Session 12 Recap: Liberating Lorin

Thanks to Royce and Vasuki, we were able to sweep straight down into the elven village of Sanil, bypassing the dangers and traps of the enchanted forest that protected them. They were shocked to see humans after their long isolation, but they warmed to us quickly when we made it clear that we were no fans of Harmonia. One of the largest structures in the village is a huge memorial to elves who have lost their lives, and most of those deaths date back to a Harmonian attack from over a hundred years ago. The victims included young children – it was a massacre that drove the few surviving elves into hiding, where their numbers have remained low and they’ve tried to keep out of Harmonia’s way.

After leveling our weapons to 7, buying some new armor and a turkey, and obtaining the recipe for stir-fry, we made our way to the house of the elven leader, old Xavier Matthews. After a long-winded account of our adventures from Harold, Xavier agreed to help us and open the floodgates as long as we promised to keep it off the record to prevent retaliation from Harmonia against the elves. The elves were not yet ready to declare open war (though it was hinted that they might find their confidence once our castle reaches Level 3).

The flooding of the Harmonian castle of Lorin went off without a hitch, and we followed the assault with an army battle in a nearby field. Priest Major Lena Suphina and her arches were in charge of the castle, but their forces were joined by Harold’s brother Henry and Royce’s rival Felicia as well (dragon included). We split into our units and began the first army battle of the game with enthusiasm. Happily accepting the responsibility of ordering people around, Harold directed us in the most efficient manner to wipe out the Harmonian forces, and we did not lost a single unit. Felicia was defeated first, followed by Henry, who both swore revenge and retreated. Finally, we were able to surround and quickly subdue Priest Major Lena Suphina, who surrendered to us in order to spare her troops.

We don’t know much about Priest Major Lena yet (Xander’s investigation is in the works), but Harold did know that she used to be the Vice-Commander of the Temple Guards, one of the highest military positions in Harmonia. Something happened to slap this major demotion on her, relegating her to a remote outpost, and whatever it was left her with no warm feelings towards the Holy Empire. We offered our friendship, and with nowhere else to go, Lena joined forces with us. According to Caesar, her troops swell our numbers by about a third, a major victory for us. (How many times can I say “major” in a paragraph?)

Two other pieces of news were waiting for us back at Liberty Castle. For one, Caesar informed us that Omir Fort is currently under attack from the Camaro Knights, who continue to make life hell for Harmonia in the west. This is a great opportunity for us to take over the northern lands while Camaro and Harmonia fight amongst themselves, so that by the time Harmonia ends the battle, their problems will have only just begun. “War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want.” – William Tecumseh Sherman

Secondly, and of more immediate concern, there is an epidemic sweeping through Lorin Village near the castle that our forces just liberated. A woman came to Liberty Castle to beg us for help, for though they already ordered the medicine they need, it was stolen by pirates along the way. By the time they can obtain more, the death toll could be catastrophic. When we come back next time, it will be up to us to retrieve it. For the howling orphaned babies!

Recruited: Lena Suphina

3 Investigations: Dalton, Lena Suphina, Xander

Site update!

Ok, I've updated all of the following pages: Detective work, stars of destiny, NPC battle effects, war battles, and Liberty Castle to reflect having recruited Flik, Victor, Humphrey, Phoebe, April, Viki, and Anna.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I have reflected these pages to show you have Dalton, the seemingly always-forgotten dwarf you picked up in Snowview. He is your armor star, and I keep forgetting about him, and never added him to your lists, and no one noticed. Oops?

I also have added stuff for a NEW comment box, and a page for Ramza's rumors.

In addition, I added the shops of Liberty Castle and Sanil Village (elf city) to the available shops list, so check those out too!

ALSO: check out the new editions of the Liberation Ledger!

MORE STUFF! Since Sarah already noticed it, I added Pearl and Grant to the investigation list, under the 108 stars. I had hoped no one would notice they weren't on there, but Sarah has the TRUE Eagle eye of the team ;)

Last but not least, homework! Next week WILL be our first war battle, so if you've not decided on your war stats with me yet, be sure to give it some though. I want to have everyone's detective work and war stuff done by next week. And if you want, add your new comments to the comment box!

Hope you all enjoy!

Session 11 recap: Plowing through the Prison

The prison break kicked off with an impressive aerial display from Vasuki, dodging arrows from the guards as she swooped in for a landing in the courtyard. Luckily, most of the troops from Sorrowyn Prison were diverted by the army battle being staged outside their gates. We ignored the guard towers for the moment and charged right into the main building, looking to release our targets as soon as possible. Daisy and Royce were looking for Viktor, Flik, and Flik’s daughter April, while it seemed Harold had a different person in mind.

We fought our way up to the second floor, the women’s cells, to find Humphrey and his daughter Phoebe already knee-deep in prison guards. It turned out the two of them, when they’d gotten separated from Daisy (before the game began), had come straight here and staked out the place for weeks, waiting for the perfect chance to attack. We teamed up to defeat the guards while Harold ran from cell to cell, looking for someone. As it turned out, his sister Anna was locked in one of these cells, and she shared her space with none other than April! With the two ladies freed, we continued our charge up to the third floor, where the prison records showed we should be able to find Flik and Viktor.

As soon as we stepped onto the third floor, a portcullis dropped behind us and left us with no way to run from the massive arbalest directed by the prison commander. Daisy rushed forward to try and kill him quickly, but there was no way we could reach him before he fired. Lucky for us, a prisoner next to the commander reached through the bars and restrained him long enough for Daisy to cut him down with her sword, though not before the commander retaliated with a sword to the prisoner’s gut. The old prisoner, as he lay dying, recognized Kuarjav as the man who had once taught magic to his son Roy. He asked for news of his son, but as Kuarjav had been imprisoned 30 years to the old man’s 29, neither was very up-to-date on old friends. Roy’s father asked Kuarjav to look out for his son, and died.

Meanwhile, Daisy found her dad Viktor sharing a cell with Flik in the corner and busted them out, greeting her father with a big bear hug. They seemed to be a little worse for the wear, but well enough to fight. There was some argument over whether or not we should release all of the prisoners, and eventually it was decided that we had to wait until it was safe to let them out. With the intent of seeing how the war battle progressed, we went back downstairs to the courtyard to find yet another group of assassins surrounded by dead Harmonian guards. Harold recognized their leader as Darius, an assassin of great reputation. As we feared, they had come for Daisy Saint-Anicet. One fight later, we restrained Darius for questioning to try and finally find out why there are so many assassins after Daisy’s life. He revealed that he is a warrior of the Beast tribe sent by Octavia, like the last group, and he bore a totem rune with the image of a boar. Most interestingly, he said that Octavia wants to stop Daisy from fulfilling some ancient prophecy, though he would not reveal what it was. Harold offered the assassin a chance to make a clean break and join us instead, but Darius chose instead to leap onto Harold’s sword, leaving us at another dead end. We pondered what all of this might mean for Daisy, and while Harold theorized that there might be some connection to Daisy’s mother’s family because the assassins all used the Saint-Anicet name to find Daisy, no one could think of any connection there might be between a respectable noble family like the Saint-Anicets and some savage Beast tribe.

Suddenly remembering the second part of our mission, we raised a hastily-made rebel flag over the prison, leading the Harmonian army outside to eventually surrender. We freed the rest of the political prisoners and invited them back to our castle as a safe haven and base of operations, guessing that most of them would now be seeking to exact revenge on Harmonia.

A girl fell out of the sky as we were leaving the prison. Royce swooped in on his dragon and rescued her in a heroic fashion. The girl recognized Flik and Viktor and was identified as Viki, a scatterbrained teleporter who tends to show up during times of major conflict and then disappear during banquets. With nowhere else to go, Viki agreed to join our team and went to the castle.

The Union Army forces at Liberty Castle had a grand party that night to celebrate the fall of Sorrowyn, though we have yet to decide what to do with it. During the party, Daisy carved a wooden mug for Harold with a rose etched into the side, much to the Narcissist’s delight. We did some talking and catching-up with Viktor and the other prisoners, then met with Caesar the next morning to decide what to do next. Our strategist told us that we needed to focus on liberating the region where our castle was situated, and to that end, we had to go to the enchanted forest to ask the elves for help. If we succeeded, the elves would open the floodgates and wash away the Harmonian castle just downstream from them, greatly increasing our chances for victory.

So, next week, we meet the Harmonian elves!

Recruited: Flik, Viktor, Humphrey, April, Phoebe, Viki, Anna

Investigations: Daisy and Anna

Session 10 recap: Nothing but Nemeses

We kicked things off by asking for Caesar’s advice, and he asked us to find an architect to help build our new castle, as progress was slow. Lucky for us, we knew exactly where to find such a tradesman. But to our surprise, we found Lindermill in a rather different state than when we left it with Katherine and company. Harmonian soldiers were everywhere, enforcing a new draft that hadn’t been activated in many years. Amelia the bathmaker’s house was unguarded, but she refused to join us unless Reynaldo the architect chose to. So we swung by Reynaldo’s place next door and found him and his architects being dragged away for the draft by none other than Henry, Harold’s humorless brother and a Harmonian army captain. The fight was brutal and some unfortunate words were exchanged, but Henry was eventually forced to flee our onslaught once again. Reynaldo and his men joined us out of gratitude, and Amelia soon followed suit, obviously surprised at what had come to pass.

The team heard some rumors during our travels, like the fact that we might be meeting elves in the forest one of these days, but the most significant was learning the identity of the three Camaro generals. It turns out that Yuber is working for Camaro these days, and may have been summoned by Queen Diana herself, who is rumored to bear the True Piety Rune. As for the full extent of that rune’s power or what might come of enlisting Yuber’s services, that much is still unknown.

The safety of Royce’s dragon continued to be an important concern, as his rival Felicia had twice used the power of forbidden runes to affect his dragon’s mind. Caesar explained that we might be able to counter the power of Felicia’s runes (the Black/Conqueror rune put his dragon to sleep, while the Howling rune sent Vasuki into an uncontrollable bloodlust rage) if we visited the dwarves again. Cyrus the dwarven leader agreed to help us and sent for his son, Mitch, to help us. Mitch turned out to be a skilled potion-maker, trap-maker, and inventor, who happened to have developed and brewed a large quantity of anti-mind-control potion, which we fed to Vasuki. Meanwhile, we heard rumors from Ramza that the kobolds seemed to be preparing for war, and that this might be related to Felicia being spotted meeting with the kobold leader shortly before his disappearance. Guessing that Felicia was using the Howling rune to control the kobolds, Mitch prepared copious amounts of anti-mind-control potion and kobold-strength knockout gas and traveled with us to the kobold village.

It was obvious the minute we entered the village that every single kobold was in a mindless frenzy. Luckily, we were able to avoid killing the kobolds thanks to Mitch’s knockout gas, and we administered the antidote potion to every kobold we came across. Felicia showed up with her dragon, Felix, and attacked. After another tough fight, the FFs were defeated and set fire to the kobold village to cover their escape. Compelled to rescue the kobolds, we had to let the pair escape yet again.

Once the kobolds had all been restored to normal, Wayne the kobold leader told us of Felicia’s evil plan to use the mind-controlled kobolds as cannon fodder against Camaro. While the kobolds attacked the Camaro knights from one side, Felicia planned to use the dwarves the same way and create enough of a distraction for Harmonia to overcome the invaders. Disgusted by Harmonia’s utter disregard for the lives of non-humans and grateful for our help, Wayne agreed to join us, and Monty the kobold trader finally did the same. Once they heard what Harmonia had planned to do, Cyrus and Mitch joined us as well, and they decided to defy Harmonia by moving back into the old dwarven castle as a prologue to open war.

It was with mixed feelings that we heard the news of Camaro beating Harmonia at Coldwall castle due to the missing kobold and dwarf reinforcements, because the loss of life was severe. On the other hand, Harmonia’s defeat diverted their forces away towards the borders, leaving Sorrowyn prison relatively defenseless. Next time, we will take Sorrowyn by storm and finally rescue Daisy’s father!

Updates galore!

Hey everyone!

I've done some big updates to the site, including updating your stars of destiny page, and adding four new pages for your NPC battle stat, their war stats, the newspaper, and the detective investigations. I also added the 'conversations' and descriptions of your castle to the Liberty Castle page, adding the new people (Cyrus, Wayne, etc) to the list. Last but not least, I posted a new page with all the towns, shops, and trading post information you can currently visit. I will update these pages as changes occur, so keep checking back for updates!

Check out all the goodness, and let me know if you have any questions!

Blog exclusive! Exploring your castle, and some random NPC Dailogue

Hello all! for my first blog exclusive content, I am giving you a tour of your castle, with the design idea and scripts for the first people recruited. At the end, there are some random NPC dialogue, too. Hope you enjoy!

Your castle:

((NOTE: If anyone wants to take charge of designing the castle, I will gladly turn over the design rites. If not, I will proceed as if I am designing it.))

Your castle in the sindar ruins is on an island in the middle of the largest river in Harmonia. The river (as previously noted) flows to the north, and empties out at sea. Going up the river from where your base is, you would find the Harmonian capitol of Crystal Valley.

To imagine what your base looks like, first think of the island in the middle of the river, with water flowing on around the island on both sides, with no bridges. There is also a third stream that cuts through the island, controlled by a dam, which flows water into the castle. This third stream also provides the castle with a moat, giving you another layer of protection on the already isolated island.

At this time, your castle is more like a tower; there are ruins of what look like used to be a larger castle here, but again, they are in ruins. All that still stands intact is the central tower, the one you climbed up to clear of monsters. The tower has four floors above ground, and an untold number of floors below; you have access to one floor now, and there is a blocked off section going lower you can’t access yet.

For now, the first floor of the castle (where you enter) is a wide open space. The right wall is littered with tools and weapons, and there is a space for Gomez to have set up his storage unit. The left side has a hastily made bar for Rosalita. It is mostly some boards nailed together to form a counter, and some shelves behind her. The bar stools are mostly wooden packing crates, but no one seems to mind. Luther and Ramza are found at the bar.

On the B1 floor you can access, you find Joyce has set up her inn. The entirety of the floor is made up cots and beds for you and various soldiers. Gloria is here, relaxing in a bed.

The 2^nd floor has your meeting and strategist rooms, mostly empty but for a few tables and chairs at the moment. People are seen clearing away rubble and patching thins up all over. Caesar, Pearl, Jonah, Damien, and Dexter are all found here in the official meeting room. Lyn is standing outside the meeting room, looking excited to be here. Katherine has her own room to the side, with stuff she brought herself from her home, and it’s the most well decorated place in the castle. Sam (her son) is with her too.

The 3^rd floor is more of a mess, but cleaning still resumes here as well. Lilly, Reed, Samus, and Dale can be found here, all “working.” Though Lilly is more directing Reed and Samus than doing heavy work herself.

The fourth floor is where the flood gate control was, and is mostly empty. Lorelei can be seen here, looking over the flood gates. Xander is here as well, looking at Lorelei from the shadows.

Some conversations:

Gomez: Welcome to the vault, my friends! What can I do for you!?

Rosalita: This place is kind of rought, but you know what? It’s all mine! And I gotta say, I love the atmosphere…. Oh where was I? What can I get for you all? ((Offers Drinking game. Ask for details))

Luther: Caesar has us working hard. My breaks’ almost up, so I have to drink while I can!

Ramza: You know, Lady Pearl gives us all a salary? Even me! Which is why I’m here. You? By the way, have you heard the rumor about secret characters? I heard talk that there at least ten of them!

Joyce: Welcome! Can I show you to a room? I have saved just for you, Harold… ((Offers Free Inn))

Gloria: Ah, after years of being in jail, there is nothing like a soft bed.

Caesar: (gives next mission, TBA)

Pearl: Well, it’s not as fancy as our old base yet, but it is certainly easier to defend. Yes, we can make a stand here, once and for all, and it’s all thanks to your efforts. How can I ever thank you?

Jonah: This place has lots of ledges for lookouts and snipers. I feel right at home here.

Damien: This strategy stuff makes my head go in circles. I can’t wait to finish so I can go back to helping with the physical work.

Katherine: Ah, welcome. Can I interest you in some wine?

Sam: Why can’t I get any wine?

Lyn: Once the meeting inside is done, I’ll be the first to get the inside scoop! I can't wait to get the Union Army it's own paper!

Lilly: Come on Reed! You can do better than that!

I'm bored. Care for a duel? ((Offers: duel mini game! Ask for details))

Reed: This (huff) is not what I signed on for (huff) as a bodyguard.

Samus: As bad as this is, it still beats my last job…

Dale: Nothing’s more satisfying than a hard day’s work. I can’t wait to see the reaction of enemies when they see the job we’ve done here!

Lorelei: Sigh… I think I’m getting too old to continue searching…but I can’t give up, not while I can still breathe…

Xander: This Lorelei woman…where have I heard her name before?

You have work for me? I can do 5 investigations at once, for 200 potch a pop. What will it be? ((Offers: Detective work mini game. Ask for details!))

Soldier by the healing spring: This thing is amazing! One sip and all your ills melt away. Try it!

Soldier at entrance: Welcome back!

Solider working on clearing way to b2: This place is an island, right? How deep can place possibly go?

Soldier at the inn: That Miss Joyce sure is easy on the eyes, don’t you think? I asked her out once, but she said she already was seeing someone. You don’t know who, do you?

Solider at the bar: I don’t care if we fight Harmonia or Camaro! Bring them all on, I say!

Bandit Bill: Um, hey. The bar is fully stocked, and I’ve swept the floors. Can I get a break now? Rosalita hasn’t let me take one since she learned I was a bandit before…

And now, to add some more flavor to the game! I am going to give you all some random NPC dialogue from various towns. Why? I didn’t like only giving you the generic stuff on the nearest missions, and wanted to include some rumors/foreshadow-y type stuff to the random dialogue. So here goes!

Man: Camaro is fierce opponent for Harmonia, led by Queen Diana and her three great generals. Their names? Why, they are General Gregory leads the infantry, General Janell leads the archers, and the new General Yuber leads their calvary.

Woman: Queen Diana is quite the inspiration for us women. Her husband’s rule was just, but full of problems. The economy was bad, and his wars were filled with defeats. After his death, Queen Diana took over, and turned the country around nearly over night. She took command of the armies herself, and began the winning streak that let Camaro take over the entire area of the nameless lands, and even pushed Harmonia back! I hate that she is an enemy of our country, but it’s amazing how one person can change the course of history, isn’t it? Oh, I’m so conflicted!

Young Man: I hear ever since King Glenn of Camaro died, the country has become ten times more militaristic. It makes me wonder if the King’s mysterious illness was really that, you know?

Old Woman: My granddaughter visited from Camaro the other day. She was telling me all about this new Adviser the queen has. A shrewd military tactician skilled at troop movements. I forget her name though. I think it was Gail?

Old man: Bah, these wars are getting out of hand. If Priest General Lucius were still around, he’d never have let things get like this…

Drunk soldier at bar: Harmonia’s finished, I tell you. Dunan fighting us on side, the grasslands on another, Camaro attacking from the side, and now our own people want us killed with rebellions. It’s like a soldier can’t do anything right these days.

Soldier Coldwall Castle: Who are you!? Oh, sorry… I’m a little jumpy these days. Seems everyone is out to kill us, you know? But at least with Priest General Sasari leading the front against Camaro, you know our defenses will hold. He has a True Rune, after all. How can we fail?

(Conversation between two men) :

Man A: I can’t believe it…. They say Priest General Reginald was killed in battle with Dunan last week.

Man B: What? That means we’re down to only 11 Priest Generals?

Man A: Yea… Sasari, Wanda, and Reuben are off fighting Camaro. Nolan, Reginald and Marcus are dealing with Dunan. Zachary, Agatha, and Delilah are in the grasslands. That leaves Bryce, Faye, and Kristen on defense. I think that’s right.

Man B: Of course it is! You’d have to be an idiot to not know the 12 Priest Generals of Harmonia! That would be like not knowing there are always 12 Priest Generals to represent the 12 Regions of Harmonia! Geez! What am I, plot exposition?

Man A: I guess you’re right. But what will we do now with Reginald killed? They already promoted Marcus as the youngest Priest General ever. To say we’re spread thin is an understatement.

Man B: I’m sure the Order of God will come up with something.

Woman at Merridwell Castle: I wouldn’t bother going east if I were you. The castle there is known as Witchport, home of some of the most powerful magic users, and is one of the most heavily guarded forts in Harmonia. Priest General Faye is said to have the entire place on lockdown.

Boy at Lorin Castle: South of here is the Mystic woods. It used to be called the Eriwoods by the elves who lives there, but people say there are all gone now. No one knows for sure, as no one who goes in there never comes back out. Scary!

(conversation of two teen girls at Crystal Valley)

Teen girl A: Ewww, you know what I say today? A DWARF.

Teen girl B: OH GAWD. Why can’t those non humans just, like, die?

Teen girl A: I know! Dwarves and Kobolds in the west, Wingers in the east, and they even say elves lived in the Mystic woods! It’s disgusting how many of them there are.

Teen girl B: I know! Why would you even want to live if you weren’t human?

Woman at Delon: Did you hear about the commotion yesterday? Some soldiers tried to arrest this mysterious woman for spying, right on in the commons. I thought she was done for with all those soldiers, but she used magic like I’ve never seen and knocked them all down with ease! It was crazy, I tell you. Who could she be, I wonder?

Old man at Crystal Valley: Tell me, kid, have you ever wondered about the Order of God? They’ve ruled for as long as I can remember with few changes. My dad used to say they were immortal or something, but then old Lazlo up and died four years ago. That Relos guy replaced him. I guess that ruins that theory, eh?

Scholar from Soledt Academy:  The current environment is ideal for us battle tactic students.  Harmonia is in more wars than they can handle, and we strategists are reaping the benefits of this so called True Rune War. Hm? The name? Well, it’s not official, but that’s what are professors have been calling it, considering how many True Runes are said to be in play. It seems every side in this conflict has at least one, you know?

If you have any follow up questions, feel free to email me or post a comment here!