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>>31044729
Amadeus gives Shrike his sword back. “I think I want one of those,” he says. “This staff isn’t very fun by comparison.”

“You can buy them at the markets,” Shrike says. “It’ll do you until you can find something better to make a new one out of.”

“How much do they cost?”

“I dunno. About fifty coins I guess.”

“Fifty? I have zero,” Amadeus says.

“Maybe we can sell some of these plates,” Trish says. She takes a skinning knife from her pack, grasps one of the plates firmly and digs the blade into the skin beside it. The corpse shudders. The four of you take a step back.

“It is dead, isn’t it?” Amadeus asks.

It looked dead a moment ago. As you watch patches of skin on its head, behind its eyes swell and bulge and split, and another four eyes, red and round and staring open and swivel wildly in it’s head as its original pair come back to life. Its great body heaves, and its sides split as a pair of bloody limbs push their way out between its ribs, five fingered hands tipped with long bony claws.

“Fuck fuck fuck, what is that?” Shrike says in a panicked tone. Neither he nor Trish seem to have any idea what’s happening.

The boar’s body writhes under its bony plates and thick skin, and you notice its wounds have started bleeding again, but the ooze that drips from them is black as tar. It heaves itself up on its limbs, which now number six. The plates on its back are splintering and its mouth opens impossibly wide. You hear its jaw break. A new set of long, sharp and serrated teeth force themselves out over the boar’s original set.

You hear a sound, a horrible, painful sound, and you reel, stunned and you can feel blood drip from your nose and ears. It takes your dazed brain a moment to realise the boar just PREACHED. The four of you stand helpless, your faces bloody, as it gets to its feet.

When you can move again, you must decide.

>Run.
>Hide.
>Fight.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31044746
>Fight.
More moves, but the thing has less armour. Pray might help slow him down, so I think we can take it.

>>31044746
>Fight

>>31044729
>so give some thought to if you’d like me to run a discussion thread occasionally rather than the usual game.
I think you should keep going as you are but encourage feedback during the thread. It shouldn't cut into too much time if you answer a few questions at the top of story posts.
I don't QM so I don't know if that'd be more work then I realize.

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>>31044891
I'll give it a try.

>>31044832
>>31044883

The others seem uncertain as to what the best course of action is.

"Come on, we can take it!" You snarl, tasting your own blood on your lips.

>Back off, draw your bow.
>Use Ability.
>Attack with your glaive. 1d100 DC 35
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31045007
Counter-Preach.

>>31045007
Oh wow that's a heavy DC.
>PREACH and back off

>>31045007
> Use Ability.
> PRAY
I want to see what it upgraded does for us.

>>31045043
>>31045052
I think it's on cooldown since we've already used it this fight.

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>>31045043
>>31045052
Preach is still on cooldown.

>>31045066
>>31045117
Oh, okay. FORESIGHT then, hit it around the head a bit.

I just remembered way back in one of the first couple threads, we talked about just taking some time and using our abilities to figure out how much spirit they use. We might actually run out for the first time in this fight, so we should remember to learn this stuff as soon as we're done here.

>>31045007
> Pray

>>31045007
Pray

>>31045007
Foresight for bonus, then glaive for damage.

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>>31045066
>>31045324
>>31045478

Trish drops her skinning knife and goes for her broardsword, swinging it over her head and bringing it down on the boar as soon as she can move.

Her eyes widen in shock as one of the boar's new arms reaches up and catches the blade. Its starts lifting her up as she tries to wrench her weapon free.

"Trish!" Shrike tosses his sword to Amadeus and is scrambling back and going for his bow.

You slam your hands together and PRAY just as the boar flings Trish across the road. Both your arms extend into long, rubbery tentacles and you fling one out to catch Trish as she flies, wrapping it around her waist and bringing her back down to earth.

The other you use to grab one of the arms, and while the boar's second hand is fending off Amadeus, who is bouncing around not quite game to strike, Shrike's arrow whistles past you and thuds into the boar's back.

Your PRAY seems to be lasting a bit longer. You sling Trish safely to the ground.

>Try and grab the other arm and let the others get a hit on it.
>Ignore the arms, try and choke it.
>Swing yourself up somewhere safer.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31045502
>Try and grab the other arm and let the others get a hit on it.
Seems like the best way to get as much damage on it as possible.

>>31045502
>Try and grab the other arm and let the others get a hit on it.

>>31045502
[x] SUPLEX

>>31045571
>>31045502
[x] Seconding SUPLEX FOR GREAT VICTORY

>>31045502
>>Swing yourself up somewhere safer.

Rolled 3

>>31045571
Ya, fuck it. Let's drop this fuck. Supporting!

>>31045536
>>31045547

"Nice catch!" Trish calls as you release her.

You reach out and grab the boar's other arm. Your new limbs are amazingly strong; your mere arms are stronger here than they are in reality, but the tentacles are another level again. You grapple with the creature; its arms feel slippery and strange. They don't seem to have any skin, for a start.

The boar is watching you. With at least two eyes.

"Get it, get it!" You yell, and Amadeus and Trish charge in for an attack. Your limbs won't last much longer. They manage to hit it, but it's hard to know how much damage they've done. Shrike is still firing arrows.

>>31045571
>>31045624
>>31045643
You try to lift it up, and the boar's hands grab onto your tentacles and it resists, mangled sounds halfway between a grunt and a roar coming from its mouth. It smells awful.

You're attempting to suplex it before PRAY wears off. It's trying to do the same to you.

1d100 DC 25

Rolled 38

>>31045714
Oh ho, let's do it!

Rolled 77

>>31045714

Rolled 89

>>31045714
Oh come on we already got a 3

Rolled 70

>>31045714
Wish those earlier rolls counted.

>>31045734
>>31045736
>>31045747
Guess we were being greedy. Worth the try, though.

>>31045788
It really wasn't.

>>31045800
Suplex would have effectively stunned it for at least a round. I believe it was worth trying.

Not a vote, but I suggest we keep an eye out for our lowbie companion. This beast is a challenge even for us, nevermind somone who hann't even spent all of their 2 exp

>>31045734
>>31045736
>>31045747
(Okay the boar rolled quite well...)

You heave backwards, but you're simply less than a quarter the weight of the boar, and you can't shift it without better leverage. The boar plants its feet, grabs your tentacles and lifts you into the air, and hurls you back over its head. As you sail past you notice the new wounds its sporting are all bleeding black and slow.

You fly through the air, and crash into a tangle of vines which manages to mostly break your flight without breaking your neck. It still hurts, however, when you finally make contact with the mossy ground, and the air leaves your lungs with a woosh.

You can't afford to lie around and you roll and stumble to your feet, in time to see the boar lunge at Amadeus, it's jaws closing around his midsection. He slams his hands together and PRAYs and the spikes that burst from his skin cause the boar to recoil and he stumbles free, dripping with blood and spit.

"Get back!" Shrike yells. The boar backhands his arrow out of the air and it lands in the dirt. Trish is trying to circle around the boar to avoid those fiendishly fast hands.

>Fire an arrow. 1d100 DC 30
>Close the gap and use your glaive 1d100 DC 35
>Use ability.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

Rolled 43

>>31045965
>>Fire an arrow. 1d100 DC 30

Rolled 54

>>31045800
If it's any consolation I wouldn't have suggested it if I thought the DC would be so low.
>>31045965
>Fire an arrow. 1d100 DC 30

>>31045965
Foresight enhanced arrow. For max damage.

This appears to be a mini-boss. As such, we should hit it with everything we've got.

Rolled 49

>>31045965
We're behind it? The fight may not be lost yet.

Rolled 7

>>31045965
>Close the gap and use your glaive 1d100 DC 35

Rolled 9

>>31045965
>Fire an arrow. 1d100 DC 30
Aw shit, what do Tears of the Lady do? Can we feed them in our bow?

Rolled 28

Guys, I think we'll have to put a Piece into our glaive to beat this guy before anyone gets too hurt. Buffed glaive plus Foresight attacking him from behind should be enough to win with everyone's help.

Rolled 44

>>31045965
We really should close with it, we're the only ones tough enough to take any hits.

>>31046104
>>31046137
I agree with these two. Our next round we need to get in melee. Use a Piece if it doesn't take too long.

>>31045988
>>31046019
>>31046034
It swats your arrow away, and the jaws of the snake on your bow click shut as the last of the bloodletter iron shard is used up. You got four shots out of it, you think.

The boar pays no attention to you or Shrike, and instead lunges again at Amadeus. Amadeus runs. He'd been running ever since his near escape and managed to get a bit of distance. You see that the attacks from earlier have had an effect on the boar at least; it's hind legs don't seem to be working properly, and it propels itself on it's forelegs and its hands. It's still unnervingly fast as it skitters after Amadeus, who weaves across the road, trying to shake it or look for somewhere safe to run to. The boar gains on him.

Trish sees her chance and attacks again, this time gamely leaping up onto its back while its hands are occupied. You think she might be a bit nuts, but no more nuts than you yourself are.

She stabs downwards and the boar pauses to try and grab her and she slides back, anticipating the move; Amadeus gains ground while the boar is occupied.

>Close and glaive 1d100 DC 35
>Shoot your bow 1d100 DC 30
>Use ability.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

Rolled 22

>>31046202
FORESIGHT and GLAIVE

>>31046202
>>Use ability.
Foresight

Rolled 3

>>31046202
>Close and glaive 1d100 DC 35
>FORESIGHT
>Use Piece of Arcadia

Gotta pull out all the stops. We're in over our heads.

Rolled 16

>>31046202

>Close and glaive 1d100 DC 35

Rolled 28

>>31046237
>>31046202
Triple-threat?
I like it.

>>31046237
>dat crit
yusss

Rolled 54

>>31046225
>>31046237
>>31046253
Oh NOW we roll brilliantly.

>>31046237
Damn, supporting.

>>31046262
Plus a crit. We got this.

If we do end up using a piece, we should pick an ability.

There's the standard elemental abilities, but then there are the cooler ones.
Some I've come up with:
>increased crit range
>Armor penetration
>increased defense
>Extendable pole

>>31046328
I think we should spend it on armor. We have pretty much no defense.

>>31046328
I think we should save our pieces for experimentation. Stuff like using it on another piece, an npc or a golem.

>>31046336
On our armor?
We don't really have armor to use it on. But we could put it on the glaive as some sort of parry bonus. It would increase our defense.

>>31046361
I mean when we get armor. I guess we can make some good armor out of this boar's plating.

>>31046328
I want classic damage or speed. We only use the glaive to end fights and the bow to soften targets. Well, ideally at least.

I'd vote for
>Damage
or
>Speed/Lunge

>>31046336
We need to end the fight, and we have a bunch of HP. I'm a lot more concerned about someone else dying then ourselves. Hopefully we'll get lucky and find another if we take the time to look.

>>31046361
I think we can apply it to our starter clothes that we're still wearing. We'll get a defense bonus just the same, like how Lily only wears robes.

>>31046349
>Use a Piece of Arcadia on a Piece of Arcadia.
Either best idea or worst idea.

>>31046349
Or our mirror.

>>31046225
>>31046229
>>31046237 (oh, very nice.)

You summon your inner power and use FORESIGHT as you run in. The future spreads before you like a fan, and you dance through the possibilities, your aim true.

You step around Shrike's arrow, you duck under Trish's arm, you see the boar's eyes swivel towards you but you are too fast, too sure.

You leap, and kick off its shoulder to gain extra height, swinging your weapon up over your over your head, spinning it in your hands.

You plunge the blade right below the back of its skull. You feel vertebrae crunching and splitting as you drive your weapon in as far as it will go. Hot black blood wells up around your blade.

When you wrench your weapon free again, bits of bone and flesh come with it. Breathing heavily, you stand atop the boar as it struggles to stay on its feet. Its fingers flex and twitch in the dirt.

All six of its eyes are focused on you.

You have slain. It will be remembered.

Your mirror chimes as you level up, and the corpse beneath your feet subsides, again, into stillness.

You hurt. You can feel wounds on your back from when you were thrown into the trees, and there is dried blood on your face.

>Clean up, and lie down to regenerate health and SP.
>Start cutting up this corpse now. Make sure it doesn't get up again.
>What the hell just happened? Consult Trish and Shrike.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31046435
Arcadian actually suggested we try that.

>>31046451
>>Start cutting up this corpse now. Make sure it doesn't get up again.

>>31046451
Well, guess we didn't need to use the Piece yet. We'll save it for armour.

>Start cutting up this corpse now. Make sure it doesn't get up again.
We've gotten our friend levels, I think we're done for this expedition.

>>31046451
>Start cutting up this corpse now. Make sure it doesn't get up again.
TAKE ITS SKULL FOR OUR THRONE

>>31046451
>Clean up, and lie down to regenerate health and SP.

>>31046451
>Clean up, and lie down to regenerate health and SP.
>What the hell just happened? Consult Trish and Shrike.
Lie down while we ask them.
Hopefully while someone cuts it up.

>>31046451

>Clean up, and lie down to regenerate health and SP.
>What the hell just happened? Consult Trish and Shrike.
I doubt it's gonna get up again.

>>31046451
>Start cutting up this corpse now. Make sure it doesn't get up again.

>>31046583
>>31046497
>>31046490
>All these people voting to cut it up
Our friends now think we're a freak.

>>31046604
It is a reasonable response.

>>31046604
You don't want loot?

>>31046604
That's what we were doing before it turned into a demon. We're just collecting the bone plates.

>>31046633
It's not going to go anywhere.
...probably.

>>31046615
>>31046633
>>31046649

Last time we started cutting it up, it revived and attacked us. You don't want to rest up and heal before trying again?

>>31046490
>>31046494
>>31046497

Shrike explains to Amadeus that he might want to lie down to get his health back, and he does so.

You and Trish start working on the boar. You don't need to say anything; you all would feel happier to know it won't be moving again. Trish starts carving off its boney plates. Some of them are ruined by the transformation, and she concentrates on collecting the ones that are still whole.

You're a little more aggressive; you don't want it growing any more limbs and you cut into its ribcage, searching for the source of the arms. When you manage to get through the bone, your surprised to see the creature has been hollowed out; no organs, no meat, just a black, scorched hole where its lungs and stomach would normally be.

And something else.

"Hey," Amadeus has been watching from his rest and he gets up and hurries over to you. In side the cavity are a number of objects, all of them beautiful and precious Pieces: a carved wooden ball, a broken piece of glass, something that looks disturbingly like a human tooth, a small black rock, the top of a ballpoint pen-

What? You pick it up. That is what it looks like. What it feels like.

"Are those Pieces?" Shrike asks. He's not participating in the butchery, instead he's retrieved his torch and is standing guard.

"Yeah."

There are five Pieces.

>Give one to Amadeus.
>Give two to Amadeus.
>Keep them all for yourself.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31046678
Holy shit.

>Give two to Amadeus.
Let's be fair. We know this guy IRL.

>>31046678
>Give two to Amadeus.
Good job, Distraction. Good job.

So, uh, this thing was a player.

>>31046704
this girl irl
but I agree

>>31046678
>Ask him how much he wants.
>Ask Trish and Shrike about what happened.

>>31046678
>Other
Ask Trish and Shrike if they want one.
Spread the loot.

>>31046774
It's useless for meat, they can't even see it.

>>31046774
Yeah even if they can't use them, they can still use it as bartering stuff, right?

>>31046835
It's polite.

>>31046861
No, it's stupid. They can't use it for anything.

>>31046861
Not really, since they don't want it and don't need it they don't even expect nor want to be offered it.

>>31046704
>>31046714
>>31046724
>>31046774
"Do you want any?" you ask Trish and Shrike. They shake their heads.

"It would be cool to have," Shrike says. "But they're probably more use for you. Thanks anyway."

"There you go," you give two to Amadeus who accepts them happily.

"Man, this thing was like a Pieces pinata!" he says.

Trish stares at him for a moment. "Pfft! I like this guy."

"Let's look for more."

"That's going a bit too far. Besides, I shouldn't play too late."

"Yeah," Shrike says. "I mean if Leandra-" he breaks off when you catch his eye. Amadeus doesn't know yet quite how impossible your abilities are for one class. "I think we got very lucky," Shrike says.

"I don't even know what happened," Trish says. "I've never seen a corpse come back to life and grow extra arms."

"Have you ever even heard of it?" you ask.

"Nope. You might want to ask some players though; they tend to explore more dangerous regions than meat."

>Lie down and regenerate.
>Ask about about the boney plates. How to share them and what they're good for.
>Level up.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31046931
>Lie down and regenerate.
>Ask about about the boney plates. How to share them and what they're good for.

>>31046931
>Lie down and regenerate.
Also, we have 4 pieces now. We should discuss what to use them on.

Rolled 39

>>31046931
>Lie down and regenerate.
>Ask about about the boney plates. How to share them and what they're good for.

>>31046931
>>Ask about about the boney plates. How to share them and what they're good for.

How about we put one Piece in our glaive to keep up with our bow, then two Pieces in our armour? Then we can go back to buffing our weapons or making speedy boots.

>>31046931
>Lie down and regenerate.
>Ask about about the boney plates. How to share them and what they're good for.
They need the plates more then we do. We don't really need armour like them.

>>31046972
I'd say use one on our mirror, just to see what happens.

>>31046931
>Lie down and regenerate.
>Ask about about the boney plates. How to share them and what they're good for.
>Level up.

>>31046982
>>31046985
>1 Glaive
>2 Armour
>1 Mirror
This gets my vote.

Now what do we spend our EXP on? I think we got a level last thread and one here?

>>31046972
I definitely want to put a couple in our glaive now, that was awesome what we just did with it.

>>31047028
We should probably do the mirror first in case seeing what it can upgrade changes our mind about spending more. I mean, everything else we can roughly guess but who knows with the mirror.

>>31047028
HP and Pray.
HEY WAIT, OP, WHAT'S OUR SP AT RIGHT NOW?

>>31047028
Put one EXP in Ascend for vertical mobility and one in Pray because it fucking rocks.

>>31047067
Yeah I wanna just see what happens.

>>31047028
Experiment first.
Try another piece, then mirror, and then equipment.

We should try using a piece on Trish and Shrike, maybe it works on meat, turns them into players.
I doubt it would do anything but can't hurt to try.

So,
> 1 Piece in mirror
Then we'll decide what to do with the rest. Sound good to everyone?

Now about our EXP, it seems we're getting another level in Pray for sure. Do we spend the other in:
> HP
> SP
> Ascend

>>31047151
inb4 that's what created that boar in the first place

>>31046957
>>31046972
>>31046973
>>31046975
>>31046982
>>31046990

Before you lie down you check your health and SP. You have 8 HP and 5 SP down from 13 and 12 respectively.

You flop back on the ground, and feel the dull aches and pains start to fade from your body.

"So about these plates," you say. "What exactly can we do with them?"

"We can make armour," Trish says. She holds up one of the plates. "You know Mason? He's wearing bone armour; probably a bit better than this stuff, but it's not bad. It's heavier than hide or cloth, but lighter than metal. And we have a lot." She rocks back on her heels and looks at the pile she's been making.

"We all need money," Shrike says. "And this'll be worth something. Maybe we don't want to make armour, even if we could afford it."

"I want enough for a breastplate," Trish says. "You're right though; money might be more use than the materials."

"I need money!" Amadeus says.

"Yeah," Trish says. "You'll get your share, don't worry."

You examine your mirror, wondering what to do with your two EXP.

You notice Mason and Wolf are both online.

You don't have enough EXP to buy a new ability, but you notice something has been added to the list.

The next Prophet ability is Testify.
The next Seer ability is Eye of God.
The next Avatar ability is Child of the World.
The first Liberated Soul ability is The Key to the Gate.

>Spend your EXP.
>Use some of your Pieces.
>Do nothing, just regenerate, help Trish and start heading back home.
>Contact someone.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31047193
>>Do nothing, just regenerate, help Trish and start heading back home.

I'd like to upgrade our stuff when we get the armor.

>>31047193
>Spend your EXP.
>PRAY
>The Key to the Gate.
As if we could resist.

>Use some of your Pieces.
>1 on mirror

>>31047193
>The first Liberated Soul ability is The Key to the Gate.
Yes.
First liberated soul ability. yes.
Just, yes.

>>31047193
>Use some of your Pieces.
Use one on the mirror

>>31047245
Costs 3 exp, dude.

>>31047254
Also forgot to add:
>Use some of your Pieces.
>1 Piece
>On mirror.
Just to see what happens.

>>31047193
>Bank the EXP
Until we can get The Key to the Gate
>Use some of your Pieces.
1 on mirror
1 on another piece
Rest on boots.

>>31047281
We have enough XP, we just got 2. One from the boar, and another from it's re-animated corpse.

>>31047325
You have two exp total. Not enough to buy an ability.

>>31047278
>>31047271
>>31047245
You press one of the Pieces to your mirror, and to your mild surprise, it accepts it. Replacing the levelling up interface is something you've never seen in game before.

It's your desktop.

>Do nothing, just see how long this lasts.
>Check out the game files.
>Message someone.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31047325
>You don't have enough EXP to buy a new ability

>>31047342
>Check out the game files.
Mystery~~

>>31047193
>Spend your EXP.
PRAY
and KEY
>Use some of your Pieces
1 on mirror, see what it does.

>>31047342
Use another piece on it.

>>31047342
>>31047348
Oh, never mind then.

>>31047342
Wait. wut.

>>31047342
>Play Arcadia

>>31047193
>Check out the game files.

>>31047342
Arcadian, you said before that you can put multiple Pieces towards the same ability, right? So AoE stun was possible if we invested more Pieces into that part of our bow.

Would putting Pieces into the feeding ability let us stack effects or will it only ever just give us more charges? If we put multiple Pieces into the unlimited ghost arrows, would they let us shoot two arrows in a single round since we'd just be drawing the string instead of having to reach for the quiver?

>>31047342
>use another one.

>>31047342
>Check out the game files.
Mystery intensifies.

>>31047342
>>Check out the game files.

>>31047435
It will stack effects; you won't get extra charges because the materials are used up - that's part of the material properties, not the bow.

Multiple pieces into ghost arrow won't do anything. You could increase your speed or fire multiple arrows but that would be a separate effect, not ghost arrow.

>>31047371
The mirror won't accept a second piece.

>>31047413
Attempting to start the game again merely causes your glasses to tell you that the application is already running.

>>31047426
>>31047352
>>31047488
>>31047476

You swiftly move to open up the game files. As you had hoped earlier, the game itself can't change and do unexpected things while you're playing it. When you examine the code it's the same each time.

You spend about sixty seconds on it and then the mirror returns to its normal state.

Trish has finished skinning the boar, and she's cramming the plates into her and Shrike's packs.

"We can take 'em back to the city and split the loot there," she says.

"How much are packs?" Amadeus asks. He's looking at his mirror too, presumably levelling up.

Shrike shrugs. "Depends."

You have three Pieces of Arcadia remaining.

>Leave it for now, and head back.
>Use them on something.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31047594
>>Leave it for now, and head back.

>>31047594
>Use them on something.
All
on
the
mirror.

Time for some serious rabbit-hole delving.

>>31047594
>Use them on something.
One on glaive, one on boots, bank the other for armour.

>>31047594
>Use one of them on another.

>>31047594
>Use them on something.
1 on Ghost Arrows, save the others.

>>31047594
two into the glaive, bank the last

>>31047594
>>Use them on something.
Use it on a bag to get a bag of holding.

>>31047644
Why? It just takes us to the desktop.

>>31047594
>Use them on something.
One into glaive, save other two for armor

>>31047651
Attempting to push the Pieces together doesn't seem to do anything. Probably a good thing since you keep them in the same pocket.

>>31047674
>>31047727
>>31047648

You decide to upgrade your glaive.

>Reach.
>Speed.
>Damage.
>Something else? (Write in.)
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31047764
Can we get a lunge boost? An ability that we can alpha strike with.

>>31047764
Electrified glaive.

>>31047764
Reach, assuming it can be useful outside of combat, like a telescopic shaft or something.
>>31047778
It's a glaive, not a lance.

>>31047764
>Speed.
>Damage.
FULL PRACTICAL

>>31047778
We should put that on our boots.
>>31047764
>Electric damage

>>31047802
You can stab with a glaive. You can slash with forward momentum even if you couldn't.

>>31047808
That's something I forgot we could do. Yep, fully in support of dash boots, then.

>>31047764
>something else
Vampiric, some of the damage it inflicts transfers to us as increased HP.

>>31047764
>Speed.
>Damage.
Fast and powerful.

>>31047918
Seems strong, but if we can I support it.

>>31047807
>>31047926
We voted for one piece, not two.

>>31047808
>>31047845
>>31047778

You can add a dash attack to your boots. You consider if you want to use some of your share of the boney plates to make the base pair stronger before upgrading them. It will also have a cooldown.

>>31047808
>>31047792
Electrifying your glaive will give you extra damage normally, and a small AOE attack if you and your target are in water.

>>31047918
You can add that effect. Note it will only work on creatures with blood (i.e. not the Slaves.) Will do extra damage and heal you a small amount each strike.

>Improve your boots now.
>Wait for upgraded boots.
>Electrified glaive.
>Vampiric glaive.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31048010
>>Wait for upgraded boots.
>>Electrified glaive.

Wouldn't electrifying it act like a taser?

>>31048010
>Vampiric glaive.
Lifesteal is OP

>>31048010
>Vampiric Glaive

>>31048010
>Electrified glaive.
>Improve your boots now.
They don't need to be improved, how often will we be hit in the feet? That material/money would be better put towards a proper cuirass.

>>31048010
>Wait for upgraded boots.

>Speed, Damage, Vampiric Glaive.
Get ALL of THEM!

>>31048073
I meant they don't need to be upgraded with bone, sorry.

>>31048010
>Wait for upgraded boots.
>Vampiric glaive.

>>31048091
I can support this
Triple up on the glaive

Can we at least get decent armour before upgrading our boots, guys?

>>31048091
Les do it.

>>31048091
Speed, damage are just general categories. Vampiric would count as extra damage.

>>31048060
>>31048065
>>31048135
>>31048091

You press a Piece of Arcadia against your glaive, and visualize what you want it to do. Your weapon writhes, and the shape of the blade changes, growing more decorative. The metal still gleams green but now a faint red mist cloaks the blade, swirling when it moves.

You are reminded of Wolf's blades.

Your glaive is now a Bloodthirsty Verdant Glaive.

"Cool," Amadeus says. "I'm gonna use one of these when I buy a sword."

You have two Pieces remaining.

>Upgrade the glaive again.
>Upgrade boots.
>Leave it for now.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31048253
>>Leave it for now.

>>31048091
Eh, if we did I'd rather put one for speed and two for lightning. We won't need vampirism when we get decent armour. Killing shit faster with more damage is the safest bet when we can regen after combat.

That said, fuck putting three Pieces in our glaive.

>>31048253
>Leave it for now.

>>31048253
>Leave it for now.
Boots and armour. We're set for offense right now.

>>31048253
>Leave it for now.

>>31048272
>>31048314
>>31048324
>>31048329

You decide to leave it for now. Shrike and Trish have packed up most of the boney plates, and Amadeus is carrying the rest. The dark moths you saw earlier start to descend on the boar's corpse as you leave.

"I think that was pretty successful," Shrike says. "We should do this again."

"Thank you guys so much," Amadeus says. "I would never have done as well on my own."

The four of you start heading back. You think about how you want to divide up the bone.

>Let Trish take what she needs for a breastplate and divide the rest up for cash.
>Ask for enough to make some armour for yourself.
>Suggest Amadeus makes some armour and sacrifice some of your share.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31048441
>>Ask for enough to make some armour for yourself.

>>31048441
>Ask for enough to make some armour for yourself.

>>31048441
Since we got the Pieces of Arcadia, Shrike and Trish get first take.

>>31048441
>Let Trish take what she needs for a breastplate and divide the rest up for cash.
She needs protection more then we do! We can boost defense with Pieces, she can't.

>>31048441
>Let Trish take what she needs for a breastplate and divide the rest up for cash.
She does need it more, honestly/

>>31048441
>Let Trish take what she needs for a breastplate and divide the rest up for cash.
Honestly I think we should just stick with leather. Avoiding damage in the first place seems better.

>>31048441
>Let Trish take what she needs for a breastplate and divide the rest up for cash.
We got more out of the encounters then she and Shrike did. Let's stick to being fair because we're going to party up with them more in the future.

>>31048534
Agree with this guy. We should spec ourselves for speed and darting about. Best way to use mixed melee/archery.

>>31048534
Yeah, I'd say if we want to use a Piece of Arcadia, it should enhance our agility and suchlike.

>>31048608
I want at least one Piece for straight protection. Getting hit is inevitable.

>>31048670
Yeah, same here. Although we could get creative and make something like reactive armor.

>>31048534
>>31048521
>>31048501
>>31048471

"Hey Trish, you should take what you need from the stash first. You're in the front line more than we are."

There is general agreement at this, and Trish nods. "Looking forward to upgrading this old thing. Hopefully with the leftovers we've got enough to cash to cover it."

"Yeah, I haven't been able to use my Tears yet either," you say.

"We'll get a better price tomorrow," Shrike says. "When there are more players about. You can sell stuff to the NPCs but it's not as good business."

"We'll take the stuff to our house," Trish says. "And give you guys your share tomorrow, yeah? Meet us at home in the evening. One of us will be around, right?" She looks at Shrike, and they barely need to verbalise their plans, they've grown so adept at making them.

You return to the city without incident, and when you arrive you notice the change in atmosphere. For a start, there are far fewer people online, and you spot Mason holding court in the market square when you walk in the gates.

He's not doing much, merely talking to people and making himself seen.

>Go ask Mason about the boar, see if he's heard of anything similar.
>Take your share of the loot now, and sell it yourself rather than letting Shrike handle it.
>Everything's well in hand, suggest turning in for the night.
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31048717
>Go ask Mason about the boar, see if he's heard of anything similar.

>>31048717
>Go ask Mason about the boar, see if he's heard of anything similar.

Go to sleep? That's silly.

>>31048717
>Go ask Mason about the boar, see if he's heard of anything similar.
Also, can we turn our mirror back into a desktop at will, or is it more a "once per piece" thing?

>>31048717
>Go ask Mason about the boar, see if he's heard of anything similar.

>>31048768
I believe one piece gets us a minute.

>>31048803
We should keep in mind to hold at least one piece always. This will be relevant as the real world gets weirder.

>>31048803
Yep.
>>31048759
>>31048761
>>31048768
>>31048802

"I'm going to talk to Mason," you say. "He might know what happened this evening."

"Good idea," Trish says and the others follow you.

"He's pretty cute," Amadeus says.

"I hate to disappoint you," Shrike says. "But I've never seen him in the gay quarter."

"Are you jealous? You're cute too, Shrike."

"Stop that! I'm not gay, I just live there."

You can see Trish biting her lip in an effort not to laugh.

Mason hears you approaching and he greets you with a smile, "Hello, Trish, Shrike, Leandra. Been hunting?"

"Gonna get us some bone armour," Trish says with a pleased expression.

"Nice. Sorry I wasn't around earlier. I logged in and people started shouting at me."

"Honestly," Shrike says. "It wasn't that much fun being meat here today. We're on your side too!"

"I know. And I've reminded people of that."

"There's only so much you can do," Trish says. "If people want to be jerks, that's on them."

"This is Amadeus," you say. Amdeus shakes Mason's hand enthusiastically. "He's pretty new; we've been getting him some levels."

"That's a good idea. Welcome to the city, Amadeus."

"There was something we wanted to ask you." You describe what happened to the boar. "Do you know what that was?"

"That actually sounds familiar," Mason says. "I haven't seen it myself though." He frowns. "I recall Tox, that is, Toxicity, saying something similar happened to a friend of hers once. He ended up just running away, I think." He takes out his mirror. "She's not online, I can't ask her directly. But yeah, it's not unheard of."

Trish and Shrike look a bit relieved.

>Ask Mason to get the details if he can when Tox returns.
>Ask how the war preparations are going.
>Any news from the beach?
>Write in.
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31049094
>Ask Mason to get the details if he can when Tox returns.
>Ask how the war preparations are going.
>Any news from the beach?
I want to know all of this.

>>31049094
>>Any news from the beach?

>>31049094
>Any news from the beach?
And also ask him to get details from Tox later.

File: 1395714232490.jpg-(118 KB, 650x900, Mason.jpg)

118 KB JPG

>>31049145
>>31049152

"Can you get the story from her if you see her?" you ask. "It was really strange. And it was a hard fight, too. Harder than anything we've come up against so far." Except maybe that big flying thing from the Underground, but it was a high level area; the boar was quite near the city. Anyone could have come across it.

Mason doesn't look entirely happy at the prospect of initiating a conversation with Toxicity, but he agrees.

"So, how are things in general?" you ask. "How's the war preparations going?"

"Well, if the meat don't show up, we've got more than enough ammunition for a war of our own," Mason says sourly. "We can't keep this secret and we can't keep this up. People are here because they're angry and they think it's going to be fun. All the meat have to do is wait until everyone gets bored and drifts away again. I can only persuade people, I can't order them."

"How long do you think that'll take?" Shrike asks.

"We'll probably last the week. People don't have as much to do now as on weekends. Once this starts seriously cutting into their raid or exploration time we'll start seeing deserters."

"So has there been any news from the beach?" you ask.

"I really appreciate the time Wolf and Lily are taking. So far, nothing doing. I've been trying to keep the lines of communication open to other places as well, just in case we've got hold of the wrong idea. A few other towns have seen a chunk of their meat population just up and leave, so it sounds like they're building up for something."

"They'll have the same problems we do," Mason continues. "Meat get bored too. So, for now we wait."

>Suggest an expedition to the Underground to keep people interested.
>Good luck and see you later.
>Something else? (Write in.)
>Quit Arcadia.

>>31049508
>>Suggest an expedition to the Underground to keep people interested.

>>31049508
>Suggest an expedition to the Underground to keep people interested.
I want to do this mostly because it sounds fun. How many people can pass through the entrance before it closes?

>>31049508
>Suggest an expedition to the Underground to keep people interested.

>>31049508
I imagined Mason to be a jovial husky guy. Older looking, mostly.
Sweet that you have character art for everyone! I really like being able to put a face to everyone we interact with.

>Suggest an expedition to the Underground to keep people interested.

>>31049563
>>31049557
>>31049534

"You know, I found a secret path to the Underground right in this city. Would it help people blow off steam and stick around if we organised an expedition there?"

Mason raises his eyebrows. "You'd share that? I mean, yeah. Hell yeah. That would be ideal."

"Aw yes, payback time," Shrike says. "We have dibs on going."

"It would be nice to do something fun," Mason says. "I feel like I've been running a committee rather than playing a game of late. How many people could you bring.

"Trish, Shrike, and Lily said she'd go too," you reply promptly. "How many people can we take?"

"As many as we like. Worst to worst the passage will shut so people at the back might miss out. And we'd have to open a new way back, of course. But with enough players and plenty of Pieces that shouldn't be a problem."

"Can I go?" Amadeus asks. "It sounds fun."

"Um. Maybe."

"I'll drop some words into people's ears," Mason says. "And get back to you on interest, numbers, and times. You'll be online tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yep," you tell him.

~~~
>>31049613
Not for everyone, sadly. But I keep looking.

Anyway, that's it for today, we are out of time. Thanks for playing as always. I'm going to get lunch, but I'll be around off an on for the next little while.

>>31049728
Have a nice lunch, then. Thank you for running, dude. I have a ton of fun playing.

>>31049728
Nearly forgot. Next thread same time next week unless twitter says otherwise.

>>31049816
Is it a bother running these threads in the morning?

>>31049816
Thank you. Great quest as always.

>>31049728
thx for running budi
gud thread

>>31049836
It is when I have an early shift the day before. I really didn't want to get out of bed this morning. But I promised I would so I did.

>>31050116
We appreciate that you did! Thanks again for running, man.