Lia's BK tweets archive - 2021-04-27: Sheratan, Valara, Rasalas, Sandfeeders' Nest

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:20 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

The lake monster is dead, the villagers are not, Guillo’s having a minor existential crisis, I’m sure everything will be FINE.
Back to the village see what kind of disruption the plot has in store.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:22 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

WHAT A SURPRISE. WHO COULD HAVE FORESEEN THIS.
(It’s the exact same plot beat as Nashira and the Lesser Celestial River)

Sheratan village, crawling with Imperial soldiers.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:35 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

It’s Valara, who was “told to come here”. Probably unrelated to definitely-not-Milly making weird phone calls in the middle of the night.
And also has a big mecha, in the proud tradition of Alfard villains.

Valara: “Where were you, ghost boy? You missed the part where I seized the village.”

Valara: “This is the birthchild of imperial progress—a “machine arma.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:38 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

It’s one of those tough-ish battles that we win except we lose. The, er, fourth one of those already?

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:41 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

Surprise assist from the not-dead lake monster? Or a cousin?
Either way we get formal confirmation that those things are “Malpercio’s afterlings”, whatever that even means, in case it wasn’t obvious enough so far.

Valara, her mecha splatted on the ground: “Wh-What the hell?!”

Valara: “That’s... one of Malpercio’s afterlings! Nobody said anything about this!”

Valara, her mecha getting beaten up by the monster: “We’re changing objectives! Make the afterling priority one!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:51 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

Valara engages the super laser to get rid of the thing, which........ blasts off a quarter of the island? O___o

Valara: “If you’re so damned hungry, you can start by eating this!”

The Hassaleh island map, showing a large chunk of it falling away under the blast of a blue laser.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:54 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

Sagi gets another one of those fits, and back into the weird other place we go, still being called Marno.
Considering how EW treated fat people, I’m happy to see Ven get portraits. Hopefully won’t get played for cheap laughs about food and exercise this time.

Sagi, screaming: “Nggh, urrrg... Uaaaaaaaaaaagh!”

Pieda: “Come on, wake up, Marno. Are you all right?”

Ven: “It’s no good. Everyone’s disappeared. All that’s left is their magnus...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:56 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

Milly and Guillo tagged along this time but apparently they’re invisible. Okay.

Milly waving her hand in front of Ven’s face to no reaction.

Milly, looking annoyed: “What’s with those people? They were acting like they didn’t even see me!”

Guillo: “That was no act. They didn’t seem to have any idea you or I were here.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:58 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

Milly is definitely maladjusted and Guillo urgently needs a diplomacy upgrade in spite of making a good point

Milly: “Still, this is kind of fun. Let’s follow them for a little while.”

Guillo: “Fun? Is that the half-wit’s witless half speaking? If you bothered to think of the consequences...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:33 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

Considering that so far everything vaguely Chekhov’s Gun-shaped has gone off right on schedule, I’d bet this will come up

Villager: “Aren’t they amazing? See the rock on that ravine wall? Looks like a person, doesn’t it!”

Villager: “Rocks like this are especially common in this area. What fun it would be to put them all in a row!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:36 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

New area! Our “friends” warn us about Sandfeeders, tell us to stay right behind them so we don’t get eaten, and proceed to disappear off-screen. NOT HELPING.

Layered cliffs with blue sand waterfalls. Title card: “The Sandfeeders’ Nest”

Seph: “We’re entering Sandfeeder territory. Don’t let them see you. A fight with a Sandfeeder spells certain death.”

Ven: “Not even magic hurts them. If they find us, they’ll tear us apart!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:39 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

Sandfeeders are, it turns out, large caterpillars just trying to take a nap. 
Sagi the nature expert correctly assesses them as scent-driven.
There is convenient sleep-inducing sweet-smelling sand nearby.
I’ll take “contrived” for 100G thanks

Sagi: “Its eyesight seems pretty poor, but it must have an amazing nose.”

Sagi: “I wonder if there’s some way to mess up the Sandfeeder’s sense of smell...”

Inspection text: “Pink sand is flowing in just this one place.”

Inspection text: “It has a nice scent, but it’s so potent you can’t smell much else.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:41 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

And this marks the point where I go open GameFAQs, because I only had the one Magnetite Waves magnus available, I need a second, and surely it doesn’t want me to backtrack all the way past the village.

Sagi, looking at a glowing red rock above a small cave: “Maybe we could trap the Sandfeeder if we blocked the lower hole while it’s still inside.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:44 PM · Apr 26, 2021 Permalink

“You can get Magnetite Waves from the caterpillar’s nest in the previous area if you need more”
I HAVE BEEN TOLD TO NOT APPROACH THE MURDEROUS CATERPILLAR, GAME

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:02 AM · Apr 27, 2021 Permalink

The technical game design term for what this is is “complete bullshit”. Anyway we get the thing stuck in its nest, which I’m sure won’t make it cranky.

An exclamation mark bubble all the way at the edge of the screen.

Sagi: “But...that noise. Hear it trashing around inside the hole? We’d better hurry up and sneak by.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:05 AM · Apr 27, 2021 Permalink

*sound of yet another one of Chekhov’s guns having had the safety off along*
Also our friends are magicians, but their spells do nothing, so we jump in. That sure is a weird line for “sheltered girl” Milliarde.

Thoran: “Blast! We’ve been spotted! The vermin’s not about to let us out of its sight now.”

A giant green caterpillar being blasted by a green energy beam and a purple forcefield.

Guillo: “You’re planning on fighting this thing, Sagi? That’s a lot of monster to fight.”

Milly: “...The weak and abused need my help yet again. Oh, me and my hand-ups!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:07 AM · Apr 27, 2021 Permalink

Milly what is WRONG with you

Milly: “I mean, it was a tough fight and all, but our attacks seemed to work just fine.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:08 AM · Apr 27, 2021 Permalink

*extreme side-eye*

Ven, who is the only sympathetic fat character with a portrait in this entire franchise so far: “Seph, I’m hungry...”

Seph: “Fair enough. We’ll get food in your belly soon, brother.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:10 AM · Apr 27, 2021 Permalink

Captain Obvious to the rescue, some interesting ponderings from Guillo especially with the whole “killing machine for ancient monsters” thing...

Milly: “The four of them seem close. From the sound of it, they must be family.”

Guillo: “That I don’t know, but one thing is for sure. Their magic isn’t just any magic. It’s like mine—maybe [...]”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:12 AM · Apr 27, 2021 Permalink

And on this last bit of Healthy Group Dynamics, that’s it for this round. Next time: new village? Or Sagi waking up at an inconvenient time, more likely.

Milly: “Like that’s saying much. Still, not even the teachers at the School of Magic wielded spells like that!”

Guillo, eyes blazing red: “Did you just insult my magic? Don’t make me torch you just to prove a point, wench!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:14 AM · Apr 27, 2021 Permalink

It’s all very very by-the-book so far. I remain curious but thoroughly unimpressed.
I’m learning to put up with the combat, though I don’t find it especially satisfying. That’s personal.
Mostly I find Sagi tremendously dull, and Milly / Guillo’s dynamic had better evolve soon.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:25 AM · Apr 27, 2021 Permalink

Oh and for those of you who didn’t sit through Mandatory Film Society With Family every day for a decade until it rotted your brain:
Chekhov’s Gun is a storytelling principle that says that if something is shown, it has to serve a purpose. A cousin to the concept of signposting.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:28 AM · Apr 27, 2021 Permalink

An example here is:
- Get apparently random flavor text about balloon-gators and thorns. Classic RPG wordbuilding!
- Immediately encounter a balloon-gator that needs to be popped with a thorny thing.
Showing the gun, the gun goes off.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:30 AM · Apr 27, 2021 Permalink

Obviously if you build everything like that it becomes cringy, because nothing is flavor anymore and it can make the world feel extra-artificial. Writing is hard, writing games is extra-hard.