[4] Mami thinks you should let Sayaka and Madoka do the fighting against the Witch. But this means that you won't get any EXP at all, if you only fight the familiars.
-[2] Create [RING OF STRENGTHENING (DEX) OF IMPROVED EFFECT]x2 for Sayaka. Explain that while Sayaka is very, very good at boosting her strength and resilience (close to Mami in CON, better than Mami in STR), she can't do much for her dexterity yet. The Witch, however, can boost it's own, which might give Sayaka some difficulty in actually landing her attacks; the rings will help bridge the potential gap. Oh, and they're always on, so you don't need to stop and renew the effect or pay any activation costs.
--[2] Offer to make Madoka a pair. While she has some skill in boosting her DEX, they'll still help; you're using one yourself, after all. They also cost basically nothing to make. You'd offer to make some for Mami as well, but you don't think she'd really get any use out of them; they can make for a nice safety net just in case, but Mami's kind of... well, Mami.
In the next update, Homura will attempt to:
* agree to let Madoka and Sayaka take point and kill the Witch [1].
* summon and give Sayaka two [RING OF STRENGTHENING (DEX) OF IMPROVED EFFECT], explaining about the stats disparities between Sayaka and the Witch.
* offer Madoka the same.
* cooperate with Mami to provide cover fire against the Witch's familiars.
[1] They'll almost certainly also get the Grief Seed, unless you step in to disagree.
Update pace will suffer while PLHM 2e is in progress. I apologise!
One of our main issues is still that we and our friends are too squishy, right? I'm pretty sure many systems include items that prevent a single killing blow. Not sure what it was called, but they tend to work in the way that instead of dying, you are damaged until you are barely alive but stable (1hp and no bleeding condition etc). Anyone else has an idea on how we could summon something like that?
The other idea I had was to summon magic shields / barriers that absorb damage for us. Some mage types can get a skill like that which allows them to lose mana instead of health, if they so wish.
[4] Mami thinks you should let Sayaka and Madoka do the fighting against the Witch. But this means that you won't get any EXP at all, if you only fight the familiars.
-[2] Create [RING OF STRENGTHENING (DEX) OF IMPROVED EFFECT]x2 for Sayaka. Explain that while Sayaka is very, very good at boosting her strength and resilience (close to Mami in CON, better than Mami in STR), she can't do much for her dexterity yet. The Witch, however, can boost it's own, which might give Sayaka some difficulty in actually landing her attacks; the rings will help bridge the potential gap. Oh, and they're always on, so you don't need to stop and renew the effect or pay any activation costs.
--[2] Offer to make Madoka a pair. While she has some skill in boosting her DEX, they'll still help; you're using one yourself, after all. They also cost basically nothing to make. You'd offer to make some for Mami as well, but you don't think she'd really get any use out of them; they can make for a nice safety net just in case, but Mami's kind of... well, Mami. @torac, @Macros, @........, @boonerunner
===
"That sounds perfectly okay, Madoka-san." You smile. "I've even got some items to help you and Sayaka-san fight more effectively."
"Of course you would," says Sayaka, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly. You bite your lip - if she's going to be like that, you almost don't want to help her - but you've committed to the action already, so you force yourself to overlook Sayaka and focus on bright, beaming Madoka.
"I'll summon them for you when we get there," you say, leading the way towards GERTRUD. It looks like she's taken up hiding near an apartment block this time. "They're just a couple of rings, but they'll help Sayaka-san's attacks to hit more accurately."
"I already have rings for that," says Sayaka. She dips into her purse and produces the two silver [RING OF DEXTERITY OF IMPROVED EFFECT] you gave her before. "These ones, remember? Or don't they work anymore?"
"Those ones cost magic to use and activate, and they only last for a few minutes," you say. "The ones I'm going to give you have a smaller effect, but they don't cost magic, and they're always active."
"Huh," says Sayaka, curiously. She puts her rings away. "That's cool, I guess."
Which is a markedly more muted response than you'd been hoping for, but you'll take what you can get from her. "The thing is that Sayaka-san is… as good as Mami-san, or better, at improving your physical strength and durability, but Mami-san can improve her own speed and accuracy, while Sayaka-san can't, yet…" Not that you think she'll develop that skill on her own, ever, but she almost has to, doesn't she, if she's ever to be able to fight anything more powerful than GERTRUD? "And the Witch is able to improve itself in all three, at lower levels than Sayaka-san. Except in dexterity."
"What about me, Homura-san?" says Madoka, and you smile at her. "You can improve all of them, even though it's at lower levels than Sayaka-san's. I'll give you some rings, too, though, if you want them. They're not very expensive, and I can cover the costs by brewing potions, anyway."
You blush pink, and to deflect a little, you ask, "Mami-san? Though I don't know that they'll be useful, to you…"
"They could come in useful," says Mami, "against stronger Witches, perhaps, but I'll leave it to your decision."
"Then I'll give you a pair, too," you decide.
---
The apartment building, when you arrive, is hung around with ribbons declaring KEEP OUT and SLATED FOR DEMOLITION, though you can't help noticing that it must have been slated for demolition for a very long time; the gardens have been completely overtaken by weeds and wild bushes, and the walls are yellowing with age. The Witch's barrier-entrance sits in the middle of the lobby, and the four of you transform. You're busy for a moment, while you summon the equipment for Madoka and Sayaka, and then form the PARTY, but then Sayaka puts on her rings and opens the labyrinth-door with a simple swipe of a saber. You step through, and a faint scent of roses fills the air; low, curling wire fences mark out arcing paths amidst the concrete.
Sayaka grips a saber in each hand, and looks from Mami to you to Madoka.
"Please lead on, Sayaka-san," says Mami, smiling. "It's a good opportunity for you and Madoka-san."
"R-right!" says Sayaka, grinning in at-least-slightly-feigned confidence, and she walks forwards cautiously as if expecting the concrete and flowerbeds to erupt at any moment in explosions of fire; though after a short distance, her confidence grows, and she begins striding forward as she looks around for familiars; Madoka travels a little behind her, holding her bow defensively.
You don't have anything in hand, yet, but your [INVENTORY] window is already open and scrolled so that your [ASSAULT RIFLE OF INFINITE AMMO] is available at a moment's notice. You scan your MINIMAP; it's empty apart from the four of you. Perhaps the Witch is so weak that it doesn't spawn many familiars. You keep walking along the paths, twisting and turning, and as you go the topiary on either side begins to grow in size and tangledness, dwarfing even the ruined marble or plaster plinths placed haphazardly about. You step through a gazebo with a ruined ceiling, and instantly the smell of roses grows stronger; when you step out, it is into a garden that spirals away above, below, and around you: flowerbeds and flowerpots on strange whirling arcs of stone, filled with neatly-trimmed bushes and flickering lights. And now you see the Familiars, hordes of them standing alongside the rosebushes and passing roses one to another, high over their little cotton-ball heads in a strange dance. They're everywhere, you now see, even along the path in front of you.
"They're - singing," says Sayaka in disbelief.
"Don't listen to them," says Mami, firmly. "Not even if you think you can understand them."
"Yeah," says Sayaka, and holds out her saber. She bends down in a sort of runner's starting pose, though she holds her blades out to her sides. "Stinger!" she cries, and blue magic sparks at her feet and launches her forwards like a missile; in her wake the bushes fly up in clumps of severed leaves and branches and roses, and the Witch's Familiars reel away stricken and mortally wounded. Sayaka spins around as she ends, preparing to come back the other way, but Madoka has already raised her bow and fired, and the Familiars begin dying in droves as the two of them clear the path.
"Watch out!" calls Mami, running after them. "Now that you've started attacking them, they're going to fight back!"
"I noticed!" shouts Sayaka. The ground around her has sabres embedded in it, and she has left her hands empty in apparent preparation for the Anthonys that are marching single-file from the surrounding paths towards you. Above them you can see Adelberts of various sizes flitting about. "We just need to get to the centre, right? That's where the Witch is!"
"That's right," you say, your assault rifle finally falling into your hands. You activate [MAGICAL STRENGTH] and [MAGICAL DEXTERITY], enough to hold and aim the rifle. "As long as we progress!" You pull the trigger, spraying fire into a clump of oncoming Adelberts and Anthonys until they disintegrate; most of your shots hit, but (you grimace) your damage output simply isn't enough to kill the ones you hit in a single bullet [1]. There's a sharp sting in your arm as the rifle kicks back against you, unexpected.
You press your lips thinly together, running after Sayaka and Madoka. They seem to have fallen into a simple strategy, taking turns leading the way: either Sayaka leads the way, streaking past a line of Familiars and leaving the survivors to be picked off by Madoka, or Madoka rains arrows down over an area before Sayaka walks in to stab any remaining Familiars; you and Mami simply take turns laying down suppressing fire to the sides and backs of your little group, not even bothering to aim for the Familiars, though enough of them wander into your lines of fire that your skill XP slowly, steadily ticks upwards.
There's a step, and a twist, and you realise that you're in a high-ceilinged room, decorated with empty frames with scraps of fabric caught in them. Here there is no prevalent smell at all, and no grass or paths or Familiars: a resting room, so to speak. You all pause there to rest.
"The Witch is most likely through that door," says Mami. Blatantly unfairly, she looks as clean and pristine as when she'd first transformed, outside, while Madoka and Sayaka are sweating and Sayaka has rips and tears in her uniform from when the Anthonys landed a lucky hit or two. Not that she's wounded, of course, not with her healing magics. "You should take the time to get ready."
"Y-you're not coming down with us, Mami-san?" says Madoka. While she's untouched, she also shows the strain of the past few minutes of running and firing. Her voice wavers, just a little.
"No, I'm not," says Mami, and she holds out a hand to prevent you from volunteering to go in with them into the final battle against the Witch.
"But -!" says Sayaka.
"I'm sorry, Madoka-san, Sayaka-san." Mami curtseys. "I'll be waiting here with Homura-san for your victory. Homura-san, do you have any more potions for them?"
You have more than potions for them, you think. You should be going down there with them to face the Witch; with those stats, you think, any of her attacks that land will be lethal for - "Mami-san, are you sure?" you say, worried.
"I trust in Madoka-san and Sayaka-san," she says firmly. "Madoka-san, Sayaka-san, do you believe in yourselves as Puellae Magi?"
There is a pause.
"I - I," says Madoka, looking down. Then she looks up, jaw set. "Yeah! I'll do it!"
"That Witch won't know what hit it!" says Sayaka, with a grin that you feel is mostly bravado.
"...here are some potions, Madoka-san, Sayaka-san, and Mami-san," you say, bringing out your little stock of [DISTILLED MAGIC] and passing them around. "...good luck," you say. The four of you walk to the end of the room, and Mami pushes the door open. A burst of inrushing air, heady with rose-perfume, causes all of you to gag a little; Mami displays the least reaction, but even she squints and wrinkles her nose against it. The Witch sits in the middle of a lawn on which roses somehow manage to grow; the ceiling and walls are lopsided filmstrips and carousel-wheels, sliding in front of and behind each other with no apparent difficulty, and the whole room is sunlit bright.
"Alright!" says Mami, smiling. "Here's to a good battle!" She throws out long ribbons that unspool to the ground for Madoka and Sayaka to slide down: an obvious hint for them to get going.
"Okay!" says Madoka, and she and Sayaka grab a ribbon each and go abseiling down as you watch, biting your lip. They haven't even reached the ground when the Familiars catch sight of them coming down, and even you and Mami can hear the shrill jangling of the Adelberts as they pick up and relay the call in a series of bell-noises. The Witch's head whips up and around, and its green amorphous head explodes in a starburst of rage.
Hurry! you all but scream down to Madoka and Sayaka. It's noticed you!
No, stay calm, says Mami. Watch it!
Calm?! responds Sayaka, but she doesn't have the time or concentration to respond, because the Witch has ripped up a section of white picket fence and launched it at the two Puellae slipping down the ribbons.
"Mami-san!" you say. If your weapon weren't so useless right now -
Jump! calls Mami. The fence hits the ribbons with a great rumble that shakes you to your knees as you peer out over the edge into the centre of the labyrinth. You see Mami's ribbons pinned to the wall by the fence, which blocks your view of the lawn; but the next moment Sayaka and Madoka come running out from beneath the shadow of the fence as the Witch gathers itself and heaves its massive bulk forwards in a bid to pin the two of them. They scatter in different directions: Madoka's path takes her towards the Witch's roses, and Sayaka finds herself confronted by the oncoming Familiars that have thrown down the roses they were carrying.
An Anthony attacks Sayaka, and she counterattacks with a slash that rips it down its middle; but GERTRUD rounds on Madoka, unfazed by its lack of success at ramming her - and then she raises her bow, takes a deep breath and fires. Seven sparking arrows punch one after another into GERTRUD. It screams, scissors falling out of its green head on limp black lines; the labyrinth wavers; and then you find yourself kneeling on the ground, looking up at Sayaka and Madoka. Mami reaches out and catches the Grief Seed.
"Congratulations, Madoka-san, Sayaka-san," she says, smiling. "On your successful Witch hunt together." [2]
"Yeah," says Sayaka, and a slow grin spreads across her face. "Hey, Madoka-chan! We totally did it!" She goes in for a high-five, but Madoka catches her in a giggly hug.
===
[1] Homura's damage, with the [ASSAULT RIFLE OF INFINITE AMMO], is 8d10 x 1.52, for an average damage per bullet of 67. With the Anthonies at HP 100 and Adelberts at HP 70? Yeah. (For comparison, Madoka is doing 327 damage on average per arrow, and Sayaka is doing 95 damage per sabre-strike (before STR boosts).
[2] For all that you say Witches are absurdly overpowered, I really need to make them less... likely to be one-shotted by newbie Puellae who aren't even breaking out the big guns. o_o;;;
[ ] Resolve the cockroach issue.
- [ ] Summon a [BUG ZAPPER OF SUMMON INSECTS] or [BUG ZAPPER OF ATTRACT INSECTS]. It should summon any nearby insects and zap them.
- [ ] Regularly clean the apartment
[ ] Training with Sayaka and Madoka.
[ ] Ask Madoka and Mami if the sleeping potions worked.
- [ ] Invite the others to the party, when appropriate.
[ ] If the others are up for it, perform a post fight analysis. Discuss with the others what we did right and wrong and how to prevent danger in the future.
-[ ] One of the things we did wrong was to not have Sayaka there with us. Mami is strong and capable, but she can't be everywhere in a fight. Besides, we're magical girls, we should work together. Sure, most of the time magical girls compete over grief seeds, but your magic lets us break that system rule.
[ ] Otherwise, wait until Hitomi is gone, then quietly ask the others if they're wanting to go witch hunting today. If Sayaka grumbles about it, then quietly apologize for sidelining her in the other fight. If Sayaka's soul gem is over 33% corrupted, tell her that from everything you've seen and experienced, when one's soul gem gets too corrupted, it impacts one's emotions very badly, and Sayaka's soul gem is in need of cleansing.
[ ] If Madoka or Sayaka are in need of cleansing, then look to give them enough potions to bring them to maximum (without any wasted MP), [DISTILLING] and [FLAVOURING] as needed for their convenience.
[ ] If witch-hunting is go, go with the others to a good place to do magic, and transform, then [INVITE] them to your [PARTY]. Use [COMPASS], [MAP], and [IDENTIFY] to locate familiars and witches, and discern their capabilities. Tell the others where they're located and what their approximate capabilities are, compared to what your magic tells you their capabilities are, with a further note that your magic doesn't always tell you everything. Reassure everyone that you'll cover all of their magic expenditures tonight. Discuss options and tactics.
-[ ] At a good moment, ask Mami if she could help you fix your gun -- it jammed during the fight, and you're pretty sure that you messed up the sights. You don't really know how to care for firearms, and the last time you did something with them without knowing what you were doing, you shot accidentally yourself. Ask her where she learned about guns, so that way you can study up on them.
Automatic actions: will occur unless specifically avoided said:
Looking for targets:
[ ] Use the [COMPASS OF DETECT CORRUPTION], [MAP OF MITAKIHARA OF LOCATE BEING], and [IDENTIFY] to find a Familiar/ Witch and learn about it.
- [ ] Tell everybody what you've learned.
- [ ] Discuss options/ tactics.
Entering barriers:
[ ] Ensure at least three items of [PROTECTION (ELEMENT) OF IMPROVED EFFECT] for everybody going in.
During hunts:
[ ] Ask/ attempt to get the last hit on the Witch.
[ ] Toggle on [EXP SHARE].
[ ] Toggle on all [RESISTANCE {ELEMENT)] skills.
Grief Seeds:
[ ] Give to Madoka.
Whenever possible:
[ ] Transform.
[ ] [INVITE] everybody to the PARTY.
What do now?
[ ] Celebrate by…
- [ ] Treating everybody to a good meal!
- [ ] Just stay here, luxuriating.
- [ ] Going to a movie.
[ ] It was a good battle, but now you want to…
- [ ] Go home; you have to brew a lot of potions to make up for this expenditure.
- [ ] Do some training of your own. (What skills do you focus on?)
- [ ] Go hunting with Mami. You promised to backtrack and deal with anything you bypassed…
- [ ] Go home and rest.
[ ] Write-in.
[x] Check out the Grief Seed.
[x] Celebrate by…
- [x] Celebratory hugs.
[x] It was a good battle, but now you want to…
- [x] Go hunting with Mami. You promised to backtrack and deal with anything you bypassed…
[2] For all that you say Witches are absurdly overpowered, I really need to make them less... likely to be one-shotted by newbie Puellae who aren't even breaking out the big guns. o_o;;;
Part of the issue is that they're overpowered relative to Homura who, unlike other magical girls, doesn't come pre-loaded with a strong weapon with a highly trained skill proficiency to match. She could actually catch up and overtake them easily enough, but so far she's had to go in heavily on non-combat stuff, and the way skill slots currently work dissuades trying to pick up skills outside of a narrow specialization; I'd go into it further, but we've already had the discussion and solutions have already been proposed.
That said, I have mentioned a potential training outline that could potentially raise a number of skills in concert with one another, but we'd have to actually try to it to see if it works, and it would probably help if Homura watched a martial arts film or two for in-character inspiration(which is a possibility if we treat them to a movie to celebrate, I'm not sure what Madoka's tastes are but Sayaka would probably like it).
Also, lest I forget:
[] Take a moment to look around, usually when you've been present for a Witch kill there's been some kind of bonus item drop. If none is forthcoming you can probably assume that you need to be in active combat with the Witch to get the bonus.
[x] Take a moment to look around, usually when you've been present for a Witch kill there's been some kind of bonus item drop. If none is forthcoming you can probably assume that you need to be in active combat with the Witch to get the bonus.
[x] Check out the Grief Seed.
[x] Celebrate by…
- [x] Celebratory hugs.
[x] It was a good battle, but now you want to…
- [x] Cleanse everyone (with the grief seed and with [DISTILLED MAGIC])
- [x] Go hunting with Mami. You promised to backtrack and deal with anything you bypassed…
-- [x] Focus on the escaped familiars
- [x] Go home; you have to brew a lot of potions to make up for this expenditure.
What should we do about the SPRAINED arms and legs? Massage? Potion?
[] Celebrate by...
-[] Check Mami's plans for the evening. If she's planning on fighting more Witches -or hunting down their Familiars- you'll keep things brief and back her up after the other two head home. If she'd rather put that off and celebrate their victory, then offer to treat everyone to a movie and snacks.
On a tangent, I'm now wondering if it'd be cheaper MP-wise to buy movie theater food with money, or to summon stuff up once inside
Agh! Forgot to update the [INVENTORY]: you're all out of [DISTILLED MAGIC]. You do have the Grief Seed, but it's not likely to be enough to fully cleanse everybody.
Do note that the critical failures also damaged your [ASSAULT RIFLE OF INFINITE AMMO]: it's only doing a quarter of its usual damage, now.
Agh! Forgot to update the [INVENTORY]: you're all out of [DISTILLED MAGIC]. You do have the Grief Seed, but it's not likely to be enough to fully cleanse everybody.
Ah, okay then. IMHO, we should replenish that before fighting anything then, even familiars.
[x] Take a moment to look around, usually when you've been present for a Witch kill there's been some kind of bonus item drop. If none is forthcoming you can probably assume that you need to be in active combat with the Witch to get the bonus.
[x] Check out the Grief Seed.
[x] Celebrate by…
- [x] Celebratory hugs.
[x] It was a good battle, but now you want to…
- [x] Say that Madoka should use the grief seed, since she has the most corruption, but everyone needs cleansing so you need to go back and brew a lot of potions for everyone.
- [x] Apologize to Mami that you don't currently have the capacity to go back and take care of anything that was bypassed.
[X] Summon scroll of repair item. Roguelike trivia: Most roguelikes, Nethack being the most famous example of this behavior, store if your item is "fixed" or not in its name, though the "fixed" descriptor might change depending on how the item can break. Fixed items can't break again, not even in a different way. That behavior is something of a coding pun, since a broken item can be fixed (verb) but a fixed (adjective) variable can't be changed.
[2] For all that you say Witches are absurdly overpowered, I really need to make them less... likely to be one-shotted by newbie Puellae who aren't even breaking out the big guns. o_o;;;
Shield regenerates over time and absorbs percentile damage. At 100% it tanks all of a single hit and its bar drops by the full amount, only passing any damage through if overloaded. At 50%, it tanks 50% of the next hit, dropping its bar by half the damage, and passes 50% through to armor. It takes each shot of a multi-hit separately, so rapid small attacks work better at getting damage through. The shield would regen while charging a finisher or during the cooldown after, so big attacks just get tanked and shrugged off if the shield isn't low. But having another magical girl keep hitting it to keep that shield bar down will let your big hit connect with the armor bar.
Armor doesn't regenerate, but it absorbs a fixed amount of damage per hit, like hardness or damage resistance in D&D, and passes the rest to the health bar. The damage it soaks comes off its bar, but the reduction doesn't weaken in the slightest until it's all gone. That makes lots of small attacks completely fail to get through to the witch's health bar. You want to land big single blows on the armor bar.
This mechanic puts a focus on teamwork, to combine the attack styles needed, makes it MUCH harder to fight witches solo, and mimics the "pepper with small shots followed by big finish" seen in canon.
Play with the regen rate, armor rating, and size of the bars to adjust style of opponent and difficulty.
[2] For all that you say Witches are absurdly overpowered, I really need to make them less... likely to be one-shotted by newbie Puellae who aren't even breaking out the big guns. o_o;;;
You say that, but the actual cost is not "how many shots does it take to kill a witch?" but rather "how much mana/corruption is expended while killing it and its familiars compared to what is recovered by the grief seed?"
In this case, more than ~720 MP was used for Homura's ammunition and magical enhancement. And Madoka and Sayaka used an unknown (but probably significant) amount of MP on their attacks and enhancements.
Although I'm not sure where all of Madoka's corruption came from:
[x] Take a moment to look around, usually when you've been present for a Witch kill there's been some kind of bonus item drop. If none is forthcoming you can probably assume that you need to be in active combat with the Witch to get the bonus.
[x] Check out the Grief Seed.
-[x] Fill the others in on it's capacity, suggest that it gets used by whoever has the highest corruption.
[x] Have a telepathic conversation with Mami.
-[x] While you're still up for helping if she wants to do more hunting tonight, you're out of mana potions and you need to fix your gun, so any help you can give is going to be somewhat limited.
--[x] If she thinks that one Witch a night is plenty, however, you were thinking of taking everyone out to a movie and snacks.
[x] Celebrate by...
-[x] If Mami wants to keep hunting Witches, treat everyone to milkshakes, then go back on the hunt with Mami after Madoka and Sayaka have gone home for the night(Unless she wishes to bring them along as well, in which case this is more of a short break before getting back to work).
-[x] If she's fine with calling it a night, then head to a nice movie theater; you can probably look up what's playing and when on your phone, so the four of you can decide on what to watch on the way there.
You say that, but the actual cost is not "how many shots does it take to kill a witch?" but rather "how much mana/corruption is expended while killing it and its familiars compared to what is recovered by the grief seed?"
In this case, more than ~720 MP was used for Homura's ammunition and magical enhancement. And Madoka and Sayaka used an unknown (but probably significant) amount of MP on their attacks and enhancements.
Although I'm not sure where all of Madoka's corruption came from:
Whoops! You're right. Her current Corruption should be 1314. I've updated that, thanks for the catch!
(I remember giggling at Madoka's Corruption being "1314" - in Cantonese, that's a homophone for something like "to the end of your lives and the world" - lit. "one life, one world" - but must've forgotten to put that value in.)
Shield regenerates over time and absorbs percentile damage. At 100% it tanks all of a single hit and its bar drops by the full amount, only passing any damage through if overloaded. At 50%, it tanks 50% of the next hit, dropping its bar by half the damage, and passes 50% through to armor. It takes each shot of a multi-hit separately, so rapid small attacks work better at getting damage through. The shield would regen while charging a finisher or during the cooldown after, so big attacks just get tanked and shrugged off if the shield isn't low. But having another magical girl keep hitting it to keep that shield bar down will let your big hit connect with the armor bar.
Armor doesn't regenerate, but it absorbs a fixed amount of damage per hit, like hardness or damage resistance in D&D, and passes the rest to the health bar. The damage it soaks comes off its bar, but the reduction doesn't weaken in the slightest until it's all gone. That makes lots of small attacks completely fail to get through to the witch's health bar. You want to land big single blows on the armor bar.
This mechanic puts a focus on teamwork, to combine the attack styles needed, makes it MUCH harder to fight witches solo, and mimics the "pepper with small shots followed by big finish" seen in canon.
Play with the regen rate, armor rating, and size of the bars to adjust style of opponent and difficulty.
I've more or less stalled out on (what I'm calling) PLHM 1.5e, since I can't think of what's left to add in, and have ended up faffing about on character sheets. So!
I'm looking for people to review the current revision of PLHM 1.5e and associated character sheets to tell me things that are horribly wrong/ over-powered/ under-powered/ just terrible ideas all around. PM me if you'd like to volunteer! Rewards obviously being that you get input and an early preview of what's to come... but at the same time, of course, I will expect you to not misuse the information you get. ^^;;
I'm currently hoping - barring sudden massive overhauls or changes - for the new edition to go live by the 7th January 2017, because 7/1/17 is such a beautiful-looking number.
I made one improvement in the plan about the relying more on mana potions to cleanse corruption than using grief seeds.
What about a plan for rehatching grief seeds, and fighting the same witch over and over again for more exp points. And trying to discover the origin of witches.
What about trying to reach Homura's full physical body potential, then make a copy of it, store in hammerspace for future timelines. Maybe the same physical body and brain will help preserve Homura's skills.
What about a device that can store or copy information from the brain, something about muscle memory.
[x] Take a moment to look around, usually when you've been present for a Witch kill there's been some kind of bonus item drop. If none is forthcoming you can probably assume that you need to be in active combat with the Witch to get the bonus.
[x] Check out the Grief Seed.
-[x] Fill the others in on it's capacity, suggest that grief seeds be saved for emergencies, since your potions theoretically are a infinite resource for cleansing corruption. While grief seeds are scarce and someone else may need them for a emergency.
[x] Have a telepathic conversation with Mami.
-[x] While you're still up for helping if she wants to do more hunting tonight, you're out of mana potions and you need to fix your gun, so any help you can give is going to be somewhat limited.
--[x] If she thinks that one Witch a night is plenty, however, you were thinking of taking everyone out to a movie and snacks.
[x] Celebrate by...
-[x] If Mami wants to keep hunting Witches, treat everyone to milkshakes, then go back on the hunt with Mami after Madoka and Sayaka have gone home for the night(Unless she wishes to bring them along as well, in which case this is more of a short break before getting back to work).
-[x] If she's fine with calling it a night, then head to a nice movie theater; you can probably look up what's playing and when on your phone, so the four of you can decide on what to watch on the way there.
I made one improvement in the plan about the relying more on mana potions to cleanse corruption than using grief seeds.
What about a plan for rehatching grief seeds, and fighting the same witch over and over again for more exp points. And trying to discover the origin of witches.
What about trying to reach Homura's full physical body potential, then make a copy of it, store in hammerspace for future timelines. Maybe the same physical body and brain will help preserve Homura's skills.
What about a device that can store or copy information from the brain, something about muscle memory.
Rehatched witches are stronger than the original so that's a bad idea, we can find new witches easily anyway, and if we ever manage to clear Mitakihara, we can just brew more potions and develop an Instant dungeon spell.
I have to imagine that if witches didn't rehatch meaner and harder, grief seeds wouldn't be a problem in PMMM. Each girl would just have a few pet witches they rekilled repeatedly.
Sayaka and Kyouko wouldn't have come to blows over feeding the familiars to maturity, because it wouldn't have any point to do that.
Something must prevent letting the witch hatch from being a viable strategy. Otherwise Kyouko and Mami would be doing it, and territory clashes for new witches wouldn't be a thing.
