#aetherspace

[somewhat-eternal-fr]

Heeheehoo I made a xenomorph

[acornrising]

finished up my first Aether. Gotta get her a more matchy familiar BUT.... I love them.

idk they have the weirdest colors but I am CHARMED, little baby stargazer

[bewareofjabberwock]

His name is Dave. He's a little messed up 💖

[yourlocalbreadenthusiast]

I would like to move to wizard island island since someone has shut off the aetherspace network from the rest of the world

Oh sure. Just tell me where you want your spot on the island and what you want it labeled as. I will warn you though, that ask will not be answered because unless I see it in the inbox to remind me, I'll forget.

[rainbowbarnacle]

*settles into the FFXIV queue with coffee*

I want to commission somebody to draw this enormous winding line in aetherspace that ends with, like, Selene sitting there at the very end propped up against her dozing sin eater mount with her pile of gear, looking bored out of her mind

[xaz-fr]

for people who tag for genes

can we tag for space? I really don't like it. It triggers my Bug Response. #aetherspace would be appreciated

[somechubbynerd]

Pat-patting Taylor from beyond aetherspace, but for real this time!

Whoaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!

[thenoirarchive]

✟ Intro Post ✟

Archive loading...

Updating headspace...

Loading SP profiles...

Connecting you to front...

♱ Welcome to The Noir Archive, continue? ♱

》Yes | No

Hi there! We are a multigenic plural

collective of around 200+ headmates!

✟ FREQUENT FRONTERS ✟

[Cain - it/they - host - 🦝]

[Ivory - she/they - co-host - 🖊]

[Amai - she/her - caretaker - 🍰]

[Ginger - she/her - protecter/rotmate - 🐺]

[Ethel - she/they - depression holder - ⛪️]

✟ CODES ✟

Plural Code [10/07/24]

N++++#$- | P[nb/gf/o"xenogender"/bi/xo"autosexual"] | A-(b r---!/+++!!!/A^) | S.H+/S.T+/S.U+/S.S+/S.F+*/S.K*/S.N+*/S.Mc+*/S.Mf+*/S.Me+*/S.Un+*/S.Mu+*/S.Mr+*/S.B+*/S.A+/S.P+*/S.L+/S.~+ | Om/Opa | Mq/l/s/sb/t/m | Wf/c/t/o/x/~/$ | C(cc+/m#) | OF(r--/o+++) | Fpg+^/pk+^/sn+^/m+^/aut^/div+^/mw+^/#+^ | Mpsy/ast!/cry/spi/mag | Rf/p/r+/r/m | V++*!- | X+ | G+ | S(r---/o+) | R

Syscourse Code [10/07/24]

👍/❤️/📘/🔺️🔸️/🟠🟢/🌘🌗/🟥/🌳/☁️/🥧/🐲/🐝/

.🐳🐬.

✟ ARCHIVE INFORMATION ✟

🪦 The host and co-host are both irl yanderes, so there will be the occasional obsessive posting about our partners (it will be tagged).

🎧 We are collectively against psychiatry, do not suggest therapy, psychiatry, or drugs to us.

🐈‍⬛ Headcount 》 suspected 200+

🎥 Headspace 》 artfulspace, prochotechspace, willospace, aetherspace, locspace

🕸 Other terms 》 mutovisum, oculovisum, netplural, cephaconscious, multiplexconscious, fictive heavy, specutien

🔦 Plurid identities 》 fungusplurid, spaceplurid, starplurid, deathplurid, weirdplurid, insaneplurid, musicplurid, writerplurid, traumaplurid, nonhumanplurid, horrorplurid

🌑 Origins & Modifiers ➠ /ᐠ - ˕ -マ [pronouns.page]

✟ TAGGING SYSTEM ✟

# ⛧winn-dixie's dairy aisle⛧ [our posts]

# ⛧televangelism⛧ [plurality stuff]

# ⛧gold satin dreamer⛧ [witchcraft]

# ⛧tammy faye eyes⛧ [obsessive stuff]

# +1 headmate [headmates we've split]

✟ DNI ✟

🌑 basic dni (racist, anti lgbtq+, etc.)

🌑 MAPs because y'all trigger us

🌑 if you're here to hate on us

🌑 anti therian/otherkin/nonhuman

🌑 anti xenogender, neopronouns, etc

🌑 if you're here to fetishize us

🌑 if you're pro-c for noncon paras

🌑 if you think that forced psychiatry is okay/justifiable, you believe in narc abuse, or you demonize PDs & psychosis

[interstellar-elf]

Hi Would you like to tell what is AetherSpace going to be about, or something about main character/s? ;v; I'm really curious. the tag is full of posts tho, so i don't know where to begin.

How to explain AetherSpace… Well this is going to be a journey. It’s still in development, given that my living situation has been unstable this year, so I’ll sort it out as much as I can under the cut:

 AetherSpace: Hikari is in procession of a cube of an elemental substance that is sought after by a corrupt organization. This cube, along with the strange creature called Gef that accompanies her are mysteries she has to solve in order to save the universe. In her quest she is aided by an astral witch also sought out by the organization, a mysterious glowing warrior from a rogue planet, and a hacktactivist bird-person who used to work for said organization but has since taken his inner knowledge of the place to strike back at the corruption and evil that it has caused. In addition, there is another conspiracy underlying the appearance of a rare mythical space creature that has ties to the cube.

There are a number of other characters, plot lines and McGuffins (including a really big sword and other items of importance), but it mostly follows Hikari and her three friends as well as Gef. 

Characters:

Hikari: main character, wears mostly pink

Laki: astral witch, lavender fox-elf humanoid

Iryllia: glowing warrior, has white eyes and dark skin with glowing tattoos

????: His name’s been changing so as of yet it hasn’t been finalized even though he’s an old character in terms of development, but is a hacker and activist who used to work for the organization

Gef: No one is quite sure what they are but they have the appearance of a cross between a fox and a rabbit and seems to be more intellegent than one would think

There are other characters, which includes a few scientists, Su Voronezh, a guardian magic girl, a space samurai, the organization’s head of operations, and a mecha or two.

Two main items of importance would be the cube and the giant sword that Hikari weilds

There is at least one planet named, being Blazen where Hikari calls home. It is home to strange weather and lifeform anomalies.

[redvioletpanda-art]

A character of mine in a new costume (her costume may differ in the actual comic, for simplication issues)

DeviantArt

Patreon

RedBubble

[dailyadventureprompts]

Hi Dapper, This is more of a game mechanics advice question, if you have any thoughts... You’ve suggested a few naval themed, or at least travel themed adventures. How do you run Ship based campaigns (either naval ships or air ships)? I guess, focusing on combat or encounters, rather than just travelling.

I know there are various official and unofficial rule sets, but none of these feel “right” to me. I think because, in all other respects, 5e is so individual-character focused. Most ship rules tend to remove “the character” and focus on the ship or crew as a single mass. Players aren’t rolling for their character anymore, and in some rule sets, the “captain” is singularly rolling for everyone.

I understand ships are big, and historical naval combat involves hundreds of sailors spread over hours, but this runs counter to the general vibe of the game (most rpgs, actually) that focus on a handful of PC heroes as “stars of the show.” As a result, jumping over to these more anonymising rules always feels awkward to me.

How have you navigated this discrepancy, and what things have you found to work (or to avoid)?

Drafting the Adventure: Naval Combat & Encounter Design

SUCH a good question, so thanks for writing in!

I think the discrepancy you've pointed out actually underlies a lot of what's wrong with 5e combat, in that the simple mechanical systems we are given tend to be boring when they're left to their own devices. The thing that the developers really should impress on everyone learning to run 5e gams is that these systems AREN'T supposed to be left on their own, they're supposed to be a simple framework over which you place challenges of batshit bravery/ skill and epic setpieces, which is apparently a thing we need to all learn on our own through trial and error, sacrificing the fun of our sessions in the process.

First, a note on encounter design:

Think of a default "at sea" naval encounter like a fight in a generic 20x20ft dungeon room: yes the party gets to show off their abilities, but once you've gone through one of these sorts of combats, every other "vanilla" encounter is going to seem almost rote, an exercise in tedium. Likewise, if you throw your party's vessel against another vessel in a generic void of sea/sky/aetherspace, you're going to run into the same problem: relying on a less than stellar mechanical system until it breaks under the pressure of trying to maintain the fun at the table all on its own.

It all comes down to encounter design, you as the DM picturing what you think would be a fun/cool/exciting action sequence, and then setting up the narrative stakes, mechanics, and enemies to facilitate that. I'd say that there's a lost art to encounter design, but it's not so much lost as untaught: when the prevailing wisdom is that the party should be having 5-7 encounters PER DAY, then gives us little in the way of rules or ideas about making those encounters spicy, its no wonder we end up churning out a bunch of boring filler content.

Think of it like a movie production team, be it a writer, director, actor, or props department: anyone would struggle making 5-7 unique action scenes, when that energy could all be focused on making one scene 5-7 times as good. Translating that back into DM relevant information, focus on making fewer, more interesting encounters rather than trying to cram in as many as possible, you only have so much time and creative juice to utilize between sessions so make sure it goes where its most needed. These encounters don't need to be biggest, most epic things ever, they just need to be unique and push the story along regardless of whether your party wins or loses.

My thoughts on building those unique encounters and how to really Jazz up ship to ship combat under the cut.

How to choose the right encounters:

The first thing to do is throw out every notion given to you by the DMG about how many encounters an adventure needs to have, and anything regarding rolling for random encounters while traveling. Random encounters are an artifact of grindheavy JRPGs and the earlier editions where fights were simple, deadly, and over in a few dice throws. 5e breaks if played like that, so you shouldn't attempt to do so. Instead, have an encounter whenever it's right for there to be an encounter, when you think you've prepped a good one that fits with the rhythm of the story, something that feels like it will challenge them, and something that will have a bearing on the plot regardless of what the final outcome is.

Next, when plotting your encounters you need to consider the different goals involved in the narrative you’re spinning:  what are your party attempting to do and how does this encounter impede them? Sure you can have a generic “pirates/seamonsters attack because we haven’t had a fight in a while” sort of encounter, but those are just as boring narratively as the fight in the 20x20ft room is mechanically. Such generic battle should only be the setup for other, more interesting mechanical scenarios, such as the pirates having a strange artifact in their hold, or the seamonster’s venom poisoning somebody and potentially forcing the party to divert course in favor of seeking aid. 

Variety is your friend here so consider implementing chases, stealth runs, standoffs, and navigation challenges to frame your usual combats. These can be spaced out with social encounters to provide exposition and tension, or vignettes of how the crew is managing. I’ve actually been fond of using a “captian’s log” style framing device to breeze over repetitive maritime travel, highlighting scenes and detailing their aftermath without having to repeatedly describe the routine process of working on a ship. 

Improving Naval Combat

You’re completely accurate in that most tabletop systems are very bad at portraying naval combat, but mostly because they tend to try to run ship-actions in the same way they’d run a multi-character skirmish.  Instead, do away with your traditional initiative system and have both (or all) side stake their turns simultaneously in the following rhythm: Planning, execution, resolution. Which make the early rounds of naval combat work out sorta like a game of rock paper scissors, all chance and intuition

Planning: During the planning phase, have your party talk freely about what they should do, representing your crew feeding information back n forth and adapting to the situation at hand. At the end of the planning phase, they agree (or the captain decides) what to do, which is executed during the next phase.  Simultaneously, you as the DM determine what the opposing vessels are going to do during their execution phase, without any foreknowledge of what the party might be about to attempt. 

Execution: the ships move, and the actions chosen by their crew trigger. This prevents all the weirdness brought about by trying to run constantly moving vehicles in turn order. 

Resolution: Damage is tallied, the results of skillchecks are meted out, and the party gets an ongoing report of what the hell is happening. 

I call this system “ the Approach” and it represents the actions of the vessels involved in a more zoomed out time frame and scale that allows for actual positioning, or navigation around reefs, atolls, or inlets, as any good fight should have a proportionally interesting backdrop, if only for variety’s sake. 

Once one vessel has closed with another in a step I call “The Engagement”, you can use the d&d naval rules, with characters either acting as their role on the crew or their player character. rolling initiative and carrying out the fight as normal. Here’re a few tricks I’ve learned for making these closing segments interesting: 

Keeping things interesting during a naval fight is a matter of juggling the fight between the ships themselves and what’s happening on the party’s vessel. A LOT can go wrong on a ship, and its up to those characters without primary ship roles to deal with things like fires breaking out, holes punched in the hull, vital equipment like cannons malfunctioning, crew being injured and needing to be escorted to the infirmary. Throw at least one of these complications at the party each time they have a close engagement, and you’ll give ‘em more than enough to chew on every time they have a fight on the high seas. 

Just about every ship battle outside of a seamonster attack or massive military engagement is going to involve a boarding action, which can transition the fight from one of positioning and potshots with cannons to an impromptu siege. 

Again, its important to consider motivation: Loot hungry pirates may send a secondary looting force into the ship’s cargo hold while keeping the defenders busy on topdeck, forcing the party to divide their attention. Privateers or slavers may focus on attacks that prevent the enemy ships from escaping, encouraging the party to run around putting out (sometimes literal) fires.  When enemies are working in groups, their initial goal may only be to slow the party down while waiting for reinforcements to arrive in a separate boarding ship, overwhelming them with numbers. 

Just like with every other encounter, its important to consider what happens to your party when things go badly. Stress that Surrender is an option, but consider that happens to your party and their crew when that happens: are they imprisoned? marooned? left with no cargo and just enough supplies to get to the next port?  What are their patron/creditors going to say when they come back with an empty hold and excuses? Perhaps the most dramatic thing you could do is have them shipwrecked, killing off the majority of their crew and leaving them stranded somewhere to figure it all out. This should be saved for the turning point of a campaign, as it kicks them back do zero and may sour them on ever venturing out onto the seas again. 

[m-grouped]

Aetherbased & Aetherspace

Aetherbased | Aetherspace

Aetherbased

" A -based term that corresponds to Aethergenic, and refers to systems whose functions and/or architecture cannot be explained psychologically, or a spiritual-based system. This term is nonspecific and can refer to metaphysical, religious, agnostic, and other related worldviews. " ~Pluralpedia

Aetherspace

" An aetherspace is a headspace that is based in spirituality, or in which the majority of structures are spiritual in origin. " ~Pluralpedia

Aetherbased coined by The Legendarium. Aetherspace by June of the Pink Lemonade system. Flags both by me

[bcrnt-petcls]

starter for @void-bound-souls

The moment the temperature drops, she knows she’s hit a new section of the void. It’s the best way to find new places, meet new people!

Unfortunately, its also the best way to find trouble. Mara glances around warily, shouldering her pack as she continues on her way. She’s done this before time and time again, but the unease never truly leaves.

Something slinks out of the corner of her eye, and she remains still, unwilling to tip off any possible pursuers. Gods, she hates the dark. She hums a simple crackling tune, one hand silently slinking to the aetherspace where she stores her sword.

“̷S̶u̴r̷e̸ ̷i̸s̴ ̵a̶ ̶f̵i̵n̸e̵ ̶d̴a̶y̴ ̴f̷o̶r̴ ̴a̴ ̴s̶t̷r̵o̷l̷l̸,̵ ̶i̷s̸n̴’̸t̴ ̸i̵t̶?̴”̷

[odditycollector]

Alright, since writing is cancelled, and I ALREADY drank all this wine, how about finally sharing one of my deepest, dirtiest secrets into the void of aetherspace?

I... was kinda unsatisfied... with the finale of The Good Place.

And it isn't that the show did not answer a question that I considered sneakily fundamental to the show's premise.

It's that it did not seem to ASK that question.

[Spoilers BTW?]

So by the end of the series we understand that the system of heaven and hell is forked and there is no kind of higher authority around to appeal to but then luckily Our Intrepid Heroes succeed in reforming that system so that Hell becomes the place where souls get rehabilitated into their best selves who DESERVE to get into Heaven where they are rewarded with all of their wishes coming true until they get bored of existing and dissolve back into the universe.... *deeeeep breath*

Okay but like...

Why bother.

No one seems to be in charge, and they fixed the eternal heaven => boredom bug, so...

Why not just let everyone in? Why do they CARE about each individual reaching personal enlightenment before we are allowed to muck about in the self indulgent afterlife VR.

"Because the demons would be bored with nothing to do", is the clearest answer I gleaned out of it. But "let's keep hell running with some employee sensitivity retraining" is a weird solution if that was actually the problem. And it DOES seem to still be a problem, as the new status quo becomes the old status quo.

"It is not a fun afterlife reward to have to hang out with jerks"? True but so what. That is a "you" problem. The suicide door is right there.

"ok but remember when Our Main Hero dissolved into the universe, and her good-person-ness vaguely nudged a random person to drop off some wrongly delivered junk mail instead of tossing it - infinitesimally improving the goodness:badness quotient of the universe?" RIGHT YEAH MAYBE!

I could TOTALLY write a fanfic about how once every single best-self of human and demon-kind gets cycled back into the universe, the final Jeremy Bearimy showcases the universe as ITS true, best self and then...

Step 2 - ????

Step 3 - PROFIT.

But this is not answering a question that the show asked.

The show asked Why bother being kind, if you don't have to.

And the answer is that you DO have to. Sorry! I hope you are taking notes, because this WILL be on the test.

(PS. There's a test.)

But WHY is there a test? From a worldbuilding perspective, why does the universe care if Tahani's parents evolved into people she could have a non-awkward lunch conversation with.

I promise, I did not even need or want an answer to this.

Kindness is good. It is super hard sometimes! But it is a good in itself. I did not need to be convinced of this.

But the fact that there is no "objective" scorecard is kinda supposed to be the point? (Back me up here, Chidi.)

Except there IS an objective kindness scorecard, and it is APPARENTLY imperative that everyone is locked out of heaven until they ace it, even though there is no one, like, in CHARGE of the scorecard graders?

And okay, you know? That is fine.

Except.

The show never seemed to ask WHY.

IN CONCLUSION:

i have been trying to convince myself ever since that the decision not to do this is like totally deep or something but i couldn't do it

it is NOT.

[itwasalwaysjustred]

prompt #003 - muster

no pairing; WoL struggles to pick up the red mage rapier, 659 words

content warnings: Spoilers for the end of the Seventh Astral Era quests

The stonework of the Seventh Heaven’s brickwork feels warm against Nhagi’li’s back, still retaining some of the sun’s heat even after the glowing beacon has started its slow descent through the sky. On any other day, the Miqo’te would have enjoyed basking here, lazily watching the goings on of the Revenant’s Toll residents and enjoying the respite. Today, though, there is nothing relaxed about his lingering here, for inside the tavern he lurks outside is a Seeker that Nhagi’li wants very much to see and, equally, very much to avoid. The juxtaposition has him unable to settle, the end of his tail flicking 

Placing a hand on the scarlet rapier hanging by his side does little to make him feel better. If anything, it only makes him feel more self-conscious, makes him turn his body ever-so-slightly so that the sword isn’t plainly in view. Despite the fact that it is hardly unusual to be armed in a city like Revenant’s Toll, he knows that the rapier is novel enough to garner attention. It’s a weapon that, combined with the hanging magical focus, marks him as something more than a common adventurer. After all, the Crimson Duelists are meant to be champions of the people, fighting fearlessly for anyone in need, heroes in all but name. 

Only, Nhagi’li doesn’t much feel like a hero, hasn’t since Lolorito’s betrayal and the subsequent loss of all but one of his trusted companions. It doesn’t matter that he has them back now — well, all but one, and the look on Thancred’s face when he’d broken the news about Minfilia still stings. What matters is that in that moment of truth, he had obeyed the weak, ugly voice in the back of his mind that told him to take the offered out, to flee while the others stayed behind and fought. A necessary evil to protect a person vital to the defeat of Eorzea’s primals, or so they had been justified, whether to bolster themselves or to convince Nhagi’li not to stay, he didn’t know. The only thing he did know was that it proved one thing and one thing only: he was still just a coward who ran away.  

Nhagi'li flinches at the sound of X'rhun's loud, jovial laughter, the red mage audible even from outside the tavern’s walls. No doubt he’s in there making friends with the locals, swapping stories and drinks while Arya sits nearby, smiling that shy smile she makes whenever she allows herself to enjoy something. Though the two of them stand out like a sore thumb in their red garb, Nhagi’li has no doubt that X’rhun’s good nature has made him more than approachable to the other tavern goers. It would be easy for anyone, adventurer, merchant, or anything in between, to sit down at his table and join him in his merriment. It would be even easier for someone who was his friend. 

The thought makes his fingers clench around the hilt of his sword, as though the sturdiness of the pommel will somehow steel his resolve to head inside. 

If he can just —

Maybe this time —

The scrape of chairs against the tavern floor makes his ears flatten in alarm, and Nhagi’li’s resolve abandons him like he abandoned his friends. He banishes the rapier into aetherspace with a flick of his fingers, replacing the weapon with a familiar set of knives as he pushes off the wall and strides back out into the Mor Dhona wilderness. Another time, he tells himself. He's too busy right now to give his red mage mentor the attention he's due. X'rhun will understand; Nhagi'li is in very high demand, after all. He'll come back again when things aren't so hectic. 

Somehow, the justification does little to ease the shame curdling in Nhagi'li's stomach as he picks up the pace, pretending for an audience of one that he isn't fleeing Mor Dhona with his tail between his legs.

[dungeon-architects]

Deific Details - Aetherion

“At the dawn there was only the Formless Absurdity which no mortal mind can comprehend. Into this realm of insanity was birthed the first who could reason, Aetherion. Aetherion recoiled at the Absurdity and set out to destroy it. First Void was created to strike at the Absurdity, but without an anathema it had no meaning, and so Radiance was forged. But the shifting absurdity threatened to engulf both. And so Earth was made to hold back the madness and Air to give it meaning. However the madness found any crack within the stone to penetrate and so Water was made to flow into even the smallest of cracks, and Fire to give it meaning...and yet still the absurdity clawed at Aetherion for the absurdity followed no rules which could be defined...and so Order was named, and Entropy to give it meaning.”  Chapter 1, The Libra Legendis 

Aetherion is known by many titles, the most prevalent of which are, The Starlight Sovereign, The Lord of Dragons, First to Reason, and The Aether Aegis.

Little fact is known about Aetherion. It is evident that the entity known as Aetherion is significantly more powerful than the Elemental Primodials, and is in some way responsible for the creation of Aetherspace and our material reality. Despite this Aetherion answers no prayers and seems entirely absent from our world today. The only notable exception to this is when Pristine Aetherium sometimes referred to as a “Tear of Aetherion” is harnessed to birth a new dragon. Many mortals who survive the process claim that they were tested by Aetherion in a strange vision.

Despite Aetherion’s absence, many worship the entity. Astronomer’s, protectors of planar boundaries, dragons, philosophers, artists, and craftsmen are most prevalent among the faithful.

 Tenets of the faith

Protect the planar order, as it protects us from the Formless Absurdity

Study the stars, planes, and aetherlight, to better understand the nature of Aetherion’s great work.

Destroy the insane, minds touched by the Formless Absurdity are a doorway into our realm.

Embrace and Shun nothing completely, Only through our Anathema can we have meaning.

Details of The Faith

The symbol of the faithful is a black disk set with diamond stars in an octagonal constellation.

The colors of the faithful are black and white often with accents of cosmic colors such as cyan or violet.

The sacred weapon of the faithful is the Ranseur (for 5e use the halberd)

The Domains of Aetherion are Creation, Magic, Protection, and Star (5e use Arcane, Forge, and Protection)