Can't tell you how glad I am to see you do this one.  The one thing that
has always struck me about Peldor is that he has that sixth, seventh, or
eleventh sense about him.  For reasons that defy logic, he has an ability
to see things at times----for example, when he picked up all the
feathers----when others do not.  Time and again, people underestimate him,
and he's survived.

  'Course...a good arguement between Peldor and Mongo that Peldor wins
might add a little more to an already pretty good episode.

Tom



excellent, excellent.  lots of *intelligent* activities 
i expect from a group of extremely experienced adventurers,
even while they're emotional.

peldor commands respect for playing a very big card
very close to the chest, and i for one certainly don't see
him "backing down" from sharyn after a challenge like that
when he's bankrolled like this.

as for grammar, of course "mistakes" are a good thing.
arnold's diction has proven that for a long time :-)

Peldors always come out on top. I thought the discussion between Sharyn and
Simpkin elevated this story above the "wrap up" designation it would have
otherwise received. The secret compartment made perfect sense, and although
I didn't know about it, I wasn't surprised when Peldor let the cat out of the
bag.

Leonard



With the Ged-Death thing, if the body is destroyed, what about reincarnation?
Or somebody wishing a new body back? 

Mark



Most fitting...

I hope at some point (like episode 504) you'll help out those of us without  
perfect recall and remind us what the various artifacts that Ged gave to his  
companions are....

I don't remember the mithril horn....

---
Wayne



Something to consider, btw... Blackrazor eats the souls of those it slays, granting some of
the resultant energy on its user... might make you wonder how having the accumulated energy
of soul upon soul would affect someone, perhaps making them shift closer to immortality, as
a god, demon, or 'other'... just random babbling, thanks for the last issue, nice start to my
day. :)

Keith



awesome job on the will... liked how some of the characters got those
magical items he rarely used. what was that book he gave belphanior?
sounds interesting... no surprise that deryck got the castle. i kinda
figured that one out before i even read it. i also had the feeling
arnold was gonna want to tag along with rillen... well now comes the
kewl part -- treasure dividing! later!

Christian



TM> Incidentally, this means that Flint Firelips' soul is
TM> roaming Valhalla somewhere...

Hmmm... how about Mongo having a vision of this? 

QTS



Three cheers for Thomas Miller
A damn good story-teller
Just when things look glum
Out he comes with a plum!



      First off: Wow!

      I started reading the Adventurers back in October '96, and I'm re-
reading them right now (just after the tarrasque). They started out as merely
pretty cool, rapidly becoming better; but they really became something special
once they became solely your creations: "It's become obvious to me that the
role-playing aspect of these stories, which I think has always been their
special charm, has been eclipsed by the hack-and-slash aspect. Therefore,
starting with this episode, I've begun to set things right." (Episode CXXXV).
And did you ever!

      In a way, these tales are very subversive -- there is none of the silly,
smarmy crap one gets from most writing these days. Instead, these are very
real people, in very real (fantasy...) situations. There is real pain, real
fear, real hopes, and real loves here. You don't try to make the characters
"interesting," but you allow them to make themselves interesting. They change,
and their actions have repurcussions and therefore meaning. I'll admit that
the plots can get a bit, well, fantastic -- but there is a strong concern with
realism, so it's generally held in proportion. Your weakest tales are
definitely the ones you steal, but even these tend to be pretty good!

      The ways the characters interact are perhaps my favorite aspect. They
are very real people, with their own beliefs and goals and personalities --
which often conflict. Ged rubs everybody the wrong way, Belphanior is pure
trouble in the best of times, Bosco is annoying (but loveable!), and Peldor
and Ged are rivals for the dubious honors of "Biggest Ego" and "Greediest
Adventurer." Yet they come together as a team. More than that, they are
friends. I rather appreciate the way you don't have characters relating to
each other and examining their feelings in depth, like so many other authors
do. Not that this sort of thing is necessarily bad, in moderation: your best
quality is a finely-tuned sense of proportion. (Although I would like to see
you have a character deal with feelings of inferiority and rejection -- this
would be a new theme for the Adventurers.)

      Note on recent episodes:

      I loved the Ape Isle material! The party was really pulling together,
and old scores were settled. Ged, in particular, reconciled with his friends,
especially Peldor. Like Arnold said, Ged didn't act like he thought he'd be
coming back. The way you handled such a *large* number of speaking parts is a
minor triumph in itself.

      500: Ged's death was terribly... satisfying. It was a proper way for him
to go. I particularly appreciate that his death is final -- this way, it
_means_ something. It was a *real* sacrifice. OK, I'll admit to hoping to have
him back somehow (perhaps the whispy thing would turn out to be Ged's spirit,
or even hoping that at least the Dread Lord Ged would finally show up again --
he's still wandering the planes, no?). But this is so much better! In
worthwhile fiction, as in life, people die. It's hard to make a death
permanent in an frpg setting, so people get blase' about death -- it's just a
temporary delay. A true death is that much more of a shock (I literally walked
around for a minute saying "Ged's dead," trying to accept it). I can't applaud
you enough for your handling of this! And I'm glad Orcus, not Blackrazor, got
him! (A minor quibble, by the way: the quote for this episode is "Never
compromise" -- the Adventurers' strength is knowing how and when to
compromise...)

      501: OK, it was a bit anticlimactic, but I actually felt like crying.
Over a stupid fictional character! *That* is writing! I'd have liked for each
character to say more, but that would've gotten long and boring quickly.

      502: Unsatisfying. Peldor seemed to be concerned solely with his gold.
The argument between Belphanior and Mongo was great, however, especially
because Belph was right. Especially here, I *love* the irony of Belph being a
hero!

      503: Just right.

      Speculations: Does Nenya (or her sisters Narya and Vilya ;^) finally
become a regular Adventurer? Also, you keep dropping hints that Peldor is a
god. Furthermore, he really wants to be a wizard ("mage" means "priest"). So,
wouldn't it really *rock* if he were a/the god of magic -- and who better than
(an avatar of) Boccob! At least, let's find out his origin!

      Anyway, I just want to thank you for these tales.

      -- Michael