Not the Tenser?

Harkle Harpell: "Superheroism. You heard of Tenser?"

Robillard: "Yes, Tenser. Crazy Tenser... NOT THE TENSER!!!!!"

Moments later...

Harkle Harpell: "Not the Tenser?"

Robillard: "Not the Tenser..."

~from that most famous bromance done by R.A "not R21" Salvatore.

Total Recall

I decided to change the nature of the Crazy Tenser label. The reason why being that I'm more at home with inane humor rather than being that stereotypical PC S'porean. Period. Also, Tenser is definitely crazy. Crazy enough to inspire an equally crazy Harkle. Ironically, the Harpells are most likely of the chaotic alignment while Tenser is (most likely) lawful good.

Before I start my superheroism...

I'll most likely start my first post under the revamped Neverwinter Six label. The reason why being that I prefer focusing my creative writing on A Requiem from Winter Past. Basically, the content under this section will be conceptual short stories not unlike the anthologies format. Despite the nature of this label, chances are that I'll start on stories involving other characters. In fact, there may be times where some of them will read like fanfiction sans the lack of quality and class (i.e. the chief reason why J.K "not j/k" Rowling would have balked at the prospect of Emma "Duchess of Megawatts" Watson dating a real life Elaith Craulnober). As for me, the only risk I'll take is an inaccurate take on the existent characters. iirc I don't think like a normal geek. There's stuff which I've read personally. Then there are the rest where the love affair is all about the series wiki (e.g. most notably that work of creativity banned by S'pore and another one yet to be banned).

Note: Unlike the typical S'porean, my heroes don't comprise of characters like 梁婆婆 and 方老师. It's not that I belong to a younger generation since I was born in 1982. Rather, I was inclined to think like an angmoh in terms of ideal heroism due to a history of being a closet Jew from primary school all the way till ITE Dover.

Add note: Of course, this is not to say I utterly abhorred the typical heroic hero. I do have my own favorites in this aspect (e.g. the correct son of Zaknafein Do' Urden). Also, will I be given a chance to work with the Far Far East?

Don't understand Japanese? No problemo!

A bit on my personal thoughts on the next mod...

I'm pretty sure the Sea of Moving Ice would have concluded the current arc involving the human half of the Companions. Whether Wulfgar and Catti-brie will travel to Gauntlgrym or Drizzt and co going the other way to Icewind Dale remains to be seen. Given the final cinematic after you offed Baphomet for the first time, however, I won't be surprised if the Cult of Elemental Evil will stage an eventual comeback (together with Vizeran DeVir). Also, it seems that Vanifer may have assumed total control over the four elemental cults.

So what might/should we expect from the next module? After all, Cryptic has a habit of releasing 2 mods on an annual basis. Firstly, additional content will be much welcomed. This time round, it's far more possible. The thing with Neverwinter now is that a bottleneck may have been reached when it comes to epic instances. Epic dungeons wise, we already have more than enough. Which basically gives the developers no excuses whatsoever when it comes to bringing back the remaining standard dungeons. When it comes to skirmishes, however, I prefer to get one additional skirmish on a T2 basis. A skirmish instance requiring a min total item lvl of 2000 is what we need challenge wise. Not to mention an additional source of T2 epic seals as well (alternatively, this can be done in the same format as the Underdark skirmishes instead of something like Shores of Tuern and Kessell's Retreat).

As for epic trials, I don't mind getting one so long it's not the kind of end-game stuff amounting to something like Assault on Svardborg where the min requirement is so bloody insane on a normal lvl. Which now comes to the motivation behind playing a new epic trial. Personally, I don't mind getting new gear. Realistically, however, the current end-game gear is so absurdly high in item lvl and maintenance. The former means a bottleneck for the gear lvl dept, the latter basically a case of why nothing good will result from a new gear system (unless it's a case of upgrading ala Mod 6 black ice forge. Oh wait, they alrdy did that in this mod lol!). At the same time, the current artifact weapons are so absurdly high-end and hard to restore (hello, 40 ninja turtle shells in total?). Trying to bust a normal Svardborg may not be a tough ask for seasoned gamers, but it will forever represent end-game content for the majority who are still climbing up the gear score ladder (like it or not, this game is forever about item level). Unless Cryptic decides to hold more 2 x refinement points event (like maybe once every 2-3 months), not many people are gonna try busting the end game content. Period (another alternative is to improve the drop rate of ninja turtle shells via that ninja turtle BHE).

Also, the maximum level of gear dropped in Fangbreaker Island and epic Svardborg is nothing to shout about. The rings dropped are of lvl 140 or 145, something which makes busting Castle Never a far more pragmatic choice. Yes, you can get some of the epic relic armor via Fangbreaker Island, but that'd make the prospect of busting normal Svardborg look stupid. Unless the devs decide to include epic relic armor drops in normal Svardborg, I'm afraid only 10% of the gamers will want to try that one (which is an absurdity by itself since Fangbreaker Island requires a min total item lvl of 3100 compared to normal Svardborg which requires min total item lvl of 2800. Add to that a common min requirement of 28% Everfrost resistance and we know where this is going). Yes, you can bypass the restrictions via private instance queueing. Whether any guild/alliance is willing to stick its neck out is another question altogether. You don't expect things to work like my beloved Middlesbrough Football Club where we may have developed a habit of making punters/bookmakers lose money this season (I don't know about good karma for Leicester City, but I don't believe in such a thing on a universal basis).

No matter how you see it, the end-game content has hit a bottleneck. Epic instances below the end-game belt are the same as well. As for normal skirmishes, it's only a matter of time before the same thing happens. Critics tend to say Cryptic has a habit of digging a grave for itself, but whether Kelemvor will forsake them to death is not a given. History has a funny way of forcing victories out of the unlikeliest circumstances. And I'm not referring to my beloved team in red (i.e. Boro, not the current S'porean national misfiring squad). During the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu's forces routed Zhang Han's army despite being the latter's inferior. Years later, Han Xin replicated that feat against Long Ju during the Battle of Wei River. It's not a question of strategy for Cryptic, but rather a matter of tactics (if you don't know the difference between strategy and tactics, please look up on your favorite online dictionary. Don't make a fool out of yourself just because you know a bit of English, S'porean or no S'porean).

Note: This is the best chance for Cryptic to fulfill whatever belated promise to bring back the rest of standard dungeons (i.e. Lair of the Mad Dragon, Throne of Idris, Spellplague Caverns, and The Dread Vault). Whether this will signal the return of Fardelver's Crypt and Dwarf King Crypt remains to be seen. Then again, these two short epic dungeons (read: the only speedrun bait you'll ever want) is the sole reason why Gauntlgrym PvP is so popular. Or rather, used to be.

And now for the conclusion of this post... namely Tenser is gonna get crazy lol!

Before I start, I need to clarify something. I admit I've gotten super emo over our 2 pts dropped. Don't get me wrong, we deserved to win unlike S'pore vs Indonesia. Two penalty decisions went against our way, the latter being a justified call (don't ask me whether Marten "fights like a marten, running like the Roon" De Roon was on an acid trip when he decided to trip a player in blue). As for the first penalty, it's a toss up between getting illegally slapped by another player in blue or doing a needless kichew. I like Calum "a lord chambers or the real Chambers?" Chambers, but his occasional tendency to go into pieces against a fast and physical firing squad is really worrying. Don't believe me, try imagining this once we get to play Liverpool at home.

P.S: I'll do a write-up asap in My Girlfriend Born in 1986.

Credit goes to Edinson "Le Cavalerie des Princes" Cavani for being more badass than Arjen "is he Robin?" Robben just because Aaron "neither a Gordon nor Alf" Ramsey isn't a Teuton.

The Back of a Man (plus my ancestor?!?)

To be my girlfriend, you must understand my family's genes. While not every member of the Kuok family is a genius, it must be stated that we Kuoks all have a stubborn DNA. We don't like to be corrected (even though we may know we're in the wrong). In fact, my dad and I are known to do things beyond human logic at times. If I'm truly a genius, it means chances are that my dad is actually a genius. He's quite literally uneducated unlike my mom (who at least got herself an O'level cert). However, he grasps things like someone ten times more educated. Sadly, it also means I got his genes. Namely a problematic personality and a stubborn nature. Hopefully, Aften is really a genius sans the problematic genes.

Come to think of it, maybe it's really true that the ancestor of the Kuok clan hailed from the Eastern Han dynasty.

To my beautiful legal housebreaker, you've been notified. ;)

I decided to add a master of flame

Inspired by my family (and the sibling rivalry of sorts in the Kuok clan), I suddenly have half a mind to create a master of flame control wizard. Or rather a mistress of flame. To make my ambition count, however, I'll need a couple of things.

1. Fury of the Feywild pack. That will cost me like 5000 zen.

2. The moon elf race unlock.

To make point 2 possible, I'll need point 1. However, I'm not gonna be stupid enough to burn 5000 zen for that.

Unlike my beautiful legal housebreaker, I don't have MasterCard.

Assuming the absurd really happens...

The initial plan is to create a female moon elf character. As a master of flame, my choice of paragon tree will be the renegade. Choice of stats bonus will be Intelligence (+2) and Charisma (+2) since there's no point for me to choose the +2 Dexterity option anyway (with that being said, I'll most likely do a race reroll on Sheallyn Melarn if I can have my way due to the Menzoberranzan Renegade race option).

Name:

Karrienn Le'Quella

Race:

Moon elf

Choice of skill set:

Chilling Cloud; Scorching Burst (at-will powers)

Icy Terrain; Shard of the Endless Avalanche; Steal Time (encounter powers)

Fanning the Flame (spell mastery)

Oppressive Force; Furious Immolation (daily powers)

Combustive Action; Arcane Power Field (class features)

Choice of heroic feats:

Controlling Action (5 pts)

Weapon Mastery (3 pts)

Fight On (5 pts)

Wizard's Wrath (2 pts)

Learned Spellcaster (5 pts)

Choice of paragon feats:

Reaper's Touch (5 pts)

Energy Recovery (5 pts)

Arcane Burst (5 pts)

Uncertain Allegiance (3 pts)

Abyss of Chaos (5 pts)

Phantasmal Destruction (4 pts)

Nightmare Wizardry (5 pts)

Masterful Arcane Theft (3 pts)

Chilling Advantage (5 pts)

Chaos Magic

A/N: I don't why, but I suddenly felt inspired by Carrie "her name made famous by the King" Wong. I blame her ice-queen facade in some of the Mediacorp dramas, most notably that current one which may have made my workplace SGH more famous.

And now onto the fiction

["Your Grace, you called for me?"

Chuckling at the irony greeting both ladies of noble standing, the leader of New Sharandar knew how much higher House Durothil ranked above House Winterwhite. One was a major political power in Evermeet, the latter being a mere ghost of Iliyanbruen's past.

"Cut the formalities, Cyrea," smiled Merrisara, "We both know who is the better before Corellon's sight."

"I find the company of inferior folks more comfortable than staying in Evermeet," sighed the sun elf, her wistful gaze looking towards the sky, "No offense intended, Merri."

"If I recall correctly, the last time we met was prior to you joining the Lords' Alliance. I still find it unbelievable that your friends there still hope to forge some kind of diplomatic relationship with Evermeet."

"I'm the only member of House Durothil here in Faerûn. It's only natural for them to do so."

"Mercantile politics as always."

"I doubt you're asking me here to reminisce about the old times," her visage turning serious, Cyrea knew something was amiss when the elves of New Sharandar requested for Neverwinter's aid. As a people within the Feywild, it's only right for them to request aid from Evermeet instead of uncertain allies. And Dagult Neverember happened to be such an ally.

"I asked you here because I believe in the need for you to know her," replied Merrisara, a somber look adorning her features, "That maiden who slapped the hero of Neverwinter earlier on."

"If you want to apologise to me, there's no need to do so," answered the Ar-tel-quessir, "It was Arylos' fault in provoking her. He has always been harsh towards others because he knows no other way to express himself."

"Never hiding when it comes to defending your lover," smiled the moon elf much to Cyrea's blushes, "Certain things will never change."

A brief pause ensued, Merrisara's words suddenly puncturing the silence.

"Your lover reminds Karrienn too much of her father. And we of New Sharandar feel the same way as well."

"But they're unrelated," commented Cyrea, "Arylos is an Or-tel-quessir, not part of the Teu-tel-quessir."

"The Moonless Knight," whispered Merrisara, "That was the title I conferred upon her father due to his demeanour. Celadaine used to be the finest warrior New Sharandar has ever known. Perhaps not even the original kingdom of Iliyanbruen would have such a hero within its borders."

"I overheard your gate captain mentioning his name earlier on. Seems that this hero is an unpopular one," giggled Cyrea. The Coronal of New Sharandar, however, didn't share the mirth.

"I said 'used to be' for a good reason, Cyrea. He's still alive, but now he breathes as a traitor."

"I'm sorry... I..." not knowing how to respond, Cyrea found herself at a loss for words. When was the last time she was dumbfounded in this manner?

"Arylos resembles too much like Celadaine. So much that it cuts into the heart of every elf of Iliyanbruen. That silent fury, a master tactician's ability, and his mind of steel... you must forgive Karrienn for losing it. She detests her father for his betrayal, yet she still idolises him for his unrivalled capability. Simply put, Karrienn can never be the kind of legend Celadaine was prior to his fall."

)0(

The starless night was haunted by screams of tortured souls, the lone Teu-tel-quessir cared not for his victims' plight. He was reviled as a traitor, yet who was for him when the betrayer was, in fact, the one betrayed? His retainers deserved every bit of their eternal punishment at the hands of the dark fey, for they caused the death of his only beloved.

"Eilyanah..."

A single whisper of her name was more than enough to plunge him into a hell of his own, yet Celadaine could only maintain a stoic facade. Not because he's forced to, but rather that was how he lived his entire life thus far.

"Lord Celadaine..."

"Speak and begone, redcap. I find no pleasure in the company of those like you."

Tamee felt like slicing open the moon elf's throat, yet she knew what would happen if she tried. Her fellow powrie had attempted the unthinkable hours ago, his lifeless body flayed and eaten by the trolls as a result.

"It's been confirmed. The hero of Neverwinter has arrived at New Sharandar."

As expected, gloated Celadaine as he kept his cards hidden before ally and foe alike. That wicked witch who dared call herself a Coronal indeed chose not to make contact with Evermeet. For if she was to do so, King Malabog would have his hands full. He knew the pact between his liege and that untrustworthy Valindra Shadowmantle, such a move would have high chances of arousing unwanted attention beyond the boundary of Feywild. Yet, there was a reason why such a decision was made by the enemy. The elves of Evermeet would never concern themselves with matters beyond their own borders, for the spectre of Amlaruil Moonflower's abdication and subsequent disappearance still loomed over them.

As the redcap powrie took her leave, the Black Knight of Malabog remained seated with the grip on his sword tightened. Not only did things go his way, that one person he desired to meet the most has made himself known.

Yes, Arylos. You are my right hand, the only sword I truly need.]

P.S: Because there's no point forcing myself to do things which I may never finish, I decided that any post involving the Neverwinter Six saga fiction-wise will be labelled accordingly. Also, the next edition of the Forgotten Realms settings will be dark and full of terrors.

Add P.S: My sis has yet to show signs of letting me off when it comes to bandwidth gluttony. I suspect she knows something which I've suspected about myself a long time ago.

And yes, Arylos is inspired by Archer. Period.

The Back of a Man (at least not for now)

My brain is currently a 50-50. At the same time, I need to motivate myself to start writing something constructive. Namely, A Requiem from Winter Past.

That is unless my beautiful legal housebreaker arrives into my life first.

Hopefully, there's nothing for me to say about American politics for the next few days. For some funny reason, I felt a bit burned out. It's like not even the smartest guy in the world deserves to be treated like Dr Park Hoon when it comes to problems in the world. Either way, I'm pretty sure an alternative for the TPP will be on the cards next year. Either that or Trump will be impeached. Who knows?

A/N: Apparently, someone isn't amused by the notion of his country joining the RCEP.

Some of the stuff I experienced so far...

When Sea of Moving Ice first came out, the difficulty level wasn't that high. After a few weeks, it seems that the devs have upped the ante. I still remember the troll mob being relatively easier to beat. This time round, I have to make sure Arylos hit faster and harder. Within seconds of engagement, the HP dropped to like 20-30%. If not for the various means of healing, Arylos would have met his god face to face. The fact that I did away with Oak Skin makes the combat feels more clásico. There are mainly three types of troll mobs. The mutated one, the normal one, and the stoned one.

Note: If you're doing a dps (or devoted cleric), you better have an effective close range AoE game. If you're playing scourge warlock, Fiery Bolt and Soul Scorch should be your BFF. Or just about any flaming attack (note that the scourge warlock's AoE game still sucks as always). One notable change in the scourge warlock's dps game lies in a change of direction. Previously, it's all about curse consumption. This made the dps game into a one-shot business. However, changes to the curse mechanic mean your scourge warlock would be dealing damage on a consistent basis without any surge or drop in the dps process. Just try comparing a sprint with a marathon and you'll get what I'm saying.

The mutated one

This mob is proof that evolution should never be trusted. We have the runechanged trolls, monstrosities evolved (with that being said, the trolls in Berserk are definitely numero uno monstruos). How in the Feywild is it possible for trolls to bite away chunks of runes inscribed on rocks, I do not know. What I do know is that they fight like suicide bombers. Period. The thing with the Abomination quest is this: Wulfgar expects you to defeat them like a true son of Beornegar, but he also expects you to risk being a victim of suicide bombing like an Israeli. While it's possible to kill those suicide bombers (thankfully, there's only one such critter in any troll mob) without having them blowing up in your face (quite literally), you're actually racing against time. The troll will not trigger its bomb once the HP hit zero. Rather, it took only 30% HP or so remaining for the bomb to go off. If I was Gond, I'd have them repenting from their evil deeds so that I can be their god. If you think Taylor "gone (swiftly) in 60 secs" Swift's romance is (and will) always be shortlived, it means you'll need to be equally fast to kill off a suicide bomber before the bomb goes off. I won't say 10 secs, but maybe around the range of 7 secs or 8.

Thankfully, the current patch has address this issue. In other words, we don't have to kill these evolved S.O.B by emulating the Mossad. I swear not even Drizzt Do'Urden would have survived that. Ellifain Tuuserail made sure of such a fact.

One thing I noticed was the lack of stoners in any runechanged mob (i.e. basically any mob with a runechanged troll). Which is a good thing. The standard (or rather the only) trolling tactic has always been about zerging and more zerging. They'll just do a bum rush and zerg. Doesn't matter whether it's Icewind Dale or Sea of Moving Ice. The average movement speed of a troll mob is quite fast. They can effectively close the distance in seconds. I only had enough time to land a ranged shot before the fun gets underway, it's actually that fast. Also, it doesn't help that you're fighting on flat terrain 9 times out of 10.

The normal one

The standard troll mob where it's all about one fell troll or two leading the line. Basically, fighting this mob comes in two ways. If you're a tank (including healadin) or great weapon fighter, it's better for you to target the fell troll first. After all, the bulk of mob damage comes from this fellow. If you're using a dps class, it's better to carpet bomb (read: the golden rule of any hdps when it comes to any troll mob).

The stoned one

Basically, this is your artillery troll mob. Armed with nothing but rocks and helmets, this mob can be very annoying if you can't close onto them fast enough. Key to taking down this mob lies in breaking through the frontline in order to take down the stoners. No matter what, just take down the artillery first. Period.

No need for gear?

I just chatted a bit with one of my guildies in the game chat. Apparently, he has no use for Mod 10 gear. Now the thing with entering the new raid instances lies in two requirements. Namely, the minimum Everfrost resistance and a minimum total item level. For Fangbreaker Island, it's 28% Everfrost resistance and 3100 total item level. For normal Svardborg, it's 28% as well with minimum total item level of 2800. Epic Svardborg requires the same amount of Everfrost resistance (if I remember correctly), but with a whopping 3200 minimum total item level.

One of the biggest problem lies in the absurdly high amount of Everfrost resistance needed. No matter how we look at it, it's nigh impossible to reach 28% unless you happen to have a high end Everfrost resistance buff (read: potion plus guild food buff toegther with the gear). Remember what I said on my guildy above?

This guy basically mains the great weapon fighter. The thing with this class is that it's the only offensive tank available in the game. Protection-Justice paladins may come second, but it's not really close (unless we're talking about the sentinel tree for the great weapon fighter). The core of every GWF lies in the unstoppable mechanic. Yes, you'll deal reduced damage once that thing is on. However, it must also be stated that unstoppable is meant to be the defensive core of any and every GWF build. Unless you're playing the destroyer build, you shouldn't be expecting unstoppable to be... well, offensively unstoppable as well.

The thing is, 28% Everfrost resistance will most likely affect the dps characters (minus the GWF ofc) more than any other character class which can withstand punishment. Case in point: There's a difference between getting whacked by any drow in epic Temple of the Spider as any dps class apart from the GWF and getting the same stick as either a GWF or just about any tanking class.

The damage resistance of the average GWF is the second highest. This is due to mail armor giving like 12-13 AC for a T2 armor (13 AC for GWF and 12 AC for DC). At the same time, there's also the defense stat to consider about (note that defense and AC are two different stats). At the end of the day, minimum requirements for any epic raid instances is a case of one size fitting all. If your defensive game is robust enough, all you need to do start a private queue. Period. It's only when it comes to the other dps classes (and DC as well) that the 28% becomes a big deal. I won't really say 28%, but at least it should break the 20% mark. The new epic raid instances are unlike Lair of Lostmauth for example, where you can get away with 1 tank and 4 dps. You'll need the standard layout of 1 tank, 1 healer, and 3 dps to make victory count.

Note: It must also be stated that my GWF friend has hit end-game gear even before Mod 10, so it's actually understandable why he's not impressed with Mod 10 in general.

Add note: In order to maximize efficiency and survival, it's optimal for the healer (not just the DC, but also the healadin) to be the last person behind whenever the party engages the enemy. Not too far away though.

The giant slap

Taking on giants in the middle of the Sea of Moving Ice has never been more challenging. Under the direct command of Jarl Storvald, these men (and women) in blue are way nastier than the ones attacking Bryn Shander. In Mod 10, a single critical hit won't kill you unless you're too slow to respond (not so much in the open terrain of Cold Run, but rather the mountainous terrain of Lonelywood). In the middle of the Sea of Moving Ice, the giants are more dangerous. The generic giant mob still come in pairs. However, they have a higher overall defense and most likely higher HP as well. This means you're gonna have a tough time taking them down. For trickster rogues and hunter rangers in particular, at least two major stamina kits are required. This manner of a fight won't really affect guardian fighters, great weapon fighters, and oathbound paladins. After all, the AC would most likely bail them out. For the HR and TR, dodging is the only way out. For control wizards, please don't be so stupid to attempt point-blank fire (exception to this rule would be using Oppressive Force as a point-blank fire setup. Don't laugh, Sheallyn Melarn did this stunt more than just a few times).

The ones with names are the most dangerous ones. Killing any of them will have a chance to drop the Svardborg bonus daily quest. However, you'll need to look out for the critical hit. On board the ship, the giants can be quite difficult to deal with because you'll have to deal with plenty of bum rushing and stone throwing. I know this sounds like a form of internet culture, but trust me when I say it's not funny. While such tactic has been done by the giants in Cold Run, the Sea of Moving Ice version just has it more often. Once the rock comes flying, you're most likely dead (or left with like 30% HP at most). Whatever you do, please guard yourself agains the bum rushing part. When you see a straight line in red, it means the bum rush is coming. After the bum rush (successful or not), brace yourself. The asteroid is coming. If you're not confident of getting away in time, please jump instead of just running away. At least you can get out faster. However, there are times where you jumped out of harm's way, yet getting harmed all the same. So be careful there, don't be shocked if this happens.

One nasty giant of note is that Ulf. I don't know his full name apart from his last name sounding like Bonne-something. I hate him. I really do. Once he hits you with that devastatting swing, you're as good as dead. Because he will always be flanked by a giant armored bear, eating a critical hit from this guy means you're really dead. If you can survive beyond 5 seconds after getting the critical bs, it means you're worthy of respect. I got myself killed once, not even a trigger Soulforged can bail me out. It's this annoying. Thankfully, I decided to test out a strategy. And trust me, it works.

The thing with fighting Ulf lies in engaging him in an open terrain. Where he always stands, it's basically a wide cliff of sorts. Do not engage him there. I tried so in my first run, that was what got me killed. I have no space to maneuver, I was virtually mauled to death by an armored bear. Kite him towards the wider space just in front. To do so, you'll need to take out the first giant asap. Once I adopted this strategy, Ulf was no match for Arylos' martial cunning.

Note: Choosing the Howling Weapon set was definitely a wise choice. While this is arguably the least popular Elemental Evil artifact weapon set, it's actually every tactician's BFF. The sudden burst in speed has gotten Arylos out of jail more oft than not.

P.S: Another thing I've found out is that Soulforged will only have a 50-50 chance of bailing you out if you get a bunch of ice hunters hunting you down. These crazy eskimos can move really fast. The best part? Getting yourself to the coast won't bail you out as well unless your khyek can move fast enough away from the shore.

The Back of a Man (aka nothing to do with 김정삼)

In case you're wondering why you got 3 Korean words, it's because I'm feeling really naughty rather than nice atm. Recently, the southern end of the Korean Peninsula has experienced a political upheaval rivaling whatever politics going on in Pyongyang. Any speculations on whether Pyongyang will fire nukes as a form of gunfire celebration should be greeted with a "Choi! Touch wood, touch wood!" However, surely this will give the liberal/moderate left some much-needed momentum to wrest control of 청와대 from the conservative/moderate right. If you don't understand Korean fonts, it's okay. Just treat the aforementioned words as the blue version of the White House.

Playing the devil's advocate

Well, not quite literally since I'm no Keanu "associated with the devil?" Reeves. Recently, something happened. On the first glance, this looks like a big deal. Once we look further in, we realized that there will always be two types of raiders. The first are the astral diamond farmers. The new change won't affect them beyond the amount of astral diamonds gained via salvage. The second are the ones who will be at the receiving end. Namely those out to hunt their ideal gear. At this point of time, the four main slots won't be affected (i.e. head, arms, body, feet). The gear system is now standardized in this context. The actual problem lies in the artifacts, be it artifact gear or standard artifact. At the same time, it will also affect those out to hunt that elusive +5 ring of their choice.

One thing I find it annoying at times lies in a severe lag in the epic dungeon servers every now and then. Granted the situation is now far better, but any 2 x seals event will still ensure the same old thing. In addition, the Temple of Tiamat epic trial can be very frustrating because you'll be forced to play against the lag. There are two possible reasons behind this: Either it's the connection or too many people are playing in the same instance server (funnily enough, Pirate King's Retreat has been very laggy despite being a normal dungeon).

If it's the connection, then the overall gameplay should be affected, not just one aspect. If it's an epic raid issue, then it's safe to say that too many people are playing in the same instance server (in particular, Temple of Tiamat tends to drop better loot than normal and master Demogorgon).

Having a choice to accept the loot is good, but this may easily lead to an overload of the specific instance servers. If you don't like the loot, try again. Even for an hourly epic trial, it merely means people are tempted to try more than once per day.

Ultimately, I'll be happy if this can resolve the instance server lag when it comes to end-game content. However, the devs have to do something to address a legit concern. Namely, the drop rate of better loot. At this point of time, only Fangbreaker Island will guarantee you at least a +4 epic ring. Drop rate for any +4 or +5 rings is very abysmal beyond Fangbreaker Island. In the past, you can easily get a +4 ring of any type in epic Demogorgon. However, the devs nerfed the whole damn thing. Case in point: Getting gold for epic Demogorgon will still likely fetch you a +2 ring more oft than not.
And this is not including the drop rate for stuff like Shard of Valindra's Crown, Emblem of the Seldarine, and Lostmauth's Horn of Blasting.

Another thing of note lies in the amount of rough astral diamonds salvaged from the gear. Either Cryptic should do more 2 x astral diamonds events or they might as well increase the amount of salvaged rough astral diamonds (most notably for T1 raids). The reworked invocation system may fetch more rough astral diamonds via content, but it's still a touch and go for your main character of choice. If there's anything to go by, Storm King's Thunder and Sea of Moving Ice are more for veteran gamers who know 100% what they're doing (read: not every gamer has a TIL of 2.8-3.5K). In the meantime, we might as well save the faerzress for that 4K rough astral diamonds option.

Sea of Moving Ice (first impression)

Going by my father's more oft than not griping over rising utility costs, it seems that I really need to have a girlfriend who is rich, beautiful, and intelligent. Jokes made at the expense of my beautiful legal housebreaker aside, the Sea of Moving Ice is both a surreal ride and a frustrating grind.

Let's get the fomorian president out of the office first. I really hate it that the fishing aspect is so terribly done. So terribly done, it's even worse than a half-baked dish of German baked fish. This was due to me pressing the keys rather than holding them down. Let me offer a surefire way to make the fish work for you instead of the other way round. See the arrow lighting up? Don't just press the key. Hold it down until it hit cooldown. In this way, you won't have to watch the paint dry. Period. How did I get the trick, it's all written in your quest journal.

Another area of contention lies in the DualShock effect. Those who have played games on PS2 and beyond will know what is DualShock. It's not funny to see that damn DualShock effect halfway in the zone. Which will definitely happen once you stay too long stranded on a khyek. I don't know about you, but it happened to me. Whether it's really a case of Cryptic testing my patience on a deliberate basis remains to be verified. Thanks to my insane level of single-focus, I managed to pull through without any signs of nausea (read: I initially didn't know how to make the fish work for me). I know this statement sounds like me describing myself as Elminster Aumar, but trust me when I say it's not funny. Let alone the normal gamer cursed with a lesser extent of focus and calm. Perhaps it's true that while I don't have Lancer's technique, I do have Archer's steel.

Another thing before I continue. Server non-response will screw your fishing trip ten times worse than it already is. Period. And it's still there. At least for me before I stumbled upon the magic formula.

And now for the surreal. I really like the khyek once it starts moving. A bit like driving your Tesla car on autopilot mode minus the risk of fatal accident. You don't need to be a Tesla girl or a Tesla guy to get into the groove of things. The terrain is mainly sea with floating pieces of ice peppered here and there (albeit sporadically). It's weirdly therapeutic for freaks like me, a bit like admiring the scenery of Mount Fuji while in a coach. The feeling was especially nice once I've had enough of watching the paint dry while holding a fishing rod. Yes, I know this sounds absolutely van Gogh. Trust me when I say I know a wee bit about how he felt when he's still alive. I've been through it from Henderson Primary School to Gan Eng Seng School and all the way till ITE Dover and 32 SIB. Even though it may be just 10% of the real deal.

Onto the combat. Let me say that I really love it. Unlike the 5 Icewind Dale battle zones, fighting the enemy is like seeing Liverpool FC having a go at Man City and vice versa. You're fighting in open space, there's little to no cover. What this means is very simple: It's basically every melee fighter's Warrior's Rest. For ranged characters (including ofc any manner of devoted cleric), it requires a higher level of technique because you won't get much of a chance to let loose from whatever high ground available (read: little to none). Which really says something.
As a result, the enemy is tougher. Most notable is the increase in overall defense. Even the squishiest ice hunter must take considerable damage to make him drop. The only thing tougher than an ice hunter mob is two abominable yetis or a few giants (yet to try my hand against the physically enhanced ice trolls*, but I won't be surprised if they're actually tougher than any ice hunter mob, bear or no bear).

*Correction here. I find those evolved blue critters to be easier to deal with compared to those ice hunters bereft of sense. However, Neverwinter is also all about what manner of character build you have.

Another thing worthy of note is this: Do NOT engage the giants unless you're very damned sure the aggro won't go after you like a pack of rapists. I tried testing this out via Arylos (no gay jokes here, tyvm). It didn't go well since it took a Soulforged effect to prevent a repeat of Deadpool.

If you must take down one or a few, you must start from any nearby mob. Giants and yetis are the hardest critters to take down in this current mod (i.e. including Storm King's Thunder as well). If you want to start from the biggest kahunas, it's your funeral.

And now onto Korey

When we talk about Koreans, one thing comes to mind: plastic surgery. Historically, however, Koreans are known for their history of getting invaded. During the Three Kingdoms era (i.e. Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), China was a threat. Years later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided to emulate the Tang dynasty. Another thing Koreans are well known for is a culture of shooting. This has got nothing to do with what Koreans do daily with their internet, let alone the worst aspect of (local) misogyny. It's all about artillery quite literally. While I'm very sure Koryo as part of Kara-tur was inspired by the actual Koreans, I can't really answer you whether they're really that damn good in terms of archery. That question should go to Ed "not a Miliband" Greenwood.

So far so good, I didn't do much to tweak her gameplay. The best thing about choosing the archery tree isn't just about the hdps dept (fyi, archer hunter rangers are officially imba tier. Still can't totally believe Korey can out-dps a dps teammate of a higher item level). It's also about the ease of planning. Just dump all your paragon feat points into all the damage based feats. Trust me when I say there's more than enough feat points to go around.

The only major tweaks done lie in my choice of second daily power and class feature. Because I've got no intention to compromise the dps, Aspect of the Pack remains as her staple class feature. Initially, I chose Aspect of the Falcon due to the dps front. Because I think like a Catalan Pep and that German Löw, I decided to experiment with other variations. Turned out that Pathfinder's Action is quite a neat alternative if you're worried about the defensive end. For starters, Ghostwalker compliments Aspect of the Falcon very well due to that 25% stamina regeneration. If you choose Hasty Retreat, however, that's where things would go wrong. Hasty Retreat is all about putting a distance between yourself and the enemy (read: it's a better jailbreak option compared to Ghostwalker). Ultimately, Ghostwalker can only do this much/little if your mobility isn't good enough (something which the hdps archery build would most likely face). Pathfinder's Action basically maximizes the usage of Hasty Retreat since this is not an aggro-break feat. Done in an offensive way, your archer would be running circles around the mob. Not only would this combination benefit the tank, it also minimizes the chances of getting aggro (read: not every aggro operates under rank and file. The mind flayers and Thayan servitors, in particular, can be quite problematic). If it's a combination of this and Aspect of the Falcon, it will increase your ranged dps game. If it's a combination of this and Aspect of the Pack, it means upping the dps no matter how you look at it (note: Aspect of the Pack also confers a random ally combat advantage. Which means this combination is more of a high end dps support approach during any party raid).

As for the choice of second daily power, I changed my pick to Slasher's Mark. Initially, I wanted to make Korey look cool. Then I realized it's pointless to do that so long she has Aspect of the Falcon slotted in. So I decided to experiment a bit by slotting in Pathfinder's Action in place of Aspect of the Falcon. The rest, as people enjopy saying, is history (read: Disruptive Shot for 25% of your AP=FC Barcelona or Die Nationalelf, take your pick).

A/N: They say a dog is the BFF of every man/woman. Apart from Lotte, we now have Freud.

The Back of a Man

Before I start, let me just say that I won't be writing anything online for the time being. The chaotic aftermath of this year's US presidential election means one thing:

I cannot claim to have empathy when it comes to the voters' sentiments. That would make me a liar. However, I do have the freedom to choose whether to help out in whatever way I can. The cue for me to start saying something lies in what Hillary Clinton will say in the days to come. I want her to address the crowd, I want her to tell them straight in the face that they're doing nothing to further their own cause (read: I need to ask where has the love gone since vitriol is no different from hate). If there's any Forgotten Realms character I'd use to describe the average Joe and everyday Jane in America, that'd be Artemis Entreri.

If you can't read the words, it's okay.

[The girl without her name looked on with a mixture of fear and awe. Fear because she'd rather die than to return. Returning to slavery and returning to those horrid men taking pleasure in breaking her resolve. In Thay, power was everything. To the Thayans, domination would always demand more than one means to achieve the ultimate end. Screams of agony haunted her at every step, every breath she drew invoked terrifying images of reality. Naked women were dragged from the slavers' tents only to be violated again, even girls at her age were not spared.

Then there was the feeling of awe. She remembered with chaotic emotions something being told to her, some kind of story perhaps by someone she regarded as an older sister.

"Whenever the princess is in trouble, her prince will arrive to save her. Even if a prince is not around, a knight will take his place."

There stood her princely knight, his shadow looming larger than his frame. His ears were long and pointed, his sharp features fiercely proud and hauntingly rugged. He betrayed nary an emotion, yet the tranquil fury in his amber eyes was unmistakeable.

Three servitors were slain, their mindless wrath no match for Arylos' tactical wit. The Or-tel-quessir marked his territory with understanding, the Thayans stepped into his subtle trap. Outfought as a result of being outmaneuvered, only the Red Wizard was left standing. Quaking with anger and not fear, he nevertheless held his ground as his wood elven adversary stalked towards him.

The fury was gone, yet that look of steel remained undiminished. The transition was anything but natural, it was as if her savior was touched by a god. Then it happened abruptly, the wizard teleporting out of sight. Before she knew it, her captor wrapped his fingers around her throat.

"Save her if you can," mocked the Thayan with a raspy voice, his mocking tone betraying an ignorance towards who he's dealing with.

"Go ahead then."

Arylos' callous reply was followed by a dagger tossed to the ground, its tip embedded near the Red Wizard's feet.

"Do you trust me to give you a painless death, little girl?"

She couldn't understand a word of what he said, for no one taught her Elvish. The only language she knew was Koryo, her blood was that of a Koryoan.

A bluish flash then flared its radiance from the soil, from the very ground where the dagger had previously been. Blind and disoriented, the little girl nevertheless kicked free from her monstrous cell. Reacting like a beast with its pride wounded, the Red Wizard cast a fireball with nary a heed. He cared not who would die, let alone himself.

The ball of flames hurtled towards the girl, her knees scrapped from a fall. Arylos grabbed her by the collar, the strength of his arm flinging her aside. With a deft flick of his hand, a dagger pulsating with arcane power collided against that ball of flaming death. An explosion erupted, the extent of its force mitigated due to Arylos' disruptive missile.

The Red Wizard regained his bearings first, but it was Arylos who retrieved his calm and composure. His strategic gambit put paid to, where the arrow would go is only secondary. This was a plan of dual disruption, the arrow lodged in between his quarry's legs.

Ignoring the howling and awkward nature of his aim, Arylos strode forth with a curved blade drawn. He has nothing against the nation of Thay, it should be business as usual. His task was to defend this little piece of land, such obligation towards the Eldreth Veluuthra required neither debt nor a creditor. Yet, there was a grim satisfaction churning inside him. Damning images of the past assailed him, a mind of steel nevertheless prevented his hand from wavering.

"Kelemvor sends his regards."

Those were the words which damned merely two, if not three of Korey's rapists to death. Arylos wasn't a fool, he knew justice was always beyond his reach. But if he could seek even a tiny shred of justice, that'd be enough. Any other lives perished as a result never gnawed at his conscience, for they're merely collateral losses incurred. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Kelemvor grants you mercy and death."

Nary an emotion was detected as Arylos touched the Thayan's chin with the flat of his blade. Then with a casual flick, the quarry has his throat cut. Leaving behind a dead prey and living proof of an accidental heroic act, the ranger never cared whether he's a hero. Because he was never one to start with.

As for the Koryoan girl, she beheld the back of a man as her vision cleared.

It was a portrait filling her with sadness, yet it gave her a semblance of comfort.

Something told her that this was a wounded man walking, a living dead still standing.

It was both a beautiful sight and a heartbreaking image, the measure of reality at its harshest.]

What do you mean it's not political? Pt Deux [The Back of a Man]

Because my brain works like Aeravor at times, I decided to have a bit of fun with my fellow Asian men. I'll be brutally frank here: I identify myself as both a conservative and pro-justice. Perhaps that's why I enjoy creating characters who don't really identify themselves with machismo instead of the protagonist of Eat, Pray, Love.

Yes, this post will be really brief. That's why I upped these vids 4 teh lolz.*
*Above portion was actually done like 1-2 days ago. Sorry.

I'm a guy and a straight guy...

But it didn't prevent me from creating 4 female characters out of the current 7 characters in my current Neverwinter roster. Due to the nature of Mod 10 (and possibly 10.5 as well), I'll need to focus more on Arylos. Not that I identify him as part of Orden Machismo anyway.

Note: The term seiyi no mikata sounds more like ally of justice instead of superhero if you're to ask me.

Add note: Incidentally, my ideal seiyuu for Arylos is none other than Suwabe "always known as Archer" Junichi.

Total Recall: First impression

It took me quite a fair bit of time thinking over how I should respec Sheallyn Melarn.  During the process of planning what to do, I was forced into a decision. Should I opt for all out offense or more than just a wee bit of defense?

The control wizard's heroic feats are mostly offensive. The reason why I say mostly instead of always lies in one nifty feat: Prestidigitation. On the first glance, it seems like an inferior option compared to Learned Spellcaster (note: apparently, the game turned a totally crap feat in the rulebook into something far more useful). After all, damage bonus based on Intellect is even better, right?

Wrong. If you're running the game as an oppressor or renegade, chances are that you don't really need Prestidigitation. The oppressor is all about keeping opponents away while the renegade tree is more about self-buffing (i.e. the source of survival gameplay). Ultimately, it's far better for you to dump all the points into Learned Spellcaster since that will maximize your dps without the worry of your wizard lasting shorter than any of Taylor "gone (swiftly) in 60 secs" Swift's relationship.

The problem with thaumaturge, however, is that no CC is involved. In other words, you have next to nothing when it comes to defensive options (five stacks of chill is always fun to proc, but only for the oppressor). Buff wise, the thaumaturge is all about increasing the dps (read: Elemental Reinforcement) compared to the renegade's buff-debuff game (read: basically the reason why any renegade spec is the VIP of the party). In other words, you have nothing to keep yourself alive (Critical Power and Reaper's Touch are especially vital on the defensive end since the key is killing stuff asap).

I realized that there are two ways to make your thaumaturge useful. Either you pull off a CC spell in spell mastery mode (best option would be Shard of Endless Avalanche since it gives the opponents plenty of pr0n[e]. I personally find stun/daze to be inferior to pr0n[e]...) or you'll most likely need to use Shield in spell mastery mode. Key thing for thaumaturge lies in surviving long enough to nuke every mob in your way (which btw also makes this the best CW tree for dueling and solo boss kill). So unlike the oppressor or renegade, your thaumaturge most likely would need a Shield somewhere. Interestingly enough, I just experimented with Sudden Storm slotted into spell mastery (read: I maxed out Chilling Control due to its effective synergy with Elemental Reinforcement). First impression doesn't look shabby at all.

Destructive Wizardry is very dodgy. Very damn dodgy like the current crisis called Nov 8th 2016. Firstly, aiming a fully charged Storm Pillar will almost get you a counter-offensive (if you've dealt with any Thayan servitor mob before, you'll know what I'm talking about). By almost, I mean the usage of Feytouched enchantment as the sole exception (nearest thing to Feytouched would be Vorpal, but I'm not exactly a fan of dps lottery in this case). You can try aiming that thing somewhere in between you and the mob, but this requires practice and timing. Up to you...

Frozen Power Transfer is a better option especially if you have Chilling Presence as one of your class features. CC plus damage bonus is always much welcomed for any thaumaturge. As for Far Spell, don't be like me and treat it as surplus. Because it is not. Max this out because as a thaumaturge, you wouldn't want the mob closing in onto you. Alternatively, you can use Reaper's Touch since it's available at tier 1. Not personally recommended though unless you have any of the two oppressor feats listed here:
Severe Reaction; Brisk Transport; Chilling Control [only for spellstorm mage].

Either that or you'll need an effective point blank freeze since Sudden Storm does have a more narrow AoE, Chilling Control or no Chilling Control. And speaking of point blank freeze, please remember to Shield. As always quite obviously.

Another thing to note is that as a thaumaturge, you'll need to play a 3 elemental game instead of just two. Elemental Empowerment is basically the best feat any thaumaturge can get (Assailing Force can be quite dodgy depending on whether you have a single target encounter damage power slotted in). However, it's the presence of Elemental Reinforcement which would define how effective your Elemental Empowerment can get. In other words, it's all about damage stacking. Everyone knows how to do a 2 elemental game, I also know how to do that even though I'm no Korean from the south. Arcane and Ice. To quote Uncle Sim...

My apology to any Mr and Mrs Sim since I happen to know a few.
Not the least that Mr and Mrs Sim from the DDR of SGH.

I'll have to be brutally frank here. To use a thaumaturge as a master of flame is never a case of "so simple!", but rather a case of "so super simple!"

The reason why being that Smolder is never a class feature, but rather a class mechanic. Just execute Scorching Burst and watch those Thayan bastards burn.

In fact, I won't be surprised if a MoFo thaumaturge is easier to use compared to a SM (don't get the wrong idea pls) thaumaturge. Just remember to spam Magic Missile since I'm sure damage from Arcane Mastery also takes into account damage over time. Either that or you can call me a liar since I don't think like a numbers cruncher.

Note: There's a key difference between the master of flame and spellstorm mage when it comes to the thaumaturge. In solo PvE, the former has a better survival game due to a more effective AoE game. In team tactics however, it's no longer just about you. That's where the other members of your party will capitalize on the debuff aspect instead of the dps part. For spellstorm thaumaturge, it's basically less AoE and pure dps. Not so simple to use in solo PvE, but absurdly effective in team tactics.

Add note: After going through various combinations in my brain like a certain Catalan Comandant and a certain Teutonic Generalfeldmarschall, I realized how absurdly versatile the master of flame can be in terms of setup strategy.

More add note: Eye of the Storm can be both fun to use and frustrating at the same time. Will always proc every 60 secs so long you trigger it via any encounter power. Which makes Shield Pulse much more useful as a lifesaver than you otherwise think. Just remember to be an intelligent risk taker like yours truly, not some idiotic risk spammer like Heather Chua. However, I still have this nagging feeling that it makes the critical hit stat somewhat redundant...

Current build: Mistress of the Storm (Sheallyn Melarn)

Encounter:
Ray of Enfeeblement; Conduit of Ice; Shield; Sudden Storm (spell mastery)
At-will:
Magic Missile; Chilling Cloud
Class features:
Eye of the Storm; Chilling Presence
Daily:
Oppressive Force; Ice Knife

Back of a Man

Because I'm now officially taking a part-time creative writing course via Coursera, I'll need to cut down my gaming/blogging time. Hence, my blog posts will be much shorter than usual (and that includes my tactical analysis on Man City for my beloved Boro). At the same time, I see this as a good opportunity to discipline myself. After all, my beautiful legal housebreaker is waiting for her knight errant to take her off the shelf (read: still officially single, but technically taken). *shrugs*

And yeah, that part-time course is being done from the comfort of my own home. Because the course has already started (i.e. Oct 31), it means I'll be racing against time at least until the end of this week.

So to warm myself up, I present you a short draft.

Note: Title is basically taken off a particular chapter of the Rurouni Kenshin manga.

["Hey, Shea... Shea!"

Shaking her head gently, Lewynn shook her drow companion from her mental slumber. Something wasn't right with the Harper wizard, Robillard even went one step further by suggesting some sort of vengeance being meted out by the Spider Queen. After all, Lolth was one never to forgive, let alone forget.

"Sorr... sorry, Deudermont," sighed Sheallyn Melarn.

"The fact that you addressed me by my old man's last name proves one thing," huffed the attractive half-elf, frustration chewing on her lower lip, "You're always that happy-go-lucky one out of us three. What happened?"

"Did Robillard tell you something?" questioned Cyrea, the sun elf's eyes reflecting the setting sun.

"If he does, we'll need to sit down and talk. That is, I'm going to talk and he's going to listen," replied Lewynn, her feet placed on top of the table much to Cyrea's slight disapproval, "He's the best wizard my old man had recruited, but he can be terribly dense at times when it comes to words."

"Will he listen?" smiled a rueful Sheallyn, "Last time you did that, Cyrea had to talk some sense into him. Tymora be praised that it's a successful try."

"Only because our beautiful friend forever has a cousin named Respen Durothil," waved the captain of Sea Sprite in a dismissive manner, her features betrayed nothing but disdain, "He reminds me too much of a Harpell and I don't like those insane geniuses from Longsaddle."

"You mean Harkle Harpell?" asked Cyrea, her teasing tone invoking ire from Lewynn Hawkseal-Deudermont and a muffled laugh from Sheallyn.

"Robillard is talking nonsense in case you're wondering whether I've shared a bed with that crazy idiot of a wizard before."

"The bedding did catch fire before, missy."

Despite countless years of being a lich bound by a willing oath, Robillard's abrasive tongue has never wavered once. For a brief moment, the captain and her second-in-command locked themselves into a silent battle of glare and dare.

"I saw a man," answered Sheallyn, her blood red orbs downcast, "In my dream for the past few nights."

"Is he handsome?"

"Lewynn!" protested Cyrea, "Shea isn't joking here."

The half-elf pirate merely shrugged as Robillard remained standing, his arms folded and back leaning against the doorframe.

"He was naked waist up, a wood elf."

Lewynn gave a whistle, her interest piqued.

"Let her continue, missy," Robillard interrupted, "Keep your fantasies to yourself. We're facing dusk anyway."

Oblivious to the resultant bickering involving an undead wizard, a living half-elf, and some talk about getting a Harpell on board, Sheallyn immersed herself into that portrait of sorrow.

His rugged features as he turned around was only average by elven standards, his back disfigured by countless scars.

His right arm was severely burnt, the left holding fast a bloodied dirk.

Untold darkness emanated from a lonely soul, his orbs of amber bereft of emotions.

Standing in the middle of a graveyard, he cut an aloof figure like a wolf without a pack.

Yet, there was an unspoken beauty in him, the beautifully imperfect back of a man beneath a lone banner. She knew unto whom this banner belonged to, for she was part of the Harpers and Elminster Aumar used to be her teacher. It was the same thing she first saw in the graveyard of Neverdeath, the symbol of Kelemvor.]