Gosh, obviously I need to comment more since today's chapter blew me out of the water again! Nice to see such a unique aspect of the events during a campaign, and I'm definitely loving the intrigue parts. Keep it up!
Indeed, Gilbert's return was surprising but welcome! :thumbsup2
I have to tell that I sense a shift in your storytelling angle. :whistling
Makuria was quite campaign-based, the Teutons were more character-based, but still a lot of campaign, then Aragon was very much character-based with hints about the campaign and now this is almost no campaign! And excellently written in that! :thumbsup2 If not many questions are asked about the campaign, it means that people are drawn in by the story itself. Very good job!
Re: [SS/SV AAR] Heaven's Descent, Cyprus Reborn: A Crusader AAR (Updated OP with Table of Contents, 2/8)
Excellent plot and character development! I also like the pace of the story, slowly rolling on in the eastern Mediterranean... very nice.
But I think one of the greatest elements of this story is the role of Isabella. It is not easy to find a central role for a woman in such stories, so that is a special feat! :thumbsup2
February 10, 2012, 01:58 AM
Thokran
Re: [SS/SV AAR] Heaven's Descent, Cyprus Reborn: A Crusader AAR (Updated OP with Table of Contents, 2/8)
Wonderfully satisfying after the trials and tribulations of the last few chapters. I loved the sudden turn in Marie's character, as well as Philip's moment of aggression :laughter:
An Aragonese hideous princess... So, from the previous descriptions I gather that she probably is said to have shining eyes and the softest of silk hair among the people of her own court? But alas, when the writer is from the more shallow and less understanding Crusader States such qualities are sadly overlooked...
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maltacus
About the sister-in-law Elvira: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...6-02-46-98.jpg
Gorgeous eyes and soft, lucious hair. Revered by the court for her charm. So this is what they call "Flawed Features" in Aragon... Some people never get satisfied :laughter:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thokran
And about Elvira, lmao. I totally didn't catch that when I was cropping photos. Ah well, I guess you can say the Aragonese are very understanding and accepting of flawed features, and that whoever makes the ancillaries/traits is one shallow bastard. :laughter:
Your adventuring party are really hardcore diplomats. Nobody even contemplates retreating home to Cyprus for a while. Keep writing your very entertaining story :thumbsup2
Oh yes, about the princess card (WHY is it that your stories seem to end up in, and result in, obsession with princesses as soon as you pick Mediterranean factions? The "jewels of the Meditteranean", indeed): It's actually nothing grander than simple copy-pasting of a line and some stars from one of your other pics. It looks like robinzx pasted individual letters to form the hitherto unknown trait Master Swordswoman :laughter:. I use GIMP for picture editing, if that matters. If you would want to have many (existing) traits it can be really worth it to mod a princess or whatever with those in the descr_strat - it is much easier to copy a longer list of traits than pick one from each of several pictures and get the same good result.
If you really overdo this kind of thing it can end up as something like this :):
Another excellent chapter! The escape was masterfully written, and the last scene with Gilbert on the boat did really capture the feeling of it. I like the sky pic you added - and actually I have to say that while I am usually not a great fan of out-of-game pics, the plot-heavy way how you write this makes their inclusion very smooth (and of course you pick the right pictures too).