Monstrous Compendium Ch6 bit – Admin Menu

~ crossovercreativechaos

Crouched in the shadows of a granite boulder, Kirito watched Vincent manipulate an impossible menu.

Player: Kirito. Multiclass option: Yes. Sorcerer/ranger. Prestige class: Moonsword. Feats: Iron Will, Pass Without Trace, Psionic Resistance….

And on, and on. The skills list alone had almost made Kirito break cover. The eight or so he knew, like Herbalism and One-Handed Sword, were highlighted. But there were dozens he didn’t know. The names alone made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle.

Autohypnosis. Concentration. Escape. Knowledge – abominations. Knowledge – Aincrad. Knowledge – psionics….

Things he’d seen. Things he’d done. Things that did not show up in his official character stats.

…At least, not in the stats a player could see.

The five minutes Vincent had mentioned in his message ended. The elan closed the menu, and took a breath. “Lady Stheno should be keeping our GM occupied,” he said plainly. “And she has ways to cloak some of the system records. We can talk. For a time.”

Kirito stepped into the rock-strewn clearing, avoiding tender herbs as much by habit as conscious thought. “…You’re admins. The youkai lords. All of you.”

“No.” Ruby eyes met his. “That would imply we had some control over SAO. And what we can do is limited. We can grant quests. We can give advice. We can, at times, adopt a willing player. But we cannot fight beside you. And we cannot save you.” Vincent’s gaze was fathomless. “That, you will have to do yourselves.”

27 thoughts on “Monstrous Compendium Ch6 bit – Admin Menu”

  3. …wow. So they can’t even see their full character sheets? Kayaba’s jerkass tenancies truly know no bounds.
    (Sad thing is, I see no reason why this information needed to remain hidden, except to up the challenge. SAO is plenty difficult enough, thanks)

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    1. A few of them have. The ones who’ve realized that Beniryuu intends to help them in the worst possible way.

      And yes, literally. Turning loose a whole bunch of high-level youkai adventurers on Aincrad, many of whom would have serious reasons to hate what had happened to them?

      Aincrad might survive what the Five Nations could do to it. What a few thousand angry players might do… well, it might advance the Prophecies, but it’d be awful for everyone else!

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      1. …I wonder are you playing this is Kayaba being pure dick, or is this a just as planned bit with Beniryuu/Kayaba being a better role player than in canon?

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      2. Or, was the youkai lords’ actions foreseen/anticipated by Kaiyaba and therefore playing right into his claws?

        Thirty Xanatos Pileups hurt.

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  5. Remember, red dragons are (almost always) Chaotic Evil. Which means that given the choice between two otherwise equal options, Beniryuu/Kayaba will tend towards the more dickish one.

    And, most likely, he’ll go much more for Xanatos Speed Chess rather than intricately orchestrated plans.

    And for all that it may well turn out okay, I suspect the youkai lords are going to wish (a lot) that they’d adhered to maxim 3 of shadowrunners: Never deal with a dragon.

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    1. Dragons in Eberron always do intricately orchestrated plans.
      They’re also not quite the same as standard Monster Manual dragons, both in mechanics and fluff.

      But they’re also not really all that concerned about the “lesser races” (read;everyone not a dragon), just about the Draconic Prophecy, which is a Big Deal in Eberron canon.
      So it’s not too likely that Beniryuu will care one bit if whatever he’s doing hurts people, as long as it leads to his desired outcome.

      There’s also nothing saying that he intends to help the Youkai at all.
      That’s what he told them, but they may be (and likely are) just as much pawns in the plan as the humans.
      After all there’s few better ways to control someone than letting them think they’re actually in charge and just nudge them where you want them.

      Of course this story doesn’t have to adhere 100% to canon, but what i’ve read so far fits. Take it as you will.

      And yeah, i had to think of Shadowrun too. Asshole dragons are assholes.

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      2. The problem with intricate plans, well to quote Scotty: “The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.”

        Oh and I agree with the Shadowrun advice, I posted it back in one of the chapter 2 snippets, “Never, ever, cut a deal with a dragon.”

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  6. Seeing that Moonsword seems to require Warlock/Martial class, I was thinking about what would fit for the martial side of Asuna’s build.

    Her weapon of choice is the rapier, and only a few full base attack bonus classes really fit for that: Swashbuckler, or a Diamond Mind focused Warblade.

    Given Asuna’s great speed, I think Diamond Mind focused Warblade fits best.

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  7. Well. I didn’t think I’d be given cause to say this so soon after the Psiwasp Nest. But shit just got real.

    …(no pun intended)

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  8. Huh. No ranks in wizard? I suppose he might not formally be one according to the system, but anyone who knows enough Draconic and Spellcraft to rewrite a spell on the fly certainly qualifies for the moniker :p.

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      1. *Nod* I suspect he got a nasty surprise when the players first applied programming rules to Draconic. And It Worked.

        …His reaction on further reflection was likely, “Okay, I wanted to shake up magic, this will do it, how much damage can they possibly do when elves that live for centuries can’t crack metamagic feats?”

        …Poor, poor thousand-year-old red dragon….

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      2. Ten thousand years from now, dragon parents will be taking their children to a grave marker, and instructing them to “Be nothing like this dragon.”

        “Okay Daddy. But please tell me what ‘I should have paid more attention to Donald Knuth, Ed Teller, and Edward Elmer Smith’ means.”

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