Triumph

X is an amusing, quirky, oddball character in the first game, which is fine, given that Avernum is a prison full of the Empire's outcasts who for one reason or another didn't fit in. His final success in A6 was fun and satisfying. The middle appearances didn't really add much to those games, but didn't actively hurt anything either. So for an amusing first appearance and an enjoyable conclusion, I rated him a 6, a character that as a whole is slightly above average but not exceptionally likeable or intriguing.

I vaguely recalled who Anastasia was from having played the demos E1 and/or A1 years ago. But in trying to look up more about her, I discovered that she was apparently the victim of identity theft in AEFTP! That is, Jeff changed the character's name! She's Zemera in AEFTP; this change might account for some confusion over the character, and I'd suggest her new name be included with the character's original one in the spreadsheet. Related question: are there other characters who were substantially the same in the remakes as in the originals, but for whom Jeff decided to change their names?

Ratings that intrigued me: Anastasia? She's just the boss at the big Nephil fort in A1, right? What was distinctive about her? Gypsy? Who even was this? What about Enla? I know WHO Defniel was, but I don't know why he would get a higher rating than Coratta or Danette, considering that I thought he was the member of the triad about whom we learned the least? Similarly, what set Akkat apart from the rest of the G1 drayks? (I'm always tempted to deliberately misspell that word as "dryak" just to make fun of all the people who commit that ridiculous-sounding spelling error.)

No, no special nuances. I guess maybe it's feeling like he had a real impact on the world, rather than just being a random villain durdling around in his lair until I came to kill him. The Gnass Sliths talk about him, various other people talk him, we learn that he's not just a random warlord on his own but serves Grah-hoth, and even in later games (definitely A2 and A3, and maybe even later games?) you meet people who remember or talk about him or fight surviving bands of his followers. My direct interactions with him are nothing special, but I remember Sss-Thsss because so many people in the game world remember him, and that makes him a lot more memorable than average baddie.

I, for one, am prepared to face your ruthless, heartless, cruel, malevolent, inquisitorial onslaught against the impeccably profound arbitrary numerical values I have assigned to these video game characters. Come at me bro!

387. Spilt Ilk - It's Cains all the way down Ilk refers to things similar to something. Whole bunch of Cains would be "ilk" of each other. Maybe "spilt" refers Cain spilling his brother's blood (Cain killing Abel)? 398. Long Cons and Massive Clocks - Amille Aglia looks for easy money in an RPG A long con would a possible way to make money. Perhaps Camille Paglia is missing the first letters of her name because she's engaged in a con and is trying to conceal her identity!

I have this recollection that after G5 came out, people ascertained that whether you killed Greta determined whether Rawal took over the Shaper Council, at least in Astoria's ending? It was a point of annoyance for people because it seemed like a really random factor to have affect the ending in that way. Now, this is my memory of what other people argued about years ago, not something I ever did myself. Can Rawal take over the SC in the other non-Ghaldring endings, too?

I thought remembered Rawal's ascendancy being contingent on whether you killed Greta in the final battle or something like that? Is that not the case?

Shorass I guess could be a Memorable NPC; Owenrus obviously found him memorable, after all, and the character doesn't really any of the labels denoting more power / prestige. I vote against the Corruption being treated as a character. Yes, it's clear that there's some kind of intelligence out there, but we know far too little about it for it to deserve being cited as a character. We still really don't know who or what it is. We don't know what it really wants. We don't know where it came from. We know that there is an intelligence that is part of the Corruption, but most of what we see comes across more as wild, non-sapient forces. We just don't know enough to discuss the Corruption as a character in any substantive way. Yes, the Corruption is memorable, but as a phenomenon, not as a person.

383. Lwar (Lizard Lord of Formello) - Nazgul cousin, or Black Shade or Dragon styling Rather than dealing style in the sense of fashion, could this involve to "style" the verb, meaning to give something a special name or title? Lizard Lord is something a dragon could style itself, and Lord of Formello is something one of the Black Shades could style itself.

Huh. I really liked my guess for 394. If that isn't correct, it should be.

369. Vindictive Raccoon - Minion of the Mad Hermit The deranged hermit, dwelling, as befits a hermit, in the isolated fastness of the great forest, would have many opportunity to fill the local wildlife with his misanthropic ways and his feelings of having been wronged by the world at large. Thus, the formerly innocent and pristine wildlife would be come fierce minions bent on seeking vengeance for their new master. Yes, this must be it.

394. <><><><> - Make PDNs Great Again I've been trying to figure out what in the world this PDN signifies, and I've finally got an idea. This PDN is a series of less-than signs followed by greater-than signs, thus in sense saying to make something great(er) again and again. The clue is obviously also reference to Donald's empty campaign slogan.

395. Sign Out - Sign that becomes reduplicated when you become it If you have Sign Out as your PDN, the term shows up in duplicate when you "become it" by using the "Sign Out" button to sign out.

397. Rake Low Urn - Operator overload The PDN uses terms dealing some kind of computer / networking / telecommunication matter. This clue is the one that I think best fits such a topic.

380. Public Display of Anomia - Your nostalgia for the sub rosa culture you were never a part of is showing, dear A public display means something is showing, and it makes sense that one wouldn't know the names of things within a secret culture one had not been part of. PDA is also an abbreviation for public display of affection, i.e. showing love for something.

403. Technically I'm free and I can find the key - What Obi-Wan Kenobi explained in the lobby These phrases go together in the lyrics of the song Sci-Fi Wasabi.

376. Hoodwinked with a scarf - Cupid, or Justice, maybe Cupid and Justice are both sometimes depicted as being blinded by a scarf over the eyes. Also wondered if this is somehow a reference to the movie Hoodwinked, but couldn't figure out a connection.

Edit: never mind, I retract this, though I still think this was a good guess.

392. Umlaut Boat - It sneaks up from the back of your mouth So, I knew the umlaut was the diacritic mark of two dots over a vowel, such as in "ü." But when I looked it up, I learned it ALSO can mean "the process by which a back vowel becomes front in the context of another front vowel." Back and front in this context appear to deal with where in the mouth certain sounds are formed. So the sound can shift forward from the back of the mouth, just like the clue describes.

376. Hoodwinked with a scarf - Nazgul cousin, or Black Shade or Dragon styling The Úlairi and Black Shades are depicted in, well, black cloaks with hoods. Also, I've been trying to figure out if it's significant that you spelled Nazgûl with a "u" instead of "û," given that grammar pointings obviously matter to you. Anyway, you've got things with hoods, plus the fact the scarves are extremely "stylin'."

380. Public Display of Anomia - TM cousin, perhaps from Silvar or Shayder TM was well before my time, so I everything I know of him I barely-remembered secondhand comments, but I've had this vague nagging feeling that these are connected for some reason. Also, Shayder is the home of the Anama, which is a word similar to "anomia."

408. Tempus Fruitbat - Incarnation of a timely adage Tis a pun! "Tempus fugit"is a "timely" adage, commonly rendered as "time flies." Bats also fly. I think maybe you're also mixing "flies" the verb that time performs with "flies" the bug, for example, "fruit flies."

407. Hearse First! - How a meme fit for a queen enters the graveyard Hearses are how are lot of things enter graveyards.

406. Tooth Fairy Faith Healer - Laying hands in latex Laying on hands is often associated with miraculous healing (or with today's fraudulent shysters who purport to heal). Dental care professionals (dentists, hygienists, and I guess even tooth fairies?) wear gloves when working, and latex is common material for such gloves.