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Recent Events Summary:

Shit hit the fan.

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Ability Tree

GREEN abilities have been unlocked and learned.

BLUE abilties are unlocked, but are not yet purchased.

RED abilities are revealed, but locked due to prerequisites.

UNDERLINED abilities are active-use, as opposed to passive. Not all active abilities require mana.

All Revealed Ability Descriptions:

http://pastebin.com/ccai5dvn

Books the Main Character has read:

http://pastebin.com/dAXR00gP

Character Sheet including learned abilities and other important information:

http://pastebin.com/6h1bkpKv

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Ability update:

>Eclipse - Forcibly assert the power of darkness to eclipse the sun itself for 2-5 turns, covering a miles-wide area centered on the user. Negates Shadow resistance of all enemies, doubles Shadow magic power, and halves the mana cost of Shadow Magic spells while active. Costs 25 mana, or half current mana, whichever is greater. Only useable once per day.

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Why don't we just throw the Nyxystix into the Sigil?

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Current Statistics:

HP: 81/81
Mana: 76/76
EXP: 51

Shards of Order and Chaos:

(Retribution) - Resonant
(Maker) - Resonant
(Silence) - Resonant
(Peace) - Resonant
(Breeze) - Resonant
(Hammer) - Resonant
(Ardor) - Resonant
{Resolve} - Resonant
{Humanity} - Resonant

--Summoned--

Wisp - 1 mana to order

--Automatons--

Vita (Shade)

--Equipment--

Utility belt with purse

--Inventory--

Aurora Water Gem (pocket)
Shade (pocket)

--Teleport Anchor--

Dobshire - Hemmelus's Tower, First Floor

--Current Location--

Dobshire

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Known Mana Pools:

Jacob's Field - entrance to Hecate's tomb - Spirit
Jacob's Field - Hecate's Chamber - Spirit
Palthair Mines - Magnock's Lair - Spirit
Archon - Spirit District - Spirit
Archon - Shadow District - Shadow
Archon - Earth District - Earth
Archon - Water Distric - Water
Haven - Shadow
Abbotsford - Shadow
Aurora - Water
Va'ad - South Generator - Earth
Va'ad - North Generator - Earth
Arland - Dryfeld - Water

>My body is ready.

Mine isn't.

Eclipse Party Go!

>>30597736
>>Eclipse - Forcibly assert the power of darkness to eclipse the sun itself for 2-5 turns, covering a miles-wide area centered on the user. Negates Shadow resistance of all enemies, doubles Shadow magic power, and halves the mana cost of Shadow Magic spells while active. Costs 25 mana, or half current mana, whichever is greater. Only useable once per day.
That looks almost exactly the same.

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I kinda screwed up last time, and I apologize, less so for that and more for the way I treated people afterward. I will amend my behavior.

If you want to leave it at that, cool. I screencapped the long version of my apology, pic related.

>Here comes the morning after...

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Time to rev up those happenings, war with the angels is inevitable.

>>30597736
>>Eclipse - Forcibly assert the power of darkness to eclipse the sun itself for 2-5 turns, covering a miles-wide area centered on the user. Negates Shadow resistance of all enemies, doubles Shadow magic power, and halves the mana cost of Shadow Magic spells while active. Costs 25 mana, or half current mana, whichever is greater. Only useable once per day.
Welp time to buy eclipse.

I said it in the /qtg/ I'll say it here.
I think just a reskinning of the fight would be the best option, replace the Avatar with something else to fight, like a pair of powerful light elementals

>>30597803

"Enemies" are specified on the receiving end of resistance loss and your shadow magic abilities are also half-cost while it's active.

>>30597803
I take that back. I didn't see the halved mana cost.

>>30597803
It halves the cost for all shadow magic abilities. That is stronk as fuck.

>>30597736
Ah. Well Eclipse has been addressed - which is the better part of this commentary, but I figure I'll submit it to you regardless.
http://pastebin.com/M6kDDRAd

Your eyes flutter open.

"Ah, there you are."

"...Hemmelus? What - "

You bolt upright. You're sitting in a bed - some room still in the castle. Hemmelus is in a wooden chair a few feet away. A few books and papers are on a desk next to him. He holds a quill in his hand. His long grey hair droops down around his wrinkled face.

"I thought you'd be waking up in a few minutes," he said. "I was starting to doubt my senses for a moment, there. What happened in...well, in wherever you went?"

"I'll tell you later," you say. "They still have Sir Flint, we've got to keep looking! Is Abigail alright, and Ila? How long have I been sleeping?

"John, one thing at a time. Abigail and Ila got back two hours after you first did, they're both fine. They were both in here until a little while ago. I forced them to get some sleep so we could talk in private."

"I want to explain, but right now we have to move!"

"Relax for a moment and get your head on straight."

"Relax?!" You throw your hands up in the air. "They're going to kill him! I've already wasted enough time sleeping!" His face sits in a calm, mildly amused expression. "Aren't you worried?! Is anyone looking for him?!"

"Well, I was terribly worried for him for a little while after you came back," he says. "But I've settled down a bit."

"We have to find him!"

"Well, yes."

>con't

>>30597855
i was just about to post that.

>>30597836
>"Enemies" are specified on the receiving end of resistance loss
Oh damn. So we can actually use it against the demon lords now?

WANT WANT WANT.

I swear it said enemies before but it just hit everyone that wasn't the caster.

You stare at him in exasperation. "Then what..."

"You've been sleeping for about 10 hours," Hemmelus says. "It's 2 in the morning. They haven't used Donovan for the spell yet. We'd know if they did - no way to hide Hyperion's return from any mage in Venia. Or, alternatively, the entire world crumbling into the Nether." Hemmelus folds his arms. "Now, if I were them, I'd have already done the dirty deed. But they haven't. Which means that they're still missing something."

You process that for a moment. "But...we still don't know how much longer we have. It could be any second."

"It won't be."

"I don't have time for this!" You throw back the blankets and swing out of the bed. "Where's Fang?"

Hemmelus gives you a sharp frown. "Control yourself, sit down, and listen for a moment!"

"...alright. I'm sorry. I'm just..."

"Your concern is understandable, but the rash acts of worried minds are not going to solve this problem."

"Ok," you say. You slowly sit one the bed. "What have you learned?"

"Well, I wasn't sitting up here reading for nothing," he says. "Before you barged in with Arcturis and Adavan, I was doing some research. I figured that investigating that sigil more thoroughly might help us in the immediate future. I'm rather glad I did, because it turns out I was right." Hemmelus lifts one of the sheets of partchment and offers it to you. You take it. The ink sketch is immediately recognizable - it's an outline of the sigil. "Obviously, I don't remember all the finer points, but that's the general framework of the thing," he says.

"Right. What did you find?"

>con't

>>30597828
That leave the mole unaddressed. I'd rather not start a witch hunt on top of all the other shit we have to do.

with that Eclipse upgrade I recommend getting Tree Gift and giving the Shadow magic tree to both Ila and Abigail.

>>30597869
If this is true then FUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKK YYYYEEEESSSSS

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Last thread in a nutshell

"A few things didn't make sense to me," he says. "First of all, this is a summoning sigil - THE summoning sigil. But see those three rings in the center?" You nod. "Those shouldn't be there. Those are barriers stopping power from emerging from the Nether. But the whole point of a summoning sigil is to gather power from the Nether and force it to take form. The hexagon is the proper platform, but the spell seems to contradict its own purpose."

"Now, second," he continues, "even with all that nonsense about draining magical power over decades and finally taking the life of the mage in question, that's just not enough power to do what they want to accomplish. There isn't enough raw energy in this thing to get Hyperion up here, especially with these rings in the way. It would sputter out fighting against itself. It's nuanced, yes, but poorly designed and half-formed. Seems like something an overly-creative novice would cook up."

"Then what's the point?"

"The point," Hemmelus says, "is that they need something else. The summoning of the Pentaverate."

"...what?"

Hemmelus gestures to the drawing. "Look again. Notice the four points. At first, I thought they were stabilizating structures - channels to prevent elements of opposite polarity from interfereing. But then I realized that's not all. They're channels for energy, from four additional sources. Four demon lords."

"Elements," you whisper. You stand from the bed, clutching the drawing. "This means...that Vellik was right. Sandalphon is working with Kan-Abar! He's working with the demon lords!"

"I don't want to jump to conclusions," Hemmelus says. "Obviously, when Abigail and Ila returned, there was quite a commotion. The meeting scheduled for tonight was postponed until tomorrow due to the castle being half-destroyed."

"What happened?"

>con't

>>30597855
I dislike the the idea of using the shards to power our abilities

>>30597886
Abby gets Eartth for Heartstone Titan and Gravity magic.

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"Well, they insisted that angels had attacked Haven, and that they'd drove them off," he says. "Sandalphon denied knowledge of those events and to giving orders of any such effect."

"Obviously he was lying."

"He wasn't," Hemmelus says. "The Highest might bend the truth often, but he rarely breaks it outright. He knows I'd sense that immediately. And he wasn't lying."

"Then..." You think back. The Avatar of Chaos took on Lucifer's form. Was it possible it was manipulating the angels from the inside?

"Tensions were high," Hemmelus says, "but then, a report came in that one of his airships was destroyed and other limping away from a battle with a third, unidentified airship. That forced Ila and Auriel to publicly reveal that Haven did in fact have an airship fitting that description, as a means of proving that the angels had acted in open hostility.

"It was then," Hemmelus says, "that Sandalphon was most surprised - and he let something slip. I conferred with the Archmage, and we both agree that at that moment, Sandalphon seemed to realize something. He backed off immediately, and said he'd investigate what had happened. Later, he came back and told us that their sensors had detected an unknown airship of the Shadow element that had no recognizable callsign close to Arland's border, but had attacked only in self-defense. So then the debate became about who was the aggressor, and at that point, it was their word against his, which isn't much to go on."

"And the result?"

>con't

Do we still have both an airship and one of the highest in our pocket?

Might want to do something about those.

"Sandalphon went for the high ground, stating that the unfortunate confrontation wouldn't have happened in the first place had Haven been more forthright with its forces, and the positioning of its airship. Not really conclusive, but Auriel didn't have a retort. They had been keeping it secret, after all."

"Did the angels storm off in a huff?"

"Oh no," Hemmelus says. "He seems more determined than ever to make this alliance work. But he's been absent since that argument. Taking care of whatever he realized was happening behind the scenes. Dealing with insubordination, perhaps?"

The Avatar had said something to that effect - that they were using each other. Maybe Sandalphon realized that the Avatar had made a move without his knowledge, in the guise of Lucifer? And if they're not totally in synch, that means they aren't friends...but they have a common goal. At the moment.

But why would the Avatar want to summon Hyperion?

Or is the Avatar betting that the act will destabilize the core, as Hemmelus and Yi Fang seem to believe?

"And now," Hemmelus says, "you have an expression that looks exactly like the one he had. What happened to you, John?"

"Wait a minute," you say. "You said they need 4 demon lords. They have them, don't they? What's stopping them from getting together right now?"

"I have an inkling," Hemmelus says. He rubs his beard between his fingers. "But knowing what you know would probably help me put it all together."

You're quiet for a long moment. So much is at stake. "...Hemmelus, you've been nothing but accepting and helpful. But I need to know I can trust you."

Hemmelus smiles. "Do you know much about the Black Lady?"

"I guess. More than most people. But she asked for my confidence in the few details she did share."

>con't

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WAR WITH ANGELS ITS HAPPENING TIME TO START CONSUMING DYNAMOS AND POCKETING AIRSHIPS

"Remember how I said she wasn't looking for war? That I was sure of it?" You nod to him. "You seemed to think that was just me being old and wise, but it's actually because we're very good friends. You see, I've known Melody for quite a while."

The bed creaks under you as you do a double-take. "...you know she's Melody?!"

"Oh yes. A young cryptkeeper from Archon, talented enough to mingle with Yi Fang. That was a while ago, though."

"...a cryptkeeper?"

"You've seen the skeletons that maintain Archon?"

You think back to your time in the city. Undead seemed to do a lot of maintanence and cleaning. "Yes. I explored the catacombs, once."

"The cryptkeepers are the summoners that maintain the spirits within the undead servants," he explains. "They live at the bottom of the city, and it is in turn quite a menial form of magical labor. They are one of the lowest caste of mages. But every once in a while, one of the talented ones lands a spot in the Scholomance. Archon is nothing if not practical. It never squanders potential. Couldn't afford to."

"How did she meet you?"

"She met me after her trip to Xile," he says. "Forgive me for acting as if I believed you were the first to ever go there, but I had a brief conversation with her while you were aslumber, and she told me you were 'in the know', so to speak."

"Then...that would be right after she became a vampire."

"That's right," Hemmelus says. "I was quite young then, though I'd earned my share of fame giving Yi Fang a run for his money on the battlefield. That, and I was the only person who could wield all four Greater Elements in living memory. She snuck into Arland and threw herself on my doorstep, hoping to find a cure for her curse."

You frown for a moment. "...you're older than I realized."

"Reasoned out how to slow my aging, a bit. Enough to earn a few decades extra."

>con't

"So...what happened?"

"At the time, you might say I was more...prejudiced, against the lesser elements. I'd just fought a war with Archon, alongside the Ring City. You absorb the attitudes of the people you work with. And I was a bit hotheaded, actually. I enjoyed the fight, as uncouth as it might sound. But she fascinated me. I'd never really interacted with a mage on the other side before, and, well, when a beautiful woman begs your assistance..." He chuckles. "I guess it all had a mysterious sort of allure. So I listened to her story, and we made a trade. I'd help her research her condition, and she'd let me study the Staff of Winds.

"I kept her prescence a secret, as she was a Shadow Mage. That was back when the Ring City was executing them, not collecting them. But after two years time, I was forced to admit that I had reached a dead-end. Vampirism was not meant to be reversible - it changed the fundamental nature of the soul. Old wives tales would have you believe that they feed on blood, but that isn't strictly true. Vampires directly feed on soul energy. While this means that they never run out, assuming they have normal people around to snack on, they can no longer produce any of their own energy."

"And then she went north? After you realized you couldn't do anything?"

Hemmelus nods. "...I asked her to stay, actually. She said that she couldn't bear to live in a city, or in civilized lands, where her life was at risk and she'd constantly be tempted to feed. She had learned to control her urges, to an extent, but crowded places gave her a lot of trouble. And, on top of that, she knew how I had begun to...well. Her heart was occupied, I think. Or rather...still healing. And so she left."

"...I see."

>con't

"She didn't tell me where she went," he says, "but then the Shadow War came, and I found that we were suddenly on opposite sides of the battlefield. When she clashed with Sandalphon, they created the rift in the barrier - the Lady's Finger. I knew her magic, from living with her, and I know Light, from using it myself. I designed the patch that they placed over the core of the world. And then...well, even Sandalphon had enough fighting after that. For a while, at least."

"...wow." You sit back on the bed slightly. Here is a man that has personally been involved in the major events of recent history. Hemmelus seems humble, but he really is one of the most powerful mages in the world. "I...actually, thank you for sharing that with me. But..."

"Why bother?" he says. "Well, you said you needed a reason to trust me. So now that I've been honest with you, why don't you be honest with me?"

>Tell Hemmelus what happened after you went through the portal
>Tell Hemmelus the full truth, including you trials and tribulations
>some other strategy

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SO.

What now, people? We could continue with this a bit, and you can see what I have planned a bit further...I'd still be open to any sort of retconning. Or we can get right into it immediately. The choice is entirely yours.

>>30597946
Yeah, we should probably take that out as soon as we can.

>>30598005
>Tell Hemmelus the full truth, including you trials and tribulations
>>30598005

>>30598005
>>Tell Hemmelus the full truth, including you trials and tribulations

>>30598005
well, did the portal we opened actually lead to that cave or somewhere else?

>>30598005
>Tell Hemmelus the full truth, including you trials and tribulations

>>30598005
I wanted to dump the Avatar replace it with something else but you've written that in as reason to trust SandyThongs.
So.
Dunno.

>>30598049

It led to the cave. I didn't change its destination, just what was waiting for you on the other end.

>>30598005
>>Tell Hemmelus the full truth, including you trials and tribulations

>>30598005
It sound like we have time, and it sounds like Sandals may even listen to reason.

I'm feeling better about the situation thanks to this info but I feel the Avatar/Mole thing is a bit iffy. A retcon to make it more about triangulating the Shel'Kath would be better.

>>30598005
I don't know, for starters is Jophiel completely comatose by now? Because that ain't cool.

And the Avatar of Chaos in general STILL seems like Aizen levels of bullshit.

>>30598005
Fuck working Sandals the kidnapping fuck, we should start sabotaging his airships now

>>30598005
>Tell Hemmelus the full truth, including you trials and tribulations

Why the hell not. I'm quite frankly sick of the cloak and dagger.

>>30598005
>Tell Hemmelus what happened after you went through the portal

As far as EXP is concerned I would say grab whatever gets us closer to getting Pure Darkness.

>>30597923

Sandalthong genuinely wants to make the Alliance work and didn't try to backstab us?

Well that was a surprise.

>>30598069
i'm fine with it as is.

>>30598005
>Tell Hemmelus the full truth, including you trials and tribulations
Just get it out of the way. Hemmelus is a cool dude.
I move for retconning the mole.

>>30598079
>I don't know, for starters is Jophiel completely comatose by now? Because that ain't cool.

You left her without pocketing her if I remember correctly.

>>30598078
Yeah that works a lot better than having Haven/the Nemesis be compromised, because right now a bunch of players consider them useless.

>>30598005
I just want the mole thing out. Change the airship to more about being found by traingulation or something.

>>30598005
>Tell Hemmelus the full truth, including you trials and tribulations

As for retcons, I don't think they will be needed. The Avatar was a big mess, but it seems that you're straightening it out well enough with what you've written.

ON TO THE XP DEBATES

>>30598094
We're getting Eclipse

>>30598079
Right, she's probably a vegetable by now. Oops.

Well, if she's completely catatonic, might as well eat her.

>>30598079
Pff

Fuck Jophiel. I was actually sort of hoping everyone would forget about her, and then in twenty threads time, somebody would ask 'Say, where the hell is Jophiel?', and Shadow would suddenly realise that she's still in the pocket.

>>30598112
You remember incorrectly. We re-pocketed her right before going through the portal.

Ok, I predicted that people would probably want to hear the rest of this conversation before making a decision, and as a result I wrote a whole bunch more. Since that's the case, more narrative heading your way.

It includes some things involving the mole, tying it into what happened, and then wrapping it up so you don't have to worry about it.

So, let's take stock again after this.

>>30598005
>Tell Hemmelus the full truth, including you trials and tribulations

>>30598005
>>Tell Hemmelus the full truth, including you trials and tribulations
sick of all these lies

>>30598112
I'm not sure but let's just say we did.

>>30597923
>Later, he came back and told us that their sensors had detected an unknown airship of the Shadow element that had no recognizable callsign close to Arland's border, but had attacked only in self-defense. So then the debate became about who was the aggressor, and at that point, it was their word against his, which isn't much to go on.
We COULD prove it wasn't us that initiated things, but that'd require us to reveal that our airship is completely unarmed.

Probably better to let the stalemate stand rather than letting that information out.

>>30597959
>>30597983
>>30598005
And Hemmelus is still a pretty cool dude.

>>30598079
It's supposed to take about 12 hours of exposure before it reaches the 'potential irreversible damage' threshold, so we've still got a little bit of time.

Would be a good idea to get her out of there at some point in the near future, though.

>>30598112
Nope, we definitely pocketed her. There was a discussion about whether to do so, leave her in Hemmelus' lab, or consume her, with Pocket being both the more moderate and safer choice for the short-term, so you more or less decreed that we should just Pocket her so that we could move things forward.

>>30598069
Thats iffy

>>30598112
Really? Could have sworn we did. Or if we didn't, we should have.

>>30598115
How about if the AoC is capable of Scrying.

>>30598005
I don't want to work with the angels, five minutes into peace talks he attacks our airship, kills our mages, and has taken Flint hostage.

we should be conquering the Ring City now

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>>30598141

Ho sheeeeeet

Well I guess that one will be good for a little hilarity!

>>30598144
I'm watching how you play this out very, very carefully shadow master. Very carefully.

>>30598112
No. She's in the pocket. Can we ley her out now?

>>30598144
Sounds good, SM.

>>30598199
After the conversation

>>30598188
She was the main reason people were pissed about Shadow passing out.

Personally, I find the situation to be pure hahahas.

>>30598216
Agreed

>>30598188
No, it's good for you being an asshat who hasn't learned anything.

>>30598188
No offense, but if she's comatose from this after the entire argument over whether to leave her behind for the sake of safety, only for you to explain that we'd be fine pocketing her in the short-term because it takes half a day for things to get bad.

...only for the reassurance to be irrelevant because of us arbitrarily blacking out for exactly the length of time required for her to be irreparably damaged, THAT'S probably going to be the most irritating part of this whole ordeal.

You tell him. It takes you a good hour to summarize it all. You hear the regular chime of a clock marking the half-hour of 3:30am in the next room.

"...I've been around in my time, John," Hemmelus says, "so when I say you've been through a lot, lately, that's saying something."

"Yeah."

"Not to mention you're the now-regenerating Guardian of the Void himself. That does, however, explain quite a few things..." He furrows his brow. "My word. Abigail knows all this, too, yes?"

"It would be hard for her not to. She knows everything...aside from Melody's secret."

"Good," he says. "Because it would be quite a damn thing if she was in love with the Lord of Darkness and didn't even know it!"

"You think so?"

Hemmelus raises an eyebrow. "I might be old, John, but please, don't patronize me."

"No, no, I just...well, honestly, it's nice to hear it from an outside source. I guess...things have been so hurried, so rushed. I only half-understand my own feelings. I wish we had more time."

"Trauma brings people together," he says. "When all else fails, we hold our dear ones tighter."

"Do you have any family, Hemmelus?"

"Well, I did. Outlived them. A few romantic trists over the years, but nothing really stuck. I'm married to my scholarly pursuits."

You get the distinct feeling he's glossing over quite a few details, but then again, his personal life isn't reall your business. "I see."

"So," he says, "feel a bit better, now?"

"...a little," you admit. "But what do you make of it? The self-proclaimed Avatar of Chaos?"

>con't

>>30597923
>but then, a report came in that one of his airships was destroyed
We should say as part of our answer to Hemmelus about the truth and whatnot that "That airship wasn't destroyed. I have it in my pocket." just to see how weirded out he gets about the lie detector not pinging.

>>30598216
Just to get this out of the way while we wait on SM's narrative dump:

>1: Eat her, free XP and she's going to be fucked in the head for a good long while anyway
>2: Don't eat her, Sandalthong did us a good turn by saving Hamil and we should do the same

Personally, I vote 1.

There's nothing wrong with what actually happened. How it was presented, yes. But if you separate them completely into facts:
Attempt to hide Flint on magical airship.
Traitor angel reveals airship.
It gets attacked.
Attempt to follow, meet avatar instead (Who is not omniscient, and has shapechanging abilities).
Eat it, because that's how Shadow/Erebus gains power and always has been.

Not a bad story thread all in all. However, I can definitely imagine Adavan, Fang, and Auriel are cleaning up the mess and "culling" the ranks. Fang continually facepalming out our inability to even consider traitors.

>>30598188
torturing crying angels does not bring me joy, rescuing Flint does.

SM, does the pocket feel different to our chosen than it does to everyone else?

>>30598269
It's only been 10 hours.

A half day was the point where shit gets really really bad.

She'll just be really freaked out and jumpy.

>>30598188
That is a minor consolation.

Do will still have that airship in our pocket?

>>30598258
>>30598269

The intent of the "knocked-out" thing wasn't to make Jophiel a bubbling mess of madness, I was just amused by the implications. I can be flexible on that, considering it wasn't really a player choice.

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"Well, if it can shapeshift and change its elements as readily as you say...no wonder that you were predicted."

"Hamil said he thought there was a mole," you say, "but Ila and Auriel never noticed anything. And Haven is literally a community of spies. Between the better half Ila's life spent doing undercover work and assasinations and Auriel's 700 years of experience, I thought there wasn't anything to worry about."

"Unless," Hemmelus says, "this mole was beyond even their expertise."

"The Avatar."

"Frankly, you nearly lost your life doing exactly what they expected you to do."

"It's not like I had a choice," you mumble. "I was in the same trap."

"You did the right thing given the information you had," Hemmelus says. "No one could have expected that ambush - or this freakish existence, for that matter. But now that we know there was someone else besides Sandalphon, this all begins to fit together. So, we know this Avatar was spying on you, yes?"

"It must have been. It's the only thing that makes any sense at all."

>con't

>>30598283
I've been saying this for awhile, but they wouldn't hear it.

>>30598144
I'mma trust you SM, because you seem repentant and you want to help us tell a good story, although the Avatar stuff is still a little iffy...

>>30598279
"Yo thanks for saving Hamil, Sandles, I'm returning the favour."
>Dump Vegetable!Jophiel in front of him
"There might be some minor wear and tear.

"Right," he says. "And all that time, it never bothered you? Never reported Haven's location to Sandalphon? Never attacked, never revealed itself in the slightest? What do you think that means?"

"I guess...it didn't consider me a threat?"

"That's the cover story," Hemmelus says. "But there's a layer under the layer. I think it left you alone - and Sandalphon left you alone - because you were playing right into their hands."

"What are you talking about?"

"The Sigil isn't complete," Hemmelus says. "And the demons haven't leapt up to complete it, even though they probably could. Which means they need something else on top of that. They need more energy, they need the stars to align. They need Chaos, in a very literal sense. And here we are, the gathered leaders and armies of the world, about to combine our might and join pitched battle with the greatest force of demons assembled since the Shadow War."

"...shit." You stand from the bed. You walk across the room, around the desk. You look up at the wall. "They used me to gather everyone together? They wanted to have the alliance come together?"

"I suspect so," Hemmelus says. "It will be the greatest concentration of magical force in decades. I don't know how the Avatar was able to come onto our plane, but then, you're here. Anything's possible. Perhaps the gash we made in the barrier has something to do with it. My patch isn't perfect; they're always watching out for the demons coming out of the gultch."

"Why not try to work on the patch?"
>con't

>>30598326
>The intent of the "knocked-out" thing wasn't to make Jophiel a bubbling mess of madness, I was just amused by the implications. I can be flexible on that, considering it wasn't really a player choice.
She hasn't even been in there for the amount of time you said causes irreversible damage. Sure, it's getting close, but this should result in not much more than her being freaked the fuck out for a while.

"I don't dare touch it again," Hemmelus says. "I only did it the first time because I had no other choice. The barrier itself is a mystery. It is like no other thing in Venia. Most scholars think Erebus - well, you - made it. How, or why, or for what purpose...well, life as we know it wouldn't be possible if it wasn't there. But then, Erebus wanted to destroy the elemental lords."

"Was Erebus trying to stop the increasing Chaos in the world?" you say. "I've heard a lot of bad things about him. But maybe, in a way, he was trying to restore balance. Maybe the elementals were disturbing things. Too much power."

"We can only speculate," Hemmelus says. "But the point is, when the most powerful mages in the world, leading the most powerful armies in the world, all go to destroy each other in one single area...that will provide them environment they need to complete their task."

"And take it a step further," you say. You cross the room back toward Hemmelus. "Say the Avatar was trying to pull some power from the spell, some sort of mass destruction. Everyone of any note would all be in one place. The same goes for Sandalphon. Hyperion would be there, and all his enemies and rivals would be lined up for him. Easy pickings."

"Indeed," Hemmelus says. "This is quite the pickle, isn't it?"

"Dammit!" You pound your fist on the desk. "What are we supposed to do? Let the demons ravage the countryside? If we fight, they bring in the Sigil, sacrifice Donovan, and one way or another, we're all screwed. If we don't fight, we're screwed anyway!"
"Ah," Hemmelus says. He raises a finger. "But in the wall of their plan is a crack of opportunity. At some point, John - or, maybe I should call you Shadow?"

>con't

>>30598360

Yeah, I just realized that. It's not really going to be a problem.

>>30598301
Here's hoping someone reminds us REALLY quickly.

"John's fine for now. Stay in the habit."

"I suppose," he says. "At some point, they will have to expose the Sigil. We know where it will have to be - on the battlefield. We know what we have to do - stop it, and save Donovan. And they don't know that we've figured this all out!"

"...an ambush," you say. "They think we're walking in, but we make the entire battle the cover for an ambush." You swivel to face him. "How can we do it?"

"First," Hemmelus says, "we need to do this!"

He fires a blast of Wind. For a sick, frightening moment, you think he's attacking you - but the ball of Wind sails by you. The door slams open, and two people crash onto the floor with a shriek. Abigail, and the Black Lady. They sprawl across the threshold in a rather undiginified tangle.

Hemmelus bursts out laughing. "Gotcha!"

>reaction

------------
------------

Let's get some opinions on the table.

>>30598407
HAHAHAHAHA

Well looks like they're all buddy buddy now.

>>30598407
"Well, at least this makes things quicker."

>>30598407
This all seems rather... contrived.

We can just initiate the battle and then erasure the sigil?

>>30598477
A contrived solution to a contrived problem.
At least he's trying.

>>30598407
I think the best option would be for Shadow to sneak into Kan Abar and assassinate the summoners of the demon lords. Or maybe even one of the lords themselves.

Yes, it will alert the others, but it will buy us more time if one or two of them die.

>>30598407
Ah, two lovely ladies come to visi-
FUCK I FORGOT ABOUT THE ANGEL

>>30598477
I can already tell that the whole reason he was trying to get us off the Donovan saving was because this was already planned.

this Avatar is crap is some bullshit, and Hemmelus suddenly being the God of exposition is bothering me.

>>30598519
THIS

>>30598407
I just... everything about the Avatar of Chaos is TERRIBLE. Everything.

It's literally worse than Aizen, because at least Aizen had some thought already put into him.

>>30598535
At least Aizen also had a sense of fashion and timing.

>>30598407
They seem to be getting along well enough.

>>30598477
It's not like their going to do it in the middle of the sky. We need to find them and stop all their best soldiers.

>>30598407
I think this is salvageable. A little iffy but it seems to parse and it aligns with what we already been expecting(Angels are responsible for the demons in order to bring everyone under them). We really were doing their work for them.

>>30598407
I just want to debate spending experience for a while.

Can we do that while we absorb this tangled mess?

>>30598519
>>30598519
so much this

>>30598407
I dunno. I think this works. I think that just moving forward with what we have will be preferable to retconning things.

I just want to move forward.

>>30598407
"Why don't I go behind enemy lines and take out the mages maintaining the demon lord summons before the battle?"

>>30598519
This

>>30598407
Well gee doesn't that sound like the perfect situation for a certain stored natural one, don't it?

Retcon!

There's a simple fix for the Avatar of Chaos.

There's no such thing as demons. They're all aspects of Chaos, a single unified being. 'Unified' isn't exactly the right term because... well. Chaos. You know.

The reason they spend so much time fucking mortals and mages over is because they are all trying to destroy the world and mostly don't give a shit about dying. Long term plans are still hard when you're crazy.

>>30598407
"...Abigail, Melody." then sigh, "anything you need further elaboration on?"

>>30598477
>>30598526

This is me, writing back out of a corner.

Again, this is the interpretation that pretty much must be taken assuming everything remains as it is. Patchy, but at least it brings the narrative back into some sort of cohesion. Hemmelus was the best character to play this role because he's the only one that can come close to pulling it off.

>>30598524

Correct.

I'll let you guys hash out whether you want to keep this and move on, or go back and take a mulligan. Many anons seem to agree that the Lightport is where the hinge turned, and if I had to retcon, that's makes the best sense to me.

>>30598576
Eclipse

I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but that bit about Vampires being shadow element creatures that consume soul energy and are unable to make their own sounds very similar to a certain mc

>>30598602

This obvious solution is to eat the Core of Chaos.

There is no possible way this could go wrong.

>>30598576

Yeah, debate to your heart's content. I am monitoring developments.

>>30598519
Man

On the one hand, this will be hilarious

On the other, it might piss off Auriel.

In our defense, we didn't expect to get knocked out, since it has literally never happened before.

>>30598620
It's fine as is.

>>30598602
That's what I've been assuming the Avatar is this whole time.

>>30598620
I'm perfectly fine with just moving forward with this as it is. Yeah, it's patchy. But a retcon is a total break. I'll take patchy and improving over a total break.

>>30598535
C-can we retcon Xella's involvement? Please? Just...have Xella be a one-note thing. It makes me at least a bit less contrived

>>30598640
just plop ourself in the nether and chow down.

>>30598640
Well, it'd be an awesome storyline climax, wouldn't it?

>>30598620
I think I'm fine with the way things are. I'm still iffy on the mole being the Avatar and what that means unless our fight with it basically killed it/sent it back to the Nether for the time being and it can't pull that Aizen shit again.

>>30598598
...Yeah, I don't really like the sound of that.

Also this rigid Just-As-Plan is like... the OPPOSITE of what Chaos should be.

Chaos should be fluid and improvise, and have a tangled web of redundancies and tangents.

Like we should be able to save Flint, and Chaos should be able to find a workaround, because I would think the embodiment of chaos would be nothing if not creative and imaginative.

>>30598704
>our fight with it basically killed it/sent it back to the Nether for the time being and it can't pull that Aizen shit again.

Yes.

So with the new and improved Eclipse, I want to buy it and Tree Gift. Gift the Shadow Tree to Ila and the Earth Tree to Abby.

>>30598407
Let's keep going. I hate retcons, and this plot line is looking alright. I agree that the avatar needs to be toned back a bit, though. I'd say have it sit out for the rest of the arc, but maybe try to reintroduce it slowly after this.

Guys, guys, guys lets arbiter Abby.

>>30598401
>>30598519
I figure us reminding us should be enough.

>>30598657
I think she's probably going to be equal parts relieved that we've graduated from just eating all of them and annoyed that we're sticking her with cleanup duty.

>>30598407
"...I see you two have been getting along."

As far as Avatar stuff, the only real issue is that it still existing means that any future enemy is capable of knowing everything the Avatar knows. If it's stuck in the Nether for a while due to us eating its physical manifestation or something like >>30598704 said, that's a bit less of an issue, but still kind of irritating.

>>30598620
Just kill the stored crit and move on with things as they are and I'll call it even.

>>30598719
Shadow MAGIC tree to lla

>>30598742
I'd be cool with it but I'd honestly like to power ourselves up right now.

I don't even understand what happened with the Nemesis, and are we just supposed to be buddy buddy with the angels after the attacked and killed our shit?

>>30598620
I suppose if I had to order retcon points chronologically (from recent to past), it would be Avatar -> Light Port -> Hamil blows everything up -> Nemesis is attacked.

If we retcon the Avatar, the mole becomes a problem.
If we retcon the Light Port, the mole is still a problem.
If we retcon Hamil's fail of a teleport, we're back far enough to change the explanation for how the Nemesis was found.
If we retcon the Nemesis being tracked down and attacked, a lot of development disappears but so does the bulk of the nonsense.

>>30598763

What if I promised not to use it for the rest of this arc?

>>30598779
You can only gift the magic trees. The "magic" after the "Shadow" was implied by necessity.

>>30598742
no

>>30598763

On board with this idea.

SM threw us a bone by not letting us break the seal, we players throw SM a bone by letting him restore the plot as he deems best.

>>30598717
This is the main thing I have an issue with. We are literally talking the manifestation of chaos here. Chaos doesn't do long-term planning, by it's very nature.

It also shouldn't take human form, and it shouldn't even be able to converse except in the most abstract of ways.

>>30598782
if we want power for ourselves then the best bet is to aim for the centre tree and try to get OI in the near future,

Otherwise we're just dicking around in magic trees when our build is still mostly physical.

>>30598742
You mean Arbiter Ila?

Or call up Dave and Arbiter him again.

File: 1393817095772.jpg-(28 KB, 1280x720, bisonyes.jpg)

28 KB JPG

>>30598742
Yes

>>30598795
Arc and a half with a side of "No killing Donovon or our chosen".

>>30598795
I really REALLY wanted this post to be a ruselord post SM, but sure... sure. As long as the next arc is the god damned palace, and NOT the big fucking mega battle that the survival of the world depends on.
Because we roll terribly enough as it fucking is.

>>30598799
Okay. cause giffting the middle shadow tree is kinda dumb

>>30598795
Can we just call it square? You used the natural 1 on yourself. It feels a bit like having your cake and eating it to continue holding the Fail of Damocles over us.

The way I see it, this is still just speculation on the part of Shadow and Hemmelus. There's still SOME wiggle room to change a few things later on if we need/want to.

>>30598742
Ila would make a better Arbiter

>>30598795
I think the messed up way you even gained the crit-fail kind of makes it hard for you to barter for it.

>>30598814
I will back this.
SM forgives our nat 1, we forgive his nat 1.
Call it even.

>>30598795
How about you use it wherever you like because we made a deal with the devil? Feel free to bring sorrow to all.

>>30598742
I'd like that, but Shadow Magic is also tempting.

>>30598871
This

>>30598871
And suffer the consequences of it's use just as much as we would. That'll be fun for a dozen QTGs or so.

I'll make sure it stays fun, infact.

>>30598576
I want to get ORDER by any means necessary.

To do that we must first get Pure Darkness and to get that we need to finish a tree.

I know what I want to spend EXP on.

>>30598795
Fine by me. I don't think this situation requires any compensation to the players. Just so long as no more Deus Ex Nethers get pulled, I'm happy to keep things going.

>>30598519
Also, this.

I could use some black comedy.

>>30598862
See, I don't agree, Ila doesn't nearly as comfortable with our nature as Abigail, who is totally down with it. By making Ila an Arbiter, we are literally changing her to be more like us. I'd rather give Arbiter to someone who'd be more comfortable with it

>>30598900
We're getting Eclipse.

>>30598834

How many times do I have to say that I'm not going to use it to kill someone before you believe me?

Seriously. I'm not using it for that.

>>30598841

I consider the current arc to be the major physical conflict between Kan-Abar and the rest of the world, with a side-helping of political conflict between your alliance and the Ring City. The 1 of Doom would not be used until that arc concluded.

I vote that we buy out the entire Chosen tree. 43 total.
It's a big boost to both of our chosen. Arbiter is good, but it's only for one - and its derivative abilities that we can buy are what make it really amazing, and we can't afford those right now anyway.

>>30598795
Didn't you basically just use it, what with driving us to fail miserably in our goals?

We can say you used the nat 1, and this clusterfuck was the result.

>>30598916
*isn't nearly, gah tired

>>30598795
Seriously SM.

Use the 1 wherever the fuck you like. The world should have started to end but we made a deal to let it live awhile longer. Use it as you see fit.

>>30598932
We're getting Eclipse

>>30598932
...Yeah I can get behind that.

>>30598931
>How many times do I have to say that I'm not going to use it to kill someone before you believe me?
Because in this quest 1's affect player mentality and can encourage suicidal thoughts and apathy. The straw that breaks the camels back, if you will.

>The 1 of Doom would not be used until that arc concluded.
Alrighty then. I'm fine with that.

>>30598931
Wow, that's a big arc. I'm fine with that.

>>30598931
I still support tit for tat. We rolled the Critfail of Damocles and were stupid enough to let you keep it for later, and you fucked up with the Avatar.

Both cancel out.

>>30597769
Wait, are our shards all still resonant? Not complaining or anything...

>>30598620
I'd like to retcon back to the Lightport. Everything else can be forgiven, but the Avatar just makes me grind my teeth.

>>30598970

WOOPS

Didn't update that.

Nah, they're all normal.

>>30598932
Eclipse first.

We need to power ouself up first.

Wait, so Chaos can use any summon to spy on us? It's as if we needed anymore of a reason not to get the summoning tree.

>>30598970
They're all Normal right now, IIRC.

>>30598931
Seriously though.

Use it wherever you want.

I can support the entire Chosen tree. It will probably reduce the cost of Arbiter anyway.

>>30598932
I'm down with that, we'd be giving them a serious boost that would probably help them be more combat effective

>>30598992
I need clarification on this. and if it can use our peoples summons to spy

>>30598992
Chaos Avatar is out of the picture for the time being.

>People trying to twist SM's arm and wheedle a concession out of him.
You idiots fucked up overusing our shards in the first place, you agreed to let him store the critfail. It's valid.

You're worse than the French. You vote to give a dictator absolute power, regret it and start a fuss, then vote to give him more power.

>>30598977

Avatar problem could also be fixed by Lucifer summoning some kind of crazy ass modified proto-Demon Lord thing.

It's been his secret wet works man for so long it starts to think for itself and "help him out" by taking on extra assignments. The end product is a very powerful summon with delusions of grandeur and the ability to set-up an ambush on us.

>>30599013
>>30598992
WISP


WIIIIIIIISPBROOOO
NOOOOO

>>30599007
>>30599012

You really wanna put MORE EXP into our allies when we haven't powered ourself up in god knows how long?

>>30599031
This could work.

>>30599040

Yeah, I'm on your side. Why don't we complete one of our trees?

>>30599007
Eclipse

Right now I'm seeing:
Ray of Darkness + Void Ring + Eclipse (42 XP)
Entire Chosen tree (43 XP)
Tree Gift + ??? (15 + ? XP)
Arbiter Abby (50 XP)

>>30599040
It's like they voided all the hints from last time about how much we've been ignoring where our potential lies.

>>30599012
>>30598961
>>30598932
We literally JUST Chosened them. give it some time first and quit just throwing powerup after powerup at them.

>>30599031
The problem is that it's already dead and eaten, so it's a bit late to find out what it really was.

>>30599058
If we get 1 more xp. ONE MORE. We can do tree gift and eclipse.

Alright, the first vote I will call will involve the plot. I'll hold it in ten minutes time.

Don't vote now. Again, this isn't the actual vote. Just so everyone can be on the same page.

The choices will be:

1) Move on, keeping the current plotline. (I don't have more posts written out but obviously your next quests are impending)

2) Retcon back to the Lightport, before the battle with the Avatar.

>>30599058
>Ray of Darkness + Void Ring + Eclipse (42 XP)
Only correct option.

Urrk, I was hoping that we could just erase all the stupidity from last time, but it appears not.

Everything from Xile till now was a goddamn waste of time and effort.

Keep on the railroad guys, because that is exactly what this is.

>>30599007
I would rather spend EXP into trying to get to ORDER and unlock what it hides.

>>30599058
There seems to be a few looking at Physical Shadow Tree.

>>30599058
I'd like to complete a tree.
Spirit tree's revealed abilities cost 35, with one covered up. Let's do that.

Also, how much XP is Jophiel worth? I'd like to eat her and be done with it.

>>30598953
The main issue at this point is that this whole situation is basically something along the lines of what the stored critfail is intended to do; have one major point at which the plot turns in a way we have no way of rectifying.

And if player opinion toward this situation is going to be anything like inevitable plot twist SM wants to use his Sword of Damocles for, I'm really not looking forward to it.

I'm of the opinion that the whole idea of the stored critfail was really stupid to begin with, so I'm not sure I'm the right guy to be arguing about it, but hey.

>>30599080
>>30599068
The problem is when we servanted Abby and Ila it didn't actually do them any good on Xile. Abby even lost her hand. So the answer is MOAR POWAH.

Us on the other hand has been rolling over enemies left and right.

>>30599099
Don't like it, asshole? Then fuck off and let us have fun in peace.

>inb4 HURR I troll u

>>30599064
Shit, I'm not ignoring it, but they are going to thrown into a war and they are like our most trusted allies. I think we'd benefit more in this conflict with them boosted up

>>30599085
We have an Airship in our Pocket. But that'll probably be given to our allies. Unless they say eat it because we'd have to give it back otherwise.

>>30599086
DO NOT RETCON

>>30599126
you know we COULD eat the airship. I mean it is spoils of war after all.

>>30599099
It really wasnt. None of it was. We fucking freed Hecate for gods sake.

>>30599116

Well, I have more faith in us.

We've known about the stored critfail for a very long time - when SM pulls it out, I think we'll know to accept his choice.

when we used torture on Jophiel she told us Sandalphon gave her the template for the lightport himself, how would he have no knowledge of the attack on the Nemesis?

>>30599120
Nobody liked it when it happened, it going to take more than a few empty apologies from the GM to erase that.

>>30599086
>1) Move on, keeping the current plotline.
Add getting rid of the nat 1 you keep holding over our heads even though you used it on yourself and its a deal.

That nat 1 was a fuckup token, and it was indescriminate, you used it on yourself, accept that, get rid of it and move on, trying to keep it after this debacle is just like that other anon said, trying to have your cake and east it too, especially after the shit you pulled.

>>30599150
Or maybe ask Abby to steal Fang's box. Gotta be LOTS of XP in there.

>>30599122
They're both Duke Vellik level. Quit fucking coddeling them.

>>30599160
Avatar.

>>30599160

Avatar of Chaos was pretending to be Sandalphon.

>>30599160
It was probably the Avatar doing its thing and shapeshifting to look like him.

>>30599108
Hm.
If we dip into that, Lightning Resistance is a given.
Disguise (and the thing behind it) might have a good bit of use right now, actually, with all the political shit we're doing.
I want Kindle. I just want it green-lit so I can forget about it forever.
Shadefang Poison might be a good hedge-your-bets ability, especially once we pick up Eclipse. Poison -> Eclipse. If they survive the nova, they won't survive the poison.

>>30599160
Because Chaos was pretending to be Sandalphon.

Chaos is pretending to be everyone.

>>30599165
It won the vote.

>>30599186
Which is complete bullshit and everyone knows it.

Bullshit excuse trying to cover up a bullshit mistake doesn't work.

>>30599112

I'd actually like to complete Spirit too.

Mind read would still be pretty fucking useful.

>>30599186
>>30599191
>>30599193
This is pretty illustrative of why I hate the concept of the Avatar.

>>30599186
>>30599191
>>30599196
What is this thing Aizen?

>>30599191
Avatar is the most bullshit thing that has ever existed.

Why don't we hurry up and complete the fucking shadow tree and the light grey tree in the center?

>>30599196
>>30599191
>>30599193
>>30599213
>>30599215

I get the feeling that the Avatar of Chaos is going to be new buzzword of choice for QM fuckups, like powergaming was.

>>30599196
You were expecting Sandalphon, but no- It is *I*! CHAOS! Hahaha~!

>>30599195
>>30599108
It just isn't near as good as Shadow Magic.

>>30599214
It's worse. At least Aizen had style.

File: 1393818095177.jpg-(7 KB, 259x194, grinch smile.jpg)

7 KB JPG

>>30599179
I like the way you think, Anon

Oh god. Avatar of Chaos is SO an Aizen expy.

>>30599196
No John, you are the Chaos!

>>30599156
Which in itself became a waste of effort with all that bullcrap.

>>30599240
Genderswapped too, makes it even worse.

>>30599210
>>30599213
>>30599214
>>30599215
Just fucking drop it already jesus.

>>30599242
Chaos is EGO.

>>30599168
>Add getting rid of the nat 1 you keep holding over our heads even though you used it on yourself and its a deal.

There will be a second vote on that subject, considering it seems to be a point of contention.

>>30599240

It shows with >>30598387.

>>30599224
Because pretty much everything else is better. Cool your OCD.

>>30599186
>>30599191
>>30599193
>>30599196
Doesn't that just create a huge fucking paranoia sink?

>>30599269
I wonder if SQ players really have gotten to be more careful planners overall, barring the occasional fuckup, because of the Critfail.

If you get rid of it, will we become less cautious?

>>30599183
Coddle? Dude, arming them would only help us further

>>30599279
But that's wrong.

>>30599269
Well get on with the writing. I wanna see this>>30598533

>>30599271
Not really. That perfectly aligns with the whole "Angels summonded the demons to bring everyone under their control" theory that's been specualated on forever. In fact, it actually makes it make sense why they'd resort to demons in the first place.

>>30599291

Considering we just ate it last thread, no.

>>30599291
It's completely devoid of Shadow, so it can't impersonate us or our shadow mages. And apparently it's dead and staying dead for a long time.

>>30599279
Are you not even a little curious about what the tree completion bonus will be? Don't you want to work towards Pure Darkness and Order Immateria?

>>30599257
Only if all the stupidity from last time gets rebooted.

Otherwise a good chunk of the players are going to be pissed for a long time, and SM would have to rely on even more retarded excuses to justify himself.

By restarting from the stupid point, the players feel better and SM doesn't have to try to write himself out of the corner retardely anymore. It's the best of both world

>>30599303
Throwing more and more powerups for fear of them dieing will lead to coddeling. let them get used to what they got first.

>>30599086
As weird as it sounds I'd rather just see the whole avatar battle rewritten. A light retcon with the same or similar events performed differently.

The whole sequence made me cringe and anyone reading the archives for the first time will probably do the same what the fuck are you thinking response. It could definitely have been done better.

>>30599291
It's gone and not coming back for a while.

>>30599292
There's nothing saying that he shouldn't punish us for making bad plans.

If anything, I'm surprised the looming critfail hasn't made people LESS cautious. People seem awfully fond of fatalistic thinking once things start to go downhill in most quests, so it's kind of impressive that we haven't had more inane "WELL HE'S PROBABLY JUST GOING TO MAKE US FAIL ANYWAY, WHY DOES IT EVEN MATTER" arguments.

SM, can you just delete the entire Avatar of Chaos concept completely?

The Elemental Lords make more sense as the Avatars, multiple Avatars.

>>30599337
I agree, keep the core events the same but give it a proper intense battle with the sort of appearance and feel that it should have.

>>30599306
>>30599322
Compared to the Shadow Magic tree and Eclipse it is pretty shit.

We need some powerups because we kinda suck right now.

And yes i'm curious but i still chose Eclipse. Because it's unacceptable that the Fucking Shadow Elemantal doesn't have shit for shadow magic.

>>30599364
I kind of like the idea of replacing the Avatar with another demon lord. It would fit the whole Chaos is coming from multiple directions and sometimes fight itself.

Shapeshifting Demon Lord Dickery?

>>30599368
No, it's fine how it is. Have a little faith

>>30599374
Plus Eclipse and connected abilities will probably unlock one or two nodes of Light Resistance, which we SORELY need.

>>30599240
>Oh god. Avatar of Chaos is SO an Aizen expy.

Really? Aizen wasn't even on my radar when I was thinking this up.

I'm retroactively making the Avatar not look like complete and utter bullshit via Hemmelus's logic, though, so I guess it makes sense in a way.

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Gather round, time for a vote. You have five minutes, as usual.

Vote 1:
>Continue with the current plot. Things remain as they are.

Note that the Avatar has been defeated for the time being and won't randomly show up in a further act of bullshittery for the duration of this arc. But it means you still have to live with the fact that it happened.

Vote 2:
>Retcon back to the Lightport. This means that the Avatar of Chaos and your battle against it are removed from the narrative.

This may improve the overall storyline as it currently stands, but I'd need to think quite a few things through in order to figure out how to proceed from there.

>>30599390
You mean the faith SM rewarded with a kick in the balls? No thanks.

>>30599394
Very true

It also opens up Null Ring.

>>30599086

Really, the only problem with this business is that you wouldn't let us rescue Flint. At every possible juncture, you consciously or unconsciously were pushing for Flint's sacrifice to be the defining battle of the arc.

If you had Avatar of Chaos HOLDING FLINT HOSTAGE until the huge battle starts, everything would be fine. Then Flint is safe, and the whole sacrifice thing is delayed while Sandalphon transfers a Shel'Kath onto the strongest remaining Angel. You said you wanted to slow the pace - saving Flint would have achieved that. The only problem is that it seems like we didn't have a choice. I'm also not a fan of the fact that Flint is totally helpless on artifacted Carrier, given that he fucking killed a Demon Lord in single combat but managed to get himself kidnapped by 5 low-level Angels and a teleport spell.

The Avatar was a Demon Lord.
Same experience reward. Make it a heavily Spirit aligned one and it can still pull stupid bullshit to locate the Nemesis (like Dream Walking). The fight was still tough as balls because it's a Demon Lord.
It also gives us a little bit of progression towards our goal of killing the Demon Lords.

>>30599407
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>>30599215
Lol shoehorning in a half complete idea, because you dont want to scrap effort when its shit. Sm must work on mechwarrior online- lol.

Its total shit..

Anyway. If we continue, I want the following concessions:
A nat 100 that can be used to cancel the 1.
An extra charge of artifact-For reasons of invalidating xile. Or a freebie on fixing Abby s hand without ising a charge, due to help from adavan and steward.

>>30599407
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>>30599407
>DCsy3GUeLy7
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>>30599433
Xile isn't invalidate you fucking retard.

>>30599407
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>>30599418
This this this.

>>30599417
For the last time Angels CANNOT be used for the ritual. Their blessing interferes with the Shel'kath's magic.

>>30599417
This is a really good point, even eithoit the avstat

>>30599407
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>>30599407
Make the Avatar a demon lord. Slows the pace and provides a plausible explanation.

>>30599407
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>>30599442
woops, thats what happens when you Ctrl+F through a thread and don't pay attention

>>30599479
All or nothing. The concept is okay as is.

>>30599407
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