Beta 4 - OW - Arder Engormine Convo Irregularities

[Berginyan]

Ok I'll try to break this up so you can see things better there are a couple problems in here...I'm going to post the whole conversation just in case you need to trace through it. Bolded stuff is my comments :)


[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:43:46] Spectorial Melimion: You've been hurt! What happened?
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:43:46] Arder Engormine: I have been. It is somewhat embarrassing for me. *He pauses briefly, then continues.* And now I find myself in the uncomfortable position of asking for help.
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:43:57] Spectorial Melimion: What happened?
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:43:57] Arder Engormine: After we parted ways, I traveled to Deepdale to meet with someone. He's not exactly a friend but he has my respect. For that reason, and others, I will do his bidding. From Deepdale, I was on my way to North Point. I was a ways north of Orc's Watch and a bit south of North Point. *He looks down and lets out a weary sigh before muttering to himself.* The years are finally catching up to me. I am not as young as I once was.

Think I hit 'Continue' here.

[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:44:18] Arder Engormine: *He looks back to you and continues.* In my younger days I would not have been caught so unawares. And even if I had been, I was more than capable of dealing with a few orcs. But time steals your youth, dulls your senses and saps your strength. I found myself beset on all sides by orcs. They demanded gold but I answered with a swing of my staff, and that's when the all beat me with clubs and took my pack.
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:45:17] PAUSED

Paused here cause I felt the selections didn't make sense for what Arder was talking about, but it does make sense when you look back at the previous section...

[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:45:32] UNPAUSED
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:47:54] Spectorial Melimion: Why were you doing this favor?
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:47:54] Arder Engormine: That is a long story. You are familiar with paladins, are you not? *He nods.* Of course you are. The paladins of Toran are symbols of honor and truth wherever they roam. They seek out evil and destroy it. But they are also the arm of the church that carries out its rulings, and those of the Justicers.
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:48:17] Spectorial Melimion: What is a Justicer? I've never heard of them.
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:48:17] Arder Engormine: A Justicer is a follower of Toran that is appointed by the Divine Court as executioners of punishments handed down by the judges of the court. They are well-versed in the law and are beyond reproach-the best of the best in the church of Toran. They are usually chosen from amongst the best of the paladins, although it is not unheard for a priest to be appointed a Justicer. Justicers are assigned districts where they rule over matters of law that do not require the attention of the Divine Court. They pass judgment where needed. They are even empowered to take charge of local authorities in times of crisis to ensure law and order are maintained. I was once a Justicer.
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:48:50] Spectorial Melimion: You are not one any more?
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:48:50] Arder Engormine: I was newly appointed as Justicer. I had been a paladin for many years, one of Toran's best. I had prevailed many times in situations that had humbled others and this did not go unnoticed. Eventually, I was deemed suitable and after the appropriate training and tests, I was appointed the newest Justicer. *His eyes slowly lose focus as he speaks.* There was little that could humble me in those days but that ceremony did just that. The pageantry, the solemnity, the honor?for one day, I did not know if I was truly worthy. *He sighs a bit and then he focuses on you again.* Perhaps I truly would have been worthy of the title if I had remembered that feeling the next day, and every day following.

In the section above, there is an extra ? and no spaces can't miss it right about here three lines up /\ (of course this won't line up right when I post this lol)

[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:49:40] Spectorial Melimion: What do you mean by that?
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:49:40] Arder Engormine: I was assigned to a district that was a good distance from any temple of Toran. Essentially, I was on my own to ensure law and order were maintained. Of course, the occasional paladin that entered my district would report to me and he was subject to my orders while he remained within my district. All was well the first few months. Matters that came before me were ruled on and resolved all in accordance with the law.

Hit Continue here again I think..

[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:49:58] Arder Engormine: I began to hear rumors of improprieties with one of the local barons. Mistreatment of the peasant who lived and worked his land, things like that. Worse still, it was increasingly becoming clear to me that he was intending violence against one of his neighbors. There had been tension between the two families but this was something more, and I would not allow armed conflict to break out in my district. I met with him and ordered him to disband most of his troops and he agreed. But I soon discovered that he had lied to me, and instead was trying to grow his forces larger.

continue...

[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:50:34] Arder Engormine: I believed myself angry that he had defied the orders of a Justicer but in truth, I was furious that he had defied ME. Invoking my authority as Justicer, I took control of his army and cast the baron and his family into the dungeons of his own castle. I temporarily took his place as lord of his lands to ensure they were administered fairly. But as time passed, I grew comfortable in that seat and so I continued to find reasons why I should remain in it. *He pauses a moment as if struggling with a thought.* I began to interpret the law in ways that served my wants.
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:51:11] Spectorial Melimion: What happened next?
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:51:11] Arder Engormine: Eventually, a Knight of the Wyrm heard rumors and came to investigate. He was not bound to me by law, and soon reported what I was doing to the Divine Court. I was recalled to Pranzis. It was not until I stood before the court that I realized the magnitude of my crimes. I had warped the Law to serve my own purposes, a crime made worse by virtue of my position of trust. Further, because of my actions, I had caused four paladins to fall from favor.
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:51:32] Spectorial Melimion: What did they do to you?
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:51:32] Arder Engormine: My punishment was fitting, I think. I was not imprisoned. Instead, I was publicly stripped of all titles and authority and all of my wealth was given to the baron's family as compensation. A geas was placed upon me, where I am bound to the orders of the church just as paladins used to be bound to me.

Continue...

[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:51:48] Arder Engormine: Since I had fallen from favor, I could no longer call on the divine powers that I had relied upon nearly all my life. To no longer feel that connection...it is difficult to describe such a feeling of loss and emptiness. *He pauses a moment.* I now spend my life doing what little I can to atone for my crimes. I have finally begun to learn something of humility and what it is to truly serve your fellow man. That is part of the reason I aided you when you needed it.
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:52:44] Spectorial Melimion: And I remain in your debt. How can I help?

k, this section above, although I chose a different line, one of the suggested answers mentions the pack here, but he doesn't mention it himself until the next section

[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:52:44] Arder Engormine: I seek your aid in retrieving my pack from the orcs. If not the pack, then at least the coins and a symbol of Toran that were in it.
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:53:01] Spectorial Melimion: Of course I will help. I am in your debt for your aid earlier.
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:53:01] Arder Engormine: I was a ways north of Orc's Watch. Perhaps a bit south of North Point. I suspect the orcs have a camp somewhere around there. Be careful. I am sure there are many of them. And...you have my gratitude.
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:53:13] Your journal has been updated. Arder Needs Help
[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:53:13] Spectorial Melimion: As I said, I am in your debt. I'll be back soon with your pack.

[Lalaith Va'lash]

"Paused here cause I felt the selections didn't make sense for what Arder was talking about, but it does make sense when you look back at the previous section"

When you hit continue you are letting him continue to talk, and since he mentions the favour before you hit continue, afterwards its still as if your speaking for the first time.

"this section above, although I chose a different line, one of the suggested answers mentions the pack here, but he doesn't mention it himself until the next section"

He does mention the pack prior in the second big paragraph, right after you start talking to him and he tells you about the orcs.

[Talan Va'lash]

[CHAT WINDOW TEXT] [Fri Dec 15 12:49:58] Arder Engormine: I began to hear rumors of improprieties with one of the local barons. Mistreatment of the peasant who lived and worked his land, things like that. Worse still, it was increasingly becoming clear to me that he was intending violence against one of his neighbors. There had been tension between the two families but this was something more, and I would not allow armed conflict to break out in my district. I met with him and ordered him to disband most of his troops and he agreed. But I soon discovered that he had lied to me, and instead was trying to grow his forces larger.

"peasant" should be "peasants"

----

This is a good story. Who wrote this one again? Was it orth or Boxcar?

[Lalaith Va'lash]

Boxcar

[Berginyan]

Heh, your right, he does mention it, and I get that I am continuing his conversation, kinda like letting him breathe in between sentences. I guess it was just a little confusing making selections that didn't have anything to do with what he was talking about right at THAT moment. I'll have to slow down some I think, I think I'm racing through the conversations to much so I can get to testing things. I'll try to remember that.

[Talan Va'lash]

Berginyan - 12/16/2006 12:23 PM

Heh, your right, he does mention it, and I get that I am continuing his conversation, kinda like letting him breathe in between sentences. I guess it was just a little confusing making selections that didn't have anything to do with what he was talking about right at THAT moment. I'll have to slow down some I think, I think I'm racing through the conversations to much so I can get to testing things. I'll try to remember that.

Though its good feedback that the split paragraphs are confusing... but I think those particular lines are so long that it might be worse to put them on one screen.

It might be good to see how disruptive the "continues" are at a "standard reading pace." In some cases I could probably squish it all into one screen.

[Talan Va'lash]

Just went through this IG while testing my fixes to his spawning. The lines that are split by continues are way too long to put on one line so this can be considered closed.