New Arrivals [text] (Actually updating regularly this time, I swear to god)

[Sparks]

>Does this world have some kind of creature that is uniformly hostile to people (i.e. monsters/demons/etc.), or just people and animals?

"Just people and animals, mostly. The only monsters you'll have to worry about are whatever Fiends that Summoners and Mages summon, and they tend to vary in intelligence and friendliness. Other than a few going rogue, you don't have to worry about monsters. So instead, you just have to worry about normal people trying to beat your skull in and take your money, and there's a lot of them."

>Are there huge wars going on or anything megapolitical that we should be concerned about in the near future?

"Nothing to worry about right now. We haven't had any big wars since we tried democracy."

A grimace goes over her face at some unpleasant memories.

"We are never trying large-scale democracy ever again, I'll tell you that much."

Before you can ask any further, you pass two men in the same uniform as Karis and that guard, arguing amongst themselves. They pause to address the Major, and they're quickly introduced to you as Briar and Masterson. They don't stop and pass you by, and you don't get much of a look at them other than that the one called Briar has black hair, the one named Masterson has brown, and that they carry a katana and two small crossbows holstered at the sides, respectively. The Major introduces you as an Arrival that she's handling, and they nod, before quickly resuming their argument. You're fairly sure you're never going to see them again.

You walk for a few minutes in silence, and you think you see the forest begin to thin on the horizon. Any more questions you want to ask?

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Class suggestions are sounding awesome right now, I just want to get a few more suggestions from other people before we handle that choice. I'd choose Master Exploder, but a powerful voice is the Dragonborn's thing right now.

[Jetroid]

>Tell me about different models of inventory keyrings. (The guard mentioned yours was 'basic', what are the differences?)
>Do you have a job for me?

[mysticCharlatan]

Classes... classes...

>Memory Explorer (perhaps giving limited time travel powers, might be able to figure out where or who you were before Arrival)
>Kitchen Knight (already got the spatula, imagine being able to fight with an entire kitchen's worth of supplies)
>Astral Investigator (sounds kinda cool, we've proven to have decent deductive power, and getting a job with the local law enforcement might be easier with a class along such lines)

Also, while I wouldn't suggest we pick it in a thousand years, Wraith of Hunger just sounds awesome.

[Sparks]

>Tell me about different models of inventory keyrings. (The guard mentioned yours was 'basic', what are the differences?)

"Ok, here's where I start playing Ring salesman. There are a few different types of Inventory Rings, and the biggest simularity between them is the Ring part. Some push it a bit, like the Necklace models, but most are full rings. The one you have is the simplest model, and extremely easy to make and produce. Most people end up with these as their first models and don't see a problem with it and keep using it, but there are a few things about it that can be improved. To start, and the most important, is storage capability.

Your model stores items by size, meaning a large box is going to take up more space on the ring than a small box. There's not much to worry about most of the time, but it's something to remember. A good example of improving these would be the standard model you get in the Order, which stores all items as the same size on the Ring, meaning a big item takes up the same space as a small item. It helps for the kind of guys who pack a lot of weapons and gear.

As for other models, I'll start with the Necklace I mentioned earlier. The biggest advantage of this one is the fact that you can store all the items you want until you reach the end of the chain, which is enough to gear up an army on the bigger ones. The big downside is that they're fragile as hell, and they get more fragile the longer they get, meaning if you get into any action, it's going to snap at some point. The other is that it's extremely hard to make, which means they're also extremely expensive. That means that most of the time, the only people you're going to see with them are rich bastards trying to show off.

Then you get to the last two kinds, Rings that you wear on your fingers, and Rings that you wear as piercings."

She points to one of her ears, covered in the earrings that you noticed earlier.

"I've got the Earring type, which I would say is my favourite. Each ring can only hold one item each, but it's got a big advantage."

She stops for a moment, and her ear flashes as a hatchet appears in her hand.

"Most rings you operate by touching it with your hand, but Piercings already make contact with your skin, so with a bit of practice, it's hands free."

She holds the hatchet up to ear, and her ear flashes again, the hatchet disappearing. She messes with one of her earring for a moment, taking it off and holding up to you, letting you have a look at it. It's got a tiny hatchet ingraved onto it, and she puts it back on once you're done looking.

"There's a few more types, but you'd have to go to a store selling them for any more explanations. It's always nice playing tour guide for the new guy, isn't it?"

You're not sure how to respond to that one. She doesn't seem bothered by answering your questions though, and you notice that you've finally left the forest, and the sun's beginning to set. You notice that there appears to be two moons in the sky, one to the east and one to the west. You wonder what that means for the tides. You also notice that there's a town extremely close by, which you're heading straight for. Finally, civilisation. Hopefully it doesn't suck. It occurs to you that she might have a reason for taking you with you, and you decide to ask one more question.

>Do you have a job for me?

"Yep. Get drunk, start a fight, pass out. Let's make this memorable."

Can't disagree with that.

Any last questions?

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More exposition! Hopefully this clears things up. Also, all the class names are sounding badass. Like always, I just want to see if there are any more that anyone comes up with. Still no idea what the hell a Bard of Law would do. Pretty much decided the name, again seeing if there's any last minute ones anyone wants to drop in. I apologise if anyone's annoyed by this.

[Jetroid]

Arrival>Have sudden urge to ask lots of questions which will give a lot of exposition about the world, such as:

>>Tell me about the economy, woman! Currency? Wage? Types of job? What does Carsil Greenwoods import and export?
>>How big even IS Carsil Greenwoods?!?
>>Are people here religious? What do they believe in? What is the local lore?
>>Tell me about Law; what should I be aware of? Any unusual laws? Why was the guard, Captain Baron, trying to arrest me, anyway?
>>How about tomb raiding? Is that Illegal? I can see myself making a profit off of that.
>>And Major? I may have a clean slate here, but I don't want to start any fights- I might end up making a habit of it. I'm pretty hurt from dealing with Captain Baron anyway. Speaking of which, how can I heal myself around here?

Arrival>Apologize to Ms. Riva for starting a fight with the guard -- and for asking so many questions.
Arrival>Head to tavern. (You can ask the local populace for 'real' jobs there.)


Karis>Report to superiors about a detection of a new arrival.
Superiors> Do something dubious.

Additional class suggestions:
>Medic of (???)
>Chemical Geomancer
>Weaver of War
>Craftsman of Lore
>Scholar of Knowledge
>Earner of Fate
>Illusionist of Shadows
>Thrall of Souls
>Shadowdancer
>Imp of Truth

Damnit, why are these so fun to make? I demand that further characters (NPC's) use some of these! :P

[Sparks]

Arrival>Have sudden urge to ask lots of questions which will give a lot of exposition about the world.

Way ahead of you.

>>Tell me about the economy, woman! Currency? Wage? Types of job? What does Carsil Greenwoods import and export?

You leave out the woman part. There are questions to be asked, and maintaining her disposition to answer them is key.

"The Carsil Greenwoods are just the forest part of the province of Carsil itself. It's mostly farmland, meaning its chief export is food, raw materials and most importantly, alcohol. There's a few mines, but the big mining industry is in Signa. The export of materials make it a great place to start up a gang, so there's always work for bounty hunters around here, when the Order hasn't already cleaned up the problem.

As for currency, we use Marks. Comes in coins, biggest you can get is a hundred Mark coin, smallest is a one. You'll figure out how things work fairly quickly."

>>How big even IS Carsil Greenwoods?

"I'm not quite sure on the specifics, but it's a ten hour walk through the Woods from start to finish. If you start from Thaegan's place to here, about three, and if you go the other way, only four or five. Most alchemists live where the materials for their trade are, and Thaegan isn't big on the whole human contact thing. This is assuming you're taking the track, because that cuts right through the middle, and you've got about twenty or thirty kilometres of forest on both sides there, most of it willing to kill you. It's a bad idea to walk off the track, which tends to make whoever's walking through there easy to track. That was why Baron was on the bridge, there's only one way to get past him, and that's through him."

>>Are people here religious? What do they believe in? What is the local lore?

"Only about two thirds of people in the country are religious, but for the ones that are, they believe that each province has a deity residing over it. This province, Carsil, has Nons, god of nature. I don't know much about gods, since I don't believe in any of them, so you'd have to ask someone who worships him for any more details.

>>Tell me about Law; what should I be aware of? Any unusual laws?

"Just be glad you didn't start up this conversation with Baron, or we'd be here all day talking about how perfect the Law is. You shouldn't have to worry about much right now, if it sounds illegal, it probably is. You're free to start a fight, just don't get anyone killed, and keep people who aren't fighting out of it. And don't go riling people up just to start one. We have a blanket rule around here, 'Don't be an asshole.' If you're getting into trouble by being an asshole, don't expect anyone to come running to help you. Another rule, and one of my favourites, if we know you're obviously guilty, but don't have any concrete evidence, we reserve the right to throw your ass in prison until we do. Nobody likes technicalities, so those won't work either. You wouldn't believe how many criminal rings got shut down after that one went into play.

One important thing if you're planning to go into magic, no Necromancy. I've got nothing against it personally, but it freaks people out, and nobody wants to see someone they know come back as a walking corpse, ok? And if you're Summoning Fiends, Unsummon them once you're done with them. We don't want demonic beings running around just because you decided to wait until tomorrow to get rid of them."

Why was the guard, Captain Baron, trying to arrest me, anyway?

"We were in the forest trying to track down some bandits who hit a trade convoy and made off with the spoils. Baron was making sure nobody made it over the only bridge in the forest, and probably thought that you were one of them. Most people never meet an Arrival just after they Arrive, so it's understandable that he wouldn't recognise one. Still bloody stupid that he wouldn't recognise one, considering how much he goes on about the Law."

>>How about tomb raiding? Is that Illegal? I can see myself making a profit off of that.

"Good luck finding one. It's a great way to start off, toppling sacred urns and defiling hallowed tombs, but most of the good ones will have been already looted. You'll have to check around to see if anyone's found any recently."

>>And Major? I may have a clean slate here, but I don't want to start any fights- I might end up making a habit of it. I'm pretty hurt from dealing with Captain Baron anyway. Speaking of which, how can I heal myself around here?

You would say the first part, but you don't want to make statements you don't plan to keep true. You're feeling a bit beaten up still, so you keep the second half.

"By the look of you, he just beat the crap out of you with his bare hands. You can basically just sleep off most fist-based wounds that aren't too severe, so apart from the bruises in the morning, you've got nothing to worry about. If you find yourself getting below about 50% DAMAGE, you should seek out some more serious help."

Wait, other people use that weird percentage thing to measure damage as well? You voice this, and she responds.

"I forgot how weird this was when I first arrived, but you get used to it. Just get prepared to stab someone in the chest and have them shrug it off because you didn't hit them hard enough. I'll keep this short, but the damage you do depends how how strong you are, your Level, and just what you're doing. The good part is that until you reach 15%, you're going to keep swinging just as strong as you were when you started. You'll still feel like crap, but you're still just as good in a fight. You drop below 10%, you'll fall unconscious. Any lower and you're screwed. You can still get knocked unconscious, but it's a bit weird at first. You'll get used to it."

Great, so now you have to deal with a weird damage system. You think you'll be needing that drink soon.

Arrival>Apologize to Ms. Riva for starting a fight with the guard -- and for asking so many questions.

"That's fine. Starting a fight with Baron is a natural desire if you've been around him long enough. And don't worry about the questions. You need to find out this stuff sooner or later, so you might as well take the first step to being an informed member of society now. If you want to find a job, just check in the tavern of any town or city. That's where people will drop their requests and jobs they need, so it's a good place to start for you."

She sighs as you realise that the sun's managed to go down, and that you're currently walking through a mostly empty town. The place is filled with brick and stone houses, but in the dark you can't get a good look.

"Welcome to Wood's Edge. Not an imaginative title, but it's an ok little town. Tomorrow, we'll get you some new clothes, some gear, and register you as a citizen. But that's tomorrow. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to need the stiffest drink this town can provide."

Arrival>Head to tavern. (You can ask the local populace for 'real' jobs there.)

Karis is way ahead of you. You're heading towards a well lit multiple-story building which has a sign reading "Kell's inn" on it. By the sounds coming from inside, you're going to assume this includes tavern.

Any final things you want to say before you go inside, or shall you just go in already?

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Ok, exposition bomb over. Sorry for taking this long to do this. Once again, I'll say that the names are pretty much chosen and the Classes are awesome, so if you have anymore you want to throw in, go for it. Also, I'd like to say to anyone who happens to be reading this and hasn't put in any commands, go right ahead. Commands are something that help this adventure.

[Jetroid]

Arrival> Ask about Thaegan's strange language in her books! - "Oh, one last thing. In the place where I woke up? Thaegan's House? She had some strange tomes I just couldn't help but look at- It had writing I could not understand at all. Some sort of strange language? I have no idea. Any thoughts on this?"

Arrival> Thank Ms. Riva for all she has done.

Arrival> Enter.

[Sparks]

Arrival> Ask about Thaegan's strange language in her books! - "Oh, one last thing. In the place where I woke up? Thaegan's House? She had some strange tomes I just couldn't help but look at- It had writing I could not understand at all. Some sort of strange language? I have no idea. Any thoughts on this?"

"Well, I know that some alchemists and wizards use their own language to record their findings. The most I know about it is that it's an dead language that nobody uses anymore, but most of the things that got written down back then were all in that language, and alchemists and wizards prefer to write in it. Doesn't help the learning curve for people who want to do alchemy, but that's their trade, and not mine."

Arrival> Thank Ms. Riva for all she has done.

She gives a quick smile.

"Don't mention it. All Arrivals go through this, and it took a lot longer to get myself up to speed when I Arrived. Big day for you tomorrow, so let's go get that elusive drink I've been mentioning. You ready for this?"

"Let's go."

Arrival> Enter.

You walk into the Inn, and it's a pretty busy place. It's a large room packed with people, with tables all around the place with people crowded around them, with alcohol aplenty. While you can't get a can't get much of a look at individual people, you can see what they're wearing, and you luckily don't look too much out of place. Since you guess most of the people here are farmers like Karis said, so most people are wearing trousers and regular shirts, so you at least know people dress normally around here. You make your way through the crowd, and once you get past the tables there's a bit more space, ignoring the crowd chanting around a drinking contest. You wonder if there's magic to repair livers.

You and Karis reach the front where the bartender is waiting, Karis removing her armour and storing it on her Earrings. You pull up a barstool as the bartender turns to greet you. He's a guy who appears to be in his late thirties or early forties, while a thick brown beard, brown eyes and short hair with the beginnings of grey hair. He's wearing a typical collared green shirt under a brown apron with the sleeves rolled up, showing off his considerably muscular arms. He looks at Karis and addresses her.

"So Riva, what'll it be tonight? The usual?"

"The usual. I'll be having a few more rounds tonight."

He nods and quickly produces a large mug full of foaming beer, and slides it to Karis, who immediately starts downing it. He takes a look at you, sizing you up.

"So, who's the kid?"

Karis doesn't answer until she's finished with the round, slamming it down and motioning for another one.

"New Arrival. I'm handling him for now. Just put him on my tab."

The bartender nods, and hands her another two mugs, turning to face you. You assume the man to be the Kells that the sign pointed to.

"So, what'll it be? And don't say that you'll have what she's having. You don't want what she's having if you want to make it to the bottom of your first glass."

You look at Karis, who's already halfway through the second round.

"Just give me whatever's the special. How many of those is she going to have, anyway?"

He looks up from the glass he's filling to replenish the supply for the drinking contest.

"Depends on how long until she gets up. Hey Riva, you planning to start a bar fight tonight?"

She pauses with her third round almost done.

"It is a distinct possibility."

"Whatever. I got out the cheap furniture when you arrived in town anyway."

He slides her another three drinks, before serving another few of his regulars. You wonder if there's any kind of legal drinking age that you're under. You also decide that you don't care. Judging by the sound of Kells, it's only a matter of time before she starts a bar fight. Anything you want to do before then?

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So this is Kells. I wonder if he has a Secret? Exposition is finally over, for now at least, and we enter the first of presumably many bars. One thing I'd like to say is that everyone has their own font, whether it's noticably different or not. Because coloured font is apparently too mainstream.

Another thing, I was thinking of giving this a better name, since the current one kind of sucks. Probably something with the word Arrival in it. Anyone have any ideas? Also, thanks to everyone who's read this far, and more thanks to the people who've left commands.

[Jetroid]

Arrival> Look around. (Drinking Contest?)
Kells> An Arrival? You haven't seen one of those in a while. Decide to tell the new blood a thing or two. Who is this new guy, anyway? Has he picked a name, yet?

[Sparks]

Kells> An Arrival? You haven't seen one of those in a while. Decide to tell the new blood a thing or two. Who is this new guy, anyway? Has he picked a name, yet?

You are now Kells. You have just finished thinking the above, but you figure you'd better wait until tomorrow before hanidng out your wisdom. You're going to need this guy to drag Karis out the door tomorrow morning. She's onto her seventh round, and you're glad she can afford to drink a keg everytime she comes here, since her tab pays for the damages each time she starts a fight as well. It's times like this when you're glad you picked Barroom Hero as your class. Best decision you ever made, considering you're in control of all of the bonuses for that class.

Anyway, the kid's looking around the room, and you might as well see if he's picked a name yet.

"Hey, kid! Got a name yet?"

You are now the Arrival. And that is a very good question, since you've managed to be here for hours and you still haven't come up with a name yet. You search through your internal list of possible names to make a decision.

>Consider combining numerous suggestions into a name of some 20 words or so so you can always just tell people to call you by a different "middle" name if you decide you dislike the sound of your initial "first" name. The only disadvantage is you have to remember ALL of those names to sign legal documents, but on the bright side if you get really arrested later they're going to have a heck of a time identifying you.

Of course! Your name shall be Francisco Gene Andes Nariz Galiero Gnoll Andrews Eric Zellith Byzantine Newman Watts Teroson Sparks Shell Holfstein Rinzt Swift Tompkins Reil James Arthur Lorentz James De Goya!




No, wait, that's stupid. So you just settle on two of those names.

"Gene Teroson."

He nods and leaves you be, and you're wondering just what Karis meant when she said that you'd be stuck with a name once you'd chosen it. You think you're getting what she means. The name is seeming more and more natural to you by the second, and you're finding yourself thinking of yourself by that name instinctively. Ok, you'll try changing it to James Shell. No, that's clearly not your name, your name is Gene Ter oh goddamn it. Well, at least you think you picked a good name.

Gene : Look around. (Drinking Contest?)

You take a look around the room, the drinking contest naturally attracting the most attention. There's a lot of people crowded around, but from what you can see, the personal glory of two beefy guys is being tested over there. You also notice that they're having drinks handed to them at a slower rate than the Major over there, who's still going strong.

Another thing that attracts your attention is the guys playing Billiards or some other game over at the snooker table over there. They have that in this world? Apparently they do. Huh.

What will you do now?

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We finally have a name! After almost two hundred posts, we've achieved what almost every other adventure does in its first! VICTORIOUS MOMENT

Also, that name scrambling took far longer than it should have.

[Jetroid]

Gene>Great! You have a name! Now work out your stats by doing a variety of Tavern-Themed Events, including:
Arm Wrestling. (Strength)
Darts/Billiards etc (Perception)
Bar Fight! (Endurance)
Wench Wooing (Charisma)
Knowing when to stop drinking (Intelligence)
Drunken Dance (Agility)
Waking up from Unconsciousness without being harmed (Luck)
...or however Character Statistics work in this adventure! ;D

[Sparks]

((won't be able to update today, sorry. I also noticed that I'm barely getting commands recently. If you're reading this, please drop in a command. I really want to make this thing as good as it can be, and more commands is a way to do that.))

[Xindaris]

>Billiards sounds like fun.

[Sparks]

>Billiards sounds like fun.

You walk over to check out the Billiards table. From what you can see, the rules seem to be normal, but the two guys there are already entrenched in their game, and seem that they will be for some time to come. You're a bit disappointed, but it appears that you don't have enough time to wait for them to finish before everything goes to hell.

What will you do now?

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Short update is short. Sorry, I've been in a car for the last eight hours. I don't play much Billiards, so whatever I describe would probably be crap anyway. Sorry about that.

[Seanorib]

Try to remember how to play billiards.

Or

Begin Hustlin'

[mysticCharlatan]

>Get drunk
>Do a little dance

[Sparks]

-removed because the joke was terrible. The management apologises and the man responsible has been fired.-

>Get drunk
>Do a little dance

You walk back to your spot at the bar to retrieve your drink, only to find that it isn't there. Either the service here sucks, or Karis stole it. Which is a distinct possibility. That traitorous bastard. You shall have words with her.

What will you do now?

[imadaman]

>No drink left behind, get that drink back.

[Sparks]

>No drink left behind, get that drink back.

You go look over to Karis' spot and she's somehow managed to have ten empty glasses in front of her, and you're pretty sure Kell's just started refilling them rather than giving her a fresh one each time. How the hell is she still drinking? Better question, how the hell is she fitting that much liquid inside her body? But more importantly, she's taken your drink, and its time to seize it back.

"Hey."

She takes a look at you extremely unfocused. Maybe confronting her wasn't the best idea.

"You took my drink. I'd like that back."

"That was yours?"

"It was two metres away from you."

"Prove it."

"Just how many have you had?"

She stops for a second.

"Lost count after eight. Does it matter?"

"How the hell are you still concious?"

"Hey, I don't make you tell me all of your secrets."

"You're making the kegs feel inadequate at the rate you're going."

"Lightweights."

Ok, time for this conversation to end. You take one of her untouched glasses, ignoring her protests, and slide back down to your seat. Well, you got something out of it.

You have acquired one MYSTERY BEER. What will you do now?

[Jetroid]

Gene> Chug.
Gene> CHUG.
GENE> CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG.
GENE> CHUG THAT DRINK. ALL OF IT.

[ardentApathy]

>Gene: Discover that you are an extreme lightweight. Get hopelessly inebriated after your first glass.

Also,

>Gene: Attempt to use magic while intoxicated, end up setting the bar on fire.

[mysticCharlatan]

>Get drunk and decide on a class that you will regret when you sober up.

[Sparks]

Gene> Chug.
Gene> CHUG.
GENE> CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG.
GENE> CHUG THAT DRINK. ALL OF IT.

Well, you've put this off long enough. You pick up the glass and prepare to drink. Bottoms up, you guess. You take the drink in one go and

You are now unconscious. What will you do?

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And of course everyone posts while I'm asleep. I need to migrate to the northern hemisphere in order to answer these in a timely fashion.

[ardentApathy]

>Be the other guy girl.

>Karis: Start taunting the fellows having the "drinking contest", in the hopes of starting a fight.

[Sparks]

>Be the other guy girl.

>Karis: Start taunting the fellows having the "drinking contest", in the hopes of starting a fight.

You are now the other girl. Wait, you meant the other girl closest to the first guy! We'll get back to her later.

You are now Karis. Alright, this party's gone long enough without a good fight, time to get this ball rolling. Those guys at the drinking contest seem like a good place to start. You stumble over to them and push through the small ring of people. You're too inebriated to get much of a look at the two or care enough to remember their faces, so you just start taunting them, questioning their manhood and their capacity to ingest such quantities of alcohol as compared to your own. Rather than getting angry as you planned, they both stop for a second.

"Excuse me madam, but this is a contest of endurance between two men, and we would like to politely request that we be allowed to continue un-heckled, if it would please you."

"You're just jealous 'cause you can't handle it."

"I'm sorry miss, but we would prefer to resume our contest posthaste, and we do not want to start any kind of conflict at the moment."

They then proceed to continue chugging their drinks, and it's clear that you won't get a fight out of them. BOOOORIIIINGGG.

What will you do now?

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Remember, everyone gets their own text. And I had to bump the sizes up a few just to make them readable. Elegance comes at a price, I'm afraid.