Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

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nosimpleway
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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sun Jul 09, 2017 5:28 pm

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So let's check the, uh, other wandering monsters I've found.

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No gimmick to this one. Just hit them hard enough that they die before they kill you with strong attacks and AoE ice magic.

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Ice Trident is okay, but it's not more okay than a one-handed weapon and a shield. Y'know, the usual.

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Oh, so it's this bullshit.

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Ring of the Wisp is a small increase to a bunch of stats. It's pretty good, for an accessory slot.

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nosimpleway
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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sun Jul 09, 2017 5:52 pm

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Our next job is to hit the mountains up north, near the waterfall, to rescue a missing puppy.

Lyssa: I can see his name tag. It says "Roman". Roman! Come here!
Dren: Let's just grab 'em.
Morgan: That might not be the best idea. Does anyone have any meat?
Lyssa: Roman! Look! I have this juicy steak!
Dren: You don't have a steak!
Lyssa: Well he didn't know that!

I have like 20 whole hams, a bunch of cheese, and about a dozen different fish in my inventory. Dogs aren't picky.

Lyssa: Great, Dren, you ruined it. Come here!

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Lyssa: Oh no! He ran away! This is all your fault, Dren.
Dren: How is it my fault?!
Lyssa: We have to go after him! I'm really worried he's gonna fall in a pit! Come on!

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Had we grabbed the dog real quick-like, we wouldn't have to deal with all these monsters. Spiders poison, Blue Gobbos cast Splish (for water damage + sleep proc) and Gazers paralyze. Somehow it always works out that monsters with giant eyes paralyze you, a tradition dating back at least as far as the OddEYE creatures in the first Final Fantasy. Probably has its roots in Beholders. But mythical creatures that had gaze attacks would petrify you (Medusa) or kill you outright (Catoblepas). So I dunno.

Uh, anyway.


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Speaking of tradition, I run into my first mimic. How come mimics are always in the shape of treasure chests? You never see them disguised as anything else outside of actual D&D games, where particularly cruel DMs will build entire rooms out of furniture that tries to kill you. I've been in a game with a mimic pretending to be an outhouse, to catch people when they really had their pants down.

What I'm saying is, Friday, next revision of this game I want a mimic who's disguised as one of those crates of apples I keep finding free food in. Maybe a barrel.

(Actually once in a while you find a monster disguised as a save point but look man whatever.)

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Lyssa: Roman! Come here!
Lyssa: ...
Lyssa: Roman! If you don't come here right now, I'll love you and hug you! I'll pet you FOREVER if you don't get over here right NOW!
Dren: Lyssa, your threats are, uh.
Lyssa: I will FEED you lots of TREATS!
Morgan: Maybe he wants to play?

Lyssa is the WACKY ABSURDIST and Dren is the WEARY STRAIGHT-MAN and Morgan is... just kind of there, in these conversations. Her suggestions make sense, but in making sense without being angry about it she tends to get drowned out by Lyssa and Dren.

Dren: Roman! Do you wanna chase a stick?
Lyssa: YOU WILL BE PIERCED BY MY EVERLASTING LOVE AND COMPASSION.

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Roman is unimpressed with Lyssa's everlasting love.

Dren: Darn it!

I think you mean "Dog gone it!" lololololol

Dren: This dog is the dumbest creature ever! And Lyssa, do you even hear what is coming out of your mouth?
Lyssa: Oh! I think I get it.
Morgan: What?
Lyssa: He doesn't want to chase a stick! He wants to chase WATER.
Dren: ...Water.
Lyssa: Yes.
Dren: He -- he wants to chase water.
Lyssa: Why else would he come to this cave? He's obviously looking for a waterfall.

This would be so much easier if tennis, and thus tennis balls, existed in the world of Windseal.

Lyssa: Come on! We have to catch him before he falls into a pit!
Dren: Before he -- Why do you keep saying that?
Lyssa: I dunno, he just looks like the type of dog that falls into pits.

Sure enough...

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Lyssa: No Roman! Roman, please, you'll never make it! Roman, at least tell me you have some sort of plan of action?!
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Dren: Quick, grab him!
Morgan: No, wait! You'll scare him into pit!

Morgan accidentally a word.

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And what follows is that Roman runs around the platforms, hopping over the holes and fissures in an impressive display of acrobatics. I think at one point he does a flip.
Dren: Wow. Pro.
Lyssa: Okay, grab him!

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But Roman evades us once again, since he's able to jump over pits and this is a cutscene where I can't move anyway.
Morgan: Did you guys just see that?
Lyssa: Come on! We have to hurry, if we don't rescue him, he'll get really overconfident and cocky and fall into an easily avoidable pit later on!

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sun Jul 09, 2017 6:11 pm

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After that, the dungeon really opens up. I have to switch back across rooms like this a couple of times to make sure I'm not missing anything.

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Oh no! A small, easily-avoidable pit!
Roman: (Barks like he's got this)

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Roman: Curse my hubriiiiiissss...
Lyssa: Come on! There's gotta be a way down in the back! We're coming, Roman!

There is in fact a way to the lower level like 20 feet away.

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Lyssa: What is it, boy? We're about to be attacked from behind by a gigantic smelly fish?
Lyssa: Belly dish?
Lyssa: Deli-thin sliced ham?
Lyssa: Oh! Oh! JELLY fish. Haha. I was so close!

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The gigantic telly swish closes in!
Lyssa: Roman! Now is the time to show your true power!
Lyssa: What do you mean your true power is being good at holding things in your mouth?!

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Jellyfish in video games tend to be electrical. This one isn't, and actually procs poison and I think paralyze. Which makes sense. The HP damage isn't a problem but the status effects sure are!

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For your efforts you win a heckin smol pupperino.

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nosimpleway
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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sun Jul 09, 2017 6:38 pm

On my way out, I...

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Oh. Guess I'll just go fuck myself then.

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Derek the Firebat: Why am I a Firebat!? This isn't right! I should have been coded in as a Shadow Assassin!
Derek the Firebat: I'm going to complain to MR! ...That's 'Monster Resources'. Yeah, we've got a union and everything. Being a monster isn't easy, you know!

I bet your life insurance rates are ridiculously high, for one.

Derek the Firebat: I work a sixteen hour shift with no dental!

Ah. A Millennial.

Derek the Firebat: Do you know how hard it is on the teeth to keep eating adventurers? I shouldn't even BE eating anyone, because I'M NOT A BAT!

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Since he's just a firebat, Derek goes down like a chump.

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Derek the Firebat: It's so cooooooooollll...
Derek the Firebat: You're totally gonna get ownnnnnnnnnnned...
Derek the Firebat: It has a really cool swooooooooorrrd...
Derek the Firebat: Made of shadoooooooooow...
Derek the Firebat: And laserrrrrrrrrr...
Derek the Firebat: Dark Shadow Laserrrrr...
Derek the Firebat: And it's on fire... And it's reinforced with mithrillllll...
Derek the Firebat: And my armor is made from nightmarrrrrrrrrrres...
Derek the Firebat: And I have a ring that adds +10% criiiiiiiiiit...
Derek the Firebat: And I --

thwack thwack thwack and Derek is gone.

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I don't get it, but I assume Derek is one of Friday's friends who insisted on being in the game. I mean, I just finished a quest to go get Romansome from where he'd wandered off, so it stands to reason.

Oh god. If she's taking her friends' recurring jokes and turning them into gameplay elements, I'm going to have to fight a broken-down van as a miniboss at some damn point. I thought I'd seen the last of it...

Anyway, the Anti-Derek is a consumable item advertised to instantly kill Derek the Shadow Assassin.

With that wandering monster out of the way, we're on our way back to Favros.

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Given that the whole quest is a thinly-veiled Romosome joke I'm a little surprised this woman is named Ms. Yellow, and not Ms. Tangerine.
Ms. Yellow: You brought him back! Thank you! Oh, I have been so worried! Where have you been, you idiot?!
Morgan: We found him in the cave near the waterfall up north.
Ms. Yellow: Ah, yes. We were out for a walk you see, up near the river and ponds, because he loves the water so. But then he saw the waterfall and took off like a shot! I'm so glad you found him! Did he give you any trouble on the way back?
Lyssa: Not after we caught him, no. He's very well behaved. He seems like a very mature person.
Ms. Yellow: Yes, he is quite good. In any case, thank you for rescuing him. Here, please. This is the least I can do.
(Quest complete! Received 1200 EXP and 1000 GP.)
Ms. Yellow: And here, take these as well.
(Received M. Defense Seed, Speed Seed, and Elixer!)

I don't know if it's the setup for a joke later or what, but that's how Elixir is spelled in the game. It's like that on the item menu, too.

Lyssa: Thanks a lot! And as for you, Roman...
Lyssa: Don't go chasing waterfalls. Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to.
Dren: REALLY?!
Dren: This whole -- This whole thing was -- This --
Lyssa: Calm down, Dren. I don't want you tryin' to hollar at me.

My wife's character in the D&D game I run is a bard directly inspired by The Devil Went Down to Georgia. So there's a whole subplot where I throw scenarios at the party that are the usual D&D trappings but inspired by other songs. Eleanor Rigby, for instance, was a desiccated ghoul who kept her literal face in a jar by the door. Each time I reveal the theme behind a scenario, the reaction I get from my players is about how Dren reacts here.

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sun Jul 09, 2017 7:12 pm

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The next quest up is finding that medicinal flower that what's-her-name needs to help her sick grandpa.

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The environs are nicer than that damp cave, anyhow.

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I'm not sure how many of these creatures count as "flying" but I got a lot of mileage out of Gale here. Green Drakes can use Gale right back, and Kidmera has fire magic.

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I expected the tree to explode. That's a weird thing to expect, right? Video games are weird.

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Dren: ... You're not a llama!
Blunt Force Llama: Moo.
Dren: That's -- That's not -- Your sprite was a jellyfish!

There's an episode of Tabletop where they play a quick session of FATE. One of the characters is a scientist disillusioned by the resurgence of magic in their up-to-this-point-in-history mundane gameworld. The character had an ability that gave advantage in dealing with paranormal situations called "I Hate That You Don't Make Sense". This scene reminds me of that.

Anyway. I cast Gale at the Blunt Force Llamagriffinjellyfish, and Stunned it so it missed its first turn.

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It didn't even use the move and Dren's ready to have an aneurysm.

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It's fond of Bash, for damage and stun. And had it pulled off Mantis Stance, it would be able to counterattack, so good call getting that one shut down (even if it was largely accidental).

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I feel like there's potential here for an item that doesn't make any more sense than anything else in the fight, like a holy-elemental sword or another Homecooked Meal or something. Getting a plain ol' Attack Seed isn't unusual in the slightest (not that I'm gonna scoff at giving Dren another +1).

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sun Jul 09, 2017 7:36 pm

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Here's the next in the series of treasure maps. Not far from here Lyssa finds a Rosewood Wand, which allows Morgan to inherit the Aqua Knuckles I found in the waterfall cave, since they're higher attack and the same +MAT as Cloak's Dagger. Lyssa's attack power is back down to "approximately fuck all".

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Ah, the horizon. I must be nearing the peak!

Spoiler: I was not nearing the peak.

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Some armor has had better DEF, or AGI, or MAG, or whatever, but this is the first piece of equipment that is better than the Robes of Flowing Thought in every way. Thanks, Dyneh, they were super good while Lyssa wore them.

Oh! Speaking of...

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Lyssa: Oh, uh. Lyssa. Hi.
Ceidra: Greetings, Oha Lyssa.
Lyssa: Whoops, sorry. It's actually just "Lyssa".
Ceidra: Ah, yes. My apologies. I do not speak with mortals often, and I forget our manner of speech is strange to thy ears.
Lyssa: Don't worry about it.

A little name confusion is par for the course with these spirits, apparently. If the first word out of your mouth when you saw me was "Ceidra" I would have just assumed you're telling me the name of your favorite mid-evolution water-type Pokemon, perhaps cursing your lack of a Dragon Scale.

Ceidra: A half-elf... And thee said thy name is 'Lyssa'? Might thou not be the selfsame Lyssa who aided the water spirit Dyneh?
Lyssa: Yep! That's us!
Ceidra: Then I am in thy debt as well. Dyneh is a friend of mine. She told me of thy deeds to free her from the well. And then, this must be...
Dren: Dren. It's nice to meet you.
Ceidra: !!! Thou canst perceive me?
Dren: Uh, yes?
Ceidra: ... And thee, Templar?
Morgan: Morgan Kastel. Yeah, I can see you.
Ceidra: 'Tis most unusual.
Dren: How come? We could see Dyneh just fine.
Ceidra: ...Dyneh chose to reveal herself to thee. The Fae do not appear to thy kind unless they wish to. Lyssa, with her elven blood, is able to see my kind. But ye humans should not be able to without my consent, and I have yet to grant it. 'Tis truly strange. Unless...
Morgan: Unless?
Ceidra: Though I have never seen it, there are stories from the old days that the human companions of elves could also see past the veil. Though only if they shared a very strong bond, and destiny.
Morgan: Oh?
Lyssa: Cool! We're obviously destined to become great heroes.
Ceidra: ...It is hard for me to say. But know that the destiny shared need not be one of triumph and light.
Lyssa: Anyway, so what's up? What's a girl like you doing in a cave like this?
Ceidra: I enjoy the sunlight in these mountains. I am a spirit of earth, and often come to places such as these to enjoy the wonder and touch of nature.
Dren: An earth spirit, eh? Like a dryad?
Ceidra: Humans have indeed spoken of my kind with that name afore. But it is merely a moniker given me of thy kind. Nor am I tied to trees, though I do enjoy conversing with the spirits within them.

"Dyneh are you a water elemental?" "Nah those are different." "Ciedra are you a dryad?" "Yes, but not how you think." Next one's going to be "Hey, are you a salamander?" "Do I fuckin' look like an amphibian, ya moron?"

Ceidra: In truth, almost all living things have spirits, though those of plants and animals are simpler and more truthful than the Fae and others. But thy pardon I must beg. I have been known to wax on when given leash to speak on the world I love. And mortals soon grow tired of my stories of the lives of woodland creatures.

And you're like one step away from speaking in iambic pentameter just to sound more archaic.

Morgan: I don't know. We're actually pretty keen on those kind of stories, really. Have you ever heard of the Tiny, Tiny Princess?
Ceidra: Forsooth, I must admit I have not. Is she from a very small human family?
Morgan: Hahaha, no. She's the main heroine of a series of stories written by humans, meant to entertain our children. She often rides around on chipmunks and such in her adventures. I've read many of her stories to my daughter.
Ceidra: She sounds delightful. I admit that I know little of the lives of thy kind.

I totally want a scene where Morgan reads Tiny Tiny Princess books to the Fae now.

Dren: Maybe you could become a writer. Though, uh, I guess the books would be invisible to humans.
Morgan: Here, a picture my daughter drew recently.
Ceidra: My word! That feline is brave to climb so high. And thy daughter possesses the soul of an artist.

:3

Morgan: Yeah, she's a real gift. I have to admit, when I joined with these two, I did not expect to meet and talk to a real Faerie.
Ceidra: Hmm. Yes. I suspect there may have been more fate than chance in our meeting here. I bequeath to thee this: Do not mistreat it.
(Received Ceidra's Seed!)

Sex joke goes here.

Lyssa: Thanks! I'll take good care of it.
Ceidra: The spirit's blessings on your journey. If fate decides so, we shall meet again.

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Horsea out.

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sun Jul 09, 2017 7:46 pm

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Flip the switch, then carefully make your way along the paler path to get to the chest.

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Huh? Carl, is that you? Is this where you went after they kicked you off the outpost?

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Carl, it is youuuughh. Now I see why they don't invite you to the bake sale.

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Ah well.

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Dren: They're coming! Get ready!

The plant monster and the dragon monster jump down from the cliff and... stand patiently while we have a lengthy conversation. As has been known to happen.

Lyssa: A dragon! En guard, foul beast! This day shall be thy last! Prepare for thy doom, and thy scales shall tremble, for thy tail shall be severed, and --
Dren: Lyssa.
Lyssa: --thy wings made mincemeat, and thine eyes blended, and thine heart shall beat no more, and thy talons I shall fashion into knickknacks, and --
Dren: Hey, could you guys do us a favor and attack us? Thanks.
Lyssa: And thy fangs I shall turn into a sick relic that adds +10 Atk, +10 Agi, +10 Luk, and --
Dren: Lyssa, I will literally switch sides.
Lyssa: -- and +10% crit, and 10% evade, and --
Dren: It'll be Boss: Plantdude, Dragondude, and Dren.
Lyssa: -- and +10% evade again, and --
Dren: Dren uses Power Strike! It's a critical blow! Lyssa took 5000 damage. Lyssa has died. Not knockout. Died.
Lyssa: -- and then in your hoard, I'll find Korgorath, the Slayer of All Things, and it'll be this sick sword with spikes and it's red and black and gold and silver and --

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Dren: Oh, thank god.

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Under the assumption that the plant monster has a bunch of pollen- and powder-based status attacks, I focus fire on that one first.

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Which isn't to say that The Dragon, Snap doesn't have a Sap trap to make the fight drag on.

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If you can beat wandering monsters, you can handle quest bosses.

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Lyssa: Oh, man! All the dragon's body parts vanished! Now how will I make my sick relic?
Dren: Calling it now. Final boss: Dren.
Lyssa: And where's Korgorath!? That dragon SUCKED!

Lyssa, you didn't even do the pose. You beat it with a spell.

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sun Jul 09, 2017 8:02 pm

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Dren: Wait, what the...? Why was it in a treasure chest? What is a chest even doing here?
Lyssa: ...Okay, Dren, listen. I put up with a lot of crap from you. "Blah blah blah the world we live in doesn't make logical sense

...which always struck me as odd, since Dren's grown up in the world, he'd take stuffing people into a party inventory and finding flowers in treasure chests in stride since that's the way things have always been. The audience surrogate using real-world comparisons to in-universe events has never sat right with me.

Lyssa: blah blah blah I wish Lyssa would stop being so cool all the time, blah blah." But this is different, alright? We do not question treasure chests.
Dren: But--
Lyssa: No! No buts. Say it.
Dren: I--
Lyssa: SAY IT.
Dren: ...
Lyssa: We do not question treasure chests.
Lyssa: Thank you. We can go now. Thank you, Chest, for the treasure which thou has bestowed upon us.
Treasure Chest: No problem.

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We can't exactly leave yet, since there's one more room I haven't checked. It's another puzzle for treasure.

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Dont' step in shadows. That's it. That's the trick.

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Sunlight Medallion is +2 each to Atk, Mat, Def, Mdf, Agi, and Luk. AND HP +25. AND AP +8. AND Evade +1%. It replaces Morgan's Ring and probably won't be replaced for a while. Hell, I'd switch out the Power Bracelet for this if I had more than one.

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Okay. Now we can go.

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Morgan: We've got the flower you asked for.
Kycen: Oh, thank you so much! You don't know what this means to me!
Dren: We're glad to help.
Kycen: Thank you, thank you! I don't have much... but... I have 500 GP I've saved, though I was hoping to use it to buy the rest of the ingredients I need to make the medicine... What am I saying, no. Of course, take the money. I'll have the church take up a collection.

What, are you kidding? We didn't go through all that trouble to get one ingredient for your medicine just to screw you out of the rest of them. Keep your 500 GP, I'll go murder slimes or something until I raise some money instead.

Kycen: Oh, my. You truly are generous. Here, this sword has been in our family for generations. I'm sure you could put it to good use.
(Received 1600 EXP and Kycen's Scimitar!)
Kycen: Again, thank you so much. I don't know what to say. I'm glad the Templar hired you.
Lyssa: I hope your grandfather feels better soon.
Kycen: Yes, I do too. I'm sure the Blue Indello you brought us will help.
Lyssa: I'm just glad we could find it. It was all the way up on a mountain peak.
Kycen: Oh? Yeah, I'm not surprised. It only grows at high elevation.

Because if it grew at the base of the mountain we wouldn't have much of a quest, now would we?

Lyssa: Yes, it was certainly high enough to 'pique' my interest.
Kycen: ...? I'm sorry?
Morgan: Ignore her. She has some sort of disease.
Lyssa: Hey, they can't all be winners every time. Come on.
Dren: I'm not allowed to talk about chests.

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Instead of silently suffering where he was sitting, Kycen's graddad has fallen asleep and is snoring contendedly.

Kycen's Scimitar is +17 Atk and +5 Mat, so it outclasses the Aqua Knuckles Morgan is holding. So Morgan gets to use a sword again. I'm hesitant to sell off the outdated gear that's just called "Morgans ____", since, like, it's hers. Especially the ring, which she isn't wearing any more in favor of the Sunlight Medallion, but has an inscription from Sam on it. You can't just pawn off that kind of thing.

That's two quests in the bag, but I'm still pretty short of the level requirement for the next one. And the job board in Favros jumps from recommended level 16 or so to like level 22 in just a couple of jobs, so I'm gonna go find someplace to grind for a bit. I wander eastward, which is where Kye is supposed to be anyway, but instead of a village I find a cave. So I go in the cave to fight monsters and gain some levels, afford some new gear, and pick up some new spells and skills.

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...or perhaps I'll just go fuck myself.

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sun Jul 09, 2017 8:10 pm

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At the end of the cave is... another cave!

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A cave with more, stronger, tougher monsters! So I guess I'll grind here. I know I can make it through the cave getting in, and can always duck out to use a Camping Gear on the overworld map if I need to.

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dum de dum hey this cliffside with the rainstorm doesn't let me run. You'd expect a cutscene here, but there isn't one.

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So it's pretty clear I'm not supposed to be here yet, obviously. This is a big tough dungeon doubtlessly intended for a quest later -- though not too much later, I suppose, since the disadvantage from being underleveled is pretty damn steep. Upside is, I'm getting some new gear that's far and away better than what I have.

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Better enough to replace Lyssa's shield and wand and let her use a two-handed staff. +15 MAT is better than the Templar Staff sold back in Favros, so this saves me a significant chunk of change, too.

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lol I have no idea what I'm doing. (The tablets light up when you look at them.)

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Oh. If you go through the maze and light up all the tablets, the chest opens. Or so I assume, I found all the tablets first.

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The Stone Axe was enough of a boost for Dren to throw away his shield back on the mountainside. Then I found the Swift Trident, which was nicer than the Stone Axe. And now Dren's back to using an axe again because holy crap look at that ATK. Oh, and it's Thunder-elemental in a dungeon full of fish, crabs, squids, and other aquatic nasties.

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Every time I think I'm overexerted and should probably turn back, I find a save point in the next room where I can rest up with a Camping Gear, restore my missing AP, and backup save the game in case I wipe later. This room even has a merchant (who doesn't even know why he's here) to sell me healing potions and more Camping Gear!

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sun Jul 09, 2017 8:22 pm

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It is some small consolation that I did hit level 15 getting through this dungeon.
*scuttle, scuttle*
Lyssa: You're the "Sea King"?

Fuck yeah!

Crab: Yeah, so what? Wanna fight about it?
Lyssa: But you're so tiny and adorable!
Crab: Don't judge a crab by his colors! I've crushed a lot of crustaceans to get where I am today!
Lyssa: Awww, man! I was gonna use that when we turned in the quest! Darn it! Now I have to think of something else!

You'll have plenty of time to think of a new crab pun while we search for whoever gave this quest in the first place.

Crab: You won't have a chance! I'll defeat you and turn in YOUR carcass for exp!
Dren: I'm actually tempted to let you win.
Lyssa: Wait a minute, who would YOU turn in our carcasses to?
Morgan: Can we stop talking about our carcasses?
Crab: My wife.
Lyssa: Oh... Uh, like, the Sea Queen?
Crab: Nah. We crabs have a lot of wives, you know. This one in particular just... has a lot of GP.
Lyssa: Oh. Okay.

Maybe she's a wandering monster with a generous monetary reward later.

Lyssa: ...
Crab: ...
Crab: So, yeah. Uh.
Lyssa: Oh, sorry. My bad.
Lyssa: -ahem-
Lyssa: Die, foul monster! Trouble the good people of this land no more!
Crab: Puny humans! You've done well to make it this far, but this is where you shall perish! En garde!

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So yeah. Boss fight.

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But honestly it feels only about as tough as the random encounters were here, mostly because the random encounters were all like PARTYWIDE STUN and SPLISH! YOU'RE ASLEEP and POWER ATTACK CRIT GET FUCKED whereas this is a more straightforward brawl. The King Crab and his Royal Guard hit really hard, but I picked up a couple more white magic spells for Dren back in town. Once he's done hitting the Royal Guard with his axe a couple times, he has enough TP to cast a partywide Defense buff. And by the time the buff wears off, he has the TP to do it again.

Lyssa and Morgan are casting Fork Bolt, my strongest electrical spell, which is probably kind of sad because I got it back in Senn. But on the upside, Fork Bolt is so basic that I get TP back for casting it, so whenever I need to cast Healing Breeze, I already have the TP charged up.

Sometimes the King Crab casts Deluge, but it doesn't seem to be worth it to buff the party's MDF in this particular fight.


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bzot zap

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zap bzot lightning-axe-sound

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Lyssa: DAMN IT
Dren: *sniff* Truly I will miss that crab.

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Psst Morgan we've never been to Kye, we can't go "back". We got here more or less by accident.

Do your quests on schedule, kids. Don't sequence break.

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nosimpleway
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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sun Jul 09, 2017 8:28 pm

Oh, speaking of quests I'm doing wildly out of proper time, remember that thing I said I needed to do once I got a bit stronger?

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Get fucked.

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The piles of gold scattered around the room were an incentive to come back here, yeah.

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Listen pal I didn't even need to cast a healing spell in that fight, you got your ass handed to you fair and square.

Keretos: I feel... The wind...

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(The blade is black. It has a sickly aura about it.)

You're given the chance to leave the sword behind, but I grab it anyway.

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I'll grant that a sword with +17 ATK was probably a pretty damn big deal back whenever I was supposed to do this quest. But Kycen's Scimitar completely obsoletes it, the Scimitar having no HP and Luk penalty.

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Also we appear to be, like, proper cursed.

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And Keretos wasn't even the last Monster Medal in Senn! I have to go find another one!

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Yeah, get it off me plz.

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...

...

...

...you know what, I hope the gold I just picked up was cursed, too. You can have it. Dick.

Do your quests on time, kids.

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Friday
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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby Friday » Wed Jul 12, 2017 11:21 pm

Blunt Force Llama


So, like all post-Senn single enemy-bosses, Llama is supposed to be completely immune to control of all kinds. Checking his code, I discovered he was immune to everything, except, inexplicably, stuns. As you may have discerned, he's hard coded to use Mantis Stance on his first turn, which makes the fight much tougher.

Sequence breaking in King Crab dungeon


Well, color me impressed. That's a level 18 rec area, so doing it out of order is pretty tough.

Keretos


Yeah, his sword is obsolete where you are. It's really good if you get it before you do the bandit stuff, because it's Shadow ele and they all take 125% from that.

I want a mimic who's disguised as one of those crates of apples I keep finding free food in. Maybe a barrel.


Oh honey you lack imagination, and no I'm not talking about save point mimics
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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Fri Jul 14, 2017 12:19 pm

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Checking the jobs board, the next quest I'm supposed to do is to go to Kye. I got that letter from Rorre back in the Favros video, remember?

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It's not hard to find.


A video of exploring Kye, picking up quests and turning them in, considering this is where I was supposed to go before the King Crab fight. Ugab's house is much easier to find than his name-reversed inspiration; there was zero wandering around in a forest getting into pointless scripted encounters. And need to drop off the codeword from the Thiefs Guild with the mayor. It did take me a second to remember what the code was, yes.

Anyhow, there's not much reason to video-record a fight in a menu-based combat system, so to switch back to screenshots:


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The Scareclones just throw rocks, occasionally leading to the "Well I guess I'll just go fuck myself" situation when every damn spell procs Stun. Berry guard has better magic than that...

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...but now that found equipment is starting to outclass sold equipment and I can invest in ability tomes, so do I.

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The scareclones all explode, one at a time. How is no one else hearing this happen?

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I got into that fight with one house left unchecked. The old man inside comments that the witch next door is always ending her sentences with weird, magical I guess?, incantations, like "semicolon-three".

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The Kye job board has exactly three jobs, to make up the jump in required levels from 15 to 20 on the board back in Favros. And I, uh, already did that last one. Four levels early. So the level reqs are more general guidelines, after you get out of Senn and have the tools available to take on nastier encounters.

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Fri Jul 14, 2017 12:41 pm

But first...

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Charles: I trust you have the berries.
Lyssa: We were indeed successful, m'lord.
Charles: Good. Did the witch give you any trouble?
Lyssa: Some, but nothing we couldn't handle.
Charles: I see. I have chosen my people well, it seems. Here, take this, good knight, as a token of my esteem.
(Charles takes off his shoe and dumps out a small object, which he then hands to you.)
(Received Luck Seed!)
Charles: I now have another important task for you.
Lyssa: Because we're in the Guild now?
Charles: Unfortunately, Hannah misplaced the Guild charter, so we are unable to let you join at this time. However, in the time it takes you to complete this next task, Hannah will draw up another, and I assure you your names will be added to it with honor.
Morgan: Uh, can I at least join under an assumed name?
Charles: Of course. You think these are our real names?
Morgan: Well, considering I've known you kids since you were born, yes?
Charles: Yes, those are the cover names our parents, former Guild Members, gave you.
Morgan: ... Okay. This guild was formed two weeks ago. But okay.
Charles: Time travel was involved.
Morgan: I assumed.
Charles: The time machine was destroyed in the Great Battle-Maid Wars, unfortunately, stranding us here, in what you call the "present".
Morgan: Alright, fine. Then what's your real name, Charles?
Charles: I could tell you, but as you are a non-member, I would then have to kill you.
Morgan: I'd like to see you try, you snot.
Lyssa: So what's the task?
Charles: A merchant loyal to the Guild has set up camp somewhere between here and Kye. Find him and tell him this: "Hey, we're from the Guild, give us the package." He will then give you the package. Return it to me and you will be rewarded.
Lyssa: We're on it. Can we get a more precise location of the merchant?
Charles: I'm afraid not. Hannah lost the map along with the charter.

Man, Hannah, you're supposed to be in charge of maps! Get it together!

Charles: We do know he's between here and Kye. Good luck!

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So, here's to looking for landmarks to explore between Favros and Kye. Could it be this one, just south of the "<- Favros Kye ->" sign by the bridge?

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Not unless the merchant is a giant scorpion. I mean, Charles might have omitted an important detail, but...

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The Rimepion is fond of ice magic, of course. It can also counter normal attacks and its own normal attacks proc Poison sometimes. It has an attack that causes Bleed but I forgot which one that is. Lyssa got frozen solid at one point.

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Had I not beaten King Crab already this might be more appealing.

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So from Favros, go north across the river, and then head east to a bend where the river forks. Geographically, this is between Favros and Kye, but you can't get to Kye from here, so it's not an intuitive place to check.

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The merchant hands over the package without any pithy conversation, or even Morgan expressing disbelief that he's a part of a children's guild.

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Charles: Thank you. You have done well. Take this.
(Charles takes off his sock and pulls something out of it, then hands it to you.)
(Received Attack Seed!)
Charles: You are now full members of the Guild.
Lyssa: Yesssssssss
Charles: Your training to become a Thief begins. The most important thing to a Thief is, of course, stealth. Therefore, you must first master making as much noise as possible.
Morgan: What.
Charles: DO NOT QUESTION OUR WAYS! They were handed down from the great master Thief himself, from ancient times. Now go. Edwin will let you down into the basement.

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We're invited to walk down the hallway making as much noise as possible. But just, like, yelling isn't an option. This is another sidequest, as the kids upstairs fill you in: there's a cat somewhere in town who has a thing that makes noise you can equip to Lyssa, and there's a merchant somewhere outside Favros that has a thing you need to charm the cat into giving you the thing.

I mean, it might just be a fish. The guy who sells fish is in a house in Kye, and that's outside of Favros.

Or maybe I can just bribe Hannah with a candy bar. It worked for Bryce.

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Fri Jul 14, 2017 1:08 pm

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But I didn't think to check around town for any cats, to see if I had the item already. So it's off to the Lighthouse.

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Oh. It's one of those dungeons.

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As Della advised, I picked up a few more holy-elemental spells on my way in. Light Beam can mop the floor with pretty much anything here, and both Lyssa and Morgan know it.

Undead might in fact be resistant to physical hits, but Dren's attacks aren't physical, they're lightning-elemental thanks to that axe I got before. He hits for full damage.


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*camera zooms in, shrug, ba-dum-tssh*

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Light Beam wrecks them same as everything else.

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*distant creepy laughter*
Dren: What the heck was that!?
*closer giggling*
Morgan: Show yourself!

Pink mist forms, then gathers, and reveals...

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The dolls almost always throw up an emote before they talk, usually a heart or a musical note.
Doll: Oh, my, who has come to play?
Doll 2: They want to play with our magic light!
Doll 3: So nice of them, to bring us new toys to play with!
Doll... I forget which doll, but does it really matter?: Don't worry, we'll play with you!
Dolls: Yes, come and play with us! Forever and ever!
Doll on the left: I'm Maribel!
Doll adjacent: I'm Maribeth!
Third doll over: I'm Marilyn!
Last doll: And I am--
DEATH PONY!!!

Morgan: Oh dear, poor thing can't hear.
Dren: No Morgan, I think it said --
Doll: RAWRRRRRRRRRRR

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Music: Dancing Calcobrena okay no it's not it's the regular boss theme but don't you think it'd be appropriate?

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Hey, look who went ahead and painted a big target right on her own forehead on the second turn! I wasn't sure who to KO first, thanks for clearing that up.

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Each doll has her own sort of thing, but I'm kind of overpowered at this point and steamroll them without much of a problem. Lots of status effects fly around, including Fear, which I don't think I've seen yet.

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Maribeth: They like to play rough!
Marilyn: Should we show them a new game?
DEATH PONY: RAWWWRR, Rawwrr, Rawr.
Maribel: ... No, I don't think our new friends are strong enough for our other game, yet!
Maribeth: But I wanna play NOW!
Marilyn: Let's let them win, this time. And then...
Maribeth: Teehee, what a wonderful idea!
Maribeth: We'll be back to play again!
Maribel: So until then...
Marilyn: Don't die! Teehee!
Maribeth: If you do...

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We'll never forgive you.

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Della: Thank you so much! ;D
Della: As a reward, I'll let you buy my magic... And here, this hat is sooo last season, you can have it! ;)
(Received 2250 EXP, 1750 GP, and Della's Spare Hat! ^_^)
Lyssa: Well, if we ever need the cutest magic around, we certainly know which witch is which!
Dren: ...I'm gonna make the dolls never forgive you.
Della: Oh, don't be so grumpy, you! :P
Della: Here's one last reward, teehee! ;x
*smack*
Lyssa: You've got lipstick on your cheek, Dren.

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Lyssa has a better piece of headgear and this isn't the sort of thing Dren would wear (because it's magic-based, not because it wouldn't look cute with his braids), but this is straight-up better than Morgan's Helm, so on it goes.

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sat Jul 15, 2017 12:56 pm

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Maybe it was just coincidence, but enemies in the lighthouse seemed to target Morgan disproportionately often with their poison/toxic/disease status attacks. I can't do much, but I can put on these old Swamp Boots for poison immunity before I go into the cave that I've been explicitly told is full of spiders and the undead from the lighthouse.

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You might recall that Morgan didn't take part in any of the WACKY HIJINKS Dren and Lyssa got caught up in when we took on this quest. She was too busy worrying about the "spider-infested" part of the "spider-infested cave" thing.
Dren: Morgan, what is it? You're shaking.
Morgan: !!! No -- nothing!
Lyssa: Are you cold?
Morgan: Of course n-- not! Let's go!

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As if to reassure Morgan, the first couple encounters I get into are with rotting, shambling corpses instead of arachnids that are a very important part of any fantasy ecosystem.

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Anyway, this is reassuring because while I don't have any instant-death spell against spiders, I do have Light Beam, which is functionally thus against entire parties of undead monstrosities.

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Lyssa: ...What was what?
Morgan: You-- You didn't see that?!
Lyssa: See what?
Morgan: The-- Just ahead!
Dren: Morgan, are you okay?
Morgan: ... I'm -- I'm fine! A Templar does not fear the darkness!
Dren: You're shaking again.

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Further in, there's more Sokoban. This one's much tougher than the one back at the Porc outpost.

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Like, it took me a few minutes to realize the space behind this stalagmite was empty enough to push a boulder into.

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I think I got the first Sokoban finished first try, even with the switch-and-gate trick in the last section. This one I had to reset several times.

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But I made it.

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I held off on getting Lyssa new armor for as long as I could, since the Robes of Flowing Thought were a special gift. But now that she's not wearing the Robes anymore, she can upgrade her armor like usual. Shadow Cloak replaces the Mountain Mage Cloak I got so very recently.

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sat Jul 15, 2017 1:05 pm

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Morgan: There! Di -- Did you see that?!
Lyssa: Morgan, see what?
Morgan: That! Just ahead! Six glowing eyes!
Dren: Morgan, what are you talking about? Floating eyes?
Morgan: I can't just be imagining it!

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Oooh, it's dark. How spooky.

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Okay, so I'll confess that every time Morgan has a freak out, there is, just briefly, a monstrous spider onscreen. I'm just really bad at screenshots and like to make it seem like Morgan is having a meltdown for no reason at all. Here the spider has snuck up behind us, and is exiting the left side of the screen.
Morgan: !!! Look! Behind us!
Dren: What is it?
Lyssa: What?
Morgan: It was a huge -- It was a giant -- You guys didn't see it?!
Dren: Morgan, are you okay? You're jumping at shadows.
Morgan: No! I saw it! It was behind us! It's stalking us!
Lyssa: WHAT is stalking us?
Morgan: I'M NOT CRAZY!

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The next chamber is lighted a little better, but it's full of twisty paths suspended over deep pits. This would be the worst possible place fo-- hold on, Lyssa's cellphone is ringing.
*click*
Lyssa: Hello?
Sound effect: bark bark bark bark
Lyssa: Roman?! Is that you?
Sound effect: bark bark bark bark bark bark bark
Lyssa: SLOW DOWN I CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU
Sound effect: bark bark bark
Lyssa: WHERE ARE YOU?

And a bit later...

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Lyssa: It's a notification from Swordbook.

The user RomanTheDog would like to be your friend.
> Accept
Ignore

*Lyssa considers*

You have become friends with RomanTheDog. You have one new message.

Roman: ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF

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This is, for completely unrelated reasons, when I realized that Lyssa's name has changed again, to "Lady of Blades", from signing the guestbook back in Kye. She was Worthy McWorthington for all of five minutes.

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sat Jul 15, 2017 1:13 pm

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There we go, a proper screenshot of the spider.

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This one was a bit easier than most because it walks in little circles instead of immediately ducking offscreen.
Morgan: Okay, you saw THAT, right?!
Lyssa: Saw what, Morgan?
Morgan: OH MY GOD. THE GIANT. FREAKIN'. SPIDER.
Dren: ... Oh, is that what you think you've been seeing? Do you not like spiders, Morgan?
Morgan: OF COURSE NOT! THEY'RE UGLY AND HORRIBLE AND CREEPY AND WEIRD AND THEY HAVE SIX EYES AND I HATE THEM!!
Dren: So you're scared of them?
Morgan: No-- I'm a Templar! I fear not the darkness!
Morgan: ...But they're soooooo creepy! I can handle regular ones in small numbers, of even big ones in smaller numbers...

Up to five, I think, is the most we've seen in any one encounter.

Morgan: But THAT was a HUGE, GIANT, ENORMOUS, MASSIVE, COLOSSAL ARACHNID! I can't believe you guys didn't see it!
Lyssa: Morgan.
Morgan: WHAT!
Lyssa: We've seen it the whole time. Dren and I were just messing with you.
Dren: Hehe, sorry. You're just so cute when you're scared.
Morgan: ...
Morgan: ...
Morgan: WELL. THAT SPIDER WASN'T AS BIG AS YOUR EARS, LYSSA!!!
Lyssa: Alright, fair. You get that one.

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Of course, once we reach the final chamber and the giant spider pops out of its nest in the wall, Morgan is quick to back up a few steps.
Morgan: There it is! Eeek! There's nothing worse than a giant spider!

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby nosimpleway » Sat Jul 15, 2017 1:40 pm

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Naming the boss purely as a joke from the scene preceding it leads to a little awkwardness during the fight itself.

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I still have really good equipment and magic, though.

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And in the next chamber we find the Fighter's Ring. There's a brief conversation to remind you where to go when you're back in Kye to turn the quest in, Morgan thanks heavens that all the giant spiders are dead, and we head out.

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...followed by a third giant spider. Of course, Samus. There are at least ten SA-X on this space station.

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The ring is equippable, and there's no one better for it than Dren. Here's the problem, of course. A goddamn lot of enemies in trash mobs can use status effects, and at least half of the status effects in the game are "you lose your turn". +5 Attack is a lot, but if Dren goes last, he may well not go at all, and boy howdy look at how shitty his AGI is with Stone Mail and nothing to mitigate it.

Anyway, I can't leave the dungeon yet. There's... I just feel like there's something here I missed...

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Yeah, that's it.

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Not surprisingly, they can both Firebolt. Also not surprisingly, they both curl up and die when hit with Light Beam a couple of times.

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Okay. Now we can leave.

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Lyssa: That's right, tough guy, we've got your ring, no sweat. I believe we were promised a reward?
Halas: Yes, indeed. You are truly worthy to have defeated the horrors of the cave. Here is your reward, warriors.
(Received 2250 EXP and 1750 GP!)
Halas: Oh, and you can keep the ring. It's one of my old favorites, but I have little use for it now.
Lyssa: I'm really glad you're letting us keep the ring, because otherwise...
Dren: Don't do it.
Lyssa: I'd have had to...
Dren: Please. I'm begging you.
Lyssa: Ring--
Morgan: I HATE SPIDERS.
Lyssa: Morgan, aww, come on! You ruined it!
Dren: Thank you, Miss Kastel.
Lyssa: Wait! I've got another one.
Dren: Nope! Leaving now. Thank you very much Mr. Halas.
Halas: Come back anytime, I'll teach you what I know. You've proved yourself worthy to learn my skills.
Dren: That's great! We'll be sure to count on your expertise. Come on, Lyssa!
Lyssa: Ring ring ring ring ring, BANA--
Dren: LA LA LA CAN'T HEAR YOU

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Okay that's only a smidge better than a regular attack, but it hits three times. I have high hopes for this one as long as Dren is equipped with that axe that's better than anything I'm supposed to have right now.

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Oh, right. There was only one quest left, and it's the one I already did. So I guess our equipment is right on par with where we're supposed to be in the game now. Still, having Dren triple-hit should be pretty nice.

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Re: Another LP? It must be Friday! Let's play Windseal!

Postby zaratustra » Sat Jul 15, 2017 2:28 pm

two giant thumbs up for the two giant spiders joke

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