#*almost every d&d character has been a barbarian*

[hermitdrabbles56]

....I just automatically associate Twilight with the barbarian D&D class and that's a huge part of why I tend to write him the way I do.

Minimal armor

Good with heavy weapons but also ranged ones and blades

High strength

Animal bonds/connections

And can very easily be written as misunderstood/mistaken for dangerous when he's just a fucking dumbass

[gunpowderraven]

critical role: by someone that hasn’t seen any of it

hi so we recently got into dimension 20 and our friends have been tugging us towards critical role for a very long time at this point but we still haven’t watched any of it nor do we know all that much about anything that actually happens in it. however we do intend to actually start watching soon so we decided it was the perfect opportunity to make one of those ‘all the things i know about this thing i haven’t watched’ posts, show it to our critrole friends, and then actually get into critrole and be able to look back and laugh about it later

also the images are all sourced via friend so this is all one hundred percent no wiki no google knowledge, just from tumblr and discord convos and stuff. and some cast compilation videos that were very funny

update: we are now watching cr3! liveblog tag for silly lb -> #cr3 lb

vox machina

from left to right:

- i have literally no idea who the two halflings are. i’ve never seen them before in my life. what. uh. paladin and bard? im literally just guessing. who plays these characters. what

- grog? grug? this is travis’ pc maybe. also hypothesizing hes a half-orc barbarian or something similar? ive seen like one clip of him

- percival frederick von something something de rolo i think there’s a iii in his name as well, his name is long and very german but he does not have a german accent. or a french one. at separate times i have thought this character was german and french and then i heard him talk and was like. What. anyway i know he’s taliesin’s pc and he invented guns and is also possessed sometimes by big bird demon, and he has a nifty plague doctor mask. also tragic backstory. his entire family is dead i think. no mercy percy! he has a thing with vex? also his hair did a wilbur. the gay people on tumblr love this twink. i also think i love this twink

- vax’ildan! i think i may have actually spelled that right! half-elf? vex is his twin? and he’s... liam’s pc i think. yeah that’s it. he gives me angsty boy energy tho. not as much as percy but this boy has seen some shit. also he might be a rogue or a ranger who even knows. he looks like gay jon snow

- vex’ahlia which i definitely didn’t spell right. i think the next one is marisha’s pc so this one is... uh... laura? i think she’s the ranger actually. i think she has a bear. not like a gay bear like an actual animal bear. though it could be gay too i dunno. she has a think with percy. or everyone wants her to have a thing with percy. i genuinely can’t tell. anyway get that traumatized twink girl

- keyleth... marisha’s pc. some kind of spellcaster? maybe sorcerer? wild magic? she Also has a thing with percy maybe. or vex. or both. who even knows. everyone wants that twink. one time she threw herself off a cliff and turned into a goldfish and almost died and it was hilarious

anything else i know about this:

- there are evil bitches called the briarwoods and they might be vampires

- this is the one that got a tv show and might have also been the first critrole campaign idek

- d. ragons? chromia something. dragons. i hope i haven’t been lied to about the dragons. i hope there are actually dragons in this. there’s like a chromium something with dragon symbols tho

mighty nein

from left to right:

- mollymauk! ...tealeaf? another taliesin pc. the trans people like this one. i don’t know what their pronouns are. but theyre slaying every time i see them at any time. no idea what class but maybe a spellcaster?

- ...beau? i know her exclusively through lesbian ship art so i know her name is beau something bc that’s the ship names but i don’t know if that’s short for something. monk? no clue. also no clue who plays her either. maybe marisha?

- i have seen this character but i do not know their name. or anything else about them

- oh this is the sad wizard boy caleb widogast. he’s gay for essek thelyss (or something. i didnt spell that right) who is a npc i think. yeah. sad wizard. every time i see him he’s just being a wizard and sad. the gays love him too but he’s more of a distraught otter than a sad twink. maybe he and percy should start a club tho. also i think he’s played by liam

- i KNOW this character’s name i think it starts with s but i can’t remember for the life of me. scriv? scrat? no thats the rat from ice age. possibly a menace? i think im getting them mixed up with someone else. they look cool as hell though

- jester!! laura pc i think perhaps. i want to get drunk with her and tell her about all of my problems. yeah. i dont know anything about her actually. beaujester exists tho i know that

- YASHA. CRUSH ME HOLY FUCK. sorry im normal ? her voice makes me a little crazy insane. ive seen a few clips of her. mostly gay shit with beau. uh she’s played by ashley and she could kick my ass very easily

oh my god there’s another photo

- i think there’s only one character different here and it’s caduceus clay fun fact i hated this mfer for really dumb shitty personal reasons for a while before deciding it was very stupid to blame a fictional character for interpersonal drama and now im fine with him. wait does mollymauk die or something. wait a second. no, wait, fuck—

- ALSO WHO’S THAT FUCKER IN THE BACKGROUND I JUST NOTICED THAT

anything else i know about this:

- yeah i got nothing. no idea about the lore or the plot or anything bc i pretty much exclusively see gay ship art of these pcs. love wins i support it

bells hells

from left to right, one more time:

- look my brain is just saying gertrude from dungeons & drag queens but obviously that’s incorrect. so i don’t know who this is

- or this! but she looks very pretty and i love the little... monkey... bird? pls tell me these two characters have some kind of wild opposites dynamic they look like they do

- LITTLE ROBOT GUY . fcg? fgc? i think it was the first one. uh. liam pc? ?????? i think he gets bitches

- orym...? i know one of these characters is named orym. and i think it’s this one. i also see gay fanart of him

- i don’t know who the guy underneath him is

- or the lady with the purple hair god i really don’t know shit about this campaign sorry

- ashton greymoore, taliesin pc, my friend luna loves this guy, he’s. rocks? he’s rocks. groovy.

- someone in this campaign is named like dorian or something and im guessing its this one bc idk who they are either

anything else i know about this:

- flying.......... ship?

- this is the ongoing one i think

thank you for coming to my ted talk, i can’t wait to look back at this in a few months and laugh my ass off. hope u enjoyed this mess

[dailycharacteroption]

Roleplaying Races 16: Finale

So… that’s it. No more officially published ancestries for First Edition Pathfinder for me to examine. It’s kinda weird seeing it come to an end, we’ve been doing this so long that the title of the special even uses the older term that was replaced by “Ancestry” when Second Edition rolled around. I figured I shouldn’t change it for recognizability sake, but tried to use the modern terminology as much as possible in the body of these entries and others (or species in the Starfinder equivalent).

The term “ancestry” feels a little… inadequate to describe what they entail, but I understand that it’s a loaded word that not everyone is cool with, so it was a good change.

Moving past that little tangent though, the idea of playing various non-human ancestries goes all the way back to the First Edition of the World’s Oldest Roleplaying game, which isn’t surprising. D&D was, after all, heavily influenced by the works of Tolkien and other fantasy authors, so having non-human beings be a major part of the plot and bringing their differences in both biology and culture to the adventure only made sense.

However, D&D 1E also brought with it a lot of Gygax’s other inspirations and beliefs into it, particularly his bioessentialism, with such things as limiting certain classes to certain ancestries, as well many “enemy” ancestries like orcs and goblins being “inherently evil”.

Now, obviously things loosened up over the years and changing of editions, with classes opening up to any with the aptitude, but the damage had been done with the culture those early years had created. Newer players have no idea of the backlash that allowing half-orcs to be playable characters had in certain areas of the hobby, and even with classes open to everyone, the ancestral ability bonuses and many of the traits of each species continued to feed into the mindset that certain ancestries were only good for certain jobs, and that those that defied that expectation either straight up didn’t exist or were strange deviants. A real planet of the hats situation where almost every half-orc was a barbarian, elves were either wizards or rangers, dwarves were either fighters of clerics, and so on.

But… Times change, franchises change hands and new people whose voices were overshadowed before get creative control. D&D wasn’t just a game for white male nerds who wielded memorized Star Wars trivia the way stereotypical jocks do their win/loss record. No, It was a game for all sorts of people who wanted a form of escapism. Women, PoC, Queer folks too, even if they had to put up with some real shit from the rest of the fandom sometimes. And slowly as society and the game changed, they brought their perspectives. It’s been slow-going, but progress has been good, not just in D&D, but other RPGs and Pathfinder as well.

So we don’t call them races anymore, and both editions of Pathfinder, but especially 2E do their best to make ancestral traits and feats a celebration of their physiology and culture rather than a way to pigeonhole them into certain roles. Orcs and goblins have gone from being inherently evil monsters to cultures very different from the human… well I hesitate to say standard… which sometimes brings them into conflict with other cultures, with specific individuals and gods being the cause of evil antagonistic groups first and foremost.

Culture is constantly evolving, and with it, the fiction and games that hold a mirror to it, and despite many oppositional forces, right now it’s on track to keep changing for the better. We’ve come a long way from a thousand and one Frodo, Gimli, and Legolas clones, and while terms may change, I’m still so very delighted to be able to play a game where playing a non-human entity is a possibility and a chance to explore what that means rather than stick to a stereotype. But then maybe that’s just the therian in me.

In any case, I’ve paraphrased a lot of TTRPG history and how it relates to ancestries and similar playable options across systems and the people who play the games, and I hope it made even a little sense. More than that, I hope you’ll continue to join me in the stories that we craft together with these characters.

[carionto]

Multi-people-ing

So Humans are pretty good at disassociating and viewing things from other perspectives, imagining we're someone else, playing pretend, at least some of us. A fairly high level cognitive ability, right?

How about then - Aliens are astonished by a Human D&D session:

DM: " 'What foul trickery is this? These wares cannot possibly be from the High Mountains!' The merchant shouts at the baubles Artificer forged during last session that Rogue had swapped from Fighter's pouch, your passive perception failed to notice this. What do you do?"

Fighter: "First, OOC, Rogue - fuck you. (Rogue and Artificer are stifling laughs) IC I guess I roll to Bluff, cuz this merchant's been a dick anyway and I need money for that +3."

[clickity clackity the dice gods say ok]

DM: "With your battle hardened appearance and having delivered genuine goods in the past, the merchant does appear skeptical of his own judgement for a moment. 'Well, I suppose that mountain range is quite vast. Where exactly did you procure them from? I have heard from other associates about a few smiths in the area that only rarely offer their services to outsiders.' He says while taking out a magnifying lens from his pocket to further examine the ornament. What do you say?"

Fighter: "Uhh, fuck it. I go: 'Indeed. It was quite an unexpected encounter. The dwarven smith had stumbled out from the local tavern and asked us to help him get home. After a while of him getting the directions wrong, he pointed to a cave and excitedly ran towards it, throwing these things at us as, I assume, a sort of thank you gift? It was rather bizarre, but we had other matters to attend to at the time, so we left it at that and moved on.'"

[The rest of the party is quite impressed at the sudden story, with Cleric chiming in "I'd believe it if I hadn't been there."]

DM: (with a sudden shit eating grin) "As you tell this tale, the merchant's gaze begins to grow more and more suspicious. When you finish, he stands up and accuses you of lying: 'That is utter nonsense. Mountain Dwarves are greedy bastards who never part with their valuables even when their life depends on it. Second, you've never met a Mountain Dwarf at all or you would know from experience, like I have, that no amount of booze gets them drunk AND away from drinking. Those freaks only ever sleep at their taverns, and only from getting black-out drunk, not to mention they hate natural caves and would not leave one alone. And third, the crystals in these baubles are plainly quartz mixed with some colorant I admittedly have not seen before, but your blatant lies have made it clear. GUARDS! Escort this scum from my premises!' He shouts and four burly Half-orc guards approach from the sides."

Barbarian: "I rage and punch the closest one."

The party: "Ugh, c'mon dude, not again."

DM: "Does anyone actually try to stop him?" Barbarian without pause adds: "I dare you."

The party: "... The merchant has been a dick every time." "Plus we're level 9 and I haven't used my newest magic item yet." "Guys, this is a bad idea, we're in the middle of town!" "Sorry, but it's been almost all RP for the last two sessions, I wanna roll some dice!" "Okay, fine, we roll initiative."

(okay, I got distracted by the scenario I randomly came up with and forgot my initial plan, but you get the idea: DM can switch from neutral and descriptive and maybe a bit playful, to rude and snide, to angry, to a variety of other character archetypes and emotions at will, especially a good improviser or like a theater kid and even doing different voices and noticeably changing their physical mannerisms etc. It's amazing to other people when it's done well, so it could be mind blowing to a species whose mental capacity is less suited for that sort of thing.)

[hauntinq-6]

So... last night my very first run of BG3 finally came to an end, and... I gotta say I am pretty emotional.

Summer (my Tav) has been with me for six years. I first created her for my first ever D&D campaign back when I was still in high school and I still had the possibility to play. Hers was the only campaign I got to see from start to finish, so she is very dear to my heart.

Many things happened in these six years. I graduated from high school, I played other campaigns that never got to have an ending (don't date your DMs, kids-), I got broken up with my boyfriend, I got into uni, I lost family members, I've had some of my highest highs and lowest lows, I got my first degree in Psychology... And all throughout these years I kept creating characters, I kept addind and removing and modifying and writing and drawing and it was all so much fun!

But I kept missing Summer. I can't quite explain what attracts me so much to her character. If it's the fact I was in a happy place when I first created her and so my emotions and feelings from that time still connect me to her, or if it's specifically because I got to play a whole campaign with her or even because not only I could play with her but my best friend was also along with me for the ride and we had a blast together. Whatever it is, I could never quite be done with her, you know?

One thing was for certain though. After the first two or three years her ending didn't satisfy me anymore. She was still so young, she still had so many questions left unanswered and so much potential. We were thinking of a possible sequel campaign for her and Arwen (my best friend's character and now Tav) but that's when our DM dropped us both. We were left wondering what we could do for them, what we could write and how. We weren't entirely sure which direction to take our characters in.

Then BG3 came out. I remember my timeline being flooded with Astarion edits (that damn song lives rent free in my head at this point), being so utterly confused at what the hell was going on and then slowly becoming intrigued. I remember sitting down with my best friend to watch a mega compilation of all the characters' romance scenes, finding the visuals so damn beautiful, being convinced I would be my usual freak self and go for The Emperor but falling hard for Gale instead. We so desperately wanted to play but neither of us had a PC that was compatible with the game.

Then my long distance friend reached out and told me he wanted to play long distance with me on Discord. It was all incredibly clunky and finicky but Gods I was so happy. He'd be playing from the other side of the country and streaming it for me, and I would pick all the dialogue choices in character. That's when my bestie and I had a eureka moment and thought "what if... what if Summer and Arwen's story wasn't over yet? What if they left Aegis to find new adventures and ended up in Faerun??". I was so fucking excited it is almost unbelievable.

We spent six whole months on this one game file and I enjoyed every. single. second of it. Six whole months of pure excitement and delight. The more I played, the more I tweaked Summer's character and backstory to fit the narration, the more I got inspired to write up the new chapters of her adventure with my best friend and the more I fell in love with her. I laughed, I cried, I launched myself into deep discussions over her character and why she would do or say certain things in each situation. I saw her easily slip back into her avdenturing habits, adoring each moment she got to spend under the stars. I saw her face her demons once again and with even more purpose this time. I saw her make new friends that she would want to spend the rest of her life with, I saw her fall in love with a man that truly deserved to be by her side... My little tiefling sorceress that plays like a barbarian, my pride and joy.

And it all came to and end last night. Her and her allies won the last battle, they saved Baldur's Gate, Gale proposed to her and she moved with him to Waterdeep to spend the rest of their life together. She got her happy ending.

Six whole years with Summer and I can finally consider her story complete. Perhaps she is so important to me because out of all the characters I created, she is the only one that finally got her whole character arc. A beginning and an end. And after all the harsh challenges she faced, after all the dangers and the pain and suffering... she finally got her happy ending. She got what she deserved.

Now, does that mean I am done with Summer? Absolutely not. There is still much to do, much to write and much to draw. I'm gonna have tons of fun thinking up extra little scenarios for her and her friends and what her life in Waterdeep is gonna look like as she finally gets to build a family of her own. But as far as I am concerned... her main story's complete.

And as I listen to Endless Spring and get emotional all over again, I want to thank @wolfhunter89 and @sheeplyquillwrites for coming along with me on this wonderful journey. Summer's story just wouldn't have been the same without you. I love you guys so damn much, even if I never say it. I can't wait to see what's in store for Arwen next. To many more stories and games shared together!

[stewblog]

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

I’ll just cut right to the chase. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has a real shot at being one of my favorite movies of the year. It almost certainly won’t be an awards contender and no one’s likely expecting this to break box office records. But as a work of pure entertainment? A high bar has been set for the rest of 2023 to try and clear.

There was reason to think otherwise, however. High fantasy films both before and after The Lord of the Rings have largely been underwhelming duds. The genre is difficult to truly nail, but co-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (along with their co-writer Michael Gilio) have managed to channel everything fun, fanciful and fantastic (in the older sense of the word) about swords and sorcery into a rocket-propelled adventure that satisfies at nearly every turn.

And if you’re completely new to the realm of D&D and have no idea what a displacer beast is, can’t point out where Neverwinter is on a map, or know the difference between magic missile and mage hand, fear not! Honor Among Thieves does a fantastic job of introducing the audience to this world and its inhabitants.

Guiding us through this adventure is Edgin (Chris Pine), a bard and thief who pals around with Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), a barbarian warrior exiled from her people. They’ve broken out of prison and are scheming a way to rescue Edgin’s daughter and get payback on the man who stabbed them in the back during a theft that went horribly wrong. To do it, they’ll need the help of a struggling wizard, Simon (Justice Smith), a shapeshifter, Doric (Sophia Lillis) and paladin Xenk (Rege’-Jean Page). As you can probably guess, what they see as a very straightforward mission at the start becomes something much more dangerous and complicated the deeper into it they get.

The particulars of the plot aren’t terribly interesting and feel like a fairly standard setup at play if it was a Saturday night and you’re sitting at a kitchen table with some friends, rolling a D20 and waiting for your older brother to further unfurl his scenario as Dungeon Master. What makes Honor Among Thieves such a cracking good time at the movies is the playful spirit Daley and Goldstein infuse into the proceedings, the superlative chemistry among the cast and a script that delivers a very precise balance of humor, pathos and swashbuckling adventure.

Part of why this movie had my audience eating out of the palm of its hand was due largely to how funny it is. There’s an abundance of laughs to be had with sarcasm and one-liners to spare, though it blessedly avoids that Joss Whedonesque trap of simply making everyone a snark-machine that fires off identical-sounding quips at the drop of a hat. The members of our heroic quartet each react to the escalating escapade with humor at various moments, but it all feels organic to who they are. These characters are all archetypes (each a literal class you can choose in the tabletop game), but the script never treats them specifically as such. We’re given ample backstory, but never so much as to bog down the proceedings. Each gets their time to shine. Page deftly steals his scenes by being charmingly dense. Smith and Lillis are new to my eyes but keep up with the veterans. And this may be the most fun I’ve seen Rodriguez have since the first Fast & Furious movie.

But even as well-balanced as the party is, it’s safe to say that this is Chris Pine’s show. I’ve been a fan of Pine’s since he pitch-perfectly played a slack-jawed yokel assassin in the schizophrenic action flick Smokin’ Aces. It was clear then that he had a wicked comedic sense and he was unafraid to bury himself in a character. But he was also burdened with leading man looks, which of course only confuses Hollywood producers who seem incapable of letting pretty people do wild and weird things. (See also: Pitt, Brad.) The joy of Honor Among Thieves is that it perfectly splits the difference for Pine. He’s certainly a capable leading man, but his role as Edgin finds the perfect balance between his strengths as a character actor and his leading man charm.

I can’t stress enough, though, just how fun this is. The villains are villainous. The heroes are (mostly) scoundrels with hearts of gold. There are no existential moral conflicts at play. It’s just a good old-fashioned magic-fueled romp with high (but not world-ending) stakes and a healthy dose of heart. And, perhaps most importantly for a high-fantasy flick, it doesn’t skimp on the stuff you want to see. Dragons. Black magic. Danger-filled caves. Mythical beasties of all stripes. A deadly maze. Mimic chests. Gelatinous cubes. It’s all here. A movie of this pedigree demands these elements show up in excess and Honor Among Thieves delivers.

I hope these early screenings are a sign that Paramount Pictures knows how great this movie is and they’re trying to build as much positive word of mouth as possible. I want sequels. As many as I can get. This was a delight from end to end and if nothing else, I’m happy with that.

[nomsfaultau]

(Not) Daily ask №32

I really don't think that I can keep up the 5 questions every single day thing. Procrastination gets the better of me : (

Isekai edition!

1. What is your favourite universe? Like a favourite show, game, book, etc.

2. What are your 3 favourite characters from that universe?

3 What is your favourite time period of the universe? Ex. Pogtopia arc for dsmp, an episode of a show, a scene from a book.

4. What is your favourite antagonist/villain from that universe?

5. BOOM fault crew gets into your favourite universe, in your favourite time period of the show, with your favourite characters finding them first and then they meet your favourite antagonist. How does that go?

There is completely no obligation to do anything ever, buddy. 

1.Really hard to look past the haze of Fault that’s been my brain for years. That said, I’ve been having an INSANELY good time with Taz vs Dracula recently. Essentially it’s a DND campaign where they go through a wacky gothic horror setting that’s very heavy on the comedy, all in the name of defeating Dracula. It incorporates a lot of free domain characters, so like Pinocchio, Mickey Mouse, King Arthur, the invisible man show up (or doesn’t, he’s a flakey POS). All with some crazy twist of course ofcours. Absolute blast. 

And no read more line because I’m proselytizing for this podcast now okay ok. 

2. Lady Godwin. She’s a posh old lady who got run over by Dracula and the Wolf Man (who is a bad influence on Dracula). She had a Frankenstein life policy but it got shut down due to bad business practice, and her head got stuck on a barbarian lady’s body. On top of that severe body dysphoria, Lady Godwin gets bitten by a were-horse and gets transported to the mental realm of Oats on occasion. She’s prim and huffy and goes into destructive rages. Perfect woman. 

Thumbs. Thumbs is a were-orangutan DJ for the Wolf Man’s nightclub, since he’s the only one with thumbs. There’s supposed to be a spell that allows everyone to communicate with one another, but he just speaks in monkey noises. Notably is banned from pushing the big red button on his DJ set up. BUt ooooooh man. Wants to. Deserves to. (this destroyed the were-house were-nightclub)

An. He’s an almost dead god of night with a dedicated cult and the Sword in the Stone jammed through his skull, pinning him in spot because evil cults don’t tend to have a lot of people pure of heart and rightful king of England material? Who knew. He’s so suave and has a major superiority complex and is so so so overtly evil but the DND party is just so chill about debating whether or not to free him. But An has searched all of the land to find the most Pure of Heart….and landed on Brother Phileaux, the monk currently sharing a Pinocchio body with THE Van Helsing. Who is an absolute little freak, mind, so I have absolutely zero idea why he’s trying to (in his own words) 4D chess manipulate Phileaux when he is pure by no one’s standards and also very dumb. It’s very hard to be a gaslight gatekeep girlbosser when dealing with stupid adventurers. Poor guy. He dies due to the redneck Mutt becoming the casual King of England, a reverse knock knock joke and the Toby Slayer*, and a cross that the interim-temporary Turbo Cardinal stole once. 

3. Episode 16 is my favorite part. Literally howling the entire time. Acquiring the Toby Slayer*, a legendary sword that obliterates anyone named Toby with. Yes this means they spend the rest of the campaign trying to name people Toby (nicknames, telling an amnesiac their name is Toby, shortening Turbo Cardinal to Toby (works because one of them is the king of England via authoritarian legends). They kill a god using the Toby slayer. This all happened because the DM tried to give last minute flavor text to a loot item. Casually water boarding the severed head of a Dracula clone while discussing if they could raise him to be the ‘good Dracula��. Meeting a crazy fish monster man with a basketball wife named Elizabeth, who is a druid that only turns into sports items. Taking a break from a revenge quest to play the sickest game of volleyball ever using said sports druid. Lady Godwin randomly biting a severed ear. The ENTIRE inventory situation of Phileaux, including teeth from a sea monster, said severed ear, and LITERALLY HIS OWN DEAD BODY SHRUNKEN DOWN INTO A LITTLE VILE. The offhand discussion about if Phileaux should make a flesh homunculous using spare Dracula clone parts. I think this TAZ episode made me laugh the most, though the Steeplechase campaign where they went on the trashiest dating show ever was so choice too. Schlebethany my beloved….

4. DRACULA. Oh my god he’s soooooooo fun. Might be my favorite villain ever. Absolute love to hate character, except he’s so funny and charismatic that it’s hard to hate him even though like terrible evil dude. But he’s also a complete dork, and cringes about his ‘wizard phase’ and opines about how everyone wants to kill him :( so rude. He had a toxic BFF relationship with the Wolf Man but had to cut him out for being a ‘bad influence’ (HE IS DRACULA THIS MAN IS THE WORST). He helps Mutt (protag) pull out his fangs to make earrings. All of his clones insist they’re ‘the good’ Dracula. Dracula had an unrequited romantic relationship with Dr. Frankenstein, and is now in a love triangle with him and another Dracula clone, who wants to kill OG Drac for breaking Frankenstein’s heart. He is a staunch supporter of the fine arts. So far I think he might be trying to mind control an entire town/end the world (?) via evil airpods because he can’t get one song out of his head from when he was a kid. And also so he doesn’t have to drink blood anymore because it’s yucky >.<

Like. Just listen to him:

“Dear diary.

How come everybody wants to kill Dracula?

I mean, the people whose villages I’ve razed to the ground, whose family trees I’ve so thoroughly pruned, them I understand. But how did my vulnerabilities become the topic of casual dinner table conversation? I don’t talk about the weaknesses of mortal men, and Lord knows I could. I may be biased, but it seems these days that haters are coming at me left, right, and center…(enter SICK MUSIC RIFF)

5.Tubbo will get obliterated. No help for it. The SECOND the DND party finds out their name, the Toby Slayer is going to come out. Thems the rules. Or they’d try, but the Fault crew would step in and then the DND party would be really chill and laid-back, brushing off the murder attempt while everyone else is freaking out. Tubbo would probably try to convince Phileaux to work more with Van Helsing on the semi system thing. Overall freaked out about how casual murder is here. Second, Wilbur is having a bad time due to the permanent eternal night upon the land. Oh well. Flashlights may or may not exist, since we have both horse-drawn carriages and Honda elontras show up? Good luck lmao. Phileaux could probably cast light on a pointed Pinocchio hat for him. But would be wayyy too interested in getting samples from the void. Tommy thinks it’s spooky as hell. Maybe Elizabeth could teach him the cantrip Shape Water, which would solve 99% of his problem if he can artificially control Red. Wait. And he can touch Brother Phileaux! That’s big for him, until Phileaux says something offputting and oh muffin that wasn’t a joke- The Blade is really vibing with Mutt, since, ranger. They’re also very blunt and straight forward characters. And he’d love Lady Agatha (dog). Probably Lady Godwin too for their similar rage modes, but the comments about curvaceousness would make him awkward. I really really really want Philza to party with the Wolf Man. But the auto killing any non were-person would be a damper on the relationship. And Philza isn’t at random haha murder philosophy atm, so would probably not hang even if he can pass. Ah wait forgot he’s super duper beheaded by this point of the series, moot point. He can definitely gel with Lady Godwin and Elizabeth about getting lost in the sauce re: body, be it the plane of horses, basketballs, or dragons. 

Now I could go on and on about how the existence of monsters casually in society both as threats and friends would drastically be eye opening for the Fault guys, etc etc, however they’re in the middle of a swamp at the moment. 

As for plot: The Blood God would be extremely hyped about the cult of the Buried Blood! …until he finds out it isn’t about him. Booo what kind of god gets half murdered? Loser. I figure the Fault crew would pick up An’s rank vibes way more than the DND party bothered to act on, the manipulation is pretty blatant. Tubbo is absolutely fuming about not being pure of heart, and that the random redneck did it through the power of rats. Tommy is desperate to become the king of England, and is infuriated because none of the DND guys know what England even is. 

Probably a lot less impressive to kill a god when you have like 3 on your team, but-

Everyone is down on the killing Dracula thing. Even Tubbo I think, given how evil he is. Would prefer a different method! But it’s looking like world ending stakes so maybe it’s okay. As for actually meeting the real OG Dracula? The campaign hasn’t gotten there, so I can’t even guess. But the fact both universes have potentially world ending songs is really funny. Based on vibes, Philza, Tommy, and The Blade think Dracula is absolutely great and kinda forget they’re there to kill him. Philza definitely sympathetic on the curse of immortality thing. Dracula doesn’t pass Wilbur’s vibe check at all, thinks he’s sleezy, and Tubbo can see way too much of the mind control stuff happening to brush it off. Like if they can manage to hate friendly Philza the charisma isn’t going to mean much. 

Probably ends up trying to suck Tommy’s blood, getting Red’d, and having the most balls to the walls insane fight scene ever. Man I can’t wait for the finale.

[theamphibianmen]

Thinking about the crystal gems playing D&D.

Garnet plays a warlock who is in a romantic relationship with their deity, who has never known peace due to their mortal significant other constantly getting up to shenanigans.

Amethyst plays fighters because she likes to be the tank, since she can't really do it that much IRL.

Pearl runs paladins almost exclusively, very much taking a "me but better" approach with her characters.

Steven is a druid and therefore the party's healer since that's very much his wheelhouse.

Peridot's aroace ass plays a bard that is constantly trying to seduce everything because she finds it funny.

Lapis likes playing barbarians because she is full of rage and this is a much more healthy way to express that than real world violence.

Bismuth plays a rouge. Specifically a gnome rouge who tries to get out of every single fight by pulling the "just a little guy" card.

Connie is a sorcerer due to the fact that she likes the idea of being inherently magical and special.

Jasper DM's. She is the kind of DM who absolutely refuses to kill PC's, and has resorted to divine intervention in the name of keeping them alive after an unexpected critical hit from one of her monsters. She got into D&D after randomly finding one of the books and reading it because she was bored. At first the rest of the crystal gems just went with her newfound obsession because it got Jasper to willingly engage in social interaction, but now everyone has been sucked in and they have weekly sessions.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

[vulturereyy]

Rey's OC Masterpost!! (as of 5/29/2023)

I realized I've never done one of these, like ever, anywhere, so. Maybe now is the time to change that! My OCs are from various fandoms and genres, and some are used more than others. General rules for them are as follows: Asks about them, questions, comments, all okay! If you do fanart I think I am legally obligated to marry you LOL, but really no pressure! Please do NOT use my art of them or their exact character for your own use. You are welcome to be inspired by them, and welcome to include them on references for commissions like 'I want hair like this character' etc so long as you credit me for the art! But please do not take their stories and images 1:1.

Please do not kin my characters. It makes me exceedingly uncomfortable and you will be blocked. Without further ado... Get ready to see some gay little bitches!!

Sorbet Lemonbalm

My beloved. My wife. My husband. She's been divorced three times. She's left the altar twice. She's never been married. She's my weed smoking girlfriend. She's in a polycule with a kobold barbarian and the Moon God.

Sorbet is my most recent D&D character, played during a homebrew campaign that I cannot wait to get back to. She's a Firbolg, Oath of the Ancients Paladin/Lunar Magic Sorcerer multiclass. DEVOUT follower of Selune, the moon goddess, and currently her champion, even if she frequently feels like she is not up to the task and the responsibility is slowly crushing her. Accidentally became the Fey King of the Summer Court during one of our final battles with our phase 1 BBEG, when our bard used modify memory in a very cool (and very homebrew) way against the corrupted fey queen. (She does NOT want to be fey king and has tried to pass on the crown to almost every other fey they've met since). Most recently, she 'GET DOWN MR. PRESIDENT'D' her own goddess and tanked a rival god's magic bolt, destroying her tower shield in the process and giving her those necrotic scars down her side. But this bitch survived with 1 fucking hit point!! I'm trying to keep these short, but I could write an essay on Sorbet. She's the first D&D character I've really gotten into, even doing a REAL ACTUAL CHARACTER VOICE FOR HER (shout out dimension 20 a crown of candy for making me feel like I could), and everything!! I love playing her SO so much and I hope that she can wreck shit in Astora again soon. Our sessions are all recorded, maybe one time I'll get a clip together and be brave enough to share.

May'la Sugarfoot

May'la is my sweetest khajiit Elder Scrolls Online OC. She's from a moonsugar farming family in Khenarthi's Roost, though she took on a path of becoming a chef in Mistral after she found she was unable to really help as much as her sisters in the sugar fields. May'la eventually worked her way all the way up to being one of the head chefs in an Alik'r merchant house, though her real passion will always lay in baking. May'la dreams to have her own bakery one day, though she also has a far larger dream of becoming a member of the Antiquarian's Circle.

May'la's mother, Dra'tarrina, is a senche-raht pit fighter and former member of the Undaunted, who toured in Dragonstar Arena for years. When May'la was just a nosy kitten, she found her mother's old armor and shrine to Boethiah -- still strangely well-tended. Unable to curb her youngest daughter's incessant curiosity, Dra'tarrina began telling May'la tales of her time in the arena, and her quiet worship of Boethra, the khajiiti aspect of Boethiah. Boethra worship was all but wiped out with the Riddle'thar epiphany, and as such, May'la has secretly made it her life's goal to find and preserve any scrap of Boethra worship and lore she can. She wants to eventually present to the Antiquarian's Circle so it can continue to be passed on.

Devotion (Llewyllyn) and Gytha (Hollow Knight) (I reuse names)

Devotion is my current main Hollow Knight OC. She's a tall, toned dragonfly knightess with an extreme, well, devotion to the White Lady. She served in the Queen's Guard for years, but eventually succumbed to the infection. Terrified of hurting her fellow knights or her queen, Devotion threw down her shield and nail, and fled all the way to Kingdom's Edge. She sealed herself off in one of the many caves, and essentially... Rotted by herself in that horrible, blinding light until the Radiance was finally defeated 😭. The infection took most of her memories with it, but she had repeated her oaths to herself until her voice gave out. Everything is hazy for her post-infection, but she remembers a White Lady -- and remembers that she is dearly devoted to her service. Devotion is currently in the Colisseum of Fools, attempting to train herself in mind and body again, before she feels she can make the journey back to Hallownest. And besides, it's the only place that offers free room and board right now... So long as she puts on a good show. Gytha, The Thorned Bulwark, is the knight that trained Devotion as a squire. She's brash, boisterous, and unafraid to speak her mind, even if it is directly against her King or Queen. Gytha and Devotion were very close, though Gytha retired from knighthood long before the infection swept Hallownest. I'm not quite sure what I'll be having her doing, but I do think she traveled to the lands beyond the kingdom. She would be the type to try some grand adventure, even if it would be her last. You can learn more about Devotion and Gytha here, in the app I made for an RP server :) (including a way too long backstory lmao)

Thimble!

Thimble is my Grimm Troupe OC, fitting in with @grollow's wonderful setting! Thimble is a skittish but good-hearted little butterfly from a kingdom in its death throes, and after said kingdom's total collapsed, he sailed for the Troupe on a whim in hopes that he could find a place among them. He certainly did, and more than a few friends to go along with!

Thimble starts out as general help, far too anxious for the limelight, but after watching Ashe's OC, Mist, perform aerial Cyr Wheel, he gets struck with an inspiration he's never quite experienced before. Thimble learns Cyr Wheel and eventually performs a couple nights a week in the troupe after years of practice with Mist, and encouragement from the other troupe members :)

Thimble is based on a long-tailed skipper butterfly, a frequent visitor to my backyard.

Kindlepitch the Pardoner

Oh... Him.

"Do you not feel it? the burning, seething hatred that seems to permeate this wretched nest? Wouldn't it be best to have that feeling be done away with entirely? So much pain, so much death -- let this era rest. Let us rest, laid down upon a bed of sins inconceivable. Only in Her merciful light shall we find ourselves absolved, at last granted release from the torment the False-King inflicted upon us!" — Kindlepitch

Kindlepitch is. He's a whole lot. Scorned by the moth tribe after he refused to forget the Radiance, and boy is he deep in the orange juice. Kindlepitch believes that Hallownest's downfall was the shunning of his good lady, and that it is only her light that can finally bring peace to the atrocities of this world.

You can read more about Kindlepitch here!

Amaashaa Phykiish

Amaashaa is my main Star Wars OC. Daughter of a senator and a senator later in her own right, this gal has had. Enough. I haven't played her recently so I don't have as much to say sob, but I do love her dearly. Amaashaa served as a field medic in the Clone Wars, and later a lead surgeon on the Ord Cestus Medical Station when an injury removed her from the field. Amaashaa's life can be defined by passion; enough to burn away injustice, but also herself. After the Clone Wars, she eventually went into politics alongside her father, and was often the cause of many a fight in the senate chambers.

A barely-failed assassination attempt is what finally drove Amaashaa away from the senate, at her father's behest. They planned to lay low and 'make quiet trouble' for the empire in the meantime. Amaashaa was placed upon an off-radar scrapper crew of the Spicer (created by @rabiezcore, if I draw her with other characters they are likely Rabiez') and has since learned that... Wow, she can actually exist as a living person and not just a vessel for service. There's a lot to unpack there, but she's had a lot of character development. Amaashaa does eventually rejoin the rebellion when it reforms, and serves as a medic among them for a while, before injury does finally force her into retirement for realsies. Then she gets to live out her dream of living with her mando definitely-not-boyfriend and having loth cats of her own at last.

Lullaby Heartstrings

Lullaby Heartstrings was my sheep-flavored Minotaur Barbarian for a D&D 5e Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign.

Towering over her party at a grand 7'2" tall and nearing 500lbs of wool and muscle, it's not surprise that Lullaby is an intimidating figure, even despite her coloring and innocent sounding name. This journeyman member of the Emerald Enclave is a frequent sight in Neverwinter and the various northern Moonwoods, most often called upon by pilgrims looking to traverse the Lurkwood or caravans in need of mercenary guards. Despite her affiliation with the enclave, Lullaby's relationship with nature is far more akin to respect between warriors than the reverence a druid may possess. She believes nature to be a cruel, unyielding mistress who cannot be tamed, but also takes her challenges with silent honor, knowing they make her stronger in the long run.

Lullaby is generally quiet, softspoken, and has been called 'grumpy' by those who take her as a guard, but she is not unkind. Those under her protection will often find her aiding in setting up their tents, ensuring everyone has a decent amount of food and water, and always taking the first shift of watch. Her preferred method of communication is through gestures and actions rather than words.

Lullaby was originally born into a circus troupe, the Heartwood Heartstrings, but an incident involving her debilitating stage fright ended with her running away from home as a young teen. She's been with the enclave ever since.

Lullaby's greataxe is made out of two Axebeak beaks; one that she hunted herself, and the other that a mentor killed.

(WIP below)

[dany36]

after ~165 hours, i finished bg3. i can't believe i almost missed out on experiencing this gem of a game. a couple of months ago i started watching john wolfe's playthrough of it, and after i made a comment about it to a friend once i got done watching the first act, he convinced me to play it on my own. and holy shit i'm glad i got to experience the entirety of act 2 and 3 in my own playthrough of it. i usually stay away from turn-based games because i don't consider myself very good at them (i think i can count on one hand the number of turn-based games i've played let alone finished), but wow, this game just blew me out of the water. when i watched the game awards last year where it won all those awards including goty, i looked up gameplay of it since i knew nothing of it, but the turn-based aspect turned me away from it. still, it was funny seeing all those bitter losers saying that z/elda should have won goty instead, to which i can't help but laugh even HARDER now to think that anyone would even THINK that t/otk even comes close to the fucking chulada of a videogame that bg3 is. honestly? top three of my favorite games ever. (spoilers below)

i mean, i usually post my thoughts as i'm playing along, reacting to things and such. but this game consumed me like no other game before had, and like, what is there to say that hasn't been said before about bg3? i honestly can't think of any big criticisms i have of the game. i knew nothing about d&d before starting it and i still had such a fucking blast playing through every single aspect of it. as someone who doesn't consider themselves a tactical person by any means (my character was a barbarian because no think, just hit!), i think i did pretty well for having played in balanced mode. only four fights gave me a hard time (house of grief being one of them...GEEZ what was THAT!!!), two of which i actually had to look up strategies online because well, i don't have all day to try to figure it out, you know?

the ending left me with such a big smile on my face: it just put me in such a good mood, and honestly i can't remember the last time a video game ending left me with that feeling of satisfaction and contentment. when i told my friend about me going around talking to all of my friends six months after we had defeated the brain, he was shocked because apparently that post-ending bit wasn't there when he originally beat it. and honestly? i loved talking to all of my party to see what they had been up to! lae'zel didn't outright hate me for not having freed orpheus and she looked happy, halsin gave me a duck!! :D karlach was full of hope at the thought of there being a way for her to get her engine fixed for good, and it looks like wyll and karlach are a thing?? I GOT TO ADOPT THE OWLBEAR WITH SHADOWHEART FUCK YEAH!!! like. finishing an adventure is good and all but it's even better when a video game gives you the chance to see how the hero and the rest of the gang are doing after saving the world. i just fucking love it.

as for my choices, i think i'm pretty happy with the ones i made. there are a couple that i think i'll change in my second playthrough (yes, there will be one :) not now, after ghost of tsushima for sure tho), but overall glad to see that everyone got a mostly happy ending (gale became a god ffs). although earlier i did say that i had no curiosity in seeing shadowheart's other option for her parents, the fact that she still alluded to it post-ending makes me curious to like, ok, is being a slave to shar really an option to consider at all in order to keep her parents alive??? because now that i think about it...gale becomes a god so he got his wish, lae'zel still has her people and is fighting for their freedom, jaheira has her children and is helping rebuild the city, karlach and wyll are at least together in avernus, astarion sounds like he is having the time of his life, and minsc is...minsc. shadowheart becomes free of shar and thus her parents die in the process, thus shadowheart no longer has any of her "people" that she can count on, her best friend from her childhood is still a sharran, and plus her parents are now dead. so if you don't romance her, like...what does she end up doing post game?? because the way things sound here sound pretty lonely for shadowheart unless you end up with her, so now i guess i'll have to finish watching john wolfe's playthrough cus i'm pretty sure he was going down the karlach romance path!

but yeah, that option and the orpheus thing are the options that i might consider changing in my second playthrough, but honestly for the latter, i'm fine with how things ended between me and the emperor even if lae'zel was angry at me because it sounds like she's doing fine 6 months later AND she was glad to see me :y i also didn't make much use of my tadpole powers and refused to consume the special one that the emperor gave me, so i can imagine if i HAD consumed it, i wonder if some of the later battles would have been easier....

usually i do a long-ass post talking about what i loved and didn't love about a game, but for bg3, i can't think of anything i just outright disliked. i know that i for sure missed some cutscenes because i was afraid i was long resting too much (the comments on john wolfe's playthrough scared me a little ngl), but i ended the game with like 1200 camp supplies, so now i know camp supplies are not as much of an issue as people made it out to be. gameplay, story, the insane amount of paths/choices you can take in this game...like....FUCK...it's all just so much to take in and really makes you appreciate and marvel at how in the hell such a beautiful game was crafted in the first place.

for now, it's time to take a break from bg3, but man, what a fantastic, unforgettable ride it was. i was thinking of going for the platinum trophy for bg3, but after seeing that you have to beat the game under tactician (AND also that you have to defeat the red dragon in the final battle? heeellll no), i'm afraid i'm gonna have to pass up on that one--i'm just simply not tactical enough for it lol.

[mmmthornton]

Abbott Elementary D&D Episode WHEN baby?

What can I say, I'm a simple lesbian. I see a show with a great group dynamic and I gotta think about what they'd be like at the tabletop.

Plus, I'm...responsibly imbibing and putting off work so HERE WE GO!

Jacob becomes determined to start some kind of gaming club at the school, but he hadn't actually DM'd before so he asks the other teachers if he can do a "practice run" first and bribes them with takeout and beer to let him run a game for them in the gym in the evenings. Surprisingly Barbara has come around to it NOT being a tool of the devil thanks to her and her husband watching Stranger Things together ("If it can help those kids beat a demon and learn to appreciate family in the god-forsaken 1980s, it can't be all bad"). Melissa says she could learn a new game since its no fun card sharking the same five people at her local bar, and Gregory is pretending really really hard that he's not EXTREMELY excited about this because he's always wanted to play but never did as a kid. Ava laughs until she cries when Jacob first asks if she wants to join then flips when Gregory will be there..."and when those craft beers go right through his skinny hipster body" she wants to be there to see his "wild" side. Janine knows nothing about the game but is excited about a new extracurricular activity and thinks its a great way to bond with the kids, and Mr. Johnson wasn't invited but shows up with Coke and a Costco-sized bag of Smartpop because he KNOWS whats up.

Barbara : Definitely a Cleric. She is willing to physically fight Jacob though if she has to "choose a god" from the pantheon, so to keep the peace AND the immersive experience they agree Not To Go Into It but its enough that her healing and spells are faith-endowed. Early on though, she gets some REALLY good rolls to hit when they're surrounded by enemies and she becomes more of a "warcaster" in addition to healing. Lots of buffs and she gets into the idea of a powerful warrior who gives holy blessings with her presence. Probably should've chosen Paladin from the getgo with how she ends up playing, but she makes Cleric work for her.

Melissa : Definitely a Rogue. Okay, I promise all my thoughts aren't basic but also listen to me. The whole concept of the rogue network is SO up her alley. She almost seems like she's not even playing a character at first, but then JACOB surprises her with his NPCs and the two of them roleplay thieves cant as a sort of south philly slang. I think Jacob would be an AMAZing DM so he's ready to meet her where she is (not really invested at first, kind of skeptical on the whole thing), and draw her in by accurately using terminology and making the world feel gritty, lived-in, and familiar - and Melissa LOVEs it. She starts to really get into the fiction of this fantasy world and take the threat/plot hook seriously. Gets yelled at by the support for jumping into fights and going unconscious because she's not a tank class; maybe multiclasses into Barbarian or at least takes a feat or two so she's not going down every fight.

Gregory : The archetypal wizard; old, beard, pointy hat, the whole deal. I hear you thinking "Why not human fighter?" but no. Gregory will not do human fighter, he's been waiting to play D&D for like twenty years and hes researched EVERY aspect of every class. Could be a minmaxer, but moreso is just WAY overthinking the choice so finally Jacob just gives him a premade, high-fantasy, Gandalf-ass wizard named something like Geoffrey Jankins or whatever. Gregory spends a lot of time making his : [ face, worried that he's already destroyed his chance of "having fun in a tabletop game with work friends" because he's THAT kind of person. Once he relaxes, he starts to feel a lot more kinship with his wizard character; he's got a backstory in the premade sheet where he's trying to find a spellbook that was stolen from him that contained years of his hard work and research. Over the course of the game Jankins kind of works with the others the same way Gregory did as he warmed up to them as a substitute, and in the end has the Real Emotional Moment in-game as he realizes what his work was keeping him away from (the relationships with the others in the group being his found family). No one leaves that game with a dry eye.

Ava : Elf Bard, College of Swords. She refused to make a character when Jacob mentioned it involved adding numbers because she's too hot for math, so she got another premade that he knew she'd enjoy. She's actually pretty stoked on the idea of a Creative and Powerful Artist who's dripping with charisma enough that she actually gets the ins and outs of the spell rules really well and is very generous with her Bardic Inspirations ("even to Gregory's old-head-ass"). She does however seem to only use Cutting Words on her own team, specifically Janine ("Jacob! How could you let her use that spell?" "In my defense I didn't think she'd even read the spell sheet!"). I say College of Swords because the worst thing about being a bard is having to share the spotlight with someone else, so she decides she wants to be the hero AND the sexy song vixen who makes the ballad about it.

Janine : Some kind of Genasi or fey druid. She wants to connect with the nature in the world and tries to channel a kind of Pan-from-mythology-meets-Steve-Irwin-depicted-by-Simone-Biles character. Her character motivation is she wants to write a guidebook of the animals - both common and magical - that they come across but keeps absolutely failing her rolls. She rolls a one and slaps a Mystical Enchanted Forest Deer in the face, launching a fight that the party is NOT prepared for. IS very good in a fight; she'll transform into an owlbear and headbutt an enemy away if one of the other party members are in trouble. Only remembers how to use like, three spells total and doesn't tell Jacob that she has no clue how things like spell slots or materials work so she just doesn't track it / makes up a number when asked how much she has. Jacob catches on pretty quickly, but side eyes into the camera to let us know he's deliberately letting it slide because she keeps rolling badly and could use the break.

Mr. Johnson : Makes his own dwarf warlock who's ABSOLUTELY minmaxed to hell. The overall playstyle of the group though is more laid back, but he's after a harder core play experience and only drops in sometimes if he hears there's a boss fight. Can do things from the book that are completely legal but have Jacob looking up obscure status effects and rules to try to keep up. Would probably make a good DM, but says he's more of a Warhammer guy.

Jacob : Obviously the DM, but I imagine that once the kids get into the game one of them might want to take a turn DM'ing. Jacob, gleaming with pride, would be happy to pass the DM screen to the "younger, brighter, woker generation". He joins the party as a ranger ("...which in the fifth edition classic is not the most capable class however with updates and features can be utilized in very specific cases for role-play and battlefi-" "For f*cks sake Jacob just take a shortbow proficiency and lets get on with it"), and spends most of the time that they're playing being extremely proud of his student....until the kid catches him on a technicality on his animal companion range.

[alexjcrowley]

So I was watching the D&D episode in CBS Ghosts and, even before I knew of its existence, I've wondered what D&D would have been like in BBC Ghosts.

Captain would choose human as race and would try to make his character a general. I just know he'd try to reproduce Second World War in the game. He would be so upset on how important dices are in the game because his brilliant battle tactics always fail due to small numbers.

Pat would probably be a bit suspicious of D&D, because it's that game kids played in the 80s instead of going out in nature and reading books and being boyscouts. Once he starts playing, he is not himself anymore. It's like improv club with roleplay. He's having a kick, maybe a bit too much. He gets killed by an arrow and doesn't talk to anyone for four hours.

Thomas would so be a bard elf, you can't tell me otherwise. He had a plan of courting Alison's character, but then he finds out her character is like a giant ogre you should not mess with. If the game's PvP, God help him. He would take the role-playing as an occasion to recite the poems he- his bard wrote. Basically, he's Jaskier from The Witcher.

Speaking of witches, Mary would say that D&D is a game of the Devil, because, you know, the whole fantasy setting and magic going around. I think she would mainly watch. If she got to actually play the game, she would probably choose to be a human, although I like to think that once she learns magic is not feared in D&D, but is respected, she would choose to a magical race or class. Then she'd pray all night for forgiveness for surrendering to the Devil's powers.

Kitty would die almost immediately in the game. She would cry a lot. She would complain about "dying again". It's tough, Kitty, we've all been there. Dead in D&D, I mean.

Julian would enjoy the game just in the first turns. You see, a game in which all is based on what you can come up with, that's his world. But then he finds out he has to fight, has to. And he put all his point on charisma. Rookie mistake. He'd totally try to bribe Mike (he's the dungeon master) to read his natural 1 as natural 20, or at least 18, 16, 14 last offer! He would storm out in a fit of rage at some point, only to come back to gloat over others's disgraces in the game.

Now, for Robin, I have not decided yet. I mean, he would probably choose a barbarian or someone strong anyway, because that's how you win the fight, by being the strongest, but I would be very curious to see him as a druid, in general something other than a tank. He'd ask if his weapon can be a club. He'd tried to use his powers with the lights in game, and be very angry and he learns he can't. Role-playing is just a disaster. He would be furious about having small numbers on the dices. He definitely prefers chess. That's what he and Julian go back to play when they're both dead (although I think Robin would last a lot longer than Julian).

Lady Button would not play, because it's not ladylike, but would watch closely and be very scandalised about what's happening in the game and reprimand Julian for trying to bed every woman he interacts with in the campaign.

Julian's main action in the game is seducing women, he doesn't care about the battles, he's like "If I roll at least 10 she owes me blowjob, more than 10 is full service".

They all forget when is Humphrey's turn (which is very sad, because he came up with a very kickass character), so he decided to stick with spying on Mike while he decides the next moves for the campaign. He makes a wonderful adviser. Well, he would, if Mike could listen to him, but to get to talk to Mike he'd have to talk to Alison first but she's in the game, a real shame.

Feel free to add stuff to this post. I play D&D, but I'm not that good at it, so if you want to chip in with other D&D knowledge that would come in handy for this headcanon, please, do.

[inkdemonapologist]

Hi Shazz! I’m a huge fan of your work, and had a couple questions. :) First, How did you come up with your designs for the studio bois? And Second, I’m curious what your ideas of the what class the boys would be if they were in Dungeons And Dragons. Peace and love to ya!

Since this specifies the boys, I do want to clarify that for the Cthulhu boys designs, I only designed Sammy – the others were designed by the friends who play them! (Joey is Boo’s design, Jack is Mochi’s design, and Henry is Maf’s design). And I feel like those four also develop a lot just based on like, bouncing off of each others’ styles when we draw each others’ characters. For my own interpretations of the human BatIM characters a lot of it was just……. listening to audiologs a whole bunch, and taking the few scraps of description we have into account, and trying to make a visual that looked the way that the character felt to me, with a dash of fandom inspiration since I’d absorbed a lot of other takes before designing my own. You can kinda tell I was going with my gut a lot on the designs since they aren’t as diverse as they could be; admittedly I really didn’t expect to still be drawing BENDY AND THE INK MACHINE fanart 2 years later!! I’m still proud of them, though, and put a lot of thought into how they should feel – I wanted to capture that “devilish” look Buddy describes for Norman; I wanted Sammy to be pointy, angry, stressed to the breaking point, and attractive in a weird way; I wanted to make Susie someone who looked almost like a cartoon IRL, like she should’ve been perfect, etc etc etc.

Anyway, D&D ASSIGNMENTS,

I feel very confident that Joey’s a bard, with speaking (maybe also dancing) as his perform skill. A lot of illusion and general ability to charm his way into and out of things but he’s great to have on your side.

Sammy could go in 200 different directions based on which part of him you emphasis, but I’m gonna say barbarian whose passion and job happens to be music for his pre-ink self (he is NOT a bard), and a few levels of either cleric or warlock for his post-ink self. It’s a tough call – Warlock has good “bound to an unknowable entity” vibes and is a simpler spellcasting class with a limited number of spells, which is good for Sammy, but clerics are the ones who have to beseech their deity for an hour every day to get spells at all, and historically stress devotion more heavily than warlock does. Ultimately I might go with Warlock just I don’t think Sammy would play a support role well, and that Sammy having a high CHA seems more likely than Sammy having a high WIS – like yeah, his perception check should be good, but his will save can’t be that high.

My instinct for Henry is some kinda Fighter – maybe Champion archetype? No matter what you throw at him Henry is going to SURVIVE it, unlike Sammy’s frenzied rage which is focused way more on violence than not dying. There are probably more interesting choices if you wanna play with Henry’s visions or give him gold-ink powers (Monk would be cool if you flavoured all the ki stuff as ink- or soul-related powers, and then monk’s theoretical ability to just survive without armour or anything and immunity to disease, poison, falling, and such allows Henry to make it when he really shouldn’t be able to), but if you wanna keep him in Just A Guy territory, I’d go fighter.

Jack is also a bard he just uses music as his perform skill. Alternately, make Jack a high-CHA rogue if you wanna make sticky fingers jokes about him stealing that valve; I think a charming attention-grabbing fellow who’s not bothered to hide out in the sewers when he needs a little less attention on him would suit the life of a rogue pretty well.

[squints at this party] I’m…. pretty sure this is a party of criminals.

[plutodotpng]

DnD CHARACTERS TIME WHOOOOOO since i'm obsessed with creating funky gay magical people, and have about 20 character ideas, over the past few months i've been drawing a few of them in between my usual fanart :) if you wanna know more i'm leaving some info below ;D

these six nerds are the most developed characters i have so far, and i've only gotten to play Thessa and Valax a little before becoming my party's DM. but here they are!!

🗡️🌊 Leonard, tiefling swashbuckler rogue Ah, this fucker. He's a pirate, he's horrible, he's a tease and he only cares about himself and making gold. No horribly depressed backstory except for like, class struggle and being an orphan, he's sure to make a show everywhere he goes. With a rapier and a dagger always by his side, getting himself into trouble is always at the top of his list. At least they're entertaining and fun to be around, and being enticing sure helps draw attention away from the pickpocketing every here and there.

⚔️🛡️ Thessalya, human battle master fighter Ok ok I'm guilty of giving her way more trauma than I should have, but I love making characters go through fucked up shit and still end up being kind. That's her. Her parents abandoned her while their village was attacked and destroyed, was then captured by some shitty army. Almost died a few times from failed escape attempts, all while she was eight, but eventually she was able to run away! And thank the gods, some good knights took her in and helped her! Now she was two cool dads that taught her how to fight (and sing a little) and she loves studying history and philosophy. She's seen a lot of evil in the world so she hopes she can be strong enough to protect those who need help every now and again.

🌲🌒 Valax Roseshade, wood elf, gloom stalker ranger He's sad. He's a forest hobo. He was literally raised by wolves. He's 300 years old and tired. He smells like grass and fungi all the time. He doesn't talk about his religious trauma. He doesn't talk much in general. Still, he's a deadly shot and a good addition to a party who needs help getting around any large terrain with trees. Always looking to keep the balance between nature and civilization, hunting undead evils and shit. Yeah.

🐺🔥 Navah, human barbarian, path of the beast (possible blood hunter multiclass) Navah also suffers a bad case of parents are dead (and lycanthropy, lol), but she channels her emotions in a very different way. She has a giant axe, she's hairy, she's loud, she likes taking up space and occasionally turns into a wolf. She controls her anger, the part of her which knows she deserves better, to help folk with some extra muscle, even forging her own badass weapons (as long as there's no silver involved).

🎶🎭 Asra, moon elf, college of lore bard The Veiled Siren, as most know her by her stage name, is but a simple bard traveling from town to town. They've been on the road for many years, and home is every place where she makes friends. With a complicated past, they've managed to leave everything behind and start anew, and are enjoying the simple things in life while on a quest to inspire confidence in those who struggle with believing in themselves.

🔫✨ Elphi, tiefling gunslinger fighter/order of scribes wizard Wizard with a gun my beloved. She's smart and skilled but visibly struggles holding conversations with anyone that's not a magical talking book. I don't know who gives a kid a gun, but thankfully whoever that was taught her proper safety. Well, whoever that was, no way they're crazier than the nerdy archivist that took her in and offered his library/home for the energetic pink little demon. She's read many books about wonderful and dangerous adventures and is looking forward to write her own!

>>> i love getting asks about anything so if there's any more fun info you're curios about, don't hesitate to drop by <33

[peninkwrites]

Oh, may I ask 4 (because I miss Romy), 31 and 40?

Yes yes! :D

4. Do you have any OCs? Do you have a story for them?

Oh this is gonna be a long one lol. Thank you for asking me this one I get to go a little wild!

I miss Romy too!!! She's one of my favorite characters I've ever made ahh she's so cool. I've thought about trying to write an original story, but it would involve a lot of detangling from the teen wolf canon which I haven't bothered to do yet lol. But I did play as her in a d&d urban fantasy oneshot!

For the uninitiated Romy is my punk rock butch lesbian werewolf hunter who was lowkey raised in a cult to hunt werewolves. she's got trauma and charm and no respect for authority. She has a propensity to adopt miserable bisexual men and is quite good at it, but everything she does is indeed, for the ladies <3

I have a pinterest board for her because she is everything I want to be.

My other major OC is my d&d character Row who I love so so much. They're a half-orc ranger/barbarian who was raised by frogs in the swamp. They are so big and strong and don't know what a society is <3 Their defining moral principle is "if it can beg for its life it is no longer meat" and that is their only moral quandary on what they can kill and eat. Everything is food until it starts begging. This doesn't change, but in general after some character development they're a bit less isolated, they're happily "married" to an anxious elf cleric whose god is justice (something Row doesn't really believe in) and a father of one. They do believe in protecting their pack above all else <3. And all their frog family is dead. so. they've been abandoned since they were like 12 until they got some found family who they would do anything for! They're a strange creature, a bit wild, good at making soup and carrying people and killing things with almost joyful abandon. They were fearless for the first 23 years of their life until they realized there are some things they cannot escape into the swamp to get away from. Like alternate dimensions. They've recently learned what "guilt" is, and worse it was for something they had no control over. Like their husband getting stabbed in their place

I also have a pinterest board for them too because some things about them I cannot describe. It's a vibe.

Aaaand one more bigger oc I have is a miserable little man.

His name is Ritz (short for "the beast of many rituals" which is his stage name) who is a fake medium/conman. He's in his 40s. He's single and hating it. And also a whore. He's got two ex wives and mixed success on reconciling with them and 4 daughters that he loves more than life itself. He's a failure in every way except fatherhood. At the very least he tries his best. He sleeps on his best friend's couch even though technically he's homeless. He does not realize he is madly in love with that best friend and his best friend doesn't realize either! He drinks too much on week nights (because weekends are for the girls!) He's in debt to some bad people, but he keeps that stuff as far away from his daughters as possible, taking more and more dangerous jobs to try and wipe that record clean. The majority of the world doesn't respect him and worse for the most part they're right to. He's a liar and a cheat (but never on his wives! he was an absent figure because he doesn't know how to settle down and that is what wrecked his marriages broadly speaking) who gets into trouble with his big mouth and sneaky hands. The crux of his character arc is incited by him working a job at an actual haunted house and finding out he's actually a medium. That leads to many mental crises. Alas. One day hopefully he'll be proud of himself the way his daughters are and he'll kiss his best friend on the mouth (sober!). I could write a novel about this silly little man. maybe one day.

He also has a pinterest board

Yeah, those are the big three! I love them all so much. love to write something with them someday lol

31. I answered here!

40. Write a 9-word fic.

(ohh this is a challenge. but I get to go back to my scisaac boys so I can't complain :) (this reads more like a fic summary??? but it's nine words what can ya do)

Isaac hasn't been home in days. Scott starts worrying.

[thenerdyindividual]

Hi! I've been following your Barabarian King story on AO3, and I was wondering if you could give a non-DnD person a primer on the different classes all the characters are? (Also! I noticed on your blog description that you're ace, so hello from a fellow ace!)

Hello fellow ace! I am absolutely down to explain the classes. This is going to be kind of long though, so most of the information is going under the cut. Also none of this is necessary to read Barbarian King, but it is fun.

There are thirteen classes in D&D, and they are generally divided between martial classes (the classes that hit stuff with weapons), and magic caster classes. In Martial Class we have: Fighters, Barbarians, Monks, Paladins, Rangers, and Rogues. In Caster Class we have: Clerics, Druids, Sorcerers, Wizards, Warlocks, Bards, and Artificers. Each of these classes also have various sub-classes that give you different abilities at higher levels, but I will only break down the character specific sub-classes. I also will break each of these general classes down, starting with the characters. Also keep in mind that characters can do something called multi-class, meaning someone can be a fighter and a sorcerer, or a druid and a warlock.

Barbarian

This is what Arthur is. Barbarians' whole thing is hitting really hard, and taking less damage. When a barbarian uses a special skill called Rage (what Arthur is using in chapter one and the most recent chapter), it fills them with uncontrollable anger and that anger acts as a sort of shield. It means that when they take damage from a weapon, they take half the amount a different class would.

Subclass: Spirit Totem, Bear. Arthur channels the spirit of a bear while he is in rage. This specific sub-class allows him to take half as much damage on all types of damage except for psychic while raging. Meaning that even if someone used a spell that would normally set him on fire for ten damage, he only takes five.

Sorcerer

This is one of the classes Merlin is. He is multi-classing into warlock which I will get into later. Sorcerers have innate magical abilities whereas other magic classes either get their powers from a magical being, or from learning it. Sorcerers can get theirs by birth, a weird arcane occurrence, or any other number of things. They can use things called sorcery points to manipulate the spells they cast which is something no other caster class can do.

Sub-Class: Shadow. Merlin is a shadow sorcerer. This means his magic has special connection to shadows. It allows him to do things like teleport between shadows, summon essentially a hell hound, and if his health drops to zero he can pop back up with one health.

Warlock

This is the other class that Merlin is. Warlocks get their magic from patrons (magical beings). They don’t get to cast as many spells as other classes, but they do get to cast spells with max damage a certain number of times.

Sub-class: Celestial. Warlocks with celestial patrons get healing spells and some other stuff, but I only gave Merlin one level of it so that he could cast healing magic like he does in canon. Sorcerers do not get healing spells, and other warlock sub-classes don’t either.

Wizard

This is Morgana. Wizard’s get their magic by studying super hard. They have spell books and can copy new spells they find into their spell books. Most caster classes either have the spells they have, or have access to all the spells available to their class. Wizards can pick up spells they find while adventuring and gain access to them by copying them into a spell book.

Sub-Class: Divination. I chose this one because of Morgana’s prophetic visions. How this works in game is that the wizard rolls two rolls at the beginning of the day, and can replace other rolls with the rolls they came up with earlier. So if someone rolls an 8 and it fails, a divination wizard who rolled a 16 can “see the future” and choose to replace the 8 with the 16.

Artificer

This is Gwen. Artificerers are essentially magical blacksmiths. They can infuse the items they create with magic.

Sub-Class: Armorer. I chose this for Gwen because of her history in canon of working at her father’s forge. She has experience with weapons. I gave her skills to enhance armor, weapons, and crossbows. That’s why the knights all bring her their armor for repair.

Fighter

What it says in the title. They use swords, and can hit with almost every weapon. They also have a limited ability to heal themselves to keep fighting. Very good at combat. A lot of the knights are multi-classed with this.

Subclass: Champion. This is our boy Lancelot. It lets him do more damage on high rolls, and take hits that were meant for other people.

Subclass: Battle Master. This is one of the classes Elyan is. This sub-class allows him to learn specific fighting tactics. In this case he has learned to disarm people, and maneuver people so his fellow knights can hit.

Rogue

Rogues are sneaky. That’s their whole thing. They do more damage when they sneak up on people, or have friends nearby distracting the person they are attacking. They can also runaway or hide after attacking without getting attacked in return.

Subclass: Scout. This is the other class Elyan is. It lets him move away from enemies coming at him without anyone getting an attack on him. It also gives him extra help when he is using skills that involve surviving in the wilderness, or when getting information about the natural world.

Subclass: Swashbuckler. This is our boy Gwaine. He isn’t so much super sneaky, as so self confident and rakish that it becomes distracting. His showiness can even direct attacks from his friends to himself (think the scene where he punches a guy in the ace when we first meet him).

Monk

Think kung-fu movie. Monks are fast, and they don’t hit hard but they hit a lot. They can spend things called ki points to hit more, and to enact special effects like temporarily stunning their opponent. Ki points can be used for other abilities based on the sub-class.

Sub-class: Drunken Way. Also our boy Gwaine. This was mostly a joke about how much he likes to drink, but it does let him pop back up much faster than other classes if he gets knocked down, and redirect attack. Both of these are things we see him do in the intro scene in canon.

Ranger

They are hunters with connections to the land. They tend to favor bow and arrows over swords. They are good at tracking, camping, and all things woods. Primarily they are martial classes, but they do gain some spell casting ability at later levels. Their spells either have to do with nature, or the skills involved in hunting.

Subclass: hunter. This is what I made Percival. This makes him extra good at tracking prey, and killing it. Also gives him extra protection against creatures attacking him.

Paladin

Magical Fighter. Paladins get their martial prowess from training, but they get their limited casting abilities from their connection to a god. Most of their spells involve doing more damage with their hits.

Sub-Class: Oath of Crown. This one just sounded the most bootlicker so that’s why I picked it for Leon. He can force people to fight him, and heal people around him.

For the classes no one in the fic is.

Cleric

Get their magic from a god much like paladins, but they are a full casting class. They tend to focus a lot on healing, but can also do some damn good damage. This is one of the classes that have access to all the spells available for the class, and switch out which ones they use each day.

Bard

Jaskier from the Witcher if he could use his performance to cast spells. They do a lot of damage, but also having access to minor healing spells unlike sorcerers or warlocks who have a similar casting style.

Druids

Get their arcane ability from nature. Can turn into any animal they have seen before. Most of their spells have a nature-y component to them if they are doing damage.

So there you go! Layman’s D&D. Keep in mind that I have only been playing for a little while so my descriptions may not be the best, but I hope this helped! And I hope you are enjoying Barbarian King.