Hack 'N' Slash Hero: Halfway Recap!

We've passed the halfway mark in our current adventure, so I thought I'd post a quick recap for the story so far for new players joining the adventure.

• Hack 'N' Slash Hero features an elite band of inter-dimensional heroes, the 'Warriors of the Eternal Quest', who are available for hire to save worlds in peril
• The realm of Visgarthia has requested their services to save them from being annihilated by their nemesis, the Affliction – a dark horde of destructive monsters
• Our heroes are seeking to obtain the 'Strength of Ages', three special abilities which will enable them to destroy the Affliction
• Crystals that contain these powers are situated in a different locations across Visgarthia – two have already been found, and our current hero Ironfist (a sentient steam-man) is searching in an icy tundra for the final one
• You've found out that the last of the three Strength of Ages is at the top of a nearby mountain, but you need a creature called a 'Tauk Tauk' to carry you up to the peak – will you head off to wrangle yourself one of these creatures, or quickly check out one more area of the local town?

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or send me a tweet. To join in with the adventure, headover to Twitter and vote to shape the hero's destiny!

Hack 'N' Slash Hero: Story Summary - Votes 51-60

• You take the stairs up towards the portal, nimbly dodging the broken masonry and making it to the top. Walking through the portal, you escape the watery doom of the dungeon, but find yourself in the strange netherworld that you experienced after gaining the first of the Strength of Ages. This time you're in a science classroom – very odd...
• After getting an after-school detention from your angry teacher and having the surreal experience of working alongside your lifelong crush, Jamie, you find yourself transported back into the realm of Visgarthia. Standing once again on the peak of the Arcalith, you see the forces of the Affliction are still attacking the temple, and gaining ground.
• You head inside to help the soldiers who are doggedly holding the corridor at the top of the stairs. After felling one of the attacking monsters, you grab a soldier to help you operate an unmanned gun turret. You continue to hold the monsters off, but more and more keep coming. Spotting some Visgarthian heavy weapons, you grab a rocket launcher, blowing the advancing enemies to pieces.
• Encouraging the Visgarthian soldiers to hold the line for as long as possible, you head to the teleportation chamber. You enter the final pool and are transported to a barren icy wasteland.
• You've no time to take in the scenery, as you realise that you're surrounded – a group of cloaked and hooded figures with flint spears encircle you. The leader gestures that you should kneel, but you stay standing, hoping a show of strength will be effective. The leader attacks, but you defeat him. The man seems impressed by your combat prowess and praises you in a broken accent – maybe you've won him over?
• Deciding to see if the local folk are friendly after all, you allow the men to lead you to their town. Once there, you meet a familiar person – it's the Merchant. The creepy little man explains how he fled the Arcalith and found himself here. He offers you two items from his depleted stocks – a vial of tar-like liquid which will slow down one enemy, and a tattered book which will reveal all your enemy's stats – will you purchase either of these, or save your points?

Meet up with Mr Tweet RPG at the UK Games Expo!

Here's an epic treat for you all you UK-based Tweet RPG players – a chance to meet up with the creator in real life! An underwhelming flutter of applause ripples across the web... Seriously though, if any of you are planning to attend the UK Games Expo in Birmingham, I'd love to chat face to face.

Now firstly let me clarify – I'm only attending the UK Games Expo as a visitor. I don't have a booth and I'm not involved in any of the events or games. However, I thought I'd let you know that I'm there, because it would be cool to break the digital boundaries of Twitter and say hi in person to anyone who plays the game.

I'm going to be at the exhibition on Saturday the 26^th of May, probably for most of the day. If you're gonna be at the event, send me a tweet or comment below, and we'll catch up in the flesh. I'll take lots of pics of anything cool I see, so expect lots of tweets on Saturday!

Hack 'N' Slash Hero: Story Summary - Votes 41-50

• You decide to take the path leading downwards to the left. You find yourself in a small room with three doors, but suddenly you are locked in with no escape - the doors aren't real and a spiked wall is closing in on you! There's a cryptic puzzle on the ground - you solve it in the nick of time, stopping the trap and opening the way forward.
• Carrying on, you enter a large domed room. There's a girl chained to the floor in the centre, begging you to free her. You ask for more info, then decide to help, but something isn't right. You manage to dive out of the way as a giant crab-like monster, a Maag, bursts out of the floor. The girl was a twisted lure, which hangs gruesomely from the creature 's chin.
• Wasting no time, you use your special ability [Tornado of Pain] to slay the beast. Searching through the carcass, you find a piece of shell to use as a shield, but are set upon by some ravenous baby Maags. The battle is tough, but you win.
• With more monsters approaching from the Maag's lair, you head onwards, barring the passage behind with an old portcullis. You descend a ladder and find yourself high in the rafters of a giant chamber. The second Strength of Ages glows in the distance below - there are a few ways to get down, but you choose the risky option of climbing down some hanging chains.
• You leap out into the air, but miss the chains by inches. Lizzy the lizard jumps off to safety as you plummet towards the ground. Chen slams into the unforgiving stone of the chamber floor - his part in the tale is over for now.
• Our new hero appears on the scene - sentient steam-man Ironfist (no.69). You approach the glowing crystal at the centre of the room, but find another puzzle blocking your path. Concentric rings of stone must be turned to reveal a safe pathway forward - rather than rush on, you solve the puzzle and cross the revealed bridge.
• You absorb the power of the second Strength of Ages - two down, one to go! There's no time to celebrate however, as the chamber has begun to flood with water. The portal leading back to the Arcalith is high above - there's a broken staircase leading up, but you could also use the hanging chains, or find something to float on...

Hack 'N' Slash Hero: Story Summary - Votes 31-40

• You choose to start off your attack with some gunfire, taking down one of the monsters, but missing the second. You take him down with hand-to-hand combat. Deciding to help the Visgarthian soldiers, you head onwards.
• After a brief encounter with the Merchant, you make your way down to the entrance of the Arcalith. A fierce battle rages in the hall, with the Archmaester in the midst, fighting a giant beast. You leave him to his foe and help a group soldiers setting up a cannon.
• With the gun ready to fire, you order the soldiers to shoot at the giant beast. Unloading a stream of energy into the creature, you defeat it. A new wave of monsters streams into the Arcalith, but the Archmaester engulfs them in flame. Telling the soldiers to hold the line for as long as possible, you leave the entrance.
• Returning to your search for the Strength of Ages, you choose to visit the jungle first instead of the icy tundra. Once transported to the humid rainforest, you climb a tree to get a better idea of your surroundings.
• Seeing some ruins up ahead, you begin to descend but come face to face with a dangerous looking lizard. Keeping still, you allow the creature to climb onto your shoulder. Taking a shine to the reptile, you let it come along for the ride.
• Heading onwards with 'Lizzy', you enter a clearing with a wooden statue in the centre and stairway leading down into the ruins on the other side. The statue looks ominous, so you skirt around it. The wooden figure turns out to be an angry golem, which suddenly comes to life and attacks. You dodge the golem and rush across the clearing, descending into the ruins.
• Walking along the corridor further into the ruins, you find yourself at a crossroads. There's a pathway leading downwards to the left. The route ahead leads straight on. The path to the right leads upwards. Which way will you go?

Hack 'N' Slash Hero: Story Summary - Votes 21-30

• You don't want to get involved in murder, and therefore attempt to offer the Helmsman a different deal. It turns out the question was a test – the Helmsman informs you of where to go, then promptly disappears. With some difficulty, you pilot the behemoth to your destination.
• The behemoth blends into the landscape, leaving you standing on a bridge leading to another tall tower. You head towards the structure, seeing a glowing light within. However, there is a smaller spire branching off from the tower – you choose to investigate this first.
• At the top of the smaller tower you find a treasure chest guarded by a knight in black armour, wielding a huge Zweihander sword. You manage to sneak to the chest and retrieve a fire bomb, but as you attempt to leave the knight spots you. Engaging him in combat, you slay your foe.
• Entering the main tower, you find a glowing crystal orb on a plinth in the centre. Taking up the first of the Strength of Ages, you absorb its power, learning a new combat skill – the 'Tornado of Pain'.
• You turn to find three enormous enemies blocking your path – you put your new skill to good use, destroying the monsters in a flurry of attacks.
• Stepping through the portal you assume leads back to the Arcalith, you find yourself in a strange dimension – you're playing a game and your mother is telling your to do your homework – very odd indeed. After a bruising altercation with your brother, you return to your game...
• Feeling shaken and with very low health, you find yourself back at the peak of the Arcalith. Hearing the sounds of battle nearby, you head inside to search for healing items. Your search is unsuccessful, and as you head onwards, two scimitar-wielding monsters round the corner.
• You attempt to hide from the monsters but they discover you. Putting up a brave fight, Loupy falls under their swords. A new warrior is summoned to continue the quest – Chen the Sky Pirate (no.79). The two beasts are stunned – how should he attack?

Hack 'N' Slash Hero: New ability - Tornado of Pain!

Congratulations! You've obtained the first of the three 'Strength of Ages' – the 'Tornado of Pain' ability! With this new skill, you're most certainly on your way to defeating the Affliction and saving the realm of Visgarthia.

The 'Tornado of Pain' ability allows you to deal -1HP to your opponents per each tweet containing the #HNSH hashtag over a twelve hour period. Here are the rules that govern this power:

• one point of damage PER TWEET containing the hashtag, not per use of the hashtag
• multiple tweets by individual players are accepted
• I use either the Twitter or Hootsuite search function to count the tweets, so the final number is subject to the inaccuracies of these sites.

The Strength of Ages are super powerful, but with great power comes recharge times! You have to wait for 8 voting sessions until you can use the 'Tornado of Pain' ability again. If you have any questions feel free to get in contact. Keep up the adventuring!