coolclaytony-2

[coolclaytony-2]

One of my in-progress homebrew's for Princess: The Hopeful makes Santa all these things, plus also a magical girl.

Some of my favourite pieces of Christmas media are the ones that are straight up Evangelical propaganda, but they don't want to appear as such, so they copy and paste Santa Claus into Jesus' place. Like, I appreciate the hustle, my dudes, but I cannot begin to explain how many heresies you just promulgated.

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Cephalonoid

Image © Terryl Whitlatch, accessed at CG Channel here

[Sponsored by Soluman Blevins, based on art that Terryl Whitlatch did for her book Principles of Creature Design. At one point in development, I intended for this to be one of the illithidae, but found myself getting more and more sympathetic to it, so changed the alignment away from evil. Thus, they became the rarest of monsters; an octopus creature whose behavior is actually based on that of an octopus.]

Cephalonoid CR 12 N Aberration This creature looks like a hybrid of an octopus and a carnivorous dinosaur. Its head is like that of an octopus, except that its beak is on a long stalk, emerging visibly from the nest of tentacles growing from its face. It walks on all fours, but it can rise on its hind legs like a gorilla. Its fingers and toes are jointless and tentacle-like, and a row of suckers runs down its back and along the upper surface of its tail. A coiling shell grows from the crown of its head, with an inflatable pouch beneath it.

Cephalonoids are strange sapient predators that resemble a hybrid of mollusk and vertebrate. They are amphibious, hunting either above or below the waves and then hiding underwater in order to sleep. Cephalonoids are curious and voracious creatures, and spend much of their lives either hunting or playing. These two activities are perhaps synonymous, as cephalonoids seem to enjoy playing with their food.

A cephalonoid’s primary strategy is to grapple prey and crush it while it struggles to escape. Their beaks are more extensible than those of true cephalopods, but still possess a shorter reach than its many grasping limbs. Creatures bitten by a cephalonoid are injected with a numbing venom, all the better to cut their struggle short and make them easier to constrict. A cephalonoid can spray toxic ink, which can form a concealing and enervating cloud both above and below water. They are highly resistant to mind-influencing magic, which has led some scholars to suspect that they have a link to aboleths, illithids, or one of any number of tentacle horrors with mental powers. Cephalonoids show these creatures no love, and may in fact prey preferentially on them if their ranges overlap.

Unlike the octopus they resemble, cephalonoids are long-lived creatures, with lifespans that can extend up to fifty years. They are territorial amongst their own kind and do not tolerate intrusion, except during mating season or in the guarding of eggs. Female cephalonoids lay their eggs in colonies called gardens, where they watch over them, fasting for months until they hatch. The young are then left to fend for themselves, and may be mistaken for mundane octopus for a few years before their skeleton grows in and they begin to move about on land. Cephalonoids do not understand concepts like domestication or private property, and may come into conflict with humanoids above or below the waves for raiding livestock.

Cephalonoid CR 12 XP 19,200 N Gargantuan aberration (aquatic, amphibious) Init +8; Senses blindsight 30 ft.,darkvision 60 ft., Perception +17

Defense AC 24, touch 10, flat-footed 20 (-4 size, +4 Dex, +14 natural) hp 171 (18d8+90) Fort +11, Ref +12, Will +14; +4 vs. mind-influencing effects DR 10/magic and [slashing or piercing]; Immune poison; SR 23 Defensive Abilities decentralized brain

Offense Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft. Melee bite +18 (2d4+9 plus poison), 2 slams +18 (2d6+9 plus grab), tentacles +18 (4d8+9 plus grab), tail slap +16 (1d12+4 plus grab) Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft. (10 ft. with bite) Special Attacks constrict (4d8+15), ink cloud, master grappler

Statistics Str 30, Dex 19, Con 21, Int 7, Wis 16, Cha 12 Base Atk +13; CMB +27 (+35 grappling); CMD 46 Feats Bleeding Critical,Critical Focus,Defensive Combat Training, Diehard, Endurance, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack (B), Power Attack Skills Climb +20, Escape Artist +24, Perception +17, Stealth +15, Swim +28; Racial Modifiers +10 Escape Artist, +4 Perception, +8 Stealth Languages Aquan

Ecology Environment any ocean or coast Organization solitary, pair or garden (3-8) Treasure incidental

Special Abilities Decentralized Brain (Ex) A cephalonoid’s intelligence is distributed through its entire body. This grants it a +4 racial bonus on all saving throws against mind-influencing effects. Ink Cloud (Su) As a standard action, a cephalonoid can create a cloud of ink in a 30 foot radius, either above or below water. This ink impedes vision as a fog cloud spell, and creatures in the area must succeed a DC 24 Fortitude save or be sickened and staggered for as long as they remain in the cloud and for 1d4 rounds thereafter. A cephalonoid can make an ink cloud once per minute. This is a poison effect, and the save DC is Constitution based. Master Grappler (Ex) A cephalonoid gains a +8 racial bonus to CMB checks made to grapple; this replaces the usual +4 for creatures with the grab special attack. A cephalonoid does not take a penalty to grappling without having two free hands, and can grapple up to four creatures smaller than itself at the same time. Poison (Ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 24; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d4+1 Str; cure 2 saves. Tentacles (Ex) The oral tentacles of a cephalonoid are treated as a single primary natural weapon.

[coolclaytony-2]

World Of Darkness Vice/Virtue Combos

Virtue: Heroic (Nelson thrives in environments of danger and conflict and immediately leaps to oppose them, to protect his and the helpless and move to becalm the situation.) Vice: Belligerent (Nelson thrives in environments of tension and conflict and will create them when none present themselves, picking fights and throwing his weight around, becoming the villain if he can't be the hero)

Virtue: Protective (Harriet believes in protecting those weaker than herself and hates bullies who pick on people they're stronger than.) Vice: Condescending (Harriet looks down on people who are weaker than her and only seems to have respect for strength.)

Virtue: Anarchic (Luke never lets laws and norms stop him from helping people in need or doing what's right.) Vice: Lawless (Luke treats laws and norms like suggestions and blithely ignores them when they suit his needs.)

Virtue: Charity (Sarah always has time for others, energy for others, resources for others, to help those who are in need.) Vice: Desolate (Sarah has no time for herself, no energy for herself, nothing left to give herself and she will reject all attempts to help her.)

(I have PtH characters particularly in mind for this)

When I have more ideas, I'll just write more posts.

[coolclaytony-2]

Princess: The Hopeful is a fan-made expansion for the Chronicles of Darkness series roleplaying games, in which players are put into the role of magical girls. It explores the themes of heroism in a world where evil is already winning, the cruel call of responsibility, and the burdens of power. There exists three versions of the game.

The first two, Dream and Vocation, are both designed to work with the Chronicles of Darkness 2nd edition system. These games are virtually the same in spirit but have slightly different mechanics to address different aspects of the game's themes that the devs wanted to emphasize. Notably, the Vocation version offers rules for building communities and new societies.

The third, Crystal version, was recently released and is designed to function with the Chronicles of Darkness 1st edition.

have you ever heard of Princess the hopeful?

never heard of it but from a quick internet search it seems like some sort of roleplaying game? Can’t tell if that’s the one your talking about tho

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Princess: the Hopeful, Crystal Edition, is DONE!

All that remains is formatting and layout and editing! The game is complete and playable top to bottom! You know the premise, don't you? Corruption. There's a force of evil corrupting everyone, poisoning their minds, spreading like an infection. Turning people against their friends, against themselves, until all they do is spread the evil. The enemy is everywhere. The enemy infects everyone. And its name is "fear."

Fear controls the world. Fear twists and imprisons us, turns us on each other and against ourselves. Fear hollows you out and turns you into a vessel to spread more fear, demanding more and more of yourself, demanding you spread it to others just to alleviate the pain on yourself.

We've lived under the tyranny of fear for so long we don't realize it any more. But now, we have the chance to be free. You're that chance.

Welcome to the War for Hope. Become a magical girl in the Chronicles of Darkness and fight the forces of Fear Itself! Express who you are in every action, put your lives and ideals on the line, and face glorious triumph or ruinous, soul-crushing defeat! Cast dynamic Charms made of multiple modular Upgrades to create your very own anime word salad spell names! Face Nightscapes crafted from fear and trauma to resolve and free the people who imprison themselves inside! The fate of the world is on your shoulders -- no matter if you're ready for it or not.

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With all the ink that's been spilled over whether or not calling a lich's soul receptacle, a "phylactery" is appropriate, I think that sentiment does hold true for the Nobility in Princess: The Hopeful. Which is why I propse we rechristen the princess' phylactery an "Insignia".

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Oh by the way. You know what's a thought i've been ruminating on all day? I think the Persona games could serve as a good model to base a "Princess: The Hopeful" videogame off of.

Particularly the emphasis on time management and making developing one's social relationships a critical aspect of gameplay.

Of course, this would mean having to drop most overt references to the World of Darkness. But that can be acceptable, especially since P:TH's story holds pretty well on its own.

I think the social links could be especially emphasized with certain story missions having parts that are made easier by having specific links up to a minimum level.

And perhapse tying them even more to character progression for party members.

Ooh. And maybe each social link can also have links other characters who the PC can facilitate bonding with for extra bonuses!

That's not even getting into how I envision their being multiple branching paths for the main story influenced by which Radiant Kingdom the PC pledges themselves to.

And perhaps unlike Persona, failing a main story mission doesn't result in an automatic game over but does result in a progressively sadder ending with each failure. You get lots of party members because they can all die if you're not careful.

And each death has consequences.

Though perhaps for a quality of life fix, character death is only possible during boss fights.

You know what the thing with failing missions not resulting in a gameover might not actually make sense.

Or at least, not unless you add more conditions to success than "defeat the dungeon boss before the designated date".

Then of course, there's the question of wether or not the Sensitivity and Belief mechanics should carry over to this hypothetical game.

In any case, they would have to be altered to function in this new format

Especially since the Integrity mechanic for mortal NPCs would have to be cut for narrative flexibility.

Some highlights from a conversation I had from a friend, @dailycharacteroption.

[coolclaytony-2]

Malicious Mugger

Normally, the common mugger is often some desperate soul who needs money fast; to feed themselves and their families or to keep a roof over their head, and is willing to threaten people to get it. A Malicious Mugger has no such excuses. They are almost always bullies and cowards who enjoy antagonizing people they percieve as weaker and taking their valuables, and if their victims don't submit to Intimidation or have no money to surrender, the act of murder is it's own reward.

Type: Darkened

Attributes: Dexterity 3, Stamina 1, Strength 4, Composure 2, Manipulation 2, Presence 2, Intelligence 2, Resolve 2, Wits 3

Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl (grappling) 1, Drive 1, Firearms 2, Larceny (theft) 1, Stealth (moving quietly) 2, Survival 1, Weaponry 2, Intimidation 2, Streetwise 3, Subterfuge 2, Academics 1, Crafts 1, Medicine 1, Occult 1

Derived Traits: Health 6, Willpower 4, Size 5, Speed 12, Initiative 5, Defense 4

Integrity: 4 (murder)

Vice: Cowardice and Cruelty. Malicious Muggers are motivated almost entirely by self preservation and a sadistic desire to steal from the weak.

Virtue: Efficient. A Mugger won't waste his time on extravagant plans nor take unnecessary risks.

Merits: Common Sense, Patient, Vice-Ridden, Fleet of Foot 1

Umbrae: Faceless in the Crowd, Thieves Touch

Caligines: Shadowblade

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Tremaine

Some agents of The Outer Darkness are so unspeakably cruel as to direct their malice onto those they should love the most. Despite what their common epithet may imply, tremaines do not always manifest from abusive parents, though that is indeed the most common context in which Nobles encounter them. Compared to other sorts of Darkened, a tremaine can persist as she does for decades before transitioning into a mnenosyne or darkspawn, though the former is a far more common fate, as tremaines rarely fight against the Darkness' influence, seeing it's corruption as a liberating force to elevate themselves above others. Perhaps more than any other sort of Darkened, many among the Nobility consider these individuals to be little better than their fully monsterous kin and feel little regret for killing them where they stand

Type: Darkened

Attributes: Composure 3, Manipulation 4, Presence 2, Intelligence 3, Resolve 3, Wits 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2, Strength 1

Skills: Empathy 1 (lies), Intimidation 3 (veiled threats), Persuasion 3, Socialize 2, Subterfuge 5 (gaslighting), Academics 1, Computer 1, Investigation 1, Medicine 1, Occult 1, Politics 1, Science 1, Drive 1, Firearms 1, Larceny 2, Stealth 1

Derived Traits: Health 7, Willpower 5, Size 5, Speed 9, Initiative 6, Defense 2

Integrity: 5 (abuse, lies)

Vice: Cruelty — A tremaine has many flaws in their character that might serve as a suitable vice, but the most common of these is a persistent need to make other's hurt for their own benefit.

Virtue: N/a — Tremaines are infamously lacking in any pretense of virtuosity, try as they might to hide it.

Merits: Common Sense, Eidetic Memory, Fast-Talking 2, Resources 2, Pusher, Untouchable

Caligines: Bad Seed, Liar's Heart, Serpent's Tongue

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Crooked Cop

It is of little surprise to many that police officers are uniquely vulnerable to dark taint. They often blindly walk into tainted places with the intention of committing sin upon the innocent and malicious alike, with their government's approval of course. To say nothing of the cops who regularly commit full-fledged felonies and leverage their authority or that of their superiors to sweep their transgressions under the rug. But while mundane cops can be exceptionally awful people, a darkened cop is a different breed all together. Indeed, nearly every police force in the world has at least one clique of Crooked Cops who are banded together by a mission to indulge their most despicable desires with the iron fist of the law on their side. Crooked Cops are instinctually driven to abuse their authority in ways that will undermine the ability of untainted officers to make legitimate arrests against other darkened and to interfere in investigations that would expose Darkspawn and cult activity. Of course, like any organized effort by agents of the Outer Darkness, ultimately any group of Crooked Cops will fall apart over time if a Mnemosyne or Cataphract does not eventually take charge.

Type: Darkened

Attributes: Composure 2, Manipulation 2, Presence 3, Intelligence 2, Resolve 2, Wits 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2, Strength 3

Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Drive 2, Firearms 2 (Handguns), Larceny 1, Stealth 1, Weaponry 1, Animal Ken 1, Persuasion 1, Socialize 1, Streetwise 2 (Gangs), Subterfuge 2, Computer 1, Investigation 1, Occult 1, Politics 1 (Laws)

Derived Traits: Health 7, Willpower 4, Size 5, Speed 14, Initiative 5, Defense 4

Equipment: Kevlar Armor, Lt. Pistol, Sap

Integrity: 4 (Assault)

Vice: Wrath — A Crooked Cop often joins the force because he wants the legal freedom to inflict violence on acceptable targets.

Virtue: Loyalty — Crooked Cops barely respect the law, much less any pretenses of morality. But their twisted loyalty to eachother and the police institution is often absolute.

Merits: Danger Sense, Fleet of Foot 3, Small Unit Tactics

Umbrae: Cruel Confidence, Grip Onto Your Fear, Taste of Sin

Caligines: I Have You Now My Pretty, Liar's Heart, Shadowbolt 1, Zombie's Flesh 1

—————

Been a while since I've posted on this blog.

Edit: I had just discovered that the number of integrity triggers that get ignored by Darkened determine how close they are to becoming a Mnemosyne relative. This required me to either increase the Crooked Cop's resolve or increase it's Integrity at the cost of how many acts of evil it can get away with doing. I settled for the latter.

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In a certain game I love, technically yes!

If I ever made a webcomic

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Does anyone know what "Blazing" and "Responsible" mean here? I assume they're early development names for Fouco and Terra, respectively, that got overlooked when the text was being edited.

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Hmmm. There's potential here!

While we're at the subject of re-interpreting ancient greek myths, has anyone made one of Pandora's box, where all the ailments and evils in the world were already in the world while sealed in the box, and all that was really sealed away was peoples' awareness of them, and the ability to see what causes the harm that they already do?

So by opening the box she was told to never open, poor Pandora didn't release the evil into the world, but only made the unseen into something that could be seen? From an outsider's perspective, the outcome looks just the same - the box was opened and now everything's awful. But the last thing to come out of the box was hope. Now that we know what the evils are, where they are and what they do and have done, there is hope of doing something about them.

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Hey, if you guys had to pick two emotions to sum up the "Addams Family" mentality, which would you choose? Particularly obscure emotions are welcome and encouraged.

@jimothy-g-brooks @erbe-des-chaos @zadokengel @eggchjf @glare-quietly @revolupine @nescio7 @hypnooperapursesuitcase @krystinyas @amethystmonarch @cheyj05 @insidetheskinofthesun

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Request: The end state of a Deluded Vigilante that gives in to becoming a monster that preys upon the "guilty".

Bigger Request: Read my CoD homebrews and see if that gives you any inspiration for evil critters.

Punitor

When people try to court the powers of The Outer Darkness to enact justice, they play a dangerous game. Common such individuals are Darkened known as Deluded Vigilantes, people who want to answer the calling of a superhero, but turned to sinister powers to achieve it. Sadly, but predictably, the Darkness usually wins over such misbegotten heroes, and a grim Darkspawn rises in their place.

Punitores are musclebound ogres driven by a single-minded need to inflict harm on people for some manner of "crime." The specific nature of the sort of crimes a Punitor avenges varies from individual, but it usually ammounts to any act that aligns to a specific virtue that, in life, the Punitor merely perceived as foolish, that had since been elevated in their minds to a basal moral failing by the Darkness as they lost grip of their humanity. A Punitor, who loathes kindness, might see a person give a homeless man spare change and interpret it as enabling drug addiction or a patronizing act of infantilization. Regardless of the perceived offense, a Punitor's best and only punishment is a brutal death.

Hypocritically, Punitores are incapable of interpreting the actions of other dark beings as criminal, perceiving Darkened and other Darkspawn as allies of justice and seeing Mnemosynes and Cataphractoi as wise leadership who will point their guns in the direction of true evil.

Type: Darkspawn

Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 2, Resolve 4, Strength 5, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2, Presence 3, Manipulation 0, Composure 2

Skills: Crafts 1, Investigation 2, Athletics 3, Brawl 3, Drive 2, Firearms 3, Stealth 2, Intimidation 3, Persuasion 1, Streetwise 2

Derived Traits: Health 8, Willpower 6, Size 6, Speed 13, Initiative 5, Defense 5

Vice: Cruel & Arrogant — A Punitor is ever eager to inflict pain on the guilty with self-righteous zeal.

Virtue: Righteous — Though they completely fail to recognize legitimate justice, Punitores still have a twisted sense of ethics.

Merits: Iron Stamina 2, Street Fighting 3, Unarmed Defense 1, Vice-Ridden 1

Umbrae: Cold Flesh, Dark Dreams (blindness), Faceless in the Crowd, Scuttling Spider's Sense, Taste of Sin

Calignes: Grotesque Bulk 1, Voidbolt 3

[coolclaytony-2]

Have you taken a look at Crystal Edition of Princess: the Hopeful?

Should I? I'm not sure what the Crystal version has to offer that that Dream or Vocation can't.