#PF rule change

[xerox-candybar]

I just ran my first writer’s room! 😵😵😵

As part of a class assignment, we broke into small groups and were given 20-30 minutes to polish a short scene based on dialogue we observed (that was part of our homework). We did this three times—twice in small groups of 3-4 people, and finally as a class (group of 9).

…I led the last one, which was supposed to be hardest (because there are more people/more ideas and more conflict). The second round is normally the easiest (because you’re already done the exercise once but you’re still in a small group), but apparently half the class thought my round went the smoothest.

:: dies ::

Anyway, here it is in all its “fuck we wrote this in 20 minutes????” glory

[[setting: a young man and woman, walking down the street]]

First: You are gonna love this place, I go here all the time

Second person: oh…do they have good apps

First person: even better! They have free breadsticks. Unlimited–they never stop!

Second person, tiredly: what about wine?

First Person: of course they have wine! Real authentic stuff… by the jug! [[with heavy accent and gesture]] Italiano!

Second person, under their breath: I think that’s texas roadhouse.

First person, continuing the accent: No–You will feel like-a you’re in-a-Italia! They make-a the pasta them-selves-a!

[[they arrive at their destination, man reactions in horror]

Frist Person: oh no!... oh no… FUCK YOU, P.F. CHANG’S!!!

Second: are you sure you’re in the right place? What’s PF Chang’s?

First person: It’s like Asian food, but in hell.

Second, Tentatively: well shit

First: Fuck you, PFC, seriously no!

[[flips over one of the empty outdoor tables]]

Second Person: I guess we’ll have to find another place.

[[tentatively flips over a table in sympathy]]

First Person: No, sorry, the date is canceled. I can’t be seen with someone who doesn’t understand PF Chang’s.

[[blackout; transition is slideshow of First Person Selfies @ various Olive Gardens / from different states, always ordering with the exact same dish and exact same wine, “ I will Remember you” plays in the background]]

[verycoolusername1]

Home

Hey guys, my name is Vera and I'm sort of a writer and decided to put it to good use to write some imagines of some hockey players. :)

About Me

I'm a young adult, I'm american, and I'm a pop girl(sometimes indie). My favorite artist is Laufey.

I've just gotten into hockey to get some hobbies that don't include me crying over fictional characters(lol). My favorite song(changes all the time) is cindy lou who by Sabrina Carpenter. My favorite book series is Percy Jackson(ik sue me).

I actually don't have a favorite color, but my favorite season is winter. My favorite show is Criminal Minds(I'm lying. That show has hurt me so many times) Also yes I watch mcyts- (hence the shubble/Shelby theme)

Overall, I'm just a pretty chill and weird person and uh I hope to be mutuals with you guys.

REQUESTS = OPEN

Players I write for

Nico Hischier (NJD #13)

Luke Hughes (NJD #43)

Quinn Hughes (VC #43)

Ethan Edwards (Umich #73)

Jamie Drysdale (PF #9)

Short N' Sweet Masterlist

Rules

1. Be nice when requesting. This should go without saying. If you're gonna be rude when requesting, then don't even bother coming on my page.

2. This one might be hard, but be patient. I have a life outside of this, so I'm busy at times when you send in a request, but nonetheless, it will get written!

3. Please, please, please(no pun intended). Don't send NSFW requests, I'm not comfortable writing that sort of thing about real and fictional people. So please just don't request it.

4. Since we're on the topic, do not send any topics that could be triggering to some. This is a safe space, and I do not want it to change into something it's not.

5. And last but not least, have fun with requesting! We're all here to have a good and fun time so let's make it just that.

Thanks for reading the rules, and I hope to see your request in my inbox soon. :)

[autisticsupervillain]

FTF: How Powerful Is?

A prolonged breakdown on a character detailing all their scaling, powers, stats, skill, and abilities to determine exactly how powerful they are.

This Week's Character.....

Oz!

Power:

Oz is, quite shockingly, explicitly one of the most powerful characters across the entire Monster Prom franchise. Oz was one of the Ancient Gods created by The Nothingness and is the physical embodiment of Fear itself. His role, which they rejected to live as an ordinary mortal, was to destroy all of existence, wiping out all life across Monster Prom's multiverse.

This means he scale's as a threat to Monster Prom's entire cosmology, which is absolutely huge. Monster Prom's multiverse contains infinite alternate timelines with several universal realms within each of them. Every timeline can contain the realms of Heaven, Hell, The Ghost Zone, The Human Realm, The Monster Realm, and countless others, all of which require interdimensional portals to be accessed. Even our own universe is secondary to the Monster Realm as the "main realm".

Moreover, each pf these universes can contain countless smaller Metaverses, infinitely smaller digital universes layered within each other that one can travel deeper and deeper into for hours without ever hitting a limit, suggesting potentially infinite dimensional layers within each universe.

As such, Oz is capable of posing a threat to an infinite multiverse, with each individual universe contain numerous realms the size of our own and thousands of, if not potentially infinite, dimensional layers. Keep in mind that digital universes being both actual universes and having different dimensional properties is consistent as a rule within Monster Prom, as shown in the first game where Calculester created a digital universe that he could alter the dimensionality of. This all adds up to Oz being High Hyperversal to two layers into Outerversal in sheer raw power for posing a threat to his entire cosmology, even if just over time.

Speed:

Speed is thankfully a lot simpler. The Ancient Deities explicitly predate Time itself and Oz can easily process the entire history of the universe is seconds.

This is pretty simple immeasurable-infinite speed.

Powers:

This is where shit goes well and truly off the rails.

Magic:

Magic in Monster Prom is an omnipresent energy source the permeates all of existence. Only the Human Realm is beyond its grasp. This is because Magic is created as an after effect of the sheer raw power Oz and other ancient Deities emanate at all times.

As such, any ability that can be archieved with magic if something that Oz should be able to do, as any magic that a character uses is something that simply pours out of him passively.

Keep in mind, magic in this franchise is capable of doing some utterly ridiculous things. The feat where Oz experienced the entirety of time was as a result of a spell cast onto them. People have created interdimensional portals, summoned demons that warped the fabric of reality, transmuted people and objects, sent the moon crashing down to Earth, and even folded time itself, turning several years into just a few seconds.

Eldritch and Abstract Physiology

Scaling to Zoe, Oz power's border on the completely absurd. From the power to eat sanity and concepts to the ability devour souls and reduce people to atoms. Both Oz and Zoe may have stopped living as Gods, but Zoe can still lean into the eldritch horror from time to time.

As for the "reality collapses when it loses an embodiment of an abstract concept" thing.... I've since changed my mind on that. While the True Power thing is still just a rumor, Hope's death causing the end of reality seems majorly contingent on.... well, Hope. It's because without Hope everything gives into despair and everything dies. It's a rule of the Hope concept specifically and runs counter to Oz emboding a different concept entirely. Not that it should matter, as Oz should be able to just create interdimensional portals like anyone else, so removing them from reality still shouldn't matter....

Protagonist Powers

All of this combines into some truly ridiculous Toon Force to turn Oz into a truly unstoppable monster.... when he wants to be. Which is generally never. From stealing a character's relevance to the plot to turning reality off and on again and even willingly becoming one with all of existence.

Thankfully, Oz is held back by a mixture of overwhelming social anxiety, an insatiable horniness for his fellow classmates, and a genuine desire to no longer be the monster they once were. Living as a mortal gave them genuine connections and friendships that they've never gotten before and Oz would likely never be willing to give those relationships up.

But, if you threaten any of their friends, or worse, stand between him and his comedic sexapades, then watch out! Because you're boxing with one of this dating sim's all time heavy weight champions. An eldritch dork with unfathomable power.

Conclusion:

Truth be told, I wasn't as able to go into detail on this one as I would've liked. Tumblr's picture limits really did a lot to hinder me from going in depth on Oz's powers this time around. I have the scans for every single ability I mention here, I just can't post them because ten picture cap.

His standing in the wider cosmology made going into detail on lower ends of the verse meaningless. Who cares if Damien can punch the sun or Calculester can nuke the moon when we're talking eldritch abominations. Depite being by far the most powerful and versatile character to get one of these rundowns to date.... Oz didn't need much explaining.

How Powerful is Oz? Yes. What can he do? Yes (So long as it's funny). Funny how that sorta paradox works out.

[the-grimm-doctor]

Welcome everyone! My name is Dr. Bones Grimm, but you all may refer to me as Dr. Grimm. I’m the Head of Crytozoology in the ESC and I figured it would be a lovely idea to create a blog regarding what is probably the MOST unhinged (yet least mentally damaging) website out there! Here I will be showing off my experiments, recording down stuff, and maybe even answering questions! After all, my askbox IS open! Under the cut will go each of my experiments as they’re posted and the scientific log collection :)

Experiments:

001 - Emotion Earrings

Log Book

Hey all, mod here. Figured I’d make an ask blog for the OC I made for the Evil Science Center. Xey go by any pronouns but prefer masculine ones or ones related to being evil. Evil’s more of a cartoon villain than a real villain ngl. If you’re referring to me you can either call me Reboot or Mod. Main blog is @rebootgrimm . For those from the ESC, the watermark I use here is my own, but I made a specific one for the ESC in order to stay in character. Now for some rules

Rules:

You’re allowed to flirt with this OC, but no NSFW. Character may be an adult, but mod is a minor

Please keep this PG-13 (minus any NSFW. I can’t remember if PF-13 has that I haven’t watched TV or movies in a while)

Rules are subject to update / change

Tag System

#Picture Time! - Drawings

#Log Book - Any logs / updates about experiments.

#Ask The Doctor - Dr. Grimm responding to asks

#Mod Speaks - I speak

Any experiment is tagged by: [experiment number] - [experiment name]. These can be found in the experiments section of the pinned post (in character section)

#The Doctor Rambles - Miscellaneous posts

#Dr. Blithe… takeover? - Dr. Blithe handling the blog

#Lore Time - Anything related to Dr. Grimm’s (and therefore Dr. Blithe’s) lore

#RolePlays - I think this explains itself

#RolePlays of the Long Variety - For when roleplays start to get long

Credits:

Credits for the header thing and purple laser go to @/strangergraphics

Credits for the Mad Scientist thing and beaker go to @/e-resources

[thydungeongal]

Coming up on the end to a very long (5+ years) 5e campaign where everything that gets brought up as a criticism of the system has indeed happened (We don't do half the rules correctly, we homebrewed so much because we liked it our way etc etc) and we're going to swap to PF 2 and I'm appresenhively looking forward to it. (PF 2 fans are the FF 14 fans of ttrpg systems.)

My most beloved system was 4e because it felt like it got the worst part of previous and later dnd editions out of the way with it's often mocked, and to me, simplified combat system that was so much fun to engage with and meant you had more focus on how your characters acted throughout it all.

Dunno why I sent this ask? I'm not rattling my dnd spoon at you I just wanted to talk about an upcoming change away from dnd? Anyways I hope your day is pleasant! Please keep sharing knowledge of other systems, I enjoy learning about alternatives

Hey no problem, it's fun to get asks like this! :) I also intend to move on to greener pastures once the 5e campaigns I'm currently in are over. Personally for me it's going to be running some older editions and games besides D&D. Sadly there are way too many games for me to ever play but I can always keep collecting books. Right?

[elenauaurs]

Okay that's a very interesting question, thank you for asking it

What is Blade's definition of evil?

As a child, Blade was heavly taught that evil = fae. Obviously this view of him changed as certain events happened in his life and he eventually began to live very close to faes.

He mostly considers something evil to be someone or something that uses its strength/status/power to demean, humiliate, order, hurt, imprison, force, etc someone weaker or someone that can't defend themselfs (in Blade's view, an innocent person)

However, let's say that Blade's vision of evil is a bit of a fantasy as he constantly fails to notice exceptions to this rule and often gets into fights to act as a "savior knight"

Another problem with Blade is that he is very strict about this rule and the extermination pf "evil", so even the simplest or lightest attitude involving one of the things he considers evil, Blade will already want to destroy the person/thing

[itastelikefilm]

Writing this down before I forget it:

Just imagine if we could take Ketheric with us after the battle in moonrise towers. Just. Try to imagine, ok?

This old man has been completely corrupted by desperation and loneliness that he gave his body, soul and mind to the two most evil gods of faerun, got completely twisted by them even mentally and committed a few of the most atrocious things faerun has ever seen. He doomed a land, families and their children, all to have back what he had lost. But then he realises it was not worth it.

Isobel is not with him. Melodia would never love the man he is now, and he knows it.

If you tell him on top of the towers before the battle that melodia wouldn’t want this he surrenders. I repeat: this man SURRENDERS. I hate the fact that then he goes on with the “it’s too late” path, but honestly my bard has the same vibes of mob from mob psycho 100, so old man get the fuck up, you’re part of this fucked family now.

He surrenders, gives everything up, and he lives a mortal life wanting to put an end to the chosens with you. Him and Minthara become friends, she cherishes his company as an amazing general, he appreciates her stubbornness and her strength of mind. He manages to make her change her mind about taking the absolute’s power saying “taking the place as the absolute would only drain you: not only you would have no one to rule, but soulless beings that would never comprehend your mind, but you too would become one of them one day, it’s inevitable, no matter how much power you’d have. But most importantly… you’d be alone. Alone with no menzoberazzan waiting for you, no home, and no general like me to sustain you, no one that would fight at your side and drink with you in the evening until you’re completely drunk. We are even stronger than these monsters, imagine ruling as us. Being just us. No power, but the power of our word, no loneliness anymore, but the joy pf having a place, your place, Minthara. You’re strong enough to do it without my help, or anyone’s actually, why would you want to cancel the wonderful being you are?”.

He rebecomes a father to Isobel, and you see him gaining the trust of Aylin even.

Even Ayilin sees a man that is changing, now more than ever.

At the end him, Aylin and Isobel go back to moonrise, to become again worshippers of selune, but no rulers, he will just sit out of his new little house, on a wooden chair, maybe smoking, reading, until one day he will pass away in peace.

[rosetheocto]

After the doors finally opened up, the group quickly dashed into the first room they could register. The moment was chilling after their sudden brush with death, everyone taking a moment to catch their breaths.

“Okay.” Blue was the first to speak up. “I’ve seen a lot of things happen in this game, and this is by far the most messed up.” The bean took a quick look outside the Laboratory’s doorway, double checking that those faceless, creepy, glitchy ‘ghosts’ didn’t follow them in there. “You’re right. This definitely isn’t a dream… so how the hell are we gonna get out of this mess?”

we were really robbed of more Blue in the NoVisor Arc. like my guy has been playing this game since 2018, which means he’s been around during the same time Aiden was first kidnapped!! I’m a bit hyperfixated on the rewrite of the NoVisor Arc (and AUL in general) I’m doing with a friend rn, so if I remember to post more of that I will! For now though more context and other scattered stuff about the lore for AULR will be under the cut!! :3

the beginning of Return is kinda identical, but Blue replaces Ria. Player, Veteran, and Noob try to warn them about Things Being Kinda Weird and that they are absolutely trapped inside the game but they both call bs (assuming they’re like dreaming or something) until a group of glitched out ghost things (with no visor cuz duh) chase after them all. PF also Coincidentally™️ shows up not too long before the ghosts start attacking and chasing them! how strange…

ANYWAY now they’re hiding out from those things and are using the stupid cleanup thing in MIRA to give them a moment to catch their breath, buy some time, and think of a game plan. The near death experience convinced Mr. Egg and especially Blue that maybe there is way more to this than they both initially thought.

PF’s a lil nervous cuz he believes Blue is catching onto him knowing more about everyone getting transported into the game than he lets on (AND HES RIGHT), esp cuz Blue has mentioned having multiple encounters with strange cultist beans over the years of playing Among Us. (Spoilers Blue does find out about PF later in the episode, but definitely dies like right after :(()

The way I see NV’s plan is somewhat similar but also different. We didn’t really know what was going on exactly in canon, but for this one the best way I can describe it is like the plot of Side Order. The NV Cult is forcibly bringing people into a virtual world in which they would be able to rule with The Power Of Hacking.

as for why the world they picked is a hacked Among Us game? Well it’s simple! it’s super buggy, and there’s only three developers (at the time this takes place that is), so anything they do will take forever to fix and update on their end. And the game being practically a wasteland to the sudden boom in popularity was perfect for bringing unsuspecting people in.

Innersloth knew something was wrong right away all those years ago, but they just couldn’t keep up with this group of hackers. The eventual solution they came up with to all the shenanigans from the cult (and others when it started getting popular) led to the creation of the Hacker’s Lobby, run by 2 (technically 3 if you count Clogsworth) Admins. This new lobby worked! …for the most part. As new cult members infiltrate the game, there’s bound to be some people Innersloth and the Admins missed…

BUT THATS ALL SUBJECT TO CHANGE and there’s a lot of stuff I definitely missed but yea!! AULR my beloved :]

[greenflamethegf]

I need everyone to understand. D&D 5e is not a simple game, but it's not complex game either. It's a wierd creature in between that dosn't really deliver on either one. It's not a rules light fluff first kind of game, but it's not a wargame where you speak in character either.

I love d&d 3.5e, pf 1e, lancer and many other complex game for where you can say "I'm buying tiny cute little backpack for my cat because I need 3 extra pounds of carrying copasity" and it makes complate sense.

I love DW, CBR+PNK, TSL and many others simple games where half of game depends on how you describe your abilities. Games that ask you to describe where your magic comes from.

I hate d&d 5e, it is most popular TTRPG, while failing to not being good at either type of play. It's an awkward thing in the middle. It lack the depth of rules to create those intrasting decisions and combinations. However, the few rules it has do things in a very specific thing. From what I see of d&d 5e players, the simple game route is what most people want. However, that would take an education change to achieve and WotC had no such plans

[cyberkevvideo]

Race Conversion - Firbolg (5e to PF1e)

I had actually completely forgotten about this conversion, which I had kind of done on a whim because of an inquiry asking how one would do this. My reasoning was accepted, and the person presented it to their GM. Don't know how it went over, or if it was accepted, but the race wasn't broken by any means. Honestly, given how inexpensive it is, I'd have accepted it for my own home games quite easily.

That being said, it took some finagling and borrowing from 3.5 to get my version of the build to work, but I was quite happy with what I came up with.

Art from the Forgotten Realms Wiki, using the 5e and 3.5e pictures.

As always, if you like what I do, whether it’s monster conversions, adventure path add-ons, or race builds, I have a Ko-Fi page (linked) for those who would like to support me monetarily. There is no pressure or obligation to do so. A like and/or a share would also be appreciated just as much. It lets people know I exist out there.

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

Now, let's talk stats.

Using the rules from the Pathfinder Race Guide, the best way to go about it is do a custom build. There is no base firbolg that's similar to 5e for PF1e.

Firbolg -Racial Traits- Ability Score Modifiers (Flexible): Str +2, Wis +2 (2 RP) Type: Humanoid (giant) (0 RP) Size: Medium (0 RP) Speed: 30 ft. land speed (0 RP) Spell-like Ability, Lesser: Firbolg Magic--detect magic, disguise self; (1/day each) (2 RP) Spell-like Ability, Lesser: Speech of Beast and Leaf--speak with animals, speak with plants (1/day each) (3 RP) Other: Hidden Step--Once per day, as a bonus action, you can cast invisibility, but it's duration is 1 round. (2 RP) Other: Powerful Build--The physical stature of firbolgs lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger. Whenever a firbolg is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for a Combat Maneuver Bonus or Combat Maneuver Defense (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the firbolg is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him. A firbolg is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A firbolg can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category. (3 RP)

Total 12 RP

Hidden Step is difficult because there's no PF equivalent to the quick invisibility. In 3.5, there was a variant spell called Swift Invisibility which was a bard 2 spell (revised to bard 1 in Spell Compendium), making it equivalent to 2 RP, which feels fitting but doesn't at the same time, as it only lasts until the start of your turn or when you attack. Even thought it changed for bard, the other classes in Spell Compendium stayed at level 2 (with the exception of the Initiate of Baravar Cloakshadow feat which gives it as a 1st level spell). If you want to go with the Spell Compendium bard 1, that's perfectly reasonable.

There's no real carrying capacity increaser ability in Pathfinder 1e, so instead it'd be better to borrow from other examples and say, "treat your Strength score as 2 higher for the purpose of determining your carrying capacity". Traits like Muscle of the Society or Efficient Packer are worded like this. Probably just worth 1 RP as there are traits that give you this ability, and they're equivalent to half a feat, and specific named feats are only 2 RP. That said, 3.5e and Pathfinder psionics have the half-giants, which has the Powerful Build race feature. Looking over multiple forums, it's argued that it should be 7 or more RP because it's "like Large, but without the drawbacks", while others say it's only worth 2-3 RP because you don't get the increased Str score which gives you a bonus to damage and other benefits. I went with the safe route of 3 RP since a bonus +2 Str is 4 RP.

Speech of Beast and Leaf is another difficult one. You could just have it be "speak with animals 1/day 1 RP, speak with plants 1/day 3 RP", and call it a day, but because the firbolg only communicates, and there's no real time back and forth conversation, reducing this to 2 RP should suffice. As for the "influence" aspect, if you want to add that, you could make it be a +1 or +2 bonus to Diplomacy or Handle Animal. Could also make it so that a firbolg PC can get the spells at-will with a racial feat, not unlike the Race feats we see for drowand other races. Maybe even a feat to give firbolgs Wild Empathy as a druid, and if you take a class that gives Wild Empathy, you gain +2 to your checks. PF1e has a fair number of race feats so it's not out of the realm of possibility. That said, Pathfinder likes to make things pretty clean on how things function, so I went with just giving them the spells. It limits the race somewhat because you can't do it multiple times a day, but still.

Theoretically, a firbolg is around 12 RP, which isn't bad compared to most of the playable races players enjoy. Humans are 9 RP and dwarves are 11 RP. Elves, gnomes, half-elves, and goblins are all 10 RP, while tieflings and common drow are 13 RP.

[opal-owl-flight]

Please please what are your thoughts on the final boss of the epilogue, I got spoiled on day one and have been waiting for you to see it in game before I asked because it's just so cool and your stuff is all so cool and I want to know your thoughts and potential lore

SO this is quite a lot! My method for handling new info is to take what works and leave what doesnt. Canon is a suggestion, not a rule.

About the Crown:

Mistellin was originally made to seal away Termina (the dark heart pf which was rampaging around the galaxy) and use its power to fight against it, but only a shard of It was captured. Seeing that the shard still held incredible power, the Ancients decided to use It's power for good instead of destruction.

Monarchs have worn the Crown, but several of the weak willed fell to Its influence and used it for their nefarious ends ("It strengthens the darkness in the wearer's heart..." so its Power at a price. The reason why the Crown's claws constrict corrupted souls like Magolor Soul is for damage control). Why the Halcandrans continued to use this Crown I can only assume to be survivorship bias/majority chosen did not fall...until the last king of Yore, who was possessed by Termina midfight in the war to seal It away. (The magitech civil war happened a little after this, as the loss of the monarch due to misunderstood Dark Matter magic research/practice raised tensions between magic practitioners and the tech faction.)

How the lore changes affect my telling:

Why the past monarch chose Mags as successor then (a story beat in my interp of things) -- well he didnt have much of a choice at first. The shards of the damn relic rooted itself on Mags' head. Literally. (Thanks Termina.) The dark entity did nothing but send waves of searing energy through the Crown shards to cripple him, to prevent him from stealing the Rejuvenating Crystal Fruit that It plans to use for Itself. (Dunno what this fruit is in canon, but judging from what the fragments of it do to Mags -- I assume its an Ancient artifact that holds an insane amount of energy. Gem apples exploding is a convertion of his high energy supposedly used to heal, to fuel a more destructive outcome. What can heal/restore can also destroy.)

*What Mags does in Epilogue is what I can simply say as "gathering painkillers". The magic energy he stores up allows him to block out/create a dam against Termina's crippling energy waves, and also allows him to do more powerful, complicated spells in the process. (No wonder one of his emotes is him crying.)

After Magolor Disrespects the Lorax by slicing a tree in two, the voice goes MUCH quieter. The tree (and the Doomer) held majority of the Crown shards -- by destroying them, Termina's way of communicating with him grows weaker. But not fully gone. (He cries in the end bc its sweet, sweet, relative silence...)

Did Mags learn his lesson? Not yet. If anything, his ego is the size of a galaxy now, bc he killed an eldritch god on his own. Without Kirby's help.

Im going to set Clash aside bc jfc that looks complicated as hell. The only thing Im taking here is the fact that he set up a Shoppe in Dreamland (no alternate realities here either -- itll complicate things)...but its not exactly a fresh new start just yet. Hes doing this to gather Nova parts easily. What better way to get parts and artifacts without raising too much suspicion than by trade? (His full redemption happens after Robobot, in the Nova Incident. Which is another thing I wrote)

Back to the previous monarch choosing him as a successor. Termina kept It's clutches on Mags. The Crown has rooted itself deep into his soul enough that hes still at risk for easy possession. SA rolls around, and Termina is supposedly at It's strongest.

Mags doesnt get possessed. Out of sheer spite and will alone he keeps the gate on the Crown's power and influence shut. Hes not going to fall, not again, not when he finally has something, and (several) someone(s), to care about. At the end, its him who deals the final blow on Termina in his mindscape, as he is yhe one who holds the last fragments of It's consciousness.

Free at last.

This is what makes the King of Yore choose him as an heir. He couldve decided to trap the dark entity in the Crown, like intended, and kept it fed so the Crown's power will never run out. But he chose not to...not wanting to suffer any longer nor make anyone else potentially suffer what he had.

He freed both himself and the Crown. Now the power that sleeps within is clean, with no Dark Matter almost guaranteeing a corruption.

* If anyone falls with this version of the Crown, it is not bc of any Dark Matter. Thats on the bearer's character/lack of control. Mags still losing it in Overlord form time and again shows that....

[guesst]

HELLO I HAVE QUESTIONS

💘Is there any posted fic you want to rework/re-edit/re-write?

🌈is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

💋when you leave comments on a fic, do you want to hear back from the writer?

i debated answerign with a single word to all pf these but i like gabbing

💘 off the top of my head ... i have an old crack fic i havent updated in ages, where deku becomes a child villain but nothing goes right for him i cant remember the name.. but i think my writing style and general likes/dislikes may have changed enough that reworking it would result in something different which might be interesting ?? or maybe the iruma soulmate au i wrote, i think adding a few extra scenes wouldve been nice . but as a general rule once i finish a fic i usually forget about it in a week hehe

🌈 soulmate au again !!!! angst/introspection is really not my thing, i find it p hard, and i think that was my first try at properly writing some via iruma agonising about a nonexistent soulmate lol

💋i dont mind either way !! unless i happen to have the juice to write a longish comment in which case sometimes i leave a question too so it would be nice to get an answer,, but it doesnt really bother me still

[monstersdownthepath]

In my homebrew PF setting, one of the most powerful figures the players have met is The Pale King. A very old and Powerful lich, PK has basically created a negative energy plane fortress and a demiplane city where he keeps his mortal subjects. The question I want to ask you is how much do you think a figure such as this could manage their Undead tendencies, by doing things like organised vents of their destructive impulses, maintaining connections to undead and mortals, and deliberately thinking of destruction and entropy in more abstract ways?

Hmmmm

Well, looking at a canon example of a negative energy fortress in Malikar's Keep (Planar Adventures, pg. 116), the lich after which the keep is named spends most of his time using Astral Projection to reach other planes, upon which I assume he vents his undead wrath. I'm sure the attacks by Undead beyond his control, the omnicidal Nightshades, and the Shads also allow him to express his desire for entropy.

That being said, I believe liches are something of a special case when speaking of an Undead's craving for destruction. Their body is undead, yes, but their soul is still technically alive and held within a protected reliquary, and there's no lore on if the contained soul is their true formerly-living soul and thus made up of positive energy, or if it's corrupted into a negative energy quasi-soul like a normal Undead. There's no real clarification if a lich gains a negative soul in their body while keeping their positive soul in their reliquary, or if the truth is simpler and that negative energy is simply used as a power source while the soul guides the body from afar.

All this to say a lich might not experience the same urges that a normal Undead might because their soul may not actually be Undead, just tainted by undeath; and yes, there's a difference. A living soul is nourished by creativity and can grow, learn, and change, while an undead soul cannot (or at least cannot easily). This is perhaps why every lich seems to be gripped by a need to learn, to find some secret or piece of lore that they don't already know and to take greater risks to puzzle out the mysteries of creation, to continue to force themselves to change in order to maintain their living soul.

... And of course, those that don't wish to learn wish to conquer. Whether this is because megalomaniacal ambition is some inborn need that's built into lichdom, or because the kind of people who become liches are the kind of people for whom this behavior is natural (if exacerbated further by undeath), I cannot say for certain, but I'll simply point out that Tar-Baphon, the Whispering Tyrant and one of the eldest and most powerful of liches on all of Golarion, has (arguably) maintained his sanity and stability for thousands of years despite being locked in his own tower for a good portion of that time solely out of a burning and inextinguishable desire to rule creation. The average Undead locked away for that long would either decay entirely or fall into torpor!

To get back to your question, perhaps whatever plans your Pale King makes are what keep him active and sane long past the time he would have become maddeningly bored. Even if he's not actively malevolent, simply considering ways in which he COULD be and making plans to conquer, destroy, or control others could help him maintain his mind in the long term. His control over the lives and comfort of his mortal subjects could also be a source of spiritual sustenance, for better or worse, with acts which cause misery and misfortune scratching the itch in his soul for a time.

[fragmented-light-sys]

”My problematic waste of an existence tearing to shreds;

Right before your eyes;

Share a universal smile;

I’m sorry you had gotten so unlucky this time around;

How I’m wishing you a better farewell;"

Welcome to the System Blog of

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[wearesorcerer]

Sorcerous Reviews: Reign of Winter

For @electricgiga

Reign of Winter is a very well written adventure path, but it is absolutely not a good fit for many tables. I found this out the hard way.

What You Will Need:

A functional understanding of D&D 3.x/Pathfinder 1e's (aka D&D 3.P's) environmental rules.

A desire to play a survival game (i.e., treat all resources as precious).

Experienced players who all have some familiarity with the Romanovs, Rasputin, and Russian Fairies/Fairy Tales.

Reign of Winter's emotional stakes are initially set in dealing with a climate crisis (The Snows of Summer). You can choose to deal with this in one of two ways. If you go about it as written with the players not having specific defenses against hypothermia, blinding precipitation, and snowdrifts, then it becomes a "man vs. nature" drama. If instead every player plays a race with Cold Resistance or picks up the campaign trait that gives Cold Resistance 2, then suddenly you're playing D&D but with hampered movement (with only snowshoes and freedom of movement fixing that problem) and poor visibility (but in a way D&D doesn't handle: in all of third edition, PF included, there are very few ways of seeing through precipitation, but plenty to see through darkness). This gets annoying very, very quickly.

The plot and setting gradually filter in -- and it becomes painfully clear that this is very much The Russian AP. Pathfinder 1e takes place roughly around the turn of the century, with the year this came out falling shortly after the Russian Revolution. Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut (in all editions of D&D) is a TARDIS: it's a semi-sentient, mobile building that is bigger on the inside and can warp to nearly any destination. Combined, that means you go to Earth, with lots and lots of setup in Russian folklore. I don't feel comfortable playing or running this game anymore because I am not familiar enough with the background information to do it justice. That said, it doesn't really kick in until the third module. I mean, there are lots of fey and there are lots of fey that aren't Russian (there's a huldra at one point, plus sprites and atomies, and such). But you'll get the most bang for your buck if you know your Russian fairy stories.

What You Will Forgo:

In general, the ability to stop/pause the adventure and do something else (really anything else):

Downtime

Long-term Crafting (magic items, etc.)

(After a point) Selling Loot

Points of Exit

Divergence from the Theme

Part one begins with the party in Taldor having to investigate a localized cold snap and snowfall in a nearby forest (in the middle of summer). It turns out that this is due to a portal that's been opened to Irrisen, the magically frozen land of witches. The party cannot close the portal from this side, nor can they make it back through the portal once they attempt to close it. Leaving Irrisen is a very difficult prospect on its own, but they can do so via the Dancing Hut -- save that it has a mind of its own, will only go to certain places of its choosing, and won't budge until the players find certain keys in its inside (which changes configurations at each stop, so it's a mini-dungeon).

The travel goes across Avistan (international travel; though you cross the majority of the continent, it's still intracontinental), then to Iobaria (intercontinental), then to Triaxus during its winter period (interplanetary, but same solar system), to the Earth (interstellar and possibly intergalactic), and finally through Matryoshka-themed layers of the Dancing Hut itself. If your players decide they don't want to do this and they want off the ride, well, tough shit, right? There's no exit point and none have the means of wresting complete control of the Dancing Hut (a Major Artifact) from anyone.

The farther you get in the module series, with the main exception being Triaxus, the more Russian it gets. Everything is about winter, hence Triaxus, but things which aren't taken from Russian folklore gradually start to fall away. There's not a whole lot of room for anything else: it will just distract unless it's also cold-themed. You could insert Siberian, Inuit, Finnish, and Scandinavian tidbits if you wanted, but they would still detract from this being a story about Baba Yaga and things of her ilk.

What You Get

Constant Ice/Cold-themed Encounters (+3 Fire Appreciation)

Well-designed dungeons

TO KILL RASPUTIN

So, a few things to point out here.

First of all, there is a long-standing complaint in third edition especially that everything resists fire. This is mostly true: if you are going to resist an energy type, it's almost always fire, followed by cold. Since the vast majority of attacking spells that deal energy damage deal these two types, they're considered suboptimal choices; you're better off selecting acid (no spell resistance, since it's Conjuration instead of Evocation), force (almost nothing resists force), or sonic damage...if you can find them. There aren't very many force effects that deal damage outside of magic missile and some levels of the Bigby's hand series; there are more spells that deal sonic damage, but they're largely isolated to Bards; and acid spells are more common still, but also more likely to be resisted.

Except in this campaign, since 90% of the monsters you face will have some form of winter template on them, giving them immunity to cold but weakness to fire. FIRE IS NOW SUPER-EFFECTIVE! The casters? They also frequently cast cold spells.

This is just obvious from the front cover, though.

What isn't obvious is how well encounters are designed. The initial setup in Taldor is essentially a five-room dungeon, but it's set outside. You have a wide variety of encounters in this introductory bit. From there, you move to an actual dungeon (the tower of the mage responsible for the portal to Taldor). After some travel and interesting side-encounters, you eventually reach the capital, which is very tricksy to get through on its own and then has dungeon-esque levels needed to get to the Dancing Hut. Maiden, Mother, Crone, the third part, takes place in a triple-dungeon that requires lots of switching between parts (kinda like the Spirit Temple in Ocarina of Time).

And then there's part five: Rasputin Must Die! If there is any incentive for playing this AP, it's killing one of the most infamous people of the previous century and playing up the mythos that's grown up around him.

My Experience

I had the benefit of running this during a very bitter winter. However, I didn't realize that this was not a newbie-friendly module up front, as I should have by its title. I was running it for newbs: no one in the group had ever played a TTRPG before. To make matters worse, I was on a time limit (one of them would be moving), so I decided to skip through a lot of it and jump them up to the point where they could face Rasputin...only to find out that none of them knew who Rasputin was and those who had seen Anastasia (the '90s cartoon) had forgotten they had. This resulted in me improvising a smidge, which no one ever wants me to do. (I threw them against a Dread Gazebo riding a Grassy Gnoll because it was going to be more fun for them.)

The worst part was that I had a party of seven players, which is not great for most tables and certainly not good with a group of new players. This part was not my fault, as the setting up of the campaign was a mutual effort with a friend and I couldn't get out of it. (This is especially true given venue: we had to keep shifting apartments we played at, which meant that everyone but me and one other player hosted several sessions at different points. I couldn't because I live with my parents.) They were not a bad group, but balancing play among seven players is difficult at the best of times and seven newbies is much harder.

"But Sorcerer, how can you make these assertions if you skipped so much of the AP when you ran it?"

First, I've read through the module series enough to know this much. I would have been prepared to run the entire thing had we had the time for it, but some of the players going in (including the more engaged ones) didn't realize that D&D campaigns can last months to years.

Second, this is the wide consensus in reviews I have read. Every review I have ever come across about this AP says that it is well done, but it's on rails and you are strapped in until the ride is over -- and you'd better know your Russian stuff, because if you don't, half of what's going on will not make sense. Your only real exit point is after you have closed the portal (in module 1) and before you've gotten into the Dancing Hut (in module 2), as you have the potential to leave Irrisen if you try.

However, doing so is a feat unto itself and you're still in the middle of the Hoarwood; your best chance of reaching regular civilization is to Varisia in the south, but you have to pass over the Kodar Mountains (which are treacherous -- see the end of AP 1) and then are in the middle of nowhere, Varisia. If you go east, you're in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, which isn't much better (the government is less out to get you, but it's still fucking cold). Going west is a much longer trek and puts you in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings (so still cold). North is the worst idea. All by foot or similar land travel.

The trouble with that is that Irrisen is essentially a prison for all of its citizens. Baba Yaga and her armies of cold and fey descended upon the place and took over; her descendants, the White Witches, rule the area with a cold fist. The land is brutally cold -- to the point of ecological collapse, though somehow certain vegetation survives. Humans are treated worse than anything and natives are not allowed to leave. Trade is vitally important to keep the country alive, but it is also heavily monitored and the roads and borders are guarded more intensely and violently than any others in Golarion. It would be "no one in, no one out" if it weren't for the necessity of trade, which I think is more a logical/logistics error on the part of the game designers than anything; if climate weren't the means by which the White Witches controlled the country, but they still had the same level of power, then the country would be completely sealed off save for whenever it tries to expand. (The whole plot of Reign of Winter, in fact, is predicated on such expansion.)

Thus, it's much, much easier and more entertaining to just go along with the AP than to fight it. This means every player should be aware of all of this up front. Dangling the morsel of killing Rasputin is definitely incentive to play something so railroady.

Suggested Characters

Everything Irrisen is winter, be it the white witches, standard snow animals, or winter fey. If you want to blend in (for a module and a half), there's an idea. This doesn't make sense in the context of starting in Taldor, though.

Obviously, if you are highly skilled at pyromancy, you will not only kill basically anything that comes your way (with few exceptions), but you will also be surprisingly adept at keeping your party alive outside of combat.

There are multiple big animals to tame, so if you're wanting to ride a war weasel or an elk, you're good. These will probably help you move better than you would otherwise. By contrast, if you're a flyer, you're still in for a rough time, given that flurries, blizzards, and snow whipped up from wind are common.

Again, I would not suggest having multiple players with cold resistance, since that defeats a lot of the point and makes the AP more annoying than gripping. Instead, if you're going to have your Legolas/Serafina Pekkala/tiefling, only have one so that you have a panic button in case the rest of the party runs into problems. There will be magic items along the way to assist with all such problems anyway, so what drama there could be you're throwing out to be annoyed until all of the thematic conditions become trivial.

The Cult of Milani features in part two because of how oppressed the humanoid citizens of Irrisen (almost all humans) are under the reign of the White Witches. Indeed, there is a caste system that places at the top the White Witches, then non-witch descendants of Baba Yaga as a sort of nobility, then winter monsters (Wikkawaks, Winter Wolves, Winter Wolf lycanthropes, Ice Trolls, and others), and far below them native humans. Winter fey are adjacent to the caste system, as they mostly don't want to participate in it, but they're just as evil and murderous as anything else. A divine caster of Milani and any type of monster-hunter (e.g., Ranger) or liberator class (e.g., Paladin of Freedom) would fit well, especially as a back-up character in case someone dies before leaving Irrisen.

You're kinda on your own for coming up with a new character once you get to Iobaria, as the only times you'll be interacting with locals after that point are on Triaxus (so Triaxians) or Earth (at which point you're speaking Russian instead of Common).

[zvaigzdelasas]

Zimbabwe on Tuesday summoned the United States ambassador to Harare to protest against Washington’s alleged interference in the country’s forthcoming elections. Elaine French, the US acting ambassador to Zimbabwe, was called by the Foreign Affairs ministry after her embassy made several Twitter posts encouraging Zimbabweans to “register to vote and make sure your voice is heard.”[...]

In a statement, the ministry said Ms Chikava told Ms French that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government was concerned about the “election related-social media posts, bordering on activism and meddling in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs.” The government said the embassy had deviated from conventional diplomatic norms and values enshrined in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), the formative treaty on the conduct, privileges and limits of ambassadors abroad.[...]

President Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba had earlier tweeted that Zimbabwe might bar American observers during the general election expected in August.[...]

Zimbabwe and the US have had frosty relations that go back two decades after Washington imposed sanctions on the regime of the late Robert Mugabe for alleged human-rights violations and electoral fraud. President Joe Biden’s administration has maintained the embargo, as it accuses Mr Mugabe’s successor of failing to implement economic and political reforms that he promised after the 2017 military coup. On the other hand, Zimbabwe says it is being punished for implementing a land reform programme that displaced thousands of white commercial farmers at the turn of the millennium.

Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party regularly accuses Western countries of supporting local opposition parties to push for a regime change.

31 May 23