Ch- ch- changes

Year one

Several things changed after the server was put on maintenance mode. For one thing, missions became more formulaic and rewards became increasingly narrow. My best guess was that they were being spit out by an ai or something, without the benefit of a GM looking them over and tweaking them. Regional mission rewards just weren’t a thing anymore, I couldn’t sell anything for credits, and new missions didn’t include credit rewards as a general rule. New swag wasn’t being produced; I could only earn back the stuff I’d already sold.

That’s not to say there were no rewards. Capture coupons and skins became increasingly common, as did perks that removed barriers or added functionality to my existing bindings or perks. Before long I was given (piecemeal) what I can only describe as a modder’s toolkit for my isekais, though with a note that main-timeline missions couldn’t be completed in custom isekais, so I couldn’t get overly cheesy with my Titan missions.

If I wanted to send Vanessa into the body of Sarah Kerrigan to experience (without defenses) the process of being turned into the Queen of Blades and used as a weapon against her former friends, I could. And did, at her request, on the anniversary of her capture. Strange girl.

Speaking of isekais, all timelines were normalized. Presumably because we were all on maximum fast forward, the ancient past and my isekais sent from there stopped moving at 16x subjective speed. That meant that the Isekai reality tv shows really slowed down. Most people are only doing a handful of really interesting things on any given day, after all. I assigned my dreadlords the task of coming up with interesting scenarios; prepping for the Burning Legion was important and all, but I had armies of legendary magi at my disposal.

••••••••••

Sally had some experience leading an army as a figurehead, but her field experience could use work. Once she and Tony realized that touch capture was effectively upgraded, they started making far more active use of it to appropriate officers for the cause. One capture per amulet every day is so much better than every sixteen, and their population of elves was growing at a geometric rate.

Sending Onyxia north to harry the undead forces was a risk, but as long as she chose her battles and fled any contact with Arthas she could obliterate his ground troops without excessive danger to herself. The Scourge was still in its infancy; the only troops they had in abundance were the mundane minor varieties of undead like ghouls and zombies. Crypt fiends, his dedicated anti air troops, needed to be shipped in from Northrend, and his Damned cultists needed to be trained just as much as any other mortal mage. Forcing Arthas to spread his anti air forces weakened his primary push into Quel’Thalas, and that was worth its weight in gold alone.

The High Elves would never accept the assistance of the Black Dragonflight, not formally, but Sylvanas was a pragmatist and tacitly allowed them to operate so long as they didn’t start razing elven towns. When Onyxia visited an elven settlement, she would capture one of the defenders with a touch and give some trifling sample of tactical information. She played the part of one who hated the Scourge and saw the Elves as a convenient tool for its destruction, which did the job well enough. In truth, Onyxia didn’t care if these defenders were slaughtered by the undead. The corpses of the captured would be resurrected and continue to spread the infection through touch, capturing any member of the Scourge destined to survive to modern day.

Tony and Sally had some difficulty moving north into Quel’Thalas; the safe mountain passes were held by the undead. Sally briefly set up shop near Quel’Lithien lodge and assisted the Rangers in harrying the reinforcements streaming north while capturing the majority of them; any who were destined to survive the war. Afterwards, she moved to rendezvous with the remnants of the Silver Hand, those who would someday split into the Argent Dawn and Scarlet Crusade.

As far as anyone could tell, she was nothing but an unusually young militia leader gifted with the light. She romped across the lands with her unnaturally strong and skilled warriors, building up her numbers, freeing the soldiers of Tyr’s Hand and Hearthglen, and most of all distributing “blessed” items.

They were all infused with rituals unlocked by Tony, meant to imbue an item with an aura that could slowly capture someone, though a few required active use. Catch an undead prisoner? This holy symbol of the light will return their senses to them if you restrain them. Facing the hordes yourself? This blade will safeguard your soul if you always keep it on your person. Someone imminently about to die? One of her followers could save them by pressing this icon against their chest and chanting for a few minutes.

Tony, once his final mission in Stormwind was completed, was an archdruid again. The power differential was incredible when he wasn’t stacked up against faction leaders and raid bosses. The might of a druid player character, especially including later expansions’ power creep, allowed him to carve his way through an army with shocking ease. Not even mana concerns, the bane of most spellcasters, were really a problem as he could simply take bear or cat form and recover his mana while wrestling abominations as a bear. He couldn’t actually defeat the entire Scourge on his own, but when he was allowed to pick on the petty rank and file it certainly seemed like he might. Alas, simply acting as the ultimate beatstick would not be enough, so he shifted his focus partially to diplomatic efforts.

The shape shifting Loa Ton’Ni wowed the forest trolls of Zul’Mashar, coming with dire portents about the future of their people if the Scourge were allowed to persist. He started slow; no need to push straight into peaceful coexistence, but military cooperation or at least a ceasefire with the armies of Lordaeron would do wonders. Pretending to be a god didn’t really play into Tony’s regional perk, but it was a lot more effective than trying to bring them around as a human.

Between the paladins, the Farstriders, and the trolls, Arthas’s supply lines were shot. The constant reinforcements he was expecting from Scholomance and his other holdings in Lordaeron simply never materialized. He was increasingly reliant on naval support from the Lich King, which the elves were reasonably well equipped to counter with their own fleet. Arthas was powerful and crafty, but firmly out of his element when reduced to guerrilla warfare.

••••••••••

My firstborn, named Netorarian because there was no real reason not to, was hatched late in the year. He was a little bundle of energy and defiance, and Lividia insisted he was essentially an adult already when he managed to adopt a visage at 9 months old. I still feel really awkward whenever my wife reminds me that she’s only a few years old herself.

He was less than thrilled at the prospect of being sent into another world where he would be deliberately stripped of most of the powers he was born with as a member of my retinue. No lures, no talents, nothing but the skills of the person he was possessing. I’ve got Kathra’Natir serving as his personal game dev, and he set it all up so Netorarian could earn it back with missions. That said, to him being good at everything and beloved by everyone without trying was just normal. That was the problem.

“Alright Rari, I know this is scary, but your mother and I are sure you’ll be fine.” I told the sulking whelp, mentally equivalent to a brooding teenager, “Just remember that if you try your best and fail, you can try again in a month or two. If you just throw it because you don’t want to participate, though, you’ll be in a lot more trouble.”

“Why are you picking on me?” He whined, “Why doesn’t Vivienne have to do this?”

“Because Vivienne is a human and human babies need much longer to grow up.” I patiently explained for the thousandth time that my daughter by Aegwynn was not a dragon. Azshara, being an elf, was still pregnant. “You know this. We need to get you ready so you can conquer worlds of your own someday. We will call you every day, okay?”

He sat down in preparation for the truck, glaring at me petulantly the whole time. For my part I turned my back. Yes I knew he was being sent away, but I’m not a psycho. I don’t like watching my kid get hurt.

We went with Diablo 2 for his first experience as a pseudo tester, with basically everything switched off. No lures, no talents, no methods of capture except for love confession (an exception we didn’t inform him about), and no perks. He had the same skill tree Vashj had, and could earn more skill points by killing monsters that were classified as legitimate threats.

Part of why Vashj had so utterly flabbergasted me was that Diablo 2 was a rather easy plot to follow if you were willing to cooperate with those around you as allies. Moreover, it would only take a year or two at most to get through the whole plot… or die. He had to learn somehow, this was the best I had.

••••••••••

Netorarian took to the role of a Diablo druid reasonably well. His default solution to most problems was violence, but that was fine. He was a year old and in a hack and slash kind of setting. Legions of demons and the undead were around every corner, and the body he had been sleeved into was extremely tough and had access to a bandolier of healing potions from the old seer back at camp.

He invested into the elemental tree of druid spells, allowing him to conjure waves of fire. The flames were not initially enough to kill on their own, but people with severe burns are typically much worse at both attacking and defending from a follow up sword swing. With sheer determination and three visits to a nearby burnt out cabin to allow for rest, he cleared out the Den of Evil and earned himself a single piece of Tempest Jewelry.

He gave the amulet to the first armed person he saw, a rogue named Flavie. She approached to give him directions when he got himself lost, directing him back to the Rogue Camp. I wish I could give him credit for choosing a first capture that would cover his weakness in the area of navigation, but she was quite literally the first person he encountered and as the scout in charge of directing refugees to the camp was one of the few rogues that had a specific ongoing task more elaborate than “guarding the camp.” He could have gotten outdoorsy assistance from just about any of the rogues, and he chose one with baggage.

A few days later, the two of them made for a more than adequate team against Blood Raven, the first real boss of the game and a powerful archer/necromancer. Rari burned down the armies of the dead with a strengthened fire spell while Flavie rained arrows down on the big bad. It was artless, and my firstborn just about got himself killed, but they managed it and earned themselves the Mapper perk to show them where all their mission targets and bounties could be found.

Unfortunately, that was where they learned that luck and grit cannot compensate for stupid. The two nearby crypts were flooded with the restless dead, and Kathra’Natir had provided bounty missions for clearing them out. Trying to fight their way through was to be expected and tacitly endorsed. Trying to do so without any potions, few torches, and precious little food was nothing short of idiocy, even more so when done over the objections of his only retinue member. The two of them popped back into my apartment quite soon.

Flavie was imprinted upon Rari despite him literally getting her killed, and would remain so unless I decided to try to cuck my own son. If it needs to be said, no. I let him have a single lunar month off before heading back into the field, at which point he of course started whining again.

“Can I bring Flavie along?” He asked, “I like her, she’s pretty, and she’s smart. I’m way more likely to succeed with her help.”

“Will you be going in with a free ally on your first real assignment?” I chided him, open to the idea but not sure if it was wise. Then I thought about it. Could he go in with a free ally on his first real assignment? I signed off on it, then sent a text to Auriel.

E: Can newly promoted testers take drawbacks and immediately spend the Souls?

It took weeks for her to get back at me, which given the sheer differential in the flow of time was actually quite a quick response.

A: All testers may access the drawbacks system as well as the full rewards catalog.

I smiled. Jackpot.

••••••••••

Name: Tony Whitemane

World: Avatar the Last Airbender

Tier: Free-to-play, open hands binding, 0 credits.

Modifiers: Closed Loop, Together Forever (Sally Whitemane)

Budget: 0

Origin: Drop-in: You are yourself, stripped of any and all supernatural abilities and company enabled growth. Your species reverts to one common to the world you are going to.

Drawback: No Homo (+1 soul)

Soul Purchase: -1 soul: Letter of Recommendation (James Whitemane, Maria Whitemane, Anduin Wrynn, Anveena Teague, Magna Aegwynn)

••••••••••

Name: Sally Whitemane

World: Avatar the Last Airbender

Tier: Freemium (5 credits, basic binding)

Modifiers: Closed Loop, Together Forever (Tony Whitemane), On the Clock (you have an ongoing timer counting down to a penalty. More time will be added whenever you capture a bounty, subject to the value of that bounty. The clock is paused when you are actively working towards the pursuit of a bounty.)

Budget: 5 Credits

Origin: Drop In: You are yourself, stripped of any and all supernatural abilities and company enabled growth. Your species reverts to one common to the world you are going to.

Binding: Hypnotic App

Perks: Mapper

Drawback: +1 Fix Fic

Soul Purchase: -1 Together Forever (Tony): You will always be sent to tests with your chosen partner as a fellow tester, and start in the same general region.

Fix Fic Mission Statement:

Everyone Loves Sokka: One of our customers wishes to take on the life of Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe and have a large harem, but believes that manually capturing the women in question would cheapen the experience. As such we need someone to create mental profile data that we can use to create his version of the Avatar setting.

Fall in love with Sokka, and

Willingly share him in a sexual and romantic sense with the other women on the list, and

Confess their love to him, either unprompted or when exposed to stimuli that Sokka would organically provide.

They can not be aware of their own conditioning, nor give any overt signs of tampering that an alert but uninformed viewer could identify. Should this rule be broken, that girl will be priced as if she were at hypnotic depth tier 5.