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Lemurian from Touhou fanboy attic Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Buried in snow, waiting for spring
#51: Mar 3rd 2015 at 6:34:04 AM

"Thank you for your gracious assistance."

Alysia added all the healing items to her inventory, and performed a curtsy animation as thanks. It looked a bit strange in the guard armour, but you did what you could.

She exited the item shop and went to get her horse, her inventory loaded with stacks of healing items. The sheer amount, or how much it would have cost had she had to pay for it, was never really considered. In the sense that she was used to have every thing she wished for, she really was a Princess, even if it was inside a game.

Alysia considered for a moment to search for a smith to purchase weapons and armour. The problem was that she could not use her Skill for those items, and she only had 1000 gold pieces on her. The lack of an ability to gauge the value of items was also one befitting a sheltered princess, and she had no idea what that money could get her. She also needed to keep some for the future purchase of magical equipment. Also, there was the matter of time. Players could be quite efficient while in dungeons, Alysia knew this from experience. If she was to make it in time, she had to go now.

With that, Alysia got up on her horse and started to ride back towards the castle, hoping that she would make it in time.

Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!
FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#52: Mar 4th 2015 at 9:46:19 PM

Fantasy Lands, road

Fortunately, Alysia did not see the players from the tavern or any others as she left the town, and none of the other NPCs attempted to stop her or even talk to her on the way out. The road remained as peaceful as it had been on the way to the town, but that didn't help to make it go any faster.

Finally, the castle came into view as Alysia rounded a curve in the road around the forest. From here, nothing looked different, and Alysia couldn't see anyone yet, PC or NPC. Not long after it came into view, something happened; the tag on Alysia went away.

Alysia still couldn't be sure what was happening inside the castle, but whatever was going on, the player no longer had the option of taking her hostage to make the guards automatically back off.

edited 4th Mar '15 9:46:45 PM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.
AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#53: Mar 7th 2015 at 7:02:51 PM

Epsilon saw the party invite pop up and read it before accepting it. Epsilon had gotten several party invites from confused players before, but due to its prior programming it had never decided to accept any of them. This would be the first. As soon as Epsilon joined Johnson's party, it pulled the chitin pieces out of its inventory and handed them to Johnson.

"Assistance: You may make use of the shards of chitin that I have acquired. I do not have a function for them," it informed Johnson. "Request: Once you have made use of the shards I have traded to you, please take us in the direction of the Fantasy Lands, unit Johnson." It then looked at Johnson expectantly.

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Suttungr Clueless Slacker from Right here, dood. (Don’t ask) Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Clueless Slacker
#54: Mar 7th 2015 at 8:40:18 PM

"Thanks. Now then, let's see..." After receiving Epsilon's chitin, Johnson started crafting whichever piece of armor had better defense (or, if their stats were the same, the boots due to being first alphabetically). Upon completing and equipping it, he turned toward the city to begin leading his new party member to the Fantasy Lands, paying careful attention to who seemed hostile to the robot. "Okay, c'mon. This zone isn't directly connected to the Fantasy Lands, so we'll have to go through the Hub to get there."

As they approached the town's entrance, he muttered to himself, "Hopefully this whole 'dissuasion' thing works... If someone decides to pick a fight, we might have to put things off a while."

DOOD!!!
FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#55: Mar 9th 2015 at 5:00:39 AM

Final Frontier, Pluto

Being in a party provided a few boons to the duo of NPCs; of course, the most obvious being that they would be automatically paired in combat, so long as they were close enough to each other when the battle was initiated. In addition to that though, was a party chat tab that they could use to talk with each other over distance or without others hearing; as well as loot distribution options: There was the default solo mode, which distributed items evenly except for those that joined a battle late; the default party mode, which distributed the items the party members gained between them evenly, even if any of the party members weren't even in the battle; and other options, such as one to automatically give all their earned items to a specific party member, or put the earned items into a temporary 'item pool' that they could split up manually at the time of their choosing.

As Johnson got to the crafting, he'd find the helmet had better defense, though it would take all of the chitin pieces he had; since it was unknown when, or even if, they would ever return to this area, that was probably the better option though anyway. After putting it on, the helmet became visible on Johnson: A sort of yellowish colored, helmet-shaped chunk of bug-like exoskeleton that covered the top, back, and sides of his head; it had a number of jagged, sharp spikes pointing out at random angles, alluding to its possible counter damage against enemy melee attacks.

With the social invite and crafting done, they were free to go towards the city to get to the Hub gate. Johnson was actually wrong; there was a portal directly from the Final Frontier to the Fantasy Lands somewhere, as every zone was connected to every other zone. But, as Johnson didn't know where that was, and as their current concern was dying at the hands of players, taking the shorter route to the Hub where they could not die was certainly a good choice. Entering the city and heading to the portal thankfully both went without incident, though they were definitely starting to get looks both from other NPCs and Human players.

Even as they got to the gate and would be able to enter unopposed, there were eyes on them, and there did seem something a little off.

You are reading this.
Suttungr Clueless Slacker from Right here, dood. (Don’t ask) Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Clueless Slacker
#56: Mar 9th 2015 at 6:04:41 AM

Johnson, being rather inexperienced in independence, did not notice anything unusual beyond the understandable fact of everyone staring at his mismatched party. He did, however, have the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something ever since telling Epsilon that there were no other routes. Since portals between zones other than the Hub tended to be placed in areas where enemies of at least level 8 spawned, however, he felt that he was close enough to correct for the moment- after all, while there could actually be a direct route, it probably wouldn't be practical to use it just after a respawn.

Using party chat, Johnson told Epsilon, "We might want to come up with an excuse for you not attacking me- I doubt they'd believe us if we just said that we suddenly decided not to follow our programming anymore." After a bit of thought, he added, "How about something like 'a player got a quest to restore the original programming of the guard robots?' Seems like a quest that might pop up sometimes, though we'd have to come up with an excuse for you coming with me instead."

DOOD!!!
AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#57: Mar 9th 2015 at 11:35:53 AM

As the two began to walk through the Hub, Epsilon started looking around at everything possible, its optics taking in every little detail and recording them to its memory logs. It then turned its optics back towards Johnson, speaking to him in party chat:

"Suggestion: Perhaps you could deceptively claim that there is a quest in which you discovered the debris of a destroyed guard robot and were capable of reconstructing and reprogramming said robot. This could be the likely explanation for my following you," it blared. Once it had finished answering Johnson's question, it continued to look around the Hub curiously (or as curiously as a nearly-emotionless android could).

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Suttungr Clueless Slacker from Right here, dood. (Don’t ask) Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Clueless Slacker
#58: Mar 9th 2015 at 12:59:01 PM

Johnson considered that before shaking his head. "I think the main problem with that one would be the fact that you're higher level than me. I mean, if the quest was to rebuild you, wouldn't its requirements involve taking components from other robots? Nobody would believe me being able to fight one of you guys and live at my level."

He paused outside the bar that served as his spawn point (conveniently at a crossroads right in the center of the various zone portals) before telling Epsilon, "Wait a second, okay? I should probably check to see if anyone's come looking for me again or something. Be right back."

Johnson walked into his bar with a wave, using the normal chat function to call out, "Hey Randy. I was just guiding a newbie to the zone he wants and thought I'd check in while I was in the area." With the greeting out of the way, he started looking around the bar to see who else was present.

DOOD!!!
FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#59: Mar 11th 2015 at 3:18:20 AM

The Hub, "Randy's" Bar and Grill

Entering the bar, Johnson would see only Randy there behind the counter; no players or other NPCs were present. "Johnson, you're back already? Well good to know you didn't die already" Randy said, cleaning another glass. "Did you find what you were looking for?" he asked, flipping the glass into the air, catching it, and placing it along the row behind him, which as usual shifted over by one.

Outside the bar, Epsilon was seeing a number of Human players around the likes of which he hadn't seen since that time a whole guild held an organized raid on the space station dungeon. (Which he may or may not even remember fully.) Most of them were going about their own business, or in the game menu/minimized idle animation; most of the others seemed to be chatting with other players, including some yelling 'LFG' over and over, whatever that meant. Some were looking towards the robot, including a familiar looking trio of players.

Then out of the blue, a player wearing black pants and a black jacket which both had glowing blue lines on them suddenly ran up to Epsilon. "Hey dig it!" he said, then started doing a robot dance.

You are reading this.
Suttungr Clueless Slacker from Right here, dood. (Don’t ask) Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Clueless Slacker
#60: Mar 11th 2015 at 3:32:00 AM

Johnson nodded. "Something relevant, at least- it seems I'm not the only one." Looking where the idling player had been standing when he left, he rhetorically added, "Guess that guy came back, huh?" He turned back to Randy to ask, "Anyway, I mainly stopped by to see if anyone else had come by looking for me. Did those guys come back again?"

DOOD!!!
AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#61: Mar 11th 2015 at 7:24:56 PM

Epsilon looked at Johnson as he went into the bar. It took this opportunity to again examine its surroundings, processing the number of players in the Hub, many of whom were much higher level than Epsilon. It was fortunate for him that there was no combat allowed in the Hub. Suddenly, the player approached Epsilon, and Epsilon stood at attention, in a guarded stance. In instinct, it nearly pulled its gun, but found that in the Hub this was not possible. Instead, Epsilon stared warily at the dancing player. "Inquiry: What is there to dig? My sensors are not detecting any large quantity of soil or sediment in need of digging. Your statement does not compute," it replied, a little baffled.

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#62: Mar 12th 2015 at 9:48:20 PM

((OOC:Sorry about no post yesterday; got busy hanging out with my friends and us trying to get something set up.))

The Hub, "Randy's" Bar and Grill

"Nah" Randy said, facing towards Johnson. "Only been about 23 minutes since you left. One gal walked in, but she walked right back out; probably looking for somewhere else" the bartender continued, leaning against the counter.

Outside, the player in front of Epsilon stopped his dancing, and started laughing. "You're pretty funny robot man! I meant, check it out!" the player said, and then started doing the robot dance again. "Come on robot man, join in!" he added as he was dancing. He seemed very enthusiastic about this.

edited 12th Mar '15 9:48:43 PM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.
Suttungr Clueless Slacker from Right here, dood. (Don’t ask) Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Clueless Slacker
#63: Mar 12th 2015 at 10:48:02 PM

Johnson looked rather confused at Randy's statement. "She just walked out? Didn't even say anything? Huh." He glanced over his shoulder as he stated, "Well, don't want the guy to get impatient, so I should probably go. Later, Randy."

Upon stepping out of the bar, Johnson saw the player dancing in front of Epsilon and found himself sighing in exasperation. Switching back to party chat, he told the robot, "Don't mind him- players sometimes like to goof off in the Hub since nothing can actually hurt them here."

DOOD!!!
Lemurian from Touhou fanboy attic Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Buried in snow, waiting for spring
#64: Mar 13th 2015 at 6:44:32 AM

A vague feeling of dread entered Alysia's mind. Had the PC completed the quest? Or did it mean he'd gained control of the mansion? Or had he left? ...there was only one way to find out. She dismounted her horse in the stables, and looked around for any remaining guard.

Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!
AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#65: Mar 14th 2015 at 10:15:59 AM

Epsilon noticed the party chat pop up and it took in what Johnson had to say. Players were such a strange people. So varied and yet they behaved so... irrationally. "Acceptance: Very well. Return to this location when you are prepared to continue guiding me to the Fantasy Lands," it replied back to Johnson through party chat. It then looked back up towards the dancing player. "Confession: Dancing is not a subroutine that has been programmed into my circuitry. It is a skill that I am unable to master and that I do not possess. I apologize if this information disappoints you."

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Suttungr Clueless Slacker from Right here, dood. (Don’t ask) Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Clueless Slacker
#66: Mar 14th 2015 at 6:30:53 PM

With a rather flat expression, Johnson reprimanded Epsilon, "I'm right here, you know. Try to look before you talk, okay?" Of course, the players would only see him almost-glaring in Epsilon's direction.

DOOD!!!
FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#67: Mar 14th 2015 at 9:25:31 PM

The Hub, "Randy's" Bar and Grill

"I'll see you later, Johnson" Randy said with a nod as Johnson left.

Outside, nobody really seemed to notice Johnson's glare towards Epsilon; the player dancing in front of Epsilon continued to dance, but spoke as he did. "Aw, whaaat? You can't even try? Come on robot man, try to /dance. Come on, just once" the player said hopefully.


Fantasy Lands, fancy castle

There was no signs of any guards yet, well, any living guards that was, as Alysia entered the main hall. At first, there didn't seem to be anyone, player or NPC, until a set of hurried footsteps came running out one of the side doors into the room. One of the servant maids, classed as a level 4 peasant, (She was level 3 normally, but had leveled up a few days ago after an incident with some large rats in kitchens.) entered the room in a hurry, her dress hiked up to run faster. She saw Alysia and jumped slightly. "Oh! Help, there's a thief in the castle! He's killed most of the..." the maid stopped as she ran up to Alysia, looking at her for a moment. "... Princess?" she asked, confused to see her highness in a guard's uniform.

Before the conversation could continue, there was a loud sound of breaking glass outside, and in a shower of stained glass from one of the upper floors, the rogue player landed in the courtyard with a roll. "There he is!" the maid squeaked, and ran off towards the opposite side of the main hall than she'd entered from.

You are reading this.
AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#68: Mar 18th 2015 at 10:03:36 PM

Epsilon turned its optics over to its ally. "Apology: I did not realize you were still standing here," it replied via party chat. It then turned back towards the dancer. "Regret: I cannot complete the task that you are requesting of me," it blared out loud to the dancer.

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Suttungr Clueless Slacker from Right here, dood. (Don’t ask) Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Clueless Slacker
#69: Mar 18th 2015 at 11:11:24 PM

Johnson shrugged. "Actually, I just got back, so I probably shouldn't get too mad. Anyway, I'm ready when you are." He glanced at the dancer. Using normal chat for a moment, he rhetorically asked, "Are NPCs actually capable of emotes? And did the devs even bother with dance animations for us?"

Apparently, being among the NPCs most commonly present for out-of-character player chat had made an impact on Johnson's speech patterns.

DOOD!!!
FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#70: Mar 19th 2015 at 7:39:35 PM

The Hub, oustide "Randy's" Bar and Grill

"Just try robot man, pleeease" the player responded to Epsilon as Johnson was using party chat, then had a quick "huh?" as Johnson spoke to him.

"I think so? I mean, the devs made the NPC guys capable of most of what we can do" the player said after a couple moments to think. The entire time, he was still doing the robot dance animation.

"i know human npcs can" some other player among those watching put in. "we convinced some mobsters to dance the macarena once it was hilarious" she continued.

It was true; 'Human' NPCs like Epsilon had the exact same animation skeleton as the MMO player characters, so making them capable of all the same animations was frankly very trivial. (This was, technically, how Alysia did the curtsy earlier.) Mostly Human-like NPCs such as Epsilon could usually do most of the animations; in Epsilon's case in particular, it definitely couldn't do anything specifically related to using both hands, as one of its hands was a gun. Even completely non-Human NPCs occasionally had a few gag animations the devs put in for fun; and every NPC regardless of type was able to initiate their own idle animations whenever they wanted. Johnson would likely know of some 'crafty' NPCs who had even been programmed to 'fake' their idle animations to try and trick nearby players into thinking the NPC hadn't spotted them yet.

edited 19th Mar '15 7:40:06 PM by FirockFinion

You are reading this.
AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#71: Mar 27th 2015 at 10:28:54 PM

Epsilon searched in its data banks. Sure enough, it had a /dance animation buried within its programming. "Resignation: If you insist," it blared, beginning to dance. It was stilted, and pretty soon it was moving in unison with the dancing player. "Johnson. Incomprehension: I do not understand the appeal of these bodily motions. May we return to the task at hand?" it asked quietly as it stood there and danced the robot with the persistent player.

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Suttungr Clueless Slacker from Right here, dood. (Don’t ask) Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Clueless Slacker
#72: Mar 28th 2015 at 3:45:45 AM

Johnson blinked in surprise. "Huh. Guess we DO have a dance animation. Never seen that before." Surprisingly, he had never actually seen an NPC perform emotes directly, largely because they tended to notice him around the same time he noticed them and stopped screwing around before he could look.

In party chat now, he added, "Anyway, I don't get it either, so let's just leave these guys to their dancing." With that, he turned to resume leading the way to the Fantasy Lands.

DOOD!!!
FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#73: Mar 28th 2015 at 11:36:03 PM

The Hub, oustide "Randy's" Bar and Grill to the Fantasy Lands gate

Epsilon may have been underwhelmed by the discovery of its /dance animation, but the player that was dancing with Epsilon was thrilled. "Woo hoo! That's the way, robot man!" he yelled enthusiastically, still dancing along with Epsilon, "let loose and have some fun!"

Other players among those that had somewhat crowded around also cheered and/or started dancing, and in short order there was an impromptu party going on at the intersection behind Johnson and Epsilon as the two NPCs left towards the Fantasy Lands gate. A small number of players trailed behind them, but that did not include the player who had started dancing in front of Epsilon in the first place.

The gate to the Fantasy Lands was a rectangular stone frame, looking almost like a pair of obelisks standing beside each other, with a glowing, purple energy passing between them. There wasn't really any players around the gate, though there was a greeting NPC on this side of the gate. (As opposed to being on the other side like the Final Frontier gate.) Looking like an old hermit with a tall walking stick to lean on, he gave Johnson and Epsilon a wave as they approached. "Greetings!" he said in a friendly though very raspy voice. "Through this gate is a world of magic and wonder like no other! There are many riches to be gained and much power to learn, but take heed! For there is also many dangers! Step through the portal to find your destiny, if you dare..." His standard greeting expended, the hermit just stared at Johnson and Epsilon with a gentle smile.

You are reading this.
AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#74: Mar 30th 2015 at 6:48:37 PM

Epsilon stopped dancing and headed towards the portal. When it heard the hermit's message, it looked down at the old man who had greeted it. It simply nodded. "Acceptance: Your concerns are noted, and I give you my thanks." With that, it glanced back at Johnson, unblinking, before turning towards the portal and examining the energy between the obelisks. "Observation: The energy emenating from these stone obelisks is unlike any energy that I have categorized. Composition and energy level is unknown. This seems to be the magic that I have been searching for," it told Johnson with a hint of curiosity and wonder in its voice, as much as could be carried in a robotic monotone. With that, it took a few tentative steps through the portal.

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Suttungr Clueless Slacker from Right here, dood. (Don’t ask) Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Clueless Slacker
#75: Mar 31st 2015 at 4:19:54 AM

Johnson nodded. "Yeah, this is the gate to the Fantasy Lands. I assume that you've been paying attention to the route, so you'll be able to find your way here on your own from now on, right?"

As he stepped into the gate, he added, "Anyway, all you gotta do to learn magic is level up here and pick Wizard. Me, I think I might start off with Assassin or something- my accuracy's pathetic, so I need to branch out a bit to fix it."

He glanced around at the town they found themselves in, familiarizing himself with the current population of players and making note of the looks they got for their incongruity here (it wasn't every day that a robot NPC from the Final Frontier came here, after all).

DOOD!!!

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