Rumble of the Clans
Requirements / Rewards
Level 21 Rewards - 10 rings + one more Hangout |
Part 1
Sakura: If we’re going to beat the CarnageKings, we’ll need a place to play, undisturbed…
Sakura paces around the newly renovated computer lab, still steaming about the CarnageKings’ message…
Sakura: Unbelievable. Just… unbelievable. After everything that’s happened, everything we’ve done, the CarnageKings STILL think they can talk to me like that?
Payton: Let’s just focus on the positive side, okay? We won! Yay!
Nishan: And we’re starting to get noticed! The LoC forums are talking abut the craaaaazy new team that came out of nowhere to score a big win!
Mia: There’s no better revenge than success. That’s what they say, isn’t it? I saw it on a poster once…
Sakura: Oh, I think there’s an even better revenge. And that’s crushing a bunch of sexist pigs!
Mia: That’s definitely NOT what the poster said… but I’m in.
Danny: So we’re in the ClanRumble. What’s next? Do we play the CarnageKings?
Sakura: Actually… it’s a little more complicated than that. Winning at ClanRumble is about more than winning one match. It’s about winning a LOT of them. All the teams compete head-to-head in dozens of matches. At the end, the scorekeepers add up everyone’s wins and losses… And the team with the most wins… wins!
Danny: Sounds pretty simple to me!
Rewards
Payton: Yeah… except for that part about dozens of matches…
Mia: No offense, but I kind of had… you know… a life…
Sakura: We’re coming into the ClanRumble late. To get enough matches done, they’ve scheduled us to have fifteen in a a row, starting in five minutes! We’ll need to focus… and we’ll need lots of snacks.
Part 2
Sakura: It’s not going to be easy. If we’re going to place in the Rumble, we need to win A LOT!
You all gather up in the school’s computer lab. Mia brings protein shakes, Payton brings two dozen cupcakes, and Nishan appears to be subsisting entirely off energy drinks…
Sakura: Everyone, get your game-fingers ready! We have a LOT of matches to win!
You all dive in and start playing! In the first match… You find yourself crouched behind cover, stalking an oblivious enemy! When he turns his back, you use Double-blade Stealth Strike! You dive forward, tackling the enemy and nailing them with twin blades!
Danny: Nothing is true! Everything is permitted!
You play a match… You man the defenses… when behind you, Nishan is struck with an electric blast!
Nishan: Ahhhh! Lightning bolt! LIGHTNING BOLT!
You rush over to him and use First Aid Kit!
Danny: Don’t worry, Nishan! You can call me The Doctor! But not like the time-travelling alien. More like… an actual doctor. Of medicine and whatnot.
You bandage Nishan up, and he leaps back into the fray, saving your tower and driving the enemies back!
Another match rages on! You lie perched above a tall hill, cloaked with an invisibility spell, scouting for movement… When you see the entire enemy team sprinting through a canyon towards your towers! They’re launching an offensive!
Danny: I need to alert my team!
You use Comically Loud Kazoo! The kazoo blares at a deafening volume, rallying your team!
Sakura: Action stations, everyone!
Mia: We’re under attack!
Your team rallies together, hurling up defensive spells and laying down booby traps!
Payton: No one’s getting in here!
Later, you all take a break. Nishan soothes his hands with a warm compress, while Payton and Mia power-nap.
Danny: How’re we doing, Sakura? Do you think we’ve got a shot at winning the ClanRumble?
Sakura: Actually, yeah! We won’t know everyone’s win-loss ratio until the very end… but ours has to be one of the best!
She looks over to where Payton and Mia are snoring in each other’s arms.
Sakura: Too bad we’re not done yet. Up and at ‘em, lazy butts! We’ve got more matches to play!
Soon, the first rays of sunlight crack the horizon, and you’re still playing…
Mia: Yawwwwwwn… guys? I think it’s morning…
Nishan: Could be… yawwwwwn… a Mirage Spell… or maybe a Flare of Ever-Burning…
Payton: Nishan’s right… we should attack the sunrise… just to be safe…
Sakura: Pffft. Push through it, wimps! You should be able to play for AT LEAST 24 hours before you can’t separate fantasy from reality!
Rewards
Soon enough, you’ve finished your last match.
Sakura: Okay, rookies! Marathon’s over for now! Rest up, shower, and feel free to visit your friends and loved ones!
Payton: Did we… win…?
Sakura: Some battles? Sure. But the war rages on.
Mia: War… war never changes…
Sakura: Heh. That’s the spirit. Now we need to…
Just then, there’s a pounding on the door! It’s Wes!
Sakura: What’s up, scruffball?
Wes: Big news, princess. The nerds have something important to show you.
Part 3
Danny: Someone has big news for us!
Danny: What’s up, Kimia?
Kimia: It’s big! No, huger than big! No, more enormous than huge!
Nishan: An elephant fused with a hippo grafted to a redwood tree?
Kimia: No… it’s big NEWS! UntamedGame, the really popular gaming blog, has written a feature on the Phoenix Downs!
Sakura: What?! Really?
Mia: We’re Internet famous?! That’s almost as good as Real Famous!
Payton: Woot woot!
You all gather around Kimia’s laptop as the website loads… but when it does…
Payton: O… M… G…
Sakura: You have GOT to be kidding me!
Time - 8 hours
You and your friends read the article that UntamedGame has posted about your team…
Nishan: ‘Sizzling hotties tear up ClanRumble! Who wouldn’t want to rumble with them?’
Danny: What the… they’ve got all these pictures of us! How did they even get these?
Payton: I MAY have live-tweeted our practices…
Sakura: ‘Their leader is Sakura, a mysterious beauty with an exotic flavor…’
Payton: ‘Then there’s Payton, the fun-loving party girl who’s down for anything! Hit HER up if you’re looking for a good time!’
Mia: ‘And don’t forget Mia, the ice-queen cheerleader who’s got the looks and the bucks! Who’ll be the handsome prince to melt HER frozen heart?’ A handsome prince? Really? Like THAT’S what I’m waiting for?
Danny: ‘Rounding out the team are White Knights Danny and Nishan. We don’t want to judge two dudes on a girls team… we’ll leave that to you!’
Sakura: ‘Don’t worry, these videogame vixens aren’t going to win the Rumble any time soon. They’re just in it for the attention… and boy, are they getting it!;
Sakura slams the computer shut.
Kimia: I… I am so sorry… I had no idea…
Danny: It’s okay, Kimia. It’s not your fault.
Rewards
Mia: I just can’t believe it! They didn’t say a WORD about our skills or victories! It was all about our looks!
Payton: And even that was gross and sleazy!
Danny: Ugh… to think… thousands of people are reading that article… it makes my skin crawl.
Sakura: No. Don’t thin about it. Don’t let it get to you. The people who wrote this article are just sexist scumbags like the CarnageKings. They talk like this because they’re scared of us. Scared of the changing world we represent. We need to ignore the haters and stay focused on the game. Speaking of which… We’re up for another match!
Part 4
Sakura: We can’t be distracted! We need to stay focused on winning the game!
Your team starts the match… But immediately the chat stream starts to fill with harassing messages!
Payton: ‘We all know you just want attention. Don’t pretend to be gamers!’
Mia: ‘Mmm mmm, cheerleaders are so yummy…’
Sakura: ‘Pink hair, that’s sooooo hot…’
Payton: Oh my gosh… now that they know we’re girls… they’re saying the worst things!
Mia: Ewwww! I can’t believe someone could even TYPE that! It’s disgusting!
Nishan: My faith in humanity was always on the low side… but we’re bordering on super- villain origin story here…
Sakura: No! Everyone STAY FOCUSED! Ignore the chats! Eyes on the prize!
Mia: Just give me one second! I have to respond to these creeps!
Sakura: No! Mia! Don’t get distracted!
Mia: I have to say SOMETHING! Just give me a sec!
Sakura: Nooooooo!
Time - 12 hours
The match rages on, but the harassment is thick and constant! Everyone keeps gets distracted…
Mia: Ewwwwwww! No! I would NEVER do that, you sick jerk!
Payton: You tell him!
Payton pulls away… just as the rival team launches a brilliant surprise attack! Your last tower crumbles, and your team loses!
Sakura: Oh no…
You shut down your computers and step away.
Mia: Sakura, I’m so sorry, but… I just couldn’t take it! No one has ever talked to me like that, EVER! It just made me feel so gross inside…
Nishan: I don’t know what’s worse… that they called me all those names for being on a girls team, or that I let it get to me…
Payton: Do you think they’d stop if I changed my name? Maybe I could be Marco the Manly (Definitely Not a Girl)?
Sakura: No. They’ll never stop. They were bad enough when it was just me… but now that it’s all of us, they’re SO much worse…
Rewards
Danny: We can’t let them get to us, Sakura. Not when we’ve gotten so far…
Sakura: Danny’s right. We need to focus on winning. Now more than ever.
Danny: What do you mean?
Sakura: I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it… but we’ve got only one match left in the Rumble. And it’s against the CarnageKings.
Payton: No way…
Mia: You’ve got to be joking.
Nishan: Truly the most epic of all possible outcomes…
Sakura: No joke. And I am NOT about to let a bunch of sexist sleazebags derail us!
Sakura pops open her laptop and writes a comment on the UntamedGame article…
Sakura: ‘This misogynistic garbage is WAY over the line! We are serious GAMERS, not pretty little dolls for you to drool over! Want proof? Watch the last match of the ClanRumble, when we OBLITERATE the CarnageKings once and for all!’
She hits send. Within minutes, the comment has gotten 500 replies, some positive, most negative… But before Sakura can reply again, her phone beeps with a text! She reads it…
Sakura: What in the name of Ganondorf’s beard…
Danny: What is it?
Sakura: It’s a text from Zerothon, the leader of the CarnageKings! He wants to meet me… in person! I guess he actually lives nearby… close enough that we can meet face-to-face…
Payton: Don’t do that! It's a trap!
Sakura: He says he wants a truce, and I think he means it. He wants to meet at the cafe on the corner of Ting and Ricker…
Nishan: Want me to go with you? He was my former leader too…
Sakura: No. If this is a trap, the clan can’t lose its two most senior players. You need to stay here and train the others.
Danny: I’m not letting you meet him alone, Sakura. I’ll go with you and sit at a different table.
Sakura: Fine… but he’ll recognize you from the article. You better change your look.
Part 5
Sakura: Zerothon wants to meet… and you need to be incognito.
You and Sakura head to the cafe. You take seats at adjacent tables, and you watch her back…
Danny: Any idea who this Zerothon is?
Sakura: Not at all. In fact, I th--
Before Sakura can finish, a tall guy takes a seat at her table.
Zero: Hello, Sakura.
Sakura: Zerothon. Zero. Wow. So it was you all along?
Zero: I’m as surprised as you are. I knew we were both from this town… but it wasn’t until I saw the pictures in that article that I realized who you were. Hard to believe that the girl I built houses with is the deadliest Bearserker in the league…
Sakura: Enough with the flattery. Name your terms.
Zero: I saw your comment on the article, and I think this whole sexism thing has gotten completely out of hand. It’s a distraction and a hassle that’s swallowing up both our teams, not to mention ruining the game.
Sakura: Oh, it’s ruining the game for YOU?
Zero: Yeah. It is. My teammates aren’t focused on winning. All they talk about is ‘Sakura this’ and ‘Sakura that’. I think they spent more time stewing over your comment than they did practicing. I’m not going to play innocent, but neither can you. Some of the people on my team are guilty of being hostile, just like you’re guilty of stirring up drama. But enough is ENOUGH. I know you, Sakura. You don’t want to be some attention-seeking revolutionary, harping on about causes. You and I are both gamers. And what we want to do… all we want to do… is GAME.
Sakura: Cut to the chase, Zero.
Zero: Let’s get back to basics. I’ll keep my guys in line and stop them from making any sexist remarks. You keep your girls in line and don’t stir up this sexist nonsense anymore. We both just focus on the game… focus on playing our best… and let this all blow over. What do you say?
Rewards
Sakura: …no.
Zero: No?!
Sakura: I know you mean well, Zero. But I can’t just let this slide. I can’t let it go. If there’s one thing i’ve learned, it’s that when we don’t speak up for our beliefs, we don’t live up to them. Evil flourishes when good men… and good women… do nothing.
Zero: What is that, Spiderman? Come on, Sakura. It’s all just harmless trash-talk…
Sakura: That’s what I told myself, Zero. And for years, I let it slide. But I get now that it’s not harmless. It makes gaming a hostile place. It objectifies women. It hurts people who just want to have fun. It’s not okay, and it has to stop. If I stay quiet, then they get away with it. And the harassment? Well, it remains ‘just how people act’. If I won like that… well, I’d still be a loser.
Sakura gets up and walks out, leaving a stunned Zero at the table. You join her.
Danny: What now?
Sakura: Now we fight fire with napalm. We speak out. Loud and clear.
Part 6
Sakura: We can’t be silent. Not anymore. We just need some help…
Sakura gathers together Henry, Carlos, and Priya…
Henry: What’s up, Sakura? Want us to film an awesome sizzle reel?
Carlos: An experimental short film?
Priya: An 8-bit music video?
Sakura: Actually… I want your help making a video about sexism.
Henry: …go on.
Sakura: You’ve probably heard about some of the trouble we’ve recently been having with the ClanRumble. I’ve decided I’m done sitting down and being quiet. I want to FIGHT. I’d like to make a video rebuttal to the UntamedGame article. I’d like your help filming, Henry… and your help with the scripts, Carlos… And your help with the soundtracks, Priya! What do you say?
Henry: I'm always in for politically charged commentary!
Carlos: Me too! Nothing like a bit of theatrical activism…
Priya: I can already hear the score in my head! It starts doot doot deet…
Time - 16 hours
Henry, Carlos, and Priya help set up a semi-professional film set!
Henry: Got the lights… the camera… the black-and-white stock footage to splice in…
Carlos: Remember… enunciate, articulate, and look at the camera!
Priya: The score’s ready! Remember when I said it went doot doot deet? It THEN goes beep boop doot!
You rally your team to make the video. Sakura goes first…
Sakura: Hi there. If you recognize me, it’s probably from a certain UntamedGame article.
Mia: You probably think the Phoenix Downs are just a bunch of pretty faces.
Sakura: Well, I assure you, we are SO much more than that.
Payton: We’re warriors.
Mia: Battlers.
Nishan: Gamers.
Danny: And champions.
Sakura: But to get to where we are, competing at the highest levels of eSports, we’ve had to battle harassment…
Mia: Bullying…
Payton: Discrimination…
Danny: And objectification.
Sakura: This video… is our story.
Rewards
Soon enough, the video is wrapping up…
Payton: We’re girls.
Mia: We’re gamers.
Sakura: We’re the Phoenix Downs. And all we ask for… all we demand… is the same respect as everyone.
Nishan: That’s a wrap. Thanks so much, Henry, Carlos, and Priya!
Henry: Sure thing, Nishan. Should I upload this video to YouTube?
Sakura looks to all of you. You nod, as do Payton, Mia, and Nishan.
Sakura: Yup. Do it. Let’s get this out there.
Henry uploads the video! As they do, Sakura turns to the rest of you…
Sakura: I just got the notification. Our match against the CarnageKings is about to begin.
Payton: This is it…
Mia: The battle we’ve all been waiting for…
Danny: The final showdown.
Sakura: Everyone gather around… I have one last thing to say before we go once more unto the breach.
Part 7
Sakura: Everyone gather around… our greatest battle looms on the horizon…
You all gather around Sakura. She clears her voice and speaks…
Sakura: When I first started playing Legends of ClanCraft, all I cared about was winning. I wanted to rule the ClanRumble, and nothing else really mattered. Even when we first formed this team, the only thing I wanted was to beat the CarnageKings. I still want that. I know you guys want it too. But this has become about so much more. We’re not just playing to win. We’re not just playing for fun. We’re playing to show the world that girls can be gamers… that harassment is never okay… and that you have to speak up against injustice if you ever want change! When we play today, we’re making a stand, whether we win or lose! …but we’re totally going to win.
You all cheer and applaud!
Rewards
The time has come for the final battle. You and your teammates settle in by your computers. All around, your classmates have gathered to cheer you on…
Autumn: Go Phoenix Downs!
Julian: Crush those CarnageKings!
Wes: Take ‘em down. Don’t hold back!
Danny: Ready to go, Sakura?
Sakura: Let’s end this.
Part 8
Sakura: It’s game time!
The match starts! As your team moves into formation, chats come in from the CarnageKings…
BromegaMan: Get ready to go DOWN, girlies! We’re going to make you cry worse than your first boyfriend!
AlphaDogg: It’s not too late to send us those bikini pics!
Sakura: Ignore the chats. Don’t even read them. Focus on the game. Mia! Status report!
From the top of her tower, Mia scouts the terrain.
Mia: It’s quiet. Very, very quiet. No movement.
Nishan: Maybe they’re holing up, fortifying their defenses…
Payton: Or maybe they’re planning a sneak attack!
Mia: What do you think, Danny? How do we play this?
Danny: Let’s defend. They’re up to something! Let’s fortify!
Payton deploys an army of defensive beavers that circle your towers, while you run around laying spike traps and Nishan sets up a laser grid…
Mia: Come on, come on… I want to attack…
Sakura: Just sit tight. We don’t want to trigger an ambush.
Mia: But…
Sakura: Hold… HOLD…
Just then, an alarm blares! One of Nishan’s alarms was tripped!
Mia: Sneak attack from the swamps!
Mia unleashes an enormous crossbow bolt into the swamps! It wings BromegaMan’s character and sends him running!
Danny: Ha! Got him!
Sakura: Good defenses, team!
Mia: I wouldn’t go patting ourselves on the back just yet…
Mia points across the battlefield. There, the CarnageKings have erected a circle of massive stone walls around their towers, patrolled by cybernetic Dobermans…
Payton: They dug in too. We’re never getting through that!
Mia: Everyone strap in. We’re in for a rough game.
Time - 20 hours
The game has raged on, the most brutal and difficult you’ve ever played. The battlefield is a charred ruin of smoking craters. Both teams have just one tower left, and are holed up defending it.
Mia: What do we do? We can’t sit here forever!
Nishan: We’re too weak to attack! They’ll crush us!
Payton: But if we sit here, we’re sitting ducks! Adorable, defenseless, sitting ducks!
Just then a message comes in through the chat…
BromegaMan: What’s going on, LADIES? Are you scaaaaaaaared? Are you crying on each other’s shoulders and eating pints of ice cream?
Sakura: Don’t rise to the bait…
AlphaDogg: Too bad this game isn’t about making sandwiches… because then you’d actually have a chance!
Danny: Don’t respond…
BromegaMan: You know, in the good ol’ days, women were the spoils of war. Maybe when this match is over, you can come over to my house and let me claim my prize…
Zerothon: THAT’S ENOUGH!
You all freeze, staring at the stream…
AlphaDogg: What?
Zerothon: I said, THAT’S ENOUGH! I am SICK AND TIRED of your misogynistic crap! It was bad enough before, but I tolerated it because you two were the best. But no more! NO MORE! I have sat and bit my tongue for too long. TOO LONG. If either of you says another sexist word, I am shutting this clan down!
Rewards
Danny: Huh… Zero changed his mind after all…
Sakura: Yeah, he did… but the game’s not over! We need to strike now!
Part 9
Sakura: Danny! This is our moment! Go for the win!
Nishan: Guys… I have an idea. One big play. We go for all the marbles. We roll the hard six. We do appropriate sports metaphor.
Sakura: What are you thinking?
Nishan: By my estimate, we have maybe ten seconds left while they’re distracted. I think we need to do a Republic City Hustle.
Sakura: It’s crazy… but it just might work! Let’s do it!
Nishan: You’re on point, Danny. Make us proud.
You rush forward, bursting out of the tower… and as you do, all your teammates cast blessings on you!
Payton: Watery Shield of the Dolphin!
Mia: Rain of Holy Fire!
Nishan: The Healing Gusts of Air!
Sakura: Fury of Rumbling Earth!
Enveloped in elemental shields, you hurtle yourselves towards the final tower! The CarnageKings attack, surprised, but your shields are strong enough to deflect their blasts!
Danny: I am the Avatar, master of all elements!
You burst through their tower’s wall and unleash a massive explosion of energy! It destroys it from within!
BromegaMan: AAAAAGH! IT CAN’T BE! IT’S IMPOSSIBLE!
AlphaDogg: Noooooooooooooo!
Zerothon: …good game.
The war-horn sounds the ballad of triumph! You win!
Danny: We did it! WE DID IT!
Payton: Yesssssssssss!
Nishan: We. Are Invincible!
Sakura: We did good. Real good. But we haven’t won the ClanRumble yet. They’re adding up the wins and losses now… we just have to wait for the results!
Time - 21 hours
A trumpet blasts from your computers! The results of the ClanRumble are up!
Payton: OMG! OMG! I can’t look! Someone look for me!
Sakura: According to the final tally, we got… 7th place. Right above the CarnageKings, who got 8th.
Payton: Oh. Well. That’s good, right? 7th out of 100?
Mia: Yeah, that’s still really solid… especially since we just got together a week ago…
Nishan: Last year, we didn’t place at all! 7th is huge!
Sakura: Yeah, it’s… it’s great. Really awesome. Sure.
Rewards
You all look at each other. It’s clear Sakura’s disappointed.
Danny: Sakura, look… I know you wanted 1st place, but I think the more important thing is th--
Nishan: Uh, Danny? Not to cut you off… but there’s some news you probably ought to see.
Part 10
Danny: There’s more big news… I’m a little nervous…
Kimia: I’ve got news, you guys. Really big news!
Danny: What’s up, Kimia?
Payton: Tell me it’s not ANOTHER article on a gaming site… I can’t deal with more gross comments from random creepers!
Kimia: Oh, it’s another article… but you’re going to want to read this one!
Sakura: This… this is on PixelMixer! That’s the biggest gaming site out there!
Mia: What does it say? WHAT DOES IT SAY?
Time - 23 hours
Sakura reads the article out loud, as you all gather around her…
Sakura: ‘The Real Game-Changer: How One Clan Is Standing Up For What’s Right’!
Kimia: The reporter saw the video you posted… and she knew it was a great story!
Sakura: This is all about the challenges we faced and overcame…
Payton: And all the awesome things we accomplished!
Mia: And look at that. Not one word about how we look or who we should date!
Nishan: It’s a call to arms for change! I love calls to arms!
Sakura: This… this is amazing.
Danny: And there’s more! Look in the comments!
Kimia: Girl gamers from all over the world are backing you! They’re saying you’re helping to make gaming a safer place…
Sakura: I can’t believe it… the leader of the clan that won the Rumble just revealed she’s a girl! She felt she had to hide her identity this whole time!
Payton: We! Made! A! Difference!
Sakura turns to you, her eyes just barely glistening.
Sakura: I know I was upset about not getting 1st in the ClanRumble… but I don’t care about that anymore. What we did… what we changed… that’s the biggest victory of all.
Danny: Yes it was.
Sakura: Phoenix Downs forever!
Rewards
Rewards
Danny: So how should we celebrate our victory?
Payton: Dance party!
Danny: What does that have to do with social change?
Payton: …they’re both good?
Danny: Heh… fair enough!
As you all party, Mia gets an email on her phone. Her eyes light up with excitement!
Danny: What’s going on, Mia?
Mia: Well, not to steal the spotlight… but that wasn’t the ONLY good news we received today! Remember when the cheerleading team won the chance to perform at a professional sporting event? Well, they just emailed me about it! We’re going to San Diego!
Payton: O… M… G!
How’s the cheer trip going to go? Will any drama go down? Find out in our next episode!
Sakura: If we’re going to beat the CarnageKings, we’ll need a place to play, undisturbed…
- Spend 200,000 coins
- Have 4 Classrooms
- Have 2 Upgraded Nerd Hangouts
Sakura paces around the newly renovated computer lab, still steaming about the CarnageKings’ message…
Sakura: Unbelievable. Just… unbelievable. After everything that’s happened, everything we’ve done, the CarnageKings STILL think they can talk to me like that?
Payton: Let’s just focus on the positive side, okay? We won! Yay!
Nishan: And we’re starting to get noticed! The LoC forums are talking abut the craaaaazy new team that came out of nowhere to score a big win!
Mia: There’s no better revenge than success. That’s what they say, isn’t it? I saw it on a poster once…
Sakura: Oh, I think there’s an even better revenge. And that’s crushing a bunch of sexist pigs!
Mia: That’s definitely NOT what the poster said… but I’m in.
Danny: So we’re in the ClanRumble. What’s next? Do we play the CarnageKings?
Sakura: Actually… it’s a little more complicated than that. Winning at ClanRumble is about more than winning one match. It’s about winning a LOT of them. All the teams compete head-to-head in dozens of matches. At the end, the scorekeepers add up everyone’s wins and losses… And the team with the most wins… wins!
Danny: Sounds pretty simple to me!
Rewards
- 1000 books
- 2000 XP
Payton: Yeah… except for that part about dozens of matches…
Mia: No offense, but I kind of had… you know… a life…
Sakura: We’re coming into the ClanRumble late. To get enough matches done, they’ve scheduled us to have fifteen in a a row, starting in five minutes! We’ll need to focus… and we’ll need lots of snacks.
Part 2
Sakura: It’s not going to be easy. If we’re going to place in the Rumble, we need to win A LOT!
- Spend 300,000 coins
- Play Match 1
- Play Match 2
You all gather up in the school’s computer lab. Mia brings protein shakes, Payton brings two dozen cupcakes, and Nishan appears to be subsisting entirely off energy drinks…
Sakura: Everyone, get your game-fingers ready! We have a LOT of matches to win!
You all dive in and start playing! In the first match… You find yourself crouched behind cover, stalking an oblivious enemy! When he turns his back, you use Double-blade Stealth Strike! You dive forward, tackling the enemy and nailing them with twin blades!
Danny: Nothing is true! Everything is permitted!
You play a match… You man the defenses… when behind you, Nishan is struck with an electric blast!
Nishan: Ahhhh! Lightning bolt! LIGHTNING BOLT!
You rush over to him and use First Aid Kit!
Danny: Don’t worry, Nishan! You can call me The Doctor! But not like the time-travelling alien. More like… an actual doctor. Of medicine and whatnot.
You bandage Nishan up, and he leaps back into the fray, saving your tower and driving the enemies back!
Another match rages on! You lie perched above a tall hill, cloaked with an invisibility spell, scouting for movement… When you see the entire enemy team sprinting through a canyon towards your towers! They’re launching an offensive!
Danny: I need to alert my team!
You use Comically Loud Kazoo! The kazoo blares at a deafening volume, rallying your team!
Sakura: Action stations, everyone!
Mia: We’re under attack!
Your team rallies together, hurling up defensive spells and laying down booby traps!
Payton: No one’s getting in here!
Later, you all take a break. Nishan soothes his hands with a warm compress, while Payton and Mia power-nap.
Danny: How’re we doing, Sakura? Do you think we’ve got a shot at winning the ClanRumble?
Sakura: Actually, yeah! We won’t know everyone’s win-loss ratio until the very end… but ours has to be one of the best!
She looks over to where Payton and Mia are snoring in each other’s arms.
Sakura: Too bad we’re not done yet. Up and at ‘em, lazy butts! We’ve got more matches to play!
Soon, the first rays of sunlight crack the horizon, and you’re still playing…
Mia: Yawwwwwwn… guys? I think it’s morning…
Nishan: Could be… yawwwwwn… a Mirage Spell… or maybe a Flare of Ever-Burning…
Payton: Nishan’s right… we should attack the sunrise… just to be safe…
Sakura: Pffft. Push through it, wimps! You should be able to play for AT LEAST 24 hours before you can’t separate fantasy from reality!
Rewards
- 1200 books
- 2597 XP
Soon enough, you’ve finished your last match.
Sakura: Okay, rookies! Marathon’s over for now! Rest up, shower, and feel free to visit your friends and loved ones!
Payton: Did we… win…?
Sakura: Some battles? Sure. But the war rages on.
Mia: War… war never changes…
Sakura: Heh. That’s the spirit. Now we need to…
Just then, there’s a pounding on the door! It’s Wes!
Sakura: What’s up, scruffball?
Wes: Big news, princess. The nerds have something important to show you.
Part 3
Danny: Someone has big news for us!
- A Level 9+ Girl Nerd Except Danny (Kimia)
Danny: What’s up, Kimia?
Kimia: It’s big! No, huger than big! No, more enormous than huge!
Nishan: An elephant fused with a hippo grafted to a redwood tree?
Kimia: No… it’s big NEWS! UntamedGame, the really popular gaming blog, has written a feature on the Phoenix Downs!
Sakura: What?! Really?
Mia: We’re Internet famous?! That’s almost as good as Real Famous!
Payton: Woot woot!
You all gather around Kimia’s laptop as the website loads… but when it does…
Payton: O… M… G…
Sakura: You have GOT to be kidding me!
Time - 8 hours
You and your friends read the article that UntamedGame has posted about your team…
Nishan: ‘Sizzling hotties tear up ClanRumble! Who wouldn’t want to rumble with them?’
Danny: What the… they’ve got all these pictures of us! How did they even get these?
Payton: I MAY have live-tweeted our practices…
Sakura: ‘Their leader is Sakura, a mysterious beauty with an exotic flavor…’
Payton: ‘Then there’s Payton, the fun-loving party girl who’s down for anything! Hit HER up if you’re looking for a good time!’
Mia: ‘And don’t forget Mia, the ice-queen cheerleader who’s got the looks and the bucks! Who’ll be the handsome prince to melt HER frozen heart?’ A handsome prince? Really? Like THAT’S what I’m waiting for?
Danny: ‘Rounding out the team are White Knights Danny and Nishan. We don’t want to judge two dudes on a girls team… we’ll leave that to you!’
Sakura: ‘Don’t worry, these videogame vixens aren’t going to win the Rumble any time soon. They’re just in it for the attention… and boy, are they getting it!;
Sakura slams the computer shut.
Kimia: I… I am so sorry… I had no idea…
Danny: It’s okay, Kimia. It’s not your fault.
Rewards
- 2597 XP
Mia: I just can’t believe it! They didn’t say a WORD about our skills or victories! It was all about our looks!
Payton: And even that was gross and sleazy!
Danny: Ugh… to think… thousands of people are reading that article… it makes my skin crawl.
Sakura: No. Don’t thin about it. Don’t let it get to you. The people who wrote this article are just sexist scumbags like the CarnageKings. They talk like this because they’re scared of us. Scared of the changing world we represent. We need to ignore the haters and stay focused on the game. Speaking of which… We’re up for another match!
Part 4
Sakura: We can’t be distracted! We need to stay focused on winning the game!
- Payton
- Mia
- Nishan
Your team starts the match… But immediately the chat stream starts to fill with harassing messages!
Payton: ‘We all know you just want attention. Don’t pretend to be gamers!’
Mia: ‘Mmm mmm, cheerleaders are so yummy…’
Sakura: ‘Pink hair, that’s sooooo hot…’
Payton: Oh my gosh… now that they know we’re girls… they’re saying the worst things!
Mia: Ewwww! I can’t believe someone could even TYPE that! It’s disgusting!
Nishan: My faith in humanity was always on the low side… but we’re bordering on super- villain origin story here…
Sakura: No! Everyone STAY FOCUSED! Ignore the chats! Eyes on the prize!
Mia: Just give me one second! I have to respond to these creeps!
Sakura: No! Mia! Don’t get distracted!
Mia: I have to say SOMETHING! Just give me a sec!
Sakura: Nooooooo!
Time - 12 hours
The match rages on, but the harassment is thick and constant! Everyone keeps gets distracted…
Mia: Ewwwwwww! No! I would NEVER do that, you sick jerk!
Payton: You tell him!
Payton pulls away… just as the rival team launches a brilliant surprise attack! Your last tower crumbles, and your team loses!
Sakura: Oh no…
You shut down your computers and step away.
Mia: Sakura, I’m so sorry, but… I just couldn’t take it! No one has ever talked to me like that, EVER! It just made me feel so gross inside…
Nishan: I don’t know what’s worse… that they called me all those names for being on a girls team, or that I let it get to me…
Payton: Do you think they’d stop if I changed my name? Maybe I could be Marco the Manly (Definitely Not a Girl)?
Sakura: No. They’ll never stop. They were bad enough when it was just me… but now that it’s all of us, they’re SO much worse…
Rewards
- 2597 XP
Danny: We can’t let them get to us, Sakura. Not when we’ve gotten so far…
Sakura: Danny’s right. We need to focus on winning. Now more than ever.
Danny: What do you mean?
Sakura: I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it… but we’ve got only one match left in the Rumble. And it’s against the CarnageKings.
Payton: No way…
Mia: You’ve got to be joking.
Nishan: Truly the most epic of all possible outcomes…
Sakura: No joke. And I am NOT about to let a bunch of sexist sleazebags derail us!
Sakura pops open her laptop and writes a comment on the UntamedGame article…
Sakura: ‘This misogynistic garbage is WAY over the line! We are serious GAMERS, not pretty little dolls for you to drool over! Want proof? Watch the last match of the ClanRumble, when we OBLITERATE the CarnageKings once and for all!’
She hits send. Within minutes, the comment has gotten 500 replies, some positive, most negative… But before Sakura can reply again, her phone beeps with a text! She reads it…
Sakura: What in the name of Ganondorf’s beard…
Danny: What is it?
Sakura: It’s a text from Zerothon, the leader of the CarnageKings! He wants to meet me… in person! I guess he actually lives nearby… close enough that we can meet face-to-face…
Payton: Don’t do that! It's a trap!
Sakura: He says he wants a truce, and I think he means it. He wants to meet at the cafe on the corner of Ting and Ricker…
Nishan: Want me to go with you? He was my former leader too…
Sakura: No. If this is a trap, the clan can’t lose its two most senior players. You need to stay here and train the others.
Danny: I’m not letting you meet him alone, Sakura. I’ll go with you and sit at a different table.
Sakura: Fine… but he’ll recognize you from the article. You better change your look.
Part 5
Sakura: Zerothon wants to meet… and you need to be incognito.
- Change Danny’s hairstyle
- Change Danny’s outfit
You and Sakura head to the cafe. You take seats at adjacent tables, and you watch her back…
Danny: Any idea who this Zerothon is?
Sakura: Not at all. In fact, I th--
Before Sakura can finish, a tall guy takes a seat at her table.
Zero: Hello, Sakura.
Sakura: Zerothon. Zero. Wow. So it was you all along?
Zero: I’m as surprised as you are. I knew we were both from this town… but it wasn’t until I saw the pictures in that article that I realized who you were. Hard to believe that the girl I built houses with is the deadliest Bearserker in the league…
Sakura: Enough with the flattery. Name your terms.
Zero: I saw your comment on the article, and I think this whole sexism thing has gotten completely out of hand. It’s a distraction and a hassle that’s swallowing up both our teams, not to mention ruining the game.
Sakura: Oh, it’s ruining the game for YOU?
Zero: Yeah. It is. My teammates aren’t focused on winning. All they talk about is ‘Sakura this’ and ‘Sakura that’. I think they spent more time stewing over your comment than they did practicing. I’m not going to play innocent, but neither can you. Some of the people on my team are guilty of being hostile, just like you’re guilty of stirring up drama. But enough is ENOUGH. I know you, Sakura. You don’t want to be some attention-seeking revolutionary, harping on about causes. You and I are both gamers. And what we want to do… all we want to do… is GAME.
Sakura: Cut to the chase, Zero.
Zero: Let’s get back to basics. I’ll keep my guys in line and stop them from making any sexist remarks. You keep your girls in line and don’t stir up this sexist nonsense anymore. We both just focus on the game… focus on playing our best… and let this all blow over. What do you say?
Rewards
- 2597 XP
Sakura: …no.
Zero: No?!
Sakura: I know you mean well, Zero. But I can’t just let this slide. I can’t let it go. If there’s one thing i’ve learned, it’s that when we don’t speak up for our beliefs, we don’t live up to them. Evil flourishes when good men… and good women… do nothing.
Zero: What is that, Spiderman? Come on, Sakura. It’s all just harmless trash-talk…
Sakura: That’s what I told myself, Zero. And for years, I let it slide. But I get now that it’s not harmless. It makes gaming a hostile place. It objectifies women. It hurts people who just want to have fun. It’s not okay, and it has to stop. If I stay quiet, then they get away with it. And the harassment? Well, it remains ‘just how people act’. If I won like that… well, I’d still be a loser.
Sakura gets up and walks out, leaving a stunned Zero at the table. You join her.
Danny: What now?
Sakura: Now we fight fire with napalm. We speak out. Loud and clear.
Part 6
Sakura: We can’t be silent. Not anymore. We just need some help…
- A Level 8+ Filmmaker (Henry)
- A Level 8+ Actor (Carlos)
- A Level 8+ DJ (Priya)
Sakura gathers together Henry, Carlos, and Priya…
Henry: What’s up, Sakura? Want us to film an awesome sizzle reel?
Carlos: An experimental short film?
Priya: An 8-bit music video?
Sakura: Actually… I want your help making a video about sexism.
Henry: …go on.
Sakura: You’ve probably heard about some of the trouble we’ve recently been having with the ClanRumble. I’ve decided I’m done sitting down and being quiet. I want to FIGHT. I’d like to make a video rebuttal to the UntamedGame article. I’d like your help filming, Henry… and your help with the scripts, Carlos… And your help with the soundtracks, Priya! What do you say?
Henry: I'm always in for politically charged commentary!
Carlos: Me too! Nothing like a bit of theatrical activism…
Priya: I can already hear the score in my head! It starts doot doot deet…
Time - 16 hours
Henry, Carlos, and Priya help set up a semi-professional film set!
Henry: Got the lights… the camera… the black-and-white stock footage to splice in…
Carlos: Remember… enunciate, articulate, and look at the camera!
Priya: The score’s ready! Remember when I said it went doot doot deet? It THEN goes beep boop doot!
You rally your team to make the video. Sakura goes first…
Sakura: Hi there. If you recognize me, it’s probably from a certain UntamedGame article.
Mia: You probably think the Phoenix Downs are just a bunch of pretty faces.
Sakura: Well, I assure you, we are SO much more than that.
Payton: We’re warriors.
Mia: Battlers.
Nishan: Gamers.
Danny: And champions.
Sakura: But to get to where we are, competing at the highest levels of eSports, we’ve had to battle harassment…
Mia: Bullying…
Payton: Discrimination…
Danny: And objectification.
Sakura: This video… is our story.
Rewards
- 2597 XP
Soon enough, the video is wrapping up…
Payton: We’re girls.
Mia: We’re gamers.
Sakura: We’re the Phoenix Downs. And all we ask for… all we demand… is the same respect as everyone.
Nishan: That’s a wrap. Thanks so much, Henry, Carlos, and Priya!
Henry: Sure thing, Nishan. Should I upload this video to YouTube?
Sakura looks to all of you. You nod, as do Payton, Mia, and Nishan.
Sakura: Yup. Do it. Let’s get this out there.
Henry uploads the video! As they do, Sakura turns to the rest of you…
Sakura: I just got the notification. Our match against the CarnageKings is about to begin.
Payton: This is it…
Mia: The battle we’ve all been waiting for…
Danny: The final showdown.
Sakura: Everyone gather around… I have one last thing to say before we go once more unto the breach.
Part 7
Sakura: Everyone gather around… our greatest battle looms on the horizon…
- Level Sakura
You all gather around Sakura. She clears her voice and speaks…
Sakura: When I first started playing Legends of ClanCraft, all I cared about was winning. I wanted to rule the ClanRumble, and nothing else really mattered. Even when we first formed this team, the only thing I wanted was to beat the CarnageKings. I still want that. I know you guys want it too. But this has become about so much more. We’re not just playing to win. We’re not just playing for fun. We’re playing to show the world that girls can be gamers… that harassment is never okay… and that you have to speak up against injustice if you ever want change! When we play today, we’re making a stand, whether we win or lose! …but we’re totally going to win.
You all cheer and applaud!
Rewards
- 20,000 coins
- 2597 XP
The time has come for the final battle. You and your teammates settle in by your computers. All around, your classmates have gathered to cheer you on…
Autumn: Go Phoenix Downs!
Julian: Crush those CarnageKings!
Wes: Take ‘em down. Don’t hold back!
Danny: Ready to go, Sakura?
Sakura: Let’s end this.
Part 8
Sakura: It’s game time!
- Sakura
- Nishan
- Payton
The match starts! As your team moves into formation, chats come in from the CarnageKings…
BromegaMan: Get ready to go DOWN, girlies! We’re going to make you cry worse than your first boyfriend!
AlphaDogg: It’s not too late to send us those bikini pics!
Sakura: Ignore the chats. Don’t even read them. Focus on the game. Mia! Status report!
From the top of her tower, Mia scouts the terrain.
Mia: It’s quiet. Very, very quiet. No movement.
Nishan: Maybe they’re holing up, fortifying their defenses…
Payton: Or maybe they’re planning a sneak attack!
Mia: What do you think, Danny? How do we play this?
Danny: Let’s defend. They’re up to something! Let’s fortify!
Payton deploys an army of defensive beavers that circle your towers, while you run around laying spike traps and Nishan sets up a laser grid…
Mia: Come on, come on… I want to attack…
Sakura: Just sit tight. We don’t want to trigger an ambush.
Mia: But…
Sakura: Hold… HOLD…
Just then, an alarm blares! One of Nishan’s alarms was tripped!
Mia: Sneak attack from the swamps!
Mia unleashes an enormous crossbow bolt into the swamps! It wings BromegaMan’s character and sends him running!
Danny: Ha! Got him!
Sakura: Good defenses, team!
Mia: I wouldn’t go patting ourselves on the back just yet…
Mia points across the battlefield. There, the CarnageKings have erected a circle of massive stone walls around their towers, patrolled by cybernetic Dobermans…
Payton: They dug in too. We’re never getting through that!
Mia: Everyone strap in. We’re in for a rough game.
Time - 20 hours
The game has raged on, the most brutal and difficult you’ve ever played. The battlefield is a charred ruin of smoking craters. Both teams have just one tower left, and are holed up defending it.
Mia: What do we do? We can’t sit here forever!
Nishan: We’re too weak to attack! They’ll crush us!
Payton: But if we sit here, we’re sitting ducks! Adorable, defenseless, sitting ducks!
Just then a message comes in through the chat…
BromegaMan: What’s going on, LADIES? Are you scaaaaaaaared? Are you crying on each other’s shoulders and eating pints of ice cream?
Sakura: Don’t rise to the bait…
AlphaDogg: Too bad this game isn’t about making sandwiches… because then you’d actually have a chance!
Danny: Don’t respond…
BromegaMan: You know, in the good ol’ days, women were the spoils of war. Maybe when this match is over, you can come over to my house and let me claim my prize…
Zerothon: THAT’S ENOUGH!
You all freeze, staring at the stream…
AlphaDogg: What?
Zerothon: I said, THAT’S ENOUGH! I am SICK AND TIRED of your misogynistic crap! It was bad enough before, but I tolerated it because you two were the best. But no more! NO MORE! I have sat and bit my tongue for too long. TOO LONG. If either of you says another sexist word, I am shutting this clan down!
Rewards
- 21,000 coins
- 2597 XP
Danny: Huh… Zero changed his mind after all…
Sakura: Yeah, he did… but the game’s not over! We need to strike now!
Part 9
Sakura: Danny! This is our moment! Go for the win!
- Danny
Nishan: Guys… I have an idea. One big play. We go for all the marbles. We roll the hard six. We do appropriate sports metaphor.
Sakura: What are you thinking?
Nishan: By my estimate, we have maybe ten seconds left while they’re distracted. I think we need to do a Republic City Hustle.
Sakura: It’s crazy… but it just might work! Let’s do it!
Nishan: You’re on point, Danny. Make us proud.
You rush forward, bursting out of the tower… and as you do, all your teammates cast blessings on you!
Payton: Watery Shield of the Dolphin!
Mia: Rain of Holy Fire!
Nishan: The Healing Gusts of Air!
Sakura: Fury of Rumbling Earth!
Enveloped in elemental shields, you hurtle yourselves towards the final tower! The CarnageKings attack, surprised, but your shields are strong enough to deflect their blasts!
Danny: I am the Avatar, master of all elements!
You burst through their tower’s wall and unleash a massive explosion of energy! It destroys it from within!
BromegaMan: AAAAAGH! IT CAN’T BE! IT’S IMPOSSIBLE!
AlphaDogg: Noooooooooooooo!
Zerothon: …good game.
The war-horn sounds the ballad of triumph! You win!
Danny: We did it! WE DID IT!
Payton: Yesssssssssss!
Nishan: We. Are Invincible!
Sakura: We did good. Real good. But we haven’t won the ClanRumble yet. They’re adding up the wins and losses now… we just have to wait for the results!
Time - 21 hours
A trumpet blasts from your computers! The results of the ClanRumble are up!
Payton: OMG! OMG! I can’t look! Someone look for me!
Sakura: According to the final tally, we got… 7th place. Right above the CarnageKings, who got 8th.
Payton: Oh. Well. That’s good, right? 7th out of 100?
Mia: Yeah, that’s still really solid… especially since we just got together a week ago…
Nishan: Last year, we didn’t place at all! 7th is huge!
Sakura: Yeah, it’s… it’s great. Really awesome. Sure.
Rewards
- 23,000 coins
- 2597 XP
You all look at each other. It’s clear Sakura’s disappointed.
Danny: Sakura, look… I know you wanted 1st place, but I think the more important thing is th--
Nishan: Uh, Danny? Not to cut you off… but there’s some news you probably ought to see.
Part 10
Danny: There’s more big news… I’m a little nervous…
- A Level 9+ Nerd Girl Except Danny (Kimia)
Kimia: I’ve got news, you guys. Really big news!
Danny: What’s up, Kimia?
Payton: Tell me it’s not ANOTHER article on a gaming site… I can’t deal with more gross comments from random creepers!
Kimia: Oh, it’s another article… but you’re going to want to read this one!
Sakura: This… this is on PixelMixer! That’s the biggest gaming site out there!
Mia: What does it say? WHAT DOES IT SAY?
Time - 23 hours
Sakura reads the article out loud, as you all gather around her…
Sakura: ‘The Real Game-Changer: How One Clan Is Standing Up For What’s Right’!
Kimia: The reporter saw the video you posted… and she knew it was a great story!
Sakura: This is all about the challenges we faced and overcame…
Payton: And all the awesome things we accomplished!
Mia: And look at that. Not one word about how we look or who we should date!
Nishan: It’s a call to arms for change! I love calls to arms!
Sakura: This… this is amazing.
Danny: And there’s more! Look in the comments!
Kimia: Girl gamers from all over the world are backing you! They’re saying you’re helping to make gaming a safer place…
Sakura: I can’t believe it… the leader of the clan that won the Rumble just revealed she’s a girl! She felt she had to hide her identity this whole time!
Payton: We! Made! A! Difference!
Sakura turns to you, her eyes just barely glistening.
Sakura: I know I was upset about not getting 1st in the ClanRumble… but I don’t care about that anymore. What we did… what we changed… that’s the biggest victory of all.
Danny: Yes it was.
Sakura: Phoenix Downs forever!
Rewards
- 25,000 coins
- 3195 XP
Rewards
- 10 rings
Danny: So how should we celebrate our victory?
Payton: Dance party!
Danny: What does that have to do with social change?
Payton: …they’re both good?
Danny: Heh… fair enough!
As you all party, Mia gets an email on her phone. Her eyes light up with excitement!
Danny: What’s going on, Mia?
Mia: Well, not to steal the spotlight… but that wasn’t the ONLY good news we received today! Remember when the cheerleading team won the chance to perform at a professional sporting event? Well, they just emailed me about it! We’re going to San Diego!
Payton: O… M… G!
How’s the cheer trip going to go? Will any drama go down? Find out in our next episode!
Previous Quest: Building the Clan