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Rats Aplenty is the third scenario by Smoo.
Visit the author's homepage for details or download this scenario for Mac or PC
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Rats Aplenty 8.11 (9.8/7.0)
MultiQuote#2 SM Adventurer
Posted 09 March 2008 - 09:17 PM
First to review, oh wow!
Well, boy was this a very interesting scenario. It was very humorous, like the priest who curses alot in the town. It had very interesting side quests too.
The plot is, well, a Rat Plague. Well, at least it's original, as it has never been done before in the history of BOE/BOA.
A few new types of Rats were thrown in, like White rats that could cast spells, and there were some pretty neat custom graphics for these new types of Rats.
I certainly laughed a lot while playing this scenario. The blacksmith who could only talk about metal was priceless.
Dialogue was seriously worked on very well. It seems like every piece has every detail set into place, with some humor thrown into places. I loved the sequence where you can make the innkeeper run out of the starting inn if you prod him about it enough.
They were very few cutscenes, but where they were, they done pretty well.
Well, with some variety added to the regular Vapor/Mung/Giant Rat assortment, combat was interesting.
Although I think those White Rats summoned a bit too much.
Overall, I had a pretty good time playing this scenario, and it should be played by anyone who wants to get away from it all, away from goblins and other normal brawls.
My Rating: 8.2
Well, boy was this a very interesting scenario. It was very humorous, like the priest who curses alot in the town. It had very interesting side quests too.
The plot is, well, a Rat Plague. Well, at least it's original, as it has never been done before in the history of BOE/BOA.
A few new types of Rats were thrown in, like White rats that could cast spells, and there were some pretty neat custom graphics for these new types of Rats.
I certainly laughed a lot while playing this scenario. The blacksmith who could only talk about metal was priceless.
Dialogue was seriously worked on very well. It seems like every piece has every detail set into place, with some humor thrown into places. I loved the sequence where you can make the innkeeper run out of the starting inn if you prod him about it enough.
They were very few cutscenes, but where they were, they done pretty well.
Well, with some variety added to the regular Vapor/Mung/Giant Rat assortment, combat was interesting.
Although I think those White Rats summoned a bit too much.
Overall, I had a pretty good time playing this scenario, and it should be played by anyone who wants to get away from it all, away from goblins and other normal brawls.
My Rating: 8.2
#3 Salmon
Posted 09 March 2008 - 09:17 PM
Honestly I have no idea what Smoo was going for in this one. It was almost like he sat down one day, cursed the government for mandatory military service, and suddenly decide to write a scenario about nothing. Sure, there are rats and undead and brigands and item quests and service quests and stealing and fakers and and and a sumo potion maker...???, but mostly this is about nothing. And that is a good thing!
There was no need to make sure each bit of dialog meshed seamlessly together, advancing the plot or leading the party from point A to point B. Hell, if you wanted to do something, you did it. Otherwise, fuggedaboutit. Speaking of dialog, it was nice to see a realistic portrayal of regular folks. The soap operaish rich folks, the crazy soldiers, and the insane clerics all added flavor to the scene.
Aside from a few minor bugs, which Smoo assures me he will look in to as soon as he remembers about it, all the coding was well done and the combat effective and managable. The only downside would be for someone looking to strengthen their party. It ain't gonna happen. You may level up, but this scenario is not for "buffing" your characters. It is what it is, and does a good job at that.
I rate it a 8.8, my highest yet, because I enjoyed playing it from start to finish. Well done Smoo.
There was no need to make sure each bit of dialog meshed seamlessly together, advancing the plot or leading the party from point A to point B. Hell, if you wanted to do something, you did it. Otherwise, fuggedaboutit. Speaking of dialog, it was nice to see a realistic portrayal of regular folks. The soap operaish rich folks, the crazy soldiers, and the insane clerics all added flavor to the scene.
Aside from a few minor bugs, which Smoo assures me he will look in to as soon as he remembers about it, all the coding was well done and the combat effective and managable. The only downside would be for someone looking to strengthen their party. It ain't gonna happen. You may level up, but this scenario is not for "buffing" your characters. It is what it is, and does a good job at that.
I rate it a 8.8, my highest yet, because I enjoyed playing it from start to finish. Well done Smoo.
#4 Guest_Nioca_*
Posted 09 March 2008 - 09:18 PM
What can I say? Another good scenario by Smoo. This is one of the few L1 scenarios that actually has any length. The only other one I can think of at the moment being A Perfect Forest. It has plenty of dialogue and humor, and was probably one of the few scenarios that actually made me laugh. Loved the priest of shuub, by the way. The only real thing that detracts from this scenario is that it's easy to lose the main plot. In this case, though, it isn't too bad.
Final Rating: 7.8
Final Rating: 7.8
#5 TM
Posted 09 March 2008 - 09:18 PM
Currently the... third best scenario for BoA? What the f...
Okay, so it's not bad. It's pretty funny. Like most Smoo efforts, the plot really doesn't matter at all; and like most Smoo efforts, the sidequests are worth the time. Unlike MoC, the combat never truly got egregious (though the albino spellcasters got annoying while dragging the party along through ruins you thought you cleared out due to their casting Create Illusions all the time).
The sidequest where you have to rob the vault, as an aside, is one of the more interesting ones I've played through in a while. Perhaps not the most compelling, but at least the idea was novel.
Anyway, nothing you see here is going to truly make your jaw drop, but it's all pretty solid in its scripting. The first rat fight has a nifty cutscene introducing it and there's a really neat trick with a switch in the final dungeon.
The scenario is, overall, fairly fun. Whether that makes it top-notch material is up to debate, and it's not the largest ever made, but it's humorous and solid at the same time, and it's worth a playthrough. 7.8
Okay, so it's not bad. It's pretty funny. Like most Smoo efforts, the plot really doesn't matter at all; and like most Smoo efforts, the sidequests are worth the time. Unlike MoC, the combat never truly got egregious (though the albino spellcasters got annoying while dragging the party along through ruins you thought you cleared out due to their casting Create Illusions all the time).
The sidequest where you have to rob the vault, as an aside, is one of the more interesting ones I've played through in a while. Perhaps not the most compelling, but at least the idea was novel.
Anyway, nothing you see here is going to truly make your jaw drop, but it's all pretty solid in its scripting. The first rat fight has a nifty cutscene introducing it and there's a really neat trick with a switch in the final dungeon.
The scenario is, overall, fairly fun. Whether that makes it top-notch material is up to debate, and it's not the largest ever made, but it's humorous and solid at the same time, and it's worth a playthrough. 7.8
and so did the cutscene with the dog-imaginery.#7 Guest_Ephesos_*
Posted 09 March 2008 - 09:18 PM
...is a good joke scenario. And like a good joke, it can be taken too far. RA treads the line, and occasionally oversteps it. Some of it gets tiring. Generally speaking, though, it's a very competently-designed and interesting scenario.
I've enjoyed most of Smoo's work (growls in the direction of BC), and this really feels like his kind of work. This is a really respectable work.
So, I'll just jump right in to the pros/cons:
PROS
+ I enjoyed the spectre, and his personality.
+ The drinking contest at the Patron, which I only managed to draw on.
+ I enjoyed bringing the dead cat back to the bartender.
+ The nondescript pit encounter was incredibly funny.
+ For just being a bunch of rats, combat was somewhat difficult, but in a good way. I died every so often playing it on Tough.
+ Just in general, the characters were impressive. Meuric was excellent, and I liked the slight hint of complexity with the piper.
+ Yay for hornets!
+ While some of the quests were annoying, they were usually annoying in a fun way. Fetch quests with personality, really... and I kind of enjoyed chasing Rosemary all the way around the map, from a comedian's standpoint.
+ The crazed rabbit was interesting. That's really all I can say about it.
+ Puzzles in the rats' lair were actually fun. I did get really annoyed trying to find the Ancient Boots, though...
CONS
- The spectre was slightly broken as an NPC... very overpowered.
- I kept getting errors with outdoor encounters... every time I killed something, it gave the error "Inside town only function called when not in town". This probably could've been fixed.
- There were assorted typos and bugs, like one of the patrons of the Patron being named "Woman man".
- I understand the need for the multiple towns in Scurftown... but it was highly annoying. I also managed to break it, when I got out of the smith's mini-town.
- Elements of town design were shaky in places, with tall trees blocking short ones from view... one of my little pet peeves. Also, some areas had rough transitions (I'm looking at the shift from dry ground to the cave floor).
- Characters had way too much dialog at times. This bothered me, particularly in the Belching Patron.
- Is there any way to get that little girl's doll back from the psychotic rabbit?
- Attorosi was a letdown of a fight, honestly... he died too quickly.
- Up until the rats' lair, there seemed to be a bit too much randomness in Untitled Land. Like mixing in the undead with bandits, and the wandering bats... it felt a bit like BC in that respect.
So... that's a lot. But it just about evens out to a rating of 8.0. I almost kept it at 7.9, but it's enjoyable enough to push it up to the 8 range. Definitely worth a play.
I've enjoyed most of Smoo's work (growls in the direction of BC), and this really feels like his kind of work. This is a really respectable work.
So, I'll just jump right in to the pros/cons:
PROS
+ I enjoyed the spectre, and his personality.
+ The drinking contest at the Patron, which I only managed to draw on.
+ I enjoyed bringing the dead cat back to the bartender.
+ The nondescript pit encounter was incredibly funny.
+ For just being a bunch of rats, combat was somewhat difficult, but in a good way. I died every so often playing it on Tough.
+ Just in general, the characters were impressive. Meuric was excellent, and I liked the slight hint of complexity with the piper.
+ Yay for hornets!
+ While some of the quests were annoying, they were usually annoying in a fun way. Fetch quests with personality, really... and I kind of enjoyed chasing Rosemary all the way around the map, from a comedian's standpoint.
+ The crazed rabbit was interesting. That's really all I can say about it.
+ Puzzles in the rats' lair were actually fun. I did get really annoyed trying to find the Ancient Boots, though...
CONS
- The spectre was slightly broken as an NPC... very overpowered.
- I kept getting errors with outdoor encounters... every time I killed something, it gave the error "Inside town only function called when not in town". This probably could've been fixed.
- There were assorted typos and bugs, like one of the patrons of the Patron being named "Woman man".
- I understand the need for the multiple towns in Scurftown... but it was highly annoying. I also managed to break it, when I got out of the smith's mini-town.
- Elements of town design were shaky in places, with tall trees blocking short ones from view... one of my little pet peeves. Also, some areas had rough transitions (I'm looking at the shift from dry ground to the cave floor).
- Characters had way too much dialog at times. This bothered me, particularly in the Belching Patron.
- Is there any way to get that little girl's doll back from the psychotic rabbit?
- Attorosi was a letdown of a fight, honestly... he died too quickly.
- Up until the rats' lair, there seemed to be a bit too much randomness in Untitled Land. Like mixing in the undead with bandits, and the wandering bats... it felt a bit like BC in that respect.
So... that's a lot. But it just about evens out to a rating of 8.0. I almost kept it at 7.9, but it's enjoyable enough to push it up to the 8 range. Definitely worth a play.
#8 The Lurker
Posted 09 March 2008 - 09:19 PM
This scenario is a fairly short scenario for beginner-level parties.
*STORY*
Any scenario that manages to make me laugh wins points with me.
This is one of the really humorous scenarios out there - nearly every dialogue script has some humor in it, and there sure is a lot of dialogue. I recommend trying to talk to anyone, even a generic-looking character such as a guard can have his/her own dialogue. You play as first-time adventurers (or a first-time adventurer, if you're a singleton) who have yet to complete their first quest, and you end up in a rat-infested/undead-infested place known as Untitled Land. Although it doesn't take itself seriously, the story actually makes sense and Attorosi (the final boss) was certainly an interesting character.
*GAMEPLAY*
Great gameplay. New monsters, new items, the gameplay balance is very good for the most part, there are quite a few interesting subquests and neat tricks, there are several ways to win some of the main quests (in fact, there's even an alternate way to win the game by getting rid of Attorosi peacefully instead of killing him). The few puzzles in the game are interesting and not nearly as infuriating as the ones in, say, Dilecia. The overall difficulty level is quite low, Rats Aplenty is harder than A Good Beginning, but easier than A Small Rebellion. In fact, I found Attorosi to be a bit *too* easy if you do choose to fight him. That big fight against five rat spellcasters in the Cave Entrance was a lot harder - probably the only genuinely difficult battle in the game.
*GRAPHICS*
Yup, there are some new graphics in the game. Some of them are a bit crude (hornets), but most of them are good.
*BUGS*
No more bugs, it would seem!
*OVERALL*
A great scenario, with lots of humor and crazy characters (a Fat Orange Bunny comes to mind...). Interestingly enough, the scenario, while being fairly short, manages to be longer than I expected, with only two outdoor sections and five towns (okay, ten towns, but four of them are sub-towns and one of them is an Easter Egg town). Smoo used the sections very well, and managed to make quite a lot of subquests for such a small scenario. Which is good, because I strongly dislike empty towns and empty outdoors (Undead Valley anyone?).
Expect to have to replay Rats Aplenty several times before you find everything.
PS - I mostly agree with what Ephesos said, except that :
1)The specter is not overpowered. Sure, it hits very hard, but it can die pretty quickly, even if you cast Enduring Barrier, and the slug rats can tear it to pieces really fast. Furthermore, you need all the help you can get when fighting the white rats.
2)I don't think the characters have too much dialogue. The game is a bit like Monkey Island in that respect - lots of dialogue, but definetely worth reading.
3)Are you sure that 'Woman man' is a typo?
EDIT : Smoo fixed most of the bugs (only one or two extremely minor bugs remain, which you probably won't notice - I noticed them only because I replayed the game a lot) and you can now get the doll back from the bunny (who now has more dialogue, by the way), so 9.8.
*STORY*
Any scenario that manages to make me laugh wins points with me.
This is one of the really humorous scenarios out there - nearly every dialogue script has some humor in it, and there sure is a lot of dialogue. I recommend trying to talk to anyone, even a generic-looking character such as a guard can have his/her own dialogue. You play as first-time adventurers (or a first-time adventurer, if you're a singleton) who have yet to complete their first quest, and you end up in a rat-infested/undead-infested place known as Untitled Land. Although it doesn't take itself seriously, the story actually makes sense and Attorosi (the final boss) was certainly an interesting character.
*GAMEPLAY*
Great gameplay. New monsters, new items, the gameplay balance is very good for the most part, there are quite a few interesting subquests and neat tricks, there are several ways to win some of the main quests (in fact, there's even an alternate way to win the game by getting rid of Attorosi peacefully instead of killing him). The few puzzles in the game are interesting and not nearly as infuriating as the ones in, say, Dilecia. The overall difficulty level is quite low, Rats Aplenty is harder than A Good Beginning, but easier than A Small Rebellion. In fact, I found Attorosi to be a bit *too* easy if you do choose to fight him. That big fight against five rat spellcasters in the Cave Entrance was a lot harder - probably the only genuinely difficult battle in the game.
*GRAPHICS*
Yup, there are some new graphics in the game. Some of them are a bit crude (hornets), but most of them are good.
*BUGS*
No more bugs, it would seem!
*OVERALL*
A great scenario, with lots of humor and crazy characters (a Fat Orange Bunny comes to mind...). Interestingly enough, the scenario, while being fairly short, manages to be longer than I expected, with only two outdoor sections and five towns (okay, ten towns, but four of them are sub-towns and one of them is an Easter Egg town). Smoo used the sections very well, and managed to make quite a lot of subquests for such a small scenario. Which is good, because I strongly dislike empty towns and empty outdoors (Undead Valley anyone?).
Expect to have to replay Rats Aplenty several times before you find everything.
PS - I mostly agree with what Ephesos said, except that :
1)The specter is not overpowered. Sure, it hits very hard, but it can die pretty quickly, even if you cast Enduring Barrier, and the slug rats can tear it to pieces really fast. Furthermore, you need all the help you can get when fighting the white rats.
2)I don't think the characters have too much dialogue. The game is a bit like Monkey Island in that respect - lots of dialogue, but definetely worth reading.
3)Are you sure that 'Woman man' is a typo?
EDIT : Smoo fixed most of the bugs (only one or two extremely minor bugs remain, which you probably won't notice - I noticed them only because I replayed the game a lot) and you can now get the doll back from the bunny (who now has more dialogue, by the way), so 9.8.
#9 Guest_Thralni_*
Posted 09 March 2008 - 09:19 PM
I liked this scenario. I even liked the sense of humour, which rarely happens in the SW community. For that alone this scenario will get above the six.
PLOT
I liked and disliked the plot at the same time, and I got confused at a number of occasions. I was wondering, for example, what exactly happened to the piper. Also, I wondered where Attorosi, although being quite interesting, came from. I just came into that chamber, and next thing I talk to a rat with three personalities, it seems. It would hav been nice if I would have known where exactly he came from, or I simply missed the part in dialogue where that got said.
Speaking of dialogue, with most scenarios I just skim over the text to see if something important is being said. With this scenario, hwoever, I read most of the dialogue, simply because it was funny.
GAMEPLAY
Most of the time combat wasn't too hard. The only fight with which I did have difficulty, was that fight against the five white rats in the rat caves. Overall I liked the enemies. They weren't very tough, and still not to easy.
OVERALL
Some things I wanted to mention but didn't quite know in which category to place, are the following ones:
- I guess this is a scenario that I wil have to play another time to understand what to say to certain characters. For example the mayor: I told him that there were no guards outside his room, when i came back there were guards, and I couldn't get my reward.
- I hate it when I can't manage to understand what a certain thing is for. For example: There is a secret door with a button behind it in these undead caves, but I had no clue what it opened, gave me, or generally was usefull for. I searched through the caves, but I found nothing.
In general I really liked this scenario. Something I wish would have been included is something like a secretsguide, that would make it a bit easier to find some things. Although I greatly enjoy thinking about stuff and finding my own way in a scenario, I also want some reference to help me find things if I can't find them myself.
So, my verdict:
8.5
That's mainly for the humour and the well-presented story.
PLOT
I liked and disliked the plot at the same time, and I got confused at a number of occasions. I was wondering, for example, what exactly happened to the piper. Also, I wondered where Attorosi, although being quite interesting, came from. I just came into that chamber, and next thing I talk to a rat with three personalities, it seems. It would hav been nice if I would have known where exactly he came from, or I simply missed the part in dialogue where that got said.
Speaking of dialogue, with most scenarios I just skim over the text to see if something important is being said. With this scenario, hwoever, I read most of the dialogue, simply because it was funny.
GAMEPLAY
Most of the time combat wasn't too hard. The only fight with which I did have difficulty, was that fight against the five white rats in the rat caves. Overall I liked the enemies. They weren't very tough, and still not to easy.
OVERALL
Some things I wanted to mention but didn't quite know in which category to place, are the following ones:
- I guess this is a scenario that I wil have to play another time to understand what to say to certain characters. For example the mayor: I told him that there were no guards outside his room, when i came back there were guards, and I couldn't get my reward.
- I hate it when I can't manage to understand what a certain thing is for. For example: There is a secret door with a button behind it in these undead caves, but I had no clue what it opened, gave me, or generally was usefull for. I searched through the caves, but I found nothing.
In general I really liked this scenario. Something I wish would have been included is something like a secretsguide, that would make it a bit easier to find some things. Although I greatly enjoy thinking about stuff and finding my own way in a scenario, I also want some reference to help me find things if I can't find them myself.
So, my verdict:
8.5
That's mainly for the humour and the well-presented story.
#10 Guest_Enraged Slith_*
Posted 09 March 2008 - 09:20 PM
An overall entertaining scenario. I laughed a lot, especially at the "you must live until you die!" line.
Combat was easy in this scenario. Even with the difficulty cranked up to torment and no spells, there were very few times I had to reload my save file. The cheeta rats never hit my party members, the slug rats couldn't get close enough to attack, the white rats went down in a single crossbow hit, and the wererats only summoned generic cannonfodder giant rats.
Of course, this doesn't even begin to express how easy combat was in this scenario. Not only did I fly through this scenario on torment with no spellcasters, my two melee party members were stuck at a total of 0 health the entire rat dungeon, due to disease. Every single "difficult" combat sequence could be easily conquered through a series of "snipe a white rat and retreat" and or "fall back and take care of the masses in single file" tactics. The only hard fight was with the foul rat, who didn't go down in a hit or two.
The story and detail in this scenario more than made up for the easy combat.
In the end, the only frustrating thing about this scenario was that I couldn't accomplish everything in one playthrough.
A nice, well designed, and hilarious scenario.
Good job: 8.0
Combat was easy in this scenario. Even with the difficulty cranked up to torment and no spells, there were very few times I had to reload my save file. The cheeta rats never hit my party members, the slug rats couldn't get close enough to attack, the white rats went down in a single crossbow hit, and the wererats only summoned generic cannonfodder giant rats.
Of course, this doesn't even begin to express how easy combat was in this scenario. Not only did I fly through this scenario on torment with no spellcasters, my two melee party members were stuck at a total of 0 health the entire rat dungeon, due to disease. Every single "difficult" combat sequence could be easily conquered through a series of "snipe a white rat and retreat" and or "fall back and take care of the masses in single file" tactics. The only hard fight was with the foul rat, who didn't go down in a hit or two.
The story and detail in this scenario more than made up for the easy combat.
In the end, the only frustrating thing about this scenario was that I couldn't accomplish everything in one playthrough.
A nice, well designed, and hilarious scenario.
Good job: 8.0
#11 ????
Posted 09 March 2008 - 09:20 PM
I really liked this scenario. It was humorous like other reviewers have mentioned. Basically it was a spoof on all RPGs especially Spiderweb ones. The honey tree encounter was funny. "Do you climb up the tree to get some honey that most likely is of no use?" "Oh hell yea!!" Oh and the beginning dialogue is humorous upon trying to leave the first Inn without a quest. Just keep trying to leave, and you'll see why. I basically didn't take it too seriously and just trudged around leveling my beginner party. This is the last BOA scenario I'll be playing for a few months. And it was definitely good way to end off.
Rating 8.1
Rating 8.1
#12 ????
Posted 09 March 2008 - 09:20 PM
I remembered I began playing BoA when it came out, but since the first scenarios were not promising some other games caught my attention (Morrowind and the GTA trilogy) and then I was too busy with university and now work.
However, this last week I decided to return to play BoA, since it wasn't fair to let it rot on my HD. The first scenarios I played were not buggy, but were a chore to finish, Rats Aplenty is the first one that was really funny and I enjoyed playing.
First of all, the combat is not frustrating, but not easy either. I think I may be more of the kind that like the hack & slash of the Vogelian scenarios, so don't hate me for that O:-)
Rats Aplenty is well though, every town has a reason to exists and I really liked the whole mood of Untitled Land, a lot of work was put on dialogs. Side quests are also good, which makes you want to explore every single detail of the scenario.
The bad things about RA? Not many, maybe the portcullis puzzle, which was too much trial and error and finding the ancient boots. Also, sometimes I couldn't bother to read all the dialog on the starter town, but I guess that is not a flaw from the scenario.
I give it a 9.5.
However, this last week I decided to return to play BoA, since it wasn't fair to let it rot on my HD. The first scenarios I played were not buggy, but were a chore to finish, Rats Aplenty is the first one that was really funny and I enjoyed playing.
First of all, the combat is not frustrating, but not easy either. I think I may be more of the kind that like the hack & slash of the Vogelian scenarios, so don't hate me for that O:-)
Rats Aplenty is well though, every town has a reason to exists and I really liked the whole mood of Untitled Land, a lot of work was put on dialogs. Side quests are also good, which makes you want to explore every single detail of the scenario.
The bad things about RA? Not many, maybe the portcullis puzzle, which was too much trial and error and finding the ancient boots. Also, sometimes I couldn't bother to read all the dialog on the starter town, but I guess that is not a flaw from the scenario.
I give it a 9.5.
#14
BainIhrno 
- BoEnthusiast
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- Group: Members
- Posts: 347
- Joined: 26-January 07
Posted 16 March 2008 - 10:48 AM
Didn't have much plot at all, but that doesn't really matter much in a humorous scenario. For some reason, it didn't really make me laugh as much as other humor scenarios. Had some neat coding tricks (like the rat puzzle), but fighting got too repetitive in the dungeon. Overall, it was okay, but I can't really give it as high a score as the previous posters.
7
7
#15
Jewels
- Skribbane Smuggler
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- Group: Members
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- Joined: 08-October 07
- Location:At my computer
Posted 17 April 2008 - 01:08 PM
There were pleanty of rats at least. An attempt at scenario humor that almost made the mark but not quite. I remember being annoyed at all the people in the inn. Good enough for a play, but I don't want a sequel.
7.1
7.1
Rubies are red,
Sapphires are blue,
But there's not a gem
That's as precious as you.
Sapphires are blue,
But there's not a gem
That's as precious as you.
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