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In defense of defense

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 7:56 pm
by Senna
--Terrain Type: General – some hills, some trees, nothing too extreme
--Weather: any
--Element: Any
--Monster You Want
--Where Those Monsters Are: Wandering
--Who Is In The Thread: Rayo, Sekai, Senna
--What you want done regarding death: Resurrect, but no healing.

We’re setting our posting limit at three days unless emergency exceptions are requested and made?

If I needa make any edits to the post, Nighthand, just let me know and I'll be happy to make 'em :)


_______________________________________________________________


When Senna stepped into the training room, it was a bit difficult to make her senses understand that she was indoors. Well, as indoors as ANYTHING in a game could be. This was like the Danger Room, like the Holodeck. Just realistic fakery. So…

Just like The World, stupid. And there she had it. Her own mind was insulting her.

Standing at the edge of a small copse, she waited for the others. An admittedly short wait, she expected. She’d just come ahead to ask Raise for the specifics of what they wanted to try. The thought had come up a couple times, and she was sure it had occurred to more than just her, that not only did the Freedom Fighters often fight as single entities instead of as a group, but they were almost always based on one of two principles – either offense or recovery after their offensives were met with retaliation on the part of the opponent.

Which led to this simulation. The group was small – no use in getting everyone in here for something that might not even teach anyone anything or particularly practice a set of skills. Enemies on one side. Target on the other side. Freedom Fighters trying just to last a set time while keeping too much damage from being done to their target. What was too much? Eh, that would be up for debate, but she had a feeling that once they saw the number at the end of the simulation, they would know if it had gone well or poorly. In a numbers-based battle, such things were usually fairly easy to figure out.

It seemed like a simple enough premise, but Senna was now getting worried about it. What if they ended the simulation and found it was useless? Or if they did terribly? Or if SHE did. And why was she putting herself in the line of fire when she didn’t have to anyway?

That last, at least, was easy enough to answer. Something had changed in the moment when the Marionette’s Devil had split the room and tossed some of them into a negative space. It was that stab of ice along her arms and down her back as she contemplated the thought that it might have done something terrible to the few she called friends. That fear. Fear of losing others which was strong enough to make fear of being hurt herself secondary.

She didn’t fool herself – she knew the same thought was probably driving most of the Freedom Fighters, and further that actually protecting someone was an impossible dream at best, a platitude to tell oneself to try to make the world seem less scary. Marionette was proof enough of that – there are some things you simply cannot stop from happening.

And yet, the reverse of that was some things CAN be prevented. They can be fought. And yeah, it would suck sometimes to be the one throwing your body into the fray. She didn’t like fighting. She hated getting hurt. If possible, she’d just hide away. But Canti had told her, and now she knew, it wasn’t possible. She’d have to be a hell of a lot more shut off than she was to morally be able to do that.

And so, here she was. The other two joining her she thought through association (limited though it was) were not only powerful battle-wise, but were smart enough to objectively dissect the exercise and its usefulness afterward and, if there was anything useful to be gleaned, to extract and implement it. She just hoped she could do the same.

And then her face went hot, quite suddenly, as she realized what she was doing. That she would presume to dissect the intelligence of people she barely knew.

Thank God no one could read her thoughts.

Senna gave a little cough, then looped her fingers through the tines around her spear’s point and leaned her weight on the weapon, waiting and trying very hard to think as little as possible until things got started.

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 10:50 pm
by Nighthand
--Terrain Type: General – some hills, some trees, nothing too extreme
--Weather: any
--Element: Any
--Monster You Want
--Where Those Monsters Are: Wandering
--Who Is In The Thread: Rayo, Sekai, Senna
--What you want done regarding death: Resurrect, but no healing.


Terrain: Your target is a small tower made of wood. It's not very big around, and has no door. Your goal is to prevent the monsters from nearing it enough to damage it physically (it takes no magical damage, so collateral damage isn't a problem.) The tower is placed on top of a hill, in the middle of a 30-yard radius plateau. The surrounding area is filled with open plains, the occasional grove of trees, and other small hills.

Weather: It's a sunny day, a light breeze bringing a cool touch to the otherwise comfortable temperature. Light fluffy clouds pass over the sun occasionally.

Element: Juk

Monsters: Waves of monsters will emerge from the grasslands and try to take the hill. Each wave will act like a small quota battle. Five enemies will be out at all times, trying to gain the hill and damage the tower. The quota part comes in the number of enemies in the wave before the enemy type changes. They will start off as normal game enemies and progress to custom monsters created by Raine for the event.

The tower has 25 HP. Each time a monster strike it, the monster is teleported to the edge of the plateau to make another run for it. Each monster's strike deals 1 damage to the tower.



If this is unsatisfactory, or you want me to make any changes to it, let me know via IM or PM. Otherwise, Sekai and Rayo can post, and once they have, I'll kick it off.

Other than that, exercise approved.

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:00 am
by Rayo
The wave master had considered the long arm’s proposal and decidedly it was a wise one. The successful execution of team tactics always varied, ranging from inhuman timing to a complete lack of participation. Training together to improve teamwork wouldn’t be a waste of time… probably. If nothing else, the exercise would kill time, while providing combat that was relatively safe. If the trio failed here, there would be no immediate consequences, simply possible foreshadowing’s of their demise. In that regard, the training session needed to be taken as seriously as any real mission would be. It was for that reason that the wizard didn’t restrict his item usage. Conserving items for life risking battles could be seen as prudent, but not using them would create a situation that would differ from the reality while under those harsher conditions. Give it your all, all the time.

Would the monsters involved ever reach of the level of their common opponents? Tower sized serpents, multithreaded beasts, Marionette’s pets, the Elites, Kamui… The group possessed a certain history of facing nonstandard opposition, no matter where they ended up or their goal. Would this challenge accurately portray a standard threat, or would they be more basic in order to allow the three man team a certain amount of comfort while learning to function effectively together?

Rather…two women, one man team. Unless one of his partners was using a false gender for their sprite, which wasn’t entirely out of the question, both of Rayo’s companions were clearly of the opposite sex. Neither were extremely well known to him. Senna had joined up with the group at the very beginning of the hub mess, with Sekai popping in with enough time to join the second attempt at the field that possessed the greater majority of obnoxious bosses. Primal aside, the jungle had just been worse. Flare Hydras didn’t match up to one eyed snakes at all. The female spear wielder had in her favor, a very cooperative attitude. Not to say her personality necessarily made her agreeable on all matters, but that the girl worked well with others. Whenever the mage required her support, she gave it. One instance for example, Senna provided a knight’s blood when it was requested, and although it was an odd request, she trusted in him and didn’t hesitate. Perhaps that was a better description of her, she was able to rely on her teammates and thus be relied on in turn. With Sekai, his interest lay less in her personality thus far but more in her style of combat. As a long range combat specialist, her arrow arsenal intrigued him greatly. The archer class was the only other class that could match the distance of his own wavemaster group. Becoming an archer was the only class change the wizard might ever partake in, trading his extra spell power and variety for a physical aspect to his repertoire. In some ways, archers were overall more versatile than the wave masters. Although the casters were indeed masters of the wave, this only held true for the magical aspect. Archers could attack at range with not only magic, but with well timed physical strikes as well. In a situation like this, the sorcerer was interested in examining the true fighting potential of the class Sekai chose.

After entering the training room, Rayo was greeted with a sight not so different from any other field in The World. The main fighting would no doubt take place on the plateau they had arrived on, since the defended target in question lay in the middle. The wooden tower… the blue mage would be sure to stay close by to it. There was no great advantage in getting in too close with the enemies, and by always staying closer to his objective than the enemies would, it would provide him opportunities to even physically defend it if need be.

His equipment was all in order, his standard gear all in place, and certain key scrolls ready for use. One of each element scroll type lay at each side of his belt underneath his cloak, with a particular status scroll tied to his sleeves, ready for quick use. Recognizing the player already there before him, the mage found it wise to initiate defensive planning on, rather than when the enemies were upon them. Surely most of it would come on the spot, but some sort of positioning could be done prior to their arrival.


“All set? You’d probably be best for taking point, but there are plenty of angles to approach the tower from. If we simply wanted to flexible, a series of Ap Do spells and starting off with a triangular formation might be best. Once our opposition is incoming and we can begin to judge it or them, then we can adapt it. If the enemy is but one, then we’d do well by Deking it severely, but we’d do more with Aps if they hold numbers as a key advantage. Finally, if they do outnumber us, then we might be best focusing on killing one of them at a time. I’m not saying that we completely ignore the others, but more that we designate one creature at a time as the one to die. Two of the three of us take it on in the hopes of an easy and fast victory, while the third slows the advance of anything else. In this scenario, you’d be best as part of the duo, allowing close range and long range combat on the same monster simultaneously. As long as either Sekai or myself acted in the remaining role, then our greater reach would allow for us to continually cycle through the other threats without wasting much time. These are just thoughts after all, but we’d do best to be ready and take off to a good start.”

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:27 am
by Sekai
After the disaster she'd considered her performance as when the Freedom Fighters had gone up against the Marionette Devil, Sekai had found herself quite surprised that she'd been asked to attend what sounded like some sort of strategy session with Senna and Rayo in the Training Room. She'd been on her way immediately after a careful double check of the equipment and items she had in her inventory, and after Kira had threatened her with something unpleasant if she didn't finish the protein drink she'd been given at the little kitchen thing they had inside the hideout.

Strategy and defense weren't Kira's favorite things to discuss or use in battle, preferring to use a combination of trickery, feint maneuvers and ruthless skill with her weapon to be on the offensive front. Sekai on the other hand, was more than a little relieved to find out that there were others who seemed to either think along the same lines as she did, that offensive tactics weren't always going to work, or that the other two wanted to have a more solid plan when it came to defending each other, themselves or the rest of the group as a whole.

The only thing Sekai found herself a little put off by was the undeniable fact that she was the shortest one there.

Once in the room itself and with the others, she looked around at the area they'd been placed in for their 'training' and felt a small smile suddenly appear on her face at the sight of the small grove of trees over in the distance. Something in the area felt like coming to a home she didn't recall having, unconsciously relaxing in the light breeze and pleasant temperature as the tallest out of the three of them offered his suggestion on how they should try their first attack once their enemies showed themselves.

Triangular formation could possibly work, she examined her surroundings while she listened, eyes taking in the area around the wooden tower they stood beside and finally the tower itself with a bit of a frown furrowing her brow. There weren't any truly high rising areas that would give her a distinct advantage with her arrows, though there were a bunch of broken branches of various sizes and lengths and boulders about three feet or so in height to make use of. Briefly wishing that, like in one of Mika's anime she liked to watch, she had the ability to move things to where she could make use of them, Sekai took stock of the hills and the rest of the area around them by circling the tower itself and jogging back when she was done.

“There aren't many options for anything relating to a hide in plain sight approach that I've been able to see... although we may be able to devise some sort of plan using the elements we have around us. A triangular formation... though I have never seen one used before, may be best to try at this point according to your description.”

Her cheeks pinkened and she dropped her gaze to the grass at her feet.

“At least, that's my observation.”

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 4:59 pm
by Nighthand
Slowly, so slowly at first that the group didn't notice, something began to appear at the edge of the visual range. Only once the dots were large enough did their identity become clear; this was the first wave of monsters, generated by Raine.

Normally monsters would focus on killing the players, wiping them out before they were destroyed themselves; this was no the case. Raine had altered their code just enough. All they saw was the tower. At least, until the group attacked them. Then it would be a free for all.

The initial monsters, the first wave, took a form somewhat surprising. After all, when was the last time the group had faced goblins? Let alone goblins dressed in heavy steel armor, black as ash, with kite shields and shortswords?

Despite the slightly altered code, the monsters were still regular game monsters, and would act as such. Perhaps they didn't have the best level of tactical intelligence, but the field was already skewed by the goal of the beasties.

One, two... all the way to five, five of the goblins were climbing the hill. Each of them dead set on destroying the tower, and not so much minding that they would probably die. After all, they had plenty of backup.


-----------ooc:

Goblin Night: Level 15 (Goblin dressed in dark iron armor with a sword and shield)
HP: 190 SP: 155
No Skills


Each time one is killed, another begins to climb the hill, until a total of 20 are killed.

Goblin Nights: 0/20

Also, don't worry if this isn't quite the level of GMing you wanted from me; stronger monsters will come, and they'll require a more interactive level of posting on my part.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:13 pm
by Rayo
Following his own suggestion after it had been approved by the committee, the mage took one of the three points. The player was maybe ten meters from the tower, constantly twitching his head back and forth, this way and that, to help avoid leaving a blind spot. If the enemies waited even half an hour before launching an assault his neck surely would have begun to hurt, but in the end they arrived moments after the nervous practice took place. Instead his shoulders dropped, disappointment written on his face. Goblin Nights, weak warrior creatures who by no means posed a serious threat to the trio of combatants. Surely stronger foes would face them later, but these hardly would test their formation at all. The best this series of monsters could hope to do was put a small dent in their SP reserves if the team blasted them away too quickly.

Perhaps it would be wiser to instead take advantage of the SP regeneration for the moment and avoid using up any excess on offensive spells. Stat boosting wise the situation was quite the opposite. The lack of heavy costs on the other fronts would allow for the wave master to allocate those costs now. By the time any serious threat poked it’s nose out of the dirt the SP would be back.

Dipping his free arm into the golf bag on his back, one Speed Charm was removed and activated at once. His target was his own body, at least initially. Once the effect resolved itself and the field understood that the player Rayo was under the effect of Ap Do, that was when the sorcerer began targeting the others. First Senna, since she would be forced to move on foot, and then Sekai a mere pair of words away afterwards were filled with the boundless energy offered by the drug like magical enchantment.


“I’ll take the role of C. If you two will play at A and B, we can progress with Operation Gang & Decoy. We should make an effort to conserve SP as much as possible while we can, something to keep in mind.”

Before the last few syllables left his lips, the blue mage was off. Mere skips with the hasted status made such a difference; two of the Goblin Nights were already in range. Unlike some of their brethren, these ones hadn’t separated enough apart, they were still within the overlapping radius of a single spell.

“Rai Rom.”

The lightning vortex erupted, bolts of electricity wrapping around the pair, lashing out with twisting bolt after twisting bolt. One dropped dead on the spot, the other left an outline on a tree. Rotating around ninety degrees, the caster propelled himself onto a new angle, one where one of the other five had been approaching from. One Rai Kruz was all it took for the next beast to crumple, his sword never reaching either his opposition or his objective. However, the home team didn’t appear to be gaining numerical advantage. The match started out three on five, and then after removing sixty percent of the offense, those statistics remained the same. For each tiny knight that failed, a new goblin emerged. Not always from the same spot even, the advancing foes simply walked into view from any of the 360 degrees available for a possible approach vector.

Choosing the Goblin Night that had made the most progress, moving along the most even path to the tower, a snap of the wrist and a few choice words ended any hope of advance as half a dozen orbs of light pierced the attacker, puncturing shield and vital organs alike.

All this level of opposition would test would be their ability to stick with a plan and maintain formation, there would be no need for adjustment yet. Instead, the wizard let his mind race through possibilities of what to could be done to deal with those more capable than these.


ooc:

Goblin Nights Killed This Post: 4
Goblin Nights Killed Total: 4

Blue: Ap Do

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:06 pm
by Senna
Their home base – the point of their defense – was so nondescript as to be almost comical. With Rayo’s plan in mind, the trio had walked up near the tower and now prepared to face whatever Raine might choose to send their way.

She hadn’t had a chance to really meet Sekai before, and she was somewhat amused at the way her assertiveness on her tactical thoughts was chased rather strongly by some sort of abashment. Senna half-smiled and nodded her agreement, and they were off.

The triangle pattern made the most sense, she reflected as they set up. The Wavemaster was keeping his eyes constantly moving. Senna wasn’t sure she could follow suit. For her personally, moving her attention too much made it difficult to concentrate on what she was seeing, even to sweeping for enemies. But still…

It turned out not to matter, as the enemies came before much time at all had passed. And as they got closer, Senna could only comment, “Hmm?

Goblins. She remembered fighting a number of these in her newer days in The World. They were armored and armed with swords. Having someplace to finally focus, was easier. Shortswords. None could even match her range unless they had spells, and the more impressive long-range power of the other two was right out. She automatically switched to the Ichigou. Power could be sacrificed for accuracy and the inherent but underused abilities on it – critical hit and death. She was about to reach for a Speed Charm herself when the matter was taken care of from another quarter – Rayo.

Thanks,” she said over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off the field. Five? Not too bad. It was just a first salvo, but at least it wouldn’t be immediate failure – which was her big fear. The monsters didn’t even seem to be looking at the group as they made their way up the hill. Rather, their attention seemed up and beyond.

I’ll take the role of C. If you two will play at A and B, we can progress with Operation Gang & Decoy,” Rayo was saying. She assumed that meant she and Sekai ganging up on the ones that got too near and he sniping. “We should make an effort to conserve SP as much as possible while we can, something to keep in mind.

Another good point. Goblins could just be here to cause a waste. So then… she cast a single spell – Ap Corv – on herself. She would have cast it on Sekai as well, but had realized at this moment that she wasn’t sure if the physical or magical stats were the ones the Archer’s arrows relied on. A good question, and one she asked aloud. “Is arrow damage magic or physical?” A glance was spared sideways toward the archer, just briefly. Then the Long Arm settled down to wait, spear at the ready.

It was maddening. She was not used to waiting for creatures to get in range of her spear – she was more used to firing off a spell or three. Her fingers itched to do so now, but she restrained herself. It might come to close quarters fighting later, and she’d want every point of her small (by comparison) SP available for a few enemy-flinging Long Arm skills. She needed to let the others work where their abilities were more suited.

Rayo was already at work, using a pair of spells to knock out three of their enemies before they literally knew what hit them – they never stopped looking at the tower, even as they died. And then came the twist. More enemies popped up to replace the ones that had been taken out.

The ganging-up strategy was a good one, but at the moment it seemed like a bit of overkill – a good square shot each from she and Sekai could probably deal well more than the requisite damage. So when she saw one of the goblins starting to get into dangerous proximity, she said, “Got that one. Right back.” and then was on the move. It was a little embarrassing, she thought, to have to gallivant all over the hill to use the real asset her class had. Luckily, the Ap Do meant it was a quick gallivant.

She took a quick, sharp swing at its legs and was rewarded as it tripped and went face-first on the ground. It seemed that this finally alerted it to the presence of enemies, as it took one unfocused look around before glaring at her, but she’d already reversed her hold on her spear and drove it into the space just above the chestplates of the armor, where all such suits had to be softer to allow for movement of the neck. The blade of her spear was more than enough to do the job when enhanced by the Ap Corv and the added momentum of the Ap Do in the swing. A twist, then she was wrenching her spear free, planting it again for the death blow, and then setting her sights on another. Running forward and angling away again, she set up and let the thing literally run onto her spear. Planting the butt end of her weapon on the ground just used the goblin’s own momentum to impale it.

And this is teamwork? This was your idea, genius.

And so it was. Another three slashing, quick and vicious, took care of this creature. Even as it faded, she was backing toward the group again, feeling the heat rise in her face. Lesson learned, she thought.

Hoped, rather.

At least it was now, with this easy first wave. Backpedaling, she risked one other spell – Juk Kruz, pulping an unfortunate goblin within its folding branches.

OOC:
Killed this post: 3
Total killed: 7

Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 10:20 pm
by Sekai
She could take the roll of either of them really, though she’d prefer to know what exactly came with each number so she could find which spot wound up making her the most useful. The Wavemaster took his position at one end and she assumed that meant the meeting was over for the time being, her stomach fluttered nervously as she headed around for the second standpoint near the front of the tower they were supposed to be protecting. A question threw her off the nervous but determined search of the horizon for the enemies she was certain would be approaching at any time now. Blinking in surprise because she’d really never thought of the kind of damage she’d been doing before now, Sekai examined the knobby bow she held in her hands at the current time as if she’d never really taken a good look at it before. That really was a good question actually now that she’d had a moment to think about it.

“Um… I believe it’s both. Though the arrows themselves are made from SP, I know that if I don’t use any of the skills on the bows in combat, the damage is physical.”

Waiting was something Sekai usually prided herself on being fairly good at doing, after all, not many people could tolerate the… odd situations that had occurred when her mother had discovered a new favorite theme for a party and insisted on sharing the spotlight, or in other cases, shoving the spotlight completely on her daughter in the middle of one. This time, however, she believed that the Gods would forgive her for being more than a little impatient and fidgety as she watched out for the signs of battle approaching. In some ways, the girl was eager to see how many tactics the others came up with and at the same time dreaded it if one weren’t to work.

You have speed now, not as much as a Twin Blade by far but, thanks to that spell, it’s enough for you to at least try to play the ‘can’t touch this’ game with those things coming up.

Sekai frowned in confusion, what was that about something coming up? Her eyes scanned the horizon again, about to ask Kira what on earth she’d been talking about when her eyes caught movement from her end. At first she thought her heart was going to throw itself out of her chest and take off running when she spotted the dark armor, thoughts of ‘but how did he know I was here’ starting to race through until Kira herself quite clearly reminded her that the certain jackass she was thinking of was in no uncertain terms yellow skinned with big pointed ears… or so short either.

Okay, she was feeling a little silly from getting ready to panic over a bunch of goblins.

The sounds of spells being lit off and the echoing flash of light signaled the battle’s beginning, Senna charging off to deal with the ones she’d pointed out while Rayo, that might have been his name now that she thought about it, attacked rather leisurely from his spot at the head of the tower. Puzzled for a moment because she really hadn’t seen this kind of defense used in combat before, Sekai found herself noticing the angles that the attacks from the Wavemaster were coming from in addition to where Senna had gone to take on her own Goblin opponents. Eyes lighting up as she believed she’d found the answer to what she needed to do, the young woman darted off in the direction she’d been covering on the other side of the tower and headed for one of the boulders to give herself some cover. A goblin had met her about half way there, eyes only on the tower as it merely bumped passed and disregarded her like she’d been nothing more than a bug to brush off.

Three arrows solved that nicely, though she really apparently needed to work on her aim since, well, a Goblin Knight with an arrow between the shoulder blades and two arrows in the… ah, rear end looked rather like she was playing with the Goblins rather than trying to take them out. Another one was coming her way, sliding behind the boulder and waiting until it started to pass by, Sekai pulled the string back and fired, the arrow sliding into the left side of the monster’s hip… just about where the kidney was. Wincing in pain and in sympathy for the likely ruptured organ, another two arrows ended its life as well as they struck the back of the neck and the middle of the spine.

Two down and she was back behind the boulder again, feeling oddly like Mika when she’d watched her friend’s family play some odd game with balls of paint and fake guns in the middle of one of the parks during the evening hours. The sounds of marching feet caught her ears and she peeked up to see where the enemy was in comparison to her position and suddenly found herself blinking into the eyes of one who’d tried glimpsing the tower over the rock.

For a rather comical moment, the two stared at each other before a startled half-squeal, half-yelp from Sekai sent the both of them reeling back in surprise from the boulder. A swiftly chattered spell from the girl near lapsing back into her native Japanese from surprise sent green sparks of energy and a whirlwind of the Juk element crashing over the boulder and into the unfortunate and startled Goblin itself.

Three enemies down, time to make a planned retreat back to the tower to cover her steps and take out any following that she could see. Trotting up the hill in some entertaining sideways scuttle like movement, the longbow was swapped out for one of the more useful crossbows as she raised the weapon to her eye, sighted and released the trigger to send the bolt into the right kidney of the Goblin pursuing her steadily up the hill.

What on earth was with the kidney shots already? She wondered to herself with a frown and shook her head, firing off another bolt and moving further towards the tower as the Goblin following her went down.

Four enemies she’d gotten rid of, was it time for a regroup or was she just being paranoid because of the enemies?

((OOC: Goblins Killed: 4
Total Killed: 11))

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 7:41 pm
by Nighthand
Looking at her scheme of increase for monsters, Raine looked back to the screen displaying the performance of the trio with a frown. She had expected the generally Nall-level teamwork, and was surprised when the trio came up with and proceeded to implement a rather effective plan.

Currently, her monster scheme included simple regular monsters... something that would have the same effect as the current wave, save for making them expend more SP in a shorter amount of time. Like a very dull level of turret defense, the "turrets" would level up their attacking skills, while the monsters would get progressively more HP. But, focused on the tower as they were, their additional power wouldn't so much matter.

Smiling with an expression that some might consider slightly evil, she fiddled with her prepared monster list, applying changes here and there... something to power here, something to tactics there. Wiping off the top few levels, she added her own custom variants, more than she would have been able to do using a stock enemy as a base.

With a keystroke, it was implemented, and those inside saw an immediate change.

----------------------------

With a mere nine left of their current waves, the goblins began to take on different tactics. Something was up with them... they didn't focus on the tower any more. The five currently spawned abruptly shifted their direction, spiralling around the hill in an attempt to confuse the group. Maybe they would try to turn and follow, allowing blind spots to be taking advantage of. Maybe all five wouldn't be killed, so some would get near enough to the players to deal them a bit of damage. Maybe, just maybe, one of them would get to the level the players stood at, where they would make an abrupt turn and beeline for the tower as fast as their little armor-clad legs could carry them.

Their counter-clockwise spin only brought them a couple of feet higher on the hill per revolution, but it would make the initial goblins harder to spot. Of course, the goblins weren't smart enough to use what cover they had, as there was plenty of it about the hill... that would come later.

Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:12 pm
by Senna
The abrupt switch in tactics seemed a little odd to Senna. It wasn’t clear at first WHY the things were suddenly circling like Indians in an old-time Western, but there you have it. It was harder, now, to keep an eye on all of them, true. But by the same token, they were all running past the group at one point or another, lined up more or less like ducks in a shooting gallery at some carnival.

Senna was now sorely beginning to regret the lack of one-target 10-SP spells on her armor. She wasn’t at all sure she could take out a goblin with a Rom spell, as they were for the most part hit and miss with their damage. She’d been lucky with the first. “Crazy,” she muttered, tapping the point of her spear on the ground once. Whatever. Let them come. At this point they were just wasting time.

The one which had the largest head start was actually nearing the group. Senna moved down a little, preparing to take out this closest threat while the others continued a long-range assault.

The problem was, as soon as she got too near, it changed tactics again. This goblin took its eyes off the path it was following around the hill, the one only it could apparently see, and looked not at the tower first, but at the Long Arm. Stopping on its heels, the creature suddenly charged, bringing up its shield, off which her spear glanced, and sideswiping her in what she could only guess was an attempt to knock her over and out of its way.

It worked, at least in part – the jarring redirection of her spear opened her up to a glancing shot by the shield that knocked her aside. However, speed – natural and enhanced – were often allies of the Long Arm, and Senna used it now. Planting a foot to stop from stumbling, she took just a moment, then went after the creature. In its armor, weighed down by a shield and sword, it stood no chance in a footrace and was quickly attacked from behind. The cutting arc of the spear at first seemed like it might have missed, as the blade didn’t meet flesh. Rather, the flat part of the spear hooked against the place where the goblin’s neck and shoulder met, catching there for the barest of seconds before being pulled sharply. That, combined with the goblin’s forward progress, spun the creature against its will. When it was facing her, the rest was a simple duel – It attacked, she parried and leapt back, then moved in again when it resumed the tower run. A cut to the legs, another to the side, a third and fourth straight stabs which might or might not have been overkill – she wasn’t thinking about it, she had wasted too much time with her attention on this one anyway. A quick check was instead made to her inventory. Plenty of SP-replentishing potions there? Well enough. If she were going to make errors in judgment, better here. Spells were really the weapon of choice here with all the running around. Why deny that?

And thus, a pair of water-based spells were sent out – a GiRue Kruz which obliterated a far goblin, and a Rue Rom which battered one goblin – leaving it stumbling on its path – and causing peripheral damage to a second.

OOC
Killed: 2
Injured: 2
Total killed: 13

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 10:03 pm
by Rayo
The wavemaster glimpsed the tail end of the goblins as they began their spiraling approach. Senna and Sekai hadn’t let any goblins approach from any other angles either, but the monsters were starting to use their heads. As much as Rayo wished to race across and erase the advancing unit, that would leave his sector wide open. Then if a goblin or two raced up the hill, what then? The tower would take damage, possibly even crumble to the ground before the party could both reach the monsters and take them all out. However, his SP was back with full force already. Waiting would only be half as effective, his potential regeneration gone. In a sense, he was wasting the opportunity to wreck the opposition. Out of the three of them, the mage had the most SP available and should also be making use of that.

Therefore, it was time to make use of the possible reinforcements available to the trio. Pulling out the hard ceramic flute, the wizard played a little tune, and his grunty raced up the hill, probably warping in from just a bit out of sight. Bell paused in front of the wizard, patiently waiting for a command. Her loyalty lasted all of three seconds before she bit his leg, no longer wishing to sit still. It took some trying, but within a few moments and a good use of a staff for leverage, the pig horse was no longer interfering with the defense.


“If anything or anyone besides Sekai the archer, Senna the long arm, or myself makes their way towards the tower, make some racket. You’re free to bite them after announcing their approach as well. Behave.”

Knowing the last part of his command would be ignored, his speed enhanced state was put to good use as the player pulled away from the grunty and advanced towards the enemies. Since none had made it around into his view from point C, the others must have slowed down the front of the line. Senna came into view, along with ghosting corpses and a few creatures of the living. More of the bunch had moved to fill in the gaps in the ranks, but the long arm had slowed their advance through steel and magic. The dwarfish knights were probably closer together at the moment than they would have liked. Sure, not more than two would be hit by even an area effect spell, but that was only one type of magic. The mage would come in from the back and complete the unplanned pincer maneuver. Tilting his wand down towards the column of monsters, he only chanted but one word with the softness one might reserve for a prayer.

“Lanceor.”

The two whom Senna had injured already, the healthy survivor, the two newcomers; it hadn’t made a difference. The lightning mess vaguely resembled a wolf, but the electrical bolts were dancing about two much from the center for it to look too much like anything. In a sense, the summon was like a cloud, different to each that observed it’s flow. The opinions of the victims would never be heard however, as none of them survived, and half of them probably never even had the chance to glance behind them. Whether or not the next monsters that took up the vanguard of the monster army would try similar tactics was unknown, but at the very least there was no force left to link up with on the hill.

The wavemaster waved to Senna, giving her a thumbs up from where he was. As things stood right now, none of their opposition had even graced the uppermost level the location offered; it was a good sign.


“Good job halting them. Anyway, I’m going to return to point C and relieve my grunty of watch duty back there.”

With that, the caster turned around and darted back the same path that brought him to her side of the battle side to begin with.

ooc:

Goblin Nights Killed This Post: 5
Goblin Nights Killed Total: 18