Heroica RPG - Quest Masters' Lounge

[JimBee]

Atticus Ziegfried was named after Atticus... Finch? from To Kill a Mockingbird. I think Roland Emeraldo was a combination of something from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and Princess Esmeralda from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Gottfried, the cultist from the Dastan trilogy, was named after a character in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. My latest NPCs, the trio of mercs in Quest 59, were named after Scrooge McDuck's three nephews in the Disney cartoon Ducktales. I think all of the other names were made up/based on very common names.

Don't ask why these particular films, books, and names came into my head at the time, because I have no idea. They just pop into my head and I write them down for characters.

Bonus: Hybros was actually named after a location from the Artemis Fowl books. Hybras is a demon colony in spacetime limbo. I would say that the imps and demons in the books are similar to how I characterized Hybros, but still, he's not a devil like Guts seems to think.

[Kintobor]

The three ghosts, Geoffrey, Gus and Ivan were based off in a design sense the Hitchhiking Ghosts from the Haunted Mansion ride, the dire rats special is based of the song "There are no cats in America" from An American Tail (the first, the rest sucked <Okay, Two wasn't that bad, but the other two, as Tony would say, "Fugget about 'em!">). There's more references, but you'll have to see what they are as the party moves through the cemetery.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Kintobor

[CMP]

I just come up with whatever fits the character, usually. I think Jules came out of Jules Verne...somehow. Henry and Morgan are named after the rum that's named after the captain. And Knife-tongue, well, that's fairly obvious.

[joeshmoe554]

I really like the Huey, Dewey, and Louie characters so far JimB, and I think those names definitely seem to fit the personalities. I also want to thank you for bringing back Triple Magic. That just might be my favorite creation I've seen in Heroica so far.

[Brickdoctor]

Some names: Wren is from the bird and also probably from Catch-22 unintetionally. Doc Daneeka is from Catch-22 intentionally. Guffington is a play on The Great Gatsby, with "ington" at the end because I always use that to make people rich. Felton is from Tom Felton (who know's why?!) Hans from Hans Landa (again, related approximately 0% to the character his name was ripped from), Poletad for obvious reasons- U'Vires and U'Stus are from latin, deriving from truth and justice respectively, Sphinx was summoning the Chimera, XX came from me using that as a filler when planning the quest, and then keeping it, Triad and Bal were both last minute decisions (Triad named after the park, Bal after Bail Organa)... I don't know what else. Haddon is from Captain Haddock in the Tintin comics... Vipera is also latin, though I don't remember exactly what names I mashed up for it- same goes for Triad's species, that's like three latin words jumbled up...

Speaking of all these Wren Quest characters, I know the Barbarian Contestant had no name and Cronk decided to call him 'Phil'; was that just of the top of your head, Cornelius? (I think that was around the time we found the cleric's office, right?)

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As for my names, in Quest 4 I was keeping with the Hinckwell/Ziegfried/Invision/Shadeaux/Bonaparte/Ji Pei scheme and starting with the usernames of staff members and running them through medieval name generators:

Isaac Shawe, being a Shadeaux, got his name from ImperialShadows. The knight in the bar whose name I've forgotten ( ) got his name from WhiteFang, who has a knight sig-fig. Martin Largus, being a Hinckwell, came from Mark Larson (Hinckley).

I think the elves were originally named for Star Wars staff members, since they were the closest thing to obviously evil characters and KimT was the Dark Lord of Denmark. Their names are a bit less obvious as to the source, but if I remember correctly, Keveak came from both KDM and KimT, Seaian came from Stash. Then I ran out of Star Wars staff members so Ricroar came from Ras, I think because I saw some posts by him in the Star Wars forum and he was sort of an admin at the time (Event Admin) so he seemed a suitable substitute. Similarly, Normorn came from Not Shadows, who was also sort of an admin (Shadow Admin was the rank, if I remember correctly) and his role on the forum fit in with what Normorn's was in Heroica.

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I think the elves in Quest 17 were just whatever elvish name sounded good after I put a random letter into the DnD name generator.

Emperor Alandri Fowler came from Alan Dean Foster, who was the first person to mention the existence of an emperor in Star Wars, in the 1976 novelization of Star Wars. I named the Lion Knights' flagship the Chimaera, so I named its admiral Mathias Thraune, from Grand Admiral Mith'raw'nurudo. Every other significant NPC in Quests 17 and 31 is, I believe, a Lion Knight, and all their names of course come from the "L. K./C." naming scheme.

[Dannylonglegs]

I just sent Sandy my proposal!

~Insectoid Aristocrat

[Flare]

I just sent Sandy my proposal!

~Insectoid Aristocrat

Don't be disappointed but he's already taken, it seems

[Dannylonglegs]

Don't be disappointed but he's already taken, it seems

Damn! That dirty-two timer! I thought we had something special!!!

~Insectoid Aristocrat

[Flipz]

I'm flattered, Doc, but I'm already engaged to another man. Sorry to disappoint you.

Out of sheer curiosity, does this man have one or more NPCs in Heroica based off of him?

[Dannylonglegs]

Just to guage the public's opinion of my monster stats, here's the stats of all the enemies in one slightly difficult fight designed for a party of 3 2-6 leveled Heroes. (Pics and real names removed because spoilers) (the quantity of specials is intentionally large as I feel it works well with the characters, but if it's too much, I have no problem consolidating the specials. This is really the only battle with this many specials though--they're sort of mini-bosses.)

Cloak and Dagger:

Cloak

Type: Flying, Beast

Level: 5

Hp: 30

Ether: 8

Specials: (Decided by dice roll)

Lightning Blast: Uses 1 ether. Target is dealt 6 lightning damage.

Chain Lightning: Uses 3 ether. Heroes in target’s row are dealt 3 lightning damage (regardless of row).

Dark Magic: Uses 2 ether. Target is dealt 4 dark damage and is Confused.

Drops: 20 gold, Amethyst, Crow-Cursed Cloak (SP: 2 suitable for Mages or Rogues)

Dagger

Type: Flying, Beast

Level: 5

Hp: 30

Specials: (Decided by dice roll)

Snatch-Purse: Target loses 5 gold.

Cheap-Shot: Target takes 5 damage (regardless of SP) and is poisoned.

Drops: 20 gold, Crow-Claw Dagger (WP:6), Venom

Shifty Healer

Type: Humanoid

Level: 4

HP: 35

Specials: (Decided by dice roll)

Stand-back: Attacks against him for the next round deal only Half-Damage

Heal Light Wounds: the most damaged enemy regains 5 hp

Drops: Quest Item, Potion

~Insectoid Aristocrat

Edited March 6, 2013 by Dannylonglegs

[Scubacarrot]

In my opinion, Way too much loot, and high level loot, if the party is lower than level 6, they'd probably be in a lot of trouble really quickly, so it's probably too hard as well. And you're only making it more complicated with that many specials.

[Flipz]

In my opinion, Way too much loot, and high level loot, if the party is lower than level 6, they'd probably be in a lot of trouble really quickly, so it's probably too hard as well. And you're only making it more complicated with that many specials.

I think the loot is generous (particularly in Gold--since we have battles for Level 20 and up party members that only drop 13 Gold TOTAL ), but semi-fine (the dagger is a bit high in WP, for a Level 2-6 party I'd probably nerf it to WP:5 and imbue the Amethyst into it to reduce the utility of the gem, but that cloak is perfectly okay for that party level in my view, considering these are mini-bosses). The specials are definitely too rough, though; particularly the "guaranteed" damage and the combo damage AND effect Special. Those numbers are TERRIFYING for low-level Heroes, particularly if you end up with a Mage. I'd say swap things around to have one enemy that deals out Effects and one that's the powerhouse; the healer seems fairly OK as-is.

Really, though, aside from Specials I don't think "setting stats in stone" is a good idea; when I run my Quest, I'll have the enemy Specials planned out, but for the most part everything else will be balanced based on the stats of the party I end up with. That allows me to be very flexibile in who I choose, as well as giving me the option to tweak the difficulty mid-Quest based on how the party is doing.

[Rumble Strike]

Crikey, I must be the only guy that wings everything when it comes to enemy names, stats and drops. I don't tend to have a plan, I just try and make each battle harder than the last.

As for names, Haroka, Sorrow/Sorona and Blowhole (Which I changed to Blaohoel to sound a bit more, uh, mystical) were previous characters in a Transformers RPG I ran. Floodgate and Wither were City of Villains characters (hero/villain MMORPG). Everything else I just make up on the fly. You can't tell, can you?

[Etzel]

When coming with names for the Paladin Order I usually take Biblical names and alter a few letters, like Lord Kapriel (Gabriel), Alisameth (Elisabeth), Miekhal (Michael), much like George R.R. Martin does is his books. But some are just random names that I can't remember how I got.

[Flare]

When coming with names for the Paladin Order I usually take Biblical names and alter a few letters, like Lord Kapriel (Gabriel), Alisameth (Elisabeth), Miekhal (Michael), much like George R.R. Martin does is his books. But some are just random names that I can't remember how I got.

Since when was Elisabeth a biblical name?

[Scorpiox]

When coming with names for the Paladin Order I usually take Biblical names and alter a few letters, like Lord Kapriel (Gabriel), Alisameth (Elisabeth), Miekhal (Michael), much like George R.R. Martin does is his books. But some are just random names that I can't remember how I got.

Please explain how you got to Najdelena from Biblical names.

[Flipz]

Please explain how you got to Najdelena from Biblical names.

Mary Magdalene, perhaps?

Edited March 6, 2013 by Flipz

[Brickdoctor]

Since when was Elisabeth a biblical name?

Mother of John the Baptist.

[Scorpiox]

Mary Magdalene, perhaps?

I stand corrected, sir!

[Flare]

Mother of John the Baptist.

I see.

[Dannylonglegs]

In my opinion, Way too much loot, and high level loot, if the party is lower than level 6, they'd probably be in a lot of trouble really quickly, so it's probably too hard as well. And you're only making it more complicated with that many specials.

I think the loot is generous (particularly in Gold--since we have battles for Level 20 and up party members that only drop 13 Gold TOTAL ), but semi-fine (the dagger is a bit high in WP, for a Level 2-6 party I'd probably nerf it to WP:5 and imbue the Amethyst into it to reduce the utility of the gem, but that cloak is perfectly okay for that party level in my view, considering these are mini-bosses). The specials are definitely too rough, though; particularly the "guaranteed" damage and the combo damage AND effect Special. Those numbers are TERRIFYING for low-level Heroes, particularly if you end up with a Mage. I'd say swap things around to have one enemy that deals out Effects and one that's the powerhouse; the healer seems fairly OK as-is.

Really, though, aside from Specials I don't think "setting stats in stone" is a good idea; when I run my Quest, I'll have the enemy Specials planned out, but for the most part everything else will be balanced based on the stats of the party I end up with. That allows me to be very flexibile in who I choose, as well as giving me the option to tweak the difficulty mid-Quest based on how the party is doing.

Thanks for the criticism. I don't have any other stats all written out, and I did intend to modify these guys to accommodate the party, but I just made this to see if I could make a fair fight. After looking over the stats, I think you're right. I may need to look over a few of the low level quests before I actually host this. In terms of usable loot, these guys are pretty much the bosses, but I think I was thinking to literally when I devised their drops. I've nerfed their attacks and drops. Cloak still maintain his specials, albeit a bit changed to focus on effects rather than damage, but now instead of re-rolling, if he doesn't have the ether for a task he does nothing. Also, I lowered his HP a tad because he's less likely to be targeted. (also, the Chain damage should only effect 2 people out of 3 at most. I can't imagine everybody'll attack from the front row, but I could be mistaken. I'll adjust it further if I get a party of all fighters and barbarians. ) Healer is unchanged. I think that with a little strategic thinking, the Heroes can take these guys on with slight difficulty.

Cloak

Type: Flying, Beast

Level: 5

Hp: 27

Ether: 8

Specials: (Decided by dice roll: If he doesn't have enough ether for rolled action, nothing happens)

Dark Magic: Uses 2 ether. Target is dealt 2 dark damage (regardless of row) and is confused for one round or until remedied.

Chain of Darkness: Uses 3 ether. Heroes in target’s row are dealt 3 dark damage (regardless of row)

Shock: Uses 1 ether. Target is stunned.

Drops: 10 gp, Amethyst, Crow-Cursed Cloak (SP: 2 suitable for Mages or Rogues)

Dagger

Type: Flying, Beast

Level: 5

Hp: 30

Specials: (Decided by dice roll)

Snatch-Purse: Target loses 5 gold.

Cheap-Shot: Target takes 4 damage (regardless of SP) and is poisoned.

Drops: 15 gold, Crow-Claw Dagger (WP:5) (Suitable for Mages or Rogues)

Shifty Healer

Type: Humanoid

Level: 4

HP: 35

Specials: (Decided by dice roll)

Stand-back: Attacks against him for the next round deal only Half-Damage

Heal Light Wounds: The most damaged enemy regains 5 hp

Drops: Quest Item, Potion

~Insectoid Aristocrat

[Sandy]

Out of sheer curiosity, does this man have one or more NPCs in Heroica based off of him?

Haha, no. I created this game to escape reality, not to repeat it. Not that there's anything wrong with my fiancé, though.

As for naming my NPCs and locations, it started by mixing LEGO- and Eurobricks-related names into a fantasy setting, but I expanded the naming scheme into other popular culture and various mythologies/folklore as well. That's how I thought up Scheherazade, Baba, Nemo, Hestia, Attina, Dr. Alphonse Cula, Madame Ladybug, Vincent Legonardo, Monalisa Gioconda, Violetta, Steerpike, Sküld, Ürd, Åsa, Kukulkan, Oracle Semiramis, Squidraken, Bellanotte, Gnomeo, Darlavon Lector, Old Mack Donauld, and many others.

[Zepher]

Oooh, I didn't actually catch the Gormenghast reference. I think you have one of the best rounded understanding of both pop-culture AND classical culture of anyone I know.

[Flipz]

Oooh, I didn't actually catch the Gormenghast reference. I think you have one of the best rounded understanding of both pop-culture AND classical culture of anyone I know.

Sandy reminds me a lot of one of my professors here at college, I think they'd get along famously. Hopefully I can convince him to join Heroica at some point before I graduate.

Also, Zeph, you've inadvertently given me an idea for an AWESOME mechanic...that would have no place in the Quest I'm working on. Dang it!

[JimBee]

I really like the Huey, Dewey, and Louie characters so far JimB, and I think those names definitely seem to fit the personalities. I also want to thank you for bringing back Triple Magic. That just might be my favorite creation I've seen in Heroica so far.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked those parts. And yes, I figured Triple Magic deserved to have another appearance, but rest assured there will be content not stolen from Sandy in this quest.