#I’m seeing a lot of people saying Aarakocra

[moisthalforcboy]

Campaign 1: Scanlan *HATES* Goblins, won't try to reason with them only murder.

Campaign 2: Sam plays a Goblin (sort of)

Campaign 3: FCG *HATES* birds, paranoia and violence are the go to so far.

Campaign 4: Bird!Sam???

[dmsden]

Folk of Cliff and Challenge - Personal Plot for Goliaths

Hullo, Gentle Readers. For this month’s Personal Plot episode, we’re going back to the Elemental Evil Player’s Companion to visit a race that got a big boost in popularity thanks to a certain podcast - Goliaths. If you still need a copy of the Elemental Evil Player’s Companion, you can find it for free download at https://media.dnd.wizards.com/EE-Players-Companion_0_0.pdf

The Goliaths hit the scene with their particular look and personality in 3E with the “Races of Stone” book. It can be argued, however, that their origins really come from 2nd edition’s Dark Sun Campaign Setting. That boxed set gave us “half-giants”, who share so much with the goliaths in general that, when 4E’s Dark Sun came along, they just said to use goliaths as is for half-giants. The personalities of Dark Sun’s Half-Giants are very different from the Goliaths...but the personalities of most Dark Sun races are different than the standard...Dark Sun halflings are tribal cannibals, for example. In recent years, the presence of Grog Strongjaw, goliath barbarian, as part of the Vox Machina campaign of Critical Role has certainly contributed to them gaining some prominence, and it’s been nice to see some new miniatures appearing of them.

The personalities of goliaths have been shaped by their mountain habitation. They live in often frigid, dangerous cliffs. They are reclusive from other folk, and they know they must be self-reliant. Those who cannot benefit the tribe are exiled, especially if their physical skills are in declined. This reminds me of old, now disproven stories of wolves being driven out of their pack when they can no longer fend for themselves. In terms of personality, this tends to lead to a race of risk-takers and competitors, a people who will also be marking how they compare to you.

There’s a lot of story to come out of this. If there are competitions in your world, like an Olympics, or even fighting pits, it’s easy to imagine that a goliath would want to be involved. This could lead to a story where a goliath climbs the ranks of an organized fighting club. It could also lead to a story where a goliath finds their beloved games are rigged. Would a goliath leave the games in shame, feeling they hadn’t earned these accolades, or would they seek to destroy the corrupt system and replace it with something more honorable? Either one could make for a interesting story.

The description of a goliath’s constant need to prove themselves and improve upon their deeds is a built-in mechanic for DMs to expand story. Let’s say a goliath fighter is known for slaying a smaller local dragon at low levels. It’s easy to imagine them needing to prove their Wyrmslayer reputation by seeking out increasingly dangerous dragons. What happens if they then meet a dragon much too powerful for them to face? This could certainly lead to some interesting role-playing, as the goliath comes to terms with the possibility of their failure.

Goliaths traditionally live high in the mountains, and it’s easy to imagine this puts them in competition with other creatures that enjoy mountaintop lairs. Dragons, of course, like to perch on high mountains, but wyverns, perytons, gryphons, hippogryphs, yeti, dwarves, and aarakocra might also claim these lands. If it’s a dangerous creature, it’s a natural move to go and fight it to remove it, but what if it’s a race like dwarves or aarakocra? This could make for interesting diplomatic situations if the challenge isn’t best solved with axes.

I think that, of many races, the goliath is the most natural to have a rival. Maybe the PC goliath and another goliath set out at the same time. The DM could have the PC occasionally hear of the other goliath’s deeds. This could naturally spur the PC to seek out more dangerous situations, more powerful foes, and more amazing treasures. If the rival is a darker shadow of the PC, so much the better. Maybe they’ll become a lieutenant of the major villain of the campaign, giving the goliath a personal stake in why they seek to undo the villain’s ultimate plans.

Another way to have a “Rival” might be to have a goliath hero, maybe even an ancestor of the PC, part of the background of your campaign. The PC might wish to measure up to their hero’s deeds, and, ultimately, to surpass them, coming a legend in their own right. Perhaps there’s one challenge the goliath hero couldn’t overcome, like slaying a specific beast, or plundering a specific dungeon. If the PC can accomplish what their ancestor could not, it would bring great honor to them and their family...perhaps even restore honor that was lost when the ancestor failed.

One element I remember from 3E that I thought was really cool was that the lithoderms - the dark, stone-like markings on a goliath’s skin - were supposed to contains elements of prophecy that presaged a goliath’s destiny. If the goliaths in your campaign believed this, imagine if a goliath’s lithoderms suddenly radically altered. An entire campaign arc could be built out of this idea.

I hope that this article has given you ideas to help a goliath PC in your own campaign. They’re a really interesting race, and I’m happy to see them sticking around in the game’s lore. Next month, we’ll return to the Player’s Handbook to seek out the wisdom of the Sage. Until then, may all your 20s be natural.

[astriiformes]

I’m finally caught up on High Rollers again, which means I am once again asking you all to watch High Rollers: Aerois (If you’re new here, I do this frequently)

For real though, I know actual play media isn’t for everyone, but if you DO like D&D shows, High Rollers is so incredibly good, and I would love to see it get more attention like some of its more famous counterparts. The cast and characters are all fantastic, and the setting/story of their second campaign (the one I have watched and am pitching here) is really, genuinely one of the more clever and interesting takes on the fantasy genre I’ve come across

I don’t want to write a wall of text, but if you want my elevator pitch version as to why it’s so special and interesting: The setting, Aerois, is a combination fantasy/sci-fi world, but with a really unique take on mixing the two. Instead of being your standard space opera, the idea is that the planet of Aerois is a pretty classic D&D world (with a few extra touches, like Treasure Planet-style airships and some neat magical technology) that, unbeknownst to the population or the main characters at the start of the campaign, is actually the last planet in a much more science fiction setting to have resisted rule by a tyrannical space dictator. Imagine if the Forgotton Realms turned out to secretly be in the middle of the Galactic Empire from Star Wars. Yeah. It’s a really neat idea, and done incredibly well, in my opinion.

And if you care more about characters than setting, fear not -- I adore the whole Aerois party as well. I could gush about each of them a lot, but for the sake of brevity, the player characters are:

Sentry, a hundreds-of-years old-guardian (sapient robot, basically) paladin who only recently reactivated after an ancient war and ends up on the path to saving her dying people

Aila, an elven barbarian with mysterious lightning powers and a strange past more tied to the last invasion of the planet than she realizes

Quill, a disabled aarakocra wizard/cleric (though he was a bard/cleric at the start of the campaign) who lost a wing in a storm and now serves the god of magic, despite his rattled faith in his abilities

Lucius, an elven sorcerer with a unique sorcerous origin that lets him use colors to power his spells and, who despite being an out-of-touch rich boy, has the sweetest heart imaginable

And Nova, an air genasi warlock who loves science and learning and symbiotically bonded with an ancient sword that turned out to be a benevolent alien being from beyond the stars. They’re pals. It’s great.

They’re up to episode #107 as of last Sunday (4/6), which I know might be intimidating, but with episodes that are usually about two and a half hours long (so not as lengthy as, say, a Critical Role episode) catching up isn’t an insurmountable task -- and with the show creeping much closer to its potential endgame (though it’s still a little ways off, for sure) I really think it’s a great time to get into it still. They also have started putting out recaps of each “chapter” of the campaign, so if you want to speedrun the beginning or certain middle parts of it and start watching the full episodes a little sooner, that’s another option! Here’s the first video in the playlist, which also gives a great rundown on the setting and characters if you’re just interested in getting a bit more of a pitch for it (and also, lets you experience Rhiannon, one of the players, who is an absolute joy)

I know getting people to watch something like this, especially that’s been going on for so long, can be a hard sell, but I LOVE High Rollers so much and really wish more people knew about it and were as excited about it as I am, and feel like the cast are putting on a great show that deserves more love than its getting. I genuinely think it’s one of the most interesting stories being told right now, and I super encourage anyone who thinks it sounds interesting from this post (or who wants to know more!) to check it out.

[honourablejester]

Some thoughts for potential characters for an Arabian Nights/Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor style D&D desert campaign, since Genie Warlock is now an official thing

Point of note: The Golden Voyage of Sinbad is one of my favourite Ray Harryhausen movies, and one of my favourite Classic Hollywood swashbuckler/fantasy/adventure movies (allowing for its extremely 70s sensibilities and attitudes), and its influence is probably going to be very clear here. Heh. (Honourable mention to the 40s Thief of Bagdad also)

Firstly, I feel like a specifically Arabian-Nights-ish setting might let you get in some of the more unusual races more easily. Depending on if we’re going fully desert with this, or if we’re adding in Sinbad-style coastal/mountain/jungle shenanigans, you’ve got room for things like aarakocra, yuan-ti, tabaxi, genasi, tritons, sea-elves, goliaths, tortles, etc.

(Sidenote on monsters for the campaign: you cannot have an Arabian Nights inspired setting and not include a Roc at some point. It’s just not done, I demand giant birds. Actually, given the variety of monsters in Arabian Nights and all the myriad spin-off stories from it, you could probably throw in just about anything. All the sea monsters. Anything found in a haunted desert ruin or Cave of Wonders style dungeon. All the constructs, Jaffar in Thief of Bagdad certainly felt free to throw in all the mechanical murder weapons.

On that note. Actually. Warforged PCs. The ‘Silver Maiden’ who didn’t want to assassinate a king for some sorcerer. Or did assassinate a king for some sorcerer, and is now dealing with the fallout. Huh.

But. Anyway. I just. Love the Roc. It’s iconic)

Some backgrounds that fit nicely for your stereotypical Arabian Nights adventures: pirate, sailor, fisher, criminal, charlatan, urchin, courtier, sage, far traveller, guild artisan/merchant, possibly also archaeologist if we’re counting ‘delving into desert ruins’ under ‘archaeology-ish activities’

Classes and subclasses that instantly jump out:

Rogues are instantly the archetypal hero type here, given Aladdin, Sinbad, Ali Baba, et al. Heh. Swashbucklers and arcane tricksters also jump out among subclasses, because adventuring sailors and magic thieves. Rogues just grok really well in general though. Roll up all your sly, streetwise, impulsive, treasure-driven, secretly noble thief princes and line ‘em up!

So … A tabaxi archaeologist-slash-arcane trickster who grew up a street urchin and found themselves getting sent into strange desert ruins for cash from a very young age, until they just got a taste for it and went into business for themselves? Or a water genasi sailor-swashbuckler who’s looking to buy/acquire their own ship and are willing to go a lot of strange places and take a lot of strange jobs to get the capital up? Or a halfling street thief who very inadvisedly fell in love with royalty and is looking for enough cash to successfully masquerade as a noble suitor?

Warlocks, since genielocks are the reason we’re here in the first place, so we’ll obviously throw that in. Fathomless, fiend and undying also fit very nicely, depending on where we’re bouncing in our desert voyages, fathomless for coasts and undying for tombs

For the genie, because I’m still in love with the ‘live in your vessel’ idea, I’m feeling like Jafar’s peddler disguise from Aladdin could come in here. An actual peddler, guild-artisan, who encountered a djinni in the desert, and now has a few odder tricks up their sleeve, and on occasion sleeps in their lamp. I feel like rock gnome would work here? Not sure why. Alternately, we could go with the original fisherman-frees-a-genie-from-a-bottle, and get a poor (sea-elf?) bastard who is very out of their depth over here?

Bards, my darling bards, leaning into the court shenanigans a setting like this offers. If Scheherazade herself was anything, she was a bard. Lore, whispers and eloquence all jump out nicely. Also, here’s where you see my Golden Voyage love, because my absolute favourite character in that was the Vizier. He had it all. Genteel manners, tragic backstory, facial disfigurement, honourable motives. Sure, you have your Disney Jafar viziers, but you also have your historical Jafar viziers, and everybody loves some court shenanigans.

So. A human/half-elf courtier-turned-fugitive lore bard, who ran badly afoul of his court’s new ‘court wizard’, to the tune of a hideously disfigured face that he hides behind a quite beautiful mask, who’s out looking for people to help him fight said wizard and reclaim his kingdom for its just rulers?

On that note, Sorcerers and Wizards are obviously genre staples (admittedly often as villains, but hey). If you’re leaning a bit on some ‘court wizard’ shenanigans, then sorcerers with subtle spell might have an interesting edge, and pretty much all flavours of wizard would fit right in

Putting the yuan-ti in as the wizard/sorcerer might be a bit on the nose (though possibly not as much as the genie warlock with, say, a basket as a vessel), but they do also fit very nicely with both the court shenanigans and also tomb-diving aspects of this kind of setting/story. So. A yuan-ti pureblood illusion wizard who’s trying to find a specific tomb/cavern, a-la the Cave of Wonders? Or a tiefling sorcerer whose life’s goal is to successfully become court wizard and/or vizier?

Of the martial classes, I feel like Monks oddly fit quite nicely. Sun soul might even get a decent look in, as well as long death and mercy. Possibly it’s still the rogue thing, but Arabian Nights as a genre just feels very Dex-based to me. We survive on skill and savoir-faire and slyness, not force and faith.

Also, random inspiration here, but the RL archaeological discovery of the 5000-year-old 6ft tall Iranian lady found in a Burnt City with a golden artificial eyeball wired into her skull is of some influence here. A sun soul monk lady with a golden eye from a ruined desert city taken over by a blue dragon would be … a very cool thing. I feel. Heh

And of course, anything else you feel like. Just because my brain is ruled by rogues and sorcerers here doesn’t mean that’s all there could be. Light, tempest and knowledge clerics feel nicely evocative as well. Storm barbarians. Swarmkeeper ranger with a locust swarm, if we want to throw in some earlier influences. Stars druids work really nicely for the navigator idea, both as desert walkers and nautical navigators. Anything you want, really.

I guess I’m kind of surprised that I don’t really hear much about coastal desert-y style campaigns in D&D. It has all the monsters for it. And, like, if ever there was a genre of story focused on tiny heroes facing really weird monsters, the Odyssey/Sinbad the Sailor type stories are very much it.

[tigerkirby215]

5e Xayah, the Rebel build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Riot Games)

Holy shit they actually just flip the artwork. No this is genuinely Xayah’s “official” artwork it’s just a flip of Rakan’s...

So uh I had this build prepared back in August... and then I forgot it. Luckily I did write it down! See? I’m smarter than Rakan!

Honestly I’m quite thankful for Tasha’s coming out because it made my Xayah build a lot better. So I’m happy that I’m publishing it now in February instead of back in August when I made the first draft. A lot of things get better with age and love’s also one of them~ 💓

GOALS

Dodging seems to be a weak spot of yours - Sick of only hitting one enemy at a time? Make some Clean Cuts to strike behind your enemy. That’s what’s known as efficiency!

Move your feet, or lose some toes - Ever tripped on a feather? How about having your heels slashed?

A thousand cuts is only the beginning - In case of emergency push R button to dodge damage, and send a ton of feathers at your foes!

RACE

Xayah is half bird, but her taunt flat out shows she can’t fly which leaves Aarakocra out of the picture. She’s also very chatty (holy shit have you seen how many voice lines Xayah and Rakan have?) so Kenku is definitely not an option. So when in Rome as a furry look no further than a Shifter.

All Shifters have Darkvision and their Shifting ability to gain temporary hitpoints, but everything else is determined by their subrace: you’re the girl with the plan for the hunt. The Wildhunt that is! Your Wisdom increases by 2 and your Dexterity increases by 1. You’re a Natural Tracker with proficiency in Survival. And your Shifting Feature will let you become one with nature for advantage on Wisdom checks, and you can up your dodging game so no enemy can hit you with advantage.

ABILITY SCORES

15; DEXTERITY - You’re a marksman. That means attacking with a ranged weapon, which takes nimbleness.

14; WISDOM - Wisdom will let you connect with the natural magic of the world. Most literally as you’re going to be using Wisdom to cast spells!

13; INTELLIGENCE - You’re the one with the plan.

12; CONSTITUTION - Ha ha ADC health bar go brrrr, but even if Xay is squishy in LoL that doesn’t mean we can’t grab Grasp for a bit more health.

10; CHARISMA - Xayah has a degree of rough charm to her. But I mean hey: you got Rakan to fall for you?

8; STRENGTH - As much muscle as dancing takes you don’t need it to cut through your foes.

BACKGROUND

You’re a freedom fighter. A rebel with a cause fighting as a Faction Agent for the Vastayan cause. You get proficiency in Insight along with any Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma ability. For a dance under the moonlight with Rakan get Performance proficiency: it takes two to tango after all! You also get proficiency in two languages: unfortunately Aarakocra isn’t an option but Auran (or rather Primordial) will serve well to speak the Vastayan-bird language. And to learn the ancient language of Ionia I’d recommend Sylvan.

As a vastayan rebel you can gain access to a Safe Haven for you and your allies. By using secret signs and passwords you can identify other rebels who can bring you to a safe house, give you a free place to stay, or assist you in finding information. They won’t risk their lives for you but as long as you remember the password they’ll be willing to help. Be sure to remember the password by the way. Because Rakan definitely won’t.

(Artwork by XhiliaJP on DeviantArt)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - FIGHTER 1

Starting off as a Fighter for a few things known as saving throws, but also for skills like Acrobatics and Perception to see incoming skill shots and dodge them with grace. You also get Second Wind to heal for a d10 plus your Fighter level for some health pots in lane.

Your main choice as a Fighter at early levels is your Fighting Style and we’ll be grabbing a Bladecaller root very early thanks to Superior Technique from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. You learn a Battle Master Maneuver from the Battle Master subclass: we’ll be going for Trip Attack to hinder enemy movement. You then get a d6 Maneuver die to use on Trip Attack, and nothing else because spoilers: we won’t be getting other maneuvers.

LEVEL 2 - FIGHTER 2

Second level Fighters get their Action Surge, allowing them to take two actions in a turn instead of 1. For now that only means two attacks. For now.

LEVEL 3 - FIGHTER 3

Third level Fighters get to choose their Martial Archetype and to channel some magic into your “blades” (read: arrows, because you should be using a longbow) go for the magic of the Arcane Archer. Arcane Archer Lore will give you proficiency in Arcana or Nature (we’re actually going to be going for Arcana) as well as either the Prestigiation or Druidcraft cantrip (naturally as a naturalist we’ll be going for Druidcraft.)

"How can humans not hear the magic?"

"They're too busy building things."

"Why?"

"Because... they're afraid."

Of course the main feature of the Arcane Archer is their Arcane Shot. Once per turn when you fire an arrow from a bow, you can apply one of your Arcane Shots to that arrow. You decide to use the option when the arrow hits a creature, unless the option doesn’t involve an attack roll. You have two uses of Arcane Shot that come back after a Short or Long rest.

Let’s talk about your Arcane Shots then, hm? To root your foe (sorta) Grasping Arrow does an extra 2d6 Poison damage and lowers the target’s movement speed by 10. Additionally if they try to move without Flash (or other means of teleportation) they’ll take an extra 2d6 slashing damage. The target can use its action to remove the brambles with a successful Athletics check against your Arcane Shot save DC, or ask their support to do it for them. Otherwise, the brambles last for 1 minute or until you use this option again.

Piercing Arrow meanwhile doesn’t require an attack roll. Instead you target all enemies in a 30 foot line and force them to make a Dexterity save. On a failed save they take damage as if they were shot by the bow, along with an extra d6 of piercing. On a successful save however they only take half, but realistically if you’re hitting 3 or more people with this arrow it’s still worth it even if you miss.

(Artist unknown. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 4 - RANGER 1

Feel free to take one more level in Fighter for an ASI but I’m going to go to Ranger now and grab Nature proficiency from the class, which is why we took Arcana earlier!

Also thank god Tasha’s is out because instead of the meme known as Natural Explorer we get Deft Explorer. Canny gives you Expertise in one of your skills (I personally opted for Acrobatics to evade any Shadow Assassins who may try to kill you, but honestly any one of your skills make sense for Expertise so feel free to pick whatever you think will be useful) and two language proficiencies of your choice. (Choose whatever you think will help your cause.)

But the more interesting feature is Favored Foe. When you hit an enemy you can choose to mark them to make your feathers just a little more sharp. The first time on each of your turns that you hit the marked target and deal damage to it (including when you first mark it) you can do an extra d4 of damage to them.

The bond lasts for 1 minute unless you get hit hard enough to lose your concentration because yes: this feature takes your concentration for some reason which is why we went into Fighter first for proficiency in Constitution saves. You can use the mark a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

LEVEL 5 - RANGER 2

Second level Rangers get their Fighting Style, and since we didn’t take Archery from Fighter we’ll instead be taking it here.

But more importantly you get Spellcasting. You can learn two spells from the Ranger list: to keep enemies in place with Bladecaller take Ensnaring Strike. Alternatively if you want to increase your evasion with your Deadly Plumage Zephyr Strike will make it so enemies can’t make attacks of opportunity against you, and you can end the spell’s effects to do more damage with an attack and then increase your movement speed afterwards.

LEVEL 6 - RANGER 3

Third level Rangers get to choose their Ranger Archetype, and with Tasha’s Cauldron out we have an explanation for Xayah’s Deadly Plumage. Why, it’s a swarm of feathers of course! Xayah’s a Swarmkeeper! After hitting an enemy you can use your Gathered Swarm for a variety of different effects. You can do an extra d6 of piercing damage, force a Strength save or be pushed up to 15 feet horizontally in a direction of your choice, or you can move yourself 5 feet horizontally in a direction of your choice.

You also get Swarmkeeper Magic for a variety of spells. For one you get Mage Hand, and you also get Faerie Fire to light up all your enemies’ weak points. You can also learn another spell like Hail of Thorns for Clean Cuts through any foes who may be bunched up.

And to top it off you get Primal Awareness for a few extra spells. You learn the Speak with Animals spell, and cast it once per Long Rest without spending a spell slot.

LEVEL 7 - RANGER 4

4th level Rangers get an Ability Score Improvement. Increase your Intelligence by 1 and your Dexterity by 1, because why not replace one uneven ability score with another? "And an F, for effort."

LEVEL 8 - RANGER 5

5th level Rangers get an Extra Attack. Two attacks per round for a bit more attack speed.

You also get access to second level spells, and from your Swarmkeeper Magic you get the Web spell, which perhaps isn’t too fitting but you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Additionally Primal Awareness adds Beast Sense to your spell list, and lets you cast it without spending a spell slot. Perhaps not the most useful spell, but as Xayah would say: "Spiders are my spirit animal." And finally you can learn another spell too like Lesser Restoration for some QSS in case of emergency.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

LEVEL 9 - RANGER 6

6th level Rangers see their Favored Foe damage increase to a d6. Additionally they get Roving from Deft Explorer for 5 additional moving speed and some help with swimming and climbing.

LEVEL 10 - RANGER 7

7th level Rangers can at least try to fly thanks to Writhing Tide. As a bonus action you gain a flying speed of 10 feet and can hover. The effect lasts for 1 minute or until you are incapacitated. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. It perhaps isn’t the most useful thing for mobility but it’s good to use your feathers to get the perfect angle on your foes, or to keep away from melee bruisers looking to slice your chicken.

You can also learn another spell at this level like Enhance Ability, for a boost to give 120% when you need it.

LEVEL 11 - RANGER 8

8th level Rangers get another Ability Score Improvement: to maximize the deadliness of your plumage take the Piercer feat from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. Along with a +1 increase to your Dexterity you can also reroll one attack roll that did piercing damage (your longbow does piercing damage) to hopefully turn a low roll into a high roll. But to top it off when you score a critical hit (that deals piercing damage) you can roll one additional damage die when determining the extra piercing damage the target takes. Any ADC can attack an enemy but Clean Cuts is what lets Xayah stand out from the crowd.

LEVEL 12 - RANGER 9

9th level Rangers get more spells. From Primal Awareness you get Speak with Plants, to understand why the land of Ionia is upset at the humans. You can also grab Conjure Barrage for a Featherstorm to cut down a full crowd. But if you want to evade with Featherstorm your Swarmkeeper Magic grants you the Gaseous Form spell, to become untargetable (to an extent) and still be able to move and dodge (to an extent.)

(Artwork by SplashBrush on DeviantArt. It’s considerably easier to find artwork of Xayah than it is to find artwork of Rakan :c)

LEVEL 13 - FIGHTER 4

Back to good ol’ Fighter to pick up that ASI I ignored. +2 to Dexterity? That’ll max out your hit chance and attack damage!

LEVEL 14 - FIGHTER 5

5th level Fighters get an Extra Attack... which you already have. "I can't even... I don't know where to begin."

LEVEL 15 - FIGHTER 6

6th level Fighters get more Ability Score Improvements! Since your Dexterity is maxed out you can choose to increase either your Wisdom for better Ranger spells or your Intelligence for better Fighter Arcane Shots. Pick whatever suits your fancy but remember that your Arcane Shots come back on a Short Rest while your Ranger spells are restricted by Long Rests.

LEVEL 16 - FIGHTER 7

Do you have a Magic Weapon? Well you do now! 7th level Rangers get Magic Arrow, which makes their shots magical for the sake of overcoming resistances and immunity. Is total level 16 way too late to be getting this? Yeah probably.

Good thing you also get Curving Shot! If you miss an attack you can redirect it with Clean Cuts, spending a Bonus Action to roll an attack on a different enemy within 60 feet of the original target. And to top it off you get another Arcane Shot option: Seeking Arrow is a good way to target backline enemies, but it’s also really useful to deal with any invisible foes. "Did they deserve it?" "They deserved it."

(Artwork by Riot Games)

LEVEL 17 - FIGHTER 8

8 is the magic number for more ASIs. Intelligence is nice; so is Wisdom. Increase what you want.

LEVEL 18 - FIGHTER 9

9th level Rangers can pick up Mercurial Scimitar and get out of CC with Indomitable. If you fail a saving throw, you can reroll it! But it’s only once per Long Rest. Note that you can reroll death saves, so don’t die or that would make Rakan sad.

LEVEL 19 - FIGHTER 10

10th level Fighters get another Arcane Shot option. Yup that’s literally it. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, I guess. Regardless this late into the game some CC would probably be good, so take Banishing Arrow.

LEVEL 20 - FIGHTER 11

Our capstone is the 11th level of Fighter for an Extra Attack that does stack, giving us three total! Cap off that attack speed to slice through foes like butter! "I love watching you kill." "I love killing for you." "Let's make out."

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Hurray; they all died - You’re really good at Fighting, almost like you multiclassed Fighter with a half-Fighter. You’re incredibly precise with a +13 to hit with your longbow and have plenty of tools to increase your overall DPS.

What? They were in my way - You’ve also got plenty of tricks up your sleeve. Arcane Shots, one use of Trip Attack, Gathered Swarm shenanigans, and plenty of dangerous utility spells.

Oops, your bad! - You’ve got quite a few aces up your sleeve to stop you from being blown up. Higher than average movement thanks to being a Ranger, and your Swarmkeeper abilities lets you increase your movement. Not to mention utility spells like Gaseous Form. And you also have two different ways to boost your health (Second Wind + Shifting), 17 AC with Studded Leather... oh and did I mention you have +17 in Acrobatics?

CONS

Can I just hate you to death? - You’ve got limited resources on top of limited resources on top of limited resources. Two Arcane Shots per Short Rest, spell slots that are limited by Long Rests, healing and temp HP that’s tied to a Short Rest... Be sure to ration out your abilities so you don’t run out when you need them most.

Chaos is the preferred state of nature - All your saving throws are rather mediocre, notably your Charisma which is a nice flat +0. Rakan’s the talker, but a beautiful smile will keep you out of any banishing spells.

Magic is not some river - So it turns out multiclassing two sorta-casters means that you can’t focus on either stat. If you can easily get a 19 in Intelligence (such as with a Hextech Headband) perhaps focus on Wisdom. If not? Well Point Buy is an option.

But if you were perfect why would you need Rakan? He’s there to pick up your slack, and you’re there to make sure he doesn’t screw up. Dance along with him and cut down anyone who stands in your way. There’s nothing you can’t defeat with the power of love... But a good plan is also helpful, so make sure Rakan actually remembers it this time.

"Hey, I have a plan."

"You... have a plan?"

"Yeah! I'll go on instinct!"

"That's the opposite of a plan."

(Artwork by Riot Games)

[bonkusdonkus]

Now before I say anything, I wanna start off with the disclaimer that I’m fully aware that game development is difficult and expensive, and as such not everything I want is going to make the final cut. Larian has done an excellent job so far with the game, and given their past games I trust them to make Baldur’s Gate 3 a satisfying experience.

That being said, I have a wishlist of stuff I would love to see in the game , and I’m gonna blather about it because I can!

More races! Kenku and Tabaxi would be my first picks, but I’d also love to see Aarakocra, Kobold, Dragonborn, Genasi, Firbolg, or Lizardfolk. There’s also whispers out there that Larian is trying to sneak Warforged into the game, and I want it! Granted, they’d have to do some brain bending to find a way for them work into the story of the game, but they’d also have to do that for a bunch of these races, so they could probably pull it off they wanted to.

More Good Aligned Companions! Listen, Larian has done a really good job with the companions so far. They are complex, deep characters with all kinds of interesting baggage,but... I’d like to have some more people on side my who aren’t either seconds away from turning on me the moment I am no longer useful, or smug, condescending assholes! Okay, maybe that’s a bit too harsh, but still. Most of the current companions seem to lean towards evil alignments, and when you do selfless things, they get pissy. Or, are just pissy in general. As someone who pretty much always goes for good alignment in video games,(doing bad things in video games makes me feel bad, okay?) it’s kind of frustrating to be surrounded by a bunch of people who keep getting mad about it. I’m not asking for perfect goody two-shoes characters, I honestly think that would kind of ruin the game, but maybe a some one a liiiittle less edgey would be nice. In summary, more companions would be great, preferably some that lean a little more on the nice side.

Monk! Monk is probably one of my favorite classes, and it’s definitely one of my favorite non-caster classes.It’s the class I’m most looking forward to, and I can’t wait to kick goblins in the nards with the power of E N L I G H T E N M E N T! That’s it really. No dream features or anything here, I just wanna do some Kung-Fu fighting with expert timing. Moving on!

More weird side stuff! I’m not saying that there isn’t already a lot of weird side stuff in the game, because there is. You can walk in on a bugbear and an ogre ‘doing it’ and can get a magic spell/potion that lets you just walk up to any random animal and talk to them. No, what I’m saying is I want more. This weird optional stuff that encourages the player to check every nook and cranny of the game is basically Larian’s hallmark, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. More please!

More Class Archetypes! I honestly don’t think we’ll be getting any subclasses outside of the PHB, at least not during early access. I’m pretty sure that Larian is just trying stick with the basics for now, at least when it comes to classes. Which, fair enough, but I think it might be kind of cool if we got some dlc post release that added stuff from Xanathar’s Guide, or maybe even Tasha’s Cauldron. Speaking of which...

Post Release DLC/content updates! Baldur’s Gate 3 is already MASSIVE and it’s not even finished. There’s so much content, with even more to come!... Buuuuut Dnd as a whole is still waaaaay bigger. Inevitably, there’s plenty of stuff that won’t make the final cut, because Larian only has so much time and resources. Which is why I would like to see some dlc or something. Once the game is out, hopefully they can come back later and some stuff they couldn’t fit in the base game. New races, new subclasses, new companions, new spells, maybe a new area to explore, that sort of thing. Heck, maybe they could even slide the Artificer class in there, if they were feeling ambitious!

[eryiss]

Oh Captain Our Captain

Summary:  Sentry has been worried about Lucius ever since they have left the demon prince's palace. And now they're back on the stormchaser and have a moment to think, she has a plan of action. Anf if everything goes to plan, Lucius will know how they all feel about him, one way or another. [Quillucius One Shot]

This is just a little something becuase Lucius needs some love, especailly after last episode. It’s short and sweet, and i hope you all enjoy it. 

You can read it Archive of our Own, or under the cut. Enjoy.

Oh Captain Our Captain

"Oh Oriya," Lucius exclaimed. "It feels like it's been a year since we last saw you."

People chuckled and laughed at Lucius' reaction to the half orc, who awkwardly attempted to push the captain off her. She made a small comment explaining that, at least from her perspective, that it had been less than a day since they had seen each other last. Lucius quickly began to recount the story of what had happened to the group in those few hours. It was a spectacular tale, and almost all of the group chimed in at some point or another.

Sentry didn't, she was looking at Lucius with concern. She had been doing this since they had left the demon prince's palace, even if nobody had noticed. The reason for her concern was rooted in something their captain had said after the card game.

'I put myself forward because I feel you all have a greater purpose.'

On the surface, it felt like he was alluding to the destinies that seemed to be afflicted on the group. Sentry was now Sentinel Prime. Quill was H'esper's chosen one. Nova was collecting the pieces of Tiangong. Aila was the only wild elf of her clan on Aerois. They all seemed to have some kind of cosmic fate linked to them, and it appeared that Lucius did not. Sentry hadn't thought about that before, but now Lucius had pointed it out it seemed obvious.

But that wasn't what concerned Sentry. What concerned her was the fact he was willing to risk losing his mind, and possibly die, because he thought he was less important than the rest of them.

Sentry should have noticed he was feeling like this.

And when she had realised just how much that had affected him, she had thought back to their travels. How Lucius hadnt really been open with his emotions at all. His parents had been murdered, and someone wanted to kill his family, and he never talked about it. He closed himself off, and became a more stern and decisive version of himself, but the team had just assumed that came with his position of captain. But now it was glaringly obvious that he wasn't allowing himself to be emotional about anything.

Which of course was unhealthy. Only slithers of what he truly felt ever showed. When a member of the team was in danger and he fought so hard to save them, that was the closest he got to letting his feelings free. He didn't want to lose anyone else.

But he had just admitted he was willing to sacrifice himself for everyone else to live.

The team always had so much going on that they hadnt noticed it. But Sentry should have noticed. It was her job to notice. Her position in the ship was to keep up morale, how could she have missed that their captain was feeling so down on himself. It had been something that she had been thinking about constantly since they left the demon prince. And now that they were back on Aeoris, and on the ship, she had time to do something about it.

Inconspicuously, Sentry walked to Quill as Lucius introduced Thalia to Oriya. She nudged her friend in the wing, and he let out a small squark before looking at her.

"We need to talk about Lucius," She said softly. "He's not feeling alright. He said something after what happened in the card game, and I'm worried."

"You noticed that too," Quill replied, tone equally quiet. "He's been like this for a while. Every time I get him to talk he clams up and changes the subject."

Sentry sighed. She knew that, out of all of them, Quill would be the one to notice any change in Lucius. Not only did he have a near impossible ability to see subtle changes in people, but the two of them had been sneaking around at night for a while. When their relationship had been revealed, Sentry had faked surprise while secretly being glad the two felt comfortable to tell their shipmates about it. Obviously Lucius' boyfriend – birdfriend? – would know if something was wrong with him.

"I've been thinking about what we can do to help." Sentry said with a sigh. "Does he not like talking about what he's feeling?"

"He brushes it off. But only when he's feeling bad. He's happy enough to tell me he loves me," Quill commented, then blushed a little at what he'd said. Sentry beamed at the confession. "The point is, it's only when he's feeling bad when he closes off. I think he doesn't want to be an imposition. Or he doesn't think his problems are important. I'm not sure."

"I thought that might happen," Sentry nodded. "I've got an idea. I need some time to make sure I can do everything, so do you think you can distract him in his cabin for a while."

"Sure," Quill nodded. "I mean he'll probably want to have a sleep anyway, so it shouldn't be hard. How long will it take?"

"An hour or two. If you just keep him in the cabin for as long as you can, and I'll ask for you both through the messenger ring when everything's ready," Sentry requested, and Quill nodded. "I'll take Aila and Nova with me. So it shouldn't take long."

Again, Quill nodded. He walked towards his boyfriend, who was attempting to assist Thalia in explaining to Oriya how the medusa's ship worked. Sentry watched as the aarakocra guided Lucius away and spoke to him under his breath. Whatever he was saying, Lucius seemed to agree with it, and they were soon walking into the interior of the storm chaser. Sentry smiled a little as she saw Quill's claw wrapped up in Lucius' hand.

Now that they were out of the picture, she walked to Aila and Nova with determination, and explained her plan.

~~~

It was weird, being woken up by the use of the messenger ring.

Lucius was dreaming about something – they faded so fast he couldn't remember what – when he heard Sentry's voice asking for both Quill and Lucius to come to the main deck. He blinked his eyes open in a haze, lifting his head from Quill's chest and looking around his cabin with blurry vision. He felt a little stronger than he had before, thanks to the rest, and stretched his arms.

"You know you're the second-best pillow I've ever had," Lucius commented, smiling at his boyfriend. "Right behind the one I had as a child, which ironically was stuffed with feathers."

"So you like the pillows feathers more than mine?" Quill asked in faux offence. "I didn't know you were even seeing other feathers."

"Well, I suppose that pillow didn't have such a charming personality or such a cute face," Lucius mused with a smile. "Maybe you actually are my favourite pillow in the world. Congratulations Birdie," He laughed, and Quill grinned. "Why does Sentry want us on deck?"

"No idea," Quill shrugged. "Maybe it's dinner time."

"I hope so. I'm getting hungry for some Aerosian food," Lucius smiled. "Well, we shouldn't keep them waiting."

The two men quickly started to walk through the corridors of the Stormchaser, hand in hand as they did so. It was nice to hold Quill's hand, even if it was a little pointier than a human hand. A lot of things were nice with Quill, including hugging him, pressing his lips against his beak, and generally being around him and loving him. He was glad that he had stuttered out his feelings for Quill, and the birdman had reciprocated them with almost the same level of awkwardness.

As they got closer to the main deck, Lucius' stomach growled at the scent of one of Howards dishes. The food they'd eaten with Thalia had been nice enough, but it wasn't the same, and he had been craving it for a while now. Howard was a wizard in the kitchen and Lucius fully intended to make the most of it.

He pushed open the door to the deck with a smile, then froze.

The first thing he focused on was the dining table, at which sat every member of the Stormchaser crew. Then he saw streams of colourful paper had been hung from various parts of the ship, like a party. Then his eyes settled on a makeshift banner, handing from above. On the banner was written 'Happy Lucius Day.'

"What?" He asked, stunned. "What's… what's going on?"

"We're having a party for you, silly," Nova said with a smile, dragging Lucius towards the table.

"Why?" Lucius asked as he was dragged forward. He was dumbstruck.

"Because you're our captain, and you do a lot for us, and we want to make sure you know about how thankful we are," Sentry explained, smiling and pulling out a chair for Lucius. "And so you know we don't take you for granted."

"You really didn't have to-"

"We did," Aila said firmly, looking at Lucius with an authoritative expression. "We all thought you knew how important you are, but apparently you don't, so we're not taking any chances. So, happy Lucius day."

"I came up with the name," Nova smiled. "It could have been a little bit better, really, but 'you're the best captain ever' didn't fit on the banner and we didn't know how long you'd be sleeping for."

Lucius felt tears prickle at the edges of his eyes, and did his best to blink them away. Quill nuzzled his beak into his shoulder when he noticed this, the aarakocra's version of a kiss on the cheek. Lucius took the seat offered to him without saying anything, and had a large smile on his face. It warmed Sentry to see it, and she was immediately glad that she had thought to do it. She just wished it hadnt been needed.

Looking around, Lucius saw that each and every one of the crew were here for the meal. Even lookout, who had been given a large plate that Lucius expected had been heated up. The fact they were all here for him… it made his fight against the tears difficult.

The party was a relatively simple thing, but it meant the world to Lucius. The meal Howard made was three courses. A salad that Lucius had once mentioned enjoying, a stew that Lucius would always have bowl after bowl of, and a chocolate desert that was popular among the sky cities. Even the menu had been made with Lucius in mind, and it felt as though the warmth in Lucius' stomach had flooded his entire body. The gesture made him feel so loved that he could barely put it into words.

"We've also gotten you a present," Sentry said after the bowls were taken away. "We hope you like it."

Nova placed a large book in front of Lucius. It was a leather-bound thing, and probably quite heavy to lift. Written on the cover was what seemed to be the title: Oh Captain Our Captain. It wasn't a book Lucius was familiar with.

"We felt like having each of us tell you how important you are to us might be overwhelming," Quill explained. "And that you might feel awkward, but we also know that you need to hear just how much we all love you. So we thought this could be a good compromise. Open it and you'll see what I mean."

Lucius opened it to the page of content. Listed beside each page number was the name of a crewmate. The names of his team, the names of his engineers. Even each member of the wolfpack had a name on the page.

"We wrote down how we feel about you, rather than telling you face to face," Nova explained further. "That way, instead of being overwhelmed and not knowing how to react, you can read it all on your terms. It was actually Aila's idea."

"People telling you touchy feely stuff is weird. This way it's easier to take," She shrugged. "Buy you have to use it, especially when you're feeling shit. Promise me."

"I-I promise," Lucius said, running his finger down the page with wide eyes.

"We're also gonna update it from time to time. We made sure to get one with lots of pages, so don't be shocked if we sneak in a new message or two," Nova smiled.

"Thank you," Lucius whispered, and there was a slight sob in his voice. "You didn't need to… thank you."

Both Sentry and Quill, as they were the closets to him wrapped him up in a hug. Nova followed suit, and Aila placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Lucius allowed himself to cry, protected by the comfort of his friends' tight embrace.

~~~

It was far past midnight when the temptation arose. Quill was sleeping soundly beside him, curled up and letting out quiet whistles of air as he slept. It was an adorable sight, and one that Lucius loved seeing. But, as much as he would normally be happy to watch his boyfriend like this, his mind was elsewhere.

When he was sure that Quill wasn't going to wake up, Lucius summoned a relatively dim dancing light and reached for the book on his nightstand.

On the page of content, he saw that the order of the messages written for him was somewhat at random. He expected there was probably a reason for this – perhaps they wanted to spread out the messages from people closest to him, perhaps not – but he decided that he would read maybe the first two or three pages. He was alone, essentially, so now was as good a time as any to see what they really thought.

He flipped the page, feeling a little nervous. The first message was from Aila.

'Aila.

Look. I know I'm not gonna be as poetic as the rest of them, and as this is the first page I might as well ease you into all the feelings stuff. You're one of the strongest men I've ever met, and you keep us all together. You're a great captain, and you need to stop being so hard on yourself. You kick ass, and anyone who denies it is an idiot.

And stop closing yourself off. I used to do it and its crap. If you ever need to beat the crap out of something, come to me and we can spar. Or you can vent. I can't give great advice, but I can listen.

You're a good man, Lucius. Stop telling yourself otherwise.'

Ridiculously, Lucius let out a slightly teary laugh. He read the message a few times, and couldn't help but feel a bloom of pride at Aila calling him one of the strongest men he had ever met. That was high praise coming from the strongest person he had ever known.

He turned the page again, fingers only slightly shaking with emotion.

'Howard.

When I first decided I wanted to join an airship crew, I won't lie, I was cacking myself. I was scared I wasn't going to fit in, and that people would be sick to death of me because I wasn't the roughty toughty type. But the Stormchaser let me in with open arms and accepted me. That's because of you.

You're a kind man, Lucius. You're accepting, and you're caring, and that makes you good. I was in a rough patch before I met the lot of you, and I don't know where I'd be without this crew. But you've given me a place where I can be loved all over again, and be happy and accepted. I'll never be able to thank you enough for that.

And I know that you cared a lot for your dad, and I don't know what exactly happened. But as a father myself, I can tell you one thing. Any father would be proud to have you as a son. Don't you forget that.

And don't forget that these people love you. And they wouldn't be nothing without you.'

A sob escaped him at that, particularly at the comment about Lucius making his father proud. The elf always wondered how his father would react if he saw him now, and to have such a good father as Howard to say he would have made the man proud meant more to him than he cared to admit.

A few tears fell as he turned the page again.

'Quill.

Lucius. I am so in love with you, it hurts. You are the most beautiful, strong, courageous and important man I have ever met. You are constantly thrown into the worst of situations and you fight your way through them with a bravery that no man has ever had before.

You are yourself, you don't change for anybody, and that makes you perfect. You make us laugh, and keep us safe, and push us forward, and make us feel warm and accepted. For a group of people like us, a person like you is exactly what we need. And you help us with such kindness and generosity, without any judgement, and you have revitalised my life so much.

One day I might be able to put into words how much you mean to me, but until that day I'll just say this. You are more loved by everyone on this ship than you could possibly believe, and we will continue to love you for the rest of time.

Lucius Virion Eluin Elenasto. You are loved, important, and adored.'

Lucius closed the book after that, and ignored the tears rolling down his cheek. He looked to his still sleeping boyfriend with the softest expression he could wear. Even reading the messages had been overwhelming, but in the best way possible. He had come from a group of people who often weren't open with their feelings, and yet here he had a book of messages singing his praises. He had never felt so loved.

He removed the dancing light, snuggled under the covers and wrapped his arms around Quill from behind. As he drifted off, he realised the mistake he had made in the devil prince's palace. He shouldn't sacrifice himself because he felt like he was less important. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

But he would do anything for them. He would fight, no matter what the odds of winning. He would be there for them in his darkest days. He would love them all, forever and always.

Just as they loved him it seemed.

[mr-deblob]

Take Care

Description: Lucius has never quite gotten the grasp of how to deal with death. He isn't quite sure he'll ever know how. But a good talk can make things more bearable, at the very least.

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25475569

(It’s ya boi! Back at it again with actually writing fics! This one was part of Juletide 2020, a gift to @elennare who gave me some inspiration for this little (painful-esque) fic. Do hope y’all enjoy your Hurt/Comfort, cause this... this is Hurt/Comfort. Emphasis on both parts.)

As Bym’s body floated off into the Astral Void, Lucius couldn’t help but wonder: would he need to do this for one of his friends?

The thought wasn’t unfamiliar to him. After all, two of them had fallen before. It was only natural for his mind to think of what could happen if they didn’t come back.

But even then, there was a chance that they could come back. They had some way, some path given to them that could lead their soul (or Matrix, in Sentry’s case) back to their bodies to fight another day.

Out here, there was no telling what could happen.

Slowly, the gangway closed in front of them, and Bym’s small form drifted further away until the hull obscured the view. Thalia stood still for a few moments before excusing herself quietly, heading to the cockpit to continue their journey.

The party was left quiet after that, stunned by the sudden death of their new companion. Big Cat stretched himself out on an empty couch, his head rested between his paws with a somber expression. It was a couple moments before Nova finally broke the silence.

“I’ll just… double-check that everything’s alright with the engines,” she said. “Doesn’t hurt to be too safe.” With a subdued face, Nova headed down, Sentry casting a look of concern her way.

“You think she’ll be alright?”

Aila sat down with a thump. “She’ll be alright. Just needs a bit of time to herself.” Grabbing a rag, she began to clean the bloodstains off of the Howling Tempest. “For now, we should probably decompress. Reassess things a bit.”

“Of course.” Sentry nodded. “Just… I’ll make sure she isn’t missing anything down there. Might bring her a snack.” She headed to the quarters before any of them could respond.

Aila continued to polish before glancing up at the two men stood in the Lounge still, giving a questioning look at them. Evidently, that seemed to make Quill realize something.

“Ah, I should probably help Thalia with navigation, shouldn’t I? Now that Bym’s...” He swallowed, reluctant to say the next word with a look of guilt on his face. Instead, he looked towards the cockpit nervously. “Guess I’ll… go do that, then.”

With an awkward wave to Lucius and Aila, the elves watched as he retreated to the cockpit. The silence that fell afterward made the air heavy with discomfort. Only the purring of the engines and Big Cat ran underneath the quietude.

“So…” Aila said, “did you need to tell him something?”

The question startled Lucius, confusing him as she continued polishing her weapon.

“What gave you that impression?” he said.

She looked up at him, then glanced to the space in front of him where an outstretched hand was. His outstretched hand.

“A-ah. I see.” Self-conscious, he let it fall to his side, glancing back towards Aila, who simply raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t anything important. Really.” He let out a forced chuckle. “Just a…  force of habit, I suppose.”

The moment those words left his mouth, he silently cursed himself for giving such an ambiguous answer. Any person would get curious after hearing that.

But thankfully, Aila simply shrugged and turned her focus back on her weapon. She had more things to worry about than unspoken words.

With a small sigh, Lucius sat down across the room, trying to do as Aila suggested and reassess a few things. First things first: figuring out why he had reached towards Quill.

Well, that’s not exactly a big mystery, is it? It was obvious to him (and probably the rest of the party) that he and Quill cared deeply for each other, and he didn’t want to see the Aarakocra go off looking so worried, so nervous like he usually did. A smile fit him more than a furrowed brow. Or, furrowed feathers, he supposed.

Too many times he had seen Quill hopeless, shaken, vulnerable. Those moments always made Lucius anxious, his mind telling him to do anything to save Quill. He simply couldn’t lose him, not again. Not after he lost him once.

And the thought of losing him forever made him…

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a tap on his shoulder, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Sentry looking down at him with concern.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes, I’m alright, Sentry. What made you think otherwise?”

She stayed silent as she reached her hand out, wiping away a tear that underneath his left eye.

“Ah… I suppose that would explain it.”

Her eyes filled with worry. “Lucius, if you need someone to talk to, we’re here for you. You know that, right?”

He nodded slowly. “I know, Sentry. I just need a bit of time by myself.” He looked down at the plate of food she held. “Besides, don’t you need to give that to Nova? I’ll be fine. Really.”

She gave a small smile, then turned around to head to engineering. But before she did, Lucius placed a hand on her forearm.

“I’ll...I’ll be ready to talk in the crew quarters once you’ve finished checking up on Nova.”

And with a silent nod of understanding, she stepped away.

-

Lucius sat up on the bed as he heard the sound of clanking metal outside, swinging his legs over the edge of the mattress as Sentry opened the door and stepped inside.

Closing the door, she looked at Lucius expectantly, waiting for him to speak.

He opened his mouth, but closed it again as no words came out. Of course he lost his words after spending half an hour trying to compose his thoughts. Taking a deep breath, he tried to relax himself. Then, he spoke.

“How are you supposed to deal with death?”

Lucius could see Sentry get surprised at the question, but he didn’t wait for her to answer before elaborating more.

“How do you… how can you make yourself feel better after someone you care for dies? How can you push yourself forward even after losing someone he means so much to you, knowing you can never see them again?”

He watched as the Guardian took in his words, her face shifting as she tried to put together an answer for him.

“Back when I was in Solwynn, the princess I guarded and cared for… she was everything to me.” Her eyes glowed a bit brighter as she began to reminisce. “I spent every waking moment with her, keeping her safe and playing with her, becoming a part of her life just as she was a part of mine. I couldn’t imagine a life without her.”

She paused for a moment.

“Then I lost her. Lost my whole world when I was pulled away from her. Going unconscious and waking up to find out that hundreds of years have passed… It wasn’t exactly an easy thing for me to accept.”

She let out a small laugh. “I know it might be difficult to believe, but during those first few days when I was getting used to this new world, Quill was the one who helped carry me through it all.”

He looked up at her in surprise at that.

“Even though I’m this large and strong Guardian, I wasn’t exactly the most composed when Quill first found me. I was rather… blank then.” Her gaze shifted to the side as she spoke. “Everything felt muted to me, my senses dulled. I was barely able to get myself to stand each time I woke up. But he was able to pull me through all that. Every morning, he would convince me to stand up, to walk with him, to keep moving forward.”

Her voice seemed to grow warmer as she continued. “And soon, I was able to find the world a bit brighter, see a bit more color day by day, and eventually stand on my own. Even though what I loved might be gone now, I know that there are more things out there for me to protect, to cherish. Like all of you!”

Lucius looked up at Sentry in awe. He had never known that side of her. She’d always seemed tough, resilient in her emotions. To know that the cheerful woman in front of him had once gone through such emotional hardship comforted him in a strange way.

“So the answer to getting through it is just… to have the help of other people?”

She tilted her head sideways in thought for a moment. “Yes, I suppose that’s my answer.”

“But what if you don’t have anybody left to help you?”

The words left his mouth before he could think about them. When he looked at Sentry once more, he could see her looking extremely concerned at him.

“Lucius, we’ll always be there to help you.” Her voice was adamant as she said so, and she walked over to him, kneeling down to hug him tightly. “All of us care about you. More than you might ever know. Don’t you ever forget  that.”

He sat there, closing his eyes and soaking in these words.

When she finally released, he smiled back at her, his eyes watering at the sudden display of affection. “Thank you, Sentry.” His voice broke a bit as he spoke. “Thank you for… for all of that.”

“Of course.” She stood back up, towering over Lucius as he sat on the bed. “Is there anything else you need from me?”

“No, I’m alright now. I just need a bit of time to rest. Really rest. That fight took a lot out of me.”

With an understanding nod, she went to the door, softly closing it as she stepped out into the hallway.

As for Lucius, he let himself fall back onto the bed, thinking about the words Sentry told him and holding it close to his heart. They care for him, and he cares for them back. They’ll always be there to help him, just as he’ll always be there to help them.

Then he thought about Quill’s face again, of the worry he saw earlier that day, and of the story Sentry had told him.

And he made a plan. A simple one, but a plan.

-

As the door to the room opened and Quill walked in, Lucius could see the exhaustion on his face. The high elf pushed himself off the wall and tapped him on the shoulder from behind, causing him to jump a bit before relaxing.

“Hey,” he said as he walked to the bottom bunk bed.

“How did navigating with Thalia go?”

“It went alright. At least, I think it did.” He sat down on the mattress with a thump, his frame hunching over

“You think?” He leaned on the bed frame with what he hoped was a casual pose.

“I read the maps and all that right, got us through the leg of the trip she planned for today without much incident. But she was pretty quiet during all of it. Barely said anything besides asking for a few directions here and there.” He let out a deep sigh.

“I see…” Lucius kept quiet as he listened to him speak.

“When we finally got to where we planned, she dismissed me without even looking back. I tried to say good night to her, but she just stayed silent.” The same look of worry from before came over him once more. “I think… no, nevermind.”

“Do you want to talk about it with me, Birdie?”

Quill looked up at him with tired eyes at that.

“I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but… I’m here and available. And seeing as there’s nothing else to do today…”

He looked down at him, watching the Aarakocra consider the offer. Then, he watched as Quill scooted to the side, patting for Lucius to take a seat next to him.

The blonde did so, and watched as Quill considered his words.

“Thalia… I don’t think she likes me anymore.”

The sentence seemed to shock Lucius’s mind for a moment, stunning him before the Aarakocra continued.

“She seemed really distant. Like she didn’t even want to speak to me. The few times she did look at me, it felt like there was venom in her eyes, as if she wanted me to just go away and not come back.” He laughed bitterly. “I suppose it makes sense, though. I messed up really bad, didn’t I?”

“What, no you-”

“I let Bym die, and I did nothing to stop it. I’m the reason that he got killed. If only I paid attention to him instead of just focusing on Sentry.” His voice frazzled as he continued to speak. “No wonder Thalia hates me. She saw me help Sentry and do nothing for her crewmate. I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to Brookstone us all because of my awful decisi-”

He couldn’t finish the word as Lucius held him tightly, hugging the man’s body close and firmly.

“You’re not the reason he got killed, Quill.” Lucius tried to hold his voice firm as he spoke. “It was entirely the fault of those Astral pirates. They’re the ones to blame. And you know Thalia doesn’t hate you, or any of us. She’s just… hurt, and grieving. All of us can push people away when we lose somebody we care for.

Lucius’s hug grew tighter around him as he said those words, remembering the days without Quill.

“Thalia just needs time. Time to deal with this, and to accept it. She’s dealt with things like this before in her line of work, and she knows how to move past it. All we need to focus on right now is getting to the place where she wants us to go and helping her with what she needs.”

He hugged even tighter. “So don’t you go putting yourself in danger to try and make it up to her. Don’t pull any huge stunts or sacrifice yourself just so the rest of us can leave. We all need you.”

I need you.

Lucius could feel a tear running down his face before he felt Quill’s claw on his arm. Looking down, he could see the Aarakocra looking up at him with an expression of shock at the sudden outpouring of affection.

Quickly, he brought his arms back to his side, rubbing the tears away from his face as he tried to recollect himself. “Ah, sorry about all that. I seemed to have gone a bit overboard, didn’t I?” He chuckled with a hitched voice. “But… really, Birdie, you don’t need to keep all that inside to yourself. If you feel like you can’t handle things on your own, I’ll be there to help you. I care about you a lot, you know?”

He smiled at Quill as the Aarakocra gave a soft smile back.

“I’m… I’m glad to know that, Lucius. Glad to know that you care about me as much as you do. And thank you for saying all of that to me. I really needed something like that today.” The high elf felt warmth in his heart hearing him, but he couldn’t help but notice that his gaze seemed to drift far off as well.

Concerned, he asked, “Is there something else you need to talk about?”

Quill spoke with a start. “Oh, well it’s nothing too important really, just… it’s… quite a lot to take in, you know. That you feel that way.”

It was at that moment that Lucius realized he had said I instead of We in the last part of his reassurances.

“Y-yes! I really care about you a lot! All of us do, you know?” His voice pitched high as he began to explain away what had happened. “You know that when I say ‘I,�� the rest of the party’s included in that as well. In fact, it was Sentry who asked me to do all this, you know!” Lucius could feel his face start to redden as he spoke.

“Actually, I’m feeling a bit tired right now, so I suppose we should both go to sleep. It’s been a long day, hasn’t it, Birdie?” He let out very forced laughter as he climbed onto the top bunk, smothering his face into the pillow as he hauled his body upwards.

“Now, let’s sleep, why don’t we?” he said with a muffled voice. “G-good night! Don’t let the Astral bedbuggies bite!”

The sound of a (supposedly) sleeping Lucius filled the room soon after that, the elf’s face flushed and his heart racing as he lay on the mattress. But the Aarakocra underneath him smiled at the words he had heard moments before, a thought passing through his mind as he drifted off into restful sleep.

I care about you, too, Lucius. As much as you care about me. I know you'll never forget that.

[hydrangeasimagination]

Dungeons and Dragons Headcanons

Okay... I got super into DND recently, thank my darling friends for that. I've made my first character and currently am playing my first campaign! Bunch of shit has happened.

But anyway, I was sort of thinking about some DND headcanons for the animes I write for!

I couldn't think of anything for Kakegurui. They love their games but DND isn't really about gambling, even if you need a lot of luck for it.

So, here! I'm writing for two per fandom...

I'll be writing about one player and the DM!

~ Dari

BNHA

Bakugo Katsuki

a long suffering DM of which players consist of: Yuga, Mina, Denki, Hanta, and Fumikage

hosts DND in the common room, schedules it only after checking everyone has time and is pretty flexible with times

passion he carries goes into the dramatic and well-detailed scenes he creates

he is so good at setting the mood and riling up the characters his players act as, it's ridiculous, but really it's just him going in depth to analyze the characters they play

actually very creative, making things and pieces specifically for the campaign

also a little shit and likes throwing them into random situations where they have to survive, always keeps them on their toes

gives everyone in the room anxiety by just saying, "roll a perception/luck check"

his vocal range is surprisingly vast too, his entire disposition just shifts whenever he's doing a different character and you can always tell which reoccurring one he's acting as

current favorite character is a lawful good tiefling fighter that may or may not be the son of the King of the Underworld and a cocky, nearly sadistic, chaotic neutral human rogue that works as an assassin (Okamoto Nobuhiko's other roles, cookies for the ones that can guess which two)

gets frustrated easily though and his players do not help at all; "NO, YOU CAN'T ROLL FOR THE NPC'S BOOB SIZE!" (another guess as to who he's talking to)

Tokoyami Fumikage

his character is just like him in a way, being a lawful good warlock Aarakocra

okay, he is SO fuckin' extra and his penchant for poetry and theatrics really helps him here

his descriptions could be as vivid as Bakugo's if he allowed them to be, but mostly wants to leave to up to the imagination

his character is mysterious and how he acts and speaks his so cryptic

he and Bakugo actually work together to make worlds and create stories, weaving reveals and learning of each other's secrets in the best way

ridiculously lucky rolls almost all of the time, his dice aren't loaded as he's rolled with others' dice to get the same result

it'd be frustrating if it wasn't so cute seeing him light up the slightest bit at an especially high roll

when people ask him how he manages to get so many high rolls, he just bluntly says that he prays to the gods

which he definitely was, to Bishamonten, one of the seven gods of luck; specifically the god of fortune in war and battles (he's also associated with dignity)

I'd like to think he is himself is a bit of a patron to the moon god Tsukuyomi so he likely prays to him as well

Real Quick, What the Others Are:

Aoyama Yuga - lawful good cleric high elf, also a noble

Ashido Mina - chaotic neutral monk tiefling

Kaminari Denki - neutral good bard half-elf

Sero Hanta - chaotic good rogue human, Pirate King!!

Saiki K

Kaido Shun

plays a chaotic good sorcerer high elf with a penchant for long, winding story lines with complicated and often cliche sort of execution

but he's so enthusiastic and passionate about playing that it's hard to get angry with him

his DND group consists of their DM Kusuo, and the players; himself, Aren, Riki, Metori, Kokomi, and Chiyo (Hairo's just not into it)

has really low rolls in some stats but proudly totes around his highest strength and HP, his lowest rolls are his charisma though despite his modifiers

he manages to still pull through though?? Somehow??

his highest modifiers though are for "stealth" and "perception" since he's one of the few that thought through what he needed the most

gets good luck charms to get higher rolls and often prays to Greek gods for luck

each of his dice sets are pretty edgy and nice looking, even taking up on making them not only as gifts for his friends but as a sort of

his monologues, though a little lengthy, they're full of emotion and he acts incredibly well

not good at making split second decisions and that's often detrimental to him and his not so good saving throws

Saiki Kusuo

the very self-serving DM, that realizes that if he sets a time once a week for them to hang out that he doesn't have to deal with them for the rest of it

the best person to have as the DM, ngl, as he keeps order and people on track while encouraging banter and dramatic scenes between characters

won't admit it but he's always looking forward to sessions since well... they're all hanging out under his own terms and if he reschedules, they don't force him outside

uses his powers to make the entire thing more realistic and immersive

including making images of their characters/NPCs and cloaking it as their own imaginations conjuring the mirages

has extensive knowledge of everything and will tell you facts without looking at the books

even occasionally helping his players with rolls(via psychokinesis) and such if they're in a tight spot

can be absolutely merciless when it comes to things like them doing ridiculous things and not allowing them to have extra rolls when he's already given them pity ones

hates that Kokomi has high rolls on everything because that means she's shamelessly flirting with all the NPCs he has to play and he has to respond

favorite NPC to play is himself: a bored, very annoyed god that wants nothing more than to observe

What the Others Are:

Kuboyasu Aren - chaotic good barbarian tiefling

Nendo Riki - neutral good ranger orc

Saiko Metori - chaotic neutral paladin triton

Teruhashi Kokomi - lawful good wizard high elf

Yumehara Chiyo - neutral good monk half-elf

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

To all library personnel -

Today, something completely different: an essay left on the desk of George Chen with a yellow sticky note reading “pls revise, need a good English grade :)” The author, age 15, is one of the teen explorers who has been descending regularly into the caverns beneath the AV Department. 

What I Did On My Christmas Vacation, by Sadiq Quarles

I didn’t celebrate Christmas, for one. Not my family’s thing. We still take a day for family time every year, just Mom and Dad and me. We eat Chinese takeout and everyone picks a movie to watch and we spend an afternoon on the couch being lazy together. This year I picked Into the Spider-Verse, even though I’ve already seen it about twenty times. I think Mom and Dad are both getting a little sick of it, but neither of them said anything.

Mom’s gotten me a smallish not-Christmas present every year since I started preschool, because she didn’t want me to feel bad the other kids were getting things and I wasn’t. I’m mostly too old to be sad about that now - I mean, I understand why they’re getting new stuff and I’m not - but it’s nice that she does. The present wasn’t that small that year. She got me a watch, a nice one, that glows in the dark and can go underwater and is supposed to be really hard to break. 

She said a watch is a good present to get someone who’s almost a man, and that once I started spending so much time down in the AV caves she knew it would be the perfect present. I don’t know how I feel about that. I mean, it’s a lot more expensive than anything she’s ever gotten me before, which feels weird. We’re not poor, but we’re not rolling in money, either. I don’t like when they spend a bunch on me. And that “almost a man” thing - I don’t know about that.

Not that I don’t want to be a boy or whatever, that’s not what I mean. Being a man, getting up growing older - it just seems like a lot right now. Everyone my age is joking about dying and everyone a little older than me seems stressed out of their minds and everyone a little older than them is working like six jobs to afford Netflix and dog food and a crappy apartment. And everyone older than that is blaming the young people for everything being so expensive and the planet melting or whatever’s happening this week.

For a couple of days I kept hearing that koalas are basically extinct now, and now no one’s saying anything about it. I don’t know if it’s because that was clickbait and koalas are actually fine or if they’re actually gone and there’s just too much other bad stuff for anyone to worry about it any more. I could look it up in a second, but I’m kind of scared to know the answer.

I think that’s why I like the caves so much. No, hang on, I’m getting there. Up top, with all the bad news nonstop, I feel small in a bad way, like all this stuff is wrong and there’s nothing I can do about it. Down here, feeling small isn’t so bad. It’s quiet, when you can get away from all the other kids running around shouting at each other. There’s a lake I like, and it takes about an hour to walk all the way out here, but the Wi-Fi works so I can listen to music on the way.

It’s a real pretty lake. The water is so clear and blue it practically glows, so I can see in here even though there’s no other light. I like to sit at the edge and read or draw. Mostly I draw pictures of my Dungeons and Dragons character. Our group used to play in the Teen Section and we stopped meeting during the jungle thing, but my character is an aarakocra paladin who’s almost to level three. I draw him a lot, and some monsters I think would be cool to use if I ever learn to DM. 

It’s mostly quiet except for water dripping down, but every once in awhile there’s a big splash out in the middle of the lake. You’d think, with the water so clear, I’d be able to see what it is, but I always miss it. That should be creepy, probably, but it feels right down here.

That’s what I mean about feeling good-small down here. It’s so ancient and creepy, you forget that magic and monsters and stuff aren’t supposed to be real. Every time I come down I feel like I’m going to find a sword or a door to another world or a monster fish that I have to slay, one of those deep sea-looking things with the big eyes and freaky teeth. I think that’d be pretty sick, right?

I think that’s why I like Dungeons and Dragons so much, too. Everything’s kind of a mess up there. Like, the world’s so wrong that even if you want to make it better you don’t know where to start. In places like this it feels like it would be easy. All you have to do is be brave and fight monsters, and next thing you know you’re a hero who’s saving the world. Wouldn’t it be cool if it was that easy? 

I think that’s why me and the other kids like it down here so much, and why we liked D&D so much before that, and why we play video games and watch movies and all that. We all want a clear quest and a map to follow and an obvious big bad, because that seems a lot easier than fixing everything actually wrong in the world. I love my parents, and I don’t want to get sent to a guidance counselor for this, but if I found a Narnia door down here? I’d walk through it, no questions asked. 

Anyway. That’s definitely 100 words, so... that’s what I did over my Christmas break, I guess.

[diceforanaltmode]

Team Ice: Adventure 5: The One Where the Spymaster Befriends the Dog

Team Ice continues their adventure and we’re bringing you the latest summary! Last time the party defeated a sea snake on their way sailing to Caminus. What - or who - will they encounter this time?

The Cast - TEAM ICE

Skids by Soundwave (human rogue) Tailgate by Butter (dwarven barbarian) Cyclonus by Ren (tiefling paladin) Nautica by Robophelia (half-elf wizard) Velocity by Cee (high elf cleric) Brainstorm by Bex (air genasi wizard)

First Session | Second Session | Third Session | Fourth Session

After the party gets their various loot from the dead sea snake, and Prowl rejoins them on the deck of the ship, they are met by a bright magenta aarakocra - Misfire - and a bronze dragonborn - Grimlock. Shortly after realizing that the commotion has all been resolved, Grimlock goes over to the side of the ship to throw up, hiccupping fire over the side as well. The crew yells at him that he better not set their ship on fire. 

Misfire explains that Grimlock was seasick, which is why they hadn’t left their room until they heard the commotion and Grimlock insisted on coming up topside to make sure everything was okay. Skids comments that staying belowdecks is actually worse for seasickness, and Misfire says that that explains a lot. “Grimsy! Hey, did you hear -” And Grimlock flips him off.  

A goblin climbs out from under Misfire’s wing - it’s Spinister! He climbs up to Misfire’s shoulder and says “I don’t like the scaly thing, I’m going to shoot it.” He hops off and goes to shoot the sea serpent’s corpse repeatedly with his crossbow. Misfire comments offhandedly that when Spinister had said ‘I don’t like the scaly thing, I’m going to shoot it’, it could have gone either way - it was a good thing he hadn’t meant Grimlock. Velocity is a little concerned about the wasted arrows, but Misfire says that Spinister always recovers them - and indeed, he comes back with bloody arrows. When Velocity asks if he’s going to clean them, he pokes Misfire in the shoulder with one - which Misfire is not amused by - and, having confirmed it’s still sharp, puts it back in his quiver.

Grimlock compliments Lotty’s bright hair - she believes that hey, why let nature set the colors when we can have prettier ones,  and Misfire approves - he has bright magenta feathers. So does Grimlock - apparently some dragonborn paint their scales for similar reasons. The parties introduce themselves. Misfire says there would normally be more of them, but Krok and the others stayed back at the clinic. Velocity makes a mental note of this in case she ever wants to look for another job. The three of them - Grimlock, Misfire, and Spinister - are on assignment from someone called the Curator to retrieve up some kind of Camien artifact, it’s supposed to be good money. When the party all jumps to ask further questions about the artifact, Misfire says he wishes he knew more, but the Curator is being unusually cagey for this one, even for him - he’s supposed to find out more when they get to Caminus.

Grimlock asks if Velocity and Nautica are from Caminus, because he doesn’t see a lot of elves going away from Caminus and coming back. Velocity awkwardly extricates herself from the conversation - but it’s not for bad reasons and she’s not lying! - and goes to huddle with Nautica to decide what they should say, because … they didn’t really talk about what they were going to say, they ran away from home, and no one really knows that, in Camien terms, they’re pretty young. They decide that they should tell the truth, they’re from Caminus. Velocity comes back and says this, and promises it’s not a lie even though they had to go off and talk about it. Misfire says she may be giving Spinister a run for his money. Velocity says she’s not great at socializing yet because on Caminus you could be set for a three hour conversation just by commenting on someone’s painting and letting them talk and not listening. Here you actually have to talk back and forth. 

Skids drags Prowl for not having shown up to help with the sea serpent, and Prowl says he wouldn’t have hired a ship that couldn’t defend itself, but he’s glad the rest of them had it handled when they decided to get involved and didn’t manage to get themselves killed. Velocity and Skids ask Prowl if he’s heard of this Curator. Prowl says he knows of several people who trade in powerful artifacts who go by that handle. Tailgate asks if we can’t just patent these things; Prowl says people sticking to one name, (that is, one person per name) would make his job a lot easier. 

The ship docks in Caminus, and after getting through the checkpoint at the docks, Prowl gave everyone pendants that made them look like elves so they could blend in. Luna was disguised as a normal dog. Tailgate became Tallgate. The group ducked into the only bar on this side of Customs, so Prowl could ask the barkeep where to find his contact, Arcee.

When they come into the bar, they find Javelin standing at the door of the bar, with a pirate eye patch, dyed purple hair, and dressed in lots of purples and pinks. She carries a shortsword by her side, and is standing as the bar’s bouncer. Acceleron, an elf with dyed pink hair, is standing behind the bar and gives them all a friendly wave. At the bar, Skids and Prowl order the beer on tap, Lotty gets a non-alcoholic version of the house cocktail and Nautica gets a very alcoholic version. Prowl asks whether Arcee still lives here, and Acceleron tells him that she and Aileron just moved to a house by the beach, on the southwest side. Prowl tips her extra for the information.

In the time the party is there, another elf, with dyed blue hair, white and blue clothing, gold sunglasses, and a three-eyed parrot on her shoulder, Proxima, who comes in through the back door of the bar. She kisses Acceleron before walking across the bar to give Javelin a kiss and take Javelin’s place so Javelin can go watch the lighthouse. Acceleron introduces them as her wives, and says that the three of them run both the lighthouse and the bar. Proxima sees Luna where she’s waiting patiently outside the bar and immediately goes into full dog-lover mode with lots of pets.

Looking at the dyed hair all around him, Tailgate decides he wants to dye his hair, probably blue or purple. Acceleron says that Lotty’s hair looks really good, so he can probably go to whoever she has do it, but if he wants to go to someone in town, she has a recommendation for the stylist who does it for her, which she gives to Tailgate. Prowl, however, reminds them that they’re all on mission, and if they could have some baseline minimum level of efficiency… he doesn’t sound terribly optimistic about this request paying off. Lotty insists that he needs to let the party have their silly sidequests, like learning to bake a cake! She says Prowl needs a hobby. Prowl insists that that’s not a real word, he would have heard of it.

The party notices when the Scavengers come into the bar, having clearly also bypassed the checkpoint. Meanwhile,Tailgate is still adjusting to his new center of gravity as Tallgate, as he now looks like an elf and is much taller. When Acceleron, seeing him looking kind of wobbly, asks if he had one too many before getting here, the party just says he’s seasick, and Acceleron makes him up a tonic for seasickness. Hearing this, Grimlock comes over to the bar - he could use a seasickness tonic too. While waiting, Grimlock gets very flustered by Lotty. “Anything to help pretty a lady - fuck!  Anything to help lady a - fuck!” He flees the bar. Velocity asks the party if it seems like he was okay, or if he needs help. Skids says he was just flustered, but Velocity doubts that. Skids asks if she has an ulterior motive for wanting to go over and check on him, like a crush. Lotty uses shameless obliviousness. It's super effective.

Nautica, stressed out by returning to Caminus, had a strong drink. Lotty talks to her, asking if she’s okay, and if she’s only okay because she’s drunk enough to feel sort of okay, to which Nautica says yeah, probably. Lotty says that if it ever gets to a point where it’s too much and she wants to leave, they can leave together.

The party considers how to get through customs into the town itself where Arcee lives, and the rest of Caminus - particularly whether they’ll have to smuggle Luna through customs. Prowl says they aren’t going through customs - he’s trying to say it so Acceleron can’t hear, even though Acceleron wouldn’t give a fuck if she did. Proxima, on the other side of the room, is immediately distracted by the mention of a potential new animal friend, looking out the window and dashing out to pet the cute dog. 

After leaving the bar (Lotty waving goodbye to the Scavengers) and extricating Luna from Proxima, the group sneaks along the rocky beach, Lotty carrying Luna. As they go, Prowl does a walk-and-talk about the people they also saw disembarking the ship - the blonde man he recognized as 7-of-12, and the other two humans he assumes are guards based on their dress, but he didn’t recognize the half-elf, and he doesn’t like that. Skids suggests that she might just have been brought along so that someone part-elven was with them to help pacify the Camiens, Prowl says he hopes that’s true.

They arrive at Arcee and Aileron’s door, and Aileron answers. Aileron is an elf with her red hair kept short. She’s short for an elf, wearing layers of ones, one of which is magenta and too long for her. Aileron realizes that is the Prowl she’s heard of when he’s particularly brusque in asking for Arcee, and she calls for her. Arcee comes to the door, she’s a tall, ripped, goliath woman in pirate clothes, wearing lots of magenta. The party can guess that the two women borrow from each other's closets. Arcee asks what on earth Prowl is wearing, and recognizes Skids (by pictures and description, they haven’t met before.)  Arcee also recognizes Nautica from her time living in this town, calls her ‘little minnow’ and asks how she got mixed up with all of these folks.

Arcee and Aileron let the party into their house, have a whispered conversation in the kitchen, and then bring the party water and finger foods. Arcee wants to know why they’re there, and - she adds - it better be important, because she’s retired, Prowl explains about the Functionist party and the potential alliance with Caminus. In the discussion, Prowl mentions Arcee having settled down in an obviously disparaging way, Velocity objects, even if that’s not what Prowl wants, he has to respect other people’s choices. Skids and Velocity get into a discussion about Prowl and relationships “- not everyone wants -” “He doesn’t have to get married, but everyone wants friends,” and Chromedome gets brought up “he clearly cared about Chromedome, maybe they were friends, maybe they were something else -”

Prowl, to Arcee: “I’ve changed my mind, just kill me now.” 

Arcee: “Nah, that’d probably get these kids in trouble.”

Arcee breaks up the discussion and says not to be too hard on Prowl, he chose the mission and she couldn’t, she has something to lose now.  

Arcee says that she saw a few human men and a half-elf coming out from customs, who she assumes were the Functionist Delegation, because otherwise non-elves wouldn’t be allowed beyond the fence in Caminus. Aileron saw the half-elf in the context of her work at the library, and also around the temple. She says the half-elf claims to be a devotee of Solus Prime, but that her holy text looks like nothing Aileron recognizes, and that the half-elf messed up simple prayers to Solus Prime. Maybe the Functionists thought they were bringing along an expert on Solus Prime, but that wasn’t what they got. Whatever she’s here for, she’s probably up to no good.  

Arcee lays out the most likely route the Functionist delegation would take to the capital, based on how expensive goods are transported - it’s not like an isolationist country has foreign dignitaries travelling to the capital regularly. The route, Velocity notices, but doesn’t tell the others, goes through her old hometown. 

The group discusses their next move. Skids suggests that if, say, they killed the Functionist party, now, looking like elves and able to be presumed to be Camiens, their deaths would be blamed on Caminus, and the Empire would no longer want to seek an alliance with Caminus. Others point out that they would still eventually be identified as outsiders, even if they look like elves, Caminus is insular enough to be able to identify when people aren’t from there - and it’s not like elf-Skids looks that different from human Skids. Lotty doesn’t want to murder anyone. Lotty and Skids argue about the difference between murder and killing someone in a fight, and whether putting their own lives at risk makes the consequence of someone else’s death morally different - is there a difference between stabbing some and yelling ‘hey, we’re here to stop you’ and then stabbing them when they start to fight? Tailgate suggests that yelling ‘hey, let’s fight’ would be an even more efficient way of starting a fight, if that’s the necessary prereq. Lotty says that she won’t be involved with flat-out murder; she’s not trying to blackmail the rest of them into changing what they’re going to do, she’s just saying what she’s going to do. Cyclonus doesn’t think that murder should be their first option but he acknowledges that it might be a necessary last resort. Nautica is with Lotty on team ‘no murder’ - she’s also concerned that if the Empire does blame Caminus, it will drag Caminus into an international incident; even though she doesn’t have great love for this place, she doesn’t want to see that happen to it. Skids would prefer something else to murder, but still thinks it might be necessary. 

The party also discusses whether it makes sense to try and warn Camien officials about the Functionist delegation. The issues discussed include the fact that they don’t know what the Functionists’ plan is exactly, so they don’t know what to warn of, and they have no idea if Camien officials would listen to them. The party asks the two Camiens whether Camien officials would listen to them. Velocity appeals to Prowl. “I’m a cleric, I don’t know anything about politics. Prowl, do you know about politics?” Prowl chuckles - he’s been looking amused through this whole conversation. Looking at Skids, he says, “Well, at least you haven’t lost all the sense that made you a good agent.”

Arcee laughs and looks at Prowl. “Well, I guess you still pick them the same - he almost reminds me of me.” More seriously, she continues: “Look, Caminus is a little island, they’re isolationist, they want to be able to defend themselves - I certainly wouldn’t want to take on all the Torchbearers at once, though,” she adds, “it would have to be all of them for it to be a fair fight - still, wouldn’t want to if I didn’t have to. But, that said, you don’t come to Caminus for an army, or military might. Now, when I was working for you,” she looks at Prowl, “what we were finding on the Functionists was that they were looking into artifacts connected to the Guiding Hand, mainly Primus. Now, I don’t know why you’d come to Caminus for that, but that seems like the only explanation. And if whatever they’re after here is important enough, they won’t stop after one dead delegation. I’d bet the priority needs to be figuring out what it is what they’re here for. Arcee continues, “Now, I’ve never found Camien officials to listen to much, unless it’s,” and she raises an arm and flexes. “But they’re nobs and they’re going to be travelling like nobs, so if you’re willing to cut off the road a little - not into the deep woods, of course - but you should be able to keep up with them, keep track of things and figure out what they’re after, if you haven’t lost all of your spy skills.” She elbows Prowl teasingly.

The party generally agrees this is a solid plan. As it’s getting into the evening, Aileron offers the party a meal and to stay overnight as the Functionist party probably won’t be leaving town until morning. Aileron offers to let them stay in their guest room and living room - though some of them will probably end up sleeping on the couch and the floor given how many of them there are. She adds that they’re welcome to go to the inn across the way if they want to try and fool the staff there that they’re all actually Camien. Skids says that staying here is probably safer, so they decide to accept the meal and stay over. Skids stretches out on the couch as people get up to get food, and Aileron asks if he’s okay and if she should bring food over to him. Lotty drops Luna on him in retaliation for the murder plan and he sits right up to lift Luna off him. While they eat, Luna - who’s still slowly getting used to the concept of not being used as a ‘lean and mean’ guard dog and being regularly fed - has scarfed down the bowl of food Aileron provided and is shamelessly begging for food from everyone at the table. Prowl is feeding Luna scraps under the table, and Arcee, noticing this, grins in amusement. Skids, disapproving of the dog being fed elven food, suggests that Luna should have a bowl of food. Aileron, not having noticed that Prowl was feeding Luna under the table, looks over at Luna’s empty bowl and goes to refill it. Prowl keeps feeding Luna under the table anyway, Lotty allows it, not seeing any apparent harm in his actions. The party considers that they may need to get Prowl an animal, since he’s clearly trying to befriend Luna.

Over dinner Nautica catches up with Arcee and Aileron. Since Arcee moved in with Aileron and left the shipping/spy business, Arcee and Aileron got married (“We would have sent you a wedding invite, but we didn’t know where to send it!) Arcee’s still working the docks, unloading, doing repairs and other odd jobs, and Aileron has moved from working in the church to working in the library, and she really enjoys the work.

After Arcee and Aileron gave the party the appropriate host tour of the house so they could find places to sleep and everything they needed, the two of them turned in for the night. The rest of the party stayed out and huddled in the living room. Everyone wanted to know how Nautica knows Arcee and Aileron. Nautica explains that she’s known them for most of her life; Aileron has lived here for as long as Nautica’s been alive, and worked as a cleric in the church in town for most of that time. Arcee’s been in and out of town for much of that time, working shipping and sometimes stopping in when her trade routes took her to Caminus. She’d left the shipping business and moved in with Aileron shortly before Nautica left Caminus. Nautica says that Aileron is one of the few elves who treated her like everyone else despite her only being half-elven; and that Arcee helped inspire her to leave Caminus, because she made her curious about the outside world. Nautica’s not feeling great about being back here... Tailgate comments that if she hadn’t left Caminus, she would never have met this whole new party. Lotty adds that she wouldn’t have met Luna. Or Prowl. She would have missed out on friends! And Prowl.

At the mention of Luna, everyone looks around for her, and notices her and Prowl both over by the kitchen. Not everyone can quite tell what’s going on, but the more perceptive party members realize that he’s got some leftover table scraps that he’s using to try to get Luna to practice ‘sit’, keeping his voice low to try and go unnoticed by the others. Tailgate sees All, and could probably tell you what cut of enchanted ‘meat’ the table scraps were from and what kind of dog training school Prowl ascribes to, had the DM come up with either of those details to share. Lotty asks Prowl how he knows Arcee. He looks a little abashed at having been caught out feeding Luna, but keeps patting Luna’s head while he answers. He explains that he and Arcee used to work together, and when she got into shipping and transportation she served as a cough informant, letting him know what was going on in other places, who and what was going where, doing things when they needed to be done somewhere else. She stopped doing that when she decided to settle down in Caminus, but Prowl acknowledges that she’s still keeping her eyes open and helping them out now, and admits that Aileron is keeping her eyes open too, and being helpful.

Eventually the party all falls asleep, ready to head out in the morning... session 6!

[dungeons-and-divination]

Circle of the LAND DRUID - AARAKOCRA - Soldier

You might notice something different with this post, but I kinda wanted to somehow improve my photos and I’ve been experimenting a little. I think this works better, even if I’m still not the best photographer. Hope you enjoy this character.

Name: Aeredek (10yo)

TAROTS

Mind: the Hierophant (upright) A card about sticking to traditions, being very committed. Not surprised at all for someone that is supposed to have a military background of some kind. I can picture Aeredek being the kind of person that followed with a passion the orders of the institution they were to become part of. But I can appreciate the undertone of finding new personal traditions, so I also think Aeredeks’ is not a blind following of directives, they just have a deep love for conformity and the certainty that having order gives them. A very logical person, not into chaos at all.

Body: Four of cups (upright) The search for greener grass really confirms it for me. Aeredek likes order, but somewhere on the path of becoming a soldier they realized it wasn’t what they wanted and they got disillusioned with that kind of life. They started regretting their choices, but probably still felt some kind of responsibility to that commitment they made at first when they enrolled and so, felt stuck. It’s when they probably started daydreaming despite their very logical mindset. 

Spirit: Nine of wands (upright) Not really surprised that they would feel battle weary if they are constantly trying to get out of that commitment while still feeling some kind of sense of duty. At the same time, this is a tarot that expresses believing in your courage, in your own persistence. And it hints that in those virtues you can find the solution to get out of the mess you are in. So despite all of the back and forth Aeredek has been doing in their mind, they are about to find a solution to get out of this commitment, and they know, and that’s why they keep holding on to their dream.

Past: Death (upright) I find it incredibly fitting that someone like Aeredek that is trying to reach for a big change in their life gets such a powerful card of change like this one. Death is not necessarily well accepted by most people in a reading, but of all people, I feel like Aeredek, very logical Aeredek that would shrug away even the idea of having someone doing tarots for them, would just say something like “of course there’s death in my past, I’m a soldier”, while not really understanding the meaning of the card. I had to dig deeper! I wanted to know what kind of change was involved in their past! And the deck gave me the only reversed card of this read: the Eight of wands. Which just goes to confirm exactly what came before. Aeredek was looking forward to some kind of change, maybe something in their career, something related to traveling most likely, but because of bad timing or some unfinished business, it ended up in them being still stuck there, impatient and frustrated.

Present: the World (upright) Look at that, not surprised at all to see accomplishment and travel hand in hand in their read once again. It really feels like Aeredek will find those in one another. Just perfect for a good adventure, really. Lots of opportunities available it seems too, both in business and their personal life, so maybe they will be a little less strict once they have a chance to travel and they realize how chaotic the world actually is. Who knows… 

Future: Page of pentacles (upright) Well, this kind of still keeps going on building on the opportunities that had previously opened up and building foundations for something more lasting for the future. Which is all good and fun. But, I think I want to focus more on the relationship side there for a moment, just on one of my usual hunches. They will find people they rely on to help on those kind of long lasting projects, and it’s good, because they are not the kind of endeavors they should face alone. It might be a mentor, someone more experienced, but it could be also someone just dependable and ambitious that they trust. As far as my usual suggestions, I think I already cleared up this but I picture them as someone very rigid and logical at first, that likes things that make sense and can be explained or can be learned somehow. But with time, they will learn that a little bit of chaos is not gonna hurt them.

FULL BACKSTORY

Aeredek became almost at birth what their people called a “child of the tribe”. They were not necessarily abandoned by their father, Tishmok, but their father never cared for Aeredek’s existence, and he barely admitted that they were related. Sillyia, their mother, had always been more of a wanderer, and despised that the clan had become permanent and so similar to an actual village (both physically and in political structure). So, she left as soon as she felt good enough to travel after giving birth to Aeredek. As a child of the tribe, Aeredek was grown at first mostly by the midwife of the tribe and then put under the care of a volunteer caretaker till they were old enough to care for themselves. That person was a man that they called uncle Myal. Myal was one of the warriors of the tribe, like Aeredek’s father, but while Tishmok was too focused on his career to care for their offspring, Myal always tried to be there for Aeredek. Not once, Aeredek had the impression that Tishmok inquired to his subordinate about Aeredek’s well-being, so Aeredek wasn’t really heartbroken when Tishmok died defending the tribe from an attack of Ogres. Aeredek still developed a love for the idea of becoming part of the military force of the tribe. Instead of being part of the assault team like Tishmok, they became fascinated by the magic coming from the nature they were surrounded by, the same magic Myal used to defend their people. It was no surprise when Aeredek joined the warriors as soon as they were old enough to do so. They had joined for only a couple of months when, during what felt like a very average security detail job for a delivery of stocks from the nearby village, they were attacked by a manticore and Myal died to allow Aeredek and the other people with them to run away. After losing their uncle, Aeredek tried to become better at what they did, but they soon found out that staying with the tribe was not ideal for growing their abilities as fast as they wanted (especially because after loosing so many of their warrios made them become even more secluded than they had been till then). Aeredek inquired, then, with the clan’s council for permission to travel, even just to reach maybe an alliance with other nearby tribes or to find a more suitable place for their people. After long discussion that seemed to suggest the result would be otherwise, it was decided that it wasn’t a good idea, because the clan needed all the warriors it had for protection and it was too much of a risk to let Aeredek just wander around without a clear destination. It took two more years but, after a premonitionof certin doom incoming for them all from one of the sages of the tribe, Aeredek was finally allowed to leave to find out why the clan was apparently soon to be wiped away completely by a mysterious treat. The only clues, a couple of very vague lines from a vision that could lead them to various places around the continent or to very different, very dangerous kind of treats…

SUGGESTION CORNER

Suggested features Ability scores: High Wisdom and Dexterity, Low Strength Skill proficiencies: Perception, Survival Gaming set proficiencies: dice set Others: I don’t necessarily see them being lawful good in alignment despite what I said about them disliking chaos (or the Ideal I suggest down below). But if you really want to play them as lawful, I would go for LN. (It’s mainly because I play by a very loose idea of what lawful means usually, but you do you. It really depends on the player and the party if a very strict LG character could fit.)

Suggested Characteristics Trait: I always plan what to do for “when things go wrong” ahead of times. Ideal: It is the duty of all civilized people to strengthen the bonds of community and the security of civilization. Bond: Someone saved my life on the battlefield. To this day, I will never leave a friend behind. Flaw: Deep down, I know I only do this for the thrill.

[zephanofthewind]

8 People I’d Like to Get to Know Better

Thank you for tagging me @harukowitch !

Favorite Color(s):

Purple by far! I think I decided on purple when I was in middle school. It was during a time when I was trying to grow my own personality because I was always a quiet, do as your told kid. I think my reasoning was “What’s a color that’s pretty that I don’t see enough?” And thus, purple. Very satisfied with my choice. Currently typing on the keyboard and my keyboard cover is a purple ombre, my blanket is a dark purple, and I’m working on getting purple sea serpent armor in RLCraft (minecraft). If I had to pick a secondary color...hmmm...maybe today it’s light blue.

Last Song I Listened to: 

I believe it was this one. Was trying to sing along to it in the shower. Found it while watching a twitch stream of X33N. I’m really digging the techno beats of Scandroid and the story they’re telling.

Favorite Musician(s):

I think this one changes a lot as I continue to slowly explore and re-listen to songs. But one that I consistently hold on to is Daft Punk. Scandroid has captured my attention more recently. Oh, also Fall Out Boy! There are several others but those three come to my mind first.

Last Film I Watched:

Uuuummm...may have to think a while. Oh yeah! Saw Zombieland almost a month ago on Netflix. It was funny, I’d say it’s a decent choice. I always enjoy crass humor.

Last Show I Watched:

Does anime count for what you mean? If so, then it was Sword Art Online: War of Underworld. I’ve enjoyed SAO for a long time, and read quite a bit ahead in the light novels. It was really nice seeing it get animated, especially this season. Best girl Asuna is back!!! (Not to disrespect Alice or Eugeo, they’re favorite characters too.)

My Favorite OC:

Huh...seems like I really only have the one choice. My D&D character who is an Aarakocra Monk. He’s really friendly and a bit bird-brained (pun intended).

Sweet, Spicy, Savory:

All things equally and not to an extreme. Recently some godly, overly sweet cinnamon rolls have been on my mind. They’re about a five minute walk from my house so it’s hard not to give in all the time. But then I go to the gym.

Sparkling Water, Tea, Coffee:

Mmm, I think either tea or coffee. It depends. For tea, something soothing and herbal or sweet and zingy. For coffee, something overly sugary and with cream/milk.

Pets:

Never had a living pet. But I do have a family of plush otters and twin plush umbreons (Penumbra and Totality).

I tag @storybookprincess, @haltraveler, @jinxjinn, @ajeneration, @bonsoirpunpun, @strayninja, @kirsty-kiddo, @shooshopath

[thelastarchangelaskblog]

Session 17

I’m...a few sessions behind on recaps. (A lot of sessions.)

This is the one right after the reveal that Tony Stark is Gabriel. (Is his last name still Stark?? The party sure doesn’t know and no one’s asked him.) 

There’s still fallout from what happened, although a bit of it was dealt in text RPs on our Discord channel. (I know; they’re not updated on this blog either. I’m only one person. ;w;)

Anyway, without further ado...

**

(Read more.)

Our DM ( @the-grey-hunt​) starts us off with a lovely recap about the ghost we encountered and the immediate aftermath of Gabriel’s identity reveal:

DM: The fight was short-lived and they were beaten into the afterlife by the rest of the party.

DM: Gabriel tried to avoid the party, who promptly told him to fuck right off with that attitude.

There was a comment on Luna’s ( @imagine1117​) passive perception for some reason? (Oh, right, because Rhodey ( @rebaobsessions​) proposed to Gabriel. Meaning Gabriel is now sporting a ring.)

DM: Very quick, imagine. What's Luna's passive perception? 

Imagine: High.

Luna isn’t the only one with high passive perception. The only one who doesn’t have one is poor DJ (doxblogsstuff) with a solid 9.

Zira ( @heliocentricgeometric​): How was last night?

Rhodey: It went great.

Zira: Do you want to share with the group?

Rhodey: Uuuuuhhhh.

Rhodey immediately looks to Tony/Gabriel for help.

Zira already knew Rhodey wanted to propose, and now it’s out that he actually did propose.

DJ: Didn't you do that already? Well, Tony did...

Helio: Zira kicks him under the table.

DJ: Ow! Your feet are pointy! 

Zira: All feet are pointy. That's how they work.

Sibling shenanigans go back to asking Mom and Dad what’s next now.

Zira: You've both proposed...so what comes next?

Luna, very quietly: Kids.

DJ: They've already GOT kids.

(Tony breaks out into hives immediately because no.)

Bob ( @lynnnnnnnnnnmnnnnnnnnnnnnnmnnnn​ [what the FUCK, lynn]) comes down from upstairs with two very familiar cats!

Lynn: Bob comes downstairs...and following him are two cats.

DJ: YOU!

Others in real life: (immediate shrieking)

Bob: What’s crackalackalin’?

Clint and...Agent 13, I think, join the group for breakfast. Let them know that Fury would like an answer from them within the next day or so. And then they leave.

Lynn: And Bob starts rummaging around in his bag. You already know what’s coming...

Lynn: And Bob puts a bolt and an arrow on the table in front of Clint.

Rhodey gives Bob a small part of his Highsummer gift for the cats, which is a little wicker backpack-like thing for them to stay in. And Zira, after her conversation with Tony and Tony shoving her off onto Rhodey when it comes to gifts, immediately pounces on Rhodey.

Zira: So I think there's no point in hiding it from me.

Rhodey: You mean what i bought you for Highsummer? 

Zira: Yes.  

(No, it doesn’t work.)

DJ is very officially dressed this morning for breakfast; he’s also very nervous! He’s going to try and see about getting started on the next step of becoming a master Alchemist!

Zira: Are you experiencing pre-exam stress?

DJ is very much unconvincing in convincing everyone he isn’t nervous and he’s totally fine. He doesn’t know what’s expected of the exam, only it’s an exam?? Zira tries to help.

Zira: Whoever you're killing, at least they'll be farther away from you since you're mostly a ranged--

DJ: I'm not killing anyone, it's just a test!

Zira: If you fail this test, will they kill you?

DJ: No! 

Zira: Then I don't know what you're so worried about.

Zira, later: People say there won't be any murder, but it's usually a trick.

There’s a little more talk on S.H.I.E.L.D. and what members of the group want to do what. Zira is still for joining. Tony/Gabriel is still against but does say to Rhodey he should just make the best decision for himself.

Rhodey to Tony: The best decision is the decision where I get to stay with you.

DJ does go off to the Alchemists’ Guild! Not alone, as Zira goes with him. Tony was tempted to go but still too uncertain about how things stood to try.

And now Zira finds out what DJ’s first name is... (Tony already knows, courtesy of a text RP.)

DJ: Dudo Jamjar, sir.

Gnome: I see. Your reputation precedes you.

DJ is remarkably polite during this entire interaction and it ends on a pretty positive note.

In the meantime, Luna and Bob are hunting down an Aarakocra Tony met on his shopping trip and referred Bob to. imagine had to roll a dice.

imagine: (dice clatter) eh--

DM: What was it?

imagine: I dunno; it's gone.

They do find the Aarakocra!

Hengist (verbally): Hello, how can I help you?

Bob (telepathically): Hello!

Hengist: Oh, wow, that's new. Are you a friend of that one guy? The one who didn't know anything about Aarakocra? 

Bob: Yes. Aarakocra. That's what I am, an Aarakocra.

(Very convincing, Bob.)

Bob doesn’t really know what to ask or what information to look for. Hengist doesn’t really know what information to give either. They part ways only slightly satisfied.

Luna: Just - one more question. Do your friends ask you what your name is everyday? 

Hengist: What - no, it's just Hengist.

Luna: Cool. Just curious.

imagine: Luna leaves. Awkwardly.

Zira and DJ are still together and so have more of a conversation once they’re back at Summer’s Rest. There’s some really heartfelt stuff on what happened to DJ back when he was still at home. DJ revealed to Zira that he actually died when the library fell on him. It was a pretty massive explosion, guys. Bad.

So that’s why he’s all nervous about continuing to pursue his education, but he’s going to do it!!

And after a hug and comfort from Zira, DJ goes back to gushing over the exciting new developments in the party.

DJ: But, oh my god! Mom proposed to Dad!

Zira and DJ want to surprise tackle someone with affection after everything, since Zira noticed that Tony was making discreet efforts at distancing himself from the group.

DJ: I'm pretty sure if I tackle him I'd break a knee.

Zira: Then do it right, fool.

Also Zira in this conversation:

Zira: Then now's your chance to flip the script! See, wordplay. I can do it.

DJ’s still pondering the technicalities of what he wants to do.

Zira: The important thing is that it's a tackle hug. Two things in one.

They don’t see Tony first. They do see Rhodey. (Tony has been holed up in the room all day, doing...things.)

Rhodey: Uh, hi, DJ - Zira.

Zira: We're here to be nosy!

DJ: I really want to know what [Tony's] doing.

Rhodey: I mean, I would, too...

(Rhodey has been in the room all day with Tony, and yet has no idea what’s up.)

Zira and DJ are trying to sell Rhodey on a tackle hug.

Zira: This is doctor's orders, even though I am technically not a doctor.

It’s okay. Rhodey doesn’t need convincing.

Tony is eventually done with whatever he’s doing, and he and Rhodey head downstairs for dinner. The stairs...are a thing.

Dox: DJ's running towards Tony, but he trips.

DM: Yeah, Zira's falling, but Tony just sidesteps out of the way and she hits the floor instead.

(They rolled terribly on DEX compared to Tony, especially since JARVIS gave Tony an alert that it was happening.)

DJ glomps onto Tony’s legs, and Zira isn’t far behind him. Tony is just ???

Zira: Do not think I haven't noticed your efforts to distance yourself from this group. ...Fuck off with that shit. 

DJ: You cannot escape our affection, Dad!

There is definitely no escape. Rhodey is there, too, and he snags all of them into the hug. So it’s a giant group hug.

We ended the session after going to S.H.I.E.L.D. and telling Fury that we’re not particularly interested in being lackeys of S.H.I.E.L.D. (or at least that’s what Tony said) but they could be consultants. Fury gave the party a mission to see how they liked working for/with S.H.I.E.L.D., which is to retrieve a book from a town several days from Ankh.

Zira hung back and said she did want to be an agent, so Fury officially pulled her in. She’s the only member of the party to actually become an Avenger and is assigned Agent 13 ala Sharon Carter as her handler. Carter is also the one to give us the mission and we’re told to get it through basically any means necessary because it’s really important and S.H.I.E.L.D. needs it.

And that’s the wrap for Session 17! Next session I was only there for part of it so notes are going to be a little slim.

[creativerogues]

Aaracokra Players: The Cool Birds...

"It is as open as the eternal sky.

It is as solid as a child's breath.

It is falling forever. ”

— Manual of the Planes

Many Aaracokra come from the Plane of Air. They fly whenever possible, since there's no real 'ground' there in the Plane of Air, the only real equivalent being small asteroids that float through ever now and then...

And most fascinating of all, they only seem to know the color blue, since the very substance of the Plane of Air always seems to radiate the magnificent sapphire hue of a clear summer day.

Imagine playing an young Aaracokra that doesn't know what 'ground' is, or one that has only ever seen the color blue their whole life and is then introduced to a whole spectrum of new colors when put in the Material Plane...

Another cool thing that you could drop into the Traits Section of an Aaracokra Player is that they are deathly afraid of tornadoes. Since in the Plane of Air, this tornado (known as a 'Maelstrom') was a toroid-shaped tornado that could last for decades and being caught in one was like being in a violent dust storm and death was only a matter of minutes away unless the victim was able to achieve great speed or perform an act of great strength, or somehow receive outside assistance, since any kind of spellcasting was impossible within a maelstrom.

Now you'd expect an Aaracokra to be pretty cool when it comes to rain, sleet, snow and storms, since they live in the Plane of Air, but hearing the word 'Maelstrom' can bring terror to a young Aaracokra, since saying 'Maelstrom' is like saying 'Immediate Death'...

But for some of the more experienced Aaracokra, they're seemingly not impressed by much of the magics in the Material Plane, since they're surviving on the Plane of Air, against pounding rain, blinding snow, pelting hail, freezing sleet, and storms of choking smoke, biting sand, burning ash, scalding steam, and searing fire.

I mean they live in a Plane where Asteroids just pass through like it's a weekly thing...

Older Aaracokra have been through burning smoke, poisonous clouds and acidic vapors and fog, they can survived a cantrip or two...

And for even more added flavor, Aaracokra are known to be kinda best buddies with Air Elementals, though some Aaracokra do have a deep hatred of the things...

They're also known to work with (and fight against) Djinnis, Cloud Giants, Beholders, Devas, Pegasi, Sphinxes and Hippogriffs, so not a lot can really surprise a well-experienced Aaracokra.

Personality Traits

I become frustrated with those who fail to pick up on my words; for my threats might be taken as a jest by these creatures.

I have nothing but pity for those earthbound people forced to live and toil in the dirt.

I have seen nothing but the shade of a clear summer's day for my Life, so now I too wish to experience the colors of this new Plane.

Sometimes I forget that the winds here are different, and yet I still speak to them...

I enjoy peace and solitude, the machinations of these creatures do not interest me.

Nowhere am I more comfortable than the sky.

Once airborne, I leave the sky with great reluctance...

The idea of ownership baffles me. After all, who owns the sky?

Ideals

Aspiration. I'm determined to make something of myself in this new world. (Any)

Commitment. I am fully committed to fighting the cults of the elemental earth and thwarting their efforts, before they bring devastation. (Lawful)

Freedom. The wind and sky are my only true freedoms - the freedom to go anywhere and do anything. (Chaotic)

Generosity. I am here for one reason, to protect this world from the dangers it cannot see. (Good)

Superstition. I am a sworn foe of the elemental earths, as long as my wings beat, I shall not touch the earth of this new world. (Any)

Bonds

I lost a great ally to the Maelstroms of my home, I shall not lose another in my new adventuring life.

I could've lost my life within a Maelstrom if it wasn't for the aid of another, without their assistance I would be dead, and for that I owe them greatly.

If this place is anything like my home, there are danger in all places, I shall protect my new allies from that which can't be seen.

Flaws

I do not know what this 'Ground' thing is, so I fly in fear of this 'Ground’ that surrounds my feet.

The word 'Maelstrom' brings fear to my mind.

I have seen storms of choking smoke, biting sand, burning ash, and searing fire, I don't believe there is more to challenge me in this new place.

I am not impressed by the magics of this new 'home' of mine.

Confinement terrifies me. To be grounded, trapped underground, or imprisoned by the cold, unyielding earth is a torment I simply cannot withstand.

Adventure Hooks for Aaracokra

1. Ogrémoch’s War: The great battle between aarakocra and gargoyles has raged across the Elemental Planes of Earth and Air, but soon it will be spilling into the Material Plane...

Aarakocra are sworn foes of any gargoyles that serve Ogrémoch, the Prince of Earth. And interestingly enough, the Aarakocra word for gargoyle is loosely translated as “flying rock”.

2. The Wind Dukes: You, an Aaracokra, seek out the missing pieces of the Rod of Seven Parts, the remains of an artifact fashioned by the Wind Dukes long ago to defeat the Queen of Chaos’s monstrous champion, Miska the Wolf-Spider, finding even one of them may gain you great honor and esteem in the eyes of the vaati who forged it.

[probablygoodrpgideas]

Unearthed Arcana

There is a new Unearthed Arcana about Centaurs and Minotaurs as player races and I love it!

If you want a more detailed review, keep reading (keep in mind I haven’t played them yet this is purely based on reading them)

Centaur

Ability Score Increase

Strenght and wisdom is a pretty rare combination even though it’s important for both Barbarians and Clerics. Barbarians also fit the lore of the race so that might be a fun thing to do.

Age

Age at the same rate as humans? Boring! I’m kidding, it’s alright.

Alignment

Not much to say about that. It’s just a suggestion after all.

Size

For a reason I don’t entirely understand yet everyone hates large races so I am glad they are medium. 

Speed

40 feet? H E L L Y E A H. If you really plan on playing a Centaur Barbarian you would have a speed of 50 feet and that’s just great! 

Charge

This ability is just a bit off in my opinion. Horses have a similar ability but instead of dealing extra damage they knock their target prone. Would that be too strong? Maybe. Would that be fun? Probably.

Hooves

Great ability but as a huge fan of Aarakocra, I don’t like how they deal more damage than our winged friends.

Equine Build

1st part: I sure hope they get that ability. It would be weird if an orc or goliath could carry more than a centaur

2nd part: It’s a good drawback and it really makes sense. I feel like 4 extra feet might be a bit too little actually because you already have an additional 10 feet movement speed. You can still climb 8 foot per round which is more than half of what other races can do.

3rd part: I absolutely love this ability. It just sounds really fun. I really want to try a Centaur who is friends with some kind of cavalier. I feel like it should include something like “You can’t use large creatures as mounts” or something. I know it’s common sense that a horseman can’t ride a horse but I am sure there are people who would say “It doesn’t explicitly say that so I can do that”

Survivor

 Neat little bit of extra power and flavorful. I don’t like it though because it’s supposed to be “Centaurs are outlanders so they get this proficiency” even though there is a background called “Outlander” that also grants this proficiency so there are 2 possibilities: 

You play an outlander Centaur and have the proficiency anyway

You play a Centaur that isn’t an outlander and the proficiency seems out of character

Hybrid Nature

I love this ability! I like how they finally start experimenting with creature types a bit. However, I can’t think of anything that really effects monstrosities in a special way so it seems nice but kind of pointless

Languages

Not much to say about that as well. Sylvan is a neat language.

In conclusion

I can’t wait to create a new character and make them a centaur that’s how much I love this race

Minotaur

Ability Score Increase

Strenght and Constitution are a pretty neat combination as well. It’s a bit more useful since everyone needs constitution.

Alignment + Speed + Size

Not much to say about that.

Horns

I am not sure if they really need that. When thinking about Minotaurs I don’t think of them as fighting with their horns. Maybe replace it with an axe proficiency?

Goring Rush

This trait kind of justifies the existence of the horns. It’s pretty neat, not sure if it’s really that great though, to be honest. I don’t think it would be used while played very often and even when it’s used it won’t change too terribly much.

Hammering Horns

This is pretty cool. It looks fun and like it would get used a lot. Pushing someone by 5 feet isn’t a too terribly much though so maybe they should add some kind of damage to it. Also, I get why they made it an action instead of a bonus action but it still feels strange.

Menacing

Minotaurs are pretty intimidating so this does make sense I think. To be honest, I’m not really a fan of racial proficiencies (Except for humans and half-elves where you can choose them). 

Hybrid Nature

See above

Languages

Since no one else speaks Minotaur you basically only get common which is alright

In conclusion

I like it but not as much as the centaur. I also think it should have the powerful build feature. 

It’s neat but it’s missing a certain something. I can’t put my hands on it but maybe some kind of race-defining trait? I don’t know.

That was my opinion. What do you think? I would love to hear your opinion.