In terms of critique, I think you're doing well. Decent art, interesting setup, good update speed. I suspect I'll be following this for a long time if you can keep the current level of quality up :)

Questions ... yes, indeed. A short overview of common knowledge about the intelligent people in this world and their capabilities would be nice. So far we got positive id on Nem's goat people and a trike, and have heard some rumors about Seelie and Unseelie faerie; anything that you're willing to give as background about these or other known intelligent species - spread, culture, magic potential - would be useful.
Same about magic in general. We have the cape as one in-our-face example, and information that the HP mechanic clearly has some wider availability; but if the existence of other capabilities, in particular shapeshifting or illusions is wider known, that would be good to know.

And another post to explain my current thoughts about what's going on, in case they're useful to other players:
We have some evidence that Ranger Cutter had dealings with faeries. Then he left Nem all of his possessions, and around the same time the maybe-wolf came after her. I wonder if it was some magical servant creature of Cutter, and his will meant that he left it to Nem, along with his more mundane possessions.
The evidence is consistent with this explanation; If it was that kind of creature, it would probably want to get some idea of its current owner's capabilities, to decide how to play this. In which case Nem has established herself as marginally capable in combat, but not enough so for it to be ordered around by her - it's probably best for her if it stays with her at all times and defends her.
Unfortunately the evidence is similarly consistent with the possibility (as stated by other players) that it's just following Nem in hopes of getting led to her grandmother, a ploy which may include Macha's behavior. I slightly favor the former since the latter doesn't give it the same reason for testing Nem's capabilities, but it's far from clear.
We couldn't even resolve this by getting into a position where it needed to defend Nem; it needs her alive either way.
If it keeps sticking to us, we may run out of options besides leading it to her grandmother's house, burning a lot of IP on an intimidation fight, or giving up the supply run. I suspect the first one would be the best option in that case.

First -- thank-you! I hope I can keep up the pace.

>A short overview of common knowledge about the intelligent people in this world and their capabilities would be nice.


Nem's own little village is pretty ignorant of the outside world, but there are 4 main races divided by country. All four races speak the same base language (and only the Mericudians think it odd) but each one has a different accent.


The "Cloppers" are from Gaelend. They're a hardy group of people and there are three sub-classes of them that are distinct amongst their own kind but are classified in a single group by outsiders. Despite a sensitivity to narcotics they're actually immune to a lot of poisonous plants -- but what does effect them has a pronounced impact. They're naturally very curious, have more advanced chemistry technology, and are one of the most adaptable groups of people. They dislike swimming and sailing.

The Clopper stereotype is that they are ignorant, uncultured and foolish and will eat anything as long as its green. The more positive stereotype for cloppers are being innocent and fun-loving.


"Trites" are from Shintao . They have a love of seafood and as such are expert ship-makers. They have an omnivore diet with a preference for meat and especially fish. Not fond of sweets, hence a 'sweetbun' for them is actually sweetbread or organ meat. Most trite food is very savory. They are typically sprinters -- they don't have much in the way of endurance. They are expert hunters but prefer silent weapons like blowdarts and arrows over blackpowder weapons.

The Trite stereotype is to be lazy, cocky and aloof. The more positive stereotype for trites is bravery, grace and cleanliness.



There are two other races that haven't been even mentioned in passing but Rekki has encountered both.



The "Bits" are from Rollen -- round eared with eyes that look small because they're a single shade of black, pink or red and a distinctive tail. The derogatory name comes from having 'itty bitty eyes and itty bitty tails' and because they fight dirty when they have to (they bite). They're very intelligent, quick and adaptable but are wary of outsiders. They're omnivores but prefer fatty vegetation like nuts, and things similar to avocados.

The Bits stereotype is to be cowardly and a thief. The more positive stereotype is they are reliable friends and good community members.


The "Tubs" from Mericuda have squat, powerful bodies, and in comparison with the others they're slow and clumsy. There are two sub-classes they distinguish (although outsiders don't) between country folk (big, tough types) and city folk (more refined & educated). They have very coarse, wiry hair and notable canines. They're also very intelligent and are rumoured to have a sort of 'sixth emphatic sense' -- which makes up for their poor vision. They're also omnivores and are known to cannibalize their enemies. They also have a very refined palette -- so if they're going to eat you, rest assured at least you'll taste good.

The stereotype with Tubs is to be an opportunistic cannibal. The positive stereotype is fierce concealed strength and an excellent cook.


The trites, being sea-faring types have encountered all the other races. The only real racial animosity that occurs has been between the Trites and the Bits; despite their unsavoury cannibalistic reputation the Trites have a respectful live-and-let-live attitude towards the Tubs. Tubs and Cloppers don't cross paths very often so on the rare occasions they meet the encounters tend to be more of equal curiosity than anything else. The Bits keep to themselves when they can but do have a trade agreement with the Tubs.

>Same about magic in general. We have the cape as one in-our-face example, and information that the HP mechanic clearly has some wider availability; but if the existence of other capabilities, in particular shapeshifting or illusions is wider known, that would be good to know.

To avoid giving too much away, the magic in Nem's world works more like classic faerie tales -- shape-shifting is very common, and so are illusions. There are no direct attack spells like "Magic Missile".

Other common magic involves probability (like the cape & its HP shield) and the animation of various constructs.

I'd like to invite you to #tgchan so we can talk to you about the cool things you draw and bug you incessantly about your blue haired goat lady.

Thanks for the info. Faerie details are notable for their absence, so I suppose that's spoiler material; fair enough.
Since you referred to Rekki; what's the deal with him? Is he a valid target character for direct communication if we just wanted to ask him something in-character right now? There was one long-distance contact before, but that seemed to involve some other entity forwarding the question.

>Since you referred to Rekki; what's the deal with him? Is he a valid target character for direct communication if we just wanted to ask him something in-character right now? There was one long-distance contact before, but that seemed to involve some other entity forwarding the question.

The cape normally doesn't have a very good range, and another entity was indeed interfering. I had originally considered making it possible to power up the cape to extend its range, but Rekki is really meant to be "Fifth Business" -- a catalyst. And not an entirely willing or aware one, either.

You might not have guessed it, but Rekki is the hero of another story -- I'd like to feature him in a quest of his own, but probably not for quite some time.

>The "Cloppers" are from Gaelend
Hereby I shall call them Gaelenders. Once I get a chance to let Nemain know this.
>"Trites" are from Shintao
The Shintians!
>The "Bits" are from Rollen
Rollites? We haven't met them yet so I can't really say much on the matter.
>The "Tubs" from Mericuda
Mericudals? Again, we haven't met them yet.

So, question, is Nemain's world "Earth," in some parellel, future and/or past form? That you translated their date into an Earth date suggests as much.
Do you have your own names for their days, months, and seasons? While getting a translation helps early on, if an actual name exists, it helps to know their methods of measuring the date early on in the long run.

>Hereby I shall call them Gaelenders. Once I get a chance to let Nemain know this

They'll be called the Gaelish, the Shintanese, the Rolliens, and Mericudians, actually.

>So, question, is Nemain's world "Earth," in some parellel, future and/or past form?

Now the cape will always auto-translate as best it can, and for simplicity's sake it's matching up with late summer. As to Nem's Earth, it's hard to explain but it's more like a far-future parallel version. Humanity is long gone but its footprint has echoed forward. I won't go into detail, but the reason why there's a connection between TGChan (and other sites) and the Third Eye Network. The HMES is a sort of protocol that sets up the communication and allows pan-dimensional influence otherwise known as "screwing with probability".

That said, the major human impacts relevant to the current quest is that Nem is a human analog, and both base language and units of time are approximately the same.

I know someone else asked this question, and I'm going to answer it here since since there's no way for any other character to know: yes, the different analogs are fully sexually compatible. It is possible to have biracial parents and still have offspring that are still fertile. This is again thematic, both in the terms of the lore for Nem's Quest and because it matches traditional faerie tales where you could sleep with a monster and have little monster babies nothing like either parent.

To further expand however -- it generally doesn't happen. The Gaelish don't seem that attracted to members outside their race, the Shintanese socially frown on mixing their blood, the Rollien generally avoid other races and there's a lot of fear and superstition aimed at the Mericudians due to their known cannibalism. A half Gaelish, half Shintanese person would be outcast in Rekki's society and would always be looked at strangely.

>admin functions are only accessible from Nem's side.
So, the audience is a construct known as TEN then? Or is TEN Nemain's administrative username, and we're HMES?
Do we have access to user or guest commands, since we don't have access to admin commands? Do orders have to be worded a specific way, or can a person say any variety of it as long as it still sounds like an order?

>So, the audience is a construct known as TEN then? Or is TEN Nemain's administrative username, and we're HMES?
Do we have access to user or guest commands, since we don't have access to admin commands? Do orders have to be worded a specific way, or can a person say any variety of it as long as it still sounds like an order?

Summary
The AUDIENCE uses the HMES to connect to the TEN. The CAPE is a vessel for the HMES. The TEN allows the CAPE to modify probability and allows the AUDIENCE to communicate with NEM, and anyone else accessing the near-field communications of the cape. The AUDIENCE can draw power from the TEN via its INFLUENCE POINTS.

Details

The TEN stands for Third Eye Network -- a mystic variation of the Internet with its own unique administrators. Something I would like to introduce in a later quest are MODERATORS who keep things running according to the rules, and HACKERS who adjust code to meet their own ends. Nem's cape is something in-between; it modifies how things work but does so within safe parameters.

The HMES stands for Hive Mind Emphatic System -- it's a protocol that allows the connection of the TEN across time and space. The "spirits" that inhabit the "other side" (AKA the users and audience) provide power via their very presence. The Hive Mind refers to how once an idea gets started it can snowball into a powerful collective, and the Emphatic System refers to getting members of the collective to support an individual.

As far as commands go, Nem's cape is pretty limited to suggestion and Influence, but Influence itself is pretty powerful since it impacts probability. After all, Influence allows an untrained combatant like Nem to defeat a seasoned veteran by what would appear to be sheer luck -- but doing so takes a lot of energy.

As an author, conceptually allowing for a more advanced system would require a much more advanced quest design and since this is my very first one I'm keeping it simple.



Influence Points are awarded by the Administrators of the TEN as they see fit. The Administrators are Cats, and resemble the house pet. One of the reasons why connections are available via HMES/TEN is because our Internet is full of pictures of cats; the Cats feel that our adoration of the feline is clearly a sign of suitability for connection and if nothing else, shows we have excellent taste.

A third option to deal with dice confusion is to keep the roll in a dedicate post after the update proper.

I decided I'm going to hide rolls except for Nem.

** Author notes on the Sept 12 update (exploding puppet) **

That save by the wolf:
- The Wolf rolled a crit of 16 (under the target and a multiple of 4)
- Nem would have failed her natural role, but not by much.
- Nem would have taken HP damage if it weren't for the wolf.

As an aside, it was very possible for things to have gone worse in the vine trap but you guys spotted those eyes so quickly and then figured out to sick the wolf on 'em. So you can feel good 'bout that.

>and then figured out to sick the wolf on 'em.
"Go for the eyes, Boo!" was actually a Baldur's Gate reference. one of the characters the player can recruit to the party is a brute named Minsc, who's not entirely there in his head. To cope with his mental handicaps, he places a great deal of dependancy on his pet hamster, Boo. This coping mechanism allows him to operate entirely as a normal person--except for when he mentions Boo, and how absolutely important to life, existence, and the universe he is (Boo is 42!). Thing is, during combat, Minsc sometimes says "Go for the eyes, Boo!"
Oh wait I typed all that up before I went and read the comment and noticed they were saying to tell the wolf to do that.

The primary comment to add to that is that the VA delivers Minsc's battlecries in a hamtastic way, including this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8lLruVR2zQ
And really, the situation is not that different! Both Minsc and Nem mostly spend their battles hitting the enemy with large bladed implements, both of them have an animal helper, and both have now ordered said enemy helper to "GO FOR THE EYES!". ...well, except that the build differences between a hamster (miniature giant space or otherwise) and this wolf-thing do allow the latter to be better at it.

No one's asked in this thread but have in the quest, so maybe to save some time: All the human analogs reproduce sexually and only sexually. They are compatible with each other. Yes, Nem has been kept in the dark.

Lore of the Wolf

History of the Wolf

It is said that the Wolf was originally part of Faerie court of Beasts. Like the other minor faerie courts, members of the Beast Court could be Seelie or Unseelie.

According to the lore shared to us by the Great Lake Faerie Taga Yaga, when war erupted between the Ancient Dark Spirits and the Faerie Courts, the Wolves were bound to the ancients. When the Ancients were banished, the Wolves swore revenge for their fallen allies and continued to prey upon the Faeries. Thus they became one of the Court of Four, along with the Crow, the Leaper, and the Owl.


The Court of Four

According to faerie lore, the Court of Four operate in order to end all things. The Wolf brings Death most directly by strength, the Crow through cunning, the Leaper by Influence, and the Owl by strategy.


Nature of the Wild Wolf

The Earth wolf is gray beast with a long snout, pointed, triangular ears, with sharp teeth and claws. It hunts in a pack, and values family amongst all else. The Ancients were counted among its pack, and so when the ancients declared wolf, it was obligated to sever its political ties to the faeries and join in the battle.

Wolves will not attack an adult man or woman; they are opportunistic and prey upon the very young and the very old but unless desperate will not approach a village. Should a wolf develop a taste for our blood, it -- and often its pack -- must be put down as it will continue to attack as long as there is opportunity.

Wolves have not been a problem for some time; they have learned of our superior weapons and they are not fools. If approached by a wolf, do not run. Keep watch but move slowly; running triggers their instinct to chase.


Nature of the Black Wolf, Court of Four

The Black Wolf moves in shadow with piercing red eyes. Of the Court of Four, the Black Wolf is the most pure form of Death. Mortal victims of the Black Wolf will have no mark; they appear pale and aged. The Black Wolf is enemy to all; fae and Gaelish alike, but it actively hunts the Fae.

Controlling the Black Wolf

According to Taga Yaga, there is a way to control the Black Wolf. Whoever can place a collar a wolf's neck will bind the beast to his or her will, dominating it. The problem remains that no faerie is fool enough to approach Death head on, and even should they trick a foolhardy mortal, it would be the mortal binder -- and not the manipulator -- who will be in control. Thus the problem is much like who will bell the cat; a great plan with a fatal flaw in execution.

>>/quest/596426
Okay, first off, you're using the term "circumstantial" incorrectly. Circumstantial evidence is merely any evidence that requires explanation. It can be very strong evidence, like DNA. Direct evidence is anything that can be presented without explanation, like eyewitness testimony (which is one of the most unreliable kinds). This is not to say that direct is always weaker than circumstantial, as video footage is direct evidence. Circumstantial evidence is often stronger, though, because pretty much all forensic evidence is circumstantial evidence.

Secondly, while we have no obvious proof that Macha is the wolf, there are so many more subtle signs that she is that it doesn't matter.
1) She joked about being a wolf.
2) The wolf has the same magenta tint that Macha's eyes do.
3) Nobody's ever seen Macha before.
4) Macha suddenly disappeared when Teddy showed up, and Teddy was killed by a black wolf shortly afterwards.
5) Macha showed up at Mr Cutter's house the first time Nem got there, as if she was expecting to find Mr Cutter there (to steal his lifespan).
6) Macha has been alone with Nem while she wore the cape, and hasn't died.

>>85730
An alternate explanation for Macha being at Mr Cutter's house on the first day is that the wolf wanted an excuse to talk to Nem, so she shapeshifted inside the house to greet her at the door.

Begin of Turn:
All participants roll initiative. Currently nothing impacts turn order, although this is liable to change later. Rolls are 1-100, lower is better. The rule of 100 does not apply.

Calculating Modified Skills:
Currently this system is very simple and based on rank. Rank 0 is Non-Combatant Adult (with 'adult' being at least 15), Rank 1 is a Scrapper (not officially trained but been in enough fights), Rank 2 is Trained (Police/Town Guard), Rank 3 is Soldier, Rank 4 is Special Forces (marines, green berets, commandos, royal guards), and Rank 5 is Legendary (top tier super-heroes such as Batman, The Phantom and Captain America). Nobody goes beyond Rank 5 in Nem's Quest.

At a base, one has a 50% chance of success if all other elements are equal. Every rank disadvantage lowers this by 10%, and every rank advantage by 10%. So a Non-Combatant like Nem going up against a Soldier has a 30% disadvantage, meaning she has a base of 20% to attack/defend while her opponent would have an 80% chance.

Situational modifiers - such as attacking from behind, surprise, etc - can also come into play.

Attacking:

One rolls against their modified skill; if equal or lower it is a success. If one misses by 10 or less it fails but not badly. Anything greater than 10 is a wiff.

If one wiffs, it leaves one open for the opponent to attack even if one's foe was on the defense for that turn.

Critical attacks (100, and multiples of 12) are contextual but as a rule of thumb will do double damage.

Defending:

Regardless of the attacker's roll, one must make a defend roll unless the attacker failed critically. After all, unless one defends properly one will still make a defensive action even if the attack is going to miss (because a failed defence roll on failed attack means the person tried to dodge anyway).

A successful roll negates the attack and allows the defender to attack according to their initiative roll.

A failed roll by 10 or less against a failed attack still allows the defender to attack, but any failed roll against a successful attack reduces the defender's HP shield.

A failed roll by 10 or more puts the defender on the defence and thus can't attack that turn.

Critical success (100 and multiples of 12 that succeed) allows the Defender to counter-attack failed rolls and leave the attacker open that turn on successful ones.

Critical failure (4) is contextual, but as a rule of thumb the defender takes double-damage. This stacks; a critical attack on a critical failure will mean 4x damage.

When defence fails and the HP shield takes damage, it should be noted that the character still evades unless the shield is depleted. Any character who takes HP Shield Damage is put on the defence for that turn and can't attack the next. Thus if one loses HP Shield it's advisable to spend IP to ensure a successful defence and be able to attack next turn.

If one's HP shield is depleted, then the attack does whatever the attacker intended. If the attacker is aiming to kill, then the character takes a lethal wound and will die shortly (or within a few hours if the attacker just wanted them down and was using a lethal weapon, depending on weapon used). If the attacker is intending to cripple, then the character is crippled. If the attacker is looking to just beat the character into submission, then this is the blow that does it. More exotic impacts can be dictated based on context - a critical hit from a battleaxe will kill instantly, and a double-crit (crit attack with crit failure defence) can do dramatic things involving fractions.

If the action would not have story-ending consequences (death, defeat that ends in inescapable incarceration, crippling) then the HP Shield does NOT protect the character. Thus punches and kicks not meant to kill simply inflict pain and minor damage and stack penalties. If the character HAS to win the a non-lethal contest to continue the story, the HP shield will kick in however.

Please note that the ultimate result of the attack against a protagonist is not important in Quest terms; any key character out of action will force a reload. (If this was a traditional table-top game, the ultimate results WOULD matter since surviving but defeated characters could return for later adventures but the defeated player would still need a new character to continue to participate.


Standard HP Shield Damage

Effective weapons with intent to kill do 10 damage per hit regardless of the weapon. The type of weapon and armour only matter when one's HP Shield is depleted. Bare hands do up to 10 points (using the Minor Damage as a base below). The only time attacks do more than 10 points is if they're particularly difficult to avoid by simple dodging - such as grenades, explosives, gas attacks and certain other exotics.

Minor Damage (Not Story Critical)

Character ability to withstand non-lethal damage and keep fighting is dependent on their overall Strength (encompassing the ability to lift, carry, etc) but all this damage assumes being struck anyplace where it doesn't matter. Any hit to a location that's not covered by muscle or armour has no protection whatsoever. This has the curious side-effect of making armour only useful to characters with little HP Shield or in situations that are not story-critical.

Strength Levels:
Weak - 1
Below Average - 2
Average - 3
Above Average - 5
Exceptional - 8
Olypmic - 13
Supernatural - 21
Extremely Improbable - 34
No Longer Obeying Physics - 55+

Minor damage - incapable of killing a healthy person - is determined by Attacker's Strength Level - (Defender's Strength Level -1). The penalty applied is 10 x Damage. Remember, minor damage only applies to attacks not meaning to kill and landing on a non-vital area and is a rule of thumb. It does mean that an Average person can slap a Weak person into submission in just 2 hits (50% + 50%) but it's reasonable in a story for people to give up in unimportant, non-lethal situations soon as things start to really hurt.

Thus a Weak person won't even do significant minor damage to an Average without the help of a weapon (and weapons usually shift the damage outside the range of 'minor'). At 100% penalty the person is defeated -- remember this only applies in situations that are not story-critical to win. So if a character is in a fighting tournament at a player whim then the HP Shield does not protect them.

Internet drops out just as I go to hit reply, the admin responds before I can say no don't say that, and I have to rewrite everything else on my phone.

Dangit!

you know, the way this quest has been, I almost feel like this whole maguffin quest is unnecessary. If Macha/the wolf is going to run to show up every time something big happens than the binding we need can be simple trust/friendship rather a magic bond of control.

>>87173
We already asked that question; the answer is that Grendel Red Cap has stolen years (similar to Nem's) which prevent the Wolf from targeting him normally, but the Wolf could get him despite those if compelled to do so by the magic collar.
The trust part is still a main feature of our current plan though, since we plan on getting the collar on the Wolf to begin with by making a deal with her to remove the collar immedeatly after Grendel is dead.

>you know, the way this quest has been, I almost feel like this whole maguffin quest is unnecessary. If Macha/the wolf is going to run to show up every time something big happens than the binding we need can be simple trust/friendship rather a magic bond of control.

It is a tad more complicated than that.

>since we plan on getting the collar on the Wolf to begin with by making a deal with her to remove the collar immedeatly after Grendel is dead
We... did? I was operating under the assumption that collaring the wolf was a companion for Nem's life kind of deal.

>If Macha/the wolf is going to run to show up every time something big happens than the binding we need can be simple trust/friendship rather a magic bond of control.
If Macha is the wolf, I think it really only makes sense that she's helping us claim the collar if she understands she needs to be controlled. As in, she fundamentally can't be what Nem wants or needs her to be (or what she wants or needs herself to be) unless she's forced by the loophole of the collar.

It kind of fits with fairytale logic.

There is a small chance that Macha intends to destroy the collar.

Possibly. In doing so, wouldn't she violate her role as our protector, though? She effectively removes our opportunity to be safe.

Although what I'm less sure about is how important her word is. I want to think it has some kind of weight, given that this is a fairytale, and she's spoken it aloud twice now (should we be looking to trigger a rule of three?). We don't actually know that that's binding in any way, though.

>>87194
She said she would protect Nem until they got to the Collar.

>>/quest/596505
>Macha: Lead the way, girl. You are under my protection.

>>/quest/605293
>Nem: Macha, are you still our protector? Will you escort us to the Administrator's Vaults?

>Macha: I shall.

Huh. Well, the first time was more open ended, the second time we did make it conditional. Hopefully that doesn't count for much, because if the admin delivers the collar to us, we aren't going to be escorted to the vaults.

i dont speak legalese
aaaaaaaa

>Huh. Well, the first time was more open ended, the second time we did make it conditional. Hopefully that doesn't count for much, because if the admin delivers the collar to us, we aren't going to be escorted to the vaults.

Macha isn't full faerie; she doesn't work in strict verbal agreements. She works along the lines of a warrior's code.

As a semi-faerie device can we make a binding verbal agreement with non-faerie beings (such as the Wolf)?

>As a semi-faerie device can we make a binding verbal agreement with non-faerie beings (such as the Wolf)?

No, the cape isn't capable of generating binding programs. It's functions are specific to modifications of probability and detecting networks. I'm planning on giving the cape a download ability in future versions so expand its functionality but I've got to feel it out first.

I love this quest, the characters and details are wonderful, the system is interesting, and it's update frequently to the degree where it's up to the kind of progress we see after a couple years on some quests.

I gotta say though, some of the people posting in it just aren't using their heads. I guess that's always true, and there are gonna be plenty of people who'd prefer a different tact than you, but at the same time to have hit on every major mistake I can imagine during the last section astounds me. Every thing that I thought (and potentially posted) "we should not do that" got done.

Anyway, great quest. Keep it up.

>I love this quest, the characters and details are wonderful, the system is interesting, and it's update frequently to the degree where it's up to the kind of progress we see after a couple years on some quests.

Thank-you! I'm surprised at how well the characters turned out. Nem has grown into her own person (even though she was based on an existing character of mine) and so has Macha (same deal).

>I gotta say though, some of the people posting in it just aren't using their heads. I guess that's always true, and there are gonna be plenty of people who'd prefer a different tact than you, but at the same time to have hit on every major mistake I can imagine during the last section astounds me. Every thing that I thought (and potentially posted) "we should not do that" got done.

Something I regret not doing earlier was having Nem voice her own opinions more. I think it was due to the whole "must give players control" that conflicted with "Nem is her own person", which I tried to minimize because I didn't want to direct anyone too much. I think if I were to do it over, I'd have Nem sometimes have bad ideas, sometimes good, and put more circumstances in so that the players could realize that Nem was not always a reliable source of hints but if they were stuck, her ideas are better than none.

Still, I think that Nem is growing more backbone at the right moment. She's fought a rapist, a wolf, a witch, participated on a raid on their market and negotiated with a powerful faerie -- she's not the raw young lady she was at the start of this story and she's really had enough of Macha's crap.

I find it frustrating when the weakest suggestions are pulled to the forefront. When the chain is made out of people, everyone just gets angry at the weakest link.

So now the climatic reveal has been made, what does everyone think? I tried to avoid making it cliché or too cheesie and did actually try to stay within what I considered one of the original themes of Red Riding Hood -- growing up. There's a few more things to reveal but this was the biggie.

A good twist. I honestly wasn't expecting that, in hindsight it's fairly obvious.

Anonymous 2014/12/01(Mon)10:56 No. 87309 ID: 4c5cf2
File 141746016706.jpg - (59.84KB , 800x600 , M.jpg )

Did some sliding around of bars to try and get a better look at "M", there.

Interestingly, it looks like Rikki is butting in again, not Macha.

sh 2014/12/01(Mon)11:02 No. 87310 ID: 563dc1
File 141746054874.jpg - (21.21KB , 800x600 , 141745892948_b.jpg )

Same, brightened up some more. Very colorful, once you get over it also being very dark.

>Interestingly, it looks like Rikki is butting in again, not Macha.

Flat-out going to say it's not Rekki. He's only got one glowing eye.

>>87309
That is someone we have not yet met.

>>87293
And more shit like this happens. A shame, too. I was liking it up until that bit.

>And more shit like this happens. A shame, too. I was liking it up until that bit.

Can you elaborate on your problem?

I'm curious as to how popular Macha was. Some people seem to be quite upset that she's gone -- although more accurately, Macha hasn't been born yet since her humanoid form was a possible future Nem.

>>87340
Long story short, people suggest/imply that perhaps Nem shouldn't go full Grim Reaper in front of her village because hey, no one likes to see the neighbor's kid become a supernatural death-dealer. It gets ignored.

>>87341
Well, I'd characterize it as more a kind of disappointment for my part, than quite upset. Before the reveal, I was operating on the assumption that Macha was a force that had achieved some level of humanity, and was aiming questions in the intent of nurturing that. That the solution relied on finding a way for 'Macha' to becomes more than 'the wolf'. Trying to achieve some kind of awakening or transcendence. Person over presence.

With the reveal though, we achieved almost the opposite. Macha wasn't something emergent or developing into her own to be helped, she was something leeching out of Nem. An echo of a person, not the first notes.

So... yeah. The reveal works great and the symbolism of uniting Nem as a whole person works great, for her, as a character. For Macha through, her development went poof. Nem got her awakening- but Macha got assimilation.

That and well, I'm more interested in two characters interacting than one doing her own thing almost any day.

And Nem's reaction when asked about it was just killer. She didn't respond with or even comprehend the weird sadness at a person who never really existed on her own disappearing. She didn't even understand the question!

>Long story short, people suggest/imply that perhaps Nem shouldn't go full Grim Reaper in front of her village because hey, no one likes to see the neighbor's kid become a supernatural death-dealer. It gets ignored.

No, that was Nem's decision. She knew she'd have jobs to do when she merged with Macha/The Black Wolf.

>With the reveal though, we achieved almost the opposite. Macha wasn't something emergent or developing into her own to be helped, she was something leeching out of Nem. An echo of a person, not the first notes.

Macha and Nem were sort of merging on their own. Macha's sulking was actually Nem leaking over because Nem's a lot less mature, and Nem's eyes were going red and she was getting bolder. Actually Macha is more like the LAST few notes, I should add. She's a future possible echo, which is why the characters modified each other.

So was there a 'different' possible ending? More along the lines of not completing the cloak's stated mission.

Also I got the feeling that Nem attempting to put on the collar was the black wolf rebelling, what with the 'no' that flashed. Whereas, when it succeeded, Nem knew they were one and the same. Acceptance overpowering it, I think?

I'd also be curious to know how 'on track' we ended up being to what you expected we would do.

>>87341
Yeah, I thought you said that "Macha is not a time traveler"... But hey, well played.

I have to say, Macha revealed as a being made of different possibilities was pretty powerful. I guess we really liked having her as a party member since she was basically a sense of strength; all kinds, physical, mental, spiritual, etc.; she was basically the strength of the party, the kind that says "I'm ready to make choices; I'm scared of the consequences, but not the choice itself". Which means that her outburst in the middle of a warzone was a special kind of realization that Nem (and us) had betrayed the classic story that strength is meant for; you kill the evil monsters and you get the treasures and you leave. It took a while and some determination from Nem to earn that strength and make it her own.

In terms of foreshadowing, she was pretty powerful. In fact, I think you made an amazing character whose theme was 'foreshadowing'. You effectively designed a character who kept us guessing all while having an air of trust, a lack of paranoia despite all of our questions.

So, is Nem planning on naming her firstborn daughter after Macha? How about her parents, are they going to have kids now that the curse was lifted?

>>85664
...Wait a minute. According to this, the problem with attempting to dominate a wolf reaper is that it's s very very stupid plan - what kind of idiot would try to put a collar on an enemy trained killer to enslave them?

And then the answer was us. Someone suggested having Nan put the collar on herself... which technically means that WE the tgchan posters were technically the dominators. So... what happens now that we permanently disconnected?

Eh, I'm probably thinking too hard into it.


On a final note, the Fae.Net systems are a really good plot schematic. Maybe on your next quest, you could create a story themed around the Fae.Nets and how they can be exploited/optimized?

>>87354
Pretty sure Nem would be the 'mortal binder'. Even if we gave the suggestion, we are essentially the same as a fae manipulator: Not in charge.

>So was there a 'different' possible ending? More along the lines of not completing the cloak's stated mission.

No, there was only one ending -- multiple ways to get to it, but only one ending. Nem always wears the collar, and that only happens when she merges with Macha/The Black Wolf.

The cloak's was designed to operate as long as the cycle repeated. When Nem puts the collar on successfully, she breaks the cycle.

>Also I got the feeling that Nem attempting to put on the collar was the black wolf rebelling, what with the 'no' that flashed. Whereas, when it succeeded, Nem knew they were one and the same. Acceptance overpowering it, I think?

Yes. There were multiple ways to gain acceptance. Macha's axe was in the cabin's bedroom; Nem could use it to challenge Macha, who would summon a second axe for herself. Instead of losing HP Shield, Macha would slowly transform into Nem.

If she used the grandmother disguise, the wolf can't eat itself -- Nem would actually take control from within and wear the wolf like a skin, putting the collar that way.

There's a third option that was only a consideration due to the sexual overtones of the original faerie tale, but as everyone got to know Nem it was less and likely to have ever been considered.

The fourth option would have been to ask Macha to put the collar on Nem. It's a guile option, but similar to making the lateral leap that actually happened.


>I'd also be curious to know how 'on track' we ended up being to what you expected we would do.

I never expected anyone to make the lateral leap and realize that Macha and the Black Wolf were just echos of Nem herself. I guess at least half the players knew Macha was the Black Wolf.

The rest of it was pretty open. A deal didn't have to be struck with the Administrator -- in fact, he only offered because of player IP spend that allowed Macha to do better than she would have on her own. Without that spend, he would have been more confident in his guards. When he realized there was a chance Macha could kill everyone, he figured it was a safer bet to negotiate.

I don't think anyone also expected that when Nem accepted the Black Wolf, she also *accepted her role*. People got upset that Nem revealed her new identity to the village, but that was Nem's choice because she accepted the role of the Black Wolf. Nem didn't explain herself because it was obvious to her what she needed to do. That's why her responses are fewer and fewer; she didn't *need* her guardian spirits anymore -- she just wanted them around because she liked them.

>Yeah, I thought you said that "Macha is not a time traveler"... But hey, well played.

She's not. Her memory is sideways and she's not from another time. She's a reflection of possibilities. The Macha that Nem's mother met was very different.

>>85664
...Wait a minute. According to this, the problem with attempting to dominate a wolf reaper is that it's s very very stupid plan - what kind of idiot would try to put a collar on an enemy trained killer to enslave them?

And then the answer was us. Someone suggested having Nan put the collar on herself... which technically means that WE the tgchan posters were technically the dominators. So... what happens now that we permanently disconnected?

>>Pretty sure Nem would be the 'mortal binder'. Even if we gave the suggestion, we are essentially the same as a fae manipulator: Not in charge.

Nem's situation was special since the Black Wolf was part of her family contract. Nem is the dominator, she is the binder, she is the Wolf itself now.

>On a final note, the Fae.Net systems are a really good plot schematic. Maybe on your next quest, you could create a story themed around the Fae.Nets and how they can be exploited/optimized?

Actually if I do another Nem Quest, that's the ability she'll get because the merge was bound through lateral leap of logic instead of deception, combat, or the third option. Nem's going to spend some time reading that manual -- the fact that she's even aware of the manual says something about her new mindset.

I do plan on other characters screwing with Fae.Net systems, but each planned quest has its own theme -- although it seems that my overall theme is "Consequences of Choices".

You're a very talented storyteller, Smik.

>>87349
Well, yeah. I got that. It's well done, even. Doesn't really affect my emotional reaction to a character becoming a non-character, though. *shrug*

>>87357
>That's why her responses are fewer and fewer; she didn't *need* her guardian spirits anymore
I still thought it was odd some of the things she chose not to comment on or react to. Like the fact that another third party decided to intervene close to the end.

>If I knew the coin was in there, I would have never given it to you
So things might have gotten complicated a lot faster if we'd had Nem break open or try to eat the sweatbread right in front of him.

We had an unfired chekhov's gun, didn't we? By the end of the story, we never used the witch's wine, I think. We bribed the spider with the normal stuff. Which means Nem didn't really get to apply that herbology very much. Something I pushed for because it seemed to be something she was genuinely interested herself, for her own reasons, independent of the stuff happening to her or her circumstances.

>Actually if I do another Nem Quest, [Fae.net stuff is] the ability she'll get
Although with access to a magic programming and networking system, science-Nem might get a chance to shine sometime in the future.

>You're a very talented storyteller, Smik.

Thank-you.

>I still thought it was odd some of the things she chose not to comment on or react to. Like the fact that another third party decided to intervene close to the end.

The group was out of the loop longer than it appeared. Nem was aware of a lot more things when she reconnected.

>So things might have gotten complicated a lot faster if we'd had Nem break open or try to eat the sweatbread right in front of him.

There was honestly nothing Rekki would be able to do if Nem did; the moment she accepted the gift she had the coin. It was also not possible to destroy it; the coin would have found its way back to her regardless.

>By the end of the story, we never used the witch's wine

That was more red herring -- the wine's only properties was being more potent than their regular wine. Blind Yaga preferred it because Gaelend wine pretty close to grape juice.

>Which means Nem didn't really get to apply that herbology very much

The herbalism was another sort of decoy within the confines of the story. Learning the ingredients of the witch wine was strictly for an IP bonus. I left it open in case people wanted to get creative making random concoctions. All Nem's studies would have provided something, but certain studies would provide more use than others.

>Although with access to a magic programming and networking system, science-Nem might get a chance to shine sometime in the future.

If/When I do another Nem's Quest, these skills should allow Nem to improve her equipment and learn new tricks. I don't have to worry about it impacting Pan because Pan wouldn't have the skills required to utilize them. I am planning to try to turn Nem's Quest into a standalone game... I'm just not sure how I'm going to implement the Macha solution that the group used. I will need to see if it's possible for me to create some sort of method that allows me to determine that the player has realized Nem is the Black Wolf without it being triggered by random behaviour.

This has also taught me that a lot of the mechanics need to allow players more practice to get used to.

>>87372
You might be able to do a 'concepts menu' kind of thing.

The problem would be that if you want to do it outright accidentally spoil it, you'd have to do it carefully. And it would be a lot of work, because you'd have to throw in some red herring interactions, and possibly a sort of 'nonsense' penalty, to discourage 'rub every item on every other item'.

Specifically, what I was thinking of is a sort of adventure game style combination system, one that I think one or two games had. Might be misremembering. Wadjet Eye, I think did something like this some of their games?

So you'd have people/places/things as concepts/knowledge. And you'd be able to combine them. But in order to prevent the player from accidentally solving it, such as trying to see if Nem could remember her from her past, there would be a specific way of connecting things that you have to connect. Something like "Knows/likes/dislikes/has/is". In this instance, 'is' would be the relevant one. The final solution might involve a combination of Nem, Macha, and the Black Wolf. Or it could just require the combined concept of 'Is Nem the Black Wolf?', gotten from combining Nem and the Black Wolf concepts via 'is', and the collar.

Doing this kind of thing would probably take a lot of work, but it might be something to consider. It also would let you add some story details if you want. Just don't get too ambitious with doing this; it could end up getting exponentially complex.

>So you'd have people/places/things as concepts/knowledge. And you'd be able to combine them. But in order to prevent the player from accidentally solving it, such as trying to see if Nem could remember her from her past, there would be a specific way of connecting things that you have to connect. Something like "Knows/likes/dislikes/has/is". In this instance, 'is' would be the relevant one. The final solution might involve a combination of Nem, Macha, and the Black Wolf. Or it could just require the combined concept of 'Is Nem the Black Wolf?', gotten from combining Nem and the Black Wolf concepts via 'is', and the collar.

Right now, a central concept will include Nem's trust score -- something that didn't really come up in the Quest because the players were getting downright protective of her and it showed a lot in how they worded things and Nem picked up on this.

Another element will be Nem's patience. She's a curious girl but like most youths she's impatient and so I would like to design it so the player can't just rub things on other things before Nem gets tired of it and declares that you don't know what you're talking about. I'd like to design it so that when things are critical she doesn't dismiss the player since Nem is naive, not stupid.

I could also try to include a Theory system. As the player encounters different situations, they either support or disprove theories. For example, Macha being the Black Wolf. Nem might ask "Why do you think that?" and then the player might choose the argument "Eyes are the same colour".

Then the next time Nem encounters Macha, the option to look closely at Macha's eyes is available. But I'll have to be careful on how I craft this.

I also need to figure out if I want to prevent Nem from returning to her village or home. I personally like the idea that the village and her personal resources are only available during the same time when she's not going to Grandma's house.

My current plan is to put a lot more faeries and faerie places in the story. Only the Gnome is brave/mortal enough to talk to Nem while the Black Wolf is about. Nem can investigate these places and the player can attempt to hack their local .Nets to copy additional abilities and gather more information. This is to substitute the fact that a Quest has a group of players and a much more robust possible interface. The faerie places also help the player adjust to the Cape system. All the extra places will be optional.

Just curious as to any final thoughts or critiques for Nem's Quest.

What's the approach here? It's kind of sounding like a point and click with a more complicated dialog system. Or an infocom kind of thing with an actual command prompt if you want players to present ideas without a dialog tree giving them away for you.

>patience
The simplest way to approximate that would be with a turn-counter. You only have so many actions to do something productive, with possible resets / mitigation when you actually pull something off, or at least attempt something logical, even if it doesn't work. (Although if you did that last bit, it gets messier. You have to predict, test and/or rate a lot of possible player action).

...maybe like a simpler (or at least less capricious) analog to Xom's interest / boredom meter in Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup. (Worshiping a chaos god and letting it get bored is a bad idea).

Smik 2014/12/05(Fri)09:44 No. 87464 ID: 3009b4
File 141780145201.jpg - (209.72KB , 800x600 , Sami.jpg )

As Nem and Rekki walk, she asks him about the other two -- about Sami and Remmington.

Rekki: Sami -- troubled girl. I could tell when I first met her that she had some sort of dark secret. Something very unfortunate happened to her village.

Smik 2014/12/05(Fri)09:48 No. 87465 ID: 3009b4
File 141780169503.jpg - (173.29KB , 800x600 , Remmington.jpg )

Nem: What about Remmington?

Rekki: Butcher's kid, learning the family business -- very odd boy. It wasn't as if he didn't know what he was getting himself into, he just seemed to lack the good sense to *care*.

** Who would you be more interested in hearing about first? **

>>87464
guuuuurl!

Sami.

So Rikki's the only one not with a flair for red, huh.

>So Rikki's the only one not with a flair for red, huh.

Completely coincidental. Sami's ragged shawl is actually from Don Bluth character Ms. Brisby and Remmington's apron is... because it makes sense for a butcher to have a red apron, although I modelled his pose (and made an alternation to his design) via Dirk the Daring.

May as well hear about them in the order they were brought up.

>My current plan is to put a lot more faeries and faerie places in the story.
Will many of them end up dead by Wolf if Nem visits them before finding out about the alone-death thing? (Is it bad that I find that possibility kind of hilarious?)

>>My current plan is to put a lot more faeries and faerie places in the story.
>Will many of them end up dead by Wolf if Nem visits them before finding out about the alone-death thing? (Is it bad that I find that possibility kind of hilarious?)

It's not so much that being alone with Nem is fatal, it's if the wolf was following her at some point prior. Nem's family wasn't told WHEN the wolf would start following her, just that they'd have to set things up before her 17th birthday. So they kept Nem from being alone just in case. I plan for the neutral faeries to only show up when Nem is completely alone.

I plan to make the Black Wolf more stalkerish; knowing when you're being followed is important for visiting faeries, but at some points the Black Wolf will ALWAYS follow Nem - such as when approaching houses or Teddy. If the Wolf is following Nem, she'll only find Fae locations. The Black Wolf will only be obvious at critical points like Gram's place.

I'm also toying with the idea of putting certain players in as assisting spirits. So normally the player can only modify Nem's rolls by the usual 25%, but actually finding and getting other spirits to join increases abilities. I'll post here if I go with this idea; I like the sounds of it personally as it gives it more of a Quest feel again. Plus then I can include the running gag of trying to explain the facts of life to Nem and her getting annoyed. Certain spirits would also allow me to provide misinformation, even though they're helpful. I don't think it's very often that games include characters who are well-meaning and helpful but also mistaken about how things worked. I know that character ignorance threw my readers of Super Temps for a loop.

Is Plot Armour functionally the same as a HP Shield?