Haeo

Side Quest - Sword Art Online

@Zelosse
Tailpin
Lvl 11/Day 17/Afternoon
[HP]100%//////////[]

After a leisurely breakfast and a couple hours of patient waiting it became clear to Tailpin that he wouldn't be making any progress just waiting around. He left the inn and began looking for any faint signs of persistent trails or tracks in town. Ultimately, he found none. But, even in real life, there wouldn't be many tracks left on dry cobblestones by dry boots. Besides, it might be something triggered by a skill. Other games had bleeding mechanics that only meant a little extra damage over time. This could be a version that makes it useful for enemies that run away. Maybe there would be game animals that you had to wound and track before you finished them off. He didn't know. For now, he headed outside town and started really watching what signs monsters left behind as they passed. There weren't any. It looked like the game wasn't that realistic. Either that or that feature only became available at higher floors or levels.

He was surrounded by gently blowing grass at the top of a low rise when a ping finally arrived to tell him Delcastle's message had arrived. He pulled up the menu and read the message. Then he read it again. It could be her. She hadn't been very pleasant when they had first met, but if it had been Sapphira... He found inside himself a low flame of wrath that slowly stirred. He had no patience for traitors to their fellow players. Tailpin would remember that name, Glitch Fixers. It seemed that he might find out whether or not he could kill someone before this was all over. Still, for now, he had all the more reason to find ways to track prey.

His reply was brief and cold.

DELCASTLE,
ACKNOWLEDGED.
TESTING CURRENT ACCESSIBILITY OF TRACKING SKILL FOR NEW PREY.

A soft ping was a suitable send-off for the message.

Tailpin stood up from his crouched position and swept his gaze as far as he could in every direction. People in guilds would be unlikely to move alone. For now, he would keep an eye on the groups of players in the field and focus on tracking players. But, World Walkers might have to move on quickly. He would keep himself ready, on-call for when any need should arise.

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@KabenSaal
Smarter'n'me
Lvl 15/Day 16 > 17/Midnight
[HP]100%//////////[]

"Just let her beat up the cold, Dom." Smart said tiredly. "Maybe it'll leave us alone then." He sighed and rolled onto his side, facing away from the fire. "Either that or she'll be a proper vet, cold hands and all."

It had been a very long day. Even with a digital body, he was still too old to be keeping crazy hours after running and fighting and who knows what else. They would probably be taking the cute-as-a-batty-belfry girl along for their next adventure in the morning. Dom was pulling his old good-cop routine, letting his honor streak show. That meant that things would be interesting, but less fun, from here on out. Hopefully the dutiful goof would kick this mood of his by morning. Hopefully, he'd think that Smart had been lying about the mags and beard stuff.

"I'll keep to my minion roll. Maybe it'll keep the stones from migrating to my kidneys."

That was all he intended to say before falling asleep. And so, he began to serenade his two companions with his nightly rendition of "how to saw rocks in two with only your nose". It was a personal specialty that he could only achieve while asleep. Dom was intimately familiar with it by now. As for the rat-girl, she might have a problem sleeping.

Side Quest - Sword Art Online

@Zelosse Indeed it is. Indeed and truly.

Eastern Fantasy

Firstly, while lifting one's leg high, one must be careful to wear appropriate garb to avoid displaying one's unmentionables to one's enemies.

Secondly, it is a difficult thing to establish the parentage of one's character when the requisite mountain has no sanshin, so far as my research goes. Grr... Now I'll need to pick another mountain... At least his mother is already set up.

Eastern Fantasy

@Takashi Personally, I believe that bombs are easier to balance than firearms. Gunpowder could still be in the rockets and bombs stage, given the weight and expense involved. Very few people could afford to consistently arm themselves with that kind of arsenal.

Also, enchanted/blessed gunpowder?

Shine City II: The Next Season

I'll be onboard for the next try. Heck, Vern never even met 60 percent or more of the characters. And he never got to buy a business either.

Eastern Fantasy

With a hybrid there are more options but the era should be kept in mind. If something western is in the scene then it should have a reason for being so far from home. Anything from exile by a powerful lord to a summoning spell gone wrong would work to relocate a western zone character or factor into an eastern area. But, I do believe that the setting should be predominantly eastern with ... dare I say... western sprinkles?

Also, given the intense zealotry associated with any form of forced group identification, it might be wise to incorporate something more akin to a talisman rather than a brand. This talisman would be worn in a similar manner to an earing or other accessory and would cause an identifiable physical characteristic to be more spirit-like than human-like. Depending on the spirit, they might choose something that they feel is a more attractive feature like their ears, fins, hair, etc.

Furthermore, the hunting of spirits could be limited to those who dwell or linger within human settlements without a talisman. Basically, they need to be honest in introducing themselves in order to be respected. Even in our age, which is far less strict than before, failing to introduce yourself or lying about your identity is a deal breaker for both personal and business relationships. Given the odds of humans being on the losing end of such deception, the government would be failing to do its duty if it did not take some action to protect its people from duplicitous non-citizens as well as encouraging honest and well intentioned non-citizens to become citizens.

However, this is all brainstorming, really.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

@gcold Hah! And with that said... there is nothing left! Well done, sir!

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

<Snipped quote by Haeo>

That's true as well. But gradually lowering light exposure is better than immediate transition from bright to dark (which might actually casue alarm).

@gcold

Ah, here we have a plethora of truths listed so nicely. But, to all this must be added the consideration of the natural variation in night vision between those of light eye color and those of dark eye color. This causes conditions that are but dim for one with dark eyes to be pitch black for one with light eyes.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

<Snipped quote by Haeo>

Some people like to read before sleeping. Keeping the bedroom light dim calms their body down.

@gcold

A valid point, especially since the light oscillation involved in an illuminated display acts as a hypnotic stimulant. They do not help with the sleepiness.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

<Snipped quote by Haeo>

Research shows Kindle Paperwhite actually reduces eyestrain when compared to traditional books in low light environment.

@gcold

The first thing to come to mind after reading this was... why would you read a book in a low light environment? But... yes, trying to read a sheet of paper in the dark is harder than reading a glowing screen in the dark. Some of these studies and manufacturer claims just make my brain hurt.