Blame yourself or God! Let's Play Final Fantasy Tactics!

I'm fine either way; a giant update is probably better if it would be monotonous the other way round.

I've never been able to play Tactics without using the skill menu scrolling exploit to instantly master several jobs. Your restraint impresses me.

Also, I'm all for one giant update.

So, Eddie, I just saw a post of yours on speeddemosarchive.com (that or you have a twin, right down to the sig) about speedrunning March of the Black Queen from 2006 while goggling the chaos frame to try and determine how close to 'complete' my last clear file is for backloggery. I'll just say, if you're bored once you finish up with FFT, I'd read one of these on Ogre Battle in a heartbeat.

Also, your mafia roleplaying posts make me wonder if the 'screenshots and infodump' format (which is already awesome) is holding you back here. I'd love to see something narrated, monster survivor perhaps?

Bah, I'm a gushing fan boy. Ah, well.

Throwing my vote in for 'One Big Post'.

Wow, I'm glad I googled that myself before replying, because I was about to reply "Whaaatt? You're crazy. That must have been another Eddie!"

I don't remember writing any of that.

I can't say Ogre Battle (or really, any other LP) is on my radar to do after this one, particularly since I'm still so far away from completing this one. My top choice is the Phoenix Wright games, but depending on how fast this LP finishes, I might have a surprise for your roleplaying fans.

Also: writing something fanficy would line me up to compete with Captain Capitalism's LP, and heck if I'm putting myself in that position.

Edit: I'm creating the three fights as three 'individual' posts that will likely all be posted at once, albeit with separate starts/finishes for easier reading/table of contents. If I fall behind on updating... we'll see.

- Eddie

Ramza continues jumping around in classes. His Knight is a pathetic level 1, so we're going to use this battle to raise
that. My plan is pretty ridiculous so we'll see if it's worth pursuing (I've done the math: not really) but I'm invoking the
Rule of Cool.

Alma joins us as a very temporary guest, so temporary that we'll be losing her at the start of the next battle! She's
carrying a few interesting items, like the Barette (which prevents a load of status ailments) and a pair of Red Shoes
(+1 MA, +1 Move). We strip her to her skivvies and move on.



We get a few new treasures from some bar jobs, which we'll look at once I collect a few more. We got a few inter-
esting ones this time, like this one (can you name the FF bosses in that tiny picture?), as well as Black Materia, just in
case we want to destroy the world I guess.

Shops are now selling Judo Outfits, which give a cool +1 PA to any unit that can wear them. I'm hopefully past the
point have needing to explain why items with PA/MA stat bonuses are good. Note for any FFT Misers: You can skip
buying Judo Outfits if you're willing to go without out them for the next sequence of battles. The shops are going to
start selling an even better set of clothes after it!

Shops are also selling Holy Miters, which effectively replace any Triangle Hats you're still using, still giving that sweet
+1 MA along with higher HP and MP.

Time to swipe us a Zodiac Stone!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Orbonne Monastery

(Scene: Alma and Ramza enter the monastery to find its
holy keepers cut down. Fate will not let Ramza get Virgo so
easily...)

(Anxiety Before the Battle)

(Simon slowly rises off the ground.)





Simon: They... came for the Holy Stone 'Virgo'...



Simon: When Princess Ovelia came here, they gave it to
us as proof of her status.



Simon: Don't get any more involved. You'll be killed.....





(A click is heard from below.)

Simon: First, they're reducing Larg and Goltana's military
power by causing in-fighting. If the war drags on, it not
only reduces their power, but trust in the royal family.

Ramza: What's the real reason for collecting the stones...



Ramza: But the Cardinal's already joined Lucavi. If it's only
the stone's power, it'd be strong enough to replace the
military.



Simon: Perhaps you might be able to destroy their
ambition.





(Alma stands up.)

Alma: I'll go with you!

Ramza: We can't leave Simon alone. Hide in a safe place!

(Alma pauses.)

Alma: ....OK, I will.





Ramza: If I don't come back, make sure to throw it in
Bugrosa Sea. OK?

(The two pause.)



Alma: I wish I were born a man...



Ramza: Take care of Simon!



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Underground Book Storage Second Floor

(Scene: A man dressed in green and gold gives orders to a
small group of soldiers. The man's name is Izlude, and he
seeks the Holy Stone Virgo.)

(Remnants)

Shrine Knight Wizard: Yes, sir!

(Ramza and crew enter from the north.)

We're fighting Dragoons (And three of them! Still not calling them Lancers without a fuss), and one of the first things
you'll notice is that these bastards hit pretty darn hard. They're actually slightly more dangerous at this point in the
game because they'll have the same PA as a Knight, with stronger weapons (x = ouch). They can also get around
reaction abilities like Counter and Hamedo with their reach, and Jump has the annoying side effect of preventing you
from hurting them until they land. They're the deadliest foes on this map, so try and take them out first, either with
status ailments or simply piling on the damage.

Don't be worried about them dealing 150 damage on a regular basis; that Dragoon and Tabitha just happened to be
Zodiac soulmates.



I <3 Golem. This saved Tabitha from a nasty Jump from one of the Dragoons. I don't think I mentioned it before, but
with a regular MP source (like a Monk's Chakra or Hi-Ethers) certain maps are made trivial with Golem spam.

One of the Dragoons came (and I believe usually comes) with an Aegis Shield, which makes hitting them with magic
tricky. I still recommend rolling the dice and trying. The Chemist can only revive one a turn, and the Time Mages have
little offensive capability outside the occasional Black Magic secondary skill. You neuter the Lancers, you win this
encounter.



The Time Mages will come with their usual assortment of Haste, Slow, and Don't Move abilities. Unlike Golgorand
Execution Site, you're party isn't split up and horribly outnumbered, so a Hasted Lancer is not as tremendously bad as a
hasted Gafgarion or Knight on that map is. You've also still got the high ground, which the Dragoons are going to have
trouble getting up. Protect the top with low Faith units if you're worried about the Time Mages hitting you with some-
thing, and your casters should remain relatively unscathed. Jump is still an issue but not much you can do about that.

I of course, am ignoring all such advice because I wasn't really thinking this fight through.



If I had been thinking it through, I would have noticed that this Chemist has Yin-Yang magic, and would have promptly
not cared instead of trying to take him out. A quick check of the CT list would have shown that only Jessica was going
to get hit by it, and big deal! The Dragoons should be top priority. Instead, I saw a cute chance to hit the Chemist
while he was charging (+50% damage), and let that cloud my thinking.

If I had been thinking, I would have realized that Don't Act is easily cured by Tabitha (who has got both Throw Item and a
full list of Chemist skills) if I wanted, and that stabbing that Dragoon on the right (the one next to Tabitha) would have
been a better idea (the one on the far left had an Aegis Shield, so hitting him with Sullivan was an iffy proposition.
Thanks to Destil and LilSprite X for teaching me a valuable life lesson on probability).



Well, killing a fully healthy unit with Bolt 2 still ain't a bad days work.

Let's play phoenix down making game!




Boy this is really expensive!

Knight Advance Tactics

Those who see Knight as merely a speed bump before becoming a Monk are missing out on a very solid class. Knights
have excellent HP and PA growth AND multipliers. Only the Lancer (grrrr) is comparable. Add to this the ability to equip
the heaviest armour in the game as well as being the only class to naturally use Knight Swords (the best weapons in
the game) and you've got little powerhouses.



Secondary Command Skills
Punch Art (Monk): Sure you don't get the full benefit a Monk does (at least, not without equipping Martial Arts too),
but you do get a very versatile skill set that allows the Knight to have a nice ranged attack, as well as a bit of healing
and status recovery that scales as your PA increases.

Time Magic (Time Mage): Sure the Knight has a poor MA, and is thus kind of feeble with magical attacks, but that
doesn't mean a unit that can cast Haste and Don't Move can't be useful. Yin-Yang magic is another option as well, but
I think the benefit of Haste is greater than the debuffs that skill set can give. Just make sure to raise the Knight's
Faith!

Elemental (Geomancer): A middling secondary ability, but there is no lack of those from, and it's hard to argue with a
skill that gives the Knight a desperately needed ranged attack at no MP, with a 1/4 chance of a status effect.


Reaction Skills
Counter (Monk): An ol' standby, this works really well with Two Swords.

Abandon (Ninja): Doubling evasion is always great for those units that can naturally wear a shield. Combine with a cloak
and you've got a unit that's very hard to hit (from the front and sides at least). Combine with an Aegis Shield and
you've got a unit that's pretty much immune to magic that doesn't come from a Summoner!

Auto Potion (Chemist): Combined with the Knight's natural evasion level, makes this a solid choice. But then again, it's
always a solid choice.



Support Skills

Two Hands (Samurai): I think Two Swords gets the nod for Knights 80% of the time, but this skill effectively doubles
the Knight's damage. It DOES NOT buff the equipment break skills in Battle Skill. Still, given the extreme power of most
Knight Swords this can still be quite powerful.

Two Swords (Ninja): That said, I think most people will be more partial to getting two chances to hit an enemy's
equipment or stats. That's right, with Two Swords you get two swings! There's also no fear of 'breaking' an enemy's
equipment with the first hit and whiffing with the second: a 'Break' Battle Skill will deal damage as if you attacked a
target normally if the unit doesn't have the equipment to break!


Movement Skills
Move +2/+3 (Thief/Bard): Enough said. Depending on your skill set,

Teleport (Time Mage): potentially useful, but Knights usually can't do much useful if they fail to actually move
somewhere. Only use on hilly terrain, assuming you're floating in JP.




Equipment

It's sad that I need to talk all about Knight Swords and then come to the realization that oops, you can't buy any of
them! You do get a few naturally as the game continues however. Still, gotta stick with the shop only equipment for
consistency purposes!

With Swords you've got basically two end game Non-Knight sword choices: Ice Brands and Rune Blades. Ice Brands are
(of course) ice elemental, meaning they'll deal more damage against the multitude of random monsters weak to it. The
only exceptions to worry about are Bombs (half damage), and the occasional enemy with an Ice Shield (absorb), Fire
Shield or White Robe (half damage). The biggest benefit is the occasional Ice 2 that's cast (about 25% of the time),
that pushes it above Rune Blade. Rune Blades are only one attack power more, and the +2 MA it gives is only worth it
for Knights in unusual circumstances.

With Shields, go with an Aegis Shield if using Abandon (or are facing a lot of spell casters), and Crystal Shield
otherwise. Helmets and Armour only offer HP (except in a pair of cases). I would avoid Reflect Mail. Your accessory
should either me a movement one (such as Battle or Germinas Boots) or a Bracer (+3 PA!). Mantles are of course good
with Abandon. Women should use perfu-- DANGIT. More items not on the standard buy list. That's just great!



Knight Builds

The "Speed Breaking this Game" Knight

Secondary Skill: Time Magic
Reaction Skill: Counter
Support Skill: Two Swords
Movement Skill: Teleport

Weapon 1: Ice Brand
Weapon 2: Ice Brand
Head: Crystal Helmet
Body: Crystal Mail
Accessory: Gauntlet (+3 PA)

This offers a powerful unit that can Haste himself, and use Teleport to get behind an enemy reliably (to avoid evasion).
The most powerful use of this is to Speed/Power/Mind Break a unit, but nothing wrong with simply swinging twice.


"The Iron" Knight

Secondary Skill: Punch Art
Reaction Skill: Abandon
Support Skill: Defense UP
Movement Skill: Move-HP UP

Weapon: Ice Brand
Shield: Aegis Shield
Head: Crystal Helmet
Body: Crystal Mail
Accessory: Feather Mantle

This unit uses some more unusual skills to back up the magic immunity that Aegis Shield + Abandon provides. Combined
with a Feather Mantle, enemy units will only have approximately a 20% chance to hit the Knight... and that's assuming
they attack from the rear. If they DO manage to get some damage through, you reduce it with Defense UP, and likely
regain it with Move-HP UP. Now THAT'S a tank!

Note that the following offensive abilities cannot be Evaded:

• Holy
• Meteor
• Spell Absorb
• Life Drain
• Pray Faith
• Doubt Faith
• Dispel Magic
• all Summon Magic
• all Draw Out skills
• all Dance Skills
• Earth Slash
• Secret Fist
• Steal Heart
• Steal Exp.
• all Talk skills
• all Elemental skills
• Dash
• and... most Unique abilities.

So it's not perfect!



A note on Battle Skills

The Knight's equipment break abilities all work on the following formula:

Chance of Success = (PA + Weapon Power + Constant) * target's evasion

PA can be increased with Attack UP or using Martial Arts while bare handed, but Weapon Power can't be increased with
Two Hands (only the ATTACK command benefits from Two Swords).

The Constant is just a constant. And here they are!

Head Break: 45
Armor Break: 40
Shield Break: 55
Weapon Break: 30

The various stat breaks (Magic, Speed, Power and Mind) all work off the formula: PA + 50 * target's evasion.

Battle Skills are, like most skills, affected by Zodiac Compatibility. It's also affected by things affecting the target, such
as Protect status, charging a skill, and Sleep status.



Enjoy this shot of what looks to be Jean assaulting that poor enemy Time Mage from behind (he's just finishing his jump
on him). Onto floor 2!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Bonus Money: 19.300 Gil
War Trophies: Battle Dict

I turned Ramza into a Ninja before this battle, continuing on my Plan. The Plan of course involved Two Swords for cool
points. I will be picking up Two Hands as well, because sometimes you need to get a grip.

(Note: the puns are for me.)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Underground Book Storage Third Floor

(Scene: Ramza continues to pursue the monastery's
invaders as they search for Virgo. There is no going back
from this point: Ramza's future now rests with uncovering
the truth of the Holy Stones.)

(Under the Stars)

How NOT to negotiate, by Ramza.

Ramza: Do as I say and I'll let you live!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This battle is actually easier than the last one, despite fighting a 'special' character. Izlude is not really much to talk
about; he has got the requisite high PA, Speed, etc. that most special people come with, but his actual abilities are not
really noteworthy.

His Battle Skill really is just Battle Skill. Losing equipment kind of sucks, but Izlude doesn't do that often. You should
know how to deal with Counter by now (use ranged or be prepared to suck up the counter attack, w/e) and Jump is
kind of trashy given that Izlude isn't using a spear. He does effectively have Level Jump8 and Vertical Jump8 however.
He has Maintainence (easily ignorable) and has a hidden Support skill innate to his class: Concentrate.

Neat-o points aside, his damage output isn't anything scary, and should be easy to deal with despite not being able to
evade his attacks. Finally, Ignore Height is pretty good on this battlefield, but it's still nothing dangerous.

There is also absolutely nothing noteworthy about his equipment (not that you could take or break it anyway). He's
immune to every status effect except Slow.



His minions meanwhile are composed of two Knights, two Archers, and a Summoner. The Summoner is (as always) the
biggest threat. The dual level terrain of the map means that splitting up your party to avoid getting more than one unit
nuked should be pretty easy. Junk (who has ridiculous Movement as a Ninja with +2 Move and Germinas Boots) started
the battle by killing him, so bonus.

All the damage you're otherwise going to take is physical (barring weird secondary matches like Geomancy), so spells
like Protect and Golem are worth using. The Knights can effectively avoided by keeping to the upper tiers. The Archers
are going to shoot arrows into you regardless of what level you're on, so take them out after the Summoner if you're
not going for a quick kill.

Speaking of quick kill, the only objective of this level is to take Izlude down to critical status, so if you're not interest in
crystals or treasure feel free to pile on him... after you deal with the Summoner of course.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



Izlude: Though you're a Beoulve, you don't obey your
brothers. Why?



Ramza: The name shouldn't be used for self-gain, but
rather for divine 'justice'!



Ramza: Beoulves must not fight for a defunct royal family,
but only for Noble rights!



Izlude: Listen well, Ramza! The Glabados want a world
where all people are equal! St. Ajora's ideal world, is 'God's
world'! You know people don't trust the royal family or
nobility! We must do something before Ivalice is ruined!!

Ramza: You started this war! Was that the will of God?

Izlude: Decadent royalty and nobles must pay! For the
people! Now, cooperate with us. As Delita did!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fun fact: Izlude was taking swipes at Jessica for EXACTLY her maximum HP. I don't usually grumble about HP
coefficients (the hidden stat that determines HP growth... it's pretty low for Summoners), but dang.

(I promise to talk about those coefficient things in the future.)

Regardless, with half the enemy unable to reach my units on the top ledge, and the other half being taken out with a
combination of Ninja precision and lightning quickness, this battle is pretty elementary.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



Ramza: but what you really want is... a stronger army
than the Knights, and the evil power to control the people.



Izlude: We want to guide people by God's miracle! Never
"evil power"!



Ramza: If that's not 'evil power', I don't know what is!

Izlude: What do you mean? You killed the Cardinal and
took the stone from him!



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Exp and JP: Did you know?

(as always, thanks to the Battle Mechanics Guide for doing all the heavy work for me).

Units gain a +10 exp bonus the first time a unit is dropped below 0 HP. The next time that same unit is killed, there is
no bonus, and every time after that you actually gain decreasing amounts of Exp each time the unit is killed, up to -8!
This subtraction stops happening after the sixth time a unit is killed.

Experience is otherwise governed by subtracting the target's level from the unit doing that action's level, and adding
ten (the formula is 10 + target level - character level). For example, a level 10 Chemist using a Potion on a level 9
Knight would get (10 + (9 - 10) = 9 exp for an action. The same Chemist would get 19 exp for killing that unit instead
of healing it, and would get only 11 if that Knight had died six or more times before that Chemist whacked it.

The lesson: stick to trivial actions to gain exp; killing units for it is inefficient.



I've briefly touched on Job Levels, but I've been pretty quiet about the JP requirements to actually gain these Job
levels. Well, the amount of JP you need to bring a Job to its maximum level (eight) is the same for every class, and can
be represented as such:

Job Level 1: 100 to 199 total JP
Job Level 2: 200 to 349 total JP
Job Level 3: 350 to 549 total JP
Job Level 4: 550 to 799 total JP
Job Level 5: 800 to 1149 total JP
Job Level 6: 1150 to 1549 total JP
Job Level 7: 1550 to 2099 total JP
Job Level 8: 2100 or more total JP

Higher Job Levels not only unlock more classes, they also increase the amount of JP you gain in battle! The formula
looks like this:

JP = [(8 + (JobLevel * 2) + (Lv / 4)) * M]

JobLevel is of course, you're Job's level, and Lv is you're unit's level. M is a special constant reserved for any unit that's
using Gained JP-UP. It's 3/2 when you're using that skill, and 1 otherwise.

For example, a level 14 Knight who has a Job Level of 3 will gain [8 + (3 * 2) + (14/4)] = 17 Job Points per action
(fractions are eliminated). Gained JP-Up would give that same Knight 25 JP instead.

Fun Fact: Squire is the only generic class that can be "Mastered" without reaching level 8 in the class itself... unless
you cheat. Mime technically counts too, except there is zero skills to actually learn from the class (it starts "Mastered.")

Flare for the win! Let's move onto the REAL fight in this sequence!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



Izlude: I can't die... I must bring the stone back! Ramza,
The next time I see you, will be your last! Remember!

Bonus Money: 13,900 Gil
War Trophies: Defense Armlet

You can never have enough people with Two Swords, so Junk starts down the Ninja path. I mentioned Rune Blades (+2
MA); they work pretty well with the Geomancy and Talk skills, so we'll probably try and dual wield them.

Sullivan grabs his last attack spell (I'm skipping Poison), and can finally throw off those smelly old robes. Well, his name
isn't Crowley but it's close enough.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Underground Book Storage First Floor

(Scene: During their flight from the Monastery, Izlude and
his group have caught Alma! Ramza has now more to
worry about than the sudden loss of the two Zodiac Stones
he entrusted to her... including the reappearance of an
enemy has hasn't seen since his days as a cadet...)

(Tension 1)

(His allegiance has changed, but his strength has not.
Weigraf returns!)





Alma: Help me! Brother Ramza!

(Ramza rushes to the scene...)

Wiegraf: Here's Ramza!



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Wiegraf has been following an exercise routine since we last saw him way back in Chapter 1. In addition to the extra HP
and PA, Wiegraf has also filled out the rest of his Holy Sword abilities! Those who have been using Agrias might have
gotten them already: Lightning Stab and Holy Explosion. They're already pretty good moves to use with Agrias, but in
Wiegraf's hands (and male PA score) they're even deadlier.

The most difficult part of this battle is surviving Wiegraf. This battle isn't too bad if you make your only goal "taking
Wiegraf out", but attempting to collect treasures or crystals is going to be problematic with our White Knight friend
running around. I highly recommend being careful with which units you bring into this battle. Zodiac compatibility is a
total bitch here, and is particularly a problem at the very start of the battle. Wiegraf is a fairly fast unit, and without
planning you'll likely see three or four of your units Lightning Stabbed right at the start of the battle, which might be
unrecoverable without the right mix of healing, equipment, and luck.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

If you examine my unit placement at the start of the battle, you'll notice I put the fast units (Ramza and Tabitha, who
are Ninjas, and Junk who is currently a Thief) in such a way that my slow units (Jessica, Jean) are spaced far enough
apart that an ability like Lightning Stab can't hit them. Wiegraf's Speed is 8, and the way the funky FFT system works
demands that you have a Speed of 9 in order to beat him to the gun at the start of the fight. With high enough levels
this might not be a problem with units like White Mages and Thieves, but I've used Green Berets (+1 Speed) to hit 9
Speed where applicable.

In addition, I've traded Tabitha's meager Time Magic skills for Items. I hate to lose Haste, but in a fight like this having
another unit that can use Phoenix Downs can be worthwhile. Jean has also traded his Jump skills for the Knight's Battle
skill, for reasons that will become clearer later. I tried my best to avoid Zodiac issues, but it turns out that half my
units have Good compatibility with Weigraf's Virgo-ness. Sissie (Taurus) and Sullivan (also Taurus) are sidelined to avoid
having one more unit that Weigraf can easily blow up. Tabitha (Capricorn) sadly is in "good" status with Wiegraf, but
someone had to come along and it might as well be a healer.



Unconfirmed: While Lightning Stab technically doesn't deal Lightning Damage (nor Holy Explosion deal Holy Damage),
the game might seem to 'think' they do (it certainly lists them in the skill). I've read reports that you can use
accessories like Rubber Boots to prevent Wiegraf from even attempting to use a skill like Lightning Stab on you. Holy
Sword skills are supposed to key off the element of the weapon the user is wielding. Given that only the Coral Sword
(lightning) and Ice Brand (uh, ice) weapons are swords that are tied to an elemental affinity, this doesn't come up that
often.

Regardless, breaking or stealing Wiegraf's sword is an effective counter to his powerful attacks. A slower (but more
reliable) solution is to hit him with the Knight's "Power Break" skill: all Holy Sword attacks (Agrias and Weigraf's) are tied
to the PA stat. You still have to be careful for Wiegraf's Counter skill, as both Steal Weapon and Power Break trigger it.
I'm getting around this with some good ol' fashioned wordplay from Junk (to reduce his Brave, thus reducing the chance
his Counter skill will trigger) and by using Power Break with Jean via a Spear. Since a spear has a range of 2, Jean can
safely stand far enough back to avoid getting Counter'd. As with any Break or Steal skill, try and approach Wiegraf from
behind, so you can avoid his shield. If that's not possible, breaking or stealing his shield is usually a better idea than
risking the low chance your skill will work.

Wiegraf: Even if your ideal is great, it's just a dream if you
can't fulfill it! So how can you fulfill it? You need power!
That's the politics of the world! I can see it clearly now!
You can't fulfill your dreams without power! You say I'm a
dirty dog of the church! Go ahead!! I don't care!



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The map itself presents three choke points you can hold units at, but the only one you should really use is the one in
the middle. Only the Knights are likely to use the other passages, and neither of them are that threatening. Positioning
someone with a high evasion in the middle will likely draw the attention of the Archers and Wizard, and with a bit of
luck they'll be easy pickings for your own Wizard or Summoner. Until you can neuter Wiegraf, remember to stay spread
out!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *





Ramza: Your ideals and actions inspired your people and
even stirred up the old Noble customs! Your actions have
meaning only if they hold true to your ideals. Miluda and
your old comrades would be disappointed with your current
choice of actions.







Wiegraf: You may think you know it, but you've never lived
it! You'd never know! 'Reality' is far harsher than you can
possibly imagine.

Let's Play: Monster Diplomacy!

In order to break the excruciating tie that left four members as potential candidates for our Monster Squad fight, we're
going to have a showdown. Each monster will step into a random battle, and engage in a four way free for all to
determine who has the strength AND smarts to join our illustrious Monster Team, joining a Malboro and Tiamat.

I'm going to enlist four of you to take on the roles of the monsters. Everyone else can participate by cheering for a
monster of you're choice!



FOR MONSTER PLAYERS: You will be required to do two things.

1) Send me a list of your monster's "behavior" through the forum's private messaging system. It can be as
simple as "this is the order I'd prefer to kill monsters in" or as complex as you like; I will fill in any gaps you leave. There
are four things about this:
a) You have to be aggressive. No sitting in a corner hoping the other three will take themselves out
b) You have to tell me at least a rough 'priority' list. Do you go after the Behemoth over all else? Does the Uribo need
to die first? I need to know!
c) You need to pick one battlefield (that can be accessed through a random battle) to play on. You only need to pick
one! Each monster starts in one corner of the map, and you may pick this if you so desire for the map you choose.
d) Between each round you MAY choose to modify your commands.

2) Negotiate with the other players. Since TWO monsters can pass on, you don't need to take out all three
monsters, just two of them. The best way to ensure this happens is to 'team up' with another player. The rules for this
are simple:
a) You can communicate any way you wish, either here, private messages, phone, I don't care.
b) The ONLY thing that matters is the monster's behavior you send me. You can tell the other players whatever you
want, but if you ARE planning on playing nice with a player (or two), it must be reflected in the "behavior" you send.



The rules for the game are as follows:
1) There will be four rounds. The round ends when there are only two monsters left; each of them gets a point. In the
event of a tiebreaker, there will be a fifth round.
2) Monsters will be artificially reduced to 50 Brave. Faith has no affect on any of the Monster skills used, so will be left
at its original value.
3) Players may choose any 'species' of monster to play as. The species chosen is NOT necessarily the one that will be
used in the surely epic monster battle that will come later in Chapter 4. You may also name your monster whatever you wish.
4) Certain abilities are modified for balance, and are listed below.
5) Results will be posted alongside regular updates, and will start at the first opportunity in Chapter 4.
6) A test run will be done by myself for balance, offscreen. I might add/subtract rules here for balance.

Think you've got what it takes? Send me a private message asking which monster(s) you'd like to 'control,' or post in
this thread making your claim.



Here are specific rules/notes for particular monsters:

Mindflares: "Mind Blast" will be 'simulated,' and will always result in Confuse if successful (a confused monster will
randomly attack others or use their special abilities).

Porkys: Their "Pooh-" ability's tooltip is incorrect; they only can cause "Sleep."

Wildbows: Their "Nose Bracelet" will be simulated; an affected monster will randomly attack enemies OTHER than the
Wildbow.


FOR EVERYONE ELSE:

In between rounds, show your support for your favorite in the contest! The monster that gets the most support before
a round will receive a bonus that will last for each round, to be chosen by the player. The bonuses are as follows, and
are cumulative:

Brave +10
Speed + 1
Speed - 1 (for monster of choice)

You get bonus points for contributing something other than a standard post of support, such as a piece of MS Paint
artwork or poetry! Cheer on your favorite!



That's it for this massive update! Phew! Apologies to my Photobucket account, I promise to upgrade you if this breaks
you!

I also want to thank all of YOU for pushing my LP into having over 40,000 views. You guys are the reason I keep at this
insane task. Watch out Brickroad + McDohl! I AM COMING FOR YOU.

See you guys next time!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Bonus Money: 18,400 Gil
War Trophies: 2,500 Gil

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

(Scene: Weigraf lays bloodied and dying outside the
monastery, his second encounter with Ramza ending even
poorer than the first. Thunder roars outside.)







(Ramza bursts out the door.)



Wiegraf: Go.... Izlude....

Izlude: Sorry, Wiegraf!!

(Izlude exits on the chocobo, Alma unconscious behind
him.)



(Wiegraf howls in pain, coughing up blood.)

Wiegraf: Goho!



Wiegraf: I can't face my dead allies without avenging
Miluda... No.... I don't want to die...









(The stone Aries sheds a demonic light.)



Ramza: What....?

(Simon stumbles out the front door of the monastery. He has been fatally wounded.)

Simon: H, here...

Simon: Germonik, a disciple of St. Ajora wrote it... It had
been missing... till I found it in the underground library....



Simon: That's all right..... I'm a sinner...



Simon: You can bring them to justice with this book!





Simon: Take care of the rest... Ramza.....





* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

To be continued...

Heh. In my FFT stream (stopped due to time constraints, though I'd be glad to continue it) Wiegraf acted first, going into my half of the field, and then my two Ninjas killed him. Actually one could've done it, but he missed an attack.

Those are Genbu, Seiryu, Suzaku, and Byakko, of the Chinese constellations. The only Final Fantasy I can recall that has them all is FFXI.

What really? And here I thought we had Tiamat (FF1), Cagnazzo (FF4), and two others I didn't recognize

- Eddie

Could be a cross-reference to Final Fantasy Legend (I know, I know, it's really SaGa...). They're the major bosses of each world in that game.

I was there too! I just didn't remember it was called the Gambler's Fallacy

Big ups for the Knights of the Dinner Table cameo.

Damn, I waited all this time for the Ninjas to come out and not a single word on their main strength: punching guys for over their max hp, twice.

^_^

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *






*I picked up the 'Germonik Scriptures'
Simon gave me and flipped through the
pages...
*The text was in an ancient holy script
with drawings in places.
*It was damaged and hard to read.
*I wondered what was written in it?


*Then, I saw some words in a language
I recognized.
*Somebody had written some notes in
the "Ikoku language".
*Who could have done it?


*Judging from the ink, the older notes
were written years ago. But the newer
ones were written only days ago.
*It smudged when I rubbed it.
*The ink was not yet dry.
*They were written by the same person.
*I realized Simon had been slowly trans-
lating this book over the years.


*...tried reading it by referring to
his partial notes.


*It says, This is written by a follower
of St. Ajora, Germonik...
*Germonik...?
*I'd heard that name before...
*Must've been in history class.


*Then, it came to me.
*Germonik was the disciple who betrayed
St. Ajora by selling him to the Yudora
Empire......
*It was amazing Germonik's book was
even still in existence!


*Calming myself, I turned the pages.
*Then, I found something more amazing
than the historical legacy in my hands.


*I thought Germonik compiled St. Ajora's
words in this book. But I was wrong.
*It's a record of St. Ajora's activities.
*And not the St. Ajora we knew.
*A record of Ajora, the human.


*First off, St. Ajora is not human.
*I'm not a true believer in Glabados
like Zalbag, but I do believe St. Ajora
was a 'Child of God' sent from Heaven
to save this troubled world.
*Rather, I should say I did believe....
until I read this book...


*It was the golden age, when many
airships flew all over the sky...


*The day St. Ajora was born in Bervenia
of Lesalia, he stood up, walked to the
well and said,
'Calamity will come from this well soon.
*We must seal it so people don't drink
*the water.'


*Days later, plague swept over Bervenia.
*The people who drank the tainted water
died...
*But the only family who believed him
didn't get sick and survived.
*Since then, people called him 'Miracle
Child', 'Child of God'.


*When St. Ajora turned 20, he became a
'Saviour', and was sent to Heaven as 'a
member of God'...


*Long before Ivalice was united, it was
divided into 7 small kingdoms ;
Zeltennia, Fovoham, Lionel, Limberry,
Lesalia, Gallionne, Murond.
*As the kingdoms continued to increase
their territories, the wars continued.


*In the several hundred years of war, an
ambitious young king was born in Murond.
*Though he lead an army large enough to
cover Ivalice, the way to victory was
long and hard. Using the secret method
from an ancient book, the king tried to
summon a evil spirit and use its power.
*But the evil spirit killed the king and
tried to destroy the world...


*One Brave with 12 followers, collected
'Zodiac Stones' from all over the world
and revived them.
*They destroyed evil in an instant and
succeeded in sending the evils back to
Hades.
*This's how they became 'Saviors'.


*That's the 'Zodiac Braves' legend.
*Ever since, every time the world is in
danger, they appear, save the world
and disappear.


*When St. Ajora was alive, similar things
occurred.
*The King of Limberry summoned an evil
Spirit to take over Ivalice.
*The world once again fell into crisis.
*St. Ajora collected 12 Holy Stones,
just like the legend, formed the Zodiac
Braves and killed the evil.


*But 'Heroes' are always a nuisance to
rulers of a country...


*The Yudora Empire was afraid of Ajora
who was gaining power, announcing the
arrival of God's kingdom. Yudora sent
troops against one of his sects.
*The priests of Fara, the largest sect
then, were afraid of St. Ajora's power.
*He was caught and executed at Golgorand
Execution grounds after Germonik told of
his whereabouts for money.


*But St. Ajora was a 'Child of God' and
the priests of Fara were smitten by an
angry God. After the execution, the base
at Fara, Murond sunken by various natural
disasters.


*This is how St. Ajora was sent to
Heaven as a 'Child of God', and became
a 'Member of God'...


*And that's all I know. Almost anyone in Ikoku
knows of the 'Myth' of St. Ajora.
*But the St. Ajora in the 'Germonik
Scriptures' was a totally different person..


*Ajora was not a 'Child of God', but a
human just like us.
*An ambitious revolutionary who fought
to fulfill his dream.
*Moreover, he loved peace and was not a
hero who risked his life for others.


*This is what Germonik wrote...


*A founder of an advanced new religion,
Ajora was a threat to the Empire.
*But Ajora had another 'side' to him
other than being a priest.
*He was a spy who entered enemy ter-
ritory agitating and gaining information.


*Anyhow, Ajora was a threat to the
empire. The empire sent Germonik to
find proof that Ajora was a spy.
*Yes, Germonik was also a spy of the
empire watching Ajora's activities.


*They say Ajora tried to revive the
Zodiac Braves.
*Germonik found some Holy Stones to
prove it.
*But, what does that have to do with
reformation?


*I don't know if young King Limberry
really summoned an evil spirit.
*At least nothing is written about it in
the book.
*However, it's a fact that Murond met
with natural disaster and sunk into the
sea at the time of Ajora's death.


*This is where Simon's notes were most
interesting.
*They appeared to be his personal opinion...


*"Despite rumors of its existence, no one
ever saw the 'Germonik Scriptures'.
I don't know whether the book tells the
truth or fabricates Ajora's great
achievements..."


*"When I was a heresy examiner for the
church, many examiners felt afraid to
show the people the book. The High
Priest probably felt the same because
everything the book said was true."


*"After Ajora's death, the church had to
unite St. Ajora with God making him
divine. To do that, unsuitable facts had
to be deleted from history and St. Ajora
had to become a 'Child of God'."


*"They were wise to use the Zodiac Brave
story, widely believed in Ikoku. It was
easy to make people believe the Zodiac
Braves led by Ajora killed an imaginary
evil spirit."


*"When I read this book I lost my faith.
But I'm not sad... because it inspired
me to search for the truth."


*"At the same time, I'm guilty for not
bringing it to light, even through I knew
the church was lying. Why?
Because if I told people about the book,
I was afraid they would take the
library away from me."


*"I would have been devastated if the
library was taken away from me because
it satisfied my thirst for knowledge.
But, my curiosity got the best of me."


*Simon spoke of 'An imaginary evil'.
*But I sensed a scheme by someone other
than the High Priest, after seeing the
berserk power of the Holy Stones.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dorter Trade City

(Scene: night has come to Ivalice, and the rain that fell
with Wiegraf continues to beat heavily on Ramza's
shoulders. Through Izlude and the mysterious group that
he and Wiegraf work for, he has lost his sister. Through
the Germonik Scriptures, he has now lost his faith as well.

The strings that tie this war together are becoming more
and more visible. It seems likely that the third group is
working with the Church to emerge from the ashes of Larg
and Goltana's war as the source of power in Ivalaice, and
to do it they are collecting the Holy Zodiac Stones.

But while the strings might be visible, the puppeteer
controlling them is not...)

(Meeting with Algus)

(Ramza enters the scene from the south.)







Wizard: If you want her back, come to Riovanes Castle.







Wizard: You're in no position to demand. You have no
choice.





* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Okay, time to see what our characters have been up to! But first, some new items are in stock!



Power Sleeves can be purchased, and they give a whopping +2 PA to anyone who wears them. Any class that uses
Physical Attacks should be using these, the exceptions being Knights, Lancers and Samurai, who can't wear them.

108 Rings I've mentioned before. They strengthen ALL magic, and are thus pretty darn useful for Summoners. We give
one to Jessica.




We've collected a few more treasures, and found a few more places, so our respective ranks (which still don't mean
anything) have increased. Visit the Bar Treasure and Unexplored Land pages to see our new loot!



This is never mentioned in the story, but the Marquis (who we saved back in chapter 1) has kicked the bucket. Way to
waste our time Elmdor!

Let's see how our guys are doing!

Ramza gets enough JP from this constant Cheering to afford Two Swords. We're going for Two Hands with him now,
which will finish my plan to do something cool with Ramza.



You'll note that most of my physical units are around 95-96 Brave. 97 is the cap (at least, the best you can do outside
of a battle) so all that Cheering and Praising we've done is nearly finished. I've actually started teaching Junk science
with Solution; there's little reason not to have one low Faith unit to go headfirst into enemy spell casters.

I picked up Secret Hunt for the heck of it. I don't fight too many random battles, but since the Fur Shop is running
there's no reason not to start poaching enemies when the chance presents itself. Poach still isn't very useful until
Chapter 4 however; the best creatures to taxidermy won't appear outside of rare random battles. For now it's more for
amusement. We'll be back and using it to good effect later.



Not much has changed for Jean. He's still using Equip Spear and Jump for no reason other than he can. Does anyone
have another direction they'd like to see Jean take?

On a side note, Jean picks up enough Thief JP via Junk and Sissie mingling in the class to get Move +2. There's no
reason to not pick it up to replace his +1 variety, so hey, bonus.

We're learning skills for Jean that he can't even use yet. Muramasa and Kikuichimoki won't be in our hands until Chapter
4, so this is kind of a waste. I can't really bring myself to purchase Bizen Boat, but maybe I'll grab Koutetsu.



Sullivan has only recently become an Oracle, so his skill list isn't that impressive yet (as long as you ignore his Black
Magic list at least). What IS impressive however is his Gokuu Rod. While its random secondary effect (Add: Innocent)
is kind of bad, since it would occasionally make units he hits immune to most magic, its got a high attack power, and
uses MA instead of PA to calculate damage. Sullivan is swinging this bad boy for 110 damage, which is pretty
impressive!



No news on the Ninja-Chemist front. Tabatha, not really needing Two Swords (since its innate in Ninja) is simply
grabbing up Throw skills. I'm tempted to get her Abandon and toss a Mantle on her, but we'll see.



Sissie's nearly learned everything a Good Thief would like to learn from this class, but we're going to stay a littttle
longer to get Catch and Secret Hunt. They, of course, will be of no use to us until near the end of the game. That's
going to make her a top Monk and Thief; I'll probably send her into Ninja next for some Two Swords (i.e. Two Punch)
action, if for no reason other than to make TK Flash happy.



Finally, Jessica is nearly done her Summoner class, which she entered oh... two chapters ago (that would be after the
Cellar of Sand Mouse fight). She still needs Titan and Carbuncle (and a secret summon we can't get yet) to complete
the set. I'm tempted to keep her in this class to get Half MP.

The plan was to turn her into a Calculator, and I might still do that for giggles. Opinions?

BIG NOTE.

One of you suckers has decided to take on the mantle for cephalopods everywhere! I'll save their name in case I
require a reveal somewhere down the road, but fans of Zoidbergs can rest easy knowing that they now have a
champion in their corner to see to it that their octo-men are represented.

This still leaves Uribos, Dryads, and Behemoths without a Doc Louis-esq coach. Will any of you take up the mantle for
our fine monster friends? Private message me if you're interested!

Well that's all for now! I bid you adieu with another cutscene (they're everywhere). See you next battle!