Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Thanks Zuzana. I tried finding the book you read but it's not avail at library and its $13.99 at Amazon. I'm not paying that much for a book I'm reading once and only for this one task.

I've tried googling but there's not a whole lot of options. Like Life as We Knew It doesn't fit (though it comes up a lot on searches) because the moon isn't "destroyed" - it's hit by an asteroid and gets knocked closer to earth. Then some of the others don't quite fit because the sun or moon "disappears", or are hidden (not gone/destroyed). There only seems to be 1 book that's readily found/available - Seveneves but again, that's a 800 pg SciFi book. and more than 31 hours long for the audio...

I'm super frustrated that this task is so limited.

For Heal task, I read Love Heals Everything, which I 1-starred, but it looks like it's no longer avail on Amazon. Here are some short ones I found on KU -
Alice Heals the Doctor Christian romance @ 120 pgs
A Time To Heal Christian romance @ 120 pgs
HEAL THYSELF Horror short stories @ 202 pgs
Heal poems about loss and @ 142 pages
Old Scars Heal Broken Hearts romance? @ 126 pgs
The Light That Heals: Poems About Life, Loss, Recovery, and the Hope of Living @ 137 pgs
Heal Me: A Pretty Rage @ 134 pgs
Love Heals romance @ 145 pgs

Can't really say if any are good - most don't have a lot of reviews/ratings.

Thank you , Cathy. :)

I searched in this thread to find out how lenient the mods were with this task and I found that Kelly okayed this book: Breakaway where the Moon is "knocked out of orbit and sent, as well as the 311 inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha, hurtling uncontrollably into space." So it's not totally destroyed, just no longer orbiting Earth.

Based on that I believe that Moon disappearing is within the prompt.

Some of the comments mentioned Seveneves as good fit for the prompt.

e.g. Cat here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Laventelli recommended folktales: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

If you like fantasy, I loved this series with heal in the series title...
Touch of Power
although its not as good as her other series Poison Study

The book looks good. Thanks for the rec, Cathy.

I’m working on a few tweaks to balance the gameplay. Some upcoming monsters can summon minions to assist them in battle, and these minions usually have lower stats. I want to ensure that bonuses don’t render these minions completely useless, so there will be a reasonable limit to how much their attack power can be reduced.

How to calculate your enemy's attack power
When applying all bonuses to detract from your foe’s attack power, their AP cannot drop below 1.

Example:
Leapy Frog (attack 3, health 10)
The hero has a basic shield (- 1 AP), Rocky LVL 2 (- 1 AP), a fence (- 1 AP)
Leapy Frog's AP: 3 -1 -1 -1= 0 ---> Leapy Frog's adjusted AP= 1

The Academy II

✰ 1 Visit the Goodreads blog: News & Interviews & check out at least 3 of their articles. (link to the articles you read & report on the most interesting one in The Local Tavern)
- https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2...
- https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2...
- https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2...

Love that Romantasy is now it's own separate genre. I've been reading them for years and a fan of this genre. So many to look forward to reading this year!

✰ 12 GR Popular Quotes - Copy & paste your favourite one and post it to the Theatre thread.

“Whenever I feel the need to exercise, I lie down until it goes away.” Paul Terry (call me lazy but this is def me)

Great quote I can unfortunnately identify with, Cathy, but it belongs in the Theatre thread ;-)

It's confusing because different tasks are posted in different spots.

I'll move the quote part.

I just tried to prepare a thread for launching The Training Yard next week, but the folder eats the new thread a minute or so after posting. I tried 3 times. It's not a coincidence.

So unless I get mods to cooperate it seems like no new feature for a foreseeable future.

I think GR has been acting up last couple days. hopefully it gets resolved soon!

Success! After enduring what felt like an epic quest of verifying bicycles, traffic lights, and cars across ten screens to prove I'm indeed human, I finally managed to post the new thread.

The Training Yard is officially complete and will open its gates on February 1st.

Feel free to check it out! If you have any questions, drop them here in the tavern. (And yes, they’ll count toward the Should I Know It? quest if you haven’t wrapped that one up yet!)

BTW here's a little visual preview of rare monsters that are gonna appear in the Kingdom this year.

Those pictures are amazing, Zuzana! At the moment I'm more focused on trying to get my backlog of books usefully used in quests than going after monsters, but it's wonderful to know there are new things coming. Thank you!

Speaking of quests, here is my tale for the Quick Lies! quest.

Trudging through the Snow that winter has brought to Novel Kingdom, you keep alert for All The Broken Places of the forest, hoping to spot the Elusive tracks of the Abominable Snowman. Finally seeing a promising trail, you follow it, delighted that the monster is As Good As Dead - until with a Loud sigh you remember you haven't learnt the Firebolt spell yet. Turning around, you set off for home and some spell practice.

LOVE!

Wow!!! Can't wait (or actually a little scared) for what's to come!

Your tale turned out cute Sarah!

Sarah, that little story turned out really nice. Good job! :)

Check out the February Update in the Notice Board thread.

NEW MONSTERS:
new uncommon monster: The Rose Thorne
new magical monster: Fiery Imp (Timed: Monthly)

NEW QUESTS:
Thaddeus vs. Gravity
Get classy with classics
"Scrounge, Sweet Scrounge"
D-O-D-G-E

TRAINING YARD (new thread - fighting arena)

I hope you'll enjoy the Valentine's Day inspired monster The Rose Thorne, quest Get classy with classics and scrounger hunt "Scrounge, Sweet Scrounge".

Yayy!!! Thank you!

Zuzana, I love your colorful description of the battle with the sewer rat!

Cathy wrote: "Zuzana, I love your colorful description of the battle with the sewer rat!"

Thanks, Cathy. Glad you liked it. :)

Just to be clear. The story around the battle is not a requirement to get the reward. Only the middle part with the stats, equipment and the battle itself.

But it's nice to spice it up with a little tale of adventure. :)

Re: Get Classy with Classics quest says “Stick to authors of the same gender as yourself for this challenge.”

Imma assume by “gender” you mean “sex”…? Not sure I can find that any authors who identify as genderqueer (as I do). Lmk! Thanks

Sorry, I had "sex" there originally, but when I ran it through "check for grammar and clarity mistakes" it got changed to "gender". Seemed off to me but I wasn't sure. Gonna change it back, Ray, when I am back home.

Done!

Zuzana wrote: "Sorry, I had "sex" there originally, but when I ran it through "check for grammar and clarity mistakes" it got changed to "gender". Seemed off to me but I wasn't sure. Gonna change it back, Ray, wh..."

You are a gentlehuman and a scholar 😁😁

Can I get some clarification about the area of attack (from my horse rug).

If I am using magic plus pets, does it spread this attack to all the monsters, or do I have to cast 3 times in the round? I think I need more details on how exactly the area of effect attacks work.

Also, can you use potions on all monsters in one round - like 3 minor poison potions to all, or only one per round?

If I remember correctly from battling the Swarm and the Queens - you need to poison each opponent separately. so as many poisons as enemies you want to poison.

Area- of-effect means that your hit affects all enemies at once. It works the same for both physical weapons and the spells. I found Kelly explaining it on N. Squirrel attack - you cast one spell and if you make it your area-of-effect attack then it hits all opponents at once. So standard use.

For the Fiery Imp, are the Little Flames summoned at the beginning of the round? So for instance, if I kill the Fiery Imp, then are the Little Flames summoned in that round?

And when you attack, does your attack only effect 1 creature each round (w/out the area of effect rug)? So if there is the Fiery Imp and 2 Little Flames, then my attack would only affect 1 of them in that round?

And just to confirm, for the area of effect, if my attack power is 30, then it attacks all creatures at 30 AP?

Without area of effect you attack only one of the creatures.

Little Flames are summoned at the beginning of the round. If you kill Fiery Imp without AOE then you still have Little Flames to take care of.

I have a "template" Fiery Imp battle ready for the Training Yard. I'll post it this weekend.

Zuzana wrote: "If I remember correctly from battling the Swarm and the Queens - you need to poison each opponent separately. so as many poisons as enemies you want to poison.

Area- of-effect means that your hit ..."

Ok awesome thank you! I think I got it, thank goodness for that rug!

For the Wendigo, can I use damage potion since it is long lasting?
Damage Potion - For the remainder of the week attack and magic power are increased by 3 points each.

or no, because I'm not using attack or magic power?

Cathy wrote: "For the Wendigo, can I use damage potion since it is long lasting?"

Cathy, it would have no effect. It adds damage to sword, staff and spells, and you can't use any of those against the Wendigo. Only pets and mercenaries attack.

I think that only Pet Plus Potion makes sense and you must use it in one of the previous battles so it's in effect despite your paralysis.

Cathy M. wrote: "For the Fiery Imp, are the Little Flames summoned at the beginning of the round? "

The Little Flames are summoned at the beginning of every round. I added it to the description to make it super clear. :)

Thanks for clarifying that Zuzana.

Another question, is it okay to stack the blue gem with a shield potion? Example: attack 100/2/2=25

Sorry for all the questions, but I have another...

Does the pet plus potion double the effect of the cat's stun collar like it does the lucky 13 collar? so it can be used twice in one battle?

What about Radagast?

Does the same apply to the horse blanket?

Thanks for any help.

Cathy wrote: "Sorry for all the questions, but I have another...

Does the pet plus potion double the effect of the cat's stun collar like it does the lucky 13 collar? so it can be used twice in one battle?

What about Radagast?

Does the same apply to the horse blanket?"

1. Does the pet plus potion double the effect of the cat's stun collar like it does the lucky 13 collar? so it can be used twice in one battle? What about Radagast?

Description of the Pet Plus Potion (PPP): "Doubles the effects of any pets of the hero for one week."

Description of the collar: Stunning" collar will allow your cat to stun an enemy once every 2 weeks. A stunned enemy will skip all actions on their part for 1 turn including damage increases or debuffs on the hero.

Since the cat is the one performing the stunning while wearing the collar, PPP should double its effect.

This means:
- If the cat used its stun last week, it gains one additional stun for the week that PPP is active.
- If the cat hasn’t stunned an enemy in the previous week, it can now perform two stuns within the week PPP is in effect—it has to be on two separate enemies. (EDITED)

Radagast's Effect: Radagast enhances pets' battle skills, and stunning is a battle skill. This means Radagast should also double the cat's stunning ability, just like the PPP.


2. Does the same apply to the horse blanket?

Description of the horse blanket: "1 warm horse rug allows a horse to make one of your attacks an area of effect attack."

Since the horse is the one providing the AoE effect, both PPP and Radagast should logically double this effect, allowing the horse to trigger an AoE attack twice instead of once.

Can you please clarify -

For the Stunning Collar - is the stunning done only in the 1st round (round cat is used)? Or can it be used to stun the monster at any time during the battle?

You are right, I missed that. As the kitty leaves the battle after round 1 she can't stun the monster a second time in the same battle. So using PPP or Radagast causes that the cat can stun its foe twice in two weeks, but it has to be in two different battles. I edited my original reply to make it clear.

Thanks for catching that, Cathy.

That was my understanding too, but saw another battle where someone used in later round so that totally confused me.

Thanks Zuzana!

Thank you Zuzana!

I thought/hoped it would double but wanted to make sure.

I have five new quests planned for the March update!

Here’s a sneak peek at their titles:
1. Equinox Shenanigans and Solstice Silliness
2. The Novel Kingdom’s Golden Moving Scroll Awards
3. Cheep-skate: a Budget-Friendly Bounty
4. The Tiny Tome Tantrum
5. Quotable Quests (created by Lyssa and Meg)

Cathy wrote: "Thanks for clarifying that Zuzana.

Another question, is it okay to stack the blue gem with a shield potion? Example: attack 100/2/2=25"

I completely missed this question - sorry about that, Cathy!

I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work as you described. Just keep in mind that the blue gem only applies to one turn of battle per week, so timing will be key.

Zuzana wrote: "I have five new quests planned for the March update!

Here’s a sneak peek at their titles:
1. Equinox Shenanigans and Solstice Silliness
2. The Novel Kingdom’s Golden Moving Scroll Awards
3. Cheep-..."

Can't wait! So glad you have revived this challenge!

Check out the March Update in the Notice Board thread.

5 new quests for you to participate in. :)

Please, let me know which one you like the most.

Wow these are so creative!!!! I love them!

I really like The Tiny Tome Tantrum. I have a stockpile of those shorter books that I never get around to reading since they don't "count" for anything:-)

But mostly, I'm just excited that you've infused this challenge with new energy and fun!

Rebecca wrote: "Wow these are so creative!!!! I love them!"

Glad you like them. :)

If you have ideas, even vague ones, for new quests, I'd like to hear them. The Equinox Shenanigans and Solstice Silliness was actually inspired by your comment in the Melting Pot thread.

Cathy wrote: "I really like The Tiny Tome Tantrum. I have a stockpile of those shorter books that I never get around to reading since they don't "count" for anything:-)

But mostly, I'm just excited that you've ..."

It's actually my favorite, too. Tiny books can be very entertaining and it sucks that they don't count. I try to make allowances in regular quests for categories like poetry or plays that are usually shorter than 100 pages, but this one works for books of all kinds.

I'm glad you're enjoying the updates, Cathy. :)

Greetings fellow adventurers!

In case anyone is thirsty, I wanted to let you know that my well is up and running!

Congratulations Megs!