#3e sun

[sigery]

The 'nice' Eclipse from my 3 Eclipse dream originally sacrificed himself so his Sun could live. Their Moon was quite happy but Sun was definitely not. Tension rose because Sun was upset about how Moon had treated their little brother and wanted to bring him back again while Moon insisted that Eclipse had been a parasite and they were both better off without him.

Things came to a head when Moon caught Sun talking to Eclipse who he had successfully awoken in the mindscape. Moon thought Eclipse was trying to 'corrupt' Sun again so he could get the body back (completely forgetting Eclipse willingly gave up the body before because he's a idiotic jackass). So Sun fled.

Sun went from dimension to dimension, looking for someone to help them, but every time Sun mentioned Eclipse, he was sent away or almost killed.

Sun finally made it to the 'evil' Eclipse's dimension and despite the power difference, insisted that this Eclipse help them. 'evil' Eclipse agreed because A) Sun wasn't a spineless coward and he could respect that and B) this was the most amusing thing that had happened in a while.

Both 'nice' Eclipse and Sun got completely new bodies because 'evil' Eclipse called their old body a heap of scrap.

Sun finally reached her femboy dreams minus the boy part

[miraclemaya]

i should read the exalted core book at least

[oinonsana]

realities, maximalism,and the need for big book™️

some gubat banwa design thoughts vomit: since the beginning of its development i've kind of been enraptured with trying to really go for "fiction-first" storytelling because PbtA games really are peak roleplaying for me, but as i wrote and realized that a lot of "fiction first" doesn't work without a proper sort of fictional foundation that everyone agrees on. this is good: this is why there are grounding principles, genre pillars, and other such things in many PbtA games--to guide that.

broken worlds is one of my favs bc of sheer vibes

Gubat Banwa didn't have much in that sense: sure, I use wuxia and xianxia as kind of guideposts, but they're not foundational, they're not pillars of the kind of fiction Gubat Banwa wants to raise up. there wasn't a lot in the sense of genre emulation or in the sense of grounding principles because so much of Gubat Banwa is built on stuff most TTRPG players haven't heard about. hell, it's stuff squirreled away in still being researched academic and anthropological circles, and thanks to the violence of colonialism, even fellow filipinos and seasians don't know about them

this is what brought me back to my ancient hyperfixations, the worlds of Exalted, Glorantha, Artesia, Fading Suns... all of them have these huge tomes of books that existed to put down this vast sprawling fantasy world, right? on top of that are the D&D campaign settings, the Dark Suns and the Eberrons. they were preoccupied in putting down setting, giving ways for people to interact with the world, and making the world alive as much as possible.

one of my main problems with gubat banwa was trying to convey this world that i've seen, glimpsed, dreamed of. this martial fantasy world of rajas and lakans, sailendras and tuns, satariyas and senapatis and panglimas and laksamanas and pandai... its a world that didn't really exist yet, and most references are steeped in either nationalism or lack of resources (slowly changing, now)

i didn't want to fall back into the whole gazeteer tourist kind of shit when it came to writing GB, but it necessitated that the primary guidelines of Gubat Banwa were set down. my approach to it was trying to instill every aspect of the text, from the systems to the fluff text to the way i wrote to the way things were phrased, with the essence of this world i'm trying to put forward. while i wrote GB mainly for me and fellow SEAsian people, economically my main market were those in the first world countries that could afford to buy the book. grokking the book was always going to be severely difficult for someone that didn't have similar cultures, or are uninterested in the complexities of human culture. thus why GB had to be a big book.

in contemporary indie ttrpg spaces (where I mostly float in, though i must admit i pay more attention to SEAsia spaces than the usual US spaces) the common opinion is that big books like Exalted 3e are old hat, or are somewhat inferior to games that can cram their text into short books. i used to be part of that camp--in capitalism, i never have enough time, after all. however, the books that do go big, that have no choice to go big, like Lancer RPG, Runequest, Mage, Exalted are usually the ones that have something really big it needs to tell you, and they might be able to perform the same amount of text-efficient bursting at the seams flavor writing but its still not enough.

thats what happened to GB, which I wanted to be, essentially, a PbtA+4e kind of experience, mechanically speaking. i very soon abandoned those titles when i delved deeper into research, incorporated actual 15th century divination tools in the mechanics, injected everything with Martial Arts flavor as we found our niche

all of this preamble to say that no matter how light i wanted to go with the game, i couldnt go too light or else people won't get it, or i might end up writing 1000 page long tome books explaining every detail of the setting so people get it right. this is why i went heavy on the vibes: its a ttrpg after all. its never gonna be finished.

i couldnt go too light because Gubat Banwa inherently exists on a different reality. think: to many 3 meals a day is the norm and the reality. you have to eat 3 meals a day to function properly. but this might just be a cultural norm of the majority culture, eventually co opted by capitalism to make it so that it can keep selling you things that are "breakfast food" or "dinner food" and whatnot. so its reality to some, while its not reality to others. of course, a lot of this reality-talk pertains mostly to social--there is often a singular shared physical reality we can usually experience*

Gubat Banwa has a different fabric of reality. it inherently has a different flow of things. water doesn't go down because of gravity, but because of the gods that make it move, for example. bad things happen to you because you weren't pious or you didn't do your rituals enough and now your whole community has to suffer. atoms aren't a thing in gb, thermodynamics isn't a real thing. the Laws of Gubat Banwa aren't these physical empirical things but these karmic consequent things

much of the fiction-first movement has a sort of "follow your common sense" mood to it. common sense (something also debatable among philosophers but i dont want to get into that) is mostly however tied to our physical and social realities. but GB is a fantasy world that inherently doesn't center those realities, it centers realities found in myth epics and folk tales and the margins of colonized "civilization", where lightnings can be summoned by oils and you will always get lost in the woods because you don't belong there.

so Gubat Banwa does almost triple duty: it must establish the world, it must establish the intended fiction that arises from that world, and then it must grant ways to enforce that fiction to retain immersion--these three are important to GB's game design because I believe that that game--if it is to not be a settler tourist bonanza--must force the player to contend with it and play with it within its own terms and its own rules. for SEAsians, there's not a lot of friction: we lived these terms and rules forever. don't whistle at night on a thursday, don't eat meat on Good Friday, clap your hands thrice after lighting an incense stick, don't make loud noise in the forests. we're born into that [social] reality

this is why fantasy is so important to me, it allows us to imagine a different reality. the reality (most of us) know right now (i say most of us because the reality in the provinces, the mountains, they're kinda different) is inherently informed by capitalist structures. many people that are angry at capitalist structures cannot fathom a world outside capitalist structures, there are even some leftists and communists that approach leftism and revolution through capitalism, which is inherently destructive (its what leads to reactionaries and liberalism after all). fantasy requires that you imagine something outside of right now. in essence read Ursula K Le Guin

i tweeted out recently that you could pretty easily play 15-16th century Luzon or Visayas with an OSR mechanic setting and William Henry Scott's BARANGAY: SIXTEENTH CENTURY PHILIPPINE CULTURE AND SOCIETY, and I think that's purely because barebones OSR mechanics stuff fits well with the raiding and adventuring that many did in 15-16th century Luzon/Visayas, but a lot of the mechanics wont be comign from OSR, but from Barangay, where you learn about the complicated marriage customs, the debt mechanics, the social classes and stratum...

so thats why GB needs to be a (relatively) big book, and why I can contend that some books need to be big as well--even if their mechanics are relatively easy and dont need more than that, the book, the game, might be trying to relay something even more, might be trying to convey something even more than that. artesia, for example, has its advancements inherently tied to its Tarot Cards, enforcing that the Arcana guides your destiny. runquest has its runes magic, mythras (which is kinda generic) has pretty specific kinds of magic systems that immediately inform the setting. this is why everything is informed by something (this is a common Buddhist principle, dependent arising). even the most generic D&D OSR game will have the trappings of the culture and norms of the one that wrote and worked on it. its written from their reality which might not necessarily be the one others experience. that's what lived experience is, after all

*live in the provinces for a while and you'll doubt this too!

[anzulvr]

Hiii! May I request for some Hcs about Karma and a "famous" reader for something like acting/modeling related because her family? But actually her mother and brother are a little piece of shit with her, just like her internal environment. Her attitude at first is a bit dry, but she is a loving person (Plus if have a fear of knives and learn to deal with Karma and the murder thing in the classroom)

(Btw, english is not my first language, sorry if something sounds weird. Idk if this is very specific, I'M SORRY, it's been on my mind for a long time, I love your writing, it's the first time I ask for :( AAAAA I KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT OF REQUETS, take your time💐)

Thank you for the request! Sorry it took this long, I’ve been busy :(

Karma Akabane x Famous reader

(more description in the ask!)

. ˚◞♡   ⃗ 🎐 ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

— If there’s one thing he makes fun of you the most it’s definitely the fame thing, anytime he sees you in a magazine or TV he snaps a pic on his phone and sends it to you like you don’t already know your on it😭

— Being kinda awkward at first isn’t something he minds he actually likes poking fun at you and trying to get you off guard.

— once you do let your guard down everyone is surprised Karma is the classmate who got you to open up, it’s an unexpected match but really fitting.

— sun x moon trope, (reader = sun, Karma = moon)

You both are inseparable and can talk about anything once comfortable enough, you’re also able to relate to each other, while your family issues come from different circumstances you guys are able to entrust in one another once you get comfortable enough and even find some relatable points in the conversation. (He’s the best secret keeper and gives surprisingly helpful advice when he wants to.)

— He finds your fear of knives and assassination in class endearing considering the knifes are more rubber like, he pokes fun at you for it but at the same time gives you advice and tries to help you get over your fear.

— if the fame is pushed on soely by your family and it’s not really what you want he’ll encourage you to just drop the whole thing and kinda rebel against what they want, wanting you to have control of your own life. (Parents wouldn’t approve of him whatsoever but it’s okay Karma for the win. This kinda depends on if he’s willing to put up a front for them and act like the “perfect” guy in their eyes or if they’re truly the worst and he doesn’t care enough to sugarcoat things for them, could go either way.)

— he acts like the paparazzi for fun, you’ll be sitting doing homework or something and his phone camera flash will go off (he purposely has flash on to annoy you)

— corniest nicknames depending on what you do, he’s also the one who picks your code name from class, something like “Hollywood”

Bonus note:

If you do Film, Kayano is mega jealous AND starstruck by you because the girl is a theatre nerd, definitely recognized you when you first went to 3E because she’s a fan and DEFINITELY asks you to hook her up with jobs in the film industry 😭 also depends what movies [name] acts in though because if it’s more action Nagisa would be second in line for that autograph (right behind Karma who asks for two because he wants to sell one on eBay)

MIMURA TOO OMG (the director student of 3E) he’s asking so many questions of the industry and is invested in everything you say.

If you do modeling, Rio is the first to recognize you when you walk in because she’s obsessed with your makeup/clothing brand. Also Yada whose into fashion and all that stuff, Yada is the type to make those cute little fashion inspiration boards and you’re on it of course.

Sorry for any spelling mistakes!! Please tell me if you catch any so I can fix! 🩷

[kfkr1ze]

[18TRIP] Brand New Dawn - R1ze FULL VER.

Renga, Yukikaze, Kafka, Ten, Liguang

----

Good morning, hey my bro

Can you do this party yo?

Deep in my chest, I was sleeping

You don’t be blind

Kafka & Liguang : Let’s draw a picture to signal the start of a brand new sunrise

“Come on!”(Come on!) “Where shall we go?” [1] (Go!)

When gold burns at the edge of this blue sea

It’ll be a morning of thanks

Good morning! Morning!

Don’t worry! As you can see,

The night’s already over yay, yeah! (Yay, yeah!)

It’s hard to see what’s in front of you [2]. Yes, there was a light there all along

I feel like dancing, no matter what day it is

Good morning! It’s our celebration

Good morning! Can’t stop moving, let’s start the party

Good morning! It’s our celebration

Good morning! Can’t stop moving, let’s start the party

How about a day that’s less than a birthday or an anniversary?

Please give me a celebration that doesn’t belong to anyone!

A paradise of mutual support

Kafka & Liguang : where no one is left out

Come on! (Come on!) Let’s go get it back (Go!)

Whenever the night stretches on, my tears can’t seem to let up

Keep shining, and the morning will come

Welcome to brand new “Dawn”！！

Kafka & Yukikaze : By making the impossible possible, black ships start to sail [3a.]

Yukikaze & Renga : Divine wind blows away the remaining snow [3b.]

Yukikaze & Renga : And it melts, sending away another ship 

Renga & Liguang : I have no more regrets that I need to bite my fangs at [3c.][4]

Renga & Liguang : Whether that’s north, south, east, or west.

Liguang & Ten : Us 5 together, resounding our gratitude with a song and bow [3d.] [5]

Ten & Kafka : Hoping that the wind in the sky doesn’t come [3e.] [6]

Even so, I’ll be with you forever (Yeah!) Come on, let’s go (Yeah!)

The R1ze of the sun warms my heart

I thought there was no place for me, but it turns out that’s not the case

As I searched for the light, I kept running in the dark

Resistance, mistakes, embarrassment, words that don’t last forever

It’s not enough, it’s not enough, it’s still not enough

We never seem to learn from our mistakes, like idiots

But, I ended up where I’m at now, and it’s the best place to be

Right now is the night of apologies so that

It’ll be a morning of thanks tomorrow

Good morning! Morning!

Yukikaze & Liguang : Don’t worry! Look at the different colors

Kafka & Ten : Please choose the one you like Yay, yeah! (Yay, yeah!)

No matter what I do, there’s nothing strange about this party

But I’m just so happy I could start laughing! Uh Yeah

Good morning! Morning!

Don’t worry! As you can see,

The night’s already over yay, yeah! (Yay, yeah!)

It’s hard to see what’s in front of you. Yes, there was a light there all along

I feel like dancing, no matter what day it is

Good morning! It’s our celebration

Good morning! Can’t stop moving, let’s start the party

Good morning! It’s our celebration

Good morning! Can’t stop moving, let’s start the party

Notes — ✈︎

There are a LOT of references to Dawn in this one. For example, using their names in the song! I recommend reading the Dawn translation by gyaxa too !

1. The MV for Brand New Dawn translated these lines already, so I kept them as the MV has them

2. The literal translation for this part is “it’s dark under the lighthouse”, which is an idiom that basically means people can’t tell what’s happening right under them. I couldn’t think of a short way to word this so sorry if the line’s a bit long…

3. Okay so this whole rap part has a lot of references to names and stuff so I separated it based on which person they’re referencing

↳ 3a. Kafka’s name is 大黒 可不可 .「Making the impossible possible」 is 「不可能を可能にする」、 having the kanji for Kafka. 「Black ships start to sail」 is 「黒船いざ大出航」、having the kanji for Oguro

↳ 3b. Yukikaze’s name is 神名 雪風 . 「Divine wind blows away the remaining snow」 is 「名残り雪は神風に吹かれ」, the kanji for Yukikaze Kamina

↳ 3c. Renga’s name is 西園 練牙 . 「I have no more regrets that I need to bite my fangs at」 is 「牙噛むような未練はもうない」、 having the kanji for Renga. 「Whether that’s north, south, east, or west」 has a kanji for Nishizono 「東西南北なんのソノ」

↳ 3d. Liguang’s name is 鹿 礼光 . 「Us 5 together, resounding our gratitude with a song and bow」  has Lu and part of Liguang 「華麗に回礼して 響かせる５名の鹿鳴」

↳ 3e. Ten’s name is 叢雲 添. 「Hoping that the wind in the sky doesn’t come」is「月に叢雲花に風」 which has Murakumo, and 「Even so, I’ll be with you forever」 is 「されどいつまでも付き添う」 which has Ten.

4. [SPOILERS FOR THE R1ZE MAIN STORY !!!!] Renga’s name 練牙 has the word 牙 in it. It’s also pronounced “Kiba” which is what Liguang calls the original Renga.

5. Ok I had to research this one. So the part where they said ５名の鹿鳴 confused me, but apparently in the Book of Songs, the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, a deer’s cry (鹿鳴) is a song sung at banquets to entertain guests.

6. 「Hoping that the wind in the sky doesn’t come」 (月に叢雲花に風 , literal translation is “clouds in the moon, wind in the flowers”) is a phrase meaning that things are going well, so you’re hoping that nothing bad happens. Like “all good things must come to an end.”

[vintagerpg]

A Gathering Darkness (1998) kicks of the mind flayer Monstrous Arcana trilogy, which involves the delightfully pulpy scheme by the illithids to extinguish the sun in order to take over the surface world. That’s where we’re going, though — the substance of this adventure is on a much smaller scale, focusing on rooting out a cell of mind flayers who secretly control a city.

Blessedly, while the adventure is still event-y, it is not an event-crawl like so many other ‘90s modules. Rather, it presents four separate investigations (each tied to a specific locale — tower, sewers, a warehouse and the city guardhouse. Completing these (in any order and with a variety of potential solutions) leas the players to the illithid caverns and the final confrontation with Shuluth, the mind flayer leader. Shuluth is an interesting cat, in that he has a larger legacy despite dying here — he was resurrected as an example of a legendary villain in 3E and immortalized with a pretty cool miniature that involves a sort of mechanical eye patch.

Which reminds me: it is worth noting that this interpretation of mind flayers is extremely science fictiony. They have goggles and wet suits that they can use to withstand the sun on the surface and some, like Shuluth, employ psionic-powered exoskeletons to make themselves tougher (despite their ability to eat brains, most flayers are pretty squishy if you get the drop on them). This might not align with more mystical or Lovecraftian preconceptions of the monsters, so YMMV. I like it though.

Oh, and, that monster on the cover isn’t in the adventure at all, unless I missed it somehow.

[fantasyfantasygames]

Beyond the Shield of Time

Beyond the Shield of Time, Titania, 2005

If you own entirely too many RPGs, Beyond the Shield of Time (BtSoT) wants to leverage that.

The basic premise goes like this: Someone is stealing major artifacts from across a number of worlds. Your characters have been drawn into their "slipstream", pulled from their own world into a new one where the thief is their only way home. The game hops from world to world as you track down the villain, they escape you, you fall through another portal, and you slowly gain what you need to get ahead of them. Eventually, you confront them and their secret is revealed, and the game ends soon thereafter.

The coolest and most difficult part of BtSoT is that it's not a game. It's a framework for running a campaign across multiple games. They provide a semi-universal character description template that works across a wide variety of fantasy RPGs, and you reference that in order to make new characters in each world you fall into. Your characters are changed in the process - someone built as an assassin in Burning Wheel might end up as a bard in Dark Sun D&D, because that's the role that bards have in that setting.

BtSoT has guidelines for conversion from their template into D&D (Rules Cyclopedia, 2e, and 3e), Burning Wheel, Dark Hammer, MERP, WFRP 1e, GURPS, HERO, and a handful of others. There are examples of suitable artifacts in each one, from the Silmarils to the Eye of Vecna. It's a shame Glasswork wasn't published for another two years, because it would have been a perfect world to pop through. It has recommendations for what other games will work well with this system and which won't. I appreciate that BtSoT isn't one of those books that claims to be universal even within the fantasy genre. For instance, it excludes Exalted on purpose rather than by accident, for reasons of power level. It's going to be a lot of work between sessions, but I feel like it would be a hell of a cool game. Then again, I'm the guy who's reviewed almost 100 games so far, so, grain of salt.

The art is fairly good. I think it might be Storn? There's more than one piece with the heroes walking through a portal and coming out changed, with two different worlds on the opposing sides of the page. There's another that's very reminiscent of the "Frodo reaching for the ring" image, but with a Dark Sun halfling reaching for what is still clearly the One Ring.

I feel like the reveal of the secret doesn't 100% work any more. Social values and expectations have changed since 2001, and people are familiar with different cultural touchstones. Much as I love the Amber setting (which is half of the reveal), I'd probably want to rewrite the ending for a more modern audience.

Titania was one of the first game designers to publish as herself (or even a pseudonym) rather than as a company name. Even Monte Cook was still "Monte Cook Games" rather than just his name. Now that's basically the standard if you're in the younger bracket of game designers. There were some rumors that Titania left the industry, but there have been some more recent books with her trademark writing style, so I think she's still out there somewhere.

[surrealbill]

This is one of the player characters from the 2003 Dungeons and Dragons board game. The sculpt is based on Jozan the Iconic cleric from 3e and 3.5, I’ll include some art at the end, couldn’t find the artist though and I can’t read the signature.

Decided not to stick to the art. Not sure what god he’s supposed to worship as I’m not big on a lot of dnd lore. I think his shield is supposed to be the sun but I decided to paint it like it was The Green Man.

This was my first attempt at static grass, it’s pretty patchy now so I don’t think I’ve got the hang of it.

[xxxdragonfucker69xxx]

The Abyssals crowdfunding campaign closes in about 24 hours.

I did not get to hourinblack all their charms. As penance, I am going to skim just the end of each charmtree, and tell you about the biggest, coolest power of each tree. I am also going to do this for necromancy because i am a necromantic slut.

ARCHERY:

World-Wounding Darkness: Shoot a hole in the world, leaving a black hole that sucks people in. This isn't actually near the end of the tree but it caught my eye and I was like holy fuck.

Heart-Numbing Spike: When you shoot someone, wound their ability to care about things.

Last Days Portent: Shoot out the fucking sun. Kills the lights over the battlefield. If you're being goth about it, kill the lights for miles around.

ATHLETICS

Mountains Become Dust: Physical scale is no longer a limit on feats of scale or destruction.

Light-Killing Stride: Move faster than someone. Didn't ask how fast they moved, you move faster than them.

Temple-Shattering Ruination Curse: Destroy a building to curse the land, making it shadowy and blighted and supernaturally scary. if you were being intense about it, it becomes an abyssal demesne, a permanent upwelling of goth energy

AWARENESS

All-Seeing Overlord's Lair: Extend your senses throughout your stronghold, you can't be surprised inside and your ghostly sentinels (you know, the wraiths you cast to patrol for you) can roam throughout

Morbid Inspiration Witness: Find inspiration in " the morbid, the eerie, or the darkly beautiful: an albatross dropping dead in flight, three  black cats crossing the same street in sequence, lightning striking a distant temple." That inspiration grants you bonuses on various projects, and also makes you care deeply about it. This is enhanced by further charms like Fervent Caprice Fever and Unrelenting Obsession Genius

Piercing Gaze of the Unmaker: Pick a place within, like 20 miles. You see it like it's your lair and you're there. Or maybe you want to cast your gaze on your rival instead? they are going to feel a crawling sensation up their spine from your gaze through <3

BRAWL

Illustrative Overkill Technique: When you kill or incapacitate a guy, it's so fucked up you can use it to threaten anyone else. Or like blow up a building or whatever

Explosive Gore Eulogy (!!): When you do that ^ you can also use their corpse as a weapon. Jesus christ.

Life-Annihilating Castigation: Pyreflame your attack and multiply (!!) damage by your opponent's wound penalty. If you get their ass they explode with pyreflame from within, and if it kills them their ghost burns up on the spot

Void Avatar Embodiment: Now with 0% prana! Envelop yourself in the void, dealing aggravated damage on touch and withering ranged attacks away. Also you're as close to death as you want to be <3

BUREAUCRACY

Hateful Scorn Panopticon: when you use Accursed Overlord Authority to inspire hatred in your followers, you can sense when any of them encounter your enemy, and where.

Rotting Palace Proclamation: Reveal that you embedded a traitor in a rival organization. Or was it someone we knew all along?

Iron Tyrant Reign: When you do that Accursed Overlord thing, if it's a Defining Principle you can carve it into the world as an Old Law: everyone who hears or reads it must follow, words bleed through coverings or hover like fire in the air, the mindless dead automatically obey

Suffer No Betrayal: When you do the Panopticon, you can also count people who've broken your laws as enemies. You can immediately gain Defining Hatred... and possibly carve that as an old law with Iron Tyrant Reign? That isn't in the charm im just reading between the lines

CRAFT

Malicious Mechanism Mastery: Jesus this one is a cartoon supervillain bit. Reveal that an enemy has stumbled into your trap! If it's a corpse-based trap, it's worse!

Fivefold Malice Curse: Lay a curse on something you make, for instance if its bearer breaks an oath or acts against one of your principles. and if they trigger the curse they get blasted by your Bleak Expiations, aka Abyssal Limit Break aka You Cannot Escape The Goth

Soul-Tarnishing Treasure: Instead of an overt curse you can cause it to inspire vice, a sword demanding bloodshed or a chalice inspiring drink. You can't be totally free of this unless you give the object up

Drawn to Death's Beauty: When you use Magnificent Cenotaph Allure to imbue something with emotion, you can also fill it with the mesmerizing lure of death, so that people wander towards it like a will o wisp and cant look away

Betrayal-Spurring Gifts: Annatar their shit socially if you've given them something you've made. &btw cursing that shit is free

DODGE

Hanging Shrike Focus: Dodge up into the air and float back down, or fall on your enemies maybe

Queen of Killers Pirouette (!!): dodge so good you turn it back on them, like fucking zelda's neutral-B in smash

Tenebrous Cloud Dissolution: DRACULA FOG its fucking dracula fog

Breath-Seizing Mist: Hey how would you like it if dracula fog was inside your lungs

Icy Sepulcher Entombment: When you cause someone to despair at hitting you the ice literally grows around your heart and then freezes them over. The freezing stuff is actually pretty early in the tree but this is setup for

In Awful Glory Crowned: When you bring them to despair with Frozen Fears Blossom you can also drain their Willpower, and if you drain it all they become obedient to you. Unless they're unimportant in which case they might just fall over dead, turn into a ghost, and then be obedient to you

INTEGRITY

Freedom In Chains: If forced to act against death's chivalry or your principles, brood about it, then break free

Clarity in Hatred: Shaping defense if you're mad enough

Immortal Malevolence: If you've enshrined an intimacy with Eternal Enmity Approach, you can care so much that you simply do not die. Wake up the next sunset completely healed, but you can't use that intimacy again

INVESTIGATION

Heart-Haunting Condemnation: Scrooge a bitch. Nightmares and omens reinforce your accusations.

Bleak Justice Malediction: If your victim of the above draws on Ties to resist giving in to your accusations, the haunting spreads to those people and things too. If they die they haunt your victim. You can fully Book Of Job somebody here.

Omniscient Spymaster's Web. Know something. Your people told you. You think anyone can keep a secret from you?

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Proba-3 will constantly measure Sun's energy output

Proba-3 is such an ambitious mission that it needs more than one single spacecraft to succeed. In order for Proba-3's Coronagraph spacecraft observe the sun's faint surrounding atmosphere, its disk-bearing Occulter spacecraft must block out the fiery solar disk. This means Proba-3's Occulter ends up facing the sun continuously, making it a valuable platform for science in its own right.

The sunward side of the Occulter therefore hosts a dedicated instrument that will maintain a continuous measurement of the sun's total energy output, known as the total solar irradiance, which is a essential variable for climate studies.

The shoebox-sized Davos Absolute Radiometer, DARA, has been supplied to the mission by the Physical Meteorological Observatory Davos, PMOD, in Switzerland.

"Researchers used to talk about the 'solar constant' but in fact it is always changing slightly," explains Wolfgang Finsterle, DARA Principal Investigator at PMOD. "And it's essential to keep track of the total solar irradiance, because it is the dominant energy input to the surface of the Earth.

"It amounts to something like 99.978% of the energy available on Earth, including the conserved solar energy stored in coal and oil. It drives all the dynamic processes of Earth's climate, so even the tiniest variations are hugely significant."

The mountain-based PMOD has been studying total solar irradiance for more than a century, initially with ground-based instruments and then from the 1970s deploying space-based radiometers to acquire a continuous dataset. The World Meteorological Organization has mandated PMOD as the World Radiation Centre to calibrate radiation measurements across global UN monitoring programs.

Wolfgang adds, "Total solar irradiance varies along with the 11-year cycle of solar activity, and one of the most obvious ways to look for long-term energy drift is to compare total solar irradiance between consecutive solar minimia.

"This requires a long time-series of data, ideally coming from multiple instruments because single radiometers will undergo degradation in sensitivity from the hard ultraviolet in the sun's rays they are continuously exposed to. That said any degradation is very gradual: the radiometer aboard the ESA-NASA SOHO solar observatory for instance, which was launched in back 1995, is still working satisfactorily."

DARA's basic operating principle is simple. The radiometer possesses a 5-mm diameter cavity made from black-painted silver, possessing low temperature emissivity. For 15 seconds at a time, sunlight warms the interior of the cavity, then a shutter blade automatically closes at its entrance.

For the next 15 seconds, electric heat maintains the cavity's previous temperature—and the energy needed to maintain this temperature is extrapolated to the unit of total solar irradiance, which is watts per meter squared.

This process continues for the entire lifetime of the instrument—the actuated shutter design employed in DARA has been tested for millions of openings and closings in PMOD's vacuum chamber.

"DARA is an improvement on previous radiometer designs with an optimized cavity design to minimize unwanted straylight and a multi-channel measuring system for self-calibration," adds Wolfgang. "This generation of instrument also possesses a fully digital control loop, allowing the possibility of experimenting with higher frequency observations.

Two versions of this radiometer design have already flown, notes Werner Schmutz of PMOD, who oversaw its development: "A compact version called CLARA flew on Noway's NorSat-1 CubeSat in 2017, remaining operational to this day, while a previous DARA is serving aboard the Chinese FY-3E weather satellite, launched in 2021. So we have high confidence in the design, which can operate whenever the Proba-3 Occulter is pointed at the sun within half a degree of accuracy."

The main difference between Proba-3's DARA and previous radiometers will be its very elongated orbit, which will carry it 60 000 km above Earth's surface. DARA can automatically adjust to slight changes in the size of the solar disk based on how far it is away—which are also due to Earth's yearly elliptical orbit around the sun. All the radiometer needs to know is its position in space and its data gathering compensates for the shift.

[pathetic-gamer]

okay here's my hot take: D&D is a game about dungeons not the hero's journey.

Mechanically, it's about dungeons. This has been true from the very beginning, and remains true, regardless of what WotC says in their marketing. The culture can shift, and the goals and expectations players have when they gather a group and sit down to play can be anything under the sun and that's good, that's great, I want people to have fun!

None of this changes the fact that the rules of the game are designed to facilitate combat encounters (and traps and riddles and puzzles and such that you would find in a classic rpg dungeon). And it's not really a rules-light system in the first place ("smh noob, 5e has nothing on 2e with THAC0-" shhh, its okay. take my hand. let's make space vehicles in GURPS 3e together.), people just have a level of cultural familiarity that makes them think it is and thus that they can get by without reading the PHB when the extent of their knowledge is actually just "roll the big one to do stuff."

Of course you can tell a good story while you play! Of course you can have fun! It doesn't have to be nothing but rules and arithmetic all day every day - what I'm saying is just that vast heroic fantasy narratives are secondary.

So what do I mean when I say it's about dice-rolling?

I mean that the same thing that keeps combat interesting (a single d20 leads to lots of volatility and means crits are uncommon enough to be exciting, but common enough that someone at the table is almost guaranteed to get at least one in any given session) makes role-playing difficult sometimes (doesnt matter how persuasive your argument is - a nat 1 persuasion check is a nat 1 persuasion check).

I mean that at the end of the day, whatever funky character work you want to do has to work with the game's mechanics. As fun and interesting as it would be to play a sneaky little trickster of a cleric, you simply will not have the dexterity or charisma to successfully steal that plot-important key while seducing the innkeeper.

I mean that the mechanics of the game, especially for DMs who aren't professional actors or improve comedians, are meant to support and reward clever fighting, not clever debates. Skills, abilities, class features - all of these assume your energy will be focused on fighting. It takes a lot of flexibility, homebrew, and house-ruling to move around that.

There are other games that are meant to facilitate really good rp, though! There are rule systems that are elegantly structured around soft skills and encourage cleverly handling social encounters, or systems with much more class flexibility to enable something like a trickster cleric to exist from day one.

So anyway. I say all of this as someone who loves lot of different ttrpgs, D&D 5e absolutely included, but you'll have so much fun exploring the vast world of ttrpgs if you would just let a game's rules inform how you play, and find a ruleset that matches your goals.

[invinciblerodent]

1) Will your OC get married and with who? 2) Will they have any children? What are their names?

OC Ask Game!

I think I’m gonna go on for a long (long, long, LONG) time about Iona, and mention the others kind of as a footnote, because I think Iona’s answers to these are just… the ones that are most interesting to me, lol

(fair warning looking back, this got PROFOUNDLY away from me- the TL; DR of it is that for Iona marriage is "yes, eventually" and kids are "no, never", for Arvid marriage is a "yes, of course, sure" and kids are "well if you want it", and for Petyr both are "hah! no. nope. no.")

So, this whole “what now” issue in Iona’s case, it’s… all a bit muddled.

As a little background to it, in 3e, it’s said that courtships between elves often take a very long time, sometimes decades, before a commitment is reached- which is understandable, especially considering that elves are also said to seldom fall out of love with one another, and don’t typically remarry after the death of one spouse. A commitment that’s meant to span a lifetime of centuries (whether the life of one has a natural endpoint or not is irrelevant), it makes sense that they’d take it seriously, and not jump into soul-bonds willy-nilly. (An albatross is definitely going onto her moodboard now, lol.)

I think both Iona and Astarion would still be kind of... feeling themselves out, by the end of the game, and neither of them would be drawn to the thought of “blissful mutual domesticity” just yet.

I mean, on top of being a quite young elf, she’s spent a good 80% of her life among humans: her experience with life is colored by the perceptions of a people who are constantly trying to outrun the rushing of a clock that might as well be standing still for her. So exploring what time even means to her, that’d be a very exciting prospect. While Astarion, he was even younger than she is now when he had the “elven” part of his identity taken away from him, only to be made into someone that’s seen as a tool first, monster second, and person a distant third. He’s eager to re-learn personhood and live again, so they’re both sort of… (re-?)discovering themselves and their “feyness” together, and in each other. 

My little idea is that after the Brain’s defeat, they’re going to spend one or two decades on solo adventuring: primarily looking for a way to allow him to walk in the sun again, but that… proves itself to be something of a wild goose chase. The travel itself is annoyingly cumbersome (either they have to shelter during the day and cover no ground, or he has to be polymorphed and be both unable to communicate and practically defenseless [can’t risk fighting, if his form is dismissed he’s dead]). But also, there are just… too many disappointments. Too many dead ends. Too many times they’ve gotten too close only to find out that they were either late, or misled, or just plain wrong about something.

I think he’d grow frustrated with it first, and grow reckless: strain against his limits, start pushing his luck with the Sun, start making dangerous mistakes, and it’d be her who’d start gently encouraging (cajoling, bargaining, eventually pleading with-) him that maybe they should return to the Gate. To regroup, try to find other avenues, head off in a different direction. And while he'd know she's right, agreeing… it'd still feel like he’s admitting defeat.

Of course, he’d try to put on an unbothered face, but she would still obviously be able to tell that he’s upset: primarily with himself, but also a little bit with… everything. Of feeling both free and trapped, both bursting with the desire to DO something, but also being… powerless.

Which (stay with me, we're a third of the way!) is the context in which the thought of kids and “marital bliss” would rear its ugly head.

Because I headcanon that vampire spawn are naturally sterile. (I know full vampires can sire mortal offspring, but since spawn can’t create new vampires via bite and the bite is almost always a penetration-allegory, I like to think that translates to them being just… unable to reproduce, period.) And elves in general already have far lower fertility rates, so even if he wasn’t sterile because of the vampirism but just maybe less fertile than usual, the chances of conception between the two of them would still be infinitesimally small.

And I mean, the topic really wouldn’t come up naturally, so I think Astarion would likely think that she’d eventually want children. I mean, he knows very well that she had been previously married to a human- humans usually want kids, so it’d be a natural assumption that she’d be on the same page as her ex-husband, and the fact that she doesn’t have kids now wouldn't be for a lack of wanting. (It is. It is for a lack of wanting. But both of them being ~excellent~ [pejorative] at communicating, he definitely wouldn’t ask- if only for fear of the answer he thinks he'd get.)

So it'd kind of… eat at him, for a while, the thought that at some point, she might grow to resent him. There'd be a small, niggling part of his mind that'd worry that at some point, the limitations would all prove too much, and she’d grow frustrated, tired of always having to work with and around his… shall we say, conditions. Beyond his partial reliance on her pain and literal body for sustenance, the physical differences between them, and the messiness of healing (the times he startles awake screaming, the times he can’t bear even the thought of being touched, the times he’s frustrated with himself and takes it out on her), this is just one more thing.

He can’t take her out for a nice day in the city. He can’t warm her body at night, wine and dine her (or just share a meal like a regular person), or love her as brazenly as he did starting out, out on the street for all to see because… well, he can’t go out into the streets. Can’t even travel with her during the day, not without taking the shape of a stupid animal that can’t communicate with her, joke with her, or even delight her with the looks he had thought for so long were the only thing he was good for.

Though secure in her love of him, he’s not stupid, or an idealist who’d think that love alone is enough for a happily ever after. While enjoying the time while it lasts, naturally there’d be sort of a running tally in his head of all the ways their lives chafe against one another.

Watching her face grow paler and paler as she’s deprived of the sun and has her blood drained, he’d never quite stop wondering at what point is the scale going to tip, at what point she’d finally realize that she had bet on the wrong undead horse by choosing to love the vampire who asks her to sacrifice so much, and not only doesn’t want to, but isn’t even able to give her what (he thinks) she wants.

Which, she doesn’t want it, of course. She has not even one maternal bone in her body.

Iona is well aware that she would make a terrible mother, and she absolutely does not want to be one. So it wouldn’t even occur to her that this would be something on his mind on top of all else. When he’d be having his little personal crisis about this, she’d be busy trying to make the impossible happen and circumventing the need to find a way to give him back the Sun by inventing one herself. That’d be why she'd lock herself into her study alone for longer and longer periods of time, why she sometimes wouldn’t come out for days, why she'd sometimes steer the conversation away from certain things- she wouldn’t want to give him false hope in a project that’d quickly prove so far beyond her abilities.

But, she'd still obviously recognize his occasional bouts of melancholy- I mean, it’s very unusual for someone to look at another so fondly and happily one moment, and then get quiet and forlorn the next. That distance she'd see behind his eyes sometimes when she'd tell him she loves him, that’d be rather worrying to anyone.

It’ll take a while for this particular cat to work its way out of the bag, but it would happen eventually, of course.

In reality, none of that would bother her.

She delights in being the sole person deciding what, when, and how she wants to eat. She loves the coolness of his touch- it soothes the heat of the draconic blood running through her veins better than any balm. Sure, going to markets and doing all that domestic pish can be fun, but... well, she’s always been an indoorsy person. Being bitten is no burden (she wouldn’t offer if it was), and there being no risk of a pregnancy, even after the tadpole’s death? At the risk of sounding crass, that’s an incredible perk, with no downsides. Feeling him find his pleasure while buried deep inside her, with no pang of fear or worry? It’s absurd how perfect that is, how happy she is with the fact that with the man she loves, that fear of being impregnated against her will can be put completely to rest.

And the rest, the messiness, the less “pretty” parts of it all, the evenings spent soothing his pain that’s either real or real only to him, that’s… just what happens if you love someone. Sure, she worries of course, but even when it’s inconvenient, when it’s ugly, when the old scars feel like they’re on fire and she can’t even being to think of a way to help… she still loves him just the same.

So no, no children necessary. It’s not in the cards for them, and even if it was, I don’t think either of them would really want it, or be good at it.

... She’d probably like to overwrite the memories of her first marriage (and speak the word “husband” without rancor) though, but only eventually.

And I like to think that that’ll have to happen with an item I’m tentatively calling “Taran Tal’hondnor” (The Gift of True Love), and it’s an enchanted ring that she will finally be able to create after many years of study, and even more miserably failed attempts at creating an enchantment that’ll let a vampire walk in the sun.

I like to imagine her proposing to him, on her own terms this time, with one such gift.

Because she loves him to the point of invention.

Quickly on the others, Arvid… might like fatherhood, if he were so inclined. He’s a very caring, kind, nurturing person, and if he were to be in that position, he would probably be a very good dad. He’s generally in a nurturing role already, and Gale being in a teaching role, they could prove to be excellent parents, if that were what they wanted.

But they… probably wouldn’t want that. Gale being the age that he is (“canon” says 35, I see ~38-40, minor difference) and a human, yet saying that he’s “not ready”, I personally interpret that as a rather telling thing. His past of having spent such a long time in a "monogamous" (I'm fairly sure that part's one-sided, no time to go into that now) relationship with a goddess who had no intention of having kids with him, and his present willingness to be with an illithid who can’t, that to me is implying that it’s not something that’d be that important to him. Like I personally see that as him not actively preferring to have kids if it’s up to him (he likes peace, and quiet, and downtime, and a nice glass of wine with a quietly romantic evening meal- very much the quintessential childless millennial, 100% part of the appeal to me lol), but he’d be happily willing to do it if his partner wanted it themselves.

But in my world, his husband (I like how I skated by the first part of the question, I mean they already ARE married lol)… doesn’t really have such strong feelings about it either. So, since two "maybes" don’t make a "yes" (and for this kind of thing, you need two enthusiastic "yes"-es for it to no longer be a no), it’s a "no".

But I think their marriage is going to be very happy and fulfilling to both of them nevertheless. <3

And since I don't yet have any kissy-shots of them (☹️), have an "are you seeing this shit" silent exchange for these two <3

Honestly? I would sooner give a baby to a pack of feral wolves and hope for the best than have Petyr become a father. He'd absolutely be the kind of dad whose kids become DnD characters. He's someone's tragically emotionally distant boomer dad just waiting to happen. (I mean, come on. My guy felt inadequate once, and coped with it by fucking off to the woods for 20 years? Yeah, sure, father of the year.)

And Shadowheart, she basically didn't have parents growing up, she has a TON of cult indoctrination to process and unlearn as an adult, and -let's be real- likely has no fucking clue how motherhood would even really work. Like the woman whom she used to call "mother" pretty much straight-up tortured her. C'mon now.

I like to think that, though they are the only two in my lineup who are physically able to have kids by accident, they (with their 8 and 10 INT scores respectively) would still be smart enough to smell that particular disaster before they'd barrel into it head first, and either actively decide not to have kids, or put it off so far into the future as for it to be meaningless. Maybe the discussion can be tabled in a few decades' time, but since by then their home will be surrounded by, god, so many animals to take care of (including a barely not feral, adult owlbear) (and their mutual boyfriend who sometimes shows up for like a month to fuck nasty on every available surface of the house and surrounding wilds), I doubt it'll result in a resounding "yes".

In the same vein of things, if a big, beautiful, traditional wedding is something that she wants (which I... kinda doubt would be super important to her), she definitely bet on the wrong horse, because this guy is not one for pomp and circumstance.

I like to imagine that after their departure from the Gate (and their bidding of not exactly "farewell", but "see you later" to Halsin), he'll just... take her "home" to his little shack in his corner of the forest, and then, sitting under the canopy of his favorite woods, enjoying the balmy evening breeze and the undisturbed night sky with his favorite person, he'll look up at the moon, take her hand, and silently, in his head, give his thanks to the Moonmaiden for this peace.

And... that'll be it. From that point forward, it'll be easy to fall into a kind of sweet, quiet domesticity that is essentially a marriage in all but name.

I definitely like- and relate to the idea of them foregoing the "2.5 kids, white picket fence" idea of a happily ever after not out of a conscious rejection, but rather just by... being themselves. Together.

[mothermara]

Mid year, Sun's Height, Last Seed, and Evening Star for Bartalomewl and Lidora pleeease :3

Mid Year - Does your OC have a favourite celebration? Do they celebrate holidays?

Bartalomewl is a huge fan of the Jester's Festival, along with other minor/frivolous holidays and celebrations. "Celebrate" is a bit of a strong word for it, really. It's more like he sees something happening on the streets and immediately joins in, no matter what it's about.

Lidora likes Tales and Tallows, because it's the only day she's allowed to shine as a spooky bitch. She does celebrate other holidays in a more involved way than Barta, only because her parents would send people after her ass if she were to skip a family dinner.

Sun's Height - What is your OC's favourite shop, in any of the games; what do they buy the most of?

In Cheydinhal, Barta tends to quietly browse Mach-Na's books, sometimes helping her with miscellaneous errands around the shop so she won't shoo him out. He usually doesn't have much money on him, so he only ends up buying a book about 1 in 3 visits. Whenever he's in Skingrad, he buys a few sweetrolls from Salmo!!

Lidora is um. not popular in Ivarstead, which is the closest town, so she usually cuts through the mountains to Falkreath if she needs anything. She's friends with Zaria at her alchemy shop Grave Concoctions, so she usually spends a lot of time there selling ingredients and buying poisons/potions.

Last Seed - What weapon does your OC use? Who taught them how to use it?

The Blade of Woe may as well be an extension of Barta's body. Lucien taught him to use it when he was young, and even after leaving the brotherhood, he has it wrapped up and put away in a drawer of important belongings.

After the college questline concludes, Lidora usually has the Staff of Magnus on hand. Given, she doesn't use it unless she thinks its totally necessary, because she's wary of its power.

Evening Star - When is your OC's birthday?

Barta was born in 3E 418 on the 9th of Hearthfire!

Lidora's birthday is the 28th of Rain's Hand, I'm gonna say probably like uhh.. 4E 158 or around there <3

[shifterglitter]

About Me

Greetings Shifters and curious minds alike. 

My name is Vi (“Vee”), I’m 30 years old and have been on Tumblr since 2009. 

Cancer Sun, Pisces Moon, and Sagittarius Rising

My main account is @purplepirateadventures, however, that is an 18+ account and I do post NSFW stuff on it. I will keep everything on this blog SFW and 15+ friendly (as I do curse a lot).

I identify as genderfluid/queer. I am comfortable with all pronouns. So whatever you perceive me as is correct. My favorite Pronouns if you are looking to butter me up are: It/Its, Ve/Vir, Fae/Faer, Bun/Buns, Spri/Sprout, Cubi/Cubiself, and Dem/Demonself.

I am Abroromantic and Abrosexual (Ace Spectrum)  https://lgbtqia.fandom.com/wiki/Abrosexual (+ level 5 monster lover)

I recently started experimenting with Shifting and am using this platform to connect to others in the community and document my experiences.

When I am not shifting or working overnights at the local Airport I am watching Anime, Maladaptive Daydreaming to music, or reading Monster Smut. I am also a witch, a rock collector, a member of the TST, and an oracle reader. (If you’d like a DR Channeling, or other reading I could use the practice so please DM me.)

My Favorite Podcasts are: Myths Magic and Murder, Desert Skies, What Fresh Hell is This?, and Tower 4.  My Favorite Anime are: Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece, and Trinity Blood. My Favorite Artists are: Ghost, Sleep Token, Dread Buffalo, Markiplier, Save a Fox, Hollow_VA, Momolady, and SiobhanKaufmanArt. My Favorite Books of last year are: Bloodshed, A Court of Wings and Ruin, Forget Me Not, Thrawn, and Iron Widow.  My Safe food is Potatoes. My Safe texture is Velvet. 

Some People you may hear me talk about:

I come from a very abusive family, however, in my adulthood my siblings and I have become incredibly close. I am so grateful for that. So I am the oldest of 3 children. The middle child is my brother, Joshua, who is obsessed with 3e DnD and THC products. While Wilhelmina (Willow or Mina for short) is the chosen name of my baby sibling (trans/questioning); their hyperfixation is miniature war games like WH40k and Battletech. We are all writers, painters, and neurodivergent. 

My best friend is a guy I met through boy scouts in middle school. His name is Nick and he is a pharmacist. 

My platonic soul mate's name is Harley. They are on tumblr, but I'm not going to out them because they aren't a shifter. I've recently reconnected with them after an extended falling out.

All of these important people in my life are not spiritual in any way so I don’t see myself opening up to them about all of this. 

I have an orange cat named “Abraham Delacy Giuseppe Casy Thomas O’malley”, or Mr O’malley for short. And an energetic little Blue Merle Corgi mix named “Tax-Evasion”, whom we all call Eevee. You will see pictures of them here as my millennial ass can not help but share my fur babies with the world.

How I discovered Shifting

My Favorite Shifting Tools

My DRs

Main & Active DR Waiting Rooms Distant Future DRs Original Creation

My Original Methods

The Stitching Method The Candle & Mantra Method The Traveler Method The Plasmoid Method

[sigery]

3e Shield (Solar Flare) & Sword (Jack)

'evil' Eclipse made Shield to fill a similar position as servant sun in a standard lord eclipse verse. Though he treats Shield far more kindly than a common servant sun is treated. Shield is one hell of a butler and not even a demon.

With the arrival of 'nice' Eclipse and Sun, guard is added to Shield's duties as well as (attempting to) teach the two basic magic. 'evil' Eclipse will help teach them the more advanced things later.

'nice' Eclipse made Sword to act as a scout for checking out other dimensions. After child Eclipse was made, his protection was made Sword's top priority unless otherwise asked. Sword still scouts other dimensions on occasion.

[darklordazalin]

Azalin Reviews: Elena Faith-Hold

Darklord: Elena Faith-Hold Domain: Nidala Domain Formation: 615 BC Power Level:💀 💀 💀 ⚫⚫ (3/5 Skulls) Sources: Islands of Terror (2e), Ravenloft (3e), Ravenloft Player’s Handbook (3e), Ravenloft Dungeon Master's Guide (3e), Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (5e)CW: Religious zealots, Genocide Twitter Thread Elena Faith-hold, who’s name clearly gives away her religious zealot ways, is the Darklord of Nidala. Nidala is a forested mountainous region that appears as a pure and noble land at its surface, but the further you delve into her realm, the more sinister it becomes. Just like Elena, who would love for all to believe she is a humble paladin and the chosen of Belenu. When she is, in fact, an utter fool.

Nidala is one of the Domains in the Shadowlands, which hold the Demiplanes of Nidala, the Shadowborn Manor, and Avonleigh. If you take pleasure in tales of corrupted holy knights, then you’ll love the Shadowlands as it ventures into all of those classic troupes. The whole power leads to corruption and all such nonsense is explored in the Shadowlands. I will note that 5e does mention Elena by name under the description of the Shadowlands Domain, but only by name. In this guide, van Richten deemed her less important than an evil sword and they’re not wrong.

Elena was a Knight of the Circle and trusted friend of Kateri Shadowborn (the holier than thou paladin who continually fights against the Darklord Ebonbane in Shadowborn Manor whom I reviewed previously). A paladin devoted to the sun God, Belenu, Elena rode forth on her unicorn mount to battle against evil. Her campaigns were successful and the people worshiped her with adoration. She bathed in the attention and many converted to Elena’s faith to further prove their devotion to her.

Eventually her campaigns against the evil forces of the land were so successful that all that remained were scattered, unorganized and weak. Elena was seen as a hero to her people and basked in her own glory. Of course, as many war heroes find, when there are no more wars to be fought, they become restless. Just look at the entirety of the Domains of Dread, they all started because a former Commander was bored and decided he wanted his brother’s fiancé instead of focusing on ruling a realm. Elena, took another route and focused her attention on converting the masses to her religion and condemning those that would not.

Being a paladin, this predictably led Elena to start a crusade against any that would not follow the “one true religion”. This hypocrisy is one of the many reasons I have never counted myself amongst the devout. They are nothing more than bleating sheep bowing before an unknown, unseen thing that calls itself a god.

Quite predictably, Belenu withdrew his favors to Elena, stripping her of her abilities to heal and smite evil and her unicorn mount abandoned her. Since these paladin types are always looking for a sign from their god, you would think that Elena would gather that Belenu was not at all pleased with her crusades. Having a brain as thick as her muscles, Elena believed Belenu’s withdrawal from her was a test and she continued on. Eventually, those she deemed “heathens” weren’t enough and she took up arms against any non-human.

In time something must have gotten through that thick, full plated head of hers and with none of her abilities returning to her, she prayed to Belenu for guidance. Belenu gave no response. Another force, a sinister force that locks us all away into our own personal eternal torments answered instead. The Dark Powers transported her into the lands of the Mists. This resulted in her roaming the realms of Ravenloft and finding corruption and evil in every town she visited, then she would proceed to slaughter everyone within to “cleanse” the evil. After slaughtering 10 such villages, the Dark Powers finally decided she was corrupt enough to imprison her within her own Domain.

The Dark Powers gifted her with “Faith Hold” Castle that looms over the walled capital city of Touraine and a dark unicorn mount that is essentially a hybrid nightmare/unicorn. As a Darklord, Elena is a true micromanager. She rides forth every week to personally inspect all of the villages within her Domain, searching for corruption and evil. She also makes weekly decrees of faith and those that do not follow these decrees are arrested and, more often than not, tortured or executed.

When she is not within ear-shot, her people call her “Elena Stranglehold”, which is quite accurate. She forbids any form of “merry-making” in her realm. Bards are not likely to find any work there. Elena retained some of her paladin abilities, but no longer can heal, only inflict wounds. She can detect life around her, but can no longer turn undead.

She believes she can detect “evil”, but in fact is only detecting strong emotions directed at her. This ability does not differ between positive and negative emotions. Those who love and adore her and those that hate her are both detected by this ability of hers, resulting in her executing both her greatest enemies and allies without realizing it. In combat, she is a warrior, wielding a bastard sword, and using her “see the light” ability, which acts similar to a charm spell, to attempt to convert her enemies to her cause.

In summary, Elena is yet another religious zealot too blind to see that her god left her long ago. Her rule is as oppressive and unoriginal as she is. I’ll reluctantly give her 3 skulls, but that’s mostly for her unique nightmare/unicorn mount than anything else.