The Cursed: Eleran and the Medusa

[Part of the Cursed story line.]

Using fireballs to clear a way through the melee, the team fights past minotaurs, drow and Zhentarim before finally reaching Dexam and his column of minotaurs. The lady in purple also reveals herself to be a medusa!

The mages open with their biggest spells, with Eleran intentionally incinerating Dimswart who was too smart to live (and whose usefulness had come to an end). This infuriated Dexam who quickly was running out of minotaurs. The medusa used her petrifying gaze on Eleran, but the mirror he brought reflected it and turned her into stone, killing her.

Unfortunately, Dexam also used a petrification ray at him at the same time turning Eleran into a stone statue. This left an opening for Melia to backstab the beholder but it wasn't enough to kill it - resulting in her disintegration next.

How does this thing fly... or poop for that matter?

Finally it is Sir Siegfried that slays the eye tyrant, then leads the injured survivors onward to search for an exit, leaving the statues of Eleran and the medusa behind.

The Cursed: Second Team

[Part of the Cursed story line.]

Outnumbered and standing in the open against a spell caster is never an ideal combat situation so Siegfried ushered the others back through the door and got Aika to enchant it with a stinking cloud. As expected, Dracandros just hung back and ordered his troops to charge.

Doorways, the MVP of combat.

With the warriors holding the door and the spell casters shooting through the fog, the enemy was thinned out slowly until only Dracandos was left. Granted, the survivors lost Wilrech in the melee towards the end, but there was still enough of them to rush the mage at the end, with Melia finishing off Dracandros with a sneaky backstab. 

Finally free, the survivors Aika, Melia, Mercedes, Siegfried and Ulfert, made it back to Hap and told the villagers of what transpired much to the interest of the visiting mage Eleran, one of the branded, who then offered them an exorbitant amount of gold to continue the quest of breaking the Azure Bonds. Either from greed or from a sense of righteousness, they all agree.

The Cursed: Wizard's Pets I

[Part of the Cursed story line.]

Following blindly, Dracandros leads them to the top of the tower where a flight of black dragons awaits. Using the bonds the wizard then uses the team to try insinuate a movement against the dragons, but the black reptiles are not fooled and command he unbind the party who then easily convince the dragons of Dracandros' lies.

By this point Dracandros, who was slowly backing away, fled down into the tower and the dragons fly off - letting the team deal with him. They give chase, fighting past more Drow and Efreeti, but run into trouble against a Drow Lord who slays both Pendrianne and Eineron with his blade before finally being put down.

They work as pub bouncers on the side.

He was guarding Dracandros' slave harem who the team rescue - composed of Aika Lazuka, Melia, Winter2 Silence, Mercedes and the Duchess Aelinore. Aika in particular is useful during their rescue as she manages to win a magic duel against another tower mage by pushing a small sphere of annihilation into him. The team gives the naked women their spare gear and continues the pursuit.

Sunset Six: Acrobatic Mechanics

[Part of my Sunset Six story.]

The school of Body has perhaps the easiest initiation task of simply running around and finding 35 different plant species in 20 minutes, but that is followed by one of the most time consuming tests around: the Test of the Acrobat. Basically you are given seven facets of one move and are then sent out into the world to learn and teach from others to master -every move available-. You can only teach moves you have seven facets in, and can only learn one facet of each move from everyone you meet.

That list scrolls a LOT.

It's actually worse than that though, because of a random hidden attribute that each character has - you simply cannot learn from some people and vice versa. Sometimes even those who are master level teachers to you still are unable to teach anything because the particular facet they teach (only 1 of the 7 per move) might be one you already have. The solution?

Acro with everyone!

Similar to that is how the mechanics skill works in game. All the automated machinery can be tuned up to level 7 (making them run faster or produce things more efficiently), but the luck factor of the hidden attribute per person, per machine exists again meaning some things you -can- tune up and others you cannot. The 20 minute cool down after any tune-up attempt also helps prevent "tune spamming".

Whee, the only thing I've been able to tune so far.

A long time player named Lazybum actually told me that for his machines he gets a bunch of eight or so people around to try tune things for two hours. Any machines that don't make it to level 5 he tears down and rebuilds. Contrary to his name, I get the feeling he actually is very productive and has a ton of resources at his disposal.