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Post by Oneiros on Jun 8, 2016 8:56:20 GMT
And we're back in Paris to catch up with the Rangers! After Wilde's cryptic message to Bertie last week, it's time to see what scrapes and shenanigans the group can get up to without Bertie's influence... And aren't we really just counting down episodes until Brutor reappears? I think we get an object lesson in how much more smoothly the investigations go when the volume is turned down a bit here :-) So, more mysteries, more info on some names and some very interesting NPCs - once again we get some really good character work from Alex as we not only advance the plot but also get more insight into the PCs as well. P.S. Bonus kudos to anyone who can guess why this thread's title amuses me greatly
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Post by Alex Newall on Jun 8, 2016 10:17:38 GMT
I have to admit I wasn't very happy with this one. Lots of important stuff happens but it felt a bit flat to me.
We actually recorded the side quest out of sequence and originally intended to follow the party before finding out what happened to Bertie. This means we hadn't recorded any Bertie episodes when we recorded this. I think if we had I would have run this session very differently.
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Steeleface
Travelling Wordsmith
may or may not be a gnome
Posts: 44
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Post by Steeleface on Jun 8, 2016 11:03:15 GMT
I have to admit I wasn't very happy with this one. Lots of important stuff happens but it felt a bit flat to me. I agree. While it was nice to get back to the regular group but after the relatively fast-paced side quest this seemed flat to me as well. The story is unfolding though and thats great! I'm jonesing for combat time though! UUUUUUUUUUUGH, when is Sasha gonna STAB?!? When is Hamid gonna MAGIC MISSLE!?! When is Zolf gonna...move ineffectually? OH and heal, yeah When is Zolf gonna HEAL?!? I'm curious, did Bertie departure and subsequent side quest happen organically or was it planned? I know that Lydia went away for a bit, was that part of the reason? Or are there super-secret-behind-the-scenes planning happening that the listeners are not privy to?
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Steeleface
Travelling Wordsmith
may or may not be a gnome
Posts: 44
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Post by Steeleface on Jun 8, 2016 11:06:47 GMT
P.S. Bonus kudos to anyone who can guess why this thread's title amuses me greatly beacure you're an alphanumeriphile?
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Samwise
Member of the Order of the Quill
Posts: 156
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Post by Samwise on Jun 8, 2016 11:24:38 GMT
I have to admit I wasn't very happy with this one. Lots of important stuff happens but it felt a bit flat to me. You've had episodes that have been exposition heavy before, I don't think this is any different, sometimes you need those episodes to move the story along a bit.
I still really enjoyed it, and was having Homer Simpson flashbacks when Sasha was walking into the hedge.
I see a possible mission impossible/ oceans 11 scene coming where they plan how there going to get into the catacombs!
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Post by spooniermist on Jun 8, 2016 11:51:00 GMT
Yeah, I agree with Samanthae. It wasn't explosive, but it moved the story along and was interesting and developed the plot.
That said, I'm going to echo Bryn's statement and say I'm starting to feel quite lost. It may be that I need to re-listen to each episode again, but I knew why they went to go and see the large chap (who nearly killed Lydia and Brutor), but I'm starting to get a bit lost. It feels a bit like each answer opens the door to four other avenues, so it's hard to keep on top of what's going on and why.
Maybe the answer is just to go over everything again, it's only 40 episodes!
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Post by Alex Newall on Jun 8, 2016 12:00:43 GMT
For what it's worth, this is sort of the turning point where we go from questions to answers really. I can promise that things do start to really hot up soon and people are going to be hankering for some nice quiet exposition again.
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Post by Oneiros on Jun 8, 2016 12:31:36 GMT
P.S. Bonus kudos to anyone who can guess why this thread's title amuses me greatly beacure you're an alphanumeriphile? Well, yes - but that's not the the reason here :-) Admittedly, it is a quite niche reference and possibly too convoluted... though that's probably in keeping with what anyone who's gamed with me would say
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Post by Brave Sir Robin on Jun 8, 2016 15:32:56 GMT
Yeah, I agree with Samanthae. It wasn't explosive, but it moved the story along and was interesting and developed the plot. That said, I'm going to echo Bryn's statement and say I'm starting to feel quite lost. It may be that I need to re-listen to each episode again, but I knew why they went to go and see the large chap (who nearly killed Lydia and Brutor), but I'm starting to get a bit lost. It feels a bit like each answer opens the door to four other avenues, so it's hard to keep on top of what's going on and why. Maybe the answer is just to go over everything again, it's only 40 episodes! We already chatted in RL, but I would echo what Alex said, more answers are coming soon.
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Post by Brave Sir Robin on Jun 8, 2016 15:34:39 GMT
I have to admit I wasn't very happy with this one. Lots of important stuff happens but it felt a bit flat to me. We actually recorded the side quest out of sequence and originally intended to follow the party before finding out what happened to Bertie. This means we hadn't recorded any Bertie episodes when we recorded this. I think if we had I would have run this session very differently. Yeah, this one was a bit quiet and info-dump-y but those are occasionally necessary. Things are definitely heating up soon, I like to think of this one as the calm before the storm. IIRC, this was recorded before the side-quest, but everything else was recorded after.
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Post by Brave Sir Robin on Jun 8, 2016 15:37:11 GMT
I'm curious, did Bertie departure and subsequent side quest happen organically or was it planned? I know that Lydia went away for a bit, was that part of the reason? Or are there super-secret-behind-the-scenes planning happening that the listeners are not privy to? A bit of both, some stuff happened without planning and we turned it into an opportunity to do something a little different to our normal format.
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missnash
Officer of Many Letters
illustrating happy
Posts: 190
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Post by missnash on Jun 8, 2016 17:47:24 GMT
I think that when you get an exposition-heavy episode after a week of waiting it can feel a little bit like a lull (and no-ones perfect! Off weeks happen!) but in context to everything (if you re-listen/binge from the start) the pacing is fine! I'm going to work my way through them all next week on a 9 hour flight and I'm very much looking forward to it! It was quite funny to listen to, Sasha seems to try and be the one filling the silence left by Bertie, I've not heard her talk so much in ages! (But it might also be because Lydia has been on holiday!)
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martyni
Travelling Wordsmith
webmaster
Posts: 43
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Post by martyni on Jun 8, 2016 18:10:13 GMT
Currently relistening to old episodes. In episode 20 when dealing with the bank clerk he references how their systems keep screwing up. At the time it just sounded like an excuse but now this seems to have more context.
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Post by Alex Newall on Jun 8, 2016 18:45:42 GMT
It's called foreshadowing. I'm a big fan of it.
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Post by Doktor Payne on Jun 8, 2016 19:23:37 GMT
Yeah, I can see where recording this before the side quest has rocked the boat a little - but it's good to have Sasha (and Lydia!) back again.
Despite the self deprecation, it still thematically works for me. Clearly the Rangers are better able to get some good ol' fashioned, boring, and effective investigation done without Sir Bertrand about all yelling and clanking.
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