#Torch Dragon

[hear-me-out-shippers]

Hear Me Out, Shippers: NakiRoy/RoyNaki

Submitted by: @mysaldate (Submitter also created the above ship name)

Form used: In-Depth

Characters: Roy x Nakia/Torch Dragon/Miracle Guardian (Dislyte)

Snappy Ship Pitch: A servant to the gods and a human blessed with the gods' powers who showed her the beauty of humanity and they made a pact that she would kill him if he failed a divine trial so he wouldn't have to suffer but she went into hibernation before it happened.

Warning! This post contains content warning tags. Please read the content warnings carefully before deciding whether to go below the cut.

Content warnings: Major character death, torture, memory loss, human x non-human

At a Glance…

Alternative ship names: None

Character Types: Canon x Canon

Ship Type: Canon-Compliant

Ship Status: Committed Relationship, Romantic Relationship

Genders/Assigned Sexes at Birth: Roy is an Eidolon and therefore doesn't adhere to human gender norms, her current form is female so she tends to go by she/her but dislikes other gendered terms. Nakia is a man and he/him.

Sexual and Romantic Attractions: Neither have canon sexual or romantic orientations.

End-game?: Other (Nakia died)

Good for each other?: Yes

How much they have in common, on a scale of 1 to 9: 7

Inspiration behind the ship:

When Roy first mentioned the Star Pyramid, I was already thinking it must've been from a past lover because of how she worded it. Then later when it became clear it was Nakia who gave it to her, the ship came about naturally. Roy and Nakia's tender moment as he surrendered his life in her hands was very bittersweet too. And Roy then pushing the people attempting the trial to hurry and finish it as a way to honor Nakia's last wish even though she didn't care about anyone involved really sealed the deal.

Why it’s underrated and how it’s overlooked:

Most of the fandoms are furries or hate straight ships with a passion and this is technically a "straight" ship even though Roy is Roy.

In-Depth:

About Roy:

Roy is an Eidolon, a servant of the gods, sent to the human realm to be the guide through the divine trials. She met Nakia, by then already hailed a hero of his people, and through him learned to appreciate various aspects of humanity. Roy was gifted a puzzle box by Nakia imbued with his divine power. It was shaped like a pyramid and opened up into a star, hence the name Star Pyramid. Roy said she got it from someone who greatly cherished her. Nakia was going to undergo divine trials in order to gain more power and protect his people better. He and Roy made a deal that should Nakia fail, Roy would grant him a quick way out before whatever punishment laid out for him for failing the trial would hurt him too much. However, before Nakia's fourth trial, Roy went to sleep, sealed away in a tomb under the sand. When she was awakened (thanks to having the Star Pyramid placed on her tomb), the world had completely changed. Nakia's people had been gone for centuries and a brand new civilization had sprouted. Roy managed to get the Star Pyramid back and led a miracle exploration team to the trials. However, her real intention was to find Nakia and fulfill her promise to him.

What she wants in a relationship:

It's hard to get a read on Roy but it seems she enjoyed Nakia's love and the care he had for the people around him. His humanity was what made him so precious to her.

What she needs in a relationship:

Even harder to say. Being an Eidolon, Roy's needs are mostly obscured and unknown at this point in time. She seems confident and happy as she is. The only thing that comes to mind is needing someone who can match at least a fraction of her power so she doesn't need to treat her partner with kiddy gloves.

About Nakia:

Nakia obtained divine power and became a hero of his people by protecting them from giant monsters called Miramon. His compassion and deep care for his people extended to the Eidolon Roy as well and he was determined to show her all the beautiful sides of humanity. He successfully passed three trials, growing ever stronger to protect his people but during his fourth trial, he unfortunately failed. He was then approached by a god and offered the chance to ascend and become a kin of the gods, if only he would rescind his humanity, his memories, and his feelings. Nakia rejected the offer firmly, stating it would be no different if he died then if he couldn't even remember the people he wanted to protect. Offended at his refusal, the god cursed Nakia to slowly turn into a giant miramon himself, losing himself in blind rages and forgetting all of his good memories of the world outside, as well as everything about Roy. Nakia spent the next hundreds of years slowly transforming and forgetting his humanity. He ended up as a giant two-headed dragon and the overseer of the miracle trials that doomed him to that fate in the first place, all the while resenting his people for "using" him and letting his hatred and anger fester. When Roy entered the miracle and eventually encountered him, she was able to restore his memories thanks to the divine power in the Star Pyramid. Remembering the good times, and their promise, Nakia surrendered his life to Roy and asked her to guide the new civilization through the rest of the trial so that they may do what he'd always wanted to – protect the people they love and care about.

What he wants in a relationship:

Nakia was very selfless so there is likely little he would say he wants in a relationship.

What he needs in a relationship:

He needs support, someone who can be there for him after he's there for everyone else. Someone patient, someone who will understand his desire to protect everyone.

How they would be good for each other:

Nakia broadened Roy's horrizons and made her at least somewhat understand and appreciate humans and humanity. On the other hand, Roy was likely the only person Nakia could be himself instead of being a hero for everyone to admire.

How they would be bad for each other:

From Nakia's point of view, I think if he witnessed Roy's casual cruelty, it would likely put a dent in their relationship. Roy doesn't see an issue with sacrificing a bunch of people just because someone is trying to cheat the trial and Nakia cares about everyone a bit too much. For her part, I think Roy would leave if Nakia bored her, if he became colder or less caring as his humanity is what intrigued her.

Dealbreakers:

From Nakia's point of view, I think if he witnessed Roy's casual cruelty, it would likely put a dent in their relationship. Roy doesn't see an issue with sacrificing a bunch of people just because someone is trying to cheat the trial and Nakia cares about everyone a bit too much. For her part, I think Roy would leave if Nakia bored her, if he became colder or less caring as his humanity is what intrigued her.

How they met:

We don't have the details about how exactly they met but at some point, Roy was sent to guide Nakia's people through the miracle trials. This would likely be how they met as Nakia was the first – and for a long time only – one of his civilization to attempt the trials at all.

How it would play out:

I think a lot of it would follow the tried and true formula of the human (Nakia) explaining normal human things to the non-human (Roy). Except, the non-human in question really doesn't much care about the things themselves and much more about Nakia's reactions to everything and how he specifically presents his humanity. If we're talking inside the miracle, given that Roy can stop time in there, they could definitely have a whole lifetime's worth of experiences with each other in there. Separated by centuries of loss and pain, it would be interesting to see what kind of conversations they would have, how they might talk through everything that happened. I would love to see Nakia break down after everything and just sob in Roy's arms, for once letting her be the caring one and for once, letting him be vulnerable.

[akstzs]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DRAGON BOY

[maracllea]

I came, I saw, I won G just D – word is my bond | Be thankful, I'm ready with a diamond smile, flirting

[allyriadayne]

RHAENICENT & JACEGON PARALLELS

It’s best, I think, if we go back to Dragonstone. You’ve only just arrived.

[oldschoolfrp]

Doors! Our greatest nemesis! (Dungeon 46, March/April 1994) "Deep in an ancient underground fortress, adventurers approach a magical portal to the Underdark. Scott Burdick paints this interlude in the search for "The Iron Orb of the Duergar,"" an AD&D adventure by Peter Åberg.

[vanhelsingapologist]

sneak peek of Rahadin design for next year’s game.

…and Mavka.

[curse-of-dming-strahd]

it cracks me up how often the Curse of Strahd module read-aloud flavor text describes the environment as sad:

the wind is bummed out. the torches are bummed out. the dirt is sad that it's dirt. like listen I know it's a realm of eternal despair but I feel like they could have hit the thesaurus a little harder on this one

though shoutout to the flavor text of Wachterhaus, which may actually have diagnosable clinical depression:

[ozi-uwu-vwv-owo]

(Gone wrong) (gone sexual) :3

Pregnatate

[l1-b1]

NiarixEcl1 (on Twitter) ‘s art introduced me to this ship so of course I had to draw them

[torchiiko]

the worst kind of dragon is one where the colors never work all at the same time. prim & tert can match with the right genes, but not the sec. other genes make the prim & sec match, but now the tert looks out of place. id actually kill for a single color scatterscroll but a lot of players are against the idea :/

[sohkrates]

Fire in the Spires Now on Kickstarter

The People's Revolution has been stolen! The Revolutionary Council of Kyneburgh is corrupt! Was it the influence of those dead nobles, the allure of treasures and wealth, or dark and vile magics? Whatever the cause the people starve and riot, and the rich hide in their towers and send their bailiffs to beat us.

We must climb to the top of the city and root out the evil once more! We must burn down their spires!

Fire in the Spires is a single player dungeon climber ttrpg. It's my follow-up/sequel to A Torch in the Dark. It's a story of how revolutions are stolen, twisted, and spit back in the face of those who need them.

A Torch in the Dark is one of my first games, and to this day one of my most popular. I've never done a sequel before, but I've had this idea for a while now, and wanted to give folks who loved Torch more lore, more ways to play, and more gruesome and wretched rich people to kill.

Fire in the Spires uses the Forged in the Dark rules system, splitting game play into two phases: climbs and downtime. In climbs you assemble a crew of rebels each with a single unique trait. You combine these traits together with spire modifiers and encounter complications to build a die pool, which determines if your crew will ascend, or be weighed down by stress and damage.

When your climb is done, you return to the streets, cross days of the new People's Calendar, and do your best to recover and recruit before your next climb.

Fire in the Spires is a standalone sequel. You don't need to have read or played Torch to get it. But if you'd rather take your favourite delver through five new dungeons and hundreds of new encounters, you can. I'll be including instructions about how to mash the two games together, if you want to treat Fire in the Spires as more like an expansion.

Also, if you missed your chance to get a printed copy of A Torch in the Dark, I'm doing a rare second printing. You can get digital copies as an add-on, or back at certain tiers to get the physical copy.

Check it out on Kickstarter now. Spread the word. Tell your allies. Scream it at your enemies.

Once we asked people to be a torch in the dark. Now, when Kyneburgh needs you again, will you be our fire in the spires?

[akstzs]

something about a boy who loves dragons

[atopvisenyashill]

IN THIS LIGHT SHE COULD ALMOST BE A BEAUTY IN THIS LIGHT SHE COULD ALMOST BE A KNIGHT.

“in this light” that they’re both in, to be clear - twin flames fighting in the darkness. fighting against the darkness. brienne looking at the ghosts that haunt jaime, from the very real physical threats of the war he helped start to the metaphorical wounds of knighthood, chivalry, and oath-keeping , from the betrayal of realizing your father is not the man you wanted him to be, from his own stupidity, and saying “this is nothing. i can fight them all.” to help him remember the ideals of his youth, to BE the ideal of his youth; an oathbreaker to save the lives of innocent children but it won’t break her soul the way it broke his!! she’s got a beauty that goes deeper than his, and the soul of a knight much more unshakable as well. he dreams of her fighting with him, beside him, saving him, facing down the wrathful dead, and watching as he fails, but knowing she is there and she will do what he cannot!

HE DREAMT IT. HE DREAMT OF HER.

[faewrenbird]

Completely overlooked this on my first playthrough and um

[oldschoolfrp]

"A berserk clay golem lurks in the small alcove in the northeast." (Jeff Easley, AD&D module S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, by Gary Gygax, TSR, 1982)

[vanhelsingapologist]

sing the song of sixpence that goes

“burn the witch.”

—

Um um um this is my new pc for a little game I may be in next year, run by my partner. She is a blood cleric. In other words: I will be back in the fucking building.

I will expand on her later but here’s some alt.