ESOtivity: Part Two=Deuxième Partie=Zweiter Teil=часть вторая=二巻 (but no 두 번째 부분 for now)

 DISCLAIMER!

This post is purely a result of personal tinkering and whatnot. Unless it's proven I have the intelligence of Thomas Edison, please think more than twice before nodding your head. Twice if, for some funny reason, it's been proven I'm a genius. Also, the foreign languages used in the post title are due to Google translate.

Weirdest November thus far?

A month later and we'll be greeting the month made famous by the Celts. In one single month, we're going to see a few things happening.

1. The final month of Ciri's journey mode story. It should have been October, but it seems that CD Projekt Red was more interested in the Tokyo Olympics instead of Oktoberfest 2020. The reason why I said that was the final unlockable featuring Ciri wearing a kimono and wielding a katana. If we're talking about the German version of October, that'd be dirndl plus a foaming tankard of Saxon brew. Every 친일 Japanophile has the devil Gaunter O'Dimm himself to thank.

2. The last day of the Olympic torch display in the Tokyo Olympic Museum is to be 1st of November. Don't ask me why not later than sooner since the Japanese decided to run March next year instead.

3. Thomas Bach decides to say hi to Reiwa-jisan and possibly Mindo-jisan as well. That'd be mid-November. Wonder if he'll take a trip to Biratori afterwards since the Ainu do see the Olympics as a way to create actual awareness. Sadly, things did happen.

4. 3rd of November is arguably the most important day in the international calendar. I don't have to tell you why unless something happens to Donald Trump. In this case, every angry progressive's dream come true would mean Mike Pence doing a Gerald Ford. Not the best way to celebrate victory if you're to ask me.

5. November is also where the tag-team bros of Nasu Kinoko and Urobutcher Gen made official the birth month of Emiya Kiritsugu (i.e. November). It really felt weird seeing my birthday associated with the Grand Faker himself. Speaking of fakers...

How to impress the Japanese without resorting to cleavage

One thing I observed in the world of secular arts and creativity is the fact that you're effectively dealing with people. Writers write because they're human beings. The most important difference between fiction and non-fiction actually boils down how the story is told. Within this context, there's no difference between the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew and C.S Lewis. And besides, one was as intelligent as the other.

Since this is about dealing with people, it means you're dealing with fallible beings via a proxy. As such, it's only right to expect certain parts going against your views, opinions, or whatever you want to call that. So how should we go about dealing with this? I'd say with an open mind. Not to compromise but understanding what it means to respect a fellow human being. Of course, there are exceptions like denying the Holocaust, university lecturers having sex with their students, and the flat Earth theory. In such cases, there's no need for insults. But you really need to be a stubborn donkey instead of a flexible human being.

Dealing with Japanese creativity is a very interesting thing. On one hand, the Japanese are capable of exceptional brilliance rivalling or even besting the stuff we're used to seeing from the West. For every Wonder Woman, there's a Ryougi Shiki. For every Captain Marvel, there's an Arcueid Brunestud. Works like Hellsing and Berserk are clearly rated NSFW (i.e. my PC way of saying they're actually rated M), but the plot and characters can be so thought-provoking, you couldn't be blamed for wondering whether the likes of Miura Kentaro, Hirano Kouta, and Isayama Hajime are actually as insane as Guts, Alucard, or Eren Yeager. Unfortunately, things happened every now and then resulting in the work left in permanent limbo. There's a reason why mangakas like Togashi Yoshihiro and Miura Kentaro are known for the title King of Hiatus. In more extreme circumstances, the author died. Trinity Blood remains a prominent tragedy in the world of Japanese art and creativity due to Yoshida Sunao's untimely death.

"I know that you still love this world. Although you have become an enemy of the world. But... That is just reverse of love."

~Lilith Sahl

However, there's a dark side to how the Japanese get things done. The uproar caused by Rising of the Shield Hero anime had got nothing to do with whether issues like false accusations of rape, the Asian brand of slavery apologetics, or even whether a tanuki girl looked weirdly like your pastor's daughter are wrong. It's about the fact that the Japanese never cared a single heck about what they perceived as gaijin politics. In the West, the standoff between the moral majority called the conservatives and the righteous majority called the progressives have hit an all-time high for the past few years. But because Japan is culturally insular where many things go out and very little come in, socio-political tone-deafness became the reason why progressive voices savaged the respective parts. Would the Japanese care? I doubt so. This is a dual-edged sword instead of a single-edged katana. On one hand, you can be very sure no absurdity coming from the West would be entertained. On the other hand, this means plenty of oppai (NOT to be confused with oppa due to two obvious reasons) and other twisted stuff crawling out from the artistic equivalent of Izanami's home. There's a reason why Saya no Uta is proof that Urobutcher Gen has the ability to outdo Stephen King.

The dark side is what I'm addressing here. One feat which ESO managed to do that many other MMO titles can't was securing a Japanese language server deal. Now, the JP server isn't the Asian server. Even if ZeniMax decided to do an Asian server, that'd likely be called Oceania server. But what makes the American gaming version of BoA attempting to enter the U.S music industry possible? We're not talking about the typical global market because there's nothing global about insularism first made famous by the Edo era. Throughout 7 years of playing MMOs from Marvel Heroes to ESO, I don't remember seeing a system notification written in Japanese apart from... well, ESO.

Was it the gameplay? Possible, but the Japanese already got names like Sakaguchi Hironobu and Kojima Hideo. For every Dragon Age, they have The Last Story. For every Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, they got MGS (i.e. NOT Methodist Girls School).

Was it due to the aesthetics? The graphics are top-notch, but not enough cleavage. And besides, Japan already got Tifa Lockheart.

One interesting aspect of the Elder Scrolls lore lies in a strong nihilistic theme. Unlike atheism, there's nothing positive about nihilism apart from the human free will to make actual sense out of the senseless (i.e. concept of sense=concept of meaning). That'd be existentialism, a positive form of nihilism. One thing I noticed about Japanese artistic creativity is that philosophy trumps politics. And nihilism is a form of philosophy. That's how we got Friedrich Nietzsche and that's why we got Berserk.

So how nihilistic was the world of Nirn and beyond? Unlike titles like Neverwinter where the greater good is the greatest goal, adventuring in ESO means your character is in a world which doesn't make much sense. In fact, the concept of the greater good as the greatest goal was effectively debunked by Varen Aquilarios aka the Prophet when he said evil will never go away entirely, that battling it would only mean a second time, third time, fourth time, etc. So why fight a battle where kanzen-shouri is as unattainable as Emiya Kiritsugu's dream of a righteous paradise where every tear shall be wiped away? The choice is very simple: Either you fight to live another day or the world can just roll over and die. At the same time, forget about positive heroism where your deeds would be remembered. Abnur Tharn summed it up best when he said no one would remember the deeds of the Five Companions regardless of whose soul would be sacrificed to save the world from Molag Bal's tyranny. And if you think that's depressing, trust me when I say questing in Rivenspire isn't the best antidote for depression.

In the game, there would be books and scrolls scattered here and there. Those that glow purple would increase your Mages Guild mastery. Those that glow yellow belonged to the so-called rest. Each of them tells an interesting story from Dunmer bedtime stories for kids (i.e. not the type you'd like to read to your kids unless you want to torture them with kwarma dreams) to the creation of all things being nothing more than a con job thanks to a con god called Lorkhan.

It didn't take me long to acknowledge the sheer class of storytelling displayed, that this was way beyond what I can do. Ask me to choose between the lore of Mundus and Crazy Rich Asians and I'd definitely choose Tales of Nirn Lost And Known.

This comes to the question of whether the lore and story are the actual Japanese draw. Journeying through the Mundus actually felt like being in a Japanese dark fantasy world more than anything else while ZeniMax did a splendid job of not involving socio-political vitriol in the process, something which the Japanese might have noticed or not.

Five sorcerers and a wamasu

Was that months ago? When I first started on this post, it's like a week or two after the weirdest (and only) world boss fight. If there's anything I should have done, it'd be choosing the Intimidate option. But because I decided not to break character (i.e. something which I always fail to do consistently), I decided to help that Redguard Shaq. That resulted in the need to take down a mega wamasu world boss. Thankfully, I didn't have to cancel and redo the quest. The reason why being four fellow players present as well. And that's how the fight began. But there's a problem: 404 Tank Not Found. The fight wasn't really that hard, though. We got flying ground lightning, wamasu rush, and tail swiping. Interestingly, a team of five sorcerers (i.e. very likely it's a team of four plus me) never hit a wipe. Yes, respawn was a reality. But not a wipe. In fact, I remembered only one moment where the mega wamasu targeted me. Or maybe it's just the tail. That's already deadly enough. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a battle of scattered positioning where it's a player here and another there. Me? I just stabbed the boss from behind because my sorcerer is Breton, medium armoured, and dual-wielding. And no, I decided not to have a familiar due to strategic considerations involving six ability slots instead of sixty.

How to fake it like a faker

I need to point out one thing first: My decision to create a dual-wielding stamina sorcerer clad in medium armour (yes, that's actually as mouthful as a royally imperial title) was due to my natural impulse possibly exacerbated by schoolyard democracy and social Darwinism among educators. Since my future is already ruined unless divine intervention would be involved, it means I have nothing to lose by exploring the seemingly improbable. Before I continue, however, I need to up this song.

When I decided to do a total recall (i.e. my Breton sorcerer used to be the orthodox light armoured destruction staff-wielding magicka build), one thing I knew straight away was the need to balance the spell and weapon damage. The skill advisor interface happened to be the only reason why I decided to a Seigi no Mikata style was possible. To be honest, however, the skill advisor window actually suggested a two-handed weapon skill line instead of wielding two daggers like a Thorfinn. I guess there's really a Fool of Owari in myself.

The one reference I took from the skill advisor panel was Lightning Form. From there, I had to choose between Boundless Storm and Hurricane. Because my intention was to strike a balance between magicka and stamina, this means Hurricane wasn't an option since it uses stamina instead of magicka. The AoE aspect was as tempting as Nohime, though. Boundless Storm was my choice for three reasons:

1. Major Expedition gives 30% speed boost for 4 seconds. I need that to close in unless I opted for a kite-and-strike approach. Even with a kite-and-strike strategy, increased speed is always good for mobility.

2. This one deals shock damage. Together with the fact that it's a constant damage-dealing effect running for at least 20 seconds (i.e. NOT damage over time) and chances of triggering concussed status would clearly increase greatly. Having the opponent deal 12% less damage is always a nice thing.

3. Damage synergy between passives involving Energized, Amplitude, and Expert Mage. It's not Sotha Sil's clockwork science, I can assure you.

With Boundless Storm done and decided, it means I needed another spell called Surge. It's not so much about the heal-per-crit effect (although running with a full Mechanical Acuity set means you don't have to be my engineering friend Derek to understand how a constant heal-per-crit looks like). Rather, it's the 20% bonus in weapon and spell damage. That one lasts for at least 30 seconds. For some funny reason, Boundless Storm and Surge now have 3 seconds more to the duration on my character. Must be some ability mechanics tweaking from the devs.

Originally, my build was all about one weapon damage ability and five spells. Then I decided to respec just to see how the Fighters Guild's equivalent of Inner Light would work. The nice thing about Fighters Guild abilities is that the skill line XP bar levels up very easily. In fact, you should unlock that one before doing the main quest since there are clearly plenty of Daedra mobs waiting to be killed. The sole reason why I attempted the change was due to the Slayer passive giving 1% weapon damage bonus per rank with 3 ranks in total. I really need that since stamina isn't a stat my character is naturally high on. This resulted in a shakeup involving Expert Hunter and Rapid Strikes. While I didn't replace either (i.e. I need Expert Hunter for the crit and Slayer passive bonus while Rapid Strikes is the only spammable in the Dual Wield line plus my only source of weapon ability direct damage), it means one spell has to go. Between Boundless Storm, Surge, and Hardened Ward, it's the third one. Replacement skill? Silver Bolts morphed into Silver Shards. Good for kite-and-strike and also good for making the Slayer passive more efficient. One Fighters Guild ability is never good enough because it's not as if I'm doing a nightblade or dragonknight. 6% damage bonus is definitely better than half of it.

How this thing works...

There were two ways to make the damage-dealing game tick. Either one-shot damage or constant damage. The latter was the rationale behind using my current build since it actually involves maximising the magicka usage without compromising on the stamina end (i.e. I need to invest the attribute points there for the weapon damage to function properly). It's what I'd call attrition damage compared to the more orthodox bombing damage. This comes to the question of which set am I now running with?

Next up: Hunding's Rage versus Mechanical Acuity, Innate Axiom and Assassin's Guile, plus why Verandis Ravenwatch is the perfect role model for kids even though no responsible parent should ever let their children play a game rated M by ESRB.

ESOtivity

 I have to admit this: The past 1 month or so wasn't me at my best. Events like "WTO is this?", "WTO is that?", and "WTO is Netflix doing?" tempted me to do a post about Elder Scrolls Online as a response. After all, ESO is a game where you can be either a klepto, psychopath, or someone more towards the Emiya Kiritsugu spectrum where doing the wrong things merely means you actually know what you're doing and you choose not to be a liar about it. There are things which are clearly wrong in the game, but at least ZeniMax Online made no lies about it. That's why ESRB rated it as M. In an era where madness without the need for Sheogorath's existence is everpresent, at least ESRB did the right thing. Of course, this is not to say everything in this world is wrong. There are still good things and the correct things, just that they should be seen as a means to make life more bearable.

I wouldn't be surprised if I'm going to write a post about my ESO gameplay experience. In fact, I actually decided to emulate the stereotypical Catalan genius by messing around with the idea of a medium armour dual-wielding Breton stamina build sorcerer. I know that's a mouthful, but you can sum it up in one phrase: Either madness or an actual stroke of strategic genius. Not that I'd be the first to emulate the stereotypical Catalan genius. I'm sure there are already gamers who did that before me.

Source of inspiration for the stereotypical Catalan genius idea? This.

For now, this post will be about random observations and songs which are clearly either ESO or ES minus the O. But first, allow me to endorse a foreign talent free of charge.

And now for the songs made in Nirn, O or no O.

 

Random observation: I find using the symbols of the three Alliances as a three-headed Ouroboros design to be interesting. Instead of a single reptile eating its own tail, the design showed clearly what the world of Tamriel is all about: War and warfare. Each faction wanted to rule an Empire in a state clearly ten times worse off than the first American presidential debate. The Daggerfall Covenant believed the system should be reformed instead of supplanted (i.e. Make Empire Great Again aka #MEGA). The Aldmeri Dominion believed the so-called "them" to be too dumb to rule the world properly without messing things up (i.e. Seriously, benevolent racism and positive eugenics? Go take a trip through Shadowfen, please). As for the Ebonheart Pact, they just wanted to defend their freedom while establishing a law and order state. Never mind the fact once this goal is achieved, the Nords, Dunmer, and Argonians would just go back hammering each other again.

Random observation: This was the first ESO song I came across. In fact, Morrowind was the first chapter I played instead of hunting down that Elfomarco after scoundrel absconded with my soul. Well, that's not exactly true because his boss Molag Bal was the one holding the hostages. The main quest wouldn't trigger until you step foot onto any of the Alliance main base. In fact, helping the morally flawed Dunmer and an equally flawed Vivec was to be the first main plot questline I've completed (Barbas remains the hardest boss I've fought although that's not saying much due to a global-sized world map covering even the spiritual and mechanical). The second one was Glenumbra where I just dumbly followed the Lion Guard after Provost Piper decided it a good idea to sic me against Angof. Indeed, I didn't disappoint Mr Piper. Angof the Gravesinger sang his final song.

Random observation: How do you play God? It's actually much easier than playing the madman. All you need is the self-conviction that you're the solution to the problem. But there's a problem. Those who try to fix things this way are bound to become the problem itself. The Nerevarine theme of a messianic champion is interesting because it reflected every person's desire to see things set right. Okay, not every one of us but you get the drift. In ESO, you don't know the real deal would be someone no different from a bastard (that's not a joke because no one knew who were the real Nerevarine's mom and dad). I played the Morrowind main storyline quest and instead of giving me the typical Hitler-Stalin character, the pretender, in the end, was more of a tragic failure like those before him. It's not that he wanted nothing but Oblivion in Vvardenfell. This was a tyrant whose beginning had a name called righteousness, a world where none of his fellow Ashlanders would have to grief and suffer. I've seen many contemptible characters in my life of fiction browsing (e.g. Enrico Maxwell from Hellsing has to be one of the worst), but the latest failure wasn't one of them. The worst part of the situation? Blame Clavicus Vile (Spoiler: It's implied that Barbas being able to impersonate Archcanon Tarvus was due to the latter assassinated in his sleep. No prizes for guessing who).

Our hero, our hero, claims a warrior's heart

I tell you, I tell you, the Dragonborn comes

With a voice wielding power of the ancient Nord arts

Believe, believe, the Dragonborn comes

It's an end to the evil of all Skyrim's foes

Beware, beware, the Dragonborn comes

For the darkness has passed, and the legend yet grows

You'll know, you'll know, the Dragonborn's come

Dovahkiin, dovahkiin naal ok zin los vahriin

Wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal

Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan

Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal

Huzrah nu, kul do od

Wah aan bok lingrah vod

Ahrk fin tey, boziik fun

Do fin gein

Nuz aan sul, fent…

Credit: musixmatch.com

Random observation: Above are the lyrics for this song. I really like it. In a very real sense, they relayed what I truly wish. I don't know about you, but there were moments where I noticed a Seigi no Mikata inside me. This is the Japanese term for an ally of justice. It's like Emiya Kiritsugu when he was still a child. It's like Emiya Shirou when he's... well, still a child. And it's like Archer even unto the bitter end in Unlimited Blade Works. Granted this is an unattainable dream, but why the presence of such a dream in the first place? I believe it's like what Emiya Shirou actually knew during the original visual novel version, that a world where no one has to cry is every person's ideal. It doesn't matter whether you're a victim of violence, wrongful imprisonment, or just someone enraged by the hypocrisy all around you. Again, it's unattainable and it'd be way better for me to stay between Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel so as to speak. Interestingly, the story of Skyrim began via the Last Dragonborn ending up as condemned criminal in the same way I've always been a condemned soul before the education system. Just don't ask me whether Pritam Singh reminds me of Ulfric Stormcloak. That'd be a stupid question.

Note: Don't bother searching which foreign language you're reading in the final third of the lyrics. They're written in Nord and there's a reason why ESO remains as fiction.

Next up: The why and how behind the strategic insanity defined by a medium armoured dual-wielding Breton spellsword, a surreal episode involving one world boss and five sorcerers, plus how on Nirn can a made-by-gaijin game be surprisingly popular in a nation so insular, fax machines actually remain over-relevant.

P.S: I really need to up this. Seriously, how did the foreign talent bloke train himself to be so manly?

Le Gwentleman Suprême: Ownself never fire ownself

Yesterday, I said I might put myself in temporary hiatus where playing Gwent is concerned. Depending on your English, that's either a lie, technically a lie, or factual. You see, my determination is never Singaporean in nature. Rather, it's weirdly Ainu since we all know the nearest people to the Beornings are known for fire and steel. Fire because there's an inner flame burning bright and steel because of their unbreakable resolve. Okay, that's hyperbole. However, names like Kayano Shigeru and Sunazawa Bikki quite obviously represent the Ainu virtue of refusing to roll over and die. Yes, they're no longer alive. No, they shouldn't be forgotten. Were they smart? Likelier to be lowly educated geniuses making a fool out of the typical East Asian educational system which my nation is also part of.

With too much crap being talked, I realised my determination means if there are things which can be improved, it means I'm going to test things out asap. This post will be split into two parts: Mistakes I've learnt via losing to the semi-pros when it comes to Gwent and the current journey through Bree-land during my journey thus far through Middle-Earth.

This is a Total Recall!

The vid never gets old due to the default assumption that if you're a Republican, it means you can't run a state even just to save your own behind. Fast forward to this day and not only did Ahnuld leave behind a California in a better state, we now have every son of a Nebraskan justifiably proud of his fellow son of a Nebraskan. Will Pete Ricketts contest for #POTUS and will Nebraska become the American answer to the region of Ru and Ying which Cao Cao once spoke about? Or maybe the two-party system is doomed? No one knows, to be honest. Again, too much crap being talked.

One of the lessons I've learnt in playing Lord of the Rings Online was this: Whatever you do, do NOT use your own behind to think when it comes to creating character names. That is IF you want to come across as a faker. Otherwise, something casual from someone casual is no issue at all.

The dumb part about this was that I made stupid mistakes before. When it comes to the artistic, using Park Shin-Hye as the original physical blueprint for Irelia Eliaden when she was still Alestrial was utterly dumb. So what if the blokes at Vertigo used Sting as the same kind of blueprint for John Constantine? That's not an excuse. Thankfully, my decision to create a Yaguryeo deuteragonist with hazel eyes has got nothing to do with Lee Sung-Kyung. Long story short, I gave one not-so-good name for my Captain of Rohan while repeating my Hallyu history on my Hunter of the Dale. The latter was much worse.

Brandigar sounded decent at first. That's until I realised it could have been better. Notable names like Theoden, Eorl, and Eomer are much more Rohirrim. And who can forget Eowyn stabbing the Witch King in the face? The elephant was a funny extra, though. So is there a better name for a man of Rohan? To be frank, Theorling sounds much better. While it sounds like something inspired by Eorlingas, it's actually inspired by a random bloke called Gamling. Okay, he's no random man of Rohan.

As for my Hunter from the Dale, that's even dumber. With no good ideas, I settled for a bad one. Namely, Ainuhelm. Note to self? Do not do such a stupid thing ever again. The current name? Berenard. Clearly, this was inspired by two great men of renown: Beren and Bard.

Lesson 1 learnt from the semi-pros: Scoia'tael

In a true blue me-no-gain manner, I flew into a rage due to a wretched run. My decision to play LOTRO was due to two main factors: Impulse is one of them, the need to have a distracting alternative the other. Recently, the famous half of the Super Nair Siblings mentioned Singapore has got plenty of space for improvement when it comes to being kind. No thanks to the scary accuracy of her statement, I ended up with the temperament of Oda Nobunaga. As an amateur history buff would tell you, it's not Nobunaga's fault that his fellow folks got a problem with him. His tyranny, on the other hand, was another thing altogether.

While I'm not going into the specifics, there are a few things I realised about using a Deadeye Ambush deck:

1. This deck is a racist deck. Basically, every unit is an elf or most of them are.

2. Vernossiel's Commando is good. That is until a Nilfgaardian player ninjaed you with a disloyal scoundrel regardless of gender.

3. No options for big number buffs if you're going for pure faction elf deck. At most, there's Shaping Nature. Good, but not enough despite a cost 9 Echo. Note to self? Don't go for the Devotion option unless you're into Symbiosis and planting treemen instead of strawmen.

4. Lacerate is a better option than Crushing Trap unless you want to debate the difference of 1 provision cost. I'd personally take like one of each or two Crushing Traps and one Lacerate, though.

5. Great Oak is good for the self-buffing once you trigger the Feign Death scenario. Add in Aelirenn and it's at least a +5 on self. Commando would have to be fired for that to work, though. I did away with that tree in a bid to tweak things up, maybe I'll go back to it. Maybe, just maybe.

Right now, I'm switching down two Commandos for two Crownsplitters. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm going to rescind this sooner rather than later. The reason why being the question of first turn deployment. This is what I call the risk turn where it works like sending outriders to a probable demise, something which clearly people like the Greeks and Romans enjoyed doing. Of course, it may work out after all due to the shield ensuring additional insurance. If I had Vrihedd Saboteur, this strategy is clearly not going to work. With a Vrihedd Vanguard, however, that'd be amount to lower boosting. Maybe Enchanted Armour should make way for Tactical Advantage.

One of the fatal mistakes I made thus far was using Half-Elf Hunter. By sticking with this son of a gun, my first-turn deployment was totally messed up. The reason why being that the first-turn deployment options were too bloated to be used properly. The deployment momentum definitely didn't feel right to me.

For direct damage special cards, my options ended up bloating the deck as well. Two nature/spell cards dealing damage of 5 and two Circle of Life cards dealing damage 3 and buffing a Scoia'tael unit in hand by 2 wasn't a good option. In fact, I don't remember any Scoia'tael users deploying the latter. At least not much. Elf units don't buff for plenty, so I really need some much-needed muscle for the boosting. Two Azul's Thunder/Nature's Rebuke with two Swallow seems decently good to me so far, but this needs consistent testing. Azul's Thunder seems to have a better card draw chance, so I'm currently sticking with this option.

Another source of big buffing would be Garrison. Right now, I need more tactical practice on which version of Shaping Nature to use. +8 option is the seemingly most useful one, but the Veil version is useful for poison-proofing a unit like Great Oak. +5 and Vitality? Dryad's Caress, Mahakam Marauder, and Ida Emean aep Sivney together with the last five turns.

Also, Isengrim can be ridiculously useful once you play him post-Aelirenn deck jump. Note to self: Just remember NOT to use Isengrim's Council until Aelirenn performs her deck jump. I'm not going to do an unnecessary game of die rolling.

Lessons 2 learnt from the semi-pros: Is Imposter better than Lockdown?

Is Lockdown decently good at least? I'd say it's good for analytical gamers. However, progressing through the ranks exposed a weakness: Lockdown created a Nilfgaardian deck which was clearly a jack-of-all-trades but master of none. That's another way of saying trouble brewing. I attempted a control-centric deck focusing on first-turn solder deployment plus a Duny. After a frustrating run against the semi-pros which weren't helped by a wretched hand draw luck, I flipped the table, contemplated rage-quitting, and... coming up with an alternative called Imposter.

The standard rule for Imposter leader ability is this: It's good for locking. If you're going hybrid, having Dorregaray of Vole means his fellow magic bro Vanhemar has one more target to burn. In fact, one can afford the time and space to play him as late as possible instead of wasting him on an alpha strike clearly and epically failed just because there are no other tactical options. Two Van Moorlehem Hunters, two Alba Armoured Cavalry, and one Auckes means you have six locking units in total. Add in one Collar stratagem card plus Imposter and things would look interesting. But what if you can opt for tactical control?

Nilfgaard is never short on control options plus the follow-ups because they're the wily Iga ninjas of the Witcherverse. This is in stark contrast with every other faction excluding the Syndicate where even those racist Scoia'tael units are clearly more honourable, let alone the equally xenophobic Nordlings. This resulted in a mistake when it came to utilising two options of control. It wasn't a good strategy in the first place because I was seeing things from the Lockdown perspective. Once I switched to Imposter, the engine went full control.

This also meant I had to ditch a few cards, most notably Duny and every soldier unit apart from Joachim de Wett. With the likes of Fergus var Emreis, Coup de Grace, and Vincent van Moorlehem together with Vanhemar, things seemed to be working fine. For now.

Note: Seditious Aristocrats card is clearly and properly fixed. Before that, the presence of Disloyal units wouldn't proc the boost.

Lesson 3 learnt from the semi-pros: Dominance bazooka?

Originally, using Deathwish units for Overwhelming Hunger leader ability looked like a good choice, if not at least decent. If there's indisputable evidence that I'm now playing the semi-pros, getting hammered by the opposition would be it. But at least most of such gamers did behave like either a lady or gentleman. That's interesting because it hinted at the possibility of everyone being at least decently good going from rank 14 and beyond.

The assumption of Deathwish+Overwhelming Hunger was effectively debunked and dismantled. The reason why being that I couldn't strike a balance between multiple Deathwish options and Devour units (I'm pretty sure there are gamers who can do that, though). The problem lies in a high risk of drawing a tactically disjointed hand where I would be in no man's land when it came to deploying unit A or B. Suffice to say, anywhere starting from rank 15 or 14 means the getting would go harder. Deathwish+Overwhelming Hunger combination is officially unfeasible for me. This meant I needed a strategic alternative that worked better (i.e. more consistently).

This is where Dominance comes in. Focusing on Dominance alone was surprisingly useful. I can deploy units fast enough without the risk of wasting one charge of the leader's ability. At the same time, Tactical Advantage works extremely well. Even better than Urn of Shadows. At the same time, Monsters faction does have a decent number of high base power units. Before Master Mirror, there's only one bronze unit with power 7. Namely, Ice Troll at cost 6. Now, there's another power 7 at a cheaper cost of 4, Namely, Aen Elle Conqueror. Also, Wild Hunt Rider can be played in the first turn provided I go first. To make this work, though, there's a need to play a pure Monsters deck instead of a hybrid since any other option would result in the Aen Elle Conqueror auto-blowing up. Cards like Adda: Striga and Protofleder can maximise the Dominance bazooka. Bronze Wild Hunt units do go well with Dominance, so that's another plus. Two rows of Frost plus a Winter Queen deck jump means adding the numbers without the need to focus much on the Thrive.

P.S: Too tired to write anything else. Will be elaborating on my LOTRO experience in a later post.

Weird (Music) Therapy

It's been an emotional joyride to hell and back again. Lately, my run in Gwent was wretched. I suspect I need to place Scoia'tael as my fifth faction instead of one of my main four for seasonal. That actually depends on how much mead my Skellige deck can hold. Maybe I should just stop at rank 13. That should be good enough. For some reason, my luck in terms of card draw and redraw suggests I'm a son of a Brokvar.

In other news, my impulsiveness got the better of me again. Actually, it's because of the above-mentioned reason. This time around in the form of Lord of the Rings Online. However, I suspect I may end up migrating to Arkenstone server for good since I did a Google and consensus was that Arkenstone is the number one choice for Asian gamers. But there's a catch: Arkenstone is said to lag like crazy at times and already I've seen it first hand.

Playing LOTRO was a mixture of motion sickness and self-determination caused by life without a future or tomorrow. The foes and strangers during the days of schoolyard democracy in my life might have either no problem with Darwinian authority or resigned to it like some fatalistic bystander. As a victim, I ended up saying to the system... well, I don't know if the Ainu language does include vulgarity equivalent to the international two-word language. Figuratively, of course.

There are a lot of things to adapt to and I can see why LOTRO refuses to roll over and die. Actually, I suspect the game is far from dead. To be honest, I don't mind spending money to get the expansions, new quests, etc. I don't remember any game being able to goad this from me in a manner like this. Maybe there's still a Tolkien idealist in this Japanese dark fantasy fanboy. Unfortunately, it's going to take either an insane girl or an insanely brave Oai/Kitsuno to put that to test. Hence, the インポシブル, no matter what.

Right now, I only have one character: Captain Brandilgar of Rohan. I'm not joking here by the way. That's actually thanks to Gwent. There's no point for me to quit because I've spent enough on building my decks (i.e. except for Syndicate since I'm never as rich as Robert De Niro or Al Pacino). And besides. I suspect the auto-matchmake system is actually smart enough to know whether you lost due to a wretched hand. I've seen gamers who lost significantly more than they won, yet within the top ten. If this isn't intelligently rigged, I don't know what else is.

This comes to mind the million mithril currency question: How am I going to make Brandilgar function like a decent tactician? That's a good question which I've yet to come up with an answer to. For now, however, I know which Virtues to use. At least for the first two slots. As for the subsequent three should I start spending currency? This and this. I'm indeed no fan of Hollywood heroism, but rather a liker for non-Hollywood heroism.

This post, per suggested via the title, is all about some of the music capable of calming me down. Why I said it's weird? Well, it's because it's never like this one below.

Rather, it's like these below.

Below two songs are synonymous with laughing in the most un-Singaporean way.

Not like this, though.

https://wuxia.fandom.com/wiki/Linghu_Chong

https://wuxia.fandom.com/wiki/Yang_Guo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demi-Gods_and_Semi-Devils#Qiao_Feng's_story

P.S: In Tolkien's great imagination, he conceived the Ainur. Because he's clearly not God, I doubt he knew about the Ainu.

Add P.S: The greatest mystery in the history of Japan? You decide for yourself.

Final P.S: Me getting a bear-bro? That has to wait. And besides, I don't even know whether the guy from Rohan is the correct fit.

Le Gwentleman Suprême: Worst dad ever and other things (including rage-quitting like an Isengrim)

Per hinted by the title, this post will involve me talking a bit about Fergus var Emreis and whether I'm considering rage-quitting Gwent for good upon reaching rank 20. To be honest, living a life without a future or tomorrow means you're bound to have plenty of time for things my fellow Singaporeans would call pointless. So here I am blogging like a Duny, just that my dad was never a Nilfgaardian. I'm very sure this post would be much shorter than what I used to write. Then again, I'm no Xiaxue because this blog is nothing more than a rage room intended for personal expression. That's the PC way of saying I'm using this to scold people like Oda Nobunaga, Ikoma Kitsuno or no Ikoma Kitsuno.

Be responsible, don't do a bailout (unless you're Minamoto no Yoshitsune)

Bad news for those who care for me but nevertheless unable to understand me: I noticed a long time ago that I can use my ATM card for Steam walletting because it happened to be a debit card as well.

If there's a way to teach impressionable kids how to be irresponsible, my mutant ability to learn fast through the risk of getting hanged would be it. Simply put, it's called money spent purchasing the card kegs. If there's a reason behind this, it'd be a 30% off on specific factions. If only the discount applies to ore burning as well. Of course, we all know CD Projekt Red won't do that. They're not running a charity. If only my mutant ability was like that of Geralt, Eskel, Lambert, Vesemir, or even Letho and his bros. But that'd mean Singapore would have to be part of the Witcherverse and as someone understanding the moral (?) nature of dark fantasy, it's anything but positivity. Note that I said positivity, not blind positivity. Now if you'll excuse me for a while...

I really need to do some planning ahead. This is due to me playing Everquest 2 as well and there's no way I can do a two-timing here. Am I rich enough to pull this off? No. Am I poor enough to make a decision? Yes. And this is why I said I got the mutant ability to learn fast through the risk of getting hanged. Seriously, it's nothing good to boast about because one might as well say living a life full of foes and strangers is a good thing. No, it's not. Because this was the life I was forced to live from primary school to ITE.

So what I'm going to do now? I believe I've spent enough on four factions out of six. My current challenge on the scale of Gaunter O'Dimm would be trying to get my Northern Realms deck working. The theory has been fuzzy with the practical side yet to be proven. Just because I burnt 800 pieces of cloth scraps for Dandelion's girlfriend doesn't mean I got the combination right for a formation usage+charge building deck.

Note: Will I be burning ore and cloth scraps in an attempt to create a decently average Skellige deck? I don't know because I need to make sure of certain things involving my Scoia'tael deck. Interesting times ahead?

Add note: No Syndicate deck for me. Building a La Cosa Nostra like a Pacino or De Niro is too costly and I don't want to set a bad example like a merchant from Novigrad. Now if you excuse me for a while again...

Nigh rage-quitting and worst dad ever

It was a recent wretched run at the highest order a week ago or so. The reason why being that going on a losing streak like a local loser was never the best way to train your mental fortitude. Just because I'm as mentally calloused as Isengrim Faoiltiarna, Iorveth, or Emhyr var Emreis doesn't mean the pain would go away. Thanks to persistence on a witcher's scale, I realise how real the danger of a Nilfgaardian nerf can be.

No one ever said Fergus var Emreis was a good dad. In fact, the Nilfgaardian culture is so pro-Darwinian, it makes the East Asian dog-eat-dog education model look like... well, a dog. There are certainly shades of wartime Japan, something which I believe was a case of unintentional consequences considering the fact I've played against Korean gamers and there seems to be a Skellige version of the Korean Flash in the top 25 of Asia.

Heed the advice of Dr Carl Jung Shin-Ri because moderation isn't an obscenity.

So what am I talking about in terms of persistence? To be honest, things came to a boiling point where I actually contemplated the rage-quit option. The reality of dealing with rank 20 and above is that...

1. You have a good enough deck in terms of the number of gold cards.

2. This means the same for others.

3. Chances of getting owned instead of owning would increase, perhaps even exponentially.

4. That's because every opponent's deck is of actual strategic quality instead of just decent, hence resulting in opposition of higher tactical quality.

5. Chances are that the opponent is smarter than you at least for 2-3 rounds' worth of time.

6. Got a sub-optimal hand? Might as well pass two rounds in a go and throw it.

So what occurred was that the opponent who did that happened to be a fellow Nilfgaardian player. In Gwent, you learn things faster by playing against better opponents on the same faction basis when it comes to deck building. The reason why being that disjointed synergy is the cause of every defeat unless the opponent clearly has more gold cards than you. But that'd only mean anywhere from unranked to rank 21 at the very most. Long story short, the other player actually played a blinder synergy involving spying units. More specifically a spy conversion game. This was where the worst dad ever came in. This might even be the closest thing to Tokugawa Ieyasu versus Takeda Shingen. Come to think of it, Ieyasu never had a good dad as well.

Spy conversion can be insane when it comes using a pure Nilfgaardian deck. The Devotion aspect of Master Mirror means pure faction decks become a viable option, not to mention as well motivation. Ask me how I view a spy conversion deck and my opinion would be this: Go pure, not hybrid unless you don't mind using the worst dad ever to spy convert only one target.

Of course, this isn't the entire story. Saying that is like a politician telling the people one side of the coin without talking about the other. You need to maximise the usage of status inducing. And that's the fun part about using Nilfgaard right now. You have units that lock, poison, and spy-convert. You have units self-boosting via debuff effects. Thirsty Dame at power 4 goes +1 every time an enemy unit got a status effect. Master of Disguise can be a decent tactical option at power 3 which goes +1 per turn end so long there's an enemy locked unit. Playing spawn units or from-the-deck summoning ones (actually, only Impera Brigade would work in this context) may well be that decision making life easier for me. Either way, any first-turn deployment would always carry the risk of getting an alpha strike from the opponent depending on the unit played. That's a given, so tactically correct foil units are important. Mass spy-conversion and play a democratic aristocrat afterwards? And that's not to mention The Usurper having Veil status since the term "enemy unit with spy status" also applies to your Disloyal units. A reverse deployment order involving one foil unit>Seditious Aristocrat>The Usurper+total recall is 100% doable. In fact, assuming the guy got locked during an opponent's first turn was the dumbest thing I've done so far. I never got my agents back. Deploy him between two units or at the same row as a Defender status unit to prevent an Assassination takedown. Do this right and you can set the pace in three turns. That's assuming the opponent doesn't have Vincent van Moorelehem because we all know what's going to happen next unless there's a Defender unit covering the row (i.e. imo better not try this against a fellow Nilfgaardian because Vincent's autokill can target any unit with any status unless it's an Invulnerable unit). Playing fast has never been so insane since Jürgen Klopp inexplicably mentioned a broomstick (it's a long story, don't ask). Apart from a hand containing the correct van Moorelehem, if there's an actual weakness to this deck (and there is for every because playing Gwent means you're never in the position to play God like a puny god. The powers-that-be would ban you for that), it'd be the question of whether you can effectively manage the boosting in a pace slow enough to ensure no unit gets a power value of 9 or above. This means having a combination of democratic aristocrats and Lestat de Lioncourt's thrice-damned cousins thrice removed can result in an auto-destroy at the hands of Geralt of Rivia or Leo Bonhart. In fact, that happened to me once. In this aspect, such a strategy can be the Nilfgaardian version of Deathwish plus the Overwhelming Hunger leader ability. Minus, of course, the more insane boosting pace.

Note: Philippe van Moorlehem can be an effective alternative to a buff-centric status deck so long you deploy him during the middle third of the round. You wouldn't want to risk getting him sniped just because you don't have enough units to cover him. Ever heard of sniper tactics? I'm sure the likes of Ah-Hean, Ryan, Patrick, Frontline Bro, and my cousin KJ would know. Unlike me, they never went PES E because they never lived my kind of life.

Add note: Personally speaking, any spy-conversion deck should involve no more than two types of statuses. Spying and *fill in the blank*. Please understand that I don't earn commission like a social influencer, hence it's 100% possible that I'm wrong here.

The Great Escape

This is now possible in two ways instead of one. The typical manner is a matter of card draw probability. But there's a problem: You're subjected to the element of luck in the sense that how the opponent plays his tactics would decide whether you can pull off a Geralt of Rivia or Leo Bonhart. Effective boost management means you'll end up with a dud in hand. Trust me, I did that before more than a few times.

Before Master Mirror, there's no such card as Oneiromancy. Not only is this an actual card now, but it's also an actual word all the while, believe it or not. The process doesn't involve seven cows or seven heads of grain, only a reversal as unavoidable as the reprisal of Fragarach according to the words of Irish gods and Mór-Ríoghain. The moment the reversal comes out, that's it. You're dead, nailed to an oaken tree where you shall feed the crows and wolves.

This results in additional unpredictability in the current expansion where reversals are no longer subjected to a case of chance. Instead, one more possibility of chance would be involved due to the obvious mathematics dealing with whatever probability algorithm enforced. Got that card in hand and the correct card in your deck? You'll need another type of correct card. Got Oneiromancy in hand and two reversal cards in your deck?

Note: Oneiromancy is a neutral card. This means you'll be running a major risk if you're to use cards like Auberon and Usurper where Devotion is a vital ingredient to efficiency. That is unless your strategy is to use such cards in the first round.

Add note: The irony involving the risk of getting auto-destroyed in this manner? Vincent van Moorlehem.

Trying to get the Nordling machine working

Test running my Northern Realms deck has to be the weirdest experience ever. I don't recall a time where total defeat never resulted in frustration. That was until I did a trial-and-error on my Northern Realms deck. The entire scenario was quite funny. There I was building a deck with more gold cards than my other three matured decks and yet nothing positive came out. In my most bizarre moment of playing Gwent so far (this was really weirder than forcing a draw against an opponent with superior deck quite some time ago on a 10-10 third-round score), the deployment momentum felt smooth despite having little to no synergy from start to finish. It's like a wagenburg moving safely along the path minus the driver. It's that weird. Uprising may not be the leader's ability for me, though. Mobilisation? TBC.

Note: Before self-proofreading this post, I decided to go one level up since Wednesday=Gwentsday. Latest match score? Draw with 41-41 in the first round and 18-18 for the second. And my opponent was a rank 18 compared to my 19. This actually sets the current Guinness record for my weirdest moment in Gwent so far.

Trying to make sense of Isengrim's counsel

Originally, I didn't feel like using Isengrim. After tweaking my Deadeye Ambush deck and trying to make some tactical sense out of a multi-racial deck, I decided to say rage-quit it like Trey Gowdy and Bill Haslam. I settled for a dual-racial deck, as untypically Singaporean I may sound here (wait, who am I trying to kid since no sane Singaporean would ever play Gwent without playing Witcher 3 first?). Using Isengrim means an ethnic supermajority was needed. By the way, this statement shouldn't be an excuse to condone racism and moral bias.

The tricky part lies in deciding when to use his self-boost ability. +1 for every allied elf unit played afterwards? Sounds good until there's a need to make a tactical call since he boosts every other allied elf units by 1 upon being played. Either deploy him during the start or at the very end? The only way for me to make sense out of choosing between two options apart from a unit card with Defender status would likely be Isengrim's Council. That's provided you draw this guy and use him with a +2 self-boost. The only catch? It'd make less sense to use Water of Brokilon and more sense to use Feign Death instead. Again, a racial supermajority. If you're gunning for a 50-50 or 60-40 majority, then maybe you'd want to deploy the Mahakam brigade first.

A Crucible's Lore: Sellswords

Well, it's been a long time since I last wrote something under this label. Right now, viewership for my blog has been dropping. Does it matter? Actually, the answer is no. The reason why is that what I've written so far was merely and solely intended for self-expression purposes. Am I a fighter? Yes because of the Darwinian sins of my country. I no longer bear grudges against the sinners of this nation, but I'm still raging at the hypocrisy within us all in hope of someone noticing my struggles. To be honest, I have no faith in sane-minded words because I don't expect the normal to understand the abnormal. As a result, I realised a long time ago that I never regretted writing A Requiem From Winter Past where I unwittingly flushed so much of myself into Aeravor. Of course, there were moments of juvenile insanity which I truly regretted in the process. My decision to use Park Shin-Hye as the physical blueprint for Irelia Eliaden was effectively the beginning of madness and I'm not about to play a game of moral hardball. Seriously, one such episode involving the second English alphabet is more than enough grief. Don't know what I'm talking about? Better you don't. Know what I'm talking about? Enjoy below the most accurate portrayal of the situation then.

"Be the man the self-righteous hates and every captive envies. This is how you've lived, right? Fighting and pleasure as if the next dawn will never come. Laughing at death like a mocker retaining his pride till his final breath. Farewell, Aeravor dies Steelborn. Farewell to the man I love. Farewell to the world we cherish and curse."

-Kagetsu no Ji'Yeon

"The world has never accepted you because you're too kindhearted. That's why you died. I will be your sword. I will become an enemy of this world in your place. But I won't destroy it because that's not what you want."

-Aeravor

Soldiers of fortune:

Every person has a price, every price its pride. Such is the story of every sellsword's life. Male or female, each will gladly do another man's work so long the fee is right. Rape, murder, or arson, every foul deed is fair so long the payer is generous enough to be wise. Granted morals do not dictate scoundrels, but it takes a fool to believe there is no honour among them. Play even a single card wrong and you may just get a sword stuck at the throat.

The world beyond fortifications and walls is never a haven. In fact, it is debatable whether gods exist in a world where monsters and demons seem more commonplace than actual saints. Mercenaries don't just do the dirty work for others but also more gladly for themselves. Ignore the seemingly intelligent telling only how much they charge per blade in hand. It is either that or one is better off conned by an honest whoreson. They raid villages. They attack caravans travelling unprotected because there are those too miserly to save their own lives. Woe to every man, woman, and child in different ways depending on which.

How many of them are out there? Scholars estimate their numbers to be no less than a few scores of thousand within the borders of Hallenia alone. Sceptics scoff and claim no great number of knaves could ever survive in a vicious realm. Regardless of opposing views, it takes an insane sage to try counting them all.

Code of the Sword:

Knights swear by their status and ladies fair while the clergy swear by their gods and buildings. As for intellectuals, they swear by their merit and sellswords do the same. What is meritocracy to every mercenary? There are three codes of merit, none of them related to how many heads claimed or how many maidens deflowered.

Merit of Loyalty refers to the belief that once someone entered a life of the purse and sword, there is no retreat. Cowards are not merely unwelcomed, they will be killed on sight. Many are those retired only to expire somewhere down the road. Loyalty is not about profession alone, but also family. Blood ties mean nothing unless one's parents happened to be sellswords. In this case, that makes their children sellswords. Mercenaries band together for life, every organisation big or small thriving and perishing under the yoke of lifelong allegiance. Hence, betraying one's brethren for another group shall not be given mercy. The sentence is the same as how Teutonians deal with treason: Hanged, drawn, and quartered with the sole difference being the verdict applying to both men and women.

Merit of Respect does not mean acknowledgement like how others do. Warriors of the coin may spit on a fellow scoundrel's beliefs or character, but they consider every alliance sacred, every such foe respected. Any woman can be ravished, but not one from the same trade. Any life can be slaughtered, but torture reserved for a fellow mercenary is a taboo unless a need for information arises. Every child of sellsword birth below fourteen must be given the choice between life or death. Anyone intentionally killing an infant or even an unborn life belonging to one of the same must be executed after a trial involving at least two or three witnesses, the one wielding the sword being the first who saw the act. Anyone guilty of false testimony shall be put to death upon convicted, the punishment nothing less than being riddled alive with arrows while tied to a stake. If there is no way to reach a conclusion, then trial by combat will be the final resort.

Merit of Feats is one which every such fighter takes most seriously. Loyalty cannot be revoked. Respect is a right given to any and all. But it is the number of battles and duels won defining greatness, victories earned proof of glory. Alas, fame is a double-edged sword. Not only does it inspire awe and recognition, but it also conceives hunger akin to the want in bringing a pantheon down.

Conflicts, booty, and bounty:

There are two ways to obtain land and resources: Either raiding hamlets and villages or attacking each other. The former is both the easier option and more dangerous one. After all, there can only be this much minor losses incurred before the authorities start to act. Moments like this do exist with smaller bands trampled by organised military better armed and armoured. Thus, battles fought between sellswords and sellswords happen more commonly than one may imagine. At the same time, it is possible for two or more mercenary factions to reach an alliance for greater gains. In this case, the Merit of Feats would be invoked where the loot must be split accordingly.

Another way of earning wealth is bounty hunting. In this case, evidence has to be given if the target has joined a mercenary group. Once displayed, a duel to the death between the hunter and hunted will commence. Due to this involving the least hassle so long the information provided is correct, bounty hunting becomes a common way of earning gold and even Merit of Feats for smaller bands.

The Confederation:

Out of all mercenary companies, three of them stand out as the most exceptional ones: Knightroses, Men of Redmarch, and Swordcloaks. Instead of engaging in outright competition, the three decided to enter a peculiar alliance dictating no conflict between them in terms of lands and resources under each faction's control. However, it allows military engagement between each other so long the hirers belong to opposing ends. Due to this, the trio is also collectively known as the Confederation of Swords or the Confederation for short.

Knightroses:

What makes this faction stands out from the rest is not its strength and influence but rather this is an organisation entirely made up of women. When and how the Knightroses was founded remains a mystery not even its current members know. One thing could be sure, however: The founder went by the name Brynheildr and this would become both name and title of every leader taking charge. Upon entry, the new members must undergo perhaps the cruellest rite of passage. That is the gouging of every left eye. And this is not including the need to drink a chalice of childsbane juice unless the novice already drank it against her will.

Those of the Knightroses do not believe in a rigid hierarchy of roles but every individual's worth defined by how well she performs in every aspect of mercenary life. Those proving themselves capable in certain tasks can be trusted with more of the same. Because nobody can be an expert in all trades, its senior members are known throughout the mercenary world as some of the most capable taskmasters.

Their manner of recruitment is seen as daring to some and utterly brazen to others. Not only are recruiters common in small settlements, but the frequent sight of them in places like slave markets and bordellos have become every gossiper's favourite pastime. Money, threats, and even more than a few bloodied noses if necessary. Such is the daily life of lightly armoured women armed with short blades visibly belted.

The closest thing to a ranking system would be a four-tiered one with the leader at the very top. As Brynheildr, she is entitled the total freedom to involve herself in any task from menial chores and smithing to recruitment and training. However, she must be at the forefront in any battle directing the troops, for leadership and bravery remains her creed and deed, life and death.

The second tier belongs to the Valkyrs. Well-armed and heavily armoured, they are the elite of martial capability said to rival the Homm'Nua and Homm'Eot. Serving as Brynheildr's personal bodyguards and brigade at her disposal, they are the ones protecting their mistress, many an exploit involving rearguard action and cavalry charge credited to them. Often there is a saying "A well-equipped woman walking around in plate armour is likely a bloody spinster Valk". In fact, rumour has it that either an unlucky or foolhardy Relentless One fell beneath their blades and spears during a verbal exchange gone awry. While the denizens of Gastony dismiss such talk as trivial lies, elven informants leak word that one of their kind is known to laugh with the current Brynheildr over "some kind of retarded idiot".

The third tier would be the stalwarts. They are the senior members of the faction. Not only do they perform the same roles as the rest, but they also oversee the delegation of tasks.

The last one goes to the ones called soldiers. Covering every manner of work possible, they form the faction's backbone.

Tactically, Knightroses favour the phalanx approach comprising of medium infantry in ranks of four. The first rank would be armed with swords and round shields while those in the second carry spears and bucklers. The third rank belongs to the ones circling around to execute flanking manoeuvres armed with axes while the final row comprises of crossbow users riding steeds and raining down mayhem of steel. Skirmishers are in charge of reconnaissance and taking out the ranged units through any means available, be it bombing, sniping, or sabotage. Cavalry wise, riders of mail have earned the nickname Death's Maids for their daring charge and fearless approach. Granted they would only attack if there is a weak link to exploit, but that does not prevent bards from telling tales of blaring horns, bloodied spears, and the trampled dead.

Men of Redmarch:

Founded during the year CA 230 in the aftermath of a failed rebellion in what would be called The Bloody March, an event named after the manner which those convicted were executed while their women, children, and elderly folk looked on as naked corpses impaled on spikes. The Men of Redmarch originally intended themselves to be freedom fighters, those who thought better to run and fight the next day than die. Sadly, liberty was nothing to gold and precious gems. From their beginning as slaves to their status as freedmen, this has always been a faction where every member is a male. The rationale behind this was that wives and children are a fatal burden, a lesson painfully learnt in the past. Never trusting in chivalry with constant mockery directed at the honourable hypocrites, they have gathered for themselves notoriety as opportunistic whoresons. Indeed there is a saying that goes "Better to be killed by a Knightrose bitch than to be conned by a Redmarch whoreson". The methods they employ to recruit new members are also anything but above reproach. Bully a respectable merchant family into giving up their sons? Permissible. Taking in a beggar boy from the streets only to make him just as bad as his oppressors, if not worse? It always happens. Violate a woman, forcing her to conceive, and leave her be all alone unless the baby is a girl? This is why they are regarded as whoresons. A knife across a member's throat once he is of no use, be it old age, an accident, or plainly not good enough? That's called mercy.

Needless to say, other mercenaries are leery of them at best and displaying outright contempt if one is talking about the Knightroses. Yet, their ability with daggers wielded or thrown is feared throughout the industry. This also results in hearsay of assassinations carried out in the most professional fashion, a claim these scoundrels of scoundrels mysteriously brush off as "make-believe fairy tales lying to those poor little children" despite a penchant for boasting from how much gold swindled to how many whores bedded in a single night.

Unlike every other sellsword company, the Men of Redmarch do not engage in what they call above-ground activities. While they respect the need to shed blood, these conniving knaves understand the value of information. To quote the famed Yaguryeo military strategist Heihou no Tae'Guk, "Battles can be won by might, but wars are lost because of not enough known". In fact, the Men of Redmarch would commemorate every fifteenth day of every month to him. This is despite no self-respecting Yaguryeo not calling this the highest blasphemy. No one knows exactly how they exact information. Some say through bribery, others speculate the usage of threats. Then there are whispers pointing at dealings with Histalonia, a plausible theory considering the Island of Dreams being either a deceptive nickname or sarcasm gone unintentionally wrong. No matter where the truth lies, one thing is sure: None would ever divulge the secret to their success.

The manner of their wealth and influence is nothing short of unorthodox. Instead of smithies, barracks, and stables, they focus on establishments within the safety of walls and guards. From banks and guilds to inns and brothels, no place is free from their grasp so long money can be earned and recruits obtained. As a result, it is difficult, if not totally impossible, to fathom a guess on their actual numbers.

Perhaps the most infamous practice they indulged in is charging an informant's fee three-tenths of every bounty's price. Considering a different head would command a different price, this is a difficult pill to swallow. But swallow it a bounty hunter must. Compounding to the exasperation is that their findings would be worded in such a way that reward and difficulty become mutual synonyms. Their argument of justification? If mercy is worth one-tenth of a fee, then justice should be worth more than twice.

Swordcloaks:

Masters of guerilla strategy and tactical movements fooling even the most experienced commanders, the Swordcloaks have a rightful claim to be called the Scourge of Men. Eschewing the tried and proven way of attrition warfare, lack of knowledge merely contributes further to awe and fear, the latter more apparent. Some say they know magic with arrows of blue fire loosed from finely-crafted bows, others claim their skill in steel able to fell three men in a stroke. If true, one can be forgiven in shuddering to think whether the Homm'Nua has sent their finest for a reason.

Nothing is known about their agenda or even if they are here on a certain mission spanning untold years. Elves do have a long lifespan and one can be sure those who were among them are still alive and ever skilful. Yet, the Swordcloaks do not just take in full-blooded members. Half-elves are also part of them although a curious soul would wonder whether it's possible for a lucky bastard to bed an elven maid or an equally fortunate human lass enjoying a night of tryst with her elven prince.

One thing is common knowledge, though. And that is their leader's identity: Ioin dies Bladefort. The reason behind this is twofold. The first is that he is the second and current Armslord, a title reserved solely for whoever leading them, after Esca vron Findersbriar was recalled back to the elven royal court. The second? His reputation as a master duelist terrifying even the most hard-hearted fighters. From slaying demons to killing fully armoured knights with nonchalant ease, there is only this much perceived myth can be scoffed before it turns into something else altogether. Eye-witnesses testify to someone who can only be best described as a living dead, his eyes of emerald green betraying nary an emotion, let alone fear and wrath.

In a song now regaled by travelling minstrels of elven blood, there was this meeting between the Confederation. Attended by leaders and a selected few, the reason remains a mystery. However, one part of it never fails to snare the audience like a sorcerer playing his pipe.

A single stride and silent step, a graceful son of Homm'Nua became a wall. His back faced an enraged Brynheildr, for she did nothing unworthy. His visage faced Deigas Wagens, for his lewdness threatened to mock a meeting between the gods. Hand never departed from the pommel of a sabre forged from best elven steel, this was the only way. Ioin dies Bladefort, Armslord of Swordcloaks, his dead eyes of emerald piercing the soul of a shameless leader from Redmarch. A moment passed, an eternal pause. Then the Ghost of D'Aubens spoke, his voice smooth and lyrical, tremors coursing down every listener's mortal spine.

"End your jape, Deigas. Brynheildr, cease your rage. If it is a fish you want, a dead one will be what you get."

His shoulders slightly tensed, this was Ioin's threat. The one facing his back had no reason to test her luck, the one facing his visage laughing off the words. Alas for the prideful fool, all could hear a coward if he was to make a sound five leagues off.

How true is such a tale? This, no one knows. But one may be able to glean something from the reactions. For it is said that the Knightroses are now known to give a toast to "that elven dead fish who taught a living fish a lesson" while the Men of Redmarch would never ever bring the moment up again.