Official Mark Ideas Thread

[Kagebunji]

there will likely be a couple CreepyPasta inspired marks, though not for meme's sake, more for the fact that I love CreepyPasta

You have no idea how happy this makes me, haha.

[3lric]

Unless you are a crafty devil like me and know how to work around such issues, assuming Elric likes the idea of Link being required and my workaround.

spoiler: Rated G Response

Can't wait to see what you are talking about here. I love craft projects :trollface:

spoiler: Rated R Response

This gets me excited in a way that if my wife got me excited in that way, I'd say "oooh, that's niiice"

You have no idea how happy this makes me, haha.

Then maybe you and I should discuss some CreepyPasta mark ideas together via PM Kage?

[brittmarv]

The Horde of the Ring.. or.. You Shall Not Pass!
Difficulty:
TBD. Average, Difficult, or Very Difficult

So for what ever reason, the five don't seem to be the only fellowship crusading throughout Ivalice. They encounter the 9 in an outdoor area. Hope for peaceful relations soon crumbles, as Ramza realizes that this battle hardened horde is collectively suffering from some sort of addiction withdrawals from their "precious," and have been slaughtering their way across Ivalice in search of it, at any cost, leaving a trail of wanton destruction in their wake.

Location:
TBD, Mandalia Plains?

Enemies:
1x Frodo Baggins (Squire + Rogue Secondary)
1x Samwise Gamgee (Chemist + ?)
1 x Merry Brandybuck (Squire + ?)
1 x Pippin Took (Squire + ?)
1 x Gandalf the Grey (Wizard + Dimensionalist? Secondary)
1 x Aragorn (Ranger + Knight)
1 x Legolas (Ranger + ?)
1 x Gimli (Knight + ?)
1 x Boromir (Knight + ?)

The jobs for each character are up for discussion and this is just a quick mock-up.

[EzE-2G]

(Hey! I want to do secret suggestions too!)

Haha at one of the changes to 1.951 relating almost directly to the idea that I said I needed to think on a bit. I'll make a secret ballot for "reasons", though part of that is merely because of speculation about a few things. Well, that and it rather pertains to the end of Chapter 1 fight (which I still haven't gotten to myself and haven't seen).

This is another something only Jot5 can get away with though.

spoiler: Where the hell is Hyrule?

I assume that Dark Link will show up at some point given you know who apparently shows up at Chapter 1's end, though I'm still not there yet. Similarly, I assume that one of the Marks already existent or at least considered is a dark version of Ramza or at least some type of doppelganger fight, so this might step on the toes of that.

As much as I try not to reference memes, the "BEN Drowned" one seems like it would make for a rather decent Mark and I thought of way to make it yesterday without needing special classes after thinking about it for a day. Just didn't get around to posting it because I was distracted by other things.

It's a shame there's probably no way to make it mandatory to take Link into this particular Mark, but meh:




*References "BEN Drowned"* (Has a Link. Hurr hurr.)
What is "Highrule"?
Story:
"Lately, eerie voices and songs has been heard coming from the waters of [Insert Map Area with a Landlocked Body of Water Here]. Many a traveler has hurried from the place, [merely thinking themselves lucky that they didn't have to deal with manifestations of the apparitions or any other monsters], but a few, perhaps fools or madmen, have stayed longer and heard differing things. One claimed to hear a crying, choking child; another an eerie, warped song backed by whispers; yet another burning and agonized screaming. Most reports agree, though, that the voices speak of something called 'Highrule', whomever or whatever that is."

Difficulty: Hard.

Location: [Insert Map Area with a Landlocked Body of Water Here], though I admittedly prefer Finath River or Bariaus Valley, maybe even poor neglected Doldobar Swamp, to Zirekile Falls or Fovoham "Plains". Also, Poeskas Lake doesn't count despite the...nature of this encounter/Mark.

Enemies:

*after some type of ambush via waterborne distracts and a brief explanation about "freedom" and essentially "kill and replace" and "spreading"*

3x Immortal Link "Hero of Hyrule", non-Dark Link palettes, all named "BEN".

spoiler: Power, Courage & Wisdom...Are So Deliciously Corruptible

I'm...not really sure if Link's Hero of Hyrule class can innately equip Instruments since those still aren't available, but I'm going to pretend they do for Power's set up. It's not like we can't just force non-compatible weapons on people anyway, so....


"Power" Link would be the Red Palette for Link, which would have an Instrument as its weapon and be the only "Link" to perhaps have a special ability or two since it wouldn't access to the Sword ability or Arrow abilities of "Hero of Hyrule":


1. Song of Gnilaeh (or Elegy of Emptiness): Basically the reverse of Song of Healing in that it randomly (or perhaps even separately) attempts to inflict what Song of Healing can cure, though Vampirism might be a...much if it's still a) infinite and b) instant game over. Then again, Petrify has that issue as well, though that's at least not infectious even as much as AoE Petrify might be a bit much....


I was going to suggest that Elegy of Emptiness be made into an AoE 2 discriminating Dispel, but isn't Odd/Eerie Soundwave already basically that? Meh.

Regardless, "Power" Link has some type of magick Secondary--probably Black Magick--and whatever Short Charge Support got renamed and Move-MP Up Movement. Also, thinking on it, I suppose he could steal from Gannondorf's skill set or whatever.

To juxtapose that, "Wisdom" Link would be the Purple palette, a Longbow set-up, probably White Magick Secondary, Ramza's Sturdy Support, Move-HP Up Movement and perhaps some stuff from Zelda's skill set if she has an active one.

Similarly, "Courage" Link would be the Light Blue palette with a Sword & Shield set-up. Probably has Defense Arts Secondary, but definitely has Adeptness Support and whatever the highest Move +X is as Movement.

3x Ghosts or Skeletons...also named "BEN".



Should probably the match end with one of the "Link"s saying "You shouldn't have done that...." after they lose. [/shrug]

I'd feel more confident about this if a) I played the game it's reference, b) played more of Link's series in general and c) there was a third type of Undead monster to "request" since right now it seems like Ghosts & Skeletons are getting whored in my ideas; we all know repetition is such fun.

I wanted to respond to this earlier, but I didn't want to respond to it without suggesting another Mark. Now that I've done that, I'll just say that, yes, it's possible to create it and, yes, giving it ??? stats is as easy as a toggle in FFTPatcher. As I explained to Elric above, outside of making it recruitable (maybe), everything you ask for is possible.

It's just another question entirely whether it's a good idea, just like how it's another question entirely of whether it ultimately fits.

No i'm not suggesting the stats of the recruited chocobo be ??? at all but based on your main char level once completing the mark.

[kyozo22]

'He Who Holds the Spirit Stone'

Location: Nelveska? Or whatever hasnt been used much in planning stages!

Description: Two self-Titled 'Adventurers' are travelling the continent in search of excitement, ancient ruins and the thrill of an adventure. The rumours speak of one of them possesing an artifact known as a Spirit Stone, a relic capable of acheiving the impossible...

Enemies: If not generic jobs, then both are a Special job - Adventurer

If generic, then:
Female Redguard ('Feena')
Male Animist? ('Justin')

Difficulty: Medium-Hard

[brittmarv]

'He Who Holds the Spirit Stone'

Location: Nelveska? Or whatever hasnt been used much in planning stages!

Description: Two self-Titled 'Adventurers' are travelling the continent in search of excitement, ancient ruins and the thrill of an adventure. The rumours speak of one of them possesing an artifact known as a Spirit Stone, a relic capable of acheiving the impossible...

Enemies: If not generic jobs, then both are a Special job - Adventurer

If generic, then:
Female Redguard ('Feena')
Male Animist? ('Justin')

Difficulty: Medium-Hard

Hi. Interesting mark idea. There are a few points I would like to raise.

Nelveska is out of the question for marks. I have also suggested it in the past and was told that it has a specific purpose in-game already and not to use it in my mark suggestions.

Jobs - there are only tiny amount of job slots available to play with. While uncommonly they may be cleared for use in marks (The Intangir, for instance, above, would require a job slot to enable it's automatic stealth, if they choose to use it,) for the most part it is too early in the development process to use up a lot of slots for anything.

I am not 100% certain but, it may be possible to still rename your unit's jobs to "Adventurer" without using a slot. Either way, they would still have to use the base job types and skills for all of their abilities. For instance, though named "Adventurer", the units would still be Redguards/Animists and then whichever secondary job you would want.

This even has to be done with monster type marks, to avoid wasting a slot. For example, you could create a monster type mark, but would have to treat its abilities like it were a human unit, unless you just copied a skill set from a monster in-game already.

And lastly, there are also a very precious few equipment slots left. There most likely won't be any equipment created specifically for a mark.

This doesn't necessarily mean we cannot use the Spirit Stone.. it just means it wouldn't be a "use"able item in battle, or an equipable piece of equipment. Which leaves only one alternative - It could be a plot item, used to further advance your storyline with this mark. Are you planning on making a part 2 or part 3? If so, then the item could exist only in text form, in the events related to your mark.

All that aside, you have left out a lot of information about this mark, which leaves a lot of questions in the air. What is the backstory of the two adventurers? What are they doing? Where are they from? What is the Spirit Stone? What does it do? Why do they have it? etc

[3lric]

Thank you Britt, you are correct to question all these things... PLUS people seem to not care that there is a SPECIFIC LAYOUT that I requested everyone use for this thread.

[kyozo22]

Ah yeah, shit sorry elric! I only get web access on my crappy brick of a phone so I had to rely on memory to try and get the layout, right so sorry about that mate! Guess I didnt remember properly. Will commit it to memory for next time.

As for skimping on details, again due to my crappy phone I thought I'd written loads when it was actually bugger all. So, here goes:

Justin and Feena are main characters from a Dreamcast/ Psone RPG called Grandia, in which Justin's father was  a famous Adventurer who obtained a relic from the ancient and technologically advanced Angelou civilisation - the Spirit Stone and, before his death he gives it to his son.

Hoping to prove the authenticity of this relic and follow in the footsteps of his father and generations of adventuring ancestors, Justins aims to be the first to rediscover Alent - the heart of the Angelou civiliisation.

Ok, Im leaving it at that for now. Going to re-read your post Britt and edit in other responses, so bear with me please folks!

Ok, so, as a relic in Grandia, the Spirit Stone is basically a swiss army knife - it opens ruins, activates teleports, protects the user/party during plot moments etc and is all round amazing - exactly the sort of thing that a rag tag group of multi-dimensional heroes could confuse/ worry about being a Zodiac stone.

Yeah, I realise that theres limited space for items/ jobs etc and had only planned it to be text based as a reference for those that had played the game.

p.s Location spoilers! Just kidding there btw.

p.p.s Speaking of location, I don't think that its particularly important where this one's set. Maybe somewhere like Ziekden?

[brittmarv]

Are you Turtley enough for the Gilgame Club?
Difficulty:
TBD. Average to Difficult

Barkeep: I've got a juicy tip for you today, pal! It's a well known legend in these parts that a hefty treasure horde was hidden away in a valley of (area name,) guarded by vengeful spirits. Was it lost to time? Nobody knows for sure, but get a load of this. Huge turtles have been spied emerging from a newly revealed rift in the valley. Some say their feet never touch the ground.. others say the very earth trembles in their presence, but everyone agrees on one thing: Every inch of their shells is encrusted in pure gold and dazzling gemstones!

Location:
TBD, Fovoham?

Enemies:

spoiler

4-8x (adjust # for difficulty) Gilgame (Golden re-color of Turtle sprite)

Absorb: Earth, Dark
Weak: Wind

Abilities: Earthquake (wizard, primary job)
Soul Taker, Rain of Stone (animist, secondary job) possibly another blue magic skill as well

Reaction = Damage Split (that's turtle as it gets)

Support = Defense Boost or Arcane Defense maybe?

Movement = Levitate (This serves two purposes. Fist, the original Gilgame/Gil Turtle were undead. This is referenced in the barkeep tip as "vengeful spirits" and this is the easiest way to "appear" undead without requiring a job/monster slot to be used up. The second purpose is to protect the turtles from earthquake (from absorbing it, actually - for difficulty sake))

This fight is heavily influenced by Levitate. If the player has levitate, then they don't have to worry about Rain of Stone or Earthquake. For this reason, the turtles have Soul Taker (which also fits their "undead"ness).  Likewise, if the player removes Levitate from the turtles (if that is possible since it is a job ability?) then they will be more difficult to defeat since they will be subject to constant earth based healing.

Reward:
A proportionately large amount of Gil. Battle trophy could be Hi-Potions or anything, the main point of this fight is the gil. (It is in the name after all)

[The Damned]

(Ah, right. I forgot to comment on the LotR thing and reply to EzE-2G before I "left" for a week.)

No, it is not possible to remove Levitate from a unit, brittmarv. That was one of the few advantages the Float Movement had over the Float spell even back in vanilla: It wasn't ever removed, even on death--Jot5 has changed this--and thus it wasn't subject to Dispel or any positive status canceling. This is why Float Movement allowed for stopping over lava panels--thus making Move on Lava even crappier--while Float status didn't. (Thinking of it, if you did give Turtles Levitate, then they'd probably be able to move over water panels even with Cannot Enter Water unlike what happens when you "just" Float or even Power Monster them.)

Anyway...with my Internet back, now I can start searching for the names to my original suggestion, which I should probably do sooner than later, lest I put it off yet again.

That said, even in my absence, I thought of a couple more Mark suggestions, trying to still keep the sprite limitation in mind. I realized only a couple of hours ago, however, the less complicated one--of course--actually needed more thought (since I "like" complicating things, apparently).

In the meantime, here, have this other, needlessly complex Mark inspired by the Zigolis Story battle, which means I couldn't use this for a Mark in either of my own patches (currently) even if I wanted to since I'm currently not using the Werewolf sprite:


*references...nothing really, for once, save for maybe a minute reference to Marvel's Doctor Strange; I guess you could sort of count mythological lore when it comes to werewolves since it assumes some things about Jot5's werewolves, but.... Also, I guess you could name the enemies after famous werewolves here like Josh or George or, ugh, Jacob if so wanted.*
Hope for a Cure (OR: Why Hope is a Four-Letter Word)

"The spread of this accursed 'Were-wolf' problem has brought along with it many rumors that there may be a cure for this unholy disease other than death. While the majority of these have been spawned from learning of the silver allergy of these beasts, they do nothing but cause pain rather than cure this devilish ailment. Lately, the Finath area has seen many disappear looking for a cure in search of a rumored healer. While not as unholy a site as Poeskas, Finath has a long history of being dangerously untamed and any healer who would make his home in the area is at best worthy of suspicion."

spoiler: Standard Too-Long Intro Of Mine

The Mark's scene opens with a mixed group of 4+--I envision 8 max--melee warriors having gathered in the middle of the lake and on whichever bank is opposite the one that Ramza and co. walk in from. They are shown briefly looking around the area in different directions before turning to each other across the water and starting to argue.


Generic #1: "See?! I told you there was no one here! We're doomed!"

Generic #2 (Presumably group leader): "Be quiet. We just got here. We can't give up hope already."

Generic #1: "But I can't smell anything even with these accursed enhanced senses! No one's been here in ages!"

Generic #3: "Isn't that strange, though? This area is usually teeming with monsters, but now...nothing."

Generic #4: "It's because we're the monsters here."

*generic #4 goes into crouching/Critical position as he/she start to break down; another generic besides #1 or #2 starts to comfort them*

Generic #2: "We are only monsters if we remain like this. We can't give up hope."

Generic #1: "But that's just it, there is no hope."

Generic #2: "For the last tim--."


*Generic #2 is cut-off by an unseen speaker.*


Placating voice: "Now now, children. Please stop fighting."

Entire "pack": "!!!!"


*Everyone, but especially Generic #2, looks about*


Generic #2: "Who's there?! Are you the healer we've heard about?!"

Placating voice: "I have enchanted the waters of this part of the river. That is why this area is devoid of abominations."

Generic #2: "Answer me!"

Placating voice: "Yes, I am the healer of Finath."

Generic #2: "Then show yourself!"

Generic #1: "Hey, don't piss him off! Then we might not get cured!"

Placating voice: "It is fine. My mercy and patience are extensive. Still, I prefer not to show my face."

Generic #2: "And why is that?"

Placating voice: "How do I know you are not merely pretending?"

Generic #3: "What?!"

Placating voice: "What I mean to say is how do I know you are not agents of the king sent here to whisk me away and force my gifts and I into labor for him? I rather enjoy my freedom."

Generic #3: "We're not those types of people!"

Placating voice: "And how do you expect me to be convinced by those mere words? It would be easier merely to wait for the moon to rise and-."

Generic #4: "Please, no! I don't want to transform again! Never, ever again!"

Generic #1: "Yes, we'll do anything!"

Generic #2: "...."

Generic #3: "...What would you have us do, then?"

Placating voice: "I ask for no recompense for my gift other than being able to maintain my anonymity. If you want to be cured, then all you need to do is drink deeply from the waters I've enchanted."

Generic #2: "...."

*Generic #2 turns to the others*

Generic #2: "...I don't like this."

Generic #3: "Neither do I, but what choice do we have?"

Generic #1: "You're the one who just said to never give up hope!"

Generic #4: "Yes! He sounds trustworthy enough with a valid reason to want to hide his face!"


Yadda yadda yadda. They take a drink and get mind controlled after the usual "what's happening to me/my body?!" hopeless cry that signifies how fucked they are. The "placating voice"'s owner, the "healer", then pops out/teleports in to reveal himself to be a Mindflayer just as Ramza and co.'s slow asses show up.


Mindflayer: "Oh, I thought I sensed other minds, but it's always so difficult to tell with how stupid most of you humans are."

Ramza: "...You can talk? How strange...."

Mindflayer: "Funny. I've always been surprised that humans possess the capability myself."

Ramza: "...Never mind that. What have you done to these people?"

Mindflayer: "Oh, they were hardly people anymore. Besides, I've merely given them what they asked for: a cure. Now they'll never transform again."

Ramza: "Then why aren't they moving? What have you done to them?"


*all the generics turn in unison to face Ramza and co.*


Ramza: "?!?!"

Mindflayer: "I didn't lie. I ask not for recompense. I demand servitude of these would-be werewolves."

Ramza: "Free these people, now!"

Mindflayer: *sighs* "Didn't I just tell you they aren't people? They are my pets now. Still, I only need so many new dogs at once."


*the Mindflayer teleports behind his "pets"*


Mindflayer: "And now, my pets, for your first trick, rip him apart."

Difficulty:
Hard/Difficult at the very least. Very Hard/Difficult if you don't bring anything to block or at least cure Berserk.

Location:
Finath River

Enemies:
1x "Healer"

spoiler: A Strange New Healing Hope

The "healer", if you haven't already had it spoiled above, is actually a rather "buff" Mindflayer. "His" class is still the Mindflayer class, but "he"--let's call him Strange or Stephen--has a human-like RSM set-up:


Primary: Mind Crush (Original Primary/Secondary)
Alternate: Monster Care (Beastmaster's Secondary)
Reaction: Counter Flood (or Dragon Spirit)
Support: Arcane Defense
Movement: Teleport (regular Teleport, NOT Master Teleport)


The "Mind Crush" skill-set is made up of all the Illithid techniques minus whatever the Beastmaster-only skill is, the Yin-Yang Magic spell Doubt Faith, the Red Magic spells Hold & Mute and maybe the Dance ability Witch Hunt.

4-8x human generics all with no weapons, an odd Secondary called "Lycanthropy", Brave Up Reactions and most with Barehanded or physical offense-boosting Supports...and all whom, if possible, are flagged as monsters (instead of male or female).

spoiler: Would You Like to Know More?

So, I figure that the generics here would make most sense to be made up of melee generics since those are the most likely type of classes to actually be bitten and infected by werewolves due to the unfortunate need for proximity. So stuff like Monks, Squires, Knight and maybe Samurai & Ninja instead of things like mages, Rangers, Bard or Dancer would be best. This is especially important since the classes also need PA to do much of their  damage since they'll be bare-handed to take advantage of Brave UP. I pictured it being a mixture of male and female Monks & two male Squires, at least one of whom does the "Two Swords with Shield" trick; the other male Squire may be better served having his Charge Primary replaced with something else like Item or Sing.

(This was when I was sure there would be eight generics, though.)

Speaking of Brave UP, I suggest universally using that rather than giving the Lycanthropy Secondary the "Feral Courage" ability given how much the AI wastes time using that when it could be doing far more threatening things.

Speaking of which, Lycanthropy Secondary should have the other five non-Beastmaster abilities that Werewolves have that aren't Feral Courage. That's it. That should be more than enough to be threatening without Feral Courage's distraction though, especially if enough Brave builds up.

I was so very tempted to quote some of the dialogue against Orochi in KOF '97 towards the end of that "intro", but you guys could probably better use that for Psycho Mantis if he shows up at all.

No i'm not suggesting the stats of the recruited chocobo be ??? at all but based on your main char level once completing the mark.

So noted.

I'm still not sure if that's possible though for the reasons I already stated with regards to it. As far as I know how recruitment works (which, admittedly, is not on a coding basis), you can't make anything join that doesn't actually show up in battle. You could, I suppose, make a separate event right after the Mark with a non-??? Gold Chocobo that you can recruit to get around that, but...yeah, that would be separate and thus more effort and more event space.

The Horde of the Ring.. or.. You Shall Not Pass!

Enemies:
1x Frodo Baggins (Squire + Rogue Secondary with Find Cover Reaction and Arcane Defense Support)
1x Samwise Gamgee (Squire + Chemist Secondary with at least Throw Item Support)
1x Merry Brandybuck (Squire + Bard Secondary)
1x Pippin Took (Squire + Bard Secondary)
1x Gandalf the Grey (Wizard + Priest Secondary and the only unit to get Dragon Spirit, Arcane Boost OR Move-MP Up)
1x Aragorn (Knight + Ranger Secondary)
1x Legolas (Ranger + Ninja Secondary, some type of Longbow and the only unit with Concentrate)
1x Gimli (Knight + Squire Secondary)
1x Boromir (Knight + Rogue Secondary)

The jobs for each character are up for discussion and this is just a quick mock-up.

There are my (probably horrible) suggestions.

I've only seen the movies for LotR and never gotten through the books--please, light your pyres or torches & pitchforks later--for any of them (or The Hobbit), but I think that I know "enough" for this purpose. It's rather difficult to give them non-redundant secondaries given the only person whoever uses magic is Gandalf and, when you think about it, there are still relatively few physical classes in Jot5 generic-wise.

Merry, Pippin, Legolas and Boromir had the more difficult secondaries to figure out. The hobbit couple mostly because they were the least effective of the entire party even if they had uses at times and weren't completely useless. Still, they were largely rubbish against enemies, so they get a Secondary that can't affect the enemy at all and get stuck offering "moral support". I'm tempted to say they should outright be Bards primarily, but then that would potentially go over the 9 sprite limit...which is why I had to change Sam to a Squire from a Chemist as it is.

Legolas was difficult mostly because I felt he should have Rogue secondary given what little I know about him and how good elves are supposed to look, but meh; no one cares about how many fangirls (and fanboys) want to screw Orlando Bloom anyway. I just decided to make him into Elven Bullseye with Throw Secondary since the only other thing I could think of was Lancer Secondary. Lancer Secondary solely because of that scene in the (second?) movie where he jumped up on that elephant-like thing and killed a bunch of people and Gimli still told him that "only counts as one." I don't know. Jump just seems redundant with Concentrate, especially since Tolkien's Elves are supposed to be really good at archery (and looking good and connecting with nature and everything else--damn semi-stale, immortal Mary Sues...).

Boromir was difficult because there's no Secondary that corresponds with being a dead-guy who, unlike Gandalf, didn't invent Tide and actually stayed dead. (Spoilers!) So I just gave him Rogue Secondary since Legolas didn't get it and since he did try to steal the ring from Frodo before he died, so....

Shrug.


My Mind! EDIT: Sigh. I caught all the typos I missed the first time I proofread through, though there were actually very few considering. I also caught other mistakes and bits of idiocy like saying an "unseen voice", since that phrase kinda...applies to everyone automatically except for Blackbolt and a few others.

[Jumza]

I like that one a lot The Damned, I would certainly enjoy eventing it if Elric chooses to use it.

[brittmarv]

I like that one a lot The Damned, I would certainly enjoy eventing it if Elric chooses to use it.

Same here, really liking the idea of a boss mindflayer, and the event would be very entertaining as well.

Also, loved your input for the LoTR mark. I had forgotten about 9 sprite limit. Your suggestions would make this fight quite epic and extremely fun. 2 bards for buffing, Gandalf with priest for additional buffing and healing (he always was sort of a defender after all.) Thanks for the input man!

As far as Boromir goes, maybe give him Samurai secondary? Just for variety's sake.

Also, for all practical background purposes, I'm just working on the assumption that a rift opened up sometime prior to Gandalf's "death", when the entire fellowship were still together. Something screwy happened in the interdimensional transportation process and they all gained a heightened state of Ring sickness. (Is that the proper term? I haven't read the books either. I tried but they were  just.. too bland for me. Aside from the Hobbit, it was awesome)

There is a lot of room for comedic relief with this mark, since ring sickness leads to essentially all of them having the mind set of Gollum, maybe even complete with schizophrenia. They all probably distrust each other completely and are planning on annihilating eachother as soon as the ring shows up anyway. It's like almost like "28 days later" with these guys except they can still hold a conversation (sort of)

Only thing I would leave out of your suggestions would be Frodo having "Find cover" since we are operating on the grounds that neither he or any of the fellowship have the ring in their possession, plus I think it would require some slot usage to get that working properly on an enemy in jot5 anyway (one of my previous marks,if used, is going to require that sort of fix - "Intangir" )


PS. Could we make Tiamat's mountable like chocobos? That would make for a sick follow up mark with the Nazgul/Ring Wraiths.

[The Damned]

(I slightly shifted some things in the post above, though nothing of import. Just fixing my usual idiotic mistakes.)

Thanks, Jumza and brittmarv. That's good to know considering I came up with the dialogue bit off the top of my head and that particular Mark was actually only thought up this morning unlike the other one that I have to (mentally) sort a bit more. That one is also werewolf-related (or was), though not as dark/depressing. Maybe.

Also, loved your input for the LoTR mark. I had forgotten about 9 sprite limit. Your suggestions would make this fight quite epic and extremely fun. 2 bards for buffing, Gandalf with priest for additional buffing and healing (he always was sort of a defender after all.) Thanks for the input man!

No problem. The 9 sprite limit thing is easy to forget even though I always try to keep it in mind. In fact, I didn't even notice you had gone over it until I was actually typing in classes as suggestions despite looking at that Mark the day it went up.

I also made Gandalf a Priest given that vague knowledge I have that he's basically the Middle-earth equivalent of an angel (or works for them or...something), so there's that too. I might even suggest switching it around so he's actually a White Mage Priest with Black Magic, but meh.

(Also, assuming that all of the Fellowship are immortal, then Dragon Spirit becomes pretty damn useless. So I guess he should get Regenerator or something instead.)

As far as Boromir goes, maybe give him Samurai secondary? Just for variety's sake.

Get out of my head! ...Seriously, you'll get hurt just going near there.

I was going to give Boromir Draw Out Secondary from the go, partly because of the possession angle since he was the most affected by ring of any one in the group besides (eventually) Frodo. I then decided not to do so between Legolas not getting Rogue Secondary and figuring it would be "too magickal" for someone who isn't Gandalf, but, hey, I'd support Boromir getting Draw Out.

It's actually kind of a funny image imagining Sean Bean petting a katana and talking to it (and the "spirits" in it) even though he's just using it as a place-holder until he finds his "Precious" again.

"Murasame meant nothing to me, Precious!"

Also, for all practical background purposes, I'm just working on the assumption that a rift opened up sometime prior to Gandalf's "death", when the entire fellowship were still together. Something screwy happened in the interdimensional transportation process and they all gained a heightened state of Ring sickness. (Is that the proper term? I haven't read the books either. I tried but they were  just.. too bland for me. Aside from the Hobbit, it was awesome).

Oh, okay.

Also, there's a proper term for the "sickness"? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Regardless, I'm sure someone who is probably death-glaring at your posts and my posts regarding this probably knows if it's important.

Only thing I would leave out of your suggestions would be Frodo having "Find cover" since we are operating on the grounds that neither he or any of the fellowship have the ring in their possession, plus I think it would require some slot usage to get that working properly on an enemy in jot5 anyway (one of my previous marks,if used, is going to require that sort of fix - "Intangir" )

Slot usage? In terms of...?

You mean making it so that Invisible/Transparent/Whatever doesn't make the A.I. act extremely stupid like always if it's not immediately permanent? Or something else?

Regardless, I've crossed that out. So, duly noted.

PS. Could we make Tiamat's mountable like chocobos? That would make for a sick follow up mark with the Nazgul/Ring Wraiths.

Yes, actually. We can technically make any monster able to be mounted, but some obviously look better and more natural than others.

*everyone pictures Ramza['s torso] riding a Uribo* [/not a euphemism for anything]

...But, yeah, we can totally get up on the hydra's back. [/still not a euphemism for anything]

[brittmarv]

Thanks, Jumza and brittmarv. That's good to know considering I came up with the dialogue bit off the top of my head and that particular Mark was actually only thought up this morning unlike the other one that I have to (mentally) sort a bit more. That one is also werewolf-related (or was), though not as dark/depressing. Maybe.

We definitely need some werewolf marks. the sprites are too awesome not to!

(Also, assuming that all of the Fellowship are immortal, then Dragon Spirit becomes pretty damn useless. So I guess he should get Regenerator or something instead.)

I like the Gandalf dragon spirit idea, rather than having everyone immortal. For fairness sake if anything

It's actually kind of a funny image imagining Sean Bean petting a katana and talking to it (and the "spirits" in it) even though he's just using it as a place-holder until he finds his "Precious" again.

"Murasame meant nothing to me, Precious!"

Lol!

Slot usage? In terms of...?

Well, apparently (this was news to me) with enemy units, Stealth/Invis becomes a non-invisible buff that makes the next attack increase to 100% accuracy, or something like that. Raven said that he could make the "Snake" style stealth reaction work but it would require using a monster-job slot, for Intangir, if it gets used as a mark (I hope so, I'm looking forward to that fight. but it needs to be balanced since it is one single monster)

Yes, actually. We can technically make any monster able to mounted, but some obviously look better and more natural than others.

I wonder if it would display correctly, riding a Hydra? And what sprite would work for a Ring Wraith? Man that would be sweet. Give them all swords that do some sort of status effect like in the movie. Assuming there is a "poison" or "sleep" or "stop" or "slow" sword, which I would assume as much.

[3lric]

The problem with the Mark that the damned posted, is that it uses 5 different enemy sprites.
Due to the sprite limit. This would only allow for Ramza and 3 additional members in battle.

I see now that this was mentioned, but I still haven't read the rest of the posts yet. I will
read through these tonight as I will be picking some marks for Ch2 today.

[The Damned]

(Good to know work with Ch. 2 is going well.)

Five? It should only use four unless I'm missing something: Mindflayer, female Monk, male Monk and male Squire. They don't actually turn into Werewolves at all during the fight; they just are werewolves. Screwed werewolves.

We definitely need some werewolf marks. the sprites are too awesome not to!

I'll admit, with them actually having a Dead "animation" now, the sprite actually seems to work rather well now.

I like the Gandalf dragon spirit idea, rather than having everyone immortal. For fairness sake if anything

Meh. Maybe.  All of the Fellowship are kind of important, though (except Boromir, heh). So I figure that they, like a lot of other Marks, actually, would default to immortal because they "had" to. This is admittedly going only by the first two Marks though.

Well, apparently (this was news to me) with enemy units, Stealth/Invis becomes a non-invisible buff that makes the next attack increase to 100% accuracy, or something like that. Raven said that he could make the "Snake" style stealth reaction work but it would require using a monster-job slot, for Intangir, if it gets used as a mark (I hope so, I'm looking forward to that fight. but it needs to be balanced since it is one single monster)

Oh, I see. Good to know.

I wonder if it would display correctly, riding a Hydra? And what sprite would work for a Ring Wraith? Man that would be sweet.

It should display correctly given Hydras are some of the larger sprites anyway. Hell, they and Malboros are big enough that even in vanilla that can be used for stepping stones. I think it was tested years ago that they, Malboros, Dragons and Behemoth look (relatively) fine besides Chocobos. The other monsters I vaguely remember being rather...sketchy-looking, especially the more humanoid or slender they were.

*remembers forgetting to change the Undead Oracle's sprite to a Chocobo, so Delita's torso rode off on a male Oracle as it kidnapped Ovelia*

As for the Nazgul sprite, you could probably get away with using the hooded sprite that's currently used for Ch. 1's "mysterious figure".

Give them all swords that do some sort of status effect like in the movie. Assuming there is a "poison" or "sleep" or "stop" or "slow" sword, which I would assume as much.

We're not privy to equipment, but I'd imagine that Sleep Sword probably still exists in some capacity as well, even if it might no longer be a buyable sword or anything. Shrug.

[3lric]

I was referring to the LotR mark, but maybe I initially read it wrong.

Another issue I saw come up is the riding a Hydra, since we don't use the any monster
mountable ASM because it really doesn't look right.

[brittmarv]

I was referring to the LotR mark, but maybe I initially read it wrong.

Another issue I saw come up is the riding a Hydra, since we don't use the any monster
mountable ASM because it really doesn't look right.

You were right actually.  I had one to many sprites initially but The Damned fixed that with his update to it.

[3lric]

Ahh okay. Makes more sense now

[Xifanie]

The Ghost Town
Difficulty:
Medium

Location:
Zeklaus Desert / Sand Rat Cellar (map 34)

Enemies:
2x Revenant
3x Ghoul
1x Ghost

Story:
Ghosts near a town in Zeklaus Desert have been chasing travelers, making goods prices from Goug and Lesalia reach new levels. In order to save Dorter's economy, we absolutely need to get rid of these ghosts! We can't afford to lose any more of our men, please help.

Reward: Various Equipment


Queen of the Hill
Difficulty:
Medium - Hard

Location:
Bariaus Hill

Enemies:
1x Dancer
2x Male Squire
2x Male Monk
1x Male Guardian

Story:
A lady with strange behaviour was sighted near Bariaus Hill, recruiting men to do her biddings and drying their pockets. However men around this woman insist she is a Goddess and strive to serve her, even if it means finding new victims. Please put an end to this hoax.

Reward: Gold

The Vaccine
Difficulty:
Medium - Very Hard

Location:
Zigolis Swamp

Guests:
1x Male Chemist

Enemies:
1x Great Malboro
3x Malboro
1x Bone Snatch
2x Skeleton

Story:
I'm currently researching a vaccine against the bubonic plague, but I would need some Malboro extract only I know to extract in order to continue my research. It would be wonderful to have someone assist me in this dire task.

Reward: A bunch of remedies


Defenders of Nature
Difficulty:
Hard

Location:
Yuguo Woods

Guests:
1x Male Geomancer
1x Female Geomancer

Enemies:
1x Explosive
2x Grenade
4x Bomb

Story:
A horde of bombs was sighted near Yuguo Woods. Fearing the biggest tree in the forest would be damaged, even though it's already dead, a couple swore to defend the tree from the monsters. I'm sure they would appreciate it if you took the time to help them, but I really don't understand why anyone would go so far for a tree.

Reward: Both Geomancers joining