#and the other was detailed frog people for the npcs

[ellraiser]

PERUSE his WARES

[prof-ramses]

Theorizing about the new TADC character teaser!

For those not in the know, Gooseworx posted the first of the above images on her socials yesterday. Obviously teasing future TADC characters.

The second image is an upside down edit, to help get a better gander at the reflections.

As none of these characters match any of the abstracted performers, the most likely option is that these four a NPC created for adventures, or possible, one shared adventure.

For the sake of clarity, the characters will henceforth be referred to as Blue, Pink, Green and Grey.

I'll discuss them individually before giving a theory about episode 2

Blue:

A lot of people have compared this character to the cast of the fighting game Ballz 3D, and predicting they're made of balloons, but upon closer inspection, I have uncovered some details no one else has pointed out.

In addition to making out what appears to be a simplistic face texture, seemingly hovering in front of Blue's face, but the shapes and contours of their limbs make them resemble coils, like a thick rubber version of Gangle's torso.

Pink:

Pink here has understandably been compared to Queenie by many fans, as well as many assuming them to be the leader of this odd group. Other's have drawn comparisons to Baroness Von Bon Bon, which are also understandable. But what else could a detailed look over reveal?

It would appear Pink has a heart pattern on their chest, as well as large puffy hair and an adorable little crown.

Her dress has 2 to 3 layers, depending on if the highlighted segment towards the bottom left is actually anything meaningful.

I also took the liberty of estimating her hand proportions.

Green:

The most "normal" looking of the four, at least in this teaser, kind of like Ragatha in the main cast reflection teaser. The ghostly element is obvious and the extra blur added by their glow affect compounded by the reflection complicates analysis a bit, but I like a challenge.

The first thing that stuck out to me was what I can best describe as a line of many small buttons, like an old fashioned woman's shirt. The change in thickness of one arm also gave the impression of sleeves.

Lastly (and most likely to be parandolia), I think I found the rough outline of a darker patch on the head, likely the actual head.

Grey:

I've seen the most disagreement over what this weirdo is. My first thought was a penguin, but I no longer hold that opinion. Rather, I agree with many others who sight this a a revisit of Frogni (an unused frog design for Pomni). So, let's dissect this thing.

So, Frogni is definitely here in spirit, especially with Grey being the most main cast-like new comer. The orange/bronze arm is what really stuck with me, especially as I haven't seen anyone point it out.

Conclusion:

I think these NPCs will be rivals to the performers (Gangle, Kinger, Ragatha and Pomni) in a "rival showdown" adventure. Jax and Zooble will either opt out or defeat their rivals so quickly that they weren't included (similar to Bubble in the main cast teaser)

[oddrobyn]

hi friend!! I've been losing it over your li and pen bestie art for the past few minutes I love them 🥺🥺🥺 do you mind telling us more about their dynamics? also I love dice and the commissioners!! would also love to know more about dice and wei <3333

OH MY GAAAHHHH IVE WAITED YEARS FOR THIS QUESTIONNNN

(Rubbing my little hands together) MEGA SPOILERS BELOW BTW IN CASE ANYONE HASNT FINISHED THE GAME

For quick context to anyone who might not know , Li is my builder Oc (first image) and Dice is my non builder NPC type oc who I like to imagine as a potential romancable character when someone else is playing as builder. But in my au where Li and Dice are in the same universe Dice is Li's older sister.

Starting with Li!!

Li and Pen has this sort of crazy friendship when you consider they are selectively mute and the way their personalities are pretty different. Pen is a loud and proud extrovert who can fill a room with his very presence when Li is really mousy and tends to keep to themselves all the while a really affectionate friend. This has given them a sort of platonic lovey-friendship where they're best friends who can say I love you and understand how deeply connected they are as bestie which makes Pen's betrayal /leaving for incarceration a hell of a lot more painful.

Li does have BPD and because Pen was their favorite person this was REALLY rough and there was a LOT of coping they had to deal with because losing the person their whole world revolved around totally destroyed what they had and they basically had to start from scratch socially. Sure they had other friends like Unsuur and Nia and Qi-- but what they had with Pen was so unique and so special that it was really difficult for them to let go despite knowing he's really frowned upon on Sandrock. It's really difficult for them to just "get with the program" and let go of him as easily as the game implies you do when he leaves and often times they get stuck in awkward spots where they have to talk to some of the people he hurt knowing how awkward it is for everyone when the attachment to their friend who turned out to be pretty evil still has a tight hold on them.

I like to think that they try to send letters to Pen secretly once in a while and hasn't gotten a response back for better or worse, but a given explanation is actually that Pen had been throwing them away as soon as he got them because he was scared he would open it and find that Li wanted to officially break off the friendship.

I think before I've compared them to the story of the Scorpion and the Frog, but their friendship is maybe a little more parasitic than that. Pen definitely had ulterior motives in picking to befriend the person who obviously struggled socially and would do anything to keep a friend around, but when they both started having something real the line between something fake and something so painfully real gets blurred and ultimately both of them are unable to let go of each other because of how close they were. They are truly doomed by the narrative I think oughh

AS FOR DICE !!!

I don't believe I've ever done a real deep dive explanation since I was still working out some of the details but I pretty much have something now.

She actually used to do average odd jobs around Highwind to save up money to put towards to her music career that was inspired by old world music she discovered and fell in love with (hahahahaha. Really funny to think stuff like Hannah Monatana and MarinaAndTheDiamonds would be considered old world in their universe) which led to her deciding she wanted to be a music star.

Things didn't go to plan however and although some of the story is pretty lost in the mud due to her shame and refusal to open up about it, her career failed as no one listened to the genre or didn't find it interesting enough. The embarrassment of being unable to achieve the dream she worked all her teen years towards made her incredibly depressed and she actually disappeared for a couple of years with no warning until she one day resurfaced as the bounty hunter/bodyguard/whatever she is today.

She claims to owe a lot of her being able to get back up onto her feet to Yan and Pen, who found her alone in the eufala after getting lost and set her up with a job as "Yan's Personal Bodyguard" as silly as it sounds. But it made him look cool and important, and gave her the money she needed to get back up on her feet so she took it.

She started traveling around the free cities to pick up more bounty jobs now that she had found another purpose in life (though some are pretty sure she's just take out a lot of pent up feelings on it). Even though she had become kind of a drifter all throughout the free cities, at some point, she and Yan started dating and it was about as insufferable of an experience as you'd imagine. The public sweet talk, the constant hand holding, the way that it's so obvious Yan is more interested in her than she Is in him... awful. Owen says his best paid night but worst social experiences come from their dates at the Blue Moon.

Of course, once Yan gets shipped off Dice reveals that she's relieved about his arrest because it was starting to get on her nerves and that she had been struggling to figure out a way to break up with him without a whole spectacle happening.

But just as soon as he's gone, Wei comes to town and she INSTANTLY falls for how much kinder he is. When you spend your whole life around questionable characters you sort of start to just accept that maybe everyone is only thinking of themselves; but Wei was different.

For once, Dice was the one chasing a love interest rather than being the one who was pursued, and as confusing as it might have been at first, eventually they both start connecting and their kind of opposite personalities start to find ways to compliment each other. Wei stops being suspicious that Dice might be acting on his brother's behalf and Dice starts to disappear from sandrock less often in order to spend more time with him.

Owen dreads Friday night dates a whole lot less now lol...

[jackalxhearts]

I'm running Snare with my friends tonight and i'm really excited, especially since they all made characters I think are really fun. However, the setting is an entire small town; am I out of my depth?

I think that the size of the setting is up to you and how comfy you are with the characters being able to explore the town. Sometimes, I try to limit the number of NPCs around if I'd rather not try to play them/come up with a lot. But, I know other DMs really enjoy creating and playing lots of NPCs! :) If I have a game with lots of NPCs or locations, I try to make a little cheat sheet list, knowing that my players will probably be running around/wanting to talk to lots of people. (This might not be the problem you're anticipating, but I'll share this tip since it relates to my biggest struggle in some games: playing tons of NPCs and not being able to come up with names/personalities fast enough.) Typically, a cheat sheet for my NPCs is just a list of names + a trait/existing character they remind me of. That way I can come up with a name + personality fast, especially for minor characters I don't expect players will talk to extensively. So basically, my cheat might look like: John Smith - runs gas station, cheerful, elderly Lu Weili - librarian, captain picard (?) Kathy - carpenter, kermit the frog Ash - if willy wonka was the mayor of a small town Betty - tall, grumpy, mysterious And then have 10+ more characters. You don't have to be detailed, you just have to note references/ideas that you'll understand immediately. You also don't always need to list occupations/locations. In this example, Betty can be or work anywhere. If you never wrote anyone down to work at the pharmacy and you're in a pinch, then bam! That's where Betty works now because that's where your players went. As for locations, if the location is very important or specific, then writing a few notes for it prior to the game makes sense. But if it's a generic location, most folks will be happy with a basic explanation. (In my personal experience, it's easy to say "Yeah, it's a grocery store like any other. It's a lot like a Kroger." but hard to come up with the cashier there on the spot, hence why my cheat sheet focuses on names/vague personalities.) This was a super long answer, but I hope this helps! Basically (TL;DR): You're not out of your depth if you're comfortable with making stuff up or scribbling down some NPC names! <: Also, a cool group of players will be chill with however you run a first-time game with a brand new system. (Every time I learn a new system, my first game doesn't always go perfectly, and I learn what I might want to change or do the same the next time.) And even then that doesn't stop me from forgetting what names are and going "ummm....the..pharmacist's name...is...jimothy. I guess" sometimes, lol.

[micalpixel]

May Flowers Game - July 2024 Progress Report

Another month has passed, so it's time for another update!

(Prior Updates: June, May, Initial) Oh my gosh, three months since I set out to finish a game??!! How how how howwwwwwwwww??? Where is my life going??!!!

I mean.... 😅 I'm proud of these three months. Each finished thing I've put out there was built upon all the previous ones, and has been one step closer to the final goal. Three months ago, the protagonist didn't even exist, in any form, even mentally. Now it's starting to resemble a real game. (I do want to post more screenshots in the future though! Once I get to work on graphics again. Maybe even videos?)

Games Beaten This Month

(which I've taken notes on)

Kena: Bridge of Spirits - This game just looks so amazing. There's a major focus on boss battles which I think is reminiscent of Dark Souls, which I haven't played. But I can see the appeal.

The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls - An old Game Boy game to help get me re-acquainted with the system. It's a very lighthearted and humorous game, made by Nintendo. In fact, it was made by the game team who would later make The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, and is where said game's Prince Richard originated from. You may also have seen the protagonist of this game in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. It is a grayscale game. But if you can look past that, it's a very fun little game, which in many ways is actually a parody of Zelda games.

OneShot - Haven't played it yet!! Haven't forgotten!! I WILL play this.

Prototype #1

Back around June 20, after doing all that games research, I put together a document called "Prototype #1." It was a wishlist of features I wanted to complete for the game. Things I KNEW it would need. Things like (but in more detail than here):

Player's abilities/main items and their effects (top priority)

Main kinds of terrain and their effects.

Various menus (including a debug menu)

Inventory system, money, game flags

Maps, moving from one screen to the other

Ability to have NPCs, dialogue boxes, and cutscene events.

That last bullet was shown off in this piece from earlier this month. The game's cutscene engine is quite powerful now:

And I'm happy to report, that all of the wishlist items for Prototype #1 were implemented as of July 20! ...except for two:

Make one simple song.

Make least 5 Sound effects, especially for text, jumping.

Music and Sound

I really wanted to finish this checklist in July. That gave me 11 days to figure out what the heck to do for music and sound. 😭 Since the game's art style is based on the Game Boy Color, I planned to use a VST plugin in FL Studio capable of mimicking its sound, for everything. And I spent 4 days learning and studying for it. But...it has limitations. Which the Game Boy itself didn't have. That didn't sit well with me. There is a Game Boy music sequencer called LSDj (Little Sound Dj). Unlike a VST plugin, it is actual Game Boy software. It runs on a Game Boy (or emulator). And...it's powerful. Very powerful. Check it out on YouTube and see what people are making with it. And it IS accurate Game Boy sound because it is ACTUALLY running on a Game Boy. Here's what a music score with 8 notes looks like in it:

So...I tried it. And...it was very easy to learn. 🥰I studied the waveforms it generated, and those from actual Game Boy games. I examined unofficial source code of several games to learn how they created music. And within 2 days, I'd managed to re-create a well known song from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Mabe Village, using LSDj. I chose this song because it uses the system's two pulse sound channels. Which is about as simple as a Game Boy song can get. LSDj delivered! My ear cannot tell the difference between the original and the recreation. Here's what the original sounds like:

So...technically the Prototype 1 doc didn't say I had to make a *new* song. Just a "simple song." So, re-creating an existing one technically counts, right? Even though I cannot use it in my own game for legal reasons?😅 Well, either way, this was a very new, and successful learning experience. I feel like I've earned a check mark. So, mission complete! Oh, I also needed to make five sound effects. Messed around some more in LSDj, and done.

Other sound stuff:

I wrote a small program that can take any sound sample and convert it into a waveform that the Game Boy can play back (using its Wave audio channel).

I learned how to take a recording of myself humming, and turn it into an actual musical score that could be played with an instrument. (Fl Studio -> Edison Plugin -> Paste Audio -> Tools -> Convert to Piano Score). This will make it MUCH easier to write music than by entering each note by hand. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good.

And with that, Prototype #1 is complete! So, I think I'm going to use LSDj for 100% of the game's audio. ^^

Other Stuff This Month

The main abilities that the player will have are basically complete. They have very tight synergy. However:

Character animations will be 4-directional only, not 8-directional. The diagonal-facing animations will be removed. The reason is, for a puzzle game, it's much harder for a player to line things up if the character can face diagonally. This is why most 2D games don't have diagonal-facing characters. They look nice. But they will cause frustration for the player if they cause the player to miss their targets when aiming.

Running animations will probably be removed. I love how they turned out. But "running" doesn't add enough to justify its existence. The core gameplay just...evolved in a different direction. Running lacks synergy with the rest of the player's abilities. The world won't be so massive that fast movement will be needed.And running would require an extra button to use. The other core abilities use just two buttons. Making the player learn to use a third button that doesn't do much is poor design.

I am trying to limit the scope of this game. So many ideas. Too many. I have to draw the line somewhere or the game will never be finished. A lot of ideas have been shelved for later. So...I have spent some time considering how to use those ideas. Maybe in a sequel?

But really, what's next for August?

So far it's been:

May: Initial designs and game concept

June: Playing and researching other games

July: Finish Prototype #1

And August? Probably fleshing out the game world. In any game, the player's abilities impact EVERYTHING. The world must be designed around what the player can do. Same with all its puzzles. And its main quest, sidequests, story, etc. And also, environmental objects which have synergy with the player's abilities.

This is why the player's abilities were the top priority for Prototype #1. Now that they're finalized (hopefully), all these other elements can be worked on in earnest.

Thank you again for following my progress! See you next month!

[cadaverdolls]

Already posted a doll today and I want to post another badly. Decided to draw something else since I want to space it out. Want to keep it to one per day. Might try making some of the LIs or NPCs into dolls if my urge to make more is too strong.

I’ve made DOL pcs but I haven’t made an oc that isn’t an orphan. Since I saw a couple of other peoples I now want to make my own! Working out the details on what the character does and how’d they’d fit into the town. It will change as I learn more about the NPCs and LIs.

Murmur the botanist

Height - 5’5 to 5’6 // Age - 23-26 (haven’t settled on an exact number) // Place of work - Botanical Gardens (I image that this place would be right next to the museum)

Murmur has a lot of energy. It’s almost endless! Like a husky. Her voice is loud and she’s going to make sure everyone knows what she thinks. Doesn’t mean she’s going to be impolite, just doesn’t mince her words.

The drawing is a chibi style but I plan on making another drawing later that isn’t in this style so I can get a better feel on her looks. As in, her jaw line. Don’t know if I want her to have a soft face or a jaw that can cut glass. Though the chibi style does fit with the cute character model in the game.

This drawing is just meant to get the vibe on her eye shape, hairstyle, and clothes.

I’ll make her an official tag later once I make the second drawing.

Under the cut is my long as description about her. What she does and how a pc would interact with her.

Minors DNI

Warning - Drugs and implied non-con? (Its mentioned so I added it just incase.)

(I’ll make another post in the future to explore her better. Make it more concise? Explain the interactions one could have with her and what interactions she’d have with NPCs and LIs. I kept her relationships vague since I’m still not fully sure how others would react to her as a person.)

Murmur the lure

People in this town lunge at anybody that looks attractive. Looking for the weak so they can make them into prey. Murmur doesn’t look particularly strong and looks quite naive with the way she dresses. Choosing to stand out with the bright pastel colors. Easy prey? Ha. Laughable notion.

Dart frogs are so cute and small. The golden dart frog is a beautiful thing, ranging in colors of yellow, blue, and orange. Something that everyone knows about dart frogs is that they aren’t something to be messed with. Those bright colors aren’t stupidity, it’s a warning. If a predator ignores those warnings and eats it then it ends up choking on the deadly poison that is within the dart frog.

Murmur has cans similar to pepper spray filled with spores and medicines made from the strange plants that surround this town. Hallucinogenics, anesthesia, drugs that make you see stars. In that large puffer jacket is where they keep it all. It’s basically a bullet proof vest with the amount she has on her.

Murmur knows that the predators learn by observing the others die trying to eat those frogs. So she uses these drugs to make sure that anyone that attacks her forgets her face. Not forgetting the pain of course! That be no fun for Murmur! She’s cruel to those that attack her first and she’s also a sadist. Just loves to see them writhe in pain. Free test subjects for all the new things she makes!

You know how you don’t get charged with assault if you pepper spray a wolf? Anyone the pc can pepper spray without getting assault added on to their criminal status will face much worse if they attack Murmur.

Due to working so much with these drugs she has an immunity to them. Pepper spray doesnt work on her.

🪻Thing involving a pc🪻

You can build love and trust with her. When I say love I mean she’ll see you like a younger sibling. Trust involves her business. If her love is past 50% you’ll get a note passed to you if you’re trapped in the prison or asylum that will ask if you want help getting out. Checking off yes on the note will result in either a guard or worker escorting you outside the building to Murmur’s car. Above 80% and she’ll give you pepper spray for free every week. Bailey isn’t someone she wants to mess with. While she wants to protect you she knows what their capable of. Things would get a lot worse if she involved herself.

The drugs she makes are sometimes legal. She sells both illegal and legal drugs. Supplying to places like the hospital or brothel. Sure, she’s steps on some powerful people’s toes sometimes but compared to the usual stuff you can get in town her stuff is far better. So she gets a pass.

Her garden is open to the public, plants of all kinds! There is a private section where she’s growing all the plants she using for her business. A pc can approach and ask for work, this leads you to picking one of two options - taking care of the garden or going into around town to collect plant samples.

Both have there own dangers but once you get high enough trust with her she give you the opportunity to test out her drugs on your attackers. You can earn about 1000 per can you test. Why is the pay so much? Well here are the potential results you can get when you use the sprays she gives you to test:

50% - the drug results in your attacker being unable to continue their attack // 25% - the drug results in your attacker becoming disoriented or pained, making it easier to escape // 25% - the drug results in your attacker becoming more aggressive or persistent in their efforts, making it incredibly hard to escape

🌸Thing involving NPCs and LIs🌸

Basically, she does know and frequently talks to NPCs involved with the brothels and hospital. It’s business so she’s not really friends with them.

Remy buys from her as well. She knows a lot more about them than she wish she did. Being polite to Remy is hard for her since she hates their guts.

If she could she’d avoid Bailey as much as possible.

Alex and Eden are the only LIs she has talked with. Done some studies on Alex’s farm and has encountered Eden a lot when she goes to the forest to gather samples. Eden in her eyes is sad and pathetic, but in a cute way.

[lululandd]

🍰 ・twitter・twitch・ko-fi・ 🍰

♡ #scuffed writing ‹ ao3 ›

♡ #scuffed art

▼ detailed and categorised list below ▼

—

🌸 ✨ F I C S 🌸 ✨

—

[ chance encounters ]

pairing: vergil x f!reader

warnings: soulmate au, blood and gore (of npcs), smut

word count: 12k+ - COMPLETED

summary: you can’t help but to wonder what kind of person your soulmate is, for them to have such vicious, poisonous words ready to throw around as a greeting.

| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | vergil’s pov |

—

[ audacity ]

pairing: vergil x f!reader

warnings: -

word count: 810

summary: he ‘hated’ you. 

| 01 |

—

[ s i n c e r e l y; ]

pairing: vergil x f!reader

warnings:  possessiveness, yandere!vergil, stalking, jealousy

word count: 2.8k - ongoing

summary: he would jeopardise everything he has worked so hard on just to be with you.

| 01 | 02 | ...

—

[ out of the blue; ]

pairing: vergil x reader

warning: *butterfly meme* is this fluff?

word count: 465

summary: “would you like some help?”

| 01 |

— 

[ memories. ]

pairing: Vergil x f!reader

warnings: Possessive Behaviour, Mentions of V, Implied Sexual Content

word count: 631

summary: “You miss him.“

| 01 |

—

🍋 🍉 D R A W I N G S 🍉 🍋

—

[ dmc comics inspired by other people ]

| run patty! | cute pizza | litter box | ‘frog demons’ | haircut | deadson | squeak | homework |

[ dmc comics inspired by vines ]

| dada | legos | age | fire | mcdonalds | pussy |

[ dmc: other ]

| huggies | sleepy potatpe | where dick | underwater | asleep | dante | tiddy | fly? | skwish | run | swim | fatcat | new pet | kiddie pool | baby sitter / body study | rain | maid cafe | valentines | young vergil | stabby | chicken suit | awake | growl | bulge | throne | dru ft. ass | blood | confusion | squeal | pikavergil | uglyass | m’lady | stuck | pinchy | comfy | selfie | cat eyes | flying |

[ dmc boys with wings ]

| v | dante | nero | vergil |

[ requested ]

| flower crown | pc | snack | flower | nap | spicy noods | yeet | catman | sleepy | halloween |

[ phone wallpaper ]

| vergil | notif |

[ emotes ]

| animated | vergil |

[meadow-roses]

aske time :) for the writing asks: A1, A2, A10, A12, A14, your choice of anything in B, C8 ( :^) ), C11, D6

A1: Introduce the characters from one of your current WIPs in one or two sentences each. 

Okay let's gooo,,, I'll do The Keepers cause I haven't talked about that one as much. These aren't gonna be the best descriptions but whatever 

Ketsler: Quirky, fun-loving, everyone's weird grandpa, but also the most powerful person to have ever lived. He's old- so very, very old- and he's seen so much over all the centuries he has been protecting the worlds from Chaos, but he still makes an effort to slow down and appreciate the little things around him, because he knows better than most how fleeting life is.

Skylar: Skylar is from a world where faerie circles are real and witches turn people into frogs and trolls live in great, big castles and are slain by talking cats, a world where there's too much adventure to stay in one place, too many people to meet, and too many monsters to slay to stop running. He may be only a human (ooo mystery!!) but he is proficient in Wind magic and carries around a good bit of rune stones he and his pet dragon have found along his adventures. 

Felix: Felix is just a normal human from a small town after the earth becomes united under one world power. He wasn't born with superpowers like most soldiers are, but he was still skilled enough to join a special force working behind enemy lines when the rebellion made its move to free the planet from the tyranny that built this dystopian reality. 

Betty: A very sweet young lady, she's from a planet that was colonized by humans centuries ago. She may seem naive, but Betty can read anyone like a book and uses her gift to help those who are lost find themselves again. 

There's more characters but I'll just stick with those main ones cause I really struggle with descriptions xD

A2: Who's your favorite character to write and why?

Probably Joden? I haven't written most of my characters, but I looove writing his dialogue. He also makes me think so I can keep him clever lol

A10: What’s your character development process like? (As in how you develop them, not necessarily their development in-story)

I roleplay them! The more developed they are, the more I've acted as them. It really gets me inside their head to try and think like how they think, and that results in me being more equipped to "discover" why they are like that. 

A12: What kind of internal conflict does your character go through (want versus need, personality complexes or strong personality flaws/”fatal flaw” kinda thing)? How does this affect them?

It really varies depending on the character? For example Joden has this need to always have a plan, always be in control, and a breaking moment for him comes in when he finally just,,, doesn't know what to do. He's in over his head and the only thing he can do is trust Jacer to do what he can- knowing Jacer doesn't have things under control. 

So that's an example of a flaw that the character gets to overcome, but there also characters whose flaws are part of who they are. Skylar wouldn't be Skylar if he weren't stubborn. Ketsler wouldn't be Ketsler if he weren't arrogant. They never grow out of these flaws, they just learn to control them. Or I guess not be controlled by the flaw. 

This is actually something I think I struggle with for my characters, giving them those visable flaws. I see other people's characters that start out "bad" and grow into heroes, but it kinda seems like all my characters start out as heroes. 😅 I mean, they have flaws, but in comparison to other people's characters they feel really bland in that aspect. Idk

A14: Ramble about your characters. Anything special you like about them? Random little details you’ve added that you enjoy? 

Uh,,, I don't even know where to start I just love all of them for so many various reasons. Joden is just a clever little genius but he still can be so naive. He just has simple pleasures and it's not hard to make him laugh or smile and practically impossible to discourage him. He starts off just,,, wanting his old life back and then he sees what the world is like outside his little bubble and the bubble pops. He sees the atrocities for what they are and to be able to settle down again, he has to fix it. He can't just smile and do as he's told, he can't let the bad guys win. It I just his mother and wife and son he's fighting for, it's the entire wood and the idea of being actually, truly, free.

Jacer is so savvy, he knows what to do and what to say to get into and out of any situation, but at the same time he's just clueless when it comes to genuine connection. He's a princeling who's really never had a friend and now he's saving the world with Joden who only knows how to make genuine connections. Why does he have to keep hugging me??  

And Twylla who's ready to fight anything so she can get her clever idiot husband back? 

Adric who's just doing his best to be a good leader but everything keeps going wrong. He wasn't born to be a king, he wasn't born to lead an army, he always had his big brother to help him do these things and he's gone- he's gone and he's not coming back he messed up again so bad and yet here he is with everyone looking to him for answers and he doesn't know what to tell them. But he's got his friends, and he's got a good heart, and he genuinely cares and they're going to figure it out.

Skylar just keeps running forward and he never looks back at the past he just jumps from one adventure to another stopping the monsters and saving the day. He's got Gigi what more does he need? 

Felix is just,,, he's just such a nice guy. Over and over he stepped into the gap because someone's gotta fly that fighter, someone's got to fire that gun, someone's got to stabilize the bomb, someone's going to lose their life to ensure the victory, why shouldn't it be him? But he never actually dies, somehow he always survives and lives to fight the next day, and the next day and the next day, and then they win the war- the world is free. And even though he's been through so much he still hasn't lost that kindness, that love for all life that makes him himself. He still falls in love and starts a family and has his own beloved children… and even when he loses them he still doesn't become cynical. He still stands in the gap and is the one to fire the gun, to hold the hand of the one who's mourning, to scoop up the orphan child and carry them home. He fights, so others don't have to. Father to the fatherless and hero for all. Also he puts up with Skylar's time traveling craziness lol

And Ketsler? Unlike everyone else he never chose to be a hero. What are you supposed to do when you're a four year old boy and everyone tells you you're the hero they've been waiting for, praying for, you have to save them. It wasn't at all his choice to be born with the power of the universe running through his veins. To hold the Inness in his hands and bend reality to his will. But he didn't run away. He never hid from his destiny. He took the world onto his shoulders and never set it down. Only once- and he's never going to do it again. Never going to ask someone to fill in his role for him, it is his burden to bear… Except not anymore. Despite being multi-millenniums old, all that time didn't dull his appreciation for the little things. A baby's smile, sunshine through the leaves, the change of the seasons. The union of two souls in marriage, or the colors of the sunset streaking a foreign sky. He still sees these things, loves these things, fights for these things. Cause it's the little things he's fighting for, not just the big things. The precious moments and precious lives that make up the worlds. One of his apprentices asked him once, he'd been fighting for so long, when was it going to end? It's not his job to strike the final blow, to end the suffering and bloodshed, just to help. He saves the world, so that he can save it again. 

I have… several more characters I'd love to ramble about but that answer's gotten pretty long so I'll cut it off there. XD

B3: Do you have any plot twists? No need to describe them, just think about what kind of reaction you want from your readers. 

Oh I was just talking to August about this the other day. XD There is one plot twist in the Keeper's story I'm reeaaally looking forward to hehe I want to make people confused and then really mad when the whole thing is stretched out. >:) 

C8: Does magic exist in your world? Who can use it? How does it work?

It really depends on which WIP, but in general I like to keep magic restricted with rules. Joden's story and the Keeper's story are in the same universe (along with ThRoG) and follows that magic system. It's too complicated to go in depth here, but "magic" exists in another plane of existence, and things in the material world have varying levels of connection with it. It's kinda the energy that holds all worlds together and sustains life. The magic realm- the Inness is not a place where physical matter should exist, only spirits can walk there. 

Wizards are creatures that stand with one foot in the physical realm and the other in the Inness. Tevlar is destroying the world basically by turning it inside out- pulling the Inness out.

C11: Have you developed historical figures? How do you develop them? How in-depth do you go?

Oh yes. I am a complete history nerd so if any world EXISTS it has history, and history only happens because people. 

Sometimes it's a thought through process of "somebody needs to go here" and sometimes it's an npc from a time travel rp that took on more importance than I originally intended. 

It really varies how in depth it will go? Sometimes it's just a name to fill a spot and other times it's like, man I could write a whole book about this guy!

One historical figure would be Ares of the Pegasus. He was a powerful warrior that won a bunch of wars and united the different pegasus clans under his leadership and became the first king. He's really famous and people like naming their kids after him in a kinda superstitious hope they'll grow into attributes of his character. Ares is the male form of the name, Aris is for girls. It's like, the most common Pegasian name. XD

D6: Are there any writing styles that inspire you?

Probably the first writing style I wanted to emulate was Tolkien's, but I also really liked Andrew Peterson's? Tolkien is so dramatic, and Peterson isn't heavy on location descriptions, so I'm kinda aiming for in between I guess. 

[kindred-is-obsessed]

Animal Crossing Theory: The Players Aren’t Human

Many people have talked about how odd it is that the player characters of the Animal Crossing franchise seem to be the only humans in its world. However, I think it’s possible that ALL the individuals in this world are animals, or rather, animal spirits.

Let me explain.

First we have to talk about Tom Nook.

Most non-Japanese players of the games assume that Tom Nook and his nephews are raccoons, but they are actually raccoon dogs or tanooki (Their names are puns based on the name of their species).

Unlike the mythological beasts of many cultures, many Japanese mythological beasts are not fictional (like dragons for example) but are interpreted as the actual animal inhabitants of the country. You may know that foxes are seen as trickster spirits which can transform into humans (which is the basis of the mischievous Redd), and if you’ve seen Wolf Children you may know that the extinct Japanese wolf is also interpreted as a transforming spirit. Tanooki, like foxes, are seen as trickster spirits (which is why Tom Nook was initially depicted as he was in the first games, and why he has a spotted history with Redd). If you’ve seen Studio Ghibli’s Pom Poko you’ll know that tanooki are known for transforming themselves into humans and objects. They also are said to be able to transform other objects, and most commonly they transform them into leaves. This is why when you pick up an item or hold it in your inventory in the games, it is depicted as a leaf.

But this raises an interesting question, because it’s not the tanooki that are transforming the items when you pick them up and place them, but the player. None of the tanooki characters have to be present for that action.

Hold onto that thought.

The most prodded mildly disturbing aspect of the games is that there is a seemingly arbitrary distinction from the sentient animal residents that reside in your village or island, and the fish, bugs, frogs, octopus and many other living creatures that the players can capture and sell in the game.

For a long time this disturbed me. I thought, perhaps the sentient animals sought to buy their non-sentient counterparts in order to keep them safe or perhaps attempt to bring them to their level of sentience. Of course, this theory is debunked by the existence of items that depict non-vegetarian meals and imply the existence of non-sentient pets.

But considering the specific portrayal of some of the NPCs as specifically mythological animals (the Nooks, Redd, Drago, Julian and Phoebe particularly), I believe the NPCs of Animal Crossing aren’t simply animals, but animal spirits. This also explains seemingly non-animal residents such as Coco, Hopkins, Stitches and the many food themed residents.

But back to the Nooks. I’m about to get blue here. Have you ever noticed how few of the Animal Crossing characters wear pants? The only characters that wear pants are about half of the non-resident characters, and some of them only in some games or only part of the time. As far as I can tell the only characters that have consistently worn pants or covered their cr0tch with aprons in every game in every form are the Nooks.

Surprisingly, there is a reason for this.

Tanooki are also known for their giant t3sticl3s. No, I’m not kidding. This apparently is where their shape shifting powers are strongest. While the film Pom Poko is less than shy in depicting this, Nintendo, as an international company hoping (and succeeding) to one day market the Animal Crossing games in the US, seems to have opted not to inaccurately depict tanooki by giving them the completely detail-less cr0tches like the vast majority of the other NPCs, but instead to consistently cover up the tanooki to imply this important mythological detail without blatant nudity.

(I would put an image here of Japanese art depicting mythological tanooki but the Tumblr censors may not like it so if you’re curious Google “tanooki art”. Warning, its a little unpleasant)

(A side note: if anyone reading this is Japanese or happens to know, are t3sticl3s considered an equal level of indecency to butts in Japan, in the sense that they are considered rude but not s3xual? This seemed to be the vibe I got from Pom Poko, which I find interesting given Japan’s high level of censorship of g3n3talia and nippl3s, even in p0rn0graphy. Or is it not considered taboo simply because they are animals?)

Anyway, here are the facts. Not only do players have the ability to transform objects into leaves like tanooki, but they also never have their crotch shown (I know its because they’re kids and Nintendo would never show any human-like character in less than their underwear, but I still think its an interesting connection). They also are the only humans depicted in the games in a world where the other characters, particularly the tanooki, are implied to be able to transform into humans, or at least humanoid animals.

Conclusion: the players are all tanooki!

[ganymedesclock]

Dead Cells and the weight of small lives pt.1 (about Prisoner)

NGL this is at least partially me saltposting about “I don’t really understand how people read the Prisoner’s dialogue and look at his thoughts and see someone who’s a total unrepentant asshole or the same person as the King” but it’s also commentating on an interesting pattern I observe in the game and its worldbuilding.

The setting of Dead Cells is, no two ways about it, a very unpleasant world. It is awash in death. The apocalyptic zombie plague of the Malaise is just the final nail in its coffin, leaving a handful of uninfected survivors on top of the literal heaps of corpses of the kingdom’s inquisition. A fountain of blood flows in the highest castle in the land. It’s grim. It’s horrible. We can hear someone get murdered through an unbreakable door.

The interesting thing is... what the game tells you to do with it, through the perspective of the main character.

For clarity: Prisoner is not here to save anyone. He is not a hero on a quest. He is- well- a prisoner. On discovering he has a kind of immortality, he begins using it to make his way through the island, learning painful lesson after painful lesson, returning, returning, and returning again trying to achieve some kind of change on this degrading looping time. But the fact that you’re not specifically out to save people is that... well... basically nobody’s in a position to be saved. As mentioned, there’s not a lot of survivors, and most of the ones there don’t need you- they’re doing on their own, and if that happens to not be enough, it tends to be enough very suddenly, where you can’t reach them or weren’t there at the time and are left a little shaken, because they were fine the last time you checked.

Also, half of said survivors are trying really hard to kill Prisoner.

Thus, if you’re used to games where objective 1 is to Save Everyone, Rid The Land Of Evil, Prisoner might seem shockingly callous, I suppose. The thing is, I consider myself the emotional equivalent of a glass frog- I’m very thin-skinned with bleak hopeless narratives.

And yet. There is something about Dead Cells’ universe that doesn’t seem like an attack on me. And I think that it’s what the game has to say about “small lives”. The lives that are considered unimportant in a crisis.

The Island in Dead Cells is ruled by a major hierarchy. This is obvious from jump- one of the first bits of lore text you are likely to ever get starting the game up is this one, for the Prisoners’ Quarters, the first area you start in:

In the social hierarchy of the island, there are the dogs, the rats, and just below them, the prisoners.

Prisoner is sometimes called “The Beheaded” by official detail, but he is called “Prisoner” specifically by one of the service NPCs you meet in the corridors- so one of the most consistent entities you talk to that’s not trying to kill you, who is always happy to see you with a sunny, “Well, hello, Mr. Prisoner, sir!”

He also starts the game in a prison cell, his headless state is made clear to us that it was the result of an execution rather than a war wound (there’s a chopping block and an obviously used axe in his cell with him) and his default equipment is a collar that was clearly once used to restrain him. So when the game pronounces this to you about the island’s hierarchy, Prisoner is not speaking abstractly about ‘those other poor sods’-

He’s talking about himself.

The hierarchy of the island is a specter that stalks you through almost every level of the game- through the massive prison complex which is littered with evidence and recounting of the guards toying with prisoners’ lives, of numbered corpses, a revolting sewer containing a shackled, corrupted monster that seems to have lived her entire life in this very same prison; to the astonishingly humble fishing hamlet that lies directly at the foot of the soaring grandeur of the Clock Tower and the even greater heights of High Peak Castle.

To the discrepancy between the teeming, crowded tombstones of the Graveyard, to the sprawling labyrinthine nature of the Forgotten Sepulchre- where a handful of tombs are presided over by entire walls of skulls that we’re helpfully told belonged to the heads of the delegations of high-ranking dignitaries- said delegations were butchered to attend their masters’ burials evermore.

Right away, this is thrown to us not as something we are outside of or transcend, but a slap in the face. The world tells us that our avatar in this game does not matter- that his face and voice do not matter and these things were taken from him by violence.

The thing is... Prisoner does not shut up. The game is full to bursting with his thoughts. He has so much to say that it’s jarring when we’re used to being alone with all his thoughts to meet another person and suddenly be reminded they hear nothing of what he’s saying, like a dramatic version of Garfield Minus Garfield.

Through revival, through cycles, the expectation of the gameplay is we are living the experience of Prisoner and what Prisoner’s experience is, is a one-man raging against a situation that’s telling him to shrivel up and die because he’s not important. It doesn’t want to be fair to him. It doesn’t want to be nice to him. It doesn’t care how much he’s hurting or if he doesn’t own a decent pair of shoes to his name, or if he doesn’t even have a name to speak of.

But Prisoner does not give up. He in fact does the opposite of giving up. After playing this game for a good while, I fired up some Hollow Knight and it really hit me like a truck that Prisoner spends most of the game tearing around near top speed, cartwheeling and sprinting and hauling up ledges and slamming down ledges. The pace of the game is fast, fast, fast, all intense, all in, and you’re encouraged to take risky gambles with an already precarious system like temporarily taking on one-hit-you’re-dead curses in exchange for more damage output or better loot.

The animated trailers make this even clearer. Prisoner gets his shit wrecked.

A lot.

At best, he can have some moments of feeling like an unstoppable god, but just about the time you start to get really worried for that cute little mushroom baby and their caretaker you are reassured that Prisoner’s reign of hubristic wrath comes to a hard stop thanks to inertia, and spikes.

And I will say more than many cinematic trailers, Motion Twin really did a remarkable job of matching this 1-to-1 with the actual experience of playing the game. I have even literally swaggered into a fight with the Giant much the same way Prisoner breaks out that cool spear flourish Moment Of Challenge only to immediately eat shit directly into his laser beam eyes, that I was not prepared for because he hadn’t used them last fight.

Prisoner is not valiant, triumphant, or wildly successful. His final bastion is skill and ingenuity.

This puts a really interesting spin on what I said before- that Prisoner is not here to save anybody, even himself.

Prisoner frankly does not have that kind of power.

There’s nobody in a vulnerable state you even have the option to choose to abandon. People live or die, and it’s really not up to you. There are a few deaths Prisoner takes into his own hands- the King and the Collector notably- but even those people, like... the King appears comatose by the time you reach him, and the Collector not only tries to kill you but is revived thanks to time strangeness- and another death that can happen, and is erased by the time looping- the unnamed sewer prisoner who wants you to go fetch the teleportation rune for him (ahem. he wants you to retrieve his rune, that definitely rightfully belongs to him) ostensibly to get out of jail but when you find his body, not only is he dead of a fate the rune wouldn’t have saved him from, but his objective, revealed, was that he was trying to get to a treasure chest he’d hidden earlier.

The one time it can really be said, outside of the boss fights or executing the King, that Prisoner really decides if someone lives or dies, is...

Mushroom Boi.

For the uninitiated, Mushroom Boi is a little summonable mushroom child that is equipped as a skill. Triggering the skill once will summon him. Triggering the skill while he’s already summoned will cause him to self-destruct, taking out enemies in the area and, by the game description, “violate your very soul”.

After this, you can without any consequence whatsoever summon him again, and blow this poor child up as much as you want. It does not really seem to slow him down any- but the game still, distinctly, frowns on it. You have a reward in the form of an achievement for keeping him with you without sacrifice, aforementioned crack about sacrificing him “violating your soul”, and, just, how can you be mad at this cute little guy? he has a tiny bow! He’s an extremely useful companion! Mechanically, you do not really hurt for want of the sacrifice ability if you summon him and then never touch that button again.

Given that Prisoner spends so much of the game alone with his thoughts, and the person who gives him access to Mushroom Boi, the Collector, has, to put it mildly, a long history of using and discarding people including implicitly children, there has to be some kind of implicit in-universe-source for the idea that you’d feel crushing guilt for detonating your son and boy like that, and the angle that makes the most sense is Prisoner.

So, Prisoner is someone who feels really guilty for painfully inconveniencing a summonable construct mushroom in a way that it does not seem to hold against him at all. At the same time, there’s really a shortage of ways that you can personally hurt anybody who’s not trying to kill you or being particularly exploitative (aforementioned teleportation rune sewer guy, who Prisoner goes as far as to flip off after he lunges and tries to either claw prisoner or grab the rune from him by force)

The most disrespectful Prisoner tends to be are to one of three categories of people:

Dead bodies that cannot feel or particularly care if he kicks them, that he usually kicks either specifically to loot or, as what seems to be some kind of weird bad idea where he plants his naked foot on a waterlogged corpse and then declares “ew” like what did you expect to happen actually

People who have one way or another tried to exploit him for their personal gain directly at his expense so he nearly gets murdered- or in FACT gets murdered- while they sit back and wait for him to succeed and bring them the reward.

Aforementioned people who are trying openly to kill him and even then he only flips off the Giant basically because the Giant flips him off first. This is kinder than I feel about the Giant. I like the Giant but I feel like someone with laser beam eyes that uses them like that deserves more than just one retaliatory middle finger.

And this meshes with other factors, but the post is long enough I’ll break off here.

[my-oc-database]

ok to compile shit cleanly:

(lots of these characters r unnamed pensive emoji.. none of the stories have names either so i just used a vague descriptor that theyre associate w to refer to them)

also this is incomplete cause im working on diff parts of the story at diff times and i dont feel like filling out details of the ones im not focused on rn! this will be edited in the future!

Cube:

Playable Characters

Mantis/? - Main Protagonist. Storybook illustator.

Stats: Low HP, High Speed, Medium Attack, Medium Defense

Double Jump+Wall Jump

A bit nervous a lot of the time, and also kinda sad. Cares about people a lot.

Was kinda just doing whatever. Only left their hometown on the request of Clay who was apparently struggling to find someone to help with... something that they were vague about but the existence of Hand showed there was validity to.

Likes to draw

Gift: Coat

Color Theme: Green

Crab/? - Deuteragonist. Mechanic.

Stats: High HP, Low Speed, Low Defense, High Attack

A fucking TANK

Very outgoing and talkative. If left to their own devices WILL cause trouble.

Left their hometown because they wanted to help Mantis. They just care about Mantis a lot and want to help out :)

Likes to mess with machinery

Gift: Bow

Color Theme: Orange

Clay/? - Plot-Based Main Character

Stats: Medium HP, Medium Speed, High Attack, Low Defense

Good with weapons, some undecided plot-based trait

Friendly and extremely blunt. Generally optimistic but gets uncomfortable fairly fast.

Was trying to find someone to help with the situation going on with their siblings. Just sort of... travelled around looking for someone until Mantis agreed to help.

Likes to dance

Gift: Cape

Color Theme: Purple

Bunny/? - Main Character

Stats: Low HP, High Speed, Low Attack, High Defense

Dashing, exploring tight spots

Quiet and ominous but cute :)

Was a kid that just sort of... showed up at one point and wouldnt leave. Was somewhat trying to find someone to help out their own siblings who are struggling, but failed to even try to elaborate on it and got distracted by the things going on.

Undecided interests

Gift: Scarf

Color Theme: Indigo

Water/? - Main Character. Ice Cream's girlfriend.

Stats: Medium HP, Medium Speed, Medium Attack, Low Defense

Walking on walls, swimming. Doesnt jump

A bit rude and deadpan. Doesnt have much of an interest in others.

Only came along because Ice Cream wanted to help Mantis.

Undecided interests

Gift: Hat

Color Theme: Blue

Ice Cream/? - Main Character. Water's girlfriend. Baker and general chef.

Stats: High HP, Medium Speed, Low Attack, Medium Defense

Healing

Quiet but charismatic. Is able to make friends fairly easiĺy, but not closer ones.

Came along because they wanted to help Mantis with what was going on.

Likes to cook

Gift: Headband

Color Theme: Pink

Eye/? - Main Character

Stats: Low HP, Low Speed, High Attack, Medium Defense

Flying

Quiet but tries very hard to make friends. Very sweet but finds interaction a bit difficult.

Just wanted to help out

Undecided interests

Gift: Bracelet

Color Theme: Red

NPCs

Mantis' Hometown

Ribbon/? - ?

Mantis' pet/? - Is an animal commonly found near Mantis' hometown. Is Mantis' pet :)

Bunny's Family

Otter/? - Bunny's brother, oldest of the 3

Nervous and stressed a lot. Has no clue what hes doing but trying so hard to do it

Color Theme: Undecided

Bird/? - Bunny's sister, middle child of the 3

Very optimistic :) Has no clue what she is doing and doesnt worry about it that much. itll Probably work out. Can be a bit ominous

Color Theme: Magenta

Lab

Robot/? - Head of the lab

Wants to be evil so bad. Fails

Color Theme: Grey

Astronaut/? - Works at the lab. Sibling of Ferret

Quiet. Doesnt care all that much. Very level-headed

Color Theme: Purple and Blue

Ferret/? - Works at the lab. Sibling of Ferret

Loud. Cares SO much but not in a compassion way so much as an "AAAHHH" way. Easily annoyed

Color Theme: Purple and Pink

Water Town

Frog/? - Minor NPC

Unspecified

Flower Pot/? - ?

Butterfly/? - ?

Honeycomb/? - Possible minor antagonist

Camel Spider/? - Possible side character

Dog/? - Possible side character

Two/? - Possible minor antagonist

Snake Puppy/? - Minor NPC

Mushroom/? - Minor NPC

Mouse/? - Possible Minor Antagonist

Pieces/? - Possible Side Character

Tree/? - Minor NPC

Star/? - Minor NPC

Coat/? - Minor NPC

Tail/? - Minor NPC

Cat/? - Minor NPC

Knight/? - Lore-based NPC

Apple/? - Lore-based NPC

Plant/? - Minor NPC

Metal/? - Major NPC. Puppet's partner. Smiths weapons and armor.

Very quiet and sweet. Doesnt really like to talk to people

Color Theme: Blue

Shopkeepers

Potions/? - Potion shopkeeper. Makes and sells the potions they make

Tries so hard to be funny. Tries SO hard

Color Theme: Green

Puppet/? - Weapons and armor shopkeeper. Metal's partner. Sells the weapons and armor Metal makes.

Deadpan but friendly. A bit sarcastic

Color Theme: Red

Dinosaur/? - Clothing shopkeeper. Tends to give clothes in exchange for (often minor) favors.

Sweet but very ominous. Cares about people SO much

Color Theme: Lime green

Plot-Important Characters

Space/? - Created the cube that surrounds the planet. Mother of Sun, Cloud, Cell, Clay, and Dinnerware.

Ethereal but in more of a fucked up way. is loving very sad but can be very controlling

Color Theme: Blue

Sun/? - One of two main antagonists. Oldest sibling of Space's children.

Asshole. Is trying his best but also is an asshole. Cares about others but is an asshole still

Closest with Dinnerware

Color Theme: Yellow

Cloud/? - Second oldest sibling of Space's children.

Outgoing but can be a bit rude. Pretty dismissive

Closest with Cell

Color Theme: Magenta

Cell/? - Middle sibling of Space's children.

Easily annoyed and basically always is. Very distrustful

Closest with Cloud

Color Theme: Teal

Clay/? - One of the playable main characters. Second youngest sibling of Space's children.

See Playable Characters

Not particularly close with any of their siblings

Dinnerware/? - One of two main antagonists. Youngest sibling of Space's children.

An asshole but nervous. Theyre trying theyre best just fucking shit up in the process. Wants to be poggers but isnt

Closest with Sun

Color Theme: Gray

Hand/? - Minor antagonist. A creation of Sun's.

[from here stuff isnt filled out fully]

Maze:

Main Characters

Mermaid/? - Main protagonist. The only playable character.

Blob/? - Side character

Dragon/? - Side character

Shrimp/? - Side character

Shopkeepers

8-bit/? - ?

Antagonists

Pumpkin/? - Main antagonist

Computer:

Main Characters

Side Characters

Game:

Main Characters

NPCs

Shopkeepers

Platformer:

Main Characters

NPCs

RPG:

Main Characters

NPCs

Shopkeepers

Plot Based Characters

Antagonists

[dicedungeons-and-dragons]

Waylan’s Sabbatical (7/?)

A chunk of writing following our party NPC (and my Son) as he breaks away from the party. Our campaign uses names of places from various fandoms for fun but they have no real relation to the source material. (We also call the Raven Queen Nara because of some hasty Wiki reading) This section contains Terran and Waylan’s first meeting!

TW: Mentions of past torture, general violence, injury.

Part: First | Previous | Next

The Black Knight takes him through the forest. Introduces him to any creature that is sentient enough to understand. He meets a Green Hag who wants to pull out his liver and fill his corpse with frog eggs for whatever reason but she, like Terran, and the forest giants that he meets, seem to follow whatever the lich says. Waylan never sees him threaten them, there is never any animosity. Just short respectful conversations that lead to whatever creature taking a brief interest in him. He wonders if he would be as safe if he ever tried to return without the Knight at his side. These visits go on for weeks, and eventually he finds himself asking, 

“Why do you keep introducing me to, no offense, monsters?” 

“Because you came to the forest to be away from humans.”

“I came here to be away from everyone.” 

“And yet you kept finding your way into my company.” He can’t argue so the Knight continues. “You spoke when you were deep in the fever. You called out for a man and promised him you would not become a monster.”

Waylan bristles. “I wasn’t in my right mind.” 

“Perhaps, but oftentimes people are more honest when they are not. My Queen used to say that when her advisors reprimanded her for getting visiting diplomats thoroughly intoxicated but I believe she was right and the same wisdom can be applied here. You are frightened of becoming a monster, and yet you continue on in my company. Now I am showing you more monsters. Are you frightened of them?”

“Not when you’re around. For whatever reason they listen to you. I don’t think you’d let them kill me.” 

“And if I brought you to them as they were standing over a fresh kill?”

“I’ve seen you standing over a fresh kill.” Adventurers still come and die. Now that he’s staying in the castle he’s bared witness to it. Only once. A small party, four of them, in cheap vestments. When the lich cut the first one down, two immediately turned to run. The third howled, tears streaming down their face. The Knight didn’t leave them in their grief for long. 

“Were you frightened of me then? Did you object to my actions?”

They’re leading questions, but Waylan’s learned that the Knight won’t drop a subject once he becomes interested in it. “I was…” Sad isn’t quite right. He certainly felt something for the group. But it hadn’t been enough for him to step in, it hadn’t stopped him from checking to see if there were any valuable items on them before he left their corpses to mold away on the ground. “I was relieved that I didn’t know them.” He finally says. “This is your home, and whatever you’re planning on doing to the kingdom is your business. If they come here with the intention of doing you harm I understand why you have to defend yourself. But I’m glad I didn’t know them.” Because every adventuring troupe could have been his. And he’s been on the other side of the fight. He’s seen his friends cut down. He’s hated evil creatures. 

But he still doesn’t know what the Knight is doing in the forest.

“If those adventurers knew you were inside, watching as I killed them and their friends, they would believe you are a monster for standing by and doing nothing.” 

“It’s a matter of perspective. That’s what you’re getting at, right?” He rolls his eyes. “Every evil creature I’ve ever heard of, read about, or met has played at that angle.”

“Then perhaps there is some truth to it, Waylan.” 

****

“Can I ask you some questions?”

Terran lounges across the stone floor of his lair, a massive cave that he carved out of the side of a small mountain range that broke up the gently rising and falling hills of the forest. It’s not the first time Waylan has been allowed inside, but it is the first time he’s ventured in alone. The Black Knight had left a few days prior, saying the scouting he needed to do that was too dangerous for the living. Waylan spent the first two days in the Prince’s room reading what he could of the books. But the ticking gears in his arm and the memory of blood dripping onto a stone floor became too much. Seeking out the dragon’s company had been risky. But Terran had looked at him, one massive yellow eye, tucked his leather wings into his body, and taken human form. It had taken him a few minutes, digging through the horde of treasure that he’d warned Waylan would be harder to get to than it first seemed, before coming back with a polished wooden board and two small bowls. 

It’s a game that Gadreel had called Go and that Terran sniffs dismissively and calls Weiqi. The dragon is a more skilled player than him, but after nearly three dozen losses Waylan starts to understand that the dragon is very good at making it look like he’s using one strategy while actually employing another. Waylan thinks he could play with Terran every day until he dies and still lose. 

“You can ask.” But there’s no telling if what the creature says will be true. 

“When I was in the kingdom there were only vague rumors a dragon had come to the forest. Why didn’t you go and seek tribute?”

“Stupid boy, you know of the Goddess’ blessing on the edge of the forest.”

“I know that it’s less a goddess’ blessing that marks the start of the Dark Forest and more the end of the scar that the lich’s ritual made on the land.” The notebook he’d found locked away under the Prince’s desk had extensive notes on the process of becoming a lich and what it would cost. “Which means you’re choosing to stay here hidden away in the forest like a wyrmling instead of claiming Okren for yourself. That seems strange for a creature as powerful as you.”

Terran clicks his tongue and takes seven of Waylan’s pieces in retaliation. “Careful little mage, flattery will get you everywhere.”

“I think there’s already enough dragon blood in my family line, not that it wouldn’t be an honor.” He hates how quickly the response comes from him, hates that the rhythm of their flirtation reminds him of Lugh. “Why don’t you go to the kingdom?” He asks again, setting a piece to block what he hopes is the dragon’s next move. 

He and Terran take another few turns before he speaks again. “My horde is smaller than you expected it to be.” Waylan pauses as he reaches for another stone. “You mentioned it to the lich when you left my domain for the first time. The creatures that serve as my eyes and ears have a farther reach than you assumed. I escaped with my life and only a small amount of what is rightfully mine.”

“Escaped from what?”

“An old rival. While I grew wise over the centuries he grew vicious. He would have razed my forests to the ground and killed all that had offered me tribute in the nearby villages had I not abandoned my lair and left a sizable amount of my treasure. As it is, now he is growing fat and contented while my worshippers continue to pay. My spies tell me that as long as he is given tribute my forest stays intact, as do the villages.” Waylan sighs as Terran takes his last stronghold and effectively ends the game. “And the more contented he grows the easier it will be for me to slither into his misbegotten lair and slit his throat.” The dragon leans back and stretches his arms above his head and Waylan notices for the hundredth time how skinny he is in this form. Wonders how he earned his title. “You lose again, little human. If we were playing for your life I would have already swallowed you whole.”

“Good thing we’re not doing that then. Another round?” Terran shrugs, but he helps Waylan clear the board without protest.  “So you’re just buying time here?”

“I have been around long enough to spot a fisherman even when he does not carry a pole, little human.” 

“I’m just trying to figure out why you’re here.” Terran clicks his tongue derisively. “Why the Black Knight lets you stay here, and why you listen to him. Liches pose no threat to you and he has no tribute to offer. I don’t understand why you’d defer to him.”

“Perhaps I should kill him then? You certainly make a strong case for it.” 

Cold shudders inside of Waylan’s chest. “No. That’s not–”

“Relax, Waylan.” The dragon orders flatly. “I’m well aware of your soft spot for our Knight. A place scarred with the darkness of creating a Lich gives creatures like the ones you’ve found more power. I stay here gathering strength to take back my home. The others come because they are pulled to it. Some creatures even spawn from it. The Lich, as much as he hates the king, feels a noble,” he hisses the word like a curse, “love for the kingdom itself. He will not let any of us stay on this land if we do not abide by his rule. Were the Knight my only opponent I would have claimed this land for my own, taken my tribute from the people. But he has many who would fight alongside him in these woods. And I am not in the habit of pursuing hard fights for few rewards.” 

“I have some friends in Oshime I wished lived by that philosophy.” Waylan considers this information for a moment. It raises more questions than it answers. “Why does the Knight hate the king?”

“That’s not my story to tell, little human, nor one I know every detail of. You’re just going to have to ask him yourself.” Terran’s head then snaps towards the entrance of the cavern, voice easily switching into common. “Are you going to continue to lurk in the shadows, Lich? Or are you going to come collect your pet?” 

“I have no need for pets.” The Knight says as he steps further inside. 

“I’m not a pet.” Waylan snaps in draconic. 

“Only because he has yet to ask you to kneel.” Terran purrs with a smirk. 

“Fuck you.” It occurs to him belatedly that he shouldn’t be rude to a dragon, but, well, he’s always rude. 

“Come get your yapping pup before he pisses on my shoes.” 

“Waylan is not a pet, he is a companion.” The Black Knight says flatly. “And if he were to piss on your shoes I am sure you would deserve it.” 

Terran’s brow quirks before he turns and smirks at Waylan again. “Maybe he’ll ask you to kneel sooner rather than later.” 

Waylan, very maturely, picks up a stone and throws it at the dragon’s head. 

[trulycertain]

I’ve just finished Hearts of Stone for the first time (I got the expansion packs last birthday, thanks Ma), and cor, I’m... still a bit dazed. That was one of the best experiences I’ve had with a game for a long time. Heck, in some games that would’ve been the main campaign. It truly feels like a work of passion.

The negative, to get it over with

I had some issues with the portrayal of the Ofieri. The people we see are monsters, mages, mystics and enemy guards. The first Ofieri person you meet is... a toad monster you kill. And then the next ones are your jailers. 

And you might say that Temeria and Redania are full of yokel stereotypes - I mean, the “How often should I beat my wife?” NPC line is a clear nod to that kinda thing - and plays on Slavic mythology, folk tales, and fairy tales, and Ofier is the nod to the Arabian Nights... but we don’t get many Ofieri characters, nor clear examinations of those tales. Instead we’re quietly directed back to Robin Hood and Beauty and the Beast homages (which I adore, but). And one of the first introductions you get to their pseudo-Arabic language (which doesn’t feel as researched as Sapkowksi’s cod-Welsh Elven, but I don’t know about Nilfgaard’s language) is a Redanian guy calling it “gargling.” *wince* After the interesting, often nuanced takes on pseudo-Slavic culture and the fantasy non-human racism, I found that a bit frustrating. 

And yet... In some ways, it feels like CDPR were aware of this. Because you don’t actually have to kill the rest of the Ofieri guards, and then the next people you meet from Ofier are scholars and thoroughly nice dudes. (And... merchants, which is another stereotype on its own, but maybe I’m reading too much into that and reading British biases into it.) And gosh, I find it interesting what little we see of Ofieri scholarship and spirituality, and runeworking/smithing as prayer. It’s like a mix of Islamic Golden Age mathematics - but with languages instead - and humanism, maybe with some Pagan influences. It’s really, really beautiful, and it’s clearly had some thought put into it. Also interesting is the interlinked duchies/city-states sort of system that the merchant nods at, which I’d love to know more about.

OK, so... maybe this is easy for me to say as an English lass who looks like a flour explosion in a snowstorm, but it feels wonky (to say the least), but... not ill-intentioned. If anything, the portrayal of the Ofieri is rather less biting than portrayals of other countries, though those portrayals also feel less.. loaded. I’m not sure what to think, to be honest. I had some issues with how strongly the pack tries to force you into romance with Shani and makes it a bit all-or-nothing. I wish I’d been able to buy her a drink or give her a nice rowan garland (actually, seriously, I need to draw her in that flower crown, it’s lovely and she was adorable) even as a friend, as a way to say goodbye, rather than just... buggering off and leaving her there sad, and failing a side quest to boot. Framing the romance that way made it very clear that “oi, you’ve made the wrong choice,” even if you had your reasons. And when you talk to her later, it’ll still treat things like you romanced her.

The Order of the Flaming Rose didn’t do much. Yay, fancy bandits. But... thanks for the armour, guys? Made a fair bit of cash off that, nice of you.

The positive (my favourite bit)

Shani! I haven’t played the first game or the second (I’ll... get there), so I hadn’t met her before. She’s wonderful. And much as I love Yen - and stayed faithful to her, though I was sitting there thinking, “Would books Geralt do this? I’m really not sure” - I liked how in contrast, Shani often gets into the thick of it with you. I also love a) doctor characters b) characters who put their calling above all else and have such strong purpose. She’s kind and wry and I was seriously tempted to romance her. I also like her admitting that it was a “make the most of the time we have” thing, and that it probably wouldn’t work long-term. I appreciate that honesty and again, that sense of purpose. Much like Triss, she’s not dropping everything for Geralt, who has his own crazy timetable and travels to deal with. That straightforwardness is lovely. 

And also... god, I really like her friendship with Geralt. Even if you don’t romance her, they’re so comfortable with each other, and it’s so clear how happy he is to see her. They relax around each other and she knows how to gently poke fun. Seriously, I can see why people liked her and wanted her back.

“And now I have nowt.” Bloody hell, is Olgierd von Everec actually written with Northern dialect as well as voiced with the accent? Is the dashing rogue... Yorkshire-accented? God, they must be Polish, Northerners almost never get to be upper-class or smooth in British media. (Even Sean Bean had to go posher for GoldenEye.) Nice to hear the language spoken properly.  I always admire the localisation when I’m playing Wild Hunt; it’s beautifully thought-out and detailed. And yes, Von Everec was an absolute jerk in a lot of ways even before the wish, but... a well-written, nuanced one. Also, considering some of the lasses we see in Skellige: sometime, I’d really like to have seen a female character along similar lines somewhere (one Geralt couldn’t bonk), though I know that won’t happen. (No more Geralt games. ;_; )

“A man must have some moments of madness from time to time. Tells him he’s alive.”

Iris! Goodness, I hesitated for nearly ten minutes over That Decision, and I still feel sad for her typing this post up on my couch, having finished the expansion an hour ago. I think it adds even more that I’d purchased “Starry Night Over the Pontar River” by Van Rogh (I can’t believe they even did that). I played Geralt as genuinely loving her paintings. (And seriously, speaking of assets, that Iris/Olgierd marriage portrait is lovely.) She was as complicated as her husband, though she got less screentime - and some part of me would have gladly trapped Olgierd in a painting and brought her back into the world, but I also know that necromancy in The Witcher doesn’t work like that. A very romantic-fairy-tale take on the tortured artist trope.

I even found Vlodimir interesting. I was glad that Shani called him on what was basically fancy sexual harassment and told him to keep his hands to himself, and he was clearly a real shite in life, but... yeah, even I felt rather sad for him after the dressing-down he got from O’Dimm. And to be honest, he does have some bloody hilarious lines. This series excels in “likeable bastard” characters.

I get shades! And I’ve been going round with the Mastercrafted Wolven Armour and those, doing the look I fondly call Douchebag Geralt, ever since. CDPR’s nerdery. It wasn’t particularly immersion-breaking, and it made me cackle. “Merchant With A Pearl Earring”? “Witness me”? “Geralt: The Professional”? “The Professor’s Glasses”?

All the optional NPC dialogue. You can doom yourself by not researching enough. You can never find the runewright. You can miss half the wedding party dialogue. You can miss things like the Van Rogh painting and the sad, rather interesting story of Vesemir and his lover (and the Viper Armour!). The game always rewards you for being interested in the story, and thorough (you are playing a detective, after all), but because it was smaller, they’ve also made HoS so dense and all that’s here in abundance.

“Delight in the world and all its glorious creations.”

The furious pace. It’s a rollicking, rip-roaring adventure. A frog prince! An old friend/lover! A political plot! A storm! A deal with... something not-good that may or may not be The Devil! A shirtless tied-up action-movie fight with five dudes! Dueling a reluctant immortal! Characters from distant shores! A horse race through the streets of a village! A Guy Ritchie-esque heist movie nod to Robin Hood! Getting possessed by a ghost and sitcom/rom-com hijinks while fishing for boots, herding swine, and retrieving fire-eaters! Haunted mansions and tortured artists and interesting grief and depression metaphors! A Seventh Seal-esque game of wits with something very old and very unkind! O’Dimm promised a big adventure... he wasn’t wrong. And it probably sounds like they’re throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks... and yet, it all makes sense and ties in beautifully. It’s really well-written and thought-out, and balances a touching story with CDPR clearly wanting to give you your money’s worth and take you on the best journey they can.

Gaunter O’Dimm. The one thing I did think was that they’d be more vague about who/what he actually was. I was surprised at the more overt things like the crossroads deal, and the Oxenfurt scholar. But I immensely enjoyed his character, and that trippy finale was fantastic, even if I spent everything after the first second or so muttering, “It’s a REFLECTION, oh my god Gaunter you have commitment to your theme, please let there be a mirror in the house.” (And it’s also kind of perfect that one of the main spectres who attacks you in his realm is a Hym. Punishment for misdeeds, the guilty conscience... I’m seeing a theme here.)

Treasure hunts and new armour.

“Like your new gear, Roach?” We got to see a bit more of Geralt's fondness for this Roach (not sure what number she is, to be honest) and that he treats her well.

Lots of quiet but intense, lovely Geralt moments. The kindness with which he treats Shani, and his quiet, wry joking around with her in comparison to Vlodimir’s crudeness; the fondness and understated grief with which he speaks of Vesemir, and finally getting to hear a bit more of what he thinks about his mentor; the guilt he feels over being pulled here, there and everywhere on adventures and how many people he’s left behind; more stuff on “Witchers are heartless bastards because mutations” and how untrue that actually is; his steadfastness about trying to avoid bloodshed in the heist; how he doesn’t like to see Vlodimir tortured, even if he is... Vlodimir. Course, I play Geralt as a (pragmatic, blunt) goody-two-shoes, so it might be different if you play him bloodthirstier, but there were some lovely not-blank-slate-protag moments. CDPR get that the characters are why people come to the games; I adore playing a game where “go to a wedding reception” and “have a snowball fight with your daughter to cheer her up” are missions.

I’d be interested to see anyone’s takes on this pack, because I was so busy trying to avoid spoilers when it came out (and I think I might have been knee-deep in Fallout 4? Not sure) that I missed most of the stuff on it. But it was full of fascinating characters, wonderful performances, some really sad, achey complex themes, and pulpy adventure. I spent... too many moments trying not to cackle in joy. And much as I tried to be a completionist and do base-game sidequests remaining after the main story and drag it out over several days, I spent enough time on this expansion that Geralt’s beard grew back and my backside went numb. So. Even with its imperfections, probably one of my favourite gaming experiences of all time. So.

...God, and there’s another, slightly bigger expansion to go. I’m not sure I’ll survive.

[darkelfshadow]

Session Summary - 80

AKA “Oyaviggaton - The Island Of Eternity”

Adventures in Taggriell

Session 80  (Date: 6th March 2020)

Players Present:

- Rob (Known as “Varis”) Elf Male.

- Bob (Known as “Sir Krondor) Dwarf Male.

- Paul (Known as “Labarett”) Elf Male.

- Travis (Known as “Trenchant”) Human Male.

Absent Players

- Arthur (Known as “Gim”) Dwarf Male. <Played by Bob>

- John (Known as “Ragnar”) Dwarf Male. <Played by Rob>

NPC

- (Known as “Naillae”) Elf Female. <Controlled by Travis>

Summary

- Sunday, 21st Pharast in the year 815 (Second Era). Late Spring.

- The party begin this session, on the dangerous remote ice lands of the Sea Of Moving Ice.

- Through good luck, the party have managed to locate the large plateau, having randomly picked the right direction to travel. They clean up after their last battle and the party is thanked by the lone tribal ice hunter they saved from the Polar Bears. The hunter gives a carved bone pendant of an animal totem to Ragnar, who places it around his neck, proudly displaying it.

- The party continue walking towards the enormous plateau and reach it an hour later. Stretching far beyond their sight to the left and right it raises one hundred feet above them, the top almost lost in the snow. A small raised shelf on the ground level has numerous tied up canoes, and a large skeleton of a whale is visible. The bones of the beast show large teeth and claw marks.

- The party look silently at the dead whale and the gigantic bites marks on the bones. Trenchant whispers out what everyone is thinking, “Dragon teeth marks.”

- Seeing a well made set of stone and ice steps carved out of a natural chasm in the cliff face, the party ignore this and instead use Trenchant’s Levitate ability to have him take each member of the party up, one by one, and well away from the stairs. They have to leave their Charmed Polar Bear behind as he is too heavy to lift up.

- At the top of the plateau the party find a rugged, uneven and broken landscape filled with rock outcrops and large mounds of ice. The party walk around the top of the plateau for some time, keeping near the edges, until they realise with horror that most of the ice mounds are filled with the dead frozen bodies of dozens and dozens of victims. Men and women of different races, some warriors and some simple folk, but all killed without mercy. Frozen forever.

- With a somber air, the party decide to head into the centre, where the faint smells of cooking oil drift on the winds. Sneaking through the snows and ice formation, the party come across a village of tribal ice hunters set in an enclosed and protected area with larger rocks. The party watch for some time, and observe a seemingly normal village with people going about their daily chores and children running about playing.

- This is not what the party expected. There appears to be no aggression going on, and there isn’t even a proper guard on duty. All the villagers get on with each other in a pleasant and cooperative manner.

- The party huddle up and decide what to do.

- Sir Korndor looks around, “Right group. What’s out plan?”

- Gim speaks, sharpening his axe, “Simple, we go in, kill everything that moves and then find this Maccath lady.”

- Naillae speaks, “Hang on, we can’t do that. Those people aren’t evil. There are children here too!”

- Varis speaks, “Those people could be working for the Dragon. We should sneak in and not reveal our presence. See what’s in that large hut.”

- Gim speaks, “Yes they could be working for the Dragon. So we go in, kill everything that moves and find this Maccath lady.”

- Trenchant shakes his head thoughtfully, “We know nothing about this village but something weird is going on. They are making way too much food for that size village. And we kept seeing them bring food into that large hut in the centre of the village. Where is the food going?”

- Sir Krondor nods, “Yes, we need to find out what’s going on. We have to be careful.”

- Gim nods, “Right, they’re acting suspicious. We go in, kill everything that moves and then find this Maccath lady.”

- Everyone turns towards Gim and glares. Labarett speaks, “That would be no. We wait for night, go in, we talk, we determine what these people are up to and their connection to the White Dragon and Maccath.”

- Everyone turns away from Gim and begins to check their gear. Under his breath Gim mumbles, “I thought it was a good plan.”

- The party wait until nightfall, which in this far northern land turns out to be nothing more than a dimming of the sky as this part of the land at this time of year does not truly have a night.

- The party walk to the village and their presence immediately draws the men of the village who shout out in their strange tongue that none in the party understand. Soon most of the village stands looking fearfully at the strangers to their village. When the Chieftain of the village, Barkingseal, sees the animal totem worn by Ragnar he begrudgingly speaks to the party in broken common and agrees to let the party in for a meal and to stay for one night.

- The party catch the eye of a plain but well dressed female, the village Shaman, Bonecarver, who can strangely speak common very well. As the party try to get away to somewhere more secluded to speak to the Shaman, a large behemoth of a man walks up to Sir Krondor and grabs his shoulder. This giant speaks out in the local tongue and Bonecarver translates that he has challenged Sir Krondor to a one on one duel to prove his bravery.

- Sir Krondor accepts the duel, the terms of which are no outside interference or help, and no magic. Soon most of the village surround the party and make room for a duelling area which Sir Krondor and the giant Ice Hunter, Orcaheart, stand within.

- After Orcaheart nods his head to his opponent, he rushes in and the battle starts. Sir Krondor and the giant man trade blow for blow, each refusing to yield and each holding nothing back. The villagers are shouting and cheering for both sides, as each gets a successful hit.

- Sir Krondor is brought down as Orcaheart tackles him down to the snows, then dropping his simple spear starts to punch into the Dwarf’s head again and again.

- Sir Krondor, his head spinning, reaches out blindly for his shield and grasping it, swings it round to smash into the giant hunter’s head, knocking off him.  Both of them get up slowly and arming themselves anew continue the fight.

- Orcaheart is quick, and sneaky, his skill with the simple spear is remarkable, the weapon almost appears to dance in his large hands. But Sir Krondor, trained Knight Of The Anvil, brings his superior training and knowledge of battle to bare, and in the end knocks Orcaheart to the ground with one final blow to his head.

- Immediately the village explodes in cheers and clapping, shaking Sir Krondor in a show of respect. Bonecarver, administers healing to the Orcaheart and the injured hunter gets up and walks over to Sir Krondor. Orcaheart smiles, a tooth now missing from his bloody mouth and speak, “Unna ca hak, tu in hina. Maki”

- Bonecarver smiles and translates, “He says you are now his worthy brother.”

- Sir Krondor smiles and bows his head, bringing his battle axe up to his head in salute. Orcaheart steps towards the Dwarf and before he knows what is happening almost crushes him in a friendly bear hug.

- The party now follow Bonecarver into her private large hut, filled with brewing supplies and equipment. Various potions line the shelves. She explains to the party that the village is under the watch of the “Old White Death”, the White Dragon known as Arauthator. The people were forced here by the dragon and they must do his bidding or else be killed. They grow food for him and his helpers, Kobolds, Ice Trolls and blue frog like creatures that the party are not sure exactly what they are. They now call this place “Oyaviggaton” which in their language means the “Island Of Eternity” because of the many victims that the Dragon has frozen on the plateau, to be on display forever.

- Bonecarver tells the party she had a vision they would save the village but the Chieftain does not believe the vision and will not risk any more lives of his people. He intends to tell the blue ones about the party in the morning and they will be taken and captured, so as not to anger the Dragon. Bonecarver reveals a hidden pit and stairway in her hut, that leads down into the ice caves below and eventually into the lair of the “Old White One”. She begs that the party free her people. She confirms that the “Horned Lady”, which must be Maccath, is down below somewhere.

- The party accept some potions from Bonecarver and then make their way down into the ice caves. The floor is very slippery and the they are having trouble walking about. The walls here are carved with beautiful and detailed imagery, showing scenes of dragons. Whoever carved these walls was an artist of some skill.

- Exploring the many rooms and passages, the party come to a large chamber where a group of sleeping Kobolds rest peacefully. The party sneak in and begin butchering the unarmed and sleeping Kobolds. The small, defenceless creatures awaken and try to flee but the unrelenting party show no mercy, cutting down the unarmed small creatures. They kill all but one, who manages to flee, screaming in terror at the brutal slaughter.

- The party start to search through the belongings of the dead Kobolds and find no weapons or armour, but instead carving utensils and artisans tools. A quantity of tusks are found, each carved with the same intricate and skilled level of detail as shown on the ice walls all around them.

- The party look around at each other. Labarett speaks,  “I think we just killed a bunch of unarmed artisans.”

- Naillae looks pale, “I think I’m going to throw up.”

- Trenchant speaks, “We keep doing this. Are we the bad buys? Are we racist against Kobolds?”

- Ignoring the moral dilemma for now the party continue searching and discover the Kobolds are wearing leather thongs and straps with small animal beaks inserted into them on their feet to help walk on the icy ground. The party strap these to their feet and can now walk easily.

- Before they can leave however, two Ice Trolls walk into the chamber and a battle ensues. Though large the creatures are very dumb and the party quickly bring them down, using fire to stop the trolls from regenerating.

- They continue exploring the ice caves, coming to numerous caverns. One of which is filled with frozen animals and creatures that show obvious injuries from a large beast, like a Dragon. These frozen animals are displayed like trophies. When the party see a reassembled wooden sailing ship, with a large open chest filled with treasure, they do not touch it, suspecting a trap.

- Continuing to explore they eventually come to a well lit room with a colourful tent to one side. But before they can investigate the unusual presence of this tent, they are attacked by two more Ice Trolls. Once again the party finish them off and keep the creatures down, thanks to using lit torches, but how many torches do the party have?

<And as the party stand over the two dead trolls, fire burning the creatures, that is the end of the session.>

XP Allocation

Group - Combined (This is equally divided by the number of players who were involved)

Quests (Only quests that are completed or rendered undoable, during this session, are shown here)

- “Not all who wander are lost” Reach Oyaviggaton = 500 XP

- “Danger is the source for prayers” Enter Ice Caves without alerting Arauthator = 3000 XP

Creatures Overcome

- Kobolds = 500 XP

- Ice Trolls = 7200 XP

Individual (This is only given to that person and is not divided amongst all players)

Special Bonus (Outstanding Role Playing)

- “I’m not left handed” Accept & Defeat Orcaheart in a Duel = 500 XP <Sir Krondor only>

XP Levels and Player Allocations

Player : Start +  Received = Total  (Notes)

Rob : 96918 + 2000 = 98918

Arthur : 78186 + 1200 = 79386

John : 71302 + 1200 = 72502

Travis : 88641 + 1600 = 90241

Paul : 77517 + 1600 = 79117

Bob : 83945 + 2500 = 86445 (Level up to Level 11)

NPC (Naillae) : + (800)

[atopearth]

Chrono Trigger Part 1 - A Colourful World of Different Ages

As someone who has played Chrono Cross but not Chrono Trigger, I’m curious to see why it’s so beloved haha, right now it just makes me think of Dragon Ball all the time (because of the character designs). But, I’m really liking the soundtrack and atmosphere though, it really has that nostalgic homey feel that I love about JRPGs in the past. Lmao at the maid in the Mayor’s house, she tells you that you can help yourself to all the treasure chests in this house as if it’s a treasure trove and there’s only two chests!! Lady, don’t get my hopes up! Umm, I went to the fair where Lucca is showcasing her new invention or something and I think I just ate the old man’s lunch!! LOL, I’m sorry old man. I might have to restart just because I feel bad eating it. Is Marle a princess btw? Anyway, lmao at the Biggs and Wedge in the horror house lolll. Ohhh I guess this is how the two games are similar? They both have a pendant that causes them to kinda be transported somewhere else? It’s really cool of Crono to chase after Marle when she disappeared though! I mean, who knows where she went! At least it’s not the fault of Lucca’s invention lol, since it worked properly when Crono was on it without the necklace haha. I assume that this is the past when there was a war going on and this Queen Leene that the people are saying have been found is probably Marle? Oh wait, 600 AD? It’s 400 years ago! HAHAHA omg the little green/blue Piccolo monster can ride on the ball monster hahahaha how cute. Anyway, as expected, we’re going to have to find the real queen, since if she dies, Marle/Princess Nadia isn’t going to exist~ Dunno why Marle keeps disappearing though! On another note, Lucca sure came here fast and found Crono in no time lol!

Damn, monster nuns?! Awww! A frog guy to the rescue!! HAHAHA Frog has a skill called slurp that licks a party member and heals their HP hahahaha. I guess the reason why Marle “disappeared” and came back was because Queen Leene’s life was in danger, so Marle’s existence was questioned. Lmao at everyone in the castle now saying that yeah Marle couldn’t have been Leene after all since she ate so much and had no manners🤣🤣 I feel sorry for Frog but I can understand why he blames himself, he was the Queen’s knight and yet she got captured by Yakra… At least he saved her! Lucca is pretty amazing to be able to make a gate key to keep the gate there for them to go back to their time. She’s not dodgy at her inventions at all! Well, I didn’t expect it to go well but I didn’t think bringing Marle back to the castle would make her father etc think Crono was a kidnapper. Well, it’s just the dodgy Chancellor mainly but still. Lmao at the trial, like I’m sorry I picked up Marle’s pendant before caring about her lmao, she was already standing dude! Yes, I’m such a terrible person LOL. Anyway, apparently helping the girl find her cat was enough to make Crono a good enough guy lol. I guess not eating grandpa’s lunch really helped my case too HAHAHA. Not that it matters since the Chancellor still wants to execute Crono! I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to let Crono keep his weapons whilst in jail though lmao. LMAO at the piece of paper detailing the weaknesses of the tank boss, “as long as no crazy lunatic starts hacking at it with a sword, it should be invincible” hahahaha. I love how Lucca always comes to save the day though, she’s so cool haha. Hahahah I love how the dragon tank explodes on the bridge and the Chancellor and mechanics are then used as the broken part of the bridge for you to cross (since they’re all holding on to their dear lives) hahaha. It was pretty reckless of them to all run and jump into a Gate though, like who knows where it goes?!

It’s kinda saddening that these people (in 1999 AD/destroyed future?) seem to be at the mercy of their own technology that they developed, especially when Doan said they were atop food storage but they can’t access it because the robots are protecting it. Imagine starving on top of a pile of food… Ohh wow, so 1999 AD the day of Lavos is when Lavos appeared from underground around the world and destroyed it all? I was so nervous about losing to Johnny in the race across the ruins but lmaoo it doesn’t even matter! It’s not that far! And I have to go back into the ruins to get a chest anyway loll. Omgg Robo is such a cutie! It was so saddening when his “friends” called him a defect (since Lucca fixed him and he’s not a normal robot following the functions of killing intruders) and thrashed him! Even I had trouble dealing with them though, way too many robots lol. Anyway, we really gotta appreciate how amazing Lucca is to be able to fix future machinery like dang. Now we have a new friend too! 

Omg the End of Time? It looks pretty much like the Bend of Time in Chrono Cross, it’s kinda cool how funky these things are haha. Wow, for a second, I was wondering whether 1000 AD was actually their home world and time hahaha, it was so different, I was confused! But it seems that in the underworld or whatever that’s where the fiends are living, and they hate the humans and wished that the Magus who created the Lavos killed all the humans 400 years ago? Hmm I wonder why they didn’t kill them all back then and instead decided to kill the humans around 1999 AD? I wonder if talking to Magus or stopping him from creating the Lavos will solve things… Wow, I can’t believe the war here seems to be speeding up really fast! I wonder who is the hero? On the other hand, I never realised the Commander and chef in the castle were brothers! It’s kinda cute how they’re both rough around the edges being stubborn about how their respective teams are more exhausted etc but in the end, they understand how difficult a time it is and will always help each other out. Didn’t think the king himself nearly fought to his death though, how reckless! Lmao at spiced jerky being the rations that the soldiers needed hahahaha.

Lmao at the Freelancer monster (that looks like a bird), it legit throws rocks at you hahahaha. LMAO at the sheep looking guy that says mountains are so nice, I legit kept talking to him because I felt that there must be a reason for him to be here and lolll if you annoy him enough times he gives you a magic capsule hahahah! I nearly died when he said “you’re not gonna leave me alone huh” LOL. Well, I didn’t expect to find Masamune on a random mountain! They’re so cute separated as two little kids though, yet so ugly in their combined monster form lmaoo. Well, it was to be expected that the real hero was actually Frog, but to think he has the hilt for Masamune! I feel like he feels he’s undeserving to be the hero not just because he wasn’t able to protect the Queen properly though hmmm. Dang, Ayla gets a cool introduction! Didn’t expect her to come from 65,000,000 BC though when I first saw her in the opening. Honestly though, it felt as if Crono fell in love with her at first sight haha! Anyway, it’s kinda cool to come all the way here for the Dreamstone (to fix the Masamune), it kinda reminds me of Chrono Cross when they had to go to Another World for hydra stuff since it was extinct in their own world. Glenn huh? Anyway, didn’t expect Magus to be a good looking guy! Well, he’s a bunch of pixels but I think he’s good looking! Lol!

I can see why Frog was so adamant on not going along with Crono and them before. He was Glenn, the guy who went along with Cyrus (the Captain of the castle who everyone admired, and even the King and Queen relied on him very much and still speak about him) to defeat Magus, but in the end, Cyrus sacrificed his life to protect Glenn so he could survive and retreat, yet in the end, Magus just turned him into a frog because of the “coward” he was. Not only that, but Cyrus’ last words asked of Frog to protect the queen and them, and yet the queen was kidnapped in the beginning of the story. So you can really see why he would feel so unworthy of being the hero that will save this land. But now that the weapon Cyrus wielded has been fixed (Masamune) and there are new companions enlisting for his help, I think it’s about time Frog stopped blaming himself! It’s time to show Magus that he’s not a coward! It was pretty cool to see Frog slash a mountain in half, like dang, I guess Cyrus was right to say Frog was stronger than him, he just never had the confidence since he was always stunted by his fear. Well, Ozzie is pretty annoying with his traps lmao, kinda childish at the same time though hahaha! I guess it was expected that Magus only summoned Lavos and didn’t create them since they’re beings that have stayed under the planet(?) consuming power etc to become as strong as they are to end up destroying the world in the future.

Crono and them riding the Dactyl to the reptite castle was cool haha! I feel sad for Kino that he doesn’t get to fight alongside them though, especially since he’s aware that he’s not as strong as Crono and Ayla. Lmaooo at Nizbel complaining about Crono and them walking past him even though he was flexing his muscles and showing them that they needed to defeat him before they can get to Azala hahahah. Hmm, Lavos creates these time gates? 12,000 BC time!

For now, I’m really enjoying Chrono Trigger more than I thought I would! I’ve always averted from time travel stories because I never really found them too interesting, but I really love how the idea is implemented in this, like, it’s literally fun! Not only do you get to see how different the different eras are, but I think the monsters, the people and everything is just so detailed and interesting. Like, it’s hard to forget the NPCs and stuff because they all have such personality, like whether it be the chef and the commander in the castle, the monsters playing ball with each other, and just everyone you encounter along the journey really shows how colourful the world is and how interesting it is to explore it all. The graphics may not be the best considering how old it is, but I think they’re so cute. I kinda wish Crono actually talked or nodded and stuff a bit more, but I guess it’s okay since the rest of the characters talk haha. Honestly though, I think the charm of the game is definitely in the aspect of adventuring in time and how different everything is, yet also how enjoyable it is. And you kinda get a side dose of we need to save the world from Lavos, so it has the typical JRPG feel to it as well haha. Combat is also pretty interesting! Not too hard as well so that’s great, but I really love the dual techs where two characters cooperate to do one skill, I just love watching all the different combinations!

[digital-elixir]

Digital Thoughts - Earth Defense Force 5 - PS4

Story? In my EDF? Ha! In all seriousness, EDF has never been one for a deep story. In this version, we reboot the series once again as no one on Earth in this universe retains previous knowledge about Aliens. Suddenly, strange creatures appear from outer space and even underground!

It’s up to the Earth Defense Force to eradicate and demolish all foreign entities. You begin as a lowly soldier and eventually work your way up to the ranks of a full-fledged EDF member, one of Storm Team no less!

EDF has never been one to have astounding graphics but that never bothered me. The textures and draw distance exist to process the games ludicrous amount of chaos. That being said, the visuals from a PS4 Pro standpoint are great! Colors are vivid and punchy, giant spiders look menacing, huge humanoid frogs have purple eyes, battle damage appears when shooting giant ants, green chunks fly off and give a truly visceral feel of carnage.

Character models are detailed and I particularly love the explosion effects which pop with bright oranges and yellows. Buildings crumble and fall apart and if you look closely, you can see tiny mock ups of stores in Japan like a Beef bowl shop, or a clothing and accessories department.

Shooting and movement feel the best it has ever been. The core loop is simple yet again – pick a stage and destroy everything that moves, collecting as much health, armor and weapons as you can. I absolutely love the weapon level growth system. If you collect a duplicate of any weapon, you can upgrade the statistics such as damage, range and number of projectiles to a certain threshold. This means if you find a particularly good shotgun but it has terrible accuracy, simply level the weapon up and it will improve substantially.

Each class have their own unique trait. Soldiers sprint and while doing so, have a radius in which they can collect weapons, and health. When collecting health, it will heal any allies under his command. Wing Diver can dash boost in the air and use her boost to recover from damage. She is much more agile and attaching advanced batteries will extend her energy pool offering a more diverse range of playstyles. Air Raider is much improved. He can now summon airstrikes, orbital strikes and many other useful summons as ammunition instead of building meter. Fencer is much more agile and also has a fantastic arsenal of weaponry to blast foes. NPC allies are smarter, more aggressive and have much more health than in previous versions. New and returning enemies are here and stronger than ever.

Full stop, the EDF5 Main theme is the best it’s ever been in the series. It retains the bombastic, celebratory triumphant style all while incorporating elements of the Theremin instrument which when mixed together, pumps you up to shoot some giant bugs! “Domination Time” is a high energy theme which plans when you’re close to beating a level after a huge struggle. I always relaxed a bit when hearing this as it means reinforcements are here to help clean up the remaining enemies. It also has a great guitar solo.

“Online Lobby” music is criminally underrated. This piece is fantastic and I would venture a guess most people haven’t listened to it in its entirety. “Invader” fits the name of this piece well. It’s intense and constant. The haunting choir chanting in the background is terrifying, ominous and unknown. You truly feel in the shoes of a solider fighting an uphill battle against an alien presence.

EDF 5 has a gargantuan amount of replay value. Not only are there 5 difficulty settings, (with later ones offering a greatly altered experience), but there are 100+ stages which doesn’t even include the two separate DLC packs. Combine that with 5 separate and extremely unique classes to pick from, you could play this game for hundreds upon hundreds of hours and never become bored.

While It doesn’t play like a full blown sequel, EDF5 house plenty of welcome enhancements. In a way it feels more like a refined, remastered version of EF4.1. I never tire of the grind as each stage rewards another unique weapon to obliterate aliens. I can’t wait to see what EDF6 will be like. I’m hopeful for more classes, customization, RPG elements, varied enemies, vehicles and weapons. If you have any interest in the EDF games or simply enjoy blasting the hell out of giant spiders, ants and robots, look no further. EDF5 is right up your alley.