Let's Play Estra: Interactive

[Blayze]

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Ahma: Add subtext to your words that make them suddenly insulting by changing the pitch and saying them differently.

You attempt what you hope is a textbook example of unnecessarily cruel, spirit-crushingly masterful wordplay. But...





It's funny. When the two of you were kids, you were always the one to calm Yezzik down whenever he was about to do something he was going to regret.

Now you find yourself wanting nothing more than to crush her windpipe beneath your heel and see the terror on her face as she pleads for mercy, slowly asphyxiating to death.

It might be playing to the usual stereotypes of Orcish behaviour, but you don't care. That a single sentence -- a perfectly innocuous one, if used in any other situation and by any other person -- could set you off is almost certainly proof that you need some stress relief.

And here you have a potential punching bag, one that has what must be her greatest advantage -- her magic -- sealed away by the authorities.

But perhaps... perhaps, given the way she's in line to 'volunteer' for fire-fighting duty, perhaps you can make her life as miserable as possible without beating her up.

Or perhaps you might do both. Choices, choices...

What will you do?

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[Blayze]

Comic 0005 -- Hard-Wearing Hardware

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John: Investigate weapon.



This gun isn't yours, but you melted the energy pack in yours earlier today from continuous firing, rendering the entire thing worthless. Apparently this one was based on an ancient design, one revered in at least one of the sacred videos. That obviously makes it a holy weapon.

You aren't religious, but right now you'll take any advantage you can get. You have very little ammo remaining -- once your current, half-empty clip of STANDARD AMMO is spent, you have a single clip of RUNIC AMMO remaining. It'll work in a pinch, although you'd rather save it for any spellcasters you might happen to come across.

Codex added: Runes

What will you do?

[Green-Shirt Q]

This format looks interesting. So far the comics don't seem to be too interactive, though.

[EDIT]What will I do? I duuno. Keep progressing and moving forward on the path, and stumble upon a plot point.

[BRC]

Good to see you back Blayze, and doing Estra again I see.

Investigate the blood-writing.

[Blayze]

Good to be back, Bloddy.

Comic 0006 -- It's Quiet...

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John: Move forward and investigate the blood-writing.



The last, desperate act of the dying. Honestly though, you can't see the point. If you were injured badly enough to use your own blood as ink, you're certain you'd prioritise finding medical assistance over painting a message on the wall.

The blood looks dry. It's likely been there hours, perhaps since the start of this damn attack. If that's the case, then judging by the quantity of blood that you know for a fact doesn't belong to the elf, they'll probably have bled to death by now, whoever they are.

It just doesn't add up.

Not going to put "What will you do?" from now on, since it'll just start getting annoying for me to type and look at. ;)

[Fay Graydon]

Look around for a suitable exit route.

[Blayze]

Comic 0007 -- It's Not That Bad
Comic 0008 -- It's Actually Much Worse

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John: Look around for a suitable exit route.



Oh God.



OH GOD.

Edit: As an aside, they were originally all going to be actual elves. Then I found myself unable to escape from the mental image of a psychotic, levitating, legless Kirby.

[BRC]

Try to gain some distance on the elves, then engage them from a distance.

[Blayze]

Comics 0009 through 0017 -- The Elvish Question

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John: Try to gain some distance on the elves, then engage them from a distance.



Reacting quickly, you smack the leaping elf in the chin with the butt of your gun. The impact sends a jarring sensation through your arm, and you hear something in the elf's neck crack -- and hopefully break.





The elf collides with two of the strange, floating elf heads, sending one flying. The third hovers overhead. You appear to have scared it into submission for now.



You expend a single bullet on one of the elf heads. Hopefully it'll be enough to kill it.



You beat a hasty retreat, attempting to put as much distance between you and the enemy as possible.

Some distance away...





Come now, you didn't think it would be that easy, did you?





The elf breaks its own neck fixing the angle of its head, but at least now it can see its prey properly.

[Fay Graydon]

Continue running whilst looking for a place to hide (a Dumpster or the Like would be ideal)

[Blayze]

Comic 0018 -- Choices, Choices...

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John: Continue running whilst looking for a place to hide.



You make the most of your head start, running off in search of somewhere to hide. You pass by a sign indicating how to reach various sections of the ship, and given the howling and sound of pounding feet echoing down the corridor from behind you, you'll only have enough time to check one place out. That is, if you decide to visit any of them and don't just decide to keep on running... or turn and fight.

[Blayze]

Comic 0019 -- Strictly Enforced Rules
Comic 0020 -- Something Afoot

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John: Go to the Armoury in search of bigger guns.



You decide to head for the Armoury. Normally you wouldn't be allowed in here, but you're sure the Captain would understand -- that is, if he's not already dead.

The place is likely to have been plundered of all the good stuff by higher-ranking soldiers, but even the mediocre stuff might prove to be an improvement over what you currently have.

You can hear noises coming from within -- noises that even the heavy steel double doors can't muffle completely.

John: Investigate noises.



You look inside, noting that all the guns are gone -- except the ones identical to yours, of course. That's no help to you at all. You spot a woman lying on the floor, possibly unconscious or dead. Though you can't tell for certain from this distance, she doesn't appear to be bleeding or injured at all. If she's dead, you don't know what the cause is.

Suddenly, you recognise her. She's one -- or rather *was* one -- of the elite soldiers you've seen swanning around the ship like they own it. Super-powerful spellcasters, or something like that.

With that recognition comes suspicion. Assuming she didn't just die to something completely mundane, then something else had to have killed her -- something capable of taking down a super-powerful spellcaster.

And since her clothes and body haven't been torn apart, it clearly wasn't an elf -- they're not subtle at all. No, it had to have been something -- or someone -- capable of getting the drop on her, given the way she looks like she just *died* without even attempting to fight whatever it was that killed her.

You hesitate, hearing the screaming and pounding of footsteps that can only be that damn elf still chasing after you.

[BRC]

Get inside and shut the door.

[Blayze]

Comics 0021-0023: Lockdown

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John: Get inside and shut the door.



After shutting the door and pushing the corpse out of the way to make sure you don't trip over her, you gather the armoury's remaining stockpile of guns and hole up in the corner of the room.



It's not as if you're a civilian. You can hack this "waiting" lark for as long as it takes.

Dun dun dun!

[Blayze]

I'll be tweaking the first post somewhat later tonight. All those spoiler tags are beginning to drive me mad.

(I have this same comic also posted on the MS Paint Adventures forum, and I'm using suggestions from both topics to craft the adventure)

Latest Comics: 0024-0030: Enter Rugar

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John: AUGH THERE ARE HANDS COMING OUT OF YOUR HEAD!



You really need to get a handle on this paranoia of yours. You're starting to hallucinate things. At least, you hope that's a hallucination.

John: Wrestle the sword thing away from it with your manly strength.



Before you can reach the weapon to display your manly strength, you endure a devastating blow to the fundamentals.

John: AHA! Its somebody who is invisible! Shoot at where its body should be!/Kick the invisible person where you think their nuts are.



Faced with two amusing and vengeful ideas, you decide to compromise. You bend down to pick up your gun, socking the invisible person in the groin at the same time.







With predictable results.



You are now Captain Rugar Cairne. For the past few hours, you've had nothing but bad news. First your airship came under attack, then enemy spellcasters somehow made their way aboard and unleashed an army of killer elves upon you and your crew -- and now the damage control systems have been damaged.

HOW AMUSINGLY IRONIC.

What will you do?

[MethosH]

This ship is doomed. Better be safe than sorry. Go for the auto-destruction and after that go to a escape pod.

[Fay Graydon]

Rip off shirt in manly fashion and make a break for the bridge.

[Blayze]

Comic 0031: Budget Cuts

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Rugar: This ship is doomed. Better be safe than sorry. Go for the auto-destruction and after that go to a escape pod/Punch the monitor in your anger/Rip off shirt in manly fashion and make a break for the bridge.



Not the answer you wanted to hear, but it wasn't as if you had much of a choice in the matter. The harsh economic climate demands sacrifices from everybody. Indeed, you had to sell your favourite chair -- your *captain's* chair -- to help pay for the fuel to keep this rustbucket in the air last month.

You're not sure why you suddenly had the urge to strip half-naked and display your incredible manliness to the rest of the bridge crew, either. Not only would that be a sure-fire way of getting sued by somebody for indecent exposure, but you're also sure your wife would have something to say about it.

Besides, this *is* the bridge. The lack of furniture -- in other words, your beloved chair -- might kill the mood somewhat, but this is still the most important place on the ship for you. You're not going to lash out against what remains of the fixtures and fittings, no matter how angry you get.

Also, it's the only place you're legally allowed to push buttons any more.

...besides, you sold the escape pods too.

[smuchmuch]

Take a split second to think that in retrospect you should have thought through those budget cuts a little more thouroughly.
Ask to whoever it's relevant for a security repport and try to evaluate (quickly) how much time you have left. Ask for a distress signal to be set in a loop, if that's not already done (and assuming you didn't sold the telecommunication equipement.)

[MethosH]

Think of mankind first. Set the ship into a crashing course and arm yourself to go kill some freaking elfzombies. If you kill them all you can put the ship back on course... If not.. You die a hero.

[Blayze]

Comics 0032/0033: Your Work is Unacceptable, Me/Dialogue Wheel

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Rugar: Take a split second to think that in retrospect you should have thought through those budget cuts a little more thouroughly. Ask to whoever it's relevant for a security repport and try to evaluate (quickly) how much time you have left. Ask for a distress signal to be set in a loop, if that's not already done (and assuming you didn't sold the telecommunication equipement.)



You give yourself a *thorough* mental dressing-down. You throw yourself at your own mercy, but you refuse to relent. Your punishment will be severe indeed, and you'll see yourself in your office if you both survive this.

You'll court martial yourself later, but for now physical violence will have to suffice. You punch yourself in the chin as a means of establishing who's boss.

As for getting your hands on a security report, you need to find your second-in-command Ahma for that. That should be her coming up in the lift now.

Rugar: Put the Council on screen Joker.



Fiona von Parfu. Chairwoman of the Council of Magic, most powerful spellcaster alive and functionally immortal. She isn't your superior -- you're a member of the Durrollian military, the Council is a separate superpower -- but the four elite Elementals currently on board your ship report directly to her.

As your daughter Vae is one of those four, you offered the services of your airship to help ferry them to their destination for whatever top-secret mission they're currently on. Sadly, you may not get the chance for any father-daughter bonding if the current situation isn't corrected soon.

[Blayze]

Comic 0034: Brickhouse

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Rugar: "Sure, my ship got boarded by a whole bunch of freaky magic elves and the whole thing is broken and now we are all gonna die because there arn't any escape pods."



You attempt an explanation, but are cut off before you can begin. She evidently didn't intend to let you explain in the first place. If there's going to be any you-not-dying done around here, you're going to have to be the one to make sure it happens.

Ah, Ahma's arrived. A fantastic XO, that one, if stubborn and blunt at times -- although having your wife for a friend seems to have helped her relax somewhat. Pity you can't say the same for her brother, who for all his power has proven himself a bit of a loose cannon.

[MethosH]

OH MY GOD! YOUR FACE IS GREEN!
*pull the gun*
Are you sure you aren't a zombie?

[smuchmuch]

"You mean worse trouble than the man eating elves rampaging on the bridge ?" then listen to her repport before doing something stupid.

[Blayze]

Comic 0035: The Choice

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Rugar: "Yes, I am well aware we have trouble, did the invading army tip you off or was it the ship falling apart?" / "You mean worse trouble than the man eating elves rampaging on the bridge ?"



Ahma evidently doesn't appreciate your snark at the moment -- which is strange, it usually takes a good few minutes of back-and-forth sarcasm before she threatens you with violence.

You go for your gun, just in case -- and also decide to stow the 'zombie' crack for a later time, hopefully when she's in a better mood.

[Cizak]

This looks cool. How does it work? Do I just write what I want the character to do and then you draw that?

[smuchmuch]

Scarry as she may be at the moment, shooting your second in command is probably not the best idea right now (and if she was somme evil doppleganger assassin or something of the like; she would have already killed you ten time since she enteres the room, you don't look like much of a fighter). So just take the repport and read it. You may occasionaly wince and groan as you read just how bad the situation is.

[MethosH]

This looks cool. How does it work? Do I just write what I want the character to do and then you draw that?

That's pretty much it. You write your ideas for the main character actions

[Blayze]

Text Update 0001: Reporting In

You read through the report. Most of it is the usual fare -- hull breaches, things blowing up left right and centre, enemy numbers and locations, unit status, that sort of thing. One of the medical reports catches your eye, though...

Report of Non-Crewmember Death

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. As if this situation couldn't possibly get any worse -- now it's a political matter.

You read the entire death report. The deceased? Ayanna Gribbe, elite agent of the Council of Magic -- and direct subordinate of the annoying woman still on the bridge's vid-screen.

The deceased's corpse has been heavily burned and melted, though the burning only occured after her death. Cause of death unknown, initial magical autopsy reveals posthumous burning caused by A-Rank Fire magic.

Oh, this just gets better and better. A-Rank magic is the sort of stuff only a group of spellcasters -- or a single one with a few days to spare -- could manage...

...unless one happened to be an extremely powerful spellcaster -- the sort that can't be reached by skill and practice alone. The sort that requires one to be... rather unique. You can think of only one person who could fit the bill...

...Yezzik Oren, Ahma's younger brother -- the living embodiment of Fire magic, and an agent of the Council.

[Lyinginbedmon]

Nice to see a little thought going into magic mechanics elsewhere than Remember

That report is definitely not a high note in this fiasco though...