Berrod Armstrong

Congratulations to the winners! Those styles aren't to my own tastes, but I'm still very happy that the dev team opened the door for the players to decide on something being put into the game. I hope that they use this first run well and learn from it -- and bring us another chance to do the same in future!

[align=justify]When Osric closed the door to his house to vanish within, Berrod turned around and limped to the gate, and down the stairway. The Highlander was in a pitiable state. A mixture of sweat and stream water soaked him to the skin and matted his hair to a dark red. The hair that speckled his musculature had its pattern disturbed by large purple welts and bruises. The leather gauntlet on his right hand was burnt, and his harness had near snapped right off. It didn’t help that he stank horribly of exertion far past a healthy musk into a sour reek of mixing old and new perspiration. He could have sworn a chunk of his left ear was missing – but in truth it was just an angry, bruised red. [/align] [align=justify] [/align] [align=justify]The injured Hyur only managed to make it around the corner before his legs gave way from underneath him. The very last of the mixed energies from his first and second had dried up, leaving him to rely on his long exhausted physical power to keep going. A heavy series of wet thuds echoed against the nearby wall as Berrod crumpled to the floor. He felt agony shoot up his left leg and arm; he knew at once that they had not truly healed – the second had kept them together just for the sake of functioning. It was not within his power to mend broken bones, and without a doubt, Osric had broken both his arm and leg in a few places. [/align] [align=justify] [/align] [align=justify]Pride alone kept the bass cry of dolor in his chest. Full did he suffer, for his Sacral had nothing left to give. The root was also exhausted, and the pain that assailed him left him in no condition to focus on drawing from the land. He heaved, but nothing came up – it had all been emptied from him near the stream. There had been much blood mixed in with the bile. Likely Osric’s strikes had damaged him internally as well. Berrod laid there and shivered for a non-discerned period of time, wheezing loudly. No one passed by, and the night was still cool – so it could not have been long. [/align] [align=justify] [/align] [align=justify]Incapacity came with the somewhat unfortunate freedom to think, to let his mind wander. One below for each one above. He had been warned about going against the nature of each of his seats of power, that they would only lead to him being less effective if he was able to call upon them at all. Now, he was being told the opposite. Berrod wanted very badly to accuse one man or the other of lying; either his old Master or Osric, but to his churning irritation, he knew both men to be far from liars – at least not to him. Osric had discovered something he had not; tapped into something he hadn’t the barest clue about. [/align] [align=justify] [/align] [align=justify]Bubbling envy was cut short by a slight ache in his knees,which in turn triggered recollection. Fear and Anger. He had felt both, in different capacities. He had genuinely feared for his life when he felt his arm shatter under Osric’s roundhouse, and the revelations afterward had certainly incensed him enough to throw the poor Midlander to the ground. Guilt flushed through him as the image of the other man’s hurt and despaired face emerged in his mind. He’d have to give him a real apology. Somehow. Without actually saying it. Or him knowing. Something like that. [/align] [align=justify] [/align] [align=justify]Berrod was only vaguely aware of the puddle forming beneath him; his soaked leathers were draining onto the cobblestone below – and perhaps the cold sweat from his agony contributed in a small amount. He had to make it home. He had to rest, he had to heal, then he’d try to figure things out. Using his right arm and leg, the bulky Highlander dragged himself down the lane and around the bend to the Aetheryte. He knew the one he needed to get to – the Eastern main; it was right outside the Agency Headquarters. There was only one problem; he didn’t have the spiritual fortitude at that moment. Teleportation was not going to happen after he had so thoroughly spent himself. [/align] [align=justify] [/align] [align=justify]What he did have however, was a linkpearl. A few, in fact.Who would he call? Caleb or Caden? No, they’d worry and then watch him like a hawk. Someone from the Agency? Good people, but they were annoying with all their weird questions and assumptions. They didn’t understand. One of the Monks, perhaps? That negative was far too immediate for his own comfort. A sudden thought occurred to him. With haste, the redhead dug a rather bright green one from his soaked satchel and put it to use. [/align] [align=justify] [/align] “Ginny?” came the hoarse and desperate plea. There was no disguising the whimpering in his voice, or the labor of his breathing. “Gins, please be there, I’m in trouble.”

When I see a character described as 'beautiful' or 'ugly', I tend to assume it's referring to the 'general standard of beauty' that tends to be prevalent in any society. I then compare that to my character's own tastes and decide how their 'beauty' or 'ugliness' will be received. 'Show, don't tell' is all good and fine, but for some things, subjective or no, there tends to be a 'world standard' that we can use as a gauge along with our character's preferences.

Some Screenshots of Osric and Berrod's clash yesterday evening! http://40.media.tumblr.com/9be3f0f5d5f95f2ed0529802ae433ba4/tumblr_nuhqh6KtoC1robwlio4_1280.png[/img] http://41.media.tumblr.com/a3a531f2a5d67a60443242f32d9db136/tumblr_nuhqh6KtoC1robwlio3_1280.png[/img] http://36.media.tumblr.com/5e3f78bc1a5f3bc18ddfefe543b1daa3/tumblr_nuhqh6KtoC1robwlio6_1280.png[/img] http://41.media.tumblr.com/2d183dcfae9a8353a249b1544971200b/tumblr_nuhqh6KtoC1robwlio8_1280.png[/img] http://40.media.tumblr.com/a594299cb96b534c3c50ac9b2fe99ef5/tumblr_nuhqh6KtoC1robwlio5_1280.png[/img] http://40.media.tumblr.com/40e153eb758465e6bb72881a298dbe2c/tumblr_nuhqh6KtoC1robwlio2_1280.png[/img] http://40.media.tumblr.com/ee472102a63d54f78cb4355357952bdf/tumblr_nuhqqbHMy71robwlio3_1280.png[/img] You can see the lot here, here and here.

"Master, I don't -- understand. Why would you have us deceive our own? And why would our own be willfully deceived?" "Because, Gerdtrid -- opening Talatala requires it. It is a basic, confused and almost animal state of being. Hound-eat-hound in its most basic form. There is nothing of the wiles of man within it, only the base instinct to do what it takes to place your own existence above others. Be it lying, stealing -- whatever you must do to exert your will over others. It is a potent power -- but beware the mindlessness that comes with it. Those who access the seat of Talatala in the calves may find themselves subject to compulsive lies or concealment, or even battle trances of deadly ruthlessness. It must be used lightly, and only in times of need -- for it distinguishes naught of friend or foe. So it is you will find these chakras below the third disregarding fellowship and leaning toward the individual. It is for this reason that despite our common goal, we must at times harm each other. Speak with Guntbrand on it. He will put it into simpler terms than I." "Yes, Master."

There are showers with pipes, as well as hot tubs available in the housing areas -- those are the first references that come to mind. I imagine that those luxuries aren't as easily available to the man on the street, however. Perhaps someone else can shed some light on that!

Oooh that can work! Currently I'm thinking that I'll probably just roll -sometimes-, for certain 'turns' or situations/circumstances that have me fancying a random result. If he fails I'll probably just free-form something for him afterward to make up for it. I'm cool with him failing sometimes, but I don't want him to look completely incompetent -- because he isn't (those days are over *sob*). I love this suggestion though! Also I could probably pull up a dice program to avoid spamming folks in game...great ideas, thank you!

I cannot handle how adorable all these are omg

LOL. I figured that my own brainstorming may as well be put in a public place for other people to see and perhaps work with or be inspired by -- or argued and debunked in cases where I'm wrong! Also, if you're looking for an easier way to understand the chakra thingo, Berrod himself wrote up a series of things on it that marries the lore (the scant little of it we know) and what the chakras actually are. It's IC stuff but it might help! Here's the first post, it links to the others that have been written so far.

The first thing I really wanted to deal with was a little personal system of determining how effective Berrod's abilities are in the heat of combat. I kind of wanted to do a rolling system (and hope that me rolling every time he tries to do something doesn't spam the log, that makes me feel so guilty! Wtb /echo rolling...). I won't use this for free-form fights where it's just writing, or for roll fights where success or failure is already determined by an overall roll. Just in situations where I have a bit of freedom to write what I wish, yet still have that urge to cast fate onto the board with the dice. Recently I was marveling over how much the Second Wind ability crits for at times and then I wondered...wouldn't it be neat if I could sometimes have Berrod's abilities 'crit' or 'fail'? I then started mulling over a way that I could fairly and evenly have this happen and of course the first thing that came to mind was the dice. After a bit of thought, I decided I'd give the abilities 'tiers' within the 0-999 range of FFXIV's /random command. For example, I play Berrod with an ability inspired by Fists of Earth; one that makes him rather resilient against blows and other such punishment. If I decide to throw the effectiveness of that technique to a dice roll I might have it along the lines of this: 0 - 249 = A complete fail, the ability unleash at all for a reason I would have to craft on the spot (I like doing that kind of thing sometimes). 250-499 = Weak effectiveness; the ability unleashes, but not as powerfully as Berrod expects it to; he ends up taking more damage and experiencing more pain than he usually would while using it. 500- 749 = Standard effectiveness; the ability unleashes to Berrod's expectations and keeps him in the fight for as long as I've crafted it to. 750-999 = Critical Effectiveness; the ability exceeds his expectations by a fair amount, perhaps enough to give him an additional visual effect (having his skin acquire a stone-like texture, or something flashy like that). Probably a lifesaver, or bloody invincibility (or close to it) for a turn. Something like that! That was just an example, but I really wanted to map out the four tiers there. Of course I'll have to apply it to each ability differently, but I think I can manage that. I can probably even use that to write short story battles between monks...fun stuff! Just something in my head I wanted to get into writing, is all.

I'm just starting this thread for myself mostly, because there are certain things I like working out regarding how my character's abilities works. I've been asked by a few people to share some of the stuff I've come up with, so I figured here is the place to put it. I'm not sure how often I'll be posting here, but better to have the space or not! Likely the thread will be filled with my musings and workings and figurifications, but if anyone wants to comment or contribute, or even ask a question or two, feel free!

"Ah...Sutala. Jealousy. Covetousness. Possessiveness of all things, even those that do not truly belong to you. Take everything from them. To the world it does not belong to you, but your purpose has long since been to break the world and the order that poisons it. Make it all belong to you. Take your insecurities, any feelings of inadequacy you possess, and concentrate them in the knees. Let Sutala consume them and form them into the desire that will power your claim to everything you covet -- regardless of if it is in the hands of others or not. It is a powerful chakra, Guntbrand, and I trust you will grasp it with great aptitude." "Yes, Master."

http://i.imgur.com/hZXrQlK.png[/img]

Er...don't you mean a tertiary RP server? /SIDE EYES GILGAMESH NERVOUSLY Good luck with this endeavour though -- wherever you end up, expect it to be flooded with more Berrod alts.

The butt of the sword hit Berrod squarely in the gut. The Highlander stumbled backward with an awkward heave and clutched the already reddening spot on his abdomen. "Agh -- damnit." It was a clean enough hit to make him gasp for air for more than a few ticks. The Black haired highlander who hit him however, did not press the advantage. Instead he withdrew and studied Berrod closely with discerning blue eyes. Berrod met them with a return of green confusion. "Why'd y'stop, Cades? Y'had me." Caden Agron held the greatsword with both hands, then proceeded to stow it onto the harness strapped to his otherwise bare torso. Sweat soaked him, down to the dark blue training slops. From his labored breathing, their last exchange of sparring blows had been particularly intense. "Yer distracted," He pointed out. "Ye never let a hit like that through before. What's goin' on in that head of yers?" The question's sudden frankness caught Berrod off guard -- enough for him to forget the lingering ache the strike had gifted him. He straightened up, dressed in the same wares as Caden save for the color. His slops were a deep, blood red. The bruise on his stomach grew clearer as each moment passed. After a deep, pained breath, the redhead answered the other man truthfully. "Went to a meetin' wit' some other monks last night, down in Lil' Mhigo." The words arrested Caden's complete attention at once, and prompted eager curiousity. "How'd it go?" Berrod rubbed at his stomach idly in a somewhat unconscious bid to ease the re-emerging and irritating agony. How did it go? It was exactly that which spun in his head and blurred his focus. Being asked the question by another, however, made an answer much easier to find. "...Too many agendas," He began slowly, "The meetin' was to talk about reformin' and rebuildin' the Fists of Rhalgr, but jus' listenin' to everybody...lotta them are in it fer more than that, an' that don't make me feel too good, y'know?" Caden folded his arms and shook his head. "It ain't a strange thing that people have their own lil' goals in addition to the big one," He reasoned, "Why's that bother you?" The words gave Berrod pause, and he struggled for a little while to articulate what was on his mind. "Thing is, it seemed like the order itself was the additional goal fer some, wit' their agenda bein' the main event. I dunno, it don't make me comfortable or confident. The idea behind it all is good, but..." He trailed off and rubbed at the coarse, ruddy stubble along his jaw. "-- an' besides that, I dunno how many o'them are actually in it fer God, y'know? I know that Adalhaid gal is, but other than her, I ain't heard or seen no interest in it -- wasn't no prayer or nothin'. People talkin' about chakras an' power...but not a mention o'God himself. That bothered me a lot. I'm a monk. Yeah, I move my fists in His name an' beseech 'im for power...but I never forget that it's Him in the end." Caden didn't seem to have an answer that one. Given Berrod's continuing fidgeting, however, he simply granted him with an expectant look as leave to continue. "I'm not investin' in it yet. I wanna get some guidance on it first -- pray a lil' too. Maybe talk to some o'them one on one, see what they really want. Get a feel fer it. As it is now...egh. Glad I didn't carry in any o'the learners fer that ta cloud up their heads. Been makin' too much progress wit' 'em lately ta muck it all up now." "Doesn't sound like ye got much hope, Berrod." "I got hope," Berrod assured, "But I ain't blind, and I ain't chasin' after nothin' other than what it's supposed ta be. As always, it's a fight ta get things right, even if it's wit' words an' ideas at first. An' if not...well I guess I'll jus' keep doin' what I'm doin'. I didn't learn the old ways jus' ta give up. Now draw that big dumb ol' sword o'yers so I can break it on yer teeth. We got a spar ta finish."

Yessss I saw this on tumblr, it made me so happy!

I don't know how much healing you've done in the past, but as a rule of thumb, healers HATE RNG. Also : yes, I'm complaining about RNG in the only healing class that has to deal with it. I'm doing so because that RNG directly contributes to that class being less desirable in a competitive setting than the other two, non RNG healers. The thing is though, the RNG has nothing to do with the actual healing component of the job. If I'm not mistaken, they adjusted the potency of the healing so that the heals themselves weren't weak and ridiculous. The card buffs are bonuses -- extras. If you really wanted to look at where AST shines, it'd be in versatility -- with the ability to fill in for a scholar with shields (where there isn't one) or a WHM with regens (again, where there isn't one). The cards are gravy, and pinning the RNG as the reason the class is less effective doesn't really seem like the right focus. I know a couple amazing AST healers whose only problem with the class before was the healing potency (and gosh darn they worked hard to make up for it). The cards themselves are an inbetween; a 'ooh this is handy!' 'Ooh I'll save this for later' 'Eh, I'll road it' in the midst of the versatile healing they can do. Not getting the card we want when we want it...? That's tough, and not something we should be relying on when it comes to the job -- because it can heal just fine. Not sure if I put it across the way it sounded in my head, but that's my take on it.

Just some screenshots of my Au Ra, Nasam Himaa and his Brother Negan Himaa. They're actually Buduga, but since they were kidnapped from Himaa as young 'uns they're passing themselves off as visitors from that tribe in order to recruit and kidnap for their own. http://40.media.tumblr.com/17eb92335bf920d4403f19687df2ab92/tumblr_ns4ayixGr41robwlio1_1280.png[/img] http://40.media.tumblr.com/8ce05d121ee723b9499b97375610f959/tumblr_ns3etvH7pr1robwlio1_1280.png[/img] http://40.media.tumblr.com/21a3e0429e93c28e454d6f7b74faf681/tumblr_nrtbepyRza1robwlio1_1280.png[/img] http://41.media.tumblr.com/c5bd965b2b5badca0cd2f63173849b27/tumblr_nthfdiCAHd1robwlio1_540.png[/img] http://40.media.tumblr.com/500fe87fee0e946ed66964c617dc94db/tumblr_nsfxp7VgMP1robwlio1_1280.png[/img]

It would go a long way to minimize the RNG factor of Shuffle. While I realize it's anecdotal, from talking to multiple AST players, there seems to be a really common issue of Shuffle pulling the same card. It wouldn't be an issue if it was on, say, a 30 second CD, but the CD is too long for you to be pulling the same damn card. That wouldn't make it a gamble, though, and in the end that's what the AST cards are. Unknown fate, yadda yadda.

"Another stoic, board faced Midder ah? Put 'im on the shelf wit' the rest."

...A Company-mate of mine had actually run a long story arc featuring an Ishgardian group of this name! I can probably poke him to take a look in here and see if he can help you out with anything!

I dunno...personally I've never found anything wrong with the RNG part of AST. It's...random...even if the same card appears several times or not at all. Maybe I'm just different, but my mindset is something like this: Never depend on a gamble. Don't expect anything, just treat the cards like a nifty bonus that may or may not come in handy at a given moment. The Utility is in the cards, but my heals are what I'm here for. That way I don't get frustrated or anything, It's like 'Oh! The Bole! Neat. Handy!', 'Ah...three ewers in a row? Well I suppose the BLM/DRK/whatever or myself can go ham. Neat.' 'Ooh the heals are so pretty.' Perhaps I'm just really easy to please lol.

Going off what I read on Sasha's wiki! Berrod would likely find her polite and sociable -- though for him to truly hold her in any high regard he'd have to see her deal in more than smiles and pleasantries. Nonetheless, he wouldn't mind being around her. Better a pleasant person than an arse!

Joined last night and already awash with roleplaying opportunities. YES GOOD.

https://40.media.tumblr.com/ef45d8ccbed4d1357307437f52491ac3/tumblr_nu5c0aKR3L1robwlio1_540.jpg[/img] He woke up like this.