Rolled 50

>>29010325
>Gamification

>>29010325
>Computer Science.

>>29010325
>Psychology.

Rolled 61

Comp Sci.

>>29010538
>>29010560
>>29010594
So, you’re a Comp Sci major. You’ve always been into computers, and despite the warranty warnings you opened up your glasses and have improved their performance considerably. You will get four hours of playing time from your batteries. You also have other computer skills that might come in handy.

But you're done studying for the weekend. It’s time to play The Quest For Arcadia. It loads instantly, and as soon as you select the program everything goes dark. In the void, you see letters hovering before your eyes.

Life is the Quest.

The World is the puzzle.

Arcadia awaits only the greatest heroes.

The words fade and you are presented with a simple question: will you play as

>Male Character
>Female Character

Now you have several class options. Maybe the translation was incomplete, because you’re given no hints as to how these classes might play.

>Prophet
>Seer
>Avatar
>(This option is currently unavailable.)
>meat (greyed out)

Rolled 86

>>29010639
Female Unavailable Option.

>>29010639
>Female Character

>Seer

>>29010639
>>Female Character
>>meat (greyed out)
Be THAT demon lord.
This is now Maoyuu Quest.
It all makes sense now...

>>29010639
>Male Character
>Doctor

>>29010639
if we can click unavailable let's pick that if not an avatar. also female.

You're playing a girl, why not?

>>29010671
Unavailable? You paid full price for this game. You are not buying extra classes in the shop. But maybe you've got the skills to get around the block on that particular option.

>>29010683
Attempting to select meat fills your ears with static so loud it almost hurts. You still can't actually select that option, and you wonder if it's implemented properly yet. You could probably make a go of breaking into this option as well, but do you want to?

Tiebreak vote:

>(This option is currently unavailable.)
>Seer
>meat

>>29010903
>(This option is currently unavailable.)

Rolled 56

>>29010903
Hack that shit.

>>29010903
>(This option is currently unavailable.)
go where we are told we can't. break down all barriers. Nothing will hold us back!

Rolled 37

>>29010976
>>29010929
You both forgot to roll.
Natural 1, come on!

Rolled 79

>>29010903
>>meat
Cmon demon lord...

>>29010929
>>29010953
>>29010976

This isn't your first MMO. You've been screwing with code since high school. You grin as you open your box of tricks and have a look at the code.

The only word you can come up with is 'byzantine' and you're pretty sure it means what you think it means. Fuck, this is going to be harder than it looks. Whoever coded this clearly didn't attend many actual classes; they might be a genius, however. Or several.

Skill check DC 35. I'll tell you the DC so you know what you're shooting for. If none is mentioned, I'm just taking votes.

Rolled 5

>>29011054
Check meat option with hacking tools.

Rolled 95

>>29011054
Since we're plugged in, can we "Take 20" on this? Or 1, as the case is. If not, rollin'.

Rolled 18

>>29011054

Rolled 31

>>29011054
Hrm.

>>29011078
Haha one more to crit fail!

>>29011181
Doesn't matter. >>29011072 beat me to it.

>>29011072
>>29011078

Yeah, you're good. There's a reason why you sleep through most of your classes. It takes some time, but you twitch and break and rewrite code and bust that option open.

"This option is currently unavailable" is now "Liberated Soul."

>>29011072
Since you're on a roll, you turn your attention to meat. It does seem entirely blocked off, but you do get some information about it; it doesn't seem like you could level up in this mode. The more you look at it, the more you think it might be some sort of beta class. It still hurts your ears.

>Select Liberated Soul
>Go back and pick Seer
>Go back and pick Avatar
>Go back and pick Prophet

Rolled 93

>>29011273
>Go back and get meat
Debugger class get!

>>29011273
>Select Liberated Soul

Rolled 41

>>29011353
Female Liberated Soul GO!

>>29011273
after all that work of course we are going liberated soul

Rolled 63

>>29011273
>Go see if there is any additional information on this Liberated Soul class online.

>>29011273
stick with liberated soul. Also fucking A* for choosing female avatar anons.

>>29011327
You give it a try but you haven't a hope. And that noise is starting to give you a headache. It's possible it's been improperly deleted.

>>29011353
>>29011376

Liberated Soul it is.

>>29011439
A quick google search doesn't turn up anything relevant.

There is a large array of character customisation options for you to play with, and you spend quite some time trying on different looks. Eventually you settle for:

>A cute brown girl.
>A tomboyish blonde woman.
>A noble-looking brunette.
>Set boob-slider to maximum redheaded woman.

>>29011461
>A cute brown girl.

>>29011461
>>Set boob-slider to maximum redheaded woman.
Maximum charisma!

Rolled 25

>>29011461
Cute brown mousey-looking girl.

>>29011461
>Set boob-slider to maximum redheaded woman.

Gonna do this shit right.

Rolled 24

>>29011461
>A cute brown-haired little girl.
FTFY

>>29011461
>Set boob-slider to maximum redheaded woman.

>>29011461
>Set boob-slider to maximum ttomboyish blonde

>>29011461
>>A cute brown girl.

>>29011461
>A cute brown girl.

Rolled 25

>>29011565
>>29011560
>>29011523
>>29011505
>>29011472

Browns win!

>>29011461
>Set boob-slider to maximum redheaded woman.

Come on guys none of this brown girl shit

File: 1387684697166.jpg-(1.16 MB, 1920x1200, Pink-Flowers-Meadow.jpg)

1.16 MB JPG

>>29011472
>>29011505
>>29011523
>>29011560


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbFi85piaEg

Satisfied with your appearance, you continue. Your stomach lurches as you fight a brief, but very intense sensation of vertigo, and then…

Everything.

You are lying down. You feel the scratchy sensation of grass tickling your cheek, the warmth of the sun on your skin, the hardness of the earth beneath your body, and the breeze ruffling through your hair. You smell earth and pollen and a sweet, planty scent of the grasses crushed beneath you. You hear an insect buzzing, and the soft rustling of the breeze passing over the grass.

You open your eyes, and instinctively squint. Above you is a limitless vault of deep blue, through which white clouds sail like stately galleons. Pink and yellow flowers nod just inches above your head, and as you watch a bee lands briefly in one before flying off elsewhere.

Holy. Shit. This feels real. Everything feels real. You didn’t even know this sort of rendering was even possible visually, let alone with four senses at once. Even with the high-end gaming neural interface you rewarded yourself with for passing last semester, and your own personal modifications of the same, you’ve never experienced a game even close to this one.

You could lie in this meadow all day, but already your heart quickens with the thought of what visual splendors and adventures await.

>Stand up and look around.
>Check inventory.
>Say something. (write in)
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>29011461
>A cute brown girl.
But only the girl herself is brown.

>>29011583
>>Quit Arcadia.
You watched SAO months ago.

>>29011583
>Stand up and look around.

Get an idea of our surroundings first. Then we check our inventory.

>>29011583
>check our new bod

Makes sense for it to be the first thing we notice. I want to know what we're working with.

>>29011583
>Stand up and look around.
>Check inventory.
After that:
>Quit Arcadia. Search for more online guides on how to minmax your shit out the ass.

>>29011583
inventory and then look around

>>29011653
I imagine we have already looked for some of this and a previous post said there wasn't much coherent we could find.

>>29011653
You stand up, or rather, you spring lithely to your feet. You didn’t intend to move so smoothly, but it seems to come naturally to you and you can feel your body move easily, almost buoyant in the warm air. You feel light, as if gravity was slightly lessened, and feel energized, like you could run for hours.

You are standing near the crest of a small, grass-covered hill. Above you, the sun shines warmly in the sky. The wind ruffles your hair.

You slowly turn on the spot, taking in the landscape around you. You are standing in a huge field of flowers. Behind you is the crest of the hill, and before you is a long, gentle slope leading down to what appears to be a rocky stream making its way between the gentle hills; you catch a glint of sunlight on the water, even at this distance.

To your left you see a dirt road bisecting the hill next to yours, beyond it you can see, a bit hazy at this distance, the spires of a city.

To your right, you see more rolling hills, the meadows bounded by a deep green forest. You also see a low stone wall, fallen down in places and the stones scattered on the grass. Next to it is a gnarled and weathered apple tree, bearing truly enormous apples.

There are no helpful NPCs, or any indication as to what you are to do next.

>>29011629
You look down at yourself. Okay, let’s be honest, in the real world you are not considered very attractive. You have a long nose, shoulder length black hair that does nothing like what you want it to, and no tits. Now, however, well, you can see the tits. Looking past your new assets you see a body identical to the one you dreamt up in the character creation screen. It feels like your own, but maybe the slightly lowered gravity has something to do with that. You’re wearing pretty sensible clothes, considering the genre; proper shoes and a skirt that goes down to your knees. Your shirt is sleeveless, but high-necked.

1/2

>>29011612
>>29011653
>>29011698

You start looking for an interface. There's no interface. Where’s the interface? There aren’t any helpful tooltips. After trying a few of the usual things, you check your pockets. They’re empty. You do have a leather pouch on your belt, however, and inside is a mirror.

Your peer at your own reflection for a moment, and then the image is replaced, finally, by a familiar set of options: Inventory, Character, and Quit. You select Inventory with your finger.

1 Liberated Soul’s Tunic
1 Liberated Soul’s Trousers (It definitely looks like a skirt to you, but whatever.)
1 Sturdy Boots
1 Walking Staff
1 Leather Belt
1 Belt Pouch
Your Belt Pouch contains:
1 Mirror
Limitless Potential
0 Knowledge
0 Coins

Whatever Limitless Potential refers to, it doesn’t appear to be a physical object. At least, you can’t find it.

The character interface is useful too;

You have 10 Hit Points and 12 Spirit Points.

You also have three abilities:

Preach (Prophet)
Foresight (Seer)
Pray (Avatar)

Looks like your new class gets all the starting abilities of the others. Nice.

>Forward; check out this stream.
>Backward; look over the crest of the hill.
>Left: join the road, and head towards the city
>Right: investigate the apple tree.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>29011803
Try using Foresight, and then check out the stream.

>>29011803

Equip Walking Staff.

Adventure! (Towards the apple tree)

>>29011803
let's go investigate the apple tree. after all nothing bad ever happened because of investigating an apple tree.

>>29011803
>>Right: investigate the apple tree.
By PUNCHING IT,

>>29011878
>>29011960
>>29012076

You activate your Foresight by stretching out your left hand. In an instant you are presented with a vision of about a dozen of your own selves, each stepping outwards in a different direction, and one standing still. Your immediate future seems pretty unsurprising.

You swing the staff easily in your hand, and you bound across the grassy slope. You discover you can leap almost your own height without effort, and land with a satisfying thump. Running seems almost effortless as well; it's just tiring enough to feel real.

You approach the apple tree and the wall. The wall is low enough that you can see over it, to more beautiful but unremarkable countryside. As you approach the apple tree, one of the apples wiggles on its stem and falls to the ground. It's about the size of a grapefruit. As you approach it opens two black, round eyes and a sort of mouth and hops across the ground towards you. You don't feel it's entirely friendly, and if these graphics were a little less realistic it would be pretty cute.

Mostly it’s creepy.

>Hit it with your staff. (DC 70)
>Back off.
>Use an ability.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

Rolled 39

>>29012192
hit it

Rolled 80

>>29012192

Whak-A-Fruit!

Rolled 11

>>29012192
Smile at it with a grin full of shiny white TEETH.
Then crush beneath your "1 Sturdy Boots".

Rolled 68

>>29012192
>>Hit it with your staff. (DC 70)

Rolled 85

>>29012192
Go for the green! Golf swing with the staff.

>>29012235

Crack! Your staff impacts on the apple with a satisfying, crisp sound. You crush it, splitting it into lifeless pieces that smell sweet and appetizing.

You have slain crabbyapple.

No kidding. Is this a starting zone or what?

The whole tree shakes and a half a dozen more of the oversized and aggressive fruit plop down into the grass, all of them fixing their beady eyes on you.

>Let's make fruit juice! Lay into them with your staff. (DC 55)
>Back off.
>Use an ability.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

Rolled 54

>>29012345
>>Let's make fruit juice! Lay into them with your staff. (DC 55)

Rolled 11

>>29012345
Beat the fuck out of the level one mobs, abusing our OP special class bullshit talents. We'll show them to fuck with a Wavema- Liberated Soul.

Rolled 94

>>29012345

Juice!

Rolled 71

>Use an ability.
Preach (Prophet)

Lets convert these apples!

Rolled 93

>>29012365
>>29012367
Why is it that we always get one really low, and one almost-critfail?

Rolled 28

>>29012393
Iunno. Be thankful mine came first and don't ciderpress the issue.

>>29012364
>>29012365
>>29012367
>>29012372

It's like playing a rather sticky game of croquet - at least you think so; you wouldn't be caught dead playing croquet. But it's kind of fun, and your boots and arms are soon splattered with juice.

The tree keeps shaking, and you can wield the staff fast enough to keep them from butting their foreheads against your knees, but only just, and more keep falling.

PREACH!

You cough up a syllable or two that makes you wish you'd gone temporarily deaf; you've never known a word quite so...nauseating. The apples don't like it either: as one they pop, shattering and flinging shards of themselves across the ground as they die.

You have slain a lot of crabbyapples.

"Got you, bitch!" A male voice.

You realise at this point that the tree was not shaking on its own. Someone was shaking it. Someone who is now hurling themselves out of the tree towards you, knives first. Think quick.

>Attack with staff.
>Defend with staff.
>Use ability.
>Dodge.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

Okay, I think we need to address the issue that
>Quit Arcadia.
Has been an option every time.
My /tg/ brand of paranoia is acting up. I think we should select that option as soon as it's safe. We can always come back to the game later.

Rolled 36

>>29012520
Fall on back, readying staff like a pike.
Let him fall on it.
Use angular momentum to toss him ass-over-teakettle behind us.

Rolled 95

>>29012520
>Attack with staff
Place it perpendicular to the ground, pointed to his balls.

Rolled 80

>>29012552
+1 for bracing action. Best way to attack with a staff is to defend with a staff.

Rolled 61

>>29012552
This

Rolled 54

>>29012520
>>29012552
i like it

>>29012552
>>29012567
>>29012582

You ready your staff defensively, falling back into the apple mush on the ground (if you survive you're gonna need a bath) and let him come to you. He's falling out of a tree, and can't really dodge out of the way. Your attacker is a young man with a rather bulbous nose, unkempt red hair, and a lot of freckles. He has a long dagger in each hand. And then he crashes into your staff.

You manage to avoid his knives, and he makes a heartening 'oof!' sound when your staff strikes his midsection, but he rolls to the side, and you're not strong enough to throw him. He gets to his feet quick and darts in.

>Stay on your back and defend.
>Try and roll out of the way and get up.
>Use an ability.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>29012738
>Use an ability.

Foresight, try to get an idea of what actions lead to us not getting stabbed.

Rolled 87

>>29012751
agreed

Rolled 50

>>29012738
Dodge.

Rolled 24

>>29012738
>Use an ability
Preach, to disrupt his attack
Then get up

Rolled 77

>>29012738

Pray

Rolled 58

>>29012738
i say we preach

Rolled 89

>>29012738
Throw apple mush at his face while carefully running away (don't slip),

Rolled 70

>>29012738
Enter VATS.

Disarm.

Rolled 82

>>29012828
>>29012816
>>29012808
>>29012804
>>29012787
>>29012760

Y'all motherfuckers gettin' stabbed.

Spin the staff in a circle about at the level of his knees as we rise to our feet in a fluid motion that our geeky, malnourished body could never pull off in the real world. Some wuxia shit right here.

Rolled 96

>>29012738
Stab our staff into his throat, insta-kill.

>>29012808
>>29012794
You try to PREACH but you can't force the word out of your mouth. Not just yet. No wonder he waited for you to use your ability the first time before attacking.

>>29012751
>>29012760
You see a red blur, a dozen ways in which his knives find your flesh. And one or two in which you are whole.

(Using FORESIGHT in battle grants you a large temporary combat bonus.)

>>29012858
You sweep your staff around in a circle and he is caught mid-step. You catch his knees and he stumbles. You bounce to your feet, and you don't think you're going to get tired of that in a hurry, and smash the end of your staff into his face.

Blood drips from his ruined nose and he cries out in pain. Stumbling to his feet, he's still glaring at your murderously. But he's at a disadvantage, and he looks really surprised and pissed off to be so.

>Finish him! Hit him with your staff (DC 50)
>Back off and take a defensive stance.
>Use an ability.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>29012990
>Use an ability.

Try to Preach to him, bring him over to our side since he's at a disadvantage. Show him some kindness after bashing his face in.

Rolled 20

>>29012990
>>Finish him! Hit him with your staff (DC 50)

Rolled 61

>>29012990
"You're late to the STAFF meeting! Because we're going to hit you? With our- oh, fuck it."

Bash him good.

Rolled 53

>>29012990
>>Finish him! Hit him with your staff (DC 50)
Right in the balls!

Rolled 12

>>29012990
>Finish him.

Become the greatest PKer in the land

Rolled 70

>>29012990
Hit him in the face!

>>29012990
>>Finish him! Hit him with your staff (DC 50)

>>29013014
>>29013044

"You're late to the STAFF meeting! Because we're going to hit you? With our- oh, fuck it." This really isn't the time but you do notice that your voice doesn't sound anything like your real one. This one's a little perkier. A lot perkier.

No matter! You put everything you've got into your next swing and bring your staff down on his head. Crack! He falls to his knees, dazed, blood trickling down from his hair and his nose. He makes an incoherent moan of pain, and you put him out of his misery by hitting him again. This second strike is much mushier, and he topples forward at your feet, twitching for a few moments and then lying still.

That was a little more realistic than you are entirely comfortable with.

You have slain meat.

You're all sticky.

>Search the corpse.
>Go to the stream to wash the blood and apple juice off.
>Check character status.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>Search the corpse.
Loot!
Loot!

>>29013167

>Search the corpse.
>Go to the stream to wash the blood and apple juice off.
>Check character status.

Why not all three?

>>29013167
>Search the corpse.

Rolled 61

>>29013167
Loot it!

Rawlin' for Purples!

>>29013167
>Search the corpse.

Then
>Check character status.

Then go wash up at the stream.

Rolled 67

>>29013167
>Loooooooot!
>Then wash yourself.
>Maybe check status. See how close we are to a level up.

>>29013167
>>Quit Arcadia.
I want to see what happens.

>>29013167
...
So, this guy is (or was) connected with the greyed out option earlier. Did he manage to grab the class or is something else going on here oh god what the fuck are we going to do abort abort abort

Rolled 88

>>29013236
Too late, fucker! Game time! Let's just enjoy the ride and the gore!

>>29013167
Consume meat.

>>29013236
Oh dear...

>abort abort abort

Rolled 89

>>29013212
Seconding, but let's stick to greens for now.

>>29013236
AAAAAAHHHHHHH!
I had forgotten my rampant paranoia. Something is definitely wrong.
>Quit Arcadia
>Quit Arcadia
>Quit Arcadia

>>29013224
>>29013236
>>29013292

You guys are being way too paranoid. This is just a game! Just harmless fun. Harmless fun.

Harmless.

Fun.

>>29013202
>>29013208
>>29013209
You steel yourself and kneel down beside the corpse, patting down his pockets and relieving him of his daggers.

You acquire:
2 Steel Dirks
14 Coins
A Fragment of Mirror.

As soon as you take the Fragment of Mirror, the corpse melts away, as if it had never been. Sadly, the bloodstains on your staff and fingers do not.

You take out your own mirror, and get a glimpse of your blood-splattered, slightly wide-eyed reflection before you look at your character status.

You have 10 HP
You have 6 SP
There's not yet an option to level up, and no indication of your progress.

You make your way down to the stream. It's very shallow, and littered with large stones. You can even see small fish flitting around in it, and you can smell the damp rocks. On the opposite side of the stream is a squat, rounded stone with a smiling face engraved on it.

>Preliminary scrub down. Keep the clothes on and the weapon close by.
>Thorough scrub down. Take your clothes off and scrub them down.
>Investigate the stone statue.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>29013356
>Thorough scrub down. Take your clothes off and scrub them down.

Keep our staff nearby at all times.

File: 1387690896223.png-(127 KB, 225x350, seihaikun.png)

127 KB PNG

>>29013343
seihai-kun pls go

>>29013343
I want you to take a good hard look at yourself. Now, tell me who are you lying to more?
Us?
Or yourself?

>>29013356

Investigate Statue.

Rolled 53

>>29013356
Punch the tree. Collect logs. Use logs to craft workbench. Use workbench to craft planks. Craft half the planks into sticks. Make a wooden sword as a backup weapon.

>>29013356
>Preliminary scrub down. Keep the clothes on and the weapon close by.

Then

>Investigate the stone statue.

>>29013356
>Quit Arcadia
Something is wrong. This option is always there. There has to be a reason.

>>29013356
>Investigate the stone statue.
Look around in general.

>>29013356
We stole his soul

We stole a piece of his fucking soul.

>>29013356
>>Quit Arcadia.
We can hop right back in if we want. Let's see what happens.

Auuuuuuuuuuuuugh

I can't help but fee; something terrible is going to happen in the "real" world.

>>29013356
>Preliminary scrub down. Keep the clothes on and the weapon close by.

>>29013356
>Thorough scrub down. Take your clothes off and scrub them down.
Then
>Investigate the stone statue.

>>29013356
Fashion our staff and two dirks into a double sided spear, coring a hole with the dirk blades to make a socket on either end for the dirks' grips.

What could go wrong?

>>29013356
>>Quit Arcadia.

>>29013421
Of course it is, that's half the fun.

>>29013356

>Thorough scrub down. Take your clothes off and scrub them down.
>>29013370
yup

>>29013440
An "interesting" idea, to be sure

I'm pretty sure we just killed the meat for real. I wouldn't be surprised if in the real world some poor PKer kid just had his skull crushed in.

Rolled 18

>>29013458
Actually, does this game have a crafting system, or is that something we access later?

>>29013461
PK'ers fucking deserve it.

>>29013461
Nah, just freshly microwaves brains.

>>29013373
>>29013411
>>29013429>>29013421
>>29013448

You decide to thoroughly scrub down. With this kind of rendering you wouldn't be surprised if your clothes started growing mould or something if you didn't at least make an effort to keep them clean.

Still you keep your staff right next to your hand and strip off as fast as you can. The water is swift flowing, clean, and pretty damn cold. You feel a fish bump against your leg before darting off again.

You are unsurprised to learn that you are wearing fairly modest white underwear, and you can't so much as fit a fingernail underneath it. Doesn't matter; it's clean. You scrub your boots with handfuls of grass and dunk your clothes in the water and wring them out.

It's going well; the blood and juice just comes off.

Skill check (luck): DC 60.

Rolled 92

>>29013528

Are we having fun yet?

Rolled 82

>>29013528

Rolled 31

>>29013528
are you feeling lucky, punk

Rolled 91

>>29013528

Rolled 31

>>29013528

>>29013548
>>29013560
>>29013562
Well, I hope this is a best of three system.

>>29013548
>>29013560
>>29013562
welp

Rolled 34

>>29013528
Luck check GO.

If somebody earlier on in the reply chain succeeds, do you ignore further failures and only accept new results if the roll is better than the prior one?

>>29013585
>Skill checks are made by rolling 1d100 and aiming to get below a DC. 1-4 is a critical success, 96-100 a critical fail. Up to three attempts will be counted.

>>29013562
>>29013564
Movement in the sky catches your eye, and you glance up to see what appears to be some sort of inverted pyramid with something brightly-coloured on top flying towards you fairly purposefully, but it's hard to make out exactly what, or who, it is.

You've got a few moments to do something.

>Try and throw your clothes on wet as fast as you can.
>Lift your head and wait casually for whatever's coming. It's not like you don't have a good reason to have your clothes off.
>Hide behind the statue.
>Grab your clothes and run.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>29013645
>>Quit Arcadia.
This seems like a good place to nope on out.

File: 1387692055963.gif-(990 KB, 400x225, coolguysdontlookatexplosions.gif)

990 KB GIF

>>29013645

Play it cool.

>>29013645
>Hide behind the statue.
Grab your clothes so they don't give you away.

File: 1387692076390.gif-(1.89 MB, 270x152, nope.gif)

1.89 MB GIF

>>29013645
>Quit Arcadia.

it's time to go
it's time to go
it's time
to
go

Rolled 77

>>29013645
Well, that seems in no way shape or form intimidating.

Nope out.

>Quit Arcadia

>>29013645
>Quit Arcadia.
Be prepared to be unable to.

>>29013645
>Hide behind the statue.

>>29013645
>>29013672
this

>>29013681
>>29013680
>>29013676
>>29013662

You grab your mirror, and hit 'Quit' on the interface. It doesn't ask you if you're sure, you just feel that sense of vertigo again, and you're blinking at your usual desktop interface.

You groan and take off your glasses. You've been sitting still for a while; you feel stiff and hungry and you need to go to the bathroom.

"There you are. Welcome back." Emily is sitting at her desk and she rests an elbow on it and peers at you. "If you weren't out by dinnertime I was gonna take those things off your face, rude or not. It's nearly five."

Emily's a big girl. A bit too big to be accepted by the pretty cliques, and probably a bit too nice as well. She's got blonde hair, a handful of freckles on her nose, and a terrible taste in music. You don't have a lot in common, but you get on well enough.

Welcome back to reality.

>Bathroom first.
>Tell Emily about Arcadia.
>Ask Emily about her night out.
>Write in.
>Play Arcadia.

>>29013796
>>Bathroom first.

>>29013796
Bathroom first.

Rolled 64

>>29013796
Bathroom while asking Emily about her night and suggesting we might order out tonight.

MULTITASKING!

>>29013796

See! It's only a game. There's nothing to be afraid of, it's just a little harmless fun. Harmless fun.

Harmless.

Fun.

>>29013796
don't be fooled
we're still in the game
help

The second I hear a tuning fork or see black dots I am throwing who ever is with us under the bus and bugging right the fuck out.

>>29013796
>Bathroom first.

Rolled 14

>>29013873
I do not get this reference.

ALSO, we definitely weren't in the game for seven fucking hours.

panic

panic

panic

>>29013796
WAIT! What time did we start?

>10:30 am.
>It's nearly five
>Almost 6 fucking hours.

We have not been in the game for that long. Something is wrong.

>>29013906
anon pls
don't waste the good rolls
dice off
pls

>>29013944
Sorry.

>>29013917

We don't know exactly how long we were playing with the character sliders, do we?

But yeah, that's fishy.

>>29013823
>>29013828

You can smell food from somewhere nearby. Oh God you're hungry. All you've had today was cereal. You suggest ordering out tonight, and Emily gives you the thumbs-up.

You look grey and washed-out in the bathroom mirror. You still have bed-hair, but to be honest it's not much different from normal-hair unless you spend a lot of time or money fixing it; you are inclined to do neither.

You squint at yourself in the overhead light, and only look down when no water comes out of the tap when you turn it on. It coughs and gurgles, and you turn it on a bit harder. You can't help but squeal with surprise when, with a rush, a big, black bug washes out of tap. It's about the size of a cockroach, and you're not sure how it fitted up there. It's got about a dozen legs that squirm helplessly as it rolls around in the bottom of the washbasin. It's too big to wash down the plughole, no matter how hard you turn the tap on.

>Fuck bugs. Squash the fucker.
>I hate bugs! Emily, can you help please?
>Leave it alone, and maybe it will go back up the tap and bother someone else.
>Write in.
>Play Arcadia.

>>29013948
it's okay, it's just that /tg/ dice are a fickle mistress. Everything that can be done to appease them must be done.

>I hate bugs! Emily, can you help please?

>>29013968
hi meat
>Fuck bugs. Squash the fucker.
bye meat
don't fuck with the greatest

>>29013968
...roaches don't have twelve legs.

QUIT ARCADIA

>>29013968
>Fuck bugs. Squash the fucker.

>>29013968
>>Fuck bugs. Squash the fucker.

>>29013968
>Quit Arcadia

>>29013968
Name it Rolly Polly and catch it in a glass container.

>>29013968
>Eat it and gain its powers.

>>29013968
>Fuck bugs. Squash the fucker.

>>29013982
>>29013985
>>29014001
>>29014008
You don't hesitate, you bring the heel of your palm down on the unfortunate insect. See? See, you can be badass in real life too; maybe you could gross someone out with the story in cla-

Kerpluch! The bug bursts and you can feel all of its legs press against your hand, which doesn't bother you as much as the blood that blooms out from the insect before being washed down the sink. At least, that's what it looked like. It was probably bug juice. Yeah. If someone had been bitten by something that big, surely they would have noticed.

You wash your hands, and the remains of the bug are small enough to wash away. You feel kind of itchy.

You leave the bathroom. Emily's going through the pile of food vouchers and take-out menus.

"What do you want to eat?" she asks.

>Tell her about the bug.
>I'm really not feeling hungry any more.
>You decide.
>Suggest somewhere.
>Write in.
>Play Arcadia.

>>29014096
Quit Arcadia.
Quit Arcadia.
Why are we not giving in to our inherent paranoia?
Quit Arcadia.

>>29014096
>I want to eat some meat

>Tell her about the bug.
>You decide.
>Write in.
Check your inventory.

>>29014096
>Quit Arcadia.

>>29014096
>You decide.
Do not give in to paranoia yet

>>29014096

Tell her about the bug.

>>29014133
You try not to be too graphic when you tell Emily about the bug.

"Gross! And you hit it with your hand? You're braver than me. You should have just used hairspray. I am going move out next year. That's just too much."

"You pick, I really don't mind."

"Let's go out then take a walk first before it gets too late. I bet you haven't moved all day. That's bad for your metabolism, even if you are thin; it's not healthy." Emily is a nursing student.

"Right, okay." You change into some jeans and a shirt. You've got your gaming glasses, a wallet with $24 and loose change, keys to the dorm, and student ID. Your room holds most of your worldly possessions; textbooks, notebooks, clothes, computer, etc.

When you get outside, it looks like it's been raining, or is going to. The sky is dark, and there's a cool wind blowing; at least it wakes you up a bit. Emily appears to be choosing somewhere at random, and you can feel your muscles loosening up as you walk.

>Talk about Arcadia.
>Ask Emily about her night out.
>Write in.
>Play Arcadia.

>Play Arcadia.

>>29014286

>Ask Emily about her night out

>>29014286
>Ask Emily about her night out.

>>29014286
>Talk about Arcadia.
>Ask Emily about her night out.
Both of these

>>29014286
>>Ask Emily about her night out.
Time for relations.

>>29014318
"So, how was your Friday night?" you ask.

"Well, I thought we were just going to see a movie, but Mike took me to a theater instead; one of those student play things. It was all pretty weird; like, one of the actors kept offering the audience a banana - I think it was meant to be symbolic." She catches the look on your face. "It wasn't that bad! Really. And after that we went out for hot chocolate and got talking about his art, and you know, he has to put on an exhibition at the end of the year. And we went back to his place-"

"You can skip that bit!"

"Well, I wasn't back until noon because he wanted to make me breakfast, but I said it was my turn, and so we made it together." She smiles dreamily.

You are pretty sure of two things: a) Mike probably exists in some form and b) Emily is full of shit when she talks about him. Still, if she wants to live in a fantasy world, you can't really criticize.

>"So when am I gonna meet Mike?"
>"That sounds disgustingly sweet, I'm so happy for you."
>"Rather you than me. That sounds really boring."
>Write in.
>Play Arcadia.

>>29014457

>So when am I gonna meet Mike?

>>29014457
>>"So when am I gonna meet Mike?"

>>29014457
>"So when am I gonna meet meat?"

>>29014457
>fantasy world
Like we are right now?
Panic

>>29014457
>"That sounds disgustingly sweet, I'm so happy for you."

>>29014475
>>29014524
>>29014526
"So, when am I gonna meet Mike?"

"Oh! Yeah." She looks a bit surprised. "We should definitely all meet up sometime soon. He's really looking forward to meeting you."

"You don't have to pretend you talk to your boyfriend about me." And frankly, you think it sounds like he's interested in very little but himself anyway.

"What I mean is, he will be looking forward to meeting you once I tell him. He'll want to meet everyone, I'm sure. Sometime soon, definitely." She looks so cheerful.

You and Emily don't really share a lot of friends, and you just assumed her friends already knew Mike. He never visits the dorms as far as you know either.

They've been going out for a while, too. You think, anyway.

>"Let's schedule a date right now."
>Let it go. Who cares how many parts imaginary her boyfriend is.
>"Don't you think it's weird he hasn't met any of your friends, or visited you at the dorm?"
>Write in.
>Play Arcadia.

>>29014625
>>"Don't you think it's weird he hasn't met any of your friends, or visited you at the dorm?"

Rolled 52

>>29014625
Browse 4chan and look for topics about Arcadia.

>>29014625
>Let it go
>tell her about new vidya you got.

>>29014625
>Realize we just killed Mike in the virtual world.
>Realize we're still plugged in.
>Realize that the bug was probably Mike respawning and we killed him again.

>>29014625
>"Don't you think it's weird he hasn't met any of your friends, or visited you at the dorm?"

>>29014625
>"Don't you think it's weird he hasn't met any of your friends, or visited you at the dorm?"

>>29014635
>>29014695
"Don't you think it's weird he hasn't met any of your friends, or visited you at the dorm?"

Emily stops dead still, and you walk on a step before stopping and looking at her in surprise.

"What does that mean?" she asks in a small voice. She's looking at her feet. "I mean, fuck, Ash, my mom would go nuts if she found out. You know what she's like." Well, you've heard, at least.

"Your friends wouldn't tell your mom-"

"You think he thinks he's too good for you and my friends or something?"

"I dunno, does he?"

"Of course not! He's wonderful, and you know, he said that that people would-." She takes a deep breath. Is she trying not to cry? "You haven't met him and you're already judging him!" She's getting loud now, but no one seems to be paying any attention anyway. Just college girls having a spat in the street.

"I'm not!" You protest. "It's not like you to get so upset, just calm down, okay? I didn't mean to sound like a bitch."

She takes a deep breath and speaks more calmly, "Everyone judges him. Everyone. His parents, his teachers. I know what he's really like, Ash." Her shoulders come down from around her ears. "Let's just drop it," she says miserably.

>Apologize.
>"Are you okay?"
>Change the subject and talk about Arcadia.
>Write in.
>Play Arcadia.

>>29014848
"Yeah, this reaction sounds like the hallmark of a healthy relationship..."

>>29014848
>"Are you okay?"

I want some character interaction before we get to the quiet horror that we all know is coming.

>"Are you okay?"

>>29014848
>>"Are you okay?"

File: 1387697107412.png-(8 KB, 465x299, spawn camping.png)

8 KB PNG

>>29014671

>>29014848
>>"Are you okay?"

>>29014848
>"Are you okay?"

>>29014899
I am amused. Thank you.

>>29014671
>Realize we're actually out
>Realize we only think we're still in because the game fucked with our minds
>Freak out when Arcadia is shut down a week later because of brain problems

File: 1387697458633.png-(100 KB, 342x245, 1384100054539.png)

100 KB PNG

>>29014927
>It was all a ploy by Korea to mind control gaijins
>We're all slaves to the machine

QM's face when we guess his story and he has to make up something else

>>29014974
>It's actually just a perfectly ordinary game, we just got so mesmerized with it that we lost track of time. The only enemy is /tg/'s own questing paranoia / our character's damaged psyche

>>29014999
Our "characters" damaged psyche.

Riiiiiight.

>>29014901
>>29014895
>>29014893
>>29014886
"Are you okay?"

Emily takes a deep breath and you see her fists bunch at her sides. If she decked you, she'd probably wipe you out. Luckily, she contents herself with yelling at the top of her lungs.

"I am okay! I am fine! Will everyone stop asking?"

You recoil. She does too; her own outburst seems to have startled her back to her senses, a little at least. Her fists unclench. More than a few people are now actually staring at you, some of them through glasses; they're probably live-tweeting this shit, you think.

"Just fuck off for a while, Ash, okay?" She wipes her eyes. "I'll apologize for yelling at you later. Just, just leave me alone for now." She tucks her chin down against her collarbones and trots off, back towards the dorms. You can hear her trying to stifle her sobs.

You feel both terrible and that it wasn't really your fault. Maybe you shouldn't have tuned out so much when she'd talked about Mike in the past.

>Chase after her and try and cheer her up.
>Just who is this fucker anyway? Try and track down Mike.
>You're still hungry. Call and invite someone else out to eat.
>Write in.
>Play Arcadia.

>>29015007
C'mon, she's clearly damaged goods. Basing this on the way she's perceiving the world and the fact that college housing departments are fucking terrible for the most part but A+ for housing the crazies together.also I'm clinically depressed, how did you know?

>>29015017
>You're still hungry.

We gots to eat. She can go sob to herself.

Also,
>live-tweeting
Jesus christ how horrifying.

Rolled 41

>>29015017
>Play Arcadia.

>>29015037
Fuck that, we aren't paying to feed two when one will do. Heat up some leftovers and see if we can find any buzz online about good leveling spots or whether PVP is actually a feature of the game and we didn't just break it by hacking.

>Write in.
Go hug her and apoligize. You do want to meet him. Your just worried about one of the best things in your life.

>>29015017
>Just who is this fucker anyway? Try and track down Mike.

>>29015115
QM wants us to explore a fantasy land of fun and adventure with possibly sinister underpinnings.

"Fuck that, we're going to pry into our room-mate's love life."

PCs, everyone!

>>29015145
Implying they aren't interconnected.

File: 1387698888229.jpg-(238 KB, 1600x800, 1354525455356.jpg)

238 KB JPG

>>29015145
I don't mind. It's my first time QMing and I'm just glad people actually played.

Since it seems a bit late for consensus, and I'm wiped and running out of detailed notes, I'm calling a halt for today. Thanks for participating, everyone.

>>29015279
Any time. When you thinking of going again?

>>29015279
This has been a lot of fun, when will you run again?

>>29015306
Hopefully tomorrow, (i.e. later today server time) but I may have miscalculated starting a Quest so close to the holidays.

>>29015356
Hey, we understand RL takes precedence. Just don't entirely up and vanish please. That's how we lost Neckbeard Quest.

>>29015372
I've got long, long summer holidays ahead of me. I'll be back.

>>29015405
Thanks, man. We app-

"Summers?"

SOUTHLANDER! But seriously, thanks for the game man!

>>29015420
No fuckin worries, mate.

>>29015372
>Neckbeard Quest

Why must you remind me anon.

>>29015463
BECAUSE YOUS WASNT THE ONLY ONES WHAT WAS HURT, YA BLUBBERIN PANSY!

I named Garush. I... I watched him grow from a no-name NPC to the epitome of manliness and decapitation! I suggested Drunken Zen Acceptance of Inner Demons! I put myself into that damned quest and OP BAILED ON US! I am as much a victim here as you!

Oh god, I need a drink.

>>29015487
>Checking the catalog
>Day after day

Took me a week to give up. But anyway, enough with derailing the thread. I'm sure this new QM would never consider doing such a thing.
Right?

>>29015516
He... he said he might be back. He said something about finishing Starbound.

Maybe... maybe when he finishes the game... maybe...

Rolled 1

>>29015356
Great quest.