Part 72: Visions
Chapter 4: Visions
QfG4 Manual posted:
The Hero as an Artform
by Fish Crawdad, "Ze Greatest Hero in Ze World"
Time was when anyone with a sword or a spell could go around calling himself
a Hero. All you had to do was fight a dragon or two, rescue a princess
maybe, and you were set for life. Well, we've come a long way since those
days and being a Hero in today's monster-eat-monster environment means more
than just swinging a weapon and hitting your target. In this essay, I'll
explore what it takes to be the best you can be in the Hero business.
To Be or Not To Be
Why did you ever want to be a Hero in the first place? To have endless
opportunities to wade through monster guts and goo, sweating through
sweltering swamps, and hacking through hordes of horrific hobgoblins to
receive no more than a pat on the back and a hearty "Well Done!" as rewards?
Or perhaps you saw yourself surrounded by bodacious babes or handsome hunks
who swoon over your masterly muscles and bulging biceps? How about having
mysterious mystical maids or men marveling over your mastery of magic?
Would you believe you wanted to sneak silently into the Sultan's Harem or
Military Barracks after visiting hours?
If your idea of Heroism is more than mere gore and a handshake, then you
will have to go beyond the average Studly Doright, Mickey Mage, or Sneaky
Feetie. You'll have to prove to the world you are not just another
mediocre good guy. It's no longer a matter of what you do, but of how you
do it, and what you look like doing it.
Man, the inn is just depressing these days. Looks like it’s too late to do any exploring, so I think I’ll just exercise some more until dark. But first…
Damn. And here I was hoping that a stone hexapod would do something if I threw garlic at it. Oh well.
Wow, climbing is hard.
Dark already? Guess I should head back now.
And here are the townsfolk, otherwise known as Jack Nickelson, Rodney Dangerfield, and whoever the fat guy is trying to be, doing their off-script thing. If you somehow haven’t figured out what I changed yet, this video should make it fairly clear.
Anything important going on?
No. Despite your sudden arrival, things around Mordavia are as quiet as usual. Don’t you guys ever get bored just sitting around talking all day? It is more than enough for us. My wife keeps the kitchen, and I keep the inn. Together, we make the Hotel Mordavia the best place to stay in all this valley. More like the only place to stay. You are free to sleep in the cold outside, if that is your preference. I’m good.
In fact, I’ll go check it out now.
At the foot of the bed you can see the storage chest for this game. Not that you’d really need one.
Hot damn, a bed that looks like a bed. How long has it been since I was able to sleep on one?
…I can’t sleep. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the bed is too comfortable. Maybe I really should sleep outside.
Might as well test out my new climbing skills and not let Yuri get in the last laugh.
Maybe by the staff? I bet there’s some comfortable grass near there.
A shiver of cold comes over you. You sense no danger, but even so, you find yourself afraid.
See if you can guess whether this sequence is paladin-exclusive or not.
You’re Dmitri’s grandfather?
The same. The sorrows of this land are my sorrows, and I cannot rest. Thou art a paladin, and so shall share my fate. Oh crap, what did HERO say about ghosts?QfG4 Manual posted:
Ghosts
Eldritch creatures of indefinite, insubstantial form. Ghosts hang around
graveyards or near where a person died. A person becomes a ghost on dying
if he/she has substantial "unfinished business" in this world (such as an
unfulfilled vow or loved ones left behind), and if the death was sudden and
unexpected. These ghosts tend to retain some human qualities and are
relatively benevolent. The other type of ghost is that of a mean-spirited
person who "died hard" and whose passions and emotions refused to settle in
the grave. This type of ghost wants nothing more than to bring others down
in death just as it was brought down. You'll live longer if you can
distinguish between the two types!
Hey, Mr. Piotyr, are you “relatively benevolent?” I am a paladin in death, as I was in life, and no servant of good need fear me. Thou can feel the pain of this land as I do, and it shall disturb thine rest as it does mine. Unless ye ease the sorrows of this land, and heal the pain. So how do I do that? What? Aw, he’s gone. I hope he doesn’t keep interrupting my sleep, like some ghosts I’ve heard of.
This looks like a nice spot.
The Dream. This is another sequence that I like from this game.
You feel the sensation of floating freely in a swirling cloud of magic. You are warm and safe, surrounded by the sound of peaceful beauty. You feel as if you were suddenly totally alive. You can remember every happy moment of your past, taste every favorite sensation, hear all the colors of the universe. This is the true joy of living.
Suddenly, you feel yourself trapped by darkness. You cannot breathe. The darkness is tearing the warmth, life, and magic from your body. Pain—the agony of lungs without air, the burning cold of a body trapped in ice, the terror of helplessness as death approaches. You float, cold and lifeless.
Well, that was different.