#abomination vaults spoilers

[abominationvault]

Session 60: Sat 7 Dec 2024

Storm Darragh has so far not been able to knock out anyone’s internet connection, so let’s see how far we get before it does!

Last week we defeated the big behemoth bugger in the arena, and spent the second half of the session levelling up, so nice easy recap this week. We are going back to town this week to help the mayor’s daughter; the mayor has promised us some magical items of level 7 or less if we can fix her.

Sprocket wants some fourth level spell scrolls. Morblint will probably give him a discount. Hartvig has chosen two new spells - one is a cone of blood, and the other is a nice little health spa! (Soothing Spring. The water is comfortably hot and smells mildly sulphurous - before Skabb gets in it, anyway.) Sprocket has a new spell that will provide a safe space for us to sleep. Combined, that might make for some really relaxing long rests.

Sprocket can’t find his general feat. Jorg’ath, immediately: “I can’t find my general legs.” He laughs for the next five minutes at his own joke, prompting the DM to make him give the recap. “I bought a club and bonked something on the head until it died.” … I mean, he’s not wrong. Luna helped, though.

Do we remember Wrin telling us about the denizens of Leng? Yes, Skabb remembers something and immediately interrupts herself when her cat makes itself known: “Ow, you little bastard!!”

There is a plane of nightmares, called Leng, and its inhabitants are evil and make connections with mortals by using a ruby. The Denizen’s eventual aim is to enslave the mortal and drag them back to their home. We took a ruby out of one of Dorianna’s toys, but it has since vanished. What should we do? Luna is the brains of the party; we all turn to her. Could we dispel magic on the ruby, or have it consecrated? Or smash it?

What are the rules? Do Denizens of Leng manifest physically in the world like Freddie Kruger? Could we lie in wait and knacker it? We don’t know, only that the target (Dorianna) will eventually be disappeared. Her hand has started to wither, apparently. Sprocket thinks we should destroy the toy, so there’s nowhere for the ruby to reappear.

What kind of magic is it, we need to find that out first.

There is talk of hiding the ruby in Jorg’ath’s cloaca, but thankfully this idea is quickly discarded. We decide to take the ruby out of the toy griffon again and see what happens to it. Hartvig makes an Occultism check: red 13. Sprocket chants “Hero Point, Hero Point, Hero Point”, so he rolls again and gets a 27. Between him and Wrin, they think we should watch the psychic impression given off as Dorianna sleeps and scry her psychic activity.

The mayor tells us that the rest of the family is annoyed with Dorianna, but he can’t work out why. Her right hand is looking shrivelled, and she won’t talk to him about it. She is almost uncommunicative at this point.

Nadia asks her about her dreams; she says she is having incredible dreams where she is in a beautiful snow field with her best friend the Motley Man. She says that soon they will be going on their adventures together forever. Is she still carrying the griffon around, Sprocket asks? She doesn’t go anywhere really, but the griffon is always close.

Skabb asks the family why they aren’t speaking to Dorianna, why they are annoyed with her. It would make sense, if the Denizen of Leng is trying to separate her from her loved ones. Her brothers and sisters tell Skabb that Dorianna is not very nice, and she’s rude, and they don’t know why the parents bother with her. Her mother says she’s ungrateful, and being around her daughter makes her skin itch.

We tried Detecting Magic on Dorianna herself last time, and couldn’t find anything. We could try again, it’s a cantrip. Skabb has a go. This time, she detects that Dorianna is under the effect of some kind of fourth level spell. Now she knows there is magic there, she can try to identify it. She knows the magic isn’t Primal, so she asks Sprocket and Hartvig to have a go. Hartvig rolls a 28 Occultism check. “Looks a bit iffy.” The magic isn’t Occult. Sprocket rolls a green 33 for Arcana! At only about 3 weeks old, somewhere in his distant past he has heard of this spell: It’s called Outcast Curse. It is a spell, but it has the Curse tag.

Skabb casts Dispel Magic. “Now we organise a movie night with her family and they realise she’s nice again and convince her to stay and everything is all right the end.” The spell works! We all, including her family, find her instantly less loathsome.

Right, now to watch her sleep. Her parents sit with her while we take watch, and give us free food. Hartvig makes an Occultism check (28!) and then rolls a d4: a 3. He links to her and receives a vision of the creature’s lair…

It is in a stone chamber with a map of the inner sea region on the wall. It is part of a larger map of Otari. He recognises the energy he feels here. It's familiar to the point that he thinks that, indirectly, when we went down into the vault and lowered the barrier with the undead hands and the artefacts, we may have released something that is now attacking Dorianna…

Whoops.

Well, now we know where it lives and we can go and kick its ass!

When Dorianna wakes, she is abruptly re-cursed. Her mother takes one look at her and leaves the room. Her father seems unaffected by the spell, for some reason.

Did we ask Wrin if it’s weak to anything? Jorg'ath, who still has the blood rage from last session: “Weak to violence.”

Luna, Hartvig and Sprocket go to the library to do some research. Hartvig, with bonuses, gets a 34! Luna rolls an 11, but she has a feat that brings it up to 20-something. Untrained Expertise, that’s it. They find out that it is immune to cold damage, resistant to crits and precision. Luna: “What a wanker." It doesn’t need to breathe, and it has something that lets it connect to its home plane and use that to heal itself.

Skabb lists off its attributes: “Immune to cold, resistant to crits and precision, doesn’t need to breathe, heals itself, is a cunt.”

Sprocket has a spell called Planar Tether, which if it fails its save, will keep it here while we kick its face off. Could be extremely useful.

Jorg’ath wants to go and see his crow wife and tell her that if he doesn’t come back he loves her dearly. Skabb, laughing uncontrollably: “She doesn’t even know she’s your wife! She thinks you’re just some guy she’s experimenting on!”

Sprocket casts his protective bubble around Dorianna, and protects her from the effects of the curse for another night.

Sprocket has something to tell Jorg’ath; he has had to change his spells around. He has the lizard pick him up so they’re eye to eye. “I’m sorry, man. I can’t make you big no more.” Danny Glover Danny Glover.

Jorg'ath, stoic in the face of this devastating information: “Terrible news.”

We notice the stench of brimstone as we re-enter the vaults and descend to the next level below the arena. We hear what sounds like a military drill happening? the walls are inset with runes. It all seems very… infernal.

Nadia: “I’m infernal! Am I home??”

We see a barbazu drill sergeant leading the drill:

There are also seugathi - no, the other thing we’ve already met. Grothluts. We’ve fought them before.

Sprocket asks if he can have a retroactive piece of chalk; it is granted. Skabb loses her character sheet and has to log out and back in again. Then Jorg’ath’s Roll20 does something weird… hold on. They get a Hero Point for remembering that grothluts do something (explode?) when they die, and they have an aura that sickens you if you get too close. They are also fleshwarps.

Luna spots something strange about the wall ahead, we are told. Luna, upon discovering this brand new information: “Yes, I was about to ask about that.” It’s a secret door… She approaches and it slides noiselessly to the side.

Skabb writes “EXIT” on the map, at the place where the stairs are that we just came down, and wins a Hero Point for not drawing a dick.

Can we make out words in whatever the drill sergeant is shouting? He is shouting in Infernal, but Nadia doesn’t speak it so she doesn’t know what he’s saying. The grothluts seem to be obeying simple commands, but it’s more that they are used do doing this, going through the motions, than that they actually understand what is being shouted at them. We suspect they’re being trained for going up to Otari to attack.

There is a teleportation circle in the room that Luna has found, so that’s a nice quick exit too if we can get it activated.

We decide to look in some of the other rooms, and follow Luna’s lead and sneak around. We do our usual: listen, and open, in spite of Jorg’ath suggesting we just kick them all down. Luna and Nadia see a note attached to the door ahead of us. Luna: “‘Back in 5’?”

Actually, it's 'Do not disturb if you value your limbs'. Hmm. Not as friendly. There is a sliding grate at eye level, above which is the note.

Storm Darragh claims its first victim: Hartvig’s internet goes out and he has to restart the router.

Luna peeks though the grate and sees this:

“Its neck ate its head, I don’t like it,” she says.

Skabb listens at the next door. Perception 21. She hears the drill sergeant behind us, and also the flapping of wings behind the door. Leathery ones, or fairy ones? Not very big ones. Luna makes a Perception check at another door: 23. More wings, but big ones. The doors are fitted too well to slide a Sprocket under them, but there are keyholes - he could go ooze form and squeeze through. He starts looking for the spell.

We ready attacks and stand back so Grabby can open the door, because Skabb is back to not caring about her and can't wait for Sprocket to flip through his spell book. Hartvig readies Needles, Nadia puts a silencer on her gun, Luna gets her bow, Skabb her sling, Sprocket a Phase Bolt, and Jorg’ath a sword or something (He’s fallen asleep, Skabb doesn’t know what he would want to use.)

Inside are transparent tubes with monsters inside:

We are told to close the door, because whatever is inside doesn’t want to attract the attention of the drill sergeant? I think? Skabb sneaks in to have a look around for this person. Skabb thinks she might be the one who wrote the note on the other door.

Jorg’ath and Augustus stay outside to keep watch and the rest of us go inside and shut the door. We can hear the wings, but still can’t see the owner of the voice. Grabby gets a tap on the end of her nose as she flies up to look around. “Shoo!”

Skabb has See Invisibility! She puts it in the chat. “Show yourself,” Sprocket shouts. She appears:

She is an imp, and she stares at Skabb. “No fair, that’s cheating.” Skabb blows her a raspberry. Can she share any hints and tips? She did say a name, but we don’t recognise it. Could it be the dream demon we are looking for?

She spots Nadia. “You’re a bit devil. I might have a deal for you.”

Nadia: “… Go on.”

She will give Nadia the Devil’s Luck in exchange for her soul, to serve her for a hundred years. What does Devil’s Luck do? It’s lucky! Nadia: “... I might need a bit more than that.” It’ll give a reroll of a saving throw once per day. "Yeah… nah. I've got Hero Points."

Urevian. Are we with him? We don’t even know who he is. What manner of creature is he? A devil and a fiend! He’s in charge around here. So it’s not the drill sergeant then? No.

Are the monsters in here hers? Nope. The one behind the door with the note, she’s uncooperative, we are told.

Howcome she hasn’t done Urevian in, Skabb asks? She’s an imp. He would eat her like a snackette. Is he gelatinous, Skabb wants to know? The imp says Skabb is disagreeable and should be more like Sprocket. She says his name; how did she know that? Does she know all our names? What's her name? "Szek."

Did we come from above, she asks? She tells us that she locked a powerful wizard in his room on the floor above (Mummy-Daddy Chuffcum?), and that she had a fight with a big worm thing. We are sensing that she is full of shit.

Have we seen the big glowing doors? Of course, couldn't really miss 'em. Behind those is Urevian, the imp tells us, but to open them we have to put together five parts of a pentagram amulet.

(Nadia asks to take a look at the contract. She has the Legal Lore skill: she rolls a 30. 1/day reroll a saving throw. Hidden condition: you may not use it against a death effect. Termination clause: if you critically fail a death save but don’t die, the contract becomes unenforceable… Nadia says she’ll think about it.)

We ask how she knows our names? Well, she supposes there’s no harm in telling us. She leads us to one of the glass tubes and points at Nadia. “You know old Nad’s gun? It’s a bit like that. The tubes are like barrels, and the creatures are the bullets. The gun is the lighthouse.” So now when we get killed back in town when it gets attacked, we’ll know where the monsters have come from. (She hasn't actually told us how she knows our names, I notice now, reading this back.)

Who gives the orders? Velcro.

The imp has a contract - is it with Velcro or Urevian? Hers is with Urevian, his is with Velcro. “I hate that bitch,” she spits. Us too!

Her job is to inspect the ammunition, she tells us. She says that people down here are expecting us. Hmm. That’s a bit unnerving.

Skabb asks if Urevian has any weaknesses. She can’t tell us, it’s in her contract. We might be able to get her out of that, with Nadia’s Legal Lore…? If we killed him, would it nullify the contract? She chooses her words carefully. She’s not supposed to discuss her contract. If we killed him… yes. Kill him or Velcro, either way she can leave. What happens to the 'bullets'?

“Who bloody cares? Dunno, don’t care.” She assures us she wouldn’t go to Otari, and asks how Dorianna is.

“Be very careful with him. He is not to be trifled with.” Who, the guy with the ruby? “Him.”

How do we get rid of him? "Chop his head off. Nail his hooves to the floor." We take this to mean kill him in the most painful way possible, mostly for the imp's gratification.

Could we rest here between fights? The imp can’t be seen to help us, but yes. She might be more inclined to help if Nadia signs the contract.

Nadia (who now knows things about the contract that the imp thinks she doesn't) agrees to sign.

Are we friends now, Skabb asks? After a fashion, yes. Is there anything else she can tell us? Like secret doors, or how to get around the drill sergeant? Just kill the grothluts from a distance, she tells us. We could probably take the drill sergeant. (She says, while looking at Nadia and rubbing her hands together.)

She said she’d help us. One of the pieces of the amulet is on the floor above.

I have to leave the game at this point as my husband inconveniently arrives home after a week away, so the rest of the game is documented very kindly by Skabb:

"Need to put together 5 parts of pentagram amulet to get through glowing doors to Urevian - devil and fiend - He's in charge of this level. Could try working with him (Don't trust this). He has a contract with Velcro - she's less dead now. Doesn't know how Velcro came back. Long time dead. Suddenly back. 1 of the pieces of the necklace on floor above, the smith on the floor has one, I wouldn't be surprised if the Motley Man has one, quartermaster doesn't know about last one. I do not have one. Motley Man is nasty and evil and no good, have seen him around, he passes through here, comes from somewhere to the south. Don't know if he sleeps. He's wrong. Sometimes he has a giant crawling hand with him ?sentient, undead hand. Does he work for Velcro - I don't know much about him, Eronium suffers him to stay, Velcro knows he's here but I don't know why he's here. Urevian knows more about you than I do. Not sure about Motley Man. He is not to be trifled with. North door (the one Luna listened at) is a guard. Can't tell us what it's guarding. Most people consider what it's guarding to be bad. Not guarding alive or undead. Some people think it's treasure, Zek disagrees..."

Next week, we will be starting our Christmas Special - run by yours truly!

[lucdrawsthings]

I love this guy

[technicolorlove]

lazy drawing about my last pathfinder 2e session. we're playing abomination vaults and we found... him

honesty his theme was the only thing that made this fight bearable. (there were only 3 of us and we were all rolling really poorly)

[alexatheris-44]

Grave Lord, Drenched in Blood

Technically Part 2 to this amazing piece by my awesome homie @voidwritesstuff :DD

-

CW: lil bit of blood, description of body horror

Summary: Creation has its Four Horsemen, but the Pale Rider carries the name of Ataraxy… Where is Death? And what company could he possibly be keeping?

> Made for the Against Creation AU !! It’s probably a good idea that you’ve read Darksiders The Abomination Vault before this, not for spoiler reasons (yet) but for more insight on Death’s history. You won’t be missing any important context if you haven’t though :3 (yet)

vvvv Start Reading Below The GIF! :D vvvv

He was there long before the beginning.

From the moment there was light to cast brightness, shadows danced at the edge of all things; a clinging spectre that sowed naught but pain and misery. For all who found their end alone and in the dark, the cruel nature of life to be taken sooner than was ever planned. The restlessness, those brief moments of such despair, felt as the final weight of all that was to be -now to be left undone- bears itself in full upon the soul. The heartache, the bitterness, the loss…

If she was the gentle end of Life, he was the After.

Age did nothing to weather his battle hardened visage, his severity reflected in every line on his face, every crease in his skin. While his face wore his horrid mask -hiding his prominent facial features save for his hollowed cheeks, invoking the imagery of a glowering skull but lacking any mouth or teeth- his permanent scowl was unmissable. He held himself with such certainty, an almost palpable sense of strength. If not visible by his composure then in the sculpted definition of his muscles, only further defined by how taut his skin -the very hue of undeath- stretched over his pronounced frame. He was thin yet indisputably strong, sinewy but long since his last meal. One could mistake him for a living corpse, the reanimated body of a most ancient and formidable warrior now haunting the halls of some lesser lord’s castle he had since painted in their blood.

And yet Death very much still lived in vigor, despite whatever rumours tended to flit about between each corner of Creation. Something about how only four remained of the warmongering race known as the Nephilim; how they rode under the new title of Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and committed a genocide of their own people. He remembered the massacre all too well, scarred into the very archives of his unending memory. The smell of it, the vile taste to the air -simultaneously acrid smoke, bile and blood. Death was rather more familiar than most with the sight of gore, but to know he once called those eviscerated corpses his kin… his brothers…

“Anathem!” Death’s voice barked from his throat under a growl, his hand clenching into a white-knuckled fist against the dark stone table he hunched over.

A sound of stirring came from the shadows of the corridor before him, the scraping of metal against rock following a light-weighted thump, as if something had fallen from the rafters. An odd pattern of footsteps began approaching from the dark; one step carrying the clicking of claws against solid ground, the other just a muffled tap, as if bare, easily missed unless actively listening for it. The reason for this unique footfall became quickly apparent as the individual entered visibility, though their appearance would only call for more questions. His left leg sported the structure and talons of a raptor or bird of prey, while his right appeared much more porcine. This mismatching of limbs also applied to his arms: the left as much flesh as it was bone, sporting spaces in the palm as if a cartilaginous web leading to angular fingers; the right sporting only four spindly fingers that each ended in an elongated claw, thumb and pinky roughly at the same height in their placement on his chitinous hand. In a universe teeming with abnormality -life running rampant to craft itself in nearly every shape, size and colour- it was clear to any whose eyes fell upon this being that this was an abomination, something once -perhaps- born but since unmade. Short and slender horns grew above an otherwise plain humanoid face, unlike any demon ever perceived. He was a patchwork of stolen flesh, so much so that his scars were hardly distinguishable between surgical in origin and a hard lesson learned in lethal combat. Looking at him prolongedly instilled a sense of unease, stirring thoughts of dread at ever meeting whoever so cruelly crafted and carved him into this blasphemous form.

“You called?” Anathem’s voice croaked as he rolled the words from his yet unfamiliar tongue, his most recent bodily acquisition. Death had assured him the tongue of the demon polyglot would give him its proficiency in the infernal languages, and while that proved to be true for the moment it felt as if an unwieldy serpent whipped about inside his mouth when he tried speaking in his native language.

“Tell me there has been a development from our latest endeavour.” The frustration the Nephilim presently felt laced his gravelly tone in a misdirected reproach, as if his current company held any blame to their situation.

“I grow tired of all this inaction.”

Death’s ire was a difficult thing to earn, usually so cold and calculated it would take a true and continuous push of his buttons to evoke the flames of his wrath. And oh how brightly it burned in his fiery orange eyes, twin stars in the midst of collapse for eternity. Despite being the centerpiece upon which fell the Firstborn’s glare, Anathem merely shrugged.

“I only just came back from my visit to Hell's Underground.” The roll of his shoulders disturbed the peace of the ghostly green chains anchored into his shoulder blades, each heavy link rattling only once against one another all the way down to the thick cuffs shackled at either wrist.

“I’d say another day at the most before I hear back. After all, we are hoping for discretion.”

Death’s eyes narrowed sharply, near warning, though Anathem knew him well enough to stand where most others would cower and fold to their knees. The Nephilim let free a hiss of breath as he straightened, a rare moment to revel in his full and towering height -nearly a metre taller than Anathem even if the shorter were to stand on the tips of his mismatched toes- before comfortably slumping his shoulders, clearly making the effort to calm his temper.

“I trust that the message was clear? We have no room for ambiguity.” His tone was now much cooler, near icy if not for the faintest hint of a cruel mirth.

“The severed head of their leader is a hard thing to misinterpret.” As fluidly as a languid housecat, Anathem closed the distance between them and brought himself up on the dark stone table, stepping to its edge to take perch before the Nephilim at eye level.

“As well as their matron’s, just in case.”

“A fine touch,” Death let slip a chuckle. His eyes snagged to the tear in the cloth wrapped around Anathem’s abdomen just below his ribs, something the creature likely would've tried to conceal had he even noticed. Death’s eyes turned sharp again as he grabbed nearly the entirety of Anathem’s waist in a single hand, a finger forcing the fabric to reveal the ugly gash hidden beneath.

“And what is this?”

“A Hellion snuck up on me, must’ve been reckless.”

“You are not meant to be reckless. You are meant to be untouchable, that is how I made you.”

Anathem hissed as Death prodded the wound, a fresh trickle of inky blood oozing from under the weak scab.

“Yet I lived with hardly a scratch,” he stared back into Death’s infernal glare with such an unshaken resolve, his pupils a golden marble completely still despite swimming in the deep-red bloodshot of his eyes.

“As you’ve taught me.”

His fingers raised to brush against Death’s arm, in the best way his inhuman limb could deliver a caress. His fresh bleed had dried about as quickly as it began, once more closing the wound that it may heal into a new scar adorning his pallid flesh. While the manacle at his wrist pressed coldly against Death’s equally chilled skin the chains themselves posed no obstacle or obstruction, their arcane nature merely phasing through any limb or object in the way of their wearer’s intent. Death’s grip lessened only slightly, not yet satisfied to release him just yet.

“I trust this misstep will not be repeated,” he warned, his hold relinquishing the site of injury to reestablish higher against his ribs. His thumb brushed against the scarline of Anathem’s pectorals as he leaned in. Anathem was now cast in Death’s shadow, the warm candlefire of his eyes a beacon in the dark of his sunken eyes and the protruding sockets of his mask.

“Lest I level the Hells before Heaven ever gets the chance.”

Anathem lolled out his pitch black tongue, only to then flick it at the point of the mask’s absent nose. Death practically tore Anathem from the table, pressing himself firmly against the smaller being, feeling his ally’s legs instinctively hook around his midriff. The rattle of the spectral chains played their tune as Anathem weaved his claws in Death’s impossibly black hair, his Frankenstein’s monster of a body ready to take on Death in any form, in all his brutality, and stand all the taller after.

As if an objection sounded by the will of the Universe itself, a shrill cawwing pierced the air in interruption. The sound forewarned the sudden arrival of a large crow beelining to deliver urgent news to its master.

“Finally,” Death’s voice slithered under his breath, eyes tearing away from the being in his grasp to follow the flight of Dust.

“Another time then?” Anathem began to draw away but Death’s iron grip held him in place, his other hand catching Anathem’s thigh to pull it back up over his hip.

“They toyed with my patience, they can be made to wait.” The Nephilim’s rasp rumbled low in his chest -a dark purring- as he bent forward, resting Anathem’s back to the table below. Death could be made to be patient, but only on his own terms. He would not wait for anything nor anyone, had the power and drive to bend the world to his will. Anathem smiled, dusked fingers curling around the edges of the bone mask adorning his lover’s face.

“We will unmake the Balance yet.”

[monstersdownthepath]

while Curtain Call certainly has its ups and downs, there's a specific down that has bugged me ever since I saw it.

Spoilers for Curtain Call and slight spoilers for Abomination Vaults below.

So there's a few dramatic parts of CC which require the presence of a Nemesis, a bad guy from the party's past showing up once more in different forms. How this is handled... leaves much to be desired, due to how open ended the slot is, and all but encourages the DM to put in some work of their own to weave the Nemesis into the plot, because as-written it's not especially thrilling.

However, this isn't the complaint. The complaint I have is that the Nemesis the writers had in mind was the Big Bad of the Abomination Vaults adventure path; they show up repeatedly in the art all across the books, framing CC as a direct sequel to Abom Vaults... and basically the only person who cannot in any way be your Nemesis is the big bad of Abom Vaults. Without going into too many spoilers, the method by which that person is defeated ends in a destruction more thorough than basically any big bad in any AP before. There's nothing left of them to come back.

It's funny, but it also rubs me the wrong way. (Yes I'm aware the first Nemesis appearance is fake, but the rest are not)

[commandervamiris]

Pathfinder 2nd Edition; Abomination Vaults, a retrospective

Over the past 18 months, my gaming group has been playing through the Pathfinder 2nd Edition (pf2e) adventure path, Abomination Vaults.

Spoilers ahead. TLDR: 6/10- a solid dungeon crawling adventure that wasn't right for my group. An interesting cast of enemies that you fight in tight rooms.

We started with six players, three players brand new to pathfinder, and three who played for about year. We lost one of these new players after the first floor (they did not vibe with the system).

Abomination Vaults is a love letter to old school dungeon crawls; I've only played a little Advanced Dungeons and Dragons but comparisons are clear. Small spaces, enemies in side by side rooms that ignore sounds of violence, and reams of undead.

There's so much undead.

Okay, okay. The story. Spoilers.

~500 years ago, a powerful sorceror called Belcorra Haruvex built a spooky lighthouse called the Gauntlight. A group of adventurers called the Roseguard went to investigate it, and in the ensuing battle, she was slain, along with one adventurers, Otari Ilvashti.

In his memory, the Roseguard created a fort to keep watch over the Gauntlight. This fort they called Otari, after their fallen ally and friend.

500 years later and Otari is a bustling lumber port town, but a local occultist suspects something strange is going on at the Ruins of Gauntlight Keep.

Spoilers now~

She's right. Belcorra is back, but now she's a mcfucking ghost and she's fucking pissed.

The players first see her on the first floor, or well, they see her blood. A nasty hazard that if I had run as written would have had possibly been a party wipe.

A side note, my players were a level ahead- we aren't interested in meat grinder games, and everyone enjoys getting attatched to their characters.

This blood, ghost thing still nearly wiped then.

I think Belcorra is one of the stronger elements of the Abomination Vaults, and a good thing too. She's the main antagonist, and whilst the players know of her, they don't meet with her until the seventh floor. That's where she shines, harrassing the party and giving the Dungeon Master (DM) a reason to have her know what the players characters can do.

Mechanically, she's a little underwhelming, but I think the final fight was a success.

There are two enemy types that come up more than others:

Undead; skeletons, ghasts, ghosts and shadows. A classic and generally they're fine. It's a good mix and they don't really out stay their welcome. Theirs enough variety that you rarely feel overwhelmed. (One exception, the ghast floor. My players bumbled into multiple groups at once and it became a slog.)

Will-o-wisps; I love will-o-wisps. Funky little murder ghost lights but! Aha! In pathfinder, they're not undead, they're air elementals. My players hated them. Well, my spellcasting players hated them. Spell immunity sucks and from the first time they run into some flickering lights to the final floor where they face dread wisps, my players hated them.

I loved the use of will-o-wisps and I do blame my players for resting on their laurels and leaving the wisps to the fighter- only to be able to do nothing (or so they thought) when they had to fight packs of them.

Another comment relates to how cramped the dungeon is. Five players was too many. Five players, with a summoner and an animal companion was way too much.

There was one room that was the most egregious; H32.

H32 is called the "Inhabited Shed". It is a 10 foot by 10 foot room with a single door on the north wall.

This room is not empty.

In this room, there is a fleshwarped xulgath called a Ghonhatine- a hulking behemoth that is mechanically a large creature.

A large creature has the size of 10 feet by 10 feet.

In this 10x10 room there is a 10x10 creature.

Now, in hindsight, this is very funny. Creatures aren't 10x10 cubes, but its hard not to have that visual image. But, it is emblematic of the tight combat maps that the players will be facing in.

Overall, I don't think I liked Abomination Vaults. It's not any fault of the book, the book is fine. It's flawed, and after playing Extinction Curse, Abomination Vaults was at least cohesive. But it's role play opportunities are sparse, and I had to make links and things for my players (using the Troubles in Otari) but it was work I was hoping to avoid after moving from running Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition.

[scarletknightreterns]

I’m almost finished Darksiders: The Abomination Vault, and dannnnnng is it gooooood~~~~ A world literally made of infected flesh... had me revolted and intrigued at once.

And Hadrimon.... Daaannnggg tragic love story. I shudder to think what happened to Raciel, when she was banished to Hell....

[lananiscorner]

Darksiders Drabbles: My Sin

My Sin! What a ridiculous notion.

Beneath Death’s feet, the Well of Souls swirls--cool, soft, blue, deep. Complete, yet ever-hungry. He touches the shards and wants to shudder at the seething, hostile whispers that assault him.

‘You did this!’ ‘Traitor!’ ‘Murderer!’ ‘Kinslayer!’ ‘Coward!’

They are right. He is a coward.

Coward enough to slay his own kin, then lie to the Council.

Coward enough to slay War, then lie to him.

Coward enough to lie to Strife and Fury... about far too many things.

My sin...  He takes off the mask and jumps.

If only it were but one.

Notes:

Last one for tonight. As much as I would love to ignore everything that happened in the Abomination Vault novel, I can't. Here's to hoping that Death will eventually get the guts to apologize to War.

[aimportantdragoncollector]

AU where AFO is impressed by Dabi's melodrama and decides to take him in and teach him the way of villainy.

Below the cut because this has spoilers for Dabi's backstory in manga Chapter 350.

Ever since AFO brought the burned Touya back to his lab, Dr. Garaki grumbled nonstop about being forced to drag a crispy fried child kicking and screaming back from death. Does the master have any idea how much work it is to commit abominations against nature? After Touya ran away from the creepy orphanage, Dr. Garaki threw a huge fit about all his work being wasted. To make the whining stop, AFO tracked down Touya planning to at least turn the runaway into a Nomu.

AFO found Touya (newly named Dabi) ranting about how badly he wanted to kill his father. This interested AFO far more than when Dabi had idolized Endeavor. AFO took pride in being a self-made orphan. Dabi's monologue was only a 4/10 but AFO saw real potential in how Dabi naturally used the light of his flames to illuminate his face. On a whim, AFO decided to take on this kid as an apprentice.

AFO promised to fund Dabi's revenge and turn him into a great a villain. After a few days of living on the streets, Dabi was ready to join anyone who would feed him.

Out of laziness, AFO put Tomura and Dabi in the same apartment. It was like sticking two cats in a bag. The apartment got burned down and the ashes decayed during a brutal war over the thermostat. They had to sleep on the lab floor for a month during the repairs. Many Nomus were dusted in their battles. Dr. Garaki wept. After that, AFO kept them separated.

AFO brought Dabi a copy of his coat. No matter how many times the coat got replaced, Dabi always found creative ways to rip it and burn it until AFO gave up and let him dress like a hobo.

Although AFO tried to teach Dabi to vault younger siblings, Dabi never grasped the concept of airholes in the vault. Luckily Dabi was too inept to kidnap anyone.

AFO enrolled Dabi in a theatre group in hopes of finally teaching him fashion sense. Dabi loved it and quit villainy. Actually, AFO was fine with this because he only ever liked Dabi's monologues. AFO made massive donations to the theatre group to persuade them to produce many plays with villain protagonists. Dabi became a theatre sensation and AFO got front row seats to all his plays as a proud dad. This is the healthiest family relationship AFO has ever had in his entire life.

[randomdarksidersblog27]

Hello, friendly darksiders blog. Could you tell us your favourite darksiders fact? Or maybe your most precious headcanon?

Hello! And I'll do both!

❗❗❗CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ABOMINATION VAULT!❗❗❗

So,fav fact: That Death IS capable of feeling emotions. We see it in Abomination Vault with how he acts towards Dust and when he realizes War died because of him. And how much guilt he feels over not being able to tell War about his triple fake. My feelings on this is that this is why,in DS2,Death swears he'd protect War above all else. Because he still feels shame and guilt over killing his baby brother.

As for fav Headcannon: That Strife is a collector of trinkets. I imagine,before the Apocalypse happened,that whenever the Four would see one another on a rare occasion,the other three would bring small trinkets for Strife to decorate his home with from their travels and other realms. When he gets to the Third Kingdom,BOY does he have a feild day with collecting a souvenir from EVERY PART of the world. He loves to look back at them and reminisce about his travels and how he aquired them. It's so cute to think of this manly,bloodthirsty killer taking home tiny objects like a crow or Raven would do. Most of his hoard is shiny things as well. Thanks for the ask,please feel free to ask more!

[cansomebodytellmewhatsgoingon]

Real Quick Spoiler-Free Reviews of LDR Season 3

Three Robots: Exit Strategies - same old nihilist humor as before. animation and character dynamics are still solid though 

Bad Traveling - very creative, very brutal, a perfect mariner’s tale. somewhat dynamic character design mixed with hyperrealism takes a second to get used to, but it still works.

The Pulse of the Machine - really interesting exploration of existentialism in space. 3D cell shaded animation works well with the alien landscape and can show really beautiful moments

Night of the Mini Dead - if tilt-shift photography was put into animation. really cool cinematography that makes up for standard zombie apocalypse story (as it isn’t meant to be the draw).

Kill Team Kill - y’know, if adult media wasn’t already oversaturated with violence and crassness, i’d look at this and go “hey, that was kinda fun.” but seeing as it is, this one just left me feeling bored. it did make me chuckle once or twice though, so that’s something.

Swarm - really cool story about a colossal alien ant nest, with exploration into human nature and intelligence. pacing can feel a little abrupt at times. hyperrealist animation and interesting alien designs are good, tho.

Mason’s Rats - super fun story about a farmer dealing with intelligent rats in his barn. the character designs on both the humans and rats are great, and it got a laugh out of me a couple times.

In Vaulted Halls Entombed - soldiers in Afghanistan stumble across eldritch abominations. nothing revolutionary or anything, but still has real good animation with real creepy moments

Jibaro - really cool, really artistic. a story about medieval knight meeting a golden siren of a lake, told with rapid pacing, hybrid rotoscope and real life cinematography, and no dialogue.

[abominationvault]

Session 53: Sat 28 Sep 2024

Skabb has a disgusting new ability? We’ll find out about that when it crops up, I think. Also Grabby gets something new. Hartvig gets a Hero Point for turning up on time for once. Well, almost on time. Sprocket and Luna are at a wedding and may be late.

The DM makes a coffee, while Jorg’ath burns his mouth on hot fish and chips, and off we go…

(Short pause while the DM sends us the picture my husband sent him because he loves Madonna. Skabb immediately deletes it from her Whatsapp. I will not post it here; you're welcome.)

We are not able to sleep down here. We might ask in the tavern? Jorg’ath thinks we should drink our hit points back, but that is nixed. We might not wake up with all our stuff, also the metal band on stage might make sleeping difficult. Sprocket opened a teleportation circle, if we climb up the chains we can zip back to the first level and sleep with the mitflits? Skabb hates that idea. We do it anyway.

We rinse all our spell slots and healing-wand-uses, and rest. Hartvig and Nadia reduce their Stupefied level by one, Nadia makes some bombs and Skabb uses her new cauldron to cook up… something.

Hartvig makes a Fortitude check. For…? We don’t know. 29! He is Fortiginous. The DM is disappointed. Jorg’ath also rolls. Green 34. How does that feel, DM? You happy? He says he is, but we don’t believe him. Neither have symptoms of anything untoward.

Jorg’ath wants to do an Insight check to see what he might be dying of. Well, Insight is D&D, so no. Hartvig can make a Religion check, and Jorg’ath a Medicine check if they like, 17 and 12 respectively. Well, they both feel fine, and neither can think of a reason why they wouldn’t. Jorg’ath: “I’ll never question it again.”

Jorg’ath moves north and finds more doors. He makes a Perception check: dirty 20. In the ceiling he sees a shaft that leads up. Looking at the broken bits of metal, it seems like this might be where Luna almost fell down from the floor above.

He wants to open the door on the left, Nadia covers him.

“[DM], you know how we’re not allowed to draw dicks?” Skabb wants to draw one on Jorg’ath. She is reminded of the three-dick limit. She refrains.

Jorg'ath opens the door slowly, gets a Hero Point for personal growth, and then makes a Nature or Survival check. Skabb accidentally closes his character sheet. Short pause… Survival green 29!

He recognises the moss - it’s not only edible, but also tasty. Does it have hallucinogenic properties, Skabb wants to know. No, he can tell her, it’s just nutritious and delicious. She starts hunting for invertebrates, and finds plenty. She fills her mouth, her hands, and her pockets.

Nadia collects some of the moss. Jorg’ath can tell us that if you dry it, it will last almost indefinitely, and can be rehydrated when needed. Each of us can carry enough for 2-3 days of rations.

This tunnel leads downward. Should we check out the rest of this floor first - oh, this doesn’t go all the way down. Skabb sends Grabby for a recce. High as she can, but without touching the ceiling. There’s something big around the corner…

The ceiling is 30 feet high, and there is a window and a cabin? Cavern? I mishear. It seems magical. Grabby continues round, sneaky-flying. There is some form of binding magic present, and it weak or old - it could be undone easily. There is a huge worm, Skabb tells us, and she wants to "eat the shit out of it".

Well we can’t not, can we? It’d be rude.

Skabb recalls knowledge to see if she knows about this “big mouthed yum-sack”. She makes an Occultism check - dirty 30. That is a seagathi? This is what we’re down here to kill one of! Chuffcum asked us to bump one off. Knowing what it is, can she tell its weak points?

Well, Jafaki is one of these things, apparently. What?

Immune to poison and mental effects, they have tremor sense, innate magic, and if you get close they exude an aura that can cause Confusion. Skabb shares this with us. Grabby spots someone behind it as well. Occultism check - 17 but she can add 5 so 22. It’s a type of flesh warp, a Grothlut.

We’ve encountered them before. Did these things have any weaknesses? Immune to acid and mental effects. There are two of these, as far as Grabby can see. They’re on a spiral staircase, there is a door, also some water. She flies a bit closer, just to make sure there’s nothing else. She sees some magical see-through stone, and a walkway on the other side. The big worm guy is on the other side of the see-through stone, but she thinks if we backtrack and try another door we might reach it.

We make a quick plan, and Skabb tells us roughly how far away the things are past the door, and Jorgy boots it open. Initiative! Skoden! Stoodis!

Skabb goes first. She thinks they look like aberrations, so she zooms forward and has a munch. 16HP24 - 8 piercing, and she was right - it is an aberration. Extra damage with her Grill of Aberration Bane! Another bite, as she’s here and he’s delicious, but it misses. She licks her lips.

The worm moves toward the door, slithering past Skabb. It attacks Jorg’ath for 31 damage. Ouch.

Jorg’ath’s turn, and he starts his turn within the Mindfog Aura. Will save 26 - he is not confused! He hits it with a 23 - the DM panics us by saying that it misses, but the Seugathi is flanked so it does. Green 25 to hit this time! 33 total damage and a Hero Point for Jorg’ath.

Hartvig next. He fails his Will save against the mindfog. Before he can attack anything, it tells him to attack Nadia. “Hey!” He does a Needle Dart on her, for ten damage. She gives him a hurt look. He wanders off to look at the moss.

Nadia makes her Will save. She does a new feat, Pistol Twirl, but the worm thing saves. She shoots it with Bluebird, hits for 8 damage, drops Bluebird and draws Alkonost.

The Grothgut claws at Skabb and does a thing at Jorg’ath - the DM does the wrong thing, then the right thing, but both miss anyway. It does it at Skabb and misses her as well.

Skabb starts her turn with a Will save, but fails and is Confused. Hero Point? Yes, she may - worse. Second Will save - 16. Ooof. She is Sickened 1 (is that even possible?). In her confused state, she rolls to see who she hits - one of the baddies! She hits it with a Slashing Gust, but misses. Sling attack for her last action - it hits, but the bloody thing is resistant to bludgeoning. No wait it isn’t! It takes all three damage. “I feel like I’ve won the battle.” She gets poked in the pudding with a Seugathi longsword, a hit, and a fortitude save. The hit was a critical, she is not in good shape. 35 damage. “Yum!” She is also Stupefied 1. “I’m having a whale of a time in here.”

The Seugathi attacks Jorg’ath, but misses. It bites at him - another miss. It’s his turn! Will save - he fails. It commands him to attack Hartvig, who is picking moss in the next room. 29 definitely hits, for 22 slashing plus four poison. 25 is another hit, for 18 and 22 poison. Hartvig is still alive!

It’s Hartvig’s turn. He has taken damage twice, so he can make two flat checks to see if his own Confusion ends. (DC11.) 12, yay! Skabb: “Give ’im a dry slap, go on.” He does - and hits, for 3 damage! Jorg’ath rolls to see if he loses the Confusion, but he doesn’t. “Hit me again!” He does, for 3 more damage, and snaps Jorg’ath out of it. Jorgy lets him pass, and apologises as he goes back into the room.

Nadia crits her Will save - green 30. She is immune for 1 minute. She shoots with Alkonost - Howdy doodis! “It comes apart into nice bite-sized chunks, just for Skabb.” She drops Alkonost, recalls both guns with Alkonost reloaded, and shoots again. She misses even with a Hero Point, but wins it back for Howdy Doodis’ing the big bad.

The Grothguts spew on Skabb and take her out. Death save for her on her turn - Natty 20! “I’M ALIVE!!” New House Rule - on a Natty 20, she loses the Wounded condition as she comes back. Will Save to remove her Confusion - 11, just squeaks by. She is now only Stupefied and Sickened. Wait - the Stupefied was only for 1 round, so that goes away.

Jorg’ath next. He is embarrassed at having attacked his friend, so “straight back into the fray - this guy is going to GET it.” 21 hits for 22. “How does he feel about poison? He’s an anti-acid, pro-poison kind of guy?” He is so he takes the 4 poison damage as well. 28 to hit. “How’s he feeling now?” He’s, quote, “leaking”. Jorg’ath points out the goo. “That’s for you,” he tells Skabb.

Hartvig next. Is Skabb still poorly? She is unconscious on the floor. He does a big Heal, 3d8 (11) plus 24, 35 HP back for her. Then a 1-actioner on himself. Wait, you can cast the same spell twice, right? Yes. 1-actioner on himself.

Nadia Pistol Twirls at a Grothgut, and lowers his AC just enough to get a crit! She blows it a kiss, and hears the Final Fantasy fanfare in her head for no reason. It spews at her and misses, then moves to claw at Jorg’ath but misses that as well.

Skabbins! Jorg’ath: “Murders-murders-murders-murders!” 28 hits. “BIG murders!” 28 is a crit so it gets extra chew-damage - another 6. It explodes, spraying acid and poison all over all of us. The only one not displeased is Skabb. “It’s tingly.” She fails her save. “MY FOOD HURT ME!” Jorgy and Nadia are fine, Skabb and Hartvig take 10 acid/poison damage each. Skabb stands somewhere else, and considers her options. She can’t see it to Magic Missi- I mean Force Barrage it, so she heals herself instead.

Jorg’ath. Nadia: “FINISH HIM!” Can Jorg’ath negate the cone effect of his dragon breath attack by vomiting it directly into the Grothgut’s mouth? No, but he can move so he won’t get his friends. Or try using the handy dandy template the DM gave him. He angles it so he won’t hit Nadia and Hartvig. DC20 Reflex save for the Grothgut - 13 is a fail so 6d6. 19 vomit damage! And then a greatsword attack to finish off. It explodes! All of us but Skabb make Fortitude saves - Nadia and Grabby fail, taking 12 damage each.

Nadia, Jorg’ath and Hartvig, as they wipe entrails and vomit from their faces, see something interesting where the worm was standing. Perception checks. Between us we find a longsword, and a wand. Skabb checks it out. Arcana is not her forte but she has a go. 18. Just a stick, as far as she knows. Can Grabby have a go? 16. Jorg’ath has a go, with his 0 modifier - and natty 20’s it. It’s a Wand of See Invisibility. Skabb: “Gizzit! Gizzit!” She sticks it in her bandolier.

The sword is too small for Jorg’ath.

Nadia makes her way into the next room to see a spiral staircase with a door to the east. There is a sulphurous stench coming from below. She peers over the edge. She has 60 feet of Darkvision; she sees the floor below and a reddish glow. A circular room, with doors leading off it. Emblazoned on the doors are pentagrams. She tells the others what she’s seen.

Hartvig does a big group heal: 13 for all of us and a bit more (21) for the tank. Skabb slaps a bit more mud on herself. Hartvig himself still needs a bit of attention, so Jorg’ath sorts him out. Medicine 12 and he’s Trained, so that’s a fail. Skabb whips out the wand and does him for 13, and he does himself a little one-er as well for 12 more.

Nadia looks through the window. 25 Perception. Huge, mossy cavern. She sees markings, faint and hard to make out, on the walls. Also, she might be tripping, but she thought she saw ripples on the surface of the water… Jorg’ath immediately wants to go in it with his scales and his water-breathing. Skabb roasts some bugs for popcorn. On a scale of four party members to six, how deadly would going paddling in it be…? The DM thinks we should splash away, so Jorg'ath goes ahead -

“Stop right there, Jorg’ath!”

The markings Nadia saw before start to shimmer, and a sort of but not quite light starts to shine and shimmer, like the Predator (if she had ever seen that movie).

Something comes out of the stone. “He can pet those dawgs!” Skabb shouts. “Erm… I’m in trouble,” Jorg’ath says, and then Gollum arrives as well. Skabb sends Grabby back down the corridor and round with a potion in each hand. Nadia races back around after Grabby, and the Initiative box appears. Skabb sits down and starts popping bugs in her mouth. Hartvig is torn; the enemies look big, but Jorg’ath does like petting those dawgs. He stays where he is for now.

Jorg’ath goes first, and runs to under the window so he can get everything. “Everyone’s getting gozzed on.” DC22 saving throw for all of them. None of them take any of the poison damage, regardless of if they make the save or not. Skabb puts her hand on the window. Jorg’ath makes a sad vomiting noise.

The dogs run at him and start biting, and try to trip him. They do, and then bite him a bunch more. Hartvig starts running, in hopes that there will be enough of Jorg’ath and Nadia left to reanimate. Skabb: “Nah! Settle down, take the weight off!”

Nadia shoots, crits, pulls out the crossbow and hits again (no crit), but wins a Hero Point for being heroic.

The big fucker runs at Jorgy but misses.

Skab has taken one sock off and is having, quote, “a good old rummage around”. She has a look at the magic window - 22 Arcana. It is nigh on indestructible, even with magical means. She shrugs and takes her other sock off. She gets up and smushes her face against the glass and pulls faces at Jorg’ath, and has Grabby fly over him and drop a potion of Healing in his big old flappy gob. Luckily he is prone and on his back anyway. 16 hp back for the lizard, then 16 more for the other potion, and Grabby gets out of Dodge “cause she ain’t silly.”

Jorg’ath’s turn - he stands up for his first action, while the DM checks to see if the enemies have attacks of opportunity. Jorg’ath: “This fucking guy.” Let the petting commence! "We gonna start petting some dogs real good!" He targets the one Nadia hit, red16HP21 for 14 damage and a howdydoodis! Surrounding them from within, he hits the next one. It doesn’t take his poison damage. He steels himself.

The next one bites, misses, bites, crits for 31 damage, and goes to knock him over again. 24 is a fail and he’s on his ass. It bites him, green 21 for 24 more damage. This is a ferocious counter-petting. Hartvig: “ Assert your dominance!” The next one bites him, I can’t keep up, he gets bitten a bunch. He’s not looking good.

Hartvig, grumbling: “I’m not a fuckin’ cleric, you know.” He has to be within 30 feet to heal, but can’t get close enough. He does a Needle Dart instead. He can resurrect Jorgy in a minute, if that will help…? He Hero Points the 19 - wait, no 19 hits!

Nadia runs forward and throws Jorg’ath a potion - 16 Dec check and he is able to catch it with his tongue. Which is a waste of time as the big bastard kills him. Then it goes for Nadia but misses.

Skabbins next. For Grabby’s independent action she moves toward Jorg’ath with her last potion, but can’t quite make it. She flies out of the way instead. Skabb picks her nose and wipes it on the glass.

Jorg’ath drinks the potion Nadia threw him (He got up I think? I was getting cookies) He stands himself back up and gets right back into it with a crit! “Fuck this guy in particular.” He notices ghostly shackles around their feet, this close. That’s what the weak binding magic was!

They bite him and he gets on the floor again. One of the dogs runs up to Nadia, but can’t do anything.

Hartvig can only get within 30 feet of Jorgy if he stands next to Nadia and her new dog; he sighs and trudges over. (Skabb: “Burials or cremations?” Nadia: “Cremations please.” Jorg'ath wants just a regular old burial.) Hartvig heals Jorg’ath for 40 points. That’ll give him at least another round. He’s Wounded 2 and feeling fresh!

Nadia recalls Alkonost and does some stabbing, and awaits her death. It arrives swiftly: the landslide thing punches her in the face and one-shots her. “Goodnight!” It then punches Hartvig, and again; the second one misses as he was doubled over in pain from the first hit.

If it was just Jorgy, Skabb would still be picking her toes; but Nadia is out and Hartvig isn’t far behind, so she starts making her way around on her newly-remembered goblin dog. She swings her sling around her head and takes aim at the dog - 4 damage. “Ooooh, it’s going to rue the day I got involved.”

Jorg’ath stands up, and starts petting the dawg next to him. 23 pets it real good, then 18 is a miss - Hero Point for another 18. “Oh, fuck you.”

It bites him again and tries to knock him down. “Oh, I’d like to stop falling over.” He fails the save and goes on his ass again. The next bite is a miss. The other one moves to flank Hartvig and bites him for 11 damage. Can he do a reflex save? “Let me just take my hit points off and I’ll be with you.” He fails it and goes prone, and the last attack misses.

Jorg’ath understands if Hartvig wants to run away. How far can he crawl? Five feet. He can heal Nadia or Jorg’ath. If Jorg’ath goes down again, he will be Dying rather than Wounded. Hartvig does his last Big Old Heal, a 2-Actioner, on Jorg’ath. 26 HP back for the lizard, that ought to last him a round or so. Hartvig crawls behind Nadia’s corpse for cover.

Nadia spends her Hero Points to be stable rather than making death saves, and will come back no longer Wounded.

The Landslide targets Hartvig, who is Prone and has -2 to his AC, then again. He is out.

It’s down to Skabb to save the day…

If Skabb hits an Unconscious person with an AoE, will it hurt them? Well… yes. It’ll kill them. She bemoans us meeting our fates so close to the enemies. She makes a Perception check to see which is the most injured out of the baddies. Could her goblin dog drag a friend to safety? It could, the DM rules. Skabb considers. We can hear her frowning. “This is troublesome.” Can she figure out what the binding magic was? Jorg’ath saw it, but she didn’t. Arcana check 16HP9. “Oh lord. Okay, I don’t know shit.” Are Hartvig and Nadia out of danger if she did (something I don’t hear)? No, she would hit them both. She does Hydraulic Push at one of the dogs - 16 is a fail, Hero Point 25! Grabby Cat, back safe behind the window, picks her belly button and farts a lot.

Jorg’ath hits something with a 23. “Is it dead?” No. “I would like to hurt it again." 21 hits for 11 more.

One of the hounds disappears into the wall. The other one does the same. Jorg’ath: “Cowards.”

Hartvig makes a death save: 2. He was Dying 2, now he’s Dying 3. At Dying 4, he is dead-dead. Has he got any Hero Points? “Yeah…” Skabb: “Fucking USE them!”

Nadia is stable, so the landslide goes for Skabb - a miss and a miss. She’s bobbin’, she’s weavin’! It’s her go.

She wants to do a Recall Knowledge on the living landslide. Arcana or Nature check: 26. It is an Earth Elemental. If it is not touching solid ground it becomes Slowed 1. It's immune to paralysis, poison and sleep, and can burrow through the earth. Is it weak to anything? Nope! Cool. She Lightning Bolts it, hitting with a 25. Reflex Save DC 22: it rolls a 14! 25 Leccy damage, nice!

Grabby makes her way around in case of a TPK, and she can stuff potions in our gobs.

Jorg’ath is standing up for once; he feels a bit light-headed. “Back in the game! Er… bish bash bosh.” 33 is a crit, and the elemental is flat-footed.

Hartvig spends all his Hero Points to stabilise. “I exchange them for not being dead.” He is not Dying, or Wounded. He is still prone, flat-footed, and stupefied.

The elemental melts into the wall and disappears. Hartvig gurgles and a bit of blood comes out of his ear. Before healing anyone, Skabb bites Jorg’ath for being a dick.

Skabb makes a Nature check - 18. She has no Hero Points left. She tries Occultism, actually no she can’t - but she rolls a Green 31. The DM rules that she can have it, after that. There is a ritual she can do that would release the earth elementals from their bonding. Can she do it with one hand while applying savlon to her injured friends?

Do any of us have gems? Hartvig has some that Luna robbed. He can make an Occultism check for the ritual, but he’s at 0hp currently. We will do the healing in a minute, the DM just wants to see what the outcome here will be. Hartvig rolls a 19; not great. Skabb does a Nature check to back it up: dirty 20. Nadia has big fat 0s in all of those, and rolls a 15; Jorg’ath rolls a 19 Nature. The ritual succeeds, using up 60gp of Hartvig’s gems! Before the elemental departs, it grants a boon. Hartvig has gained Crystal Sensibility for a week! The elementals leave.

We could have bypassed all this death if we’d just done that first. But where’s the fun in that!

We find 6 gemstones worth 15gp each, which Hartvig can take as he provided the ones for the ritual. We do some healing and call it a day.

[softgaycontent]

Autistic Amity Analysis:

(Spoilers up to S2E2 Escaping Expulsion)

CW for: referenced child abuse, ableism

Good post here as well on Amity being Autistic. I may touch on some of the same points because the source material is the same.

Alador

Amity's father, Alador, is fairly overtly autistic. It runs in families.

Justifications real quick because he doesn't mask like Amity so it is easier to point to clear signs:

Fairly non-expressive, holding the same half-lidded expression that Amity does as default

Extremely interested in animals/creatures, to the point of being distracted by them in the middle of conversations

Unbrushed Hair / lack of attention to or care for grooming, even at important functions or for family portraits

Very intelligent / creative / technical (a successful inventor)

His body language and the way he holds his hands over one-another after Odalia crushes the bug-thing

Unsure if this is Odalia knowing her husband well or her being very rude (probably both), but she is constantly doing things like bringing him back on track or gently moving him away as they're leaving the school. He does look kind of annoyed when she reaches inside his coat for their business card though.

NOTE: I think if Odalia had any real influence over Alador at all, she would have at least made him tidy up for the family portrait (he has unbrushed hair, goggles, and abomination goop on him). She either truly respects him for who he is or can't make him do anything.

Abuse

Odalia seems genuinely fond of her husband. She sees him as her equal, and expects others to respect him as well (introducing him as the greatest inventor in the Isles). Unfortunately Amity, as her child, is not given the same room to be herself. She is expected to have all the strengths as her parents, with none of the "weaknesses".

It would not be surprising if Alador struggled growing up autistic and truly believes that teaching Amity to cover it up is better for her. It's unclear how much of her overall abuse is perpetrated by each of her parents, but Alador does seem to be an active (not just passive) participant at least some of the time.

In Lost in Language, the twins justify being cruel to Amity because "she's got to learn", and that as "her family" they are responsible for showing her "tough love". This is clearly something they picked up from growing up in an abusive household, but it may be something they particularly believe about Amity, their weird little sister who doesn't act quite like the other kids, and gets upset too easily.

Amity's necklace may have started as a way for Odalia to remind Amity in public places to make eye contact with people, to stop stimming, or otherwise mask. She has worn it since at least whatever age she is in the flashbacks of Understanding Willow (6-10?).

Special Interest

Amity and Luz both really love the Azura books. Luz is canonically neurodivergent with ADHD, which has some overlaps with ASD.

One of Amity's main forms of expressing herself seems to be in relation to the books. She draws herself as or with the characters often, befriends Luz more easily because of their shared enjoyment of the series, and tries to replicate a scene from tGWA in real life (Thorn Vault).

Emotions

Amity is fairly stoic. She is not super expressive most of the time, and her eyes are often held in the same half-open way her fathers are. Exceptions being when she is very angry or (more rarely) comfortably happy that her eyes open fully and more of her face changes.

Amity taps her hands against her knees when she is excited in Wing it Like Witches, and really tends use her hands to express herself a lot.

Her siblings make fun of her for getting so mad that her whole face goes red, which seems like the sort of reaction you might have if you were taught not to stomp out your anger like you want to, and hold it in instead.

Justice

One symptom of ASD is feeling very passionate about what is fair and what isn't.

Amity is shown consistently to get very angry over fairness. First, when Luz and Willow cheat by pretending that Luz is an abomination (taking Amity's badge), then again when Eda and Lilith cheat in Covention, and finally at the fact that her siblings never get in trouble despite their frequent troublemaking.

This is the thing that drives her to anger more than anything.

She seems visibly mad at her mom while her friends are being expelled in Escaping Expulsion up until Odalia reminds her that she didn't uphold her end of the deal (re: the expo) at which point Amity gives in and looks defeated instead. Seemingly, she accepts that this was her fault and there's nothing she can do.

Comfort

Amity seeks comfort in dark, quiet places. Her favorite place to spend time is a secret little room in the library. In Covention, Amity finds a dark corner to sit in to calm down.

(Arguably the fort that she and Willow built in the flashbacks of Understanding Willow was away from the other campers and out of the sun as well.)

Touch

Amity seems to like being touched (by Luz and Willow) clearly friendly ways, and strongly dislikes being touched at all other times.

Amity's siblings mostly seem to touch her in ways that annoy her in Adventures in the Elements. First on purpose, squishing her in a lean between them both, then possibly on accident, as Edric copies the hair ruffle Eda had just done to Luz. Amity seems to visibly dislike the feeling, and the fact that it messed up her hair.

She also really hates it when Hooty touches her; although most characters acknowledge him as annoying, she really loses it when he touches her again.

When Luz hugs her in Understanding Willow, Amity does not reciprocate, even though she seems to enjoy the gesture. She also reacts noticeably to the fact that Luz is still holding her hand after they arrive back in the owl house.

She seemed to enjoy keeping a close proximity to Willow when they were kids.

Misc

Amity takes Luz literally when she says, "I'm picking up what you're putting down."

Hair

OK this one is purely a bonus headcanon about Amity's undercut. :)

Amity's hair is shown to be rather thick in her concept art, and Emira also seems to have very thick hair, so the reason it is not big and poofy in canon is probably due entirely to her undercut.

A lot of autistic kids have sensory issues around having their hair brushed, which only get worse with large, thick hair which tangles easily.

I like to think that Odalia had a lot of trouble brushing Amity's hair and putting it up into a neat style every day. much less teaching her to do it for herself. Eventually, she gave up and took Amity to get her hair cut, eliminating a lot of the thickness with the undercut, and providing Amity with a hairstyle she could easily manage herself.

Amity loved it, and also really likes running her hands over the short parts when she is by herself.

(While Odalia is too harsh about the way Amity behaves and looks, she will usually actually meet her half-way on sensory accommodations, like comfortable sheets)

[johnandrasjaqobis]

3x07 spoilers for White Vault, I was slow listening to the patreon release but it drops everywhere today so it’s fine and HOO BOY

Ureta is dead. 100% convinced she’s gone, about 75% convinced that was her on the radio frequency they picked up.

pls check the theater. except pls never go in there.

Lucas is alive but gone to them. He’s more of a threat than anything else at this point, the combination of attacking Simon and trying to get Eva in on the mantra with him (because she accidentally started it once hoo boy) just solidifies that for me, I feel like one of them is gonna have to end up killing him. maybe indirectly, the mountain isn’t safe, but somehow.

Eva honey. I don’t know what’s going to happen to you but it’s not gonna be anything good. Ironically the creepy things ignoring you is equally troubling.

SIMON MY SON, of course he has a fiance, of course he’s gotta bring that up just as it’s getting so clear that he’s not getting off this mountain. oh I was wincing SO HARD at that whole ankle sequence. I’m glad he’s not hesitant at all about his distrust of Lucas, but oh son it’s not gonna help at this point

bugs have the camp. Eva can get supplies apparently but take them where? To the cave? Are they just already shifting everything into the cave because lordy it took the Fristed team a whole season for that to happen

granted Fristed team had a concrete bunker between them and whatever was out there. Piedra team has tents. really missing that concrete bunker right about now. They got claw marks. Piedra gets rips through the walls.

Dr Liu ready and willing to fight off an eldritch abomination with a frying pan is,,, so good. Who knows -- she’s genre savvy, she knows kind of what’s happening, maybe she’ll be this season’s Graham.

that FREAKING RADIO SIGNAL. on one hand REALLY shows how much Travis has improved as a sound designer, like I also assume just different qualities of radio but the difference between this one and what Fristed was picking up is so impressive.

tl;dr - oh they’re all gonna die. (if anyone makes it, I might put my money on Dr Liu right now)

[alexatheris-44]

Oh Horrid Mother

(Darksiders, Against Creation AU)

-

CW: uncomfortable situations, allusions to assault, descriptions of injury and gore

Summary: Anathem witnesses the Mother of Monsters and her special interest in Death and his works.

> It’s probably a good idea that you’ve read Darksiders The Abomination Vault before this, not for spoiler reasons (yet) but for more insight on Death’s history. The way his “relationship” with the Mother of Monsters is hinted at in the book is what we are playing with here.

Start reading below the GIF vvvv

She visited often in the early days. The mother of monsters, Mistress of all Masters -a title she was much more earning of at that time- would find the time between her paramours and plots to grace her greatest creations with her presence, and it would always cause quite the stir. But such was her influence, and she made no effort to hide how much she played into it, even when around her proclaimed “children.”

On occasion she’d take her time, linger and mingle with whoever would pay her the attention she felt she deserved. But on days she had a schedule to stick to, she’d make a beeline for the worktent without so much as a look towards the others. Worst were the days she wouldn’t even cross the ground of the settlement, simply apparate herself inside as if she owned the place; at least the commotion of pining outside forewarned her imminent entrance. She took such special interest in Death’s visceral endeavours even if her aura of want would completely derail the flow of work, always so eager to see the state of his current projects. Sometimes she’d whisk them away, something about wanting to personally oversee their development… not a single one ever came back. As much as he hated to admit it -both back then and especially now- Anathem would also fall victim to Lilith’s toxic charm whenever she graced the world with her presence. Want and desire exuded from her like heat from fire, her provocative attire leaving rather little to the imagination. But it wasn’t about wanting her carnally, though the thought certainly crossed the minds of those who witnessed her majesty; rather, above all it was a desire for her to want you, to acknowledge you. Anathem -just like the other projects- would find his hands shaking from the desire that she would even look at him, that a woman so far above would grace him -some lowly worm so far below her- with the most fleeting downward glance. It was a wretched feeling, to have her power so easily twist and warp his own thoughts, how it would make him lose ownership over his own mind. He fought a fearsome battle to keep control of his body when Lilith was around, as if she were a hunger for whom he’d been starved his entire existence. The sheer amount of effort it took to not throw himself at her feet, groveling, proclaiming her his dark and magnificent goddess; it was both agonizing and exhausting. Hell, had she so much as hinted that to be her desire, Anathem couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t slit his own throat that she may drink of his blood. A wretched and sickening feeling.

Despite everything that still held a pulse wishing, pleading, begging to be subject of her attention -from the Nephilim outside to the dying faceless viscera strewn on the discard table- Lilith only consistently afforded her priceless attention to one. And from what Anathem could recall, even in the earliest days, Death certainly did not seem to want it.

For all the unnatural charm she oozed and precious attention she doted to him, Death always seemed tenser with her around. The man hardly talked to those below him to begin with -hardly ever showed his assistants much regard even when he had his fingers deep in their innards, mere materials to test his theories- but Anathem felt the wall around him expand nearly tenfold the second her sickeningly putrid-sweet scent of sulfur hinted in the air. It’s not something he really thought to notice, perhaps the extensive amount of time he spent on Death’s table under his silent yet undivided focus -a cell under a microscope, being perceived bare, exposed, vulnerable- gave Anathem the impression he could glimpse back.

Once, Death was in the middle of replacing Anathem’s original left eye when the smell of Lilith tainted the air, and whatever organ the Nephilim initially planned to rehome in the human’s empty socket burst like a grape under a hydraulic press, so suddenly did Death’s entire body tense. Anathem was made to lay there, half blind and with an optic nerve stinging as it stayed exposed to air, until Death returned the next morning. Usually he wouldn’t be back to his affairs for at least a day, even on visits where he wouldn’t leave with her, Death would dismiss everyone and cease any work for a full day’s time. Doubtful he had come back for Anathem, simply that he happened to be in the one room Death could trust Lilith not to enter. He said nothing, hardly even acknowledging he left the human strapped down with an open wound and missing an eye, but the way he sat there was… haunting.

Anathem half wondered then if he should have spoken up, asked what was wrong or if he needed to talk, but how could the human have possibly helped when the Nephilim sat beside him with hollow eyes, their light burning an absent fire as if robbed of his own ghost.

Eventually Death broke out of his statuesque trance and finished what he’d started, returning Anathem’s full vision before wordlessly dismissing him. Anathem did not ask why the smell of sulfur clung to his pallid skin, neither did he speak when Death flinched away from his awkwardly offered touch.

At a much later time, as the number of Nephilim grew and there started to be distinction between Firstborn and later generations, Death had once again called for Anathem to take to the table, something he’d been doing more and more often. Anathem had actually managed to steal a chuckle from the Firstborn at a glib remark he let slip, the routine of it all beginning to feel comically mundane. The speed at which his demeanour then changed was entirely inhuman.

“Did I miss anything fun?” Her sultry hum pierced the air like a gunshot, the waft of Hell’s sulfur mixed with her indiscernible perfume filling the space like an encircling pack of wolves, cornering them both at the room’s centre. Death preferred to be alone when doing his more invasive operations, and so the space he’d do them in had always been off to the side from the rest of the worktent. No matter how the setup changed as they relocated, Death always had his private area, and she never entered it. There was no formal agreement in place, it would have been a strange stipulation to impose, but it had just been a fact that Lilith never came to this room.

“Why are you here?” Death’s voice was hoarse, barely audible, almost as if he feared being heard. But… this was Death, usually so cold and unbothered. What in Creation could he have to fear?

“Well I looked for you in the rest of your little workshop, dear.” Anathem felt it as did Death, the way her influence crept forward and washed over them like a tidal wave as she approached with each step, he heeled boots somehow still sounding an ominous click against the soft dirt ground. Anathem didn’t even have her in his sights yet when the aura of control enshrouded like water up to his neck, he could barely keep his head above the choking thickness of it. Death merely refused to turn around.

“You were nowhere around, so I figured you’d be hiding from me in your little, aha… personal space~”

Her mocking lilt rolled from her poisonous lips, coating those last words as if a child overfrosting a cupcake; far far too sweet to be anything but unhealthy. Death whipped around as her fingers raised to brush his arm, shoulders drawing back to make himself look bigger, more intimidating. Anathem’s head was swimming as he caught her face, unable to look away yet almost repulsed from staring at her for too long; as if he knew himself unworthy to look upon the Mother of Monsters but far too entranced to care. She had eyes only for Death, who wanted to recoil every second he was held in her gaze.

“That’s not what I meant.” Death forced the words out too harshly, Anathem‘s own voice in his head criticized; it was hardly the tone to take with such a woman worthy of worship.

“Why are you visiting now?”

Her laugh could melt stone and freeze over the Hells. Light and airy, but thick and choked like something caught in her throat. She places a hand to her bosom in innocent reproach… how soft would it feel to have your head lie there rather than her hand? While Anathem found it harder to focus the longer she stood in the room, she seemed to have less draw than usual. Perhaps it had to do with Death also standing in the picture; where she held herself at ease and comfort as if walking through air made of silk, the Nephilim was rigid, turned to bedrock, more real than the ground below him.

“I missed you. And I was just so busy last time I dropped by, you didn’t get to show me all you’ve been working on~”

She raised a hand to her crown of horns as if fixing her hair, eyes dancing oh so slowly down Death’s body, hungry. Death held too much self control to shudder, and thankfully she quit her pervasive trailing to look behind him… to Anathem. The moment her emerald eyes locked with his he felt petrified. If her influence was powerful before, now he was drowning in it. She was upon him before he knew it, bathing him in her shadow, close enough he could make out the pores in her lavender skin.

“And would you just look at this,” her purr throbbed in his head, a migraine mixed with the feeling of being hammered, teetering on blackout drunk.

“So much farther along than past projects. You’ve been honing your skills, my child. And it’s human no less! I haven’t toyed with one of those yet~”

He felt so alone in the reflection of her eyes, the only thing in existence held in her gaze. Yes, he was a thing; a new and shiny toy for her to break. He came close to wanting her to, when Death’s voice somehow shone enough of a light through the fog to keep him from becoming completely lost.

“I’m not done with him.” His growl rumbled the air, a soothing drumming against her deafening thunder. Somehow Anathem was able to tear his eyes off the Demoness to look to the Nephilim, catching a birthing ire in his eyes. Anathem should’ve felt afraid, Death’s anger was not something to deal with lightly. But in this moment it was his life raft, somehow it was bringing him back above water. For some inexplicable reason, Death stood as a lighthouse in a tempest, despite usually being the monsoon. Lilith clearly had no mind to pay to him that moment, dragging Anathem’s face back towards her with a clutch of his jawline. She turned it over in her hand, claws pinching against his skin, looking him all over for the smallest flaws and marks. Back in her eyes he felt the siren’s magic call for him again, luring him back to dark depths by a gentle pull of the leash she wove around his soul. He couldn’t move but at least now he could think. Maybe he could look away, or at least try. His eyes kept coming back to her smiling face.

“Your methods are still slow, primitive. You’re too soft, Death.” The way she pondered to herself how she would rip him apart and remake him were legible in her eyes, dancing horrible imagery of what she might’ve done to the other “projects” she took home. Her lightning smile widened, cold, serrated teeth peeking from her lips. There was that hunger again.

“If you’re good I might return it when I’m done… if it survives of course-”

“No.”

Anathem caught the very moment her softness turned cruel, and it terrified him. Her smile deformed to a snarl, the purr of her breathing now a hissing steam that perched untold curses at the very edge of her dark wine lips. If before she appeared a divine sin, in that fraction of a second before she turned away Anathem saw the worst that Hell could offer, tenfold. The way her hand gripped his face threatened to pull out his skull, her claws nearly so sunk into his skin he couldn’t be sure they hadn’t punctured. Whatever dream haze fogged his mind turned to frost, and he felt fear freeze him still. Lilith glared to Death, not one to be denied. Her small shoulders heaved as she took a breath as if a towering dragon about to breathe fire, but to Anathem’s bewilderment it somehow turned into a moaning sigh as if nothing had happened; so quickly, so suddenly.

“Oh sweetheart.” Her fingers slid from Anathem’s face like calloused eels, the fluidity with which she slinked away a cross between a hunting cat and languid serpent. Her tail twisted and flicked, twitching, a viper striking at the air in seductive patterns. His blood felt turned to ice at her tone; it was back to being honeyed.

“Don’t worry, my child. Do not be jealous, I have not forgotten about you~”

Death froze under her touch, every muscle in his body so tensed he threatened to burst out of his own skin. Perhaps that’s what he hoped to do, but under the full force of Lilith’s bewitchment he could barely force himself to breathe. Her talons teased from Death’s cheek to his chest, leaving a slight mark as she scratched though nothing that wouldn’t heal away. Anathem watched in horror as his face twitched between rage, disgust, and submission. Death was about the only one he’d seen not immediately fawn at Lilith’s coyest smile, but clearly it wasn’t without great effort. Anathem feared to move, lest the Firstborn be distracted and immediately ensnared. He felt helpless, what hope did a human have against a demon even the Nephilim couldn’t resist? But he saw how her hand continued to trail down, lower, going somewhere it had no business nor permission going.

“Don’t you want to please your mother?”

The world blurred as his sight turned red, he didn’t even feel his feet push off the ground as he lunged. Something akin to a feral roar rattled his throat before his teeth found purchase, and when they did he bit down hard. Her shriek was shrill, piercing, she tasted like soot and bile. Her blood burned against his tongue but Anathem would not release his hold. Wrath possessed him to crane back his neck and put a hand to her shoulder, that he could hold her still as he wrenched himself downward. He didn’t know the strength he possessed, but flesh tore around his teeth and gave further away to blood, the sickening wet snap of bone and shredding tendons ringing in his ears. He hadn’t the presence of mind to know what knocked him away, only that the sheer force dislocated his jaw as it struck, his shoulder then dislocated as he hit against the ground.

“You insolent WRETCH!” Her wail was like a banshee, the facade fully dropped as she clutched the gored stub of her left bicep. Anathem had the momentary thought to wonder where her arm went, or what tasted like charred, rotted meat in his mouth. She looked about to incinerate him in the white hot fury of her stare. Whatever possessed him to act previously now evaporated from his spirit, abandoning him to a fate of slaughter. He’d have to be picked clean from under her claws, if even that much was left of him… at least he made the bitch bleed first.

But to both their surprise -earning a snarl that threatened to bite off his hand from her and eyes wide like saucers from him- Death raised his arm and stopped Lilith from lurching forward to her prey.

He spoke too low for Anathem to make out, that or the ringing in his ears drowned out Death’s bass tone. When her glare tore from his crumpled body to turn to Death, Anathem felt like he could breathe again, as if her palpable anguish was so heavy it pinned him down. Death looked… calmed. The Mother of Monsters spat venom and violent curses at his face, her slit pupils like daggers poised to plunge, and yet Death’s body had relaxed. Through a blurring gloss that crept over his eyes -alluding that the ground might’ve found his head a little harder than he first thought- Anathem watched the Reaper seem to coo over her injury, placating her, distracting her. His body still held hesitation to make contact with her skin, but luckily for him the Demoness wanted nothing to do with his touch. Anathem couldn’t tell what was being said, adrenaline fading fast and bringing in a feeling of light-headedness. But he was present enough to follow her movements as she strutted over, her remaining hand reaching down to shove her blood-coated fingers into his slack mouth. He felt her claws grip painfully behind his bottom row of teeth, if only he had the moment to think and the presence of mind to try biting her again. He would have laughed, even if it coated his tongue in that disgusting acrid taste again. Then the pain hit, seconds after the sickening pop of his jawbone completely detaching from the rest of his skull. Her movement was too fast, too fluid, cleanly unnatural; she should not have been able to, given her slimmer frame and only one arm. The agony swallowed his mind whole, he couldn’t even register his own gargled scream. Anathem fell to the dirt blind in his pain, roof of his mouth biting into the slowly forming mud watered by his blood. He could taste the ghost of copper, the last of his senses to ring clear before he’d fully lost consciousness

…

And when he woke up, he was on the table again. No smell of sulfur stuck to the room, so there was no telling how long he’d been out. His memory was so foggy on what even happened, ears still ringing though now from the blood rushed by his heartbeat. He blinked slowly half a dozen times before the haze in his vision cleared. Through the confusion and scattered blank puzzle pieces of his mind, he knew that his cheeks ached something terrible.

“About time.”

Anathem startled at Death’s gravelly rasp, nearly leaping to his feet at the hulking sight of the Nephilim standing beside him, wiping fresh blood from some tool in his hands. Likely Anathem would’ve stood if it weren’t for a throbbing soreness in his back, and the jerk of his head sent a shooting pain at either side of his face. Death’s eyes flicked from his hands to Anathem, shooting a stern warning that he kept still, and then back to his hands. Given there was no sense of urgency or danger, Anathem complied.

“You took longer to wake than I expected,” Death noted aloud as casual as nothing, returning the tool to a spread of many before him in the exact spot he picked it up from. The Firstborn had a certain order he stuck to in everything he did, a peculiar spotlessness despite the inherent gore and mess of his projects. Anathem for one found it easy to stick to that regiment, all his tools had been kept in the same order to the point they wore an outline in the leather padding.

“We’ll have to address that at a later time.”

Perhaps it was a sound in his breath, perhaps he was simply predictable, but Death held up a silencing finger as Anathem had the thought to speak.

“Don’t. There was no visible damage to your vocal cords, but until I’ve secured this side I’d advise silence.” Death picked up a curved bone needle, threading it with practiced expertise. Even though his candlefire eyes cast down to Anathem’s face it somehow felt as if he wasn’t seeing him, fixated on something under his right cheekbone. He leaned in, hunched over the smaller being with such presence it was hard to not find him imposing, but Anathem only paid mind to the needle being brought close to his reddened skin. It was strange how his cheek was so flushed, it was hardly his first time awake under Death’s knife. But when did he get on the table?

He flinched slightly -despite trying to stifle it- when the needle punctured.

“I had other plans for this thread when we started today.” Death was not one to hold one sided conversations; he would certainly muse to himself out loud, breathing short words or observations when something particularly noteworthy came up in his work, but he could tell Anathem had a plethora of questions pervading his mind. He knew he held a captive audience, yet spoke as if he was alone.

“Though I’d imagine I won’t be hearing any complaints for letting this take precedence.”

In a smooth motion, as if it were all routine, the Nephilim brought his large hand to rest over the entirety of Anathem’s narrow throat, not in efforts to crush his trachea -though he most certainly possessed the strength necessary to do so with ease- but to hold something in place as he began stitching. Anathem quickly realized it was his jaw, a stabbing ache biting at the reattached nerves surrounding the hinge at either side. He hardly felt Death’s cold touch under his chin -as if he’d been numbed or his senses still slept- but the pain was all too real. His breath hissed, catching in his throat which felt raw. The hand tensed its hold, a wordless command for him not to move.

“Attacking her was an entirely foolish decision, be grateful I could convince her to be merciful.”

Anathem pushed down the impulse to either scoff or swallow hard. This was her being merciful? Death sounded a curt hum, as if he could hear Anathem’s thoughts. He threaded another stitch, careful not to sew Anathem’s cheek to his gums.

“You should never have been able to get that close, let alone draw blood. That you did speaks volumes of the progress we are making. You continue to surprise me…”

Strangely, Anathem felt the Firstborn was trying to compliment him. Something about how his harsh tone lessened, or the warmth in his gaze as he finally met Anathem’s eyes; how it feels to take a hot bath at the end of a cold night, or a bonfire in a damp and frigid cave. It wasn’t soft by any means, no part of him was made to be, but the silent appreciation communicated in that moment was louder than any words he could’ve thought to voice. Anathem bit down the pulse of discomfort radiating from his shoulder as he brought his hand to rest on Death’s wrist, the best way he thought to reply. Death stilled as his touch, needle poised to tie off the last stitch.

“Hhrg-had… to…” The words gargled like phlegm in his throat, tongue sitting in his mouth like a fat slug; heavy and numb to his instructions. Death sounded a dry chuckle, unsurprised Anathem chose the very last stitch to not follow his instruction to keep quiet. All to say something so simple, so unnecessary. Death tied off the end of the thread with a deft hand and released Anathem’s face carefully, that he might catch it if the bonds mysteriously let go. Purely a cautionary measure, Anathem always found the Firstborn’s work flawless. Who else could find a way to reattach a jaw that was quite literally torn off the hinges, expertly reconnecting every connecting nerve and most of the blood vessels? he didn’t look to push it, but Anathem knew he could’ve wiggled his chin and he'd only have to deal with the stinging afterwards. Knowing his cue to leave, he followed in Death’s shadow as they made for the rest of the worktent just past the partition.

“I expect you back here before first light, we have a lot of work to do. There was a price to be paid for showing such promise.”

Before Anathem could think to ask what that meant, Death flung open the curtain to reveal a room strewn with bodies, mangled and dismembered. He staggered at the horrendous sight of all the other experiments and assistants torn apart before him, Death merely stood stoic. There was that elusive last lingering of sulfur the human was looking for before…

“I’ve been informed I am to focus my efforts solely on your transformation for a time,” Death casually delivered as if he was looking out to an empty storage room, unblinking in the face of such sudden and violent loss. Anathem's heart nearly leapt as the Firstborn’s cold hand found his back.

“I trust you’ll prove more than an adequate return on investment, hm?”

Without another word, Death marched ahead and left the work area, ready to begin again come the next morning.

[sebeth]

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes: Breakout

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

 Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Episodes 1 &2: Breakout.

 Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is one of my favorite hero cartoons. It ranks up there with Young Justice, Justice League Unlimited, and Batman: Brave and the Bold.  I love all these series for the same reason: the creators realize the DC and Marvel Universe have thousands of characters and all should be featured!

We open with Iron Man interrupting a weapons exchange between A.I.M. and Lucia Von Bardas.

Lucia Von Bardas is a rather obscure character. She is the Prime Minister of Latveria and appeared in the “Secret War” mini-series by Brian Michael Bendis and Gabrielle Del’Otto.

Is the weapons deal taking place in Latveria? If so, Tony legally can’t do anything about it.

Tony’s “Unfortunately some of it has my name on it” comment indicates he’s started his “Armor Wars” campaign against villains stealing his tech.  It would also explain why Tony’s invading Latveria to reclaim/neutralize his tech. If you haven’t read the classic “Armor Wars” storyline from the 1980s, you should give it a shot. Great storyline where Tony goes to extremes to take back his technology.

I love how unimpressed Lucia is with Tony’s posturing – she’s all “whatever”! Let’s be real, Lucia’s boss is Doctor Doom – she’s heard actual scary threats and seen said threats executed. Tony just doesn’t measure up in the intimidation factor,

We switch to the “Cube” where Doctor Samson patrols the corridors of a prison.  We get glimpses of the Wrecker, Zzzax, and the Absorbing Man.

Doctor Samson interviews an imprisoned Bruce Banner and notes that there hasn’t been a “Hulk incident” in 36 hours.

Samson informs us the Cube is the “most advanced gamma radiation research facility” on the planet. Banner warns the Cube is a “gamma bomb” waiting to happen.

Why are the Wrecker, the Absorbing Man and Zzzax contained in the Cube if its purpose is gamma radiation research? The first two villains are the result of Asgardian magic and Zzzax was created by a terrorist act that didn’t involve gamma radiation.

Balder teleports to Thor in New York City.  Odin has entered the Odinsleep and would like Thor to supervise Asgard while he’s comatose. Thor reacts with as much enthusiasm as teenager told to mow the front lawn.

Thor ditches Balder to first save and then flirt with Jane Foster who is a paramedic in this universe.

Iron Man lands at the Vault and deposits the A.I.M. henchmen with SHIELD agent Jimmy Woo.

The Vault was located in Colorado in the comic book verse and based on the mountains I assume its still located in Colorado in the cartoon verse.

Jimmy Woo is most famous for being a member of the Agents of Atlas team.

Jimmy asks Tony to look over the Vault’s security because there was an “incident last week”. Tony tells Jimmy to schedule an appointment with Pepper because “I’m sure whatever it is can wait”. Not so much, Tony, not so much.

Hank Pym is the creator, and apparently the therapist, of the “Big House”. A shrunken prison located in the SHIELD Helicarrier. Ultron robots act as security guards.

Mad Thinker taunts Pym that “something is about to happen” but refuses to divulge details.

SHIELD agent Maria Hill asks the Wasp if she and Pym have considered Fury’s offer to become agents of SHIELD. Janet is for the idea but Hank is against it. The duo walks past Black Widow in the hall. Janet asks who the Widow is but is told “she’s classified”.

Power fluctuations occur throughout the multiple prisons and the Helicarrier. We see Hawkeye imprisoned in a cell in the Vault.

The Vault is the first prison to lose complete power. Inmates released from the cells include the Blizzard and a monocle man that I’m assuming is Baron Von Strucker.

The Cube goes down next. Zzzax, the Leader, the Wrecker, and Absorbing Man are freed.

The Big House is the third to go down, causing it to expand to its regular size and decimate the Helicarrier. The Big House now has numerous releases: Mad Thinker, Mandrill, MODOK, Griffin, Constrictor, Red Ghost & the Super Apes, Whirlwind, and the Grey Gargoyle.

The Cube’s Power Loss causes a release of Gamma radiation which envelopes Doctor Samson.

SHIELD agent Clay Quartermain informs Nick Fury that the Vault and the Cube’s systems have gone offline and no one is responding in the Big House: “Something has gone seriously wrong!”

The Helicarrier suffers the worst of it because SHIELD has to deal with escaping prisoners while in the process of crashing.

Pepper contacts Tony to inform him of the Helicarrier explosion while Jarvis tells him the Vault’s systems have gone offline. Tony heads to the Vault since he’s closer to it.

Thor and Jane are having drinks. Jane tells Thor to be a grown-up and handle his Asgardian responsibilities – Earth will be fine. Cue Helicarrier explosion. Thor heads off to investigate.

Banner is trapped under rubble. Doctor Samson stumbles toward him – with green hair. Samson attempts to lift the rubble and transforms into a super-human physique.

I do prefer this origin for Doctor Samson instead of the comic book verse where an alleged highly intelligent man decides to randomly inject himself with gamma radiation.

Vector of the U-Foes opens the weapons storage area of the Vault, allowing a female Whiplash and Chemistro.

Hawkeye knocks out Chemistro.

Hank is not having a good time as he’s in the midst of a huge multiple super-villain brawl. Cobra is the latest villain to arrive at the party. The Ultron robots attempt to stop Red Ghost but are stopped by the Super Apes. Fortunately for Hank, Jan arrives in time to save the day.

Hawkeye aims at Whiplash only for Iron Man to storm in through the ceiling. Tony recognizes Whiplash but refers to Clint as “arrow guy”.

Hawkeye is clearly in the early part of his career – the misunderstood good guy who was imprisoned – but he clearly never fought Iron Man as Tony doesn’t recognize him.

Clint attempts to say “Wait, I’m a good guy” but is interrupted by a repulsor blast. If Clint’s identifying himself as a “good guy” why was he imprisoned? A misunderstanding – like in the comics – Natasha’s a SHIELD agent but did another woman play Clint for a fool? Or is Clint undercover for SHIELD?

Tony battles Whiplash and Blizzard, two of his regular rogues’ gallery, and Vector, who is normally a Hulk enemy. Crimson Dynamo decides now is the perfect time to join the Iron Man beatdown party.

Tony orders an evacuation of the Vault – all SHIELD agents are to leave immediately.

Nick Fury isn’t concerned with the chaos and escapees on the Helicarrier – his only priority is the Raft – the “fourth prison”.

As seen in the comic book verse, the cartoon verse, and Captain America: Civil War, the Raft is a prison off the coast of New York City. The cells are on the ocean floor.

The mass breakout of the Raft caused the creation of Bendis’s New Avengers and was clearly one of the inspirations of these episodes.

We view the Raft and it too is losing power. Baron Zemo and the Purple Man have been released along with a furry clawed creature that we only receive a glimpse of so I can’t identify. Marvel has a lot of clawed, furry creatures.

We also see an unconscious man regaining consciousness. This will be Graviton, an extremely powerful but ultimately boring villain. In the New Avengers arc, Count Nefaria was the big bad released from the Raft.

Zzzax electrocutes Banner which triggers the transformation into the Hulk.

The Leader is in the control room and observes the mass shutdowns of the superhuman prisons. He orders the Absorbing Man and the Abomination to deal with the Hulk.

Hawkeye aids Iron Man in his battle against his rogues’ gallery. Iron Man initiates a self-destruct sequence of the Vault. An effective if brutal way to deal with the villains.

Hulk, the Absorbing Man, and the Abomination battle across the Cube. Hulk grabs Sampson and leaps from the Cube. The Leader prevents Absorbing Man and the Abomination from pursuing the Hulk as “we have work to do”.

The location of the Cube isn’t established but based on the scenery I would say it’s in New Mexico – the traditional stomping grounds of the Hulk.

Fury leaves Maria as the acting director of SHIELD while he takes a team to the Raft. Graviton is fully awake and launches the Raft into the sky.

The second episode begins with a flashback from ten years ago. Nick Fury hires Franklin Hall, a gravity researcher/physicist to continue Abraham Erskine’s work on the Super Soldier project.

I’m not a scientist but isn’t a physicist the wrong type of specialist to continue Erskine’s work?

Hall’s work causes an explosion that bombards him with energy. Hall regains consciousness and realizes he can control gravity. Fury responds by gassing him into unconsciousness and keeping him comatose for the next decade.

Hall was never going to be a nice man but I don’t think you should keep an individual comatose for a decade before he’s even broken a law.

The newly awoken Hall asks Zemo how long he’s been at the Raft and Zemo replies “longer than me and I have been here for six years.”

Hall is rightfully pissed and yanks the Raft into the air.

Graviton tortures Fury but is interrupted by a newly arrived Thor. Wasp rescues Fury while Thor and Graviton battle. The distraction causes Graviton to release the Raft and it falls into the ocean.  It’s been a bad day for the prisoners of the Raft and the Vault.

Iron Man requests a new suit of armor from his Chicago armory. Tony’s stuck chilling in a cornfield (Iowa, Kansas?) until it arrives.

Fury declares an “Omega-level emergency” which means that “every SHIELD agent, every Hulkbuster unit, and the entire United States armed forces” is under his direct control.

Hank & Jan demand information from Fury. Hank notes no one has heard from Hall “ever since he joined SHIELD”.

The Hulk drops Samson off at the Vital Diner, ordering chicken soup and requesting the waitress take care of Samson.

Bruce urges the Hulk to head to New York and aid Thor. Hulk agrees if he is allowed to remain the Hulk and not be “Banner”.

Janet throws herself into the fight and Hank follows after quizzing Fury for info.

Wasp gives Graviton hell. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ Janet is my favorite Janet. Sassy, headstrong, big heart, great costume. Also, my favorite Hank Pym.  Smart, conflicted, reluctant hero and has never hit Jan.

Iron Man arrives and joins the fight.

Graviton tears New York City apart, and sends Iron Man into space.

Iron Man returns from space and unleashes the repulsor blast/uni-beam to end all blasts.

Hulk arrives in time to debate Graviton’s claim that he “is the strongest one there is”.

Thor’s comment after the Hulk’s arrival: “I didn’t realize there were ogres on Midgard”.

The united team battle and defeat Graviton.

SHIELD attempts to arrest the Hulk but is stopped by the rest of the Avengers.

Fury notes 74 super-villains have escaped the various prisons. If we assume all the villains shown, minus Graviton, have escaped that would be a total of 23. If you include the Super-Apes (who are more of mindless minions than actual villains) and assume the rest of the U-Foes and the Wrecking Crew were imprisoned with their leaders, it leaves us with a count of 32.  I’m not counting the AIM henchmen Tony dropped off at the Vault because I don’t think they were imprisoned long enough to be processed in the system.  We have 42 unseen villains that escaped but only 40 if you count Hawkeye and the Hulk among the escapees.

Fury asks the assembled heroes to become SHIELD agents but Hank refuses on behalf of the entire group. Hank rightfully points out Fury’s actions caused the entire Graviton situation.

Iron Man agrees the heroes should become a team but not under SHIELD’s supervision.

SHIELD discovers Graviton regained consciousness after all the prisons failed leading to the final question: “If he wasn’t responsible, who was?”

Great debut episode. I loved the fact that even though Captain America was in the opening credits, we didn’t see him at all in the opening two-parter. Very true to the comics as Cap wasn’t a founder member in the series and didn’t appear until issue #4.

I also enjoyed the various prisons and their different purposes.

The Vault was primarily but not exclusively for tech-based villains (Crimson Dynamo, Chemistro, Whiplash, Blizzard, AIM, etc).

The Cube is Gamma-radiation/other mysterious energy-based villains (Leader, Abomination, Zzzax, Absorbing Man, Wrecker, etc).

The Raft is “Oh Shit” level villains either due to powers (Graviton, Purple Man) or influence (Baron Zemo).

The Big House is the least-clearly defined in purpose but mostly contained enemies of Captain America and the Fantastic Four.

Characters appearing and/or mentioned:

1.       Iron Man (Tony Stark)

2.       Lucia Von Bardas

3.       Doctor Doom

4.       A.I.M.

5.       Jarvis (A.I)

6.       Pepper Potts

7.       Wrecker

8.       Zzzax

9.       Absorbing Man

10.   Doctor Samson

11.   Hulk (Bruce Banner)

12.   S.H.I.E.L.D.

13.   General “Thunderbolt” Ross

14.   Leader

15.   Abomination

16.   Thor

17.   Balder the Brave

18.   Odin

19.   Jane Foster

20.   Jimmy Woo

21.   Ant-Man (Hank Pym)

22.   Ultron

23.   Mad Thinker

24.   Maria Hill

25.   Wasp (Janet Van Dyne)

26.   Nick Fury

27.   Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)

28.   Hawkeye (Clint Barton)

29.   Blizzard

30.   Baron Von Strucker

31.   Mandrill

32.   MODOK

33.   Griffin

34.   Red Ghost & the Super Apes

35.   Whirlwind

36.   Grey Gargoyle

37.   Constrictor

38.   Clay Quartermain

39.   Vector

40.   U-Foes

41.   Whiplash

42.   Chemistro

43.   Cobra

44.   Crimson Dynamo

45.   Baron Zemo

46.   Purple Man

47.   Graviton