bottlecaplogs | Noelle's Deerlightful February & March Catchall

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Noelle's Deerlightful February & March Catchall

Who: Noelle & Dolly, Emporio, Eleanor, Maya, Kinger, others to be added
What: Quests (Total Whiteout, Tough Luv), and the first meeting of the prospective gaming club?
Where: Icefall Lake, the coast, the Spire
When: February through March
Warnings: Violence (canon-typical, including battling, and maybe beyond), others TBA

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"Yeah, it's kind of like that!" she says, nodding at Eleanor. "Old fantasy books like that directly inspired tabletop roleplaying games, which inspired the original turn-based RPGs. Isn't that cool? It's a long history of a bunch of people making stuff out of things they like."

She's glad Maya decided to stick around, too. It's good to see she didn't disappear again! And now she can share some gaming memories that aren't scary stories.

"I just got up to the point where the heroes have to find a way to beat the dragon. You think that would be the final boss, but actually, you can get the dragon on your side depending on the choices you make! I love that about these games."

Noelle feels her face getting hot. She's been rambling so much! "Umm, you can take a turn if you'd like," she says, offering the console to Eleanor and/or Maya. "So they didn't have games where you're from, Eleanor, but they did in your world, Maya?"

"Computers are a relatively young technology, where I'm from." She leans in closer, still mesmerised. The fact that it's in colour is what's really impressing her. She hasn't even seen a TV in colour! So Dragon Blazers' vibrant colour palette is mesmerising. "And they're nowhere near this small. The ones I'm familiar with can take up entire rooms, or even buildings."

And they print punch cards!

But, getting the dragon on your side, huh...? And choices. Not having to kill it. Choosing mercy. That's like... him. Eleanor shakes her head, turning to Noelle when she offers the console. "Uh, so what buttons do I press?"

Thinking about it, like a long chain of people building on each other's joy… It's very encouraging!

"That sounds exciting! Having a dragon on your side sounds like a true boon."

She's happy to let Eleanor take the first turn. They're all enjoying it together, whoever has the controls! And since it's completely new to Eleanor, that seems fair. "Huh… that sounds like the computers of maybe… thirty, forty years ago? But you can get personal computers now, and even ones you can carry around with you!" Sure, they're still pretty heavy, but you can. "Right! You can go to the arcades, or you can get one at home… But a lot of those need to be hooked up to your TV. This seems a lot more convenient!"

Noelle does her best to patiently explain which buttons to press and withholding the 'just let me do it' feeling. The best part of these old turn-based RPGs is that they don't require quick reflexes or anything, so they can be played with hooves and/or flippers... usually. Sadly, it's still easy to accidentally press the wrong thing. But the joy of gaming is enough to keep Noelle trying.

"It's kind of like if we had one of those big Dragon-types on our side... like Courier Six," she says, with a little laugh. Their daily lives are kind of like an RPG, she thinks. "Maya, did you ever play games in arcades or anything? Did you have any favorites?"

She wants to see what type of party configuration Eleanor might make if she starts her own save file. There's plenty of classic archetypes to choose from- fighter, thief, mage, priest- but also some odd choices including 'clown' and 'zombie'.

Eleanor wouldn't object if Noelle took the system off of her and explained it to her like a child. She's never used a computer before. Any technology she has experience with is analogue, for the most part. She's seen a television, but that's as fancy as her personal experience gets. Everything else would be archaic to Maya and entirely vintage to Noelle. Tape recorders, now those are where it's at.

She doesn't want to interfere with Noelle's save, so she's made a separate one and is presently flicking through the various class choices she has. She doesn't have too much to say, really, instead more focused on reading the descriptions for each class and weighing in on the differences in stats mentally.

It does look difficult… She wonders if there's some way they can make the controls easier.

"Yup! Ulala and I went all the time, back in high school. Hm… I liked some of the survival ones, seeing how far we could get through the levels. Some are a more standard heroic character, and others are about surviving and returning a barrage of fire."

She peers over Eleanor's shoulder again, curious. "Huh? A clown class? What does that one do?"

She nods along while listening to Maya. "That sounds fun! I've never been to an arcade." They're more rare in the day of personal computers and mobile games, but she's heard some exist in the city. If only she could've gone...

"Clown is a joke class," she says. "The stats are terrible and most of the time they can't attack or anything, but you can upgrade them to a Sage later on, which is the most powerful class in the game."

Eleanor can't help but giggle at that. She kind of loves it, all things considered. The idea of making it harder for that kind of payoff sounds really appealing even if it is just this. She lingers on the clown's class page for perhaps longer than she should, considering it.

"...what do you recommend for a beginner?"

That's probably the better option, considering she's sharing with Maya too. Unless Maya wants to watch her struggle.

"Maybe you'll be able to go someday!" Assuming she gets the opportunity, of course. "It'd be fun!"

Joke classes, huh? "So it makes the run more challenging for yourself…. I can see the appeal!

"For a beginner, though, I'd recommend a balanced set of skills. Is there a position that takes more attacks?" She glances at Noelle to see how she answers. "If so, put someone with tough defences there. And then, someone with strong attack abilities, and someone who can heal. And then…" She hums, watching Eleanor. She seems pretty taken with the Clown class… "How common are healing items?" It's probably possible to take one joke class along without a lot of trouble, even if it does make things difficult.

She nods at Maya. "Yeah, the ones in the front of the party are more likely to get hit, so you want characters with high HP up there. A Warrior is pretty bulky and can deal some strong physical damage."

She does her best to help Eleanor select the options she wants, perfectly happy to explain the controls and take over if needed. "For a beginner... after the Warrior, I'd definitely have a Priest to heal. They can also take a few hits. Then, it's pretty standard to have a magic user and a fast character, so maybe a Mage and a Thief. As a bonus, the Thief can help you find treasure when you're exploring."

She gives Maya a knowing grin. "But if you want a Clown..." She can tell that Eleanor is tempted by the idea, and she thinks it would be very funny. "I know some tricks to get lots of healing items fast. You could probably replace the Mage if you're up for the challenge."

As she's helping Eleanor with the controls, it comes time to name the characters. "Since the Warrior leads the party, maybe you could name them after yourself. Ooh, and then you can name the Priest 'Noelle', and the Thief 'Maya', and if we go with the Clown..." She thinks for a minute. "Bigby? Fahahaha!"

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Noelle's Deerlightful February & March Catchall

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rip eleanor you would have loved dark souls

f in chat

sorry for the delay!!