TownCrier Interview Sessions with Japhrimel
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By Oubar, TownCrier Correspondent
26 Phoenatos 5117 // August 26, 2017 - in Wehnimer's Landing
Introduction
When it comes to bards, one of the first names on many people's list is Japhrimel. A dedicated, friendly sort, Japhrimel is widely recognized as a master of his profession. He recently agreed to meet with TownCrier Correspondent Oubar for an in-depth discussion which ranged across a wide variety of subjects. As expected, Japhrimel was a pleasure to interview.
| There was an incident with a dice game, some drinking, and a demon.. lost my former job.. decided after that I'd spend my life wandering and drinking and carousing.. mostly did a bang up job of it." ~ Japhrimel Laurentiu Faendryl |
The In-Character Interview
You see Japhrimel Laurentiu Faendryl the Silver Tongued.
He appears to be a Dark Elf.
He is tall. He appears to be an adult. He has intense, slightly tilted absinthe green eyes and gold-tinged ebon skin. He has long, silky autumnal red hair that is streaked with a multitude of copper and bronze hues. He has a pair of antique silver spectacles perched upon his nose and a refined face with sharp features that are accentuated by his narrowly pointed ears. His right hand is replaced with an articulated glyph-scribed one.
He has a series of mismatched rings set along the slender tips of his pointed ears, an inky black sigil, and a stylized Faendryl crest tattoo on his wrist.
Dark shadows twist and swirl around him.
He is in good shape.
He is wearing a small bone periapt, a rakish short-brimmed black hat adorned with a burnished verlok feather, a despanal-hued bourde cravat secured with a prismatic crystalline shard, a long black leather longcoat strapped with a single coraesine pauldron, a pair of soulstone cufflinks, a spiky luminescent blossom, a winking fox lapel pin, a sedate dark bourde vest dangling a watch fob, a pristine white silk shirt, a single damaged vambrace, a segmented blood red urnon finger-armor, an iron-barred ebon toybox, a black leather survival kit, a chain-strung silver pocket watch, a red-black wrotwood case, some pleated ebon cotton trousers, some glistening black ora spurs, and some polished glowing black faceted crystal knee-boots.
You head over to the Giant Thrak Table.
[Giant Thrak Table]
In an effort to accomodate larger clientele, this section of the table has been raised on wooden blocks, which does nothing to increase the stability of its surface. Two of the chairs gathered here are oversized, padded chairs with high winged sides. Squarely in the center of this section is a block-style thrak figure painted dark grey.
Also here: Japhrimel who is sitting
Obvious exits: out
Japhrimel says, "Evenin."
You bow to Japhrimel.
Japhrimel bows with a sweep of his black hat.
You exclaim, "Good evening! And thank you for agreeing to meet with me!"
Japhrimel says, "Sure."
You pull out a chair and seat yourself at the table.
You say, "As discussed, we at the TownCrier are starting a new series of interviews, and you were one of our first preferred subjects."
Japhrimel nods.
You say, "I'd like to start off with a few questions that might be a bit... redundant, but still will allow those who aren't already aware of you to get a basic understanding. I apologize ahead of time if they are a tad obvious."
You blush a glowing shade of red.
Japhrimel says, "No worries."
You ask, "What is your profession, for those who might not already be aware?"
Japhrimel winces as a single drop of blood falls from his damaged vambrace.
Japhrimel ponders.
Japhrimel says, "Honestly, I usually just tell people that I'm an Officer of the Enclave, Navigator of the Falcon, Wanderer and Soothsayer... but bard is what most people want to hear."
You nod understandingly.
You ask, "What would you say is the best thing about your profession? If you were attempting to convince someone still on the turnip truck to lean towards your profession, what would you tell them?"
Japhrimel says, "Self reliance, staggering utility abilities, and able to know more than everyone else, rather easily."
You ask, "Similarly, what would you warn that same person about, if they were intending to become part of your profession?"
Japhrimel says, "Everyone will bug you for loresinging and gem purification if you admit to being a bard, so don't."
You say, "That is... remarkably true. Well said."
You ask, "How long have you been an adventurer in these lands?"
Japhrimel says, "Though I've been running around this part of the world for about.. eight years? nine? something like that."
You nod appreciatively.
Japhrimel says, "Oh, looks like at least nine since I converted."
You ask, "What is your preferred method of hunting, and why?"
Japhrimel says, "I do a combination of pole-arm and casting, with an emphasis on casting."
Japhrimel says, "Though for a while there I was using a chainspear and a sonic tower shield, which was fuuuuun."
You say, "That's quite a devastating combination, I would think."
Japhrimel says, "Devastating enough that I get really overconfident and then something eats me, sure."
You chuckle to yourself.
You ask, "What town do you currently call home, if any?"
Japhrimel exclaims, "Wehnimer's Landing!"
Japhrimel says, "It's a town of misfits, full of vice and sin, lies and corruption."
You try hard not to grin.
Japhrimel says, "No one fits in, so everyone fits in."
You exclaim, "Hard to argue with that!"
You ask, "What area do you typically hunt?"
Japhrimel says, "Reim or Sanctum of Scales."
You ask, "What is the most challenging aspect of the Sanctum, in your view?"
Japhrimel says, "Lugging all the loot back."
You stare at nothing in particular.
You dryly say, "A... terrible problem to have."
Japhrimel says, "I can't take the portal, because I'm that encumbered and fitting it all in my bags for the wagon back can be difficult."
You chuckle.
Japhrimel says, "I tend to stay in the sanctum for, at minimum, two hours at a time."
Japhrimel says, "I think I was in there for around six, at my longest."
You say, "That's incredible. If I were to attempt to hunt for that long, I'd run out of deeds."
You chuckle to yourself.
Japhrimel says, "I have a gnomish bank that lets me directly deposit 5k to a bank of my choosing, three times a day.. that helps the load.. I pop boxes as I go, to otherwise keep going.. it's fun."
You ask, "Are you married?"
Japhrimel winces as a single drop of blood falls from his damaged vambrace.
Japhrimel says, "Married? Complicated.. I'll go with widowed, I suppose. I was married, but she left to "go be one with nature"... somewhere around 3-4 years ago now."
You nod understandingly.
You say, "My condolences for that."
Japhrimel says, "Thanks."
You say, "And... I apologize, but are you all right? You seem to be bleeding around your vambrace there."
You grimace.
Japhrimel says, "Oh, thats Leech."
You ask, "Leech?"
Japhrimel nods.
Japhrimel shows you a single damaged vambrace, which he is wearing. A once pristine vambrace has been nearly bisected by a single large crack down the length. The details of the vambrace are obscured by a coating of an oily black substance, which increases in density around the crack, suggesting a point of origin. The oily black substance is threaded throughout with swirling strands of duller ebon, giving the impression that the oily coating is shifting over the vambrace.
Japhrimel stretches out his right arm as several oily black tentacles spread out from his damaged vambrace. They burrow beneath his skin as they spiral up and down his arm. Gradually they move into the palm of his hand as they begin to wrap around themselves. The undulating oily black liquid in the palm of Japhrimel's hand rapidly hardens as it stretches upward. The liquid from his damaged vambrace slowly takes shape into a pike as beads of oily black liquid drop from its form.
Japhrimel says, "Leech."
Japhrimel shows you a crystallized oily black pike, which he is holding in his right hand. Formed from a long, slender length of a crystalline substance, the weapon appears more grown than crafted. Suffusing the weapon is a core of oily black threaded with whorls and swirls of duller ebon, the liquescent material branching up and through the crystalline coating, bleeding across the surface. The crystalline material is irregular, studded with sharp protrusions, only growing perfectly smooth at the apex as it forms a foot-long blade. You also notice a small enchanter's glyph.
The ebon crystalline formations surrounding Japhrimel's oily black pike start to dissolve, beads of oily black liquid reverse directions, traveling up his arm. Several tentacles appear, latching onto him as they burrow into him. The now liquid entity spirals across him with snake-like movements before returning to his damaged vambrace.
Your jaw drops.
Japhrimel says, "It drains a bit of blood from time to time."
You say, "That's... incredible."
Japhrimel says, "Hence the name."
You say, "An apt name, at that."
Japhrimel says, "Thank yas."
Japhrimel says, "Everything worth having also should have a good name, I think."
You adopt an agreeable expression.
You ask, "Do you belong to a Great House, or a Meeting Hall Organization?"
You say, "Or both, I suppose..."
You ponder.
Japhrimel says, "I'm a member and former officer for Twilight Hall.. oh, and used to be a Knight of Paupers, for Paupers a long time back.. and I am one of the Co-founders and current Officer of The Faendryl Enclave."
The black ora spurs around Japhrimel's ankle are momentarily engulfed in a shroud of darkness!
You ask, "What would you say is, or was, the appeal for you, with regards to Twilight Hall and Paupers?"
Japhrimel says, "At the time, Paupers was great for the community... there was a group of us who were acting together as Knights, under some command. Which was fun, until people started sleeping around on other people."
You grimace.
Japhrimel says, "Twilight.. eh, Someday I'm going to steal the coraesine door, damnit."
You say, "That's rarely fun aside from those doing the sleeping around, I suppose."
You grin at Japhrimel.
Japhrimel says, "Until then, it's got a great cave behind the waterfall, which is nice."
Japhrimel says, "Sleeping around can be great, until there is drama."
You agree with Japhrimel.
You say, "Drama belongs on a stage, not in a House."
Japhrimel says, "You're going to find drama, eventually, anywhere you go."
You agree with Japhrimel.
You ask, "What would you say is your most prized possession?"
Japhrimel says, "Hard to say, honestly."
You say, "And in this instance, we're not talking monetary value... though we may get to that."
Japhrimel says, "I have a lot of prized possessions."
Japhrimel just opened a silver mesh ankle sheath.
You ask, "If you had to pick one that was closest to your heart?"
Japhrimel says, "Two things, actually."
You adopt an agreeable expression.
Japhrimel slips a hand to his ankle, deftly retrieving a suede-wrapped black ora dagger.
Japhrimel says, "This dagger would be the first.. it's solely sentimental."
Japhrimel shows you a suede-wrapped black ora dagger, which he is holding in his right hand. The slender needle-like blade of this dagger appears ancient, the fine carving and detailed designs having faded with time. At the base of the weapon is a jagged end, suggesting that this weapon was originally the tip of a much larger pike blade. Simple black suede has been used to bind the lower portion, creating a serviceable grip. The base of the grip has been tied off around a single despanal bead carved into the likeness of a fox.
Japhrimel says, "It actually has quite the loresong."
You blink.
Japhrimel says, "Focusing on the dagger, your vision turns dark. You blink and find yourself on a battlefield filled with sights of carnage and loss. A tightly formed squadron of Faendryl match blades with a small party of orcs, until the eyes of one of their own fill with madness and he turns on his allies, wielding a black ora pike. The scene fades, replaced by another. The same man, weeping, bashes his pike against a granite outcropping until it shatters, but one piece splinters off and takes him in the neck.
Sound and sight merge into a new scene. The unmistakable sound of a woman crying fills the interior of a well-appointed home. The door stands ajar as two Faendryl men carry in a lidless coffin and place it on marble blocks. Inside it, another Faendryl tightly grips a broken blade of black ora, a look of revulsion permanently twisting his cold features. One of the pallbearers pries the shard from his mortal grip and passes it to a red-haired Faendryl youth. The crying waxes until the vision fades away.
You renew your focus upon the dagger and your vision grows hazy. A series of visions crowd your sight, two similar scenes appearing over and over. A wild battle ends in the death of a Faendryl with a black ora pike, sometimes at the hands of enemies, sometimes at the hands of allies on whom he's turned. A young boy is handed a black ora weapon over the body of his father, those who hand it to him always grim, silent, and brusque."
Japhrimel says, "Your song strains to coalesce into one final vision. A cacophony of sights rush past, each seemingly farther backward in time. In each, a Faendryl fights, goes mad, and dies. Back, and back further, till his skin lightens and nothing separates him from regular elves, til his pike too pales to plain ora. On one last battlefield, an elven army faces an onslaught of the undead. Robed elves stand in a circle, chanting, and before them forms a rift. The rift opens and all fades to black."
You close your eyes for a moment.
You say, "Very impressive."
You ask, "That has quite the backstory... how did you come to possess it?"
Momentarily revealing the small mesh ankle sheath hidden at his ankle, Japhrimel deftly sheathes his black ora dagger, concealing both it and the sheath once more.
Japhrimel just closed a silver mesh ankle sheath.
Japhrimel says, "Family heirloom, of sorts."
You nod understandingly.
You ask, "And you said there was another item that fit the categorization?"
Japhrimel nods.
Japhrimel fiddles with his wrotwood case before lifting the latch and flipping the cover open.
Japhrimel removes an ornate brass wand from in his wrotwood case.
Japhrimel says, "My embellishing wand."
You give a short little hum of surprise.
You ask, "How do you mean, embellishing?"
Japhrimel says, "I love designing and making things. This enables me to do so.. at great length."
You ask, "I think I know what you mean, but could you clarify a touch for the readers, please?"
Japhrimel says, "It enables one to add a showier or longer description to items, if they don't have one."
Japhrimel grabs a petrified monstrosity hand from a velvet-lined pocket inside of his leather longcoat.
Japhrimel carefully places a petrified monstrosity hand on the floor.
Japhrimel hums a fancy little tune to himself.
Japhrimel says, "Lets see.."
You stare at a petrified monstrosity hand.
This limb seems to have been forcefully separated from its original owner. It seems to come from a monstrosity, although you can't quite be sure, since it's not really in very good shape any more.
Japhrimel exclaims, "Ok, so!"
Japhrimel says, "I have here a plain piece of piercing jewelry."
Japhrimel says, "And there happens to be a hand on the floor, coincidentally enough."
Japhrimel winks.
You agree with Japhrimel.
You say, “So there does.”
Japhrimel waves an ornate brass wand at a petrified monstrosity hand.
Japhrimel waves his brass wand at a petrified monstrosity hand. There's a slight distortion in the appearance of the banded onyx ring he's holding, which promptly fades, and now he holds in his hand a sinuous banded onyx ring etched with a petrified monstrosity hand design.
Japhrimel offers you a sinuous banded onyx ring etched with a petrified monstrosity hand design.
Japhrimel says, "And.. embellished."
You accept Japhrimel's offer and are now holding a sinuous banded onyx ring etched with a petrified monstrosity hand design.
Your jaw drops.
Japhrimel picks up a petrified monstrosity hand.
Japhrimel tucks a petrified monstrosity hand into a velvet-lined pocket inside of his leather longcoat.
Japhrimel grabs a golden topaz from a velvet-lined pocket inside of his leather longcoat.
You exclaim, "That's... incredible!"
Japhrimel put a golden topaz in his brass wand.
Japhrimel put an ornate brass wand in his wrotwood case.
Japhrimel says, "Super fun to play with."
Japhrimel closes his wrotwood case and fiddles with the latch for a moment.
You turn over your banded onyx ring.
You exclaim, "So I imagine!"
You offer your banded onyx ring to Japhrimel.
Japhrimel has accepted your offer and is now holding a sinuous banded onyx ring etched with a petrified monstrosity hand design.
Japhrimel tucks a sinuous banded onyx ring etched with a petrified monstrosity hand design into a velvet-lined pocket inside of his leather longcoat.
Japhrimel says, "I've an infinite piercing kit, so my go-to test item for embellishing is usually the ring there."
You grin.
You say, "I have a family member who loves piercings... I can understand the appeal."
You ask, "Assuming it's different, what would you say is your most valuable possession?"
You say, "For this, we're talking from a straight silvers standpoint."
Japhrimel says, "Hmm."
Japhrimel says, "Well, the last offer on the wand was 50m. The last offer on my armor was 75m.. and my vambrace cost about 102k bloodscrip, so probably that."
Japhrimel says, "Though no one has made offers on it."
You adopt an agreeable expression.
You say, "It's a bit... daunting."
You chuckle to yourself.
Japhrimel exclaims, "Thanks!"
You say, "What would you say your most memorable moment from your time in Elanthia is? Not an overall experience... just a singular moment that is burned into your memories."
Japhrimel says, "Hells bells, far too many to really narrow it down much. And probably the few top picks aren't really something to share when there might be impressionable readers."
You grin wickedly.
Japhrimel says, "I think I'd say."
Japhrimel says, "During EG...'12 I think it was."
Japhrimel says, "I was with my wife and my friend Durakar and we had run to a merchant in a wagon, but we were too late."
You nod understandingly.
Japhrimel says, "The door was closed, so we sat there bashing on it, and yelling and all that. Which was immensely fun, until the merchant came out and yelled at us for ruining her door."
You snicker to yourself.
Japhrimel says, "So later during the fest the wife and I got another door made, with an inscription of apology from us all, and left it in the wagon for the merchant."
Japhrimel says, "Who, it turns out, did replace her door with the new one and the wagon had the inscription on it after that."
You try hard not to grin.
Japhrimel says, "So, yeah, probably that story or the creation of the Love Nest."
You say, "Love Nest? I think that needs a little embellishment..."
You grin at Japhrimel.
Japhrimel says, "Mist Harbor, on the northwest corner of town, has a red wagon situated."
You say, "I've seen it, I think."
You ponder.
Japhrimel says, "And a sign that reads... to paraphrase "Love Nest - Japhrimel Laurentiu, Proprietor"."
Japhrimel grimaces slightly, and swirling ebon invades his eyes, turning them into flat ebon orbs. Darkness bleeds from his eyes and across the rest of his face, shrouding it in blackness. A fang-filled maw forms into a wicked grin and looses a single low hiss before the darkness drips down and seeps into his chainmail.
Japhrimel shivers.
Japhrimel says, "Scuse me."
You blink at Japhrimel.
Speaking to Japhrimel, you ask, "Are you alright?"
Japhrimel nods.
Japhrimel says, "I've a bit of a collection of items that tend to have a mind of their own."
Japhrimel says, "In this instance, that was my armor."
You nod slowly.
You ask, "Would you be willing to give us a rough estimate of your current bank account balance?"
Japhrimel says, "About 120m."
You nod appreciatively.
You say, "Would you be willing to share a peek inside one of your lockers? There'd be no need to elaborate on any of the items, just offer a peek."
You grin impishly.
Japhrimel says, "Oh sure, but I'd need to grab a manifest."
You adopt an agreeable expression.
Japhrimel says, "Be right back."
Japhrimel scoots his chair back and stands up.
Japhrimel just went out.
Japhrimel arrives at your table.
Japhrimel says, "Here you go.. my minis and momentos locker."
Japhrimel shows you his peacock blue manifest.
Locker contents of Japhrimel Laurentiu, the Dark Elf, as recorded in Icemule Trace:
In a magical item bin:
a miniature clock tower
In a clothing wardrobe:
an aged bone talisman emanating a faint glow
a shuttered faenor lantern charm
a tiny bat-winged squid with a pair of glossy serrated fins (marked)
a dice pouch
a pair of Kezmonian honey beryl dice with fox head pips
a polished pewter campaign button that reads, "Japhrimel for Mayor!"
a rainbow glaes Borthuum crest
a pair of travel-worn merchant's pants with torn coin pockets and vaalorn mesh running down the legs
a bone-inlaid siegery repair case
a lacquered mistwood repair case
a flat black ash case with a tiny despanal pike head latch
a fused lor and sephwir wedding ring (marked)
a flowery silk handkerchief
a despanal engagement ring
a red-haired sylvan empath hand-puppet wearing a flowing green gown (marked)
a sheet of creamy vellum
a brass-latched brushed doeskin pouch
a burnished dark golden mesille tambourine with polished brass zil pairs
some gold-set despanal cufflinks carved into fox heads
a polished obsidian cuff bracelet
a plump enamel panda charm
a winking fox head charm
a despanel airship charm with a deviantly grinning Faendryl at the helm (marked)
a dashing pink zebra skin jacket emblazoned with a pouncing black kitten sequined across the back (marked)
a twisted dull black talisman
In a deep chest:
a blue-haired human pirate miniature
a skeletal shadow knight miniature (marked)
a blue-eyed robed summoner miniature (marked)
a long-tailed war rat miniature
a leather-bound large oak chest
a twisted dull black talisman
a chunk of stone
a tiny red volcano
a blood-stained rock
a sheet of creamy vellum
a scrimshaw stein (marked)
a leather instrument strap
a deck of silver-edged cards
a gold-tinged ebony compass (marked)
a gaudy faenor-plated elf
a fox-shaped russet mithglin pattern
a pearl-edged oyster shell locket
an iridescent mother-of-pearl locket
a twined copper doe and fox mold
a gleaming steel and gold chocolate heater
an eahnor-hued silk airship kite trailing blue and white streamers
a two-sided lead crystal pendant
a dark ruic-framed wheel
a wax-preserved couple's portrait
a smarmy dark elf bard figurine
a blue-haired human pirate miniature
a tall Stomees miniature
a Palestran guard miniature
a dark elven gypsy miniature
a dark elven silver tongued miniature (marked)
a sleek eahnor airship miniature
a raving lunatic miniature
a drunken bard miniature
a teal-haired buxom mermaid miniature
a Faendryl summoner miniature
an Igaeshian Reader miniature
a slender Palestra Blade miniature (marked)
a burly krolvin warlord miniature
a yellow-eyed disciple miniature
a beguiling sea nymph miniature
a swarthy deckmaster figurine
a tiny eahnor-bound trebuchet
a small silver crystal castle
a miniature Darkstone castle
a bright red baker's wagon with a metal stovepipe
a shrouded halfling pirate miniature
a two-headed red sea serpent miniature
a reddish brown giant octopus miniature
a seductive nedum vereri miniature
a carved guild taskmaster miniature
a burly frost giant miniature
an ebon-faced maoral sorcerer miniature
a burgundy orc assassin miniature
an amber-eyed large giantman miniature
a gaunt human cabalist miniature
a wide-eyed farmer miniature
a bright orange spider crab miniature
a Madam Zannebah miniature
a sleek onyx-eyed puma miniature
the warrior Raging Thrak miniature
a raven-haired woman miniature
an Otuio miniature
a Sauli miniature
an Iamal miniature
a stormy-eyed halfling pirate miniature
a peg-legged halfling pirate miniature
a petrified giantman hand
a massive volcanic rock
an engraved metal whistle dangling from a thin chain (marked)
a skeletal right hand
a tiny fox-shaped shrub
a growing event
a dented tin can of water
a pair of silver pruning shears
a chained tiny veniom-plated hourglass (marked)
a misty slate grey crystal strung with a dark leather cord (marked)
a red-nosed halfling pirate miniature
a handsome Faendryl groom miniature (marked)
a slim metallic black case etched with a stylized fox (marked)
Obvious items: 106
You grin.
You say, "Thank you for that."
Japhrimel pulls out a chair and seats himself at the table.
Japhrimel drops a silver-bound peacock blue manifest and it immediately falls apart.
Japhrimel says, "Sure."
Japhrimel smiles.
You say, "Just a few more, then we'll be wrapped up."
You ask, "What would you say inspired you to begin on the path you're currently on? What was your mindset when you began, and do you feel like you've been true to that path on your journey?"
Japhrimel says, "Trying to be as irresponsible as possible."
Japhrimel says, "Didn't quite work out, but I do try."
You grin at Japhrimel.
You say, "A noble goal."
You nod sagely.
You ask, "In your time adventuring in Elanthia, what would you say are the moments that had the most impact on you, as an individual? By which I mean, as you look back, are there specific events or interactions that altered your outlook or plans in a meaningful way?"
You ask, "Something that forced you to reconsider your path, and maybe go in a different direction?"
Japhrimel says, "There was an incident with a dice game, some drinking, and a demon.. lost my former job.. decided after that I'd spend my life wandering and drinking and carousing.. mostly did a bang up job of it."
You chortle softly at some secret joke.
Japhrimel says, "Meeting my wife was a big one.. there was a moment in solhaven also, that changed things a lot."
You ask, "Oh? What was that, if you don't mind?"
Japhrimel says, "Well, I'd been on the look out for a nice MHO to join. I was leaning towards Ord an Dragan, but nothing was a great fit."
You adopt an agreeable expression.
Japhrimel says, "Then one day I was in Solhaven talking with a few random people."
Japhrimel says, "And one of them commented on how 'normal' I was and that her expectation of dark elves was that we were all murderous baby eating scum of the earth types."
You try hard not to grin.
Japhrimel says, "And that it had been her experience up to that point."
Japhrimel says, "That was the moment that lead to the Faendryl Enclave.. instead of joing an MHO myself and a few friends started one."
You nod appreciatively.
You say, "A noble cause, at that."
Japhrimel says, "With part of the goal to be to provide my fellow Faendryl an alternative community to certain less than savory individuals around."
You say, "One final question...."
You grin at Japhrimel.
Japhrimel nods.
You ask, "If pushed to choose, what other adventurer would you say has had the largest influence on your time in the lands?"
Japhrimel says, "Nuadjha, probably."
Japhrimel says, "I'm around to this day solely because I really wanted to irritate him, one time."
You try hard not to grin.
Japhrimel says, "And it's kind of gone from there."
You say, "A noble cause, once again."
Japhrimel adopts an agreeable expression.
Japhrimel says, "I'm full of those."
Japhrimel cackles!
You ask, "That's all that I had prepared... is there anything else you'd like to discuss, for inclusion on the record?"
Japhrimel says, "Nah, I think I'm ok."
You say, "Then I thank you very much for your time this evening. I will write up this interview for our editing team, and pass along a copy to you before it is published."
Japhrimel says, "Okey dokey."
You scoot your chair back and stand up.
You bow to Japhrimel.
Japhrimel scoots his chair back and stands up.
Japhrimel bows with a sweep of his black hat.
You say, "Have a wonderful evening."
Japhrimel says, "You, too."
| "There is a reason I rock EG so hard, booyah, bitches." ~ Japhrimel Laurentiu Faendryl the Silver Tongued |
The Out-of-Character Interview
What’s your real name? (First name only please)
- Eric
Where are you located, geographically?
- The Mitten State! Michigan! Ever so boring, but is what it is.
What do you do for a living?
- I work for Community Mental Health, specifically with a short term crisis residential facility where we take people for a short time who are currently in a crisis. It's supposed to be mental health related, but there is a lot of substance abuse/use overlap and people faking to get 3 hots and a cot. Am I cynical? Never!
How long have you played Gemstone?
- I have played GS since I was 13, so about 21 years now. I've taken breaks from time to time, usually when I get bored or am in a serious relationship or just get busy with life.
How many different ‘main’ characters have you had over the years?
- Tons of characters, over the years. One of my first was Packrat and I never got him past like level 2. I hid in the back room at the pawnshop and would run out and grab all the gold and silver falchions people dropped and save them. I was certain they were worth something, despite the pawnshop not buying them, and was insanely encumbered. If I recall correctly, Packrat was last left a room from the Graveyard after the vine pulled him down and I couldn't get him to stand up again.
- My main character that is best known has been for the last 8ish years, Japhrimel. He was never supposed to be. I made him as a joke to annoy a friend of mine. There is a certain BriarFox running around and I made Japh and wanted everyone to call him CrimsonFox or something like that, just to be annoying. I also thought bards were a joke since back in the day my level 2 sorcerer dueled a friend who was a level 10 bard and kicked that bards ass in 1 hit (702 death crit ftw). But I took Japh to Solhaven one night to sit around and shoot the shit and got like 3 RPA that night and was hooked.
- Prior to Japhrimel, my main character was Malkave De'Panda, who I still have. I don't do much with him, but still like the character, there's too much history not to. I also spent a stint as an Erithi Ranger named Kakeshi (totally was trying to think of a real ninja name, not Naruto, realized my mistake later on). I played him on and off for a while. There was an Erithi MHO back then and I got involved in that, but eventually the other Erithi moved on to other things and it wasn't as fun without a group of us.
Do you have multiple accounts that you play at the same time?
- I have two accounts, with the second account pretty much for utility/mule characters.
Do you have a Premium subscription?
- I have two, currently.
What front-end do you use? (Stormfront, Wizard, Profanity, other)?
- I am using Stormfront these days. I started during EG'12 or EG'13 and did so solely because of a script I was writing that had too many variables for wizard to work. I loved wizard and hate change, so it took my merchant hounding greed to get me to swap over. I made a script that matched each merchant at EG's name, or part of their messaging. Then it would sound an air raid siren on my computer and run me to the shop that merchant tended to work out of. I still use a version of it, sans the running, and that is how I sleep during EG. There is a reason I rock EG so hard, booyah, bitches.
Do you use lich? Why or why not? If so, what are your ‘must-have’ scripts?
- I use lich and used to use PSInet. I loved the community of assholes on PSInet. Lich has it's own share of ginormous jerks, I've got my own moments on there, but also has a great deal of utility. I love ;go2 and some scripts that are pretty must have, IMO, is Gibreficul's purification script, ;hotpotato for dealing with weapon fire, ;chatfail for avoiding sexy mistakes, ;keepalive to keep from logging out until I want to, ;uberbar for keeping an eye on everything, and I also use ;sanctumwatch a lot, which is one a friend of mine made for me, based off a script I'd made. It responds to your weapon being turned into a snake and clenches until it's fixed. It also keeps an eye out if you get diseased and asks if you want to get that fixed and, if you nod, will ;go2 you over to the vat and use it.
Have you ever bought or sold characters or items for real money?
- I sold a level 28 sorcerer on ebay in like.. 2001 for over 300 dollars, but that's the only character. Korendal, I think the name was. I've sold a number of items for coins or real money and have sold coins. I paid for a 2 week trip to japan off some items sold, a few years back, which was great. I more recently paid for a 2.5k vet bill with items sold.
Do you now, or have you ever roleplayed a character that was very different from your real personality? Why or why not?
I would say that every character is a facet of my personality. Not necessarily the same parts, but each is me expressing a different part of me. Kakeshi and Japhrimel are staggeringly different characters, IMO.
What would you say is your most memorable Gemstone ‘moment’ (as a player) , and why?
- This entirely depends on whatever someone most recently reminded me of. There are SO many moments over two decades that picking one is impossible. However, what comes to mind at the moment was a time a friend of mine and I were bored so I rolled a newb and we convinced Foxs that Nuadjha and a friend of his were “Secretly evil” and got her to meet with him and I think she brought.. Futtilo or Fuaru or someone F-named along with her. And Nuadjha and the other guy are like “ha ha ha, we're real evil! We keep it secret! If you want to join us, you must murder your friend” so she did and we laughed at her and left.
- Another that is entirely different, but was a great time was a specific storyline, the erithi bride one in Ta'Illistim. There was an erithi carriage that had broken down an an erithi bride was supposed to be going to get married. It took place over a week or two and there were murders, plotting and incest. And, despite it being Erithi-related, I was on my Faendryl. It was awesome. I sat around yelling over gates, just to shoot the shit, spent time with an erithi and we investigated a crime scene (and OOCily compared profiling and forensics and how we would look at the scene). There was trial and I got picked to be one of the questioners. But the stupid audience let the incestuous duo off because they felt there wasn't enough evidence, but other than that, it was pretty sweet.
What, in your mind, is the best thing about Gemstone?
- Two things, really. Firstly, that it requires your imagination and, as such, can be a whole level of immersion beyond games that have visuals. Secondly, the ability to alter/customize your gear, though lately that seems to be more and more curtailed.
Have you ever attended Simucon, or otherwise met up with a person from Gemstone? If so, describe the experience (PG-13, please)
- I have never attended, though I have been sorely tempted. I mostly don't for three reasons; 1. funding, 2. having faces and real people names to put with characters tends to throw me off when dealing with people IG sometimes. 3. I would probably get drunk and be far far too honest.
Imagine you're Wyrom for a day and can 'do' one thing. What are you changing/removing/adding/replacing, and why?
- I'd seriously relax the sphincter-tight restrictions on alterations that seem to have grown worse over the years. That or spend my entire time lightning bolting Demyse.
What do you feel is the biggest mistake that most GS players make? Why?
- I'd say a lot of us are incredibly passionate about this game and that many of us are probably not terribly well adjusted. I think a lot of people have moments where we need to step back and remember that this is just a game and it's supposed to be fun, instead of getting incredibly angry. Plus people need to stop stalking others on multiple characters and being douches. It's a game, it's supposed to be fun, if your idea of fun is ruining someone else's day(unless that person is Demyse), then go play something else.
What’s something that you feel every GS player should do at least once? Why?
- Two things! Mess with a merchant till you get blasted and have a cyber slip on lnet or the amunet. Both are hilarious.
What advice would you offer to a new player?
- Utilize the mentors as much as possible. REGISTER and MARK anything valuable. DON'T ENCHANT WHILE DRUNK.