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[Plain Text] Chieftains, Chosen by the Peoples of these Lands, to Offer Guidance and Rule I send this Message as is Sacred for that of The Waradim.

I carry Message of support for the Banner Sagebrush, whom I have known since my Steps first brought me to your Lands. They are wholly dedicated to their Way, and have continued to do so when others would have stumbled and been Lost. They have given shelter and companioship to many, and have felt the Scourge of the Clans long before the Age of Bronze has started.

Their Camp was pillaged twice, by Orc and Brigand yet still they endure. They have given much for these Lands and sought little before now. Honor them upon the Stele as has been done in the Past. Their Way will be needed for Victory.

Dervish Bajica

Like it says in the title, feels like Javelins are a very thematic weapon for the setting and we have the model AND the item in the Loot Pool. Make 'em more common in drops, sell them (downgraded) in the stores, give a little bit more variety and spice to ranged weapons!

Down with the Light Cross Hegemony!

So you're probably wondering, How did a salty seadog, get here? How did Bruno Ship-Burner, author of the Mermaids Tale, Balestriere of the Banda Rossa, end up in Ephia's Well of all places?



Well he wasnt! A Sailor that is. Bruno was nothing more than an orphan brat of the Old World, with no actual sailing experience at all. The most he did was pull an oar on a raft, little more than a slave. So he rejected his old name, and took the name "Ship-Burner" a dashing Pirate Captain like those he imagined from the rotted hulks they passed as a child. Everything he knew was from listening to others, a talent he grew to excel in.

So he followed those around him, swept up in the determination only the very young, or very stupid can truly have. He would sail on a real ship, he would be the Captain of his own life.




He traveled in a rough trade, from Merizzad Crime Clans, to fighting alongside a Starry Eyed Dwarven Warrior named Snorri...









Maybe travelling with so many dwarves gave him the idea of Grudges. Because he held quite a few. Quickly Bruno came to hate the Jannisary, always taking a chance to mock them for he hated that they stood in the way of his idea of "Freedom". Or perhaps it was just a teenage sense of rebellion.



Then there were the Balladeers...



Bruno *HATED* the Balladeers, though it was jealousy in the extreme. The Balladeers were everything Bruno could never be. They had history, they had friendship and the respect of others. His own sense of inadequacy  only grew with each day, but instead of looking to bettering himself, he lashed out. He was going to show them he was better than a Balladeer. Better than everyone. He was going to be a BANDA ROSSA



Bruno never intended on being a Soldari in La Banda Rossa. Where was the Freedom in that? It wasnt until the Rossa assembled a warband of hopefuls to strike at the Thousand Clans that he began to be interested. He had heard they came from the Sea of Pearls, and the manner they talked, their swagger was inspiring. They knew they were the best. They didnt take shit from nobody. They had respect, something Bruno wanted so badly. And he survived where so many others fell. He was one of "The Rikh Ardog Three" surviving where so many others did not. This -must- be something special.





They were the first family Bruno knew, legends in their own time. Kythaela and Isotta, who he called Lion and Falchion. The First Three in a new breed of Banda Rossa




The Rossa became his everything. It all made so much sense, Exiled from the Sea, a Proud Family that Demanded Respect and Rewarded Loyalty. He quickly adopted the Faith of Sage Maribela de Fortuna, and devoured every scrap of knowledge he could learn about the Companies home to better play the part. And as he fought for La Capitana his hatred for the Balladeers grew. During his very first Mission the terrifying Condottiero Paolina with great scorn told Bruno he'd be a better Balladeer than a Rossa. And so the sense of inadequacy came flooding back. The Balladeers were a danger to his new Family. The Balladeers were the ones who kept the Rossa from returning "Home" to Il Modo upon the Sea. To Bruno there was no Cinquefoil Rose, only the Rossa.











He even traveled to the Site of the Great Chalice with the Grandmaster herself...



Bruno was surprisingly good at his new role. He was instrumental in catching a Wyrm Cultist and rose in bloody task to Balestriere. Now he was all he thought he deserved, his loyalty to the Rossa becoming unbreakable.









Now he needed to find something, or someone to hurt the Balladeers. They could not be allowed to grow stronger. He needed a weapon he could use against them.

Enter Sol Auk.

Sol was actually the first person to tell Bruno about the Banda Rossa. He was the one who told Bruno about their History on the Sea of Pearls. While Bruno never trusted, or even liked Sol he knew he could get him into a seat of power, an Ally against the Balladeers.









When Sol won his seat, Bruno strove for the Envoyship to Banafsi. It was his second love after Il Modo. While Il Modo was out of his grasp he grew to love the culture of the Archonate of Banafsi.





But while Sol was was an ally, his only true friend, or so he thought, was that of "The Darling" Estellise. The Starlock, despite being in different uniforms, he always trusted. What began as just a story for the Tale became someone he cared for as much as he did Falchion or Lion. This is why he had trusted her with the final issue of the Mermaids Tale...











And so it was Bruno marched out after many Elections, Contracts, and Combat to fight for the Rossa's Banner, his luck finally running out. He was the First of the Rossa, and the Last of that Breed, being the final casualty of the bloody slaughter.

He was 19.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGDhzVi1bqU


 
And so ends The Voyage of Bruno "Ship-Burner" Oar-Back...



Oh.

Right. The Mermaids Tale.
https://www.efupw.com/forums/index.php?topic=706754.0

THAT thing. I never really intended on doing a Newspaper again. Its something I'd done in the past but its an exhausting level of work. But the more I thought about the humor in a "Pirate Post" as a sort of Free Radio to the more structured Empty Gallows the idea grew on me. Doodling is one of my favorite ways to interact with the gameworld and the server community. I wanted to have a way for people to keep in touch with the setting, and give a chance for everyone to shine.

It, as always, really took on a life of its own



At final count the Mermaids Tale made it 65 Pages of News. I was thrilled I made it to fifty, though I would have taken the paper as long as people were enjoying it.

Some Fun Facts About the Tale:

- The First few Dates were about 5000 years off
- It was always Spelled "Ephira's Well"
- Unless Paid to do so, Bruno would -always- spell names wrong.
- The "Darling" showed up 13 separate times, followed by Sol with 6
- Each drawing was either done with a cheap felt tip pen or a ballpoint for that genuine feel, snapped on my phone, and then used poor Cmenden as my dumping ground, instead of using a scanner

The Tale was always filled with errors so Bruno, if ever brought to court, could claim it was a work of fiction. There is no "Ephira's Well".... I never did get the chance but it always kept me entertained.


I originally was trying to post them all on the public boards but that became too painful, way too fast...



I also tried my very best to make a sending announcing a new issue IG whenever I could, with this being the first Bellow.



I did eventually get myself my own Board though!



I got to have a fanclub for a little bit, especially an eccentric little gnome named Babel...






Now for some unsorted silliness.

Bruno HATED when people would say Old World shit as if he should know it... he was 8!



The Name for a disaster quickly became a "Bruno Job" amongst the Rossa after a TPK early in the Chapter Start



He actually had okay Archaeology


I only responded in images on the forums for reports, letters, orders, etc... probably not gonna do that again. Oh and I did make an actual Sana "Heartbreaker" Doll



First person to hit potion max I think (it was all cure lights)



Babel was Reborn, as the Faith of the Sages write, as Brunos leal companion Parrot. Bruno, being a terrible teenager, didnt realize that not only can you not feed a Parrot nothing but Garlic, but that Babel was a She.




Pirate Dressup



LOOK! I made it to LEVEL 8! IM A REAL EFUer NOW!


Also, five months on a Pirate ain' half bad...


Bruno ONLY died to Crits for some reason. They were his bane.







Last but not least. Bruno had a superstition that Garlic was a lucky charm, that Garlic could ward off evil spirits and luck with its strong scent. It was just something I started doing out of the blue and eventually became another part of his absurdity.



Now, a special thanks to Roxy and TinFoilHat for being the first new wave of Rossa, to every Banda Rossa afterwards. To the Cinquefoil Rose, who dealt with my abuse in verbal and cartoon form.

To RwG for everything from bartering and bickering to Kingmaking.

To Cmenden for being my Poor Mans file transfer system. The Tale wouldnt have been possible without you.

To the DM Team, who, despite MOCKING me endlessly for playing a landlocked pirate, were always responsive to my questions about tiny bits of lore. I did my best to represent the Banda Rossa and I think its one of the richest factions out there for players to explore and enjoy.

And thank you to Everyone else in this Community for enjoying the Mermaids Tale. The Stories were your stories, just told through the twisted lens of a fast talking, Boston accented Pirate Weeb.

-FAHK-

Entirely self serving, but I know Im not the only one whos rolled up a nautical themed PC in the past and with the wide open Sea of Pearls I think it'd be great to see some Ship Stuff.

What is Ship Stuff you ask?

Sea/Ship Based Explorables to be found on the Port of Qadira, Banafsi, Frostport and others, similar to the Pond Explorables of yore. Give a chance for the Swashbucklers and Sailing skill to shine to either unlock them or give added benefits. We could do everything from exploring old shipwrecks, to aiding Coast running smugglers against pirates, to attacks by sea monsters.

These could be expanded upon to full blown quests if theres the interest like the Old Bloodtails pt2.

I know we have an already expansive setting, one I havent seen probably half of... but who doesnt love more content?

[these cheap broadsheets are posted about]

[left outside with this note]



[hide=wrapped in cloth][/hide]

[this long scroll is delivered to the City State of Banafsi by a seadog looking member of the Banda Rossa]

I love the rng names and the idea of the Thousand Clans actually sounding like a thousand thousand clans so I really enjoy this feature...

Only issue is we recently encountered a pretty rough area. Transition right into a swarm of orcs with AOE and invis purges and a wonky transition to flee. Could they  be spread out a bit or spawn them further back? Just to not load straight into fugue.

[hanging within the Krak these cheap paper newsheets are hammered onto the pillars there for common consumption by a garlic reeking seadog]

Issue 1

[**heavily**]

I don't usually write these up, especially for a 3 week old PC but this was something new for me. I wanted to try something fresh for me, but still fun. So I went and looked for inspiration in my favorite of places. Mostly Forgotten cliché games from my childhood. And I came up with Drake of Fair-Field, based **heavily** on a very plain and generic "Hero" type.



[hide= A Masterwork in Research ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ahk6FU9Ux4[/hide]

So I made Drake of Fair-Field, a young refugee from one of the scattered settlements within the Rings living in the Alleys and Rubble of this Great City. Wholly removed from the politics and events of Nine Nine when the Pallid began popping portal open he lost everything he loved and everything he knew under their bony greaves.  To better depict the classic "Might" AND "Magic" of the old 3DO games I went for a Contriver, a class and perk I've -never- played.

I learned a -lot- of what I could and shouldn't do. I understand the love of spellcasters some people have though!



The plan was always to be a heat seeking missile to doing anything that would help defeat the Count, which is why I jumped at the chance to get a new tool in destroying Him and his Legions. Enter the Feast, with all its Worm filled Glory, which really gave me some paranoia.



But I ended up winning my prize!



The Goal always was to Destroy the Pallid, no matter what the cost so I spent nearly every coin I got and made -sure- my weekend was free for the Siege of the Pallid Palace. It lucked out I was able to do so and it was a pretty epic event









I can happily say I made it all the way to the final chamber, battling the Prince himself before being deleted by the Master of the Hunt. It was a perfect end ot a man who had nothing left of his past, and nothing of a future...



Though he felt himself torn between the honor of the Moonspears, and the Efficiency of Orza he died Bannerless



All in all I had an exceptionally fun time and this was something new and exciting for me to play. Even after all these years EfU surprises me with how little I actually know of how to play this game, and that makes it fun!


Obligatory Loot