New Epic Battle Master needed.

[Cameron]

This thread is to facilitate the election of a new Battle Master for the Epic Battle. I will not be participating in this process, so this will be the only time I post in this thread.

Post your ideas for the next Epic Battle below. Once enough people have posted, a poll will be opened.

[Soul Reaver]

Personally I would prefer if someone else would volunteer to host the next Epic BB (maybe Kitharsis, Faidth or Danyael?).  However, if nobody comes forward, I do have a suggestion of my own:

I'd propose a return (and conclusion) to the 'Salt in the Wound' plotline, the epic BB that ran just prior to the Eye of Terror campaign.  Jihon put a hold on that storyline with the intention of finishing it at some point in the future - due to some tragic circumstances, it never finished.  I'd like to see it concluded.

I have a few notes from Jihon regarding this, though they're sketchy at best.  I understand Cameron might have notes and things available too.  I'd have to come up with a rough plot arc, and I don't expect the overall storyline will be as long (or complex) as some we've seen in the past, but it's one possibility.

But I've already been Battle Master once, so if someone who hasn't had a go wants to, I'd be willing to step aside.

[Veldanya Venalla]

well i have some ideas for a BB but it would require some retooling of Jharm's history as well as some additional work in general, and with me now having a job I have no idea when any of that will get done so I do not think i'll have anything rdy for people right now.

[Kitharsis]

I have a fun battle, maybe even a sub-battle that I have in mind dealing with Kelvack.  I'm not sure how the rules would allow him being the focal point of a battle, as I do want to un-retire him some day.

It would be enough to get the newcomers involved and introduced, and we could go from there to finish Jihon's battle or move on to someone elses epic.

[Faidth]

I always rather liked Kelvack and would actually like to see him return in some capacity. I'm also looking forward to getting the newcomers involved.

To be honest, I am not a proponent of moving into Jihon's battle next. Jihon's battle deserves the utmost respect and thoughtful planning. If we're going to pick up with that BB, I think it needs some extensive attention before we could release that one.

[Veldanya Venalla]

Well, decided that Id at least post the concept I have cookin in my head and see what people think and if there is enough interest I can spend my free time fleshing it out and whatnot.  The companions will be recruited by Jharm and the Council to aid in their battles against the "darkness" (one of the components that is unfinished is a proper name...hence the quotes). 

The two biggest issues I've been having with completing the idea has been a) concern that everyone (especially veteran people) are all "demon'd/darkness/chaos'd" out after Salt in the Wound and EoT and b) self-doubt over my capability to be good at storytelling,  I can imagine it all really well but never seem to make posts on the level of quality as say Clutch or Faidth.  If you guys are willing to overlook or whatever these issues let me know and ill bust my ass to get everything together and finished.

[Soul Reaver]

Faidth: Yeah, that's fine.  We've already had two other people volunteer, so my idea is already out of the running for now - I was only going to suggest continuing Salt in the Wound next if nobody else came forward.

Jharm: I think fighting darknesses is primarily what we do around here, so I'm not sure that basic premise will be a huge problem.

"I wanna cast 'magic missile!"
"Why do you want to cast magic missile?  There's nothing to attack here!"
"I... I attack the darkness!"

[Archdemon Stu]

You're all good writers in my book, so whoever steps forward, I don't really see how it can go too far south.

[Kitharsis]

Ok, so the last post I did with Kelvack was kind of foreshadowing.  Here it is to save some searching:

Kelvack is standing hunched over, off to the side.  His mouth is hanging open as he breathes heavily.  Four replicas of himself are standing behind him, doing the same.  Their bodies are still composed solely of energy.  The edges of their skin are blurry.  Gusts of wind catch the tails of tiny strands of energy that are tying to escape.

“This usually works a little quicker than this...”  One in the back says, between gasps of breath.

“Shut it, we all know that!”

“Don't yell at me, you idiot!”

The two Kelvack's in the back begin to brawl behind the others.  Kelvack in the front smacks his palm into his forehead and growls.

“Everyone back!  Now!”

The four figures lurch forward and are quickly absorbed into Kelvack's back.  Shaking his head, he stands there alone, watching the battle rage on before him.  His body wavers like an out of tune television.  Then, like a propane torch running out of fuel, his body sputters and extinguishes.

Kelvack stands in what one would can a human's body.  His face is strained and he is still gasping for air.

“I shouldn't be this tired.  Something is wrong here...”  He says as he goes to one knee, his hand hitting the ground hard and kicking up a small cloud of dust.  “This is not the time or the place to be having some sort of weird breakdown...  Dammit!”

He pounds the ground with his fist, cracking the rock below him.  He raises his fist again, this time his eyes go bright green at the apex of his swing.  His fist hits the ground again, but instead of cracking the rock he tears open a warp gate below him.  A shield snaps around Kelvack as he falls through the gate.

The gate dumps him out at his compound inside a small planet a galaxy away.  He lands in a heap on the floor.  Fluorescent lights flicker on as the compound begins to power up.  Kelvack grunts as he rolls over onto his back.

Staring at the lights above him, his thoughts go out to his companions.

I'm sorry...

Oh Noes!  He was in pretty bad shape.  Lets see where this leads: 

Ah, Kelvack.  The loveable, unstable shapeshifter. 

What has he been up to?

Why did he duck out of the battle with Abbadon with such haste?

Where is he?  ...All of him.


He's already died once.  Blown to pieces.  But then he suddenly appeared in a box of chinese food while helping Cameron (right?) move into his new house.  It seems that traces of Kelvack were left throughout the multiverse.  Through some sort of magnetic property his body has, they gathered and formed together into himself again.  Whoever that is...

When he ducked out of the battle with Abbadon he was strained and damaged.  Moreso than could be explained by the injuries he sustained during the melee.  As he lay on the floor in his compound with the flickering flourescent lights playing tricks with his eyes, he felt something.  A sort of pull coming from a great distance away.

He was drawn to it.  And regardless of his condition, he started travelling towards it.  It turned out someone had contained a stray part of his body and was using it for their own devices.  Each time the person used it, Kelvack would flinch and waver.  The effect became more drastic the more it was used.  Luckily, he was literraly able to hide as a fly on the wall and wait until the individual left for a moment.

Kelvack quickly broke the apparatus holding the piece of his body, absorbed it back into himself, and high tailed it out of there.

As he sat in his compound relieved that it was over, his head slowly rose and his eyes went wide.  He felt the pull coming from every direction.

A jolt went down his body that caused him to spasm on the floor before he passed out.

This battle would be a kind of collect the pieces story.  Each piece would be at a different location and I could even take suggestions or do a poll of where the next piece is.  Plenty of battles with nefarious creatures.  Lots of travel and colorful characters peppered throughout.

I would have a set amount of pieces to gather to start with.  Depending on group interest and my availability it could be expanded or shortened.  And if someone else would like to start their own adventure it can easily transition into theirs by having a piece on the planet/realm where theirs takes place.

Let me know if there is any interest and I can start fleshing it out more.

[Soul Reaver]

I'm interested - I like adventures that go to a whole bunch of different settings.

I'm wondering if (once we're sure nobody else is going to volunteer) we can open some sort of poll thread, where Jharm and Kitharsis post a (non-spoiler) version of their ideas and then we decide whose we go with?

[Faidth]

Post your ideas for the next Epic Battle below. Once enough people have posted, a poll will be opened.

Also, I definitely want to give this thread more time. It's only been open three days and I know of at least one other member who had an idea in the works.

[Veldanya Venalla]

ok...i have no idea how the hell we managed to pull that off but both Faidth and I pretty much posted the exact same thing and at almost the exact same time cause when i entered the page to post her's wasnt there....now dont i feel like a damn idiot :-p

[Shadow Chorus]

I would love to see any of these stories carried through with. I won't share any of my ideas because they're too hazy and complex to explain via a forum post, plus I'm still a newbie without any approved characters yet, so yeah. But I do love the ideas being puffed out.

[Cameron]

I will wait till the end of the week for other suggestions. At that point, I will close the thread and we will vote on the suggestions put forward thus far.

[Veldanya Venalla]

Well just so you know Shadow Chorus...you dont need to have any approved characters if you are interested in running a Board Battle (epic or otherwise).  Might it be a good idea to first make an Epic BB character and go through a story to see how everything works?  It wouldnt hurt but honestly if you have idea's feel free to post them, all else fails you can use like part of your idea to create a "smaller then epic" board battle as a trial run.

[Faidth]

Well just so you know Shadow Chorus...you dont need to have any approved characters if you are interested in running a Board Battle (epic or otherwise).  Might it be a good idea to first make an Epic BB character and go through a story to see how everything works?  It wouldnt hurt but honestly if you have idea's feel free to post them, all else fails you can use like part of your idea to create a "smaller then epic" board battle as a trial run.

Agreed! I like the idea of another "smaller than Epic BB." Besides, you could customize it to suit your tastes and don't have to worry about previously generated characters or trying to keep any of the background straight. It might be good to test the waters first.

[Shadow Chorus]

My plot idea was more of a short break from the constant physical and powerful tests that the Epic characters seem to face, and more of an emotional and mental trial. Sort of testing the bond between the brothers of the Epic Battle. Pitting friends against each other and putting people at odds and creating a sort of complex plot that weaves in and out of disaster for each character. Fighting will still be everywhere, but it would center more on the character's personality coping with a more ephemeral battle over emotion and reason and the fights between the heroes.

Like I said, hazy and complex.

[Cameron]

My plot idea was more of a short break from the constant physical and powerful tests that the Epic characters seem to face, and more of an emotional and mental trial. Sort of testing the bond between the brothers of the Epic Battle. Pitting friends against each other and putting people at odds and creating a sort of complex plot that weaves in and out of disaster for each character. Fighting will still be everywhere, but it would center more on the character's personality coping with a more ephemeral battle over emotion and reason and the fights between the heroes.

Like I said, hazy and complex.

Is this an official suggestion? I need to know so that I can include you in the poll.

[Faidth]

My plot idea was more of a short break from the constant physical and powerful tests that the Epic characters seem to face, and more of an emotional and mental trial. Sort of testing the bond between the brothers of the Epic Battle. Pitting friends against each other and putting people at odds and creating a sort of complex plot that weaves in and out of disaster for each character. Fighting will still be everywhere, but it would center more on the character's personality coping with a more ephemeral battle over emotion and reason and the fights between the heroes.

Like I said, hazy and complex.

Though I'm all about including emotional and mental trials, I am not interested in any battle in which the PCs would be pitted against each other. I hate PVP in any context as it usually devolves into one giant "pissing contest" so I wouldn't be interested in anything that involves fighting against other players.

[Veldanya Venalla]

I gotta agree with Faidth, the PVP concept was tried via the old Board Battle Classics and I dont think it ever went that well.  That said though the rest of your idea doesnt sound too bad at all.