Saix

Raidou here with a news bulletin: Way to many people are confused on rules, including but not limited to: Players, PST, and fellow GM's. These are all the rules that are in the air that need to be discussed and clarified in one way or another:

» Knockback: 1 turn paralyze on successful hit, making it useless for the user but excellent for team play?

»+Skill: Martial Arts cant get buffs, but everything else can?

»Paralyze: creatures under the effects cannot be missed?

»HP potions/Crystals: How much is to much? What does each enhancement slot used produce? +6 HP gained over 3 posts, or +5 HP Instantly?

» Gathering Craft Materials without combat: This is a fence topic at its finest, If it can be found in the environment like metals/Ores/produce you can use your LD to find the materials without combat. Now this makes sense given the game, and its still limited to the 50% success rate.

There is alot of lines in the sand on these topics and we got to get all of this ironed out, no wrinkles on the brain. Anywho this has been fun but I need to get to work and stop slacking.

Stay classy my friends,

Raidou the goofball PST Member

» Knockback: Knockdown, which is what the term was originally when it was implemented via special skills here on SAO, is not actually a one term paralyze, it simply skips their next attack action. They can make use of any skills/items/potions etc that they have, they simply cannot attack.

»Martial Arts: This is one I have argued in favor of for some time, and as of yesterday after more talk with Shark, we are going to be allowed to create +Unarmed Damage 'fist items', such as Hand Wrappings, Leather Cestus, etc using the Tailoring Profession. They cannot be 'dual wielded' as we frown upon damage stacking, but a Tailor can create a "Monk Wrappings" that would thematically be applied to both hands and at Perfect level add +3 Unarmed Damage.

»Paralyze: This is one I have told players no on several times. Paralyze prevents your opponent from moving for their turn, it does not let you hit them for free. You can still fail an attempt at attacking them based on the Battle Dice.

»HP potions/Crystals: This is an iffy one, and a big reason so many crafted Alchemical things tend to sit in the Crafting Evals for so long. Simply put, unlike the weapons/armor, Alchemy has only really been used 'heavily' the past few months and we are still attempting to find a baseline for it.

» Gathering Craft Materials without combat: I have used this one several times as an Alchemist, having my character gather plant/herb type ingredients based on the Loot Dice using the common MMO 'Resource Node' concept that WOW, Guild Wars 2, and SWTOR all seem to implement. It works with an Alchemist, as their ingredients literally grow around you, but is slightly harder for the other professions. The canon has shown us that Lisbeth and Kirito 'found' the Dragon Poop Ingot when they crash landed in it's den, and aside from the Dragon guarding it's poop hoard there would have really been no combat as they just dug it out of the snow in all it's dragon poopy glory.

Standing several inches taller than Shark, and being a great deal more muscular, Vandal pretty much dwarfed the Guild Leader. Thanks to his his rather surly expression and intimating demeanor, he wasn't used to being asked to go on fetch quests with new friends. He likely would have told them to shove their request anyway. But with Shark having asked him to come alone, and nothing to do around his own shop, Vandal found himself being taken along for the adventure. Meeting up with Shark on Horunka village, Vandal gave him a curt nod of greeting, before following him to the shop of his friend.

This Quest has been reposted due to having been accidentally deleted.

Floor 4
<<The Essence of Steel>>
Recommended Level: 20
Repeatable only to acquire the Essence of Steel item drop.

Rewards:

• 1 SP (first completion only).
• Last Hit Item: <<Essence of Steel>> [Unique Item]*: Use to enhance one weapon, armor, or accessory and increase its rarity by one level. [ex. An Uncommon Weapon becomes a Rare Weapon]. Only one Essence of Steel is dropped in a thread.

Requirements:

• At least 1 page of RP (20+ posts).
• Maximum party size of 4.
• Defeat the <<Frost Beast>>.

Summary:

In the vast frozen wastelands of Floor Four there lies the skull of what once must have been a huge beast. Reaching four feet from the ground, with pale ivory coated in a thin blanket of powdery snow, the bone is thick with a huge square jaw that shows off lengthy rows of serrated teeth on each side. Its jaw hangs slack,  Only a few bones have been left scattered around its base, just inviting curious adventurers to investigate. Is this just a piece of the environment, meant to remind players of the dangers and harsh blizzards that sweep through the landscape? Or is it something more?

Outline:

If the giant skull is struck by one of the bones, the <<Frost Beast>> is awakened! It will typically target the person who hit the skull, but players are free to initiate combat (the <<Frost Beast>> does not automatically attack first). Only one <<Frost Beast>> may be spawned/fought in a thread while taking the quest.

The <<Frost Beast>> is a respawning field boss with the following statistics.

HP: 250
DMG: 160
MIT: 0
ACC: 0
EVA: 0
Ability: [Partial Phase]: <<Frost Beast>>'s attacks always deal a minimum of 24 DMG instead of a minimum of 1 DMG when calculating Mitigation. 

*To use an <<Essence of Steel>>, post the item to enhance in your Evaluation topic along with its enhancements before and after the upgrade. Players may choose any standard enhancements that are legal to the type of item they are upgrading when they submit the upgrade for approval.

One thing that Saix never needed to be told twice to do was attack things, and make inappropriate comments and equally inappropriate times. "It's not like me to hit a woman, but I will sure shake a b*tch" He muttered, paraphrasing a rather old meme as he charged forward, his rapier held at the ready. With a quick flick of the wrist, he thrust his needle sharp blade, tearing deep into one of the oozing cracks that covered Redemption's body. A moment later he had given the blade a good twist, and nimbly slipped away.

Battle Dice: 9 + 2 [Crit]

Damage: 1 + 2 + 4 + 1 = 8

Ryujin: 20/31 - 1 bleed damage

Rosalia: 9/9

Miaki: 57/57

Saix: 19/19

Repentance: 5/80

Craft Attempt

Craft die: + 1 =

!

-1 mat

Craft Attempt

Craft die: + 1 =

!

-1 mat

Craft Attempt

Craft die: + 1 =

!

-1 mat

Craft Attempt

Craft die: + 1 =

!

-1 mat

aft Attempt

Craft die: + 1 =

!

-1 mat

Saix cocks his head as he watched Miaki edit the little piece of paper, before nodding his affirmation. "Looks good." He said, with a casual shrug. "And with that said, I think we are about ready to..." He is interrupted by Raidou, who has a few suggestions of his own. Glancing at the others, Saix examines the two applications. "Hmm, I say we give this.. Kiluia... a chance. That rounds out our fifth team team with 3 members." He says, looking around to make sure nobody else has anything to say. "And with that said, again, I think we are ready to take this boss battle, and this Guild Alliance, to the next level. That last battle could have just been happy coincidence, but with our working together like this, now, it is clear that it's not. Therefore, I propose a unified Guild Alliance, so that we might focus on progressing here in Aincrad, as well as dealing with the constant threat of Red Players. But we can talk about that later, we have a Fire Chicken or whatever, to defeat first."

Dressed for warmth, with a removable fur lining in his stylish leather coat; Saix surveyed his snowy surroundings with a critical eye. What was this crap, tundra? He couldn't think of the proper name the snow fields, and shook his head in annoyance, his long dark hair in fashionable disarray. If he had known that all that geography stuff would be important he might have actually paid attention in school, but he had never honestly thought to find himself in a situation where he would be in a tundraish snowfield preparing to fight for his life against giant Ice Elementals with a rapier... So, maybe that had been an oversight on his part.

Flicking his eyes to the upper right, he studied the chronometer that was displayed on what in a normal video game would be the HUD. Unfortunately SAO was no normal video game, it was a Fulldive video game, the first of it's kind. Saix thought their was a high chance it might be the last of it's kind as well, what with the whole law suits from the 10,000 players trapped inside a death game by a maniac thing. It sounded like the plot of a manga, but it was the truth of the situation he found himself in now. Saix had never been one to sit back and hope for the best, so he had found himself in the thick of things, creating a Guild and doing his best to fight back against the game.

That was sorta the reason he was here today, Guild Business. Lisbeth, their promising new recruit who had shown her stuff in their battle with the giant Snow Monkey; was due to meet up with him at any time for what Saix had jokingly referred to as their 'violent date'. As she was going to be taking part as a key member of the offense in her first Floor Boss Battle, Saix was doing his best to be 'responsible' as a Guild Leader. That meant ensuring her equipment would be able to stand up against the dangerous attacks that a boss could deliver. He had that covered, as he had received the boss drop by landing the last hit against the previous boss.

High Quality Armor went a long way towards ensuring that she would be able to survive this dangerous test, and the Alchemical Concoction that today's boss could drop would go even further, as it would reduce damage that they would take from Fire Damage. Upon reading up on this new quest, he had invited her along, hoping to give her the new armor to use, and make sure they had the <> potion to fix her up so that she could safely break into the whole "Frontline" thing. Any minute he was expecting her arrival, and they could get to business.

You know, I had kinda hoped someone else would try these new ones out first, but no matter. I will take this quest, along with Lisbeth.

1. [Sand Armor Potion] This incredibly potent alchemical salve can be applied to a piece of armor, increasing damage mitigation/resistance.. (+27 MIT consumable; does not stack with other MIT consumables).
2. [3 Skill Points].

Blinking at Raidou's explanation, Saix looked over towards Miaki and Shark before shrugging. "I have a sub guild" he said, with an amused look on his face as though this were news for him too. The boy's concoctions were definitely impressive, not to mention more successful than Saix himself had ever had, as he usually just managed to blow up his crafting stall along with the surrounding cityscape. "Well, that is pretty impressive. I imagine that would come in handy." He adds, before Miaki's writing on the other side of the table catches his attention. "Drawing dirty pictures of Nikki are we?" He teases, before looking over to catch a glimpse. "Hmm, not bad. Good placement of forces there, though we might have to sacrifice one of the Over Watch to make the final slot there."

-Head 1- : Nikki, Miaki, Hikari

-Head 2- : Saix, Lisbeth, Shanok

-Head 3- : Vandal, Shark, Eléssar

-Head 4- : Raidou, Ruri, 9Lives

-Overwatch- Ayane, Charlotte

"Maybe something like this?" He asks, tilting his head. "Saves us the trouble of looking for more participants. I like it, small, elite, efficient."

The dull clonk sound of the sword striking the skull echoes across the little canyon, causing a disturbance nearby as something shifts beneath the snow. A rumbling sounds, as a huge behemoth turns over in it's sleep, disturbed by the sound. The snow falls away, revealing....

A giant butt...

One huge hand moves to scratch the aforementioned butt, as a positively huge 4 meter tall monster pulls itself out of the snow. Covered in white woolly fur, with little rams horns atop it's tiny head, it appears to be a huge ape like creature with a mouth full of huge blunt teeth that seems to dominate much of it's upper chest, despite the relatively tiny had on top of the broad shoulders. Looking at them blearily through sleep caked eyes, it lets loose a loud fart before puffing up it's cheeks and loosing a bellowing roar that shakes the snow loose off secluded little canyon's walls.

"Way to go Shark... You broke it..." Muttered Saix from the rear of the group as the sounds of something heavy stirring began to permeate the relatively still air of their secluded little canyon. To tell the truth, even if their hadn't been rumors of a quest here, Saix would have pegged this place for some kind of hidden Field-Boss area, between the giant skull, and the icy landscape, it just seemed to scream 'boss fight'. With canyon walls slick with refrozen runoff, that lent the appearance of walls of razor sharp ice flurries, it was pretty nightmarish in a "Winter Wonderland of Death" sort of way.

Saix returned Miaki's greeting with a polite nod. "Commander, good to see you returned safely from the Scouting Mission. I'm glad you approve of the location, I figured it was out of the way and perfect for this." he replied, as the two men waited for their fellows to arrive. Shark arrived next, carrying with him a platter laden with food, and offering to share. This brought a chuckle from Saix, right up until things became serious. With the 3 gathered, Mikai produced his Mirage Sphere and began the report. Most of what he said was already what Saix had expected. With the general topography of the floor consisting of a giant volcano, he had been sure that the boss room would be similarly themed. What struck him as odd was the fact that their enemy had 4 heads, and that each head had a specific health bar. Curious.

"With that said, I believe the wisest course of action would be..." He is interrupted as the door bursts open, a young man standing out of breath demanding to know who is the Leader of the Ebon Vanguard. Saix blinks in surprise, were they anywhere but in a town, the display might have been mistaken as as aggressive. But the man's cursor was Green, and their had been one more Guild Leader invited. Saix cleared his throat calmly. "I am Saix, Captain of the Ebon Vanguard." He said, every so carefully as his eyes drifted back to the Mirage Sphere. "And as I was saying... This fight certainly seems more straight forward than the last. The only real concern I would have is that you said they were using fire damage. That would cut right through a tank's defensive armor enhancements and skills."

He pauses, closing his eyes for a moment as he weighs his options carefully. "It is at least a two stage fight. The 4 heads are the first phase of the boss fight, when they are killed, the final enemy will reveal itself. Since they are using fire attacks, we cannot use a single tank. We will need to offtank the 4 individual heads, to prevent them from focusing fire on one target, then have our best tank be prepared for the final phase once they are dead. The key will be splitting them, as you suggested Miaki. I propose 4 groups, comprised of 3 members. Each with their own tank and 2 DPS players to deal with the heads quickly. Furthermore, a 5th group of Overwatch players, who will standby and prepare to lend aide where needed." He said finally, the full plan having been laid quickly in his head. "After the last floor, I appreciate the fact that we won't have to deal with Poison or Plants again. But fire is dangerous in it's own right. We will need to kill those heads quickly to prevent our tanks from being overwhelmed." He said, with a smile.

Rocked by the impact of the creature striking the ground, Saix raced forward as it clambered to it's feet, and put everything he had into a thrust with his rapier, stabbing his blade right into the creature's belly at full speed. His blade sank almost to the hilt, and he gave a savage laugh of victory, before tearing his blade free and waiting for one of his guild mates to finish the creature off. Then they could go home and get out of this shitty snow weather. He was already looking forward to that.

Combat Dice: 9 CRIT

Damage: 1 + 3 + 4 + 1 = 9

Saix: 23/25

9Lives: 17/17

Lisbeth: 15/17

Snow Beast: 3/100 HP

Enraged and on it's final health bar, the Snow Beast defaulted to it's 'special' attack, and crouching low for a moment to prepare, it heaved itself into the air in a powerful leap. Like a massive simian missile, it crashed back into the ice hard enough to buckle the ground beneath them. Knocking them down like bowling pins and dealing a fair bit of damage at the same time. This AOE tremor attack was an attack it could use rarely, and being on it's final bit of health, this seemed like a good time to use it.

Combat Dice: 4 + 3 HIT

Damage: 3

Saix: 23/25

9Lives: 17/17

Lisbeth: 15/17

Snow Beast: 12/100 HP

Saix paused, anticpating an attack that never came, as their opponent cradled it's face and emasculated nether regions. He waited a moment, before looking over at 9 and Lisbeth. "Jeez guys, I think you broke it..." He muttered, before darting forward and giving it a good stab in the ribs, his thin blade piercing the snow white hide easily, driving almost 2 feet of steel into it's chest in one quick motion. "I think he's stuck, let me give him a good hit and see if that fixes it." He says, giving the blade a twist, before pulling it free.

Combat Dice: 5 + 2

Damage: 1 + 3 + 4 = 8

Saix: 24/25

9Lives: 17/17

Lisbeth: 17/17

Snow Beast: 25/100

Clutching it's torn face and private most regions, Snow Beast failed to attack that round as it's simulated pain receptors were overloaded by the two incredibly sensitive areas being under simultaneous attack.

Combat Dice: 1

Damage: N/A

Saix: 24/25

9Lives: 17/17

Lisbeth: 17/17

Snow Beast: 33/100

Saix winced at the placement of her blow, before he quickly spun on a heel and ducked beneath the giant creature's falling fist, narrowly avoiding the heavy blow. "Ouch, that was just... ouch." He said, laughing as he darted here and there, keeping the Beast's attention focused on him. "I like her, she's got spunk... Just remind me not to make her mad, that last blow was just mean." He said, retreating a few steps and opening some room between the Snow Beast and himself. "Keep at it guys, he'll be down in no time!"

Combat Dice: 1

Damage: N/A

Saix: 24/25

9Lives: 17/17

Lisbeth: 17/17

Snow Beast: 42/100

One giant hand dropped to cradle it's sensitive parts that had just been violated via a jagged axe, as Snow Beast hunched forward in pain, whimpering noises sounding from it's throat. Then, roaring in mingled hate and pain, it attacked with a powerful smashing blow from it's free hand, trying to pound the annoying red coated man flat.

Combat Dice: 2

Damage: N/A

Saix: 24/25

9Lives: 17/17

Lisbeth: 17/17

Snow Beast: 42/100