I most enjoy playing a Falstaff-like character, Yeager, leading groups in normally solo activities and writing up an After Action Report on the UWF guild forum each week. A sample of which I include here.
It is the freedom....the freedom to play a fool if I want....the freedom to play without it being about me....the freedom for people to express themselves without game design interference.
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Emily to the Rescue
After Action Report
High Noon T-Chests for January 23rd
Unlike last week when a small party mowed through two chests per party member, this week an ample party faced chest sites that mowed back, fiercely and consistently, for two solid hours.
But first.....
The Lineup.....
- Emily the Tamer - did they call Rommel bossy?
- Dreamcast - Gameboy the undaunted...and unmounted
- Genna - Tori who filled the GH area with the smell of baked bread
- Phidippus - the giant jumping spider on an errand for "the dark lady," and I don't think he meant Shakespeare's mistress
- MaNzAniTal the Tamer - got his first and most thorough lesson in treasure hunting
A Case of Deja Vu
As was the case last week, Emily the Tamer showed up with a whimsical group of pets only to have to turn around and grab Unidentified Flying Object: her best Greater Dragon. And, as it looked like it would be another small expedition, she grabbed Lady Bang Bang, her pale samurai on a second client.
Unlike last week there was no trivial guardian spawn at the first chest in Felucca.
First one went to Phidippus as it had several macing items, including a mace fighting pink. Only the huge spider expressed interest in the craft of smashing things with large and pointy lumps of metal.
At this point MaNzAniTal the Tamer joined the party with Bubbles, his Greater Dragon. With two GDs, two Mystic Mages and whatever the heck Phidippus is, in addition his substantial Bard buffs, along with Yeager's occasional heals, Emily could retire Lady Bang Bang and the adventure could proceed in full party style.
Phidippus also had a pet....a pack Llama with a very long name that Yeager could not recall. Its mission and purpose would remain a mystery for some time.
Lotus Lakes
This was the only routine site of the adventure, apart from the odd propensity of our Rising Colossi to hit Cranes with boulders using Bombard. Sorry, Yeager was too stunned at seeing this to manage a photograph of this bizarre and somewhat silly looking ability of theirs.
Holy Crap!
The past few weeks our Trammel level 7 chests featured only legends of Frost Dragons. Still Yeager warned MaNz, who'd never seen one, that their appearance was a possibility. Then....oh my.....
Holy Crap, Part II
As noted in the brief preview, Yeager skipped the Ilshenar level 7 map last week due to the small size of the expedition. These are the most challenging, as noted in other reports, due to Renegade Changelings. One is a pain, two can be a nightmare. This time there were three. And much death followed....
As even Phidippus' pet pack llama died, Yeager noticed something he never imagined he'd see in the haughty arachnid:
fear.
Emily Takes Command
Amidst the futile combat and frequent death that followed Emily pointed out that there was no way the group was going to kill three Renegade Changelings by fighting them all at once.
If you get some distance from a guardian monster it beams back to the chest site. Thus Emily ordered everyone to group up at a point NW of the chest while she did the bait and drag on the annoying and formidable wee monsters, one at a time.
This took some trial and error finding just the right distance to fight them without them beaming back, yet again, to the chest. The correct answer turned out to be roughly 25 tiles.
It was still a prolonged battle and a tricky one to keep everyone on one changeling at a time without drawing the interest of the remaining others. At this point Petkiller joined us in TeamSpeak and suggested using Sleep too to slow down these plucky suckers. Eventually a hard earned victory was achieved.
But Wait, There's More!
In part to note Emily's cool, calm and competent leadership, Yeager awarded the chest to her. But the RNG chest guardian spawn gods were not as appreciative.
First loot spawn, a Renegade Changeling...
Second loot spawn, yep, another one....
And, before it was over,
NINE Renegade Changelings had appeared.
Yeager wasn't sure if it was this, or his anticipating his upcoming meeting with Lymafaekentlarah (the dark lady he refers to), but Phidippus began a continuous, and often ominous, musing....
This continued even after the party left Ilshenar. We had one more chest to go because MaNz had yet to get one. Yet even as we headed to the final site, Phidippus' carried on with his eerie contemplations...
Tori (Genna) had to leave us at this point. A gifted multi-tasker, she'd been baking bread during this time and guests were soon to arrive to consume it.
On the Edge
This final site in Felucca featured one of those spots where it's difficult to run from the guardian spawn and, often, difficult for the guardian spawn to run as well.
Fortunately the monster that fell off the cliff was attackable without our needing a boat.
Phidippus seemed to cheer up a bit too....
But then his odd commentary resumed...
Fortunately, and finally, Emily broke this extended spell with Whovian logic....
Once again, quick and calm thinking saved the situation
Emily remarked in TS that she'd been accused of being bossy. I asked if that adjective was ever applied to a guy. MaNz laughed and said, "Yeah, it's a double standard."
And two hours and a bit after it began, the adventure concluded with uniform high spirits, well distributed loot, and memories of camaraderie and fine teamwork.
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These sorts of adventures is why I continue to enjoy this game so very much
though.
