Endilix

Endilix did know how to get to the mountain where the quest was at. Emerath had given him a map marker to use to get started. But he knew that the climb was going to be daunting. It was easily the tallest mountain on the second floor, and Endilix presumed it was part of the training. He stood at the foot of the mountain and looked up, the wind blowing his hair lightly around his face. A deep breath, and then the first step up the path. Then another, and another. After climbing for five minutes, he looked back, and felt like he had barely made any progress whatsoever. But he wasn't even remotely tired. He didn't figure he would be. He had only climbed a few dozen steps and probably had a thousand to go. But if he paced himself well, it wouldn't be too bad, or so he hoped. He supposed he would find out in a few hundred steps.

He sighed another heavy sigh, and put his mind back on why he was here in the first place. He wanted to finally climb the mountain and get the quest done for learning martial arts. He didn't need the skill, but thanks to Emerath he knew it involved punching a boulder, and he figured that would make him feel better about getting essentially nothing done. Perhaps once he trained like he had in the real world for his sports, he would feel more up to taking on anything else. Although, he knew punching a boulder wasn't going to feel great, but he knew the pain dampeners wouldn't make it too bad.

With a heave of his body, Endilix leaned backwards and threw his legs back onto the bridge, standing up, and giving a large stretch. No sense in waiting around any longer. Else he just gets frustrated with himself again. No time like the present.

Endilix sat with his legs hanging off a bridge on the second floor, as he stared out at the vast plains and rivers that flowed beneath the plateaus of the area. He had come here for a purpose, but that didn't mean he couldn't stop and admire the view while he was at it. The sun was rising, casting the morning's first glow across the mountains, with the mountains creating a dynamic shading across the land. It was gorgeous, and he would be dumb not to sit here and admire it, at least for a little while. He let out a sigh. He had been spinning his wheels pretty hard on these lower floors, getting very little actually accomplished, and it frustrated him. The views could be as gorgeous as they wanted, but this was still a video game. There was still a part of Endilix that wanted to get out of here and go back to his boring desk job.

Current Level: 17
Current SP: 43
Link to SP Tracking: Endilix's Journal
Item Upgrades:

Endilix heard her call back her response to him in the kitchen, and found it as vague and unhelpful as the response for lunch had been. Endilix gave a light sigh, but couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He'd be lying if he tried to say he wasn't himself as often this indecisive or vague. In fact, it was enough of a problem that his twin stopped asking him for input altogether, just assuming that whatever he decided was fine with the apathetic knight. He never once found this to not actually be the case.

But here he was, having to make all the decisions instead, for a stranger just as apathetic as himself in the moment. He could certainly see why Emerath often got so frustrated with the answer of, "Whatever works for you." So, as the meat finished cooking and Endilix did one final turn over of it, he decided that lemonade would be a good drink to go with the savory yakitori and was a good sweet option. So, turning off the stove, he moved the pan to the counter and let it sit while he prepared the lemonade. Within the few minutes it took to squeeze the lemons and stir in the sugar, the meat was more than rested enough, and he quickly shoved the chunks onto the sticks and plated them.

Deftly balancing the plates on his arms and the glasses in his hands, Endilix maneuvered his way back to the bar, and placed down the two plates of yakitori, two sticks each, and a glass of lemonade per person. A simple, yet hopefully filling lunch for two. As he called for Yuki to let her know that lunch was served, he turned to the bar and prepared some sauces for dipping from the back counter, hoping to turn back and place them and have Yuki at the bar for her meal.

Yakitori for reference:

Endilix received the answer to his question and his ears perked up as he realized that her voice had not come from the chair he had set for her, but from another part of the bar. He turned his head and saw that she had started cleaning herself. He couldn't help the frown that drew across his face. He would never normally ask a lady to assist him in cleaning when she was the guest. It was bad enough this place was the mess it was. But, seeing as she could send his HP bar into the abyss just by thinking about it, he thought it better to let her do as she wished. Even if it was something menial like cleaning. With a light sigh, he figured he shouldn't judge much, people find catharsis in a variety of things, including cleaning.

Having cleaned up the main bar area and his cooking utensils, he thought about what he should actually make. She had said Endilix's favorite lunch item, and he tried to think of some good bar food that he enjoyed back in the real world. It had been some time since he had made anything more than drinks, so he hoped he was up to it. After a bit of deliberation and staring in the fridge, he finally settled on making some yakitori. It was simple, and he figured it wouldn't require a high level of skill in cooking to make given the simplicity.

Preparing all the ingredients, Endilix started cooking. He called out to Yuki, "Do you have any preferences on drinks? I should have this cooked up in about 5-10 minutes."

Endilix chuckled as she continued to assure him that what was done was fair, but no matter how much convincing she tried he just knew in his mind he wouldn't accept it. At the end of the day, a life debt was something incredibly difficult to repay, and while he made it simpler for the newbies that he helped on the lower floors, he had a hard time accepting such weak payments for his own debts.

But at the end of the day, paying off a longer term life debt meant making friends with this sweet girl, and that seemed more like an offer he couldn't refuse, if anything. The longer he walked and talked to her, the more he wondered if she was even real, or if he was just making up some idealized friend he needed in the moment. He wondered if he really had finally started to lose it. But then he remembered her hand in his, and how warm and real it felt, and knew that this wasn't just some dream.

Without realizing, Endilix had ended up walking them to his bar, and struggling to break himself from his daydreaming, he quickly popped into his inventory menu to get out his key to his shop. He unlocked the door and opened it for her to head inside, "Welcome to the Fearsomely Strong Cider.... the bar that I never actually really opened." He tried his best to keep from sighing heavily at his own admission, not wanting to go back to depressing himself again. He was a little embarrassed at the layer of dust that sat on the bar top and chairs, and after the girl entered the shop Endilix would quickly and politely shuffle past her to grab a washcloth and start wiping things down.

As he did so, he pulled out a wiped down chair and offered it to her, before resuming cleaning of other parts of the bar. As he quickly tidied up a bit, he asked, "Any thoughts on what you would want to eat? I don't have a lot but I'm sure I could make a decent number of dishes out of what little I do have."

"That's a lovely name," Endilix admitted, silently still wishing that this cute girl wasn't already taken by whoever was lucky enough to snatch her up. But he would be lying if he said he wasn't still enjoying himself despite all that.

As they reached the safe zone, Endilix pointed off to a nearby neighborhood inside the town gates, "I have a shop here where I live. A bar that I've never given enough love and attention to get it off the ground. I accidentally became a cook just to have a place to live I guess." He chuckled again, the more he talked and opened up to this girl, the more stupid he felt like he sounded. He was such a poor excuse for a player when he wasn't busy showing off. Never working on his profession, never leveling up, always just doing just enough to make it look good and never enough to make it better.

"You're probably a way better cook than I am, but I do hope you'll still let a simple cook make you a drink and maybe something to eat. If you're supposed to be relaxing, it's the least I can do. You say we're even but the monster you killed was way stronger than mine, so I still feel like I owe you something."

Endilix wasn't sure how much he should really divulge to this girl. He wasn't certain of her connections or friends, or who this duo partner was. If it was one of the frontliners he knew, he could land himself in hot water speaking ill of them. But he figured he shouldn't play coy either, as that would just sour the mood.

"And see, here I am, getting you into more trouble when you're supposed to be taking a break!" he ended up joking, giving the girl a smile. Then he remembered he was still wearing his mask, and decided to open up his menu, giving it a few swipes. He took off the mask and flipped his armor off into a more neutral coat and pants, still suitable for the cold weather, but not combat intensive. If she was here to relax, he figured he should do the same.

"There, that's better. I don't ever seem to take that armor off anymore. I always have it on, even if it's just for show. There's a part of me that just can't seem to let it go sometimes. But maybe your partner has the right of it. We all need to take some time to unwind, from whatever our passions are." He turned his face to hers, now free of the masquerade mask that he wore to make himself look like a "hero". It felt more freeing than he probably would have readily admitted to her.

"Oh, and before I forget. I'm Endilix. Dael Endilix. Yes, my last name is my username. Yes, I've been told by many how stupid this is," Endilix admitted, rolling his eyes mockingly at himself and giving a chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood a bit more.

Endilix hadn't looked up from the snow as he heard her footfalls crunching in the snow. He expected the worst. Scorn, disappointment, or worse, death. If she could take down a monster like that as easily as she did, his life was nothing in her hands. She wasn't orange, but that didn't mean anything if someone truly wished to take advantage of a weak opponent like him.

And yet, what he received was the exact opposite of all those things. She was kind, understanding, and her words were sweet like honey. The words felt like they were being sent through a filter and were a world away, but he could still hear them. As they processed, they slowly brought the man back to his reality, and he saw her hand on his, having barely felt her touch as he swam around in his thoughts. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he saw her ring. Of course, he hadn't even thought to check for that. Such a sweet girl would had to have been swept up by someone else.

Endilix shook his head lightly and cursed himself for falling deep into that old depression he had tried so hard to run away from, even if it was only momentary. Slowly he lifted his eyes to meet hers, before gripping her hand lightly and giving it a light squeeze, only to release and slowly make his way back to his feet, offering his hand to her to do the same.

"To be honest," he said, as he waited to see if she would accept his invitation off of the cold snow blanket, "I've been lucky enough to not lose anyone I care about in this game. Not to death at least. But I've lost plenty of other things since this game started. Death isn't the worst thing that can happen in this game, so I tend to lose myself in reveling in the idea that if I don't progress, I can't lose anything else dear to me."

If she accepted his invitation, he would help her up, before turning to the safe zone, "If you'd like to talk more, I'd be happy to. Kindness is rare in the frontliners I'm familiar with. I wouldn't mind experiencing more of that."

Endilix tried his best to think of what to say to the girl as they walked. He had to find some way to woo her before they got to town. Provided his amazing tanking skills hadn't already done so. Though based on her demeanor, she didn't seem exactly smitten with him. He did find himself hoping that she was actually into guys. That would be just his luck. Save a cute girl, be a badass tank, and she turns out to be a lesbian.

These thoughts were shaken from him as the ground started to rumble beneath them. He looked around, waiting for the next threat to appear, only for it to be a massive dangerous troll, far stronger than what Endilix would have expected. Was most likely a wandering world boss. Just his luck. With what little common sense Endilix had rolling around in his head, he opened his mouth to call for the girl to run, while he decided if he was going to run the fool's errand of trying to protect her or not. He knew he wouldn't be able to take this thing alone. But if he saved her, then that would just have to be good enough.

Yet, before he could utter a single word, she had materialized her weapon, a rather fancy lance. Not something Endilix would expect a low level to have. And then it happened. In an instant the monster was gone, exploding into pixels around them.

Endilix turned as white as a sheet, and managed to get a shade whiter than even that as she explained that she was a frontline tank and grandmaster cook. "No... no way," was all Endilix managed to stammer, as his ego deflated like a balloon. This girl couldn't have even been remotely impressed by him. He was a joke to her! If he had let the golem be, she probably would've just had to look at it and it would implode. 

Endilix felt weak. His knees buckled and his steel kneepads struck the snow with a hard crunch as he looked at the ground. He had spent all this time trying to impress all the low levels with his bravado and ability only to realize that even here on one of the lowest floors he was nothing when it came to the best players in the game. Endilix stared at his gauntlet, before clenching his fist. He slammed it into the snow, sending a splash of the white powder into the air. "I've wasted so much time!" he shouted into the wind swirling around him.

He knew this girl wouldn't understand. Probably wouldn't even care. She was a frontliner, and was probably just mocking him. Just like the frontliners used to do.

Endilix couldn't help but feel his heart swell at the girl's praise. This was what he lived for ever since he got trapped in this death game. But he had best not get ahead of himself, so he gave her a nod and refocused his attention on the golem.

The golem's arm had been torn to shreds by the thorns of his shield, and he didn't figure that it was that strong of a creature. Not that the creatures they would find would be incredibly powerful this low on the floor count, but that was neither here nor there. Endilix wasn't especially high level so he couldn't get too far ahead of himself. If he were a dozen floors up, this wouldn't be such a cakewalk.

Not wanting to waste any time, Endilix readied his strongest sword art. He couldn't do a massive amount of damage, but it should be enough to send the golem packing. Taking a breath, and centering himself, he ran at the golem, smashing the arm that attempted to block his blows out of the way and finishing his combo with a solid strike to the chest. Endilix couldn't help the boyish grin that drew across his face as the golem exploded into pixels around him. If nothing else, Endilix was at least happy to see that he was gaining experience for once, even if it was only a little. He really did spend far too much time killing level 1 mobs.

And so, with the golem dispatched and Endilix's head having grown two sizes bigger this day, he turned to the girl and said, "So, how about that, huh? You're safe, and nobody is any the worse for wear. How about we get you back to the safe zone and we can continue this chat in a more... intimate setting." Endilix gave a wink and urged the girl to follow his lead back to town.

Kinda surprised that nobody has updated or made another one of these reflecting any changes. Still seems like a comprehensive and useful thing to have around. But, I made this on an alt forever ago, and can't edit it now. So, may as well remake it now on a main character. Have fun!

List is sorted in order of recommended level for ease of access in terms of players planning their leveling path. Included party limits and repeatability which were not previously included. However, if this makes it too busy or too hard to understand please give me some feedback and I'll do some formatting to make it more readable. I just didn't want to make it any longer than it already is. I might play with formatting later more anyway, we'll see. Recommended levels are provided by staff on a per quest basis, with few exceptions. However, always take these with a grain of salt and know your limits before tackling a quest, and always bring friends when you can!

And before anyone mentions it, yes I know that quests are changing for 3.0 coming up. But until then, this gives us something to work with, and I have no problem updating this again for 3.0 later. Although if staff wishes to do that themselves I certainly won't complain. *wiggles eyebrows*

Quest List

Endilix trudged through the snow to the fourth floor. He had long since become accustomed to the snow that surrounded him, but he still couldn't help but wonder with regret how different it would have been to live on a floor that was an island paradise instead. His steel boots left stamps in the snow as he pressed through the snowstorm to his small bar. He had spent yet another day helping train low levels on the basics of defending themselves in the death game. It was a thankless job, especially because Endilix is high enough level that he got nothing out of it. But it was rewarding morally, and made him feel better in the end.

As he stamped his way through the snow, he couldn't help but notice a girl walking along one of the paths in the snow. If you could call anything in the snow devastated landscape a path. She is alone, unarmored, and they were out in the middle of monster territory. His eyes followed her, with snow building on his brow and shoulders, before he noticed the golem shifting through the nearby trees. Endilix figured the girl would have noticed the monster, but to his horror she just kept walking along as if nothing was happening around her. Time seemed to slow down as Endilix watched the golem notice the girl and lift up its icy arm.

Without thinking, Endilix snapped his hammer and shield into existence, before charging the girl. His body seemed to move faster than his brain could process his actions, and he held the grotesque pumpkin lid over his head as the fist slammed down it. Endilix gave a heavy grunt as he held the arm up, and turned his head to the girl with a smile, hoping that now she had broken out of her little bubble and noticed what is going on around her. His green eyes scanned the girl from beneath the masquerade mask he wore. She's cute, and definitely didn't seem like she is someone who should be wandering around alone. 

Immediately after the golem's strike landed on the shield, thorns began to grow around the golem's arm, and it ripped away with a cry of pain and ice shards flying everywhere. The thorns receded back into the shield and Endilix casually adjusted his stance to prepare for the next blow. "It's probably not safe to just be standing around with no gear or weapons. Stay behind me. I'll keep you safe," Endilix said coolly, his confidence brimming. This is why he spent all his days training with the low levels. To protect them. To save the damsels when it mattered. It was his time to shine.

"I can be as hands off, or hands on as you want," Endilix explained as they walked. Endilix had made no motion to stop the young man. Dealing with him was like dealing with a teenager. Which made sense, because he was one. Briefly, Endilix considered if he was getting too old for all of this. Teaching the younger players, defending them with his own life. Sacrificing his own self for them, to see them succeed. He had kept telling himself it was worth it, and then there was Razum-dar. The hard headed kid who didn't seem to fully grasp just how much danger he was in. But that would be okay, in the end. Because Endilix wouldn't let anything happen to him, not by choice at least.

But for now, Raz would do his 'baby quests' as he so lovingly put it, and Endilix would just supervise. That would be all Raz wanted, and needed. He was just happy to be catching up with the man again. Idly, as they walked, Endilix picked up on Raz's mask as he said, "So, you have a mask now too, eh? Are you sure you don't want to admit that you've been following me around or something? For an apprentice to begin wearing a masquerade mask at around the same time as his mentor, well, seems a bit too coincidental to me," Endilix said with a wry smile.

Endilix folded his arms across his chest as he looked up at the young man that he had taken as his apprentice. Here he was, deflecting him, and trying to tell him to go away, after Endilix had spent all this time searching for the boy. "Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you?" Endilix asked, trying not to be as furious as he felt. "You disappeared one day, and nobody knew where you went. Thankfully, a bit of word got around that there was a red haired young man with two different colored eyes causing a ruckus doing the starter quests. Thankfully you aren't quiet, or else I might never have found you."

Endilix frowned and shook his head, "How am I supposed to help you survive in this game if you're just going to run away any chance you get? Please at least tell me you haven't been stealing again." Though, despite it all, and despite what the answer was, Endilix was relieved to see that Razum-dar was at least okay. He would occasionally check the Monument of Life for his name, and hadn't seen it yet, and now here he was alive and well. And as feisty as ever. Reminded him of a certain other someone he knew well.

Endilix let out a heavy sigh as the brunette fired more accusations, only to be followed by an odd apology and then his absence. It all happened very quickly, but Endilix made no attempt, not even a movement to prevent his departure. Teion had, and Endilix had expected as much. But Endilix had no need to keep him here. But he would give Teion some of the answers to Max's questions.

As Endilix spoke, he placed the offered rag on the counter next to her. She appeared as tired as Endilix felt from all of this nonsense. But still Endilix felt he had to explain something: "I nearly died saving the life of another player, while we were apart. Saving the life of a thief. Someone who intentionally stole from other players and was to be executed at the hands of a monster in an underground fighting arena. A level one player, unable to defend himself, against a monster. Put there by a thieves guild he was hired by to steal for, and thrown away when he didn't steal enough."

In Endilix's mind's eye, he remembered watching the Executioner's blade crash down on him. He remembered Flints panicking and crying as Endilix crumpled to the ground from the blow, right before the creature exploded into pixels before him. He remembered nearly passing out and his HP bar dropping dangerously into the red.

Endilix's eyes focused back on Teion in the present, "Did this kid deserve to be saved? Probably not. He had hurt others through theft, for a guild that did nothing but line their pockets with that theft. But I wanted to be a hero, so I did it anyway. The kid's name is Razum-dar, and I haven't seen him since he disappeared on me in a crowd. For all I know, he went back to thievery and forgot all about me. But for a moment, I was the hero I always wanted to be."

Endilix's eyes fell to the bar as he recalled the rest, "But I'll never forget the tears in Flints' eyes. Yes, Flints, crying. She was afraid I had died. She was afraid that I would leave her to be some stupid hero. And then I thought of Emerath, and you. How devastated would you have been if I had died to save some thief? And what if you found him? You'd hang him for causing my death, despite it being my decision to save him. It would've been.... a mess."

Endilix leaned on the bar, and looked back at Teion at eye level now, "I could have been like Beatbox. Yet another person for you to grieve over. But that isn't what makes a hero. Not to me, not anymore. What makes a hero is staying alive and protecting those that matter. I wouldn't go to the same lengths for a stranger anymore. But I would die for you, for Emerath, for Flints. Hell, I may even kill to save you guys. So Max was right in a way. He just didn't know the whole story about me."

Okay, so I was mulling over this a lot today at work after reading the thread, and thinking about game design as a whole, for both MMOs and text based or pen and paper RPGs. The main conclusion I came to is that we need to find a way to make PVP real and interesting without forsaking player values. There's a few main points being bandied about:

On the side of the PKers

• SAO is not a nice game. It is a dangerous prison that had no rules. People could kill indiscriminately and get away with it unless a protection guild or jailers stopped them.
• Player killers don't exist or are dwindling. Nobody can properly play a villain storyline because doing so requires the permission to make it happen.
• 9/10 players will not say yes to letting you kill their character(s).
• SAO doesn't feel dangerous.

On the side of PK prevention

• SAO-RPG, as a text based game, cannot be exactly like SAO because of a few key factors:
  • Player retention
  • Reality factors inhibit gameplay (such as imprisonment)
  • Busy lives make playing the game already difficult for many people, without having to worry about added complications
  • Not everyone wants to RP with everyone (sad but true)
• Unfair deaths have basically ruined the idea of PKs in most people's minds. Meaning permissions are important.
• Ideas like tokens are too complicated or cumbersome to track and properly implement without staff and player headaches. Simplicity is the name of the game.

So I thought, and thought and thought. And it slowly started to come to me as I thought of EVE Online and the way they handle a fully functional PVP open world with semi-hardcore deaths. (For those who don't know, if you die in EVE, your character is resurrected, but you lose skill points and any ships and items you were flying with, some of which cost months of play.)

Yes, for those who are unaware of EVE or simply don't care (I don't blame you, for the record) it has a very fair and robust PVP system alongside its PVE content. Here's how it works:

EVE Online has what is called a "Security System".

In the image above, all the green and blue areas are "High Security." This is where the weakest PVE enemies are, and where much of the trading and low level gameplay happens. If you are attacked in High Security space, tons of guards come to your rescue and demolish the attacker within seconds, meaning that very few attacks happen in this space.

The orange areas above are "Low Security." This is where the intermediate PVE enemies are, more and rarer resources, and is basically your rural areas. If you are attacked here, a smaller group of guards show up, and they take longer to get there. Think of a comparison in our little world. If you're attacked right next to the city, five guards show up to defend you immediately. But if you're a few miles away in a forest, some guards might still show up, but maybe two, and it takes them a good two or three posts to reach you.

And then there's all the red space. "Null Security" or NullSec for short. The exact security level for each of those red dots is 0.0 on a scale of 0 to 1. If you are attacked, nobody shows up to save you. But, this is where the strongest and most rewarding PVE content is, and where the rarest and richest materials for crafting are. It creates a high risk, high reward situation.

Compare this to our modern day SAO-RPG. We live in a low risk, high reward situation. My character, as a level 16, can go to Floor 21 with some of the most dangerous monsters in the game and just gather T3 materials with nothing stopping me. No monsters will spawn unless I let them, no PKers will attack me unless I give them permission. I can just farm and never worry about danger. In a similar vein, a player never has to kill a single monster or leave the Town of Beginnings to level from one to infinity. You gain SP and Col (albeit at a slower rate) from doing nothing but writing. Which is fine! But it creates a scenario in which you never have to be in danger to win. Low risk, high reward.

So here's why I like EVE Online. It captures this idea of, "I don't ever have to put myself in danger to play the entire game." that we currently use in SAO-RPG to this day, but dangles nice rewards in the dangerous places to make you want to leave your comfort zone. So here's my proposal:

• Leave the core SAO-RPG experience as it is. Nothing is wrong with it as a whole. Aside from pushing the PKers out into the cold, SAO's ruleset and rewards system is okay. We don't need to be fixing what isn't broken. Basically, life in "High Security". You can play the whole game, for baseline rewards, with little to no risk or danger to you.
• Create a new tag called: [Lawless Territory] or [LT] for short. Here's what this does:
  • Allows for your characters to consentually enter a part of the game where you are no longer protected by the game. No longer protected by permission. All you have is your own wits, or those of your friends.
  • All LT threads are open. This is where Invasion Bodyguards would be important and would be probably necessary.
  • You decide on an LT "value" similar to a "Security Value" in EVE Online set on a scale of 0 to 10. 0 is the lowest. You want to make sure guards are on hand to help you? Set your LT Value to 8, and if you're attacked NPC guards will show up to help. Want the most danger but highest rewards? Set your LT value to 0. Guards will never help, but you can get some great rewards. This leads into the next point.
  • All LT threads have their rewards increased by a balanced value decided on by staff, based on the LT value. High risk, high reward. Arbitrarily, this could mean you get 20% extra Col for your thread for a value 8 thread. Or 20% extra Col per kill, etc. 100% extra bonuses if you do a 0 value LT.

And this is all just a thought, but it would create more compromise. The community doesn't want to be forced into allowing for their own death. But if you put a nice juicy steak at the end of some swinging blade traps, you'll get some that are tantalized enough to risk being PKed to get it. And it would give people who want this stuff, like @Daeron a place to play. To see the challenge they want realized. And if it's something where you place the players at the helm, and they decide that they want to enter the Lawless Territories on their own, then they don't feel so pressured or put off, and they have nobody to blame but themselves for the danger.

Long story short, I want to see SAO be SAO, but I understand that it isn't for everyone. Some people just want to write their nice romance stories in the Town of Beginnings. Which is great. I love these people as much as I love people like Daeron. And I want everyone to have a place to play. So I do hope you'll consider my idea and help refine it so that we can see the PVPers have a proper home here too.

Honestly, @Daeron has already mirrored a lot of the sentiments I expressed in the last thread, so I don't really feel that I would need to rehash that. But I do want to go on record as saying that I pretty much agree with the idea that SAO, as a canon entity, was a social experiment created by a madman, and rooted in fear.

Now, in terms of this invasion idea, to keep to the proper point of this thread, I love the idea. I agree that it needs to be regulated somehow. I'm not completely against the token idea, but it's clear that some people are, so I'd like to offer some alternatives:

• Threads based in safe zones are always protected. The vast majority of story based threads happen in safe zones. Your romance, your character development, your incredibly important friendship or guild moments, boss/raid/quest planning. These all tend to happen in safe zones. So I propose that a thread always be PT if in a safe zone, no tokens necessary. And then if you want things like protected quests or romance on a nice beach or something, you can save your tokens for those special, not safe zone, moments.
• Invasions should be tied to skills. I do like the idea of where Daeron is going with the bodyguard thing. But if we're going to be making skills to protect against invasions, why not base invasions on skills as well? Do you want to actively hunt someone down? Well, you need tracking to properly interrupt a thread and hunt someone. Do you want to stalk someone from a distance or catch them unawares? You need stealth to properly do this. Make things like tracking and stealth a requirement for invasions, and this creates a few benefits:
  1. If someone has to have a skill to invade, they won't be a random newbie. Especially if you lock invasions behind a high rank mod. K1r1t0 can't jump into your thread until he's level 10 due to skill requirements, and so he either isn't as bad as everyone thinks or he got bored and probably left before that point, realizing that being an edgelord won't get him any finished threads, and thus enough SP to get the skills.
  2. It creates more drama than just, "I walk out into the field where you are talking because I feel like it." Your character has instead been tracking or stealthing to achieve their goals. This sets up a better story than just a random interruption.
  3. In the case of tracking specifically, it means your character has a purpose in doing so, and has met and actively interacted with your character before. The rules of tracking being what they are means that you won't have Joe Blow interrupting and you have no idea who each other is. You'll have actively interacted somewhere before and thus created a basic story and character interaction.
• Create PVP centric content. Sure, duels exist. But if you want to have players at each other's throats, give them reasons to kill each other. And they don't have to be inherently PVP based, like battlegrounds, but think of the reward for the Christmas event in SAO. That item that could bring people back to life, and until Kirito ran in and took it all for himself it created a lot of PVP based incentives, with multiple guilds fighting to take the prize. Give players something to fight for that might alleviate the idea of players interrupting each other's stories, and instead has a story based on pitting players (even unintentionally) against each other for specific reasons.
  • And for the sake of argument, these can be augmented with RP combat, so that way people don't actually have to die. Staff just has to make sure they mediate these types of situations, perhaps by awarding the best, and most fair, writers with the prize, provided players themselves can't come to a reasonable story conclusion on their own.

And look, I want to say one thing, especially about the idea of RP combat. There are some bad RPers out there. There are godmodders and meta gamers and just... it can be the worst sometimes. But we can't let bad apples ruin the bunch. I think that these ideas are solid concepts that staff is using to innovate and meet good middle grounds. We have to trust that the people we see most active on this site are capable players, writers, and can be fair and adaptable. And if we ruin that, then I'll be the first to cry that there should be more changes. But without change, we're never going to know which side the grass is actually greener on. So I think ideas like this are a good test of how fun this game can really be, and from more of a writer standpoint than just focusing on the numbers game.

If done properly, invasions can be yet another tool to writing interesting, dramatic stories that we might otherwise ignore because we're too afraid to break out of our own shells or write outside the box. And like every tool, it might need sharpening or refinement, but just because you found it rusty doesn't mean it's not ever going to be worth it without a little polish.

Endilix wasn't really surprised by Teion's outburst. Arguing would make anyone angry. He wasn't really even surprised that she took both sides in the argument, despite that Endilix felt that the brunette had no real justification in his actions. But, Endilix had to concede that he hardly knew him, and that he had clearly done something to win over Teion. But that didn't change the strained pain he heard behind the anger in her outburst.

Once Teion had finished, Endilix let out a heavy sigh. He would just have to pretend that Max wasn't there, even if he spoke up again. He had wanted to make sure his friend was okay, and she was right, that was what was important. "You have no need to be sorry," Endilix admitted, "that was the point of checking in with you after all. Friends are here for the good and the bad. I'm sorry that I haven't been around for either lately. But I can't take that back. I can only be your friend now, and for as long after that that you'll have me."

Endilix turned and reached for one of the rags he used to wipe his cups, one of the unused clean ones, and held it out to Teion. He didn't really bother to wipe his own tears away. He had forgotten that he had even cried in the chaos of it all. "Go ahead and talk. I'll listen. But promise me something, as your friend. Promise me that you won't hold back any emotions, no matter what they are. Anger, sadness, fear, happiness. Just... let it be free. I can't bear to look at the sadness behind those eyes anymore. I care about you too much."

An anger rose up in Endilix like he had not felt in a long time. Not since the day Endilix had heard that Flints had gotten married. It bubbled to the surface, and despite the tears stinging his eyes, all that sadness and pain he had felt had turned to rage at the brunette's words. Keeping his hand on Teion's, his face and eyes snapped up at the man after he was done speaking. And nothing but a seething, poisonous anger poured out of him as he spoke.

"You sit on the same pedestal as so many others I know. What, do you think that just because you've been 'fighting the good fight' that you're entitled to more pain than people like me and Teion? That you're allowed to define words like 'hero' for me just because you think you know what a hero can be? It's clear you aren't a hero. Where were you when Beatbox went to go be a hero? Clearly not by his side, 'friend of Beatbox,' Where's your group heroism there? So who is the real hero? At least he tried, even if he was alone. You know, if he had friends like you, I'm starting to understand why he didn't ask."

Endilix looked back to Teion, but didn't give anyone else enough time to speak as he continued, "You act like I have to tour everything to understand the pain and suffering of the world. Do I need to see every homeless person to understand poverty? Do I need to see every battered soldier to understand war? Do i need to see every injury ever caused to understand pain? You think you're the only one allowed to understand how tragedy and suffering works? The only one allowed to define the world in their own way?"

Endilix looked back to the brunette, the tears gone and a fire in his eyes, "Either stay quiet, or leave my bar. You clearly have no part to play in this tragedy. If you were truly her friend, then you wouldn't be sitting here dismissing the man trying to console Teion. An old friend that she has known far longer than you. Someone she clearly opened up to before you, considering your surprise at the information presented. Now let her real friends do their job properly. Thanks for whatever you did to get her here. I can take it from here."

Endilix couldn’t make sense of it all. All he he saw before him was a broken woman, an angry man, and his own steadily emptying heart. But none of it made sense. That was always Emerath’s forte anyway. Endilix had always just been the one to live by his emotions, always the goofball. But now he had to live in a world where people like him were eaten up like candy by those who could make sense of it all. The politics, the levels, the armies, all controlled by those who made sense of it all. 

Perhaps Beatbox was living by his emotions too, unable to make sense of it all. Perhaps Endilix would have been in his shoes at one point, running headlong to his death to be a hero. Better than Emerath, he could make sense of that. He didn’t need politics or vast intelligence to understand the motivation. If Endilix hadn’t been made to wonder what being a hero truly meant, would he still be alive? But Endilix had been removed from that world by Flints, and a nightmare he had. And now he saw what she had been talking about. Who is most important to protect? Everyone, or those you love most?

Beatbox chose everyone instead of Teion, and now they’re both paying the price. What is a hero in Aincrad? A martyr. Now Endilix was more sure of this than ever.

As Endilix found himself coming back to reality, he found that he had placed a hand on Teion’s purple hair, and was gently patting the woman. He wasn’t sure if his explanation would help, or if she would care at this point, but at least Endilix understood.

“He was... trying to be a hero. At least, that’s what it sounds like to me,” Endilix said, his voice sounding far away in his own ears as he continued to pat the woman’s head softly, “take it from someone who wanted to be the shining white knight of Aincrad. I know what that sort of heroism looks like.” The last part of what Endilix wanted to say would be hard to navigate. Not just because of the touchy subject, but also because of the holes in his own heart. But he tried anyway.

“But he just turned into a martyr. And to be honest, I probably would have met the same fate if my heart hadn’t been turned to stone by this game and the people in it.” Endilix’s voice cracked as he recalled his near death with the Executioner. Flints’ tears at him nearly dying trying to save a stranger. His own near heroic sacrifice.

Endilix’s hand found that of his old friend’s, as he grasped it and said, “I’m not the same Endilix. Being a hero in this game isn’t... possible. And I’ve seen so many people die now. Kids, wives, husbands, young lovers, mothers, fathers... I can’t save them all. I couldn’t. So I forced myself to stop caring and focus on those that I could protect. Emerath, Flints.... and I hoped you. That’s the only way to be a hero in this world...”

The tears were involuntary. Endilix hadn’t told even Emerath how he felt. What he had become. But Teion could have just as easily been grieving over Endilix if life had gone differently. He couldn’t help but let that thought overwhelm him.

Combat Data

As Emerath delivered more punches, Endilix could see the dragon wearing down. As its health dwindled dangerously in the red, it gave Endilix a weak attempt at a chomp, that Endilix was easily able to dodge. Endilix frowned at the creature, "Oh, getting tired? You poor thing. Want to take a nap before we murder you?" The dragon gave Endilix a weak roar in response to his taunts, And Endilix answered by swinging his hammer at the creature's snout once again, causing it to squeak in surprise as the blow connected.

Slowly, the creature lowered its head and growled, before, without warning, it charged Endilix. Endilix gasped from the unexpected tactic, and rolled off to the side to dodge the attack attempt. But that wasn't what the dragon wanted. It just... kept going. It took Endilix only a moment to realize what it was doing. "It's running away! After it!" Endilix cried, as he stormed after the dragon, and managed to grab its swinging tail and tried to dig his heels in to stop the larger creature.

Endilix watched as Teion pulled out a recording crystal, as if in answer to his question. As they sat there, and listened, Endilix found himself gripping his coffee again, still having not taken a drink. The longer the recording went on, the more angry Endilix got. This person that Teion loved and trusted went to go take on a powerful player, or set of players. It was ambiguous if he was alone, or with a party. But really, it didn't matter, because Endilix knew the end result. The man had died. And really, that was that.

Once the recording died down and the crystal fell back onto the bar counter, Endilix found himself gripping the coffee so tightly that the cup began to crack, and before Endilix knew it, the cup shattered into pixels, its durability lost from Endilix's anger. Endilix gave a sigh, he was running out of cups.

After a long moment of silence from Teion's last words, Endilix finally broke it by saying, "This is basically a suicide note, and he seems to know that. So then why did he go if he knew he would die?" Endilix shook his head, and stood straight as he folded his arms across his chest, "And if he truly cared, he should have had you with him. And if he didn't think he'd survive, he should have stayed by your side." Endilix's eyes tried to meet the woman's though she seemed distant and Endilix couldn't tell if she was looking at him or not. "Who are these 'Horsemen' and why are they worth throwing one's life away to try to stop?"

Combat Data

Endilix was a little frustrated that the dragon was still alive. He was certain that his party would have killed it much faster than this. But he didn't voice that, lest they decide to turn on him next. Instead, he watched as Emerath dealt solid damage after Mist proved a good distraction. But it worked even better in favor as the seemingly blinded dragon swung his claws at Endilix and he was able to easily block and dodge the blows. Emerath's owl was well trained, Endilix had to give him that.

Not wanting to be out done by his brother, Endilix spun up his hammer, and it glowed a solid crimson of its own, matching that of his twin's color, before Endilix let it loose into the chin of the wildly flailing baby dragon. "Don't call it a comeback yet, but you're going down little guy. You can't even hit me, let alone kill me," Endilix said as he continued to taunt the beast.