From the writings of Abd al-Hazir
Journal Entry 420:
Finally, my journey carried me to the fog enshrouded jungles of Kehjistan in search of the storied amphibian, Binkles the Frog. The subject of many a bard's hushed tale, scholars have tried and failed to confirm his existence through the ages. I started my my search among the ancient vine bound walls of Kurast... with more skepticism than hope, I confess. For weeks I confered with the most affluent, the most traveled, and the most learned of the jungle city's inhabitants, learning nothing. Most scoffed at my inquiry, fervently denying that the myths held any truth. Others were more civil, but had little knowledge to offer.
Then upon the night I planned to depart the city, my fortunate took a sudden turn. At the time, I thought, for the better. As I sat in the common room of the Inn, contemplating my notes, a bard began to play softly. And then in a soft voice he sang "Ballad of Binkles." Quite an old song, and practically nothing within it substantial enough to help me, even if it contained a grain of truth. Still for a moment I thought to ask the bard of my quarry. After all, when in pursuit of a myth, is a bard not more likely aid than a sage?
At the very moment I rose to approach, there was a piteous cry from one of the patrons. "Please,no! Don't sing of it! No!" I was startled, and yet hopeful. This was not the cries of some child frightened of fairy tales, but of a rugged and fierce man, who had the look of a traveler. I was imediately certain his fear was based not on stories, but on some dark and terrible memory. The other patrons laughed at his outburst and began to harass the man. He rose hurriedly and pressed through the jeering crowd, still weeping as he went. I followed him outside, where I found him curled up and cowering on the street, wracked with tremors. His eyes held a lost and vacant look. I introduced myself as a scholar and asked him what he knew of Binkles. "I came upon his lair accidentally. Those eyes... I'll never forget. The stories are all true. All of them. You do not want to find Binkles..."
A week later, I reached the object of my search. The foul creature's very den. The point marked on my map by the traveler was precisely correct. I had no doubt even as I stood outside. The entrance gaped dark in the rock, like the mouth of some ancient tomb, and sense of forboding permeated my very soul. Tendrils of fog reached out as if to beckon me onward, but reason and fear compelled me to turn away. Still after such a harrowing journey through Kehjistan's wretched swamps, how could one turn, just steps from a such a discovery. I gathered my wits and courage and stepped forward into that bleak crack. Long contemplation was out of the question. It does not pay to tarry in such macabre surroundings.
WIth each step into the nightmare, my terror grew, and yet my resolve held. Further and further I went, until I was in tunnels untouched by the light of the sun in eons. Yet I could see. The walls were covered with a grotesque algae that glowed a hideous shade of green. The air felt hot and strangely moist. I felt almost as though I were drowning in this oppressive atmosphere. Yet i psersisted, slipping and scurrying along the rock.
Then I reached the final chamber. A subtaranean lake, covered with thick, roiling algae, and strange black lilly pads. I know not how to write of the dread this place held for me. My resolve finally crumbled and I turned to run, unwilling to face he who dwelt there. But it was too late. I felt the algae entangling my legs and I fell forward. The plants moved as though alive, pulling down my arms and legs, holding me fast. Then, the diminutive monster approached, hopping from pad to pad. I expect most of my readers will laugh at this point, for he looked like a most ordinary frog. Yet for reasons completely intangible, you would never mistake him for such. Never before have I sinced such dark malice, such hatred in a being. Power radiated from it perceptibly. A bleak and cursed intellect stared unblinking from behind those black and glossy eyes.
"Binkles... of the Horodram..." I greeted him.
The frog coughed a strange laugh. "..of the Horodram... I have not heard that in a long time. So, my story is still told then?"
"With occasioanl embilishments and inconsistincies, yes." I replied, trying to keep my voice from trembling.
"I was once the greatest of the sages. And if they had listened to me, the world would not be on the brink. Power such as that held by the primeevils can not be hideen away in soulstones!" The frog croaked. "Such power is imortal, and it can not be contained. It can only be harnassed!"
With this the frog's eyes began to glow red, and I knew the legend was true in its entirity. Binkles, of the Horadram had warned against hiding the soulstones away, and advocated trying to use the power instead. Some stories say his ideas were concocted by the stone's dark influence, twisting his mind in such close proximity. Others, that his thoughts were prophetic. He devised a ritual to attempt to harness the power of the stone, and stole it away from the other mages. During the end of the ritual he was interrupted by his Horadoric brethren, who had found him just in time. The ritual was intricate, and the interruption came as the spell began to coalesce, altering the energies subtly. Instead of draining Diablo's power into himself, he was turned to a frog. Yet the evil power of the stone did strengthen him and twist his powers to evil. The dread frog had then carved a swath of destruction with his wrathful magic until he reached Kehjistan and settled into his lair never again to venture into daylight.
Now all that storied magical energy was twisting around me. To what ends I did not know. I feared death would be merciful compared to what the dread frog held in store for me. Then with a heart rending ribbit, his spell was complete and I was portaled away. I awoke weeks later, deathly sick, upon a bed in Kurast. I had found the subject of my search, yet I took no pleasure in it, nor anything since. Even in his mercy, Binkles effected me terribly. A weakness harries me, and my health is fading. His croaks and red gaze haunt my every dream. The sight of water, or a swamp, or anything remotely associated with frogs feels me with fear.
Binkles the frog is a horrible frog indeed...
- Deathkiss
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Oct 18, 2011Deathkiss posted a message on Cinematic PreviewPosted in: NewsBlizzards cinematics ever since the first expansion of Diablo II have been amazing. .. though I always loved them and watched each repeatedly in every game I've played from WarCraft II onward. Most of them from the last decade give Goosey bumpies still when I watch.
Me too! The first play through on Blizzard games always feels like an interactive novel. The story and lore is so rich, and the cinema scenes always pull it together. Diablo II was a major standout though, and I hope III will keep up. So far the detail and art style seem nice, and compliment the in-game graphics style well. -
Oct 18, 2011Deathkiss posted a message on Cinematic PreviewLeah is brave for standing face to face with whatever that is. You can tell by her lack of 3 foot tall Blizzard style shoulder armor that she's not ready to deal with this.Posted in: News
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Oct 16, 2011Deathkiss posted a message on Beta Key Contest #3Posted in: NewsP.S. Beta, I'm SICK of waiting for it... ROFL. It's funny cause, like, he's "sick" of waiting, and she's throwing up! lmfao. You know? Like cause she's so sick of waiting for beta, she's actually barfing!!!! LOL. It's so creative! I know, it takes a second to understand, but don't worry, you'll get there It's like, that generic demotivation idea that takes zero thought, then you write some white letters and it turns into something completely unoriginal!
Not everyone's sense of humor is the same, and lots of people are putting effort into this contest. I think we all tend to hold high opinions of our own work, because it's tailored specifically to our own sense of humor. I thougth the first winner was great. I looked at most of the entries and the Lucy thing just popped. It was one of the few things in either contest I literally laughed out loud for and I was pleased that it won, because its the one I would have picked. The second one was nice to and the winner has my congrats. -
Oct 12, 2011Deathkiss posted a message on Wear It Proud, Son!I think a web based banner maker would be a fun project for someone. Would give us all something else to play with while we wait. LOL!Posted in: News
The port key waypoint placement feature sounds cool too. - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
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@LinkX I heard about the New Hampshire thing. I bet Cathy is so pissed.
@nacho_ljp I'm not sure where you live, but that sounds refreshing. I was feeling optimistic about things in the US until this. Suddenly feeling outnumbered and scared for the future. I guess what I don't get, is why anyone feels the need to legislate aspects of their subjective morality and force it on people who don't believe in it. Nothing should be ilegal unless it can be determined objectively that giving that right infringes on someone else's. In short, how is anyone fucking arrogant enough to feel justified in telling me who I can and can not marry?
I can't get around that mind set. I don't care what anyone does, if it isn't hurting someone else.
I'll shut up about this now. As much as there is wrong in the world, this is all pretty minor. The turn out was just a bit shocking, and that is what made it feel significant to me. But I know this many days later, most really aren't wanting to hear about it anymore. LOL
@Proletaria I've been saying all week.. this particular brand of intolerant christianity is losing a lot of support over time. Most young people right now don't buy into. In fact, they have tried to push their views on people so much, that they are often now percieved as threatening. They have set a very bad example for how someone with majority status should behave over the last several decades. When the shoe is on the other foot, no one is going to care about their rights. Karma will eventually kick their ass. LOL
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When I grew up here, everyone jsut pretended to be straight while they were growing up. Then years later, when I started reconnecting with people online and stuff, it turned out that several of my classmates were lesbian and gay. And they are all like "I don't know how you can stand to live there and be out." And I always say its a nice community and I feel very welcome, and that its not like it was when we were growing up.
But I guess it still is. And there. Through ranting about bigots on a video game site. I needed that.
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LOL! I'll still be around... just, quieter.
And for a few days, bitter-er.
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For the record, proudly bi, and in a serious. long term same sex monogomous relationship, and watching my colleagues and "friends" post pro-Chic-Fil-A crap all over my news feed. Some of the people who were posting it are people I have visited and done hours of free networking and computer setups.
So yep, it's like "Thanks for all the help! But you're still a second class citizen, and the government needs to tell you who you can and can't marry to protect you from your own sinful ways."
Still believe in everything I said back in that religious debate here, about respecting conservatives and trying to co-exist with them. But it's very, very hard right now. Because the sentiments do not seam at all mutual.
I probably won't be around much for a while. Works crazy busy, and life is even busier. I've not really gamed in a few weeks, and not missing it very much. I'll probably be back in Diablo during winter though, when the outside isn't so toasty warm and enjoyable.
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Well, there's lots of calcium in it....
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Then the post turns out to be something like "You fan boys don't know s&$%. This game f$%#ing SUCKS!!!!! The drop rate is sh*$ because they want everyone to use the RMAH! I wish Jay Wison would cut off his own head and beat Bashionk to death with it! Thanks Blizzard for this giant turd you call D3. Thank you very f&&%ing much!!!!" Then they are shocked they are banned.
The official forums are a place for Blizzard to interact with the community. They seem to want constructive feedback. Polite, original posts that offer serious criticism are all still on the site. Serious in depth criticism is a lot more damaging than someone just screaming a bunch of random obsenities and making vague statements about the quality of the game. Yet, they allow serious criticism to stand. It's not some conspiracy. It is just that they want a forum with a constructive tone, and they don't want to have to dig through pages of people screaming the same vague statements over and over again in heated tones.
If you have something constructive and detailed to say, you'll be fine. If you are going form thread to thread, cluttering things up with insults, antagonizing people and offering nothing original, you might eventually get banned. Seems alright to me. They have let people get away with far too much already. A majority of the posts have been repetitive, mean, and more or less useless.
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Totally seperate subject:
I was introduced to this album a few weeks back and I'm loving it. All the sounds are so luch and interesting, and everythings feels so digital and has such a dorky vibe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-eeXPTQLkI
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This is very true. MF helps with getting more magic and rare items instead of white, but it doesn't help item level.
Plus you have all those gauranteed rares with NV, which have much higher odds of being ilvl 63 in acts 3 or 4.
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Some of the enemy afixes do set up situations that just feel like challenge via cheapness, when you should be able to expect more in 2012.
Do I sound like I'm completely contradicting my earlier post? If so, its because I'm not quite sure how I feel about some aspects of this game. LOL!
Edit: Also compeltely aggree with the scaling issues. It's not a nice linear difficulty increase, of even a curve.
Its a line, with sudden WTF spikes all over the graph. When you can kill Butcher consistently in one try, but elite minions can drop with jsut the right affixes and kill you 20 times in a row without losing more than half their health, that feels like bad design. It just feels like lazy designing.
The fact that no ammount of skill overcomes the problem, makes it a gear check situation again. Only, its checking for a level of gear far beyond what is required by the rest of the act's content, including bosses. Feels sloppy.
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The enrage timers are a gear check though, and that I don't care for. Just, if your DPS isn't high enough, they eventually go into a mode that will almost certailnly kill you if you have to stand up to it more than 20 seconds. LOL!
I do find the unique/elite encounters annoying though. I didn't notice it really in nightmare, because the afix number is still low. But i was getting pretty upset with some combinations by hell. And inferno can do things to you that make you want to pull all your hair out.
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Actually it was a pretty dull visit. The only thing hectic about it was that I had to drive back this morning for work, and not being home to sort out more clothes. LOL!
Since we had a great weekend last weekend, I have to drive all over tonight, and this weekend will be busy, we decided to keep our fourth of July visit very chill. Just watched some True Blood and Psych, and had friends over to play "You Don't Know Jack" on Wii. Turns out, I really don't know jack.
Sounds exactly like my situation on inferno. I'm still farming Act I when I get time, and I still enjoy it. I'm considering an Alt though, for a change of pace.
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"I'm sorry I was not here last week. I was traveling."
"Betrayal can never be forgiven...."
"Well, as I said, I'm sorry. Partied pretty hard this week. I'm feeling guilty about some of it. I've jsut strayed so far from the path."
"What a mosntrous creature!"
"My brother was with me, so at least I had a designated driver and didn't endanger anyone on the road. "
"I don't like the way that scoundrel looks at Leah. I'll be keeping an eye on him."
"Leah, who's....? Never mind. I should be leaving. I have to be home by noon."
"I don not understand how evil walks during the day. Should it not fear the llight?"
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"Zombie meat good! Human meat betttterrrrrrrr!!"
"Oh........"
The butcher comes out of the back of hte shop to answer that.