The Paradoxical Dragon has been added. The landing spot appears to be an area covered in an orange rock, with massive plateaus and other similar formations. and and has some structures resembling sniper cartridges off in the distance. More descriptions coming later.
Though not possessing any fancy title like the previous two to touch down here, a splinter of a plot force ends up landing here as well. He decides to simply be known as Torix, as are the other echoes of him... I digress, though.
The individual, unsure what to do, simply creates a rather simplistic sword. Though basic in it's design, the blade seems well balanced and should prove well in combat, if and when it comes to that.
The swirling gyre of energy dissipates, releasing your player character into an orange land with a pitch black sky. You see various canyon-like rock formations, stacking multicolored rock layers. Black, red, yellow and brown layers of sediment turn the plateaus into a display of diverse hues. Some of the rock formations are particularly odd- many of them resemble ammunition cartridges- smaller pistol rounds dot the landscape, while shotgun shells and sniper cartridges tower over them.
You notice some text that indicates where you are: Land of Lead and Mesas
A structure disrupts the pattern of the landscape- it's clearly a house, but from the exterior, it could easily pass for a fortress. Thick concrete walls line the outside of the home, with a lower concrete barrier surrounding the area. A strange, irregularly-constructed tower erupts from one end of the base. Seeking answers, you head through the canyon to the mentioned edifice- however, you meet some opposition on the way there. It seems as if a scouting party of Mooks is seen advancing towards the base as well. The Acolyte is, however, nowhere to be seen. You overhear a radio transmission one of the humanoids send-
MOOK: General Belial, I think this is the location you've been looking for.
MOOK: Looks pretty defendable, though. We'll definitely need- HEY!
MOOK: Send us backup; we've seen the Players! Why are they here?!
As the Mooks ready their weapons to prepare to engage you, a teenager with glasses, a T-shirt and a lopsided haircut comes charging down one of the shallower sides of the mesa, from the base you were trying to approach. He readies a machine pistol in one hand and takes aim at the enemy Mooks.
????: I'm not letting you get away this time!
</STORY POST>
This is a bit of an introductory battle. These current Mooks are here to gauge your strength, and how much damage you should be capable of putting out every turn. The Reticent Teenager should help bump up your damage as well.
At a minimum, you can deal 4 damage for a low-effort attack. However, with a bit of extra effort, you can easily reach 8 damage, which is enough to one-shot a Mook. If you really go above and beyond with your attack, you'll deal 16 damage, which can strike down two Mooks at once!
Oh yeah, you'll have two Charge Gauges to keep track of that can help you get in some burst damage or summon allies to help you win the fight.
Battle start!
[========] The Battlefield [========]
Current Location: Land of Lead and Mesas.
A windswept area resembling some southwest American badlands. Strange metal formations resembling ammunition lies abundant. Some sort of base lies in the distance.
The Entelarch [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
The Paradoxical Dragon [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Torix [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Torix: Simple Sword [Lvl.1] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +0)
Reticent Teenager [AA?] Health Vial: 100%. (50 HP). / BD: 6. / SV: 3. Weapons:
-Alternator SMG [Lvl.3]: (Automatic Weapon. Base Damage: +0. Reduces ranged damage reduction by 40%.)
-Fire Demon Mace [Lvl.3]: (Blunt Weapon. Base Damage: +2. Can cast a fireball to sacrifice extra damage and inflict Burning (50% melee damage penalty, 1 damage taken per turn) for 2 turns)
(x1)The Paradoxical Dragon looks around for materials from the landscape for a weapon, he doesn't feel like it quite needs one just yet, but...right now it's probably a good time to look for things...like the lead for example!! And maybe the rock around here has resources...it's hard to tell, but his Breath, tinged to Flame should be enough to melt a bit for a quick look-see.
(x1)Interesting choice of location where they landed he supposes, given its name, the house that towers in the distance...the fortress is unusual but these places always have a quirk of some sort...a teenager with weapons far beyond what one would normally expect...
Either way, it's probably best to Attack from a distance if only to not get too close to those wielding Swords...but those Mooks wielding Battle Rifles...they got to go.Now.
Calling upon latent Magic, hazy yet intuitive knowledge and a subtle Law, the Paradoxical Dragon causes the Rifles of a Mook or two wielding them to explode, destroying them and perhaps wounding their wielders as well due to the shrapnel and the...you know, explosion.
You obtain a batch of .22 LR Pebbles and some Surface Mesa Rock! They've been documented on the Crafting Ingredients Archive.
Good attack! You deal 8 damage in total, dealing lethal damage to one of the Battle Rifle Mooks! The rest of the Mooks duck away from any resulting shrapnel, however/
+2 to your current charge gauge. +8 Build Grist acquired.
RP Action - Torix, still not knowing how he got here, decides to think back a bit and really figure out why this happened - and more than that, how it happened. He thinks back to the stories he'd heard - something about an Acolyte of some sort? He'd heard that the guy had attacked Minecraft, but that was ages ago...
Hm. He supposes this had all started when he logged on to Minecraft again a few days ago. After getting a ping from one of his close friends who... well, had simply wanted to play the game with him, the two had played on the server for a small time before getting attacked by some basic Mooks. Unable to defend themselves in their current state, the friend had fled back to being semi-permanently idle.
The other Player, however? Attempting to figure out the reasoning behind the Mooks, there'd be a lot more independent adventures before he eventually figured out some of the basics behind the war. Eventually, finding the same warp point to the void he'd been falling through, he... well, fell. And now he's here.
... With a dragon and a person who can eat triangles. Well. At the very least, there's Mooks here. Like the ones that ran off his friend and started this whole journey. Time to get some revenge, then!
---
Action 1 - Torix, wielding his sword, engages in melee combat with several of the Mooks! Rushing up, he engages one of the Sword Mooks and begins to engage in simple combat. Swinging his sword with well-timed slashes and cuts, he's able to bring one of the Mooks down by a fair amount of health, and fight him off to the point where he has a little bit of a breather. However, soon seeing the glint in their eye, he realizes: there's only one way that this could happen. Turning around to reveal a second Sword Mook behind him, rushing in for the damage, Torix begins to charge up his sword and cause it to glow with a blue, then orange, glowing energy. Releasing it as both Mooks surround in, he unleashes a Legend of Zelda style spin attack on both Mooks, striking both and subduing them - hopefully, through death.
Action 2 - Turning to look at some of the other Mooks, Torix realizes: he still only has a sword. Swords are not effective against semi-automatic guns, normally. However, he's still at full health, meaning that another classic staple of the Legend of Zelda games can easily work in his favor here: sword beams! Preforming several simple slashes into the air, a strange effect begins to occur as a white streak forms in the wake of his slashes. Eventually, it forms a series of lines, all intersecting at one central point. Finally, acting on his instincts, he points outwards towards a couple of the Battle Rifle mooks, slamming into one and continuing into another if it makes it that far.
---
Talking is Probably a Free Action Thing - Additionally, Torix looks over at the Recitent Teenager. Being a teen himself, although on the upper end of the spectrum, he figures talking to this guy wouldn't be a bad idea. Torix - ... Um, pardon me, but who are you?
Torix - Also, why are ya so adamant about going after these guys? A slight pause, as the Player considers. Torix - ... Sorry if that came off as rude.
Torix - The three of us (he gestures to the dragon and whatever the Entelarch is) just fell through a space portal and I have no clue what's going on.
Torix - Answers would be nice.
The Reticent Teenager responds to Torix's curiosity.
????: Oh, hey, are you fighting the Mooks too?
????: I'm glad to have you on my side, then, even if I dunno how you guys woulda gotten here.
????: I can explain a lot more later, but for now call me Luke.
LUKE: These guys have been harassing me for what feels like forever.
LUKE: Most recently, they ransacked a village of consorts nearby, probably just to hinder me.
LUKE: But for now, let's focus on fending these jerks off.
Your attacks are a really good start! You deal 14 damage to the group of Sword Mooks with your flurry of attacks, dealing lethal damage to one of them and leaving the other on critical health!
Another good attack comes next, which lets you deal 10 damage to the group of Battle Rifle Mooks, killing one and scratching another!
+5 to your current Charge Gauge. +16 Build Grist acquired.
Post-Player Battle:
The Reticent Teenager unloads his Alternator SMG into one of the Battle Rifle Mooks, dealing 9 damage to one and lethally ventilating them! He drops +8 Build Grist for the party.
The Sword Mooks retaliate against Torix, dealing 4 damage! One of them also heads after the Entelarch, dealing 2 damage.
The Battle Rifle Mooks divide their fire between the Paradoxical Dragon and the Reticent Teenager, dealing 4 damage to the former and 6 damage to the latter!
Total Grist gains for this round are: +32 Build Grist
(I'll probably run formulae for item upgrades in the near future, but for now it's good to just hold onto it. Be sure to manage your own personal grist stores when it comes to spending it!)
[========] The Battlefield [========]
Current Location: Land of Lead and Mesas.
A windswept area resembling some southwest American badlands. Strange metal formations resembling ammunition lies abundant. Some sort of base lies in the distance.
The Entelarch [AA] HP: 23/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
The Paradoxical Dragon [AA] HP: 21/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Torix [AA] HP: 21/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Crafting Ingredients that have been collected are listed here.
Torix: Simple Sword [Lvl.1] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +0)
Reticent Teenager/Luke [AA?]Health Vial: 88%. (44/50 HP). / BD: 6. / SV: 3. Weapons:
-Alternator SMG [Lvl.3]: (Automatic Weapon. Base Damage: +0. Reduces ranged damage reduction by 40%.)
-Fire Demon Mace [Lvl.3]: (Blunt Weapon. Base Damage: +2. Can cast a fireball to sacrifice extra damage and inflict Burning (50% melee damage penalty, 1 damage taken per turn) for 2 turns)
Build Grist:32
Charge:2/35
(x1)Paradox peeks out from behind his wings, which had bore the brunt of the damage, as soon as he can focus to heal them off...not right now though, there are some mooks to handle.
Now fully into the flow of the fight, Paradox begins a quick series of movements. He teleports behinds the Battle Rifle Mooks with his grasp of paradoxes shunting him to where he was not. Opening up with a gout of dragonfire, he uses his claws to swipe at the mooks through the flames;while he himself is quite fireproof to his own fire, the mooks aren't. As the mooks disperse, he rises up above the mayhem and invokes a small bit of [[FLAME]] before plunching down, enveloped in the purest flames, slamming into the groundlike a meteor and creating the minor shockwaves, yet miraculously remaining unscratched through that attack.
(x1)As the smoke from the crater rises, 2 green eyes flash out from within it as he rises up back into stance. He then uses the power of CREATE and produce a bunch of hydrogen and oxygen gas around a Battle Rifle Mook or two. His eyes flash. And a literal anime spark flies from his eyes to the Battle Rifle Mook, setting off the combustion and creating another explosion around the Mook. With so much explosions and heat in the area, the ground has become a bit...more molten. This is bad for fighting though, and thus he bends the Heat, forming them into invisible lances and plunging them through another Mook or 2.
[Talking is still a Free Action] Quickly disengaging from the Sword Mooks, Torix, looking at the individual - Luke, as his name was - nods. Torix - Sounds good, then.
Torix - Fight now, talk later.
[Action 1] Deciding that although swords are nice and all that, Torix decides to be different for this attack. The sword doesn't actually provide any bonus right now - considering none of these guys are even capable of dodging or blocking an attack, it's basically just flavor text. Pondering his options for a quick second, he realizes that some of the magic reserves he'd built up are still up and running - and considering he's once again at a decent range, let's use those instead. Again, focusing on the Sword Mooks, Torix waves his hand. Several orange-yellow missiles flare into existence, and as Torix again fires them forwards, they home in on the remaining Sword Mooks... which promptly panic as they realize their life is at an end. The primary Mook targeted attempts to deflect them with his sword, slashing one in two before it promptly reforms. Looking at the Player, whose jacket is billowing from an invisible wind, he just sees a small smirk as he crosses his arms. Torix - You can't cut magic in half, you fool.
Torix - Nice try, though. Enjoy the afterlife! The missile reforms and explodes into the Mook, knocking the sword out of his hands as he's KO'd. The remainder of the missiles focus on the injured Sword Mook and then spread to other targets as needed.
[Action 2] Even with max damage for the last attack, one of the Sword Mooks would still be barely alive. As such, Torix decides to fix that, promptly casting another spell on the Sword Mook. As he attempts to dodge it, from the Sword Mook's perception the world gets faster and faster... or is he slowing down? The whole world seems impossibly fast as he comes to a complete and total stop...
Meanwhile, to the rest of the world, the Sword Mook is put under a short-lived stasis. As the spell starts to make a mental bing sound, counting down towards the end of it, Torix rushes inwards to the Sword Mook. Preforming a series of slashes on it, another yellow glowing arrow shows the end momentum caused by the slashes... but as there's more, the arrow gets bigger, turning from yellow to orange to red. One last strike sends the arrow pointing towards the Battle Rifle Mooks.
The spell ends and causes the Sword Mook to wake up. He finds himself flying through the air towards his comrades at probably too fast to survive this wait WHA-
Proceed to a massive amount of chaos as the Sword Mook hits a Rifle Mook or two at an accelerated speed, killing them from the impact.
Inventory - Charge Gauge 1: [:::::|:::::|:::::|:::::|:::::|:::::|:::::] 5/35, 0 Spent
Charge Gauge 2: [:::::|:::::|:::::|:::::|:::::|:::::|:::::] 0/35, 0 Spent Build Grist - 32? (Note: Figure Grist out with the other AAs)
At the start of the turn, your grist stores would have been 32- everyone gets Grist when an enemy dies, even if not by your hand. If you need to check how much Grist income you're getting, they'll get summed up at the end of the Post-Player Battle.
Your attacks are quite the spectacle. You deal 28 damage in total to the group of Sword Mooks, which proves overkill in destroying them! The overkill damage bleeds over into the group of Battle Rifle Mooks as per your second attack!
+6 to your current Charge Gauge. +32 Build Grist acquired.
Post-Player Battle:
The Reticent Teenager/Luke strikes down the last healthy Battle Rifle Mook with his Fire Demon Mace, dealing 8 lethal damage and dropping +8 Build Grist for the party!
The final Battle Rifle Mook is too terrified from seeing his squad get wiped out to act.
Luke speaks to the trio of players:
LUKE: You can either finish that guy off, or let him run. We've taught these Mooks a lesson either way.
LUKE: Hopefully we get more backup, though.
LUKE: Oh yeah, if you didn't hear my name before, I'm Luke Ingram.
LUKE: I suggest we head back to my base to get started on stuff: I'll dispense out some crafting ingredients and such when we get there.
LUKE: Feel free to use my Alchemiter once you're at the base- we'll need whatever we can get, since more Mooks will arrive shortly.
LUKE: While this short breather lasts, however, feel free to chat me up or heal.
LUKE: Or take a potshot at that last Mook if you really want to.
Total Grist gains for this round are: +64 Build Grist
(I'll probably run formulae for item upgrades in the near future, but for now it's good to just hold onto it. Be sure to manage your own personal grist stores when it comes to spending it!)
(Also, Torix's sword has been retroactively demoted to Level 0. I'm not going to nerf its stats, but I'd like to save weapons with additional stats for crafted weapons.)
[========] The Battlefield [========]
Current Location: Land of Lead and Mesas.
A windswept area resembling some southwest American badlands. Strange metal formations resembling ammunition lies abundant. Some sort of base lies in the distance.
The Entelarch [AA] HP: 23/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
The Paradoxical Dragon [AA] HP: 21/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Torix [AA] HP: 21/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Crafting Ingredients that have been collected are listed here.
Torix: Simple Sword[Lvl.0] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +0)
Luke Ingram [AA?]Health Vial: 84%. (42/50 HP). / BD: 6. / SV: 3. Weapons:
-Alternator SMG [Lvl.3]: (Automatic Weapon. Base Damage: +0. Reduces ranged damage reduction by 40%.)
-Fire Demon Mace [Lvl.3]: (Blunt Weapon. Base Damage: +2. Can cast a fireball to sacrifice extra damage and inflict Burning (50% melee damage penalty, 1 damage taken per turn) for 2 turns)
Build Grist:96
Charge:6/35
(x1)Paradox looks down onto the last Mook and huffs before moving away, he doesn't believe in unneeded violence, and this one has been taught their lesson. He moves towards the other people and as he moves, his wounds close up due to his innate Regeneration.
(x1)Now then, while he doesn't have an Innate Healing ability or skill beyond mundane Universal First Aid Skills being one of the more...battle-ready personas of his Greater Self. However, he can still reach into the collective and manifest some character from one of the multitudes of Soulscapes.
Drawing on his link to the Greater self and selecting somebody to Emulate, a staff is conjured out of thin air, containing a deadly mineral that's yet so important in its home world for Industry purposes, as well for its ability for people to perform magic.
Invoking the Staff and raising it high, he sends out a wish for Healing into the staff, and the staff responds with a green light, that heals all other allies on which the green light shines on.
A lone individual is seen approaching the room. Their movements are stiff, but that's to be expected. Their looks are rather simple - black hair, white shirt, black pants, normal eyes - though without any colors other than the standard black and white. Currently they were wearing some Iron Boots.
Iron boots that, apparently, he had to go through hell and back to get.
---------------
*Earlier, in the Nether*
The minecraft avatar, bouncing around like a loon and sometimes in circles, swung a stone sword at some Blazes. Somehow, likely through a text to speech program, they were able to relay the following response into the chat.
Literally. He had no idea WHY he was having such a hard time getting iron, but going into the Nether and breaking so many Stone Swords down there wasn't worth it. But at least the other person kept their promise and given him their full set of iron armor.
As they enter the room, they notice two portals. Of them, one looks a lot more inviting than the other. The character stands stock still.
-------------
In another time, in another place, a person was playing Minecraft. Given what happened during the events surrounding the Operation...
He stopped himself and took a few deep breaths. He purposefully did not close his eyes. He didn't want to see images of what happened to him during that event.
Still. From what little he could gather, shit happened because of this one asshole - the Godmodder - and he was stopped by a bunch of weird misfits...
Including people who were playing GodCraft during the incident. At the time, he didn't have a computer. But he did now. And some part of him had aspirations that...
----
*Flashback to his most recent attempt at playing Minecraft*
The Minecraft avatar, Steve colored at the time, bounced around like a loon and even ran in circles. He was trying to shoot at some Creeper closing in on his position.
...well, let's just say he hadn't completed a 100 day Hardcore challenge before. And honestly he wasn't used to the controls for this version of Minecraft. He still didn't know how to do that summoning thing he saw some other people do.
And it's because of that that he ended up choosing the right portal.
Where he'd fall. And fall. And fall. As he did so, he thought over what he had been doing prior to this. What he had done, and what he could have done better.
--------
*Previously, when he was approaching the location of the portals featured in the end of the last game.*
The Minecraft Avatar, sporting a helmet and pants but not the breastplate, bounced around like a complete loon, sometimes even running in circles. Somehow, through some fell magic, he was able to communicate in the chat box without needing to type.
...it was clear that there were still a few bugs to work out.
--------
Honestly, considering he had lost everything but those boots, he had a lot to contemplate.
But that was boring. So in real life he got up and got some water. As he did so he took a deep breath.
After all this time, he had finally caught up with the heroes of the movement. He smiled, cautiously, to himself.
He just hoped he could make it count.
But naturally, he did this about a few minutes into the hours long portal drop. So he had to do other things in the meantime. Like chores. And homework.
Every once in a while he'd come back and check on things. Nope, still the same.
He even pre-ordered a game while he was out and about. It was supposed to come in the mail eventually.
Still nothing.
He even opened up youtube and began to browse videos. When he came to, it was already 1 A.M. He looked at his character.
Sti- He blinked when he saw the character finally land.
And the enemies he had been expecting to fight had already been dealt with by the actual heroes leading the charge.
"...son of a-"
He took a deep breath or two and another swig of water. He opened up the text chat and began to message them.
Minecraft Chat -
Alastair1 : AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- ahem, sorry, apparently this was stuck on the A key somehow.
Alastair1 : So... what did I miss?
Both Actions were used to create those Iron boots. The rest was just flavor text to introduce my character - an ordinary person who was playing Minecraft! Their Avatar has arrived, at least.
????? - ... Wrong client. Wrong game, for that matter.
????? - We aren't in Minecraft anymore, Alastair. You can just talk here... assuming you have a mic. Another Minecraftian avatar stands before you. This one seems to have actual clothing that isn't just a part of a skin, as they're called, he wears a burnt orange jacket over a darkened tee. Some jeans and combat boots complete the other Minecraftian's outfit, who is a brown-haired but light-skinned individual himself. Emerald green eyes regard you as you finish typing into the chat client, as the avatar - he looks to be in his late teens, no more than 19 - quite simply... talks. ????? - It's Torix, by the way. I seem to be the more vocal one here.
Torix - I suppose that's not surprising, considering the others are either a dragon or not done anything since we got here.
Torix - Anyways... I digress. Welcome to the club.
Torix - So far we've driven off these guys (he gestures to the fleeing Mook) and met this one. He points at Luke, who seems unconcerned and a slight bit impatient here. Torix - Glad we waited for you, though. We're a bit short on power here... only three of us, four counting Luke.
Torix - We're kinda following him for now. Headed back to his base. Sound good?
Torix - Let's let him run. The dragon seems fine with it, and I'm not one for merciless killing anyway.
Torix - As for backup, Luke... seems like it's arrived. Again, he gestures to Alastair, kinda giving him a wave as he talks to Luke. Torix - Agreed that more would be nice, though.
Torix - Anyways... I guess since I'm kinda the spokesperson for the Players right now...
Torix - We'll follow you for the time being. Let's head to your base if there's nothing people would like to do out here. He smiles, before seeming to remember something. Mentally reprimanding himself, he soon speaks up again. Torix - Gah, but where are my manners anyways?
Torix - Since we didn't really get the chance to talk to you earlier...
Torix - Nice to meet you, Luke. I'm Torix Alea.
Torix - Thanks for teaming up with us.
Action 1 - Torix, seeming to be looking for a way to pass time, scavenges the mesas for anything that could be remotely useful. Eventually realizing there's... not much here, he just goes for picking up a few of the larger stones off of the ground. Thank god inventory space doesn't seem to be a problem for ingredients.
Action 2 - Additionally, just in case the dragon didn't heal everyone with the action, Torix preps a quick Mass Healing Word (yes, he got that name from D&D, be quiet) of his own creation. Speaking the words of power, anyone with minor cuts remaining finds them closed up as they're restored to perfect health.
LUKE: Hey, don't worry about it. Any form of backup will do well for keeping the Mooks at bay.
LUKE: And once we get back to base, we'll definitely be even more prepared, which is important with our smaller numbers.
LUKE: But yeah, I'm glad to meet you too, Torix. I've got a few other friends scattered throughout this world, but I'll get into that later.
LUKE: I'm sure they'd also be glad to get to know you.
Post-Player Battle:
Luke invites you over to his fortress, scanning his retinas across a display. Inside, there are some amount of supplies, including a handy Alchemiter you can use for crafting up your items. Luke also grants you 50 Malachite to help you craft, and points out a bunch of weapon templates lying around that you can use to fabricate some gear. Feel free to check the Crafting Ingredients Index to sift through what's been found already.
LUKE: Welcome to my home base!
LUKE: Sorry I haven't really cleaned up at all, since I wasn't really expecting any guests.
LUKE: My Alchemiter's free for you to use, though, so maybe those weapon templates could see some more use.
LUKE: I'm pretty sure I have a lot more ingredients lying around, so feel free to look elsewhere if you want some more elaborate gear.
LUKE: However, before we prepare, I feel like we should talk about what we're preparing for.
LUKE: There's going to be a larger Mook force arriving shortly.
LUKE: If we drive them off, not only do we... you know... not die... but we'll also get some more Build Grist in the process.
LUKE: I don't know why Mooks drop Build Grist, but I'll take what I can get.
LUKE: I need more so I can access the closest gate to me- I previously built up to it, but the Mooks destroyed it and won't keep it up.
LUKE: Then we'll start to reunite with the other three people in this universe and work on a more solid objective to try stopping whoever's pulling the strings behind these attacks... and why my game session's been messed up since the start.
LUKE: So, let's get to it- we probably don't have much time.
LUKE: I'll be around to chat and help everyone if they need me.
Total Grist gains for this round are: +50 Malachite [Lvl.1 Grist]
(Grist of the same level is interchangeable, so feel free to just mark it as Lvl.1 Grist in your personal stockpiles.)
[========] The Battlefield [========]
Current Location: Land of Lead and Mesas.
A windswept area resembling some southwest American badlands. Strange metal formations resembling ammunition lies abundant. Luke Ingram's base also rests here, but it's fallen worse for wear and suffered a few Mook attacks.
Itinerary:
-Prepare for the battle against the upcoming Mook forces!
The Entelarch [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
The Paradoxical Dragon [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Torix [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Alastair1 [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Crafting Ingredients that have been collected are listed here.
Torix: Simple Sword[Lvl.0] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +0)
Alastair1: Iron Boots[Lvl.0] (10% chance to reduce incoming damage by 20%)
Luke Ingram [AA?]Health Vial: 100%. (50/50 HP). / BD: 6. / SV: 3. Weapons:
-Alternator SMG [Lvl.3]: (Automatic Weapon. Base Damage: +0. Reduces ranged damage reduction by 40%.)
-Fire Demon Mace [Lvl.3]: (Blunt Weapon. Base Damage: +2. Can cast a fireball to sacrifice extra damage and inflict Burning (50% melee damage penalty, 1 damage taken per turn) for 2 turns) Consumables:
-Potion of Lead Skin (2 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Gain Lead Skin (100% resistance to ranged damage) for one turn only)
-Black Mesa Standard Medkit (3 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Restore 15 HP to the user when used)
Acolyte [AC] Progress: 36/100 HP Acolyte Kills: 28
(x1)Heading outside to a small patch of clear land, Paradox begins melting more land and digging deeper, shifting out the melted rock to search for the better stuff, as well as any veins of ores that could be found...Lead should be abundant here.
(x1)Thinking a bit, Paradox creates 3 Jars and traps...Nothing!! Well, not precisely. Using Arcane processes and mystic junctions between a few Laws that he knows about and some energetic jumpstarts, he captures the Essence of Air, some Ambient Light, and...actually Nothing, as in, the absence of everything, a greatly diluted Void. Though perhaps not the best for direct combat applications...there are perhaps stuff that can be made from this particular Jar that then can be used for Crafting more stable objects.
New crafting ingredients added! Essence of Air, Jar of Ambient Light, and Jar of Diluted Void, as well as Lead Ore, Chunk of Niter and Tiger-Striped Mesa Rock.
I frown and communicate more through the chat client - Or I was before Luke spoke up. It isn't until after we got to the base that it occurs to me to respond.
Alastair1: Oh, sorry. Um, I don't have a mic.
Alastair1: Also, how are we not still playing Minecraft? I'm still controlling my avatar and everything.
I make them look and shuffle side to side, punctuating the last bit with a little hop. It looks very janky, and clear to everyone that they aren't acutally here in person.
Alastair1: Anyway... Alchemy?
Alastair1: Wait, why is this familiar?
I tried to think of it, but all I could think about was that Full Metal Alchemist show. Definitely not the same thing. And knowing my luck if I tried to look it up online I'd get all the wrong results.
Alastair1: At any rate, I don't know how it works, so I guess I'll just look around for anything useful while we talk.
And so, with all the grace and skill of a Minecraft Avatar, I searched the area. Mostly Armor at this point, such as leggings/pants, Shirts/breastplates, and helmets/hats. After all, I could punch my way out of anything, theoretically. Surviving is the hard part.
---
Meanwhile in the real world, I decided to look up Torix and see if he's done any youtube videos or other notable Minecraft things. I also bite the bullet and decide to try and look up alchemy, trying to see if the alchemy I was seeing had any Minecraft mods and what some common recipes were if so.
You search around for some armor, and a Chestplate Template, a pair of Basic Pants, and a Modern Helmet Replica turn up.
Presumably every Minecraft player here would have come through the massive portal vortex that transported you here, or perhaps another portal, but before that, I'm not really sure where your character's been. I think that part would be up to you.
Although from the current set of ingredients, here's what I came up with, assuming you want some new armor:
Chestplate Template ++ Lead Ore == X-Ray-Proof Vest (Would possibly deflect blindness debuffs or damage reduction?)
Basic Pants ++ .22 LR Pebbles == Gunslinger's Chaps (Would possibly give bonuses when using guns?)
Modern Helmet Replica ++ Tiger-Striped Mesa Rock == Tiger-Pattern Helmet (Would possibly give a small extra crit chance?)
If you want anything more specific or different from that, feel free to specify, although I assume you were asking for inspiration.
Torix - ... this sounds an awful lot like a game of Sburb.
Torix - I'm pretty sure that's fairly obvious considering the Land naming scheme and such...
Torix - But that's not the point. Couple questions for ya, then.
Torix - A, how many players are in this session? You said there was three, right?
Torix - And B, do you know where the first gate above your house even leads? He sighs, quickly scratching the back of his head. Torix - I'm gonna go look around a bit around your place, since you said you had some spare ingredients around here.
Torix - Do you have any stronger metals or things you'd consider magical?
Torix - I'm considering making a wand or even spell-blade of some kind. Torix - It's the kind of weapon I'm most used to, so re-obtaining one would be nice.
Torix - Ah, fair enough. You seem to be fairly adept at that text-to-speech program anyways.
Torix - Notice that everything isn't all blocky here, either. Your avatar seems to have been transported to a different area in space...
Torix - I'd think of it as transporting from one server to another. Like joining a minigame in Hypixel, if you've ever done that.
Torix - But I have no clue how you're maintaining the connection here. Might be something worth looking into... Seeming to think for a second, he takes off the Simple Sword and gives it to Alastair. Torix - As for the Alchemiter, I think it just takes items and combines them.
Torix - Perhaps try combining the sword and your boots? I'm not sure what will happen, but...
Torix - At the very least, it gives us a better idea of how it works.
Torix - ... plus, I'm just curious to see what combining boots and a sword will do.
As Alastair looks up the name Torix on the internet, he finds... mainly stuff about some stock that nobody seems interested in. Scrolling down a bit though... he does eventually find something. A Youtube channel called TorixWorldweaver is there. Possessing an orange channel banner and a generally decent color scheme, it actually looks like it's pretty decently edited, though it doesn't have too many subscribers, only around the thousand mark. Among the recent videos, various Minecraft-based pieces of content are there, along with videos of various Let's Plays, including his adventures in Breath of the Wild and even a bit of Splatoon 2 thrown in from time to time.
Digging deeper, he would find that Torix's set up in the later videos of him was related to virtual reality, with him even going so far as to play Minecraft with it in singleplayer, despite the stigma going on related to the game since the Acolyte's takeover. Playing on the Minecraft Realms and such with his friends eventually got in... and then, he decided to join Godcraft, and join the game. It took him a while, though, from the looks of it. The sheer amount of mods on the server seemed to give him a lot of trouble, as evidenced by community posts and several update videos. His last couple videos actually detail more recent travels throughout GodCraft and even briefly detail some parts of Act 2 of the Acolyte's War.
Investigate further?
Action 1 - Torix searches around the house further, looking around for anything that could be useful: specifically, magic-based materials. He'd always enjoyed playing the mage-style characters in his games, so... might as well continue that trend.
Action 2 - Additionally, seeing Paradox's elemental jars, Torix seems to nod and join in. Again calling inwards on that pool of magic he has, he materialzes a block of Netherrack, a water bucket, and a piece of regular stone. Throwing the water into another jar, he simulaneously sets the netherrack on fire and places it in a second jar as well. The piece of stone is thrown in, expanding to soon fill the jar it's contained in. Finally, as all three new jars are filled, they leave their simplest essences behind - the essence of fire, earth, and water all added to the repretoire of crafting ingredients.
Luke responds to your questions about his current Sburb session: LUKE: Well, there are three players other than me, so that'd be four in total.
LUKE: Yeah, the Gate I want to build up to leads to the land of one of my fellow players.
LUKE: She's my server player, but can't really do much because the Mooks keep breaking her progress.
LUKE: I'd imagine that magic would be more of her area of expertise... but if you want to search around for anything I might have, feel free.
You obtain a Sawed-Off Magic Staff, some Cursed Bismuth, and Enchanting for Dummis.
You also obtain a Jar of Fire Energy, Jar of Magic Water, and Essence of Earth.
Post-Player Battle:
Luke is sitting on a couch in the room where you're working, when he suddenly looks up from his laptop with urgent news. LUKE: I just heard from my Server Player.
LUKE: The Mooks are closing in on this place.
LUKE: They're probably just going trickle in for now, but bigger units will come in sometime soon.
LUKE: Good news- it seems they have one of their generals among them.
LUKE: I don't know how dangerous of a fight he'll be, but if we beat him, he might call off any attacks for the time being.
LUKE: That means we'll probably be able to reach the gate sometime soon, but we've gotta win first.
LUKE: If you need to do any more preparations, now's the time.
He grabs his armaments and heads out the door to confront the Mook attack force.
Luke wasn't lying- a decently-sized Mook battalion has appeared on the horizon, from what you can see out of the windows. Luke is lying in wait behind an outer wall, awaiting a good chance to strike. Making your move now would be a good idea.
Oh yeah, the Outer Wall could provide some cover if you need to use it- it can only cover 3 units or entities, so be sure to communicate about who would need it best. If you're hiding behind it, it'll take a certain amount of damage you'd take, represented by the percentage near it. Additionally, Luke will get out from cover if you need to get behind it.
Watch out- there are some armored units in the force, but they should be easy to deal with. Some Elite units are in as well, which are better shots than their bretheren, but are just as fragile as them.
Total Grist gains for this round are:
(None!)
[========] The Battlefield [========]
Current Location: Land of Lead and Mesas.
A windswept area resembling some southwest American badlands. Strange metal formations resembling ammunition lies abundant. Luke Ingram's base also rests here, but it's fallen worse for wear and suffered a few Mook attacks.
Itinerary:
-Defeat the Mook attack force!
-Summon entities to help you in the battle!
The Entelarch [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
The Paradoxical Dragon [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Torix [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Alastair1 [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Crafting Ingredients that have been collected are listed here.
Torix: Simple Sword[Lvl.0] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +0)
Alastair1: Iron Boots[Lvl.0] (10% chance to reduce incoming damage by 20%)
Luke Ingram [AA]Health Vial: 100%. (50/50 HP). / BD: 6. / SV: 3. Weapons:
-Alternator SMG [Lvl.3]: (Automatic Weapon. Base Damage: +0. Reduces ranged damage reduction by 40%.)
-Fire Demon Mace [Lvl.3]: (Blunt Weapon. Base Damage: +2. Can cast a fireball to sacrifice extra damage and inflict Burning (50% melee damage penalty, 1 damage taken per turn) for 2 turns) Consumables:
-Potion of Lead Skin (2 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Gain Lead Skin (100% resistance to ranged damage) for one turn only)
-Black Mesa Standard Medkit (3 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Restore 15 HP to the user when used)
I begin to panic at the sound of the Mooks incoming, forgetting to respond to anything anyone said except a quick 'thanks a million!' to Torix for the sword. I quickly get to work with the Alchemiter, which proves that whatever the heck I had been thinking I had been misremembering.
Thankfully, I didn't have to sacrifice anything, and as such I freely alchemized my Iron boots to get some iron equipment going. Sword and armor were critical, so I used them with the Simple Sword and Chestplate Template to get myself equipped.
That's when the shots rang out. I swore, and began to jump, duck and basically make a nuisance of myself to hit as I approached. If Minecraft has taught me anything, it's this:
Take out the ranged guy's first. So I attack the Automatic Mooks with my newly alchemized sword.
Iron Boots ++ Simple Sword == Iron Boot-Embossed Sword [Lvl.1]
Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +2
Iron Boots ++ Chestplate Template == Iron Boot-Pattern Chestplate [Lvl.1]
Equipment, 50% chance to reduce incoming damage by 25%
You gain the Iron Boot-Embossed Sword and the Iron Boot-Pattern Chestplate! One is a sword with boot designs on the hilt, and the other is your standard iron chestplate that has designs of boots decorating it. You equip them both, spending 40 Build Grist and 20 Lvl.1 Grist in total.
I tried to do some reading as to what kind of equipment you wanted, but from now on items listed first will take precedence as to what the final form of the object will look like in the end.
Normally, an "I attack X entity" wouldn't do very much, but I like your other descriptions- you deal a lethal 8 damage to one of the Automatic Mooks, thinning their numbers!
+2 to your current Charge Gauge. +8 Build Grist acquired.
(x1)Paradox makes the following:
Chest plate Template ++ Essence of Air
Staff Template ++ Jar of Diluted Void
(x1)Equipping the two, Paradox slams the Staff onto the Ground and mutters a Spell of Vacuum, sucking the Automatic Mooks up into the Air, before it fades and then slam back down onto the ground as Gravity takes hold.
Chestplate Template ++ Essence of Air == Aether Chestplate[Lvl.1]
Equipment, 10% chance to dodge an attack completely
Staff Template ++ Jar of Diluted Void == Voidstaff[Lvl.1]
Blunt Weapon, Base Damage: +1, 25% chance to inflict Blind (60% miss chance) for 1 turn upon hit
You gain the Aether Chestplate and the Voidstaff! One is a chestplate made nearly entirely of air magically formed into the shape of a chestplate that makes you feel a lot lighter on your feet. The other is a quarterstaff which weighs next-to-nothing and is nearly pitch black. This spends 20 Lvl. 1 Grist and 40 Build Grist from your total.
Good attack- you deal 11 damage to the group of Automatic Mooks, killing one and dealing 3 damage to another! That other Mook is blinded for their turn.
+2 to your current Charge Gauge. +8 Build Grist acquired.
Action 1 - Torix, realizing the Looks are here and he doesn't have too much time, gets to work with alchemizing. Promptly, he alchemists the following:
(Sword Template ++ Sawed Off Magic Staff) ++ Jar of Fire Energy
Really hoping that didn't cost too much, he hastily grabs the result and stashes it in his inventory for now. He'll take a better look at it when he has some time next turn.
Action 2 - Irritably, as Torix approaches the Mooks facing down the fortress, he... draws a blank when it comes to creativity. Literally. Pulling out a pencil, he draws a blank in some sort of arcane trickery. As soon as it's finished drawing itself, it fires off in the direction of the Elite Rifle Mooks, striking the ground right in front of it. Seemingly, nothing happens for a second, causing the Mooks to state at the Minecraftian quizically. He shrugs, before the blank bullet explodes into a field of white, leaving that portion of the world a blank field, empty of any enemies.
(Sword Template ++ Sawed Off Magic Staff) ++ Jar of Fire Energy == Fire Caster Sword[Lvl.1]
Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +1, Target's armor is 10% less effective
You create the Fire Caster Sword for a total of 20 Build Grist and 10 Lvl. 1 Grist!
Good attack! You deal 12 damage to the Elite Rifle Mooks, killing 1 of them and halving the other's health!
+2 to your current Charge Gauge. +10 Build Grist acquired.
Post-Player Battle:
Luke stays behind the cover of the Outer Wall and saturates one of the Lightly Armored Spear Mooks, dealing 9 lethal damage! The properties of his SMG make the Mook's armor ineffective. The Mook drops an extra 10 Build Grist for the players!
The Lightly Armored Spear Mooks go after the Outer Wall itself and after the Paradoxical Dragon, dealing 6 and 4 damage to each!
The Club Mooks also go after the Outer Wall, but some attack Torix, dealing 10 damage to each!
The Automatic Mooks deal with the Paradoxical Dragon and Alastair1, dividing their fire between them. The first takes 3 damage, but the second takes 5 damage! Armor saved Alastair1 from a good amount of damage.
The Elite Rifle Mooks also decide to divide their fire between Luke and Torix! Torix takes 4 damage- one of the Rifle Mooks missed, but got to reroll their shot. Luke takes 4 damage- two of the Rifle Mooks hit the Outer Wall, but one rerolled their shot to hit Luke, and the other couldn't.
The blinded Automatic Mook regains sight!
Luke shouts from behind the Outer Wall: LUKE: Head back here if you get hurt!
LUKE: I'll use a medkit on you if you need it!
Total Grist gains for this round are: +36 Build Grist
[========] The Battlefield [========]
Current Location: Land of Lead and Mesas.
A windswept area resembling some southwest American badlands. Strange metal formations resembling ammunition lies abundant. Luke Ingram's base also rests here, but it's fallen worse for wear and suffered a few Mook attacks.
Itinerary:
-Defeat the Mook attack force!
-Summon entities to help you in the battle!
-Use the cover provided by the Outer Wall if you need to tank hits!
The Entelarch [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
The Paradoxical Dragon [AA] HP: 18/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Torix [AA] HP: 11/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Alastair1 [AA] HP: 20/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Crafting Ingredients that have been collected are listed here.
The Paradoxical Dragon: Aether Chestplate[Lvl.1] (Equipment, 10% chance to dodge an attack completely) Voidstaff[Lvl.1] (Blunt Weapon, Base Damage: +1, 25% chance to inflict Blind (60% miss chance) for 1 turn upon hit)
Torix: Simple Sword[Lvl.0] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +0) Fire Caster Sword [Lvl.1] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +1, Target's armor is 10% less effective)
Alastair1: Iron Boot-Embossed Sword[Lvl.1] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +2) Iron Boot-Patterned Chestplate [Lvl.1] (Equipment, 50% chance to reduce incoming damage by 25%) Iron Boots[Lvl.0] (Equipment, 10% chance to reduce incoming damage by 20%)
Luke Ingram [AA]Health Vial: 100%. (50/50 HP). / BD: 6. / SV: 3. Weapons:
-Alternator SMG [Lvl.3]: (Automatic Weapon. Base Damage: +0. Target's ranged armor is 40% less effective.)
-Fire Demon Mace [Lvl.3]: (Blunt Weapon. Base Damage: +2. Can cast a fireball to sacrifice extra damage and inflict Burning (50% melee damage penalty, 1 damage taken per turn) for 2 turns) Consumables:
-Potion of Lead Skin (2 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Gain Lead Skin (100% resistance to ranged damage) for one turn only)
-Black Mesa Standard Medkit (3 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Restore 15 HP to the user when used)
(x1)Twirling around the Voidstaff, I gain a better measure of what it's capable of. Hmm, I think I know what to do next. I take a lunge towards the Automatic Mooks-and then dissapear into Nothing as I become briefly Intangible due to the Void. I Ghost around them to their back and reappear, bonking all of them with Dark Energy Empowered hits onto their heads from my Voidstaff in a surprise Attack.With the lightness of the Staff, it is easy to just...hit all of them at great speeds. When they turn around, they find no one, for I am gone and flying above them.
Reappearing again on TOP of the middle of the group, I slam down the Voidstaff and unleash a shockwave of Dark Energy around me that blows the Automatic Mooks away before disappearing again.
(x1)Reappearing in front of the disorganised group of Automatic Mooks, I store the Voidstaff away for later use in a swirl of Darkness and proceed to create something else, a Rocket Launcher, what else ??
Materialising a Rocket Launcher, I prepare Missiles of various contents and effects and launch them at the Automatic Mooks. This one is filled with Superglue which explodes out and coats all of them in stickiness. This one is full of very, very fast growing Ivy Seeds, a Species which one of me catalogued on a World with Giant Insects. This one explodes in reverse after the initial explosion, blindsiding them for the Containment Foam Grenade. This one forces a Rickroll into their minds for 5 minutes and this final one causes Rick Astely to take on the properties of a Weeping Angel. They are immediately punched out by their image of Rick Astely who then reinforces the Earworm. They are left, groaning in mental and physical agony.
An excellent pair of attacks! You deal 13 damage to the group of Automatic Mooks with your first strike. You manage to kill one of them from full health, and defeat another one that was on 5 health!
Your second attack yields even more results! 16 damage to two of the Automatic Mooks, enough to kill them from full health! Although from the look of your attack, it could be seen as leaving status effects- if you want it to do something special like status effects or targeting as many Mooks as humanly possible, just let me know.
Also, the materials for a more permanent rocket launcher should be present.
+5 to your current Charge Gauge. +32 Build Grist acquired.
Realizing that the numbers advantage was insurmountable, the player gritted his teeth in real life. Getting those through a survival server was insane. He only had one of each, and that was simply because he was dogged enough to try and get the whole collection. He had to go through hell AGAIN to get people to give him even one and the dungeons he had to run in terror through were little better!
But even so, this fight was getting a bit desperate. And so with impeccable aim the Minecraft Avatar through an object through the air right into the middle of the Automatic mooks!
As the Mooks whirled around, trying to see what was thrown, they heard a familiar sound.
"Hissssssss..."
With a frightening KABOOM, the Creeper exploded with its signature tremendous force! Not a single one of the Mooks were able to keep their eyes on their targets, turning to look at where their comrades had been blown to kingdom come.
Unfortunately for the melee troops, this was a slight mistake. With a 'crack', they turned to see that another mob egg had been thrown.
This time what faced them was the blocky, undead horror that was the Minecraft Zombie! It groaned with an unending hunger for flesh and began to bite into the nearest melee mooks, heedless of the attacks thrown its way. Only its hunger mattered, and it would sate it or return to the earth trying.
Recoiling from the onslaught of attacks he experienced, Torix quickly retreats to a further position as to not suffer fire, for a little while at least. Falling back to behind the Outer Wall, he takes some time to consider his position. Torix - Ow, those guys really hurt!..
Torix - ... Yeesh. Well, that can't work, can it? Taking a moment to inspect the sword spit out by the Alchemiter, he ponders it. A simple iron sword with a spark of magic imbued inside of it, the sword's only real defining quality is a gem of malachite set into the hilt. However, as he unsheathes the sword, he blade begins to glow as sparks of a greenish fire occasionally swirl around it. Nothing great, but it can easily be worked with. Torix - This sword, though... well, it'll do just fine.
Action 1 -
Torix, now wielding the Fire Caster Sword, smiles at the Lightly Armored Mooks, giving them an unnerving look. Torix - Congratulations! You've just won the prize of a lifetime!
Torix - And by that, I mean you'll be the first to die. The blade, now attuned to it's wielder, emits a green flare of light from the gem before it ignites into the green flame it exhibited earlier - this time cutting through and enveloping the entire blade as the user sweeps forward. Stopping and transitioning into a slash, the initial cut misses all the targets completely.
The Armored Mooks, still concerned, become confused as the attack seems to completely miss... not realizing the trail of flame it left behind. As it hits the Mook Torix was in fact aiming for, he's caught off guard as his armor overheats and essentially cooks the look alive, possibly doing the same to the next few within the slash.
Action 2 -
Immediately after the slash, Torix follows up with further attacks before deciding to retreat. Several slashes and skirmishes of fighting occur, with not too much occuring. Only minor slashes and cuts are dealt through openings with the armor, before the remaining Armored Mooks begin to notice a slight shift in the atmosphere... despite the already warm atmosphere, it's began to shift from being in the desert to almost like standing in the middle of an oven. What's going on here, and why has the magic user retreated out of the -
And then, the ground decided to erupt into a spiral of green flame, enveloping the entire group within. The mage, standing back, pulls the blade out of the ground and sheathed it after quickly dusting off the mesa rock with a quick spell of wind. Hee stands up, sheathes it... then remembers. He's at half health. Deciding to not die, he retreats back behind the Outer Wall and slides in next to Luke.
You take cover behind the Outer Wall, which should let you get a heal in if nothing else.
You deal 13 damage to one of the Lightly Armored Spear Mooks, killing them outright, armor or no armor! However, the armor still blocks some of the hit, reducing the damage of the collateral strike to 2 damage.
Your next attack also deals 12 damage to two of the Lightly Armored Mooks, spreading the damage evenly between two of them! Neither of them have their armor grant them any resistance, killing one of them and leaving the other on very critical health!
+4 to your next Charge Gauge. +20 Build Grist acquired.
Post-Player Battle:
LUKE: Here, take this medkit!
Luke quickly heals up Torix with a medkit while he hides behind the Outer Wall with him, restoring 15 health to him and healing him back to full health.
The Lightly Armored Spear Mooks work together to try to dismantle the Outer Wall, dealing 3 damage to it! It also heals for 9 HP because of some damage reduction being retroactively applied.
The Club Mooks attack Torix, but all their hits are stopped by the Outer Wall, which takes 4 damage instead. The rest of the Club Mooks batter it down as well, dealing 5 more damage for 9 damage to it in total!
The Automatic Mooks attack The Paradoxical Dragon and Torix, despite suffering heavy losses. The Paradoxical Dragon takes 4 damage, and Torix only takes 1 damage. The Outer Wall protecting him takes 1 damage as well.
The Elite Rifle Mooks shoot at Alastair1 and Luke Ingram, dealing 4 damage to the first and 2 damage to the second! The Outer Wall also takes 1 damage. One of the Rifle Mooks misses and doesn't reroll their shot.
Luke looks through a pair of binoculars mounted on the outer wall and notices some newer incoming threats. LUKE: Watch out, there's a few larger Mook squadrons coming up.
LUKE: But there's another figure approaching them- who could that be?
Total Grist gains for this round are: +68 Build Grist
[========] The Battlefield [========]
Current Location: Land of Lead and Mesas.
A windswept area resembling some southwest American badlands. Strange metal formations resembling ammunition lies abundant. Luke Ingram's base also rests here, but it's fallen worse for wear and suffered a few Mook attacks.
Itinerary:
-Defeat the Mook attack force!
-Summon entities to help you in the battle!
-Use the cover provided by the Outer Wall if you need to tank hits!
The Entelarch [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
The Paradoxical Dragon [AA] HP: 14/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Torix [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Alastair1 [AA] HP: 16/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Crafting Ingredients that have been collected are listed here.
The Paradoxical Dragon: Aether Chestplate[Lvl.1] (Equipment, 10% chance to dodge an attack completely) Voidstaff[Lvl.1] (Blunt Weapon, Base Damage: +1, 25% chance to inflict Blind (60% miss chance) for 1 turn upon hit)
Torix: Simple Sword[Lvl.0] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +0) Fire Caster Sword [Lvl.1] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +1, Target's armor is 10% less effective)
Alastair1: Iron Boot-Embossed Sword[Lvl.1] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +2) Iron Boot-Patterned Chestplate [Lvl.1] (Equipment, 50% chance to reduce incoming damage by 25%) Iron Boots[Lvl.0] (Equipment, 10% chance to reduce incoming damage by 20%)
Luke Ingram [AA]Health Vial: 88%. (44/50 HP). / BD: 6. / SV: 3. Weapons:
-Alternator SMG [Lvl.3]: (Automatic Weapon. Base Damage: +0. Target's ranged armor is 40% less effective.)
-Fire Demon Mace [Lvl.3]: (Blunt Weapon. Base Damage: +2. Can cast a fireball to sacrifice extra damage and inflict Burning (50% melee damage penalty, 1 damage taken per turn) for 2 turns) Consumables:
-Potion of Lead Skin (2 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Gain Lead Skin (100% resistance to ranged damage) for one turn only)
-Black Mesa Standard Medkit (3 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Restore 15 HP to the user or an ally when used)
In real life, the player clicked his tongue. that zombie went down super fast. Clearly he needed to send in something ranged.
Swiftly shuffling his inventory around, he found the egg he was searching for. The problem was, like any other Hostile Mob, the Skeleton would likely shoot them too. So he needed to position the dang thing so that it'd prioritize the enemies. With a sigh and limbering his fingers, the player went to work.
The Avatar responded, once again bouncing around like a rabbit on steroids. He circled the enemies several times, through lucka nd through skill dodging the incoming fire.
However, only the first circle had a purpose to it. The other circles were a distraction as the mob readied its bow.
Thwip!
With sinister, undying accuracy, the Skeleton begins to pick off its foes one by one, occasionally rattling to instill fear and dread in its victims.
You retreat behind the cover of the Outer wall! You can do this as a free action, so you can do something else alongside it, just in the future.
You summon the Combat Apothecary to fight alongside you! The Combat Medic upgrade comes pretty cheap, too, so you can spend more on how much it heals. If an entity is a Combat Medic, it can either deal damage or heal. If you want, I can remove its ability to attack foes to give it some extra health.
Distributing the wanted charge points as efficiently as possible... but be aware that 13 charge is going to go into this thing, not 14.
Post-Player Battle:
LUKE: Hold on, I'm going in!
Luke jumps out from behind the wall and taunts a lot of the gun-toting Mooks by doing some sort of squat dance in place- drinking his Potion of Lead Skin in the process! He is immune to gunfire for the round!
The Lightly Armored Spear Mooks deal 3 damage to the Outer Wall!
The Club Mooks continue their attack on the Outer Wall, dealing 9 damage to it!
The Automatic Mooks empty their magazines into Luke, but the Potion of Lead Skin protects him from any damage the bullets could deal!
The Elite Rifle Mooks also fire upon Luke Ingram, but they deal no damage due to Lead Skin!
A Skeleton and a Combat Apothecary arrive on the battlefield, both gunning for the Mook forces.
A smaller vanguard of upgraded Mooks has arrived, among them 8 Lightly-Armored Shotgun Mooks, 4 Powered Rifle Mooks, and 12 Axe Mooks. The last group in particular is led by a Mook Leader who will encourage them to use fiercer tactics and augment their crit chances- take out this group first.
However, a hooded figure seemingly made of cube-like shapes darts towards the base while firing at the Axe Mook squad, managing to drop one of them before they engage you! It seems he'll help target that group in particular, but it's still a major threat, so be wary!
A pair of Malachite Imps seem to have been generated by Luke's Sburb session. They don't really have any targets for now, so either wait for the current battle to lull before targeting them or sic them on the Mooks somehow. It's best to make them the target of focus fire once it is time to take them out, since their HP is high. As suggested in their name, they will drop extra Grist when killed.
Luke's Lead Skin effect wears off.
Total Grist gains for this round are: +0 Build Grist
[========] The Battlefield [========]
Current Location: Land of Lead and Mesas.
A windswept area resembling some southwest American badlands. Strange metal formations resembling ammunition lies abundant. Luke Ingram's base also rests here, but it's fallen worse for wear and suffered a few Mook attacks.
Itinerary:
-Defeat the Mook attack force!
-Summon entities to help you in the battle!
-Use the cover provided by the Outer Wall if you need to tank hits!
The Entelarch [AA] HP: 14/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
The Paradoxical Dragon [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 13/35. (1 in reserve)
Torix [AA] HP: 25/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Alastair1 [AA] HP: 12/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 2/35. (1 in reserve)
Crafting Ingredients that have been collected are listed here.
The Paradoxical Dragon: Aether Chestplate[Lvl.1] (Equipment, 10% chance to dodge an attack completely) Voidstaff[Lvl.1] (Blunt Weapon, Base Damage: +1, 25% chance to inflict Blind (60% miss chance) for 1 turn upon hit)
Torix: Simple Sword[Lvl.0] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +0) Fire Caster Sword [Lvl.1] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +1, Target's armor is 10% less effective)
Alastair1: Iron Boot-Embossed Sword[Lvl.1] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +2) Iron Boot-Patterned Chestplate [Lvl.1] (Equipment, 50% chance to reduce incoming damage by 25%) Iron Boots[Lvl.0] (Equipment, 10% chance to reduce incoming damage by 20%)
Luke Ingram [AA]Health Vial: 88%. (44/50 HP). / BD: 6. / SV: 3. Lead Skin (100% resistance to ranged damage, 0/1) Weapons:
-Alternator SMG [Lvl.3]: (Automatic Weapon. Base Damage: +0. Target's ranged armor is 40% less effective.)
-Fire Demon Mace [Lvl.3]: (Blunt Weapon. Base Damage: +2. Can cast a fireball to sacrifice extra damage and inflict Burning (50% melee damage penalty, 1 damage taken per turn) for 2 turns) Consumables:
-Potion of Lead Skin (1/2 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Gain Lead Skin (100% resistance to ranged damage) for one turn only)
-Black Mesa Standard Medkit (2/3 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Restore 15 HP to the user or an ally when used)
Hooded Cube Figure [AA?] HP: 50/50. / BD: 4. / SV: 4. Weapons:
-Beretta 93R [Lvl.3][Burstfire: III]: (Semi-Automatic Weapon. Base Damage: +2. Burstfire sacrifices a shot to do triple damage)
-Shortsaber[Lvl.3]: (Bladed Weapon. Base Damage: +4, critical hits pierce melee armor) Consumables:
-Cooked Salmon [Lvl.3] (4/4 Foodstuffs) (Grants Regeneration (8 HP restored per turn) for 2 turns when used)
-Caltrop Blaster [Lvl.3] (3/3 Shots)[Cooldown: III] (Deals 2 damage to six enemy targets, inflicts Slow (-1 Speed Value, +20% chance for ranged weapons to hit) for 1 turn on hit)
-Quick-Place Cobblestone [Lvl.3](3/3 Builds) (Restores 25 HP to an allied Fortification when used)
(x1)(Voidstaff) Twirling the Voidstaff as I focus on the newly joined Imps, I mutter a spell of Veiling on their senses as a slightly smoky haze forms around their heads, downplaying us as enemies to them, and thus, highlighting the Mooks as enemies by comparison. Hopefully this will be enough to tilt their natural instincts to Attack the Mooks as I fill their Mind with Smoke and Void, blocking them from recognising us as threats.
(x1)I lob a Banana over the Wall at an Automatic Mook or two. Yes, a banana. But this is no ordinary banana, this is a banana from a banana plant that's specially grown in a soil mixture that has been specially engineered for the best possible of nutrients and then enchanted with spells of Growth to further its boost. The fruit itself is thus, also mildly infused with magic due to the way it's grown. This can be harnessed for certain ends, mostly for healing and nutrition purposes. However, one can overload this banana with mana, which will cause it to explode, as most things do when overloaded with any form of energy.
Thus, the banana explodes in a flurry of banana peels and the flesh of a banana, creating a slippery pile of suffocating mass that surely is a surprise to those Mooks.
(ORDERS)Combat Apothecary to heal up the Outer Wall.
Torix, who had seemed... distracted up until now, finally returns to full awareness of the battlefield. Muttering something about online school being a pain in the butt, he gets out from behind the wall and regroups himself and his awareness. Noticing the new arrivals on the field, he decided to make at least some of them a significant portion less of a threat...
[Action 1] Looking at the sword in his hand, blade still engulfed in green flame, he realizes there isn't much left he can do but continue to act and work with this thing. Quickly, he steps out into the front lines again, but this sword is fairly limited in it's attack style and focuses purely on fire. What can be done with fire...
Pulling out a Player's Handbook from the shelves of his room, the Books on the battlefield notice a book materialize on the battlefield temporarily. Flipping to a list of some sort, he scans it quickly before closing the book as the Mooks watch it quickly care into nothing, while in reality it's set down on a shelf carefully behind him. Focusing on the battle before him for an extended amount of time, the caster focuses and wills a small green speck into existence right behind the Axe Mook's leader. Focused on directing this force of axe wielders in front of him, he simply doesn't notice the green speck generate behind him.
And the speck grows larger.
The leader begins to notice something off. That one in the orange jacket seems to be focusing on something - perhaps a summon or something that could turn the tides of battle! Quickly, he begins to send further forces after the caster, hoping for a break or paper in focus through dodging...
And the now golf-sized ball grows larger.
Torix is forced to command the situation at hand here. Using superior dexterity to the Axe Mooks, he begins to jump and dodge out of the way of incoming attacks. The flaming blade, though not attacking, continues to glow brighter.
The dodgeball sized orb grows larger.
The Axe Mooks begin to grow frustrated, their attacks becoming faster and more furious. Launching counter parries with the now viridian flamed sword, he begins to Misty Step out of the way, burning through additional spell slots of seemingly infinite. If the leader had noticed any tactical manuevers, focused on the battlefield as he is, he would have noticed the spell caster getting closer.
The orb, now roughly the size of a yoga ball, continues to expand.
The blade shining like a beacon of light, Torix Misty Steps to his final location: mere feet away from the leader of the Axe Mooks. Resuming the ducking, dodghing, and weaving with a supernatural speed, the regular Axe Mooks finally seem to catch up. Th he mage Misty Steps out of the way, one last time... and the blade loses it's flaring light. The orb, steadily growing this whole time and now roughly at a radius of a meter around, finally explodes as the Delayed Blast Fireball unleashes it's light and incinerates the leader whole, leaving the troops to witness his blinding demise straight in front of their eyes.
[Action 2] On an entirely different aspect of the battlefield, Torix notices the Outer Wall nearly about to fall. Quickly, he prepares some other, newer spell designed by himself... and the wall is engulfed in fire. Seeming to burn away the cracks and craters within the wall, the flame burns away any impurities within it. Under the phoenix's flames, the wall is seemingly reborn in a newer stage, branded newer and more powerful than the last. And by that... I mean it's healed for a few hit points.
Online school is indeed a pain in the butt- I've had critical assignments vanish into thin air.
This attack is really great, though!
You deal 17 damage in total to the group of Axe Mooks, blasting the Mook Leader into oblivion and dealing 3 damage to one of his retinue!
You also heal up the Outer Wall for 5 HP. Healing's half as effective if something's been attacked the previous turn, so don't worry about this being an underperformance.
+5 to your current charge gauge. +18 Build Grist acquired.
Noticing their avatar's poor health, the player decides to retreat back to behind the Cover Wall. But rather than do that without doing anything else, they decide to take cues from the less than logical happenings and decide on to do something absolutely insane.
The Elite Rifle mooks, on guard, all happen to fail their notice checks because they're expecting a direct attack. Alastair1's character, however, was crouched and therefore 'in stealth', allowing him to place and activate a block of TNT. Running off like a shot, his sudden appearance among their number allow them to distract their fire long enough for the TNT block to explode in their midst, causing them all massivedamage and to go flying like bowling pins!
Once Alastair1's Avatar gets behind the cover of the Outer Wall, he does what any Minecraft character would do - stuff their blocky faces with food until their stamina refills, and then let the natural regen restore their HP to full!
Meanwhile, the Skeleton, sensing their threat, begins to shoot his bow at the Powered Shotgun Mooks.
I'd... think you can? But keep in mind that the Skeleton will attack friendly forces if not converted to Anti-Acolyte. He'll attack one of the Powered Shotgun Mooks regardless, though.
Also, just a heads up, your charge limit's been reduced by 2 since you already spent a portion of your current Charge Gauge.
Good attack! You deal 10 damage to one of the Elite Rifle Mooks, slaying one of them and dealing 2 damage to one of the survivors!
You also jump into cover restore 4 HP to yourself with your face-stuffing. Again, healing's effectiveness is reduced if you've been targeted last round... which it seems you haven't. 4 additional HP restored!
+4 to your current charge gauge. +10 Build Grist acquired.
Post-Player Battle:
The Hooded Cube Figure quickly maneuvers over to the Outer Wall and uses some of his Quick-Build Cobblestone to repair it! 25 HP restored!
Luke wonders who the new cubic stranger is, then decides that wondering is better for another time and fires upon the Club Mooks, dealing 9 lethal damage to one of them!
The Combat Apothecary patches up the Outer Wall further, healing it for 4 HP!
The Skeleton looses an arrow at one of the Powered Shotgun Mooks... except those Powered Mooks have rifles instead. 3 damage dealt!
The Lightly Armored Spear Mooks sense an attack coming from the Malachite Imps and attack one of them, dealing 6 damage in total to both of them!
The Club Mooks attack the Paradoxical Dragon for 4 damage! They also assail the Outer Wall for 2 damage. Four more attack Torix for the same damage!
The Automatic Mooks attack the Hooded Cube figure, dealing a single point of damage. Another one also assails the Combat Apothecary for 2 damage!
The Elite Rifle Mooks attack the Paradoxical Dragon and Luke Ingram, dealing 4 damage to both of them!
The Lightly Armored Shotgun Mooks fire at both Luke and the Combat Apothecary, dealing 8 damage to Luke and 5 to the Apothecary!
The Axe Mooks attack the Hooded Cube Figure and start working on attacking the Outer Wall, dealing 10 damage to the first and 6 damage to the second!
The Powered Rifle Mooks shoot at the Skeleton and Torix, dealing 16 damage to the Skeleton- enough to kill it instantly! Torix takes 4 damage, with the Outer Wall protecting him taking 6!
The Malachite Imps retaliate against the Lightly-Armored Spear Mooks, dealing 4 damage to both of them! A single attack should be able to wipe out all 3!
Total Grist gains for this round are: +44 Build Grist
[========] The Battlefield [========]
Current Location: Land of Lead and Mesas.
A windswept area resembling some southwest American badlands. Strange metal formations resembling ammunition lies abundant. Luke Ingram's base also rests here, but it's fallen worse for wear and suffered a few Mook attacks.
Itinerary:
-Defeat the Mook attack force!
-Summon entities to help you in the battle!
-Use the cover provided by the Outer Wall if you need to tank hits!
-Take out the heaviest-damage Mooks first! Melee units and Powered units should take priority!
The Entelarch [AA] HP: 14/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
The Paradoxical Dragon [AA] HP: 17/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 13/35. (1 in reserve)
Torix [AA] HP: 17/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Alastair1 [AA] HP: 20/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 2/35. (1 in reserve)
Crafting Ingredients that have been collected are listed here.
The Paradoxical Dragon: Aether Chestplate[Lvl.1] (Equipment, 10% chance to dodge an attack completely) Voidstaff[Lvl.1] (Blunt Weapon, Base Damage: +1, 25% chance to inflict Blind (60% miss chance) for 1 turn upon hit)
Torix: Simple Sword[Lvl.0] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +0) Fire Caster Sword [Lvl.1] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +1, Target's armor is 10% less effective)
Alastair1: Iron Boot-Embossed Sword[Lvl.1] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +2) Iron Boot-Patterned Chestplate [Lvl.1] (Equipment, 50% chance to reduce incoming damage by 25%) Iron Boots[Lvl.0] (Equipment, 10% chance to reduce incoming damage by 20%)
Luke Ingram [AA]Health Vial: 80%. (40/50 HP). / BD: 6. / SV: 3. Lead Skin (100% resistance to ranged damage, 0/1) Weapons:
-Alternator SMG [Lvl.3]: (Automatic Weapon. Base Damage: +0. Target's ranged armor is 40% less effective.)
-Fire Demon Mace [Lvl.3]: (Blunt Weapon. Base Damage: +2. Can cast a fireball to sacrifice extra damage and inflict Burning (50% melee damage penalty, 1 damage taken per turn) for 2 turns) Consumables:
-Potion of Lead Skin (1/2 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Gain Lead Skin (100% resistance to ranged damage) for one turn only)
-Black Mesa Standard Medkit (2/3 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Restore 15 HP to the user or an ally when used)
Hooded Cube Figure [AA?] HP: 39/50. / BD: 4. / SV: 4. Weapons:
-Beretta 93R [Lvl.3][Burstfire:III]: (Semi-Automatic Weapon. Base Damage: +2. Burstfire sacrifices a shot to do triple damage)
-Shortsaber[Lvl.3]: (Bladed Weapon. Base Damage: +4, critical hits pierce melee armor) Consumables:
-Cooked Salmon [Lvl.3] (4/4 Foodstuffs) (Grants Regeneration (8 HP restored per turn) for 2 turns when used)
-Caltrop Blaster [Lvl.3] (3/3 Shots)[Cooldown: III] (Deals 2 damage to six enemy targets, inflicts Slow (-1 Speed Value, +20% chance for ranged weapons to hit) for 1 turn on hit)
-Quick-Place Cobblestone [Lvl.3](2/3 Builds) (Restores 25 HP to an allied Fortification when used)
(Orders) Combat Medic to destroy the elite rifle mook at 4 HP
(x1)(Voidstaff)I leap out from behind the Wall with my Voidstaff, calling forth a tidal wave of Darkness to rush over me and the Powered Rifle Mooks. The wave envelops us in Darkness, nullifying the senses even as it enters their bodies through their lungs and dulls their thoughts. Admist the Darkness, i call upon my weapons of choice in addition to the Staff.
As a Mook comes towards me, i unleash beam from a sword even as i parry off his shots with the staff. As they continues advancing, i dodge the rest of their shoots and shoot some more sword beams at them. As they finally enter the clearing i made around myself of the Void, i unleash a hail of bullets from Guns, Laser Cannons, Drum Synthesizers and Magic Swords. I appear behind the Mook in a whirl of Dark Mist and cut them down with a Knife that contains the essence of Death.
The next Mook tumbles out of the Darkness, only to meet the Edge of a Sacred Blade, the Green Flash of the Killing Curse and the White-Hot Sensation of being blasted by a Particle Accelerator Launcher.
and so on and so forth until the Mist lifts.
(x1)As the mist lifts, i begin a Journey through the Lillies with a Sword in Claw and a Deck in Cards in the other. As i spiral through the Powered Rifle Mooks with this blade, the Deck of Cards transform themselves into a wonderous Lilly petal storm as the air rushes afterwards me as i slash the Mooks. Within the Lillies, as they absorb the Blood from the Mooks, they swell and from lilly white, they turn Rose Red. As the Rose Petals fall, i begin the Journey to the Rose and continue slashing at the Mooks in a whirlwind of cuts and parrys as their bullets are dodged and deflected by the petals or the sword.
As i reach my destination, i breathe in deeply, and surround myself in an inferno of my own Dragonfire, burning up the petals as they become fuel for my own Conflagaration Totality, a Purifying, consuming bath in the surging tornado of flames as it burns the rest of the Mooks to Ash.
You deal 15 damage to the Powered Rifle Mooks, killing two of them and dealing 2 damage to one of the survivors! That survivor goes Blind for the turn!
Your second attack also deals 12 damage to the Powered Rifle Mooks, wiping out one of them and halving the health of a survivor!
+5 to your current charge gauge. +30 Build Grist acquired.
While under the cover, the player decides that their equipment isn't up to snuff. Trying to think, they remember the alchemy previews they did a while back and get inspired. Using the alchemy code for the tiger-striped Mesa Rock, they make two items!
Modern Helmet Replica ++ Tiger-Striped Mesa Rock == Tiger-Pattern Helmet
Axe Template ++ Tiger-Striped Mesa Rock == Tiger-Pattern Stone Axe(?)
With that done, he notices that those two Imps that showed up are pretty useful and strong. Wanting to keep them fighting against the Mooks, the player has them crouch, which is SUPER enhanced by the Tiger-Pattern themed equipment they now sport. Then, with some careful movements, they create and slap down a sign next to the Lightly Armored Spear Mooks, facing the Imps! It read:
"IMPS SUCK!
-Signed, the Mook Gang"
This, naturally, enrages the Imps outrageously and now guarantees that their next targets will be the Lightly Armored Spear Mooks! Congratulating themselves on a job well done, the Player sneaks their avatar back behind the Wall.
-------
Feeling a bit thirsty, the Player decides to go get a drink of water. They've been at this for a while now.
Tiger-Pattern Helmet[Lvl.1] (Equipment. +5% dodge chance, bonus is tripled when plant-related equipment is worn)
A modern-style combat helmet that appears as if some enthusiastic soldier painted tiger stripes on it! It'll give you a small dodge bonus, but this can get increased dramatically if you manage to get some vegetation from somewhere (hint: probably not the current location)
Tiger-Pattern Stone Axe[Lvl.1] (Bladed weapon. Base Damage: +2, scoring a critical hit has a 75% chance to inflict Scared (Misses actions) on one enemy for one turn)
A primal-looking stone axe sculpted from the tiger-striped rock from the Land of Lead and Mesas! It can even give the illusion of roaring when swung right, which should scare the pants off of anything you're swinging it at.
Overall, some pretty neat items.
You spend 40 Build Grist and 20 Lvl. 1 Grist along the way.
The Imps were already pretty dead-set on attacking the Lightly-Armored Spear Mooks, so you grant them the Enraged (+50% Base Damage buff, will always try to attack) for the next two turns! Who knows, they might attack something else in their fury.
Action 1 - Again, knowing that the damage output of the turn is increased by a couple of points per turn, Torix chooses to use the sword and it's ability again. The only problem is that he's running out of ideas for fire-based attacks... you know what, it's fine. He'll come up with more later.
As for right now... the Player's Handbook again phases into existence. Checking over the spells, the mage eventually finds one again that seems fun to use... well, probably not in the intended way. Gosh darn it, though... he has infinite spell slots due to his setup here and he will use them well, darn it! As he seems to reprimand himself, the blade again flashes green as a sudden wall of fire is raised in front of the remaining Powered Rifle Mooks, soon spreading and wrapping around them until it comes a rectangle in which all of them are trapped. The intensity of the flames rises as the walls grow higher, eventually reaching a stopping point at around 20 feet in the air. One of the Mooks curses. He knew he should've bought that optional jetpack addon!
Torix, realizing that the Wall of Fire on it's own wouldn't be enough to kill despite the damage over time it does, decides to add a few other spells in. Like Fireball. And Scorching Ray. Since they're fire, they pass through the wall unharmed, and essentially form a stylized attack similar to one from Deltarune or Undertale. The Mooks, beginning to realize what's happening, proceed to dodge for their lives and hope to not get incinerated... which proves dificult. Several glancing hits by the more minor spells eventually stun them into larger ones, causing them to get comboed into near incineration.
Finally, just to drop it all... Torix dispells the wall of flame and sees the Mooks, charred and defeated. They're literally burnt black, with some parts of them beginning to disintegrate into ash... but if they are still standing, one last fireball should do the trick.
Action 2 - Torix considers using another powerful attack, but realizes that every good and unique idea counts. Deciding to save it for next turn, he instead uses a strange form of magic. Seeming to write with the tip of the sword somehow (which proves difficukt, it's a sword), the mage eventually has the word "Placeholder" in fire written up on the floor. Shrinking the text down into what seems to be a projectile of some sort, he hurls it at the Lightly Armored Spear Mooks. Impaling through all of them, the placeholder attack burns through their armor and essentialy, leaves them as similar piles of Grist on the ground.
Your fire attack deals 15 damage to the Powered Rifle Mooks, roasting two of them to a crisp and leaving another one injured!
Interesting second attack. Its uniqueness yields it an excellent 12 damage on the Lightly Armored Spear Mooks! ...Unfortunately, armor manages to proc every time, resulting in only one of the Mooks actually dying. The other is left on critical health and prime pickings
+5 to your current charge gauge. +30 Build Grist acquired.
Post-Player Battle:
The Hooded Cube Figure returns to combat the Axe Mooks, running up and lethally slashing at one of them for 8 damage with his Shortsaber!
Luke helps the Hooded Cube Figure fight the Axe Mooks, spraying one of them with his Alternator SMG for 6 damage! One of his shots misses.
The Combat Apothecary smacks one of the Powered Rifle Mooks, dealing 4 damage and leaving them on very critical health!
The Lightly Armored Spear Mooks try to hold the Imps at bay for a bit longer, dealing 2 damage to both of them!
The Club Mooks keep attacking the Hooded Cube Figure, dealing 8 damage to him, and also attack Torix, dealing 4 damage to him and 2 damage to the Outer Wall!
The Automatic Mooks try shooting the Outer Wall, dealing 2 damage to it, and also attack Alastair1, dealing a single point of damage!
The Elite Rifle Mooks fire at the Combat Apothecary and the Outer Wall, dealing 5 damage to the first and 2 damage to the second!
The Lightly Armored Shotgun Mooks shoot at Alastair1 and Luke Ingram, getting 7 shots off on both. Luke Ingram takes that 7 damage, and the wall takes 1 damage for Alastair1! Alastair1 somehow manages to dodge one of the shots with the Tiger Pattern Helmet's bonus, taking 4 damage.
The Axe Mooks attack Luke Ingram and the Hooded Cube Figure, dealing 10 damage to the last and 8 to the first!
The survivors among the Powered Rifle Mooks shoot at the Outer Wall and at Alastair1, dealing 4 damage to the Outer Wall!
The Malachite Imps clobber the Lightly Armored Spear Mooks in their rage, dealing enough damage to kill them armor or no armor. They might attack one of your team because they're going berserk, but are pretty likely to attack the Mooks as well. Be aware that if the Mooks kill them, they won't drop any Grist!
Total Grist gains for this round are: +76 Build Grist
[========] The Battlefield [========]
Current Location: Land of Lead and Mesas.
A windswept area resembling some southwest American badlands. Strange metal formations resembling ammunition lies abundant. Luke Ingram's base also rests here, but it's fallen worse for wear and suffered a few Mook attacks.
Itinerary:
-Defeat the Mook attack force!
-Summon entities to help you in the battle!
-Use the cover provided by the Outer Wall if you need to tank hits!
-Take out the heaviest-damage Mooks first! Melee units and Powered units should take priority!
The Entelarch [AA] HP: 14/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
The Paradoxical Dragon [AA] HP: 17/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 13/35. (1 in reserve)
Torix [AA] HP: 8/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 0/35. (1 in reserve)
Alastair1 [AA] HP: 16/25. Charge Gauge Spent: 2/35. (1 in reserve)
Crafting Ingredients that have been collected are listed here.
The Paradoxical Dragon: Aether Chestplate[Lvl.1] (Equipment, 10% chance to dodge an attack completely) Voidstaff[Lvl.1] (Blunt Weapon, Base Damage: +1, 25% chance to inflict Blind (60% miss chance) for 1 turn upon hit)
Torix: Simple Sword[Lvl.0] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +0) Fire Caster Sword [Lvl.1] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +1, Target's armor is 10% less effective)
Alastair1: Iron Boot-Embossed Sword[Lvl.1] (Bladed Weapon, Base Damage: +2) Tiger-Pattern Stone Axe[Lvl.1] (Bladed weapon. Base Damage: +2, scoring a critical hit has a 75% chance to inflict Scared (Misses actions) on one enemy for one turn) Iron Boot-Patterned Chestplate [Lvl.1] (Equipment, 50% chance to reduce incoming damage by 25%) Tiger-Pattern Helmet[Lvl.1] (Equipment. +5% dodge chance, bonus is tripled when plant-related equipment is worn) Iron Boots[Lvl.0] (Equipment, 10% chance to reduce incoming damage by 20%)
Luke Ingram [AA]Health Vial: 50%. (25/50 HP). / BD: 6. / SV: 3. Lead Skin (100% resistance to ranged damage, 0/1) Weapons:
-Alternator SMG [Lvl.3]: (Automatic Weapon. Base Damage: +0. Target's ranged armor is 40% less effective.)
-Fire Demon Mace [Lvl.3]: (Blunt Weapon. Base Damage: +2. Can cast a fireball to sacrifice extra damage and inflict Burning (50% melee damage penalty, 1 damage taken per turn) for 2 turns) Consumables:
-Potion of Lead Skin (1/2 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Gain Lead Skin (100% resistance to ranged damage) for one turn only)
-Black Mesa Standard Medkit (2/3 Uses) [Lvl.2] (Restore 15 HP to the user or an ally when used)
Hooded Cube Figure [AA?] HP: 29/50. / BD: 4. / SV: 4. Weapons:
-Beretta 93R [Lvl.3][Burstfire:III]: (Semi-Automatic Weapon. Base Damage: +2. Burstfire sacrifices a shot to do triple damage)
-Shortsaber[Lvl.3]: (Bladed Weapon. Base Damage: +4, critical hits pierce melee armor) Consumables:
-Cooked Salmon [Lvl.3] (4/4 Foodstuffs) (Grants Regeneration (8 HP restored per turn) for 2 turns when used)
-Caltrop Blaster [Lvl.3] (3/3 Shots)[Cooldown: III] (Deals 2 damage to six enemy targets, inflicts Slow (-1 Speed Value, +20% chance for ranged weapons to hit) for 1 turn on hit)
-Quick-Place Cobblestone [Lvl.3](2/3 Builds) (Restores 25 HP to an allied Fortification when used)
