5 replies to this topic

[Valor]

Alright, here are all of the entries that we received. Let's all read through em and come to a decision on which we like best.

[spoiler=Artemis]
Mark Title: I don't believe in Mermaids!

Posted by: Artemis

Story:

I never believed a word that pirate told me. Not one! Well, that was until I stumbled upon Mythic Misconceptions: Sealights and Mermaids by Evan Arwel when I was perusing a rather uncouth looking traveling merchant's wares.

The worn leather cover of the book looked ancient, and rightfully so. I vaguely remember reading a few of Arwel's early theories before I was kidnapped by the Carbuncle. He hypothesized that vast amounts of mana could be harvested from water, but he was eventually forced to drop the idea because of unjust scrutiny from his peers, whom I can only assume were a horde of unintelligent lummoxes.

Most of the text was unreadable due to water damage, but I was able to recover a rather waterlogged map. It seems there's a old cove tucked away somewhere between that Lambchop Garden and Luca. Apparently, if you go at low tide, you can find a mermaid in the cave hidden there! I think this book is much more inane than Arwel's other works, but you can never be too sure...

The book mentioned something about it being dangerous, but the rest of the text was completely destroyed. Well, except for a few odd pages in the back. They don't make much sense, though. So, do you mind checking it out more me? If you do, I'll try to decider the end of the book.

[spoiler=Other Things]Location: Clamdestine Cove - A small coastal inlet nestled between Luca and Belamb Garden whose crystalline, cyan water and picturesque white sand beach are a stark contrast to the perturbing atmosphere that permeates the area. An abyssal tidal cave lies hidden on the Eastern edge of the cove, and its sinister depths can only be explored during low tide.

Area Monsters:

Strafish - A strange hybrid of a brittle star and a squid, this creature darts though the water at lightning fast speeds by releasing pressurized water from the hundreds of tiny holes that line the underside of its body. Unlike most starfish, its fifth leg has been converted into an stalk that is capped with a large eyeball.

Armadoratus - A mighty aquatic tank, this fish's ferrous outer scales can defend against almost all physical blows. It sheds them occasionally, and other fish have learned to use the old scales to bolster their own defenses.

Mark:

Antediluvian Beldame - Although this merwoman may have once been beautiful, time has not treated her kindly. Her teeth and scales have grown to unnatural lengths, and her hair is thinning, to say the least. Paradoxically enough, an eternity in this pitch black cave has rendered her eyes naught but a pure and unsettling shade of white. The trademark tail for which all mermaids are known is a mere shell of its former self, fraying and decayed. Unable to leave this cave, she anxiously awaits a meal to sate her titanic hunger.

Teammate:

Cronefish - Roughly six feet in length, this ancient, eel-like creature seems to have sprouted sparse tufts of wiry white hair from its head. With only a single, sharp tooth left, it seems a little less than intimidating.[/spoiler][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Zal]
Name: Shaded Grey

Where: The dark hold of Oggie's Manor



Appearance: This regal enemy of the light stands a frightening 6'7. His long shaggy blue hair touches the midsection of his back. His face is whiter than the moon and his eyes are more yellow then the sun. His armor is clad in the deepest of black, only colored by the red blood stained emblems on his brestplate, arm and leg guards. He wears a long Royal purple cape with black fire designs all on the back. In his hand he holds an Ivory lance, made from the undeadephants of the Elephant Graveyard. His other hand is equipped with a vicious looking claw, crafted out of the Behemoth's horns of the Archylte Steppe bathed in Gold.



Equipments: Bloodlance, Earth/fire elemental gear (darkened)

Soultaker "Boosts res and defense by 75 for 100 turns" All Mp but 10.

Shorten: Deals 10 points of damage per turn to both targets for 2 turns *costs 0mp* nullifies extend, Cura, poisona,

Stats:
Str 3 Mag: 5 Dex: 5 Eva: 0 Res: 5 Def: 5 HP: 300 MP: 200 Spd %


No teammates



There are reports of light being sucked away in the already dark town of Halloween. Residents are disappearing, Jack needs your help before someone else disappears. Oogie Boogie might have some clues![/spoiler]

[spoiler=Lex]
Name: An End to the Flesh Eating Swarming Flan

Location: In the farms near Lindblum, player would leave Lindblum from Hunter's Gate and the farms would be accessible somewhere in the journey to Pinnacle Rocks.

Appearance: [What does your Mark look like? References are fine. A sprite can be substituted in place of a word appearance. Do note, however, that submitted sprites MAY be edited before the Mark is created in the Inferno.]

Equipment:

Unique Spells:
Flan Arts - Mitosis : Heals all Allies but self 10 hp | MP Cost - 1
Flan Arts - Grow : Increase Castor's Strength and Intelligence, Reduces Evasion | MP Cost - 2
Flan Arts - Harden : Increases Defense and Resistance by a Percentage, but reduces Evasion, Dexterity, and Intelligence | MP Cost - 2
Flan Arts - Change Metabolism : Reserves Defense and Resistance by Percentages | MP Cost - 1
Flan Arts - Digest : HP damage over time, slightly reduces Defense and Resistance | MP Cost - 3

Other Spells: I recommend elemental spells and whatever is appropriate for the more random flan of the swarm

Stats:

Cancerous Flan
HP - 5, MP - 4, STR - 4, INT - 4, DEF - 5, RES - 3, DEX - 4, EVA - 2, SPD - 3

Teammate(s): einp fenefpifei fe nfiep

Appearance(s): Very tiny tumorous versions of Cancerous Flan

Equipment: Tut Mod

Unique Spells: Flan Arts - Merge : Heals Select Ally by 10 hp but reduces Castor's hp by 10 (Used by Cancerous Flan's companions) MP Cost - 0
Other Spells: Elemental Spells, Spells that either raise defenses or attack it

Stats: Flan in battle with Cancerous Flan
10 hp, 1 mp, high strength for some, high intelligence for the others, high defense for some, high resistance for the others, appropriate dex, appropriate eva for low def flan, Cancerous flan doubles the magic ones

Swarm Flan
If the player

x

Story: Entire Fields have been ravaged and now livestock have been devoured completely, bit by bit. The culprit is known to be a swarm of flan ranging in size from the size of large insects to that of being invisible. This is not the first occurrence of the problem, and the swarms have been defeated in the past, mainly using pesticides and other tools that help bring out the flan. Select pesticides have been used completely trying to solve each instance of the problem and now only creative approaches can be used. Pesticides and tools can be obtained from the farmers nearby and at the general store that's in their midst. However, the current swarm is only the first worry. This mark is for the permanent solution of the problem, find what's causing the swarms and stop it.

Using select pesticides makes the battle have new flan monsters or new combinations of them or changes the number of battles needed to defeat the swarm. Farmers and owner of the general store may require something in return for the items they give. Once the swarm is defeated however the player chooses to defeat it, the detective part of the mark starts. Player must ask the local resident questions on what they know and what they've seen. At some point the players gets clues that a person was behind this. When the player have decided on a possible culprit they must prove it. Only the true culprit can be completely proved. When confronted they will run to their barnyard. The player follows and enters, inside they meet the Cancerous Flan, the cause of the swarms of flan. When the flan is defeated, the player can choose the fate of the culprit, turn him in, let him go, or beat 'em up.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Dreamy]

Name: Muffin Man

Location: Located in an old abandoned building called the 'Mushroom Bakery', the name gives away that is used to be some a bakery. Its place on the map is found along the way to the Lotus forest from Nali Port. It's more inland away from the shore and is quite hidden, which explains why many people have difficulty spotting it in their previous journeys along here. You can only enter inside with a key though only two keys have been made for the building.

Appearance: A sweet as his name sounds Muffin Man likes to add a bit of salt, dirt moss and plenty of other nasties into his appearance. He had a slender build and stands at an intimidating 7 feet. His bone structure is near perfect with strong wide shoulders and a powerful looking jaw. Muffin has no nose, ears or mouth, well, not the kind of mouth you would normally see. Where his mouth would be expected there is a zipper with sprinkles that are different shades of grey around it. His eyes and hair are the only sweet things about him. His hair is ruffled and goes down to cover the back of his neck and there is the smallest lock covering part of his forehead. His hair style has a candy cane pattern or red and white. His eyes have an odd baby pink colour with small streaks of an amethysts shine throughout the iris yet they have a weird green glow around them. His skin is a sickly lime green colour though not a single blemish appears on it. His hands have long nails that look like miniature daggers that can retract back into his fingers.

On his head Muffin Man wears what is shaped like a chefs had but is really a big old rotten mushroom that looks like it's about to fall of his head, yet strangely it manages to stay planted on his head no matter what manoeuvre he makes. On the top of the mushroom there seems to be another small mushroom growing on it. He wears a black long sleeve top that had plenty of holes and pits of moss found along the sleeves. Under some of the holes you parts of another black top, otherwise you see his green skin. His brown pants hug his lower body, showing off his thin bony, yet strong, legs. Instead of a belt holding the pants up there is an old vine with dried flowers found along it, some of them containing a poisonous spider and it dead bugs that had flown into their small webs in the flowers. Along his pants there are small rips that look like they were made by a few careless tumbles into oversized rose bushes. His shoes are black dress shoes and strangely enough they are clean and contain no scratches. Around his neck and covering most of the frontal parts of his body, Muffin man has an old worn out apron that is covered in dirt and is very ripped at the bottom. There are faded words on this apron that almost look like they say "kiss the cook".

Equipment: A green Crescent Blade, Slayer Trench Coat, Floppy Hat, Steel Gorget

Unique Spells:
Icing (-10 MP)- The mushroom on the top of the Muffin Mans hat starts to release a pink mist that can surround the opponent. As soon as contact is made the opponent will be covered in what look like frosting and soon realize that they feel weak and cannot move. A chunk of their HP will be sapped away and absorbed by the Muffin Man, to top it all off they will also miss one turn to break out of the sweet trap.

Chocolate Buttons (-20 MP) - Five lager candy coated chocolate buttons are called upon and boost the Muffin Mans Defence by 15.

Old Gumdrops (-10 MP) - Projectiles that look like gum drops (varying in colours) attack the opponent and stick to him/her. This takes away around 5-10 HP each turn from the opponent.

Stats:
All at 5 except for Defence which is a 2

________________________________________________________

Teammate(s): Candy Man, Berry Tart

Appearance(s):
Candy Man - A little gingerbread man that looks like their set up to go trick or treating. They stand at only 2 feet and 5 inches. They wear a white tuxedo with a black bow tie that has plenty holes and rips all over it and its fair share off moss. Instead of the nutmeg colour a well baked gingerbread man usually has, Candy Man is the colour of a burnt one. Charcoal black all over. It chocolate button eyes glow a green colour and the frosting that would show their mouth is a dark blue colour.
Berry Tart - A gooey mess is all this tart looks like. A large bit of purple goo, that looks like jam, with four rod shaped biscuits stuck to it is what Berry Tart is. There are also two orange crystal looking circles that imitate eyes on floating around the inside of it.

Equipment:
Candy Man - Candy Cane with Yellow and Green stripes.
Berry Tart - Maple Rod with a red handle and blue end bits.

Unique Spells:
Candy Man - You can't catch me! (-20MP) - A tap of their candy cane on their head and light sparkles cover Gingy, raising their Evasiveness by 30 for two turns.
Berry Tart - Sour Sprays (-15MP) - A misty fume is released and the opponent may be infected with a poison, draining 15 points of HP and 15 of MP after every turn is made.
Other Spells:
Candy Man - Quake, Quakra
Berry Tart - Aqua, Aquara

Stats: All 2
__________________________________________________________

Story: A child has been kidnapped according to the people of Nali port. A young boy went exploring with his friends and say they stumbled across a strange building and soon after they met a very tall, and in their opinion terrifying, figure and its buddies. They all ran away from this creature and thought their friend was right behind them. They were wrong. In the abandoned and supposedly unheard of bakery they now are and people are saying that this monster they speak of might try to hurt the child, though of course no one actually knows is the creature is hostile people are calling for help to bring back this child to safety.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Kingroy]Name: Crimson Ronin

Location: Deeper Naliwood

Appearance:

A crimson kimono wearing a samurai with a powerful katana. He wears a large hat made of straw to cover his face.

Equipment:

Main Gauche
Black Robe
Floppy Hat
Any Katana
Veneficus Modicus

Unique Spells:
1. Bushido Arts: Dragon- The castor, while standing still, saps the stamina of the target, leaving them feeling a bit drained. [Saps HP and MP from target but reduces EVA. Cancels other Bushido Arts.].
2. Bushido Arts: Tiger- The castor boosts their strength while reducing their defenses. [Doubles the Caster Strength but reduces DEF. Cancels Other Bushido Arts.]
3. Bushido Arts: Tortoise- The castor defenses are raised but their strengths weakens. [Increases the DEF but reduces STR. Cancels other Bushido Arts.]
4. Bushido Arts: Bird- The castor boosts their speed with magical power but in the end weakens his own resistance.[Increases the Speed of the castor but reduces RES. Cancels other Bushido Arts.]



Stats: [General outline of how their points should be assigned. Rank stats from 1-5, with 5 being the best.] [Simple Str, dex, and speed stats]

HP: 5
MP: 5
STR: 3
DEF: 3
MAG: 1
RES: 2
DEX: 3
EVA: 2
SPD: 3

Story: Somewhere in the area of Naliwood there is a samurai carving up passerbyes. If it wasn't for one lone survivor we wouldn't have known why their were so many disappearances happening. He must be stopped before he can harm again.

*To get to Deeper Naliwood you sit on the log in Naliwood to take a rest. While you sit, you hear a blood curtling scream in the distance. You follow after imagining it to be another victim. You move to the next location and find out it's true with a freshly made corpse on the ground and the samurai standing above it. As you communicate with him he murmurs "Give. Us. Blood." and then yells like a beast before charging at you.

**Once a noble samurai, he has now become a blood thirsty warrior. His katana was created for him by someone with crafting prowess and a wicked heart. The wickedness has transfered to the blade and has charmed the samurai into a monster. Killing him would be a favor.[/spoiler]

[Valor]

The poll is there just as a basis for first impressions, then we're going to decide on a winner. Please try to pick only 3 or 2 for the poll. Don't vote for all 5 :\ Pick the best one or two that you REALLY like.

[Secret Igshar]

I'm bad because I only really like Artemis' mark idea.

Lex - I feel that Lexaeus' flans require an inordinate amount of work for a relatively out-of-world concept, I feel. Farms near an industrial center just doesn't mesh well to me. Could have been in the plains north of Nali Port or somewhere like that, where it would make more sense for the farms to be... Up on the plateau by the highly industrial Lindblum is just silly, to me. The concept of the flans is okay, but nothing too... great? I dunno, for whatever reason it just doesn't thrill me.


Zal - The idea, while pretty intriguing, simply does not mesh with Inferno lore, even remotely. It talks of light and darkness as major themes of it in terms of the literal concepts, when those aren't really... concepts... in the world of Lichon... I guess you could say? It just doesn't feel like it fits. So I don't really like it.


Kingroy - Third place, in my book, but a far cry from Artemis' in both story and enemy design. He's just a samurai. Not really all that intriguing. :\ While it doesn't HAVE to be overtly intriguing or dangerous or whatnot, it's just rather... bland compared to the others. Like he might lose to Chimera for most bland mark, but that's a hard one to beat. Aside from him, though, compare to Ultros and Spiral Prince. :\


Dream - This one takes second for me. It has a good concept and it could be made to fit in pretty nicely, I just don't personally like this concept much. If everyone else likes it, though, I would not at all complain of it winning, since I do think it has a lot of merit and could definitely fit nicely.


Artemis - Not gonna rant my praises of this one. >< But it fits in with the already-established canon of the Inferno and creates a rather interesting scene. The ONLY part of it which makes me balk at it being the winner of Mark Masters is that it doesn't function the same as the Marks already in there, in that it has a lot more... not-Montblanc input.



If you want my honest opinion on how to run it out, I would give [someone who is not Artemis] and Artemis the "wins" with the non-Artemis Mark being put into Ch. 4 as a Zincatite specimen. Artemis' "Mark" would, on the flip side, just be put off to Ch. 5 as a simple sidequest.

BUT BUT-

Artemis is in Chapter 5 already, isn't he? And he's also in absolutely NO position to go investigate Besaid on his own, so... why not? :>

If we're still running with the pages of the book thing, too, then it'd be a GREAT way to do Artemis' page.



Bloop. Feel free to disagree with anything I said. In fact, please do. I feel like it's VERY possible that I am just biased toward Artemis' entry because it uses the Artemis inferno character, whom I adore.

[Valor]

Artemis - I think that this place probably fits the tone of the world a tad more. I really do like it a lot and I think it's very well thought out and it's pretty interesting to boot. I've liked this one since he put it up, to be honest.

Zal - I just don't like this one as much as I think I should. I think it gets lost in the Zalness of it all where he gets too preoccupied by silly little details and overdramatization of something that simply isn't that scary or interesting at all. The creature is pretty decent, but the story is pretty lame and weak, especially since he uses dark and light rather peculiarly. Doesn't fit into this world as much as it would have into KHInferno.

Lex - It's half incomplete. It's kind of boring. I really think it's a decent idea in terms of enemies, but also so damned boring when you compare it to basically everyone else. It's flans. Yay.

Dream - Honestly... I kind of want this one to win. I think that the Muffin Man idea could be a FANTASTIC version of a really just... nasty monster like a slenderman for Lichon. I'd really love to put this guy in.

Roy - The samurai is set up in an interesting forest, but this feels more like a hit than a mark. It feels kind of weird. Not really as interesting as the Mermaid or the Muffin Man.

I'm in favor of making the Mermaid Artemis' page quest. Speaking of, I still need to do Galen's page. Gotta work on setting up that sidequest :\

Right now, I'll give my vote to dream because the Muffin Man is what Zal wanted to do, except done in a more... interesting manner.

[Sodomize-it Soro]

(in order from first to last)

Artemis - Seems to fit best tonally and is the most well thought-out of the entries.

Dream - I really like this one, the Muffin Man just doesn't really fit in with the world to me.

Roy - I feel like Roy put a lot of effort into the entry, and it shows, but the idea overall is kind of boring.

Zal - I think Zal put too much effort into this. It sort of reads to me like he wrote what he thought we wanted and didn't really try to create an interesting idea for himself.

Lex - Boring enemies and unfinished entry. Meh.


I don't know about the pages thing, so...

[Secret Igshar]

Mac is a poop and won't post.

So with the votes all in, how I'm thinking of doing this (let me know if you think this is cool or lame) is having Dream and Artemis be "co-winners" and both share in the glory of the victory.

Muffin Man would become a mark in chapter 4.

Artemis' quest would be pushed to sidequest material for the Artemis character in chapter 5.


All opposed, say so. Because if there's no complaints, I'm gonna start (and hopefully finish) the Muffin Man mark making process this week, seeing it drop next weekend.


Also Mac if you're reading this status report on your Mark would be nice, even if it's just your concept of what you want it to be so that Val or I can get to work on spriting up the needed stuff for it. :>