I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
A day after Zetta's hostile takeover of Babylon's netherworld, he awakens to the smell of something burning...him! Turns out that the weird green-haired girl from before saw that he'd make good kindling, and decided to roast some weenies with him. (And yet, she doesn't feel a thing after all that.) After Zetta furiously stops, drops and rolls, Pram comes by to investigate. Enter Seedle, the ruler of the underworld, stage left. He's irritated that Zetta thinks that the girl was deliberately trying to kill him on Alex's behalf. Zetta then accuses her of being Seedle's spy, which Seedle denies, saying that his spies rarely ever leave the underworld. Pram thinks it's strange that the strange girl's even able to coexist with them, because she isn't technically an Overlord. The girl introduces herself as Trenia, but doesn't say much more than that and goes about her business. Zetta wonders why he even cares what her name is (and so does Pram, who caught Zetta internally monologuing), or why he hasn't tried to kill her yet, but something inside him keeps telling her that she shouldn't be harmed, and he orders Pram and Seedle not to touch her until they can figure out what the hell she's doing there.
Seedle has been added to the list of potential overworld takeover candidates. The monsters in his netherworld are listed as "aggressive", so it's likely that they'll have high ATK ratings. Zetta will need to get his troops fitted with the best armor money can buy if he wishes to survive.
We can choose to try out Seedle's Netherworld, or go invade Pram's place...or Micky's...or Babylon (whose Netherworld we just took over). What shall we throw at our pompous "hero" now?
edited 25th Mar '10 5:14:36 PM by WillyFourEyes
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
RM/8
Pram.
"Only now, after being besieged by a flock of talking ponies, did he really understand what he'd lost. "
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
Okey-doke. Pram it is.
Episode 3: Mystery Girl
Zetta makes a second request of Pram...to give him another Netherworld full of monsters to beat up. She obliges and sends him back to his castle, denying Seedle the opportunity to have a little "fun".
Zetta tells Steve that he's been granted authority to create soldiers and Combat Medics to add to his army. Since those types are good with firearms, Zetta also filled Nabiki's shop stock with rifles, gatling guns and flamethrowers for them to use. Steve makes the decision to "revive" Malfus, Dover and Saga *. He discovers that rifles are more expensive than he had originally envisioned, so he buys them at a slight discount from the shop instead of directly from Nabiki (see? she IS unscrupulous!) This cheats Nabiki out of experience gain, but it does save the group some money and allow Steve to outfit all three of his soldiers instead of just one. He also uses most of his remaining mana energy to wish for a dungeon to allow the team to prepare for Pram's Netherworld, and find some better-than-awesome weapons.
Author's Note: Free dungeons work differently from storyline dungeons. The basic clear point for any "floor" in a dungeon is 100 points, making it easy to speed through the place if one knows the right enemies to kill. The only ways out are to reach the bottom floor or use a Gency Tonic when it's your turn.
Oh, and there are also random restrictions placed on what and how many things you can invite in certain levels. It's generally a bad idea to have everyone stashed away in houses should you land on a "Characters only" or "No facilities" floor.
"Steve?" Meredith asks, pointing to the new soldiers. "What are they doing here?"
"Huh?"
"You brought those three back from the battlefield, didn't you? What makes you think they won't try to sell us out to Alexander or Pram or Seedle at the first opportunity?"
Steve walks over to "Malfus" and checks to make sure the safety on his rifle is working. "You worry too much, Meredith. They're not the same as those other guys we fought. Heck, I'd be surprised if they even knew who I was. Watch."
He calls Kashiwa over as the soldiers are murmuring to themselves, wondering why everyone is looking at them funny.
"Do you have any idea who I am?" she bluntly asks the trio.
"Of course! You're that medic lady," says "Dover".
"And what about this man?" she asks, now pointing to Steve.
"Oh, I know, I know!" says "Saga". "You're the leader, right?"
Steve waits for her to attempt to point her gun at him, but stands back and smiles when she doesn't.
"See? Perfectly harmless."
Meredith shakes her head in disbelief. "Let's hope you're talking about their attitude toward us, and not the enemy..."
edited 26th Mar '10 5:06:13 PM by WillyFourEyes
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
Sub-Episode 2: Free Dungeon 1 Battle Summary
1F: The first level of this free dungeon restricts Zetta to only four invitations (of any kind, whether it's just characters or facilities) at a time. Zetta gets around the restriction by air-dropping all of his houses in so that he can pull people in and out at will. There's one thief on the map worth a lot of points, who is easily defeated by Meredith and Nabiki. Upon the thief's death, Hell's Field Takes Life, and also reveals a bunch of units wielding weapons such as hammers, katanas and magnets, weapons which the team has never seen before. They try to take out as many as they can before proceeding.
2F: There's only one room on the second level. The invite limit has been raised to seven, but characters in facilities are ineligible to join, leaving Steve, Morrigan, Io, and the three soldiers as the only eligible characters. There's a weird, but very valuable magic box on the ground. A samurai and a rapier-wielding soldier are their only opponents, but a combined assault renders the enemy helpless as Io sneaks away with the box.
3F: No vehicles allowed, but that won't be a problem because Zetta doesn't have access to them yet. The problem here is segmented terrain, and a level 10 Prinny spawned right next to Zetta. The team works quickly to take out the Prinny before it gets a chance to harm the book. Malfus casts a global Heal, and Dover practices his sniping skills on a poor, defenseless flower. This opens the path to an open field with another lone Prinny, who gets a house dropped on him. There are also a group of slimes and shadows guarding a wrench, but the team decides to skip it and move on.
4F: Another characters-only level, with the team's opponents being two fighters, a wood golem, and a box. After taking out the wood golem, the group sets its sights on a dangerous-looking Red Idol, which gives them enough points to move on to the next area without hassle.
5F: A rather simple map. All they have to do here is target a mimic and they win.
6F: A thief is guarding a mystic hammer. While Io snags the hammer for the team, Meredith, Kashiwa and Nabiki take out the thief. However, a handful of well-armed monsters appears from the south. They've been hit with One Last Wish, so Steve's team escapes with a few lucky shots before going on to the next floor.
7F: This looks to be an industrial complex of some sort. While the Prinny appears to be the key, the group instead focuses on the self-healing apple kids on the west end.
8F: An ice field. Not too many tough enemies here.
9F: This is a single room with thieves, warriors, mages and healers. Facilities not allowed, leaving about 60% of the cast hanging yet again. A lone healer named Puccitello appears to be the leader (she's worth the most points). Steve and the "free squad" target her and move on to the next floor before the enemies find out she's dead.
10F: This is the bottom floor of the dungeon. At every tenth floor, a designated "boss" enemy will appear, usually at around the same level as the other enemies (but with jacked-up stats, just like the Item Generals/Kings/Gods in the Disgaea games). The first batch of enemies consists of Prinnies and pumpkinheads. Zetta sends the "free squad" out to deal with them before readying his battle team for the next map, which has a lot of enemies on it. A few of the monsters attack the hospital, but the group is able to hold them off before they can cause any permanent damage. A boss Apple Head appears from the east, but Zetta says enough's enough, and they head back to the castle with a tank-load of loot.
Results: The group's first entry into a free dungeon is an resounding success, and the new recruits (fake Malfus, fake Dover and fake Saga) have gained enough levels to be competitive with the rest of the team. Kashiwa, Nabiki and Graz are ready to move up in rank (Kashiwa jumps up from Healer to Priest, Nabiki is now a Pawn Shop Clerk instead of a simple Junk Trader, and Graz moves up from Cat Kid to Deathsaber). Kashiwa and Graz have to regain their levels all over again, but Nabiki gains most of hers back as Steve puts their hard-earned HL to work by upgrading everyone's equipment.
Among the team's most prized possessions are two magic boxes, strange melee weapons that grant a ridiculously high SP and INT boost to whoever's holding them. This now means that Astral and Goldie, the recipients, have way more battle potential than Steve at the moment (call him "Thunder God Astral" at your peril). Appleseeds and Red Idol monsters are also available for creation. Both units can use healing magic, but the Appleseed monsters can are a bit more versatile, as they can use magic books to go with their high starting INT. Idols are a bit less useful at this point, as their best weapons are fans, magnets and pies, weapons that can't be bought normally in stores, and have to be discovered in dungeons. Saga gets a shiny new flamethrower to replace her old musket. At higher levels, this weapon can also use ice attacks (?).
Steve looks in the Sacred Tome, and finds that he can also wish to be able to create Prinnies. Once this is done, he can create them at any time, just like any other unit. However, the cost to make this wish is 1000 mana, meaning that Prinnies will likely only appear as enemies until near the end.
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
The group, now somewhat convinced that the new soldiers aren't going to turn on them and try to kill them, prepares to invade Pram's Netherworld, when Steve makes the decision to construct a tin golem from an anthill ("it's magic; we don't have to explain it"). He wants to give it the name Mecha-Musashi, but since the game doesn't allow that many characters in names (I think the limit is 12), he simply settles for Musashi. At only level 1, all Musashi can hope to contribute for the time being is a few token last-second kills, because the drill Steve gave it doesn't increase its attack power by much.
Stage 3-1: Pram's Prophecies
"This place is...a lot different from what I thought it would be," Morrigan says upon their arrival. She looks around at the room they're in, which is made of cold steel and lined with high-tech gadgetry. There are no skulls, no pots, and no cauldrons in sight...far from what would be expected of a seer such as Pram. A few of the rooms are locked down with time-release mechanisms. The one to the west is set to open in three turns, while the others are timed to open every two turns after that. One of the guards, a soldier who looks like it may have been a remnant of the real Saga's platoon, is holding a key to one of the rooms.
"That woman looks kinda like me," says "Saga".
"Eh...that's nothing new," says "Malfus". "We should probably get rid of them before they decide to attack."
The group starts out by eliminating all of the soldiers armed with weapons, making it easier to defeat the one guard carrying the key to the door that was supposed to be the last one to open. It reveals an apple kid, two shadows, and a red idol. The shadows move forward and attack the party with fire and wind magic, while the red idol hangs back and heals their injuries. Despite being creatures borne of flames, they fall rather easily to "Saga"'s flamethrower. The first group is defeated swiftly, so Zetta orders everyone to prepare for the group of soldiers emerging from the western door. Io disarms one of the medics and steals his nunchaku while Caerbannog and the fake Malfus finish them off.
While this is going on, Pram is still curious about how Trenia wound up in the real of the overlords and why it looked like she tried to kill Zetta, but Trenia says she did just what came to her naturally. This, coupled with her calling Pram a wannabe fortuneteller, sets off Pram's Berserk Button, but Pram doesn't do anything more than intimidate Trenia with her Battle Aura. Trenia then adds that there are things overlords were not meant to know, and that Pram shouldn't go prying when she doesn't need to.
New Monster!
Victory in this battle has given the team the ability to create Shadows, magical creatures that can use daggers, rifles, flame throwers and magnets as weapons. They possess decent DEF, INT and TEC, but are lacking in STR and HP.
Io is ready to move up a class, but changes his mind and wishes for a warehouse instead (for storing more items and people). It now means he has to gain most of his levels back, but he's okay with that, as he's just looking for mana/things to steal.
Stage 3-2: Pram's Aura
Another random area. This place is set to reward those who succeed with lots of battle experience, so Zetta summons everybody to the map, including Io (who is then ordered not to fight as the stronger characters clean up - the caveat to his wish means that he's no longer strong enough to take on the enemies here.)
Thieves appear to the south after they defeat the first soldier. "Saga" doesn't like the fact that one of them gets a bazooka before she does, and waits for Astral (equipped with his overpowered magic box) to cast a spell on him.
More soldiers appear from even further south. A pair of bullying soldiers steals Graz's Courage Belt and kills him. "Saga" leads the revenge charge and kills them off, and salvages the belt before they can run off with it. The last opponent they encounter before they leave is a Makai Chef (actually a lowly Dishwasher; guess he couldn't cut it). After defeating him, the team leaves with a hefty EXP bonus.
New Map Effect:
- Eat This Flaming Dish!: Summons a Makai Chef, sometimes holding a piece of food.
edited 3rd Apr '10 8:57:22 AM by WillyFourEyes
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
Stage 3-3: Pram the Immortal
After Caerbannog makes the transition from Evil Carrot to Mandragora, the group heads off to an area called Pram the Immortal. The group's position is an unfair one, as they're spawned on a floating island with only two mimics. There are two other islands behind them, guarded by enemies. However, their targets are not the enemies outside, but the menacing Steel Titan residing inside. Steve and Meredith eliminate the mimics, and then Io picks up the Sacred Tome to put Zetta in a better position to stage an assault. With all of his strength, he launches the Tome in the direction of the island to the south, where Zetta drops the team's hut and shop. The titan and its guards advance, but are greeted by Goldie and Astral and their strongboxes. The soldiers on the island to the east have no choice but to lament their lost opportunity as Zetta makes his retreat.
A Walking Corn was among the fallen foes on the last battlefield, which means it's not part of the playable roster. It uses daggers, magical books, magnets, and boxes. Its true strength lies in the elemental magic it possesses, with INT on part with that of a wizard (but slightly better HP).
Stage 3-4: Pram's Offering
This battle plays out differently than the last one. There is a very small area with four soldiers holed up inside a Super Fortress, which provides an enormous boost to the enemy's defense. Steve stands outside the fortress, waiting for the enemy to come out, but they never do. He tries attacking the fortress itself, but can barely scratch it with his weapons (this super-fortress is level 135, with a DEF rating somewhere in the thousands, while Steve's attack rating is "only" 200, which would earn him a citation in Disgaea 2 for being "too powerful"). Zetta decides enough's enough, and orders his strongest fighters to invade and kick the asses of everyone inside. There's enough room for a four-on-four match, and while nobody actually gets to see what's going on inside, Team Zetta emerges victorious by a count of four to one (only Morrigan lost), emerging with a good deal of gear for their troubles.
Author's Note: 3-4 is an ideal spot for no-hassle early-game level grinding and equipment farming, because while the rewards change, the actual layout of the area does not, meaning that with a few strong units (ATK, INT or TEC of about 150 each), you can take these baddies on again and again, with no loss of HP to you.
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
Man, thanks for doing this. You make it sound so much more interesting than it was to me... I got this game a few years back, and quit after maybe four levels because the randomized strategy RPG thing with required weird tactics and a steep learning curve was getting on my nerves. Also that Camp Gay overlord.
"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." - E. Gary Gygax
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
It is a very strange game, but I still dug it. Sometimes, it works better if you forget about 50% of what you know from strategy RP Gs and just wing it. Some of the ins and outs of the game are kinda obvious (don't attack Zetta, or bad things will happen to you), while others require a bit of experimentation (such as the whole "invading enemy bases" thing).
edited 8th Apr '10 10:48:45 AM by WillyFourEyes
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
Now, to finish this episode up with a bang!
Stage 3-5: Pram the Seer
Another random dungeon, but the crew gets off easy this time. Each of the areas has only a single enemy guarding it. The first is a lonely medic who didn't have the good sense to pack a gun, and loses to Dover's gatling gun. Just to the south, a shadow emerges, which is surprisingly strong for this level (16, when the medic they just killed was level 10), and takes the combined efforts of Dover, Io and Kashiwa to subdue. The last foe is a Tin Doll, which is well-armored, but incredibly hard to steal from. It goes down easily, and Team Zetta goes home with a sizable bounty.
Male and female samurai are now available for generation, thanks to Steve, Meredith, Dover and Saga's hard work. These guys can wield Swords, Katanas, and Spears. Male Samurai can also use fishing poles (?), and females can wield hammers.
Steve summons forth a pair of samurai named Ryuunosuke and Miyako, and moves them into the hut with Astral, whom he thinks is starting to get lonely.
Stage 3-6: Pram's Star World
We're treated to different boss music this time around (instead of "I am a Boss!", we're listening to "Burning Fighting Spirit"). The enemies in this area are well-prepared for Zetta's crew, as a handful of armed soldiers await them. Steve and company take out the first group, but a team consisting of a blue Shadow (called a Follow) and a second-rank Walking Corn approach, casting powerful magic on the team. The remaining Tin Doll pierces the Shop with its drill, putting everyone inside out of commission. Miyako gets her first confirmed kill, but is taken out shortly thereafter when she is pumped full of holes by one of the Tin Dolls. The group tries to hold off the Corn before it gets too close to the Sacred Tome. Defeating it reveals the boss' lair up ahead.
"Hey, did you hear that, Licky?" says an elite soldier.
"Do you mean the sound of our men dying left and right?" says a woman in a black lab coat? "And stop calling me 'Licky', Miss Etranze. It's very demeaning."
"All right, 'Professor Licorice'...I'm sorry. How the hell is that supposed to sound any more dignified, anyway?"
A warning klaxon sounds near Professor Licorice's laboratory. "They're here!" Etranze mutters to herself. She fiddles with the controls on the giant tank that she's riding in. "I hope this Gear Metal LEX works as good as you said, Professor. Our Netherworld's survival depends on the success of this machine. All surviving units, move out and attack!"
Steve's party looks on in amazement as the tank, the professor and two Iron Guards come marching toward them.
"What the hell kinda of weapon is that?" Steve shouts.
"It looks like a...tank," says Nabiki. "I've heard of those, but I never thought I'd be seeing one up close like this."
"Hmph!" says Astral. "There's only one thing that needs to be done with weapons like this...destroy it!"
Etranze moves to the head of the pack, trying to find a place to get a good shot off. Steve and a few others charge the tank and try to break it down with their weapons.
"Stupid gnats!" Etranze groans. "The bullets from this Gear Metal LEX will swat you all!"
She fires off a few rounds, but they miss her attackers and explode nearly harmlessly on Astral's magic box.
"He didn't go down?" she shouts again. "Unbelievable!"
"Don't use that word in my presence unless you know what you're talking about," says Astral.
While she's distracted, Steve takes another swing at the LEX and destroys it.
"Heh...that tank doesn't look so tough now, does it?" he says.
Etranze picks herself up and points her rifle at Steve.
"Tch...I don't need that tank to defeat you," she says, grinning. "I'm much more capable with a rifle in my hands."
"Miss Etranze," Professor Licorice cuts in, "I told you that you should have let me drive that tank. I could have easily—"
"GIGA WIND!" *
Before Etranze can pull herself together, Astral holds up his box and unleashes a giant tornado that kills Etranze and the professor in one shot.
"As I thought...they were all talk."
After the team defeats the Iron Guards and prepares to celebrate their victory, Io and Meredith scour through Licorice's lab and uncover an unused Gear Metal LEX tank.
"It's still in good condition, too," he says. "Do you think we could use it as our own?"
Meredith climbs into the cockpit and tries to turn it on, but can't get it to work. "I'd like to," she says, "but there are so many damn switches and levers...I don't know which one of these turns it on."
After the battlefield is cleared, a mysterious green-haired person shows up, whom Zetta suspects is Alex. The person walks away without saying anything, but leaves a note behind that appears to be written from the Sacred Tome.
"Stupid Lord Zetta survived... Just like a cockroach, he simply refuses to die."
Zetta believes that Alex is the one who left the insulting note behind, and vows revenge. However, he notices that it's closer to the note that he found in the Tome when he went to raid the Forbidden Library, so whoever left the note for him there must also have been the one who rewrote the Sacred Tome. Could Alex have gotten to it before Zetta did?
Five Netherworlds left until Zetta's sulphur wash.
edited 16th Apr '10 6:19:03 PM by WillyFourEyes
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
Zetta returns to meet up with the other Overlords after receiving the note. Pram makes another bad book joke, and doesn't believe him when he says that everything that happened to him is all Alex's fault. He shows them the insulting note left behind on Pram's Netherworld. It certainly sounds like something Alex would write, but Babylon is skeptical. Then again, Alex is the God of Destruction, and Pram comes to the conclusion that it was his fault. Micky, being the pushover that he is, believes Pram's word without question. A few moments later, faux-heroic music and a star-filled explosion heralds the entrance of King Dork--er, I mean King Drake III, the King of the Universe, the Galactic Hero, and the Creator of All Things Decently-Sized. (Oh, he's a moron). He offers his help, but Zetta tries to shoo Drake away as quickly as possible. The others, however, decide to let him stay. After a lot of hamming and posturing from the Drakester, it's time to choose another Netherworld to invade.
Ones we've already done: Babylon, Pram
Ones we haven't: Micky, Seedle, King Drake (his Netherworld is full of "Skillful" enemies; I'm not entirely sure what that means).
About Vehicles, Engineers and Professors
We can now create Engineers (male) and Professors (female). Zetta assigns an engineer to look after the Gear Metal LEX that the team has stolen. Both the Engineer and Professor have decent INT and TEC ratings, but low ATK and DEF. They can also make good use of vehicles (meaning that their stats when inside vehicles increase further than when other characters use them). Our engineer friend can use drills, shovels, bomb, and wrenches. The professor is good with bazookas, cannons, remotes, and bombs.Another purpose that the engineer serves while at the base is that he can sell materials related to powering up vehicles. This requires a different kind of currency, called "Materials" (or MT for short). He can also do repairs on them (i.e. healing) or convert unused items into materials (i.e. selling). Vehicles and materials will now also be added to the Bonus prize menu after completing a level.
When a vehicle has accrued enough EXP, the leader can then ask a Professor to upgrade it.
Now, I'll be taking votes on which Netherworld we should explore next out of Micky, Seedle and Pram, as well as some suggestions for names for our new Engineer and Professor friends.
EDITED on 4/23/2010 to correct a minor mistake
edited 10th Dec '10 7:45:53 PM by WillyFourEyes
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
I say an engineer named Xaphan or Bob (after a Malefactor player in my Demon The Fallen game) and a professor named Simon (after my World Of Warcraft character, Proctor Simon Bale).
But you should only take one of these two at most, and let other people name the other one.
Micky, is that the Camp Gay one? Not his underworld, please.
edited 22nd Apr '10 6:49:23 AM by Dracomicron
"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." - E. Gary Gygax
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
I'll use Bob for the Engineer's name, then. The professor units are all female, so I'll need a girl's name (a Tomboyish Name is fine, too).
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
Hah, right. Well, the Distaff Counterpart of Simon is... Simone?
"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." - E. Gary Gygax
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
'Kay. I'll consider it. I'll wait for other suggestions before I commit to them, though.
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
Yeah, definitely do that. Like I said, I shouldn't get both names. Bob the Engineer... heh.
"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." - E. Gary Gygax
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
All right then. Our engineer will be named...Bob, and the professor working him to the bone for no money will be named Lucca. Now, we still have to decide on a destination...I'd like to get this running again before Sunday (I've waited too long between entries...)
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
RM/8
I say we go after King Drake.
"Only now, after being besieged by a flock of talking ponies, did he really understand what he'd lost. "
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
Okay, then. Since there aren't any other votes, we'll be tackling King Drake's homeworld next.
Update should be ready by tomorrow.
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
"Well, everyone," says Zetta, "you all did a fine job on that last run. You've earned yourself a brief respite."
Everyone cheers and thrusts their weapons into the air, including those such as Woody and Graz, who can't imitate human speech.
"However, don't get complacent. After you get finished with your rest, we're going to go after King Drake III's Netherworld." He adds, muttering to himself, "That guy really needs to be knocked down a peg or two."
"You mean the guy who looks a lot like a lion?" asks Meredith. "Yeah...that guy's pretty annoying."
The human members of the crowd let out a collective "Yeah!"
"...and very loud," Kashiwa adds.
Another "Yeah!" erupts from the crowd, with the exception of one man holding a wrench and a toolbox.
"Who's Drake?" he asks, looking around at the jubilant crowd. Meredith walks up to him and attempts to put him in his place.
"Uh...weren't you watching just a few minutes ago?"
"No. I just got here. Lord Zetta invited me in."
"Oh? I don't remember seeing your name on the roster."
"I told you, I just got here. I've been hanging out in the warehouse with Professor Lucca all this time." *.
A woman in a labcoat and glasses approaches Steve. She reminds him of Professor Licorice, but appeared slightly more cheerful.
"So, you must be the leader of this operation," she says to him. "Don't mind Bob. He doesn't get out much. He's so fixated on his mechanics that he forgets to come out sometimes.
"Welcome to the team, Bob and Lucca," says Steve. He shakes their hands, and pulls back a handful of oil after reaching for Bob's hand. "I...ugh...I hope you find yourself at home as part of the Netherworld Reclamation Project."
Kashiwa shakes her head. "Did you just make that up on the spot?"
Lucca examines a manual in her hand, detailing the specifications of the Gear Metal LEX. "Anyway, sir," she says, "I request your permission to allow Bob, myself, and one of your other soldiers to take the LEX for a test drive. I'd like to see this machine in action before we proceed."
"Be my guest." He looks around at his crew, many of whom appear to have already started goofing off. He then sees Satan pointing his rifle at random objects around the castle. "If you need someone to test the LEX out, then why don't you try that guy? He likes guns."
"Splendid," Lucca replies. "We'll be back before you know it."
While Bob, Lucca and Satan (joyriding in the LEX for the first time) are out traversing Zetta's conquered Netherworlds, they take notes on the capabilities of both machine and driver:
- The effectiveness of a vehicle is directly tied to the person driving it. Characters with high TEC ratings get better performance from the machine, and thus the overall stats of the vehicle will increase. For characters who aren't TEChnically inclined (meaning everyone except for Lucca, the soldier trio and Nabiki), the vehicle's stats will decrease.
- All attacks made while in a vehicle consume SP (think of it in terms of ammunition/weapon energy), so if there aren't enough SP, the machine can't attack, and is only good as an extra layer of protection for its driver.
- Characters can get in or out of vehicles at any time, provided they have not made an action for that round. This allows for the driver to move forward in a vehicle, attack, get out of the vehicle, move around further, and attack again if necessary.
- If an enemy is killed by a vehicle's attack, all battle experience is given to the vehicle instead of the driver.
"Netherworld Reclamation Project." Cute. 
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
In order to test the party's courage before entering King Drake's Netherworld, Astral, currently the most powerful party member at level 14, conjures up a new free dungeon for them to explore and kill things. The dungeon is deeper than the last one and houses more powerful enemies, but the crew is able to hack its way through with minimal casualties (one caused, annoyingly enough, by Dear Leader Steve of Squad 1 *).
A few of the floors in this particular dungeon have a "No vehicles" restriction...one which Zetta gets around by placing the LEX inside the warehouse, so that Satan can jump out and blast things when facilities are allowed to be brought in.
On the 10th floor, the team defeats a boss, a level 30 Wood Golem named Svenson, who had enough ATK power to split one or two party members in half with one blow, but cowered at the sight of Astral's awesome magic box and Dover's gatling pop gun.
Among the spoils, the party finds an experimental Makai Cannon, which Lucca believes would go best with Musashi, since its drill isn't getting much use at this point. There were also a bunch of assorted vehicle parts, which Bob used to outfit the LEX and boost its battle capabilities by at least 50 percent. Most of its power comes from a brand new Luxo steering wheel and a Battle OS, items that boost all of the machine's stats at the expense of some TEC loss.
New Effects Seen on this Battle Map:
- Producing Items: No enemies appear here. Instead, a few random items are laid about on the field.
- Energetic Power: Summons a Professor unit.
edited 3rd May '10 5:23:05 AM by WillyFourEyes
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
Time for some more PRRROMOTIONS! Steve jumps from Fighter to Warrior, while Saga moves up in rank from Enlistee to Trooper, and decides to change her name to Vanessa (too many bad memories, she says). They're both slightly ticked that they'll have to gain their levels all over again, but Zetta states that they'll have better growth potential this way.
Happy Dungeon 2
3 level 10 Owls and a Level 15 Bluebird armed with a hammer control this area. One of the owls is preparing to invite some of its friends. The Hammer, when used by enemies (and only by enemies) has a nasty habit of draining levels on impact.
Io and Graz get to work on what Io does best...stealing everything that isn't nailed down (including a Dark Jewel, a Hyper Protein, a Crystal Orb, and some Wing Boots).
Three Red Idols emerge from a hut dropped by one of the Happy Dolls, but they don't do much except boost the defense of the dolls. Astral kills the hammer-wielding doll before it can harm the party. The other enemies are defeated with little trouble.
While this going on, Pram gets suspicious of King Drake dropping into the group without being invited. Drake, who seems to speak only in HAM, asserts that he's not doing anything unbecoming.
Down on the chilly surface of Drake's Netherworld, Zetta runs into Raiden again (with a flashback to their encounter in the Forbidden Library). Zetta is surprised that Raiden survived the implosion of all creation. He demands to know what Raiden is doing there, but Raiden disappears without saying anything. Zetta orders everyone to chase after him.
Stage 4-1: The Gorgeous King
But first, they have to get past a master samurai and her litter of strangely-armed cat kids. She has a half-dozen of them, two of whom are hiding in a clock tower (when invited, it stops any nearby enemies from moving for a turn).
Ryu and Miyako start the assault by taking out the two Death Sabers on the hill, while Bob, Lucca, Satan (in the newly-upgraded LEX) aim for the lead Samurai and her cohorts. One of the Death Sabers from the Clock Tower destroys the hospital, as two more samurais arrive from the east to help. Steve states that while he finds them cute, they're still dangerous and need to be disposed of. In a bizarre turn, the group takes to pilfering bits and pieces of the landscape on their way out.
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
I have seen the amateur, and it is me.
Stage 4-2: The Great King
Random dungeon. This looks easy enough.A few armed merchants and a shovel-packing engineer guard the first area. Steve hangs back and lets the B-team handle them, since they're about level 12-14. Next, he and Kashiwa double-team a drill-carrying Tar Man before it can reach the tome. For some reason, this upsets the balance and causes everyone to become dazed. Kashiwa tries to correct this by casting Espoir on the tome. The status is utterly meaningless to the group of magic-using and shortcake-wielding babes heading their way. Thanks to the law of Conservation of Ninjutsu, this group is statistically weaker than the groups they've fought before. The enemy healers, realizing this (and the fact that their weapons are useless in the face of real warriors) try to beef up their defense, but Satan charges ahead in the LEX and guns down as many of them as he can before the tank runs out of fuel. Take Cake Brigade goes down without a fight.
Stage 4-3: The Beautiful King
Gee...you'd get the idea that King Drake were an egomaniac or something with all of these titles.The group accidentally teleports underwater, where they find that a group of mechanics and their professor boss also possess Super Not-Drowning Skills. The point requirement is pretty strenuous for a mid-level area: 800 points. The enemies in the first area only give up a total of 100. Astral, who is overdue for ascension, nukes the lot of them with fire magic...somehow]]. Another group tries to sneak-attack our "heroes", but they are brought down in short order by the crew.
To the northwest, the crew discovers a secret laboratory, where King Drake and his goons appear to be working on weapons. Not so...it's just one dumbass engineer who didn't know to bring backup with him. The crew has to destroy the lab to proceed.
The third area brings them back to the surface, where a pair of Gel Boys and a Samurai await them on the beach. They dive in and quickly get acquiainted with the locked of good ol' Davy Jones. After they dispatch another trio of surprise attackers, they reach the central area, which is rife with enemies waiting to be mined for EXP and rewards.
The leader is a samurai riding around in a vehicle called a Dark Runner Z2. Another samurai, whom one might assume is this guy's girlfriend, emeres from a lighthouse in the distance and carves Io open with a Moon Slash, knocking him out early. Steve quickly reminds the girl samurai that he can do that too, and kills her. This enrages the other samurai even more than Nabiki destroying his tank, or the fact that he's fighting them with a fishing pole. He uses it to isolate Kashiwa from her friends by tossing her aside so that she can't heal them. They quickly regroup, however, and give the samurai and his minions a sound beating.
Post-Battle
Ryuunosuke and Miyako both graduate to "Working Samurai". Dover becomes a trooper, and decides that he wants to be known as Ryan from now on. (Vanessa, the soldier formerly known as Fake Saga, couldn't be happier.) Io has gained enough experience to graduate from Pickpocket to Burglar, and Lucca is promoted to Electric Professor. She likes the fact that her Badass Lab Coat is now a sleek brown.New Map Effects:
- I've got NO Motivation: generates healers, professors and female wizards holding plates of food. Everybody becomes Dazed, preventing them from gaining any EXP while under this state.
- Are you making a weapon? Probably exclusive to 4-3. This generates a lab with a mechanic inside.
edited 24th May '10 4:32:04 PM by WillyFourEyes
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!
Stage 2-6: Fallen Babylon
The ominous boss battle music starts up again as the group crash-lands in an open field that appears to be the heart of Babylon's netherworld. The first ones out on patrol are three cat kids, which are carefully guarding a hut.
"That couldn't possibly be the boss of this place, could it?" asks Morrigan.
"No," says Zetta. "It's too soon. I know Babylon's a bit smarter than to play his strongest hand early. The real boss must be somewhere past this field. I want you all to go out and investigate immediately."
Steve, Morrigan and Astral sneak up on the cat kid guards and take them out with one blow each. This doesn't draw out anyone from the hut, so they begin attacking it directly to force whatever was outside to come inside. (Here, you'll notice that the enemy doesn't play by the same rules that the player does. Destroying an enemy-controlled facility forces all of its units to evacuate, whereas if an enemy destroys one of your facilities, all friendly units inside are killed.) The destroyed hut reveals a Death Saber, who immediately takes its frustration out on Morrigan (it's okay, she'll be fine after this boss battle) before succumbing to the might of the main strike team. A fifth cat kid, possibly a stray, comes in from the west, but is easily defeated because it isn't armed.
Over in the distance, a trio of soldiers - two male, one female - readies their muskets.
"Did you hear that, boss?" says one of the males. "It sounded like a cat dying."
"You're a medic, aren't you?" says the female. "You could have gone out and saved them."
"But those weren't my orders! You told me to watch for any intruders and not move from this spot. Besides, those cats don't even belong to us."
"Duh, Malfus," the second male soldier says to him. "You'd think that the dead kittens would be your first sign that trouble was on its way. The enemy could be here any minute!"
The leader holds her musket into the air and fires off a warning shot. "All right, Saga Squad 1, listen up! We're the last line of defense for this Netherworld. Anyone you see, you shoot on sight. Understood?"
Both soldiers give Saga a salute. "Yes, sir!"
Malfus pulls out his binoculars and looks into the distance, where he sees Steve's party approaching, now backed by more than the original three soldiers from his lookout party.
"I see them, boss! They're coming!"
Saga waves them on, and points toward the neutral field. They run with all their strength so that they can meet face-to-face with Steve and his crew. Graz leaps out in front and beats Malfus down with his nunchaku, and hisses mockingly at the other two soldiers.
"Gah...they trained this one pretty well," Malfus says before collapsing. "It's all up to you...Dover..."
Dover points his gun at the cat that knocked down his partner, but notices that it isn't standing in front of him anymore. Frustrated, he fires a shot off that hits Astral, but doesn't kill him. Saga follows up with a shot of her own against Woody, assuming he's the strongest of the group. While they're preoccupied, Io, Graz and Meredith teach them the error of their tactics by executing a joint assault. With the superior numbers, Steve's squad comes out victorious yet again.
"Dammit!" says Dover. "Babylon should have sent more soldiers. We could have dealt with the lot of you easily."
"Forget about it," says Saga. "They beat us. Let's just get out of here while we still have our heads."
Zetta only briefly celebrates his victory, because now he's worried that Alexander will come back and send an assassin after him again.
Two down, six to go!
I hope you get tiny bits of eggshell in all your omelettes for the rest of your life!