Lewis The Fighter: Episode 3.5!!

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CrazyBernie
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Lewis The Fighter: Episode 3.5!!

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Lewis The Fighter
Episode Three-Point-Five: LtF Re-rolled! or "Can I get a do-over please?"

Lewis woke up with a start; and almost fell on his face. Whoa, must've fell asleep standing up again. Wait.... again? He looked around in confusion. Finding himself standing in the apparent bedroom of a house (what's left of one, anyway) he tried to figure out what he was doing last. No wonder all I can remember is the thunder and lightning... there's a wall missing from this room! And there's grass growing on the floor! He strolled outside through the large opening in the wall.

"Wait just a minute..." A cold shiver ran down his spine. Performing an about-face, he glanced at the floor. The same bloodstain. He strode over to the corner of the room and threw open the chest. The dagger and envelope were as he remembered. He picked up the envelope, tore it open and flipped over the subscription notice. [Same letter... wait, what's that?[/i] In the bottom-right corner in very small print are the characters "v.2.0" Didn't notice that before, but it's pretty small; I might have missed it. Tossing the letter back into the chest, he grabbed the backpack under the bed and stuffed the torch from the wall into it.

Just what the hell is going on here? Is this an effect of the amnesia I'm suffering? The stump located by the well contained the same hidden supply stash. Lewis put on the sandals, and placed the potions in the pack. When he picked up the sword, he paused. It feels heavier! After taking a few practice swings, he did not notice any feeling of restriction with the seemingly increased weight. Either I'm weaker or this sword isn't the same... He slid the sword into his belt. This isn't really the time to worry about it. I should get moving... and see what else might have changed. He headed for the front door. Time to kill some annoying lizards.

The salamanders were located in the same general area he originally encountered them; dispatching them was definitely easier the second time around. They're so much less annoying when they're dead, Lewis thought to himself as he wiped his sword clean on a scrap of cloth. He approached the chest in the kitchen of the Minotaur very cautiously. After a slight hesitation, he threw back the lid and jumped back.

Nothing happened. Well that was unexpected. Perhaps knowing what was going to happen canceled the trap. He peered into the chest to ascertain the contents. There was no sword, cape, or even boots. Instead, at the bottom of the chest was a small, dark green leatherbound book. Lewis picked the book up slowly as though still expecting the world to turn upside down, and when the world stayed put he examined the book more closely. The title read: "Alchemical Theory: A Look at the Basic Principles of Alchemy."

Something tugged at his mind as he read the title... something familiar. He opened the book and began sifting through the pages. As he read, a sensation of mild dizziness overcame him, but soon passed. Just skimming through the book seemed to unlock memories that had been dormant. Looks like I remember more than just how to fight... Closing the book and placing in his pack, he began to look at his surroundings in a different light. In the nearby fireplace, some ash remained. Over in the corner, a fine web spun by a silk spider stretched across some firewood Just beyond a demolished section of the wall, a belladonna shrub fluttered gently in the wind.

Okay, I think that's quite enough. Time to get moving. As he readied himself for departure, he noticed the sunlight glinting off an object underneath a nearby human skeleton. With a quick apology to the deceased, he moved the bones and picked up a scabbard that contained a falcata. Drawing the sword, he noted that the recurved iron blade was in excellent condition. That certainly wasn't there before, but I suppose I shouldn't be complaining. The question is, why are some things the same and others not? He strapped the scabbard to his waist and continued searching.

There were other oddities to be discovered as well. On a corpse that was clearly months, even years old, was a perfectly fresh loaf of bread. In the closet of a house was a chest that contained a pouch of gold, undisturbed even though the town was obviously looted. A wooden storage barrel sat untouched amongst the wreckage, its alchemical contents ready to be used. Perhaps the strangest thing was how he actually felt. After fighting all of the salamanders and spending half a day rummaging through debris, he was as fresh as when he first awoke. He wasn't fatigued in the slightest, and felt as though he could run for miles without breaking a sweat.

Even though I don't have my memory, there's so much that just screams 'out of place.' I suppose I'll add it all to my list of questions for 'E.' Having finished his rounds of the abandoned town (*sigh*, again), Lewis headed northeast, toward Aridell. Maybe I'll make it there this time around. At least I won't have to worry about what's different...
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CrazyBernie
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Re: Lewis The Fighter: Episode 3.5!!

Post by CrazyBernie »

Ok, first up:

Sorry BW, but I just couldn't bring myself to use "Art of Brewing" for the title of the Alchemy book... :mrgreen:

Second:

Sorry for the lack of pictures again, I didn't feel like recyling. :P

Third:

I decided to reroll for two reasons; endurance, and personality. I wanted the character I was playing to fit Lewis's traits a little bit better. As such I felt an Agnostic Fighter fit the bill a bit more then a Druidic Fighter. The "Barbarian" title is a little out of place, but oh well. I'm also *this* close to adding dodge as a character "trait" to fit in with future combat story-telling.

Here's the spread (LtF 1.0 vs LtF 2.0):
Image

So he's a little dumber, and a little weaker to start, but a lot heartier. :mrgreen:

I'm actually torn over Heavy Armor as well. I'm not really feeling it as being part of Lewis's character, but I'll probably end up adding it in anyways, since I'm going with Thrown Weapons over Bows (again, a personality choice... Lewis is a Fighter, not a Ranger :P It fits in better with the story I'm telling as well...) Additionally, I don't really know how many sp's I want to dump into shields since I'm not sure of its effectiveness.

Stay tuned for Episode Four!! :shock:
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Re: Lewis The Fighter: Episode 3.5!!

Post by Randomizer »

Thanks for another episode.

Depending upon your fighting style and how quickly your foes drop, shields may not be useful. No using them with torches is the main problem. With that endurance you might be able to skip them.
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Re: Lewis The Fighter: Episode 3.5!!

Post by BasiliskWrangler »

Randomizer wrote:...shields may not be useful. No using them with torches is the main problem. With that endurance you might be able to skip them.
I personally have invested a lot of time to make shield use better in Book II. For example, shields can now 'repel' after skill level 10, which means they can inflict a bit of damage when an enemy unsuccessfully hits you (I think this is called shield bashing in other games). This is a really nice feature when you are in Parry Mode, for then you are well defended against physical attacks but also delivering some damage (a high shield skill is the only way of achieving this since you cannot attack in Parry Mode).

Anyways, there's much more balancing to do so no promises on final skill features, but I do encourage everyone to revisit all the skills in Book II as their usefulness will be improved.
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