[Dreamspeaker]

Key/ Character: Dreamspeaker/ Basil
Which Event: Come Here

Responsiveness: it could be done just slightly faster, otherwise considering entire party size (which was 5 people), it was reasonably quick. Not really much to criticize here, it's good.

Balance: the biggest issue in my opinion. While stat-wise the bosses were already rather powerful, it's the spells that made it all too difficult. I think when dealing with bosses that are stacked on HP/ power so much, you'd want to have as less homings or auto-hit spells (Hellstorm Bolt, Meteor Dash, Eviscerate, etcetera), because it's all guaranteed damage. Let players reasonably dodge something as opposed to having almost no chance to avoid what felt, at times, a guaranteed down (you can't do much against Eviscerate/ Hellstorm Bolt and things like that, can you?).

The reward-risk ratio is off too - I'll take Tattles' recent CoD event as example, where rewards included Chiron, Arcanium, Uniques and a lot of dev and lore material (as opposed to just dev material for us - we'll still need to do a lot of work & apply), yet if you go down once & even roll 1, that's 12 days temp nerf. On your event, going down once & rolling 2 resulted in permanent nerf, which is extreme. Also, risk of dying at -50 vit? A bit too much.

Personally I'd suggest adapting Tattles' formula for risks/ rewards on CoD. I was one injury away from dying on his event, but it was fair enough to me - because it didn't revolve as much on /roll, but on your own performance instead & it gave you good incentive to persevere for rather good rewards in the end.

Storytelling: A bit slow on the beginning (i.e filler phase while encountering locals), but it's decently good otherwise. I liked more the talk with the elder than wine-selling Felinae, because it gave my own character a reason to care about this all & actually sparked his fervor (and it seems it sparked for others too). While we were introduced to bosses rather quick, I'm mindful of the fact that our party size was 5 people & we started pretty late (and it was actually getting very late for me too), I'd probably suggest fleshing out more lore elements in such events. A bit of history here, a bit of interesting descriptions there, and it'd be perfect - in other words, incite the participants, just like you did with the elder Felinae. Simply more of that.


Overall: Good responsiveness, good storytelling that could use a bit more touch-ups, kinda skewed balancing (see: the entire post).

Any additional comments: I was asked for entirely honest review and here it is. I think the events would feel a lot more fair if you adapted Tattles' formula (which, mind you, still perm the hell out of people - like 8-9 people received perms on his events), but they rely on you to mess up rather than just having bad luck with /roll & adequate rewards in return. The storytelling could use a bit less filler & more vivid descriptions, and at that point I'd have nothing at all to potentially criticize.

[Mali]

Key/Character: Malicee/Marzipan
Which Event: Come Here

Responsiveness: The time it took to respond was rather quick in comparison to most events. It was good, in my own opinion!

Balance: I believe that the balance is probably one of the bigger issues involved. I think that there should be more consideration for the players involved when making an EC of choice and including what it is that they have and making sure that it is quite thematic with what they possess. You did well with the first boss and presented us with a challenge(which I'm very appreciative of), however, I believe that it's best to stay away from things that are auto-hit(Eviscerate, Cosmic Dash, Bolt, Hellstorm Bolt) are to name a few. It makes the event feel less...Challenging and more problematic. Another issue that I have is with the rules that don't seem to be very clear or....Make much sense at all. According to the rules, if you possess injuries that exceed -50 vit, you are at risk for death...But the issue is that temporary nerfs > permanent nerfs in this instant...And considering that Tiernay possessed two...He would've likely died faster than Mars or Urizen who had fallen and received two permanent injuries. With that being said, capturing a permanent on one down is definitely not something that I agree with. And then, doing a five rounder...With the rule of(suffering -1 to rolls) during such is quite concussive. Particularly, it's...Quite unfun.

This was meant to be a series, and in comparison to the other events that I've seen(even those going after a Chiron or Relics), I find that their punishments were nothing near as severe as this. As bog stated- the risk/reward ratio was terribly off and generally made the event feel less 'worth' it in the end.

Storytelling: Personally, I've no issue with the story. It started off as something rather quaint and reminded me of how most 'mmos' start with when you first create a character. It was small and cute...But it could've picked up a lot sooner. Overall though, I think it's still good.

Overall: As stated before, I think you did a general good job- but I most certainly believe that the injury system and the balance is the main issue with the event, other than that...I think everything else is quite fine.

Additional Comments: I mostly agree with bog in cases such as this- but I believe that following Tattles' own events would require the event to be more 'complex' overall. Regardless, I don't want to deter you from modding or anything like that, because I appreciate that you did it (despite being in school, trust me- I understand your pain). Just be a bit more mindful at times...Because in this game, perms are a lot more punishing than they are in the past iterations of eternia.

[kerrousLeoten]

Key/ Character: Hades Task

Which Event: It's a heist, Hades Task

Responsiveness: All of our actions and attempts at pretty much everything were taken into account.  From Valero eating a DEVIL FRUIT to Bea plucking a clown nose and alerting an entire armada of them, each decision we made was responded to accordingly in a very timely fashion.

Balance: Despite the Task motto of 'No Fear', I think we were all pretty concerned going into this that we were going to get rolled by everything we fought due to our RPLs ranging from 150-180ish. The fights we did have ended up being not only fair, but fun. Fighting the Dancing King + his occultic bone pillar in hardmode was as intense as it was enjoyable.

And the rewards were fair, too, given what we went there to look for. Having the option of spending our GUN-MONKEY tokens individually or together at the end was also great - and I think doing things like this in events can help characters bond further or even turn them against one another. I've been on a lot of events, but this was the first time I've seen something so unique.

Storytelling: It was everything I would have expected from a bunch of stupid kids and would-be criminals traveling into the underbelly of Theria in pursuit of age cream. But beyond that, it felt like we weren't just there to move from point a to point b, killing things along the way. As stated above, our actions actually mattered. Adventuring/Investigating brought up mini-events that felt like easter eggs. Rewards and special interactions just for being immersed in the setting. 

Beyond that, the story was great.  It was easy to follow what was going on, and it felt like there really was potential to just.. make the wrong decision and end up with nothing. To honk the wrong clown nose and get swarmed by a circus staff. To feed a hardtack cracker to a Swash Buckler and have him break his body into floating pieces that would indubitably cut us up before we could get to the Captain. 

Speaking of Blacklung... god damn. I felt for him. In the short amount of time we interacted with the head of the Light's Swallow. He wanted to become the ruler of the seas so bad that he sacrificed everything, and eventually his own life. Warning other characters who are willing to abandon their ties that a similar future may be waiting for them.

Overall: My man. Thank you for running this, and I think I speak for the entire group (besides Retro) when I say we're looking forward to the next installment. 

[Pin Head]

Key/Character: Valero Task
Which Event: It's a heist, Hades Task.

Responsiveness (Were their narrations posted within a reasonable time-frame and were they quick to respond?): Pretty much everything we did was taken into account, and despite the rather large group we had, you managed to pump out posts really quickly. Good work Hoovert.
Balance (How entertaining were the battles, and any obstacles/traps?): WELL, the moment you said there was going to be a hard mode, the crackhead within me immediately decided I was going to trigger it. Which I did, and... MAN was it hard. Not to the point where it wasn't fair. No, far from that, it difficult, but we clearly had a chance. It was great. The rest of the encounters fared similarly. Each fight was pretty rad.
Storytelling (Did it feel like an adventure, did the content of the narrations meet your expectations?): A bunch of stupid kids rolled up, murdered a dancing king, and then stormed a bunch of ships in order to find a clue where their father's anti-aging cream might be. But, it's not like were we going from one point to another, nope, there was a fair amount of openness to this particular event. From venturing into the tavern, to the shop, or choosing which ship we wanted to raid. Plus, I ate a fucking DEVIL FRUIT, and became a Pangolin man, which... Will always be a +.
Fairness (Were the punishments justified and earned, was the risk to reward ratio good?): The rewards are pretty rad, and considering we got them for a few temps? It seems more than worth it to me.

Overall: An amazing event, and I quite honestly look forward to the rest of the chain. Good work, Hoovy... Good work.

Any other comment: I need more hardtack please.

[Missing No.]

Key/Character: File Not Found // Thane
Which Event: It's a Heist, Hades Task

Responsiveness: Absolutely killed it. The event was smooth and buttery from start to finish, it absolutely did not matter that five people went into this thing, everything we(a certain unlucky kitsune) messed up on was met with opposition within seconds to minutes.  And everything we were successful on or even from time to time unsuccessful, allowed for a myriad of paths that didn't kill the groove. This DM was ON. POINT.

Balance: By no means was this -my- event, and I was certainly the lowest RPL on it by far, but I didn't go down every single round(and by no means was it designed to be an easy time). I didn't feel like it was impossible for me to contribute to a meaningful ending or chunk of damage toward the enemies we did end up fighting. It was enjoyable, as a low RPL character hanging with much higher RPL characters. I honestly had lower expectation of what my participation would mean to a fight where a creature was balance for five people, but it was a definite even match every single time. 

And, I was lucky enough to only roll a single temp.

Storytelling: It was everything a noob like me could've asked for. An absolutely enjoyable experience from start to finish with tom-foolery aplenty. Though my character is a bit more on the silent and lackluster side in his youthful days, I certainly didn't feel as if the story was inaccessible to me. I was mostly along for the ride when it comes to the story, and that didn't bother me one bit, this event was not for just -one- of us, and that's what made the choices we all had the ability to take make feel good and right and come with legitimate loss or gain. It was a gamble to find that anti-aging skin cream, and one I'm very happy to have taken with my friends.

Overall: Fantastic job, Hoovyking. I look forward to being able to see you DM more events around my neck of the woods, and, schedule willing, take part in them.

Additional Comments: Blacklung was a character I would've liked to see more or learn more about, but what  I did learn was valuable to my character, and I'm sure, to all of us as a group. If every event could have its hardtack and blacklung, I think I'd feel better about the world.

[InThePooPoo]

Key/Character: InThePooPoo/Aphrodite Venus
Which Event: The Hoarder

Responsiveness: Excellent. Written and posted with great quickness, without sparing detail.

Balance: This is the only place I could see that needs improvement. You seemed to have trouble taking anyone down in 3 of the 4 combat encounters we got through. I think this may have been because you weren't prepared to deal with certain aspects of some of our builds, and were maybe trying a bit too hard to make it seem like the ECs weren't unfair.

Storytelling: I loved the setting, the encounters, and the cool things that you had set up for us. Good work.

Fairness: When we did go down, the punishments were fair. I felt like everything was handled quite well, and even though some of the bosses seemed a little too easy we didn't leave anywhere close to unscathed. 

Overall: You're great. Maybe just plan the bosses a little better according to the builds and people present if possible in the future.

Any other comments: tomboy outback

[Pin Head]

Key/Character: Valero Task/Pin Head#1945
Which Event: Culdesac Gang Season Finale: All the Lights in the Sky are Stars

Responsiveness (Were their narrations posted within a reasonable time-frame and were they quick to respond?): 10/10 I said this during my last review, but there was hardly any wait between posts. You've nailed this part, dunno what else to say.
Balance (How entertaining were the battles, and any obstacles/traps?): 9/10 I hate death magic... By that I mean, other than my new found hatred for that aura, all of the bosses were exhilarating. I have never been quite so afraid to dive in as a melee, but it wasn't the unfair sort of hard. Most of the attacks coming our way were skill shots, and if we got hit, there was a fair chance it was our fault. SO... Good work.
Storytelling (Did it feel like an adventure, did the content of the narrations meet your expectations?): 10/10 With the exception of one hicup, that being something on our end, not so much yours, everything was amazing. It was the grand conclusion to this particular set of chain of events, and it... Well, it was everything I could have hoped for, and more. I loved every second of it.
Fairness (Were the punishments justified and earned, was the risk to reward ratio good?): 10/10 We got some pretty rad loot, and all it took was Spencer, Bay, and me almost dying... Hahah... One more temp... On a more serious note, the reward was more than worth the risk.

Overall: 10/10 Outstanding job, Hoovert.

Any other comments: I'm not giving Walter his girlfriend back...

[oyedboats]

Key/Character: Bay/oyedboats#1671
Which Event: Culdesac Gang Season Finale: All the Lights in the Sky are Stars

Responsiveness (Were their narrations posted within a reasonable time-frame and were they quick to respond?): 10/10 Each time we finished our RPs he was immediately working on the next response.
Balance (How entertaining were the battles, and any obstacles/traps?): 10/10, half the time we got hit by beams or waves it was our fault. We had to coordinate in order to pass through each fight and, honestly, I think that's what a CoD is supposed to reflect.
Storytelling (Did it feel like an adventure, did the content of the narrations meet your expectations?): 10/10 I'm not really a fan of shonen animes but holy fuck this was amazing.
Fairness (Were the punishments justified and earned, was the risk to reward ratio good?): 10/10 For nearly dying I got a fair amount of loot. I'm for it.

Overall: 10/10 Good. Shit.

Any other comments: The next boss will be made into glass.

[kerrousLeoten]

Key/Character: Hades Task

Which Event: Culdesac Gang Season Finale: All the Lights in the Sky are Stars

Responsiveness: The responses were quick, and they took what we did into account. Hoovykun even put up with our time shenanigans 

Balance: If you ever shadow claw spam me again, we're fighting in real life. Considering our party comp, the event was well-balanced and you knew when to give us a break but also when to steamroll through us.

Storytelling:

On point like a pyramid. This was the first super shonen event/rp I've been a part of since my early run(s) in Spires, and it felt pretty good. It got over the top and crazy sometimes, but it was always tasteful. And seeing the plotline of the various events conclude like this was a real treat. I wish more events came in chains like this.

Fairness: We deserved all of the unfortunate things that happened to us, truth be told. We had a few people tap out and a replacement fill in, and even then everyone got fair loot.

Overall: 97/100
Bonus: +4 for not being intimidated by vriska's BULLYING. 
Final Score: 101/100
Additional Comments: See you in Phase 4.

[Retro]

Key/Character: Xxxretroxgears3 / Bolt
Which Event: The Five Nights at Freddy's one.

Responsiveness: 10/10. Narrates were out asap. No complaints.

Balance: 10/10. The gimmick was well throughout and followed FNAF rules. I can't believe you Golden Freddied us.

Storytelling: 10/10. There wasn't much of a story that you could go off of, so you mainly relied on us to tell it and that worked out very well. Your narrations always included what we did and made the event dynamic.

Fairness: 10/10. Most of us were low RPL so the fights were balanced for us. Thank you for not killing me after you used Fall a bunch. <3

Overall: 10/10. DM more. You are good at it.

Any other comments:

Attack Gem (Hellstorm Bolt) Pin [SHIELD]
"A plastic pin that looks like a Hellstorm Bolt gem, but is in fact a pin. It is not special at all."

I want my Gem, Hoovy.