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File 125031709397.png - (166.91KB , 500x500 , 124925389518.png )
1059 No. 1059 ID: ffc576

Considering AfterQuest produces lots of discussion, I decided to make a thread for it here. Dunno if it's necessary to make one for Sergals in /tg/.
Expand all images
>>
No. 1060 ID: ffc576

>Talyxians just being better made for it or some such, or is it because of a difference in training?
They get much better training, at least the fighting part of the population. Kinda like Ninja Clans, most likely.
>Never fought a Talyxian before,
There ain't many Talyxians around, would be easy to never actually meet one.
>>
No. 1062 ID: 9a71e2

>>1060
That much difference between soldiers?
A spear in the hands of a competent wielder should give swordsmen shitfits.
Either Goshen is specialised in other areas, or that is some badass training catneckweasels receive.
>>
No. 1063 ID: ffc576

>>1062
Don't forget Goshen was very exhausted and also ambushed. He's lucky he even survived.
Sergals are better as army and Talyxians are better as individuals. Goshen probably only has normal grunt drill and some experience.
>>
No. 1064 ID: 98dab8

>>1060
>There ain't many Talyxians around, would be easy to never actually meet one.
Why not?
>>
No. 1065 ID: 7eda8b
File 125032143155.png - (80.78KB , 400x400 , SQuestP3.png )
1065

>>1064
>Why not?
I have a theory.
>>
No. 1066 ID: ffc576

>>1064
Information about Talyxians is kind of lacking. In the orig. Vilous world they were decimated, like many other races, by expanding Sergal forces.
But this isn't necessary true for the quest setting, so I might have been to fast with my assessment.
I seems Goshen has seen, or at least smelled, Talyxians before.
>>/quest/21923
>>
No. 1067 ID: 9a71e2

>>1066
Probably Raider training.
It would make sense to familiarise them with that sort of thing, yes?
>>
No. 1068 ID: 98dab8

>>1066
Oh, that makes sense. Hurpadurp.
>>
No. 1069 ID: 87583b

Talyxians were actually a neutral force in the original setting. Southerners and the reono clan were the only ones really conquered. The Talyxians mostly kept to themselves or allied with whoever would help them more at the time. They were basically shaolin monks, and took no real side as a whole, though individual ones did. Zyn and Roy were both Talyxians, one sided with Clan Shigu while the other stood with Clan Reono.
>>
No. 1070 ID: 448a65

So are there rent-boys in major cities or would it be possible to get our 'slave' to err sell his services if need be?

...What? I'm thinking economically here.
>>
No. 1071 ID: 6164e0

Well, if Talyxians seem to do beter because of their training as well as their innate agility, all Goshen has to do is train more and learn how to use his superior strength as a bigger advantage in combat. Maybe get a heavier spear, one he can still maneuver at reasonable speeds while making its thrusts much harder to deflect?
>>1069
>Talyxians
>Like Shaolin Monks

Okay, We definitely need to help Goshen live to see the day he is at least better than Shadram. This is like a challenge.
>>
No. 1072 ID: 6164e0

>>1071

..wait

Spear user
Big
stronger than foe
out here just to kill things and fight for fun

Lets help Goshen become Lu Bu.
>>
No. 1074 ID: 54af1f

Given Shadran seems to have casually slaughtered two other northerns who turned up to check on her trap, maybe we should consider that Goshen isn't a typical example of a northern Sergal.
>>
No. 1077 ID: 6164e0

>>1074
Right, but it seemed implied that those two DID NOT get warning like we did, and a knife in the neck can end a fight real fast.

So, I don't know if it really displays her skills when she killed two people by surprise at a trap of her own devising.
>>
No. 1078 ID: 54af1f

well, to slay two she'd need to be amazing, I mean, even if she killed them both before they could react that'd still be insanely fast
>>
No. 1128 ID: 6164e0

Say Test Pattern, think you could post the times you are going to do updates in this discussion thread a bit beforehand so we know when you are doing the update?
>>
No. 1131 ID: 7eda8b

Fair enough.

So far, I've just kinda goofed off and gone "Hmm, I feel like updating now."

No promises, but I'll try to remember.

Probably nothing tonight, for uninteresting reasons. Apologies for the minor cliffhanger.
>>
No. 1148 ID: 7eda8b

I'm going to try doing some updates tonight, starting soon.
>>
No. 1159 ID: 6164e0

So, do Sergals have some sort of blood-born berserker trick they can pull, or is Goshen doing something a bit unique?
>>
No. 1160 ID: 931581

>>1159
He's either getting crazy or he's becoming possessed by Rain. In the later case I'm kinda concerned about Apheks well being.
>>
No. 1163 ID: 6164e0

>>1160
Couldn't it be some sort of representation of an inner beast, their apex predator ancestry manifesting more strongly than normal for Sergals today? Which could then lead to conclusions about Rain herself being our interpretation of that Inner beast. Basically, by giving into/joining with this inner beast and its more ancient and primal drives, a sergal becomes a more capable predator by fusing ancient predatory instinct with modern (for them) warfare and fighting.

Which seems to be a fine way to explain Rain's supremacy on the field of war in conjunction with her crueler, more basic manners of inflicting torture/demoralization tactics.

She even left the throne when she felt she might not be the Alpha anymore.

Forgive me, I love making up crazy theories.
>>
No. 1165 ID: 931581

>>1163
I most certainly don't mind your speculating, Sergals somehow invite to do it.
Your ideas make some sense. Rain was offend described as more bestial on the battlefield. And she is the famous heroic figure for Sergals, so it would be only logical that Goshen has visions of her in his desperate situation.
But the weird eye-color change can't really be explained with some throwback to primal instincts. I'm not really sure if divine intervention is common in the Unified Setting.
>>
No. 1167 ID: bffa2a

Mayby Rain gave birth to more than one rape baby. Probably didin't care enough to name them all, giving them away like candy.
>>
No. 1174 ID: 98dab8

>>1165
>I'm not really sure if divine intervention is common in the Unified Setting.
It's not. But the setting of AfterQuest is a fusion of US and furry vilous, as well as, presumably, homebrew modifications.
>>
No. 1176 ID: 6164e0

>>1174
Hrm. Exactly how did you gather that from the quest so far?
>>
No. 1177 ID: 98dab8

>>1176
Talyxians are not in US, humans are not in Furry Vilous. But it's also been talked about in #rubyquest, and, I think, in the first thread.
>>
No. 1178 ID: 6164e0

>>1177
Entirely possible. I sometimes glaze over a bit when starting a Quest after it has been established.

Also, any chance we are continuing tonight?
>>
No. 1183 ID: 7eda8b

Should update tomorrow night.
>>
No. 1232 ID: 7eda8b

And again, tomorrow night.
>>
No. 1276 ID: 6164e0

Okay, so those marks on Goshen's armor (and the helmet, the piece that specifically belongs to him and was not looted from his fallen comrades), indicate him as a Silvoran Vanguard with a Raider designation, which according to the humans is indicative of being a highly ranked/particularly dangerous raider.

This is backed by his ability to survive and perservere when the rest of his group died, and his absolute slaughter of those two humans.

But then it seems to be debunked by other things, like a group of raiders traveling through the sailvane during the day rather than the night (They had extra supplies, sure, but a martial society evolved from carnivorous apex perdators would not work very well if their more experienced and grizzeled warriors make such lazy mistakes as this. Of course, if Goshen and his compatriots were still green, fresh out of their requisite training, it is completely believable that they travelled during the day in the desert, and that they were succesfully ambushed.

Further, Goshen admitted to having never seen a Talyxian before, as well as having only crossed the Sailvane once before (not counting the time crossing it as a child).

He has never owned a slave, and the way he acknowledged the difficult choices he was making (reversing circadian rhythm, eating a friend to survive, burying three fellow northerners without tools in the sand) seemed to imply that prior to then, he did not do such things.

Comparing these seemingly conflicting bits of data lead to the conclusion that (should all these data points be true) Goshen and his other fellow raiders were the equivalent of honor's students (part of the vanguard, decent fighters, etc), and in whatever training or early missions they participated in, they did well enough that they became cocky.

And then this incident in the desert was the first time that they were disabused of their youthful delusions of their own invincibility. Goshen is the only one (known of) who actually survived the event, and since then he has been changing his mindset and his behavioral patterns, the result of which has been him becoming a more capable survivor/warrior.

Anyone else have their own theories on Goshen's backstory they would like to share?
>>
No. 1277 ID: c2c6eb

>>1276
Sounds about right. He's fresh from his training. Considering the training system that sergals go through, it's quite possible that the only real significance would be that Goshen chose to be a career militant, rather than serving his required time and leaving, or aspiring to be an officer.
>>
No. 1278 ID: bde1b8

>>1277
And that fits him pretty well. Goshen lacks the Charisma to be a leader, but he certainly has the skill to be a warrior, so staying on as a raider makes perfect sense.
>>
No. 1413 ID: 6164e0

>>1278
Maybe he can pick up leadership qualities in the process of assembling a force capable of either killing those who ambushed him or doing something about the bandits, whichever.
>>
No. 1439 ID: 6164e0

Planning to do another session tonight to keep up the every other day pattern, or are you taking a break?
>>
No. 1440 ID: 7eda8b

School's started back up for me. I might need to ease off on the big long sessions. I'll try to do a few tonight.
>>
No. 1570 ID: 6164e0

So, if Goshen has crossed the Sailvane desert twice before (first time while fairly young), does that mean he spent a large amount of his childhood on this side of the desert, or was each of those crossings mentioned round trips?
>>
No. 2571 ID: 43d730
File 125282029510.png - (333.53KB , 600x600 , Goshen'sshirtismetal.png )
2571

>>
No. 2812 ID: 64f8ae
File 125305677452.jpg - (128.94KB , 800x800 , goshen's metal shirt.jpg )
2812

>>312371
No, NOW he has a metal shirt.
>>
No. 2849 ID: 7eda8b

Jawsome.

Man, the horns look weird with four fingered hands.
>>
No. 3243 ID: bffa2a

Bumping this up in hopes of people getting the message.
>>
No. 3244 ID: bd36a1
File 125374282285.jpg - (118.29KB , 407x405 , AdviceKyaos.jpg )
3244

seriously guys, what the hell?
>>
No. 3245 ID: 43d730

>>313044
I'm just advocating a bribe to get her away from us.
If I never see those creepy-ass eyes again it'll be too soon.
>>
No. 3246 ID: bffa2a

>>313044

Situations actually not as bad as with Kyaos. People are mostly trying to give the sword away in exchange for crazy to go away. The other sane suggestion is to put her on Fort Ji's payroll as a double agent and never having to deal with her ourselves. That of course means we would have to walk with crazy for a while.

But situations not as bad as with Kyaos... yet.
>>
No. 3247 ID: b94893

>>313046
If we can find a way to get her against the chieftan there's still a shot for Kyaos to fight alongside Tav, temporarily, for BEST END.

The enemy of your enemy is your friend. With Shadran however, we really don't have much to offer.
>>
No. 3248 ID: bffa2a

>>313047

OH GOD DAMMIT...
>>
No. 3249 ID: 6faa8c

>>313047
The enemy of your enemy is merely your enemy's enemy.
>>
No. 3250 ID: 43d730
File 125374532931.png - (280.25KB , 480x360 , 1235011641827.png )
3250

>>313047
>>313049
OH FUCK IT'S SPREADING
>>
No. 3251 ID: 7d87d9

>>313045
Who says she won't take the bribe then kill us?
>>
No. 3252 ID: 43d730

>>313051
We are now rested and relaxed, and to actually get to the bribe, we'd need to be at the door anyway.
We'd have to pick up our weapons to get hers.
>>
No. 3255 ID: efa41b

>>313044
>Any person you ever fight must be your enemy forever. Even if it was just business.
>>
No. 3256 ID: 6faa8c

>>313055
Didja forget the stalking bit?
>>
No. 3262 ID: efa41b

>>313056
I seem to have. When did she stalk us? So far it's looking like coincidence. There aren't that many places to go on a desert, you know.
>>
No. 3265 ID: 6faa8c

>>313062
She chased us in the night.
>>
No. 3268 ID: 43d730

>>313065
And no doubt rolled in the places where we had slept, nursing a secret, burning lust.

She ended up in the same rough endpoint as we did, which wouldn't have been hard.
>>
No. 3270 ID: 7eda8b

>>313065
Actually, she didn't give chase. The only time I can remember where the PoV was removed from either Goshen or Aphek was where it showed that she was still sitting there.

...whether that was out of mercy, disinterest, fatigue, fear, or something else was not revealed.
>>
No. 3272 ID: bffa2a

Well, apparently the only courses of action available are to get rid of her or go raid some gnolls with her. So there's no putting her in Fort Ji's payroll as double agent. I would just get rid of her but I'm going to abstain from voting.
>>
No. 3273 ID: 7eda8b

I'd just like to make it clear there are always more options available. Goshen's original plan was to raid gnolls, but you could decide he should do something else, if you want.

...might be fun, though.
>>
No. 4279 ID: 7eda8b
File 125507378583.png - (288.91KB , 1000x500 , LessWork_MoreWork.png )
4279

Folks say they like my writing, but the majority of work for an update goes into drawing. Doing full sketches and inks for each update is a bit of a drag, but just sketches and shading alone doesn't seem good enough. And trying to go halfway on inking looks even worse.

Comparison attached. What do you guys think?
>>
No. 4283 ID: e06ea4

>>314079
Can you pull off only putting full detail into the heads, or does that just look weird?

Though it all looks so nice when you're putting max effort in. Eh, I guess it's worth it to pick up the pace.
>>
No. 4284 ID: b94893

>>314079
Max effort will improve your art in the long run.

More updates will move the quest along faster.

Which would you like?
>>
No. 4285 ID: e06ea4

>>314084
Practicing sketching and trying to make it look good won't improve one's art?
>>
No. 4286 ID: 7eda8b
File 125508079564.png - (196.95KB , 1000x500 , AQ270 sketch_vs_ink.png )
4286

I tried simplifying things for the following update. It had more mistakes but was faster.
>>
No. 4287 ID: e06ea4

>>314086
Well 270 still looks fantastic, but.

I would be very amused to see an entire session done in the abstract sketching of >>314086
>>
No. 4288 ID: 7eda8b

That would certainly be one way to speed things up.
>>
No. 4316 ID: 54af1f

270 looks great. 269 is boxart but if you're worried about speed...
>>
No. 4317 ID: 54af1f

Actually though, I think I'm willing to wait for art this good.
>>
No. 4319 ID: 6459aa

I like the quality art. You could always use less detailed art for dynamic stuff like fighting for example. Anything that needs lots of different pictures in a short time.
>>
No. 4324 ID: 7d87d9

Its an issue that questers got.

Some make premade scenes for backgrounds and then plop the characters in then you get the calls of RAILROAD!!!
>>
No. 4444 ID: f98b1d

Ok, voice of perversion here. How are we going to convince Goshen and Shadran to smex eachother? Goshen is willing enough to look at her naked and try to sneak a peek so I assume that he'd be ok with it. Shadran...I don't know what the fuck is up with her.

I'm thinking about playing the "I'm curious about your mammaries" card. Yeah, he's seen breasts before. It unusual to him for a creature to have them all the time. Hope she gets injured and ask to check, etc. Look for some excuse to get her naked and then go from there.

Goshen's size and strength crossed with Shadran's flexibility and agility would make for very interesting sex. I think that's what has me contemplating this a lot.
>>
No. 4457 ID: 1d5408

>>314244
>think that's what has me contemplating this a lot.
Oh goddam, just what the fuck is wrong with you?
>>
No. 4462 ID: 9f0d45

>>314119
This is what I do, but I tend to sketch, ink, and color every frame too.
>>
No. 4474 ID: 0d1fe9

I reckon keeping the talyxian around until we find out who her other party members are and who her employers are and etc, then we kill them all. I suspect that her employers are planning an invasion of Sergalland so we can probably manage to recruit some raiders at the fort to help us with the task of killing lots of people or whatever.
>>
No. 4708 ID: 9607b2

>>314244
M'kay, revoking this after recent events.
>>
No. 4709 ID: 43d730

>>314508
Because of the backlash in the thread, or the whole 'Pile of skulls' bit?
Heck, I'll bet Rain had several of those, they make great centerpieces; Really ties a room together.
>>
No. 4711 ID: de913c

>>314274

Alright. I was driving home from Uni and had a bit of a mini-epiphany concerning the events thus far. I just hope this isn't mindless delusion, so here goes:

I was thinking about the myriad of connections that Shadran and Goshen have had over the course of this quest. Let's start with the beginning. She attacks us. Tries to kill us. We barely manage to defend ourselves, disarm her, and take up a fairly decent guard. Judging from her reactions, she could have probably easily taken us out, defensive stance or not. We were weak, wounded, and weary, and we certainly weren't going to survive a sustained assault against the girl. Which begs the question - Why did she stop? We now know the reason. She recognized us from the night her parents were murdered. We were the only one to notice her, so we think. So what does she do? A life for a life. It's almost as if saying 'I'll spare yours since you spared mine.' We don't see her for a bit after that. Instead, we come to the ruins, crashed out and near the point of deadly dehydration. Aphek only barely manages to stave off the two humans long enough for us to learn the Goshen is with Rain's Guard - The elite unit that Rain herself was said to have used when she was around. From there, we see Goshen commune with the Beast. The Basic Need takes over - Food. Water. Bloodlust. Victory. These traits are infused into Goshen and give him a bit of a boost, enough for him to take down two humans with little to no effort. Aphek later finds him passed out in the little hide away the humans were preparing. Preparing for who? Shadran, of course. Goshen figures that it was a human outpost, and burns it to the ground, taking as much water and whiskey with them as they can. And there is the second thing that really stands out as an oddity for me.

Why would Shadran need whiskey?

The answer might seem obvious - Aphek as bait while the whiskey burned and created smoke. But I can't help but wonder why it was of such fine quality? I'm no expert on alcohol, but I know the higher the proof the more it burns (I think). But does it smoke more? And why so much? One barrel would probably last for up to a week if it were set to drip at a steady, slow rate. So I guess that begs the question. Who was the whiskey for?

On top of that, why not follow Goshen and Aphek? Goshen catches a glimpse of her, and the two sergals just leg it. Instead of using her superior speed, she sits, and watches the fire snuff out. I thought this was odd behaviour to begin with, but with the recent revelation of her being connected to Goshen when they were both children makes me ponder it further. Perhaps she was reliving the memory of the fire at her home?

Let's move on. The Agunder Village. Goshen's dreams in particular struck a cord with me. I did forget to mention the first one, so I'll start with that one. In that one, we see Shadran with fire for hair, a winding body, and unblinking eyes. This connection burns deeper than the encounter he'd had with her the previous day. It was the beginning of a memory. The mind's way of saying 'Yoohoo, idiot, you overlooked something.' The Second one in particular was odd. When I first saw the image, I couldn't help but think "Why is it dull like that?" We saw two Talyxians fighting about seven or eight sergals, but nothing else. Goshen woke up not remembering much else. Again, the mind was trying to warn him of something important.

And let's get to the bathhouse. I'll skip the awkward gay meeting between Aphek and point to Goshen's impromptu meeting with creepy neck. That whole conversation bothered me. The fact that she didn't attempt to run or try to attack us also made me pause. Sure, it would have kicked her out of the inn, but she'd been trying to kill us! Now, Goshen's a bit of an idiot at times (It's part of his charm, I'm sure), but one thing that surprises me is the fact that Test goes for some of the wiser decisions, but rewords them. Someone can write up a suggestion or two involving an interrogation, and he'll condense it down to short, swift queries, all of which successfully answer just about everything we need. It was around here that I wanted to know a bit more about Goshen's past.

Moving on to the following day. The first thing I noticed when Test had Shadran come around from the side of the building was how calm she was. Blame it on the baths, but the way she was pictured illustrated a sense of peace around her, despite the nerves of the sergals (Especially Aphek, who is absolutely terrified of her). Even when the addition of "Sword for Sword" came into the deal, she merely nodded, and exchanged the blades without question or complaint.

Then there's the road. I figured it would be the perfect time to rapidfire questions off at her, but she stonewalled most and responded only casually to others. Something really started going off in my head by this point. 'She's leading us into a trap!' was the universal consensus, but I wanted to know. Why? She'd had several opportunities to gut us. Why now? Was something different?

And the Elves. They were a pop fly out of right field. If you recall, I think Goshen said something along the lines of "Talyxian's and Elves were allies during the war." And what surprises me most? Two things. Goshen's smarts, and Shadran's willingness to kill a former ally. Goshen's fairly humble for a sergal - He's adequate with most weaponry, he's a prick at times, and he shoots his mouth off whenever he feels confident enough to do so. But I can't help but look at him as any older than 17 or so. He's young. He's seen a hell of a lot of war. And he's a bit naive. And what about Shadran? Her field-craft is good. She probably could have quickly and quietly silenced those Elves if Goshen hadn't stopped her.

There was a reason I had wanted Goshen to think of any ritual he could. I had a plan for preforming one near Shadran (Just far enough away to seem to stay private, but to allow her to observe should she care). Just to gauge her reaction when we woke the next morning. And what happened instead? We promised to exchange stories.

And then we bed down for the night. We tell of her of the Goddess. The Beast. Rain Herself talked to you. Guided you in your killing spree. One more thing I found odd was Shadran basically telling us "You first." She obviously didn't want to spoil her great reveal, but I think she was waiting for more. Another thing that bothered us. As we got closer, she opened up a little more. When we asked for a normal conversation, she said "Maybe." When we tried to have one earlier, we were stonewalled with silence. Test also has some excellent foreshadowing to the whole deal with these particular lines:

"So where'd you learn to move like you do?" Goshen asks.

Shadran turns her head, though not very far.

"My kind has many ways to learn," she says. "They are not for you."

Goshen considers this.

"Are all talyxians as, ah, intense as you?" he asks.

"I bear a shape the world gave me," she replies. "As do you."

And the way she was pictured before the exchange of the stories. In the previous entry, you could tell she was angry. Her eyebrow was tilted down, and staring at your from that angle made it seem like she was trying to threaten you. In the next panel, she's relaxed again. No threat. No intensity directed at you. She just 'is' for a moment before speaking. And when she does offer to tell her story tomorrow, it's almost an allusion to the whole "I'll let you go first if you let me go afterwards."

Goshen's confession also brings up another little tidbit. They both know about the human heads. Goshen probably set them up in a flurry of madness to his goddess. Shadran, thinking that it was a taunt, replied in kind.

Which leaves me to think. She couldn't be carrying any bones with her, could she? Not during your encounters, anyway. And not while she was traveling with you. They would have stood out in her supplies.

As for the last bit. The realization. The horror of discovering just what she'd done. I can't help but look a few panels previous to that. How subdued she looked. How she actually pleaded with Goshen to trust her. If anything, we figure she's insane. Creepy bitch built a pyramid of Sergal Skulls and now she's going to kill us as a show of petty, pointless revenge.

But I can't help but wonder why she asked for that trust? She appears to be relatively stable so far as not killing Goshen outright. And judging by the bones, we don't know how old those are. Not only that, but look at the surroundings. Foundations of old houses. I see no apparent gravestones. Perhaps this monument is to her parents?

I still think there's a lot we're missing. Goshen's past is slowly being thrown at him. It's a memory he didn't want to remember. He repressed it. He pushed it away. He forgot about it. You don't do that unless it's something traumatic. We know so little about Goshen. We know his mother may or may not be alive. His father, and the rest of his family is a mystery to us. We know he was part of a minor ruling family. How did this affect his life? Was he given other training? Just how wise is he?

I've a lot of questions and theories, Test. But I really can't see them being answered all at once. Keep up the amazing work, and I hope to god my curiousity gets sated.
>>
No. 4715 ID: 55e935

For the record, I never endorsed a romance of any kind in this quest whatsoever. I'm looking at this from the D&D standpoint of "don't break up the party".
>>
No. 4717 ID: de913c

>>314515

And mine is to keep her as an ally. People may be loathe to say it, but she has skills we lack.
>>
No. 4720 ID: f4963f

Right now, I believe what we need to do is have a set of priorities to keep in mind. I would list these priorities, from most critical to least critical, as being:

>1. Survive encounter.
>2. Neutralize threat.
>3. Acquire an ally.

We will consider fulfilling objectives 1, 2, and 3 as the most ideal scenario, filling 1 and 2 as an acceptable scenario, and filling only objective 1 as the bare minimum we need to accomplish.

Survive encounter simply means that; it is in our best interests that Goshen not be slain. I'd also consider Aphek's survival an important subset of this priority, though I don't have much reason to believe that it's his life in mortal danger.

Neutralize threat means, in more words or less, that we make sure that there is no continued threat on our lives. This could take the form of talking her down, killing her, or otherwise rending her unable or unwilling to exact revenge on us. If we could talk her out of attempting on our lives, and she goes her own way, this could possibly fulfill priority two.

Acquire an ally essentially means what many people would like to see happen; have Shadran join the party, or at least become a loose ally. A scenario where we could successfully accomplish all three objectives would be the most ideal; however, we should avoid attempting objective three at great risk to the first objective.

Which leads to why I have problems with suggestions such as 'remove armour and talk her down', which, while heartfelt, have a large problem. The fact of the matter is that we do not know, at the end of the day, what is sitting behind Test's DM screen. He may have a note scribbled down that Shadran just wants to talk to Goshen about the incident, or that she intends to monologue about it. Or he could have down a note that mentions she's gonna spring out of a tree and gut us. We really don't know.

The objective of these suggestions seems to be to move her by showing that we are truly remorseful. However, we have seen nothing of Shadran since the flashback, and at the moment, any ideas about what her next course of action will be are conjecture. We can treat Shadran's acceptance of Goshen's remorse as an unknown, which could possibly be anywhere from very receptive to not at all receptive.

Essentially what I am getting at is that these suggestions attempt to fill all three priorities at once, but at the risk of losing all at once. It's an all-or-nothing gamble, completely dependent not on our actions, but on what's on the notepad behind Test's DM screen.

Now there is something to be said for genre; in the right type of quest, this would be a very sensible thing to do. The tone and theme of a quest, and the style of its author, should be taken into account; in Mudy Quest, this would work a lot better than in, say, a game of Paranoia.

I do not personally feel that AfterQuest has the sort of tone that makes this an ideal course of action.

Another popular option is to run. Running seems to have the highest chance of securing priority one; it is possible that she can outmaneuver us in the forest, but it turns a certain fight in the clearing into a possible fight in the woods.

However, it explicitly neutralizes our chances at two and three. That is; if Shadran remains alive, unswayed, and out for blood, we almost certainly will see her again. And you'd better bet it's going to be on her own terms.

The third option seems to be to stay in the area and confront Shadran.

Any combat, of course, bears a risk of losing priority one, but it does so much less than the unarmoured approach. It also bears the possibility of priority two in two ways; either defeating Shadran in combat, or talking her down, or otherwise rendering her unable or unwilling to kill us.

Priority three almost certainly will not happen unless we confront her as well.

If we confront her, I see two distinct possibilities; either she comes out swinging, in which case we would have to respond as aggressively as we can, or she attempts to 'tell her story' like she promised last night, IE: Give an antagonistic monologue.

If she talks at us, I strongly support letting her know what we know, and seeing how we react. If she comes out with weapons ready to strike, we're going to have to strike back.

Essentially, the possibility of Priority Three depends entirely on how Shadran acts next.

Talking is a free action, so there is no reason we cannot talk at her while entering the clearing, perhaps giving her a reason to want to approach us with words rather than blades. We simply must be absolutely ready to react to the latter, is all.

TL;DR: If we run, we survive but have a crazy weasel bitch trying to kill us. If we take off our armour, we're basically flipping a coin for BAD END. I recommend entering the clearing and keeping an eye for Shadran's next move.
>>
No. 4721 ID: c7553f

Yeah, the sex and romance stuff.
Am I the only one who thinks it got out of hand since the bath house? I thought the joke with Yisi was kinda funny, but suggestions in that direction got much more since then.
I'm not even sure if it's tired jokes, trolling or if people really want to turn it into a romance story.
>>
No. 4724 ID: de913c

>>314521

Too much Romanticar, not enough awesome/fearful/dangerous situations.

Also, a severe lack of Mudy, but that can't be helped.

>>314520

You see, that's what bothers me the most. I feel as if there is something we have missed, or something that we have overlooked. I feel as if Survival of the encounter is low priority because of how we are. We are rested. We have a fairly capable ally in Aphek, and we've got our gear nice and shiny and ready.

Number 2 proves to be a much more dangerous option. Right now, we're at an impasse. She's in her home turf, we're struck by a Heroic BSOD, and the fact of the matter is we do not know just what she is trying to illustrate. A major part of me wants to believe that there is something more to revenge here. Test's writing thus far has been brilliant in that regard, and Shadran's actions before entering the grove make me believe that she's in a fragile state. One wrong move could tip her into psychotic rage, and the other could potentially tip her over into grief stricken paralyzing sorrow. Who knows? Maybe she'll remain the same. Maybe she's so soul numbed by her parent's death that she can't cry anymore.

I really hope that's not the case. It makes the careful side of things harder.

As for gaining an ally, that might be the wrong way to put it. Reconciliation should be in number 3, with getting her allegiance as nothing more than a bonus. Goshen's an odd one. He never seems as tough as what we've seen with other sergals out there, and god knows how they act.

That's all I've got for now. I just hope Test does leave us hanging for the next few days.
>>
No. 4727 ID: f4963f

>>314524
My list of our priorities was not based on their expected difficulty or ease, but rather on their... well, importance. Essentially 'If we cannot achieve 1, 2, and 3; at least try to achieve 1 and 2. If we cannot achieve 1 and 2, at least try to achieve 1.'

She may very well be in a fragile state, or in a contemplative one, what have you. That's why I'm encouraging us not to strike unless she's clearly moving with intent to kill.

Also, a few notes about her being an easy opponent. Who says that she was in top shape during the first fight? If she had pressed herself, she probably could have killed us; at the time, she simply may not have considered us worth the risk/effort. She was going for a quick kill, and instead met noteworthy resistance. Perhaps a 75% chance of victory was too high a risk for what she wanted to accomplish?

If that is the case, then she could be considered significantly dangerous in this scenario. If she intends to kill us now, it's likely more personal, and 'oh he's on guard' is less likely to be a deterrent. Also, Word of God is that Talyxians are bitches to fight in solo combat.

So summed up: We should try talking, but be ready to fight.

Which... seems to be a pretty self-evident plan to me.
>>
No. 4728 ID: de913c

>>314527

Ah. One I agree with.
>>
No. 4768 ID: 6a6a5e

(Suggested course of action since I might not be here when it happens. Please consider this as a suggestion that was posted.)

Call for Shadran.
"I know who you are. I was there that night. I saw you. I didn't tell anyone. I don't want to kill you, but I won't let you keep hurting my people."

If she isn't going to stop killing Sergals, fight her. Tell Aphek to stay out of the fight.
GO FOR HER LEGS. You have to reduce her mobility. Consider using your spear as a quaterstaff instead. That may help when fighting her.

Shit is getting real.
>>
No. 4769 ID: de913c

>>314568

Might want to post that in the /quest/ portion of things.
>>
No. 4786 ID: 73ad2b

>>/quest/64718

You didn't read it very closely, did you? He didn't partake in the bloodlust, I don't think he even fought Shadran's parents. He was just there as a kid.
>>
No. 4836 ID: f4963f

I was reading back through some of the previous AQ stuff last night, and suddenly remembered this bit.

>"I'm told that if it's spotted by its prey while hunting, it'll dance. It'll come out of hiding and dance and dance, until the prey isn't scared of it any longer. It'll dance closer and closer. And then, before the prey realizes what's going on, it pounces."

D:
>>
No. 4837 ID: a63968

>>314636
Oh come on. How could you people assume it would be all ok with Shadran?
There was even some foreshadowing that Shadran got serious personal reasons to kill Sergals. I'm talking about the dream Goshen had in the Agudner village and the fact she had an head to scare them in the ruins, hauling bloody heads around is by no definition normal behavior.
The fact that Aphek even spelled it out for Goshen, and maybe /quest/, was just the icing on the cake.
But even the literal pile of skulls wasn't enough to convince some that Shadran might not be willing to be friends with Sergals.

But anyways I'm looking forward to see how the situation is going to turn out. We don't really know what's going on and there might be still hope. If Goshen actually survives he'll, at least, have awesome neck scars, like all famous Sergals.
>>
No. 4838 ID: de913c

>>314637

>at least, have awesome neck scars, like all famous Sergals.

>have awesome neck scars

>like all famous Sergals.

...Oh my god.
>>
No. 4839 ID: 43d730

>>314638
Definitely one for the Epileptic Tree list.
>>
No. 4840 ID: 62b3d7

So is the sword stuck through Goshen's throat, or did it slice along the side?

Assuming Aphek isn't utterly paralyzed, I'd think he'd help out the Sergal who's kept him safe this whole time.

Also, I concur with the idea that the wedding bells have definitely rusted on the whole romance thing. My vote is to grab her arm and rip her tendons if she stabbed, or fall away to the side and thrust with the spear if it was a slice.
>>
No. 4842 ID: 5d5878

Just reread the discussion thread because I was bored, and I found this oddly prophetic:
>>1077
>a knife in the neck can end a fight real fast
>>
No. 4844 ID: de913c

>>314642

Bob is a sleeper agent under Test's Control?
>>
No. 4845 ID: 43d730

>>314644
Test knows how to make the words of posters bite them in the ass?
>>
No. 4848 ID: de913c

>>314645

I like the idea of a Time Paradox myself.
>>
No. 4849 ID: 5d5878

>>314645
So, yeah. From henceforth, we avoid any and all dangerous hypotheticals.
>>
No. 4856 ID: f4963f

>>314649
>We gave the DM ideas by talking about neck-stabbin's
Except if you recall, it's well-established that she goes for NECKSHOT. I would point you to the second chapter of AfterQuest, when we ask Aphek how Shadran killed two fully armed sergals yet didn't kill Goshen.

http://www2.tgchan.org/kusaba/questarch/res/526875.html#526893
>Let's see. Aphek was rather weak at the time. It didn't seem anything fancy. Shadran had a hiding place out of sight. The Northerners approached, and then started prodding at Aphek. Shadran snuck up without making a sound, and stabbed one through the back of the neck. The northerner fell, utterly limp. The other turned and took a swing at her with a huge sword. She sidestepped it, then got inside his reach and drove her sword into his neck. She then leapt away while the sergal struggled to stop the bleeding. He did not succeed.

Which is to say, Shadran's a scary bitch to fight because SNEAK ATTACK. It looks like Goshen just got caught flat-footed.

Metaphorically speaking, of course.
>>
No. 4858 ID: 7eda8b
File 125594462242.png - (63.32KB , 500x500 , super.png )
4858

>Goshen: Um, shit, I don't know. I'm guessing the best available action right now would have to be, die.

>Aphek: Hey, man, you're going to have crazy voices in your head telling you to do stupid shit like give a sword to your mortal enemy full-time now! Isn't that great?
>>
No. 4859 ID: 5d5878

>>314658
Who's awesome? We're awesome.
>>
No. 4860 ID: 7d87d9

>>314658
Yea he shoulda listened to the voices that said slit her throat in her sleep. Woulda fixed this up... Although she probably knew we were gonna do that so she went up in that damn tree...
>>
No. 4861 ID: 67c611

If we make it through this we are going to kill her. There is no other option.
>>
No. 4862 ID: f4963f

>>314660
I'm pretty sure trying to kill her in her sleep would have similarly resulted in an epic fight. Crazy weasel-assassin's almost certainly a light sleeper. And yeah, she was in a tree.
>>
No. 4863 ID: 03f4bc

> Voices still focusing on only one possibility

HAHA, YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME LAUGH.

Goshen looks tough enough to sustain such a wound. If you want him to look weak, then continue with your talk.

I'm just saying. :3
>>
No. 4883 ID: 8b7db1

I'm calling it. Shadran is a god damn Mary Sue. NOTHING fucking works.

Though I am reminded of a piece of random battle wisdom I picked up somewhere: A true soldier fears, from least to most, the competent, the highly skilled, and the incompetent. Simply, you can 'read' the first two, to find out what they can do. But the last one you CAN'T, and that can get downright scary. So perhaps the only option we have is to be scarily unpredictable.
>>
No. 4886 ID: 036c03

>>314683
B'awwww.
>>
No. 4887 ID: 4f736e

I'll admit that I am getting a bit frustrated that everything Goshen does against her is coming to nothing. Knife in his leg or not, though, a take-down at this point really, really ought to work.
...really, though. Cunt Punt?
tg: Tactical Geniuses.
>>
No. 4891 ID: 5d5878

>>314687
*Cunt Punt, hits metal* "Wha-" *Baneblade pops out*
>>
No. 4892 ID: 954933

>>314683
>>314687
I wouldn't go so far as to say Mary Sue, but I am really getting a bit frustrated that, in all our combat against her, we have yet to get any sort of real advantage, despite taking combat in a very slow blow-by-blow form. There's no reward, and it drags on for a very long time. (Heck, the only way we 'beat' her last time was random deus ex machina. Was it ever explained why she ran away?) Still enjoying the quest, this is just a wrinkle I've noticed.
>>
No. 4894 ID: de913c

>>314691

CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!

Wait...

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!
>>
No. 4895 ID: e3cd9c

I'd say the problem is she gets to react to everything we do, but we don't get to react to anything she does.
>>
No. 4897 ID: 4553b2

>>314692
She ran away because we were dying anyway, and she didn't want to risk attacking a cornered, desperate rat. She'd probably get injured trying, and it sucks being injured in a desert.
>>
No. 4912 ID: 4e49f2

Combat has been the weakest part of this quest so far. There has been no sense of accomplishment in any of it and it feels more like a punishment then anything else.
>>
No. 4913 ID: e3f578

I really don't think we can be blamed for the uncreativeness for a cunt punt. Nothing else seems to work and that was the open part.

We did finally hit her and it was only in the cunt. I'd like to think that even if we fail this, we got to cunt punt a psychopathic bitch.
>>
No. 4914 ID: 43d730

>>314712
I think the more posts that go into combat discussion, the worse the reaction is.
Wait.

Oh my god, SHE CAN HEAR THE ORB
>>
No. 4917 ID: c4ac42

>>314712
I like it that way, appears way more "real" and meaningful compared to just carving up a bunch of expendables.
And we can't forget that Shadran's a fine tuned fanatic killing machine with Sergals as favored enemies. Defeating her will be a real accomplishment, assuming it actually happens.
>>
No. 4918 ID: 29a4e1

So what's the consensus? Most are saying kill, but some are saying keep alive.

I've switched the wagon to kill, now. I fear that the girl's just too far gone into her routine that trying to coax it out of here would require her to be a Quadruple Amputee.

I'm not that cruel, though.
>>
No. 4919 ID: c1b520

No one is lost forever within the pits of unstoppable vengeance. There is always at least one hidden path, a glimmer of honor, we just have to find it. It may take time, but we can't just kill her, not until we know it's futile. I think we may have hit something before we got to this point. That's why its been this easy, I mean, she probably could have one shoted us easy, look at that pile of skulls, she's unsure of herself. What we need to do is just keep beating on that crack until we hit home. This is just my opinion.
>>
No. 4920 ID: e3f578

Redemption for this one is way too hard. Let's just go the easy way... with the fact that she's flexible fighter that counters our every move aside.
>>
No. 4921 ID: 43d730

>>314719
We can save that for the sergal-hatan-trained daughter we haven't seen yet, in the house hidden a couple hundred yards away.
Seriously, it's us or her at this point, and while Goshen is a trifle more rude than I prefer, Aphek is <3.
>>
No. 4923 ID: c4ac42

Killing her will be hard enough, if we try any fancy shit Goshen will get killed himself.
Redemption is kinda out of question anyways and letting her suffer is not really necessary.
She deserves a clean warriors death.
>>
No. 4930 ID: 4bb122
File 125608704317.png - (238.73KB , 600x600 , 125608091021-1.png )
4930

>>
No. 4931 ID: 5d5878

>>314730
Goshen wouldn't be caught dead pressing X to not die.
>>
No. 4934 ID: fcce4f

>>314731
That... makes sense. He would be caught dead having not pressed X to not die.
>>
No. 4940 ID: 8fbd06

>>314730
No, it's an x-mash duel.
>>
No. 4943 ID: 4bb122

>>314740

Right, like the chainsaw-bayonet fights from Gears of War.
>>
No. 4951 ID: 5d5878

>>314734
Glad somebody caught it.
>>
No. 4960 ID: 7eda8b
File 12561140882.png - (74.75KB , 500x500 , let_Me_explain.png )
4960

Alright. Let me explain how swords work...

In a fight, certain things move faster than other things. Swords and especially daggers can move quite fast indeed, while torsos move relatively slowly. So don't read too far into the particular positioning of a blade as is drawn in an update. While it's a bad idea to hold a blade in an unready posture, it's an even worse idea to take an unready posture as sign that said blades are now harmless.

So, even though Shadran's swords were pointing sideways after deflecting Goshen's polearm, by the time he did something unbelievably stupid like falling down on her, she'd have brought her dagger point upward.

So, if you ever find yourself facing an opponent who is wielding a knife, do not attempt to lay prone on top of them as a means of attack, even if it's not currently pointed directly at you. That is a very bad idea.
>>
No. 4963 ID: f4963f

>>314760
I love you, Test.
>>
No. 4964 ID: 257b13
File 125614579615.png - (67.01KB , 500x500 , Ellipsis.png )
4964

>>314760
>>
No. 4965 ID: 257b13
File 12561458223.png - (76.46KB , 500x500 , Coolfursonabro.png )
4965

>>
No. 4966 ID: 7d87d9

>>314764
>>314765
What Is this I don't even...
>>
No. 4967 ID: 7eda8b

>>314764
>>314765
I don't think I get this, but I like it anyway.
>>
No. 4972 ID: 632862

>>314765
Psst that was a parody image of Satan explaining things to Beardbeard.

Not, um. A macro fursona.
>>
No. 4973 ID: f4963f
File 125615244099.png - (31.42KB , 600x400 , LetMeExplainThis.png )
4973

>>314772
Image related.
>>
No. 4974 ID: 257b13
File 125615384938.png - (75.81KB , 500x500 , Welieloudestwhenwelietoourselves.png )
4974

>>314772
>>314773
>>
No. 4975 ID: 7d87d9

>>314774
GET HER AWAY!
>>
No. 4976 ID: f4963f

>>314774
Ngh, no... hot... glasses-licking... action... <3
>>
No. 4978 ID: 7d87d9

>>314774
So how long until she pounces that sergal and we see clothing go flying?
>>
No. 4979 ID: cbf4b2

>>314778
Not to mention the skin, blood, and vital organs.
>>
No. 4980 ID: 7d87d9

>>314779
Why do I see Shadran liking John...
>>
No. 4995 ID: 5b76f8
File 125616673931.png - (296.04KB , 1250x1250 , whydoeshesee.png )
4995

>>314780
>>Why do I see
>>
No. 5011 ID: de913c

>>314774

Violent rape imminent.
>>
No. 5014 ID: cd0725

>>314774
You may have noticed this, but we have IDs here.
>>
No. 5023 ID: fba9cb

>>314795
...ears... so..short!
>>
No. 5031 ID: 7d87d9

>>314823
Puny ears. And we know John's violent tendencies come from being so inadequate. Since we know she'll NEVER had long pretty ears just those tiny itty bitty Elf ears.
>>
No. 5033 ID: 7eda8b
File 125623016076.png - (130.94KB , 400x400 , SQuest6.png )
5033

Regarding greentext.

Early in the quest, I'd just respond to the actions I picked with something along the lines of:

>>numbers
Goshen does this.

But when the thread gets archived, the backlinks break. So instead I tried quoting what the post says without the backlink. Unfortunately, there's not many clever ways I can word that. Usually, it comes down to

>Walk over and say hello.
Goshen walks over and says hello.

Which is lame. So more recently, I've been simply writing up posts with no backlinks or greentext at all, incorporating the actions and dialogue of one or more suggestions without specifying which.

I'm not sure if this is good enough. I know one appeal of quests is the sense of accomplishment one feels when your suggestion is picked, and not having any indication thereof may take that away. Plus, it could look like railroading.

What do you guys think?
>>
No. 5034 ID: 41aad5

>>314833
The backlink problem has since been fixed. All newly archived threads will have their backlinks changed automatically.

See the archived AntQuest thread for an example.

Greentext is fine too, though in some situations (your example, for instance), it's better just to leave it out.

I'd say that if there's a large consensus, that should be obvious, and there's no need for either backlinks or greentext, unless the action is particularly unusual. If it's just one or a handful of suggestions from a list, I'd probably site them with one or the other, though.
>>
No. 5035 ID: 7d8578

>>314833
I view After Quest as a story written by you, based on the posts of the suggesters. So yeah, it's good the way you're doing it.
I overall care more about the quality of the writing and less about seeing my personal suggestion being used.
>>
No. 5036 ID: 3d8e92

>>314795
Goddamn they're getting even smaller!
>>
No. 5037 ID: 7d87d9

>>314836
Soon she won't even HAVE ears!
>>
No. 5040 ID: 43d730

>>314837
Like she listens to us anyway?
>>
No. 5041 ID: f4963f

>>314840
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestigiality

:awesomeface:
>>
No. 5086 ID: 5b76f8
File 125631443383.png - (281.57KB , 1250x1250 , whysobald.png )
5086

>>314823
>>314831
>>314836
>>314837
>>314841
>>
No. 5088 ID: 43d730

>>314886
Hey, I have more hair than both my cats.
Nice extensions, though. Subtle.
>>
No. 5090 ID: 7d87d9

>>314886
I mean come on Its obvious that John can't get a sergal guy because of PUNY ears so has to go after puny humans. I mean if Joan rejected her then she'd be screwing elves or Communists. Is there a difference between the two with Elves?
>>
No. 5096 ID: 657ec5

>>314890
I'm pretty sure elves are communist.
Elves and smurfs.
>>
No. 5806 ID: 277821

Huh, so it looks like Shadran has some sort of split personality thing going on. Thoughts?
>>
No. 5807 ID: 82167e

>>315606
Nah, we're just seeing the real Shadran now. Ask Test about her eyes being colored sometime.
>>
No. 5810 ID: 632862

Goshen is huge. That means he is a huge Sergal. Shadran will slice and cleave. Slice and cleave this Sergal.
>>
No. 5964 ID: 7eda8b
File 125774812548.png - (84.15KB , 600x600 , AQLoRez.png )
5964

As you guys have no doubt noticed, the post rate for After Quest slowed down to an annoying crawl near the end of the last thread. I need to take a break from it.

It's getting hard to put so much time and energy into the drawings, but I'm unwilling to adopt a simpler art style, because somehow I don't think you'd take it as seriously.
>>
No. 5966 ID: f4963f

>>315764
If you're petering out, you probably should take a break, then. There's no sense in forcing yourself to push forward if it runs you dry. I really adore After Quest, but it would do best from a recovered author who hasn't run themselves into the ground.

The fact that you've gone so far with such a consistently high quality is admirable in itself. You've more than earned a break.

On an unrelated note, I know the point you're trying to get across, but I still love that scribble.
>>
No. 5967 ID: a5187a

>>315764
If you did a side quest entirely in this style, I would participate gladly.
>>
No. 5968 ID: f4963f

>>315767
Hmm. I can actually agree with that. :>

YISIQUEST IN GLORIOUS SCRIBBLEVISION.
>>
No. 5982 ID: c3db73
File 125776474386.png - (18.98KB , 640x640 , hurpaderp.png )
5982

>>
No. 5983 ID: 5d5878

>>315764
It's funny, but I think few people would've had a problem if it were like that from the get-go. Now that you've established higher-quality art, we can't abide by scribblevision. Except for sidequests.
>>
No. 6037 ID: e0499d

I think I'd be okay with less detail.
example: (I think I'll just use Ruby Quest):
Generally low detail, detail for certain areas.

Worked decently well.
>>
No. 6038 ID: 8e18cd

>>315783

Basically this.

People told me to scale down AQ's quality but after the first few posts in such HQ I thought that would be pointless given how great it looked and how people liked it.

Artstyle is part of the charm. What worked for RubyQuest might not work for Afterquest though.
>>
No. 6039 ID: 5d5878

>>315838
Somewhere between current good art and GLORIOUS SCRIBBLEVISION would probably be fine. I don't speak for anyone but myself, but I much prefer a quest to be running than to be pretty, if there needs to be a choice. Hell, Dorf Quest made it to 65 threads and was epic.
>>
No. 6048 ID: 67c611

I'd rather keep the art high quality and have a break than shift into a lower style. I think the current art style sets a serious mood. I'd hate to lose that.
>>
No. 6049 ID: d8aa80

>>315848

I'll say that every time my art has improved I've gotten more readers. People say they don't care about low quality art, but I think if you start off with a high standard, you will lose something if you drop down to a lower one.

If you start off with a simple style, it doesn't take anything away, but I think if you start off with a realistic or complex style, it does.
>>
No. 6094 ID: e0499d

you're probably right...
Maybe we can downgrade to no shading... or just black and white vision? That makes more sense!
>>
No. 6095 ID: 547e3f

so what are the actually time consuming parts about your art?
I could life with black and white if the color is a problem.
Hell I'd probably even still read it with the very simple pictures, but I'm not gonna pretend I'd like it.
>>
No. 6107 ID: 7eda8b

Well, shading is a bit time consuming, but not really difficult, like line-work is, where I have to work to get it looking okay. I like shading because it helps with art errors. I don't like the idea of people not understanding what they're looking at.

Anyhow. I think I'll try an interim quest with simpler art, as an experiment.
>>
No. 6147 ID: e0499d

HELLS YEA!
>>
No. 6179 ID: 6a6a5e

>>315848
I'd honestly rather discontinue After Quest rather than downgrading the art style. I think a reduction in quality would ruin the mood the art has set.
>>
No. 6190 ID: 6a6a5e
File 12582502561.jpg - (659.87KB , 1208x974 , 1258249763604.jpg )
6190

/r/ Shadran version

Saw the thumbnail and it instantly popped into my mind.
>>
No. 6196 ID: 7eda8b

>>315990
I can't really picture her mouth doing that.

As for eyes so full of rage that they become colored on a black and white drawing, well...

Now you know.
>>
No. 6206 ID: 426169
File 125828271510.png - (267.88KB , 600x600 , fffff.png )
6206

>>315990
Something like this?
>>
No. 6208 ID: 61ed81

>>316006
The eyes look like silly grandma glasses, so no.
Nice effort though.
>>
No. 6209 ID: 7eda8b
File 125830354679.png - (143.86KB , 500x500 , AQ227.png )
6209

>>
No. 6210 ID: 7eda8b
File 125830371443.png - (169.18KB , 500x500 , AQ54.png )
6210

>>
No. 6211 ID: 5d5878

>>316010
Ah yes, I forgot the momentary foray into Trippyvision™.
>>
No. 6212 ID: e2b509

>>316010
I still say the bare ass was the focus of that dream. GoshenxShadran OTP and all that jazz.
>>
No. 6272 ID: 7eda8b
File 125844087668.png - (60.14KB , 436x520 , Scribbleyisi.png )
6272

>>315768
>YISIQUEST IN GLORIOUS SCRIBBLEVISION.
Like this?
>>
No. 6274 ID: f4963f

>>316072
That is so adorable!

I love you. <3 <3
>>
No. 6285 ID: 5d5878

>>316072
Yes. Very much yes.
>>
No. 8962 ID: 3381f2

Test Pattern, why did you have to stop? This quest captured my heart, and it won't let it go.

Not bumpan for fear of mod rape.
>>
No. 9327 ID: ec4966

>Test Pattern, why did you have to stop?
I wanted to do Tozol Quest.

And, well... I was worried about fucking up a good thing. So I put it on hold so I can't mess it up.
>>
No. 9389 ID: 67c611

Y'know with you updating at crazy hours of the night, a one update a day schedule would work perfectly. People from every timezone would be able to respond to each post. People that only had one free hour a day would be able to follow each post. People wouldn't have to worry about being here at the right time to catch the quest. It would give more time to consider each post. The number of different posters would increase. It would reduce demand on the author. Consistency in update schedule would help.

Damn, why didn't I think of this sooner?
>>
No. 9390 ID: 2248db

>>319189
And the quest would grind down to a halt. Hell, I don't read once-a-time quests only because doing anything takes weeks, if not months. It might be nice to read those later when they're archived, but that's a surefire way to make me, personally, lose all interest in it while it's running.
>>
No. 9391 ID: 2cbe3e

>>319190

You know that for a long while AfterQuest updated a post a day, right?
>>
No. 9440 ID: 67c611

Since all the threads have been archived, I'm posting this here.

Goshen> "Shadran, you're a monster. You've become everything that you are trying to destroy. Turning a blade on yourself would do more for this world than killing any number of people ever could."
>>
No. 15731 ID: 3b3f66

So, is After quest like ever coming back?
>>
No. 15759 ID: ecf25b

>>325531
Don't hold your breath :V
>>
No. 15771 ID: 3b3f66

Was just wondering, friend told me the guy said it was to much work and didn't want to do it anymore.
>>
No. 15773 ID: b203e5

>>325571
Your friend is somewhat confused. Pattern (the author) explains why he stopped making it in this very thread. It's just a few posts up.

The same guy is currently doing Tozol Quest. You might want to check it out. It's quite alright.
>>
No. 16230 ID: 3b3f66

Tozol quest is okay....I hope he goes back to After quest though
>>
No. 31218 ID: f2a482

>>326030
>I hope he goes back to After quest though
Agreed, AfterQuest is awesome. Left it on a bit of a cliffhanger too...
>>
No. 31220 ID: 18c6d7

>>319127
I know the feeling, man. But I will say I find After Quest, even with its cliffhanger ending, to be quite good.
>>
No. 56655 ID: 27bfbb

So is this shit ever going to be continued or not?
>>
No. 56660 ID: 67e8b2

I don't know what to tell you. I keep meaning to do it, but it's been a long, long time. Somewhere along the way I think I just forgot how to do a quest update with any kind of brevity.

I would like to see the quest continued, but the slower I get, the more daunting it seems. (Which makes me even slower)
>>
No. 56676 ID: 42683e

>>56660

How about starting a short or very short quest on purpose then?

Just so you get back into it and get a feel for it again.
>>
No. 56677 ID: 4a20fa

>>56660
>I would like to see the quest continued, but the slower I get, the more daunting it seems.

Hey, you know what doesn't matter if you fuck up the updates for?

Legitimate Quest.
>>
No. 56678 ID: c891d3

>>56676
Hate to say it but last time this happened we got Tozol Quest, which, if anything, is not short.
>>
No. 56684 ID: 42683e

>>56678

Then just give after quest another go.

A few updates on it wont hurt the story either way.
>>
No. 56688 ID: 73110e

I sure hope Goshen and Aphek are ok......
>>
No. 56700 ID: e1ead8
File 134133073117.png - (65.33KB , 500x500 , Sergaljerky.png )
56700

>>
No. 56704 ID: 1f8505

*waves several dollars around*

Would this help motivate you, Test?
>>
No. 56715 ID: 6389ae

>>56704
"Hey, will you update After Quest?"
"No."
"How about if... George Washington asked you to update After Quest?"
"...are you trying to bribe me with one dollar?"
"A quarter, actually."
>>
No. 56719 ID: 927efa

After Quest doesn't need much updating anyway. It's one thread tops. Either she swims in the main character's blood and it's game over, or she has a change of heart "And then they fucked." The mystery was how a Talyxian could be pushed to be so brutal and cruel, and well it was solved. The mystery was why good loving unmurderous sergals were disappearing, and that got solved too. What else do you want, another embarassing bathhouse scene?

In contrast with After Quest, Penji hasn't even gotten to the surface yet. Tozol Quest has a huge amount of development left. Plus it's original not a fan comic in the Vilous universe putting test pattern's waifu's personality into an unfitting species.
>>
No. 56721 ID: f453e3

>>56719
The only development Tozol Quest seems to have left at this point is how long it will take Penji to die. I can't imagine how she would survive, let alone escape, after having her spine severed, so any "development" that might have occurred would seem to be off the table now.

Goshen, on the other hand, actually seemed to have a chance of surviving the encounter he was in when the quest was put into deep freeze, mostly by virtue of still being able to work his limbs.
>>
No. 56722 ID: 132b99

>>56721
uhh, mitzi drags penji and a ton of anti-supress to the spess shark, and fill it up. it then uses LAZERS to break open the roof and carries mitzi and penji away in it's mouth. penji focuses on figuring out codes and shit and when a spess shark shows up in tozol territory saying codes that tozols would die rather then give up from torture, they will see it's totes legit.
>>
No. 56726 ID: 4a20fa

And then they all get ice-cream, presumably.
>>
No. 56733 ID: f453e3

>>56722
See, now you've somehow made it sound even less plausible than it already was.
>>
No. 56735 ID: 42683e

>>56719

Once the business with the talyxian is over, there's still the question of what becomes of goshen's personal dustback. Pretty sure most people would want to know what becomes of him.

Also, wasn't there some mention of a possible alliance brewing against sergals back where goshen killed the two humans after dream-rain talked to him? Might be remembering wrong on this one.
>>
No. 56737 ID: 4a20fa

>>56735
Nah, there was some kind of big plot in the background. The stash Goshen burned was Shadran's payoff IIRC.
>>/questarch/527199 or thereabouts.
>>
No. 56749 ID: 42683e

>>56737

Yeah, that's what I meant.
>>
No. 56762 ID: 927efa

>>56721

Yeah, because a severed spine is the worst injury she's had before. The biggest quest-ender at this point is being incapacitated by the humans, who would then not finish the job but hook her up right next to what's his face until she went catatonic too.

Then Marcus comes and has a huge guilt trip over how he done goofed toying with the lives of other prisoners. Then he nurses Penji to health by spooning her mashed circuit boards, and she's memory wiped again, and then the Diplomats arrive.

That's not even taking into consideration any allies Marcus could have gained during this time by doing what he should have done in the first place and ratted out the evil experimenters to the insanely powerful civilizations they were trying to experiment on in secret.

So even if Penji gets totaled, captured, and rendered comatose, that still leaves a ton of open ends just begging for another chapter. After Quest, in comparison, has only the great mystery of why Goshen, a northern sergal, went nutso and savagely killed a bunch of people.
>>
No. 56782 ID: f453e3

>>56762
Look, you're only a little more plausible than >>56722 up there. Still a situation where the quest's continuation is contingent on Test bailing us out with another character (or several). (Personally I would have just not have Penji get shot in the spine to begin with, since it's rather hard to move forward in a way that matches the quest's overall feel and Test can't really call backsies on it now like he did with the displacer rocket. But I'm not running the quest!)

Also, as the posts above you mention, it's not as though After Quest doesn't have any plot beyond the immediate situation.
>>
No. 56808 ID: f647c0

>>56782
>Test can't really call backsies on it now like he did with the displacer rocket

...it had poor setup, but that doesn't mean it wasn't an ability planned well in advance.

Personally, I'm still waiting for some impossible-to-mess-up Legitimate Quest.
>>
No. 56815 ID: c3c502

I dunno. You guys seem a little pessimistic to me.

Penji can repair her spine, sure, if gets out of there. Problem is just getting there. If we could just get the dang missiles fired and down the hole, that would be it. We just need a little luck in a desperate, risky evac- not an outright Deus ex Machina rescue.

Our big problem, I think, was we fought to pretty much the brink, and then expected our escape route to be ready. And then Mitzi was all "Durr, the hole's barely started, I need more time!". Only then we had no more time. And got shot in the neck.
>>
No. 56817 ID: 42683e

I think this is an after quest thread, not a test pattern general quests thread.

That said, continue after quest.

Please :3c
>>
No. 57063 ID: 6774f9

>>56817
Yes please! ^.V.^
>>
No. 66454 ID: 3704c1

>That feel when you start reading this quest off the wiki only to see it is discontinued

Feel real bad man
>>
No. 66455 ID: 49b25e

>>66454
Dude, it was dead! DEAD! Let it die!
>>
No. 66462 ID: d6ae01

The quest hasn't been updated in 3 years. Until such a day comes that this quest lives again, this thread will rest right along with it.
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