Season Closer

[Anique]

Thank you everyone!

I am quite impressed with how much the town managed to accomplish this event. We started with quite a long todo list and I did not anticipate finishing it all. Big shout out to everyone (pc and npc alike) for banding together and getting it done.

The one thing truly did not like was the golem/whisperer fight. For the finish of a huge plot line, it felt very lackluster. It was over quickly, with few people actually getting to do anything.

I really enjoyed the rest of the event.

The rats were far more challenging than they should have been. I think the biggest detriments were our group composition (it matters SO MUCH more now than it used to), the location (severely limits rogues, but that has always been and will always be a thing), and our team being unfamiliar with their abilities. I think in time/experience this will remedy itself. Carriers are no joke!

Rescuing Lola. Even though it was a solo mod for someone else, I feel like the whole town was invested in the outcome and eagerly awaiting results. Having npcs the entire town feels that strongly about is rare. Great job Brigit with the developement of this character. (also, my fortune was spot on and completely changed the trajectory of a mod)

Elemental Jenga was a blast. Straightforward and not over dangerous or taxing, but engaging for many people for a fair amount of time.

Soduku hall was a bit of an endurance trial (in a good way). The length of the mod is what made the challenge. There wasn't time to refit, so takeouts were effective against us, with out there being an unreasonable amount. The puzzle was solved quickly, which was great, since our team was having a rough time. Also... wth did we release into the world? Gogo future plot.

Trivia. I feel like it was a little out of gamey, but under the circumstances, it was a brilliant idea.

Fate. I'm sad I missed this, it sounded like something I would have really enjoyed.

Finally casting rituals that should have been done ages ago (with a few extras). I've been wrongly called a necromancer since long before I even learned first aid. Now I can honestly say I have summoned undead in a celestial circle. Step up "real" necros. You slackin.

Kraken. I have mixed feelings on this fight. From what I have heard from others, it was a good time. The head dropping so fast didn't feel particularly epic, but the regenerates and doom carrier/strike were a good step in the right direction.

Green dragon. Probably my favorite mod. By far some the best rp I had all weekend. Fannik, you are amazing. I really enjoyed our debate. Yngvin and Rob, thank you for always sticking by me, no matter what. Prior to this I had had zero involvement with the green dragon army. I suddenly became extremely invested.

Echo. I am going to miss that guy. I wish I had met him sooner.

Saying goodbye to people without them knowing what I was doing. Yeah, I'm a jerk.

"So, how did the ritual go?" Activate Relic. Rift.

Plot, thank you for everything. It's been a bumpy ride. And a fitting end.

***Not my tavern, not my kittens meet not my tree, not my squirrels. It's mine now.***

 

[Christopher]

Nice!!!

I agree the Green Dragon adventure was likely one of my favorites of the weekend. Its really neat (from my point of view) to come into a town and within a few markets get information personally and have an such an effect on the world. All of the RP we had made everything so much better, debating how we should go about things and what would be the outcome not just for us but an entire world. My heart was racing so fast by the time we got to the climax of that encounter I thought I was gonna blow all of my encants.

I loved the Kracken adventure, but I was not fighting the head so my view of things was different. To me it felt more like a town adventure than the Golems but maybe that was just us all being on the same field and fighting several things at once.

The end of the Whisperer and his Golems was a great story point even though I still feel like some of the monsters in the 2.0 book are lacking in defenses and body. To me this was an example of that (aside from Nature, which would have likely been perfect had the other groups not interfered) but with everything in a playtest this is a learning experience and we did learn from it so its a win!

I am sorry to see Ahlana go, especially right after we met and started to become fast friends (I felt that way at least) but I am excited to see what you come up with next and come back with a whole new passion and reason to play.

A huge thank you to all of the NPCs, there are never enough of you and you still manage to put on an AMAZING event.

I am very excited to continue adventuring with you all next season and hope these off season months go by super fast.

 

[Grianadhmad]

Obvious obviousness first: a huge thank-you to everyone for allowing Hal and Jaycee to attend, including them, and making them feel super welcome. They both thoroughly enjoyed it, or so I was told. I actually invited Jaycee to join the forum and share her own thoughts on the event as an observer, as she talked to a lot of you and got very interested in the game and may in fact create a character! So hopefully that will be a thing. In this vein, though I already told him in person, a special thanks to Cory for writing out a mod for Grin that "required" Hal's involvement and still kept us all occupied and engaged. Also, Hal was restless and didn't know what she wanted to do most of the time at the event site, but whenever I said, "Okay it's time for an adventure" she would put down whatever else she had, grab her staff, and run right up to me and join in eagerly, even if all she got to do was walk with us. Loved it!

Rats were my first mod of the event, and may I say (since this is my first playtest as an earth scholar), I love the new healing / signature spell mechanic. It's way easier to remember what I'm doing when I know it's just multiples of five and when the actual amount of healing (sans my temporary double healing power) is listed right in the incant... provided I actually remember the incant correctly without fumbling over my words. Will take some work.

The business with Nommeric's shield in Shell City was mostly me as an observer and available if healing was needed, and the occasional comedic break. I think I need to get a second glove from Tinker Tabby so I can climb that damn ladder out of the sewer because it's a problem EVERY TIME. Business with Lord Heartseeker afterward was also nice to go through. Another bit of comedy with the guard "testing" to see if I was a golem, and kind of touching to see how warmly Lord Sunseeker himself welcomed me and my two companions.

Pretty much as soon as I got back in the morning with the girls, finding out that Lola was kidnapped or whatever was going on (I didn't actually see the note)? Horrifying. Super glad that got resolved! Basically a repeat of what Anique said, it's nice that we have recurring NPCs like Lola and Tinker Tabby that we the PCs are so attached to.

Freeing the Hollow Elves was a really awesome mod for a number of reasons - Cory was our only NPC and had to play like three different (at least partially) non-combat characters plus all the combat guards, including two times when he had to fight himself Charmed. Staredown with the gate guard. First time I've gotten to see legerdemain and lockpicking in game. Several terrifying but comedic applications of both Charm and Bane. Pyke's nifty new biata skills. And best of all, striking a big blow against Clan Gru. Suck on that, ye pestilent wretches!

Heartseed: the conclusion to my big plot arc for the year! The seed is planted, and again it was fun to have Hal involved, until she got stubborn due to impending naptime. Entertaining to keep testing and seeing who was the next youngest person that could actually get out of the circle. Grey's eventual premonition of someone's permanent death... alarming, but at the time it wasn't as alarming as him losing his eyes. Although we didn't do ideally overall on the Great Ent's test, I viewed it as a learning experience for the future of Grin's character. Somewhat distraught that I lost my blue vines / double healing power, but it's for a good cause.

After some NPC time and taking the girls back to their hotel, the Jenga puzzle mod! Honestly a great deal of fun. I pretty much just stayed in the corner with the stone elemental, which by the way big shout-out to you (I never caught your name) for giving it your all and having some really funny moments at the same time. "The elemental of depression." Another shout-out here, to Joe/Gideon, for telling me spell store incants don't have to be the entire spell incant made my entire event easier.

Trivia mod: Ngl I was a little ashamed of myself for how little I knew. I pride myself on at least trying to study the rules and guidelines and incants and how the combat systems work so that my questions are as un-noobish as possible (not that I always succeed), but I guess I haven't done my due diligence on 2.0 yet. A few questions I did know the answer to but my character wouldn't have so I didn't volunteer, and the one I did speak on Grin really shouldn't have known either (Ilarion has the skill in SoMi). Overall, greatly appreciated it, because it clarified SO MANY THINGS.

Kraken scared the **** out of Grin. It was dark, it was chaotic, I couldn't see, I kept losing my battle buddy, and when I'd turn around and see someone coming I couldn't tell it if was an ally or a tentacle. I did no actual fighting on this mod but I did assist with healing and again as above I really like the 2.0 healing system.

Golems: First time after Nommeric taught me Shield and 1H Blunt that I actually got to use both! And by "use" I mean "hold" because I definitely didn't get to actually use either one that was lent to me (thanks for those btw). Agree with what's already been said about golem rushing but in hindsight {a} our group composition was s*** (the two healers were the ones with the shields and the ones in front), {b} we were trying to cautiously sneakily find the golem so the slowness was our fault, and {c} we DID ask any group that finished their golem first to come support other groups, so I can't honestly complain about the aid that we received. Also: golems that can phase? Unfair lol.

Whisperer unfolded to me like a little mini-movie. Finding the Whisperer in the emperor's throne, whatever crazy magic Gideon pulled out of the aether to do that lightning and thunder show, and then ultimately Whisperer and Ahlana "sketching out". YEAH AHLANA YOU'RE A JERK. It wasn't hard to bring on the waterworks for Grin. Ahlana had become one of Grin's most influential allies and he/I hadn't even realised it until she was gone. She'd done a lot to establish him in the community when he emerged last summer and in spite of that they both shared a not-always positive view of adventurers as a whole, so her big sacrifice kind of pushed him over the edge.

On this note, props to everyone for their reactions. There were other emotional reactions, some stoic, some just plain old confused... I really like that in a group like this it's not just playing out the combat, but playing out the personal interactions as well. The somber atmosphere around the fire thereafter that eventually gave way to a something like a "family gathering" of slightly more uplifting songs and chatter was, I think, a great way to end the season. Thanks to PCs and NPCs alike, and to Plot, for another job well done.

 

[Saro]

I don’t know where this event went for me. Everything flew by so fast. Disappointed in Joe’s weather machine, but nothing new.

Friday night was slow for me. Mainly because I was too cold to leave the fire. I liked the snakes. “Are we sure this isn’t a town of snake kin?”

Apparently I don’t get to sleep in because everyone’s always calling for Saro Saturday morning. Which it’s nice to be needed I guess. I feel like I should have handled the viper situation better. But not really trying to die alone in the woods. Intended to go back and organize the vipers under the Moonless Night, but got busy. And by got busy I mean got stuck in a labyrinth all day..

I am not super puzzley. I don’t know what a labyrinth is, but I thought we were looking for an end. I was cold. Seeing Vel beat fate at chess in 10 moves made the labyrinth worth it for me. No one allowing my resurrection. Being literally tackled by a beserked Kai.

None of the big fights really felt like big fights to me. Bone golem was pretty scary with the with the voice radius corrupt. But it felt like it was over too quick. Kraken did not even seem comparable to the first time we fought a kraken, which was a couple years ago. I understand this is bc we’re playing monsters right from the book.

I actually really liked the whisperer in the throne room. Gideon’s lightening, the vengeance on Havok. And Ahlana and the whisperer sketching out of existence. Thoroughly afraid. I was standing right there and like mostly everyone else had no idea this was the plan.

As Saro I wasn’t awfully emotional. Duchess’s don’t cry. Be strong. The thought of never having a pirate vacation in Shell City with Ahlana made me sad, but it was everyone else that destroyed me. Guarding Kai as she cried in the woods. Grin telling me he’s leaving killed me. I have made my responsibility. And to watch him walk off into the night with no way of stopping him broke my heart.

I didn’t really get to do any personal stuff but that was anticipated after we all decided to focus our energy on the Whisperer. But I really enjoyed what little I got to do. King Claus is the best king.


I’m summation thank you guys for a wonderful season. I love this chapter so much. This community is so amazing and supportive, and the world that plot builds for us is beyond words. I’m not emotionally ready for the 6 months without you.

Best,

Kierra