BigRob

Oh dear, nearly another year gone and still no Aklon. While I am not writing at anywhere near the speed I would like, there is still progress being made. I can only apologise (er, once again) for the incredibly slow pace of things.

As the end of the year approaches, however, I do have a little treat for those who still poke their noses in on occasion. A snippet from one possible resolution of the quest to find Aklon's cloak. While no blows are struck here, you might find that taking this particular tack with Drait and company doesn't quite lead to the same outcome...

And to everyone reading this, I wish you a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year for 2024!

Drait: Hells’ Teeth, we’ve been rumbled! Knives out!

PC: Wait a minute, I’m not here to fight you.

Drait: You want to parley? By every pearl in Athkatla, why should we?

PC: Because I only want that cloak there, it belongs to a friend of mine.

Drait: A cloak? You tracked us down for a cloak?

Guurb: Guurb cloak! Guurb snug!

PC: And it was very, very easy. If you’re on the run, whoever’s looking for you won’t be far behind me.

Linnea: They’re right, the guild knows this place, for all we know they’re already on the way.

Meltha: We need to go, and if that cloak cuts this short I’m all for giving it to this lot.

Guurb: Nice cloak! Guurb cloak!

Crooknose: What about Garhold an’ Blenno?

PC: What I found what I found indicates they’re both already dead. Just hand over the cloak and you can be on your way.

Drait: You know what, you make a damn good point. Guurb, give <HIMHER> the cloak.

Guurb: Aww, Guurb cloak. Guurb like.

Drait: We’ll get you a better one, and a nice horse to eat.

Guurb: Mmmm. Horseflesh. Guurb give old cloak, get new cloak later.

Crooknose: Prob’ly find a decent horseblanket an’ get a two fer one.

Drait: Wonderful. Hand the cloak over and let’s get moving, everyone. [End]

Thank you, Endarire, I shall keep on keeping on with the writing, hopefully to have Aklon ready soon. Well, before I'm in my dotage, anyway.

Yes, I've been at this a terrifyingly long time, it has to be said. I don't know if I can make Aklon worth the wait at this point, but I'll at least try to do it before everyone who's ever looked in here makes half a century in age.

I am very sorry to everyone who's posted here since I last responded, I've been terribly remiss about posting here over the last few months.

As you might be able to tell from the Christmas post, there has been progress, and the quest to find Aklon's Pharmacopoeia is now complete. I still have a couple of quests to go, but the Pharmacopoeia quest should be the most complex of them, so I'm hoping to get the others finished much faster.

Hello everyone who still has an eye here! I must apologise for my terrible lack of presence here in the last year.

The pandemic has rattled things around for everyone, I'm sure, and I'm no different. But I've not been completely idle, and I can report that I have finished the quest for Aklon's Pharmacopoeia, so there is still progress as I move towards actual completion of the mod... even if it's been an insanely long time in the making compared to most.

And in the spirit of the Holidays, I thought I'd offer up my traditional taste of what's to come, with a snippet from the player following the trail of the people who are currently in possession of Aklon's personal treasure. As in prior cases, I've shown only one PC dialogue option, but you can get a sense of what's to come here.

So I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday season and a fantastic 2023 to come!

Essar: Greetings, my <LADYLORD>

Shalil: A pearl to you on this <DAYNIGHT>.

PC: I’m looking for the Company of the Veridian Pearl. The Thumb downstairs told me they were looking for you.

Shalil: Oh yes, they were looking for us. They helped out in an absolutely terrible situation.

Essar: Simply awful! We were beset by small time thugs taking advantage of the disarray among the rival guilds.

Shalil: Indeed, kobolds, the lot of them, but kobolds who had us over a barrel.

Essar: Stole our stock and tried to strongarm us into giving them a cut of profits.

Shalil: The Veridian Pearl made them think again, ho-ho!

Essar: But you don’t look like the kind of people who need help from adventurers. You fair look the very model of adventurers yourselves.

PC: I just need to find them. I’m not going to hire them.

Shalil: I’m sorry to say they’re no longer with us.

Essar: Not as in, dead, my <LADYLORD>, just that they’ve moved on, as adventurers so often do.

Shalil: You understand, I’m sure.

Essar: As to where they might be, we don’t rightly know-

Shalil: But they did say they’d heard tales told of some gnollish warband lurking near some kind of old temple north and west of the Umar Hills. Said they might try and find it.

Essar: I saw them pointing out some areas on a map they had. If you have one, I can show you where.

Shalil: Good luck, my <LADYLORD>, I hope you find them. [End]

Hello all of you who still wander by here form time to time and wonder "When on Earth is he going to actually finish this thing? Is he going full George RR Martin or what?"

Sadly, I cannot answer that particular conundrum. Similarly sadly, all the leftover work from 2020 and then some have hit me in 2021, making it an absolutely terrible year for progress on Aklon, and I can only apologise for stretching this thing out yet another year. I have gotten on a little bit, however, and progress on the quests has limped on.

So, for the traditional taster, we have a snippet of that tonight, suitably redacted to avoid giving the game away too much. Whatever you're celebrating, I hope you're all safe and well this year, and 2022 finds us all in a better place!

Essar: Greetings, my <LADYLORD>

Shalil: A pearl to you on this <DAYNIGHT>.

PC: 1. I’m looking for the Company of the Veridian Pearl. 

Shalil: Oh yes, we know the Company. They helped out in an absolutely terrible situation.

Essar: Simply awful! Small time thugs taking advantage of the disarray among the rival guilds.

Shalil: Indeed, kobolds, the lot of them, but kobolds who had us over a barrel.

Essar: Stole our stock and tried to strongarm us into giving them a cut of profits.

Shalil: The Veridian Pearl made them think again, ho-ho!

Essar: But you don’t look like the kind of people who need help from adventurers. You fair look the very model of adventurers yourselves.

PC: 1. I just need to find them. I’m not going to hire them. 

2. They have something that belongs to a friend of mine. I’m trying to get it back.

3. Do you know where they are, or not?

Shalil: Well, I’m sure it’s all a misunderstanding.

Essar: True, they’re capital people, pearls by name and by nature.

Shalil: So I’m sure you can work it all out when you find them.

Essar: As to where they might be, we don’t rightly know-

Shalil: But they did say they’d heard tales told of some gnollish warband lurking near [A Place]. Said they might try and find it.

Essar: I saw them pointing out some areas on a map they had. If you have one, I can show you where.

Shalil: Good luck, my <LADYLORD>, I hope you find them. [End]

You're welcome Endarire, I'm glad it seems to have evoked a positive reaction.

Hello to all of you who are still waiting for Aklon with nearly supernatural levels of patience despite the, er, substantial number of years this is taking.

As is tradition in this corner of the Gibberlings 3 upon the eve of Christmas, I have for all of you a little snippet of what's to come. In this case a chunk of the quest for Aklon's possessions, specifically the beginning where you find out about it. Not all options for the PC are shown, but hopefully you'll get a taste of what's to come.

So, with that, I'd like to wish everyone, wherever you are and whatever might be happening in this difficult year, a wonderful and safe holiday season, and a happy 2021!

Aklon: My benefactor, now that we are clear of Lehtinan, I have a small request to make of you. You need not take it up should it interfere with your own needs, but it may help me contribute to your cause.

PC: 1. Of course, Aklon, ask away.

2. Can it wait? The trail I’m following is cooling as it is.

3. I’ve just freed you from certain death in a fighting pit. You’re not in a position to be asking for favors.

4. I’ve got to admire the audacity of asking for a favor so quickly after being freed. Very well, what is it you want?

Aklon: I thank you, <CHARNAME>.

Aklon: When I was captured by Lehtinan, I was stripped of all of my possessions, saving the simple clothes you find me in. Most of what I owned will no doubt have been abandoned, sold on, or passed out among the staff of the Copper Coronet. Those items are beyond any retrieval, I fear.

Aklon: Additionally, since I was drugged, I have unclear memories of the circumstances. It is possible that some of my possessions were left behind at the Mithrest Inn.

Aklon: Regardless, I believe that there are two items of mine which may be able to be retrieved, as they have certain magical properties and would be of more significant worth. The first is my pharmacopoeia, and the second, my cloak. Both have practical uses, but the cloak only to myself.

PC: 1. What use is this pharmacopoeia?

2. The cloak is only useful to you?

3. Do you have any idea how we could find them?

Aklon: To anyone other than myself, it seems a simple belt bag, though it would preserve any food or plants placed inside, which would arouse interest in it as a magical curio.

Aklon: In my hands, however, it acts a little like a bag of holding, containing a large stock of medicinal plants, alchemical reagents and apparatus. With it, I can make potions to provide some measure of healing and fortification to our party. I have the skill to make such potions without the pharmacopoeia, but the time and equipment required to make remedies of use for an adventuring party is incompatible with actually being an adventuring party.

PC: 1. That is certainly useful. Where do you think it is?

Aklon: There are two places to start. First, the Mithrest Inn where I was staying before my capture. Second, the Copper Coronet. The proprietors of either establishment would know where any of my remaining possessions went if they had them. If neither of them know, then only Lady Tymora could return my property to me.

PC: 1. Then let’s get moving. [End]

Hi Celticrose and Glandire,

Thanks very much for the well-wishes and for sticking through for as many years as this is taking, I hope you and yours, and everyone else out there, have a wonderful and safe holiday.

Thanks for the well wishes Sir Carnifex. As for most hobbies, it's a labour of love, which is why I've kept on things for so long (plus a certain level of personal doggedness). I still enjoy the process, I just wish I had more time to do it in. Between work, personal commitments and general life, it can be hard to line it up with inspiration. Good luck with your own project!

Thanks Celticrose and Jastey, I don't know if he will be entirely worth the... rather considerable wait, but I'll do my best so that when the stars align and the release date comes, he won't be a disappointment. And perhaps can fit within that fanfic.

Thanks for the interest and encouragement, Psionica, Martin and Nyaore, and for sticking with this thing as long as it's been going.

Aklon has been in writing for... some time, it has to be said. Kind of disturbing that that includes the entirety of someone's life and base schooling. I think my use of the term "soon" on the original banner was some kind of crime against language. With that said, I am still making some progress, and I have Aklon's recruitment quest done now, and I should hopefully have the remaining quests wrapped up in the not too distant future.

Thanks Gofer, I do appreciate the well wishes, and your hanging around so long.

Aklon's still getting his boots on, but hopefully he won't be too much longer.

Hey Celticrose, jastey and Marin,

Thank you all for continuing to lurk hopefully (I really need to check in more often), despite my continuing lateness. I really do appreciate the encouragement, and I'll hope to have something for you all in the not too distant future.

I've really gone far beyond the definition of "soon" by now.

Greetings, Cahir, Jastey, Brokenkatana and Nimloth of Thay, the Lurkers in the scrivening rooms of Aklon! Thank you all for keeping an eye on happenings here and I do hope the current situation out in the real world isn't making too great an impact on your lives.

Since I am working from home, I have actually ended up with a bit more free time for not having to commute, and I have been putting it to good use with some progress. The quest to free Aklon by means other than violence is nearly done. I will then be getting on with his personal quests, interjections and then on to some preliminary coding.

I'm still not sure if I should release a SoA only version while working on the ToB stuff, but I will look into that once I've fully transliterated and tidied up my written notes and dialogues into computer form suitable for coding.

Thanks for the well wishes Glandire (and sorry for my delay in replying). I'm still making progress on writing, it's not as fast as I'd like but it is happening. Hopefully I'll have something for those still lurking hopefully in the not too distant future.

Skooter the Cuter.

I'll happily echo you both, G3's a great place and though I'm one of the quieter denizens, my thanks to those who do the hard yards keeping it going and I wish all who inhabit it a wonderful 2020 and amazing years to come!

Hello everyone who still checks in to see my terrifyingly slow writing progress. We are once again at the tide of Yule, so I thought I would show a little more of what's actually been going on as a little bit of a present.

What we have here is a snippet of just one possible path to freeing Aklon from Lehtinan's "employ", this one for people who'd like to buy him for themselves. I've removed the various qualifiers and other options the player has in this conversation, and there's potentially quite a bit more to be done here, such that the price is not fixed as stated if you only intend to pay in gold. With that said, enjoy a little bit of what's to come, and I'll wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2020!

PC: I met one of your pitfighters. Fellow in chains in the back. He seems keen to not be one of your pitfighters any more. I don’t suppose you’d consider selling his... contract?

Lehtinan: Yes, I know the one. (hrrrrrm) ‘Tis not his choice to leave or stay, I have his... contract and I’ve invested a lot in his utility to me. I’ll not throw all hat away.

PC: Which is why I offered to pay.

Lehtinan: Well, perhaps I could let him go. Yet, I’ve put a lot of gold down on that one already, and barely made anything back, so your gold must pay for that imbalance. Twelve thousand coins I will take in exchange for the bare-handed fighter.

PC: For just one man?

Lehtinan: You gain more than just the man. With him comes a means of wringing compliance. To remove it would need his death, so you must pay for that too.

PC: Surely there must be some way to lower the price.

Lehtinan: Why should I (hrrrrmm)... lower my price?

PC: There’s value in more than gold. I can accomplish things your normal employees can’t, for instance.

Lehtnan: That is true enough. (hrrrmm...) It just so happens there is something you could do for me, something more suited to someone not known to be in my employ, and which has significant enough value to exchange the fighter’s contract for. Are you interested?

PC: Absolutely, speak on….

Hi Cassie, Nimloth of Thay and Jastey,

Thanks so for the well wishes and encouragement (ack, though I really do need to keep a closer eye on the forum I'm so late to reply). Slow as I might be, I'm still inching forward, and hopefully there will be an Aklon to play one day, though I think I've kind of gone well beyond even the most generous definition of "soon" at this point.

Hi Fina and Corialote, apologies for the delay in responding, life is a little bit getting-in-the-way at the moment.

Thank you both for the votes of confidence, despite the insanely long time I've been at this, it really is appreciated.

As to updates, I've made much less progress than I'd like, but I'm trying to slot in as much regular time as I can for writing at the moment. I'm working on quests now, doing the part where a PC can choose to buy Aklon's freedom (or just buy him), and to reduce Lehtinan's rather steep asking fee, they can do a little job for him.

As far as keeping Aklon enslaved into ToB, I haven't finalised that aspect of the path yet, but at the moment I'm leaning towards making it possible. Tricky, but possible.

Thanks for the positive wishes Isewein, though I've been working on Aklon a long time, I hope I'll be able to get him finished in the not too distant future, and while 15 years is a lot of time to be worth the wait, hopefully he'll be worth playing anyway.

Ah, hello MissBehave and Glandire, thanks for sticking with things so long and for the well-wishes.

It turns out I've been away for a bit because my bookmark for the forums was out of date and I thought G3 had been down since before Christmas, it was only a bit of investigation that showed me the forums were still up and active.

As a little update I've still been making some progress on Aklon, and I'm now doing quests, starting with the quest to release Aklon via purchasing him from Lehtinan (if you're so inclined). I've mostly finished the main dialogue with Lehtinan to set it up, which ended up being a bit more complex than I'd thought, and I should be getting on to the rest of the process shortly.

Thanks for stopping by and for the encouragement Psionica. I'm currently working on getting the quests sorted out for Aklon, including the initial recruitment of Aklon. Sadly I'm not having as much time as I'd like to do that at the moment, and integrating the initial meeting of Aklon into the Copper Coronet is a little more complex than I thought with all the possible things you can do there, but I will try to push on with progress as I can and hopefully be done with this phase relatively quickly.

Whoops, sorry for the delay getting back on this. I've been quite badly wrapped up in work for the last few weeks, but I am making progress on the quests, and I'm in the midst of writing the questline to free Aklon, for those of you who would prefer to leave the Copper Coronet in the hands of Lehtinan, at least for a little while...

I'm having to do some in game testing to make sure I'm covering all the possible things that might happen, and once my work commitments settle down (which they should be about now), I hope to get some more solid progress made soon.

Heheh, thank you very much for the votes of encouragement Jastey, Glandire and Matiramisu, I do appreciate them, and it's nice to know there are still people out there waiting who would like to play Aklon when he comes out.

Abdal does have a point though, and most mods that go on this long don't get finished. I hope to be one of the few to break that rule and I can't but take the blame for the time involved. I started writing Aklon at a point in my life when I had a lot more free time and I really should have gone harder with the writing then. Nowadays it's far too easy to lose a day's writing to coming home and just not having the time after doing what I need to do, so such writing as there is happens in fits and starts. On the other hand, I have learned a lot over the years while writing Aklon and I think he'll be far more enjoyable as a result of the character concept maturing.

I will push on, however and do my best to ensure that Aklon does get a final release and hopefully in a form that is complete and that people will have fun with.