#Will in current edition I would probably choose a warlock…

[upsideoutinsidedown]

Season one he’s referred to as a wizard, season two he’s referred to as a cleric. Wizards existed but they weren’t called wizards but rather “magic users” in the first edition, which is what they would’ve been playing in 1983, and it’s entirely possible “wizard” was just used for the audiences sake. Magic users and clerics were two different classes though, so it doesn’t solve the different class issue.

There’s a couple of options. Will the Wise is the one referred to as a wizard whereas Will himself is referred to as a cleric, so it could be a “Will himself plays one role while his character plays a different role”. Another possibility is that in the first season, Will the Wise died—I don’t think his character is ever referred to as “Will the Wise” again? It could be symbolic—Will’s character died to the demogorgon because he failed his role, just like he was taken by the creature that night. I don’t think if that was the case that Mike would’ve made him retire the character, but it could’ve also been Will choosing to retire the character as a show of him evolving?

Lastly, multiclassing is a thing. He could very well be both. Maybe he started as a wizard and as the game went on decided to level as a cleric instead of increase his wizard level? That would be an interesting take—whereas Dustin and Lucas and Mike may have continued as “pure” character classes, Will may have mixed and likely eventually overcame his wizard level with his cleric level. For example, if the characters were say level 12 for Dustin, Mike and Lucas, Will’s character might have been a level 5 wizard/level 7 cleric. Mike may also focus more on the cleric side of things because Magic Users were mages, so, mage and wizard would’ve been the same thing, and El has that role, so, Will gets the cleric.

Don’t know if any of this helps, but feel free to ask any DND questions, I love the game :D

ok can someone pls answer this properly for me . in the show they refer to will as cleric alll the time but ive also seen so much info pointing to will classifying his character as a wizard ? so um . which one is it

[thestupidhelmet]

I know pretty much all of the gang wouldn’t play DnD, but it’s fun to try and figure out who would play what! Eric would probably be the DM?

The T7S characters playing Dungeons & Dragons is is so a fic I wish someone would write (because I want to read it).

Since they’d be playing it in 1978 or 1979, they’d be playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1st Edition) and not the current  5th Edition. That being said, I’m most familiar with the 2nd and 3rd Editions. But that being said (*lol*), I’m just gonna wing this with a mishmash of DnD from whatever editions for fun. (If I were writing a fic, though, I’d do the research to be as accurate as possible about which edition they were playing).

I agree that Eric would be the DM. But let’s have Barry Donovan (aka Jerry Thunder from “Radio Daze” [3x14]) be the DM so that Eric can be an adventurer with his friends.

Eric would likely want to choose the most Jedi-eseque character he could play. That might be a paladin, which would make his alignment lawful good. Then again, he might find being a paladin too constrictive, especially if he wants his character to woo Donna’s. So he might go wizard/mage, cleric, or multiclass cleric/fighter. I think he’d prefer his character to be neutral good.

Donna might play a chaotic good fighter.  But she also might want to experiment and play a neutral evil character. Honestly, I could see her pick pretty much any class. It depends on what she wants to do.

Hyde: Chaotic neutral thief.

Jackie: Neutral evil wizard/mage.

Fez: Either a neutral good druid (shapechanger -- he’d probably enjoy that). Or maybe even a warlock so he could have a complex storyline.

Kelso: He’d have such trouble choosing which class to go with. He might think fighter because he’d like to smash through every enemy. Or a wizard/mage to cast fireballs constantly. But during his indecisiveness, the DM decides to roll a character for Kelso instead, and Kelso ends up as bard with terrible stats. He’d be so pissed.

But, really, I could come up with near-infinite possibilities for DnD characters and combos for the T7S gang to play.

[spacefjords]

The Magician represents resourcefulness, willpower and potential. This card is numbered One, the number of new beginnings and opportunities.

there’s not as many things going on in this one as a couple of the others, but... ok enough probably (watch me start with this and continue writing a frickin novel down here). And there was so much going on with the waves and stormy weather i didnt want to clutter it all up too much. I hope the reasons i chose the magician for fjord is maybe evident in the short card summary above, the connection to Uk’otoa, him... being a warlock, i suppose, is a more obvious one. And «potential» is a word i kept reading when looking up information on this card in various places, so it just felt.... right.

The rider-waite deck has the magician holding a wand up to the sky, representing his connection to the spiritual realms, and the other hand down to the earth and the physical realm (or in this case i guess the ocean, which, i dont know if it works as well, since uk’otoa is Of The Ocean, but my other ideas just... didnt look as good or work as well, so im still pretty happy with this. I guess this is more the Literal Ocean, and the falchion is the Spiritual Ocean?). Of course fjord doenst wield a wand, his falchion is his wand of sorts, as well as a direct connection to uk’otoa and the spiritual side of things.

The eternity symbol is all about Unlimited Potential, and, like, that certainly still felt Very Fitting and relevant to keep for my design. And then on the rock table in front of him are Summer’s Dance, the wand of smiles, one of the deity coins they found in the swamp, this one with a symbol of the Storm Lord (edit: it is no longer the storm lord coin, it is now a wildmother coin! sidenote: god i feel like this card fits fjord even more after his recent development, but im not gonna Redraw The Entire Thing, and anyway, it was about him At This Point In Time, as are all the cards. but i’ve put in a little wildmother there as a Hint To His Future), and a nice golden cup for dead people tea. These represent the four suites of the tarot, as well as fjord’s connection to his friends. Ofc i couldnt get them all in, so i took. Well i took the summer’s dance because that felt like A Given, very important. Did consume that sword. Is currently using that sword. Molly was his roommate, etcetcetc. And the rest of them, well, maybe if i were to choose which characters were the most important and relevant to fjord (at the moment, anyway) those arent necessarily the ones i would have gone with? Like, jester, sure, but ??? anyway everyone’s probably gonna have different opinions on that anyway, but my point is that they all represent more... his connection to the nein as a whole, rather than necessarily the specific individuals represented? And they are also more... grounded, if that makes sense? In the part of the card that is more about the physical realm, whats right there, around him and with him (in.. various ways).

The reversed (or a reversed, anyway) reading of this card also feels?? relevant to uk’otoa? I suppose. Or to fjord himself. He doesn’t quite know what he is doing, and has ended up maybe fucking up a few times and his friends are definitely a bit worried about where he’s going. And he certainly can’t know for sure what his patron wants from him, if he’s being led somewhere he doesn’t want to be, if there’s trickery and. Well. A whole lot of things. It’s Complicated (tm).

Other than that its mostly just, i just wanted the Ocean, Wave, Storm mood? Chaotic around him, but him in Control. So thats what he got!

[gamesmasternotes]

I’m getting all of my notes together, because come 2020 I will be running a D&D campaign which will likely be a long running one - Dragonlance!

THis is one of my favourite settings, as I remember reading the old novels by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman when I was very young. I can probably credit them with the first tiny spark in my soul which eventually became a fully fledged tabletop roleplay and D&D enthuasiast. So having the chance to go back to them and run the original Chronicles story - the opening trilogy in what became hundreds of novels in the setting - is fantastic.

This is the basic briefing on the world I’ve so far given my players:

___________________

THE WAR OF THE LANCE takes place in ANSALON, a continent on the world of KRYNN. The world's major gods are the High God and his children: good Paladine, neutral Gilean, and evil Takhisis, opposed by Chaos, who seeks to destroy Krynn. Evil chromatic and the good metallic dragons are things of legend, and tied to the gods as divine beings. Humans are Krynn's most common humanoid race, but Elves, Dwarves, Kender, Gnomes, and Minotaurs occupy the world as well. Clerics derive magical powers from their gods, and wizards derive their power from the three moon gods.

At this point in history, it has been three hundred years since the Cataclysm obliterated the great empire of Istar and changes the entire surface of Krynn. The Age of Despair followed, during which the gods were entirely absent, having left behind the world they felt had abandoned and shunned them. The disrespect of the Kingpriest went on, ignoring the thirteen warnings sent, convinced by his own hubris that only he – a mortal – could defeat evil.

The gods sent a “fiery mountain” to completely destroy Istar and the Kingpriest, the impact shattering other areas of Ansalon, drowning some areas and raising new mountains. Following that, contact with the gods was cut off entirely.

___________________

The group I’m running for are currently neck-deep in a long Call of Cthuluhu game, just stepping in to what I’ve been told is the third and final act of Horror on the Orient Express, which is why I’m making sure my notes are together now and ready to go next year. It gives me time to go over my plans and make sure of what I’ve got and what needs adapting. Anyone with Dragonlance experience is of course welcome to offer advise, but the crux here is that the last time the setting had rulkes was D&D 3rd edition. We want to play 5th. So some adaptations need to be made.

___________________

If you’re actually one of my players, this is where you should STOP reading.

___________________

As the narrative of Chronicles goes, five years ago a group of friends would frequent the Inn of the Last Home in the treetop city of Solace. Having adventured together for some time and grown weary of the actions of those serving the new religions since the Cataclysm, they made a pact to separate. Each would take a different path and travel Ansalon searching for some sign of the true gods, agreeing to meet back in that inn five years later.

I plan to start my party at Lv5, as brand new characters of their own devising. They will completely replace the Innfellows in the narrative of the War of the Lance, starting the game with their return to the Inn of the Last Home after their five year journey. My plan is that the world will exist as though the classic set of characters never existed. After their original encounters and the introduction of the Blue Gem Staff, the party will be visited by none other than Raistlinn Majere. He will explain that HE has erased his own cohort from history, because they FAILED to defeat the Darkness. As such, he has twisted time using forbidden magics to give another group of characters a chance to succeed.

Its quite a twisting of the ending of the Chronicles trilogy, and I should point out for those who have read other books in the series that I am basing this SOLELY on the mythology of the Chronicles trilogy (so assuming Legends, etc has not happened yet).

___________________

In order to make it work of course, some changes need to be made. Dragonlance, the world of Krynn, the continent of Ansalon, are not the same as Faerun, Eberron, etc. Different races have prominance, others are more common than in other places, and some are outright unheard of (because they didn’t exist in D&D at the time Dragonlance was being written and developed). So in terms of races, these are the changes being made:

The most common races, those developed more in the stories, are Humans (Civilized and Nomadic, Elves (Qualinesti, Silvanesti and Kagonesti), Dwarves, Gnomes, Kender (Halflings), Centaurs and Minotaurs.

Rare but accessible races in clude Half-Elves and Half_Ogres (Firbolgs and Goliaths).

Very rare races, with my apporval only, include Kyrie (Aaracokra), Phaethons (Aasimar) and Thanoi (Loxodons).

Races I’ve banned outright, because they are to be used as purely evil or isolationist races, include Dargonesti  (Sea-Elves and Tritons), Ogres, Orcs, Half-Orcs, Goblins, and Hobgoblins.

I have also banned Dragonborn, Lizardfolk and Kobolds as player races, because there will exist only as the evil Draconian race.

Other races which are never mentioned in the Dragonlance stories (as far as I know) are a tricky question I haven’t addressed yet. I’ll probably base my decision on them on whether someone can come up with an interesting concept for them in the game world. These are of course the Tieflings, Gith, Genasi, Changelings, Kenku, Kalashtar, Tabaxi, Shifter, Yuan-Ti, Warforged and Tortles.

___________________

Some alterations also need to be made to character classes before we begin, as some are represented very differently within the world of Dragonlance, and need addressing.

Mostly everything can stay the same, the key difference being however a complete lack of Divine Magic at the start of the story.

As Chronicles begins, the gods do not grant power to any beings on Krynn. The restoration of that link is part of what the Chronicles story is about - finding the old gods and trying to get them to come back, and dealing with the one or two who already have.

As such, I’m putting in the rule that as the story begins, no Cleric or Paladin has Spellcasting, or any other healing ability. The exception of course, will be if one characters WANTS to play a Cleric, then they will find themselves as the chosen wielder of the Blue Gem Staff, the first artifact of the gods to be seen on Krynn in three hundred years, which LETS them use their class spellcasting ability. This helps kick the party into the narrative too.

As part of this though, I’m making the world a little harsher. There is a point in the story at which Divine Magic does return should the party choose to do as the original Innfellows did and make it happen (at Xak Tsaroth). However I am ruling that no spellcaster can use any healing or divine-influenced spells until this event occurs (or something like it at least).

As part of that, seeing as there are no gods and no truly god-like beings on Krynn, I’m ruling that no levels can be taken in the Warlock class until this event occurs (because there are no beings around to be a Patron other than the central villain of the narrative!).

___________________

The final note in my planning is based in Paladins, which I think need a full re-flavouring. My intention is that Paladins will stand-in as the Knightly Orders of Ansalon, very intentionally to allow something special should somoene wish to affiliate with the Knights of Solamnia (such as Sturm Brightblade in the novels). I think the concept stands well for them, and makes the Knights more than just Fighters. The spellcasting part of the class makes it a bit weird though, which is what I think needs adjusting to make it fit. I think the Healing restriction I already mentioned will help itigate it, but I will likely have to strip down the spell list for Paladins and maybe replace a few spells entirely with new ones. This way I can make every spell they have more of a martial ability than an explicit spell, which would work nicely for the Knights of Solamnia. I might even be able to flavour each new rank in a Paladin’s Oath as rising to a new Order within the Knights.

___________________

I’m very interested to know what other people think, and waht advice they’d give based on this framework. People with better knowledge than I might be able to offer new ways to address a few of the alterations I’ve made, and hopefully I’ll have it all organized in a good, structured way and ready for when the game begins next year.

[thesovereignsequel]

1-49

1. What do you think your d&d race would be?

Dwarf, probably. I’m short, chunky, and do have pervasive body hair. I actually have like two actual hairs growing out of my neck and some thick peachfuzz so I feel like my body wants a beard bad enough for me to be a dwarf.

2. What class?

I think maaaaybe a bard? I have a lot of anxiety concerning performing but I could be a stand up comedy bard. If not that, maybe a barbarian? I wanna go feral at all times.

3. What two feats would you have?

Inspiring Leader and Tavern Brawler. I am good at encouraging people and literally love the concept at going feral w/ whatever weapon possible.

4. What has been your favorite d&d character you’ve played? (NPCs count for DMs)

Ooooo! I guess my favorite PC I’ve played is Viper, my assassin tiefling. My favorite NPC I’ve played is probably Daniel Devito (original character do not steal)

5. Which of your d&d characters has been the most like you?

None of my characters are particularly like me, all of them have like, one trait I can relate to tops. Same with NPCs.

6. Which of your d&d characters has been the least like you?

For NPCs, the big bad of my last campaign (Duke Maloret) but for PCs probably Viper?

7. How do you go about making a character or NPC?

I go with a basic concept when making a player character and flesh it out from there once I have an idea what the setting is like. For an NPC, I already know what the setting is like so I create someone I think would fit and have a place and purpose in the setting. And when I make joke NPCs I just come up w/ something funny that somehow usually works with lore.

8. What is the most memorable natural 20 you’ve ever experienced?

In the CoS game I’m playing, our warlock got a fuckin nat 20 and one shot an NPC, who was definitely going to kill us, mortal combat style.

9. Has one of your d&d characters ever died? How?

In a oneshot playing w/ some ppl I don’t really care for, one of my characters died. They died bc a player threw a grenade to kill a big monster even though I said “yo, don’t!”

10. What is your favorite class to play?

Monk!!! The power, the range. Lovely.

11. Have you ever fought a dragon?

Yes? Kind of?

12. Have you ever fought a beholder?

I don’t think so.

13. Have you ever fought a mind flayer?

No

14. Have you ever had a romance with an NPC or another PC?

As a DM, I have. As a player I haven’t yet, but my necromancer/life cleric is in high demand so that’s gonna change ;0

15. Do you prefer to DM or play?

I like both. I’m better as a player though so playing is usually what I prefer bc I feel like I make a better experience playing. I love DMing so fuckin much tho :’0

16. What is your favorite D&D pod/vodcast?

I only listen/watch two “dnd” pod/vodcasts, those being Critical Role and The Adventure Zone. I prefer the Adventure Zone just a teensy bit.

17. Who is your favorite “celebrity dm?”

If the question had said GM and not DM I’d have an answer.

18. Do you use props/minis/terrain in your game?

Nope. We’re digital bby!!

19. How did you discover D&D?

I knew about dnd since forever, but only started desiring to play after listening to the Adventure Zone. And it took at least a year before I was ever actually able to play (think it probably took two)

20. If you run a homebrew game, give an out of context spoiler.

Being yeeted can be fun, fresh, and flirty.

21. Drop a picture of a mini you painted (if applicable)

Don’t have one :’0

22. Write a brief scene centered around one of your characters!

I’ll answer this in another ask.

23. Do you have any art of your characters?

I do!

24. Have you ever played any TTRPGs other than D&D?

I’ve played Monster of the Week and Tavern Tales.

25. What is your favorite snack for d&d?

Bc discord is over audio I usually don’t have the option of eating a snack.

26. If you could have one potion from d&d, which one would you choose?

Potion of Animal Friendship. I want the neighborhood cats to love me.

27. If you could cast one spell from d&d, which would you cast?

Fly. I just wanna soar bby.

28. What is the most memorable natural 1 you’ve experienced?

I remember every nat one that has a negative modifier and I love all of them.

29. Have you ever been drunk playing d&d?

I have never been drunk period.

30. Homebrew or prewritten?

I prefer DMing homebrew and have no preference for either when it comes to playing.

31. Tell me about your current party!

I’ll get into this one in a different post bc I have a few.

32. Most memorable NPC you’ve encountered in a game you played in.

Flinder Flameweaver. He sold fake ostrich boots claiming they were genuine ostrich and we saw through his lies.

33. Do you listen to music while playing? What kinds?

I play professor Layton music a lot during my games.

34. Favorite accent to do for characters?

Young British child.

35. Favorite classic d&d trope

Sexey demons.

36. What was your first d&d character you made?

A Dragonborn noblewoman who was secretly so buff but wore lots of frills.

37. What is the most recent PC or NPC you’ve created?

I can’t talk about NPCs, bc spoilers, but my latest player character I believe is a yuan ti wizard boi

38. Goblins or Kobolds?

Why not both?

39. Favorite villain you’ve defeated?

This asshole from our CoS campaignwho was very much the reactionary “pleased to see you upset” white dude.

40. What d&d deity would you be a cleric of?

None tbh

41. Give an out of context quote from one of your games!

I have a couple. “DM stands for Daddy Master”, “Griffindor Macklemore is my heterosona” and “Or what, you’ll stab me?”

42. Have you ever rolled turn into a potted plant on the wild magic table?

Unfortunately I’ve only cast a few spells as a wild magic sorcerer and everyone else I play w/ is a coward.

43. Minis and terrain or theater of the mind?

Theater of the mind.

44. Mulligan, Mercer, Murphy, or McElroy?

I like Mercer and McElroy

45. What is the longest session you’ve ever had?

god I think I’ve had one that was at least six hours before.

46. What is the longest battle you’ve fought or run?

The dreaded cockatrice fight.

47. Have you ever played at level 20?

Unfortunately no, not yet.

48. Does your dm say “How do you want to do this?”

Some do, some don’t.

49. Have you ever played an edition other than 5th?

No I have not.

[comicteaparty]

June 3rd-June 9th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from June 3rd, 2019 to June 9th, 2019.  The chat focused on Galebound by Respheal.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Galebound by Respheal~! (http://www.galebound.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until June 9th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. Why and how do you think Conan has some of his own memories sealed? What did Altiria see that caused them such distress? How does this factor in to why Altiria thinks Din’s plans won’t pan out?

Respheal

In Altiria and Conan's defense, Din's plans fall to pieces if a butterfly crosses his path unexpectedly

RebelVampire

I accept the canon that Din can be tripped by butterflies

RebelVampire

I also accept a canon where Din starts yelling at the butterfly that it's 5 seconds too early and totally off schedule

Respheal

Yes

RebelVampire

Crack theory for #2: Conan was Felix all along. He doesn't know cause of the memories being sealed. and as Din befriends Conan, he will be torn between killing the friend hed come to love and the enemy he hates most in the world.

MJ Massey

Maybe the real Felix was inside us all along

RebelVampire

sorry Din, you've got felix germs inside you

1) the scene where Pascal shows up on the bridge to fight them. The look on everyone's faces is too priceless. And then everyone gets to have a nice chat and we get to see Pascal is just a great boy whose murder pants were a little too tight. 2) The memories are probably sealed for his own protection by someone who loves him. Cause why would anybody want to have to remember Felix? Altiria probably saw that Conan was the one true nobleman who was set to conquer them all. And that Din can't backstab conan so easily because of that.

Kabocha

MY FAVORITE SCENE! Is that one where Conan drowns after Alty tries to take him as a bri--- Wait that wasn't canon? Dammit, Conan! Realistically, though, I think it's currently the one here, starting at the end of Page 151: http://www.galebound.com/comics/2783990/151/ There's just.... a lot of weight. Pascal wakes up, and instead of really freaking out about nearly dying, he comforts his brother. You can learn a lot about Din and Pascal's relationship from these panels alone, and it's... something. (To me, it reads as Pascal being the one who buries a lot of his emotions - he never got a chance to really expect much out of life as a magician, before Din did what he did...)

Kabocha

Why does Conan have memories sealed... For... plot... reasons. You know, maybe Alty saw Conan's parents doing something. Maybe his parents are old enough to have been involved in the War of the Blind Kings--- What's that you say? No? :'D But on a serious note, one must wonder if Conan did something that necessitated his memories being sealed. A birth secret, perhaps? Maybe Conan's actually a part of the Gale that someone stole and put in a human body to learn the suffering of those under the system, to help give agency and consciousness to the arbiter of the Obligation. ...Hm. (Because right now, the Gale just... exists.) Alty, being a daemon, wouldn't like this naturally, right? If Conan's part of the Gale, she has a vested interest in making sure he returns to the cycle as he is. Anyway, Altiria's just expecting Din to get so judgemental that he misses everything going on in front of him. It nearly happened already with Pascal.... Rather than explaining things, he expected Conan to be another nobleman, and simply just hoped he could take care of things.

tl;dr: Conan ain't human, Din doesn't learn from his mistakes

Respheal

Hahaha that also addresses the question of why Alty didn't just tell Din (Communication, what's that?). Something that wild....Din wouldn't believe it even if (or perhaps especially if) Altiria just told him

Some things you gotta see for yourself xD

Or maybe they just wanna see Din faceplant

Kabocha

Well, that, and if Conan's even a fragment of the Gale, then that leaves him open to manipulation by magicians... Conan: I give command Din: I follow command.... BY USING YOU Conan: noes

Respheal

>:D(edited)

Kabocha

Also for the title, it makes sense? The Gale is bound....

Jo Michelle

Oh gosh, the end of Chap 5. YES. I was trying to figure out my favorite scene, but that would totally be it.

RebelVampire

tbf altiria could just believe both. that din wouldnt believe her and that she loves the idea of din faceplanting

Jo Michelle

Wait. If Con is Felix with the memories locked away, then, Conan's like "nice Light" in that section of Death Note SPOILERwhere he forgets about the book and is genuinely helping the police....END SPOILER ..... Oh no. Felix. What trap have you set for the world as soon as you get your memories back? This actually works well with my "Conan turns into a sociopath" theory..... jess sayin'

RebelVampire

i like this twist

that its cause felix has an awful plan in store

Kabocha

I dunno, I'm personally a fan of Conan being the Gale in human form.

Jo Michelle

Maybe he is, and he's also lost his memory of that?

RebelVampire

he can be both

Jo Michelle

He's the "power of the hurricane?"

https://genius.com/Frank-wildhorn-jack-murphy-and-ivan-menchell-hurricane-lyrics(edited)

That was a REAL reach there.... but, lyrics from the Death Note musical, sung by Light.

Don't underestimate my ability to reference three different things at once, and make a crack theory for Gb.

RebelVampire

Felix realized he was a part of the Gale but that the time was not right for the Shadowlord. So he sealed his memories, de-aged, and became Conan so that once the seal broke, it would be time to become the Shadowlord, merge with the Gale, and bring true destruction upon this land.

Kabocha

Bwahahahaha! The Dusk is an unjust land. The Gale can end it all peacefully with the power of the Shadowlord. It all comes tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down~

Respheal

To reference a crack theory from the GB server, if Din is destined to become the Shadowlord, I love the idea of Conan being the Gale

I'm a sucker for that sort of dichotomy

Kabocha

You say "Crack theory," I say "I've seen this before"

Jo Michelle

well, then, I feel obligated to copy/paste these lyrics:

I'll bring the rain

I'll bring the wind

I am the mighty hurricane

The human stains

And all their sins

Blown away

I'll bring the pain

So be afraid

I will bring the power of the hurricane

Conan's new life song?

Respheal

>:D

MJ Massey

I stan Conan as a Gale piece

MJ Massey

that would explain why he has no memories

maybe he's not Conan at all

Respheal

Okay before I gotta get to work I'll answer the questions, too because why not 1. Favorite scene....I tend to like scenes where the onion layers of a character get peeled back a bit and you get to see who they really are. For...well, kind of both Conan and Din, this is after the Pascal Incident™, when the dust is settling and the shock starts to wear off. We see Din as he is, a broken and terrified man stuck in an unfair and cruel system, backed into a corner. Conan, a young man thrown in a situation way out of his depth, but also a dutiful person willing to admit and correct his mistakes.

RebelVampire

#ConanDidNothingWrong

Respheal

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2681466/125/ http://www.galebound.com/comics/2683677/126/ <- these two pages specifically(edited)

Well not knowingly xD

......I'm going to avoid answering question 2 because my powers of bullshittery are weak and of course I know the real answer But Conan being the Gale.....well, trapping something that powerful in a human body would probably wreck havoc on that person....Wiping that person's memories as a result is plausible (edited)

RebelVampire

the real answer to number 2 is that Altiria realized that the entire comic is just a DnD campaign cause they were able to see the real life person who is controlling Conan. and they saw Conan's stat sheet, compared it to Din's, and realized Din got shitty rolls. cause Altiria is controlled by the DM.

Kabocha

But Alty's comparing a Magician to a Nobleman... Noblemen generally have a pretty good charisma modifier

RebelVampire

i feel sort of bad im the only one who picked a not super sad scene

im sorry for choosing to be happy everyone

Jo Michelle

I think you're in the wrong webcomic if you want happy....

SPOILER What did Altiria see that caused them such distress? END SPOILER

Okay. Here's what I think. Alty discovered that Conan's already signed a contract with Ursula, and they're like, mortal enemies with her.

Respheal

SURE

Jo Michelle

Instead of losing his voice, he's lost his memories until he can make Din fall in love with him.

And we all know.... that's never gonna happen.

RebelVampire

you lost be at din

this does not suit my conan/pascal ship

Jo Michelle

But, see, if he had his memories, all he'd need to do was tell Din to, since he's still got his voice.

no, see, this is why Con's doomed to fail.

Since, we all know that would never happen.

And when Ursula gave him the contract, she's like, "see, I even left you your voice to use as a Nobleman."

Respheal

> Contract Confirmed, Conan is a Warlock

.....or a Magical Girl

Jo Michelle

A MG who's doomed to fail.

Because, of course he is.

Kabocha

...Conan is Homura?

Jo Michelle

That doesn't feel quite right as a fit.....

Okay, but which ever one he is, his transformation into the Gale or Shadowlord will be when he gives into despair, and realizes his hopes were doomed from the beginning.

MJ Massey

why not both a warlock AND a magical girl. two times the tragedy

Respheal

>:D

I am okay with this

Kabocha

Everyone is doomed

Sarai

ok there have been a lot of great scenes in Galebound so far, but i think the one that always jumps out to me is where I first jumped into the comic, when Pascal snuck into the Inn during the dark hour

For me, that scene is what shifted my opinion from "oh this is neat i wonder what happens next" to "DANG SON THIS AUTHOR MEANS BUSINESS"

MJ Massey

I think that's my favorite scene too

Sarai

also i think i found it on a thursday or something, because by the time i caught up there was a new page Din in all his yellow magician-y glory, and Pascal in the middle of a swear XD

Jo Michelle

"You kiss your momma with that mouth?" Oh, yeah. She's dead. Never mind.

Respheal

That wouldn't stop Din from threatening Pascal with soap

MJ Massey

it's more like "would you kiss ME with that mouth? how dare...!"

Jo Michelle

oh that's just weird.

MJ Massey

that Din expects brother kisses?

Jo Michelle

I feel like Din is definitely one of those "do as I say not as I do" parenting styles.

RebelVampire

Din: Don't sell out magician children to the Nobleman. Pascal: But- Din: Do as I say, not as I do!

Kabocha

"You can't seize the means of production without being NEAR the means of production!"

Sarai

oh shoot i realized i never answered the second question

as far as theories go, i don't really have any I haven't been given enough information to really form an idea other than conan's dad leaving, him getting sick, and then his memories disappearing, are all connected somehow

OTHER THAN THAT i'm just along for the ride

Jo Michelle

Oh, they're connected. Felix definitely poisoned him.

A side affect was losing his memory.(edited)

Sarai

o-oh.....ok

But why tho

Jo Michelle

Does Felix need a reason? Other than he's Felix?

Sarai

you got me there

I was thinking it was something magic-related, not necessarily a mundane childhood illness or someone else's doing

Jo Michelle

He used a magical potion.

Sarai

but really, all i know for sure is that i'm young, dumb, and a complete sucker for sick fics

Jo Michelle

A memory destroying potion. Getting sick was the side affect.

Sarai

or sick cannon, as it be

Jo Michelle

He needed to destroy his memory, since Conan knew ...... something.....

give me a minute.

Sarai

he walked in on felix SPOILER getting pollinated by a flower daemon END SPOILER

HE SAW TOO MUCH

Jo Michelle

That'll give anyone an automatic sickness and memory loss.

Sarai

maybe that's why altiria was so mad

Jo Michelle

But, for real..... I think Conan knew something about a BIG baddie's plan, and Felix gave him a memory blocking potion.

Note, for real should have been written "for real" ..... since I know things. :puffer:

Sarai

oh yeah, i forgot you weren't a lowly pleb like me XD

Jo Michelle

:puffer:

Sarai

you patreon people with your fancy spoiler privileges and early scripts

Jo Michelle

For real though, I actually don't know why or exactly how he lost his memory. I have guesses, but nothing's confirmed.

So I'm going with memory potion.

And he knows SOMETHING big. I'll bet that's why Alty freaked out too.

HE KNOWS A THING THAT MUST NOT BE SHARED.

Respheal

This is true, even patrons don't have the exact details yet

Muahahahaha >:3c

Jo Michelle

I'll bet it's the secret to bringing down the Gale, but that would also destroy the world.

And Alty's like "nope. No way."

"Your memory's a ticking time bomb."

Sarai

I'm assuming.....we'll be revisiting that moment from childhood at some point, right?

Respheal

I do sometimes describe Conan as SPOILER a time bomb END SPOILER ....

Uhhhhhhh

Probably not in full flashback form unfortunately

Jo Michelle

I'm RIGHT. My theory is now confirmed.

Conan has a secret hidden in his childhood memories that could destroy the world. And Alty figured it was better to make sure it's never revealed.

Respheal

"Not again"

Is a thing Alty yelled

Jo Michelle

Wait. WHAT?

Mahotou

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2529569/086/(edited)

Jo Michelle

.........

Mahotou

c:

Jo Michelle

I have no idea what to make of this.

Mahotou

i have fears

Respheal

:3c

Mahotou

c,:

Jo Michelle

Well. I'm just gonna assume Felix managed to do something REALLY horrible to the dang ocean and Conan knows how he did it, if he'd only remember.

When in doubt, I always blame Felix.

It's worked so far.

Respheal

That's fair

Sarai

one fear

Jo Michelle

To be fair, if something destroyed the ocean, that would definitely hurt the Dusk, sooooooo RIP Conan. The world needs its ocean more than another Nobleman. Sorry. No hard feelings?

AND. Felix, after nearly destroying the ocean went off to face the Gale, and ....... well...... he's had a bit of a revolving life ever since.... :puffer:

I lied. Felix didn't administer the memory potion. It was Conan's mom. To protect the world.

Felix was happy to have his son learn how to wreck havoc and destruction on the planet.

Sarai

i know we've slandered her before but it always feels so wrong

Jo Michelle

I'm not slandering Conan's mom. Just saying she made a hard choice between her son's memory, and the world.

Felix is the one who made her have to make such a choice.

Still totally his fault. He just left her to deal with the aftermath when he left to take on the Gale.

Kabocha

You know how I said Conan is the Gale? Maybe people tried this before. What could a lone nobleman with a daemon fragment inside him do... ...enrage Alty, that's what.

Jo Michelle

WAIT. Was that what happened when he got sick?

Felix was inserting a daemon into him?

Respheal

Having a literal hurricane stuffed into a child's body would probably have that effect(edited)

Jo Michelle

In the eye of a hurricane

There is quiet

For just a moment

A yellow sky

I was twelve when my mother died

She was holding me

We were sick and she was holding me

I couldn’t seem to die

I couldn't resist

Kabocha

What daemon hell has Felix wrought...?!

Respheal

Oh

Oh that song

Mahotou

Is felix systematically destroying the world one element at a time? Ocean, Gale, .. what next. Fire?(edited)

Respheal

Oh shit Conan was twelve at the time(edited)

Kabocha

I mean

Jo Michelle

Wait. WHAT?

I thought he was like, 7 or 8

Respheal

No that's when Felix left xD(edited)

Kabocha

@Mahotou if he's taking the elements... ...then. that explains where his heart went

Is he trying to make captain planet

Mahotou

negative captain planet

reverse captain planet

Kabocha

He wants to start dusk on a rotation

Mahotou

If i change the gale, i can get the world spinning

Kabocha

He's getting captain planet to make all of dusk habitable

Although everyone will freak out at their newfound nights...

Mahotou

#SAVETHEPLANET

D:!?

WHAT A TWIST

FELIX IS UPSETTING THE WORLD TO SAVE IT

Respheal

Irony (edited)

Kabocha

Gotta crack some eggs to make a cake

Jo Michelle

Eh. That's just cause his mom told him one time that he couldn't live in the Shadow or the Galelands.

And he doesn't like being told "no"

Mahotou

aaaand we're back to the normal slander. ;D

Kabocha

No, Felix's DAD told him no

Jo Michelle

Sure.

Kabocha

Felix has daddy issues, because his dad disappeared for years....

Mahotou

we haven't talked much about Conan's grandparents. makes me think about them now lol

Jo Michelle

It's a whole legacy of being horrible fathers.

I mean, they ARE Noblemen.

Mahotou

and then what of the mom's side. how was she raised?

Kabocha

His father had a reason though: international business

Jo Michelle

Oh. I see. One of those guys who destroy some other country for cheap labor. Yep. Sounds like a Nobleman.(edited)

Kabocha

She was arranged in that marriage

Jo Michelle

Oh, yeah. She didn't have a choice.

Sarai

heck even in non magical families abuse gets handed down through the generations - i wouldn't be surprised if Felix had an equally bad relationship with one or both of his parents

Kabocha

Oh, she might have had a choice

Jo Michelle

What, you think anyone would choose to marry Felix?

Kabocha

It might have been to improve her own circumstances... Or because Evenheim was closer to Cymaria... Or.... [Makes up bullshit about Felix's parents]

Oh, I was talking about Felix's mom

Not his wife

Jo Michelle

Oh, I thought we were talking about Conan's mom.

Mahotou

@Jo Michelle only if he's ... some how... not Felix?

xD

OH me too i thought we were talking about conan's mom too(edited)

Jo Michelle

I stand by the "some parent or person forced her to marry Felix" theory.

Kabocha

But what if she LIKED Felix

Respheal

gasp

Jo Michelle

What, LIKE Felix?!?

Mahotou

SLANDER?

Kabocha

Alternatively, she could be like... Charlotte Lucas, who married, but arranged Mr. Collins' day so he was out of the way...

Jo Michelle

You realize that if she actually cared about Felix, him leaving would be even more painful. I prefer to think of it as a relief to her.

She got a happy few years with her son and no Felix.

Kabocha

Maybe she liked the idea of Felix, but he was actually really annoying and overbearing

Felix wanted a life in the clergy

Jo Michelle

Oh, I'm sure he was super annoying and overbearing.

Sarai

don't forget neurotic

Everything had to be done just so

Jo Michelle

Oh yeah. She had to do it exactly the way he said.

Sarai

"no conan, you can't plant the lettuce 2 inches apart they must be 2 1/2"

Jo Michelle

"yes papa."

-Get's measuring tape from house to make sure-

See? Why would anyone marry that out of choice?

Definitely an arranged marriage. Or something like it.

Sarai

wait res, how many years ago did felix and celia get married

Kabocha

I hope we don't run into anyone worse than Felix

Respheal

Uhhhhhhh

24 I think

Yeah

Sarai

ok so not marriage of convenience then

Jo Michelle

:puffer:

Sarai

just running through all our options here

Kabocha

In this week's chat: All the Felix hate

Jo Michelle

And @RebelVampire isn't even here to defend the jerk.

Mahotou

There s so much slander happening lol

Respheal

Mostly about Felix xD Which is....fair....Based on what we know so far of him, surely he isn't up to anything good

Darkhalo4321

Hey

Felix is a good dad deep down i am sure...

i refuse to believe otherwise

Jo Michelle

Oh, yeah. Leave his kid to plant and morn his mom alone. But he's a good dad deep down, so it's all good. It's all good.

Kabocha

He had neighbors

Darkhalo4321

He was in good hands.

Sometimes a good dad lets better people raise their kids.

keii4ii

I'm walking in and am somewhat confused by the whole room just BURNIN' with Felix hate

insert 'pizza guy walks into a room on fire' gif

Respheal

Keiiii

Felix is just a very polarizing character.....for someone who hasn't actually shown up yet lol

keii4ii

Dedicating the following emoji to Felix tonight:

keii4ii

I bet some of the characters would approve of the Felix hate though

RebelVampire

Felix is gonna turn out to be a great dude and @Jo Michelle is gonna eat a hat out of frustration when that happens

im saving all my felix propaganda for the felix question thats later in the week O_O

Kabocha

Hahaha!

The basis of Felix hate really hinges on two pages

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2432399/059/ And http://www.galebound.com/comics/2674968/123/

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2683677/126/ this page also maybe helps, but I don't trust Din to see things well under duress

keii4ii

^ Same (No offense, Din.)

RebelVampire

you couldve left that at "I don't trust Din"

that's all that needs to be said

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. What do you think will happen once Din and Conan reach Cymaria? Will Din’s plans unravel, or will the two manage to slay the queen? What will be the consequences of either path?

RebelVampire

3) Felix who is the best character who is trying to save the world. It's definitely not Pascal. It's not like Pascal is the best dresser and basically is the dude that gets the short end of the stick throughout the comic. Not to mention Pascal definitely isn't just adorable or anything. Plus, Pascal isn't even the most reasonable of the characters who is filled with surprises yet just wants everone to be alive and happy for his parties. 4) Everyone will sit down for tea. Realistically? Din's plans will fall apart because of whatever reasons Alty knows. Plus, I think Din overestimates his skills as a magician and underestimates the difficulty in killing a monarch, not to mention a nobleman. and thus Conan and Din will be in jail or wanted men or something. And then Pascal will become an accomplice and they'll all flee Cymaria trying to outrun their wanted posters and searching for Felix to punch him in the face. So ya know, Galebound will just be the most epic fantasy road trip, maybe with bank robberies. Honestly, does anyone actually think Din is going to succeed? I feel there isn't anyone who has faith in him.

Jo Michelle

I was called OUT last night.(edited)

Fave Character? Definitely Pascal. Most intriguing character, as in, onion layers of emotion I'm anticipating seeing stripped away? Din.

Reach Cymaria? Oooohhh, that's a good question. I think the queen is secretly super evil, and actually working for scary grin lady in the prologue. But she's also super smooth talking and smart, and will trick Conan into listening to her, poor sap that he is, and get him to turn on Din. MAYBE, Conan will even start to think he's falling in love with her – but then find out she's been using him, and make him even more upset, when he realizes he almost cheated on Lucie for this person.

RebelVampire

Lucie couldve been Conan's mistress at least.

Jo Michelle

OH no. I don't see her being okay with such an arrangement.

RebelVampire

tbf we havent met the real lucie yet. maybe shes secretly a gold digger who knew conan was a prince all along and just wanted that sweet evenheim gold

Jo Michelle

Hum. That's a good point.

And I already said what I think of Conan's judgment with women, so I guess I can't fall back on "but Conan wouldn't have loved her if she wasn't good."

Okay. Point made. Fine.

RebelVampire

the one good thing din did for conan

saved him from proposing to the wrong girl

Jo Michelle

Re: Felix is a Good Dude: I'm just using the Sirius test:

Sirius shook his head and said, “She’s got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

.... You want to know the measure of a Nobleman? Ask a Magician.(edited)

There's no reason to hide your true nature from a person who has to do literally whatever you tell them to.

RebelVampire

but the only magician we can ask is din and din is a biased source who is basing his hatred on info that is years out of date

Jo Michelle

Eh. How an adult treated you as a child is not a bad estimate either.

I'm not saying he couldn't have changed. Just that I'm gonna have to see some darn good evidence of that change.

In Din's case, he was in the inferior position as both a Magician and a child.

To be fair, full disclosure – I don't think Felix is the worst person ever. Heck, he might be pretty typical of Noblemen. I mean, his treatment of Din could be totally normal. But that doesn't make it any better, or excuse him one bit.(edited)

RebelVampire

thats fair. i more think its better to assume neutrality and give benefit of the doubt that he isnt the same person. which gives room also for him to be far worse too, but hey gives him a chance

i will point out though that conan barely didnt anything wrong on purpose and din hated him on principle

din is himself not the best person XD

Jo Michelle

Din is what Felix made him.

Felix, and others.

Din was a lost, confused, hurting, traumatized boy.

But let's not forget who, at least, contributed to that.(edited)

RebelVampire

Din is also an adult now and in charge of his own choices though. And his adult choices are garbage. If Felix had been abused and locked in a closet, would that excuse the choices he made? XD

Jo Michelle

Oh, I'm not excusing Din now. That's the problem with pain and trauma – the way it spreads.(edited)

BUT, the person with power here is still Felix.

Even if Din is responding totally wrong, the people with the power are still the Noblemen, so the greater responsibility for ending the violence still rests on them.

It's like the moral equivalency fallacy of [spoiler blocked for those who don't want to think about politics] SPOILER of white supremacists and anti-racism bombings, such as in South Africa. No, killing innocent people isn't right and will just produce more pain and suffering, but the two aren't equivalent, because of power. END SPOILER This is why I judge Felix more harshly than Din.

RebelVampire

That's fair.

I can't take the same path cause I don't think all the evidence is in order. Cause we haven't met Felix, don't actually have a factual account of what he even did to Din, and so forth. So while I can agree that Felix can be judged more harshly via power in certain contexts, I think its unfair to cast judgement at the moment.

Kabocha

Question: How do we know that whatever Felix and Din's interaction was, that it wasn't like... Self defense?

It was clearly BAD, but Din was a child

Jo Michelle

That's also fair. But, for me, the burden of proof will be on Felix.

RebelVampire

yeah thats another reason i dont trust Din's account of everything and label him a biased source. Cause he was a child at the time of whatever happened just by the context clues

cause kids dont generally have all the info to a situation.

cause adults dont tell

also cause they have kid brains

not to mention were expecting din's account to even be accurate after years

and memories are faulty

even when trauma is involved

which again

Felix may be the most awful person in the world

I just pass no judgement based on Din's account

as far as im concerned, din is no better than the boy who cried wolf right now

which acually is a better analogy then i intended. cause his hatred of conan really damages his case against felix.

which inevitably makes me sorry for Din if Felix is as awful as he thinks

Din is undoing his own case

Jo Michelle

No, Din is just proving my point about power and Noblemen in general. I recently heard and wrote down a great definition of racism: Prejudice + Power to enforce your Prejudice = Racism That's why oppressed people can be prejudice, but not racist. So, sure, Din is prejudiced against Noblemen in general, and Felix in particular, but that's mostly from experience. Conan seems to be his first encounter with a Nobleman that didn't confirm his expectations.

RebelVampire

i think this convo is going a bit too political at this point so im gonna reign it in

Jo Michelle

Okay, sorry.

RebelVampire

no its fine. im just reigning it in before it goes too far to real world.

cause at this point were touching on a very sensitive, relevant real world topic.

and thats inviting chaos

Jo Michelle

Should I spoiler hide that last comment?

RebelVampire

nah cause when i archive it, itll be visible anyway.

Jo Michelle

ah.

Really?

good to know.

RebelVampire

yeah. someday i will address that if i get a real website for CTP, but right now things are just archived as plain text.

At least we can agree that Pascal is the best

I mean umm...Felix. Yes. Definitely not Pascal.

Pascal the angel

Respheal

The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power

Not gonna lie, I didn't expect this story to touch on some real world problems when I first started writing it x'D this was just going to be a road trip(edited)

RebelVampire

tbf you overthink anything too much and you can put real life themes on it.

which is whats supposed to happen

it is the mark of good fiction

Respheal

Yeah, and it...worked? x'D but I do realize that because these Very Real Themes are a part of it now, I have to be able to handle those themes respectfully.(edited)

I will answer question 3 in a bit and make you all mad that the answer is Felix (edited)

....actually nvm I should answer based only on the current canon ahahaha

RebelVampire

yes pick Felix O_O

i cant pick felix cause hes not in the story yet

maybe someday

Respheal

Felix actually is my fave, but yeah he's not in the story yet. Although he has clearly had a huge impact on it so far. He's like a massive object and every other character is sucked into his gravity well

If I had to pick from current canon (which is like the boys and Altiria).....that's a tough call

RebelVampire

obviously altiria since they can just drown everyone

Respheal

You're right. The only sensible choice

I am actually struggling to pick so let's go with that

Kabocha

3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor? Altiria! I'm sorry, Alty's natrually quite salty. It just flows out of them seamlessly... Altiria seas and knows all in the world, for Altiria is all water... Water we waiting for, we should all cheer for our water god! 4. What do you think will happen once Din and Conan reach Cymaria? Will Din’s plans unravel, or will the two manage to slay the queen? What will be the consequences of either path? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Conan's gon' die. Unless they opt for an infiltration - Din only has to bring Conan to Cymaria... Right? I guess it depends on how that command's interpreted

RebelVampire

maybe they never make it to court. maybe they stop at burger king on the way but pascal wont let them leave until he gets all the toys from the kids meal

and nobody told him you didnt have to buy the meal to get the toy

MJ Massey

4. What do you think will happen once Din and Conan reach Cymaria? Will Din’s plans unravel, or will the two manage to slay the queen? What will be the consequences of either path?

I think they'll intend to slay the queen but then find out she's not the true villain. She's actually pretty cool, but it's the royal vizier/high priest/magician who's the REAL villain. They'll team up to try to stop them, but the queen will inadvertently die in the process and it turns out SPOILER she was Felix the whole time END SPOILER

Jo Michelle

SPOILER Not gonna lie, I didn't expect this story to touch on some real world problems when I first started writing it x'D this was just going to be a road trip END SPOILER

I thought the same thing, friend. We all did, I think.

Respheal

As for question 4......well, we're not even all the way through act 1 so of course things are gonna hit the fan

RebelVampire

the bigger question is how can galebound end happily

Jo Michelle

Things, huh? :cornytea:

Kabocha

The bigger question is: CAN it end happily

Respheal

That is actually a good question

Kabocha

I posit the following: No.

MJ Massey

I agree

no way Res is gonna let the cast off that easy

RebelVampire

everything will turn out fine. then a rogue meteor will come and crash into the planet, pushing it out of orbit

Jo Michelle

I'm trusting in Res's enjoyment of the end of "Speak".... it's literally the only evidence I've got going for my hope in a "happy" ending...(edited)

Kabocha

@RebelVampire This isn't Final Fantasy!!

RebelVampire

thats just what res wants us to think

felix is the meteor

Respheal

A sufficiently large meteor might kick the planet out of its tidal locking therefore eliminating the extreme focused heat that fuels the Gale

RebelVampire

ya know i was mostly just joking, but then res came in and said that

i think this is as good as canon

Kabocha

ominous chanting

Respheal

If this were Final Fantasy the eclipse planet would come crashing down but right before it hits--surprise it was a giant dragon's prison all along so it's death by dragon instead of by meteor

RebelVampire

and felix was the imprisoned dragon?

which is where hes been all this time

Respheal

Yes

Kabocha

...So it's not Final Fantasy, it's Fire Emblem

RebelVampire

Fire Fantasy

well just combine them

Mahotou

Final Emblem

RebelVampire

Fire Fantasy V: The Final Emblem

Jo Michelle

Felix is a dragon. I can live with that.

RebelVampire

ok so its been approved. Felix is a dragon canon is a go.

can sleep on his pile of gold and kidnap princesses

and eat them

Jo Michelle

Like Conan's mom. She was a kidnapped princess.

Respheal

......So Conan's part dragon now?

RebelVampire

yes

see

Jo Michelle

Confirmed.

RebelVampire

this canon gets better and better

conan is gonna wake up one morning and wonder why he can breathe fire

Jo Michelle

That literally happened in a kids book I read once.

Kabocha

reads chat

...So Conan is a Manakete, which explains why Dusk time seems so weird to him if their solar cycle is............ rapid

It's not that dusk is fast, it's that Conan is old

WAIT CONAN IS GRIMA

Respheal

You caught me

Jo Michelle

I need to see a Conan art with dragon fire or wings now.

Sarai

There was a story I read where dragons took human form and could only access their dragon form through a magic device passed down through their family

I'm not saying conan's pocketwatch lets him turn into a dragon but

Mahotou

Are these hypothetical dragons... daemons?

Respheal

They probably would be

Mahotou

xD more Conan Hybrid Theory

Sarai

But important to note, in that story only full-blooded dragons could transform

Half-dragons ended up with horns and tails and lizard-like ear flaps

RebelVampire

conan hasnt hit dragon puberty yet. din is in for a nasty surprise

Sarai

BUT since we're talking about Conan, I'm gonna say he's my favorite right now, in an answer to question 3

I'm in love with Pascal and the sun shines a little brighter every time I see him, but Conan is one of the few characters I can point to and say "hey, he thinks like me!"

Mahotou

#relatable

Sarai

We have a strikingly similar way of processing things and making decisions, and I don't see that a lot in fiction

Especially fantasy

Jo Michelle

Good job Res!

Sarai

That's why I couldnt get mad at him for the Pascal Incident™

Its exactly what I would have done

Jo Michelle

That's fair. .....

Kabocha

(guys I think the inside jokes are escaping)

Jo Michelle

which ones?

I mean, other than Shadowlord.

Felix is the worst

Kabocha

The SHADOWLORD CANNOT BE CONTAINED

hybrid theory

conan is secretly going to end the world... etc

................... Carry on

Jo Michelle

Okay, I see your point.

RebelVampire

oh man if were basing fave character on who we relate to the most, idk who to pick

maybe lucie for me cause shes the character who is just back at home not getting involved with all the adventures

Respheal

yet

Mahotou

what's lucy going to do when she finds her best bud is missing? for two/three dark hours(edited)

Kabocha

Rebel, how do you handle spoiler tags in archives?

Jo Michelle

Well, that would be Checkers.

RebelVampire

they are visible as plain text

Respheal

I'm okay with that being visible, I'm half saying it out of humor xD

RebelVampire

cause there just isnt a good way to do them in regards to tumblr's setup

@Mahotou im gonna repeat a thing i said on the server for in regards to what lucie will do: just assume he went and pulled a felix and get herself a new boyfriend

Mahotou

OH NO

xD

looking at the questions, I don't know who's my fav as a character. but I like Pascal as a person c:

sweet boy cant catch a break

that's like his description too or something

Respheal

It is xD

Mahotou

too good for this world. cant catch a break

xD

oh and for question 4. What if! Conan got kidnapped by the Cymaria Court and he gets a WHOLE OTHER view of this situation? they try to convince him of their side away from Din.

Mahotou

I think i got this idea from Fire Emblem. Birthright/Conquest

two sides of one situation O: dun dun dunnnnn

Jo Michelle

Ooohhhh

That would be a twist.

Mahotou

# NOW who's the bad guy? Conan technically has limited information but he DOES have experience with the magic and obligation on magicians. and the weird amulet

but what if truths are twisted? Who should he side with O: dun dun dunnnnn

... he'd prolly wanna go home to his Lucie and forget this lol(edited)

RebelVampire

semi off topic, but arcein. arcein is the bad guy.

if they talk like a villain, smile like a villain, and do creepy vague shit like villains, theyre probably a villain

Mahotou

/subvert expectations OH LETS MAKE HER THE GOOD GUY XD

300 year old spirit thing with creepy grin in an amulet. was trapped like a Genie when she tried to do a good but it did a bad/

Wish we knew more about her in canon. She could be a fav character O:

Kabocha

gotta wonder how many people in galebound are actually good guys

and Din's just the one who wants to burn the world

Sarai

conan is a goode boye

and so is pascal

he tried to be mean once boy nearly put himself into an angst coma

enshogirl

The Good: Artemis (#1 good), Pascal, Conan The Bad: Din, Felix, Altiria and The Ugly: Arcein, King Cymaria

Respheal

Altiria as bad? xD

RebelVampire

i mean

i dont think you can say altiria is good either

Respheal

I guess for the most part I consider daemons to be neutral(edited)

RebelVampire

thats fair although from a story perspective she has attempted murder of conan on her book

Respheal

Truuuuuue

enshogirl

I don’t trust her

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. How do you think Pascal will adjust to being both deaf and cut off from magic? How will he wind up helping or hurting Din and Conan? Ultimately, do you think Pascal’s life will be better or worse for what happened?

Kabocha

For question 5... http://www.galebound.com/comics/2449333/064/ THIS PANEL Holy shit Res really pulled off magic with this one!! I just love the energy and the sense of Din's sheer power here. In retrospect, you have to wonder if it was amplified because he was really following two commands at once? As far as Pascal goes... I think Pascal's honestly going to adjust. He's adaptable, and strikes me as the type of person who takes life as it comes. So this sort of outcome might actually be a bit freeing in some respects... ...Although in the meantime, I'm sure there'll be lots of worrying about what he's good for, what'll happen to him, and such... He's no longer useful to anyone as a magician, really.

(That is to say, I'm looking forward to Pascal fostering kittens. That's clearly what he's got to do with his life after this!!)

MJ Massey

I feel like Pascal has strong strangling hands

Jo Michelle

I CAN'T choose a page! Or an illustration. But it would definitely be one of those in the end of chap 5 ... ALL THE FEELS THERE.

MJ Massey

so he's going to become a pro strangler

Jo Michelle

Although I'm kinda super partial to the illustration that's going up for today It's so heartbreaking and pretty, okay?!?

Actually, I think Pascal is going to go through a quarter life crisis, buy a muscle carstrong horse and take off on a road trip across the Dusk to "find himself."(edited)

Freedom, baby!

Jo Michelle

But I'm kinda in love with Din's half lit expression from this page: http://www.galebound.com/comics/2771099/147/(edited)

Respheal

Quarter life crisis

Jo Michelle

I mean, he's not quite at a quarter life, but..... he's getting there?

And I LOVE the body language in this one: http://www.galebound.com/comics/2780569/150/

Especially Len. My new favorite side character. The adult this problem child needs.

Kabocha

As far as head canons are concerned... All we know at the moment is she was SHOCKED that Din did what he did.

Jo Michelle

Oh, you know I can build an entire life history from a face shot and three paragraphs about Felix. I've got way more about Len here.

Kabocha

https://tenor.com/view/tea-shade-goth-halloween-gif-4637758

RebelVampire

5) For favorite illustration, I gotta go with Pascal gets his butt beat #1 http://www.galebound.com/comics/2369956/040/ The lighting on this is really great. Plus I really like the slanted angle it has going on. I think there's something about that choice that really makes you empathize with Conan. Cause much like the angle is expressing something is kind of not right in terms of the balance of the world, this is the first time extreme magic is at play. So it really puts you in Conan's shoes where you're like "Is this happening my life is a lie" 6) Deaf I think he'll go with easily cause I think for Pascal that one will be easier to roll with the punches for. Magic? That sounds harder if you've basically relied on it for most of your life. Cause at that point I'd think it'd be an instinctual thing that's gonna hurt when you try to fire blast someone but forget you cant actually do that anymore. Pascal's life will probably be better. He can chameleon into the crowd now and party all the parties. As for helping or hurting Din and Conan, I feel like hurt might be more likely. Just cause Pascal is kind of a distraction for Din. Cause Din was doing okay but everytime Pascal showed up he had to change his plans. Which I guess is me saying Pascal is Din's bad luck charm.

Jo Michelle

Oh, yeah, that's a GREAT moment. It's actually one of those that came to mind.

Respheal

I'm still really happy with Conan's expression on that page

Jo Michelle

Oh yeah. "Shi--" just hit the fan there.

RebelVampire

i think everyone's faces looks there. one of the few pages where im like "Din isn't that bad a dude" O_O

RebelVampire

overall i like any page that's a double spread for illustration. cause while mobile design is the way to go, it means theres less and less double spreads going on. so when i see them i squee

Respheal

I enjoy doing those pages, too xD Ironically they tend to be faster to make since they're just 1-2 panels, so I try to go more all out with it >:D

Mahotou

5. Favorite illustration? well i have one that got me rolling back into doing art after a huge time away from it. break-my-heart its pascal's face here (second to last panel) : http://www.galebound.com/comics/2592094/101/(edited)

my fave pics are very emotional i think

Sarai

that page also features Din angrily buttoning his waistcoat as he tries to glare his brother into silence XD

Mahotou

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2639011/115/ oh and o boy this one. the whole page.

RebelVampire

i counter your sadness with hilarious pascal http://www.galebound.com/comics/2484303/072-5/

Sarai

that one is great

Mahotou

6. How do you think Pascal will adjust to being both deaf and cut off from magic? I think, not being a Magician will be ok for Pascal. He may enjoy using magic or be good at it but he can only use it when commanded so I don't believe he'll feel totally lost without it. And maybe he can be sneaky and Queen Cymaria will attempt to command him because he's supposed to be a Court Magician but then he'd be liek nahh and she'd be surprised and TeamGrump can get the upperhand. O: but also now he has to have the amulet always with him too. He has to always be touching it or else he'll start dying again so i kinda feel like this physical object may be troublesome. (but i'm sure he'll be a smart cookie and thing of something to keep it in place.) How will he wind up helping or hurting Din and Conan? hmmm. well he's MORE of a free spirit now, as he's outside the Obligation. and he's always been a ninja (good climber --> (roof boy: http://www.galebound.com/comics/2358585/032/) so he can be helpful by going on errands. but heeeee wouldn't notice if he was being noisy... so he's losing stealth points. Deafness... he'll probably miss his hearing but I think he's a talented learner and will come up with hand signals between himself and friends/Din and also practice lip reading. @Rebel: He can chameleon into the crowd now and party all the parties. but he cant hear the music at the parties now D: i've just made myself really sad.... Ultimately, do you think Pascal’s life will be better or worse for what happened? Better because he won't have the Obligation around. ... or... or worse because he now has to have this amulet so now instead of the Obligation being a part of his life, he now has to care about this amulet for liek... the rest of his life. and he has be careful to always be touching it in some way. Maybe that's ok tho. and life will be fine and the brothers will just take care of each other.

woops that was a loaded #6.

i think i rambled but i won't edit this xD

keii4ii

@enshogirl 's listing of Artemis as #1 good does make me think, though (and I agree with the sentiment )

I like Artemis a lot, almost weirdly so, and I'm starting to see why

This is a story where you can't trust anyone -- I mean Pascal may be a good boy, but you might not be entirely safe around him. So having someone you can trust is meaningful, even if that someone isn't a human X'D

and that says a lot about the story truly being a web of schemes!

Jo Michelle

It's totally true. You really can't totally trust Magicians.....

But then, they can't even trust their own brains and motivations....

Respheal

That's a good point, @keii4ii I wish I enjoyed drawing Artemis more, because she is important to Conan as a character. She's the lodestar of stability and sanity for him in this quest into the unknown

......what are those reacts lol

I feel like you read that as me being like "it'd be a shame if something happened to her :3c"

Jo Michelle

Oh, no, I was thinking about Conan.

Respheal

Oh hahaha

Jo Michelle

How a horse is the only person he can find stability and relational safety in.

Kabocha

@Respheal don't you dare take that horse's boy away from her

Mahotou

XD Club "Keep Artemis Safe"

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. What do you think Din’s ultimate plans are? Is it killing Felix or is there a bigger story to his ambitions? How does killing the Queen of Cymaria even factor into them? What even motivated his plans in the first place?

Jo Michelle

Character interaction dynamics. Hum. I mean, we've only really seen Din, Con, Pasc, and Alty. But, I've got to say, I really like the Din/Alty dynamics. They know things about Din, and the way they tell him what's what is good.

And the Din/Pasc. The way they care about each other as brothers, but also bicker about stuff. That's fun.

Basically, I think I really like character interactions that draw out Din's emotions and force him to say and do things that reveal what's going on inside.

. Speaking of. Din's plans. I mean, he's out to kill Felix for sure. That 16YO Din wasn't acting. That was seething rage there. But I think his end game is to bring down the system somehow.

But I don't know enough about it to really say how he might be going about that.

MJ Massey

Din and Pascal have an interesting dynamic I want to see more of, both in flashbacks and in the present day

like how did Pascal get involved in everything and trying to kill Conan? Are he and Din on good terms or no?

Sarai

Pascal with anyone quite fankly

Considering the characters that have been introduced, his nature of pure sunshine conflicts so hard with everyone we've seen him talk to

But he just.....keeps on going

Respheal

Pascal's fun to write interactions with because he's good at keeping people just a little off balance--he talks fast, hops between topics, and just his overall sunshine demeanor bewilders xD I like to think Conan and Din play off each other well.....in, uh, better circumstances, maybe.

RebelVampire

7) I'm gonna go with Alty and Conan. I like how their interactions always really emphasis Alty is basically just on Alty's side. Cause they arent remorseful for trying to kill Conan, and even imply a bit they can still drown Conan at anytime. Yet at the same time Alty is also the person willing to warn Conan that Din is basically a dumbass. So whenever they interact theres always this uneasiness. I think a lot may be a change in the power dynamic cause even if Conan can command Din, theres only so much you can do to stop the ocean. 8) Din's plans are basically Step 1- Kill Felix Step 2 - ??? Step 3-Profit. Which is my way of saying i think calling what Din's "plans" plans is misleading. Rather, I think he has goals and just vague ideas of how to get to those goals. Like a kid with a treasure map who is finding the X but forgot to bring a shovel or backpack to carry back the treasure. I agree that Din probably wants to bring balance to the system. But I also think in his crazed mind he thinks that killing Felix is the way its gonna happen. I think Din gives Felix waaaaay too much credit. Although, honestly, I can't figure why he needs to kill the Queen. Like certainly this frees him from needing to be a court magician there. But unless theres a secret command from them that says "nah bro don't kill felix" i dont see how overthrowing a monarch works in Din's favor at all.

Mahotou

7.

@jo: And the Din/Pasc. The way they care about each other as brothers, but also bicker about stuff. That's fun.

Basically, I think I really like character inte

ractions that draw out Din's emotions and force him to say and do things that reveal what's going on inside. yasss 8. Din seems like a focus one track person. He wants to kill Felix. and he's still trying to reach that even tho Cymaria has him doing other magician errands first. But sounds like he almost got the command he wanted: "Bring me the head of Evenheim's heir" http://www.galebound.com/comics/2764870/145/ but he found Conan before Felix? maybe he thinks he can work with conan to convince/trick conan into giving him commands he wants.

Kabocha

7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you? Din and Conan, honestly. I got friggin BAMBOOZLED when I started reading this. I was like, "hey they're staying in an inn, some shenanigans are gonna ensue!" AND THEN NOPE, MURDER ATTEMPT. So, what I thought was gonna be a fantasy buddy comedy turned out to be very much not that. And I kind of look forward to seeing how Din and Conan progress from snarky strangers to friends... Assuming Din doesn't get killed first.

8. What do you think Din’s ultimate plans are? Is it killing Felix or is there a bigger story to his ambitions? How does killing the Queen of Cymaria even factor into them? What even motivated his plans in the first place?

Din has a plan? Ever since Conan figured out he was able to command Din, it's kinda gone to shit, so... I think Din's ultimate plan was probably to kill the Cymarian nobility AND to kill Felix. http://www.galebound.com/comics/2332038/022/ Although I guess Conan didn't tell Din to tell him the truth, so... Din's a very angry man, probably motivated by the inherent injustice in the obligation. I think if he could have anything in life right now, it would be that he could be a normal person. He got the slightest taste of normalcy as a child, and... Well. :\

anyway I just need to say @Respheal how dare you bring us in thinking comedy and break us all like this so far

Respheal

>:D

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. Who or what is the Arcein that Conan saw? Why do you think she seemed to know Felix, and how did Arcein’s Ignorance come to be? Also, what do you think Myosotis is, and why does Arcein want it?

Jo Michelle

Q. 9: Res's foreshadowing is really great. Little details that you only notice on reread. And snatches of dialogue or character actions that suddenly are WAY different when you know what's really going on.

RebelVampire

9) The careful choices in wording because command phrases are super OP. Like I would super hate writing a main cast who are a nobleman and a magician cause one ill choice of dialogue and poof, there goes continuity. So the fact its done so well is nice. 10) I'm assuming the Arcein we saw was basically a Horcrux. I assume by the nature of being mythical, Arcein is connected to the Gale in ways we don't understand. And the Gale is like big brother and is watching everyone, especially Felix. Idk what Myosotis is, but I'm sure Arcein wants it to destroy all nobleman or something like that. If Arcein isn't the pure evil one in this comic, I will eat my hat.

Respheal

But she was so helpful in saving Pascal~ :'3

RebelVampire

for now

unless pascal is locked away in a tower guarded 24/7 but the most elite soldiers, i will never believe Pascal is completely and truly safe in that world

Jo Michelle

But that's not safety. that's isolation, which isn't safe or healthy for any human.

There is no "complete and true safety." Life is risk.

RebelVampire

well put artemis in the tower too

then they can be alone together

and safe

also i said safe, i wasnt necessarily aiming for healthy there O_O

Jo Michelle

But unhealthy isn't safe.

And humans need more relationships in our lives than just one other creature.

And relationship always brings risk.

Respheal

also the alleged horcrux is strapped to his neck

Jo Michelle

I mean, there's risk.... and then there's..... risk.

that dang price

RebelVampire

i feel like you just insulted artemis by called her a risk as a relationship

secretly artemis had like 10 sugar daddy horses back home and spent all their money

conan is also her sugar daddy

literally cause he probably gives her sugar cubes

also see, to deal with arcein you just gotta cut the tower off from the gale. make a huge bubble area of ignorance

Mahotou

9) I totally understand why Res insisted on using full color. those auras need to be noticeable and different from each other. And its really niceeeee. I love the use of double-spreads because to me it feels like the stretching of a moment aka time slows down and you can just take in the scene. <3 Also the "scene in the amulet" is really creepy and spooky and what does it all mean!? /o\ after all this time, i feel we should expect foreshadowing in almost everything. xD 10) Arcein isssss 300 years old according to Pascal so the amulet is.... HAUNTED [or Rebel's Horcrux theory]. Maybe Felix had the amulet before and maybe they spoke together/concocted a plan together. Or maybe they disagreed? I have NO idea what Myosotis is in her context. Googling it, its a forget-me-not sooooo i guess she wants to be remembered? big shrug she seems dangerous. just look at her grin.(edited)

Respheal

nyahahahaha >:D

There is a whole lot of foreshadowing, and I appreciate what Jo said about "details you only notice on reread" xD Because a lot of the foreshadowing, I'm aiming it to be like it was staring us in the face the whole tiiiiiiiiiiiiiime

Jo Michelle

That's the best kind.

Other than the Horcrux thing, I have about zero formed ideas or theories on Arcein myself. That's a whole giant ominous question mark in my mind.

Mahotou

And also the amulet is called Arcein's Ignorance. I believe it was named for how it disconnects an Obligated from The Gale (and thus be Ignorant of the commands) but... Was Arcein Ignorant about something too? I wouldn't put it past Res for double meanings. Did Arcein do something Ignorant by making this amulet?

Kabocha

People are ignorant of Arcein, therefore her price of "Forget-Me-Not" is... to make her known? Remembered? avenged?

Sarai

((Forget-me-nots also mean true love, so make of that what you will))

Jo Michelle

What if the amulet was made by a Magician and a Noble who loved each other, and wanted a way to have a relationship that was free from Obligations?

Kabocha

oh That... that could have happened in this world...

Mahotou

i like that sound O:

Sarai

As far as what the "price" is, maybe Arcien's broken the seal that's locked away conan's memories?

Not so that they'll come back all at once, but she's triggered a sort of chain reaction so that very soon, he's gonna start remembering things

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. Where has Felix been for most of Conan’s life? Why do you think he left Conan, and will Conan and Din actually be able to find him? Assuming they do find him, what do you think would even happen?

Sarai

Before I leave for vacation: 11. Worldbuilding is definitely one of Galebound's strengths. The decision to make this a tidally locked planet (and actually develop how that would impact and affect all facets of life) was a really good one, and it really adds a unique flavor to the story. From the color pallete of the outdoor scenes to the inclusion of the dark hour to the plot, it was enough to catch my eye and make me want to know more my first time reading. -bows to Res-

Respheal

:'D

will Conan and Din actually be able to find him

It's also a question of if half of that set even wants to find him

Jo Michelle

Con: he's my dad and I don't care. Din: He's my No. 1 target.

Kabocha

Galebound's strengths... Well, the sheer growth it's had from its start. Both in art and storytelling... While I know the story was prepping for its first WHAM moment, the art really caught up with it in a way that helped amplify that imo. Res has improved an incredible amount in a comparatively short amount of time

...I'm absolutely terrified to see how much the art will grow in 5 years, especially as the story intensifies. I get the feelin' a storm's brewing... And it's not the Gale.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. What aspect of the Obligation system in the story do you find the most interesting? What about it specifically interests you? Alternatively, what horrible implications are you hoping to see or not see regarding it?

RebelVampire

11) I think the strengths lie in the question and answer formula. While there are a lot of comics out there, in my experience not all of them offer good material for theorizing. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but can make for dull convos when talking about the comic elsewhere. Meanwhile, Galebound has tons of questions, tons of info spread out in various places, etc. So you get to get out the magnifying glass and look around for the answer. 12) I sincerely believe Felix left for Conan's own good to help him with something. Not that I think Felix is altruistically out to save the world or anything for sure, but I do think Felix would want to save his son. As for whether Conan and Din finding, honestly, I think it's more likely Felix will find them first XD We've established Din isn't great at the plans so Din is gonna bump into Felix when he least expects it. And be like "I'm in my underwear right now I'm not even ready for this."

keii4ii

13/14 I'm looking forward to meeting that one character SPOILER who is both a Noble and a magician, aka Person Doomed To Juggle Chainsaws For Life END SPOILER

RebelVampire

13) I am looking forward to people reading the next chapter so the galebound fandom collective can gasp in the same way that patrons get to gasp. 14) my favorite aspect of the obligation system is just the fact that it plays on language and contains loopholes. so you can constantly find new ways to use and abuse it based on how something is worded or how far you push the system. cause that gives it a good balance of being powerful but still being bounded by consistent rules.

Respheal

Oh yeah, the next chapter's gonna be all sorts of fun xD(edited)

Kabocha

The obligation system is certainly easily manipulated for anyone who might be looking For loopholes. Din is dangerous because he was taught to think >:D

RebelVampire

"Din is dangerous" is a complete sentence.

Kabocha

FAIR.

For every time Din subverts an obligation's expectations, he also manages to hurt someone he cares about.

RebelVampire

good job, din. this is why everyone loves you.

Jo Michelle

Mostly to himself and to people who care about him, I think.(edited)

Kabocha

Today I learned: Everyone in Din's life is a masochist(edited)

Respheal

For putting up with him?

Kabocha

Yeeeeeeeep.

Respheal

I almost feel like I need to come to his defense now

I certainly don't condone his actions, but......boy needs an adult

And by adult I mean therapist

Kabocha

He won't get better if nobody gives him good consequences

At the very least, the Ocean could have been like, "Oh hey, KNOCK IT OFF" and smacked him

RebelVampire

tbf even with good consequences theres no gurantee.

Kabocha

Fair! I mean, let's imagine the Galebound discord is right, and Lenora (the King's Magician) had a chance to try to set Din right. ...if he's still after his goal of revenge after some grade-A mom-ish intervention, he's not gonna be easily deterred.

And now I'm imagining Din... "My name is Dinigo Montoya... You killed my father. Prepare to die." (Only we can't be sure if Din's father died at Felix's hands....)

RebelVampire

these are excellent points.

to change din, i think he needs to wake up many days in a row and find out his entire life is a lie

Respheal

He lies to everyone else, but doesn't realize he lies to himself, too

Kabocha

I wonder how many lies we'll discover he's told himself over the years.

It's gonna suck! Din had all these good things he threw away in pursuit of revenge... He really can't figure out how to appreciate the things in front of him until they're taken from him.

RebelVampire

the biggest lie he told himself was that his name was din. really he was felix all along

Respheal

That's some next level self-hatred there

Kabocha

Oh no... So, if Din is Felix...

Respheal

I'm assuming he's also actually ten years older

Kabocha

.... ... That makes him ineligible to be the Shadowlord, sadly...

Respheal

Because otherwise.....eek

Oh?

Kabocha

Felix is the creator of the Shadowlord.

Not the Shadowlord itself.

Sarai

13) What am I looking forward to? The answer to all of these questions really XD

There's so much we don't know, and I'm really looking forward to snapping up all the information about the plot and its mysteries as it trickles in

also clawing the tragic backstories out of everyone's cold dead hands

Mahotou

13) I saw a list of character names and chapter names. I"m excited to meet EVERYONE. Get to fall in love with some and get to violently LOATH some. some sweet sweet hatred on fictional character. I agree with Rebel: Meanwhile, Galebound has tons of questions, tons of info spread out in various places, etc. So you get to get out the magnifying glass and look around for the answer. Sweet mind games and investigation. THERES SO MUCH DEPTH I CAN SWIM IN THIS LORE FOREVER. xD

14) Aspects of the Obligation system? Din's sweet mindbending/word-twisting comprehension ability of commands he received. How far can it go? How far DID it go in his loophole finding ability? But also, what can they achieve together? Conan and Din. If they can work together then there's SO MUCH possibility!

Respheal

Hehehehe I've got all the chapter names (and a lot of the character names) in the wiki :3c They are subject to change until they're actually written (I've already merged a couple chapters together), but I like having those up as sort of a teaser(edited)

As with many things, I didn't really realize I was setting up sort of a question/answer format until I got some momentum going, but I really enjoy how that's worked out xD

Mahotou

(They tease me hard)

Respheal

I am looking for a gif to use as my answer to 13 xD But no such luck

So meh I'll just go with chapters: Ch 6, Ch 14, Ch 18 Those have some of the major turning points I'm most looking forward to :3c

And for question 14.....probably one of the more interesting things, from my perspective, is how the system came into being in the first place

-runs back into the spoiler cave-

Mahotou

LORE/ORIGIN STORY

:partypascal:

Sarai

14) the thing I like about the system is how simple it seems, yet how absolutely bone-chillingly horrible it is when you give it a little thought

It really is a wolf in sheep's clothing

Sarai

Like, when it was first introduced my first thought was "wow this is really constricting and an awful lot of angst over a magic system that can't be used that much"

But those implications hit you like a narrative 2 by 4

Respheal

If I manage to get the book published, that's the sorta quote I want on the dust jacket

RebelVampire

Actually I change my answer

I'm most looking forward to Felix

so we can learn hes not awful

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Galebound this week! Please also give a special thank you to Respheal for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Galebound, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

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[suilinbride]

Yay D&D character readings! I'd love a reading for my tiefling warlock, Morgan! They are currently about to fight some drow way underneath a mountain. They are 17 years old, freshly dropped out of university for the arcane arts, and are already too into adventuring for their own good. Any advice for Morgan? Thanks!

@helloallec @helloallec 

I know right? I’ve been getting into it a lot lately. Both from reading how other people do it, as well as doing it for some of my own characters that require more insight to flesh out their overall character. I’d like to see more examples of such a practice and so I’ll probably end up looking for any other blogs on here that do the same or at least something similar enough here soon.

Oh cool, both a Tiefling and a Warlock eh? You can never go wrong with either a Tiefling or a Warlock, or both as the case seems to be here with Morgan. Then again I’ll fully admit to being biased towards both Tieflings and Warlocks, with Tieflings being one of my favorite races, while Warlocks are one of my favorite classes. Though I wish they would go ahead and give us more options to choose from when it comes to the Warlock’s Eldritch Invocations in 5th Edition. Or at least update and revamp some of the other Invocations from previous editions to give us more options to choose from and play with.

Anyway, I digress! On to your reading!

Actually, before I get to Morgan’s reading proper, I have to ask one quick question: What are Morgan’s proper pronouns? I ask this question simply because I remember reading a little bit about Morgan  from what you have listed about them on your characters page, and I remember you listing them as Gender Queer. Am I correct? Well, for the sake of this reading, I’m going to use they and them pronouns to be on the safe side. Well, when I feel like a pronoun outside of the ones that are a part of the word you are needed anyway.  Please correct me if I’m wrong on Morgan’s gender. And please also correct me if Morgan uses diffrent pronouns than they and them.

Now, finally onto Morgan’s reading!

For Morgan, I ended up pulling the card Two of Vessels: Attraction.

The best advice I can give to Morgan right now in regards to this card is thus: Be careful Morgan. Be careful that your adventuring doesn’t get you into too much trouble or get you totally over your head. Do not allow the attraction, the beauty, and the desire for adventure, for danger, and for excitement to cloud your mind, entrance your senses and take you over completely.

Also, be careful when dealing with the Drow. Don’t allow their alluring beauty to entice you and cause you to let down your guard. Yes, the Drow are an alluring lot. Yes, they are an interesting lot. But they are also a cruel and crafty lot that will pull you in, use you for all that you are worth, and dispose of what remains of you afterwards once they are done.

Ultimately I get the sense that there’s something there or is coming up soon, maybe even the Drow themselves, especially the Drow themselves, that could potentially attract or even enthrall Morgan so that they could be easy pickings or prey for whatever is coming their way. Just be careful Morgan. It will most likely save you your life.

[scarletrebel]

⭐star⭐ waffle at me about your favourite lines youve written

ohhh friend you have opened a pandoras box and i hope you are ready also thank you aha

so i started…….. picking some lines and made the Executive Decision to just do one fic because i was planning on doing a couple from a handful of fics but turns out im far too prone to waffling about this kind of stuff because i love picking things apart and figuring out why they work because i love fuckign words and the things they evoke and stuff so yeah this is just some fave lines from most recent fic, requital. 

this was part of a ‘directors cut’ writer thing and if anyone has any more prompts, feel more than free to send them my way! 

Requital, Chp. 1: 

His honesty, wrapped tightly underneath a chivalrous act; a throwaway comment to soften the exposure of such a question, draws her closer.

She kisses him, and hopes that even though the motion is countless in the amount of times they’ve come together, that the answer is plain enough. A claim, she hears her own words in her head, tasting the tobacco of his morning cigarette on her tongue, the warmth of the pull at his hands on her hips.

so whilst i cant say this section was directly inspired by the ecdysis book, what i can say is that there is definitely some influence going on here, in particular these two lines from the page ‘synesthesia’:

“Wu Ming is a bonfire in the darkness, and she crawls toward his warmth.”

“Wu Ming leaves his questions by the wayside as he is drawn inexorably into the gravity well of her desperate honesty.” 

and thats not something i realised until i was writing the final draft, and im pretty pleased with myself considering not only is requital going to examine some of the similarities between avia and drifter, but also the fact that ecdysis is probably my favourite book. i mean…… ‘drawn inexorably into the gravity well of her desperate honesty’ what the FUCK KIND OF LINE its gorgeous i cant deal with it or this book or this page or how desperately gorgeous the tragedy of drifter and orins relationship is 

also…… look. im a hopeless romantic. always have been, probs always will be, so when i say avia and rook are soulmates i mean it in the cheesiest way possible. right before this is rook feeling a bit self-conscious about the whole awoken engaging thing, and theres no way avia can actually put into words how irrevocably in love she is with rook. so she kisses him, and hopes beyond hope that she can put those feelings into motions if not words. i also enjoy the small bit of possessiveness that came out of her too, because the whole ‘claim’ thing with the awoken was there since the first draft but this section came in the final edit, she thinks of it so casually but when she goes on to say that she’d actually duel anyone who came between them i…….. would not put it past her to be 100% down to do that. 

rook isnt a bonfire in the darkness, he’s an anchor in the deep, a solid tether when the sea becomes a storm. 

(ayyy where the FUCK WAS THAT WHEN I WAS WRITING THIS) 

Requital Chp. 2:

Here’s the thing, if you’ve gone through the trouble of decrypting this (a fortified certain-eyes-only encryption that took me a couple of hundred years to perfect, thank you very much), it at least means you’re interested, so hear me out.

i like this line a lot, for a few reasons. drifter knows avia well enough at this point to be well acquainted with her temper and lack of time for dealing with his nonsense. it’s the first flick of the coin between the two of them, drifter laying the proverbial gauntlet down and at the end of the day, its up to her whether or not she picks it up. 

and she does, avia asks levi to decrypt it, and the first thing she sees is drifter acknowledging that shes done so and asking her to at least hear him out. he’s kind of caught her out, and she can respect that even if thats not at the forefront of her mind. avia also has her own brand of curiosity when it comes to people like the drifter, so this is kind of the first inkling of that. and it also (i hope) makes you wonder if drifter is aware of that curiosity that she has, if he sent the message decrypted on purpose to get her interested. 

She smiles at the note, throws her legs over the bed and stretches around a yawn. Five minutes later, Levi puts her in her armour.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stick around?” The Ghost asks. “We don’t have anything urgent to do. There’s breakfast here.”

Avia hums, considering. She moves into the kitchen, glances over the fridge, the cupboards. She looks then onto the sofa, the sprawled pillows, untidy blankets. Suddenly the armour on her body feels heavy, out of place, like the metal has no right being somewhere like this.

“No. I’m not hungry, let’s go.”

“Okay,” Levi says in that tone of voice that lets her know they aren’t buying it. “Should we walk, or transmat?”

Avia notices the balcony door is still open. She walks over and closes it, the streets barely alive as one or two civilians walk to and fro, glancing idly at each other as they pass. “Transmat.”

avia immediately makes an comment about being all domestic with rook in chapter 1. its just not something that suits her in her own mind, and that line (even though i havent waffled about it bc dear god theres too much here already) was something i immediately knew i wanted if i was going to write a day of domestic bliss with her and her fiance, because i knew it’d be a hard thing for her to just get on with like a normal person aha. 

so, we get this part in chapter 2. the domestic bliss is over, and what avia knows best, what shes always known best, is a set of armour and getting back to work. however this part of herself contradicts that which she’s experienced for the past day, and especially the line ‘Suddenly the armour on her body feels heavy, out of place, like the metal has no right being somewhere like this.’ i put in to really reinforce that idea. its not the metal that feels out of place in this scene, its the person in the metal. and her eagerness to transmat straight to the tower rather than walk through the peaceful city streets shows her tendency to run from such thoughts.

this part came really naturally, actually. its a small snapshot into a bigger struggle avia has with herself (especially given the dreaming city, the reef, petra and now potentially going back to the worst part of the shore with drifter) of where she belongs, and more importantly, if she deserves to belong. which is why levi talks to her in that tone because they know what shes doing, theyve seen it so many times before – avia in a scenario that resembles something normal and running from it with no one around to stop her, because in her subconscious she doesnt believe she deserves it. 

“Ada-1, I believe, has fully settled into the Tower. She becomes more and more tolerable of the Guardians by the day. And with the discovery of Niobe labs, her mood has been favourable.”

i had no idea how fun scarlet was to write until i got to this part. she almost has her own language, really. writing ‘im really proud of ada because i spent all morning with her and she was only snippy with like two guardians and shes been really uplifted and im really happy for her since they found niobe labs’ in scarlets own ‘okay but heres the relevant information’ way of explaining things is a challenge but FUN. like, really fun?? 

because scarlet wouldnt be mentioning adas mood if she didnt care, ya know? and its not that she cant say that longer thing about being proud and stuff, its just that she doesnt see the sense in it and its not important information. like, if avia and eden were to spend a dedicated amount of time whittling her down she would absolutely say ‘i am so proud of ada and also i wanna smooch her face how do i do that as an exo’ but its just not a thing for her. but part of the reason why ada and scarlet being together was an idea that i had was because i imagine that line of thinking probably suits ada. 

“It was at Ada’s request. I had more knowledge of the area in its current state, and felt more comfortable talking to Ikora and her Hidden agents than Ada did…”

supportive exo girlfriends. that is all. man ive gotta write more about these two

“Hmm,” Ada wears a concerned stare masked behind a formal rigidity that Avia knows her Warlock teammate best for.

if im being honest, i just really enjoy this line. i imagine its hard for exos to show concern, esp a character like ada and my girl scarlet, so avia has spent a lot of time dissecting certain facial cues and yeah im proud of how this description came out aha

…as if she hadn’t spent the past few months clipping sidelong comments and threatening him when his Gambit veered out of the realm of her control.

avia is a control freak. plain and simple, and i wanted to make that as obvious as possible considering this sentence is only a few away from avia choosing to go and talk to drifter. 

there’s a certain amount of ‘i need to understand this thing that i have limited knowledge on so i can predict/control/plan for it in the future’ in how avia views drifter in general, its a kind-of warlock way of thinking about things but the big difference is avias need for control in these situations is a) selfish and b) only applies to things that she knows she has a good chance of understanding/taming. shes not going around learning about the hive because she has a good understanding that thats a cosmic threat that can only be defended against until it comes. drifter on the other hand is on her doorstep.

i also really loved the contradiction in putting ‘gambit’ and ‘control’ next to each other in a sentence, i kinda hoped it showed how conflicted avia is about going and talking to drifter, and maybe even how naive it is of her to think that it could turn out okay. 

She was incensed, maybe, at the way he spoke to Ada, needed to go and stomp the idea out of his head but he got her talking, like he does

i like this line bc its avia acknowledging that she knows how shes viewed. she knows everyone sees her as a hot-head, she knows her anger veers away from her sometimes and whilst she’s gotten better at getting a handle on it, it’s still an aspect of her that people who dont know her well enough find it hard to get past. 

i also enjoy how new people to this fic/avia in general might not know that this is a big part of her? so she’s trying to use it as an excuse, ‘well no one can blame me if i say i got really mad because thats what i do’ and it (hopefully) tells new people about that aspect of her character without having to show the worst part of it, the convo with ada being an introduction to it i guess – especially since the past few scenes have seen her a lot softer than im used to writing aha. 

“Dammit,” she mutters under her breath. And walks towards the Drifter before she can make a better decision

fun fact – this line was originally ‘and walks down the corridor before she can make a better decision.’ 

i changed it because i wanted to make it more obvious that avia is making a conscious decision to choose drifter, that she’s walking towards a path that she knows is not a good idea. it provides foreshadowing for the allegiance quest and referring to him as ‘The Drifter’ cements it as an idea that she’s walking towards and not necessarily a person. 

[keepthekettleon]

Tag Game

Rules: answer the questions and tag some blogs you would like to know better

Tagged by: @peaceandcows 

1. nickname: Jay 2. gender: non-binary 3. star sign: Aquarius/Pisces (tbh, it’s a matter of hours or minutes whether I’m one or the other)  4. height: 163 cm (please, don’t as me what’s that in imperial) 5. time: 0:00 6. birthday: February 19th 7. favorite bands: The Script, The Fray 8. favorite solo artists: That changes so fast. At the moment? Kina Grannis, Plumb, Secondhand Serenade, Hannah Trigwell. All time favourites: Kelly Clarkson, Adele, Demi Lovato 9. song stuck in my head: Say Your Name - Plumb / Without You - for King & Country

10. last movie I watched: probably something Marvel related 11. last show I watched: Shadowhunters 2x20

12. when did I create my blog: this one, about a year ago, active since 2 months ago. My first blog ever here? About 5 years back 13. what do I post: Mostly Malec content, some original edits 14. last thing I googled: how to add png overlays on a gif in GIMP 15. do you have any other blogs: 4 others (old 1D blog [shame on me], depression blog, lyric art blog, Supernatural blog) 16. do you get asks: never, sadly. I’d really love some asks about my current WIP 17. why did you choose your url: Because I’m struggling to choose a name. Jael, Jay, etc... what truly fits me? I still don’t know. This blog was supposed to be me figuring out my gender.... then it got taken over by Malec. 18. following: 221 19. followers: 68 (yep, young blog problems...) 20. average hours of sleep: 9 (just because I constantly oversleep 21. lucky number: 13 22. instruments: guitar, piano, recorder 23. what am I wearing: red pants, grey hoodie

24. dream job: media designer/photographer/actor 25. dream trip: Biennale di Venezia (I’m going this year! whohoooo!!!) 26. favorite food: Fajitas 27. nationality: Austrian/Italian 28. favorite song right now: Without Me by Kina Grannis (I had a Malec Headcanon to that song, yes I admit it)

im tagging: @my-nameless-bliss, @softshumjr @high-warlock-mb, @lightbanes, @broodingalec

[zippdementia]

Part 71 Alignment May Vary: Into the Aether

Having left Hell behind, the players are about to embark on a journey through the planes, though as envisioned by me, the planes are actual planets and their vessel an actual spaceship. My plan is to take them through the four main elemental planes: air, water, fire, and earth, with some space opera adventures in between before we make it back to Toril, Faerun, and the finale of our three year level 2-20 campaign (probably four year by the time we actually finish).

Air is first on the list. For inspiration on each planet, I’m using the Manual of the Planes from 3rd edition and the brief bit about each plane that’s included in the DM’s guide for 5e. For air, I’ve envisioned the planet as a giant vortex of open air and atmosphere, filled with clouds and floating islands, frozen floasting caves made of air particulates, spires that rise from nowhere, and endless voids of currents and maelstroms. Civilization is mostly spread out and disparate, but there is one great conglomeration of cities that orbit the largest city of all, the fortress-city of the Citadel of Ice and Steel.

This citadel is a constructed thing, made of magic steel and ice that is cool to the touch but harder than stone. The Citadel of Ice and Steel consists of level upon level of gardens, courts, and labyrinths. It is a palace without stairs, and visitors who can’t fly get genie guides to escort them through the citadel. Smaller citadels orbit the Citadel of Ice and Steel, each the home of a trusted adviser or powerful lesser caliphs. At the heart of the citadel is said to be a prison cell for the grand caliph’s greatest enemy.

And somewhere on this planet is the Crystal of Air, which the players need in order to power their ship to move onto the next destination, for the crystals of Hell take them only so far as fuel.

This is a really nice break session: we have no combats, few dice rolls, and we get a chance to roleplay for about three hours as the players first move through interactions on board the space ship and then into interactions down on the planet of Air, known as Maseckael (Ma-Sec-kay-ale), where it turns out Star is originally from.

The interactions on the space ship are led by the player interests. We have a nice banter with the restored Fiona, who teases Aldric when he implies he’d like to try sleeping with her:

“You were the stupid one, right, who didn’t know what space was?” “No, I’m pretty sure I was the one you were madly in love with.” “Oh... Carrick! It’s so good to see you again! I didn’t recognize you” *sad facepalm*

Fiona also tells them, when they ask what went wrong with the spaceship in the first place, that her memory banks were erased but that there was a fourth living person on the ship. They don’t know how this is possible or what this means, and Imoaza becomes suspicious that maybe someone among the Hell’s Rebels was on their ship and sabotaged it. She decides to get a listing of all the crew from Captain Krisp. She asks Fiona to keep trying to repair her memory.

Some other fun things happen here. Hilariously, it turns out that Aldric got one of his goblin paramours pregnant and she is going to have quadruplets in a very short time (Goblin gestation period... I tell ya). He gives her possible names for them (Rodrick, Adam, Kyle, Bobbie, Sasha, Baily, Rebecca, Charlotte) and also she becomes his first recruit for his rebuilding of the Green Company, which Aldric is trying to promote. The promotion... doesn’t go the way he hopes. Captain Krisp doesn’t want to be involved in the Company (”too many captains of one ship, you know? And everyone would end up choosing me anyway.”) but he has no problem with Aldric recruiting for it, as long as it isn’t a front for a union. He even helps out with posters: the shirtless Krisp pointing a finger out at the viewer, with big bold letters: GO GREEN. No one really knows what it means, but Aldric’s goblin lady friend starts putting it around that it’s for the Green Company, a band of mercenaries that she and her children are going to give their lives for. Also, to be initiated, you have to have sex with Aldric (not true, but she misunderstands the circumstances). We all have a good laugh over this, but I really do intend it as well to be a solid downtime activity for Aldric, as his actions and rolls will determine over the course of this adventure whether his efforts to rebuild the company are successful or not.

We also try (and fail) to come up with a good name for the Surveyor’s ship. Imoaza favors The Dominion, but it seems a little domineering for the others (something Imoaza is like, “yeah, and your point is?” about). Carrick reaches inside his memories and says it was once named the Monument, but that doesn’t stick either. Puck finds the whole thing hilarious and suggests “Broken Dreams” as the name of the ship, which everyone ignores.

During this conversation, Imoaza asks Krisp if he ever met a woman named Karina in her travels, recalling that the tortured Bronze Dragon they met in the Yuant Ti temple had desired to give her a message. Krisp gets a distant look in his eyes and says it does ring a bell, but the details of his past life are hazy now, leaving him only with his old desires, not the reasons for them. He suddenly recalls the name of his old ship, the Mankey Bastard, but can’t remember how he died (”Probably saving this Karina from hordes of enemies! I leap into combat, two rapiers in my hands and a dagger in my teeth, thrusting and stabbing dozens of enemies apart before they finally bring me down, my last view of Karina making it safely to the longboat!”) He briefly suggests naming the ship the Swanky Bastard, but then determines it should really be the companions naming it as they, after all, are the reason everyone is making it off of Hell.

The rod of storms comes up when Aldric asks Otto the Warlock about it. Otto examines it and realizes it is tied now to Aldric’s lifeforce, wrapped around his soul in a way it’s not supposed to be, the result of Aldric forcing the weapon to work for him in the Demon’s Belly. Otto offers to help teach him to use it, or to help him break free of it, but he says breaking free does carry a risk of ripping Aldric’s soul asunder (he uses a minor illusion spell to illustrate hooks ripping the flesh off of Aldric’s body as a visual aid).

Carrick also has an interesting an unexpected encounter, after rolling a perfect 100 on a percentile die while looking for fellow paladins: he runs into Ramon, the young Paladin he killed during his evil days.

Time out: I’m actually not sure how much I’ve talked about Carrick’s past on these blogs? Carrick once was a corrupted Paladin who sought power for power’s sake and began to dominate and destroy villages and towns. One day, a young paladin (Ramon) hunted him down, believing as youth sometimes do, that they are destined for great things and are indestructible besides. Ramon found out the hard way that he could not kill Carrick when Carrick used his powerful dark spear to impale him and murder him. Yet in a way, Ramon did win the fight: After murdering the youth, Carrick was struck with sorrow and regret and this prompted him to put away his spear for good (though he still carries it) and to turn to a path of redemption. His meeting with Ramon now is a powerful character moment, as the two share a drink and Ramon absolves Carrick of his guilt, telling him that he was shocked he, Ramon the brave, ended up in Hell after his deeds and it made him question whether he had truly followed the will of the god of light in pursuing Carrick’s death. “Maybe the reason the god is shown with his sword always sheathed is not because we are meant to be that sword,” he ponders, “but because the god does not believe in drawing it. Perhaps true justice is not found in the blade, but in the heart.”

He tells Carrick he hopes they can fight alongside each other now, instead of against each other and ends by telling him that he recognizes that Carrick ultimately chose mercy even when fighting him, dealing him a blow that killed quickly, instead of slowly and painfully. That’s too much for Carrick: he breaks down into sobs, a conflicting wave of emotions pouring through him. Of regret for the man he was; of sorrow for the boy he killed; of relief at finding him again; grateful for the men they have both become.

As a break from all this sadness, one other ridiculous thing happens. Fiona bakes cookies and the group discovers an unknown flaw of Imoaza’s: she has a MASSIVE sugar addiction. Like, she gets high from sugar. We roll for all of this, which is part of the reason it is so unexpected and hilarious. Aldric eats cookies with her, though a little cautiously when he sees the way she attacks them (her favorite turn out to be these chocolate shortbread cookies with white chocolate swirls and candy baked into them). We also roll to see how many cookies she snags before she leaves the ship for the planet of air: it turns out to be around two dozen. I decree that each cookie heals her a hitpoint. But only for Imoaza.

Several people decide to accompany the players down to the Air Planet: Alyss goes, as does Star (who knows this world). Puck flits along as well, riding on Carrick’s shoulder. Jacobs (recovered from his mental injuries in the City of Ghosts) flies them down to the Citadel of Ice and Steel and they land in an atmosphere of unease and prophecy: a great storm is said to be building, greater than anything the planet has ever seen. Indeed, dark clouds have been forming around the companions ever since their arrival and they begin to suspect it has something to do with the Rod of Storms.

Star is very nervous being back home. When asked why, she tells them she belonged to a crime syndicate here, the Whispering Way. If anyone can help them locate the air crystal, it would be them, but Star isn’t sure how happy they would be to see her. After all, she tells them, it was the syndicate which murdered her the first time around. When Carrick asks her what kind of crime the syndicate specializes in, Star tells him “accidents.” She explains that killing is not allowed in the Citadel of Ice and Steel on pain of death (or worse) so accidental deaths, or at least deaths that LOOK like accidents, become a bit of a commodity and a source of power and wealth for those who have the skill to arrange such things.

While wandering one of the Citadel’s many bazaars, they are greeted by a familiar face: Immerstal the Red, who says he appeared here after spending an indeterminate amount of time in his pocket dimension brothel after the Battle of Brindol and he and Aldric’s last rambunctious night together. He had to destroy the dimension in order to escape and has rebuilt a brothel here in the Citadel instead. He is extremely pleased to see Carrick and Aldric, both of whom he knew from Brindol, but has no idea how much time has passed since he left Faerun behind (albeit, accidentally). His manner changes when he sees the Rod of Storms: “Why would you bring that here? Here of all places, its power is going to be immense!”

But before the players can respond, they are approached by less friendly individuals: a group of pale blue Genasi, genie born half breeds, approach and demand they come with them. Star tells the companions that they shouldn’t fight, reminding them that killing is not allowed in the Citadel of Steel and Ice.

Alyss says she’ll wait at the brothel with Immerstal, and so the others accompany the Genasi to their leader, Lakosa, the head of the Whispering Wind crime syndicate.

Lakosa is a Genasi as well: her ears are pierced in multiple places and she has eyes of pure blue and shards of crystal growing from her bald head. The players are brought to a grand structure surrounded by beautiful pools and gardens, wherein Lakosa resides. Her fortress is draped with greenery: vines and ivy cover most of the surfaces and trees sprout at odd, but obviously deliberate, angles from the fortresses’ spires and battlements.

Inside, much is made of silver, crystal, and glass. Lakosa herself greets the companions from an ornate couch, where she lounges, her sleek blue body blending in with the azure cushions. Carrick looks around appreciatively. Imoaza is, as usual, unimpressed. Aldric smiles brightly at Lakosa, liking what he sees. Puck yawns. Star is extremely uncomfortable.

“You look great, for two hundred,” she tells Lakosa.

“Oh girl,” Lakosa purrs. “You’ve been dead longer than that. I’m nearly two hundred and fifty now.” 

“And yet you still remember.” 

“When you’re my age, time goes a lot faster. Doesn’t seem that long since you were last here. Definitely not long enough to forget.” “

Long enough to forgive?” “

Maybe. Depends.”

Aldric actually takes the lead here, rolling well on charisma for his interactions with Lakosa (despite the dampening influence of the Rod of Storms) and winning from her favorable words and flirtations. She remains calm and in control of the situation throughout the conversation, asking what the players need and considering their answer when they tell her of their quest for the crystal. While they talk, she drifts about her chamber, graceful and smooth in her movements as if she floats upon a cloud. She drinks from a pale yellow bottle a liquid the color of sunset and eats strange berries from a crystal bowl. When Aldric tries one, he finds it to taste oddly of milk and to make his lips tingle.

Here, too, we get Star’s back story. She was a famed air racer and ace flyer who dreamed of escaping off world with her lover, Feserania, in her own spaceship. One hundred years ago, she accepted a bribe to throw a race, costing the Whispering Wind and Lakosa (who sponsored her) a ton of money. She was going to use the bribe to buy a ship and get off world with Feserania, but before she could, she was caught by the Genasi and her ship was given bad coordinates: directed into a maelstrom. She managed to eject Feserania before they hit the storm. The last thing she saw was Feserania screaming and reaching for her before the maelstrom ripped her ship and Star apart.

She asks Lakosa what happened to Feserania. “Dead,” Lakosa tells her. “The fey born live a long time, girl. But not as long as that. Not when they have a broken heart.”

Lakosa tells Star that it turns out Star has returned at a fortuitous time.  There is a race coming up and Lakosa needs a ringer. The champion of the races is named Heatstroke (“a gauche name,” Lakosa says. “That’s funny,” Carrick answers, “Coming from a group that calls themselves the whispering wind”). He’s unbeatable and probably under some kind of service to the Cloud Giant who runs the race. Whether a slave or a well paid racer, he has dominated the races and is making it hard for anyone else to make money off the races. 

“Win this race for me, and I’ll give you a cut of the earnings and help you with whatever you need.” 

Star muses, “if I’m going to race, I’m going to need a bird.” The races, back in Star’s day, were always held on large bird-like creatures called Aether Craws, great big feathered birds shaped a little like long horses, with huge necks and four mighty talons. Lakos tells her, though, that the rules have changed: now people can enter on machines or using magic. But she believes there is still no match for a well ridden Aether Craw. Technology is known to glitch out in the environments the racers pass through and the Aether Craw are fast, maneuverable, and vicious... all good qualities to have in the race.

“But my old Craw, Lone Star, has to be long dead,” Star says. “Where am I going to get a bird and train it so quickly?” 

“He is dead. But his brood is alive. They roost on the Vortexian Spires, above where the endless waterfalls form from the mists. You’ll have to claim one from the nest in a show of strength. It’s the only way it will respect you enough to let you fly.”

The group knows now what they must do. They depart the Palace of Mists, Lakosa’s fortress, and plan their next move. Star muses, telling the group that Feserania had her own bird that she was raising from an egg. “It had a withered wing, which meant any sensible breeder would have killed it. A mercy, really. It could never compete. But for Feserania, well, that was the very thing that made her pick it! She was raising it to care for it, not to use it. She believed it could still live on its own in the wild someday. I think she thought the same of me.” Star reminisces silently for a moment. After Star died, she kept praying she would see Feserania in hell. “I guess, though, that’s why I was there. Anyone who would hope their lover would go to hell just so they could see them again. It’s a selfish thing. I’m glad she’s somewhere better.”

Carrick tries to comfort her, but cannot find the words. Star smiles sadly and the subject is dropped.

That’s as far as we get this session! Next time, we go to the Vortexian Spires to try and tame an Aether Craw and then we’ll have ourselves a sky race.

[ciathyzareposts]

Game 348: Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny

              Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny

Germany

Released in Germany as Das Schwarze Auge: Die Schicksalsklinge

attic Entertainment Software (developer); Fantasy Productions (German publisher); Sir-Tech (U.S. Publisher)

Released 1992 for DOS, 1993 for Amiga

Date Started: 13 November 2019

               Where Britain and France mostly created their own styles of RPGs, and largely failed at it, German developers found more success analyzing and modifying the mechanics of the most popular U.S. releases. In the few years after Germany’s RPG industry really got started in 1988, we saw games inspired by Ultima (Nippon, Die Dunkle Dimension), The Bard’s Tale (Legend of Faerghail, Antares, Spirit of Adventure), Alternate Reality (Fate: Gates of Dawn), Dungeon Master (Dungeons of Avalon), and Demon’s Winter (Sandor). Each of these games introduced its own innovations, to be sure; there are plenty of times, as in Fate and any of the Bard’s Tale-inspired games, when the German adaptation exceeded the original.            

Starting out in Arkania. The screen is nearly identical to Might and Magic III, although none of the gameplay is.

            Realms of Arkania strikes me as the apex of this process of adaptation, drawing not from just one source (like most of the German titles) or two sources (as Faerghail did with both The Bard’s Tale and Phantasie) but rather at least four. Building on the engine previously used in Spirit of Adventure (1991), attic has combined the basic exploration of The Bard’s Tale with the main screen arrangement of Might and Magic III, the inventory interface of Dungeon Master (or perhaps, more directly, Eye of the Beholder), and a combat system inspired by the Gold Box while looking more graphically advanced.          

The inventory interface recalls SSI’s Eye of the Beholder.

          Arkania is a licensed adaptation of the best-selling German tabletop RPG Das Schwarze Auge (“The Dark Eye,” although I always have to remind myself that it’s not “The Dark Age”). It started as a relatively obvious adaptation of Dungeons and Dragons (the developer, Schmidt Spiel & Freizeit, had first tried to get a license to publish D&D in German), but it got more innovative as the editions moved forward. In particular, I find that the inclusion of “negative traits” (introduced in the third edition) creates more memorable characters.

Arkania followed the by-now common 1990s tradition of telling one backstory in the game manual and another one–complementary but usually not identical–in the animated opening scenes. The opening is set in Thorwal, an ancient free settlement “populated with indomitable warriors and seafarers, rich in treasures from innumerable forays.” Thorwal is surrounded by plains in which orc tribes roam freely and occasionally semi-organize into a threatening confederacy. This is currently the case, with a “great chief” gathering orcs on the steppes, planning “the utter conquest of Thorwal.”           

Evocative graphics introduce the setting.

         Somehow this threat is going to involve a certain captain named Hetman Hyggelik who lived a couple centuries ago. He made a fortune pillaging the “hated slave trader towns of the south.” After a particularly successful expedition, he had a magic sword forged in the Cyclops Islands, then took it with him into the orcish lands, where he and his band were slaughtered. I suspect that his sword is the titular Blade of Destiny, and that it will be needed to fend off the invasion.            

If it was just left sticking out of a dirt mound, someone’s probably taken it by now.

          Either way, very little background is given regarding the party. Your group of six simply arrives in Thorwal seeking fortune and glory.              

Character creation offers some good graphics for each of the classes.

          Character creation is complex enough to tie in knots even an experienced CRPG player. There are 12 classes, which the system calls “archetypes”: jester, hunter, warrior, rogue, Thorwalian, dwarf, warlock, druid, magician, green elf, ice elf, and sylvan elf. (Female versions have slightly different names in the manual, even when spectacularly unnecessary, as in “she-jester,” “she-rogue,” “dwarvess,” and “magicienne.”) Among them are five different magic systems. There are seven positive attributes (courage, wisdom, charisma, dexterity, agility, intuition) rolled on a scale of 8 to 13, seven negative attributes (superstition, acrophobia, claustrophobia, avarice, necrophobia, curiosity, and violent temper) rolled on a scale of 2 to 7.            

Allocating numbers to attributes as they’re rolled.

           There are 52 skills, arranged into seven categories: combat, body, social, lore, craftsmanship, nature, and intuition. I have been jaded by a long string of Paragon games into suspecting that a lot of them will turn out to be useless. My money is on “Dance” and “Carouse,” but I’m also suspicious of “Self Control,” “Streetwise,” “Human Nature,” and “Tactics.” “Ancient Tongues” sounds like a skill that will come in handy exactly once, but on that one occasion it will be pivotal.             

Selecting skills to increase during character creation.

             When creating a character, you can choose the class you want, but if you do, you only get the minimum attributes necessary for that class. The other method, which generally results in higher attributes, is to let the game roll the numbers and you allocate them to the attributes as they arrive. You could get unlucky and end up with worse than minimum statistics, but you can always start over. One positive of the character creation process is that you can take its steps in any order. You can wait until you see what kind of character you have before assigning name and sex, or you can start with those answers and then take whatever you roll.        After spending far too long studying the materials, I went with:              

Female Thorwalian

Male dwarf

Male druid

Female green elf

Female magicienne

Male ice elf

              My analysis was that if Realms is like similar fantasy games, spells will be more important than physical skills, and this configuration gives me the most spell options. I lack only the warlock/witch. I thought they had the smallest selection of spells, many of them sounding more like solutions to puzzles than typical RPG magic (“Witch’s Eye,” “Heal Animal,” “Camouflage,” “Fire’s Bane”). It may turn out that I’ll miss the position for just this reason.               

Choosing my green elf’s starting spell skills.

            My primary angst is over the first two characters. I felt that for role-playing reasons, I ought to have a Thorwalian given the setting. I felt that the second character would need to be more of a rogue, but I didn’t want to leave the party too weak in physical combat, as a rogue would be, and dwarves seem a bit like warrior/rogues. I’m happy to take recommendations, though, since I haven’t gone very far into the game.           

The city of Thorwal.

         Gameplay begins at the Temple of Travia in Thorwal. In Arkania, it is at temples rather than inns where you can manage your party members. Thorwal is a 16 x 32 map with ocean to the south and west and rivers and ponds taking up some of the inner space. The buildings create irregular patterns in a way that goes back to the original Bard’s Tale. Also adapted from that game is a tradition by which nearly every square of building can be entered, although many are houses occupied by offended Thorwalians who immediately tell you to leave. Sometimes, the residents give you a hint. Sometimes, the houses are locked and you have the option to break in.            

This manual conditioned me to expect something else when I encountered a “Thorwalian.”

          There are numerous taverns, inns, inn/tavern combinations, armories, banks, supply shops, temples, and healers. (I bought some standard items like torches and rope at the supply shop.) These seem redundant, but each has its own unique name, and I suspect there will later be quests that require me to visit a particular location. I enjoy some of the location names, including the taverns “Drunken Emperor,” “Boisterous Welsher,” and “Red Morrow.” There’s also a temple called the “Temple of Tsa,” which in the game’s all-caps font makes it sound like it was founded by the one person who respects American airport security. The temples are all named after the names of their gods, which also seem to be the names of the setting’s months.         

I don’t know how well I’m going to sleep tonight.

               The taverns are quite odd. When you enter, you have options to order drinks or talk, but whatever you choose, events have a way of unfolding on their own. For instance, if you order drinks, you’ll probably end up with a clue anyway, but if you choose to just start talking, some bartender will say, “Aren’t you going to order anything?” Anyway, the “leave tavern” option seems to disappear a lot, so you get trapped in a loop of ordering round after round until your party members get drunk. (I guess this is governed by the “Carouse” statistic.) Also, if you have any talent in music, dancing, or acrobatics, you have options to engage in those activities for the amusement of the patrons, and thus have a little money thrown your way.            

I don’t want to know what kind of dancing Bramble was doing.

          There are no combats on the game map, which distinguishes Arkania from most of its predecessors, including Spirit of Adventure. There are occasional random encounters in the street, such as traveling merchants, beggars who ask for a ducat, and a weird repeating encounter where a “small fellow” dances around a “table containing a mass of floral arrangements” and then falls down dead.             

A random event. No, that is totally not “OK.”

             There are a number of unique buildings and oddities among the doorways on the map. These include:             

Three estates with multiple entrances, all blocked by guards who refuse entry. Two are called “otttaskins” and are owned by groups named the Stormriders and the Windrunners. I don’t know what “ottaskin” means; a Google search suggests the game may have invented it.

            Can you just tell me what it is?

            A large monolith at the end of the street that seems to have no entrance.

A post office called the “Beilunk Riders.” It was closed.

Two “embassies,” one from the “Central Empire,” one from the “New Empire,” both closed.

A couple of closed towers.

            Maybe this will become important later.

          A shipbuilder’s where you can have your own ship made for way more money than I have.

An academy of magic where you can purchase potions and get artifacts identified.

                  I thought this harbor scene was particularly well-drawn.

           There are four exits from the city, oddly placed. Only one is at an obvious point at the end of a road at the edge of the map. Two others are found in the harbor and a fourth in a random building in the northwest. Each exit seems to take you to a different option for moving forward on the overland map.               

Each exit takes you to the outdoor map, but to different destinations on it.

            As I mentioned, some of the random denizens offer a bit of intelligence when you open their doors. Everyone seems to be talking about the gathering orcs, and it’s rumored that they’ve sacked a city called Phexcaer, but we also heard a little about other people and locations in the town.

Unfortunately, Arkania seems to have dropped Spirit of Adventure‘s keyword-based dialogue for more traditional dialogue options, some of which are either poorly translated or deliberately nonsensical.            

Dialogue options allow us to insult the innkeeper for no reason.

             During one visit to a tavern, a guard entered to announce that Hetman Tronde Torbensson, ruler of the city, is looking for heroes to take on a dangerous quest. We found our way to the Hetman’s house at the west edge of town. There, Torbensson reiterated the danger posed by the orcs, united under a single chief, amassing in the Upper Bodir Valley.             

The party learns of the main quest.

             Noting that orcs are a superstitious lot, Torbensson suggested that their federation might collapse if a hero showed up wielding Hetman Hygellik’s lost sword, called Grimring. “It is said that the sword put the fear of the gods into the orcs and their shamans or whatever they call their religious leaders,” the Hetman recounted.

The sword is probably buried in Hygellik’s tomb, and the Hetman suggested we start by visiting Hygellik’s last surviving descendant, Isleif Olgardsson, in the city of Felsteyn. He gave us a writ allowing us to take a certain number of weapons from the city’s armory. I always like it when a game has an answer to the common and obvious objection of forcing characters to fund their own adventures when the fate of the world is at stake.             

The Hetman lays on the main quest. I love how my characters can say they have “just one question” when I have no idea what the question is.

            There is one dungeon–the lower levels of an old fortress–accessible from Thorwal. The captain of the guard (or something like that) asked us to investigate the lower levels because someone keeps stealing supplies stored on the upper levels.

              It took me a while to figure out how to light a torch. You can’t just “use” the torch, nor can you use the tinder box. You have to pick up the torch, then right click on the tinder box and “use” it. This is annoyingly undocumented. 

             Coming across a chest.

          Anyway, the first dungeon level had a couple of combats and one chest. I’ll write more about combats in the future, but for now suffice to say that it blends several systems. The screen uses the axonometric 45-degree rotation that feature heavily in British adventure games (Knightlore, Cadaver) and RPGs (HeroQuest, Legend) of the period. Characters move on discrete floor tiles, and action is turn-based, with the player selecting both movement and attack options from a menu. There’s an auto-combat option called “Computer Fight” that puts your players under computer control, with or without magic. Overall, it plays a lot like the Gold Box games, and a “Guard” command (the player stands still until an enemy comes in range, then gets a free attack) particularly points to a Gold Box origin.

           The combat interface.

          I would finally note that the game has a decent automap, with walls, corridors, and doors clearly annotated by color. This helps make up for the fact that it’s hard to see some doors when they’re to the party’s side rather than directly in front of you.

          The automap alerts me to a couple of doors that I missed on my first loop.

          Realms of Arkania is a thick game, meaning it has a lot of little elements that I may forget to talk about if they don’t play a big role in my experience. When starting, it offers basic and advanced modes of gameplay; the primary difference seems to be that the computer controls your skill and spell leveling (and character creation) in basic mode. I’ve been playing on “advanced.” Money is in gold ducats, silver crowns, and copper bits at a 1:10:10 ratio. At temples, you can donate and pray for miracles. There’s a food and drink system by which you “feed” characters by picking up items and clicking on their mouths. You can split the team into two or more groups. An adventurer’s log keeps track of major plot points. When camping, you assign various characters to guard duty for the hours of the day. Wounds, sickness, and poison can be treated with skills as well as spells. Armor and weapons degrade and must occasionally be repaired. You can pocket-pick shopkeepers. If I never mention any of these elements again, it means they weren’t really important.

I thought Spirit of Adventure had a lot of promise, so I’m going to remain optimistic about Realms even though the first few hours have covered a lot of well-trod ground.

Time so far: 5 hours

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/game-348-realms-of-arkania-blade-of-destiny-2/

[braindamageforbeginners]

Another Trip Around the Sun

Cycle 12 Day 6 (January 2)

I pen an annual, getting-old piece on a regular basis, but, realistically, this is the birthday I didn’t expect, Horribly, my life looks much like it did when I was 17, which, I suppose, is the point of this whole thing. I was 17 when I developed Tumor #1, and, not surprisingly in retrospect, that’s kind of where my life froze. In retrospect, that’s disappointing but hardly surprising - I’ve met cancer patients who take a year or more off to “discover themselves” (or, perhaps more accurately, discover who they are now that the costs can be accurately summarized). At the current rate, I’d need to sleep for a month before I could even attempt that.Herculean task. So, I usually just go straight back into the fray of my life, which, as I’ve discovered in the last year, is a mistake. The past year would normally count as an unmitigated disaster, not least because it signaled a really bad trend of tumors speeding up both in terms of lethality and formation - I had brain tumors at 17, 28, and 32. Based on that math, I’m overdue for the next one, which should be far worse.What? I hear you ask, “Could be worse than one of the - if not the deadliest - forms of cancer?” Well, that would seem to be the horrifying answer I’ve sent 12 months figuring out. I’ve sat next to people who literally didn’t have a face. I watched a woman sob in a parking lot - and, to my shame, did nothing (that incident was detailed in the archives). I had a stroke (or ministroke). I’ve probably shaved decades off my life via radiation exposure (I like to think that just makes me more-likely to become Godzilla). The guys at Toca are looking at immunotherapies. I absolutely do not want to face another brain tumor - again, I absolutely do not want that, and I do not want anyone reading this to face that - but it is feeling less like that’d be a final call, and more of another interruption. Which I think I should get a pass on, but, as I’ve learned this past year, the gulf between “deserve” and “receive” is vast, and usually requires a major organized religion to bridge.

So, even though I’m a year older, I’m in much better shape than I’ve been probably at any previous point, mostly due to my only new year’s resolution last year: 1. Get in better shape/go to the gym more often, and; 2. eat better. That worked out so much better than I’d expected, I’ve learned the importance of making resolutions out of things you’d be inclined to do, anyway. In that same spirit, I’m just going to 1. Get something like a real job (again, I’ve heard of some cancer survivors that spend years on that one, thanks to the delightful insurance issues that follow us around), and, 2. write more (ideally related to resolution #1, but I’ll use my powers for evil if the price is right).

Speaking of which, there seems to be massive demand for some one to address the question:

My physicians are offering to treat me, but if it only gets me 8 more months, should I take the treatment?

Yes. Goddammit, if there’s one thing I’ve learned that you should take away from it all, it’s that treatment options are not kept on the table indefinitely, and the milisecond they’re removed they do not come back, and the options get worse. I have been phenomenally lucky my whole life - or half of it, anyway - to get treated/diagnosed by the very best neurology/neurosurgery groups in the world. One thing that I wish I’d known a year ago is, untreated brain cancer - like all cancers - doesn’t just quietly sit on the sidelines until you hit your allotted threescore and ten (or 14 months) - it’ll be there with you, dogging you, slowing you down and making you feel it every step. And no one will force you to finish or continue treatment - I have two infusions left, if I don’t show up for them, I doubt anyone will ask; I’ll just lose my slot in the drug trial. Which, given almost a year of progression-free survival, I’d be a fool to lose, even though the side-effects are vicious. If treatment’s not working, they’ll actually yank you from it. However, that 14-month life expectancy is also based on decades in which physicians didn’t treat the disease as aggressively as they could. So, if you find a medical team willing to work with you toward an uncertain end, take that offer.

That seems to be the horrifying undertone you hear all too often in the world of terminal cancer. “Yes, we could treat it, but it would be a temporary fix.” These same people rarely like it when you point out that, based on market volatility, that retirement savings account isn’t worth the receipt it’s printed on. Yes, cancer patients - particularly terminal cancer patients - are just playing out the clock, but, realistically, that’s all any of us are doing. We just have to learn to operate in that headspace where uncertainty is a victory. If you think that’s a horrifying situation, well, you’re right, and, just wait until you become a parent (Author’s note: I am not a parent, nor could I with good conscience bring a child into the world with my genes)(assuming the chemo hasn’t already sterilized me). Yes, the very best I can hope for - and I am still somewhat hopeful; as Warlock Sr mentioned, you build on success, and each month/scan without a definite recurrence bodes better for the next scan. It’s a hard-sell, to be certain, so let’s put that in a slightly different context. Let’s say you accidentally won some local radio station’s call-in competition or something, and got an 8-14 month cottage rental in, say, Antigua. You may or may not take the time off, but no one would say, “Well, what’s 14 months in paradise going to do? We’ll have all the same problems at the end of it?” Same goes for cancer treatments - you’ll probably have a miserable time and die, but, since that’s now your all-weather, worst-case scenario, you might want to explore other options. Or not, it’s your life.

So, as mentioned, Priority #1 - assuming that scan in two weeks comes back clean - is to take a solid break from it all. By which I mean, sleep, eat, and exercise until body no longer feels like Trona. If you’re a regular reader, that might mean May... of 2024. If I awaken before then (and I know I’ve regularly threatened to go off and sleep for a few months)(it’ll happen sooner or later), well, then we get to discuss the hardest part of cancer: recovery.

I was a big fan of the travel/adventure genre, growing up, especially short-story anthologies (again, not a big surprise). At the end of each of these anthologies, the publisher usually had some paragraph-long insert about what happened to each writer, which, since they were usually contemporary writers, could be edited to, “And they got their terminal degree, or marriage, learned to sit still, and never wrote again.” My favorite - and my apologies for not running this down - was, “[Person X] was last seen in 1909. His friends who confirmed the sighting last saw him crossing the border to Mexico, three weeks before the revolution.” I love the ambiguity and potential of that - “He could’ve found the fabled Fountain of Youth and be alive today, he might’ve fallen off his horse ten minutes later and fatally smashed his head.” It’s a choose-your-own adventure with someone else’s life. I’m aware that cancer limits the options, but I’d still go for broke and play for as much time as I could. Today, it’s eight extra months, ten years from now, it’s a bonus decade. Admittedly, I can’t - and wouldn’t be interested in - making that choice for everyone, but, my message to both healthy and sick people is, if near-certain death is a major turn-off, you should consider turning back and crawling into bed. Life, death, and all points between, are not for the faint of heart.

[nerdarchy-blog]

It goes without saying, if you are going to have a channel called Nerdarchy part of that is going to be okay with being called a nerd. My longstanding character Rellion of fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons is kind of a nerd. His expertise, which he has three of, are History, Arcana and Investigation. Apart from being a book nerd he is also a D&D linguist. Sadly it never seems to work out for him as the Dungeon Master always is one step ahead of me. But looking into the languages for D&D it is really hard to get them all.

Learning all the D&D languages in neither a quick nor easy task for the budding D&D linguist.

Languages for D&D

First thing I am going to do is list the languages, where they are referenced and then afterward we can talk about how to use them.

Firstly are your standard languages. These are the languages for D&D that are going to be common around the player character races as well as the easiest to learn should you desire to do so: Common, Dwarvish, Elvish, Giant, Gnomish, Goblin, Halfling, and Orc.

Not listed in the language section but in the classes there are two secret languages that take some work to get if you are not in the right class. These are Thieves Cant and Druidic. These secret languages are fun and can be useful in establishing credibility in certain situations or getting into certain areas you might not be able to normally.

Next up are the exotic languages and you get just as many as the common: Abyssal, Celestial, Draconic, Deep Speech, Infernal, Primordial, Sylvan, and Undercommon. Most of these are either planar or special. Undercommon is spoken almost exclusively below the surface and Sylvan is spoken in the wilds and the Feywild.

So the easy part of my research was done. I only explored one book and already I was at 20 languages. Almost half a dozen over the 16 that Rellion has learned so far. Looks like he has a long way to go.

So intrepid adventures, what was next, I dove into the Monster Manual. I knew there had to be more monsters that spoke their own language. I was blown away by what I had found — it was a lot. There were 15 new options I think most player characters would not even consider: Aaracokra, Bullywug, Gith, Gnoll, Grell, Hook Horror, Modron, Otyugh, Sahaugin, Slaad, Sphinx, Thri-kreen, Troglodyte, Umber Hulk, and Yeti.  Some of these make a lot of sense to me and some I would as a DM say might be impossible for a normal humanoid to be able to properly speak. Understand, sure, but not speak. Things like Umber Hulk and Hook Horror would have too much clacking for a human mouth.

For the true D&D linguist

Now the research gets harder and the results fewer. For the remainder of this, currently all-inclusive list up to the point of Mordenkeinan’s Tome of Foes, this was what I was able to find. Some of these other languages would appear in multiple locations but I did not go in release order just whatever was within reach as I finished one book and went on to the next.

In the Unearthed Arcana – Centaurs and Minotaurs

Minotaur is a new language. Not sure we can count that as they get Abyssal in the Monster Manual.

More monster languages

Ice Toad – Tales from the Yawning Portal, Rise of Tiamat

Grung – Volo’s Guide to Monsters

Vegepygmy – Volo’s Guide to Monsters

Ixitxachitl – Out of the Abyss – I can’t pronounce the creature let alone speak their native tongue.

We also get a small handful of cultural options

Thayan – Tales from the Yawning Portal,

Olman – Tales from the Yawning Portal,

Primal – Tales from the Yawning Portal,

Netherese – Hoard of the Dragon Queen

If you count all of them and think that one character could learn them all that totals to 45. WOW!! I would not have guessed that. But now I see that my goal of learning them all is impossible. Oh well. Have fun with it anyway. So what does a player who has interest do? You are left with two simple options. If you go warlock, the Eyes of the Rune Keeper Eldritch Invocation allows you to read any writing regardless of language. Simple — 2nd level warlock where you get your first Eldritch Invocation you take this and you are good.

Another brilliant option is taking the feat Ritual Caster. You can take other useful spells with this but the most important is comprehend languages. So you have to have Intelligence 13 and choose wizard to make this work. But let’s face it, if you are considering going down this path you are probably making an intelligent character. The spell lets you read any writing you touch and understand any language you hear.

Neither of these options are perfect, because they do not allow you to talk back. For that you need the 3rd level spell tongues.

How to comprehend languages for D&D

Now that you have digested all of that stuff, how can you use languages properly in your game. If you have not done it personally, you probably know someone who has played the game without knowing Common and you have to figure out how to communicate. It is a challenge and it can be fun but it gets tedious after a while so be careful with it. But if you do it, it can be a blast for a session as the players at the table sign, write, draw, and make a fool of themselves trying to communicate with each other and NPCs.

Outside of this languages represent something to the people to speak it. All it takes is to do some travel and see how people treat you when you speak their native language or not. You can have valuable information able to be found out because the captors thought you did not now their language when this whole time you have been listening to them insulting you and planning what you were going to do as happened in Game of Thrones.

You can have cultural languages in your world. You might call Common the Trade Tongue or something to that extent. This would be a way for the humans of your world to be different and make their cultures stand apart. Then when you travel across the world and the player characters do not know what the natives are speaking they are met with challenges, or you get to reward the player who took that language for their character and highlight that choice.

There are so many ways to make what is a small section of this wondrous game special and unique. You could have a area with a puzzle that if a certain language is known they get a clue. You could have a book that can only be read if you truly know the language — magic does not work and they would have to spend time, energy, and gold to learn the language just to read the book.

I am sure I could go on for a while on this one but I think I have rambled enough.  How do you use languages for D&D in your game?

Until next time, stay nerdy!

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Curious what the proper greeting is in Ice Toad? Looking to banter in Hook Horror? #DnD linguists have a lot to learn to comprehend all the languages! It goes without saying, if you are going to have a channel called Nerdarchy part of that is going to be okay with being called a nerd.

[tranxendance]

Ah, my most supportive follower! It’s kinda shitty and unfinished and I’ll probably never do anything with it, but I keep thinking about it every couple of days when I have downtime.

The thing i've been brainstorming is a sort of ancient egyptian setting for D&D, because I've been watching Home Team History and have generally been interested in egyptology since forever. I'm much more knowledgeable about the norse pagan/heathen and judeochristian mythological roots for the majority of D&D's setting, but I think it could be interesting due to the immense mechanical and setting shift involved. Most of ancient Egyptian mythology is not recorded as tales (Unlike the Icelanders, who loved writing about EVERYTHING) and the presence of 'creatures' like the wealth of goblins, dragons, and Umber Hulks is trickier to come up with. Most magic, too is based around the extremely full pantheon of gods rather than being something human beings could do. This balancing act is where i'm coming up with the trickiest problems. I'm also basing this roughly on the New Kingdom era of ancient egypt, which was about 1000 BCE, in their bronze age.

Races: Tolkien wasn't around yet so elves, dwarves, halflings, and orcs are euro-centric and not suitable. But having just humans would be a tad boring, too. I'd probably go with various animal-people type hybrids, as you see several gods depicted as either literal animals, humans, or people with animal attributes. I can't simply lift stats from D&D for this purpose, either, but Jackal-people, Cow-people, Alligator-people, and Hawk-people would be important to include. +Dex, +Con, +Str, and +Wis stat bonuses, respectively, Scent, Low-Light vision, Darkvision, and a skill bonus to Perception seem good too. As for actual ethnic races, everybody should be dark skinned and haired, make this the one setting where there's no white-european analogues. Maybe a Nubian alternate-human type that's notably taller than everybody else.

Equipment: Almost all simple weapons seem okay. Modify 'Dart' to be a 'throwing stick' and change the damage type to bludgeoning, and remove light crossbows. Alternatively make Clubs throwable and say they're throwing sticks (20/60 range). For Martial weapons, probably only the shortsword or scimitar (Khopesh), Trident, Whip, Net and Longbow are suitable for the setting. Reflavor the Longbow to be a Compound bow, while the shortbow is more of a Self/Simple bow and you've got it. Ancient Egyptians fucking loved bows and it's clear at 1d8 damage they'd be up there as the most powerful weapons in this setting. Armor should be extremely limited. It's fucking HOT in the desert and most soldiers were unarmored and used only a shield. The only armor that should be available for Medium armor is Scale Mail. Chain and plate hadn't been invented yet, and I don't think Splint mail is a real thing at all. Hide and Padded armors are probably too heavy and hot to not die of heatstroke in the near-equatorial heat but if you think they should be available, I guess, why not. Instead of the 5th edition generic 'Shield' for +2 AC, I'd go back to the older style of Small, Large, and Tower shields. +2, +4 and 'Provides cover from your shield side' since shields were way more important in warfare. Since this makes martial classes and things that require weapons quite a lot weaker, maybe make everything -2 to-hit/attack rolls and say something about bronze being a softer metal, harder to cut through things with. If anyone points out that a club is still just wood, shush them as hard as you can. For adventuring equipment, probably no lanterns (Torches only!) and anything made of iron should be bronze or wood. Clay cooking pots, wooden shovels, that sort of thing. I also don't know if tallow soap and candles were a thing yet, or magnifying glasses and spyglasses, but i'm gonna say they are because it's not like it's a game mechanic annhilating thing.

Magic: Pretty much all magic is something that invokes a god in egyptian mythology, rather than something a human could do themselves. If you fancy all player characters being demigods, then everyone should have some innate magical ability like how Drow can just cast Darkness and Fairy Fire no matter what their actual class is. Scrolls and staves should exist. Wands, crystal balls not so much. Most spellcasters should be able to cast from scrolls, and there should be papyrus scrolls as well as stone and metal tablets (something like 5lb each instead of the near weightlessness of normal paper ones). Magic items should remain as is, as a lot of egyptians wore brooch/amulet type things to invoke an aspect of a god for themselves. Magic should probably be slower, more ritual based and sacrifice based than usual. Material Component should be on almost everything - Sacrifice 5lb of food items to cast Cure Moderate Wounds. Make a large and probably uncomfortable amount of the requirements sexual - the pharoah would masturbate into the nile river every year to get it 'pregnant' and ready to flood. Archetectural achievements could be used as spells - constructing huge mosaics but leaving off a few tiles so you can complete them to get their effect when you’re ready, that kind of thing. Cleric domains/gods are easy. There's about a zillion gods to choose from if you go to wikipedia's egyptian gods page and it lists roughly what their domains are.

Classes: I'm a bit hung up here. Probably Wizards and Sorcerers don't exist. Warlock and Paladin are iffy, too. With the restricted armor and weapons, casters like these are going to be a lot more powerful, anyway. If you lose the Celtic bent of the Druid, they fit in well enough, but they're just normal instead of deliberately anachronistic THE OLD WAYS types. Limit them to egyptian-flavored animals for wild shape if you're a cool guy (Use Wolf stats but it's a Jackal now, ta daaa!). Bards should absolutely exist: There is magic invoked by telling stories a certain way. Martial classes are a bit weakened by the restricted armor and weapon choices so they should get something to compensate for it, but i'm not sure what. Monk is now incredibly good because they have to sacrifice pretty much nothing in this setting.

Other rules: There shouldn't be any mounted combat. Riding into battle and dismounting, sure. Charioteering, absolutely. But not fighting from horse- or other animal-back. Maybe you have half-cover while riding in a chariot, and you need 2 people, a driver and a fighter, but you can carry a Cart's worth of arrows, javelins, spears, and a short sword or Khopesh in arm's reach? And if you fall prone for any reason you fall out of the chariot?

Culture and society: Farming should be the #1 most valued and respected career for lower class people. Even rich people still farm. Every city and town should have their own local cults for a god or two. Most people should worship several gods, praying to whatever is relevant to their current situation. Pharoahs are considered living gods, not even demigods, the whole thing. Clothing should be extremely light and revealing. Everybody wears a skirt and not much else. Maybe disguising yourself is a lot more difficult (disadvantage or -4 depending on Edition), especially as another sex. There are professional militaries, but most armies are conscripted, and being a soldier is not glamorized - only poor people with no trade skills became soldiers and mercenaries. Play up the tomb-robbers and traps aspects. Go nuts with the temples and tombs full of pitfalls, the ancient egyptians invented that shit. Bows and spears are considered the best weapons, but the Khopesh was gifted to humanity by the gods, so it's more of a ceremonial and symbolic weapon. Throwing sticks are also glamorized because one Pharoah loved hunting for birds with them. Don’t shy away from the slavery aspect: The egyptians enslaved everybody they could get their hands on.

That's what I've got so far, it should be enough to run a game with, but there is a lot more work that could be done to modifying the spell lists and requirements, making interesting Races, and polishing up the classes to suit and be balanced.

[sam77-worcester-blog]

Update - End of October

Few things to cover here.

Starting with an overview:

Working in Unity - we’ve started to learn some basic things with unity and how to program some functionalities. Things like health bars, editing buttons and other UI elements in general. Going to be working more on how to implement new things, and hopefully make a start on the UI for my game.

Game playtesting - as a task in one of the classes, we were given a game to play, mostly to form our opinions on it, as well as looking at the components of a game, what makes it enjoyable, and of course, look at the UI for ideas/inspiration.

Shaping a target audience - another task we were given involved creating “personas”, people we believe would be the target audience for the game we were playing. They were allocated ‘statistics’ almost, values like how much income they have, their hobbies and age, analytics of a target audience. 

Unity

Working in Unity using the text editor to program, we’ve been using the “Furball” from the assets store (https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/40588) as a base for a physics engine. This way we get to test using the screen space and manipulating the camera to see first-hand how the UI elements would be implemented, and how it would all work.

(Picture/furball does not belong to me - all credit goes to the creator on the unity Assets Store: https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/40588)

Playtesting

The game we playtested was “The Warlock of Firetop Mountain”, a recreation of a gamebook made by Steve Jackson. 

(All the following images taken from this article: https://www.pcworld.com/article/3113733/software/the-warlock-of-firetop-mountain-review-another-1980s-sword-and-board-adapted-for-the-modern-era.html)

Ingame Screenshot - prologue visuals

After playing through the game we got an idea of how it uses the original gamebook as reference, having excerpts from the book itself appear as a story progression system. We were given criteria to rate the game by, such as how enjoyable it is personally, does it have certain mechanics or user interface elements, can you customize your character, etc. The generic criteria turned out to be very useful as simple things like that, I realised, can be critical when making a game, or even just the UI as everything has to be clear and concise to the player when they’re playing the game - everything from menus to mechanics.

Ingame Screenshot - exploration outside combat

Here we get to see the in-game UI in play, the point and click decision making, the storytelling (again using the book excerpts) and the other important information, such as stats, settings and inventory. Some of the problems that were had with this game was the lack of information, there was no real way in game to see overall progress, where you are in the overarching story, no real depth to the items or upgrades and so on. The game felt very bland outside of combat, and in some cases even the combat felt quite one dimensional when it boiled down to one-vs-many fights, or boss fights in general. The lack of a dedicated save/load file system was also quite a detriment: throughout the game there are rest points, but once you close and re-open it, you would have to go through the game again. 

Ingame Screenshot - in combat display

Overall, the elements the game provides suit the “game book” style and the top down gameplay, however as a modern game, it’s lacking the staying power that other games of it’s type would have. It would be good for bringing back previous fans, but maybe not very good at introducing fans from other games of similar type.

Target Audience

The personas we created for this game were:

Daniel 

Late 20s, (27-28), in Full time employment

Enjoys top down, RPG and Choose Your Own Adventure games

Interested in Literature

Relatively steady income, around £20,000

Occasionally plays games in his free time after work 

Spends about 10-15 hours a week playing games

Lucy

Late teens, 19, has a Part Time job

Favors playing RPGs and First Person Action/Adventure games

Fantasy and Sci-Fi enthusiast

Earns less than £10,000

Enjoys playing games as a hobby between work and study

Spends about 18-20 hours a week playing games

William

35, not currently employed

Very big fan of Tabletop, RPGs and Dungeon Crawler games

Previously a Dungeons and Dragons game master

Interested in Sci-Fi and Fictional novels 

No real reliable income

Very involved in his games, has been a main hobby for years

Spends over 30+ hours a week playing games

After creating these personas we had to describe how the game would fit them as players. Due to the way the game is laid out, the most likely of the three to play The Warlock of Firetop Mountain would probably be William, due to his experience in different games of the same genre, he would most likely get used to the UI and layout of the game quickly. The problems of the not-so-modern UI and minimal information would likely not be too big of an issue.

The second most likely to play it would be Daniel, although he may not have time to sit down and dedicate a long play of the game, it would be suitable for the kind of games he’s used to and enjoys playing, maybe as a one off, or maybe a recurring thing. His experience with Choose Your Own Adventure games would mean he understands the choices of the game decisions before he even goes through with them, and the top down elements would be easy to familiarize himself with.

The least likely, yet still likely to play this would be Lucy, although she is into RPGs and an avid fan of games, the style of this game would probably differ too much from the games she’s into, such as the Elder Scrolls series, or games like The Last of Us, or titles from Telltale Games for example. There would most likely be interest for Lucy to play The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, if she was recommended by a friend or maybe picked it up on sale, but she would have to spend time getting used to the way the game is laid out, and the different choices you can make, and decisions you must make.

[comicteaparty]

June 15th-June 21st, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from June 15th, 2019 to June 21st, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

Describe your comic’s protagonist.  Why should we as an audience care about them and their goals?

Nutty (Court of Roses)

Technically I have five protagonists in Court of Roses http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/, but I can focus on the main one; Merlow is simply a wandering minstrel who, despite fighting some inner demons, just wants to bring laughter and song everywhere he goes. He is passionate and loves his line of work, and finds the beauty in all expressions in music, and, in turn, in life and in people. His friendly and sincere approach to everyone is what helps bring him and the other four main bards together. Without spoiling too much, once they begin to travel together, he'll be the unofficial leader and the glue between them all.

keii4ii

HoK is about heartbreaks that develop quietly, between people who do genuinely care about each other. The main example of such heartbreaks is feeling abandoned when you need their support more than ever. A lot of us have been through that, myself included. There are countless variations of that experience; the specific variations that I know firsthand, I've mixed them around and given to Ethan and Danbi. That's why their story speaks to my soul, the bruised part of it. And maybe it will speak to yours, too, for the same reasons.

deo101

Millennium's http://millennium.thecomicseries.com/ protagonist, Sage, is a kindhearted, southern farmer who has been thrown into a lot of bad situations he could never understand or prepare for, but always approaches with as much love as he can. I guess we root for him because we, too, want to see the best in things and have that kind of positivity work out.

Respheal

Conan of Galebound http://www.galebound.com/ is a pretty typical farmboy, except he just learned that he's a Hidden Backup Prince, that he has the power to command Magicians, that he's an assassination target, his kidnapper/protector is probably also an assassin, and the literal ocean called him "far worse"--whatever that means. He's had a rough couple of days. I like to think he's relatable and ultimately a good person. At first, his goal was just to get back home, but then he made a terrible mistake with his newly-discovered power. Immediately he takes responsibility for his actions, seeking to learn more about this power so he doesn't hurt anyone else and maybe even help against those using the same power for cruel reasons. Once he feels responsible for something, he tends to through his entire self into taking care of or fixing a problem--sometimes to the point of being a bit self-sacrificial about it. His overall arc, though, is really about following your heart, and recognizing what you really want to do versus what you're doing out of a sense of obligation--or sometimes discovering that your "obligations" and what you want are one and the same.

Desnik

My comic's protagonist (http://ask-a-warlock.tumblr.com/) is actually not the warlock...it's a small bird named Margo who is an animate drawing. She hops out of an illuminated manuscript one day and discovers the real world is very brutal and harsh. Through a series of buddy adventures with a knight, and demonic crime-solving with a cleric, Margo does eventually choose to be part of the real world, because she belongs with her friends...although she secretly desires to be human, as well(edited)

Desnik

argh, I put in the wrong askawarlock...haha, well, updated my urlwith dashes

Mharz

The Angel with Black Wings http://blackwings.mharz.com/ or Big Sis as what me and my readers call her at this point is a sweet and very caring towards people. She's like a motherly figure of some sort. (The one who will tuck you in bed and bake you loads of cookies) However she's heavily plagued by mental illness (feeling extreme guilt and blaming herself on anything bad that happens around her, thinking she doesn't deserve anything good in life, and inner voices that seems to be getting stronger as time passes.) Even tho she thinks she doesn't deserve it, deep down there is a tiny glimmer of hope that one day, she'd be forgiven. Altho her mental issues are amplified, I think most of us can relate to have felt guilt about something we did/didn't do and dwelled and ruminated on it for so long, having uncontrollable thoughts and inner voices that tells us that we are worthless, we are horrible people, everyone hates us and we don't deserve anything. I personally on that boat and slowly working on getting better. So I wrote my comics in the hope whoever reads my comics can make them feel better in some way and find that glimmer of hope. wheeze (edited)

MJ Massey

Emily (http://welcometoblackball.com/) is pretty much a passive doormat. She starts out just doing whatever her parents say and taking the path of least resistence until she feels she can't, that she has to take action to solve her sister's murder. But she has no patience for the shenanigans and games of others, always taking the most direct path she can. Some would say this makes her a concise person, but in her mind she's just doing what's easiest. She ends becoming more assertive and independent over time until she can finally make her own life choices with confidence. A good bit of her insecurities come from being very ill with measles a few years ago, and having to have her hair shaved off. It never grew back quite the same as it was, and her parents are a little more on her case because they want her to marry well in society.

kayotics

I think on paper, Toivo (https://ingress-comic.com/) sounds awful. He’s a wizard professor, single father, serial romantic, and unlucky in his adventures. He’s anxious and a little mean and obnoxious. He’s snarky and kind of an asshole and makes mistakes and doesn’t consider other people’s emotions, so he makes things hard for other people. He orchestrates most of the problems he has to solve. But i think that’s why he’s fun? He’s a good person at heart but he isn’t perfect and that’s the type of character I like to read about.

Desnik

@kayotics He seems like a genuinely fun character to read about. I like characters with flaws that seem to make sense with the story being told

kayotics

@Desnik I like to think he is! One of my favorite comic series is Ranma 1/2, and I think that series fundamentally taught me that you can have characters who are objectively not great people and still likable.

MJ Massey

I've enjoyed reading his misadventures so far. I think that since he usually learns some sort of lesson from his misadventures it makes him really endearing to balance out his flaws

NeilKapit

Lamar Anderson, the current focus of We Are The Wyrecats (http://wyrecats.com/) is a superhero of unyielding principle, to the point of self-destructive fanaticism. He’s a mute genius with cerebral palsy, who has difficulty walking without his hero armor. The Wyrecats were the first and only time he felt like he had friends, and K.A. was his first crush (reciprocated, though neither of them acted on it). When she was put in a coma and the team disbanded, he basically started a one man war against the US government that secretly initiated the plot (long story). Five years later, with K.A. waking up, he’s been questioning his approach, which involved stockpiling weapons and hiring mercenaries to wage guerilla war upon his country’s intelligence agencies. Since K.A.’s hardly in the best mental health at the moment, Lamar’s trying to do his best by her to make a world she’d want to live in.

snuffysam

Mizuki Sato is the protagonist of Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R (http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/). She's a small woman from a small farm town, going on adventures through a strange world. Mizuki's main draw is that she's entertaining to watch. She constantly back-sasses & annoys the people she encounters on her journey (to be fair, some of those people are Taci Ramino) - and when action happens, Mizuki is ahead of the game, out-strategizing her enemies and pushing past her own limits. She may be a bit reckless with her own health, but to her it's worth it if she's helping other people in any way. Mizuki's main goal in life is to find love - someone she could get married to someday, specifically. But... that often doesn't work out for her. Every time Mizuki falls for someone, she loses them to someone else - or worse, she ends up in a short-lived relationship filled with endless put-downs. The people Mizuki encounters in her daily life enjoy the fact that she's around. They like the way she entertains them, the way she helps them out, the way she... makes them happy. But, at least from Mizuki's perspective, nobody she meets actually loves her in any meaningful way. anyway funney muscle lady shoot rainbow lasers woo

AntiBunny

My comic AntiBunny http://antibunny.net/ has multiple protagonists depending on what angle we're seeing the world through, but the original protagonist Pooky Bunny can be best described as a gender ambiguous depressed mess who's trying to become a better person. Why should you care? When you first meet Pooky their depression is clearly in control. As the story unfolds in the past you start to see where that depression comes from, and as it unfolds in the present you'll see Pooky learning to let others in, slowly moving to become a better person. Pooky is not OK, and realizes that, but also sees a way forward. So if you want to see someone who is initially consumed by their flaws and who eventually realizes them and works to overcome them, then maybe you'll care about Pooky. What are their goals? Pooky has both what I'd call external goals, that is things they want to accomplish in the real world, and internal ones, that is how they'd like to change as a person. Externally Pooky is all about unraveling mysteries. Being a reporter Pooky often is chasing a story. Internally Pooky's goals change. Early on it's little more than subsistence. Struggling to get by from one day to the next. Though as the story progresses as Pooky says "I'm trying to be a better person." Pooky goes from being someone who's dead inside to coming alive again. You'll see that trauma in Nailbat that started this, and in The Gritty City Stories you'll see the recovery. It's all about the fall, bottoming out, and climbing back up. Essentially that's Pooky.

Attila Polyák

Anne is the protagonist and mostly the perspective character of Tales of Midgard: The Age of Magic https://talesofmidgard.com/comic/book-1-cover-page/. She's a knight and a mage and more or less she's a well established person with a generally (currently) good life. She's definitely not someone special. Magic is very common and accessible to basically everyone and being a knight in a world full of magic is also not really extraordinary. So why should you care about someone who's not special? That's exactly the point! Most fantasy stories are set in fantastic worlds yet the main cast, and the protagonists especially, are still special. Even compared to the world. Not here. This story is the story of the everyman. The true everyman, not a chosen one, not someone who is surrounded by prophecies left and right, just your regular normal person. Of course we're still in a fantasy world so what's regular to the characters is still fantastic for the readers, and these "everydays" are still adventures compared to the normal lives most of us live in real life. Plus... Just because she not special she and everyone else in the story can still, just like in real life, be swooped up into events that are larger than life and seeing normal people cope with the extraordinary is always more interesting than extraordinary people playing their own game.