylph. TR was also too specific here--I could have waited for Eternal Reaper to know the full details of his plan. Knowing that he wants to absorb the all-powerful Lifespark? Great foreshadowing. Knowing exactly how he can and will do it (and even knowing how he came Back From the Dead)? TMI, dude. Save some mysteries for the finale.

Edited February 23, 2014 by Flipz

[Endgame]

Here's my general thoughts on 81: Not my best.

If that's too short for you, then here:

I feel as if this suffered from a problem similar to 46: 81 was a gateway quest, designed to bridge the gap from a previous quest to a much longer one. However, I made the exact same mistake I did during 46: I spent a huge chunk of that planning for 48 instead of the actual quest at hand. Obviously, 48 is leagues upon leagues superior to 46. I don't think 81 was nearly as bad as 46, but I still think it was among my worst. It wasn't the fault of the party, it was mine. I felt as if the quest was series of events just loosely held together. The events? Decent, some - some, good, and I did like quite a few of them a fair bit. However, the events were held loosely together, the party thrown from one place to another whenever I could update.

Poor planning and pace really killed this one, I think. Pace was atrocious - I usually get it right, but this time it just flopped. The holidays, health issues, weather - just assorted issues really held this one up, and for that I really do apologize. Endgame quests are suaully synonomous with a breakneck pace - here, it was the opposite.

Battles were typical Endgame battles. I felt Iris needed more health, but other then that...

Choice. There was choice in the beginning - you could visit any single location you could want in the beginning, explore culture. (I especially wish you visitted the Commoner's Quarter: Think stone ziggurats mixed with Venice. ) You went for all the fairly mundane places, minus the bar. You could've fought the Oculoid horde. I failed to make that clear - failed horribly. How many you could destroy and then flee, you could net some decent loot.

Nightmare sequences. There was 3 - 1 in the intro, 1 in the PM, 1 in the final act, the latter two interactable. The PM one I felt was alright, but I agree with Flipz on the final sequence.

The Regret. He lingered too long, yes... But he hasn't revealed his entire plan yet. I have whole paragraphs - pages upon pages that remain obscured. We know he has the Lifespark, we know he has the Animutilav. That's it. How it'll all come together remains to be seen... But if you think it'll amount to a single splice using Animutilav, you'd be wrong.

NPC deaths. Nothing else to sya her ebesides what has been said. Ayla, fair-ish, Jr, not.

Players. Besides Elgar, you all were fairly active! I felt like you bounced off of the NPCs well, but each of you only really interacted with one or two heroes each.I'll do an idnviidual player breakdown later, but I have to say: Besides JediMasterBrick, you were all good players.

36/48 prior experience: The quest fell flat here, too. I feel as if it would be easier for the Syndicate, since it only has 45 pages of info to trawl through as opposed to 150, not to mention a third of the significant NPCs. The Progg Arc is pretty much over at this point, so knowing prior Progg history will only be needed a little bit - and it only revolves around one Prog gin particular.

Thank you all for the responses - This quest wasn't my best, but my next two are already twice as well-planned as this one. My helath issues, travel, holidays and most weather have been resolved, so normal Endgame should return come next quest. Quest XX: Six Thousand Feet Under, coming soon to a Hall near you. (With Shadeaux rep planned. )

Edited February 23, 2014 by Endgame

[joeshmoe554]

My impressions of the quest as a whole.

The lack of a party leader was a problem. It made battles more confusing, the loot distribution ended up being first come first serve which is not a solid system in my book. If I am ever on a quest in the future that lacks a defined party leader, Jeaux will insist on one being declared at the beginning.

The loot seemed quite un-even. Again, with a first come, first serve system the first people to post took the best pieces of loot and left the rest for later. Also the loot for investigating the housing area was significantly less than the loot for attacking Jetorix. After a 5-month quest Jeaux walked away with 2XP, 308 gold, 1 smelling salt, and 1 jinxy juice, and was down 1 phoenix essence from the Iris fight. It seemed there was some loot available for cracking the password on the locked chest, but from my perspective that would have been stealing from my employers and outside Jeaux's character.

The lack of prior knowledge wasn't too harmful, as I typically just asked questions with Jeaux and made more sense since he knew almost as little as I did. It was a little disjointing when we met up with the rest of the party and were being pushed off towards another fight with someone, somewhere, for some reason, but part of that was my choosing to ignore the elements of the quest Jeaux was not present for.

All in all, it was not your best quest. The story seems to have some decent elements and I look forward to the following quest where some of these elements will present themselves a bit further.

[Endgame]

Ah, the loot in the abandoned apartment building: 3 Nostrums, 3 Smelling Salts, and 2 Jinxy Juices. I can see why it would go against Jeaux's character; I really should've gave a "take whatever you want" clause.

Also, you missed a sidequest in there! If you managed to get both blast jellies, you'd be able to blow up the rock near the fountain and expose where the lost Progg child was, mentioned back at the food storage, I believe. You could've returned him to the commoner's quarter for a quick 400-500 gold.

Edited February 24, 2014 by Endgame

[Pyrovisionary]

Endgaaaaaaame? Can we get those player breakdowns?

[joeshmoe554]

My player breakdown after a bit of thought.

Sarge - Sarge seems to present a simple exterior to try and appear braver than he is. Given what I have read, Sarge seems to be sick and dying. The speech he gave to Johon at the end of the quest showed me that he is afraid of his impending death and will do anything he can to try and postpone it as long as possible. Though I could be misreading all of that.

Em - Quiet, yet resolute. This is one of the few characters that definitely seems to be quiet by choice. Jeaux tends to be a quiet character as well, though I could likely do more to roleplay when he has nothing to say. I find it somewhat interesting that while he is quiet, he will have outbursts that I would not expect from him.

Johon - He seems to be a true hero. One who stands up for those that can't protect themselves. It is a bit odd given his class (mix of barbarian and rogue), his reluctance to kill opponents is also somewhat unexpected. Unfortunately, many of the RP moments in this quest with Johon were between him and NPCs regarding events I am unaware of, so there was very little context to figure out his character.

Erdathcah - Erdathcath also seems like a true hero. It felt like there was a certain weight to her voice that made her somewhat intimidating and gaver her the ability to influence others, though she would consistently try to do the right thing. Giving up the quest reward at the end and saving Iris's life are just two examples of such.

Jeaux - I'm still not 100% sure where I want to go with Jeaux. He has changed a bit over the last year and I'd like to think the change was gradual. I have a fairly good idea of what his character is now and I think I like it, but it may yet evolve more as time goes on. It was also somewhat fun to finally unmask the influence of the Antimutilav in his origin.

[Flipz]

Endgaaaaaaame? Can we get those player breakdowns?

Those only happen when his villains sufficiently traumatize the players.

[Kintobor]

Those only happen when his villains sufficiently traumatize the players.

Or sufficiently seduce them.

[Endgame]

Or sufficiently seduce them.

It's funny, because he didn't even try, yet he had Karie pretty eager.

Character analysis should come tomorrow.

[Endgame]

Player Analysis

Sarge: Sarge always has, and likely always will be, aggressive. He will always have one party member on edge with him - but I think, compared to 47, you've toned it down to a very appropriate level. Sarge is beginning to get fleshed out - I realize that no one bounced off of your foreshadowing too well, but here is my advice: have Sarge bottle his emotion up. Save it for a catharsis, or series of catharsises. Humans supress their emotions, and it may be best to have Sarge do that, to a degree. I get the feeling that such behavior led to his cyncial nature and aggressive tone, as well as his staggering affinity for liquor.

Also, the relation you forged with Fydelle was among my favorite parts of this quest - it was a pleasure hosting you.

Erdathcath: Erdathcath struck me as headstrong - very headstrong. She has conviction, and she grips firmly onto her beliefs. Should you ever again come on an Endgame quest, I'll be sure to cook up a villain that puts those convictions to the test. She definitely has character, but seems a little unfazed by the events around her. I'd reccomend having the druid respond to the qusts events with a little broader of a spectrum of emotion, or making her constant confidence a more distinct trait. Right now, it seems a little ambiguous.

Other then that, though, I like Erdathcath as a character.

Em: Em has "silent but present" down pat, really. You can tell that inside his head, there is definitely a lot going on - but what he does and says doesn't always seem reflective of what he is thinking or feeling, and that makes for a very interesting character. However, you managed to balance out that aspect with the warm relationship with Solon's children (There is a reason they were all named after Roman emperors... they're practically royalty!), making Em seem all the more of a solid character.

Em has been great, as always.

Jeaux: Jeaux was a robot, and in this quest, it really did show. It say this in the best manner possible: his calculating and logical assesment of the situation, along with his lack of any substantial emotion, really make him seem like an automaton. However, the mention of Animutilav and his contrast with Nilrem still give him enough displays enough emotion to make him an interesting character: his usual lack of feeling makes his occasional show of emotion all the more interesting! It was great to host you again, and I hope to potentially build up Jeaux's interaction with The Regret and the Animutilav in the future. Jeaux and Sorrow are the postivie effects of the Animutilav, I'v enoticed - while The Regret is the incredibly negative one.

Johon: Johon felt similar to Erdathcath: with a huge convcition in his worldview. However, he seems a lot more blunt and aggresive about it, not afraid to make it come to blows if he needs to prove himself right. This combination of anger and reasoning is a bit of an odd combination, but as long as you do it right, it can be very effective. You seem to be getting a lot better with it as time goes on - it gives my villains places to pick at, at any rate.

[Flipz]

A question for the QMs who have used underleveled ally NPCs (i.e. Expert Classes below Level 30, Advanced Classes below Level 15, etc.): how did you calculate that NPC's base health? Or did you just give them a health total based on the HP the Heroes had?

[CMP]

A question for the QMs who have used underleveled ally NPCs (i.e. Expert Classes below Level 30, Advanced Classes below Level 15, etc.): how did you calculate that NPC's base health? Or did you just give them a health total based on the HP the Heroes had?

I just average out the level of the party, choose a base class for them (with the appropriate health bonus), and then give them the expert/advance class's health bonus.

Wally was a Level 12 Artisan (I think...) and was a Ranger at first.

6 (Ranger) + 11 (Level) + 15 (Artisan) = 32 health.

[Kintobor]

Hey Endgame, are we ever going to see those dream sequences?

[Endgame]

Oh, the PM ones? I'll try to get them up soon.

[Flipz]

I'll just leave these here...

These two represent a lot of what I've been putting into my upcoming Cathedral of Mercutio Quest (and why it's taken me so friggin' long to prepare it).

Meanwhile, the other Quest I'm working on (aimed more at new players) focuses more on this (though my Cathedral Quest does as well):

[Duvors]

(Wall of Youtube videos.)

I do not know which one of you it is, but either you or the guy narrating those videos is an insane genius.

[Zepher]

92ers... that's that! I hope you had a good time - I know that I did!

I will probably post all of Arthur's underwater adventures tomorrow, but other than that, we're pretty much wrapped up. I always let the questees have the first say, but: it was a week or two longer than I wanted/predicted. I apologize for that. BUT I was pretty happy with the quest over-all, and I hope you were too! I will post more in-depth thoughts once you all have a chance to have your say!

[Rumble Strike]

Hi Zeph,

Thank you so much for letting Tarn walk off into the sunset with Ella. Since the Dastan Quest she has had a real effect on him and I think it was the perfect conclusion. What you wrote for the passages within the lost book was lovely and a fitting end.

Tarn had a blast being with Pretzel and Arthur, and likewise I had a great time with Palathadric and Flipz. I've never quested with these two before and they were good company! Thank you to both for strategy and tactics, it's never been mine or Tarn's strong point!

I think the Quest was a bit slow in places, but that couldn't be helped. It wasn't a WORLD-SHATTERING EPIC like some Zepher Quests but there was enough of a hook and mystery to the story. Zeph, your NPCs are always very well fleshed out and I loved Captain Lane. The ship battle was innovative but I must admit, I thought that the Guardian Angel would only protect the players and not the ship. That might have made things harder.

Thanks again!

[Palathadric]

Fun quest, Zepher. Thanks for your time. I had a surprisingly great time with the PCs and even a couple of the NPCs as well, which was really nice. As I believed I mentioned at the end of 59, I always am a bit nervous about questing with heroes with widely different views and beliefs than Pretzel's or heroes who are very vocal about their beliefs, as it's not always too easy to try to come up with semi-rational reasons for why Pretzel believes the way he does. Perhaps the reasons Pretzel and Arthur seemed to get along so well was because neither of us were too eager to get them into a bit argument, I don't know. I have to say that it was really fun questing with both Tarn and Arthur. It was incredibly easy to bounce things off of Arthur and it turned out to be very fun talking with him. Flipz was very generous and gave me a lot to work off. Tarn is still awesome and Rumble Strike plays him perfectly. I can hardly see anyone else playing the role nearly as well as Rumble Strike does.

Ella and Captain Lane were fun to talk with and I liked the ideas behind your battles. They were interesting and somehow not run of the mill, albeit the first ones were definitely on the easy side.I enjoyed the ship battle mechanic as well.

Thanks so much for hosting me!

[Flipz]

Yay!

You've finally done it...you've made a Quest I enjoyed even more than 38! (Granted, I still think 38 is a better example of Quest design in general, but that's just because it's a simpler design to analyze.) The battles were short and fun, the characters were interesting to talk to, and the rewards, while small, were very suitable to the difficulty of the fights (and I very much approve of them being mostly gold and consumables).

A couple of things:

*Zeph, be careful about your treatment of class skills, especially with your characters' attitudes with regards to Diplomacy. You did well with Abel, but a little bit with the thug at the start and especially with the Golden Automaton in particular it started to feel like my Diplomacy skill was totally useless, and the same thing went for my Spellcasting attempt (which was the whole reason I was sent down in the first place ). It worked out well, but like you told me about pre-planned RP in 38: be careful.

Character analysis:

Tarn: Tarn is a great character to be playing with when you want to avoid intra-party conflict. He has this soothing aura that tends to head off any real venom. As always, I certainly enjoyed your interactions with Ella, but be careful not to forget the other characters present--this was true particularly on the boat.

Pretzel: This has to be by far the unlikeliest friendship amongst Heroes. Something about him and Arthur really clicks, and I'm interested to see where it goes. Our characters both seem to be something of a Morality Pet for the other, so there's that. My only advice is the same as I gave to Tarn: keep your focus wide--there were a couple of times where I tried to give Pretzel a subtle hook for interaction, but it wasn't picked up, and it wasn't clear if it was Pretzel or Palathadric who missed it.

Final thoughts:

I want to see more like this in the future, Zeph. You're good with small Quests and parties, and I'd argue you're better at them than with the big ones. Certainly, you seem less stressed out by them as well.

[Palathadric]

My only advice is the same as I gave to Tarn: keep your focus wide--there were a couple of times where I tried to give Pretzel a subtle hook for interaction, but it wasn't picked up, and it wasn't clear if it was Pretzel or Palathadric who missed it.

If it was Pretzel and not me, then I must have forgot about skipping over it.

I'll try to look out more.