“I suppose I could live with Hikaru. We still need an actual magic caster that can target the enemies to balance Kasumi out. He’s into voodoo.” Ranma seemed, however, that if he could he would of chosen someone else.
“Hmm, you’re starting to smarten up. That actually sounded intelligent.” Nabiki couldn’t help but notice that Ranma did seem a bit smarter, but chalked it up to her teaching ability. “I guess you’re getting a good idea of RPGs now.”
Ranma just nodded and brought up Hikaru’s profile. “I’m going to make him some kind of black or dark wizard type. ... Hey, look, a necromancer class. Voodoo has all those zombies, right? It be perfect for him.”
Nabiki nodded. “Yeah, I can see him as some kind of necromancer weenie.” Ranma and Nabiki both laughed at her remark.
“Look at his stats, what a wimp! Spells ... lightning, toxic rain, and fog should be a good mix for him. For skills ... magical lore and literacy, hide,” Ranma began to laugh, “oh I know, doll making.”
Nabiki joined Ranma in his laughter. “Set it up so he plays with the dolls too,” she sniggered.
“OK, and how about he has a one out of five chance of screwing up a spell. But not in a bad way or dangerous way, just funny?”
Nabiki nodded while smiling with twinkling eyes. “Give him a fear of something that is not scary. He did try to take advantage of your fear of cats. I know, make him fear bunny rabbits.”
Ranma laughed. “Afraid of bunnies, got it. What else can we do to him?”
“Don’t forget to equip him,” Nabiki advised.
“Right. Black robes, spell book, tunic, wand, voodoo supplies, and a spell kit. Decent enough for a starter mage. Save it. Now what? You said something about maps, before?”
Nabiki rubbed her chin as gave the computer a closer look. “Let me see the mouse. There must be ... oh here we go.” A couple clicks later, and Nabiki turned to look at Ranma. “Looks like we need to give the game a name. Any suggestions?”
Ranma smirked. “Yes, call it Ranma’s World.”
“Ranma’s World? Full of yourself, huh?” Nabiki glared at him.
Ranma gave her a sheepish look. “Sorry, forgot. Ranma’s and Nabiki’s World, then.”
Nabiki sighed and rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I meant. I mean the name should sound heroic, epic, bigger then life.”
Ranma smirked at her, “That’s what the Ranma in the title is for.”
Nabiki’s only response was to hang her head, shaking it sadly.
After a moment’s silence, during which Nabiki entered the title and got the map editor running, Nabiki looked at Ranma again. “OK, shall we just make a small town to test stuff and make it bigger as we get more ideas? One town and one dungeon for now until we get a story plot going?”
Ranma shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Just to see how it all works? What do we need in a town?”
“Well,” Nabiki began another lecture, “a guild or inn where you can make new players and assemble your team. You would also need a shop or shops to buy and sell equipment or spells. Perhaps a bank, a temple or two, and random houses. The houses can be empty, they are just there so it looks more like a town. A few NPC people to interact with. We can even put the entrance to our test dungeon in one of the houses. Keeps it simple that way, for now. The dungeon doesn’t have to be very big, and it’ll let us see what a few of the monsters are like. Perhaps only 1 level, a mini boss, and getting the treasure can trigger an end game.”
Ranma shrugged again. “Sounds good to me; you’re the expert here. Just make a town square in the center and stick the stuff around it for now. The dungeon can just be a hallway that leads into a room. Put some monsters there guarding a doorway into a second room. Stick the mini boss and treasure in that last room. Stick it in a house, and lets fire it up.”
It took some time for Nabiki to get it all organized. And then she had to find the proper events to trigger the dungeon and end game and other small details. Ranma was starting to get impatient, but Nabiki ignored his antics. Most of the time was spent figuring out fixes for the error messages. Finally, she got everything in and no error messages popped up when she hit the ‘make game’ button.
“Alright. Now, all we have to do is load the game and play it.” Nabiki smiled at Ranma, she was eager to try it out herself.
“About time!” Ranma was positively bouncing with giddiness.
With a press of the mouse button their world became suddenly black. When his vision returned, Ranma found himself in a smoky bar, sitting across from Nabiki.
“What the Hell? You alright, Nabiki? Is this a dream?”
Nabiki was still looking about stupidly. “How? ... What? ... If I knew this would happen, I’d have built a better game. He he ... After testing this out, let’s make it bigger and better. Man, I should of let you give me bigger boobs after all!” Nabiki looked down at what she was wearing. Nabiki eyes opened wide and her cheeks colored into a blush. She gave a small eeping noise. “You forgot to give me pants, Saotome,” she accused.
Ranma looked down to see he was wearing brown robes, and nothing else underneath. “Sorry,” he blushed.
Nabiki sighed. “S’alright, the tunic is long enough to be a mini dress like what Cutey Honey wears. And, I seem to think that thieves don’t wear pants because here they are low quality and restrict movement too much. Unless, of course, they are the silk pants that royalty likes to wear.”
Ranma blanched and flinched away from Nabiki. “If ya want them, just ask. ... Where are the others?”
“We probably have to recruit them.” Nabiki looked around the crowded bar or tavern. “They are probably around here somewhere. Just talk to them and invite them to join. Oh look, there’s-”
“RANMA NO BAKA!” Akane screamed as she stormed over.
Nabiki gathered the rest of the crew while Akane tried to beat up Ranma. He was doing a good job of avoiding her until Akane tagged him with a stein full of cold beer. In a flash of light, Ranma’s clothes changed from a coarse brown robe into fine silks and a crown on his head. He didn’t seem to know what to do about Akane and she tore into him. Her fighting skills was not much decreased, as she only ever knew the basics to begin with, and Ranma hadn’t touched her strength stat either.
“Crap,” Nabiki exclaimed, realizing the problem right away. “She’s going to kill him, he’s not a fighter in that form. Kasumi, stop Akane. Ryoga, come with me.” Kasumi, as a cleric, felt the need to stop the fight and heal Ranma. Ryoga, in his girl form, was a dedicated nurse. It didn’t take long for Kasumi to use her talents to cool off Akane and help heal Ranma.
“Hrumph,” Akane grumbled, “I don’t know why your helping the idiot. This must be all his fault too. And who’s that? Another fiancée? The pervert!”
“Oh, hi! I’m Ryoga Hibiki, pleased to meet you.” Ryoga shot Akane a bright, sunny smile. “Would you like to be my friend?” She asked as she held out her hand to Akane.
“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but Ryoga’s a boy!” Akane glared at the girl.
Ryoga started to sniff. “Wah, I’m not a boy! The mean girl is teasing me!”
A couple of guys who had been eying Ryoga’s assets started to glare at Akane who only glared right back at them.
Nabiki leaned over to whisper into Ranma’s ears, “Think we overdid it with Ryoga’s personality?”
“Nope,” he whispered back, “this is hilarious.”
Kasumi was busy trying to cheer Ryoga up, so Nabiki lead them all back to the table before addressing everyone. “OK, I am sure you’re all wondering what you are doing here... Hikaru, please pay attention.”
“Sorry. But this is a real spell book! I can’t wait to try the spells.” Hikaru did not seem sorry, and he was still engrossed in his book.
“You’ll be able to try them soon enough. OK, folks. Fortunately, this is just a quick test level: no real dangers, just a couple rooms of monsters, get the treasure, and we’re back home again. If you all follow me, we can get this over with in about five to ten minutes.”
“Why do you know so much, Nabiki?” Akane asked suspiciously.
“Do you really think Ranma is smart enough to make his own magical world without any help?”
“Hey,” Ranma protested, “I’m right here, you know. And I thought I was the leader. I am the prince of Ranma’s and Nabiki’s World, after all.”
“Ranma’s and Nabiki’s World?” Akane growled out. “You two timing pervert! I don’t know what kind of sick, twisted, perverted game this is, but how dare you drag me and Kasumi into this ...” Akane fell over with a thump as her head banged onto the table.
“Thanks, Ryoga.” Ranma smiled at the girl.
“No problem, simple shiatsu point,” Ryoga-chan replied.
“If all of the drama is done, let’s get going. Follow me and Ranma and we’ll be home soon.” Nabiki took control again.
Kasumi nodded thoughtfully. “That is good, I left food on the stove.”
“What are we going to do about Akane?” Hikaru asked, while eying her sleeping form in a rather creepy manner. Ranma reached over to slap him on the head. “Ouch!”
“Show the lady some respect,” Ranma admonished Hikaru.
Nabiki sighed. “Ryoga can carry her.”
“Huh?” Ryoga protested, “I can’t lift and carry her.”
“That’s fine,” Nabiki smirked, “I know how to take care of that. Be back in a moment.” She left and walked to the bar. When she returned, she was holding a bowl of steaming hot soup.
“Yum! Soup, but I don’t see how th – YEOWCH!” Ryoga leaped into the air from the scalding and stumbled into the table. A flash of light signaled he was a man again. To his shame, he remembered how he acted as a girl. “Ranma! This is all your fault!” He turned to whack Ranma with his umbrella, only to find himself suddenly kneeling to Ranma. “Damn you, my prince, I shall get you yet.”
“Ryoga, make yourself useful and carry Akane,” Ranma commanded. “Let’s go. Nabiki, lead the way.”
Nabiki made a beeline for the door and stepped out. “Next time, Saotome, let’s give us some money so we can tests the shops. Follow me, the end is right this way.” Nabiki turned to her left and entered the house next to the inn. There was a trapdoor in the floor that she opened and gestured for everyone to go through.
Five steps down the ladder, three paces down a hall, two rooms, five monsters, and a mini boss later, they all stood around a nondescript trunk.
“Any traps on it, Nabiki?” Ranma asked his partner in crime.
“Nope, I made this a plain chest. No traps at all.”
Akane groaned as she started to come around.
“Well, won’t someone open it? I really need to get back to cooking.” Kasumi began to fret, her hands nervously gripping her robes.
Nabiki nodded at her sister as she bent down to grasp the latch on the trunk. As the trunk’s latch clicked, the world once again went black. Unfortunately, once you are in the Gremlin’s game, there is no going home. You beat one game just to enter someone else’s game. And this is why the group now found themselves in...
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(Posted Sun, 09 Dec 2007 05:54)
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