TerroirNoir3 Posted Monday at 09:32 PM Posted Monday at 09:32 PM (edited) Araminta's Adventures. Hello gang! Araminta here. I generally have a quieter life than Engineria, spending time tinkering with the Bots and attempting to power them better is how I spend many an evening. That and reading through a lot of material salvaged from the ruins of Praetoria. Some of which can be converted to AE for a virtual experience! Amazing how that works. But right now it's Halloween and a call just went out for aid. Engineria is off helping out Professor Dafriend in Paragon U on something. No idea what. I'll find out later no doubt. So I got the girls all polished up and decided to see what the trouble in Paragon was. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenge of the Undying by @SirArthurIV (@Blazing Pyre on the AE console) Mission 1: Zombie Invasion. Azuria sends out a Code Red for all Paragon heroes to attend! Atlas Park is being overrun by zombies! City Hall was surrounded and broken into. So far authorities are unable to discern what they wanted in there. And a part of me is thinking do they want anything? Or is there some controlling Master Master Mind in charge of all of these undead people and they want something in there? Spoiler @SirArthurIV, The contact is Azuria but she's currently listed as Contact Hologram. I'd best investigate! I don't say it often enough (Shut up, Engineria) but I LOVE my girls. They can really lay waste to a horde of zombies when you need them to! Several more rounds of that sort of thing and me and the girls have made our way to City Hall and forced our way inside. And wouldn't you know it, they DO seem like they have a mission that they're on. They're heading down the stairs to the hero offices of D.A.T.A., G.I.F.T., E.L.I.T.E., S.E.R.A.P.H. and M.A.G.I. And there's a lot of valuable and frankly dangerous stuff down there that you wouldn't want a zombie (or its Master) getting their hands on. So we do the only thing we can do. Lock and load and fire until...well, until nothing is moving. Seems to work. I do have to jolt the girls with Electrical healing every now and then to keep them going but that is to be expected in a mass firefight like that. Deadwalker? Well, the dead bit is definitely correct. It ain't walking anywhere soon though! I follow down the stairwell an lo and behold the throng of undead is gathered around the G.IF.T. doorway. And that room is one of the entrances to the Hero 1 vault! If there's anything in there a zombie should not have...well, I don't have high enough clearance to know what's actually in there but neither do these guys, so I'm going to stop them! Clearing these guys took a while. Had to retreat a few times and regroup! But the bots know their job and do it well so finally I made my way down to the vault door and stepped through, to be attacked by zombies already in there! Which was not conducive to my peace of mind. I don't know, you would think that Halloween would be a time that the undead stay away or take a little vacation in Croatoa or something. I mean, we half expect to see them! Now we are getting somewhere! The Undying King, huh? My first proper lead and/or clue as to what's behind all this. Uttered by a Lich too. Maybe my idea about a Master Mind isn't that far off the mark after all. The next few minutes get a little bit frantic for me as the Lich targets me personally, but my girls take aim and leave that guy's undead hide perforated. You could, if you were weird enough, make a Lich-skin rug out of him now. Although maybe a small one so as not to have holes in it. I'll take this nugget of information back to Azuria and see if she's ever heard of an Undying King. Azuria is going to look into it, as well as organizing an inventory of anything missing from the vault. [Mission 1= Lots of fun! @SirArthurIV advised setting Team size to times 8 to really fill out the space with a zombie horde and it does make a difference. Light intro mission but very enjoyable.] Mission 2: Seeking Knowledge and Wisdom. Azuria finishes up her inventory checking and comes back to me. Undying King? No information on him yet beyond what I've discovered, that he's a necromancer. But the inventory shows a missing tome, the Liber Factotum Exaltatum. The what? Azuria does some more 'splaining. You want to know about angels? It's in that book. How many of them, their organization, how to summon them and so on. Plus lots of spells on repelling the undead. Weird. Why would a necromancer want that? So this Undying King is looking for copies of this book. There are seven. And Azuria knows the Council have a copy so she wants me to go and get it from Abyss Towers. Right, I'm going I'm going. I seem to have attracted attention from the get go. Then again it is VERY hard to sneak around with seven robots clanking along beside you. So I don't really do the stealth thing. Engineria says it's very handy but, you know, the girls are loud. Ok girls, rack it up and get ready! We're going in hot! And that's that corridor cleared of Council. Moving on I wonder does Engineria have more problems because she doesn't have my kind of firepower? Oh she calls Buddy in for help sometimes but I'm not all cozy with the PPD like that and frankly I don't need to be. No matter. On we go. Somewhere here in Abyss Towers is that book and I'm getting it. I mean what are the Council going to do? Report me to Freedom Corps? We move through the Towers hallway by hallway and the Council are pretty insistent on saying I should not be here. I could argue the point but I'm just going to shoot them until they go away. Finally I rock up at a door, still no sign of the book, and ...does that person in the middle of those Council guys have wings? I think they do! So someone here is already using the book! Laura! Door! And the door goes down and we're in! The Council charge us and we get pushed back into the hallway. They really do not want me getting near that winged person! This may take a few minutes to deal with but I'm confident we can handle it. And my confidence was paid off. There's some seriously bruised, shot up and moaning Council members lying nearby. Some are attempting to crawl away. I know that because I can here the bots sporadically shooting at them. So, who are you then? Zagzagel, is it? Well, that's not really an answer to my question but ok, sure. Let's get you out of here. I'll double back and continue my search for the book once you're safely outside. Deal? Good. Come on then! Of course it's not that simple. Somewhere a Council Necromancer is very annoyed! Ok, they haven't noticed I don't HAVE the book...unless Zagzagel IS the book? Could that be...nah. But we have company! Lock and load ladies! Oh, you're already firing. Ok, then keep doing that! So shortly after that, stepping around plenty of bodies, we, that's the angel person and the rest of us, make our way down to the main entrance. Getting her outside that matrix she spoke of. I suppose it's some sort of magic force field. What? I don't know from angelic stuff! And she drops the hammer with her wisdom. That. Does. Not. Sound. Good. Imagine Good. See that sign waaaay over there in the distance? Yeah. That's where Good is. We ain't there anymore. Now with Zagzagel on her way I turn us around and head back into Abyss Towers to find the thing I came here for in the first place. Considering the amount of misery and mayhem we've already caused the Council it doesn't take that long this time to find where the book is being kept. There we go. Now we retreat all the way back to City Hall to see Azuria and see if she has found anything to add to what I now know about the Undying King. Azuria informs me that Zagzagel is the patron of wisdom and knowledge. Perhaps they will aid further in gratitude for their rescue. I hope so, they were quite useful in there against the Council. So, Azuria, what now? [Mission 2 = ROFL. Having forgot to take my difficulty off times 8 from the first mission, this map was FILLED with Council, leading to fight after fight with Galaxies and Darkwolves and guys with grenades. I had far too many combat pics to choose from! And the mass ambush after the rescue of Zagzagel was a bit epic! Good stuff there.] Mission 3: A Tangled Web of Death. Azuria has done some bargaining with Zagzagel (I don't want to know!) and the angel (is she really one?) has given us the location of two more copies of the Liber Factotum Exaltatum. One of these is in the Rogue Isles. Arachnos has it! Typical. I wonder if it's the Mu or some of Ghost Widow's people? Whatever. I've been authorized to assault the base and retrieve it before the "Servants of the One" get their mitts on it. Oh, seems Arachnos may not know its value and it is simply stored in a general arcane depositary. That's good. Mu play havoc with my Endurance levels. So me and the girls get to the Rogue Isles and head for the depositary. On entering we find, well, it's going to be fun in there. Not. A minute or two to load some new bot protocols, get Floaty Keri online to heal and protect us, and we're off. Ah. They're still using their novices. Ok, girls, target the necromancer and the zombies will fall. Let's go! Well, that plan seems to hold up under field testing at least! Now to move further into the depositary and find this book. Along the way I run into a Student of Bone. A former Skull who abandoned his gang to follow the Undying King. Well, the Skulls have been a little off since their leaders were imprisoned a while back so joining another thing that promises power isn't totally weird I suppose. Up ahead I meet a Lady of Shades who used to be a Death Doll. Seems this Undying King is picking the Skulls clean of followers! Hmm, what's in here? Some random mystical stuff but no Liber. On we go. I find a few more of those Arachnos mystical safes along the way, all the same. Mystical junk - well, to me - but no Liber Factotum Exaltatum. And who might you be? A Wight Lord? What's a Wight Lord? I thought Wights were some sort of Undead...or are you a Necromancer who controls Wights? I don't have time to think about this because a fight starts. And as you can see, the girls are adept at knowing what their job is! Take him down! Oh my but he's a gloater. Even when he's been beaten he's lying there gloating at me. Well, ok then. You lie there and gloat and I (that's the person who beat you by the way) will carry on my search. Spoiler Just a couple more of these safes to check and...blast it. Nothing in this entire base. Looks like the Servants of the One got what they wanted and made their escape. I reckon these guys I met were actually the clean up crew rather than the initial thieves. Back to Azuria then. Time to get a flight home to Paragon City. Once I arrive she swears (Oh! Not like you, Azuria!) and tells me to get over to the Midnighters pronto because that is where the other copy Zagzagel told us about is located. You'd think the Midnight Club would have its own protection though! [Mission 3 = More fun sweeping through corridors blasting zombies. Very good seasonal feel to this entire arc so far. Liking the little bits of Lore dumped in with the defecting Skulls and so on. On to the next mission!] Mission 4: The Lich, in the parlor, with necromancy. Of course there's MORE bad news. Azuria can't make contact with the Midnighters, so more than likely they're already under attack. Time to rescue them and if possible get that book. Up, up and AWAAAY! Or you know, just go there normally. Oh, I've not been in this part of the Midnighter Club before! Seems that certain parts are off limits to "regular" members. This is very nice. I bet there's a wine cellar and everything! Ok, wine cellar later but for now we find the Midnighters and do some derring do. Whatever that is. It sounds heroic. Ah, there's one. Prof. Plum? Why does that sound familiar? Well, me and the girls rescue him and he runs off asking if there's going to be a cover up. Of what? What the hell are you talking about? No idea. Ok, on we go. Then we rescue a Mrs. White, who runs off too! Phoned your costume in? What? Hang on. Plum and White. Are you guys dressed like people from Clue? You are, aren't you?! Sheesh. Although she does leave through a secret door that might have taken me a bit to find. Useful. We follow. Carefully. Although to be honest rather loudly. I think I've said it before but it's really hard to be stealthy when you're a Mastermind. Ms. Scarlett now. Ok, this is getting a bit weird, even for Midnighters. In your other dress? I...ok then. After that we find a Mr. Green. And I hope his wife loves him very much or he'll be on the couch tonight. Then Col. Mustard. Finally we end up at a modern security door. And in we go! Peahen? Peahen. Sure, why not? Peahen. Yeah, try it on for size, take it for a spin around the block. What other weird stuff is going on here anyway? And finally we see, no not another member of Clue...although who could be left? The victim? No, the Lady of Grief. She's one of those former Death Dolls advanced further along on her worship of the Undying King. Of course mass robotic gunfire leaves her in much the same state as everyone else I've met along the way so far. Well, apart from the Clue Gang because, you know, they weren't trying to kill me! But I do finally get an answer to what the hell was going on here tonight. Spoiler A thing of fun, gone awry. But now we may have a lead. Back to you, Azuria. [Mission 4 = ROFL. Ok, this one caught me off guard. Liked the entire premise of it. Good choice of map too for an alternate section of the Midnighter Club. On to the finale!] Mission 5: All are One. One is All. Ok, there's seven books. We have one of them and they have all the others. And rather than wait for them to come and take it, Azuria has gotten a method of using ours to track theirs. So I can take the fight to them. Because if I don't then that's bad. So Azuria performs the ritual of sending me into danger (no, it's not actually called that) and throws a Vaya Con Dios after me as I leave. Thanks, might need it. And I think I will. WE descend into grim tunnels and take out Students of Bone and their minions along the way. The folks in here are definitely more powerful than the ones I've met up until now. Definitely. An Ancient, huh? Oh, what's that altar there? I'll get to that in a minute. Girls, kill that thing. And they kill it good. It's so killed. Although with all the necromancers around here, is it going to stay dead? You have to wonder. So this altar has a book on it. One of the Libers! Ok, now we're getting somewhere! That's two for me and five for them. Let's increase that count on my mini library. Go me! Another one! Excellent. Ok, I had to de-alive a few more of those Ancient Servants to get to it but that's a fair exchange, I think. Yeah. Fair. And of course I had to go and get overconfident, didn't I? Yes I did. I am beginning to see why Engineria used to stagger into our old apartment reeking of sewer and smoking from damaged armor. Oh well. I do have an advantage though. While I might be Held, the girls are not. So bye bye Ancient Servant! And I trawl through the tunnels and finally, finally I have all of the Libers. Of course I then climb some stairs and straight into a waiting ambush (or I was just very unlucky) by the Undying King himself! Fire! All guns on that guy! Like now! We force him down the stairs and back through a doorway, hitting him all the time. He is tough! And like many of his minions he likes to gloat. Even when I'm riddling him with holes! Bow? Me? Nah, you have the wrong girl to be asking that of! And he goes down! Araminta for the win! (Great costume on that guy, @SirArthurIV) Oh, you have got to be kidding me! Didn't I just say this? Ok, not about the Undying King in particular, but the whole thing about people staying dead when there's damn necromancers everywhere? Yeah, I totally did say it. The Eternal King. Ok, he got carried away with himself calling himself "Eternal". He too went down under a hail of robotic gunfire. My girls are the best girls. And you, sir, are looking like an old shower curtain right now! And we are done! He is dead. I spend a few minutes checking for another king to rise to challenge me, but no sign. Plus I have all the books. It's time to return to City Hall and see Azuria. How do I get out of this place? Right back to the entrance I came in it seems. So we do that, and have some target practice with a few Deadwalkers along the way. Back with Azuria. [Mission 5 = Great fun. Perfect map for this sort of thing and the appearance of the Eternal King worked very well.] Verdict. An excellent Halloween arc. Go and play this if you want your fix of necromancers and zombies and a great romp. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Signing off of now. Araminta Levin's Adventures are not so regular as her friend Engineria's. Edited 6 hours ago by TerroirNoir3 2 1 Regards from Engineria and Araminta!
SirArthurIV Posted Monday at 11:20 PM Posted Monday at 11:20 PM (edited) Heck yeah! Excited to see what this looks like from the perspective of someone who hasn't been playing it 50 times over in the building process. EDIT: lol, by taking angel zaggy to the entrance before getting the book from the safe you were able to leave without fighting a custom boss. I think that one is on me, or I should have just made the book a boss encounter in the same room. Edited 13 hours ago by SirArthurIV 1 1
TerroirNoir3 Posted 13 hours ago Posted 13 hours ago 15 hours ago, SirArthurIV said: Heck yeah! Excited to see what this looks like from the perspective of someone who hasn't been playing it 50 times over in the building process. EDIT: lol, by taking angel zaggy to the entrance before getting the book from the safe you were able to leave without fighting a custom boss. I think that one is on me, or I should have just made the book a boss encounter in the same room. OR..Sometimes Araminta gets lucky! HA! 1 Regards from Engineria and Araminta!
cranebump Posted 7 hours ago Posted 7 hours ago "See that sign waaaay over there in the distance? Yeah. That's where Good is." Hehehehehe...Classic. 1 1 I have done a TON of AE work, both long form and single arc. Just search the AE mish list for my sig @cranebump. For more information on my stories, head to the AE forum sub-heading and look for “Crane’s World.” Support your AE authors! We ARE the new content.
Zhym Posted 7 hours ago Posted 7 hours ago (edited) 23 hours ago, TerroirNoir3 said: Revenge of the Undying by @SirArthurIV (@Blazing Pyre on the AE console) I've added this one to the "Holiday Specials" section of the TV Guide, given the seasonal feel. But if @TerroirNoir3 isn't going to do other Halloween arcs, maybe I'll move it down to the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-Offs section. 23 hours ago, TerroirNoir3 said: Then again it is VERY hard to sneak around with seven robots clanking along beside you. So I don't really do the stealth thing. Just as well, given that it turned out to be an escort mission. I still had my team size set to x8. 70s Man could handle it. The angel, however, could not. (You'd think an angel would be tougher than some guy with guns. Even if he is an incarnate. Maybe I'm underestimating the protective power of polyester?) Edited 7 hours ago by Zhym 2
TerroirNoir3 Posted 6 hours ago Posted 6 hours ago 10 minutes ago, Zhym said: I've added this one to the "Holiday Specials" section of the TV Guide, given the seasonal feel. But if @TerroirNoir3 isn't going to do other Halloween arcs, maybe I'll move it down to the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-Offs section. I dunno. Are there many other Halloween arcs? Regards from Engineria and Araminta!
Zhym Posted 6 hours ago Posted 6 hours ago 2 minutes ago, TerroirNoir3 said: I dunno. Are there many other Halloween arcs? Good question. If not, I could always create a new section for Araminta's Adventures.
TerroirNoir3 Posted 6 hours ago Posted 6 hours ago 1 minute ago, Zhym said: Good question. If not, I could always create a new section for Araminta's Adventures. Araminta is a bit...random. Much more so than Engineria! So while her own section would be nice, maybe not needed. 1 Regards from Engineria and Araminta!
SirArthurIV Posted 5 hours ago Posted 5 hours ago (edited) Some creator commentary: Mission 2: I tried so hard to get the captive lines to go off at the right time, But I could not find an office map that worked. I figured it wasn't essential, but Here it is for those that missed it. Mission 3: Not much to add here. It was meant to be a simple mission here, The battles with arachnos I put in are swinging one way or the other. And yeah, this is definitely cleanup/recruitment. Mission 4: Oh that's interesting. In the 5 or 6 times I've run that one the hostages never spawned in the first part of the map. I always got the Student of Bone carrying the body bag first. who drops the corresponding clue In hindsight she should have been assisted by a "Mr. Boddy". I was scratching my head for things for them to say on rescue so I went for movie quotes. But, yeah, I was thinking about what kind of thing the midnighters would do for fun on holiday parties and this was it. Mission 5: This one was tricky. You're supposed to face undying in the last room and Eternal in the middle, That's an error on my part that I failed to catch since all the bosses are set to "back" and the Also when you fight him as an AV he's able to revive himself with soul transfer, Maybe he doesn't have enough energy as an EB I will fix what I've seen, but thanks for a super fun review this was nice to read. Edited 5 hours ago by SirArthurIV 1 1
TerroirNoir3 Posted 5 hours ago Posted 5 hours ago 10 minutes ago, SirArthurIV said: I will fix what I've seen, but thanks for a super fun review this was nice to read. Had fun running it! Thanks for writing! Regards from Engineria and Araminta!
Jiro Ito Posted 3 hours ago Posted 3 hours ago 3 hours ago, TerroirNoir3 said: I dunno. Are there many other Halloween arcs? Some people may have done a Halloween arc 2 Play my AE Adventures, listed under @Jiro Ito, including award winners: "The Headless Huntsman of Salamanca" #43870 **Scrapbot AE Contest Winner May 2022** "On the Claw-Tipped Wings of Betrayal" #43524 **November 2021 Dev's Choice** "The Defenders of Talos" #44578 **Mission Architect Competition Winner for October 2021: REBIRTH**
TerroirNoir3 Posted 46 minutes ago Posted 46 minutes ago 2 hours ago, Jiro Ito said: Some people may have done a Halloween arc AHA! Well, we will get to that in a while! 1 Regards from Engineria and Araminta!
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