Home Questing: Task 10

by Christopher "Janus" Donnelly




Here is the form to submit your bawdy limerick: https://forms.gle/J3VBZDtG2bhgvZy28

If you would prefer to send it to me directly rather than uploading to youtube or some other image hosting site, please email it to techiemikey@gmail.com.

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[Transcript]

Hi all, Janus here and welcome to Home Questing: The Tenth Task.  We’re going to start to mix up the format a little bit going on from here on out.  So I just wanted to give you a heads up on that.  From now on, every week we will either have a new video or the judging results of a previous challenge.  Now let’s get on to this week’s task.

This week, I am challenging you to make a Bawdy limerick.  The cleanest Bawdy limerick wins.  And we are looking for passing for clean, not actually clean.  You have until Friday at noon, which is going to be the new deadline, and your time starts now.

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Boff Brawl Semi-Final Match 2

The Winner of the first championship semi-final match was: Tao with Samurai Jack!

Now here is the much anticipated match 2!

Player 1 - Saka. Character, Korra.

Strategy: 
"Alright, first up, I've prepared a run-down of Korra's seriously broken capabilities for the uninitiated. If you're familiar with ATLA/LoK canon you can skip the next two paragraphs, and to everyone else bringing the objectively most overpowered fighter on this roster to their fights: You're welcome.

Korra has precise and devastatingly powerful control of large and small quantities of metal, water, ice, steam, fire, rock, earth, mud, and air for a couple hundred feet or more in all directions. She can condense water from the air, and generate and dissipate blasts of fire at will, including from her breath when physically restrained. She's spent a decade and a half dedicated to nonstop martial arts training with the greatest practitioners in her world, including Aang's own waterbending teacher and wife, Katara and their airbender son Tenzin, until her masters judged that they had anything left to teach Korra. Also from Katara comes the useful ability to quickly heal traumatic injuries with waterbending. Mastery of acrobatics, able to propel herself through the air at will using any of the elements, and has the reflexes necessary to weave, deflect, and literally punch her way through barrages of projectiles. Korra's been simultaneously shocked by two cattle prods and come up swinging. She has sufficient strength to steadily lift and hold a average-sized grown man in front of her just with a single arm, and to throw a 200-300 pound man into a bank of metal pipes with enough force to break the pipes open (in both cases, this was unaided by her bending). Almost all of these strengths and skills are far above and beyond what her predecessor, Aang, is capable of. (That crucial detail will be relevant later on.)

So that's her physical prowess. Mentally, Korra fights with both unparalleled righteous passion and collected tactical instinct. Having trained since the age of 4 as the arbiter of peace and source of supreme spiritual and physical power of an entire magical world, she has become adept at processing information quickly and adapting to new situations on the fly. She has faced and overcome familial betrayal, the vitriol of modern politics and media attention, PTSD from countless traumatic experiences, and the consequences of plenty of mistakes. She has gone into fights against foes with unknown skills, weapons, and powers, and taken their abilities in stride as they are revealed. Examples of this including unarmed combat against the first use of electricity in a melee weapon in her world, resisting the control of a person who could psychically manipulate the blood in her body, projecting a 500-foot tall physical hologram of herself to fight, defeat, and purify the literal force of darkness and chaos in her world, and deflecting the energy of a nuclear warhead detonating a couple feet in in front of her to protect herself and another person. She and that person walked away unscathed, but the crater around them was half a mile wide. All but the last of those examples were accomplished without even using her Avatar State power boost.

This will, of course, still be a tough fight, because I'm assuming we're going for combat game/cartoon-style incapacitation here, not actual lethality. (Though this is the Realms, so if we're good with no-consequences lethality, then this fight can be summed up with 4 words: "You can't breathe rocks." None of the other three combatants are strong enough to resist Korra's earthbending, and burying them would only take 1-2 seconds. Aang might try to escape, but wouldn't be able to avoid Korra long enough to tire her out.) Even holding herself in check to avoid killing her opponents, Korra's immense power, dexterity, versatility, ferocity, and strength of will are unmatched. Conveniently, she has decades of experience defeating people and entities significantly weaker than she is without doing any permanent damage.

There are three ways this can go. Aang forfeits and Korra wins, she and Aang put off their inevitable concluding duel and face the other combatants first, or they duke it out from the start. Though Malaki with Aang may try to take advantage of the opening, I think it's most important that Korra immediately strips She-Ra and Lion-O of their metallic weapons, artifacts, and armor so they can't access any of the powers anchored within and try anything sneaky while Korra focuses on her real opponent. Neither target has anything in their skill sets or arsenals to avoid or defend against metalbending, so it's going to happen. Sorry Aeston, swords mean nothing here.

Take a second to shove the resulting hunk of metal a hundred feet underground, a couple more to imprison She-Ra and Lion-O inside 20 feet of solid rock, and less than 5 seconds into the fight it's already down to Korra and Aang.

Aang is a child. While he is capable of great wisdom and feats of bending prowess, has mastered the four elements, is light on his feet, and can also access the Avatar State, he is small, immature, and has only had a year or less of experience with 3 of his 4 elements. Korra's mastery of water-, earth-, and firebending all handily outstrip Aang's, and her airbending is comparable though admittedly less finessed. Hand to hand, she can match if not surpass his maneuverability and dramatically outclasses him physically. Even ignoring her greater skill, larger depth of experience, and raw bending power, Korra's competitive spirit and fiery passion gives her a huge advantage over Aang's aversion to conflict. When it comes down to combatants of comparable skill going toe-to-toe in a protracted fight, the one with the most grit wins out. This goes double for benders using the same element(s), since their bending is an extension of their personality and state of mind. It might actually take Korra a little while to wear Aang down, and she'll need to watch out for Aang's creativity mixed with Malaki's cunning. She'll fight with caution and dogged persistence, maintaining high ground and distance but prepared to dominate in close-quarters if necessary. This fight would be incredibly destructive and range over a wide area. But Korra is able to maintain a relentless barrage of attacks for minutes without letting up. All Aang will be able to do is deflect, run, and delay the inevitable. The best offense he'll be able to manage is blind backward pot-shots with whatever elements he has within immediate reach. Surrounding himself in rocks and catching his breath isn't an option: Korra is a better earthbender. Taking away Korra's bending isn't an option: Korra is a more experienced energybender and a larger, stronger, more resilient, and more competent hand-to-hand combatant. Aang will inevitably tire and fall to his reincarnation. She is a force of nature unlike any their world has ever seen.


This will get interesting once we have multiple Korras in a fight."

Player 2 - Malaki. Character, Aang.

Strategy: 
Hands down this is going to be a tough battle. I would use Aang's high speed and great defense to maintain distance at first. By keeping distance we can make the swords less effective.

While they both have special powers, swords are a tool that need to be wielded to be effective. We would try and disarm She-ra and Lion-o with various bending techniques and then incapacitate them in a stone prison with earth bending.

Korra is a dangerous opponent with many of the same skills... many but not all. Ultimately, she doesn't have the same hate driving her that Osai did, but she is often just as rash. After getting her to act recklessly, we would try to get close and do some energy bending to take away her bending.

Now, Avender has a pack mentality at times, and if he calls in the Thundercats for back up, Team Avatar would roll in, and we would fully utilize Zuko, Toph, Katara, and Sokka. Oh snap! Guess which team has a sword now??? Not to mention a boomerang ; )

Calling in Team Avatar would be a last resort, and only if other combatants did it.


"How one wins is just as important as winning." - Uncle Iroh said this from the sidelines.

Player 3 - Avendar. Character, Lion-o.

Strategy: 
My strategy against Malaki with Ang and Saka with Kora will be the same. They are each steady and rational thinkers, so my overall strategy is to hit them from many angles to keep them off balance while my bruisers move in to finish them. First I use the Sword of Omens to summon the Thundercats to the fight. I tell Cheetara, Wiley Kit and Kat to harry them while Panthro uses the thunder tanks a direct assault. Meanwhile I use the sword of omens to discover they're greatest fear and then have Tigra telepathically attack they're mind with that fear. Then I have Lion-o join the fray. While these are each strong opponents I believe that when attacked on all side as well as the mind they will fall.

Against Elizah and She-ra I would also begin by summoning the Thundercats with the Sword of Omens. Wiley Kit and Kat will use there explosive balls and bolo's to disorient swift wind while the rest of the team attacks She-ra. Lion-o and Panthro try wear her down and disarm her. Tigra uses his whip to lash her sword arm. If Lion-o gets in trouble Cheetara can whisk him to safety so he can recover and rejoin the fight. The main goal of the team is to disarm her from the Sword of Power,  once that happens it's Cheetara's job to scoop it up and run. Without the sword She-ra will soon fall.

Player 4 - Elizah. Character, She-ra.

Strategy: 
This is a tough one! While going up against those who have the ability to bend all elements seems merely impossible if anyone could handle the challenge it'd be She-ra. I'll reiterate "super-human strength, enhanced speed & reflexes, and near-invulnerability" along with healing, telepathy with animals, and her incredible chief weapon The Sword of Protection. Oh yeah, and her handy companion Swift-Wind.

There's a lot to consider here but I think my strategy for Korra and Lion-o would shift slightly because I believe that Korra and Lion-o share a similar weakness in which they both tend to make rash decisions and act in haste and anger. Knowing that I'd wait for the right moment to strike keeping a healthy distance away but wielding The Sword of Protection to transform into whatever would be needed should anyone attempt to sneak up on me. I'd also likely have Swift-Wind in seeing range to alert me if danger was near.

For Aang I think moving in strategically and closing distance as soon as possible would be the best option as I'm confident in She-Ra's ability to strike him down and also defend herself from any elements he tries to throw at her using her Sword of Protection. (Protection is literally in the name!)


Similarly to last time, if at any point she was overwhelmed she would call in Swift-Wind, fly off, heal and return to the battle.

Guess Who With the View: Round Three

Meme Tuesday

by the Meme Team

Home Questing Task 8: Results

by Christopher "Janus" Donnelly

Hello and welcome to Home Questing: The Eighth Task.  This week the task was to make a spell that can be added to the spell system and the judging criteria was a combination of the most creative, useful, and balanced spell.  So let’s get to the submissions:

From Cressida is a spell that you might get caught up in:

Circle of Entrapment (4th Circle)
Uses: 3 Uses - Verbal: 20 words, repeated continuously, stating purpose of spell - Material: 15-foot white rope, or less - Active: Continuously hold rope while repeating verbal - Caveats: Circles, Suspension

This spell creates a barrier that traps living and undead creatures making it so they can not physically pass, affect, or attack. In addition, no magic of any kind can pass through the barrier in either direction. A single spellcaster with multiple castings, or several different spellcasters, can combine Circle of Entrapment spells to make a larger one. If multiple spellcasters join their circles together, the result is a larger circle that can potentially hold more powerful beings. The spellcaster may decide to break their own circle whenever they choose by uncrossing the rope. The spellcaster can do this even if the circle was cast with other spellcasters.


From DelHemar is a great way to catch up with your friends:

Sending (3rd circle)
Uses: 2 Material component: a slip of paper with your message on it. Verbal: 10 words

Allows the caster to magically send a 30 word message to another player on site. The message should be handed to the magic martial (or nearest npc to deliver to the martial if none is available) The spell does not guarantee rapid delivery, but the martials and npcs will do their best to ensure the message does reach its intended target, either verbally or in writing provided they are on site.


And from Janus is a spell about a boon at a location.

Beneficial Ground (4th circle) Uses 1.  Verbal:20 words and an explanation.  Material: 30 foot rope, or less. Active: Lay the rope on the ground.  Caveats: Circles, suspensions.

When casting the spell, the caster may cast any sash spell they have learned into the rope and it affects all of the people in the circle at the time of casting, but only while they are within the circle.  A person who leaves the circle has the spell suspended until they return to within the circle.  The spell can not be recharged without using another casting of Beneficial Ground.


Of course, for something involving experimental spells, I needed a person who is used to explosions happening in their face and outside the box thinking, so I brought in Thoril as a guest judge.


1st (5 points) DelHamar: A very unique spell as the Realms does not currently have a spell that allows one to pass information to one another directly save for the all mighty intervention and its usefulness can not be understated in regards to sharing information during open world events or split party quests. The one downside being as you said the unreliability in speed of the message being passed.

2nd (4 points) Cressida: Very good spell and I have seen casters make cages with ward enchanted being and CoP's my only critique being that I would raise it to a higher spell level due to the nature it can be combined to form a larger area and also affect non enchanted entities.

3rd (3 points) Janus: I find this spell to be quite useful in regards of versatility and being able to stretch out the uses of certain spells such as armored cloak and protect the soul. On that same point I do worry what it could do to quests in which focus on possession effect or control effects and the majority of a group can have protect the soul from a single casting. Again though I do love this spell.

Thank you so much for that Thoril.  Now, for my reviews:

1st (5 points) DelHemar - This sending spell is balanced for it’s level, is a unique way of conveying information, and is conditionally useful.  I actually could potentially see myself taking this spell, but not as an automatic pick.

2nd (4 points) Cressida - This is a useful spell, and is essentially the ward: enchanted of the circle world.  The issue I have for it is that it would be a thing for fighters to be aware of. 

DQ’d (0 points) Janus - His spell is fine...but urgh, he’s been bugging me too often.  Give me a break.

And After the point for participation, that brings us to 11 points for DelHemar and 9 points for Cressida.


So, let’s look at how the full standings are going (I’m just going to list people with more than 5 points this week):

DelHemar - 80.5
Cressida - 56
Laika en'Naur - 20
Aeston, Areni, and Gwen - 18.5
Bart - 11
Iawen - 11
Saka - 10
Vawn - 10
Luc-Dubois Coupant - 9
Osa - 8
Kwido - 6


Remember, the top 5 people will get a prize.  I can’t wait to see you on the field again.

Home Questing: Task 9

by Christopher "Janus" Donnelly 

 


Here is the form to submit your pet or stuffed animal dressed up like yourself:
https://forms.gle/adUeuhUnMuWkg6Wu7

If you would prefer to send it to me directly rather than uploading to youtube or some image hosting site, please email it to techiemikey@gmail.com.

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[Transcript]

Hi all, Janus here and welcome to Home Questing: The Ninth Task.   Last week we asked you to create some unique spells and we did receive them.  This week we are going in a more light-hearted direction.  Please submit a picture of yourself along side with a picture of either your pet or a stuffed animal dressed up to look like yourself .  The most accurate wins.  You have until Tuesday at noon, and your time starts now.

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Boff Brawl Semi-Final Match 1

Boff Brawl has been upgraded to Championship Turbo Edition and the fights are sure to be even more epic during these upcoming four semi-final and one championship fights to determine who is the Ultimate Boff Brawl Champion!

Without further ado here is Match 1:

Player 1 - Raynor. Character, Finn.

Strategy: 
Raynor and Finn both function very well together, we’re both human sword-fighters who are childlike and grew up in harsh lands, there is no hesitation stepping into this fight and we are in sync immediately. Our strengths combined, we are now made unstoppable. Now, onto our opponents.

Skeletor is an evil lich who uses magic and mind powers against his foes. Luckily for us, Finn has vast amounts of experience dealing with liches and has advanced mind-protection techniques from his time in the Land of Ooo. He has defeated worse liches before. Plus, Skeletor is pure evil and never wins. Plus as the most evil character it is likely he would be the first one attacked by the group. Radstar and Raynor can make up later.

Next, Aang. While Aang might seem a formidable foe, he is inadequately prepared against Finn. Both began as 12 year olds in their respective series, but by their conclusion Aang is still 12 three seasons later, while Finn has grown and is 17 by the conclusion of his own show. Finn can defeat Aang with the most dangerous weapon of all - knowledge. Finn experienced puberty - look out Aang, that one's a doozy! Is Aang prepared to learn that his parents aren't as great as he imagined? I don't think so! You might also think that Finn wouldn't fight Aang because he isn't evil - but by abandoning the world when they needed him most, he is directly responsible for thousands of deaths, including the near-complete elimination of his own airbender tribe. Aang is evil enough to be eliminated.

Lastly, Jack. Another sword fighter, valiant and prepared against Aku, his own dark nemesis. While in another universe they might have worked together, in this universe Jack is controlled by Tao. All we need to do is aim for the knees (might be strong on Jack, but I'm sure Tao would flinch for at least a second!) and that's the opening in an otherwise fairly even match. And if Jack isn't evil, Raynor can at least convince Finn that Tao is evil. He has taken large sums of my gold through unfair games! The house always wins! Can't go back to the past on that one, Jack.

Player 2 - Radstar. Character, Skeletor.

Strategy: 
Using subterfuge I would have them all take one another out for me.

Player 3 - Freja. Character, Aang.

Strategy: 
Aang has a slew of talents at his disposal, but most importantly he has incredibly high flexibility. He is able to think quickly on his feet and use the best strategy for a situation. This combines with his ability to easily bend any of the four elements to make him very difficult to predict. He has relatively high hand-to-hand skills especially used in concert with his bending. His air bending lets him escape from tight situations by simultaneously knocking his opponents back and rising above the battlefield to strike from above. He would try to keep his distance from opponents, relying on bending to make ranged attacks. His air bending makes his fighting style very fluid and defensive, focused on turning aside or dodging enemy attacks and counterstriking. And, if all else fails, Aang has the Avatar state—an incredibly powerful form that can wipe out entire armies in seconds. This would, however be a last resort as it only occurs when Aang is in true danger. His greatest weapons are his versatility and mobility.

Player 4 - Tao. Character, Samurai Jack.

Strategy: 
The sword swings rightly
Honor guides its deadly blade
Betrayal possible

Skelator once found, He Can be sneaky,  is the first match I look for. The blade strikes bone as well as flesh. While they that control this unholy beast is my measure in experience; the might of the mountain will not fall to dust and bones. Get them in the open; dismantle them, one bone at a time.
Finn, half a team, strong morals, week shoulders, not an easy match. While I feel some conflict, I have seen his actions and deeds. The deeds that he so often has to go and fix; Never alone, always with friends. He cannot clean up his own mistakes alone. The person who decides the how and the where is cleaver, smart and a very valuable part of a team; But, alone? with no friends? he shall fall.
Aang, this will break my heart, but the Aang I know does not have the concentration to follow through, present a large wild beast and they will be too distracted to be effective. This pilot I know less of, expect more surprises, unusual strategies, but their inexperience will be there downfall. While I respect the person, in combat they are still a little too fresh.

Vote on the poll on Facebook and debate on behalf of your champion. The winner of this match enters the final championship round!

View of the Vanfrost - Episode 1

by Brookelyn "Rowan" Gingras

Five of us came to Rhiassa at the Vanfrost’s first call. The path of shadow, it was explained to us, behaves according to the will of Norlund itself. We did not know where it would take us, only that it was somewhere we were needed.

We entered the mysterious portal without a second thought, as adventurers do. It took us to Hell. Or at least a place like many people describe Hell. A great cavern glowing red, hot stone underfoot, and the slow crawl of a lava river.

The river of lava separated our little group from a cluster of gems resting on small rocky islands in the lava. But how to get them? Several ideas were had, but none voiced.

Rubis, the dexterous cat that he is, pounced across a wide stretch of liquid fire to a lone gem on a boulder. I took to my bat transformation and alighted onto a stepping stone. Kael attempted to join me but almost didn’t make the jump - I briefly considered letting him fall to avoid being pulled with him into the fiery stream. I pulled him up to safety instead.

When I reached the cluster of gems safely, I realized my next dilemma. Bat thumbs are not ideal for picking up objects, let alone carrying them across a molten lava flow... So I ate it. With the large jaws and short neck my transformation offers, swallowing a somewhat round and fist-sized rock whole was about as easy as that endeavor could be. The real problem was getting it back… which is how the party ended up sitting around the dead body of a giant bat while one of them reached down its throat to dislodge the gem needed to access the next room.

There were magically sealed doors with puzzle locks, bickerments over the fastest way to count the spokes on a wheel, and imps that were dispatched too quickly for me to get my claws on them. But most fascinating to me were three fire elementals of different colored flames - blue, red and yellow.  Striking them seemed to deal no harm, but ignited your sword with a flame. Mixing flames created new hues and initiated an interactive art lesson than none of us quite expected. The monsters were defeated in good time, and the next artifacts retrieved.

But lo, a trap! The next room had us thinking ourselves clever but we walked right into it. Okay, we saw it coming, but there weren’t many options. I now know what it feels to be a prisoner conspiring escape with their neighbors by holding a mirror through the bars.

At the end of it all, there was no day to be saved - at least not yet. We made it out intact and with just one treasure, evidently the item which the Vanfrost sent us to retrieve. We don’t know what it can do or why it is important, but clearly Norlund has need of it.

Written by Rowan

Boff Brawl - Results and Championship Seeding

The winner of Boff Brawl Round 16 was: Gwen with She-ra!

Winners of the preliminary rounds:

Round 1: Avendar with Lion-o
Round 2: Freija with Aang
Round 3: Raynor with Finn
Round 4: Kindrianna with Leonardo
Round 5: Kovaks with She-ra
Round 6: Tao with Samurai Jack
Round 7: Saegan with Korra
Round 8: Kyro with Skeletor
Round 9: Saka with Korra
Round 10: Malaki with Aang
Round 11: Radstar with Skeletor
Round 12: Janus with Garnet
Round 13: Elizah with She-Ra
Round 14: Trent with Leonardo
Round 15: Gordon with Zuko
Round 16: Gwen with She-Ra

The 16 winners have been placed into four championship Semi-finals as follows:

Semi-Final 1:

Raynor with Finn

Radstar with Skeletor

Freija with Aang

Tao with Samurai Jack

Semi-Final 2:

Saka with Korra

Malaki with Aang

Avendar with Lion-o

Elizah with She-Ra

Semi-Final 3:

Trent with Leonardo

Gordon with Zuko

Kyro with Skeletor

Gwen with She-Ra

Semi-Final 4:

Kindrianna with Leonardo

Kovaks with She-ra

Saegan with Korra

Janus with Garnet

All competitors should prepare a new strategy based around how they will be fighting against the specific opponents that they will be facing and contact Jason Rosa on Facebook Messenger with the description they would like to enter.

Voting and discussion on the first Semi-Final round will happen later this week!

Good luck to all our competitors!

 
 
 

Meme Monday

by the Meme Team

Home Questing Task 7: Results!

by Christopher "Janus" Donnelly 

Hello, and welcome to Home Questing, the Seventh task’s submissions and judging. For those who didn’t see it, we asked you to recreate your favorite tournament, with the most accurate recreation being the winner.  Before we begin our reviews for the week, I have a small correction to add.  DelHemar did have a submission to the Horror writing contest that wasn’t attributed to him, so he earned 5 points for that as well.  Onto the submissions!


First, from DelHemar is his rendition of a Bardic tournament:




Next Cressida is recreating a Bardic Circle, with an improvised story:



Next from Laika en'Naur is his recreation of a Bridge Battle:

More images available at https://imgur.com/a/flS72kH.  From his submission:
 “The tournament is based on bridge battles. There are shieldmen in the front with graham cracker shields with toothpick pikemen behind them. On the back line we have casters with sunflower seed magic missiles and lightning bolts with the ends having archers. The field is made of 3 pieces of construction paper denoting the bridge, the surrounding land and the water on either side of the bridge.”

And finally is Janus’ Queen of Hearts/Hadrian’s Wall tournament.

He informed me that this was constructed using Jenga blocks, prizes from previous KOEF tournaments, some amiibo’s, incense for pikes and pom-poms.


This week, I needed somebody who understood tournaments on a level I didn’t, so I have brought Elouan here as a guest judge.  Elouan, take it away.

Cressida: Bardic Tournament (5 points)
A different take on the bardic tournament, and an excellent one at that.  Those stuffed animals definitely made for good Realmsie substitutes, being as helpful as the average audience is for one of these routines.  I’ve also seen similar performances from Cressida at other bardics, and this was pretty spot on.

Laika: Bridge Battle (4 points)
I think this might be moving too fast to be a bridge battle - wait, I was just informed that I am looking at a still image.  Yup, that’s about right. The props in the water are certainly accurate.  However, I don’t remember a bridge battle ever involving cheese and crackers (trust me, I’d remember).  (Quick aside: is bridge battle really your favorite tournament? Who hurt you?)

DelHemar: Bardic Tournament ( 3 points)
DelHemar captured the feel of a fireside bardic, complete with ambience. The songs he chose were thematically appropriate as well to how a lot of us are feeling at the moment!

Janus: Hadrian’s Wall (2 points)
You know, I for one would love to see a ducks vs. ...elves? Magic humanoids?...version of Hadrian’s wall, and this might be the closest I ever get to actually seeing that.  There is one glaring problem I can’t ignore, however: there seems to be no stand in for someone complaining to Lord Aeston about Hadrian’s Wall.


Thanks Elouan.  For my review:

In 3rd place (3 points) is DelHemar.  This was really tough for me to put here, but the lack of using objects from around the house caused Cressida to barely end up in front of this entry.  The songs were fantastic, and the multiple songs helped simulate a bardic tournament..

In 2nd place (4 points) is Cressida’s bardic tournament.  I have seen her perform this type of Bardic before as it has been her specialty, and it made great use of objects (and others) from around the house to simulate the audience of a bardic.

And in first place (5 points) is Laika en'Naur: This both hit the spirit of what I was looking for in regards to objects around the house as well as an incredible amount of detail into the tournament itself.  I have seen the mess a bridge battle creates and it definitely recreated that mess in addition to the people themselves.

I unfortunately had to disqualify Janus. It appears he finally broke into my place...and was not wearing a mask at the time.

So, that brings the scores for the week.  After the participation point, both Cressida and Laika earn 10 points and DelHemar earns 6 points.


See you all next week for another new task and the results of Task 8!

Home Questing: Task 8!

by Christopher "Janus" Donnelly 

Here is the form to your spell: https://forms.gle/85GpbjZV6bN14UZYA

If you would prefer to send it to me directly for some reason, please email it to techiemikey@gmail.com.

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[Transcript]

Hello and welcome to Home Questing: The Eighth Task.  Last week we had you create various tournaments in your own home.  We had four fantastic entries, and I loved them all.  This week we are going in a different direction.

I am asking you to make a spell that can be added to the spell system.  The most creative, useful, and balanced spell will win.  You have until Tuesday at noon and your time starts now.

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Guess Who With the View: Round Two

Rumors for May 1020

[Across the Realms]

For the adventurers that have figured out what they are/generally what they look like, the Time Snarls have been picking up in appearances lately; mostly sticking to hay fields, new forests, glens, and groves.  (If your adventurer would like to approach one, let the Rumor Mill know.)

[Eagle’s Rook]

The borders of Eagle's Rook have been closed to travelers/tourism, and to those who aren't of the merchant/trading/healing variety.  This is due to some sort of nature-based blight that has sprung up within its lands, but the Knightocracy is confident that with the right protective measures, the people of Eagle's Rook will be safe and secure, and the lands will eventually return to a 'new normal'.  All questions can be directed at the current Knight Commander, Sir Iawen Penn-Nosetti. (Iawen Penn).

[Rhiassa]

The stone archway near Southland that was built in order to anchor the Vanfrost pathway to Norlund has been acting very strangely. While normally dormant unless being used, the arch has been pulsating erratically with a deep blue light, opening up for moments at a time and then closing again.

Boff Brawl - Round 16

The winner of Boff Brawl Round 15 was: Gordon with Zuko!

Winners so far:
Round 1: Avendar with Lion-o
Round 2: Freija with Aang
Round 3: Raynor with Finn
Round 4: Kindrianna with Leonardo
Round 5: Kovaks with She-ra
Round 6: Tao with Samurai Jack
Round 7: Saegan with Korra
Round 8: Kyro with Skeletor
Round 9: Saka with Korra
Round 10: Malaki with Aang
Round 11: Radstar with Skeletor
Round 12: Janus with Garnet
Round 13: Elizah with She-Ra
Round 14: Trent with Leonardo
Round 15: Gordon with Zuko

After this last preliminary round, four championship semi-finals will be seeded. The winners above will each get a new chance to devise a strategy knowing exactly who they will be up against. The four winners of the semi-finals will compete to win the title of Ultimate Boff Brawl Champion!

Now for round 16!

Player 1 - Zarine. Character, Skeletor.

Strategy: I find myself to be quite capable, and as such I have chosen the combatant most like myself. There is nothing more powerful than scathing sarcasm and overwhelming hatred of others ineptness. His skill with alchemy is not to be overlooked, as even if the gods of the realm seem to have been trying to nerf it for years, they have colossally failed in that endeavor much like my opponents will fail to overcome Skeletor's sadistic cruelty. He's powerful with magic but it's not a crutch; when you don't immediately forfeit after he summons a mirror to show you how woefully unfashionably you fight, he'll simply cut you down while you wonder why all that fur didn't stop a sword blow. Oh, and he has a panther and he spent all the time he should have used coming up with a better name than Panthor training it to rip to your face off, which will be an improvement, honestly.

Player 2 - Artair. Character, Aang.

Strategy: I would tell him to focus on primarily defensive/avoidance, letting others fight among themselves and knocking his opponents into vulnerable positions with use of air gusts for both mobility and to knock opponents off guard..

Player 3 - Arryn. Character, Zuko.

Strategy: I would tell him to try to stay at range and overwhelm single targets.

Player 4 - Gwen. Character, She-ra.

Strategy: Trying to decide between several extremely powerful fighters was difficult but in the end I settled on She-ra. One of the skills I value most in combat is versatility and the ability problem solve whatever you face. She-ra's Sword of Protection is the ultimate weapon because it can become any other weapon and allow her to use what is best for the situation. She also has a wide array of extremely faithful friends that fight along side her, and that's what makes a person truly strong! In this battle I would tell her to team up with another fighter who has similar goals and work together to beat the others. Then challenge them to honorable combat when only they remain.

Meme Monday

by the Meme Team

Home Questing Task 6: Results!

by Christopher "Janus" Donnelly

Hello, and welcome to the the results of the sixth task. This week, rather than the regular judging we put out a facebook poll to determine which catchphrases for the gods were the most popular.  So, let’s get straight into our entries:


From DelHemar is a submission for Vesta, the Goddess of Hearth, Home and delicious cookies:

“There's always more room by the fire.”


Coming in from Laika en'Naur is Cindi- youngest sister of Aurora and Goddess of picking up on Seance calls meant for other gods:

"Oh you wanted to talk to Aurora? She's like not around right now but you can like totally talk to me... I can talk about BOYS all day (giggle)"


Rosetta submitted another possible catchphrase for Vesta:

"We've got cookies! No, really!"


Our penultimate submission is from Cressida and contains yet another Vesta submission:

"Got Milk?"


And finally, from Osa is a submission for Rexan, god of Serpents, Poison, and Assassination:

A few people missed the deadline, but made a few other catchphrases that just needed to be shared.

From King Alexander Cecil come the following four catchphrases:

Aurora: Good for the good god!
Dionin: Kill 'em all and let the Grey Man sort 'em out.
Min: Shwing
Orcus, the Chaos gods, and several others: Fair Use!
Laiko also provided a good catchphrase for a god he follows:
Harlequin: May the laughter continue


So, as mentioned earlier this week I decided the readers would be the judge.  Because it works out well for this week, the scoring will be 1 point for every vote a submission got (maximum of 10 points.) plus 1 point for entering.

In first is DelHemar’s submission with 11 points.
In second is Osa’s submission with 8 points.
In third is Laika’s submission with 6 points.
And tied in fourth are Rosetta and Cressida’s submissions with 5 points each.


So, before I total up the overall scores, I mentioned something previously: that there would be bonus points for people who entered the horror writing contest.  So, 5 bonus points go to Sagart Hawkshade, J’reth, Nalydros, Cressida and Thayet.


Which brings our totals so far to the following:

DelHemar - 58.5 points
Cressida - 37 points
Aeston, Areni, and Gwen - 18.5 points
Bart - 11 points
Iawen - 11 points
Laika en'Naur - 10 points
Saka - 10 points
Vawn - 10 points
Luc-Dubois Coupant - 9 points
Osa - 8 points
Kwido - 6 points
Tarun Ul-Sikar - 5 points
Rosetta - 5 points
J'reth - 5 points
Sagart Hawkshade - 5 points
Nalydros - 5 points
Thayet - 5 points
Orion - 4 points
Vanduke - 4 points
King Alexander Cecil - 2.5 points
Jace - 2 points
Kara Nithisdottir - 1.5 points
Thoril - 1.5 points

Home Questing Task 7!

by Christopher "Janus" Donnelly

Here is the form to submit your recreation of a tournament using objects from your own home: https://forms.gle/up98uJjmgUXTY2HB7

If you would prefer to send it to me directly rather than uploading to youtube or some image hosting site, please email it to techiemikey@gmail.com.

*********************************************

[Transcript]

Hi all, Janus here and welcome to Home Questing: The Seventh Task.   Last week we received five fantastic catchphrases for the gods.  This week we are asking you to recreate your favorite tournament using objects in your house.  The most accurate recreation of a tournament wins.  You have until Tuesday at noon, and your time starts now.

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Boff Brawl - Round 15

The winner of Boff Brawl Round 14 was: Trent with Leonardo!

Winners so far:
Round 1: Avendar with Lion-o
Round 2: Freija with Aang
Round 3: Raynor with Finn
Round 4: Kindrianna with Leonardo
Round 5: Kovaks with She-ra
Round 6: Tao with Samurai Jack
Round 7: Saegan with Korra
Round 8: Kyro with Skeletor
Round 9: Saka with Korra
Round 10: Malaki with Aang
Round 11: Radstar with Skeletor
Round 12: Janus with Garnet
Round 13: Elizah with She-Ra
Round 14: Trent with Leonardo

Now for Round 15!

Player 1 - Ranger. Character, Goliath.

Strategy: Goliath is my pick. He is strong and can glide. He's got great leader skills. Since he's made of stone he is hard to take down. Sharp claws for max damage. Can climb anything... I'd have him watch the battle from up high. Learn who is the most likely to win the battle over all and the next two runners up. If an opportunity presents itself to take out one of those three top people without the other two around then do it. Strike hard and fast from above when you can. Fall back and repeat.

Player 2 - Gordon. Character, Zuko.

Strategy: Zuko’s early arc features him fighting with an almost uncontrolled ferocity that showcases his natural ability, but needs to be tempered with age and discipline, which he gains through his trials and tribulations. My favorite Zuko moment is The Last Agni Kai against Azula, where he was patient and collected, waiting for his opponent to make a mistake, and capitalizing on it for his victory. As a shield fighter, I understands this defensive posturing, which will bring Zuko victory in Boff Brawl.

Player 3 - Clove. Character, Korra.

Strategy: I would choose Korra because she has mastery over the elements. She’d just fight following her instincts.

Player 4 - Twenaria. Character, Garnet.

Strategy: This is really tough. While a talking turtle and the ripped yelling guy first caught my eye, I’m going with Garnet. She kicks ass while singing, and is two people in one. But get this: they are actually shiny rocks who make a BIGGER shiny rock. Her fashion is tops, too. As for fighting strategy, I would tell her the same thing I tell other fighters I’ve worked with. “Do your thing. Don’t die. I’ll try to keep up.”

Realms Geographical Sorting Quiz!

Link HERE for those that prefer it!

Boff Brawl - Round 14

The winner of Boff Brawl Round 13 was: Elizah with She-ra!

Winners so far:
Round 1: Avendar with Lion-o
Round 2: Freija with Aang
Round 3: Raynor with Finn
Round 4: Kindrianna with Leonardo
Round 5: Kovaks with She-ra
Round 6: Tao with Samurai Jack
Round 7: Saegan with Korra
Round 8: Kyro with Skeletor
Round 9: Saka with Korra
Round 10: Malaki with Aang
Round 11: Radstar with Skeletor
Round 12: Janus with Garnet
Round 13: Elizah with She-Ra

Now for Round 14!

Player 1 - Kara. Character, Amethyst.

Strategy: Ok! I would choose Amethyst since we have decently similar fighting styles with maintains high mobility and damage dealt out. A good strategy to use here is to get light shots in on everyone early in the round, then move on to move heavy hitting stuff as the number of combatants go down and you get more space to move around, maintaining constant movement to prevent most hits.

Player 2 - Rubis. Character, Aang.

Strategy: Tell him to be as slippery as possible, avoiding getting into direct contact as best as he can.

Player 3 - Trent. Character, Leonardo.

Strategy: I would pick Leonardo due to his extensive martial arts training and brilliant tactical mind. Being a stickler for the rules, he would keep things clean but that wouldn't stop Michelangelo and Raphael from jumping into the fight anyway. If even this three on one wasn't enough, Donatello would assist as he could never sit by and watch his pizza scarfing compatriots be beaten.

Player 4 - Nymbous. Character, Skeletor.

Strategy: I would have him hang back as much as possible and let the others wear themselves out first.

Meme Mondays

by the Meme Team

Home Questing: Task 6!

by Christopher "Janus" Donnelly

Here is the form to submit your catchphrase for a god: https://forms.gle/gpnftc76wozqG1xXA

As a heads up/warning, judging this week will be done differently than normal, but you’ll find out exactly why later in the week.

If you would prefer to send it to me directly rather than uploading to youtube or some image hosting site, please email it to techiemikey@gmail.com.

The list of people who entered the horror writing contest and earned a bonus 5 points will be taken into account once I get them (the contest was still going when I wrote this up).

*************************

[Transcript]

Hi all, Janus here and welcome to Home Questing: The Sixth Task.  We received three fantastic hats last week, but let's just go into this week’s challenge, shall we?

This week, I am asking you to make a catch phrase for a God.  The most popular catch phrase will win.  The deadline is Tuesday at noon.  And your time starts...now.

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Home Questing Task 5: Results!

by Christopher "Janus" Donnelly 

Hello, and welcome to the Task 5 results show!  A guest judge and I shall judge the submissions we have received and determine which hat is in fact the fanciest.  Per tradition, the submissions are in order of submission.


From DelHemar is a hat which was constructed from photo negatives and contact sheet prints.

For more views of this photographic hat, plus a video of it from different angles, you can visit
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1oqsw0wEZ9LGxpvcuf130Ucao3938H1RB


Next up is an entry from Cressida is a hat made of Solo Cups and Forks.

Our third entry is from Luc-Dubois Coupant made from a collapsible horn and some camouflage.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12lj-B3r8SVjtft-tzE2XndEGFSDFTA9a/view?fbclid=IwAR3yc4YymUVWThP_gR_jwpZTGdXU72xj06NNzLHo0qWiWAo3vgRyEN5gvYI

And Finally, submitted just in the nick of time from Janus is a hat made from recreations of enemies and a quill.

When this task was conceived, there was one person who immediately came to mind for judging hats.  As well as other things for that matter.  So, I reached out to Zarine and got her help figuring out which hats she thought was the fanciest.  Take it away Zarine:

Wow, these are.. well, they are hats I guess. Overall though, very good effort put forth by all of the contestants and these were very exciting to judge. For Janus, while I appreciate wearing the faces of your enemies, I feel the skins could have been arranged in a more aesthetically pleasing manner. The feather was a nice touch but seemed like an afterthought. Cressida, while I find drinkware as fashion intriguing, it didn’t seem to transform enough from bad feast gear to actual haberdashery. The weaving technique you used looks interesting though, and perhaps with better materials it could have been more successful. The winner for me was between DelHemar and Luc-Dubois. I am a fan of photography so DelHemar’s hat warmed my heart, if you can believe it. You really turned a negative into a positive and made a very handsome hat. I love Luc-Dubois’ ingenuity and I do appreciate a multi-functioning garment. Though no gentleman I know wears leaves on their head, I am sure the camouflage could be modified for a more urban scout. Not sure about it’s blow strength though, perhaps a demonstration is in order. In the end, form wins out for me over function, so I must choose DelHemar’s Tophat of Negativity over Luc-Dubois’ Scout Cap of Blowing.

4th (2 points)  - Cressida
3rd (3 points)  - Janus
2nd (4 points) - Luc-Dubois
1st (5 points) - DelHemar


Thanks so much for that Zarine.  Now it’s my turn to judge, albeit a little less elegantly.

In fourth place (DQ) is Janus, whose hat isn’t really fancy, so much as creepy.  In addition, he is DQ’d this week for bribery.  I accepted it, but I had to DQ him anyway.  It’s a matter of principles.

In third place (3 points)  is Cressida who chose a very bright hat to construct.  It has a few nice details to it, but I wouldn’t call it “fancy”, even with a few crenallations near the top.

In second place (4 points) is Luc-Dubois Coupant’s hat.  It is a multipurpose hat: stylish and functional.  In addition while not a traditional “fancy”, for its target audience it is exceedingly fancy.

Finally, in first place is (5 points) DelHemar with his hat.  While taking the form of a traditional top hat, the material it is made of increases the fancy factor drastically, and it is the only hat I saw that I could envision myself wearing...and that includes my own entry!

Taking into account the participation points, here is the total scores for the week:

DelHemar - 11 points
Luc-Dubois Coupant - 9 points
Cressida - 6 points

I’m going to be only posting the totals after even tasks from now on.  Tune in later today for the next task!